The Assembling of the Church

Have you seen the Kleenex commercials with the tag line “Let it out”? The man on the street with a box of tissue and big sofa can apparently get anyone to talk. This ad campaign has me thinking about communication and conversation.

My wife, Margaret, has always said that I can talk to anyone. In a way, she’s correct, because I’ve learned to ask people about themselves. People like to talk about themselves. They like to talk about their families and their past and their home town and their favorite sports team and their hobbies. So, as I learn about people, I simply ask them questions about the topics that they bring up. In other words, I let people talk about themselves.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t ask people about themselves simply so that they will talk. I am genuinely interested. I like to hear people’s stories and I like to hear how God is working in their lives, and so I ask people about themselves. I’ve learned alot about people that they probably would not normally express simply by asking questions about them.

Occasionally, I get emails from people who read my blog. That’s a good thing. I put my email address on my sidebar several months ago because I wanted people to be able to communicate with me if they wanted to ask questions and make a statement without doing so publicly.You’ve seen some of those emails published here as “guest blog” posts. I always ask permission before I publish anyone’s email. When I get these emails and answer any questions that I can answer, I always ask the person if they would share something about themselves. Almost everyone who emails me responds to my question. Again, people like to talk about themselves.

I think that this is the key to the Kleenex ad campaign. Kleenex knows that people like to talk about themselves, and they are simply giving people an outlet to do just that. It works, by the way. Give people an opportunity, and they will gladly express themselves. Of course, someone has to be willing to listen and genuinely interested in hearing what the person has to say.

This type of communication and conversation is very important. For believers, most of the “one anothers” of Scripture are based on some type of communication. In order to consider one another, stir up one another to love and good works, encourage one another, submit to one another, etc. we must be willing to listen to what one another has to say. Perhaps “listen to one another” is the foundational unspoken “one another” of Scripture. But, I think, “listen to one another” is actually assumed in “love one another”. If we love one another, we will want to hear what the other person thinks, feels, dreams, experiences, believes, fears, etc.

But, this is where the rub comes. Everyone likes to talk about themselves. But, who is willing to suppress their own desire in order to allow another person to talk about themselves? You see, listening to one another actually goes against human nature. We like to talk about ourselves; we don’t automatically like to listen to other people talk about themselves. We like to control the conversation; we don’t necessarily like to listen to other people talk. We like to choose the categories and topics; we don’t necessarily like for other people to drift into “taboo” areas.

In reality, we are less like the guy in the Kleenex commercial, and more like Mike Myers’ character Linda Richman in the Saturday Night Live skit “Coffee Talk”. Linda liked to control the conversation – which usually revolved around Barbara Streisand, her favorite person. It didn’t matter who was the guest on Linda’s fake talk show, they always talked about Linda’s interests. Even when Linda got too emotional and couldn’t talk, she wanted to control the conversation by offering a topic. If you’re too young to have seen this skit, or if you don’t remember it, trust me, it was good, like buttah.

I think this may help explain why many relationships are rather shallow. Everyone wants to talk about themselves, but few are willing to listen. Also, I think this explains why unbelievers do not want to talk to Christians. When a Christian says to an unbeliever, “Can we talk?” the unbeliever knows that the Christian really means, “I want to tell you why you’re wrong and what you should believe”. In fact, I think many people have learned the correct answers to certain questions just in case a Christians decides to “talk” to them. Some of these people probably even think they are Christians because they know these correct answers. But, since so few people are willing to listen, those people may have never truly expressed themselves and their own beliefs.

Can we consider others better than ourselves and humble ourselves in order to listen instead of talk? I’m certainly not perfect in this area, and often find myself trying to control a conversation. But, thinking through things like this help me to remember to God values people, and I should as well. God listens to my prayers, and I should be willing to listen to other people too.

