There are dozens of methods of categorizing gifts. Most of these methods aren’t attempts to identify objective divisions in the text of scripture, they are likely meant to aid in the learning process. There are, however, a couple of exceptions to this general rule. The first is the miraculous/non-miraculous division. These two categories are fairly straightforward and easy to understand. Believers may differ on which gifts belong in each category, but this is most often a difference of opinion, not a significant source of misunderstanding.
There is one method of categorizing gifts that stands out above the others in being a source of confusion. If you don’t understand this method, much of the spiritual gifts literature won’t make sense. I call it the three-list view of gifts. This is where each of Paul’s major gift lists is defined as an entirely different class of gifts, and each must be approached and understood differently.
Romans 12: Motivational gifts which we possess and which define our personality
I Corinthians 12: Manifestation gifts which cannot be possessed but are only manifested through us by the Holy Spirit for a given time.
Ephesians 4: Office gifts which are only given to selected believers to fill leadership positions in the Church.
The following chart gives a visual break down of the three-list position.
With books that have “spiritual gifts” as the main topic, this “three-list” view is a minority position, accounting for perhaps 20% of the literature that I’m aware of in the last several decades. The majority view which rejects the three-list position comes in many varieties, but none attempt to define fundamentally different classes of gifts that exist today. One practical distinction is that gift assessments derived from the three-list perspective only include seven gifts, those listed in Romans 12: 6-8, while other assessments also draw from I Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 to create a gift discovery tool.
The three-list view has somehow existed in the literature for decades without drawing much critical analysis. I don’t believe it is commonly understood that this method of categorizing gifts differs from the others in that it defines fundamental categories rather that just useful ones. One recent exception is Spiritual Gifts by Bryan Carraway where he analyzes and rejects the three-list view (which he calls the “motivational view”).
By using “fundamental” categories, I mean that each division includes a completely different class of gifts where different principles and admonitions apply. It is an attempt to say that objective categories exist in the text of scripture, not just useful ones imposed by an author or teacher trying to be helpful. Some popular books will assume this perspective without defending it, as if it were the only way to look at the gift passages. What is even more confusing is that different books within the three-list perspective will focus on different parts of the whole. For example, the following books...
Activating the Gifts of the Holy Spirit by David Ireland
Ministering Through Spiritual Gifts by Charles Stanley
...both come from the three-list perspective, but each of them takes a completely different focus. Stanley’s entire book is focused on the seven gifts in Romans chapter 12 and how we can “discover” and “use” them to serve others. Ireland’s book is focused on the nine gifts of I Corinthians chapter 12 and how we can “move” in any of these gifts for a time if the Spirit chooses. This can be confusing for the general reader. If someone happened to pick up these two books, how would he or she define spiritual gifts—as permanent possessions listed in Romans, or as supernatural manifestations listed in I Corinthians? Should we discover our gifts and use them, or wait (or seek) for the Holy Spirit to activate them through us?
Would our reader be aware that these two books actually share the same overall perspective, specifically that there are three different classes of gifts, and each author just chooses to focus on a different class of the gifts for their book about “spiritual gifts?” Would our reader be aware that this overall perspective is itself a minority position in the Christian community, and that if they decided to read another book on the subject it would likely tell them that all of the gifts can be discovered and used (as Peter Wagner would advocate)? Or on the other hand, that none of the gifts can be possessed (as Richard Gaffin or Charles Hummel would advocate)?
It is important for the student of “spiritual gifts” to know about the three-list position, and to know when they have encountered it, and that there are alternatives. Interested readers can find a more detailed analysis of the topic of “categorizing gifts” in my paper on gifts and personality (where the overall style and focus are much different because my purpose in writing the paper was different.)
Literature from the three-list perspective
Focus on all three gift passages
Many Gifts, One Lord by Harley Schmitt
(Fairfax, VA: Xulon Press, 2002)
This is the only book I’ve found from the three-list perspective that gives appropriate space to all three categories of gifts instead of just picking one to focus on. Schmitt’s book is a good starting point if you want to understand this viewpoint.
