Natural Talents in Service to God

In the Old Testament period of redemptive history, God gave special gifts to a few chosen ones. For example, each of the prophets had a call and the gifts necessary to deliver Gods’ message. For the construction of the tabernacle and the temple, God gifted craftsmen to complete His plan. These may have been enhancements of natural talents or supernatural gifts; the record doesn’t say. We do know that the worship of God required a human intermediary: the priest to whom granted the right to offer the appropriate sacrifices (the descendants of Aaron). Unless they were specially gifted, the average Israelite had only their natural abilities to work with.

All that changed after the cross. Jesus told the Samaritan woman that a time was coming when God would be seeking those who would worship Him in spirit and in truth. They would no longer need to go to a prescribed location and use the services of a human intermediary. Christ became our high priest, and He intercedes for us continually in the spirit realm of the heavenly temple before God’s throne. We have the privilege to approach that throne in spirit while we remain in our earthly (fleshly, soulish) bodies.

We learn through Paul’s epistles to the church that God gives spiritual gifts to all believers. There is no gift of worship today because all those who have given themselves to Christ have immediate access to God. This is made possible by the Holy Spirit’s presence in us alongside our own spirit. The worship “in truth” Jesus told the Samaritan woman about proceeds from this union of Holy Spirt with our spirit. This is one of the most glorious aspects of our being “in Christ.” The greatest of the Old Testament saints didn’t have this. Jesus may have been thinking of this when He said the least in the Kingdom of God would be greater that the greatest in the Old Testament.

Admittedly worship is more than praising God and extolling Him for all His virtues; it also involves the work we do for Him. The children of Israel had only their natural capabilities to use in worship. This led to the condition described in Sirach 43: “We could say more but could never say enough; let the final word be: ‘He is the all.’ Where can we find the strength to praise him? For he is greater than all his works. Awesome is the Lord and very great, and marvelous is his power. Glorify the Lord and exalt him as much as you can, for he surpasses even that. When you exalt him, summon all your strength, and do not grow weary, for you cannot praise him enough. (Sirach 43:27–30, NRSV) This passage laments the limitations of soul-only worship; these people didn’t have the ability to worship in spirit and truth which Jesus foretold.

People today who use only their natural, soulish abilities to worship God or do His work are in the same boat. Even though they “summon all [their] strength,” they cannot do enough. As I wrote previously, natural talents can be sanctified when they are offered to God in the right spirit. These offerings are gifts of worship given to God (Rom.12:1), whereas spiritual gifts are given by God to His people.

This is not to diminish the value of natural talents. It is necessary for people to bring the kingdom of God to earth by proper use of their natural talents. To use a warfare analogy, they are fighting the battle against evil on one front. But, like many wars, our battle against evil is necessarily fought on a spiritual front as well. Paul told the Ephesians their battle was not primarily against earthly forces, but against spiritual wickedness in the heavenly realm. Trying to fight on that front with natural talents is like bringing a knife to a gunfight; though it may be well-intentioned, it is doomed to fail. Remember what happened to the seven sons of Sceva when they attempted to do battle in the spirit realm without the spiritual weaponry.

It is sad that so many well-meaning Christians shy away from the biblical admonition to wage war on the spiritual front. The excuse I have heard most often is that supernatural gifts, miraculous gifts, ceased to exist at some point in history. This view is taught in many seminaries and delivered from the pulpit by their graduates.  (I shared my disagreement with that position in “Spiritual Gifts.”) It is equally sad that many of the proponents of ongoing supernatural gifts abuse them in the same way that the Corinthians did. My response is that Paul did not say the Corinthians should stop using their gifts; he said they should continue to use them but in a loving and orderly way.

It is also helpful to differentiate between a natural talent and its spiritual counterpart. A Christian who is a talented speaker is not necessarily exercising the gift of prophecy when teaching or preaching. The gift of prophecy has two expressions: foretelling and forthtelling. In many instances, the Old Testament prophets foretold what would happen in the future. Perhaps most often, they simply spoke the message God asked them to deliver. This aspect of speaking God’s Word is the most common use of the gift of prophecy today. The gifted prophet is moved by the Holy Spirit to deliver a specific message. A naturally talented speaker may use the same words, but the words won’t carry the spiritual weight of the prophet.

