(This post is slightly adapted from the sermon titled “God in His gifts: Why the gifts of God are inseparable from the grace of God” preached on March 23, 2025 at Elim Grace Church)
What if I asked you to repeat after me, “I’m charismatic.” Would you? Some of you would be hesitant. It’s understandable. I’ve had to wrestle through what it means to be charismatic or to believe in the ongoing gifts of the Spirit. But at 46 years of age, I’ve arrived at a personal and pastoral conviction. Do I believe the gifts are available for today? I do. But if I drill down even deeper, do I believe the gifts are necessary for today? I must.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
There are three questions that arise from what Paul is a saying.
(1) AM I GIFTED?
How many of you want to be better and do better? In marriage, family, work, rest, play. If you’re a Christian, do you want to go deeper in knowing God, becoming like Christ, walking with the Holy Spirit? Who is content (is settling) with the degree of knowledge and power of God at work in their lives? Who has asked God for more? Who has wanted those around them to see Jesus, to come to Jesus, to know the love of God for them in Jesus? If the answer is yes, you might be charismatic.
The word Paul uses for gifts, “charisma,” refers to a gracious work of God or something God’s grace has bestowed. Anything God has done in your life is a “charisma”. “From eternal life to deliverance from physical death. Even “celibacy” is a “charisma” (1 Corinthians 7:7). “Charismatic” comes from charisma. So, if you are the recipient of a gracious work of God or something God’s grace has bestowed, then you are “charismatic” – one who is graced and gifted by God. You are “worked within” and “bestowed upon”. You are loved and favored and charisd.
This definition matters. Often, we hear “charismatic” and only picture someone loud and flashy. Weird and out of touch with normal life. Always engaged in some highly specific and unusual spiritual activity, like speaking in tongues or prophesying. We imagine them praying in tongues over their dinner or kids at bedtime.
But, a more historically accurate and Biblically informed definition, would be this. A Charismatic describes him/herself as having been “renewed in the Spirit,” “blessed in the Spirit”. As experiencing the Spirit’s abiding presence and energizing power. So, if at any point during the day or night you find yourself asking God for help or strength or joy or power or wisdom, you are asking for the ongoing and abiding presence and power of the Spirit of Christ. You are charismatic if you believe in the ongoing necessity of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in your life.
And a key thing I’m anxious to point out is that the ongoing presence and power of the Spirit in your life (1) is evidenced by a hunger not for an experience or a gift of God, but for God Himself and (2) is manifested not in the magnitude of your gifts, but in their usefulness to the local/larger Body of Christ.
(2) HOW AND WHY AM I GIFTED?
What are the charisma? First, they are not “God and His gifts” but “God in His gifts”. 1 Corinthians 12:7 says “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Say, “I’m charismatic”. Why? How? Because to you has been given the manifestation of the Spirit through His gifts for the building up of the Body of Christ. In other words, to receive the Spirit is to receive the gifts of (belonging to) the Spirit. To reject the gifts is to reject the Spirit of the Gifts. Now, you and I may not do this conscientiously, but our resistance can be a form of hinderance, even quenching.
You cannot separate your Christian walk from Christ anymore than you can from His Spirit. Therefore, you cannot separate your living out the Christ-life apart from the ongoing and abiding presence and power of the Spirit. So I’m suggesting that apart from the gifts of the Spirit, or the Spirit of the Gifts, we cannot accomplish all that is possible for us in Christ. This is not the same as me saying unless you prophesy or heal or speak in tongues. I’m saying we must live with open eyes and ears and hands and hearts to all that the Spirit wants to work in us and bestow upon us in His wisdom and love.
Second, what are the charisma? Paul lists nine here in 1 Corinthians 12:7-10. These nine are controversial, and for good or bad define (mis-define) what a Charismatic is. The Nine are: “word of wisdom, of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, distinguishing of spirits, tongues and interpretation of those tongues.”
There are other spiritual gifts listed in Romans, such as mercy, teaching, exhortation, leadership, and similar ones. They are easier to understand and don’t require as much explanation (or convincing). All gifts are of “the same God” (1 Cor 12:6) and all are equally useful and necessary. But not all of them make sense to our mind and heart. The gifts of the Spirit produce good works that radiate the glory of God to the world. But the gifts of the Spirit also produce a conviction on the world that the God of all Glory knows me personally. When encouraging the prophetic gift to be used corporately, Paul lists one of its benefits or blessings to be for the non-believer. “The secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.” (1 Corinthians 14:25).
