The main guide for this research can be found at A Guide to Spiritual Gifts

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Introduction

The topic of spiritual gifts is a deceptively difficult one to understand. First of all the Biblical material which forms our starting point is fairly complex. There are three spiritual gift passages which each have different terms, different but overlapping lists of gifts, and different perspectives on the subject. The second difficulty is that we carry with us many premises about spiritual gifts which may or may not be correct. Depending on our background, we may believe that the gifts are to be discovered within us, or that we are to operate in the gifts as they flow through us. We may believe there are 7 gifts, 31 gifts, or any number in between. There is probably no aspect of the doctrine of spiritual gifts that is without dispute.

At this point, we have a mountain of published works to turn to for assistance. Some of this literature is excellent, but there is a tremendous amount of duplication as well. The reader will also find that many authors will assume a position on a debatable point without defending that position, and sometimes without mentioning that other options even exist. It could take dozens of books just to understand the various positions.

As the Christian blogosphere takes shape, we find the subject of spiritual gifts very much in flux. As bloggers enter the discussion, several debates, such as the one over the cessation or continuation of the miraculous gifts, have been under way for decades. Other discussions, such as the relationship of spiritual gifts to personality, are just on the horizon, and may be largely hashed out in the Christian blogs.

This “Guide to Spiritual Gifts” will attempt to make navigation through this topic easier. It will be under construction for a while, and I will add to it as often as I can. It will contain a mix of facts and opinion. If your interest is in the gifts of tongues, miracles, or healing, this guide won’t be as useful to you. First, I don’t have much to add on these gifts that hasn’t been said. Second, I consider them to be the least interesting of all the spiritual gifts. I find the “ordinary” gifts such as mercy and encouragement to be far more relevant to our lives, and more fascinating.

Finally, I suspect that the Church has failed in comprehending the gifts because we have not taken the Biblical passages on them literally enough. When we don’t understand a distinction in concepts, we erase the distinction and merge the concepts. If a literal conception of the body analogy used by Paul violates our presuppositions, we dull the force of the analogy by generalizing it into a basic “unity in diversity” message. A literal reading, by contrast, produces an elegant picture of spiritual gifts that is a balance of form and fluidity. One of the greatest pleasures in my research was to find that the scriptural passages on the gifts are far more precise and accurate than any of us would have imagined.

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Catholic View of Spiritual Gifts

For Protestants, the phrase “gifts of the Holy Spirit” is a derivative of the more familiar term “spiritual gifts” and has the same intended meaning. In Catholic usage, the two terms typically refer to different things. As a Wikipedia article on the “Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit" elaborates, the Catholic perspective is based on Isaiah 11: 2-3 and defines the seven “gifts of the Spirit” as supernatural qualities given for sanctification. These seven "gifts of the Spirit," which are generally unkown to Protestants, are

1. Wisdom
2. Understanding
3. Counsel
4. Fortitude
5. Knowledge
6. Piety
7. Fear of the Lord

A reference to “spiritual gifts,” on the other hand, will generally mean the same thing to Catholics as it does for Protestants, which are the gifts listed by Paul. Catholics, however, have their own preferred term for "spiritual gifts" which is “charisms”, or “charism” in the singular. This can be seen on many websites, blogs, and some books such as Charism and Sacrament by Donald Gelpi.

One site gives a summary of the Catholic doctrine of spiritual gifts titled “Spiritual (Charismatic) Gifts and Leadership.” It is taken from the Rule of the Order of the Legion of St. Michael, General Directory, nos. 146-162. The gifts are divided into three categories

1. Sacrificial and Consecrating Gifts
2. Speaking Gifts
3. Ministering Gifts

The gifts listed under the Speaking and Ministering categories would be familiar to Protestants, but the first category contains some gifts which are unique to Catholicism (as far as I can tell). Under the Sacrificial and Consecrating Gifts category are listed the familiar celibacy, martyrdom, and poverty, but this list also includes charity, virtue, obedience, substantial silence, substantial solitude, prayer, and penance/mortification.

The site begins with a distinction that would be unfamiliar to many Protestants. “While recognizing that the spiritual or "charismatic" gifts operate freely in the whole Community, we also recognize that these gifts are given to those who lead the Community in an extraordinary way to help them in their ministry.”

A more progressive perspective can be found at the Catherine of Siena Institute. Here you can sign up for a “called and gifted” workshop, buy “called and gifted” small group materials, and find an FAQ on spiritual gifts, which explains, among other things, the difference between spiritual gifts (charisms) and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

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Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Spiritual Gift Assessments - Part 2

A second common critique of gift assessments is that we should just find a need in the church and learn our gifts by focusing on others through service instead of trying to figure out ourselves through pencil and paper tests. I would agree with the idea that we should focus on serving one another even if we are completely unaware of our gifts, but do we learn our gifts through serving? Sometimes, but this would not be a consistently accurate method for assessing our giftedness. Which gift, for example, does well working with children. There are at least several, so that the results of working well with children may tell us one possible expression of our gift, but it would not tell us which gift. While there are some positions of service which would tell us with some confidence exactly what our gift is, most types of service would not, at least not consistently.

We should consider that this gift which leads us to work well with children most likely has several other expressions, but unless we learn what the gift is and look at others with the same gift to see what they are skilled at, we are left with only knowing a portion of what we are gifted to do, and we will not know which gift provides the results. Discovering our gift through service may sometimes be effective, but I believe it will often be a very slow process. Why not avail ourselves of spiritual gift inventories, workshops, or other methods which may speed gift discovery and help us focus our service instead of spending months or years "trying out" different avenues of ministry.

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Spiritual Gift Assessments - Part 1

Spiritual gift assessments have been the focus of criticism recently in the blogosphere. While I am not a fan of any particular one, I believe much of the concern is misplaced. In this first part I'll address the position that "We are not told anywhere in scripture to discover our gifts." I have seen this point made in several blogs recently, but it can be traced back much further. In his 1979 work on spiritual gifts, Peter Wagner addresses this position taken by Gene Getz in his work from 1976 Building Up One Another. He quotes Getz as saying "it suddenly dawned on me one day that nowhere in I Corinthians 12, Romans 12, or Ephesians 4 can we find any exhortation for individual Christians to 'look for' or to 'try to discover' their spiritual gift or gifts."[1] Wagner also writes in his footnotes that Getz develops his critique of gift discovery in an earlier work from 1974 entitled Sharpening the Focus of the Church.

While the position "we are not told anywhere in scripture to discover our gifts" may be literally true, I believe that it is difficult to fully implement I Peter 4:10 in our lives without knowing how we are gifted. In the context of having love for one another Peter writes

NKJV As each one has received a gift , minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

NRSV Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.

NASB As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Peter could have simply written "serve one another," but instead he adds the admonition that this service should be according to our gifting. We could consider that Peter had two options here. He could have written

1. Serve one another
2. Serve one another according to our gifting

Unless option 2 further clarifies option 1, there is no point in using the longer sentence. So what exactly is clarified in option 2, which Peter chose. Option 2 implies a more directed and focused service than just serving, specifically focused in the area of our gift (charisma). In his expositional commentary on I Peter, Edmond Hiebert writes
“According as (kathos), ‘just as,’ indicates that the service of each one is determined and is to be governed by the nature of the gift received.”[2]

So we do not fulfill I Peter 4:10 just by serving; we fulfill it by serving "according to our gifting," which is difficult to do if we do not know what our "gifting" is. Without this knowledge, some people will naturally seek out more suitable areas of service than others, and most churches facilitate the implementation of some gifts far more than others.

