[Note: I took a break from writing for 6 weeks due to travel and suffering from a kidney stone. I realized it’s harder to think and write when a stone is eating your brain to stay alive. However, the Lord really blessed and healed me. You can laugh, cry, and rejoice with me through the story that I wrote here called “My 4mm Miracle.” Thanks for praying through it all with me and also for really missing these articles 😉 ]
Zest
The Gifts are not the Gospel
This is such an easy thing to confuse in different church circles. It’s an issue of priority. The Gospel is primary, the gifts are secondary, and both are necessary. The most magnificent part of the Gospel is that God gave himself for us in love on the cross and then gives himself to us in life through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the first thing that needs to be clearly emphasized is that the very Spirit of God is both given and then the giver — as he is pleased and finds pleasure to operate for his glory. The one gift that I receive is the Spirit, and he has the gifts that he imparts when he desires to do so.
There are two awkward claims that Christians often make. The first claim begins with, “I have this-or-that gift…” And what we generally mean is that we’ve experienced the Spirit’s blessing and enabling at specific occasions and in certain ways. However, the awkward part of that phrase is that it makes us sound like we are the new owners of the gift to release at will. In the Gospel, I have Christ and he has me. Therefore, my identity is built in Jesus and is not found in a grace-gift that I might use or one that I think might correspond with my personality. If I find my identity in a gift, I miss the Spirit. It is common to find Christians spending a good amount of time wondering, debating, and even arguing whether a person “has” a certain gift or not. Take the pressure off. Make sure you or the person in question has Christ and is fulfilling his royal law. You know, the law that says love God fully and your neighbor as yourself. The Spirit has the gifts. He is the owner and he wants to give them, but remember, those gifts represent him and the Truth so he will be very careful, strategic, and sometimes surprising in how he imparts them.
The second awkward (and I believe, incorrect) phrase that I’ve heard at times is, “Unless that gift (whatever one the Christian has in mind) is manifested, the Holy Spirit isn’t there.” Now, I know that the phrase isn’t spoken exactly in that way, but it goes something like that depending on the context. I’ve heard it recently and also through the years in ministry in different forms — but that’s the gist of it. Usually, the person has a pet-gift that has grown into an agenda where they would like to see an entire church formed around it. They have equated much if not all of the Holy Spirit, doctrine, and the work of God with that one gift. It becomes the litmus test for all service and fellowship.
Again, the problem is one of identity. The Apostle Paul corrected the Corinthian believers strongly saying, “One Spirit, many gifts.” Their error was an inordinate focus on one particular gift and therefore an abuse of the Spirit himself. So, the temptation we face is to identify so strongly with the expression of a gift that we build the Gospel around it. In effect, we make the gift and our experience dogmatic by saying, “Manifest this gift and then you’re really in God’s family.” No, the Gospel tells us to manifest repentance. We should be more concerned about what kind of vessel we are than what kind of gift we are manifesting.
Thank you for your words of wisdom!! I can’t express how much I needed to hear this message! I Also loved your 4mm Miracle message. All I could say through reading it was “God is so awesome!” I’m so glad you are feeling better 🙂
Hi Tanya. Thanks for sharing such a nice comment with me. Your feedback is very helpful and encouraging. The Lord is so good, and I’m grateful every day for his healing. I’m also happy to know the article was a good word at the right time for you. Hopefully, you’ll find the upcoming ones helpful and uplifting as well. Blessings today to you and your family. Rob
i like this. i think that i’ve always just assumed, “you’re gift is your gift.” (does that make sense?) i like the part that said, “We should be more concerned about what kind of vessel we are than what kind of gift we are manifesting.” might sound silly but sometimes i forget i’m a vessel. need to remember this more often. great message, and very interesting! 🙂
Thanks Lisa for taking the time to read through the article and share your thoughts. In the next post on this subject, I’m going to write about being a continual, active vessel. It’s the Spirit who chooses what he will place in and through his vessels as we seek to abide in Him. It was good to see you and Mark a few months ago, too! Thanks for staying faithful to Serenissima.
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