Understanding and Embracing Spiritual Gifts in the Church

"All these gifts are given; they're not self-generated, self-produced. Indeed, we can do nothing about that at all, and there is nothing more dangerous than to attempt to do so. They're not natural gifts. These are spiritual gifts. I believe it's possible that sometimes the spiritual gift, as it were, is superimposed upon a natural gift, but that still means that it isn't the natural gift; it is what is superimposed upon the natural that really constitutes the essence of these spiritual gifts." [00:56:56]

"We must always be satisfied with the gift that is given to us. We must avoid the terrible trouble they had got into in Corinth, in people with the weaker gifts being jealous of those with the better gifts, and the people with the better gifts despising those with the lesser gifts. Once we see this truth in terms of the body and that it is all given us by grace, well then, I say it excludes this personal ambition and selfishness." [00:164:72]

"I cannot find any teaching in the New Testament that all Christians must have some particular gift, one particular gift. I mean, we all do receive some particular gift, but I cannot see any teaching which tells us that we are all to have and must have one particular gift. No, no, the emphasis is on the differing gifts, differing. There is a variety of gifts, and the important thing for us is to make sure that we possess one or more of these gifts." [00:223:84]

"If any of these gifts, for that matter, have been in evidence throughout the history of the church and still are, well then, why not all? It's a fair question to put. The Apostle doesn't seem to draw any distinction. He puts them all into the same category, and if these others, therefore, are in evidence, then I say, why not all of them? That's therefore another part of the answer to these people who say that all this finished with the apostles." [00:426:72]

"One of the greatest dangers, it's always seemed to me, is this: that we interpret the scriptures in the light of our experience instead of testing our experience by the teaching of the scripture. And that is what is happening, I think, very often at the present time. People lay down as the norm what they have and what they are familiar with, and they test everything by that." [00:480:19]

"The sovereignty of the spirit is taught as here, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. It is God who has dealt it. We emphasized that when we were doing the third verse. Here it is again in the sixth verse, having them gifts. The very fact that they call gifts should remind us always that it is his prerogative and in his sovereignty, gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us." [00:611:39]

"It may be the will of the spirit, therefore, at times that none of these gifts should be given or are in striking manifestation. It is for him to decide, and we must be very careful as we approach this. There are certainly evidences, many of them in the scriptures, that God, for his own great purposes, at times seems to withhold certain influences from the church and from the individual." [00:648:80]

"Whenever you do get a true revival like that, you always get a manifestation of some of these gifts. Sometimes some and sometimes other. One gift that is given always at such a time in an exceptional way to certain people is this gift of preaching and of teaching, unusual manifestation of that particular gift. But you'll often find also that at such a time, the gift of discerning of spirits is given." [01:216:72]

"Discerning one's spiritual gift involves both personal awareness and confirmation from the church community. As we submit to God and seek to serve Him, our gifts will become evident, and the church plays a vital role in recognizing and affirming these gifts. The church has been able to do two things: she has been able, on the one hand, to question and to query claims which are made by people as to certain gifts which they think they have." [01:778:91]

"The church is involved in all this, and it is the business of all of us to listen to the church and the voice of the church on these matters. And it was, as I say, on both sides because, thank God, we've had other men who were humble, modest, and perhaps guilty of fearfulness and timidity, who were not aware of their gifts, and the church has often had to show to such men that they possess gifts and has had to open their eyes to it and convince them." [01:997:76]

"Some of the greatest preachers the church has ever known have trembled at the thought of preaching, have done their utmost not to, almost had to be pushed into the pulpit. You can read their biographies. That was, in a sense and in a measure, true of the great George Whitfield, and it has been true of many others. The church, in those cases, you see, has to do the exact opposite and to show in that he's been given this gift and that it is his business and his duty to put it into exercise and into operation." [02:033:76]

"Now, here you see is a great help, therefore, to aid us in this matter of discovering what our particular gift is. Not only will you find that it's manifesting itself, but the church will be able to help you. People sometimes think they've got a gift, but the church doesn't always agree, and it's important, as we've already seen, that the man who claims the gift should be ready to listen to the church." [02:053:96]