Wagner's response to Getz focused on Romans 12: 1-6 where he notes
what seems to me a clear logical relationship between "having gifts" (see Romans 12:6) and "thinking soberly of oneself" (see Romans 12:3) and doing the "good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God" (see Romans 12:2) ...Many are in fact using their spiritual gifts without being able to articulate what they are doing. Nevertheless, I sincerely believe that such brethren are operating under God's "Plan B." I think that Romans 12:1-6 is clear enough to teach us that God's "Plan A" is for members of the Body of Christ is to be very conscious of the part each one plays in the "whole body fitly joined together" (Eph. 4:16) . "Plan B" is functional. But "Plan A" is probably God's best.[3]


References

[1] Peter C. Wagner, Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow (Glendale, CA: Regal Books, 1979) 46-47. The reference Wagner supplies is Gene A. Getz, Building Up One Another (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1976) 9.

[2] D. Edmond Hiebert, First Peter: an Expositional Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984), 259.

[3] Wagner, 47.






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Saturday, March 3, 2007

Modern Works: 1900-1949

1901
Nash, T. A. N., and Catholic Apostolic Church. Spiritual Gifts. S.l.: s.n., 1901.

1916
Wotherspoon, H. J. The Ministry in the Church in Relation to Prophecy and Spiritual Gifts (Charismata). London ; New York: Longmans, Green, 1916.

1918
Warfield, Benjamin Breckinridge. Counterfeit Miracles, Thomas Smyth Lectures, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Ga., 1917-1918. New York,: C. Scribner's Sons, 1918.

1920
Mulford, Prentice. Spiritual Gifts : And Other Essays, Life and Light Books. Lond.,, 1920.

1921
Brett, Jesse. Divine Endowment : Considerations of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost. London ; New York: Longmans Green, 1921.

1921
Pridie, James Robert. The Spiritual Gifts. London,: R. Scott, 1921.

1923
Panton, David Morrison. Irvingism, Tongues, and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. 2d ed ed, Present-Day Pamphlets ; Iii. London: Thynne and Jarvis, 1923.

1925
Matthews, John. Speaking in Tongues. Kansas City, Mo.: Matthews, 1925.

1929
Haines, Frederick Henry. Spiritual Development: A Book of Counsel on the Attainment of Spiritual Gifts, The Spiritual Wisdom Series ; No. 4, 1929.

1933
Cobham John, Oldcastle. Concerning Spiritual Gifts. Being a Sermon on 'the Group Movement,' Etc. London and Oxford: A. R. Mowbray and Co., 1933.

1933
Hathaway, W. G. Spiritual Gifts in the Church. London: Elim Publishing Co., 1933.

1934
Horton, Harold Lawrence Cuthbert. The Gifts of the Spirit. London: F.J. Lanb, 1934.

1936
Daniells, Arthur G. The Abiding Gift of Prophecy. Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press, 1936.

1937
Gardeil, A., and Anselm M. Townsend. The Gifts of the Holy Ghost: In the Dominican Saints, Dominican Library of Spiritual Works. Milwaukee London: Bruce Publishing ; Geo. E.J. Caldwell, 1937.

1940
Munro, John Ker. "The New Testament Spiritual Gifts." Thesis (Th.M.), Dallas Theological Seminary, 1940., 1940.

1942
Kelly, Bernard J. The Seven Gifts. New York: Sheed and Ward, 1942.

1946
Haynes, Carlyle Boynton. The Gift of Prophecy : The Teaching of the Bible Regarding the Voice of God among His People from the Beginning of His Work on Earth, and Particularly the Manifestation of His Divine Leadership in Connection with the Closing Message of the Gospel : An Account of the Prophetic Gift, Its Removal Because of Apostasy, and Its Restoration to the Remnant Church. Rev. ed. Nashville, Tenn.: Southern Pub. Association, 1946.

1947
Gee, Donald. Concerning Spiritual Gifts: A Series of Bible Studies. Springfield, Mo.: Gospel Pub. House, 1947.

1947
Graber, John B. "The Temporary Gifts of the Holy Spirit." Thesis (Th.M), Dallas Theological Seminary, 1947.

1947
Sterrett, Thomas Norton. "New Testament Charismata." Thesis (Th.D.), Dallas Theological Seminary, 1947.


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Historical Works: 1850-1899

In the second half of the nineteenth century, the term "spiritual gifts" became commonly used in spiritualist circles to mean various occultic abilities. Several such references were removed from this list in the editing process.

1851
Hippolytus Saint, of Rome. The Tradition of the Apostles Concerning Spiritual Gifts ... Translated from The ... Greek. London, Derby [printed]: Richardson and Son, 1851.

1856
Pratt, Orson, and Christ Jesus. Chapter 1. The True Faith.-(Chapter 2. True Repentance.-Chapter 3. Water Baptism.-Chapter 4. The Holy Spirit.-Chapter 5. Spiritual Gifts.-Chapter 6. Necessity for Miracles.-Chapter 7. Universal Apostasy, Etc.-Chapter 8. Latter Day Kingdom, Etc.), 1856.

1858
White, Ellen Gould Harmon. Spiritual Gifts. Battle Creek, Mich.: Published by James White, 1858.

1862
Cornell, Merritt E. Miraculous Powers : The Scripture Testimony on the Perpetuity of Spiritual Gifts. by M.E. Cornell. Battle Creek, Mich.: Steam Press of the Seventh-day Adventist Pub. Association, 1862.

1863
Lear, Francis B. D. Rector of Bishopstone Salisbury. The Unity and Variety of Spiritual Gifts. A Sermon [on 1 Cor. Xii. 7] Preached ... On ... The Sunday Following the Deaths of H. Drury and A. T. Corfe, 1863.

1866
Campaginator. The Heresy of a Professional One-Man Ministry, and a Claim for the Priesthood of Believers and the Free Exercise of Spiritual Gifts, 1866.

1867
Bush, George, and Ministry Christian. The Christian Ministry, Considered in Relation to the Priesthood of Believers, and the Free Exercise of Spiritual Gifts. [an Abridgment Of "The Origin of Priesthood and Clergy" By George Bush.]. London: Longmans and Co., 1867.

1868
Smith, Uriah. The Visions of Mrs. E. G. White : A Manifestation of Spiritual Gifts According to the Scriptures. Battle Creek, Mich.: Steam Press of the Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association, 1868.

1869
Bohm, Charles J. T., and Church Catholic Apostolic. Spiritual Gifts and Ministries : A Word of Exhortation, Warning, and Consolation, for All the Children of God ; [Translated] from the German, Berlin, 1848. Edinburgh: T. Laurie, 1869.

1869
Govett, Robert. The Gifts of the Holy Ghost and Miracle Sic : Essentially Connected with Justification by Faith. London: James Nisbet and Co., 1869.

1869
Govett, Robert. Have We the Gifts of the Spirit? : Two Letters to Indoctus. London: James Nisbet and Co., 1869.

1869
Martin, James, and Baptist Association of Victoria. The Spirit Quenched or, Spiritual Gifts Suppressed by the Church : A Sermon Preached at the Ninth Session of the Baptist Association of Victoria, Held in Melbourne, November 1869. Melbourne: George Robertson, 1869.

1870
Govett, Robert. We Have Not the Spirit's Gifts: Let Us Seek Them! : Another Letter to Indoctus. London: James Nisbet and Co., 1870.

1871
Cardale, John Bate, and Church Catholic Apostolic. The Fourfold Ministry : Delivered in the Assembly of the Seven Churches in London, 7th March, 1871. S.l.: s.n., 1871.

1872
Liddon Henry, Parry. Spiritual Gifts. A Sermon Preached in St. Paul's Cathedral ... August 4th, 1872, (Penny Pulpit. New Series. No. 590.). London: F. Davis, 1872.

1876
Govett, Robert. Are 'the Brethren' Right? : Or, Scripture Testimony Concerning the Spirit and His Gifts. Norwich: Fletcher and Son, 1876.

