For many people today, ‘spiritual gifts’ are the touchstone of an authentic church. A church which does not exercise the Gifts of the Spirit has lost touch with the ‘forgotten person of the Trinity’.

Yet, where does the Bible teach us about the ‘gifts of the Spirit’? Modem translations use the phrase in 1 Corinthians 12:1 and 14:1, but in both cases the Greek word is pneumatikon/a. This is a hard word to translate, but does not explicitly refer to ‘gifts’.1

There are other references in 1 Corinthians 12, one to the “manifestations of the Spirit” (in v7) and one to “the different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit”. This latter reference is paralleled in the following verses: “There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.”

The ‘gifts of the Holy Spirit’ are mentioned in Hebrews 2:4 as one of the accompaniments to the apostolic preaching. The content of the gifts is not elaborated.

If the New Testament does refer to the gifts of the Spirit, then why don’t I believe in them? The point I wish to make is that this is not a distinctive ministry of the Holy Spirit. If we compare the so-called ‘gifts of the Spirit’ in 1 Corinthians 12 (apostles, teachers, prophets etc.) with Romans 12 and Ephesians 4, we find that virtually the same gifts are given by God the Father and the ascended Lord Christ.

How then can we limit ‘gift-giving’ to the Spirit? In what sense is this the distinctive ministry of the Spirit?

The Spirit’s special ministry is to testify to the world about the gospel, to bring people to new life, to promote our growth in holiness, and to act as a guarantee of the good things that are to come. Christ is absent—he is seated in heaven at God’s right hand—but the Spirit is here with us. Thus, Christ is with us in and by his Spirit. The Spirit inspires the Scriptures and opens our minds to understand them.

While I wouldn’t want to exclude the Spirit from giving gifts, it seems to be inconsistent with the language and ideas of the New Testament to make this the distinctive mark of the Spirit’s work.

Endnotes

1 see D.A. Carson, Showing the Spirit (Lancer, 1987) for a discussion of this.

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4 responses to “Why I don’t believe in spiritual gifts

  1. I wish that I could understand what you are saying. Do you pray for healing? Do you daughters that prophecy? When present, are demons cast out?

  2. I was raised in American Baptist church (the church has since withdrawn and is no longer American Baptist due to a disagreement with some of the changes made in their doctrine and beliefs). I was taught that the gifts of the spirit died out wth the death of the last apostle. Yet, about ten years ago while praying alone at home, I began to pray in an unknown (to me, at least) language. I had not been taught to pray in the spirit and had not heard anyone pray in tongues. I did not even believe in it. To this day I still pray in this language. I only do this at home when praying alone and never have any desire or prompting to do so in a church service. I have read a lot about this since it happened and from what I learned it is the least of the spiritual gifts and should never be spoken out loud in a service unless there is an interpreter so that the body will be edified. I have since changed to a church that does believe that the gifts are still available today, but there is no one ever speaking out I tongues in a service and no difference in the way the church services are conducted than those in the Baptist church. I very much enjoy the teachings of Voddie Baucham, John MacArthur and others who do not believe the gifts are still available. I believe in everything these men teach except the availability of the gifts of the spirit, only because of my own personal experience. Why did this happen to me and am I wrong in my belief? I am 66 years old and believe that the Bible is the holy word of God and gave my life to Jesus and was water baptized many years ago in the American Baptist church I mentioned. It worries me a little, but I realize that the body of Christ can have minor disagreements and as long as we follow what we are taught from the word of God (the holy Bible) and go to a Bible believing church that teaches the gospel according to that word of God that we can have slight differences in interpretation. Is my speaking in tongues a problem?

    1. Thanks for your explanation and question Leigh Ann.
      Phillip’s book The Coming of the Holy Spirit is now available here. The book is a theology of the Holy Spirit, beginning with Jesus’ teaching in the Upper Room, then tracing the fulfilment of those promises through the rest of the New Testament and finishing with the Holy Spirit in world mission and the Christian life. Then there are 34 Appendices. As Phillip has written a whole appendix Speaking in Tongues, that would be the best place to turn.

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