You’ll have to excuse me. I’m a little verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. I’ll give you a topic…

If you enjoy sarcasm and wit that causes you to think, you will love a new post by Joel at “the double edged sword” called “Jesus’s For Every Season“. He are a few of the “Jesus’s” that Joel says we “give” at Christmas:

Gift Card Jesus – Here’s a novel idea – give Jesus! YOU choose the amount of Jesus that you want to give to that special someone this year. The recipient can use Him whenever they get around to it. (* Sorry, no cash value or exchanges. Expires within 30 seconds of purchase.)

Gold Level Partner Jesus (Also known as “Seed Sower” Jesus) – Now this is an exclusive Jesus! The holidays are always the perfect time to pledge your support of Rev. Dolorznsenz. Jesus will arrive wearing a beautiful lace robe with a 24K gold sash. (* Will ship with your choice of a prayer hanky, Bible on CD-ROM or vial of miracle water, FREE!)

SuperHero Action Figure Jesus – A super-fun guy, full of gadgets and plastic weapons. He’s arrayed with super powers! Upgrade to the deluxe edition figure that performs simulated miracles, signs and wonders! (* This figure is completely fictional and does not represent or condone the belief in a “real” or “tangible” Jesus.)

The best thing about this post is that Joel uses the humor to point us to the real Jesus and to remind us to meditate on and demonstrate him to the world. Thank you, Joel!

I love the latest article by Wayne Jacobsen from “Lifestream” called “Slow Cookin‘“, and not just because Wayne admits that his favorite restaurant serves Barbecue. In this article, Wayne reminds us that God’s work in us is not usually accomplished overnight, but is a long, slow process.

We don’t like that in our microwave, fast-food society, but that is the way God has always worked. He reminds us that God told Abraham that he would have a son 25 years before Isaac was born. Of course, Abraham was not patient either. He also decided to help God along with his plan.

But, listen carefully to what Wayne says:

See, we know that now. We didn’t know it years ago, but living now in the beauty of God’s unfolding work in our lives (and being in our 50s here probably doesn’t hurt) we know the best things in our life were produced in a slow-cooking process of God transforming us at a deeper level so that we could enjoy the fruit of what he wanted to produce in us. Whether it was setting us free in a broken area, drawing us closer to his presence, or connecting us to other brothers and sisters for rich rich fellowship and doing things in God together, none of those things happened quickly. But they did happen deeply and we’re now experiencing the riches of those things…

If you’re going to enjoy this life in him, that’s something you’re going to want him to teach you. Otherwise you’ll be counting days and fighting off frustration at every turn. Father knows everything about you and where you are today. He knows what he is doing in you to open the real doors into that life in him you’ve been praying about for years. He is doing his work in you to bring that to fruition. Unfortunately, it’s just probably going to take a whole lot longer than you’re thinking it will. But if your eyes are on him, rather than on the outcome, the delay won’t matter. In fact it will only make the final result so much more tasty and succulent.

Perhaps you’re happy with the kind of relationship that is built overnight. If not, trust God to develop you in his own way and in his own timing. It may take longer than you expect. But, the outcome is depth of relationship with God and with others – that is, Christ-likeness.

Brother Maynard at “Subversive Influence” is “Advent Blogging” this year. Scot McKnight at “Jesus Creed” is also blogging through Advent season. Also, the topic of this month’s synchroblog is “Redeeming the Season” – not necessarily the “Christmas” season, but something to do with December.

I’ve been thinking about Christmas, Advent, and the Incarnation over the last few days. To be honest, I don’t know much about Advent, so I guess I’m an Advent newbie (But, I’m not an “Advent virgin” like grace… sorry, grace, but your secret is out now.) When Margaret and I were first married, we did one of the Advent readings on Sunday morning. I honestly don’t remember anything about it. We read something from a slip of paper and lit a candle – it was obviously a very moving experience for us.

I know that Advent has to do with waiting… anticipating… expecting… hoping. I would love to examine these expectancy themes, and I’m thinking about examining them in four time frames: the time of the prophets, the time of Jesus, current time, and eschatologically – end times. It seems that hope and expectancy – could we say, “faith” – plays a huge role in all of those time frames. Perhaps studying Advent from those different perspectives could help us understand the incarnation and its implications today. Advent begins Sunday, so I will probably post Advent posts each of the four Advent Sundays: 12/2, 12/9, 12/16, and 12/23. The synchroblog “Redeeming the Season” will be 12/12. Then, I plan to publish a final post about the incarnation on Christmas Day.