1877
Brownlie, W. R., and Church Catholic Apostolic. The Gifts of the Spirit and the Ministries of the Lord : The Calling and Ordination of Ministers; the Relation of the Scriptures and the Ministers; the Cherubim as a Symbolic Ministry, Letters To "The Brethren". Glasgow: D. Hobbs and Co., 1877.

1880
Catholic Apostolic, Church. The Decline of the Spirit of Sonship, the Cause of Our Spiritual Weakness : The Revival of the Power of That Relationship, the Sure Ground of Manifestation of All Spiritual Gifts and Grace. [S.l.]: [s.n.], 1880.

1881
Paget, Francis Bishop of Oxford, and Robert Marshall Heanley. Concerning Spiritual Gifts. Three Addresses, ... Together with a Sermon, Etc: pp. 64. Parker and Co.: Oxford, 1881.

1883
Erskine, Noel Leo, Russell Kelso Carter, and Thomas Erskine. The Supernatural Gifts of the Spirit. Philadelphia, Pa.: Office of "Words of Faith", 1883. microform.

1884
Glover, Richard. The Gift of Prophecy: An Address Delivered at the Annual Session of the Baptist Union, on Monday, April 28th, 1884. London: Alexander and Shepheard, 1884.

1890
Macleod, Alexander. The Power of Gifts: Sermon Preached in St. George's Presbyterian Church, Liverpool, at the Opening of the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of England, April 28, 1890. [Liverpool]: [s.n.], 1890.

1891
Bond, M. H. Spiritual Gifts and the Seer of Palmyra: A Sequel to Spiritual Gifts and Spirit Manifestations. Providence, R.I.: [E. A. Johnson and Co., 1891.

1895
Godbey, William B. Spiritual Gifts and Graces. Cincinatti, OH: M.W. Knapp, 1895.

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Historical Works: 1800-1849


The volume of books published for and against the Catholic Apostolic Church of Edward Irving shows the dominant influence the Irvingites had on the discussion of spiritual gifts throughout the 1830's.

1806
Haldane, J. A. Observations : On the Association of Believers; Mutual Exhortation; the Apostolic Mode of Teaching; Qualifications and Support of Elders; Spiritual Gifts, and C. In Which Mr. Aikman's Observations on Exhortation, and C. Are Considered. Edinburgh: printed by J. Ritche sold by A. Johnstone ... [etc.], 1808.

1809
Ballantine, William, and Greville Ewing. Two Letters to Mr. Greville Ewing, on Recommending the Gospel, the Miraculous Gifts, and Divinity Schools : Occasioned by His "Attempt" and "Memorials". Edinburgh: Printed by J. Ritchie, 1809.

1816
Isaac, D., and Son Button and. Ecclesiastical Claims Investigated, and the Liberty of the Pulpit Defended: : In Five Essays. 1. The Uninterrupted Succession; 2. Ordination; 3. The Spiritual Gifts and Powers of the Clergy; 4. Learning; 5. Ministerial Qualifications. London: Printed for W. Button and Son Paternoster Row, 1816.

1827
Macleod, Alexander of Glasgow. A View of Inspiration, Comprehending the Nature and Distinctions of the Spiritual Gifts and Offices of the Apostolic Age. Glasgow, 1827.

1830
Erskine, Thomas. On the Gifts of the Spirit. Greenock: Printed for R. B. Lusk ... 1830.

1830
Religious Tract Society (Great Britain), and W. Harding. Reasons for Concluding That the Gifted People May Be in the Right. London: Printed and published by W. Harding ... 1830.

1831
Armstrong, Nicholas, and G. Norman. Two Lettters to a Friend in Answer to the Enquiry, What Is the Use of the Gifts of the Spirit? London: G. Norman printer 29 Maiden Lane Covent Garden.

1831
Enquirer. A Letter to Archibald M'kerrel, Esq. Occasioned by the Publication of His "Apology for the Gifts of Tongues." Glasgow: George Gallie ... [etc], 1831.

1831
Harness, William Rev. Modern Claims to Miraculous Gifts of the Spirit, Considered in a Sermon, Preached, November 6, 1831, at the St. Pancras Parochial Chapel, in Regent Square. London: [Printed for Longman Rees Orme Brown and Green], 1831.

1831
McKerrell, Archibald. An Apology for the Gifts of Tongues and Interpretation at Present Manifested in the Church of Christ. Greenock: Printed by W. Johnston, 1831.

1831
Pilkington, George. The Unknown Tongues Discovered to Be English, Spanish, and Latin, and the Rev. Edw. Irving Proved to Be Erroneous in Attributing Their Utterance to the Influence of the Holy Spirit : Also a Private Arrangement in His Closet ... Various Interesting Colloquies between the Writer and Mr. Irving ... And Observations Which Manifestly Show That They Are All under a Delusion. London: Printed and published by Field and Bull, 1831.

1832
The Doctrine of Spiritual Gifts Dispassionately Examined. By a Clergyman of the Church of England. pp. 35. James Nisbet: London, 1832.

1832
Greenwood, Thomas. The Latest Heresy : Or Modern Pretensions to the Miraculous Gifts of Healing and of Tongues, Condemned by Reason and Scripture. London: published by William Harding, 1832.

1832
Harding, William, Thomas Phillips, and Edward Irving. A Word for Inquiry Previous to Decision in the Matter of the Present Manifestations of, or Pretension to, the Gifts of Speaking with Unknown Tongues and Prophesying. London: sold by W. Harding; James Fraser; James Nisbet; W. Clark; and W. Morrison, 1832.

1832
Irving, Edward. Facts Connected with the Recent Manifestations of Spiritual Gifts. London: Priv. print. for James Fraser, 1832.

1832
Tarbet, William, Hugh McNeile, and Church Catholic Apostolic. A Letter to the Rev. Hugh M'neile, A.M., Rector of Albury, Surrey : In Reply to Objections to the Present Miraculous Manifestations in the Church, Contained in His Sermons Entitled "Miracles and Spiritual Gifts". Liverpool: Printed and sold by J. Davenport, 1832.

1832
Pym William, Wollaston. An Inquiry Concerning Spiritual Gifts. London: James Nisbet, 1832.

1833
Goode, William. The Modern Claims to the Possession of the Extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit, Stated and Examined : And Compared with the Most Remarkable Cases of a Similar Kind That Have Occurred in the Christian Church with Some General Observations on the Subject. London: J. Hatchard and son, 1833.

1833
Taplin, Edward Oliver, and Catholic Apostolic Church. Nine Lectures On "Spiritual Gifts". S.l.: s.n., 1833.

1834
Newman, William, and George Pritchard. The Grace of God the Source of Spiritual Gifts and Graces : A Sermon Occasioned by the Death of the Rev. James Upton, Forty-Nine Years Pastor of the Church Assembling in Church-Street Chapel, Blackfriars-Road, on Sunday, October 5, 1834. London: British Pulpit Office, 1834.

1838
Catholic Apostolic, Church. The True Apostleship Not Modern; or, a Refutation of the Claims of the Churches Called "Irvingite" To an Apostleship and to Spiritual Gifts. By a Member of the Church under the Care of the Late Rev. Edward Irving. London: J. Nisbet and Co., 1838.

1838
Peile, T. W., and John Raine. Spiritual Gifts Less to Be Esteemed Than Spiritual Graces. A Sermon, Preached in the Parish Church of St. Mary-Le-Bow, Durham, on Thursday, August 2, 1838, at the Visitation of the Venerable the Archdeacon of Durham. Durham: Printed by Francis Humble ... 1838.

1848
Boehm, Charles J. T. Spiritual Gifts and Ministries. A Word of Exhortation, Warning and Consolation for All the Children of God. From the German [of C. J. T. Boehm]: pp. 23. C. Goodall and Son: London, 1848.

