Earnestly Desire the Spiritual Gifts
In 1971 I was a self confident Roman Catholic/Buddhist. I went to church
regularly, but my ambitions and lusts were at the center of my life. My brother
had experienced a radical conversion. He shared the gospel with me, and over a
three month period I came under increasing conviction that I needed what my
brother had.
Finally, I agreed to go with him to hear Dennis and Rita Bennett speak. At
the end they had an altar call. I went forward asking God to forgive me of my sin.
Some brothers and sister laid hands on me and began to pray. A couple of
minutes later I spontaneously began to pray in an unknown language.
The fruit was immediate. Christ became intensely real. The supernatural
world became intensely real. Before this experience the Bible was a closed book.
Now I couldn’t get enough of scripture. It became intensely real and meaningful.
One week later I had an intense experience with the presence of God that left a
permanent mark on me. My conviction is that spiritual gifts can be real and life
changing.
The Protestant church in North America tends to divide into two camps.
The first camp emphasizes experience and spiritual power. They do this at the
expense of theological precision. These Christians believe in the authority of
God’s Word, but are suspicious of Christians who make theology too important.
The second camp emphasizes theological precision at the expense of
spiritual gifts, spiritual power, and experience. These Christians also believe in
the authority of God’s Word, but they are at the opposite pole. They are
suspicious of anyone who emphasizes spiritual experience.
This split is not what we see in the Bible. Instead the pages of the Bible
describe believers solidly in touch with the spiritual world, spiritual power,
spiritual gifts, and spiritual experience. Yet on the other hand they are also ready
to engage in hard thinking and theological precision.
Here is the position of this church and SGM. A local church is not all that it
should be unless we obey Paul’s command in 1 Cor 12:31 to “earnestly desire
the higher gifts”, and his second command, repeated a few paragraphs later in 1
Cor 14:1 to “Pursue love and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that
you may prophesy” , and his third command (1 Corinthians 14:39) "So, my
brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. "
1 of 8
What is the main point of this sermon? Earnestly desire the spiritual gifts.
Let’s pause and read some of the texts dealing with this subject. I am going to
make three points. 1st Spiritual fruit is the objective. 2nd Spiritual gifts described.
3rd Therefore, earnestly desire the spiritual gifts.
A. FRUIT IS THE OBJECTIVE
(1 Corinthians 13:1–2) "1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I
am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all
mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not
love, I am nothing.
1 Cor. 13 is the famous “Love chapter.” It is like the meat in a spiritual
sandwich. The bread on either side (chapters 12 and 14) are about the spiritual
gifts. We will read more about them in a moment.
The important point of chapter 13 is that fruit is the goal. God’s end in all
that he does is his glory. Spiritual fruit matters because fruit glorifies God.
Therefore, God seeks spiritual fruit. Love for God and man is the primary fruit
that God seeks.
In this passage Paul specifically mentions two spiritual gifts, the gift of
tongues and the gift of prophecy. If a person exercises the gift of tongues but
doesn’t grow in love, to God it sounds like a “noisy gong or a clanging symbol.”
If someone prophecies under the influence of the Holy Spirit but is not
growing in love, in God’s sight the gift is “nothing.” Nothing is as low as you can
go. You can’t be less than nothing.
Why such strong language? Because God gives the spiritual gifts to make
us more fruitful. By fruitful I mean more than love. I mean overall fruit . Fruit is not
restricted to character. It also includes missions, evangelism, etc. In other words,
the spiritual gifts are spiritual tools to cultivate the garden of our hearts, to help us
become more fruitful.
Grudem: “Spiritual gifts are given to equip the church to carry out its ministry until Christ
returns.”
God gives these tools because we need them. Therefore, we conclude
that it is hard to be as fruitful as God desires without the spiritual gifts at work in
the congregation. We also conclude that the spiritual gifts bring an accounting.
(Luke 12:48) "Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from
him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more."
2 of 8
B. THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS DESCRIBED
We are now going to read about the spiritual bread that makes up our
spiritual sandwich.
1. 1 Cor. 12:7-11
(1 Corinthians 12:7–11) ". 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common
good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom1, and to another the
utterance of knowledge2 according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith3 by the same Spirit,
to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another
prophecy4, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits5, to another various kinds of
tongues6, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and
the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. "
Lessons:
1st Note: The person that gives these gifts is a Holy Spirit. That means he
gives them to amplify fruit, i.e. holiness. If we receive these gifts but don’t grow in
fruitfulness, something is wrong.
