The Spirit Gives Us Gifts
In Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, Paul refers to the local church as a body. He reminds us that bodies are made of different parts, and that each of these parts has a function to carry out in order for the body to be functional and successful. In both of these chapters, he lists a series of gifts of the Spirit that are found in the church.
From Romans 12:6-8, these gifts are listed as 1) prophesy; 2) service; 3) encouraging; 4) giving; 5) leadership/administration; and 6) mercy. In 1 Corinthians 12:7-10, we can add these gifts to the list: 1) wisdom; 2) knowledge; 3) faith; 4) healing; 5) miraculous powers; 6) discernment; 7) speaking in tongues; and 8) interpretation. Paul also lists prophecy in the Corinthians passage. All told, there are 14 gifts of the Spirit, designed to help the church function properly and grow in grace and wisdom.
There are some who believe that God graces us each with one gift of the Spirit. There are others who believe God can grace us with more than one, but usually no more than three. I’m not sure where I stand on this matter. I want to fall on the “one per person” side, but I’ve known too many people that are hard to pin down in their gift, possibly because they exhibit more than one. At this time, I think it’s important to realize that the gifts of the Spirit are given to each Christian, and, again, that these gifts are not given for bragging rights but for service. God uses these gifts to allow each local church to function more efficiently, with a unity that is akin to the unity found in our own bodies.
I will say in regard to the gift of tongues and interpretation that I think there are two different meanings to the speaking in tongues. In Acts, there are numerous accounts that stress people, being filled with the Holy Spirit, as speaking in tongues (Acts 2; 8:14-17; 10:44-48). I believe these are distinguished from the “tongues” mentioned in 1 Corinthians. In Corinth, Paul insisted that any tongues spoken in worship had to also have an interpreter present so that all would understand the message of the tongues. Paul’s instructions seems to also imply that this gift of tongues can be controlled by the one so gifted.
In Acts 2, there was no need for an interpreter, with each person seeming to understand the words as they were spoken in their language. Unless God empowered each person in crowd there with a personal gift of interpretation (which, while not impossible, seems unlikely and inconsistent with the entirety of the New Testament), it means the disciples in the upper room were speaking known languages, not “heavenly” languages. The repetition of the coming of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues in Acts 8 (to the Samaritans) and Acts 10 (to the Gentiles) was to show the Jerusalem church that the Holy Spirit was not exclusive to Jewish converts only, but to all who believe in Christ. In each of these instances, the speaking in tongues seemed to be spontaneous and uncontrollable.
The Spirit Gives Power
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” (Acts 1:8a).
“For God did not give us a Spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).
In Acts 3, Peter and John were going to the Temple for their time of prayer. As they were entering the Temple area, they came upon a man who had been crippled from birth. As the disciples came to the man, they slowed. The man called out to them, asking for money. Instead, Peter looked him in the eye and said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Peter helped him to his feet, and the man began to walk.
How did Peter do this? Obviously, Peter didn’t. It was God working in Peter through the Holy Spirit that brought healing to the man.
Throughout the Bible, in both Old Testament and New, the Spirit is an empowering presence. It is the Spirit within Samson that gave him his feats of strength. It was only when the Spirit left him that he became like anyone else. The Philistines overpowered him, captured him and displayed him for the crowds. There are other examples in the Bible where the Spirit enables people to do amazing things.
The main point of this is that the Spirit of God is an empowering presence. Those who are filled with this Spirit—and by that I mean everyone who is a follower of Christ—has no reason to think we are incapable of doing something if God tells us to do it.
The key phrase is “if God tells us to do it.” God does not give us instructions to do something without also equipping us to do it. And, again, the key to the power of the Spirit is by surrendering ourselves—the practice of self-control—to Him, in order that He can work through us. When we “do things for God,” we have to wonder who deserves the credit. I think the time Moses killed the Egyptian, he thought he was doing something for God. Clearly, he wasn’t, and it cost him 40 years of tending his father-in-law’s goats before God deemed him ready to yield to God’s working through him.
The power of the Holy Spirit is real, but the timing of God is always also a part of this power. We can best serve the Lord by listening to His direction, trusting His Spirit and letting Him work through us.
What Does It Mean to “Quench the Holy Spirit?”
The admonition “do not put out the Spirit’s fire” or “do not quench the Holy Spirit” is found only in 1 Thessalonians 5:19. It comes in the midst of a series of one-sentence instructions to the church at Thessalonica, and I believe the best way to understand the admonition from Paul is to keep it in context. We need to pay attention to the other instructions in which the phrase is planted, since the other phrases seem to be tied to each other.
The first group of instructions is to 1) be joyful always; 2) pray continually; and 3) give thanks in all circumstances. If one is to be joyful always, he or she must be aware of God’s presence and activity in all circumstances. The only way to do that is to be in constant communication with the Father. We do that through prayer. Paul emphasizes the importance of this attitude and way of living by reminding us that it is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.
Then comes the phrase, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire” (2 Thessalonians 5:19). It is followed by the following instructions, which again seem to interconnect. We are to 1) not treat prophecy with contempt; 2) test everything; 3) hold on to the good and 4) avoid every kind of evil.
The person who treats prophecies with contempt is the person who has no regard to God’s Word and His revelation. It is upon God’s revelation that the Church is built (see Matthew 16:17-18). By the same token, we are not called to be gullible—we are not to treat every prophecy that comes our way as if they all come from God. (Remember Jesus’ warning to be wary of false prophets in Matthew 7.) How do we know if a prophecy is true and God-given? We test it. If it’s from God, we hold on to it. If it’s not from God, we get rid of it and denounce it for what it is.
Here’s an interesting passage—Acts 16:16-18—that speak to the validity of prophecy. While in Philippi in Macedonia, Paul and Silas were going to a place of prayer when they were met by a slave girl who was possessed by a spirit that, according to the Bible, allowed her to predict the future. She followed Paul and Silas around. Her message? “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you how to be saved” (v. 17). She did this for several days. Finally, Paul had had enough and he cast out the demon within her.
Why? Look at her message. Everything she said was true regarding Paul and Silas. The problem was her message wasn’t from God, but from a demon. Even though her words were true, her “spirit” was false. Ultimately, only trouble could come from holding on to her words, and that’s why Paul acted as he did.
So how do we quench the Spirit, or put out the Spirit’s fire? The first set of instructions tells us the way to do so is to fail to walk closely with the Lord. When we fail to walk with Him in prayer, giving thanks in all circumstances and enabling us to live joyfully, then we quench the Spirit. When we fail to heed His words, when we fail to embrace His truth and reject that which is false, we quench the Spirit. When we combine these items—failing to prayerfully consider God’s acts and His revelations—then we hinder the work of the Holy Spirit.
When I was in college, I heard someone describe it in this way. He compared it to an AM radio signal. As we drive around the city where the station is located, the signal is strong and static-free. It’s when we leave the city and start driving away from it that the signal becomes weaker and the static increases. The further we get from the signal, the poorer the quality, until, finally, the signal disappears.
The same is true of our walk with God. The closer we walk with Him, the stronger is our awareness of the Spirit’s leadership; the further we walk from Him, the less we grasp the Spirit’s power and presence. Hence, by walking away from God and seeking our own will instead of His, we quench the Spirit.
Final Thoughts
We are foolish to reduce the Holy Spirit to a “special guest star” status in our understanding and in our lives. We cannot fully grasp the fullness of the Christian life without having a clearer appreciation for all that the Spirit does for us and through us. We would do well to give Him the equal billing of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
© 2018 Glynn Beaty