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Historical Works: 1700-1799

1716
Martin, Josiah of the Society of Friends, and Benjamin Coole. A Letter to the Author (B. Coole) of Some Brief Observations on the Paraphrase and Notes of the Judicious John Locke Relating to the Womens Exercising Their Spiritual Gifts in the Church. London, 1716.

1771
Perronet, Edward. A Moral Ode for the Year 1771 with a Copy of Verses Upon the Diversity of Spiritual Gifts. : To Which Is Added (by Permission of the Author) an Acrostic on the Memory of the Late Rev. Mr. George Whitefield. ; [One Line from I. Peter] ; Price Three Pence[.]. [United States: s.n.,, 1771. microform].

1796
Miscellaneous Pamphlet Collection (Library of Congress). The Duty of Churches Respecting the Encouragement of Spiritual Gifts : The Circular Letter from the Baptist Ministers and Messengers Assembled at St. Albans, May 31 and June 1, 2, 1796. [England: s.n., 1796.]


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Historical Works: 1600-1699

The long titles seen in this selection were common for the era, and as with modern literature, not everything with “spiritual gifts” in the title is necessarily about the gifts in Paul’s lists. I would not advise spending money to obtain a reference without the assurance that the work pertains to the subject under study.

1619
Byfield, Nicholas. The Signes of the Wicked Man: Together with Directions That Shew How the Seuerall Gifts and Graces of Gods Spirit May Be Attained. Needfull for Such as Want Those Graces, and for Such as Desire to Increase in Them. By N. Bifield, Preacher of Gods Word at Isleworth in Middlesex, Early English Books, 1475-1640; 737:20. London: Printed by George Purslovv for Ralph Rounthvvaite and are to be sold at his shop at the Flower de-luce and Crowne in Pauls Church-yard, 1619.

1641
Spencer, John, and EEBO - York University. A Short Treatise Concerning the Lawfullnese of Every Mans Exercising His Gift as God Shall Call Him Thereunto. London: Printed for John Spencer and are to be sold by T. Bates in the Oldbailey, 1641.

1644
Torshell, Samuel. A Helpe to Christian Fellowship : Or, a Discourse Tending to the Advancement and Spirituall Improvement of Holy Societie. Wherein the Practise of It Is Commended, 1. In the Communicating or Imparting of Their Gifts and Graces. 2. In Their Walking Together in the Ordinances of Christ. 3. In a Mutuall Serviceablenesse to One Another. The Particular Graces Necessary to the Qualifying of Christians for It, Are Propounded ... : Applied to These Times for the Strengthening of Mens Hands in the Happy Work of Reformation, 1644.

1645
Cotton, John, and John Davenport. The Covenant of Gods Free Grace, Most Sweetly Unfolded, and Comfortably Applied to a Disquieted Soul, from That Text of 2 Sam. 23, Ver. 5. Also a Doctrinall Conclusion That There Is in All Such Who Are Effectually Called, in-Dwelling Spirituall Gifts and Graces, Wrought and Created in Them by the Holy Ghost. Whereunto Is Added, a Profession of Faith, Made by John Davenport, in New-England, at His Admission into One of the Churches There. London,: M. Simmons, 1645

1652
Lupton, Donald, and EEBO - York University. The Freedom of Preaching or Spiritual Gifts Defended: Proving That All Men Endowed with Gifts and Abilities May Teach and Preach the Word of God. By D. Lupton, Servant of Jesus Christ in the Work of the Gospel. London: printed by R.W. for R. Harford at the Bible and States Arms in Little-Brittain, 1652

1652
Purnell, Robert, and EEBO - York University. No Power but of God: And yet a Power in Every Creature or, a Word in Season, to All Men Not Void of Grace, or Deprived of Reason. Wherein Is Held Forth, That the Almighty God Is Not Wanting to Us, in Impowering of Us; but We Are Wanting to Him, in Not Improving Our Talent for Him. The Almighty Gives to Every Man Some Talent or Talents, Viz. To Some Natural, to Others Spiritual Talents or Gifts: But There Is No Man That Improves His Talent So Well as He Might, in Point of Obedience to Him. ... The Abuse of Gospel-Ordinances by Some, Doth Not Take Away the Lawful Use of Them to Others. The Second Edition; Corrected and Augmented, by Robert Purnel. The second / ed. London: Printed by T. Mab for Jos. Blaicklock dwelling in Ivy-lane, 1652.

1674
Kuen, Johannes, Research Publications inc., and Yale University. Library. Charismata Meliora Anweisung Zu Der Himmelischen Bemahelscafft ... Empfangenen Namen Zu Lieben Vorgestellt. Mèunchen: bey Lucas Straub,, 1674. microform :.

1693
Owen, John, and Nathanael Mather. Two Discourses Concerning the Holy Spirit and His Work. The One of the Spirit as a Comforter. The Other, as He Is the Author of Spiritual Gifts. [Edited by N. Mather.], 1693.



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Friday, March 2, 2007

Book Review: Ronald A. N. Kydd

A Review of Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church by Ronald A. N. Kydd

Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church by Ronald A.N. Kydd is one of several important dissertation turned books to play an important role in spiritual gifts literature. Subtitled "An Exploration Into the Gifts of the Spirit During the First Three Centuries of the Christian Church," It is commonly referenced in Pentecostal literature as providing important evidence for the continuation of "spiritual gifts" beyond the Apostolic Age. Kydd has done an effective job of cataloguing the evidence for supernatural manifestations in the early church, and he provides appropriate background information on the cultural and intellectual setting for each of his references. His knowledge of Greek also allows him access to the original source material. His argument, however, is derailed by several faulty presuppositions common in the Pentecostal tradition.

The first is that "spiritual gifts" are temporary manifestations. Kydd is searching for reports of "the presence of spiritual gifts," something that many conservative believers would find odd. For many of us, the gifts are what make us part of the Body of Christ. If we are part of His body, then we have at least one gift by default, and if the Body of Christ really does work like a human body, this belief is almost certainly correct.

The next presupposition is that "spiritual gifts" equal overtly "miraculous" gifts. Although, to be fair, Kydd seems to be aware that less dramatic manifestations can also be spiritual gifts. In the introduction he adds the list of Romans 12:6-8 as included in the search, qualifying this by writing "Even if they {the gift lists in Romans and I Corinthians} were exhaustive, we would have to acknowledge that some of the gifts will stand out more clearly than others; tongues, for example, more clearly than giving aid. We will try to catch them all, but we are likely to encounter the dramatic more often than the non-dramatic." This perspective is echoed again in the conclusion where Kydd writes "At one time it would be a spoken word, at another, a miraculous deed, and at yet another, an act of compassion. These were the charismata, the gifts of the spirit, moments when the grace of God would break into human affairs in a special way."

What lies in between the introduction and the conclusion is a survey of early Christian reports of the miraculous, with the exception of Clement who writes in his letter to the church at Rome "So let our whole body be preserved in Jesus Christ..., and let each put himself at the service of his neighbor as his particular spiritual gift dictates." Kydd seems unaware that Clement's quote marks a shift in thinking, possibly the last reference to be found for many centuries that spiritual gifts are abilities with which we all must serve one another, that the gifts are part of the ministry of all believers. This way of thinking about the gifts, which is only hinted at by a few of the early commentators, is only now being recovered, but that is for another discussion.

What follows the reference to Clement is a series of reports of tongues, healings, and other miracles, or vague reports that the gifts are still among us. Justin Martyr in the Second Century is a representative sample, reporting that "It is possible to see amongst us women and men who possess gifts of the Spirit of God." At the end of his search, and based on this lack of evidence for the miraculous, Kydd writes that around A.D. 260 "the gifts of the Spirit vanished." This conclusion is unconvincing, for how many conservative believers would really be persuaded that the gifts of mercy, giving, or encouragement ceased, based on the lack of evidence for overtly supernatural manifestations such as healing and tongues?

