Spiritual Gifts: Finding Yourself in God's Word by Josh McGary

SPIRITUAL GIFTS finding yourself in God’s word

Josh McGary

ALETHEIA BIBLE FELLOWSHIP

Thankyou to Cook, Pastor Dad, Monte, and James without whom this book would be impossible. Thankyou to Francis Schaeffer for taking the time to reason with me. Thankyou to Jesse for listening to so much and to Mashayla for the editing and every other thing you do for me.

www.yourabf.org 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE INTRODUCTION PART I Section One: The Significance of Man Section Two: The Human Thread Section Three: The Holy Spirit Section Four: The Spirit Moves

PART II Section One: Motivative Gifts Motivative Gift Listings Section Two: Enabling Gifts Enabling Gift Listings Section Three: Manifestative Gifts Section Four: Hyper Gifts Section Five: Conclusion

That you may find each other.

PREFACE At the end of 2006, the elders of Aletheia Bible Fellowship came together for a weekend of retreat to the beaches of the Oregon Coast. Locked away in a small condominium which overlooked the main thoroughfare of beachcombers, and vacationers gallivanting to and fro like ants upon a forgotten sugar cube, sat the five elders of the small church planted around an oblong glass table. Upon the table was a command center of laptop computers, so carelessly arranged in a precarious row upon the tableâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ledges that each stroke of the keyboard threatened a dive to the carpet. Zeldaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theme from the legendary video game melodically filled the room in subtle tones, as the harsh sound of whirring computer fans cooled the air around each computer. Upon each screen were windows of insight into the minds of each elder. The windows served to augment the lively discussion taking place, as a necessary distraction or as a means of interaction. Either way, all elders came that weekend knowing there task. Every year the elders of Aletheia Bible Fellowship meet together to discuss a general direction for the coming year of church. This year was no different. The last year had brought with it a yearlong series on the entire book of James. The elders focused on the basic topic of making faith into something that is practical. The value in the individuality of every church member was hinted at, and approached as a defining element in pursuit of a practical faith. The

next year had to bring a different element to the table. The question that all people in ministry face is â&#x20AC;&#x153;what can you teach people to help them apply their faith?â&#x20AC;? The Eldership wrestled with this question both as a group, and as individuals. It was decided that in order to start effecting the world around you, you first need to make your own life right. Aletheia needed tools to make its own life right before it could be effective in the lives of others, but how? Looking at the book of 1 Corinthians, we found an answer. Here, you find the church of Corinth, which is admonished to work together as one body, and the crux of that ability is found in a little topic that the Apostle Paul refers to as Spiritual Gifts. A misunderstanding of Spiritual Gifts literally broke the church in Corinth. Like a chicken running to and fro in the aftermath of its decapitation, Corinth was beginning to die. All manner of spiritual body parts were seemingly strewn asunder, and there was little that anyone could do. Paul noted something that seems to be missed by many of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current evangelists and apologists when he wrote to the church at Corinth. What he noted was a certain vitalness of personality. Paul looked at the way in which Corinth expressed its identity, noted that identity is connected with Spiritual Gifting, and added the element of intentful and unselfish love to the problem.

Paul gave this struggling church credence of identity, which he asked them to own. He called Prophets to be Prophets, and Teachers to be Teachers, but to do this in love. He called them to act out their personality the way that Christ did. What makes Paul unique is not the factor of Love in his letter to Corinth. The uniqueness of Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s letter is the connection of identity to the Personality of the Church. He summarizes each gift as being similar to each body part in Christâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Body. A hand is not an eye, and an eye is not an ear. Each part has its own identity. When it comes to teaching about Spiritual gifts, this emphasis on identity and personality is often left untouched. At Aletheia, we needed to teach our congregation about their spiritual identity in order to avoid a reoccurrence of what happened in Corinth so many years ago. The elders recognized that it is not enough to act on your faith, but that you must understand it as well. Corinth acted on its faith, and it acted poorly. Teaching them about Corinth and the mistakes which Corinth made was the next logical step. Spiritual Gifts and Identity became central to the idea of Identity and our forward movement as a church. Just as we found our next step by looking at the case of Corinth, sometimes looking back can shed light on your future. Some years ago, our head elder, Reverend Monte McGary had recognized the connection the apostle Paul had made to personality and identity in his letter to Corinth.

Being that the good reverend’s exterior persona can be rather abrasive, to hear from the words of the Bible itself that identity has both a proper usage and an improper usage is like a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dismal day. Imagine if you will that all your life, you had been a truth seeker who spoke wildly and passionately to those who would hear… and would not. This action would drive people away from you and cause division. Now imagine that you are reading in your Bible about a people who cause division and strife by sharing the word of God. Imagine that you read that it is right for them to do so, that they represent the part of the body of Christ that does exactly that action. Imagine that consideration is given for something which does not seemingly have any means of control. Now imagine reading that there is a way to control it. The reverend found, just verses away, that God’s love makes his personality quirk into a tool that can be wielded for God’s glory. As the elders discussed the topic of how to shape Aletheia’s Identity, this revelation of personality was to play a seminal role in the shaping of it. Pulled out from the recesses of some forgotten file, came a pamphlet that had been compiled from scriptural sources and sociological observation. This pamphlet was a list of Spiritual Gifts which seemed to be the metaphorical body parts talked about in Corinthians. The reverend had in the past compiled them and taught them before to a different

generation. They were meant as a framework of understanding. What set them apart from all other lists of Spiritual Gifts, is that they did not seek to be exhaustive or in all things authoritative. They were compiled to help people know who they were. They were compiled as a matter of identity rather than doctrine. As the elders met, they used this list as a framework to build a yearlong seminar that would hopefully guide every member of Aletheia into a stronger knowledge of their own identity. There were things added to the list, and updates occurred which added years of new growth and insight from both the original list taker and his fellow ministers. A new list was compiled which was more socially relevant to its current audience and represented an amalgam of identities. Besides the list, there were other categories of Spiritual Gifts to be taken into account. The elders built slowly but surely a cohesive understanding of Spiritual Gifts from the framework established years past, and added new elements, such as the concept of Spiritual Gifts at conception rather than salvation and hyper gifting. The work that was put into teaching that year represented an important achievement in the life of Aletheia and its elders. It represented the birth of consciousness for the church. For the first time, at the end of that year, Aletheia took the first step before God as a group of people who could work together because they were beginning to understand their identities and how to love.

This book represents a continuation of that struggle. It is the culmination of a combined effort of five men and their church to live rightly before God, and to understand what that means about who they are. As you read on, I hope that what we have found finds you well. INTRODUCTION In life, diversity is an obvious truth. Every person in the civilized world has been understood to have a unique personality that is capable of personal freedom and values. The freedom that each individual has is the ability to explore their unique personalities in the world they live in. This doctrinal statement of civilization, that all men are created equal and capable of freewill, does not require a belief in God. This is a truth that all human beings feel strongly and equally, from the first seminal moments of the tiniest embryo to the last waking moment of a life long lived. Humans are distinctly diverse, and free to choose how they will experience the common thread of humanity that we all possess. Every person longs to express these truths as absolute. They are tangible and necessary, and mystical explanations to these truths rarely do them justice. Beyond the truth, which is uncontainable, are the explanations which can do them more harm than good. In order to doctrinalize the uniqueness and diversity of humanity, a structure must be made to describe it. Often religions of all kinds have been

created in order to explain the complex relationship between harmony and uniqueness. Nevertheless, as any structure made to contain something which is uncontainable, the relationship described can easily be reduced to a mere mechanism rather than the organic life it describes. In the area of the uniqueness of humanity, an understanding that humanity is equal to a sort of diversity with a form of tolerance has been created by such reductionalist mechanisms. With a mechanism at the foothold of a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s understanding of their own humanity, countless atrocities can be made into a form of personal freedom and uniqueness. Historical blemishes, such as the Jewish Holocaust, and the African slave trade, were committed under the guise of personal freedom and the right to autonomous diversity. Ultimately, it is extremely dangerous to reduce humankind to his parts, and there is no specific formula to describe, explain, or propagate the vast relationship of unique sentience found in humanity. Although there is often a sort of romanticism which surrounds anarchy of freedom (autonomous and self propagated) humanity seems to call for structure. The mechanisms of religions are built around ideas in order to help humans understand meaning better. Though these structures often fail the very ideas that give them an audience, these structures seem necessary for humanity to survive. Thus, a unique problem is presented to humanity when faced with our remarkable nature. How do we reconcile our tendency for structure with our need

for freedom? Whether you are a person of faith or a person of science, every person faces the need to bring a marriage between structure and freedom. Putting all beliefs aside and being completely needoriented, there are certain factors that would be necessary for any answer to our unique problem. The main mark that an answer is more than mysticism or mechanics is that whatever that answer is, it must be beyond the problem itself. In our situation of mechanics and mysticism, we are looking for an answer that is not just one or the other. We need a blending of two things. We need a system of thought that makes sense of our need for freedoms and relationship, but we also need something which is tangible. We need to have a structure that we can rely on- a structure that is worthy of our faith and our reason. The Bible provides us just such a structure. The structural stability that humans seek can be found in what Jesus of Nazareth and his apostles called â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Body of Christ.â&#x20AC;? Moreover, found within that body is every example we need to understand how a living, breathing, human being can be made up of an infinitesimally diverse and complex amount of individual parts. In addition, we can find that all parts, though distinct and mechanical in function, serve to create and maintain a living, breathing person: an organism of freewill. The Apostle Paul of Ancient Tarsus speaks of this example in his letter to the first century church in Corinth. He speaks of the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, enabling,

motivating and manifesting itself in the lives of Ancient Christians for the betterment and sustainment of Christians and God’s creation. The Apostle calls this movement of the Holy Spirit within the Church, or Body of Christ, by a simple term: “gifts.” Spiritual Gifts, as they are sometimes referred to in modern Christianity, are often times a source of contention among believers and nonbelievers alike. They can sometimes be displays of great power and supernatural phenomenon, and sometimes they can be used to describe a feeling or emotion, while at other times they can describe an overall motivation of a person. However they are used and described, the Bible indicates that all Christians use them. More often than not though, due to a lack of education, Christians have a tendency to speak about and act out their Spiritual Gifts in a way that is unintended or sometimes counterproductive to their purpose. Spiritual Gifts are not toys. They are presented as tools to help the Body. Just as the human body maintains a very precise chemical relationship between its parts in order to function properly, when Christians act improperly with their Spiritual Gifts, it can cause the Body of Christ to become dysfunctional. It would be easy to correct these issues if the gifts came with an instruction manual. However, the Apostle Paul in writing about these gifts did not set forth a comprehensive system by which to explore Spiritual Gifts, as it seems that he envisioned a relational swing

