You are gifted

A Christocentric discussion of the sixteenth statement of Seventh-day Adventist faith.

Roy Naden, Ed.D. {retired) is a professor of religious education at Andrews University. He lives in Bainbridge Island, Washington.

Seventh-day Adventist Statement of Faith #16: "God bestows upon all members of His church in every age spiritual gifts which each member is to employ in loving ministry for the common good of the church and of humanity. Given by the agency of the Holy Spirit, who apportions to each member as He wills, the gifts provide all abilities and ministries needed by the church to fulfill its divinely ordained functions. According to the Scriptures, these gifts include such ministries as faith, healing, prophecy, proclamation, teaching, administration, reconciliation, compassion, and self-sacrificing service and charity for the help and encouragement of people. Some members are called of God and endowed by the Spirit for functions recognized by the church in pastoral, evangelistic, apostolic, and teaching ministries particularly needed to equip the members for service, to build up the church to spiritual maturity, and to foster unity of the faith and knowledge of God. When members employ these spiritual gifts as faithful stewards of God's varied grace, the church is protected from the destructive influence of false doctrine, grows with a growth that is from God, and is built up in faith and love. (Rom. 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12:9-11, 27, 28; Eph. 4:8, 11-16; Acts 6:1-7; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; 1 Peter 4:10, 11.)"

To all who accept God's infinitely generous gift of salvation, He bestows gifts through which we can render personal service to others. As soon as we discover security in His love, and the assurance of His abiding presence in every part of the spectrum of life experience, He gives us abilities to be active in ministry for Him. These acts of service bless the people we serve and give God glory, and they certainly give us personal pleasure.

Recent recognition

It is intriguing that Adventism, with its commission to take the gospel to the world in the setting of the emphases of Revelation 14, came very late to under stand the foundational character of this doctrine of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

In 1872, the Adventist Press in Battle Creek produced a synopsis of the beliefs of the people that had adopted a church name less than a decade earlier. But we waited for more than a century, until 1980, for the biblical teaching of the gifting of all members for service to be officially voted part of the cluster of teachings we call our "fundamental beliefs."1

There can be no doubt about the fundamental nature of this great truth, especially when one looks deeply into the heart of it: that everything the church has been commissioned to do by our Savior can be accomplished only through the specific gifts or abilities God gives to every member of His family through the Holy Spirit.

Paul's observation that by "beholding" we "are changed" (2 Cor. 3:18, RSV), occurs in two complementary ways: We are changed by keeping our daily focus on our Lord, and by seeing the needs of others and finding meaningful ways to address some of their needs through the gifts for service bestowed by the Holy Spirit.

Erwin McManus has observed, "If we were all-powerful, all-knowing, and all present, how many of us would choose to let servant hood be the ultimate expression of all that potential? Isn't the whole point of being God to be served? It would be for us, but not for Jesus."2

Just two kinds of gifts

Spiritual gifts come in two major categories: nurture of the saved, and outreach to the unsaved. As the world approaches its climax, gifts of outreach are intended to complete the work of sharing the good news with the world.

A vastly accelerated population growth in the last century continues and has added a vastness to our task that makes the fulfillment of it something beyond human devising. Only the use of the Spirit's gifts to individuals can accomplish this task. Ultimately, only unnumbered Pentecost-like experiences will see the gospel work consummated. It will be done, but "Not by might, nor by [human] power but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty" (Zech. 4:6, NIV); the same Spirit that gives gifts for service to each one of us.

When "outreach" gifts are appropriately used, people find their way into fellowship in the church as the experience at Pentecost affirms. As we look at the first-century Christian church, we read that "the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved" (Acts 2:47).

But newborn Christians need to be nurtured to help them grow into maturity, thus the need for "nurture" gifts that build up the members of the family of God so we all "grow in grace" (2 Peter 3:18) in anticipation of the imminent return of Jesus.

The apostle Paul gives explanations of spiritual gifts in three of his letters: Romans, Ephesians, and 1 Corinthians. However, there is clear evidence that the Spirit has always given spiritual gifts to spiritual people. In the Old Testament we read of the gifting of artists to build and furnish the sanctuary (Exod. 35:35) an important reminder for us to recognize and appreciate the gifts of artistry that come from God.