The final premise that pervades the book is that testimony that "miraculous gifts remain with us" constitutes evidence that they did. Move forward 1800 years and the same testimony can still be heard in many parts of the church. If the testimony from modern church leaders and scholars is not enough to convince conservative Christians to abandon cessationism, then why would the same testimony from Justin or Tertullian be any different. Certainly the stature of a Grudem or Hayford is comparative to their Anti-Nicene counterparts, and the level of scholarship probably much greater owing to the availability of resources. The only difference I can see is that modern claims can be investigated, while the early, often vague or terse claims to the "miraculous" depend entirely on the source for authentication.

Kydd's book Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church may be useful for someone with a particular interest in the kind of evidence he presents, but I would not recommend it for most readers. Its arguments are simply ineffective on two points. One, that the miraculous gifts continued into the Third Century, and two, that the non-miraculous gifts ceased after the Third Century.

Reference: Kydd, Ronald A.N. Charismatic Gifts in The Early Church. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1984.


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Early Research Into Gifts and Personality

While I am non-denominational and lean towards the simple church, I must give credit to the Seventh Day Adventists for taking a lead in innovative thinking and research regarding any correlations between spiritual gifts and personality types or temperaments. Possibly the first document in this tradition is an unpublished and undated manuscript of which I have been unable to obtain a copy. It is cited by two dissertations and is housed at the Andrews University Library. It is called Relationship Between Personality Types and Nineteen Spiritual Gifts by Ray Ammon, an elder in the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

The other candidate for first mention comes from a 1981 article by Repicky in Review for Religious. My source is the 1992 dissertation by Nathaniel P. Lewis on correlating MBTI types and Naden's spiritual gift clusters.

"Repicky refers to a lecture given at Berkely, California on April 28, 1977 by Donald Gelpi on “Jungian Personality Theory and the Theology of Gifts.” He explains: “Gelpi maintains that the Christian experience is the experience of the Jesus event and the pentecostal experience which came out of it...The overall effect of living within this experience is that one’s natural gifts and potentialities are raised to a new level and become ‘spiritualized’ by attaining new dimensions in the realm of meaning.”

Using Gelpi’s notion as a springboard, Repicky elaborates his position by proposing that the Pauline teaching of spiritual giftedness is a “spiritualization of natural potentialities.” These potentialities are demonstrated in the Jungian types of introversion, extraversion, intuition, sensing, thinking, and feeling. He maintains that a “proper understanding of these basic dispositions of the personality...will contribute greatly to a healthy understanding and directing of one’s personal giftedness...and spirituality in general.” He postulates, therefore, a theory of spiritual gifts whick integrates gifts and types. He states that “personality types enable the individual to see that the transformation of the ego through faith does yield certain gifts or talents which are in accord with the natural bent of his personality.” (Lewis, 1992, p.51-52)

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Repicky's insights are interesting, but may not be useful for future researchers. Repicky includes four gifts that I have never seen anywhere: Simplicity, prudence, practicality, and presence. He also comes from the Jungian 8 type perspective rather than the Myers-Briggs 16 type perspective.

The first major empirical study in this vein, which also comes from the Seventh Day Adventist tradition, is the 1984 dissertational study by Ronald Joachim titled "Relationship Between Temperament Types and Nineteen Spiritual Gifts." In it he compares the results of 1067 Christian graduate students and church members who took both the "Temperament Inventory" (Cruise and Blitchingtion, 1977) and the "Spiritual Gifts Inventory" (Naden and Cruise, 1981). A summary of the significant findings are:

1. There is a significant correlation between the sanguine temperament and the gifts of administration, leadership, and hospitality.

2. There is a significant correlation between the choleric temperament and the gifts of leadership, wisdom, and helps.

3. There is a correlation between the melancholic temperament and the gift of evangelism.

4. There is a correlation between the phlegmatic temperament and the gift of wisdom.

Joachim qualifies that the "choleric tendency had the major weight for the leadership gift, and the sanguine for the hospitality gift." He also notes a relationship with the "blending of phlegmatic and melancholic for the gifts of pastoring and teaching."

Other interesting conclusions were

• "Helps and hospitality are different gifts. When they appear in the same function, they are always of opposite tendencies."

•"There is a positive correlation among the males between sanguine and prophecy, but no such correlation among the females."

•"As a whole, males and females appear to have the same gift if they have the same temperament. The correlation between temperament and spiritual gifts is very similar for Blacks, Caucasions, and Hispanics. For a given position, temperament is more important than sex and ethnic background."

References

Ronald L. Joachim, “Relationship Between Four Temperament Types and Nineteen Spiritual Gifts” PhD. Dissertation, Andrews University: Dissertation Abstracts International. (University Microfilms No. 85-15550). 1985.



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Gifts and Limiting the Holy Spirit

The idea of limiting the Holy Spirit comes up frequently in writings and especially discussions concerning spiritual gifts. The concern is typically that some idea expressed limits the freedom of the Holy Spirit to act in whatever manner He chooses. The most frequent topic that [produces the expression] is the possibility that there is a structured or ordered manner in which the Holy Spirit gives the gifts, especially a limit to the number of gifts a person can receive. The issue at stake, however, is whether a hypothesized structure in the gifts has been accurately identified or not. A proposed order in the gifts is either true or not, and the charge of limiting the Holy Spirit has no meaning in this context.

To illustrate the principle we can look at the visible world which has many overt examples of order and structure. One is that different adults have different heights and we don’t observe drastic change in these heights over short periods of time. We could, though, ask the question “What if the Holy Spirit needed a five foot five inch man to be seven feet tall to accomplish His purpose?” The very absurdity of the question illustrates the point. The Holy Spirit never needs someone to be other than what God has created. He simply works within the created order to accomplish His ends.

Although some structure is visible and obvious, some is invisible and difficult to discern, but no less true. Order in the spiritual realm is ascertained first through revelation, and second through reason. Reasoned attempts to identify this order should not be confused with limiting the Spirit. Hypothesized order in the spiritual realm is not nor can be limiting to the Spirit. We can only limit the Spirit by not having faith that He can fulfill God’s Word and answer prayer (even then we don’t really limit Him, but He limits Himself in response to us and for our benefit). We can say that a hypothetical order has been incorrectly identified and is therefore untrue, but the charge of limiting the Spirit is out of place in the discussion. If we find this formulation of structure is not supported by biblical and other evidence, we abandon it as insufficiently supported. If, though, we find it supported by the evidence, where does the idea of limiting the Holy Spirit enter the picture? We could just as easily respond that by believing the gifts must lack structure we are limiting the Holy Spirit in that we are assuming that He cannot work within a structure but must be free of structure to accomplish His will.

Order in the invisible world is no different than the more obvious order in the physical world. It is the normal order of things which God typically works through to perform His will, but which He can override when He desires, e.g. Acts 8: 39-40. It is unlikely, even in these cases, that the Spirit of God ever needs to transcend the created order, but does so only for our instruction.


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The Body Analogy - Part Two

“. . . the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” Ephesians 4:16

When each part of the Body of Christ works as it should, the different gifted members grow in proportion to one another. The growth of one part should be matched by the appropriate growth of the parts surrounding it. When that growth is uneven, however, a lack of balance is created which has consequences for the body’s performance in meeting various challenges. Sports and sports medicine have taught us many things in the past few decades that greatly enhance our understanding of our own bodies, how they grow, and how they respond to different stresses and injuries. We can also apply these insights to the Church and how the Body of Christ responds in similar circumstances.