 The parallel gift of wisdom is similar in nature; it allows the gifted one to apply God’s Word specifically to the circumstances at hand. Any person who knows the Word well by natural means can do this. A healthy intellect and a determination to study God’s Word can produce wisdom by natural means. Every believer should be doing this. By contrast, the gifted person could have the Holy Spirit bring God’s truth to mind directly. The word of wisdom spoken by the gifted individual carries beyond the sound waves or ink on paper into the realm of the spirit. There it will do what Isaiah promised, and it will not return without accomplishing God’s will.

(I must add at this point that God often gives His gifts for a specific occasion. For example, a sincere person preparing to deliver a Bible message may pray for God’s anointing. God may well grant the spirit of wisdom and prophecy for that individual at that time. The person would not necessarily be considered a full-time prophet, but the message would have the spiritual effect required to accomplish God’s will in the spirit realm.)

The common misunderstanding of the use of supernatural languages (tongues) has also led many to abandon them or even disparage them as evil. A careful reading of 1 Corinthians 14 reveals two different uses for tongues. On one hand, they could be used as a sign to unbelievers visiting the assembly of believers. The misuse of this aspect of the gift is what Paul chastised them for. They were not using their gift out of love for the unsaved, but rather for their own aggrandizement. Paul soundly criticized that behavior.

Earlier in the same chapter, Paul encouraged a different aspect of a supernatural language: he recommended tongues as a way to speak directly to God for the purpose of personal edification (vv.2-4). He explains this more fully a few verses later saying, “If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unproductive. Therefore, what should I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind.”

Far from discouraging a special prayer language, Paul recommends it saying, “I want you all to speak in tongues.” He may have been thinking along the lines of what Jude said: “These [the false teachers] are the ones who cause divisions, worldly (Greek: soulish), not having the spirit. But you, dear friends, building yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God.” I do not think Jude meant to diminish the use of natural, soulish abilities to pray. Every believer can and must use intellect, emotion, and volition to pray as directed by the Holy Spirit. At times, the Spirit may even supply the words when we don’t know what to pray. Once again, the difference between the natural and the supernatural is evident.

For me, the end of the matter is this: natural talents are used in the earthly, soulish realm. Spiritual gifts operate in the spirit realm. The Lord’s Prayer encourages us to ask that God’s will be done, “on earth as it is in Heaven.” Using natural talents in service to God accomplishes His will on earth; using a spiritual gift works God’s will in the heavenlies. The advance of God’s Kingdom requires both. We must not let false teaching or human failures to use spiritual gifts appropriately cause us to avoid using them at all.

Related Posts: Spiritual Gifts; Living in Zerubbabel’s Day; It’s Not All About You; War is Hell; Why Witness?; Excusing the Pharisees

Spiritual Gifts

In my last post, I attempted to make the case that spiritual gifts are different from natural talents. There are two underlying assumptions that are usually the cause of failing to emphasize the differences. First, there is the cesssationist view that all legitimate supernatural gifting ceased at some point in church history. Second is the failure to see a clear distinction between the biblical use of soul and spirit.

In this article, I want to expand my reasons for insisting that spiritual gifts differ from natural talents. First, I want to go a little deeper in my rebuttal of the cesssationist view. The point of contention here is the interpretation of Paul’s prediction in 1 Cor. 13 concerning the cessation of spiritual gifts. The time frame he was using is found in verse 10: “when comes the perfect.” The word Paul uses for the perfect, the teleion, is Greek for the conclusion, the end result. The cesssationist view holds that this refers to the completion of the canon of Scripture.

I believe Paul meant the conclusion of ALL things, not just the completion of the canon. Notice he says that when the perfect comes, we will know things in a complete way (teleion.) I am convinced that even with a complete Bible at hand, no one knows all things perfectly, completely. The Apostle Paul, the writer of most of the New Testament said even he knew only “in part.” He expected to know “all things” at some future date. While I agree that no new revelation is expected, like Paul, we still need the supernatural help from the Holy Spirit which Jesus promised would “lead [us] into all truth.”

Paul uses two other analogies which I believe argue against the cesssationist view. He says, “When I was a child… I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I set aside the things of a child.” This suggests that immature, flawed human reasoning will be “set aside” in the future. Paul ties childish reasoning with knowing “in part.” Paul continues the analogy to say, “Now [Paul’s present day] we see through a mirror indirectly but then face to face.” The “then” is a time when the partial knowledge will be “set aside,” or “pass away.” Paul uses a different word for knowing “then”, epignosko, which implies complete knowledge – knowledge like God knows about us. We don’t have that yet. The completed Bible doesn’t give us that. That state of knowing will not be ours until we are glorified in God’s presence.