In Romans Paul describes our personal preparation for a life of service using the gifts of the Spirit. In Corinthians, he describes the process by which we receive these gifts. And in Ephesians we read the purpose or results of the service we render through spiritual gifts.3

Preparation for a life of service

Romans contains the Bible's only systematic development of the theme of righteousness by faith. The book reads like a thesis from a Hebrew university. Paul's intellect and theological under standing are nowhere more evident than when we read his treatise on the gospel addressed to the church in the world's capital of that day.

Paul begins by pointing out that the entire world is condemned in its sinfulness (Rom. 1-3). Abraham is his example extraordinaire of salvation by faith alone (Rom. 4; 5). Then the apostle shows how the process of sanctification follows the act of being declared righteous by God (Rom. 6-8). Paul concludes his major theme by describing how Israel fits into the puzzle of a new age or eon (Rom. 9-11) in which God commissions all who believe, Jew and Gentile alike, to take the gospel to the world.

In over eleven chapters we follow the logic of this argument. Then as chapter 12 opens, we find a bridge from doctrine to duty a device found in other epistles. The transition is signaled by his use of the word "therefore."

Paul then makes this point: The moment we give ourselves to God and receive the gift of salvation, the Spirit adds other gifts gifts for ministry to others. While most Bible students are fully aware of the development of the theme of righteousness through faith in the first 11 chapters of Romans, it is not common to recognize the first implication Paul describes for those who are declared righteous: We all receive spiritual gifts. This is detailed in Romans 12. It begins: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Rom. 12:1).

From the time of the Exodus, Israel became involved with daily animal sacrifices, chief of which was the lamb offered twice a day and burned on the bronze altar of burnt offering. The glowing coals beneath that lifeless body slowly consumed it. There could not be any resistance. Paul uses this historical reality to remind his readers that because of the gift of righteousness given to them, they must in response give themselves to God as completely as a sacrificial lamb. He says this is a perfectly "reasonable" thing to do.

The word "reasonable" in the King James Version comes from the Greek, logikos, from which we get our English word "logical." It is logical, perfectly appropriate, for those that receive eternal life as a gift from God to give themselves unresistingly to Him in thankfulness, in preparation for a life of service for Him.

And as we make the gift of ourselves to God, He molds our lives to make them like His. j. B. Phillips translates Romans 12:1, 2: "Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-make you so that your whole attitude of mind is changed. Thus you will prove in practice that the will of God is good, acceptable to him and perfect."4

Paul continues the implications of this in his presentation on righteousness through faith using another metaphor. He says, ". . . be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed . . ." (Rom. 12:2). He describes this experience as a metamorphosis, like a caterpillar emerging from its cocoon as a beautiful butterfly ready for flight and ready to grace our gardens.

The word "transformed" comes from the Greek metamorphoo. Paul elsewhere describes the experience as becoming a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17). And how does this new creation act? In Romans 12, Paul gives the answer. He says that when we experience our own personal metamorphosis, it constitutes our preparation to receive gifts through which we joyfully serve others (Rom. 12:6-13).5

The process of beginning a life of service

A second Pauline passage elaborates the process by which we enter a life of service 1 Corinthians 12-14. Chronologically, this is the apostle's first and longest elaboration on giftedness. In the flow of this epistle, we find the discussion of spiritual gifts follows a beautiful treatise on the passion of our Savior and the symbols of bread and wine we are bidden to receive "till he come" (1 Cor. 11:26).

Following the giftedness discourse is the triumphant presentation of the resurrection at the last day when "death is swallowed up in victory" (1 Cor. 15:54). After reading Paul's instructions on how to cope with a long series of devastating moral and ethical dilemmas afflicting the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 5-10), these final Christological chapters are pure bliss.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul describes the three-fold process by which we enter ministry. "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men" (1 Cor. 12:4-6, NIV).

First, Paul states that there is great variety in the gifts the Spirit bestows. It is vital to have a spectrum of gifts in order to meet the spectrum of needs in out reach and nurture. For this reason it can be misleading to think that spiritual gifts are limited to the thirty or so named in the Bible. The gifts given to believers in the first century perfectly met their needs in outreach and nurture, and they continue to do so in our time.

For example, the gift that equips people to help others by "strengthening, encouragement and comfort" (Paul's definition of the gift of prophecy in 1 Cor. 14:3, NIV) is just as needed today as at any time in history. 6 The abilities or gifts believers receive today may be the same or similar to those of the first century, but some will be unique to our age.