We know that the human body grows best when all its parts grow and gain strength in proportion to one another. Athletes who lift weights to gain in strength and size will sometimes focus on some muscles more than others. These parts will grow larger and stronger than the parts around them up to a point. After a certain level of disproportion is reached the stronger parts will cease to grow, even when they receive continued training and focused attention. The only way for growth to resume is to find the lagging body part and bring it back into balance with the parts around it. Gifted members of Christ’s body can hold back the growth of other members in the same way. Until the weaker person is brought back into balance, stronger members will find growth much more difficult.

Another result of imbalance in an athlete’s body is injury. When the body is placed under intense stress, such as during competition, a discrepancy in strength may lead to serious injury. This is seen when a football player, while sprinting full speed, injures the hamstring muscle that runs down the back of his leg. He has built the strength of his thigh muscle in the front of his leg to such a degree that it exerts more stress during running than the hamstring can handle and this results in a serious tear to the hamstring. While only the hamstring is injured, the effect on the thigh muscle in front is such that it might as well be injured because the athlete can barely walk off the field. A comparable imbalance when the Body of Christ is placed under stress will leave a weaker member injured, but the effect on those with closely related gifts can be devastating as well.

To continue the analogy the football player’s entire body is not affected equally by this injury. His arms still work well and his ability to catch the ball seems unimpeded. This is only true, however, with a ball thrown directly to him. If the ball were thrown just 20 feet away, he would be unable to move his body in position to catch it. His arms only work fine in the limited sphere in which his injured legs can move. Applied to the church, this analogy is seen in evangelists who might be functioning well in their local area, but cannot serve in the foreign country to which they feel called without the assistance of teachers, administrators, givers, and other gifted members to get them into the sphere of operation that God has ordained.

A different form of injury that can occur in an athlete is nerve damage. If a leg fails to receive the signals from the brain to move in coordination with the rest of the body, then that leg must be dragged along as dead weight. In the human body the brain sends the nerve signals to the rest of the body. Christ is the head of the church (Eph. 4:15, 5:23) and all of the members receive their signals from Him. All of the gifts operate in harmony with each other until one gift stops listening to Christ. Then this gift essentially has nerve damage and stops operating smoothly with the other parts of His body. This gifted member not only stops contributing, but actually becomes a burden to the rest of the church. Even worse is when one part is listening to the wrong signal and works in opposition to the body. Then the church must expend valuable energy fighting against the wayward member.


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The Body Analogy - Part One

Peter Wagner has pointed out an often overlooked tool in interpreting the biblical material on spiritual gifts—the body metaphor. Paul gives us the analogy of a human body in each of his three passages on gifts and in I Corinthians 12 he elaborates on the metaphor for about sixteen verses. Given the prominence of the analogy, Wagner is almost certainly correct in calling it the “hermeneutical key ” to understanding spiritual gifts. The analogy is given in all three of Paul’s spiritual gift passages, so what are the potential insights and why are they so often overlooked?

Explicit Lessons

We are given gifts. “We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.” (Romans 12:6)

We are part of Christ’s Body. “So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members of one another.” (Romans 12:5)

Christ’s Body functions like a human body. (I Cor. 12:12-27)

Therefore, the functioning of our gift is like the functioning of a part of a human body. So when Paul speaks of an eye seeing, that is like a server serving or a teacher teaching.

One form of the syllogism would read:

Spiritual gifts = parts of Christ’s body.
We = parts of Christ’s body.
We = our spiritual gift.


Can we take Paul to say that we not only have a gift but are our gift? This would be consistent with the analogy. An eye is defined by being an eye. That is not just part of its job, it is the entire function and aspect of what that part of the body is and does. Each eye will have a different size, shape, and color that make it unique, but even this variety is interpreted in the context of being an eye.


Implicit Lessons

How literally can we take the body analogy? The majority of interpreters take it as a weak or vague and imprecise metaphor. The main lesson being a basic unity in diversity message. We have differences and must work together to make constructive use of those differences. Anything more than this is reading too much into the analogy. What if, however, we took the analogy literally and believed that the body of Christ did work like a human body? What are the insights that we could then draw from it?

Body parts have a fixed structure and function over time.

An arm is an arm from one day to the next. In fact, from birth until death each part keeps the same basic shape and function. Any changes are gradual and in response to growing, aging, or environmental stresses, but the same basic shape is retained and is always identifiable. The lesson from analogy is that we keep the same basic structure and function (gifting) within the Body of Christ, i.e., our gifts do not change over time.

Body parts have a fixed relationship to each other.

An arm is always attached to the shoulder and a leg is always attached to the hip. This is like the personality types of the MBTI—each type is related to the types around it in the same way according to psychological functions and attitudes. The lesson from analogy is that the parts of Christ’s body (gifted members) are always related to each other by function in exactly the same way from one day to the next. If we added new gifts (or functions) over time this would not be the case.

Bodies never have mixed parts.

An arm is always just an arm from one example we see to the next. We never find an arm-leg mix, or an arm-eye mix, or any other form of mixed parts. The lesson from analogy here is that the Body of Christ does not have different part mixes, so that local groups of believer’s do not either. Therefore, the gifting we see from one group of believers to the next should be consistent, not a variety of gift mixes. And if there is not a variety of gift mixes, then a position of one gift each is strongly implied by the body metaphor .

Bodies have a genetic code.

Perhaps the least recognized implication of the body analogy is the genetic code. In our physical bodies the basic size, shape, and function of every part is determined before those parts ever come into existence. The parallel with the Body of Christ is that the parts of Christ’s body were decided from conception as well. Paul tells us that we were chosen “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). This verse suggests that God decided our part in the Body (I Cor. 12:18), which is our gift, before the universe existed . It is a sobering thought that we are playing a role in such an ancient script, not a role decided when we entered the Body based on the needs of the moment.

This also brings up a practical dilemma. Just because our gift (place in the body) is pre-determined, does that mean that we are pre-shaped to fill that position before we are part of the body? If a person is an eye in the body of Christ, did she have the shape of an eye before entering the body? If she did not, then that implies a fundamental reshaping of some sort upon salvation. This kind of reshaping of function and ability is not typically reported by believers. A gift-type theory would suggest, however, that our predetermined gift can be seen in what we call our personality type, which shapes us to fulfill a specific role in the body of Christ.

These lessons do not require that we read material into the text, but flow from it naturally if we take a specific, literal approach to the body metaphor. So, why then are these positions an extreme minority among scholars and teachers of spiritual gifts? Possibly, because accepting them would contradict many commonly held beliefs about the gifts, some of which involve peoples personally held beliefs about their own gifting.


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Thursday, March 1, 2007

Appendix C: Other Implications

Correlating gifts and personality has numerous other implications. A few that deserve mentioning are:

1. The MBTI could be the most accurate grace-gifts inventory available.

2. There is a significant amount of research available on personality types which could be applied to gifts in the church. For example: It may not be apparent what sort of things a person with the gift of faith would do well in the church, but there is empirical and observational research on what types of jobs ISTPs enjoy and perform well.

3. Seeing gifts in the MBTI framework can help us see each gift in the context of the other gifts. We can see that the gift of administration (ESTJ) differs from the gift of service (ISTJ) only in extraversion. Seeing a gift in perspective to all the others can greatly sharpen our understanding of that gift.

4. We can also compare opposites. The MBTI framework shows us that faith (ISTP) and encouragement (ENFJ) are opposite gifts--something we would not know without the MBTI perspective. This can help us understand the ministries each gift might do well to avoid, but it should not excuse us from right living. Barnabas, “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36) was also “full of the Holy Spirit and faith” (Acts 11:24).

5. We can speak of secular gifts and identify not only secular prophets, but secular evangelists and secular shepherds, etc.

