Q37. Spiritual Gifts

[Krissi]

This question cuts to the nub of what it means to be called, that is, our individual purpose in His kingdom.

If natural and spiritual gifts were the same, unbelievers and believers could and would do the same things. There would be no difference between what my father (an atheist) has done with his life and what I hope to do with what remains of mine. We have similar natural gifts, after all.

Natural gifts are genetic, baked into our inner code. We can choose to develop these gifts, if given the opportunity ... or not. Everyone has natural gifts, to varying degrees. Yet though we were created with certain abilities, what Christians seek is a special calling, purpose, or assignment that takes us beyond the natural. We want to be used by God. Having written this, I know it's quite possible to be used by God in our everyday jobs and homes, and in that case, what separates Christians from unbelievers is motivation and diligence – we work as unto the Lord. I think, looking around, that this is the norm.  

Note that natural gifts can be used AGAINST God. This happens quite often in politics, for example, when a talented individual who speaks well, is well-educated and socially manipulative, rises through the ranks to elected office, and then uses his little perch of power to enact policies that hurt the ability of Christians to live out their moral lives or witness to others. 

There must be something qualitatively different about spiritual gifts, but I can't put my finger on it. And, as Pastor Ralph said, there must be some sort of connection between them. God does use extremely NATURALLY gifted men, often, to further His interests. Paul was no slouch, for example. Neither was Isaiah. But God also uses men whose gifts and background seem limited -- Elijah comes to mind as does John the Baptist and many of the disciples. It's not that God prefers ordinary men from humble backgrounds, as my pastor recently said, because He also uses extraordinary men with extraordinary gifts. I just don't like the idea that people who are smart, athletic, educated, good-looking, and naturally primed for success in the world are also primed for success in the church. This is not true ... all the time. 

What matters must be spiritual giftedness.  Great men and women in the Bible, those God used in amazing ways, are alike only in their spiritual giftedness, not their natural gifts.

 

[Janzie]

On 9/4/2006 at 8:48 AM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q37. (Ephesians 4:7-10) Who gives spiritual gifts? Can our "natural" talents be related to our "spiritual" gifts? How? What is the difference between a natural God-given talent and a spiritual gift?

God gives spiritual gifts and natural.  Natural talents are gifts which God has given us and we can use them to bless others but they are performed and developed by us.  Spiritual gifts are gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit and anointed by the Lord to bless and minister to the body of Christ.

[Jonathan Edwards]

Christ is the great Source of grace, Christ bestows ordinary and extraordinary gifts.

God has "charismata" for the believers.   However, these gifts of the Spirit may lay dormant for years.   The temperament and the church situations that people are in--has a great deal to with it.   If a person was imbued with cessationist theology for years, this person will not have the faith to believe for physical healing and mass conversions--signs and wonders to be more precise.

Charismatic gifts as explained in 1 Corinthians as supernatural endowments. This is also taught in the Acts of the Apostles.   Truly Pentecost was the beginning of the presence of signs and wonders in the early Church.   It was the Holy Spirit that refined the characters of Peter and the those in the Upper Room.  The inward work of sanctification made its outworking in the lives of the those in the Upper Room.

[Old Jerry]

God gives us our spiritual gifts. Our “natural” talents is our “spiritual” gifts. All we have to do is develop it and make it more useful. As far as I can see there is no difference between a natural God-given talent and a spiritual gift. God has given us all are spiritual gifts.

[Carol J]

Maybe we tend to define gifts too narrowly. I am much older now, and as I look back over my life, I see that many of my "gifts" came in the form of experiences. When I went to college, I studied subjects that perhaps drew me to them because of the economic opportunities they offered. I visited places that resulted in my knowledge of those places being perceived as "gifts". When each one of us, as Jesus people, considers our life experiences, we should pray for the Lord to present us with opportunities to serve him, using the "gift" of our life experience in that service. I am not a musician or an artist and do not have these types of talents; however, I have 7 decades of rich life experiences - losing loved ones enables me to show compassion to others in similar situations, learning subjects that can be used in the service of the church, making sad mistakes in life and growing from the lessons allows me insights others might not have. I hear so often from my brothers and sisters in Christ that "I have no gift". If you have lived a long life and are still loving the Lord, you have gifts! May each one of us offer what we have, be it small gifts or magnificent gifts,  to the Lord. The key is to give what we have.