Anyway, this is a different kind of post. I mainly wanted to begin thinking (out loud – to match my silent thinking) through some of these Advent and Incarnation issues. I’d love to hear your thoughts on Advent and my possible study.

I am writing a paper on the gospel and monoepiscopacy in the seven letters of Ignatius. This is a synopsis of the paper which I presented a few days ago.

[UPDATE: "Monoepiscopacy" is the doctrine that there should be one bishop per city (church). This is usually combined in a hiearchical fashion with elders (presbyters) under the bishop, and deacons under the elders. (Thanks, Jonathan.)]

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Leadership in early Christian writings

(107-117 AD) Ignatius to the Magnesians 6.1 – “Make every effort to do all things in the harmony of God, while the bishop presides over you in the place of God and the elders [preside over you] in the place of the assembly of the apostles and the deacons, who are dear, [preside over you]…”

(80-120 AD) Didache 15:1 – “Therefore, choose for yourselves bishops and deacons worthy of God, men who are gentle, not lovers of money, dependable, and proven, for they also serve you with the service of prophets and teachers.” (The Didache does not mention elders, and bishops are only mentioned in the plural.)

(110-140 AD) Polycarp to the Philippians 5:3 – “Therefore, it is necessary to keep away from all these things, subjecting yourselves to the elders and to the deacons as to God and to Christ.” (Polycarp does not mention bishops, much less a single bishop. He does not call himself a bishop although Ignatius does call him by the title “bishop.”)

For Ignatius, it is important that believers stay in harmony with the single bishop of their area. From reading the Didache and Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians, Ignatius’ view is not the only view of leadership at the beginning of the second century. Why would Ignatius put so much emphasis on the monoepiscopacy?

Theological Sources in Ignatius’ Letters
Sometime between 107 and 117 AD, Ignatius, the Bishop of Smyrna, was arrested and taken to Rome for execution. On the way to Rome, he wrote seven letters: one each to the churches in Tralles, Magnesia, Ephesus, Philadelphia, Smyrna, and Rome, and one to Polycarp, the bishop of the church in Smyrna.

From the text of these seven letters, it is clear that Ignatius knows of the Old Testament Scriptures. He quotes the Old Testament three times: he quotes Proverbs 3:34 in Ign. Eph. 5.3, he quotes Proverbs 18:17 in Ign. Magn. 12, and he quotes Isaiah 52:5 in Ign. Trall. 8.2. He introduces the first two citations with the scriptural formulation, “It is written” (ge,graptai). These three citations are minimal compared to Old Testament citations in the writings of other apostolic fathers. Ignatius recognizes the Old Testament as an early, but incomplete witness to Jesus Christ.

Ignatius’ recognition of and use of the New Testament writings are even more difficult to determine. From a statement in Ign. Eph. 12.2, it is clear that Ignatius knows of more than one of Paul’s letters. Most scholars agree that there are allusions to some of these letters, especially 1 Corinthians. Similarly, there may be allusions to Matthew’s Gospel in Ignatius’ letters. However, he does not quote from the New Testament writings with the formula, “It is written.”

For the most part, Ignatius seems to downplay written records and holds “the Gospel” as authoritative. For example, he says:

Moreover, I urge you to do nothing in a spirit of contentiousness, but in accordance with the teaching of Christ. For I heard some people say, “If I do not find it in the archives, I do not believe it in the gospel.” And when I said to them, “It is written,” they answered me, “That is precisely the question.” But for me, the “archives” are Jesus Christ, the inviolable archives are his cross and death and his resurrection and the faith which comes through him; by these things I want, through your prayers, to be justified. (in Ign. Phil. 8.2)

What does Ignatius mean by “the gospel”? For the most part, he identifies the gospel with the tradition handed down to him concerning the birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He does not use the standard term for “tradition”, nor does he use the phrase “rule of faith.” However, his teaching concerning “the gospel” is similar to later references to the “rule of faith.” He uses the term “gospel” six times and the term “passion” fifteen times within his letters. At times, Ignatius uses “passion” to refer to “the gospel” as a whole and, at other times, “passion” only refers to Christ’s suffering or death. To a lesser extent, he refers to this tradition as “the teaching of Christ” and “stewardship”.