6. We can better understand why many people identify with more than one gift. Most of the time the gifts will be very close in type such as knowledge (INTP) and teaching (ENTP) or hospitality (ESFJ) and encouragement (ENFJ).

7. The church may recognize that it is behind the secular world in some aspects of understanding and using these gifts. Many businesses all over the country use the understanding of personality types as a tool for better understanding and productivity. These organizations may be identifying the grace gifts and using that knowledge largely according to biblical principles. The book Worktypes[1] by Kummerow, Barger, and Kirby gives the following personality type principles (notice how closely they represent specific bible verses) to help people at work:

a.) “Recognize your natural strengths and find ways to make the maximum use of them” (p.23).

I Peter 4:10: “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

b.) “Accept that you do not do everything equally well and identify areas where you have blind spots, make mistakes, or get into difficulty” (p.23).

I Corinthians 12:29
: “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles?”

c.) “Identify tools and resources, including other people, to help you manage your weaker areas or improve your skills” (p.23).

I Corinthians 12:21: “And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’; nor again the head to the feet ‘I have no need of you.’”

They also give principles for interacting with others:

1.) “Recognize that others have different perspectives and needs than you do. (It’s a given that we’re not all alike!) They also have the same right to have their approaches counted and used as you have” (p.24).

I Corinthians 7:7: “For I wish that all men were even as myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that” (NKJV).

2.) “Acknowledge that your work will be more effective if it includes others’ perspectives and ideas. They can save you from serious oversights and mistakes, can help you get unstuck, and can help you develop new abilities” (p.24).

I Corinthians 12:17: “If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were hearing, where would be the smelling?”

3.) “Find ways to make constructive use of the differences.”

Ephesians 4:11-13: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ...that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine...but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”

References

[1] Jean M. Kummerow, Linda K. Kirby, and Nancy J. Barger, Work Types: Understand Your Work Personality—How It Helps You and Hold You Back, and What You Can Do to Understand It. (New York: Warner Books, 1997).


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Appendix A: Numbers and Gifts

Numbers often have significance in scripture, and while speculations regarding them can be taken to extreme, especially regarding hidden codes, the explicit numbers regarding a passage or doctrine may have significance. For example, there are 12 tribes in the Old Testament, 12 apostles in the New Testament, and 12 gates in heaven. The number 12 is used consistently in this manner representing governmental perfection. This section will investigate the possible significance of numbers regarding spiritual gifts. The analysis is meant only to provide ideas for others to consider and is admittedly speculative.

If we accept the number 16 as the number of permanent gifts, there are four numbers to examine: Sixteen and the three factors of sixteen, which are two, four, and eight. The primary source for this section is E. W. Bullinger’s Number in Scripture, which is over a century old but still considered by many to be the unsurpassed leader in its field. All scripture reference is from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.


Two

2 X 8 = 16, or 2² X 2² = 16, or 2³ X 2 = 16, or 2 to the fourth power =16.

Difference

Two implies that there is a difference.
• “It is the first number by which we can divide another, and therefore in all its uses we may trace this fundamental idea of division or difference.”[1]
Rom 12:8 “We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.” (NRSV)

The MBTI framework shows us exactly four dimensions of difference. Each of the sixteen types differs from one other type along each of the four dimensions. E/I; S/N; T/F; and J/P.

Witness

Two is also a number of witness. There are two witnesses in Revelation 11. It is by two or three witnesses that a thing is established, or verified. (Deu 19:15)(Mat 18:16) All of the gifts together make up the church, or Christ’s Body, which now becomes the witness of Christ on earth.

Acts 1:8 “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (NRSV)


Four

4 is the square root of 16. 4 x 4 = 16.

Completeness of the material creation
• "Now the number four is made up of three and one (3+1= 4), and it denotes, therefore, and marks that which follows the revelation of God in the Trinity, namely, His creative works. He is known by the things that are seen...the number four always has reference to all that is created."[2]

This concept is more difficult to relate to spiritual gifts, but here is a suggestion,

• Creation is a reflection of the Trinity
• The body of Christ is a reflection of the Trinity

Is creation therefore a reflection of the body of Christ? Concepts in quantum physics are especially intriguing in this regard, mainly awareness of particles at a distance and the concept of non-locality (relative locality). Although Christ is preexistent, His Body is created, and is the ultimate and eternal part of the creation.


Eight

8 X 2 = 16

Super-abundance
• “As a number it is the super-abundant number.”[3]

Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things.”

John 10:10b “I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”

Ephesians 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us...”

Regeneration
• “It is 7 plus 1. Hence it is the number specially associated with Resurrection and Regeneration, and the beginning of a new era or order.”[4]
Titus 3:5-6 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.”

The first cube
• “Eight is the first cubic number...we see something of transcendent perfection indicated, something, the length and breadth and height of which are equal. This significance of the cube is seen in the fact that the “Holy of Holies,” both in the tabernacle and in the Temple, were cubes.”[5]

Our body, and corporately the Church, is now the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Cor 3:16-17, 6:19), which replaces the original tabernacle and Temple in both form and function.


Sixteen

If eight is the first cubic number, then sixteen is the first power of four (2 raised to the fourth power is 16). If a cube speaks of “transcendent perfection” in three dimensions, then does the power of four speak of transcendent perfection in four dimensions? The fourth dimension as we know it is time, and the body of Christ is accordingly both preexistent (Ephesians 1:4) and eternal (Ephesians 2:7, I Thessalonians 4:17). Although the tabernacle and temple have already passed away, the Body of Christ will transcend time.


Seventeen

Sixteen, the number of permanent gifts, appears significant only in being the fourth power of two. It does not appear as a significant number in any reference I could find. It is, though, not the complete number of the body of Christ; it is the number of the body without a head. The head is Christ, which adds one to our total, giving us seventeen.
• “Seventeen stands out very prominently as a significant number. It is not a multiple of any other number, and therefore has no factors. Hence it is called one of the prime (or indivisible) numbers. What is more, it is the seventh in the list of the prime numbers...seventeen being the seventh of the series, it partakes of and intensifies the significance of the number seven. Indeed, it is the combination or sum of two perfect numbers—seven and ten—seven being the number of spiritual perfection, and ten of ordinal perfection. Contrasted together the significance of these two numbers is clear; and when united in the number seventeen we have a union of their respective meanings, viz., spiritual perfection, plus ordinal perfection, or the perfection of spiritual order.”[6]

Even when all 16 gifts are together, the Church can be divided, as 16 can be divided by the factors of 2, 4, or 8. When Christ is added, however, the total becomes the prime number 17, which indicates that all of the gifts plus Christ creates an indivisible whole.


One Hundred and Fifty-Three

The triangular number of 17 is 153. This number is obtained by adding up all integers less than and up to 17.

1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15+16+17 = 153
• "This is a number which has taxed the ingenuity of some of the greatest Bible students, and that from the earliest times. All have felt there must be something deeply significant and mysterious in this number, from the solemn way in which it is introduced in John 21:11,—'Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land full of great fishes, one hundred and fifty three.'”[7]

153 is the number of fish caught by the disciples after Jesus told them to cast their net on the right side of the boat (John 21: 1-11).
• "Other miracles are parables in their lessons, and Augustine has pointed out the comparison and contrast between the two miraculous draughts of fishes, one at the beginning [Luke 5] and the other at the end of Christ’s ministry (after his resurrection). He and other commentators see in this number some connection with the saved, as being definite and particular down even to the last one, making up not a large round number, but a smaller and odd number, 153. They saw in this a proof of the fact that the number of the elect is fixed and pre-ordained."[8]

The total number of the elect and the Body of Christ are essentially the same thing. The method of reaching 153 from 17 is also interesting. If you start with one gift the triangular total is one. The second gift adds two to the total, giving us the triangular number of 3. The pattern is that each additional gift is counted as more than the previous one. One method of representing the mathematics is that the triangular number equals the number of gifts plus the number of gift combinations. For example, if we have two gifts, teaching and encouragement, the triangular number is three. That is two gifts plus one combination.

