Year: 2013

Hospitality Ability to welcome and to serve, perhaps providing food and shelter to guests or strangers with love and liberality and graciousness, so that they feel ‘at home' Hospitality is referred to in Rom. 12:13 shortly after the list of spiritual gifts. Although it is not explicitly listed as a spiritual gift, it is generally recognised as such and its specific mention in the context of gifts in 1 Pet. 4:9-10 supports this view. This is a gift that many do not recognise they have. They assume that everyone is hospitable, just as they are. And yet it is one of the most valuable gifts, especially at the ‘front door' of the church, both literally and figuratively. It is a gift that communicates love and concern to the stranger and…

Giving Ability to give money, time or resources freely, generously and cheerfully to alleviate the needs of individuals and the church, and to further God's work. Giving is listed as a spiritual gift in Romans 12:8. However, it is a quality which we are all encouraged to demonstrate as taught in 2 Cor 8, 9. Indeed, giving and generosity (ie ‘excel' in giving 2 Cor 8:7) reveal our hearts, a reflection of what Jesus did for us when he gave himself. But, as a spiritual gift, there is an added dimension. I know of people, some on small pensions, who so love to give that they sacrifice their own comforts to be able to give to others. I believe that God is pleased with such people who receive grace to…

Continuing to define Spiritual gifts we now look at four more. Discerning of spirits Ability to ‘see' and identify/perceive the motivating spirit behind words, actions, events or thinking, and to judge whether such spirit is divine, human or demonic This is one of the nine gifts Paul writes about to the Corinthians (1 Cor 12:10). It is exemplified in various New Testament passages such as Acts 13:8-10 where Paul confronted the magician, Elymas, who was seeking to turn away the proconsul from following the faith and in Acts 16:16-18 where Paul cast the spirit of divination out of a slave girl who was ‘greatly annoying' him. This gift can serve to protect an individual or a church from deception and/or counterfeits of Satan. It is also used in conjunction with…

Administration Those who know me will recognise that I have often exercised this gift. However, that is not the reason for it being first on the list - I am handling the gifts alphabetically! A particular ability to organise/manage the affairs of the church or any part of its work, with skill and wisdom so that it reaches its goals safely, and functions effectively and smoothly. Based on 1 Cor 12:28 the Greek word for administration is kubernesis which parallels with kubernetes in Acts 27:11 where it is translated as ‘pilot' (nautically speaking - there were no planes in those days!). A pilot is one who navigates the vessel using his knowledge of winds, currents, tides and potential underwater hazards. But he does not set the ultimate destination; that is…

How many spiritual gifts are there? When teaching on this subject I sometimes get people to give me a guesstimate. There is usually a huge variation; some say nine (probably reflecting 1 Cor 12:8-10), others fifteen (adding another six from Rom 12:7-8). But what about the fivefold gifts of Eph 4:11 which would take us to twenty? We could go on referencing other passages (and will do so later) but it is hard to put a definitive answer to the question about ‘how many?'. Quite simply, some passages, such as those cited above, explicitly or implicitly refer to the Spirit giving gifts e.g. ‘To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.' (1 Cor 12:7), ‘Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,…

Fulfilling potential Recently I was reading the parable of the barren fig tree (Lk 13:6-9). Although the owner condemned it for not producing figs, and told the vinedresser to remove it, the vinedresser pleaded a stay of execution, asking permission to tend the tree particularly carefully and to see if it produced figs the following season. As I reflected on this parable it occurred to me there is a parallel with us and the role leadership should have in our lives. We each have potential which God has implanted. However, frequently we do not fully achieve it. Jesus does not condemn us to being ‘cut down' for being unfruitful yet I felt that this story showed me something of a leader's responsibility, namely to help us recognise our potential and…