I am urging us to seek and to operate in all the gifts of the Spirit and to especially not neglect these nine because they are more controversial and harder to explain or swallow. Nobody has ever said the spiritual gift of mercy or teaching or leadership has ceased. I’ve never seen that book written. I’ve never heard that case presented. So what makes these gifts essential today for the church but not the others?
In Acts 2:17-21, the Holy Spirit falls on the early church. Peter rises to preach and quotes the prophet Joel (2:28):
“And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy… And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
We cannot accept the last part as true for today – “all who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” – but say the first part is not true for today – “your sons and your daughters shall prophesy”. In fact, I would go further. I would argue that the context makes clear that a reason people will be call upon the name of the Lord” is precisely because the gifts of the Spirit are in operation. Which brings us to the following.
- Third, what are the gifts for?
“Charisma” is one word used for Spiritual gifts. Again, it reflects Paul’s emphasis that such capacities are the product of God’s gracious en-abling! What this means is that all gifts are charismatic, not just tongues, healings and miracles, but also helping and serving and giving, So, again, in one sense, all Christians are charismatic.
But there are two other words (I owe the following understanding to Sam Storms):
Diakonia (dee-ah-kon-EE-ah)
If charisma points us to the origin of spiritual gifts, diakonia, often translated “ministries,” points to their purpose.
All spiritual gifts are designed to serve and help others. Spiritual gifts are less privileges than responsibilities. Gifts are not for personal adornment, endorsement, status, power, popularity or building your online platform.
Energema (en-ER-gay-mah)
Spiritual gifts are also described by the term energema. It points to Paul’s emphasis on gifts as the effect or fruit or product of divine power. All spiritual gifts are energized by the power of the Holy Spirit in and through the believer. Here in 1 Corinthians 12:6, Paul wrote, “and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers (or works) them all in everyone”. Gifts, then, are the concrete, tangible operations of divine energy through individual believers.
Take note that Paul’s emphasis is on the fact that it is one and the same Spirit who is the source of the multiplicity of gifts. It stands as a strong corrective to any form of elitism. Gifts come “through the Spirit…according to the same Spirit..by the same Spirit…by the one Spirit” (vv. 8-9). Indeed, “All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” (vv. 11)
So what are all the gifts for:
“All spiritual gifts (charismata) are acts of service or ministry (diakonia), which are produced (energema) through us by the triune God. So a spiritual gift is a God-given and, therefore, gracious capacity to serve the Body of Christ. It is a divinely empowered or spiritually energized potential to minister to the Body of Christ by communicating, the knowledge, power and love of Jesus.” (Sam Storms)
The essence of being charismatic is not how spectacular you are, but how useful you are to the body of Christ. The purpose of being Charismatic is not to bring glory to ourselves but to make the glory of Jesus known!
OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE IS: All the gifts in all their dimensions and uses and applications reveal JESUS. That is why they are given to the church, the Body and Bride of Jesus. If Jesus exhibited all of the gifts of the Spirit (and I believe that He did), and if He said we will do greater works than Him, surely greater doesn’t mean less than the gifts of the Spirit.
(3) ARE THE GIFTS WORTH IT?
Paul writes that we should “not receive the grace of God in vain” (2 Corinthians 6:1), but that rather we should be “working with God”. God gives you the gifts, you give God your effort. In His sovereignty God gives us gifts; by His grace we co-labor with God. We can no more expect our hand to drive in a nail than we can the hammer to swing itself. Both hand and hammer must come together. If the work is worth it, the gifts and the tools are worth it.
The strongest man alive cannot push or punch in a nail with his hand. He needs a good hammer. The hammer delivers a concentrated, powerful force over a short period of time, which is necessary to overcome the resistance of the wood and allow the nail to penetrate, something your hand can’t achieve. All who are new creations in Christ are the recipients of the resistance obliterating power of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts.
If we lack power in our Christian life and walk, sometimes it’s because we neglect to use the gifts or the tools God’s given us. The work God has called us to is worth it – worthy of His glory. And for His work, He’s given us His gifts.
Question: Is the mess worth it?
Is your child’s mess worth it? Is your spouse’s mess worth it? Are the hard family conversations worth it? Is the work and training worth it? Is the incorporation of a new faith-based not-for-profit worth it? Is the leadership transition in a church worth it? Are all the cries from the new babies in our services and nursery worth it? Is the overcrowding worth it? Are the vocal and musical miscues worth it? Are my failed olympic lifts worth it? Are the self-imposed deadlines worth it? Are the last place finishes worth it? Is the discipline and consequence worth it? Anything worth doing is worth the mess we encounter along the way.