Two gifts

Teaching
Encouragement


One combination

Teaching + Encouragement


Total

Three


The math works for any combination of gifts, i.e. the triangular number of 5 is 15,

1+2+3+4+5 = 15

Pick any five gifts as an example,

Mercy
Faith
Leadership
Wisdom
Giving


These five gifts can form ten possible combinations,

Mercy + Faith
Mercy + Leadership
Mercy + Wisdom
Mercy + Giving
Faith + Leadership
Faith + Wisdom
Faith + Giving
Leadership + Wisdom
Leadership + Giving
Wisdom + Giving


The five gifts plus the ten combinations = 15

Possible implications of this mathematical arrangement are (1) that a combination of two gifts is as valuable as a third gift, and (2) that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

It is also interesting to note the parallel of 153 to another triangular number, 666, which is the triangular number of 36.

1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15+16+17+18+19+20
+21+22+23+24+25+26+27+28+29+30+31+32+33+34+35+36 = 666

Both 153 and 666 represent the physical manifestation of spiritual entities on earth. Jesus Christ’s physical presence on earth is through his Body, the Church, here symbolized in the catch of 153 fish. Satan’s incarnation on earth will be through the Antichrist, whose number is 666. The odds that two such numbers of comparable size would both be triangular numbers is less than 2 in 1000. This suggests more than coincidence. There may also, then, be a parallel between the numbers 17 and 36. It is not clear, however, what the number 36 would represent.

References

[1] E.W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1997), 92.

[2] Bullinger, 123.

[3] Bullinger, 196.

[4] Bullinger, 200.

[5] Bullinger, 201.

[6] Bullinger, 258.

[7] Bullinger, 273.

[8] Bullinger, 273.

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Introduction

When Isabel Myers named her book, Gifts Differing, after the Apostle Paul’s passage on spiritual gifts in Romans chapter 12, she did not, at least publicly, speculate on a connection between psychological types and spiritual gifts. Did she believe there was a connection? She almost certainly considered it, and if not for the monumental task of creating a type indicator, she might have begun connecting the dots.

The theme of the following research is to find evidence of correlations between the two realms. The conclusion reached is that 16 of the 20 or 21 gifts specifically listed in the New Testament correlate perfectly with the 16 types of the MBTI. The first part defends the correlations; the rest examines the theology and implications of the theory.

So just how radical are the ideas presented here? That will depend on the perspective of the reader. For some, everything presented here is counter to what spiritual gifts are all about. Others have begun to see connections between gifts and personality, and may be wondering, as I was, ‘who is doing the research to find out?’ Some of these same people will, if there are any truths in the following concepts, extract, clarify, apply, and expand on them far beyond what one gifted member can do. This is the way the church was meant to work.

When this all started 12 years ago, the responses to the theory were almost universally negative. This probably had much more to do with the poor quality of the early drafts than with the people reading them. Even now, some of the explanations aren’t very clear or thorough, but hopefully that will improve through constructive criticism.

Recent support has been encouraging, though, suggesting that many in the church will give the theory a chance. But new ideas, especially radical ones, must be put through the fire of critical examination to see what survives. May this be the start of a new dialogue about the gifts we’ve been given, and the gifts we’re meant to be to each other.


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Appendix B: The Pastor-Teacher Concept

Some writers combine the gifts of pastor and teacher into one hyphenated gift based on the Greek construction of Eph. 4:11. They do this based on a rule of Greek grammar called the Granville Sharp rule which was formulated around the end of the 18th century. This is a brief summary of the issue.

The pastor-teacher concept is based on the fact that in Ephesians 4:11 the definite article occurs before each of the titles except pastor and teacher. Both pastor and teacher are included under one article. A literal translation is: “And He gave the apostles, and the prophets, and the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.”[1]

The Granville Sharp rule states that when the article is missing between the two nouns, the second noun is a further description of the same person. If the rule applied to Eph. 4:11 it would imply that the teacher would be the same person as the pastor, perhaps even in an adjectival sense such as “the pastor who teaches.” Edgar disagrees with this application of the rule noting that Sharp himself stated that there are numerous exceptions to the rule when the nouns are plural, as they are in this case.[2]

Richard Young, in his text on New Testament Greek, gives the same exception to the Granville Sharp rule, noting Eph. 4:11 specifically as a verse that is disqualified by its plural construction.[3] He then, however, cites the work of Daniel Wallace, who offers five categories where plural nouns of the same construction should also be grouped in some way, one of which is “overlapping groups”.[4] Young summarizes by stating that some passages such as Eph. 4:11 are “still difficult to classify”.[5]

The application of the rule to Eph. 4:11 has support from Wayne Grudem, “Although the grammar does not require it, it is fair to say that it would be more likely to understand this as ‘pastor-teachers’ than as two groups ‘pastors and teachers,’ and many interpreters understand it that way today.”[6] But Grudem has been strongly refuted by David Farnell, writing in Bibliothecra Sacra.
Middleton, whose early study on the Greek article is still highly respected, was the first Greek grammarian to accept the validity of Sharp’s rule. He notes many exceptions to Sharp’s rule when plural nouns are involved.
On the basis of an extensive analysis of plural nouns in comparable constructions in the New Testament, Wallace affirms that plural nouns are an exception to Sharp’s rule. He has cited many passages where the members of the construction cannot be equated with each other and they thus constitute clear exceptions (e.g., Matt. 3:7; 17:1; 27:56; Acts 17:12). His conclusion is, “Granville Sharp applied his rule only to singular, non-proper, personal nouns of the same case.” Wallace[7] has cataloged the abuse of Sharp’s rule by several grammatical works considered standards in the field of New Testament grammar. Regarding this abuse he notes,
“But what about the abuse of this rule? Almost without exception, those who seem to be acquainted with Sharp’s rule and agree with its validity misunderstand and abuse it. Virtually no one is exempt from this charge—grammarians, commentators, theologians alike are guilty. Typically, the rule is usually perceived to plural and impersonal constructions—in spite of the fact that the evidence of the New Testament with reference to plural and impersonal nouns is contrary to this supposition.”
Moreover, he cites several well-known grammarians to illustrate his point.
"Although most commentators consider the two terms [“pastors” and “teachers”] to refer to one group, we must emphatically insist that such a view has no grammatical basis, even though the writers who maintain this view almost unanimously rest their case on the supposed semantics of the article-noun-kain-construction. Yet, as we have seen, there are no other examples in the New Testament of this construction with nouns in the plural, either clearly tagged or ambiguous, which allow for such a possibility. One would, therefore, be on rather shaky ground to insist on such a nuance here [Eph. 4:11]—especially if the main weapon in his arsenal is syntax!"[8]

References

[1] Thomas Edgar, Miraculous Gifts (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1983), 325.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Richard A. Young, Intermediate New Testament Greek: A Linguistic and Exegetical Approach (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1994), 63.

[4] Daniel B. Wallace as cited by Richard A. Young in Intermediate New Testament Greek. The reference he supplies is “The Semantic Range of the Article-Noun-kai-Noun Plural Construction in the New Testament.” Grace Theological Journal 4:59-84.

[5] Ibid, 64.

[6] Wayne A. Grudem, The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today, Rev. ed. (Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Books, 2000), 334.

[7] The completely different perspectives that Young and Farnell take on Wallace are noted. I have yet to obtain a personal copy.

[8] F. David Farnell, “Does the New Testament Teach Two Prophetic Gifts? Part 3.” Bibliotheca Sacra 150 (January-March 1993), 76-77.

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