of teaching in recognition of the already convoluted law-based system of Jewish tradition. Therefore, the Apostle Paul’s writings often seem to have been seeking to even out the way in which the Jewish minded Christians perceived their own spirituality with the relational picture of God presented in Christ. This may account for the reason he chose not to add yet another system of rules to the fledgling Christians. Whatever way it happened that Spiritual Gifts came without an instruction manual is not important. What is important is that certain rules of scripture still apply to the Apostle Paul’s writing on all things. He constantly reiterated the validity and overall sovereignty of Old Testament canon in his works, and notably in his letter to Timothy. In other words, Paul understood that his writing on God and his Church were always to be subject to and in agreement to the Jewish scriptures. Therefore, it would be out of context to try to apply a meaning to the writings of the Apostle Paul which stand against these sacred texts. In true hermeneutic tradition, these rules should be taken into account while considering what writing has been preserved. Whatever is left over, and untouched on, should be given nothing more than a status of “interesting” at most. As we explore the gifts which Paul speaks about in the Holy Scriptures, we will seek to find a respectful balance between the rule-based, sacred texts of the Old Testament and the relationally-based sacred gospel of the Christ presented in New Testament scriptures. We must remember that the

sovereignty of the Old Testament revelation of God is the framework for Spiritual Gifts in the New Testament, and thus it would be a travesty to remove this mechanism. While maintaining the mechanism, we also must remember that the Apostle Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s writings do not present a systematic theology for understanding this relational facet of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plan for humankind. Thus, we will seek to explore carefully and respectfully the area of Spiritual Gifts, keeping our options open to step outside and around conventional boxes, while still clinging to the stability that the mechanisms which God provided to believers under the Old Testament covenant gives us as believers. Christians are to be free from the law, so they may act justly. Therefore, an aspect of understanding our spirituality needs to be considered as we explore Spiritual Gifts. As we consider how it is that we fit with humanity relationally and mechanically, we must add that if our careful considerations lead to an affront or aversion to the Law, then we have failed as Christians. As ministers of the reconciliatory power of Christ, there is a great deal of information to sift through in sharing this message with you. We carry a great burden on all of our shoulders to balance all things, to present what is relevant, and to show, somehow, that God has a hand which can grab hold unrelentingly and still be gentle. We would ask that as you read this attempt to understand yet another amazing facet of why Christ is relevant to the whole of humanity, you would take

from it what you can see is consistent with what the Holy Scriptures hold as truth. We would also ask that you would study these Holy Scriptures, in prayer and supplication. We would ask that you scour them to find your reason to be convinced that what they say is valuable and relevant for the life you live as a human being, whether in the first century or twenty-first. When you read this and learn about what the scriptures say about who you are, please pray for us who teach you. Pray that we would remember to not be ashamed of this amazing power that comes by the hand of God. Pray that we all would not be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for in it is the power to reconcile all facets of our shattered lives. In the man, Jesus of Nazareth, God gave all of humanity the key to reconciling our broken selves in every way. Jesus is truly the most superior philosophy. Please read this short and admittedly human work with these things in mind. By the grace of our God, Jesus of Nazareth, let us humbly begin.

PART I Section one THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MAN

It is has been often presented to Christians and non-Christians that God wants people to be “saved.” This is not necessarily untrue, but upon further discussion, it is often revealed that the reason salvation is important for humanity is because only in salvation can we find our personal worth as human beings. What is stated is that humanity has fallen from the original position he was at, and thusly he no longer holds value before a just and holy God. Thus, the birth of most contemporary Christians is through the womb of self-deprecation and self-loathing. Christians are fed on a type of milk that constantly reinforces an idea that personal worth is derived from a connection to God and that if that connection is broken, so is the value and significance of man. Scriptures, such as that found in the sixty-fourth chapter of Isaiah, are used to bring a dramatic emphasis to our value as human beings. The scriptural gavel has been pounded with statements sentencing humanity to a value of worthlessness as modern Christians utter phrases of biblical isogesis 1 such as, “Our righteousness is as filthy rags, ” and “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of 2 God. ” As we begin to understand who we are as Christians, we must first understand who we are as human beings. The reason why this is important is that human beings were created in the image of 1 2

Isaiah 64:4-9 Romans 3:23

God . There are a few simple things to understand about being a Christian that must always come in line with what humanity is. This at first glance, and years of conditioning, may seem to be backwards to some, but it is logical. For instance, if we were to explore a lion as an animal, it would be helpful to understand that the lion is a mammal. As we understand how mammals work, and function as living organisms, certain things become clear about whom the lion is. However, if we were to study a lion solely on the basis of it being a lion, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re to disregard the revelation that comes from knowing the way certain mammals act and what they need, then this would be foolish. In the same vain, if Scripture presents that humanity was forged by God in the image of himself, then in understanding humankind, we must first understand who God is. The next question one might ask is, â&#x20AC;&#x153;How do we know who God is?â&#x20AC;? The simple answer is that throughout the centuries people have recorded a concise detailed history of God into a book that we now refer to as the Bible. Beyond this, these records have maintained thier transmission regardless of translation throughout time. History records, when judged against this book, have constantly shown its accuracy, and the people who wrote it claim that there is a reason why it is accurate to history and does not degrade with time. Christians must believe that the reason why we can believe the 3

Genesis 1:27

Holy Scriptures is that God Himself inspired the 4 writing of them. The writings themselves express that He revealed Himself to these historical figures and told them to write down what they learned, so that we might know who He is, and have a 5 relationship with Him. We must believe that God wanted us to know who He is. We must also believe that we were created in his image. This is a simple enough task if not for a simple error in logic. Somehow, we must reconcile to ourselves as Christians, and to the humanity that pervades us all, that we are fallen. We are made in the image of God, meant to be in relationship with him, though we are fallen. Modern Christianity, from Constantine until now, has resolved this issue by constructing an elaborate system of reconciliation based on salvation from sin. Simply put, man was once created in the image of God, but after sinning he must be saved in order to restore that image. When man becomes saved, he will find worth and fulfillment as a human and as a Christian. This concept is logically flawed, however. The factors that are missing are implications. If we say that humanity was once created in the image of God, but he sinned and now must be saved in order to restore that image, then an implication about humanity is made which is untenable. Permit me if you will to use the 4

2 Peter 1:20-21, 1 Corinthians 2:13, 2 Timothy 3:1617 5 John 3:16

example of the lion once more. God created a lion as a type of mammal, perhaps even the king of mammals, and if that lion refuses to be a king will he lose his status as a mammal? I would submit that the lion would be a very poor mammal indeed, and he might even contract a disease or virus from malnourishment and die, but he would still be a mammal. Perhaps this example falls short or does not sit well, but what is being described should make sense to all humans. Humans were created in the image of God, and even if we fall short of that image we are still humans. One of the failings of the Modern Church was to say that humans are only fulfilling the image of God when we are either perfect (which none, of course, are), or saved. The Bible does not teach this. What the Bible teaches at most, is that humanity is the fulfillment of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s divine image and that humanity is very bad at it. The Bible at no point removes from man his significance, but instead judges humanity as a significantly sub-standard version of what they should be. It is because of humankind's significance that humans can be judged for their sin. This is because people were created in the image of a God who is significant. The Bible alludes to God as a being who is made up of relational distinction with one essence. Distinctions are characteristics of personality which are significant enough to recognize as being their own unique quality. Humans were created to be distinct, unique, personal and significant.

Just like the lion, humanity does not lose the essence of what it is simply because it cannot fulfill what it should. The truth is that the nature of the conflict between God and man lies in that very concept. God looks at people as significant personalities capable of making sovereign choices. Like little kingdoms, humankind is allowed to choose what he shall do. This is an image of who God is. Though humanity sins, God still holds humankind to this image. Because God is also a just God, humanity must now be accountable to be troubled when he does wrong. And it is because of his personhood as made in Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s image, that humankind is troubled when he does wrong. It is on this basis that conflict ensues within man because humanity must be both significant and just. Humankind becomes conflicted when he chooses, out of his significance, something which is unjust. His need to fulfill Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s image will cause him to need some sort of reconciliation, but it 6 will not remove that image from him. The Modern Church, in explaining the need for reconciliation, did humankind a disservice by removing his significance as made in the image of God. By teaching that the worth of humanity is derived from manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just actions, it implied that humankind is not significant before God. After centuries of digesting this heresy into some sort of nutritional substance, the Christians and nonbelievers alike were left with a startling conclusion. 6

Romans 1:19-25

Humanity is worthless before God and what he does means nothing. God will judge him for not living up to a standard of righteousness that humankind could never hope to keep, and he is in essence a hopeless, worthless, and broken creation. If this were the truth, man would accept his fate, but it is not. It is a curious thing that humankind is willing to say it is flawed and broken and wrong, but never that it is worthless. Men and women alike for centuries have screamed from the rooftops of every society ever built, “Judge me as I am, but judge me significantly!” At large, Christianity has failed to do this. Is it any wonder that the push of every occultist and cultic system is centralized in the overemphasis of humankind’s value? Christianity has failed to answer humankind’s need to fulfill the image of God with God’s likeness, and in doing so created an enemy out of people who have every right to dissent. It is entirely plausible that there would be less cults and non-believers if the Church would publicly return the dignity to humanity which was stolen by the Modern Church centuries ago. It has been my personal experience that if the area of personal significance can be qualified by the Church, most of the dissolution with Christ will begin to fade into Church history. As a Church, we must primarily understand that humans are made in the image of God. This means that all humans have value and worth before God. If we start our Christian walk by claiming we are worthless, and embed this into the message of the

Gospel of Christ, then we can expect dissension, 7 bitter envy, and strife . When the lifeguard tells the victim he has just saved that she is not worth saving, it should not surprise us that more people do not want to be saved. We must correct our instilled idea of humankind’s significance and understand that our relationship with God starts at creation. It was not on the day of salvation that humankind somehow became significant before God, but on the day of conception for all of humanity. This means that all humans are accountable to God for their significant actions which shed light upon the image of who God is. All people will be judged significantly for whom they have shown God to be, regardless of whether they are Christian or not. This is not because humanity is worthless; in fact, it is quite literally to the contrary. Humanity is judged for his actions on the basis that God looks at humankind as his prime 8 creation and respects humankind’s wishes, as a distinct, personal, and significant creation who bears 9 His image. Milton must have been onto something when he wrote that famously evil line, “… it is better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven.” If we do not give this truth as the starting point for our contact with our creator, than we might as well not believe, for it is better to know who we are in hell, than to live 7

James 3:15-16 Genesis 1:26 John Milton was the author of a famous book about the rebellion of Satan called Paradise Lost. 8

as who we are not, even in the supposed church of God. POINTS TO REMEMBER • Man is made in the image of God. • The Bible alludes to God as made of personalities which are significant enough to recognize as being their own unique quality. • Humans were created to be distinct, unique, personal and significant. • Humans do not lose the image of God simply because they choose to be unjust, but rather, they shame that image. • God judges humanity on the basis of his own image in that human actions should be taken seriously, as humans are significant. • If you remove the significance of man from the Gospel, you incite humanity to dissent against God because they know they are significant. • The starting point for understanding who we are as Christians is understanding we are made in God’s image.

QUESTIONS FOR GROUPS 1. Does the Bible teach that human kind is significant? Where can we find that in Scripture?