Ignatius’ statements about “the gospel” are very similar to later creeds. He exhorts his readers to believe in various aspects of the birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, unlike the creeds, his statements do not appear to be standardized, memorized, or verbatim. For example, consider these two statements (along with the above citation from Ign. Phil. 8.2):

But the Gospel possesses something transcendent: the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, His passion and resurrection. (Ign. Phil. 9:2a)

There is one Physician who is possessed both of flesh and spirit; both made and not made; God existing in flesh; true life in death; both of Mary and of God; first able to suffer and then not able to suffer, even Jesus Christ our Lord. (Ign. Eph. 7.2)

Throughout the seven letters, there are ten instances of these “gospel” sayings; however, none of the ten are identical. If all of the elements of the ten gospel sayings are combined, none of the ten instances include all of the elements. From this data, it seems that even though the tradition of “the gospel” was very important to Ignatius, this was not a creedal-type tradition (yet). Instead of focusing on specific words to express the gospel, Ignatius was more interested in the content of the gospel. Thus, whether someone calls it suffering, passion, or crucifixion did not concern Ignatius. Instead, he was concerned that Christians believed in this gospel.

Ignatius did not turn to either Old Testament or New Testament Scriptures for his authority, although he did recognize the writings as being very important witnesses to the gospel. Similarly, he did not find authority in specific creedal statements that may have been handed down (as some suggest are found in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Instead, for Ignatius, authority is found in the gospel: the events surrounded the life of Jesus Christ and the correct interpretation of those events.

The Unity of the Gospel
Importantly, even though “the gospel” was not a formulaic creed, there was still only one gospel for Ignatius. He states that there is one God, one faith, and one Eucharist. Based on this unity, Ignatius, encourages his readers to maintain harmony with God and with one another, and the proper way of maintaining harmony is found in the bishop. Since there is one God, and one gospel, there should be one bishop. He says:

Therefore, make every effort to take advantage of the one Eucharist. For there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ and one cup for the unity of his blood, one altar, as there is one bishop along with the elders and the deacons, my fellow servants, in order that whatever you might do, you might do according to God. (Ign. Phil. 4:1)

For Ignatius, the monoepiscopacy was necessary to maintain the unity of the gospel. Since Ignatius found his authority in the gospel, he took this unity very seriously. Anyone who found himself outside of the teachings or the practices of the bishop also found himself outside of the gospel, because the one bishop maintained the unity of the one gospel. Living according to the bishop was the same as living according to the gospel and Jesus Christ.

However, Ignatius does not seem to envision a “ruling” bishop. While he instructed the believers in each city to submit themselves to the gospel as well as to the bishop, he did not instruct the bishops to take an authoritarian position over the Christians. In fact, this would be contrary to Ignatius’ understanding, since he finds the gospel to be the authority. Instead, Ignatius commends the bishops that he meets along the way for being humble and gentle.

Conclusion
For Ignatius, there is one gospel because there is one God and one Lord Jesus Christ. Within this one gospel he finds his authority. The gospel is not primarily written or recited verbatim. Instead, the gospel is the events and interpretation of the events surrounding the life of Jesus Christ. From his concerns of protecting the one gospel, he derives a need for a single human leader (the one bishop) as well as the one Eucharist, the one altar, and the one meeting. Other writers from the same time period did not derive a monoepiscopacy from the one gospel.

