6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith;
The Greek word there is
charismata.The gifts of God’s grace. As I said in an earlier study, Scripture lists as least twenty different spiritual gifts. I divided them into three categories. There are the sign gifts, these sign gifts are no longer appropriate; they are no longer given to the church. Then there are the speaking gifts and the serving gifts. We are going to be focussing on these in our study.So, as I said there are at least twenty gifts listed in the Scripture and there are certainly more than that. There is no reason to think that these lists are meant to be complete. I think it is a category error to sit down to the New Testament, list the spiritual gifts mentioned, and say,
These are the only gifts.Perhaps these are the chief gifts, the pre‑eminent gifts, but there is nothing to tell us that there are not many more spiritual gifts. Thus, there are a lot of gifts, Paul says. There are varieties of gifts.These gifts call on every type of human faculty. These gifts need every type of person. They need people with keen minds. Some gifts need people with warm hearts. Some gifts need people with skillful hands. Some gifts need people with deep sensitivity—introspective sensitive people. Some gifts need people with the hide of a rhinoceros—cheerful extroverts who can set people going; thank God for them. Some gifts need people with immense reserves of physical energy. Some do not require that. Some require some kind of temperament; some require other kinds of temperament. All sorts of gifts.
As an example, let us take two gifts: the gift of administration and the gift of mercy. Well, you can imagine two really completely different types of person: a person who has got an outstanding gift of mercy will be an enthusiastic person, very warm hearted, impulsive, extrovert, extravagant in their behaviour. Somebody with the gift of administration will have to be clear minded, logical, businesslike, organised. I do not want to be more specific because I do not want you to start looking at different office bearers in your church, trying to imagine if they do or do not have these different gifts. But you can see the point I am making: the gifts of the Spirit call upon all our human faculties. There are varieties of gifts.
They also say to be given in varying degrees which I think is interesting. One person may have a particular gift to an outstanding degree, another person may have the same gift, but they are only moderately gifted. The same gift, but one has the gift to a greater degree and to a greater extent. One person might be a magnificent teacher, as good a teacher as you have ever heard. A Sunday school teacher for example, who can hold his or her pupils wrapped with attention from beginning to end and teach in a way that they will never forget it. Not many of us would think that we are gifted, but there are such teachers. Other persons also have the gift of teaching but in a more moderate way. They are good, confidant, and perfectly satisfactory. They do the children good and they do their work well. They are just not as gifted as the other person.
Paul says in Romans 12:6,
Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.Then he gives an example:if prophesy, in proportion to our faith.Do you see what he is saying? He is talking about the New Testament gift of prophesy, and he is saying, if we have the gift, we have to use it. Some will be able to use it more than others because God will have given to some a greater measure of faith than he has given to others.Do you see the point? There are varieties of gifts, and they call upon many types of people, many different faculties, and many different temperaments. And they are given in different degrees, so that sometimes a person will have a great measure of a particular gift, for example that person might be outstandingly intelligent with a genius IQ. Another person will be an intelligent person, but not to the same extent. One person will be reasonably competent with their hands; another fellow will be able to do anything with his hands—he will just be wonderfully gifted.1
Edward Donnelly
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;