That is the telion, the perfect knowledge that Paul meant was to come. Cesssationist’s believe we have that knowledge now with the complete canon of Scripture. That does not seem like a reasonable conclusion to me given everything Paul says about the time when the gifts he references will cease. I can see why those gifts will be unnecessary when we are in God’s presence in glory. But while still here on earth, they are necessary to accomplish the mission of the church.

The other assumption many cesssationists make is that spirit and soul are the same. I have written about this previously, but I will summarize by saying that the New Testament is clear in its differentiation between the two. Paul says spirit and flesh (soul) are “opposed;” James says soulish wisdom is demonic in contrast to wisdom that is “from above,” or spiritual. In 1 Cor. 3, Paul says that works done in the flesh (the soul) will be burned up while spiritual works will earn eternal rewards. Natural talents reside in the soul; spiritual gifts work through our spirit often in concert with our sanctified soul.

For me, the difference between natural talents and spiritual gifts comes down to purpose. God gives everyone natural talents at birth. However, God only gives believers spiritual gifts, which are given at conversion. Those gifts may overlap with natural talents, but their purpose is to build up the church, not to bolster the receiver’s status, career, or reputation.  We must do the good works God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). These may be empowered by our spiritual gifting or accomplished with our natural talents as we offer them in service to God.

The critical difference is that spiritual gifts are supernatural abilities given to counter the supernatural efforts of our true enemy: Satan and his army of demons dedicated to our failure. Paul made it abundantly clear in Ephesians 6 that, “Our battle is not against blood and flesh, but against… the spiritual sources of wickedness in heavenlies.” If we ignore the importance of doing spiritual battle against a spiritual enemy, we will be left operating in the flesh, which Paul told the Corinthians would result in no eternal value.

I believe the cesssationist view hobbles the church, keeping it from doing the ministry it is called to. Those opposed to supernatural gifts often assert that charismatics go too far. This is true. That is what Paul chided the Corinthians for, but he didn’t say they should stop; he told them to continue to use their gifts but to maintain order. 1 Corinthians 14 is Paul’s defense for the continued use of spiritual gifts in the church.

If you study the present-day use of supernatural gifts such as prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, or discerning spirits, you will see that they sound like the proper ministry of the church. As I understand them, they are given by the Holy Spirit to empower God’s people to do battle in the spiritual arena in which we live. These gifts do not add new revelation to the canon of Scripture; they engage the Holy Spirit through the believer’s spirit to wage war against the demon spirits of the god of this age. Without those gifts, we are living in the 1 Corinthians 3 world of carnal (fleshly, soulish) Christianity which Paul said had no eternal results.

John MacArthur reminds us that, “We have a risen Savior who conquered sin and Satan for us and has all the resources necessary to resist the devil and his assaults on us. (John MacArthur, First Love, MacArthur Study Series, Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996, 113) Primary among those resources must be our spiritual gifts. Every believer should be using his or her natural talents for the building of God’s kingdom. That is offering a true spiritual service. (Rom. 12: 1-2) But talents are not spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts operate in the spirit realm where our true enemy works. And that enemy is not going to be defeated finally until the completion of all things when Jesus’ victory is fully realized. Jude 24 says Jesus is, “Able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy.” I believe that if we fail to use all the gifts God has given us, we will not be blameless, and our joy will be tinged with regret.

Related Posts: Are They Gifts or Talents; The Christian Parody, Part One; Despising the Downpayment; The Big Question

Are They Gifts or Talents

I have mentioned the importance of spiritual gifts to the health of the church on several occasions. (See Related Posts) The most critical passage may be in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians where he asserts that every believer is given a gift by the Holy Spirit. I have lamented the fact that many believers haven’t a clue what their gift is. This unfortunate situation may well explain why the church is in such a sorry state. The Scripture is clear that spiritual gifts are given for the building and maturing the Body of Christ. Human effort will not accomplish what only God can do through His empowerment of believers.

