Sermon Tone Analysis

OKLAHOMA BAPTIST UNIVERSITYMINISTRY TRAINING INSTITUTE

 

KEY TEXTS IN THE STUDY

OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS

 

TERM PAPER SUBMITTED TO

DR.

DENNIS BOOMER

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

COURSE

CHRISTIAN DOCTRINES

REL 3413

 

 

 

 

BY

STEVEN PATRICK MASTERS

December 6, 2007

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INTRODUCTION

 

Spiritual gifts are an important part of the church’s ministry.

The subject of spiritual gifts has caused no small amount of controversy over the years.

Some put a large emphasis on “sign” gifts or often called “charismatic” gifts.

They overemphasize some gifts and underemphasize others.

As a result, many Christians are at a loss as to how one should look at spiritual gifts.

In order to engage in this topic one must understand what the Bible says about spiritual gifts.

For the purposes of this paper, the scriptural material will come from the Pauline epistles.

This writer has attempted to examine three key texts concerning spiritual gifts: Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Corinthians 12.  From these texts, several observations concerning the nature of spiritual gifts and their application have been made.

PRIMARY TEXTS

 

Regarding  Paul’ treatment of  spiritual gifts there are three primary texts that should be considered, Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12,  and Ephesians 4..

In this section each of these texts will be examined..  Since 1 Corinthians contains the largest amount of material concerning spiritual gifts, this material will examined last.

Romans 12

            In his epistle to the Romans, Paul writes to them concerning how they should conduct themselves as members of the body of Christ.

This is a recurring theme throughout the Pauline epistles and should not be missed: the conduct of believers is very important (Rom 12:1-2; c.f. Eph 4:1; Phil 1:27; Col 1:10; 1 Thes 2:12).

He draws out a distinction between the kind of thought they should have concerning themselves (sober judgment) as opposed to an inappropriate thought process (thinking more highly of themselves than they ought).

The section being treated here is verses 3-8, on their attitude toward themselves and each other in the church.

Paul points out in verse 9 that love should be genuine.

No matter what spiritual gift one possesses, love should be the overarching principle behind their use.

Paul makes this point very clear in 1 Corinthians, transitioning from discussing the varieties of spiritual gifts given to the church (1 Cor 12) to how they should be exercised within the church (1 Cor 14), he expounds on the issue of love as the quintessential attribute to be shown when using one’s spiritual gifts (1 Cor 13).

Paul makes it clear to the Roman church that love cannot be divorced from the subject of spiritual gifts (Rom 12:9; c.f. Eph 4:16).

Paul urges the believers to think of themselves in accordance with the measure of faith given them by God (Rom 12:3).

Paul uses the illustration of the body to explain the characteristics of the body of Christ (Rom 12: 4-5).

It is by the grace of God that gifts are allotted to the members of the body and are to be exercised in accordance with the measure of their faith (Rom 12:6).

Note that in this verse, the gifts given to the church are to be exercised in “proportion of [each person’s] faith”.

From verses 6b-8 Paul lists several gifts: prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and showing mercy.

As will be clear from the other tests to be examined, Paul does not attempt to give a list of every spiritual gift given by God, but seeks to point out that no matter what gift one possesses, it should be practiced in accordance with the faith given by God.

There is an interesting connection between verses 3 and 6.

In verse 3, Paul refers to “the grace given” to him by God and then in verse 6 mentions “the grace given” to all of them.

Robert Mounce writes, “His appointment as an apostle was a special act of divine favor.

He called on his readers not to entertain an inflated view of their own importance.

Rather, they should model the humility that places the rights and welfare of others above their own…”[1]  There is no qualitative difference between the “divine favor” given to Paul as an apostle and to the members of the church in Rome.

In the /Word Biblical Commentary, /commentator James Dunn notes this distinction that the cari" “grace” given to Paul “is no different in kind from the “grace given” to them too.”[2]

Each person is given grace by God to fulfill the task given them by God.

Paul, here, is speaking from the authority of he divine grace of being an apostle.

When he says that they too have been “given” grace, he does not mean that they have been give /the same/ grace that he was given but that each has been given “or allotted metron pivstew" “a measure of faith.”

Dunn notes “The fact that the metron is given to each does not imply that all have the same metron” [emphasis his].[3]

The /Pulpit /Commentary notes that the phrase “a measure of faith” is significant.

Instead of saying “a measure of grace” “[it] seems to be because by faith we become /receptive/ of the grace given to each of us.”[4]

Even though every believer has been given grace from God as believers, the measure of faith that each has is different and will impact how one carries out the various cavrismata “gifts” given by God.

This is seen in verses 6b-8 where Paul expresses that each believer should exercise the gifts given them to the fullest measure, trusting God to supply what He has freely bestowed on His servants.

Verse 4 and 5 note that while all are members of “one body” not all members serve the same “function.”

Robert Mounce writes, “The Christian faith is essentially a corporate experience.