Question: Has the abuse made it too dangerous?
This is a valid and important question. Much damage has been done to the name of Christ and the witness of the church, not by the gifts, but by the people who operate those gifts. We don’t want our kids to get hurt. But we can’t protect them from every potentially harmful situation like climbing a tree or going down a big slide or walking to the edge of the lake or (because my son loves Finding Nemo right now) swimming to the drop off.
In Finding Nemo, a conversation takes place between Nemo’s father and his unlikely helper, Dory:
Marlin: I promised I’d never let anything happen to him.
Dory: Hmm. That’s a funny thing to promise.
Marlin: What?
Dory: Well, you can’t never let anything happen to him. Then nothing would ever happen to him. Not much fun for little Harpo.
Yes, we have to let them explore while guarding them and supporting them and guiding them. Yet, even so, we have to recognize that mistakes and miscues and accidents and messes are part of growing up. So in the same way with spiritual gifts. You can’t protect from every mistake, miscue and misuse. Or from all harm and hurt. Because, if we try to, then we’re not going to allow the gifts to be used at all because of the potentially harmful results. And where the gifts are not used, our growth and the growth of the Body is stunted.
Question: Have my mistakes disqualified me?
Those of you with any kind of gift or skill, you’re probably much more accurate today than you were 10 years ago. At least we hope so! So with spiritual gifts. You become more accurate the more faithful you are to use it and the more humble you are to learn from your mistakes. But we all start somewhere. Not at our most accurate, but sometimes at our most clumsy.
Question: How do I discover and activate my gifts?
- “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.” (12:1) Study and understand what the gifts are and why they are given. Study scripture and history, in that order. I acknowledge that, as “Charismatics,” we often lack Biblical and theological depth.
- “Pursue love”. (14:1) Love Jesus, love the Scriptures, love the church, love your family, love your neighbor. Love the things Jesus has called you to love! Remember that the context for all that Paul has to say about spiritual gifts and their operation is LOVE. The more you invest in Elim Grace, the more I will trust your gifts. The more I know you, the more I will endorse your gifts.
- “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts”. It’s a command, not a suggestion. If God in His sovereignty gives, then God in His sovereignty withholds. But you have not because you ask not. And remember, like all prayer, God either answers “Yes,” “Not now,” or “I have something else in mind.” His answer is never “No.” Earnestly desire and pursue the gifts.
- Be strong and courageous…and patient and persistent!. You get what you train for, not what you practice. I train alone in the gym, and the result is that I don’t always see where my form or technique is breaking down. In my mind, I’m perfect! So I started taking videos and showing them to… Alissa! Train patiently under the watchful eye and truthful mouth of others you trust.
- Keep pace with the Spirit. Go where He goes. Speak what He gives. Do what He commands. Neither more nor less. Neither faster nor slower. For example, the Lord might give you a prophetic word in one of our services. It will likely be short and concise. Give that only! Don’t add, “I think what the Lord is trying to say” or some other variation. Interpretation and application of the prophetic word belong to the Spirit only. We only grow in the fruit and gifts of the Spirit as we keep pace with Him, not as He keeps pace with us.
I grew up Charismatic… and then I grew out of it. I entered a season of deep suspicion, which led to a longer season of deep cynicism. But, with all sincerity, I believe Jesus was merciful towards me and in that mercy allowed me to wrestle with Him. And wrestle I did. I carry a “limp” now, a constant reminder to me of the necessity of the gifts for today. I’ve tried to pretend at times I don’t have a limp. I’ve tried to hide from people that I have a limp. But I do. The limp is a grace. A blessing. A gift.
Paul declares, “Jesus is Lord!” Actually, he says “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.” All the gifts of the Spirit operate to glorify and exalt Jesus Christ. Any gift that doesn’t is not of the Spirit. The Spirit of the Gifts comes and moves where the glory of Jesus alone is sought.
Is Jesus Lord over your life? Is Jesus Lord when we gather corporately as Elim Grace? Then He is with you and among us by His Spirit and in His gifts.
Maybe you know you have a gift, but are fearful. Maybe you believe you have a gift, but you don’t know which one. Maybe you doubt you have a gift, but want to believe God’s grace is sufficient. Maybe you are suspicious of certain gifts, but want to be open to whatever Jesus wants to do in you and give to you.
Dear Elim Grace, to grow a big people, a people big in Christ, must by necessity mean a people big in the good works of the Spirit and the good gifts of the Spirit.
His grace be with you and His grace go with you!
Pastor Jonathan