The following books focus on either the Romans 12 spiritual gift passage or the I Corinthians 12 passage. Some of them explicitly state that they hold the three-list view (although not by that name). Others do not even mention the other gift passages at all. They are also most likely coming from the same perspective, but not necessarily so. There are a couple of less common variations on the three-list view that could account for a focus on only one gift list. I am including the following book lists for practical purposes. If you do not share the three-list perspective, and would prefer that a resource on “spiritual gifts” cover all of the gifts together, then the following books would not be very useful.
Focus on Romans
Ministering Through Spiritual Gifts by Charles Stanley
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1999).
A 112-page study guide that takes a view that the Romans 12 gifts are present in us from birth, but that the I Corinthians 12 gifts are resident in the Holy Spirit and only manifest through us. The I Corinthians gifts are mentioned but not covered. The Ephesians passage is not mentioned at all.
Discover Your God Given Gifts by Don and Katie Fortune
(Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 1987)
The Fortunes actually spend some time defending the three-list view. They have a couple of other books from the same perspective, one about your spouse’s gifts and one about your children’s gifts.
Giftedness by Marcia Mitchell
(Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 1988)
Focus on I Corinthians
Activating the Gifts of the Holy Spirit by David Ireland
(New Kensington PA: Whitaker House, 1997)
Ireland explicitly defines his view as the three-list view but spends no time defending it.
Spiritual Gifts in the Local Church by David Pytches
(Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1985)
Gifted to Serve by T.L. Lowery
(New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1997)
Lowery actually has a short chapter on the gifts of Ephesians 4, which he calls leadership gifts, and a chapter on the “motivational” gifts of Romans 12. The main focus, however, is the “manifestational” gifts of I Corinthians 12.
The Gifts and Ministries of the Holy Spirit by Lester Sumrall
(Tulsa, OK: Harrison House, 1972)
The Holy Spirit, My Senior Partner by David Yonggi Cho
(Orlando FL: Creation House, 1989)
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit by Harold Horton
(Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1993)
Originally published in 1934
There is one method of categorizing gifts that stands out above the others in being a source of confusion. If you don’t understand this method, much of the spiritual gifts literature won’t make sense. I call it the three-list view of gifts. This is where each of Paul’s major gift lists is defined as an entirely different class of gifts, and each must be approached and understood differently.
Romans 12: Motivational gifts which we possess and which define our personality
I Corinthians 12: Manifestation gifts which cannot be possessed but are only manifested through us by the Holy Spirit for a given time.
Ephesians 4: Office gifts which are only given to selected believers to fill leadership positions in the Church.
The following chart gives a visual break down of the three-list position.
With books that have “spiritual gifts” as the main topic, this “three-list” view is a minority position, accounting for perhaps 20% of the literature that I’m aware of in the last several decades. The majority view which rejects the three-list position comes in many varieties, but none attempt to define fundamentally different classes of gifts that exist today. One practical distinction is that gift assessments derived from the three-list perspective only include seven gifts, those listed in Romans 12: 6-8, while other assessments also draw from I Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 to create a gift discovery tool.
The three-list view has somehow existed in the literature for decades without drawing much critical analysis. I don’t believe it is commonly understood that this method of categorizing gifts differs from the others in that it defines fundamental categories rather that just useful ones. One recent exception is Spiritual Gifts by Bryan Carraway where he analyzes and rejects the three-list view (which he calls the “motivational view”).
By using “fundamental” categories, I mean that each division includes a completely different class of gifts where different principles and admonitions apply. It is an attempt to say that objective categories exist in the text of scripture, not just useful ones imposed by an author or teacher trying to be helpful. Some popular books will assume this perspective without defending it, as if it were the only way to look at the gift passages. What is even more confusing is that different books within the three-list perspective will focus on different parts of the whole. For example, the following books...
