One
distinctive and important result produced by the presence of the Holy
Spirit in the church may be recognized by the active participation of
all the members in the life, worship and service of the church.
In
the regular services of the great majority of Christian churches today,
almost all the real initiative and activity are confined to just a few
individuals. The congregation as a whole may take part in certain
prearranged activities: singing hymns or repeating fixed prayers or
responses. There may also be one or two smaller, specially trained
groups, such as a choir or an orchestra. But apart from this, in the
vast majority of congregations, all the real initiative and activity
are left in the hands of one or two individuals while the rest of the
congregation is expected to contribute little more than an occasional
Amen.
However, if we examine with an open mind the
life and
worship of the early church as portrayed in the New Testament, we find
that there was active participation by all the believers present in any
service. This was brought about by the supernatural presence and power
of the Holy Spirit, operating in and through the individual believers.
Gifts
are Given to the Church
The
first point we need to establish is that, according to the New
Testament pattern, the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit are not
given primarily to the individual believer. Rather, they are
given—through the vessel of the individual
believer—to the
church or congregation as a whole. Therefore they cannot achieve their
proper purpose unless they are freely manifested and exercised in the
life of the congregation.
This is clearly brought
out by the
teaching of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12. In verses 7 through 11 of this
chapter, Paul lists nine specific supernatural gifts of the Holy
Spirit, ending with the words:
"But
one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each
one individually as He wills"
(verse 11). This last phrase obviously indicates that these gifts are
given in the first instance to individual believers. However, Paul does
not end there.
In the next 16 verses of the same
chapter (verses
12–27), Paul goes on to say that the Christian church is like
one
body with many members, and he likens each individual believer to a
single member of one body, ending with the words:
"Now you are the body of Christ,
and members individually"
(verse 27). Spiritual gifts are not intended primarily for the benefit
of the individual but for the life and worship of the whole
congregation.
This truth is clearly stated by Paul
in the very next verse—that is,
"And
God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets,
third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps,
administrations, varieties of tongues" (verse 28).
Speaking
here of various ministries and supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit,
Paul says that all of them have been appointed by God
"in the church."
That is, they are intended not merely for private use by individual
believers, but for public manifestation in the church—the
congregation of God’s people as a whole.
The
Lampstand
This same truth is strikingly brought out by a
brief parable Jesus uses in the Sermon on the Mount:
Nor
do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and
it gives light to all who are in the house. (Matthew 5:15)
The
two main symbols used in this parable are the
lamp and the
lampstand. The
symbol of the lampstand may be interpreted by reference to Revelation
1:20:
"The seven
lampstands which you saw are the seven churches."
Throughout the whole of Scripture, a lampstand (or candlestick) is used
as a symbol of a church or a
congregation.
The
symbol of the lighted lamp or candle may be interpreted by reference to
Proverbs 20:27:
"The
spirit of man is the lamp (or candle) of the LORD."
Thus, the lighted lamp is a symbol of the spirit of the believer, made
to burn and to shine by the fire of the indwelling Spirit of God. More
simply, the lighted candle represents the believer baptized in the Holy
Spirit and fire.
Going back to Matthew 5:15, Jesus
says that the
Spirit-baptized believer belongs by right in the candlestick or
lampstand—that is, in the church, the congregation of
God’s
people. A candle under a basket or covered up by an empty vessel is out
of place and useless. Just as the lighted candle belongs in the
candlestick, so the Spirit-baptized believer is under an obligation to
take his rightful place in the congregation of God’s people.
A
believer who has received the baptism in the Holy Spirit but never
makes public use of any spiritual gift is just like a candle under a
basket.
We see then, from these Scriptures, that the
baptism in
the Holy Spirit and the supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit
are intended to play an effective part in the public life and worship
of the congregation as a whole. When the presence and power of the Holy
Spirit are publicly manifested in this way through various believers,
the result is that the whole life and worship of the congregation are
completely transformed. The main responsibility for the ministry and
conducting of the service are no longer borne by one or two individuals
while the rest remain lazily passive. On the contrary, every member of
the congregation begins to participate actively in the service, and the
various members minister to each other, rather than one or two
ministering to everyone else all the time.