During the first thousand years of the history of the church, Ignatius’ letters were arguably the most cited and most influential writings of any of the apostolic fathers. However, later church figures latched onto Ignatius’ derivatives (one bishop, one Eucharist, one altar, etc.) while losing his primary emphasis on the one gospel. For Ignatius, the monoepiscopacy should exist only as an extension of the one gospel in order to protect that gospel.

I recently received the following email from a reader. I appreciate how this person has shared their struggles and triumphs as they attempt to walk with God. Perhaps you have some words of wisdom or encouragement to share with this “anonymous child of God”, or perhaps you would just like to share your own struggles to find fellowship:

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Hello:

I clicked on your blog link from another website. the verse you have headlining has been one I have been thinking about for a while : And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near. (Heb. 10:24-25 NASB)

Nearly 4 years ago our church – for lack of better words – Blew Up.

In a lot of drama, gossip, rumors, judgement and criticism people became scattered and went their separate ways injured and wounded. There were little “them and us” groups that formed..the mud slinging continued, and people that once claimed to be “family” and love one another became enemies.

Some were just caught in the middle not knowing which end was up. (I think those are the ones my heart aches most for)

The history in a nutshell is that this church was a new church plant about 4 years old. It came into a new area, started in a school gym, the growth exploded, we found a building, and worked very hard trying to get new people in by having lots of events. The church grew quickly and many of the leaders were very new believers. The pastor was working in many ways out of his flesh, though he had a sincere love for the people and for God, in his leadership role, there were times he wounded some. Those he wounded realized that he was not deserving of the pedestal they had placed him on and vowed to destroy him and his family.

As this drama unfolded for the next several years my family had been shunned by many of the people. (you see, the pastor was a family member) So, I can only think that we must in their eyes be guilty by association of the wrong doings they have accused him of.

My best friends walked away from me. People that we used to fellowship with turn from us when we run into them. As a matter of fact, I just ran into a woman last night in the grocery store, when I spoke up and said Hello, she looked up, her face became twisted, she struggled to murmur a quick hello and then looked away…and this is 4 years later…

My whole life I have gone to church on Sunday morning. Though now I realize that it was because that is what I thought I was “supposed to do”.

We have visited a few churches. But nothing feels right. And the thing is, that through this past 4 years, God has been bringing me into a new understanding of his Grace and Mercy. So when I walk into these places and hear legalism be preached, or hear that in my son’s Sunday school class the teacher told him to make sure and bring a dollar next week for the offering…it just turns me off. Not to mention, there is a bit of a fear of people in general after what we have experienced.

My kids ask why we don’t go to church. We have done some “home church” stuff, just here with the kids. But haven’t been consistent. My husband and I have read some books: “The Rest of the Gospel” by Dan Stone, and “Lifetime Guarantee” by Bill Gillam. We both attended a healing retreat that God really met us in. And we have several internet sites that support our growing in grace. And as it applies to our life, we share these understandings with our kids.

But the question for me now is what does not forsaking our own assembling together, mean to me? I do not want to go back to my old ways of thinking and go to a church just because I think we should. But I also feel that we are in this bubble of limited fellowship.

Recently I have been thinking a lot about this passage and what it might mean to me:

Jer 3:13 Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the LORD your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to follow me. I, the LORD, have spoken!
Jer 3:14 “Return home, you wayward children,” says the LORD, “for I am your husband. I will bring you again to the land of Israel–one from here and two from there, from wherever you are scattered.
Jer 3:15 And I will give you leaders after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.”
Jer 3:16 “And when your land is once more filled with people,” says the LORD, “you will no longer wish for ‘the good old days’ when you possessed the Ark of the LORD’s covenant. Those days will not be missed or even thought about, and there will be no need to rebuild the Ark.

I apologize for this lengthy email. And I am not even sure of my exact purpose for writing to you. But after looking at some of your writings, I thought you might be able to understand our situation and if the Lord leads you, to offer encouragement in Him. Let me also quickly mention that though this past 4 years have been painful and ugly on days, I wouldn’t trade it for the understanding I have gained of who I am in Christ and what His Grace and Mercy means to my life.