2nd The HS is utterly sovereign in the distribution of these gifts. (1
Corinthians 12:11) "11 All these [spiritual gifts] are empowered by one and the
same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills."
2nd Access to these gifts cost God the Father the death of his Son. We
become worthy to receive them on the basis of faith in Christ’s merits, not our
own.
3rd God gives spiritual gifts for the common good (Vs. 7). All of the
spiritual gifts, except the gift of tongues, are for the good of someone else. They
are ways for us to serve others. This means it is the height of arrogance to
suggest that we don’t need them. We must need these gifts, and the spiritual
power behind them, to accomplish God’s work, or God wouldn’t give them.
Without them we are like a farmer trying to cultivate 1,000 acres without the
proper tools.
1
The Wisdom that come from the knowledge of the Cross and how to apply it d to life’s circumstances.
Supernatural Knowledge, The knowledge Elisha had when he saw Gehazzi go to Namaan asking for a gift.
Elisha had the knowledge spoken of here. Jesus had it. “Immediately he perceived in his Spirit.”
Convergence Pg 76
3
Not saving faith. All Christians have this. Supernatural faith, directly communicated by the Spirit, that is the
knowledge/conviction that God is about to do a miracle. See Convergence pg 49.
4
Supernatural knowledge of God’s will in a given situation. Not Bible. Must be discerned. Convergence pg
52
5
The Spirits discerned are evil Spirits.
6
Everyone doesn’t speak in tongues.
2
3 of 8
The HS perfected these gifts in Christ. If Jesus, who was God, needed
them, how much more you and I?
Important Caveat: I am not saying that Christians without these gifts are
substandard or less loved by God. I am not saying that they have not been
fruitful. I am not suggesting that there are two classes of Christians, those with
Spiritual gifts and those without. That would be ridiculous. The Bible is very clear.
The greatest in God’s kingdom are the servants of all. They are not those with
spiritual gifts. If there are two classes of Christians they divide between those
who serve and those who do not.
2. 1 Cor. 14:1-5
(1 Corinthians 14:1–5) "1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially
that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God;
for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, the
one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and
consolation. 4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who
prophesies builds up the church. 5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to
prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless
someone interprets, so that the church may be built up. "
Lessons
1st Again, Love is the main thing. “Pursue love!” But don’t let this stop you
from “earnestly desiring the spiritual gifts especially that you may prophesy.”
Biblically, it is never either/or. It is both/and.
2nd The gift of tongues is a prayer language. The recipient uses it to speak
directly to God. With it the Christian worships and praises God. It is a language
we cannot understand. It is private. 2 “For one who speaks in a tongue speaks
not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the
Spirit. “ Tongues is the only gift that is for the worshipper. It is not for the benefit
of others.
3RD Prophecy is more useful. It is a gift for others. It is a gift for the church.
We could say it is the most important gift. Prophecy is the only gift that appears
in every list of spiritual gifts. Grudem defines prophecy as “reporting something
that God spontaneously brings to mind.”7
GCF is open to this gift. That is why we have a prophecy mike in church.
For pastoral reasons we guard it. It is not for new people, or the general public.
7
Systematic Theology; pg 1024
4 of 8
Rather, it is for trusted members of GCF, brothers or sisters that the Elders feel
might have this gift, brothers and sisters that the Elders encourage to listen to
God.
C. OBJECTIONS
1. Pastoral Problems
My experience with the PCA credentials committee.
Paul told the Church at Corinth, a people that graphically abused the gifts
of the Spirit, to “earnestly desire the spiritual gifts.” He told them this three times.
He did this despite their rampant abuse of the spiritual gifts. In other words, he
could have used their abuses as an excuse to not seek the spiritual gifts, but he
didn’t. We shouldn’t either.
2. People overemphasize Spiritual Gifts
This is a deadly form of subjectivism . It is an unhealthy orientation toward
experience. People in this camp are often hostile to those who think doctrine is
important. It is a deadly error. However, again this is not an excuse to quit
seeking the spiritual gifts. Why? We need them.
3. Prophecy, dreams, and visions are additions to
scripture
Many Christians, especially many of the great theologians of past
centuries, are (were) cessationists. Most of my favorite theologians from past
decades were cessationists. That means they believe that the spiritual gifts
“ceased,” or ended, in the second century with the formation of New Testament
cannon. Their contention is this: The supernatural realm existed because the
church did not have a New Testament. Now that we have the New Testament we
don’t need the supernatural realm. We only need the Holy Spirit to produce
conversions, or to convict people about the truths of the Bible.