Activating the Gifts of the Holy Spirit by David Ireland
Ministering Through Spiritual Gifts by Charles Stanley
...both come from the three-list perspective, but each of them takes a completely different focus. Stanley’s entire book is focused on the seven gifts in Romans chapter 12 and how we can “discover” and “use” them to serve others. Ireland’s book is focused on the nine gifts of I Corinthians chapter 12 and how we can “move” in any of these gifts for a time if the Spirit chooses. This can be confusing for the general reader. If someone happened to pick up these two books, how would he or she define spiritual gifts—as permanent possessions listed in Romans, or as supernatural manifestations listed in I Corinthians? Should we discover our gifts and use them, or wait (or seek) for the Holy Spirit to activate them through us?
Would our reader be aware that these two books actually share the same overall perspective, specifically that there are three different classes of gifts, and each author just chooses to focus on a different class of the gifts for their book about “spiritual gifts?” Would our reader be aware that this overall perspective is itself a minority position in the Christian community, and that if they decided to read another book on the subject it would likely tell them that all of the gifts can be discovered and used (as Peter Wagner would advocate)? Or on the other hand, that none of the gifts can be possessed (as Richard Gaffin or Charles Hummel would advocate)?
It is important for the student of “spiritual gifts” to know about the three-list position, and to know when they have encountered it, and that there are alternatives. Interested readers can find a more detailed analysis of the topic of “categorizing gifts” in my paper on gifts and personality (where the overall style and focus are much different because my purpose in writing the paper was different.)
Literature from the three-list perspective
Focus on all three gift passages
Many Gifts, One Lord by Harley Schmitt
(Fairfax, VA: Xulon Press, 2002)
This is the only book I’ve found from the three-list perspective that gives appropriate space to all three categories of gifts instead of just picking one to focus on. Schmitt’s book is a good starting point if you want to understand this viewpoint.
The following books focus on either the Romans 12 spiritual gift passage or the I Corinthians 12 passage. Some of them explicitly state that they hold the three-list view (although not by that name). Others do not even mention the other gift passages at all. They are also most likely coming from the same perspective, but not necessarily so. There are a couple of less common variations on the three-list view that could account for a focus on only one gift list. I am including the following book lists for practical purposes. If you do not share the three-list perspective, and would prefer that a resource on “spiritual gifts” cover all of the gifts together, then the following books would not be very useful.
Focus on Romans
Ministering Through Spiritual Gifts by Charles Stanley
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1999).
A 112-page study guide that takes a view that the Romans 12 gifts are present in us from birth, but that the I Corinthians 12 gifts are resident in the Holy Spirit and only manifest through us. The I Corinthians gifts are mentioned but not covered. The Ephesians passage is not mentioned at all.
Discover Your God Given Gifts by Don and Katie Fortune
(Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 1987)
The Fortunes actually spend some time defending the three-list view. They have a couple of other books from the same perspective, one about your spouse’s gifts and one about your children’s gifts.
Giftedness by Marcia Mitchell
(Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 1988)
Focus on I Corinthians
Activating the Gifts of the Holy Spirit by David Ireland
(New Kensington PA: Whitaker House, 1997)
Ireland explicitly defines his view as the three-list view but spends no time defending it.
Spiritual Gifts in the Local Church by David Pytches
(Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1985)
Gifted to Serve by T.L. Lowery
(New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1997)
Lowery actually has a short chapter on the gifts of Ephesians 4, which he calls leadership gifts, and a chapter on the “motivational” gifts of Romans 12. The main focus, however, is the “manifestational” gifts of I Corinthians 12.
The Gifts and Ministries of the Holy Spirit by Lester Sumrall
(Tulsa, OK: Harrison House, 1972)
The Holy Spirit, My Senior Partner by David Yonggi Cho
(Orlando FL: Creation House, 1989)
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit by Harold Horton
(Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1993)
Originally published in 1934
Powered by ScribeFire.
No comments:
Post a Comment