What does the relationship present in the Trinity imply about the concept of distinctions? Can you think of examples in secular and Church history in which humankind has dissented from the idea that he is insignificant? Does salvation, as found in the Bible, truly imply worthlessness onto the essence of humankind? Can you think of Scriptures that state that humankind is valued by God, regardless of salvation?

PART I Section two THE HUMAN THREAD

All Christians are connected to each other intrinsically through the image of God that is found in 10 the very nature of the human creature. This connection is important from a number of perspectives. Firstly, the connective essence of humanity is a way for all people to understand the concept of a God who is triune. Through our own nature as individuals who comprise a diverse essence of humanity, we can have a better picture of who God is. He is not simply one essence alone, nor is He simply three personalities. God is infinitely diverse and distinct while at the same time being harmonious and self-contained. Secondly, this picture of who God is gives us a picture of what we can and should be. The ability for humankind to find the harmony that it seeks in life can be found by looking to God. We can see that not only is this harmony possible, but it is also innate within humankind. Thus understanding who we are in relationship to who God is gives us hope for reconciliation not only with God Himself, but also with ourselves, as well as with the whole of humanity. Thusly, understanding who we are in relationship to God has one final conclusion. The harmony present in the whole of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s triune nature is a picture of a single essence working with diverse personalities. God as a whole is this essence. He has revealed in Scripture that He is not merely

Romans 12:5

modalistic , existing at different times as different personalities. Nor is He a triad, made of three gods, sharing the same identity. God is three distinct personalities with one essence. For Christians, this is a picture of what the Church should be. For all humans, this is a picture of what humanity should be. Thusly, the idea that all humanity has worth regardless of belief, has an added implication that just as personality is valuable, so is essence. What this means is that humanity in its essence as a whole has worth which is not defined by sin, but instead is an image of who God is in His essence as a whole. Christians must recognize that humanity as a whole has a worth which carries an innate value. To autonomize the individual from the whole of humanity would be like claiming that Jesus is separate from God. This means that Christians should not see themselves as autonomous personalities, but should see that their personalities are intricately linked to their essence in the image of God. This is not to say that this truth applies to Christians only, but that it is Christians who should understand this truth without difficulty. Christians are to recognize this truth because it is true for all humans. The Holy Scriptures are ripe with allusions to this truth. It is a springboard 11

The non-Trinitarian belief that the Heavenly Father, Resurrected Son and Holy Spirit are different modes or aspects of one God (for us only), rather than three distinct persons (in Himself), whose chief proponent was Sabellius and chief opponent was Tertullian.

for understanding the context of who we are as people, whether Christian or not. Thusly, as we seek to understand Spiritual Gifts, understanding that humanity is connected to each other is vital. We must understand that just as the Holy Trinity is no longer itself without having a connective, single essence, humanity can no longer be human if they are simply autonomous individuals. There is a binding thread which pervades all people through the image of God. This is the humanity that is drawn as an image of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s likeness and character. The human thread is not autonomous individuals working together for a common goal. The human thread is not a single personality running throughout an ethereal essence of nature. The human thread is the image of one God working to maintain and manifest distinct and unique personalities in a beautiful harmony of relationship and mechanism that is found in His essence. This is what humanity is supposed to be. This is what being truly human is. Humanity is found within the essence of God. In essence, God is truly the definition of human. This should not come as a surprise since what we are in creation is meant to be the image of our creator. However, in this understanding of what Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s humanity entails is a human thread which cannot simply be understood as a mechanism of relationship. It is not simply enough to imply that all humans are to hold hands and sing a gospel song in a harmonious chorus. Amazingly deep, as God has

revealed Himself to be, Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s character possesses one final facet which must be explored in order to provide a proper economy for exploring Spiritual Gifts. This facet is the blueprint for all human relationship. At this point, I would like to disclaim what I am about to say. This booklet is not meant to be an exhaustive exploration of the nature of the Trinity; However, I sincerely doubt the topic could be exhausted. This area of the section is meant to provide a brief overview that will create a springboard for understanding who God is, and how the body of Christ relates to him. With that said, let us move on to talk about the mechanics of the Trinity. In other belief systems, there are many gods. But the Trinity is unique. The God who has shown Himself in the Bible is not many gods in one, and he is not many personalities with one name. He is not many gods who are all equal to each other, and He is not an impersonal creative force of the universe. The triune God, revealed in the Holy Scriptures is a harmony of personality and mechanism. He is a god whose diverse personalities are not lost in a sea of equality and ambiguity, but instead whose personalities thrive in a distinction that is clear and pronounced. He is a god whose ability to create is not a force devoid of content, and intent, but rather a harmony of wills, working together in distinct roles and purposes to create life through graceful 12 maintenance. The Trinity defies a typical 12

Genesis 1:26, John 1:1-5

understanding of what it means to be God. The triune God is capable of distinct personalities without losing essence, and he is capable of oneness without losing distinct personalities. He is a structured being. God is three personalities which interact equally in one essence. However, these distinct personalities have 13 different roles and minds. There is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Though God has different minds, He has one mindset from which those minds come. The mindset which He has is much like a blueprint used to build creation. It was made and agreed upon by all three personalities of God, but not all three personalities of God do the same thing with the blueprints. This concept is much like a concept for a community project. The community decides as a whole what they would like to happen in the community, and then parts of the community act in harmony to accomplish their goal. Every part is vital and necessary to the project, and yet every part is differing and unique. More important to the illustration is the idea that each piece of the community is the community itself in macro form. Every part in the community is made up of smaller parts with distinct tasks in order to make their larger form work properly. This is true all the way from the larger social body down to the tiniest atom with its proton, nucleus, and electrons. The point of the illustration is that Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personalities are functional. They are not simply 13

Matthew 24:35-36

concepts without form or content. The personalities of God accomplish something by working together. They do this by being distinct in action and in personality while maintaining the same mindset from which their distinctions come. Also important to this truth, is that the distinctions are submissive to one another. They are aware of what it takes to accomplish their like goal and they act equally yet distinctly in harmony to accomplish that goal. The minds of God do not compete with each other to accomplish anything. They submit to each other in a 14 specific order so that their will is accomplished best . That order is based upon a mutual love for three things. Within the Trinity, we find a mutual love for the distinct personalities and characters of God, a mutual love for the singular essence of God, and a mutual love for the image of God as a whole. What this means is that in the community that is God, everyone loves the fact that each person is an individual and different from everyone else. However, everyone also loves the fact that each individual comes from the one blueprint called community. If we are to fulfill the image that we were created in, we must understand that this image is not an image which is blurred or marred. The example presented to us of the Trinity is one which is filled with order and structure, without jealousy and oversight. In the Trinity, the Holy Spirit submits to

1 Corinthians11:3

Jesus, and Jesus submits to God the Father . There are even things which Jesus does not know that God the Father does, and yet they are said to have a single essence. The early Church fathers claimed that this Trinitarian blueprint runs throughout the Scriptures. It is present in the institution of the concept of the Church, just as it is present in the structure of Godly marriage. In truth, the Trinitarian blueprint can be found in all things. However, let us isolate the example of marriage to gain a clearer understanding of what the structure of Trinitarian relationship is to look like. The Holy Scriptures present that man is the positional head of woman. This position is a lateral position where man is seen as being spiritually responsible to God within his own trinity of his 16 family . The reason that man was given this responsibility was as a sort of reckoning for his act of allowing sin to enter the world. In the Garden of Eden, man sinned against God. Adam was the first of creation and thus was the representative of God to humankind. When he violated the law that God had given in the Garden of Eden, Adam unwittingly represented to God that man was a rebellious creation. Thusly, humanity was brought into sin by a man, and now man is responsible for the 17 consequences of that action .

1 Corinthians 12:3 1 Corinthians 11:3 17 Romans 5:12-14 16

Man, being the first prime creation within Eden, was responsible for all other creation and their relationship to God. When man sinned in Eden, he caused a chain reaction that created a chaotic economy of relationship. According to God in Eden, it is the responsibility of the male to bear the burden of what he has done. This reckoning of accountability and judgment requires responsibility and structure. Man sits at the head of the marriage relationship in his fallen state, as the equal partner who defiled the natural order of things by bringing sin into the world. His position is not meant to be one of domination, or subjugation. It is meant to be a position of contrition 18 and relational cleansing . With this said, the Scriptures are clear that the essence of a married man 19 and woman is one essence . Each partner is to submit to each other in the spirit of this one essence, and thus there is equality present in marriage 20 regardless of position . This is an earthly example of the economy in the Trinity. Marriage is the center of society and community. It provides for reproduction and rule of proper order and relationship in life and symbolizes the one essence of God in creation. Thusly, the spiritual essence of any community should be Trinitarian at its core. The community of Christ is no different. As Christians, we are responsible to be 18

Ephesians 5:25-26 Genesis 2:21-24, Mark 10:7-9 20 Ephesians 5:21 19

submissive in our communities of faith in the way that we are commanded to be submissive in our 21 marriages . This is the reason that the community of Christians is referred to in the Holy Scriptures as the bride of Christ. This is a positional statement which infers that the Church is to be submissive, and it is a relational statement which infers that the Church and Christ are to be one essence. The community of faith is a marriage to Christ in which every member submits to a positional truth as well as a spiritual truth. The spiritual truth is the oneness of marriage through Christ to God, and the positional truth is the submission of order and structure which is already present in the Trinity, and with Christ being the male figure in the Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own marriage to God. This is somewhat of a fluid economy in that it is full of infinite combinations of submission and accountability. In this economy, Christ submits to the Father in the oneness of God, creating man. Then man submits to Christ in the oneness of the image of God, creating a need to have relationship and thus woman. The woman submits to the man in the oneness of the image of Christâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s submission to the Father and thus creates marriage and family. The family submits to Christ in the oneness of the image of God and thus spawns a singular community. The community submits to the relationship of the Trinity bringing other communities together to create the

1 Peter 5:5

Church . The Church submits to Jesus in the oneness of the image of Christ to the Father and fulfills the role of the bride of Christ. The union of Christ and his bride, the Church, submit to the Father in the oneness of God. And thus man joins the economy of God, becoming distinctly man and capable of substantial personality, while at the same time joining Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s essence. This whole process fulfills the potential of humanity in that humanity achieves the status of the image of God that he was created to fulfill. If, however, any part of this process is removed, humankind is no longer fulfilled. It is important, as Christians, to realize that the underlying thread in the entire process is the presence of the essence of God in all steps of the process. The Scriptures claim that Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s essence is not an impersonal connection, but rather a personal connection called the Holy Spirit. Thusly, the Holy Spirit becomes the basis by which humanity understands how he is connected to God, each 23 individual, and humanity as a whole .

22 23

1 Corinthians 12:12 John 14:26-27

POINTS TO REMEMBER • The God of the Scriptures is different from any other god because He is capable of maintaining distinct and diverse personalities while remaining true to one singular essence. • Community is a picture of the Trinitarian aspect of who God is. • Trinitarian relationship is characterized by a structure of order and submission. • The Trinitarian archetype of relationship runs throughout the nature of every type of relational institution, including marriage. QUESTIONS FOR GROUPS 1. What is the basis for relationship between married couples? 2. Why is submission in relationships important? 3. Where do we find the best example of positional leadership with one essence? 4. Why are males positionally responsible for their family? 5. What is the basis for Christian community?