Beginning with the assumption that spiritual gifts are necessary for the health of Christ’s body, it follows that a clear understanding of those gifts is essential. First, we have to see that the gifts come from God. In Ephesians, Paul says that Christ gave gifts to the church; in Corinthians it is the Holy Spirit who distributes the gifts. This is not a contradiction because we understand that although we speak of God being three in one, He is one in purpose. Spiritual gifts clearly come from God.

Second, we learn that it is God who determines what gifts each believer is granted. In Romans, Paul says some have one gift and some another; the passage in Ephesians is worded similarly. It is most clearly stated in the Corinthian passage: “But in all these things one and the same Spirit is at work, distributing to each one individually just as he wishes.” God knows best what each local assembly needs to fulfill its purpose, so He provides the spiritual power to accomplish His will.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, we see that spiritual gifts are not given for the benefit of the receiver; they are meant to benefit the whole body. To the Ephesians Paul says gifts are: “for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all reach the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to a measure of the maturity of the fullness of Christ.” Paul told the Corinthians that each individual member should be concerned with the health of the whole body. He also chided the Corinthians for making the gifts a matter of personal pride.

Now I come to a question for which I may not have an answer. Is there something unique about a spiritual gift, or is it the same thing as a natural talent? I have taught for many years that there is a stark difference between spiritual gifts and talents. Spiritual gifts are supernatural; talents are natural. Spiritual gifts come from the Holy Spirit by His choice at His time; talents come from genetics and experience. Spiritual gifts are empowered from within our spirit; talents are soulish, earthly-powered.

This distinction may not make sense to someone who doesn’t understand the difference between soul and spirit. The New Testament makes it abundantly clear to me that spirit and soul are not just different entities; they are opposed to one another. At one point, Paul says they are opposed to one another. He told the Corinthians that only spiritual works would stand the test of eternity; fleshly, soulish works would be burned up. James called earthly, soulish wisdom demonic while praising the wisdom from above (spiritual) as, “first pure, then peaceful, gentle, obedient, full of mercy and good fruits, nonjudgmental, without hypocrisy.” The contrast couldn’t be more plain.

If this difference between soul and spirit carries through to our giftedness, spiritual gifts and natural talents cannot be the same thing. This difference is easy to see with the so-called miraculous gifts. Paul’s list of gifts in 1 Corinthians lists several: a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, gifts of healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing of spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. His list in Romans may seem more like natural talents: service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and showing mercy. However, these gifts are also, “apportioned by God.”

I admit, there are those who believe that miraculous gifts have ceased to exist. They draw this conclusion from one passage in First Corinthians which they believe predicts the cessation of miracles at the conclusion of the canon of Scripture. There are others who believe that even with the complete revelation of the written Word, there are still occasions for the proper use of supernatural gifts in the church. These people are generally called charismatics, which is curious since that term is a direct transliteration of the word Paul used to describe the gifts of the Holy Spirit which introduces his three-chapter treatise on spiritual things.

It is also curious that churches with a “charismatic” leaning are among the few bodies that are growing these days. This is especially true in Central and South America. I believe that may have something to do with the fact that those opposing Christianity there are steeped in spiritist type religions. It may take a strong spiritual footing to defend the faith and defeat the enemy in those regions. Those of us north of the border may have grown complacent, forgetting that our battle is also spiritual in nature, if not as obviously so. Remember Paul’s claim: “Our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against… the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Recently I heard a sermon extolling the gifted work of church members who were swinging hammers or creating spreadsheets. I tried to imagine spiritual nail pounding or number crunching. I have to admit that any natural talent applied to Christian ministry with proper intent may have spiritual consequences. I struggle to see the use of hammers or pencils as supernatural though. I will have to lean on the idea that we are commanded to do all things to the glory of God, and that if one is led by the Spirit to pound that nail or crunch that number, their gifting might be considered “spiritual” in that context.

My primary spiritual gift is teaching, and when I am doing it at the Spirit’s prompting, I feel a  unique stirring deep within me. I may have to allow that God could give a carpenter or accountant that same experience and qualify their gift as spiritual. The bottom line remains: each believer has a gift from God, and they are commanded to discover it and put it to its proper use. If you are not doing that, you had better have a good excuse ready when you meet the Giver of good and perfect gifts one day.

Related Posts: Music for the Soul; The Christian Parody Part One; Part Two; Part Three; How can we Bless God; Despising the Downpayment