Today the gifts can include abilities such as computer programming, printing, mission aircraft maintenance, and flying, skills undreamed of when Paul lived. His assertion, "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit," speaks to the great variety of gifts God distributes for service. And our first step in the process of entering into ministry is to become aware of the gifts God has given us, aware of the areas where we can serve with confidence, expertise, and success.

The second facet builds on the first and declares that there is a vast array of needs to be met. Paul says that "there are different kinds of service, but the same Lord," (1 Cor. 12:5, NIV). The Greek word translated "service" is diakonos, from which we get the word "deacon," which means a "servant. . .one who executes a commission."7 Servants do whatever needs to be done, whatever they are commissioned to do. And God's servants, the members of His church, are equipped and commissioned to do whatever needs to be done. God provides a limitless pool of unique abilities to ensure that the church is able to meet the human needs they encounter.

Our second step toward a life of ministry is to look for opportunities to use our gifts to serve others by meeting some of their needs. This service can be within the organization of the congregation where we worship or on a completely independent basis, for ministry operates in both ways.

The third facet is described in 1 Corinthians 12:6. God brings together the first two factors (gifts from the Spirit and specific human needs) and gives us energy, motivation, and effectiveness in meeting those needs.

Paul writes, "There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men" (1 Cor. 12:6). The "working" (NIV) or "operations" (K|V) comes from the Greek word energes, from which we get the English word "energy."

In coming to Jesus, we are connect ed with a highly motivating, limitless energy source. Through His Spirit, as we seek to meet human needs, we are given this energy or power. And this is what describes the third step in the process for us. When we see a need and know we have the gift to meet that need, the Spirit motivates us to serve: gladly, spontaneously, and effectively.

In all three of the presentations by Paul on giftedness, (1 Corinthians, Romans, and Ephesians), he uses the metaphor of the human body. Each part, or "member" as he calls it (1 Cor. 12:18), has an important part to play. For the finest functioning, each member must work—and work together with each other member. This sense of harmonious or integrated action is a key to both effective and efficient congregational operation in outreach and nurture through the Spirit's spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:13-27).

Further, in all three of these presentations, Paul emphasizes that the use of the gifts we receive from the Spirit can be effective only if we serve in love.

In the 1 Corinthians presentation, the emphasis on the necessity of serving in love is found in chapter 13. If I use any gift without love, "I am nothing" (1 Cor. 13:2). And comparing faith, hope, and love, he declares the greatest to be love (1 Cor. 13:13).

The Spirit's purpose in gifting

Paul's third presentation on spiritual gifts is in Ephesians, where the apostle describes the purpose of service gifts and the results that follow when they are "discovered" and used.

As in Romans it is in the second half of the letter, the practical application section, where we read about these gifts. After naming key spiritual gifts (apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastoral-teachers), Paul explains what their use accomplishes: "So that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:12, 13, NIV).

When we enter into service, when we use our gifts in service, we become more and more like our Servant-Model, Jesus! This revelation about spiritual gifts is a rich treasure. It is the other side of the coin Paul so skillfully presents in Romans.

"Works of the law," he warns, can never make us righteous like Jesus. But "works of service" through the Spirit's gifts invite us into a fellowship in which our attention is constantly focused on Jesus, and in the process we become changed, our characters develop, and we become more and more like Him.

At the last day, Jesus will commend the redeemed for the fact that they showed compassion, that they served others, that they used their gifts in out reach and/or nurture. There is no better evidence that we have established a close and intimate relationship with Jesus than that we use the spiritual gifts we have received for the service we have been called to do.

As Jesus explained, at the last day He will personally commend the service of His faithful by saying: "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me" (Matt. 25:35, 36, NIV).

Having considered the biblical descriptions of the preparation, process, and purpose involved in the reception and use of spiritual gifts, there are three brief practical questions to address in conclusion.

What is a spiritual gift?

A spiritual gift is an ability; some thing we can do. There is no need for us to go to a class to learn how to begin to use our gifts. It is something we can do—and do now! The Spirit has given us each a cluster of abilities so we can be of service as soon as we come face to face with a particular need.

Spiritual gifts meet people where they are, and they are helped. Under standing in this domain is not reserved for theologians; it is essentially simple and practical. Gifts for service are bestowed on everyone who is loved by Jesus and loves Him in return.

Over a number of years teaching the theme of spiritual gifts in the Theo logical Seminary at Andrews University, and at the same time conducting research that involved thousands of subjects in the United States of America and elsewhere, several points became clear.