PART I Section three THE HOLY SPIRIT

As we begin to talk about the Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts, it is important for us to have the relationship of the Father and the Son in the Trinity as a framework. Also, it is necessary to point out that our purpose in discussing the Holy Spirit is not to provide a technical manual by which the Holy Spirit can be deciphered or decoded. Instead, we hope to provide a general overview of certain truths which can help a person to understand how it is that they fit into the plan of God as a whole. In order to do this, it is not necessary to have an exhaustive discourse on the person of the Holy Spirit, and thusly this section is not meant to be exhaustive. It is my hope in this section that the reader will be able to glean useful information with which to build an overarching emphasis of Christ in their lives through true knowledge of who God is in the person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity is made up of three distinct personalities. The Father is the positional head of relationship in the Trinity, and the Son is the relational focus of position in the Trinity. When these two are together, they have a very ordered and structured relationship which is reliable and predictable. The Father focuses on the Son, and the Son respects the position of the Father. Their relationship becomes reciprocal and self-sustaining. In truth, the relationship does not actually become anything, because the Scriptures teach that this particular relationship found within in the Trinity actually has no starting point. Therefore, whatever

way in which it exists is the way it has always existed, and always will. When we talk about who the Holy Spirit is, we must understand that he has always been, just as the Father and the Son have always been. Though the Holy Spirit has always been, we must understand that the nature of his relationship to the Father and the Son is confirmatory. What this means is that everything that is done by the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures is meant to confirm the nature of relationship between the Father and the Son within 24 the Trinity . We know that because God is presented in 25 Scripture as being infinite , if the Holy Spirit is God, then He must be infinite as well. However, if God were not infinite, then both God the Father and God the Son would have to precede the Holy Spirit. This is because the nature of the Holy Spirit being confirmatory needs to have a relationship to confirm. Thusly, the confirmatory nature of the Holy Spirit, though infinite, is also submissive to the presence of the relationship between God the Father and God the Son. Therefore, the Holy Spirit can only exist because of the relationship of the Father and the Son, which he exists to confirm. However, because that relationship is infinite, the Holy Spirit also exists infinitely, making his presence essential to the nature of the Trinitarian God. Though the Holy Spirit is 24 25

John 1:32-34 Psalm 139:7-10, Psalm 147:5

infinite, let us take a moment to examine relationships which are not infinite in order to grasp a larger understanding of the implications of the infinite Trinitarian God. As discussed in the previous section, the institution of marriage is the first human institution by which humankind can catch a glimpse of the Trinitarian God. Specifically the interaction between married couples is to be an example for our children and for future generations of who God is. The Apostle Paul, who referred to the growing number of 26 believers as the bride of Christ , understood that in the marriage relationship there is a right and an evil way to act. Christ himself preached that true love has a certain set of qualifications which can be defined and held as a standard by which to judge our own actions by. Jesus preached that the world has a right to judge whether God is involved in our personal ideologies and daily practices based on how we love 27 each other . He stated implicitly that the world would know that He is from God because of whether the personality of God is found in those who claim to follow him. Christians must love each other. He claimed that loving each other was not simply an ethereal belief that lacked any sort of practical application, and that it was not a series of good works that were devoid of content, truth or method. He 26 27

Ephesians 5:25-26 John 10:37-38

claimed that proof of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s involvement in the lives of those who believed in Him needed to be in line with a universal standard of action and of truth. Jesus claimed that anyone who does not exhibit this personality of God gives people the right to wonder whether God is truly involved in the 28 ministry and nature of himself. The question is, what is this personality of God? Quite simply, the personality of God is one which is confirmatory of the 29 relationship between Jesus and God the Father. It is 30 not merely an idea, but it is also an action. Those who exhibit the personality which is confirmatory of the relationship between Christ and God the Father can be universally categorized as loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and having self-control. These are the attributes of the personality that all who believe in Christ should aspire 31 to. They are relational attributes which imply two parties to exist. Thusly, in order for one to love, there must be something to love. In order for someone to be full of joy, they must be different from the actual joy. Just as a water jug cannot be full of water unless it is different from the water, being full of joy requires at least two parties. Relationship is implicitly implied into almost every attribute except the last of these. The attribute of being self-controlled is set aside in 28

John 17:20-23 John 15:26-27 30 James 2:14, John 15:8 31 Galatians 5:18-23 29

this order. For whatever reason it has been set aside, we should take note, that self-control is confirmatory when placed next to the other attributes. It is a statement that each attribute is to be followed, and it implies a sort of economy in which all attributes are represented. This confirmatory aspect of self-control, when placed next to the other attributes, follows the pattern of implying a relationship. Thusly, these universal points define the personality of what it takes to present that Jesus is connected to God the Father the way in which he sought to present. This personality is confirmation that Jesus is the Son of God, as well as God at the same time, according to his own words. Is it any surprise that these attributes are collectively referred to by the Apostle Paul as the “fruit of the Spirit?” We know that biblically speaking the Holy Spirit is confirmatory. If all that we knew of the Spirit is simply its actions, then we would be missing a piece of the puzzle. It appears that the Spirit is more than just confirmatory, but that it is also capable of having a personality which is communicable. In simpler terms, it appears that the Holy Spirit is more than a force in regards to His personality. It appears that the Holy Spirit is capable of being self-aware and communicating. When Jesus said that the confirming agent of his connection to the Father was dependent upon love, and Paul confirms that the way a believer is to love is by allowing the Holy Spirit to grow “fruit” in us, we should understand that Jesus and Paul are saying

that we should become like the personality of the Holy Spirit. This personality is above all confirmatory of the essence of the relational God. Therefore, it cannot confirm something that God is not. This means that love in the context of the Holy Spirit is more than simply an erotic sexuality, or a parental concern. It means that love is to be firstly a confirmation that the Father and Jesus is God, in both action and economy. Thusly, a concept like love cannot be a free floating idea with no relationship to God, and that love as an idea must be under a sort of structure of submission. Secondly, it means that the relationship aspect of God must be confirmed in all things. That means an erotic sexuality alone would be inadequate to describe love, just as a parental concern alone would also be inadequate. The presence of self-control in the list of the “fruit of the Spirit” is the statement that confirms that structure of relational submission found within God the Father’s relationship with God the Son. Therefore, all types of love together, without any structure would also be inadequate. The Holy Spirit is shown throughout Scripture as being capable of presenting the communicative skills to hold complex rules and 32 regulations about its own character. This is indicative of a complex personality which is selfaware, and aware of how it relates to the world around it. 32

Acts 19:6, 20:28, 21:11, Romans 8:5, 16

In marriage, we can see relationship on a human level. Each relationship has a distinct personality which is confirmatory and dependent upon the existence of the relationship itself. In short, when a man and a woman become married, they have a distinct marriage which is completely different from the marriages of other people in the world. One marriage might function as an example of love, whereas another might be utterly dysfunctional. Even more interesting is that no two relationships are dysfunctional or loving the same way. In a functional relationship, one might categorize the truths of that relationship between the married couple as loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, forgiving and so on. And these attributes may not be present in the individuals alone. Perhaps this is that cosmic truth touched on by the old wives tale which proudly proclaims that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Behind every good man is a good woman.â&#x20AC;? However it is explained, the point should be well understood that a relationship does have a personality of its own which is not necessarily the distinct personality of the parties involved in the relationship. With this in mind, sometimes a relational personality might begin to influence the actions, belief and personality of the individuals who created the relationship itself. A husband and wife who have been married for many years often times are not the same people that they once were as individuals. They have assumed the cumulative personality of their joint relationship.

As human beings, we are limited by time and space, and life and death. But we know that God is infinite without beginning or end. In our relationships, we face limits in the way in which they play out. A relationship may begin to take on its own personality between two people because marriage is meant to represent the Trinity, but because of our sinful nature and impending deaths, our relationships must be limited and wanting. However, our limited relationships should provide us with an understanding that a relationship can create a personality which is complex and even self-aware. Imagine the ramifications of having a positive and productive relationship which is not limited by death or time. What would that relationship look like? The Holy Spirit is the answer. He has a distinct mission to confirm the relationship which propagates Him. And He is incredibly complex and deep. In order to understand Spiritual Gifts, we must first understand the nature of the Holy Spirit as being an infinite perfect person thriving off and out of the infinite and correct relationship of God the Father, to God the Son. Without keeping this truth as foundational to our understanding of Spiritual Gifts, we risk turning the Holy Spirit into something, mechanical, impersonal, detached, and all powerful. If we take the Holy Spirit in the context of His relationship to the Father and the Son of the Holy Trinity and if we understand that He has a right to be called a person on the basis of true relational motions to confirm the love between the Father and the Son,

then we can begin to see what he wants for us and why. If we allow the Holy Spirit to talk to us as if He actually has a voice, a mind and a heart for God, then we have found a most powerful ally. Only then can we truly begin to look at who we are. POINTS TO REMEMBER • The Holy Spirit always seeks to confirm the relationship of the Father and the Son of the Trinitarian God. • The Holy Spirit is in both positional and relationally submissive to both the Father and the Son in the Holy Trinity. • The Holy Spirit has a distinct personality which is self-aware, and capable of complex and relational motions, such as love, and selfcontrol. • Humanity is capable of producing a relationship that has a similar confirmatory personality to that of the Holy Spirit within their marriage relationships.

QUESTIONS FOR GROUPS 1. What is the basis by which the world will know that Jesus and God are one? 2. How is the love which Jesus says Christians should exhibit connected to the “fruit of the Spirit?” 3. What are the “fruit of the Spirit?” How are they connected to the Holy Spirit? 4. All relationships are unique in the productive personalities they create; why is it interesting that they are also different in their dysfunctions? 5. Why should the Holy Spirit be treated as a Person?

