Where are the Gifts?
"Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy (1 Corinthians
14:1)
We need all the Spiritual Gifts in the church. Most Christians who say they believe the gifts of the Spirit are for today do not pursue what are called the power gifts ( faith, healing and working of miracles) and the
revelatory gifts (prophecy, discernment, wisdom, and
knowledge). Save for those in the charismatic or pentecostal churches, many
mainstream, American Christians shuts their eyes to these gifts.
Roughly 100 million Americans consider themselves to be "evangelical"
[1]. Typically, evangelicals emphasize the need to be born again
in order to enter the Kingdom of God, (conversionism), the need to spread the
gospel (activism), the infallibility of Scripture (biblicism) and the
importance of the crucifixion (crucicentrism) [2]. I affirm all of
these beliefs, but some believers never move past these core tenets into other aspects of the faith. As you can see, evangelicals
focus mainly on the cross but some forget what happens next:
after the cross was a resurrection of power, and after that, a baptism
of the Spirit in power (Acts 1:8).
Powerless
Where is the power in American Christianity? Our churches are "dry", with administrations that retain tight control over the services while the Holy Spirit is ignored, or worse quenched. Furthermore, despite Paul's words in Ephesians 4:11-12 prophets and apostles are non-existent, and pastors shoulder most of the burden to lead the church. According to Proverbs 29:18, where there is no revelation (prophetic vision) the people perish. This is true of churches that neglect the power and revelatory gifts. Because only some gifts are understood or welcomed, the Holy Spirit is restricted and limited: when there is no faith or expectation in a service, the Spirit cannot move freely and cannot do mighty miracles (Matt. 13:58). Therefore, the people metaphorically perish, unable to enter into the life and excitement these gifts would bring to the church. Contrarily, miracles abound in Argentina and across the African continent. These people are raised in a culture that affirms the spiritual world. They believe in the power of the supernatural because it is usually their only hope to overcome difficult circumstances. In contrast to these believers, we Americans are wealthy and well fed; we have so many comforts, opportunities and medicines it becomes easy to forget that God is a God of healing and miracles. Sadly, most evangelicals neither look a thing like the believers in Acts, nor do they desire to do so. "Casting out demons? Healing the sick---by the laying on of hands? That was for Jesus only---or that was for the apostles", they say. But in Mark chapter 16, Jesus said:
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.
Functionally Cessationist?
Most of us, even cessationist theologians, uphold the Great Commission. So why not the rest of this passage? Jesus says signs will follow those who believe (including you and me), not just the apostles. Granted, a person may not experience all these signs, but he should at least exhibit one, whether it be driving out demons (something every believer can do) or experiencing some form of supernatural protection (v.18). All of the spiritual gifts and manifestations are important aspects of the faith that only few believers currently experience. This
is in effect creates a powerless church, a powerless
Christianity. When did Christianity become more about a preacher's eloquent words, or our own talents, rather than the Spirit's leading? Let's experience the Holy Spirit's presence to the full. Let's not act like cessationists. Our churches should encourage even the lowliest believer to desire all the gifts. The flock should be taught about gifts such as prophecy, exhorted about visions and dreams (Joel 2:28), encouraged to even believe God could do a miracle through them. We can no longer be double-minded. If we believe 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, we must Stop being functionally cessationist--for as far as the Bible is concerned every gift of the Spirit is in operation until we are perfected, until Jesus returns (Ephesians 4:11-12). Whether God ultimately gives you these gifts is unimportant but it is the faith, the desire to see every gift flourish in the church that is required(1Cor.14:1). Therefore let us eagerly desire the gifts (by praying for them), especially those that build up the church (1 Cor. 14:12). For the Kingdom of Heaven is not a matter of talk but power (1 Cor. 4:20).
[1] http://www.wheaton.edu/ISAE/Defining-Evangelicalism/How-Many-Are-There
[2] Bebbington, D. W. (1989) Evangelicals in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s London, Unwin