This is
the pattern
indicated by Paul’s example of the body and its members, and
it
is confirmed by the words of the apostle Peter:
As
each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good
stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let
him
speak as the oracles of God; if anyone ministers, let him do it with
the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified
through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever
and ever. Amen. (1Peter 4:10–11)
Peter
here speaks of God’s grace being
"manifold."
God’s grace is so rich, so many-sided, that a different
aspect of
that grace can be manifested through each individual member in the
total worship and service of God’s people. God’s
grace is
so rich that every member of the church may receive a special
manifestation of it and may thus have something to minister in turn to
all the other members. The language Peter uses here includes every
member of the church; no one need be left without a gift or a ministry.
Peter says:
"As each one has
received a gift, minister it to one another." And again,
in the next verse:
"If anyone speaks . . .
if anyone
ministers."
There is no indication here of a church with one or two "professional,"
full-time ministers, while the remaining members are largely inactive.
Active
Members
This picture of the church with every member active
is confirmed by the words of Paul:
For
I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not
to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think
soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we
have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same
function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually
members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the
grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us
prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our
ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in
exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with
diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans
12:3–8)
In
these verses Paul once again likens the Christian church to a body of
which each individual believer is a member, and he lays great stress on
the activity of
each
member.
Paul teaches that God has allotted to each believer a special function,
a special ministry. God has also appointed to each member a measure or
a proportion of faith, sufficient to enable each particular member to
fulfill successfully his allotted ministry. Thus, the New Testament
picture of the church is that of a vigorous, active body, in which each
individual member properly fulfills his or her special function. A
church in which only one or two members had any active ministry would
be, by New Testament standards, like a body in which, let’s
say,
the head, one hand, and one foot were strong and active, and all the
rest of the body was paralyzed and useless.
In 1
Corinthians 12,
Paul lays particular emphasis upon the supernatural ministry imparted
by the Holy Spirit to every member of a New Testament church. He says:
"But the manifestation of the
Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all" (verse
7). And again, concerning the nine supernatural gifts of the Holy
Spirit:
"But one and
the same Spirit works all these things, distributing each one
individually as He wills" (verse 11).
These
words make it plain that it is the express will of God for every member
of the church to exercise spiritual gifts—the open, public,
supernatural manifestations of the indwelling Spirit. If all believers
do not in fact have these gifts in operation, it is not because God
withholds them, but simply because such believers (through carelessness
or unbelief) fail to press on into the fullness of God’s
revealed
will for His people.
Exercising the Gifts
In
1 Corinthians 14:5, Paul says:
"I
wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied."
Since Paul is here writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
his words impart to the church the revealed will of God for all His
believing people both to speak with tongues and to prophesy. If there
are believers who do not enjoy the exercise of these gifts, it is not
because God has withheld the gifts, but simply because those believers
have not entered into the fullness of their inheritance in Christ. The
Lord said to Joshua and to His people under the old covenant:
"There remains very much land
yet to be possessed"
(Joshua 13:1). So it is also with God’s people under the new
covenant today: There remains very much land yet to be possessed.
In
1 Corinthians 14:13, Paul says also:
"Therefore let him who speaks in
a tongue pray that he may interpret."
Plainly, God’s Word does not tell us to pray for something
which
it is not God’s will for us to have. Therefore, we know that
it
is God’s will for anyone who speaks in tongues to also
interpret
that utterance. Since Paul has already said that it is God’s
will
for all to speak in tongues, it is therefore also God’s will
for
all to interpret.
Again, in 1 Corinthians 14:31,
Paul says:
"For you can
all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged."
Nothing could be plainer than this. It is within the revealed will of
God for all the members of the church to exercise the spiritual gift of
prophecy. On this general revelation of God’s will, Paul
imposes
only two limitations. Here in the verse just quoted, he says,
"one by one."
That is, believers are to exercise this gift by turns, not more than
one believer prophesying at any one time. The purpose of this is
obvious, and is stated a few verses further on:
to avoid confusion
(verse 33).