PART I Section four THE SPIRIT MOVES

As we explore who we are according to the Scriptures, we have come across several key points to understanding what it means to be human. We have also briefly explored the person of the Holy Spirit and found his nature and intent for humanity. Now that the appropriate foundations have been laid, let us now explore the technical idea of a Spiritual Gift. This next section will provide a brief explanation as to what Spiritual Gifts are, and provide us with categories by which to better understand them. This section, like the ones preceding it, are not intended to be exhaustive but to allow the reader a sense of direction and familiarity with the topic of Spiritual Gifts so that he might be able to better explore the topic in his own personal relationship with God. The Holy Spirit is a person who seeks always to confirm the relationship between the Father and Son in the Trinitarian God. We know from the writings of the Apostle Paul, the way in which He does this has a specific personality to it that can be categorized as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;fruit of the Spirit.â&#x20AC;? Therefore, everything that the Holy Spirit does seeks first to confirm the relationship of God the Father and God the Son. Therefore, any personality that does not seek first to confirm the relationship of the Father to 33 the Son in the Trinity, is not the Holy Spirit. This personality trait is cohesive amongst the Trinity, as it appears that the infinite nature of the Holy Spirit has 33

1 Corinthians 12:3

affected the relationship between even God the 34 Father and God the Son. Indeed, even modern Biblical Scholars refer to the entirety of the Scripture being divided into two sections. The first section is God the Father moving humanity toward a relationship with his Son, and the second half is the reverse; with God the Son moving humanity toward a relationship with his Father. It is an undeniable truth of Scripture that the cohesive attitude of the Trinitarian God is a push toward the relational sovereignty of the Father and Son in the Trinity. The Holy Spirit always confirms the sovereignty of this relationship, and nothing that confirms anything else is consistent with the Holy Spiritâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personality. From this knowledge, we can glean that the Holy Spirit will always confirm the Trinitarian Father and Son before it confirms itself. We can also glean that it will never seek to confirm itself as that would be implying its existence apart from the Father and Son in the Trinity. In fact, there are absolutely no biblical references to the Holy Spirit ever referring to itself in the Holy Scriptures. The Holy Spirit is confirmed as being necessary and existent by God the Son, but only as a confirming agent for his relationship with the Father. Therefore the Holy Spirit does not seek out confirmation of itself, and any confirmation of itself that does not place it as submissive to the relationship of Father and Son in

John 10:30-38

the Trinitarian God cannot be respecting the Holy Spirit’s intent or personality. With this said, it becomes obvious that the Holy Spirit in its mission and intent would not seek for anything or anyone to be lifted up in place of the relationship in the Trinity. The personality of the Holy Spirit would not confirm itself as an autonomous entity in the Trinity, and it would not confirm anyone else in this light. Thusly, no attribute, gift, or person that is used by the Holy Spirit will be solely recognized when becoming a part of the Holy Spirit’s work. It is simply not in his personality to do this. Instead, the Holy Spirit would use the respective attribute, gift, or person to glorify the relationship of Father to Son in the Trinity. Anything less or more denies the nature of the unique personality of the Holy Spirit. Taking all these things into account, we can now begin to explore the moving of the Holy Spirit. Put simply, the way the Holy Spirit moves has a distinct personal signature called the “fruit of the 35 Spirit.” This “fruit” is at the basis of all movements of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, as we look at Spiritual Gifts, we must keep the “fruit” in mind. This basis, however, must also take into account the Trinitarian nature of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is one of a three part relationship which is both harmonious and comprised of distinct personalities. Thusly, as the Holy Spirit both is an example of this truth of the Trinity, and is itself intent on expressing this truth, we 35

Galatians 5:22

must expect that its movement to express the truth of relational harmony through distinction will be a unique quality of its actions. Simply put, the personality of the Holy Spirit will only move to support diverse personalities, while maintaining harmony. This means that the way the Holy Spirit moves cannot be confined to one form of expression, but in fact will support multiple forms of expression that harmoniously display its cohesive â&#x20AC;&#x153;fruit.â&#x20AC;? There is not one Spiritual Gift, or simply one way of acting, but instead there are many ways in which the Holy Spirit acts to accomplish its confirmation of the relationship of God the Father to God the Son. This is why the Apostle Paul eludes to humanity being gifted by the Holy Spirit with many 36 gifts coming from one Spirit. This is to be an example of the Trinity. As humankind was created in the image of God and the Holy Spirit is the confirming agent of that image as found in Christ, some further implications need to be considered before we address the specific types of Spiritual Gifts. The first is that being created by God and being made in his image links humanity to God intrinsically. This means that man is not only linked to God the Father and God the Son, but also God the Holy Spirit. As we talk about Spiritual Gifts, we must consider that the image that we were made in includes the personality of the Holy Spirit, and in

1 Corinthians 12:4-6

fact derives its most basic personality traits and aspirations from that of the Holy Spirit. Humankindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finite nature makes it impossible for any single human to fully express such an infinite personality, but it should be noted that our personalities at their base should be attributed to the personality of the Holy Spirit primarily. This is why the Holy Scriptures alludes to the primary focus of humankind as being one of praise, adoration and glory to God. This attitude and purpose, which all men possess equally and are meant to fulfill, did not start with humanity, but in fact is a finite representation of the personality of the infinite Holy Spirit in whose image we were made. It is interesting that humankindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tendency towards worship does not diminish when it becomes misplaced. Human beings must seek something to be their God; they must 37 worship. Likewise, the universally recognized propensity for men to experience moral motions based in seemingly unrealistic altruistic behaviors such as unconditional love, are also founded in our 38 very creation as beings made in the image of God. Therefore, the movement of the Holy Spirit in the lives of humanity is more than just an ethereal experience which has no bearing on our tangible everyday existence. In fact, the way the Holy Spirit moves in humanity is so intrinsically linked to

37 38

Romans 1:23, 25 Romans 1:19-25

mankindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personal will and intent that knowing who the Holy Spirit is provides mankind with the only logical basis for being uniquely communal in a chaotic world, and being capable of moral motions in a world which otherwise has no absolute standard by which to base its actions. In short, understanding the Holy Spirit is the key to understanding the uniquely and intrinsically diverse and morally cohesive nature of our own humanity. Thusly, as we talk about Spiritual Gifts we need to understand that the gift being talked about is a gift of both cohesion and diversity. Spiritual Gifts by their very nature are movements of the Holy Spirit in humanity to understand how we are to be harmonious and yet distinct, and in doing so bring glory to God. They are ,mystically speaking, a sort of cosmic mirror through which a man can step through and touch that which reflected him. The Holy Spirit lends humanity the image of its own personality. Because of humankindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finite nature, we cannot express infinitely the Holy Spiritâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personality, but at our core we each exhibit, in a nonexhaustive but true way, this personality. It motivates all of our moral actions. As Christians have struggled to understand how they relate to God, they have often dealt with the topic of Spiritual Gifts by categorizing them. These categories are non-exhaustive and extra-biblical in that there is no systemized catalog found in the Scriptures for a way in which to define Spiritual Gifts. When they were first discussed in the writings of the

Apostle Paul, he did not set forth any systemized theology, but instead wrote about how they were to fall in line with the personality of the Holy Spirit. Although we are unsure as to why he mentions them without any systemized theology to complement them, it could be assumed that the previous rule stated could apply to Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s writings; the Holy Spirit does not seek to bring focus to itself. If Paul had given a systemized theology at the time, it might have led to more dissension than was already present on the subject. Instead he chose wisely to focus on what the Spirit itself would focus on; how do we bring Glory to Christ in our actions? As we explore the movement of the Holy Spirit, we will use distinctions for memorization and cataloging purposes only. It is important in reading this section to understand that a systemized theology is not present in Scripture in regards to Spiritual Gifts. This section is not written to create any sort of systemized theology or to be exhaustive on the topic, but instead to provide the reader with a way in which to understand the topic. As we continue we will discuss three specific ways in which the Holy Spirit moves. Each of these ways will be their own separate sections that will be comprised of relatively short explanations of the overall categories of movement, as well as each gift that falls within that category. These categories of movement for our purposes are called Motivative Gifts, Enabling Gifts, and Manifestative Gifts. Neither these categories nor the explanations are to

represent an exhaustive concordance of all the gifts. Instead we hope to provide the reader with a small but substantial bit of knowledge of whom they are as made in the image of God, and how they relate to the Church as the bride of Christ. It is our hope that those who walk away from this booklet will take some new found knowledge of how they can better glorify God, by better understanding who they are. Each gift represented here shows only one aspect of the infinite Holy Spirit and the way in which he moves, but we believe that with an open mind and heart, and with an intent filled love for Christ and his Church, each person will find his unique place in the church, and thusly in Christ, and hopefully learn to glorify God in his own way, together.

POINTS TO REMEMBER • The Holy Spirit does not seek to confirm itself. • The Holy Spirit does not seek to bring glory to anything but the relationship of the Father and the Son. • Our motivation to glorify God through morality is a reflection specifically of the Holy Spirit. • Our morality is a reflection specifically of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity. QUESTIONS FOR GROUPS 1. Why won’t the Holy Spirit lift up a single individual, gift, or itself? 2. What is the personality of the Holy Spirit called? 3. The infinite nature of the Holy Spirit coupled with the finite nature of humanity, limits man’s ability to do what things? 4. How is humankind’s morality and motivation intrinsically linked to the Holy Spirit? 5. How does knowing who the Holy Spirit is affect humanity?

PART II Section one MOTIVATIVE GIFTS

The first of the spiritual movements we will be discussing in this section is something we have come to call a Motivative Gift. As you read this section and the listed Motivative Gifts, there are a few things to note. A Motivative Gift is a way of defining the way in which the Holy Spirit moves in humanity. This particular way describes a specific spiritually created propensity to act out the “fruit of the Spirit” in every person’s unique humanity. This means that a Motivative Gift tends to be a driving quality within a person’s humanity which helps them to act out the “fruit of the Spirit” effectively. Due to the universal presence of the “fruit of the Spirit” within the image of God, which all humanity possesses, a Motivated Gift is not limited solely to those who believe in Jesus. Motivative Gifts are, at least, seminally present in all of humanity at birth. As we refer to a Motivative Gift, or really any Spiritual Gift, it should be observed that we refer to them as a Spiritual Gift in the sense of a spiritual movement which is in full bloom. In truth, a Motivative Gift which is present in a non-believer is not in full bloom though it carries the same essence as a full grown Spiritual Gift. Therefore, both a believer and a non-believer may possess a spiritual gift, though that gift is only in full bloom when a believer possesses it. This truth is a necessary groundwork for understanding Motivative Gifts in particular as they and Enabling Gifts are the only Spiritual Gifts which are imbedded into the humanity of every human being. Thusly, all humans can be seen

as being entrusted with their very own Spiritual Gift to grow and develop, and thus all human beings must be able to relate to the concept of the Motivative Gift, whether they believe in its Christian origin or not. Is it any wonder that humanity as a whole has a clinical fixation with love? All of humanity longs to act in the direction of the “fruit of the Spirit” regardless or their maturity or knowledge. The Motivative Gift being universally important to humankind, and universally present in humankind, becomes a point of resonance for all of humanity to better understand their place in life. Though the Apostle Paul did not speak exhaustively on the issue, he did elude to certain common motivational human aspects as being spiritually driven. The following list, though not exhaustive, is an example of these Motivative Gifts. They are meant to describe, based on an amalgam of spiritual and empirical observation, the way in which these motivations act in society and in religion. The lists and description to follow are not meant to provide a rulebook by which to judge one’s own “spiritual gift,” but rather to allow the reader to make an informed opinion of the way in which laymen and scholars have sometimes viewed these spiritual propensities. As in all things Trinitarian, the Holy Spirit has been known to use the wisdom of man to its foolishness, and thusly we provide this next section as a humble observation tool and nothing more. It is our hope that as we progress through these lists and descriptions,

we may find something of value in each of our own spiritual lives.

