God the Holy Spirit, Mentor's Guide, MG14

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G O D T H E H O L Y S P I R I T

Areas of Disagreement among Christians Concerning Spiritual Gifts (continued)

2. God is able to supply whatever is needed in a situation regardless of the resources we seem to have available. We are dependent upon God’s Spirit, not our own resources.

3. Supernatural powers exceeding anything possible in the natural order are available to the body of Christ.

4. We all are commanded to seek certain spiritual gifts that are of benefit to the body (1 Cor. 12.31 & 14.12). The gifts are always spoken of in relation to how they build up Christ’s body. There is no scriptural reference to spiritual gifts apart from their use in and by the Church.

a. 1 Cor. 1.26-29 (ESV) - For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. [27] But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; [28] God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, [29] so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

b. Non-Christians have talents through common grace. . . but these are talents, not gifts. No unbeliever has a spiritual gift. Only believers are gifted spiritually. . . .Talents depend on natural power, gifts on spiritual endowment (Leslie B. Flynn, 19 Gifts of the Spirit ).

C. View #3 - A Middle Way which suggests that spiritual gifts can be either the energizing of God-given natural talents or the creation of entirely new talents.