Thanks for your time,

(anonymous child of God)

The goal of this study and this series of posts was to study passages which included lists of spiritual gifts in order to determine what the writer was saying about spiritual gifts. As we’ve looked through these lists of spiritual gifts, there are several general things that we can take from our study.

First, the actual exercise, description, or definition of the gifts involved was never the emphasis for the author. In fact, we are never told exactly what the gift of apostleship entails. The gifts of tongues and giving are never described. We are not told how to exercise the gifts of prophecy or administration. The authors do not explain the differences (if there are any differences) between word of knowledge, word of wisdom, prophecy, teaching, exhortation, etc. Perhaps we can glean certain information about the various gifts from other passages of Scripture. But, if exercising, describing, or defining the gifts are never the emphasis of Scripture, then why do we emphasize this so much?

Second, we are never told to find out what our spiritual gift is. Never. Not once. Instead, we are told that God gifts us as He desires. He chooses how to use our speaking and our serving. We don’t decide. Think about this for a moment. If I speak to a group of people, some people may be taught, others may be encouraged, others may receive it as prophecy – all from the same instance of speaking. Which gift did I exercise? I suggest that I did not exercise any of the gifts. I simply spoke as God directed, and he used the speech as he chose – to teach some, to exhort others, etc. Perhaps, then, Peter’s exhortation in 1 Peter 4:10-11 would be the best to consider when we are going to speak or serve. We should not ask ourselves if we have the gift of teaching, but if we are speaking the words of God. We should not ask ourselves if we have the gift of serving, but are we serving in the strength that God provides.

Third, the gifts and the categories are not as clear cut as we would like to make them. I’ve already mentioned that Scripture does not tell us the difference between words of knowledge, words of wisdom, prophecy, teaching, exhortation, etc. Most definitions and descriptions come from human attempts to pull out of Scripture what is not there. Even speaking and serving are not distinctive categories. Is the gift of apostleship a speaking or serving gift? Yes. What about pastoring? Yes, again. I think this is true for all of the “gifts”. They will all include aspects of speaking and serving. Even teaching – because we are told that teaching involves both what we say and how we live.

Fourth, love is emphasized in several of the passages that list spiritual gifts. Sometimes we only give a wink and nod at love, but without love, “spiritual gifts” are not spiritual gifts. As Paul said, I can speak or give or prophesy, but without love its all nothing. Perhaps, the next time we prepare to speak or serve, we should start by asking ourselves if we are loving the people that we want to speak to or serve. If not, then we should start with that – work out the problems before we ever start to speak or serve. Otherwise, we are doing nothing.

Fifth, we are not given spiritual gifts for our own benefit. We are given gifts by God for the benefit of others. God uses our words and our actions to exhort, comfort, edify, etc. those around us. If we are more concerned with what we are getting out of our speaking or serving, then we are not exercising spiritual gifts. In fact, if speaking and serving for the benefit of others bring glory to God (which Peter says), then speaking and serving for our own benefit do not bring glory to God.

Sixth, spiritual gifts are never connected to leadership. I’m not saying that leaders do not have spiritual gifts. However, we do not choose leaders because of their spiritual gifts. I realize that this is contrary to much contemporary teaching, especially teaching surrounding the five-fold ministries. However, if these five gifted individuals are necessary for the birth or growth of a church, it would seem that Paul or someone would have been a little more clear. Even the spiritual gift of teaching is not necessary for a leader. A leader should teach – but then, every believer is supposed to teach. Instead of choosing leaders based on their giftedness, believers should follow those who best exemplify the characteristics that all believers are supposed to have.

Seventh, and finally, when the church gathers, it should not be a one man – or even a two man – show. In fact, every believer should expect to speak to or serve brothers and sisters whenever they get together with them. Multiple people speaking or serving one at a time is not disorder – in fact, this is Paul’s very definition of order. We miss what God wants to say to us and what God wants to do among us when we do not allow everyone to speak and serve as God directs. Will it be messy? Probably. But, people are messy, and we are fooling ourselves if we think our highly planned and efficient meetings keep people from being messy. If anything, our meetings hide the messiness, or sweep it under the rug, instead of actually dealing with people and their lives and their messes.