THE PROPHET

The spiritually motivated propensity toward speaking the truth in such a way that it is accompanied with an overwhelming sense of responsibility to act upon it by those who receive it.

I. CHARACTERISTICS A. He is not very patient, especially with people and their problems. B. He is disorganized and depends on others to keep him on schedule. C. He is very aware. D. He is usually much more pleasant when not speaking or preaching. E. He has a strong self-image and is individualistic. F. He has a strong sense of duty, not caring what others think about what he does because of it.

G. He is very opinionated. H. He is more likely to be depressed and serious than lighthearted about life. I. He desires to be alone frequently. J. He is not usually inhibited, but is usually expressive. K. He will be more interested in his own aims and desires than in other people's aims and desires. L. He is more likely to be authoritative, especially about Scriptures. M. He will be dominant, not submissive.

II. BURDENS, DESIRES AND STRENGTHS A. He is burdened to expose inconsistencies and fallacies

in others.

B. He must speak. He wouldn’t be content just writing. C. He wants to make all the “softies” in his

social group stronger. D. He speaks with urgency and presses for rapid decisions. E. He desires to see a world without despair. He wants to see passion. F. He wants to stir your conscience. G. He speaks to convict H. He enjoys speaking publicly and does it with boldness. I. He is more likely to be hostile than tolerant, especially about morality. J. He is usually a disciplinarian. He wants things done right. K. He is able to make quick decisions; is seldom indecisive. L. He is sometimes less discerning than he believes he is. M. He sees problems where others do not. N. He is idealistic.

III. SPECIAL NEEDS AND WEAKNESSES A. He doesn’t like to study. He relies on others to do his background work. He has a poor memory for details. B. He doesn’t relate well one-on-one. He doesn’t worry about being gracious. C. He over-categorizes. “Mostly,” “sometimes,” “often,” and “80%” are not words from his vocabulary. He replaces them with “all”. D. He believes it his responsibility to change the world. E. He judges others quickly. F. He jumps to conclusions and makes decisions before all the facts are available to him G. He does not analyze the details, H. He tends to look at the negative side of things.

I. He does not make or follow through with long-range goals and plans. J. He tends to be selfish. K. He uses sarcasm and teasing to get his point across, and is not generally tactful. L. He is bossy and impatient. He has little tolerance for mistakes. He wants things done his way now, M. He is likely to stir up trouble. N. He is cautious about making friends. He is suspicious by nature. 0. He is able to hold the audienceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention. IV. HOW HE IS MISUNDERSTOOD BY OTHERS A. Others think he does not understand. B. Others think he looks at humanity negatively. C. Others think he makes some people doubt their place in life.

D. Others think he is insensitive and cold and has no love for people. E. Others think he is a poor listener. F. Others think he is too self-disciplined and canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a good time. G. Others think he receives joy in hurting the feelings of others. H. Others think he is too demanding V. HOW THIS GIFT CAN BE USED NEGATIVELY A. Causes lack of compassion. B. Causes pride and self-righteousness. C. Causes anger and bitterness. D. Causes lack of forgiveness. E. Causes discouragement because of unrepentant attitude by others. F. Causes him to sometimes fall into the very sins he preaches against.

G. Causes him to never say, “I’m sorry.” H. Causes a pessimistic attitude.

VI. WHERE TO USE THIS GIFT A. In revival speaking. B. In mentorship C. In problem-solving for social groups D. In counseling to help point out direction for a person’s life. E. In helping to prepare groups of people with a specific mission. F. In prison ministry.

THE TEACHER

The spiritually motivated propensity toward clarifying the mechanisms and details of life, in such a way that all information is received as close as possible to its original transmission, and content.

I. CHARACTERISTICS A. He has a love for knowledge. B. He usually enjoys reading. C. He is not usually an extrovert and may be a little shy of strangers. D. He prefers groups to individuals when teaching. E. He is creative and imaginative. F. He is usually confident in his drive to accomplish accurate self-image. G. He is generally self-disciplined.

H. He sometimes is technical, usually methodical. I. He is genius-prone. J. He loves charts, graphs and lists.

II. BURDENS, DESIRES AND STRENGTHS A. He has a great burden to know and teach the whole of everything he learns. B. He relies highly upon the authority of scholars. C. He has an organized system to store facts. D. He would sometimes rather just do research. E. The use of a fact out of context upsets him. F. He will question the knowledge of those who teach. G. He puts a great importance on education.

H. He is an accumulator of knowledge and is analytical. I. He is usually objective in making decisions, based on facts not feelings. J. He enjoys studying for long periods of time. He likes it quiet, needs time to think K. He likes to see things clearly and is always looking for better ways to communicate truth. L. He is enthusiastic when explaining. He stimulates others to learn; easily understood when teaching. M. He is always concerned with accuracy, often dwelling on the trivial. III. SPECIAL NEEDS AND WEAKNESSES A. He tends to be critical of those who differ with his method. B. He puts great emphasis on word usage and pronunciation.

C. He tends to measure othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; validity by the size of their schooling. D. He finds other peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s material hard to present. E. He finds practical application hard to present. F. He can have a small need for relationships with people. He sometimes needs people only as an audience. G. He is more likely to talk than to listen. H. He needs to see a positive response from his students. I. He may have a narrow field of interest. J. He can easily spend more time studying than actually teaching. K. He usually makes friends cautiously. L. He has little tolerance for mistakes. M. He reads directions only when all else fails.

IV. HOW HE IS MISUNDERSTOOD BY OTHERS A. Others think he is a poor counselor. B. Others think he gives too many details. C. Others think he is more interested in presenting facts than he is in his students. D. Others think he doesn’t have time for them. E. Others often think he is boring. V. HOW THIS GIFT CAN BE USED NEGATIVELY A. Causes pride and feeling of superiority because of his knowledge. This is reinforced when others consider him a final authority. B. Causes him to lose sight of people’s needs. C. Causes discouragement and disenchantment because of others’ lack of interest. D. Causes lack of zeal.

VI. WHERE TO USE THIS GIFT A. As a teacher of teachers. B. As a writer and developer of curriculum. C. As a college professor or seminary teacher.

THE SERVANT

The spiritually motivated propensity toward providing stability to a social environment through practical means.

I. CHARACTERISTICS A. He is usually ambitious. B. He doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to be in the public eye to be fulfilled. C. He enjoys manual projects. D. He is often involved in a variety of activities and volunteers for many different jobs. E. He is loyal, sincere, tolerant, faithful and devoted. F.

He, generally, is easy going, likable, congenial, and inoffensive.

G. He usually wants people to like him. H. He listens to others without being critical.

He is usually inhibited publicly, not usually expressive.

He is not dominating and more a follower than a leader.

K. He is usually good with mechanical work.

II. BURDENS, DESIRES AND STRENGTHS A. He is burdened with others’ needs, and quickly responds to the needs. B. He is impressed with the need to respond when exhorted to serve. C. He is usually unable to say, “No.” D. He will very seldom step in as a leader. E. He likes to meet immediate needs. F.

He likes to have a good leader he can support.

G. He enjoys doing mechanical or menial jobs in his social group. H. He often has a high sense of empathy.

He is usually very patient.

He avoids drawing attention to himself.

K. He is often considered a workaholic.

III. SPECIAL NEEDS AND WEAKNESSES A. He may emphasize mechanical needs over relational needs. B. He is not as concerned about the completed task as he is about the immediate service; has a tendency not to follow through. C. He may under-emphasize verbal communication. D. He may jump to meet needs in his social group or in other homes before those of his own family. E. He often has a low self-esteem. F.

He needs to know that his efforts are appreciated.

G. He will take his own time, usually working slowly and deliberately. H. He does not stand out in a crowd. I.

He likes for a task to challenge him.

He will attach himself to someone who is doing exciting things and will allow that excitement to spill over on himself.

K. He is controlled more by circumstances than principles. L.

He is only satisfied when he has done more for others than others have done for him.

M. He avoids long term responsibilities. N. He is a master of decisive indecision. O. He reads directions when all else fails.

IV. HOW HE IS MISUNDERSTOOD BY OTHERS A. Others think he is pushy, doing things without asking leaders. B. Others think he excludes them.

C. Others think he is impatient and jumps in too fast. D. Others think he neglects relational needs.

V. HOW THIS GIFT CAN BE USED NEGATIVELY A. Causes pride because of work he has done. B. Causes feeling of insignificance. C. Causes lack of burden for people. D. Causes lack of concern for personal growth. E. Causes lack of quality workmanship due to lack of knowledge or skills.

THE PASTOR-TEACHER The spiritually motivated propensity towards communal harmony through personal investment, and long term relational commitment in a mentor capacity. I. CHARACTERISTICS A. He is usually patient. B. He is usually willing to invest personal time for the needs of others. C. He is usually a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Jack of All and Master of One.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; D. He is people-centered; He loves them. E. He is often authoritative in his bearing. F. He is more of a leader than a follower. G. He is expressive, composed and sensitive. H. He draws people to himself easily. I. He has a pleasing personality.

II. BURDENS. DESIRES AND STRENGTHS A. He has a burden to see others learn. B. He is protective of those under him. C. He is burdened to tackle the whole of humanity’s needs. D. He usually doesn’t like to present the same material more than once. E. He is willing to study what is necessary to provide for his group. F. He is more relationship-oriented than task-oriented. G. He wishes to give direction to those under his care. H. He desires to look after the spiritual welfare of others. I. He has a high sense of empathy and is tolerant of people’s weaknesses. J. He is able to resolve problems between people, by compromising rather than going

to either extreme. He is a peacemaker and diplomat. K. He is sensitive to hurt feelings or problems, which can cause a loss of unity. L. He has sensitivity to the overall attitude and spirit of his social group. M. He remembers peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s names and faces. N. He is self-sacrificing when it comes to his people. O. He is more concerned with doing for others than they are concerned with doing for him. P. He is faithful and devoted to his people, often becoming a workaholic. Q. He learns to become an all-purpose person in order to meet needs.

III. SPECIAL NEEDS AND WEAKNESSES A. He fails to involve other people.

B. He becomes too involved by doing it all himself, and becomes too independent. C. He doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make people accountable to the rest of the group. D. He may become exclusive because he already has as many as he can handle in his group. E. He may become overly protective of his group. F. He tends to use other people as machines, if not kept in check.

IV. HOW HE IS MISUNDERSTOOD BY OTHERS A. Others think it is his job to do all the work. B. Others think he should always be available. C. Others think he knows all the answers. D. Others think he should be at every social function.

E. Others think he should be in charge of involving others. V. HOW THIS GIFT CAN BE USED NEGATIVELY A. Causes discouragement because the load gets heavy. B. Causes pride because his group looks up to him. C. Causes family problems because of too little time and attention. D. Causes selfishness and jealousy when other groups are pursued or paid attention. VI. WHERE TO USE THIS GIFT A. As a school teacher. B. As a social worker. C. As a special leader (youth, children, etc.). D. As a halfway house, runaway or abuse worker.

