Spiritual Gifts and the Church

Recently, I wrote about spiritual gifts in a book entitled In Search of the Church. I received some feedback on the book that included some disagreement on my stand concerning spiritual gifts as they relate to the church. I would like to address this disagreement in this article.

Frankly, when I first heard this difference of opinion, I wanted to clear up the disagreement before I distributed too many copies of the book. I rushed to find a Bible and look up the relevant scriptures. I also called a trusted minister to get his input on the matter. As I looked, I also began to pray. I asked the Lord to show me from the Word the answer I was searching for.

The “bone of contention” is this: in the Church of God of Prophecy, we teach that spiritual gifts exist only in the church. We also make a difference between the Church of God and the Kingdom of God. Therefore, you had to be in the church in order to be used of the Spirit to operate a spiritual gift. The official statement of the organization is as follows:

according to the will of God. They are manifested through individual members,

but individuals do not personally possess the gifts. Therefore, since the gifts are

given to the Church and not to individuals, a spiritual gift cannot be taken away

before it went into the Dark Ages, and were all restored to the Church when it

7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity;

9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which

7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of

9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the

11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every

28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets,

thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments,

30 Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?

8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive,

9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the

Of particular trouble to me is 1 Corinthians 12:28, because it says ,“And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” This was troublesome to me because it seems to say that the gifts are in the church. But, does it say that the gifts are only in the church?

First, I don’t want to spend a lot of time trying to justify what I have written or said in the past. This would be counterproductive. It might cause readers and listeners to not trust what I have to say. This could be detrimental to them if I have heard from the Lord. However, I am human, and I do make plenty of mistakes. Therefore, I feel it is reasonable to occasionally revisit some things so that we can better understand the Word and our own points of view.

Many readers will recognize this passage as one in which the disciples told Jesus of having forbidden someone not in their group from casting out devils in Jesus’ name. Jesus tells them not to do it, but He seems to want them to understand that this other person couldn’t be against them if he was operating in the name of Jesus and actually doing the miracles.

Of particular interest is the word “miracle.” I am no Greek scholar, but I can look in a dictionary, and when I look at the Greek word for miracle as used here, I find the Greek word dunamis. If you then go to 1 Corinthians 12:10, where Paul is writing about spiritual gifts, we find him speaking of the gift of miracles. He writes,

Interestingly, the word for the spiritual gift of working of miracles is the same word used in Mark 9:39. If the Greek doesn’t interest you, please note that the English word translated in the King James Version as “miracle” in Mark 9:39 is the same as the word translated as “miracles” in 1 Corinthians 12:10.

If we are to work under the assumption that the kingdom and the church are not the same (an assumption with which I agree) then we have to factor in what it meant to be a part of Jesus’ group and what it meant to be an outsider. First, in Mark 3:13, 14 Jesus organizes His church. He gave His apostles positions that showed organization and purpose. According to the Ryrie Study Bible, the passage in Mark 3 did indeed take place somewhere around a year before the disciples rebuked the outsider.

Was this man saved? Yes! Was he in the church? No! Did he operate a spiritual gift? Yes! Both the Greek and the English agree on this point. What Paul was writing about in 1 Corinthians as being a spiritual gift was in operation outside of the church as it then existed!

thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments,

There a couple of things I would like to say about this verse. As I said, this verse is somewhat troublesome to me. However, I want to examine the verse to help us with this idea of spiritual gifts being only in the church.

First, this verse does indeed say that spiritual gifts are placed in the church, but this idea seems to be modified by the word “some.” Now, this word does not necessarily mean “used to indicate an unspecified number, quantity….”[2] That, of course, is the meaning we most often give to the word. But, if we do understand it to mean this, then we have to follow this by saying that “some, or not all” spiritual gifts are placed in the church.

Second, if we take the approach that using the word some in this passage is simply a manner of speaking, then we also need to note that it definitely does not say all gifts are in the church. There is no case here for any absolutes. Recently I talked to a friend who attended a meeting outside of the Church of God of Prophecy where someone was exercised in the gift of prophecy. This friend, a true child of God and very wise, indicated that what was happening was real. Our experience tells us that there are people outside of the church who are moved on by the Spirit with gifts that glorify God.

The thinking of some has been that if someone seems to be exercising a spiritual gift outside of the church, they must be a fraud. But I can’t imagine that every miracle, every healing, every prophecy, every tongue, etc. that is seen outside of the Church of God of Prophecy is fake. God is not obligated to work only within the church. He is not restrained from working outside of one organization.