The other limitation upon the exercise
of the gift of prophecy is stated by Paul a little earlier, in verse
29:
"Let two or three
prophets speak, and let the others [the members] judge."
Paul here limits how many may exercise the gift of prophecy in any
service to two or three. The purpose of this is that the whole service
should not be monopolized by one particular form of spiritual
manifestation. The exercise of prophecy has its place in the service,
but it does not make up the whole service. The ministry of the Holy
Spirit through God’s people is much more varied than that.
Many
other different forms of ministry are required to make up a complete
service.
In this verse Paul also says clearly that
the exercise of the gift of prophecy must be judged, or tested. He
says:
"Let the others
judge." The word
others
here, in Greek, is plural, meaning: "the rest of the members" or the
other Spirit-baptized believers present who are capable of recognizing
the genuine manifestation of the gift of prophecy. Even in this we see
that Paul brings in all the members. He does not specify merely one
professional minister who is to judge, but he makes the believers as a
whole responsible to do this.
This is in line with
what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:19–21:
"Do
not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold
fast what is good."
These
three verses are addressed to Christian believers generally, and they
must be taken closely together. It is wrong for believers to quench or
reject the moving and manifestation of the Holy Spirit in their midst.
It is also wrong for believers to adopt an attitude of criticism,
contempt, or unbelief toward the manifestation of the gift of prophecy.
On the other hand, when this gift is manifested, believers are to test
it by the standards of Scripture and then accept or retain only that
which is good—that which accords with the standards and
patterns
of Scripture.
We see, then, that Paul is careful to
guard
against anything that might be spurious or disorderly in the exercise
or manifestation of spiritual gifts. However, with this one
qualification, Paul repeatedly and emphatically states that all
believers in the church can—and should—enjoy and
exercise
the open manifestation of spiritual gifts.
All
Contribute
What
is the result in a church when all its members freely and publicly
exercise supernatural spiritual gifts in this way? In 1 Corinthians
14:26, Paul describes the kind of services that result. He says:
"How
is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a
psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an
interpretation. Let all things be done for edification."Notice
the phrase,
"each of
you has"—a psalm, a teaching, a tongue, a
revelation, an interpretation.
Generally
speaking, when Christians come together today, they come with the
primary purpose of receiving, not of contributing. They come to get a
blessing, to receive healing, to hear a preacher. But this was not the
way of the New Testament church. There, the members came not primarily
to receive, but to contribute. Paul mentions various possible forms of
contribution.
A
psalm
would denote some form of musical contribution. This might be the
product either of natural talent or of the supernatural enabling of the
Holy Spirit.
A
teaching
would denote the ability to impart some truth from the teaching of
God’s Word.
A
tongue and an
interpretation
might be taken to cover generally the three gifts of supernatural
utterance: tongues, interpretation and prophecy.
A
revelation would
cover any one of the three main revelatory gifts: a word of wisdom, a
word of knowledge, and discerning of spirits.
In
this way—mainly through the operation of the supernatural
spiritual gifts—all the members had something of their own to
contribute towards the total worship and service of the church. They
are thus able to fulfill the injunction given by Peter:
"As each one has received a
gift, minister it to one another"
(1 Peter 4:10). The ability of the members to minister effectively to
one another was due mainly to the fact that they had received these
supernatural spiritual gifts.
Had their ability to
minister to
each other depended merely on education or natural talent, many of them
would have been just what we see in the majority of Christian churches
today. The main burden of ministry would have fallen upon just a few of
the members, and the rest of them would have remained largely passive
or inactive, without any real opportunities for spiritual expression or
development.
The only escape from this limitation
and
frustration is through the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit in
the church, dividing spiritual gifts to all the members individually,
according to His own will. In this way, the members are delivered from
and lifted out of their own natural limitations into a spiritual realm
where they can all operate freely and share together the burden of the
total ministry of the church. In this way, all the members of the body
of Christ can be made effectually active, instead of only a few members
participating while the rest remain as spectators. Thus the body of
Christ, as a whole, is able to fulfill its appointed function.
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