F. As a dormitory leader in college, orphanage, childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home, etc.

THE MERCY SHOWER

The spiritually motivated propensity to identify through sympathy, and empathy with those in need. I.CHARACTERISTICS

A. He is usually soft-spoken, though talkative. B. He is outgoing with a low-key, inoffensive personality. C. He finds it very easy to express himself. D. He appears to always love. E. He is usually good-natured, wants people to like him. F. He talks easily with people and is easy to talk to. G. He is responsive to people, is a good listener. H. He is more subjective than objective; decisions are made on feelings more than fact, impulsive. I. He is peaceable and agreeable, does not overpower others. J. He does not analyze the details.

II. BURDENS, DESIRES AND STRENGTHS

A. He has a burden to comfort others. B. He is sympathetic and sensitive. C. He likes to fellowship with other sympathetic people. D. His heart goes out to the poor, the aged, the ill, the underprivileged, etc. E. He is patient, but responds to othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; needs quickly. F. He attracts people who are hurting or rejoicing. G. He is non-condemning, not a gripe (sometimes can be when with other mercy showers). H. He identifies emotionally and mentally with others. I. He is patient, sincere, responsive, and tolerant. J. He can become insecure, withdrawn and somewhat remote. K. He remembers peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s names and faces. L. He is self-sacrificing. M. He likes to think about things for a while before making decisions.

III. SPECIAL NEEDS AND WEAKNESSES

A. He makes a poor counselor without additional discipline. B. He resents others who are not as understanding as he. C. He is not always logical, but sometimes emotional. D. He lets others use him. E. He often has a low self-image. F. He can be indecisive. G. He can become prone to gossip, especially around other mercy showers. H. He gets depressed easily. I. He is controlled by his circumstances. J. He is pessimistic.

IV. HOW HE IS MISUNDERSTOOD BY OTHERS

A. Others think he is weak. B. Others think he is a compromiser. C. Others accuse him of taking the blame for people, or protecting them. D. Others think he is a â&#x20AC;&#x153;softyâ&#x20AC;?. E. Others think he is too emotional, and that he cries too easily.

V. HOW THIS GIFT CAN BE USED NEGATIVELY

A. Causes pride because of his ability to relate to others. B. Causes disregard for rules and authority. C. Causes lack of discipline because of strong feeling for those who hurt due to disobedience and sin. D. Causes him to complain and gripe.

VI WHERE TO USE THIS GIFT

A. As a hospital, nursing home, shut-in worker. B. As a funeral coordinator and visitor. C. As a poverty center worker (if properly disciplined). D. As an usher or greeter, welcome center worker. E. As a case worker for shut-ins. F. As a hospitality person. G. As a telephone center worker.

THE GIVER

The spiritually motivated propensity toward providing stability to a social environment, or individual through sacrifice of material resources.

I. CHARACTERISTICS A. He is usually well organized. B.

He keeps to himself.

He doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like his giving to be publicized.

D. He usually has the ability to make money as well, but not always. E.

He has an accurate self-image.

He is more likely to be lighthearted than depressed.

G. He is particularly interested in helping people. H. He wants people to like him. I.

He is conscientious and self-disciplined.

II. BURDENS, DESIRES AND STRENGTHS A. He is sensitive to the financial and material needs of others. B.

He is alert to needs others might overlook.

He is always ready to give.

D. He wants his gift to be of high quality. E.

He has the ability to make quick decisions concerning finances.

He wants to know his gift is being used properly.

G. He usually has a burden for reaching people. H. He is not the first to give to a project, but will wait for the project to prove itself I.

He is sympathetic.

. III. SPECIAL NEEDS AND WEAKNESSES A. He may measure othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; morality by the amount of their giving.

He judges others’ success by the amount of their material assets.

He thinks everyone who is moral has to give as he does, and cannot understand why they ignore the truth.

D. He usually gives to projects, but not to individuals.

IV. HOW HE IS MISUNDERSTOOD BY OTHERS A. Others think he is trying to control them with his money. B.

Others think he condemns them because they don’t give as he does.

Others think he condemns them because they don’t have as much as he does.

D. Others are sometimes jealous of him. E.

Others think he is materialistic because of his emphasis on money.

Others think he tries to buy his position in life.

V. HOW THIS GIFT CAN BE USED NEGATIVELY A. Causes pride because of the amount of his gift. B.

Causes blindness to spiritual needs and qualities.

C. Causes blindness to other areas of service. D. Causes discontent when decisions are made contrary to where his interests are or where be has given. E.

Causes critical attitude of those unable to give.

Causes wrong motives for giving and morality.

G. Causes him to mistake a burden for giving to a cause as a burden for full participation in that cause.

VI. WHERE TO USE THIS GIFT A. Anywhere large or small amounts of money are needed.

As a member of finance or a budget committee.

As a member of a community outreach committee, or a building committee.

D. As a trustee. E.

As a member of school board or commission.

As a part of poverty, rescue mission, migrant mission committee member.

G. As a sponsor to underwrite special projects, radio, or TV campaigns. H. To meet financial needs of an individual apart from programs.

THE EXHORTER

The spiritually motivated propensity toward providing stability to a disparaging social environment or individual by providing a means of commiseration or identification. I. CHARACTERISTICS A. He is result-oriented. B. He is comfortable working one-on-one or in-groups. C. He is a very practical person, usually analytical. D. He is usually a good counselor. E. He is expressive in a group setting; the group listens when he speaks. F. He is usually impulsive, needs selfdiscipline. G. He is more tolerant than hostile toward people, usually sympathetic.

H. He is accurate in his self-image. I. He is serious minded, conservative, logical. J. He can be talkative. K. He is an orderly person, likes things done in an orderly fashion. L. He is enthusiastic, usually cheerful and bubbly. M. He is a person of charts, graphs and lists. He is bored with trivial things. II. BURDENS, DESIRES AND STRENGTHS A. He is able to help others find their problems and solutions. B. He shows interest mostly in the practical areas in things that he studies. He prefers studying practical knowledge more than philosophy. C. He is burdened to relate his personal beliefs to practical life.

D. He would rather not rely on faith, but on practical things. E. He puts great importance on the natural order of things. F. He has several steps of action to solve every problem. G. He has the ability to motivate others to action. H. His material is usually topical when teaching. I. He is objective and makes decisions logically rather than on feelings. J. He wants to see everyone reaching full potential. K. He believes there is solution to every problem. L. He is a positive thinker, a strong believer that things will be better tomorrow. M. He prefers the analysis to the task itself.

N. He occasionally needs to be alone where itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quiet in order to think. O. He is extremely creative. P. He likes being the center of attention. Q. He outwardly demonstrates competence. II. SPECIAL NEEDS AND WEAKNESSES A. He may question the value of deep doctrinal and faith based, or philosophical studies. B. He may have difficulty accepting himself because of the need of being an example. C. He is upset with impractical teaching. D. He often interrupts other people because of his enthusiasm. E. He enjoys motivating people to do more, do better and do their best.

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III.HOW HE IS MISUNDERSTOOD BY OTHERS A. Others think he is not concerned with things that have immediate results. B. Others think he makes everything too simple. C. Others think he takes facts out of context just to suit his purpose. D. Others think he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t use enough facts. E. Others think he puts too much emphasis on edification. F. Others think he is too positive when things look bleak. V. HOW THIS GIFT CAN BE USED NEGATIVELY A. Causes pride in his motivational abilities. B. Causes him to lose sight of people because of program emphasis

C. Causes discouragement when results are not evident.

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THE EVANGELIST The spiritually motivated propensity toward proclaiming indiscriminately the metaphysical state of humanity, generally summed up in the image of God and the relationship of humanity to that image. I. CHARACTERISTICS A. He is outgoing and seldom meets a stranger. B. He is well groomed and neatly dressed. C. He usually keeps to himself in personal times. D. He feels unfulfilled working one-on-one or with groups. E. He is active socially, gets along well with others. F. He is more lighthearted than depressed. G. He is expressive in speech and communication.

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H. He is subjective rather than objective in viewing things. I. He is impulsive at times, not usually selfdisciplined and likely to make decisions based on emotions. J. He appears peaceable and agreeable. K. He displays enthusiasm. L. He is talkative and often interrupts people. M. He enjoys being center stage and having everybody looking at him. II. BURDENS, DESIRES AND STRENGTHS A. He has a consuming passion for people who are lost. B. He believes philosophical certainty is the greatest pursuit of all. C. He has a desire to meet lost people. D. He would rather confront the lost with a positive philosophy than anything else.

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E. He is forgiving. F. He usually relies on basic, memorized facts. G. He has a great joy in seeing men and women no longer lost. H. He demonstrates an air of competence. I. He holds the attention of the listener. J. He remembers people’s names and faces. K. He works hard to become a good listener,

III. SPECIAL NEEDS AND WEAKNESSES A. He thinks everybody should be “speakers of the truth”. B. He may be satisfied to get even one person to listen to him and agree. C. He may turn people off by pressing for agreement.

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D. He believes strongly in â&#x20AC;&#x153;tough loveâ&#x20AC;?. E. He tends to dominate other people. F. He thinks every message must be an attempt to help the lost. This usually causes him to be weak on teaching and facts. IV. HOW HE IS MISUNDERSTOOD BY OTHERS A. Others think he is not interested in any way of helping people but his own. B. Others think he is pushy. C. Others think his aggressiveness is for his own benefit. D. Others think he is more interested in numbers than people. E. Others think he judges their morality against his own standards and abilities. V. HOW THIS GIFT CAN BE USED NEGATIVELY A. Causes pride in those who follow him. B. Causes failure to grow and learn.

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C. Causes him to see people as numbers rather than people with needs. D. Causes discouragement when followers are few or infrequent. E. Causes lack of concern for facts that cannot be used to support his position, even if they do not disagree.

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THE ADMINISTRATOR

The spiritually motivated propensity toward visualizing and implementing productive structures out of chaotic elements.

I. CHARACTERISTICS A. He is a man with a dream. B. He is goal oriented. C. He is well disciplined. D. He usually works best under heavy pressure. E. He is not a procrastinator. F. He is often a good motivator. G. He is serious minded, highly motivated, intense. H. He has an accurate self-image.

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I He is more interested in the welfare of the group than his own desires. J. He is a perfectionist. He wants what he is involved in done well. K. He loves drafts, charts and lists. L. He wants things done his way now. M. He is a workaholic. N. He keeps his emotions hidden. 0. He is bored with the trivial. P. He is dominant, not passive. Q. He likes to be center-stage with people looking at him.

II. BURDENS, DESIRES AND STRENGTHS A. He dreams big dreams for the future and his social group.

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He has a burden to move onto a new task as soon as he has completed one, usually having already planned it.

He delegates wherever possible, but knows where he canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t.

D. He canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bear defeat. He wants to win. E.

He can harmonize the various affairs of his social group.

He is willing to attempt impossible tasks.

G. He is capable of making quick decisions and sticking to them. H. He will assume leadership when there is no leadership in the group. I.

He is skilled in planning.

He makes decisions logically, strictly on facts, not feelings

He likes tasks that challenge him.

He is enthusiastic, gets people excited.

