Sermon Tone Analysis

Spiritual Gifts.

Phrase regularly used to translate two Greek words, charismata and pneumatika (the plural forms of charisma and pneumatikon).

Both words are almost exclusively Pauline within the biblical writings; elsewhere in the NT they appear only in and 4:10.

Other writers, of course, mention phenomena that fall within Paul’s definition of “spiritual gifts,” but for specific teaching on the subject one must depend on Paul first and foremost.

Biblical Lists of Spiritual Gifts

prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, ruling, showing mercy

ministry

teaching

exhortation

giving

ruling

showing mercy

prophecy, word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation

word of wisdom

word of knowledge

faith

healing

miracles

discerning of spirits

tongues

interpretation

prophets, teachers, governments, gifts of healing, miracles, tongues, apostles, helps

teachers

governments

gifts of healing

miracles

tongues

apostles

helps

prophets, teachers, healing, miracles, tongues, interpretation, apostles

teachers

healing

miracles

tongues

interpretation

apostles

prophets, pastor-teachers, apostles, evangelists

ministry, speaking

Both words are derived from more familiar words, charis (grace) and pneuma (spirit).

Both have similar senses—charisma meaning “expression or manifestation or embodiment of grace,” pneumatikon meaning “expression or manifestation or embodiment of Spirit.”

Their range of application, however, is somewhat different.

prophets

prophets

ministry

teachers

pastor-teachers

ruling

word of knowledge

healing

healing

miracles

tongues

tongues

interpretation

apostles

apostles

evangelists

speaking

Both words are derived from more familiar words, charis (grace) and pneuma (spirit).

Both have similar senses—charisma meaning “expression or manifestation or embodiment of grace,” pneumatikon meaning “expression or manifestation or embodiment of Spirit.”

Their range of application, however, is somewhat different.

Charisma denotes God’s saving action in Christ () and the gift of eternal life (6:23).

More generally, in it probably refers to the series of gracious acts on behalf of Israel whereby God made Israel’s calling and election sure.

In it probably refers to a particular action of God that brought Paul deliverance from deadly peril.

Otherwise the reference seems to be to divine grace as mediated through individuals, with Paul presumably thinking of the sort of utterances and deeds that he illustrates in and 1 Corinthians, 12:8–10 (so in ; ; ; , , , , ; similarly ).

There is some dispute over .

It is unlikely, however, that Paul regards marriage as a “spiritual gift”; possibly he thinks of the celibate state as a “spiritual gift”; but more probably he thinks of the “spiritual gift” as that enabling “not to touch a woman” (v 1), to refrain from sexual relationships for a season for the purpose of prayer (v 5) or for some act of ministry.

Pneumatikon has a wider range of usage.

It is more properly an adjective and so describes various things (and people) as “spiritual,” as manifesting the Spirit, or serving as the instrument of the Spirit—thus some particular word or act (), the Law (7:14), the manna, water from the rock, and the rock itself in the wilderness wanderings of Israel (, ), the resurrection body (15:44, 46), unspecified blessings “in the heavenly places” (), particular insights into the divine will (), and songs in worship (; ).

As a plural noun it can be used of individuals (“the spiritual ones” , ; ; ) or of things (“the spirituals,” “spiritual gifts,” ; ; ; ; , even “spiritual powers in heaven,” ).

From this brief survey a more precise definition of “spiritual gifts” can be made.

Whatever thing, event, or individual serves as an instrument of the Spirit, or manifests the Spirit, or embodies the Spirit is a spiritual gift (pneumatikon).

Whatever event, word, or action is a concrete expression of grace or serves as a means of grace is a spiritual gift (charisma).

Pneumatikon is the more general word, charisma more specific.

Moreover, charisma is probably Paul’s own word (; ; ; ) in preference to the more ambiguous pneumatikon, which seems to have been popular with those causing difficulty for Paul in Corinth (; ; ).

Consequently, attention will focus in what follows on charisma.

Not forgetting those passages where Paul uses this word in broader terms for the direct act of God (, ; ; ; ), concentration will be on the passages where Paul speaks in more precise terms of particular manifestations of grace mediated through one individual to others, “spiritual gifts” in this the narrower sense of charisma.

The lists of charismata (; ; ; ) are the obvious starting point, because they provide the clearest indications of what Paul would include within the range of spiritual gifts.

For the sake of clarity in analysis they are most simply divided into four groups—revelation, miracles, leadership, and service.

Gifts of Revelation

Knowledge and Wisdom.

The first two gifts mentioned in .

are “utterance of wisdom” and “utterance of knowledge.”

Paul mentions wisdom and knowledge first presumably because the Corinthians made so much of them, as is clear from 1:17–2:13; 8; 13:2, 8. Paul clearly thinks they have the wrong idea of wisdom, understanding it as rhetorical skill or eloquence (1:17, 19, 20; 2:1, 4, 5), or as a this-worldly sophistication (1:20, 22; 2:5, 6, 13; 3:19).

The wisdom by which believers should live is the wisdom of God, the wisdom expressed in God’s plan to achieve salvation through Christ, that is, through the crucifixion of Christ and the proclamation of the crucified Christ (1:20–25, 30; 2:6–8).

In other words, Christian wisdom is rooted in the recognition that God’s saving purposes center on the crucified Messiah and stem from the experience of that saving power (2:4, 5).

Lest his readers think of divine wisdom as something that they possess and can use at will, Paul narrows his description of the spiritual gift to “utterance of wisdom” (12:8).

That is to say, the gift is not wisdom itself but the utterance that mediates the recognition and experience of God’s saving purpose to others (2:4–7, 13).

Similarly, the Corinthians laid claim to “knowledge,” presumably understood as an insight into the relation between themselves and the spiritual realm that enabled them to disregard idols as irrelevant to their spiritual health (8:1–6; cf.

13:2).

Paul seems to accept this insight of “knowledge” (8:5), but he warns his readers that the true index of spiritual health is not “knowledge” but concern for one’s brother in the faith (vv 7–13)—“ ‘knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up” (v 1).

Elsewhere “knowledge” for Paul seems to overlap largely in meaning with “wisdom,” as knowledge or experiential awareness of God’s grace in Christ (2:12; ; ; ; ; ).

As with wisdom so with knowledge; Paul seems to take care to specify the spiritual gift as “utterance of knowledge” ().

Once given the knowledge, one can of course claim to “have it” (8:1, 10), but the charisma as such for Paul is the utterance that first brings that insight into God’s purpose and the cosmos to the hearer.

Insofar as these two gifts are distinct and insofar as their meaning is determined by the contexts of ; and 8, “utterance of wisdom” may be more an evangelistic gift and “utterance of knowledge” more a teaching gift.

Much of the preaching and teaching of Jesus and the earliest apostles could be described as charismata in these terms.

Prophecy.

Paul clearly understands prophecy not merely as bold speech making critical comment on current issues but as inspired speech—like prophecy of old, as words given to the speaker to speak by divine compulsion (cf.

; ; ).

Though it comes sixth in the list of , prophecy is (next to apostleship, ) clearly the most important gift for Paul (; ; , ; cf. ; ; ).

This was presumably for several reasons.

First, it was the mark of the outpouring of the Spirit in the “last days” (; ).