Although each member has come to faith by a separate and individual act of faith, the believing community lives out its Christian experience in fellowship with one another.”[5]

In verse 6 the phrase “each of us is to exercise them [gifts] accordingly” (NASB), is not in the Greek text but is supplied form the context, namely the subject being discussed in verse 3.  The verse says “ἔχοντες δὲ χαρίσματα κατὰ τὴν χάριν τὴν δοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν διάφορα” (UBS4)[6] and can be translated, “But we have differing gifts according to the grace given to us” (author’s translation).

Ephesians 4

            In Ephesians 4, Paul discusses four specific ministries to the church, recognizing that they are spiritually given to individuals to serve a specific role.

He begins the discussion in verse 7 by identifying that the source of these gifts is Christ.

Christ gave gifts according to His grace.

He ascended into heaven that His gifts would be imparted upon believers (Eph 4:8-10).

He gave some the gift of apostleship, some to be a prophet, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers (Eph 4:11) for the purpose of equipping and building up the body of Christ (Eph 4:12).

Furthermore, these offices were given to bring the body of Christ into unity and maturity (Eph 4:13).

Because of this the believers now possessed sound doctrine which was given by God through these offices and as such they should not be deceived by false teachers (Eph 4:14).

They should be united together in love, fulfilling their specific responsibilities as members of the body of Christ (Eph 4:15-16).

Verse 7 is very close to what Paul said in Romans 12:3, "Ἑνὶ δὲ ἑκάστῳ ἡμῶν ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τῆς δωρεᾶς τοῦ Χριστοῦ" (UBS4).[7]

Translated this verse reads, “And to each of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.”

Romans 12:3 notes that each believer has been given a “measure of faith”; here Paul states that the grace given to believers is κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τῆς δωρεᾶς τοῦ Χριστοῦ “according to the measure of the gift of Christ”.

Arthur Patzia comments on this phrase, “Though grace suggests the unlimited favor of God, this phrase shows that, as it was given to each individual, it does have limitations.

No one person has all the gifts required for the body; rather, the gifts of each member are supplemented by the gifts of all members.”[8]

The verb ἐδόθη “was given” is in the aorist passive tense, indicating that this action took place in the past at some undefined point.

Notice also the use of ἔδωκεν “he gave” in verses 8 and 11, which are in the aorist active.

The use of this verb in two different voices indicates that it is Christ who “gave” grace to men.

Andrew Lincoln observes that Paul picks up his usage of the verb ἐδόθη (verse 7) and ἔδωκεν (verse 11) from the quotation of Psalm 68:18 in verse 8.[9]  Lincoln writes, “The unity of the Church…is now shown to be that of an organism in which Christ’s sovereign distribution of grace produces the diversity.”[10]

In /The/ /Pulpit Commentary/ the following comment is made,/ /“”Grace” does not refer merely to supernatural gifts, but also to the ordinary spiritual gifts of men.

These are varied, because what each gets he gets for the good of the rest; the Church is a fellowship or brotherhood, where each has an interest in all and all in each, and is bound to act accordingly.”[11]

In verse 8, Paul quotes from Psalm 68:18 in which Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the Law from God.  Paul is capturing this imagery and applying it to Christ’s ascension into heaven after His resurrection.[12]

Moses ascended the mountain to receive the Law and after receiving it descended the mountain to give it to the people.

Here Paul takes this imagery to show how Christ ascended into heaven in order to give “gifts” to His Church (Eph 4:9-10).

In verse11, Paul applies this to the specific giving of certain offices to the Church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor~/teachers.

Like Moses giving the Law to the nation of Israel for their instruction, so too are those who have been given these specific tasks to instruct the whole body so that it will be fully equipped (Eph 4:12).

Even though Paul mentions four specific ministries here, this does not preclude other gifts to the church (as has been seen in Rom 12:3-8; c.f. 1 Cor 12-14).

In verse 7, Paul identifies that it is Christ who has “given” gifts to men, some of them being apostils, prophets, evangelists, and pastor~/teachers, but all are given specific gifts to be used fro the “building up of the body of Christ” as is evidenced by Paul’s assertion “we are to grow up” (Eph 4:15).

This idea is furthered in verse 16 where Paul points out that the body of Christ is “held together by what every joint supplies.”

Special consideration needs to be made concerning the interpretation of verse 11.

The four ministries mentioned in this verse have cause much debate over the years.

As Patzia observes, there are numerous issues at work which make interpretation difficult.[13]

He observes “[it] is a fairly well accepted theory that the “charismatic” leadership of the church was gradually replaced by regulated offices (e.g.

elders, bishops, deacons).”[14]

In Ephesians 2:20, Paul mentions that the church was built on “the foundation of the apostles and [the] prophets”.

Here in Ephesians 4:11, Paul again mentions “apostles” and “prophets”.

The question that arises is whether or not these offices are still in effect today?

As Patzia notes the accepted theory is that these offices served a specific function in the establishing of the church and once the church was established, these offices were no longer needed.

It is important to note God is not giving new revelation today.

The cannon of Scripture is closed and it is the contention of this writer that these offices do not exist today.

While it might be argued that these offices may have changed their function after the cannon was closed, one cannot ignore their original significance to the church.

Apostles were eye witnesses of Jesus Christ’s life and resurrection.

They were sent out as messengers of Christ.[15]