I would love to hear what you have to say about spiritual gifts.

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Series on Spiritual Gifts
1. Introduction
2. Romans 12:6-8
3. 1 Corinthians 12:8-10
4. 1 Corinthians 12:28-30
5. 1 Corinthians 14:26
6. Ephesians 4:11
7. 1 Peter 4:10-11
8. Conclusion

Glenn, a friend and coworker, started a blog called “Bad Theology“. I have enjoyed reading his posts, and thought my readers would enjoy reading his thoughts as well.

In “Mantras, Legalism, and Prayer“, Glenn questions his own prayer practices. I appreciate his openness as he wants to learn how to communicate with God.

In “What are you really trying to say“, Glenn interacts with a preaching book in which the author says that illustrations give power to our preaching and teaching. Really? I thought power came from the Holy Spirit.

I think you will enjoy visiting Glenn’s blog and interacting with him. You may even want to add him to your reader.

On our way home from spending Thanksgiving in Tennessee, we had lunch with the Sensenigs from Boone, NC. You may know Steve from his blog “Theological Musings” and Christy from her blog “Until My Last Breath“. They are also both frequent readers and commenters here. Margaret and I met Steve and Christy last April when they came to Wake Forest for a conference (see my post “Friday and Saturday with Mark and Other Friends“). We enjoyed meeting their son Dillon and catching up with the Sensenigs. Hopefully, we’ll see them again soon. There are pictures at our family blog in a post called “Meeting more friends“.

The final list of spiritual gifts is found in 1 Peter 4:10-11. These two verses are part of a paragraph that beings in verse 7:

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies- in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:7-11 ESV)

In this passage, Peter combines all spiritual gifts into two categories: speaking and serving. Peter does not help us identifying which specific gifts belong to which category. In fact, Peter does not say that each spiritual gift easily fits within one of these two categories, or that these are the only two categories. Again, the emphasis is not on defining or describing the individual gifts.

In context and like Paul, Peter combines the concepts of sober thought and love with spiritual gifts. Remember that in Romans 12, Paul’s teaching about spiritual gifts followed the exhortation to have a renewed mind and not to think too highly of oneself. Peter uses a similar verb in vs. 7 to tell his readers to think soberly. Paul also echoes Peter insistence that believers demonstrate love. In fact, it is possible that spiritual gifts in verses 10-11 actually helps explain love in verse 8 (along with hospitality in verse 9). Either way, there is certainly a close connection between love and spiritual gifts.

Also like Paul, Peter recognizes that spiritual gifts originate with God and are as different as God’s “varied grace”. Peter also emphasizes that God is the source of spiritual gifts and the ability to exercise spiritual gifts when he tells his readers to speak as if they are speaking the sayings of God and to serve from strength which God provides. For Peter, there is no place for speaking human words or serving from human strength. Spiritual gifts are provided by God and are exercised through the words and strength of God.

This passage also links exercising spiritual gifts to worship. We bring glory to God when we speak the words of God and serve in the strength that God provides. This is worship, and exercising spiritual gifts encourages others toward worship. I’m not talking about “praise and worship”, as in music and singing. Instead, I’m talking about living a life in obedience to God that brings honor to God – this is worship. And, exercising spiritual gifts demonstrates and encourages worship.

Therefore, in this passage, Peter encourages his readers – and us by extension – to think rightly and to love completely by exercising the spiritual gifts that God has provided to them. They are to exercise these gifts as God provides the means and opportunities, and they are to do so in order to bring glory to God.

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Series on Spiritual Gifts
1. Introduction
2. Romans 12:6-8
3. 1 Corinthians 12:8-10
4. 1 Corinthians 12:28-30
5. 1 Corinthians 14:26
6. Ephesians 4:11
7. 1 Peter 4:10-11
8. Conclusion