Experience teaches us that while there are those who do act fraudulently, there are others who are sincere and effective in their ministries because of God’s anointing. We must be very careful in how we judge others. Certainly, we must be able to discern the spirits, judging when satan or flesh is moving instead of God. But if it is God, “forbid him not (His words, not mine.)”

For some of us, this leaves us with a dilemma. After all, we have declared that spiritual gifts exist only in the church. We have it in writing, thus signifying our sincerity and commitment to this idea. If this is wrong., then we must reevaluate our stand. As I have said many times, reevaluation is acceptable, even desirable. We don’t know everything there is to know about God and the Bible. As the church, we must always be willing to reevaluate our doctrine. In fact, the nature of the church as a living organism obligates us to constantly seek God for more truth, even if the truth He reveals corrects heretofore accepted errors.

But if the gifts exist outside of the church, as well as inside, is there any special part the church must play regarding the gifts? Paul constantly relates the gifts to the church. Why is that?

In In Search of the Church,[3] I wrote about the trend toward independent ministries. In religious circles, we idolize those who go out into ministry and exercise what God has given them to reach lost souls. But I also wrote about how difficult this must be. A minister comes into town and holds a crusade. He preaches, people get saved. Then, he leaves town. He may feel good about the professions of faith, but unless he has a previous relationship with the church where he preaches or with the churches in that town, he can never be quite sure that these new sheep are still being fed. Of course, there is a gift of pastoring, but how can this evangelist be sure that people are being pastored, shepherded, and not slaughtered by wolves. How can he be certain that these people are cared for?

Many ministries have addressed this issue by inviting local churches to take part in the invitation portion of the services by witnessing and then guiding the new converts toward their local churches. But anyone can join this effort. Add to this the fact that you have different churches preaching different, and often contradictory, things, and you have a hodgepodge of Calvinists, Armenians, Wesleyans, Lutherans, Tomlinsonians, and even possible some cultists who have blended into the local religious scene. I am sure that most participants would be well meaning. Few would intentionally lead anyone astray. But a prior relationship with the local church or churches, a real connection, could play a big part in insuring that these new converts will become mature Christians.

Some ministries of the type I have depicted might encourage those assisting in the services to resist the tendency to delve into much doctrine of the divisive type. But remember that our doctrine is a reflection of what we believe about Christ. Telling a ministry to leave their doctrine at home would be like telling a fireman to put out a fire without his fire hose. I understand that all doctrine does not have a place at the altar, but the church must be able to answer questions backed up by the truth of the Word. When we work with someone in the altar, one person talks about salvation, another talks about being predestined to salvation, another discusses Hell, while still another may be exhorting the seeker to still deeper experiences such as sanctification. No, it is almost impossible to leave doctrine at home. Besides, if this convert is to be brought into the local fold, they will hear much doctrine. This is one of the things churches disseminate.

I happen to believe the church has a very special part to play when it comes to spiritual gifts. Paul wrote

He is describing here what happens when spiritual gifts are used within the context of the local church. In a church, there are preachers, pastors (these aren’t necessarily the same), teachers, prophets, those who have the gift referred to as helps, administrators, miracle workers, singers, etc. Not every church has the same configuration. But each church, if it has people, has the potential for using gifts in an effective manner. If these are present, you have several jobs getting done. Furthermore, you have different gifts being used to work through the local church to reach the lost souls in the area.

Typically, we send evangelists away from the local body to preach. But what if they stayed and worked in the community preaching to the lost and dying? What if each local church was able to have a crusade where one preached, another sang, someone else worked the business end of things, still another worked in the altar, and so on and so forth? What would happen is we would see souls saved, then we could bring them in to the church, not send them in to the church, for training and fellowship. Local churches would grow and could then support these evangelists in fulltime ministry. Those gifted in things that are best used fulltime would have the means to do so. Most importantly, people would get saved and stay saved as they are guided into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.

The church does indeed play a gigantic role in the exercising of spiritual gifts. I encourage the church to admit the presence of spiritual gifts outside the church, then take her place as a place where the gifts can be operated smoothly and more effectively than they are currently being operated. People need the Lord, we have the Word, and we have the tools. May God use those tools in and through us!

[1]Important Bible Truths (Cleveland, TN, White Wing Publishing House and Press) p. 6.

[3] J. Rob Hutto, In Search of the Church (Villa Rica, GA: J. Rob Hutto, 2003) pp. 52-57.