There are several reasons for this position. The first was the absence of
the supernatural (the gift of tongues, prophecy, healing, supernatural knowledge,
etc.) throughout the medieval period. This absence continued through the
Reformation. Cessationism was a rational attempt to explain why these
experiences had ended.
5 of 8
A second reason for cessationism was a desire to preserve the Bible free
from unbiblical additions. Cessationism is an honest and sincere attempt to obey
the last few verses in the book of Revelation.
(Revelation 22:18) "18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if
anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.”
The cessationist’s reasoning goes something like this. If someone claims
that God spoke to them, apart from the pages of the scripture—i.e. dreams,
visions, voices, or prophecy—then that communication is an addition to the Bible
and is in direct contradiction to Rev 22:18. On this basis the cessationist rejects
any supernatural communication from God. They are additions to scripture, and
violate Rev. 22. Although we deeply respect and love our cessationist brothers,
we disagree.
The bible is absolute truth. It is infallible. It is not to be discerned. It is to be
obeyed. By contrast, these supernatural communications are all fallible. They are
to be discerned, and that is how the NT treats them. They need discernment.
They are not scripture..
(1 Thessalonians 5:19–22) "19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21
but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.”
4. Some of the Spiritual gifts are foolish
For example the gift of tongues is very foolish. The Bible doesn’t say this
but I believe it is foolish on purpose. It is foolish in order to humble the pride of
proud religious people.
D. PROPER RESPONSE
In summary, three times Paul tells us to “earnestly desire the spiritual
gifts.” How should we respond?
1st, God wants us to desire the spiritual gifts. You should desire them for
the sake of the church. Some of you are agnostic about the spiritual gifts. “I don’t
have a problem with spiritual gifts,” you say.” I’m open, but I am cautious.”
However, scripture doesn’t give you permission to be open but cautious. “Open
but cautious” is not in the Bible anywhere. Instead, we find the opposite.
Scripture commands us to be passionate about the spiritual gifts, and
“aggressive” in our pursuit of them. The proper scriptural posture is “believe in
these gifts and pursue them for myself!”
(1 Corinthians 12:31) "31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts."
6 of 8
(1 Corinthians 14:1) "Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you
may prophesy. "
(1 Corinthians 14:39) "39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid
speaking in tongues."
2nd God doesn’t just want us to desire the spiritual gifts. He wants us to
“earnestly” desire the spiritual gifts. All three exhortations use the word,
“earnestly” to describe how we should desire them. Earnestly is an English
translation of the Gk. word Zeloo. We get our word “zealous” from this word. It
means to
“burn with zeal. It means to be heated or to boil with envy, hatred, anger. It often translates
to to be zealous in the pursuit of good, to desire earnestly, pursue, to desire one earnestly,
to strive after, busy one’s self about [something].8
The one thing Zeloo is not is “open but cautious. “
3rd Those that earnestly desire the spiritual gifts pray for them. They ask
their HomeGroup to lay hands on them and pray that they would receive one of
these spiritual gifts. They pray together as a HomeGroup for the spiritual gifts.
They never quit praying. If someone else gets the gift that they are praying for,
they rejoice. It’s not about them. It’s about the church.
4th The proper posture for receiving a spiritual gift is humility. Humility
begins by confessing need. Humble people are willing to look foolish to others.
You must be willing to look unsophisticated. You must be willing to make a
mistake.
In closing, for some of you earnestly pursuing spiritual gifts will be a test of
your commitment to Scripture. People that you deeply respect deny these gifts.
They have even taught you that it is wrong to pursue them. We want you to
continue to respect and love those men and women.
But in the end I want you to ask only one question. What does scripture
say? Not, what do the traditions of men/my denomination/my seminary
professor/my favorite author say? What does the Bible say?
You can rest assured that if you really pursue scripture, and scripture only,
and you disagree with my conclusions, this church will love you and accept you.
Ultimately, our unity is around the gospel, not spiritual gifs. However, it is our
8
James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible : Showing Every Word of the Text of the
Common English Version of the Canonical Books, and Every Occurrence of Each Word in Regular Order.,
electronic ed. (Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship., 1996).
7 of 8
conviction that the most healthy churches and the most healthy Christians will
“earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that they may prophesy.”
They do so to enhance their spiritual fruitfulness.
8 of 8