M. He plans ahead and works on a schedule.

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N. He demonstrates competence. O. He sees the whole picture quickly. III. SPECIAL NEEDS AND WEAKNESSES A. He appears on the outside to be organized, but usually isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. B.

He looks at the overall picture and may miss the smaller details.

He may make decisions based on logic rather than hard facts.

D. He doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like to admit to making a mistake or to weaknesses. E.

He may be insensitive.

He is often hard to please. His standards are too high. He is not tolerant of mistakes.

G. He is not good at remembering names. H. He may not be gracious when hurried or busy. I. He will manipulate others into doing what he wants done. He uses people.

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IV. HOW HE IS MISUNDERSTOOD BY OTHERS A. Others think he is cold. B.

Others think he is pushy.

Others think he is using them because of his lack of explanation.

D. Others think he is not concerned with people. E.

Others think he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have time for others.

Others think he is selfish, trying to be a big shot.

G. Others think he is lazy if he administrates without getting involved himself. H. Others think he is bossy and impatient. I.

Others think he is too independent.

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V. HOW THIS GIFT CAN BE USED NEGATIVELY A. Causes selfishness because of success, not sharing glory with those under him. B.

Causes blame-shifting when something goes wrong.

Causes discouragement and frustration when goals arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t met or things go too slow.

D. Causes anger and mistreatment of those who disagree with plans, goals and methods. E.

Causes wrong motives.

Causes lack of concern for people or their needs.

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PART II Section two ENABLING GIFTS

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Motivative Gifts are the essence of mankind’s personality, but they are not the only type of gifts the spirit uses in confirming the relationship between God the Father, and God the Son. Just as mankind has a distinct personality which seemingly compels him to act in certain ways, he seems to have another equally important element which helps to form that drive into something particular and productive. Much like a ship has its sails which can catch the wind and propel the ship forward, it likewise has a rudder which helps channel the sheer force of wind into something useable. In Spiritual Gifts, there is also a rudder of sorts, and it is called an Enabling Gift. Enabling Gifts are movements of the Holy Spirit which take hold of the force provided by every individual’s Motivative Gift, and give it a direction. They exist as a very small but powerful and necessary aspect of Spiritual Gifts, and as such, there are respectively only four which are mentioned in Scripture. Unlike their motivational counterparts, Enabling Gifts are not intrinsic in the personality of humanity, and thus are not innately present within humanity at this point. These particular gifts are given at acceptance of the truth found in the Holy Scriptures and exemplified in Jesus of Nazareth. Without accepting that truth, it becomes impossible by the very nature of the Enabling Gift to use an Enabling Gift. At least one of these gifts is always present with every believer’s Motivative Gift, guiding and

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directing their paths. As we explore them briefly in the following lists, it should be noted that because these particular gifts are not seeded in the literal personality of humanity but instead are complimentary to the Motivative Gifts, they do not come with specific personality traits. Each Enabling Gift is a direction. Just as a map has a universal understanding of its directions summed up in terms which have the same meaning no matter the longitude and latitude of the map, Enabling Gifts are also cohesive in their understanding. Simply put, Enabling Gifts are much like the terms north and south on a world map; whether in Africa or India, the terms do not change their meaning. This is the same in regards to Enabling Gifts. Therefore, we have provided for the reader a simple definition of each gift so that there may be a universal understanding of how these four gifts, when accompanying a Motivational Gift, can help to create a direction for our distinct personalities. We would ask that you consider how each of these four movements of the Spirit are interconnected with our own personal motivations, and ask ourselves whether our own productivity could be fulfilled without them. Lastly, it should be noted in dealing with the Enabling Gifts that they all seem to have an intrinsic connection to the idea of alethic, or absolute truth. These four gifts seem to provide the receiver with a seemingly supernatural conception of truth, in varying degrees of application, which give any Motivative Gift a special certainty as to the best

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situational use of that gift. A Motivational Gift is an amazing thing by itself, but removed from the presence of an Enabling Gift, it would be reasonable to view them more as a curse. Much like a ship with no rudder, without the Enabling Gifts present in the life an individual, humankind would become aimless and wanting, floating, and pushing toward nothing. Categorized by the fixation to truth present in each Enabling Gift, is it any wonder that those who refuse to accept the truth of Christâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gospel, though substantial, remain stagnant?

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THE GIFT OF FAITH

The spiritually motivated direction towards creating actions based upon an understanding of truth that is accurate, but seemingly untenable for its current application or situation. THE GIFT OF DISCERNMENT The spiritually motivated direction towards unveiling and unraveling hidden intent and mysteries.

THE GIFT OF KNOWLEDGE The spiritually motivated direction towards understanding and grasping concepts and ideas which are complex and often times are seemingly illicit interpretations of empirical evidence.

THE GIFT OF WISDOM The spiritually motivated direction towards applying an understanding of truth which is productive and beneficial for fulfilling the image of God.

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PART II Section three MANIFESTATIVE GIFTS

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Within the movement of the Spirit there is one last major kind of gift that we must consider if we are to understand ourselves in relationship to the Body of Christ. We refer to these gifts as Manifestative Gifts, and they are gifts which are circumstantial and discretional to the momentary needs of the Holy Spirit. These gifts, as with every other gift, carry the imprint of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;fruit of the Spirit,â&#x20AC;? but they are not imbedded in the personality of humanity as a Motivative Gift is, nor are they intrinsically connected to the Motivative Gifts such as Enabling Gifts are. These gifts are movements of the Spirit within humanity regardless of humanityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s propensity or direction. This is not to say that they are devoid of the personality of the Spirit, but rather that they are in no way connected to the distinctions of humankind. In other terms, a person who is exhibiting a Manifestative Gift does not need to possess any particular Motivative Gift, nor does he need to be enabled by a particular directive for a Manifestative Gift to take place. The presence of a Manifestative Gift is solely present based upon the literal discretion of the Holy Spirit. Thus, people with different Motivative Gifts, and different enabling directives may all participate in one Manifestative Gift. This means that a person with the gift of Prophecy and a person with the gift of Mercy may be able to supernaturally heal someone through the manifestation of healing by the Holy Spirit. This manifestation is solely dependent upon the will of the

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Spirit, and it can be in tandem with any motivation and any direction of the Spirit. Thusly, the inclusive nature of Manifestative Gifts is a point of uniqueness in Spiritual Gifts. This uniqueness is a tool by which one can see whether a gift is Motivative or Manifestative. Often in the history of scriptural interpretation, there has been confusion between the two types of gifts. This confusion results in people who categorize themselves by a spiritual manifestation such as â&#x20AC;&#x153;healer,â&#x20AC;? rather than their motivational distinction. This is dangerous from two standpoints. Firstly, creating a personal distinction using a Manifestative Gift limits the understanding of how the gift works and relegates the user to becoming a mere tool. Suddenly, a person made in the image of God becomes primarily a spiritual instrument, put on the earth for the purpose of healing. Though it may seemingly be noble to place oneself as the instrument of the living God, it is actually a poor understanding of what the image of God implies about mankind to believe he could be relegated to such a low distinction. Mankind is more than a tool. His purpose is not as an automaton, but as a bridal partner, married to Christ. Secondly, a Manifestative Gift does not possess any intrinsic connection to the distinct personalities present in humanity. Understanding our own personal Motivative Gifts is important because it helps define the way in which we can better partner with Christ in our spiritual union. It gives us an

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understanding of who we are as people, and how we communicate. On Motivational Gifts, one can build a basis for relationship as they are a commonality between the personality of man, and of God. Manifestative Gifts help to remind us of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presence in our lives regardless of the status of that relationship.

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PART II Section four HYPER GIFTS

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Lastly in Spiritual Gifts, we must discuss some seeming anomalies to the system presented. This last section is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather an observation. Sometimes within Spiritual Gifts there are manifestations of the Spirit which are intrinsically linked to a spiritually motivated personality as well as a spiritually motivated direction. Simply put, sometimes there can be a supernatural occurrence which is somehow connected innately with the Motivative Gift of the person who performed the gift. Also, at these times, it becomes apparent that these manifestations could not be present except through this particular individual because they carry with them that individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s distinct personality and enabling directive. These gifts are largely anomalies, but we must consider them as we discuss the topic of Spiritual Gifts. In categorizing them, we have chosen to refer to them as Hyper Gifts because they are not distinct from the genus of Spiritual Gift in that they are intrinsically connected to both a Motivational Gift and an Enabling Gift. And we could not place them under the category of Manifestative Gifts because they are not solely discretional to the Holy Spirit. Instead a Hyper Gift is seemingly caused by mankind when his Enabling Gift is properly coupled with his Motivative Gift in the correct situation. Like all Spiritual Gifts, this particular gift will also exhibit the â&#x20AC;&#x153;fruit of the Spirit,â&#x20AC;? but in a way which exhibits the distinct personality of the user. The most readily

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available example is the quandary of the gift of Prophecy. Prophecy is a Motivative Gift, gifting the user with an amazing ability to speak the truth in such a way that it is accompanied with an overwhelming sense of responsibility to act upon it by those who receive it. But the common understanding of Prophecy can appear to be less Motivative and more Manifestative, turning a prophet into someone with a direct connection to God who can hail down fire and brimstone and tell the future, literally, upon his 39 command. Prophecy in the latter sense is motivational prophecy, but it is more. This second type of prophecy is, for our purposes, a Hyper Gift in that it exhibits the qualities of a Motivative Gift coupled with an active Enabling Gift, such as Faith, or Knowledge. When these two gifts work perfectly in tandem, they seem to create a Manifestative Gift which is not by definition a Manifestative Gift. There is no systematic theology for Hyper Gifts, and much like every other distinction of Spiritual Gifts, it does not seem the intent of Paul to provide the Church with such a system. Instead what is important with Hyper Gifts, as with all Spiritual Gifts is that they exhibit the â&#x20AC;&#x153;fruit of the Spiritâ&#x20AC;? and bring cohesiveness to the Body of Christ, as well as help humanity to better understand who we are as individuals. 39

1 Kings 18:36-39

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PART II Section five CONCLUSION

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Spiritual Gifts are an important part of every personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life. They are deep seeded into the framework of humanity as the basis for our personalities and motivations. They give us a sense of guidance and direction and enable us to better serve our common purpose in life. And they help us to see that we are not alone in the universe, both as human beings who are connected to one another, and as creations connected to our creator. Through a proper understanding of Spiritual Gifts, we know why it is that we feel incredible motivations to act responsibly with our morality, and to act altruistically with our distinctiveness. With this understanding, every person can find their place in Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creation, and in humanity. And he can also find his purpose. Each individual can find, and exemplify the reason he feels what he does and acts the way he does, and he can be assured that he has value. As we continue to explore Spiritual Gifts in our own lives and studies, we would hope and pray that you would find this sense of motivation, direction, and connection to God and humanity as well. It is our sincere hope and desire that as you read the last words of this booklet, a new world of personal direction, worth and value will open up to you, and that this booklet may have provided you with something that was substantial in your life, and connective to your relationships and your walk with God.

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