Gifts, Power, Authority and the Body of Christ

This morning as I have been setting my heart and mind to the Lord, i was reminded of something Bill Johnson said in a sermon I listened to recently.  He was talking about the difference between commissioning, being given authority, and walking in power in that commission.  A great example is the great commission in given to the Apostles, and then the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. 

Matthew 28:18-20 NIV:

[18] "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Luke 24:49 NIV: 

"I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Acts 2:1-4 NIV:

[1] "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. [2] Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. [3] They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. [4] All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

In sharing these, Bill made the distinction between the commissioning (Giving of authority) and the pouring forth of power (Pentecost) and how the first was really not possible until the second (empowering) occurred.  Clearly there are callings and commissions that require both in a fullness only God can provide.

As I was thinking about the way the Lord calls and empowers us, I started thinking about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and how we should approach them?  Clearly these gifts are given to be used, but often received without instructions or commissioning, at least in my experience.  The question in my heart this morning is whether the gifts are given with the express authority and power to exercise them?  

I am going to look at a couple of the sections where the giving of gifts is described, starting with Romans 12:4-8 NIV:

[4] "For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, [5] so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. [6] We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; [7] if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; [8] if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."

Adding to these verses we have Paul describing additional gifts in his letter to the 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 NIV:

[7] "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. [8] To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, [9] to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, [10] to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. [11] All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines."

The first thing that I noticed is that Paul describes the gifts within the context of the Body of Christ.  The gifts are clearly meant to be part of our experience in the Body of Christ, and they seem to be meant for our common good.  These are all clearly gifts, and at least in my experience gifts are meant to be enjoyed, and experienced.  

The original Greek word that is translated gifts is xarisma - defined as follows:  

Cognate: 5486 xárisma (from "grace," 5485 /xáris) – properly, the operation of grace (divine favor), i.e. a grace-endowment to edify the Church (note the -ma suffix, focusing on the end-result of the endowment of grace).

5486 /xárisma ("grace-gift") divinely empowers a believer to share God's work with others, i.e. Spirit-empowered service to the Church to carry out His plan for His people.

[5486 /xárisma (but not limited to) "spiritual gifts." xarismata (the plural form) literally means "grace-endowments."]

I love how the definition essentially brings into focus not only the gifts (freely given) but also the empowering of the Holy Spirit.  In other words, we don't receive the gift without the power.  To put this in our modern vernacular, the gifts come with the batteries. :-)

While that is a semi-humorous take, this is an important distinction.  The gift includes the empowering from the Holy Spirit.  They are His gifts, and when He gives them He includes the necessary power to exercise them.  Secondly, they are grace-endowments, meaning given without any earning, something God freely chooses to do.  We don't earn these gifts through our maturation, or obedience, or anything else.  We get them because we are part of the body of Christ and they are given for us all, or for the common good.  

In regards to the common good, our experience in the Body is meant to be positively impacted and affected by the use and practice of these gifts.  We generally don't have a problem with most of the gifts described in Romans, but many places are uncomfortable with the list found in 1 Cor., for they seem more "spiritual".  Its one thing for someone to be giving the gift of leadership, its another to have someone given the gifts of miraculous powers, or speaking in tongues.  The point here is that they are all similar and all given by the same Holy Spirit, for the benefit of the whole Body of Christ.

If they are given in the context of the Body for the benefit of the Body of Christ, one would think that they also come with the authority, as well as power to be exercised.  If the Holy Spirit - who is leading and directing the Church gives out the gifts, it is for good reason, and He isn't making a mistake.  Its not like someone giving a two year-old a gift that should be used by an 18 year-old.  We need to learn to trust the Holy Spirit, believing that He fully knows what He is doing.

Lastly, while the gifts apparently come with the power, and even the authority (implicit in the giver being Holy Spirit) we can absolutely grow in maturity in our use of the gifts.  In the same way that a 16 year old can receive a license to drive (Power and authority), they usually get better at driving as they practice, so do we in our use and practicing of the gifts.  The wonderful thing is that since they are given to the members of the body, for the common good of the body, we have a built-in training center option.  They gifts are meant to be tried and exercised in the context of Body life, where older members can help guide, encourage, and hone the use of the gifts.  Our goal should be to raise up and encourage the use of the gifts every chance we get, as it is for our own benefit overall.

Without going to far down the path, what are we missing if we don't encourage the regular use of these Spiritual gifts?  We would be missing or lacking to some extent  that which these gifts were meant to impart... prophecy, service, leadership, giving, teaching, mercy, wisdom, knowledge, miraculous powers, healing, discernment of spirits, speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues.   It's funny that those last two are the ones that get the most focus, and seem to me the least impactful to the body overall, yet are the reason many places quash the Spirit.  The other thing I noticed is that prophecy is on both the Roman list and the 1 Corinithians list (and one of the 5-fold ministries).  

In summary, as I reflect upon these few verses, it is apparent to me that we need the spiritual gifts; we need them for our own good; we need them exercised and regularly used; we need those things they are meant to impart!  Oh Lord, help us to welcome fully Your great gifts, that we might learn to use these gifts in the power and authority in which they were given!  Help us to grow and mature and experience all that You have for us!  

Amen and Amen!