To begin, there are just a few basic categories of gifts. They include teaching, counseling, helping, nurturing, inviting individuals to accept Jesus as Savior, and leadership. Using scientifically validated research instruments, we found a comparatively low percentage of church members, around 10 percent, with the evangelistic gift.8 This is understandable when you think of an army—a common church metaphor.

The number of support troops must be much greater than the number of soldiers on the front lines. And the book of Acts reminds us that Peter, using his Spirit-imparted gift of outreach, saw 3,000 individuals accept Jesus and enter the church at Pentecost. But in the fol lowing months, those 3,000 required the service of many other nurture-gifted people.

When do we receive our spiritual gifts?

Based on the words of Romans 12, we can assume that we receive our spiritual gifts the moment we give ourselves to Jesus. And this leads us to consider the practical question of the relationship between our natural talents and our spiritual gifts.9 In general, talents are part of our genetic inheritance and can be fostered by our familial environments.

Great sculptors, teachers, musicians, counselors, helpers, orators, and leaders have natural talents. They can be used for good or ill. The use of such talents in unbelievers tends to be used to bring glory to self. But at conversion we give ourselves, including our talents, to God.

Ellen G. White observes, "We surrender ourselves to Him with all that we are and have. These gifts He returns to us purified and ennobled, to be used for His glory in blessing our fellow-men."10 Yes, God gives us back our "talents" so that we can use them as "spiritual gifts" for service, to meet human needs, and in this process give glory and honor to Him.

We can almost always observe the same abilities in individuals both before and after conversion. But the way in which these abilities are used changes dramatically.

Can God give us gifts of service unrelated to former natural talents? Of course! But observation will indicate that this is not as common as seeing natural talents, through the metamorphosis Paul describes in Romans, being returned to us as spiritual gifts.

How do we identify our personal gifts?

Over a period of ten years, a series of five Ph.D. dissertations at Andrews University explored the relationship of giftedness to personality characteristics.11 Using advanced statistical methodologies, we identified the personality profiles associated with each basic category of giftedness.

It was highly significant to learn that God calls us into paths of service that are a good fit for our personalities. God ensures that the Spirit's gifts for service are a perfect match for "who we are."

It also demonstrated that some of God's family members who, traditionally, may not be given opportunities for some lines of service (for example, women and young people in leader ship) can already have those gifts, and - the church needs to recognize the gifts and facilitate their use.

In the final analysis however, results are the best evidence that our service is rooted in God's gifts.

  • When we serve others through our spiritual gifts, we will enjoy our ministry, for we all derive pleasure from doing the things we are "gifted" to do.
  • When we serve others through our spiritual gifts, we will bless them, and their appreciation will be an affirmation that we have used our spiritual gift well.
  • When we serve others through our spiritual gifts, we will, in general, enhance the ministry of our congregations, and there will be unity, joy, and progress in "one body" (1 Cor. 12:20).

At the end of this age, all gifted souls will hear the words of their Servant Leader, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ... I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me'" (Matt. 25:34, 40, NIV).

1 See (no named author) "The Fundamental Beliefs and 'Growing in Christ'; Proposal for a New Fundamental Belief" Adventist Review, North American Division Edition (June 2004), 42, for a comprehensive overview of the nine steps in the development of our statement of faith between 1854 and 1980. For a discussion of the probable reason for the delay in understanding that spiritual gifts are distributed to all the members of the church, see Roy Naden, The Lamb Among the Beasts (Hagerstown: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1996), 270-273. See Fritz Guy, "Uncovering the Origins of the Statement of Twenty-seven Fundamental Beliefs" in Spectrum vol. 32, issue 3, 2004), 19.

2 Erwin McManus, An Unstoppable Force (Loveland: Group Pub., 2001), 156.

3 See Roy Naden, Your Spiritual Gifts: Making the Great Discovery (Berrien Springs: Instructional Product Development, 1989), chapters 1-4.

4 J. B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English (London: Collins, 1959).

5 See Elizabeth O'Connor, Eighth Day of Creation (Waco: Word Books, 1984), 13-15.

6 See Jeffrey G. Sobosan, Christian Commitment, Prophetic Living (Mystic: Twenty-Third Publications, 1986).

7 The Analytical Greek Lexicon (London: Samuel Bagster and Sons Ltd., 1967).

8 Peter Wagner wrote that he had expected between 3 percent and 6 percent of a congregation to be so gifted, and later came to the conclusion that the distribution would not exceed 10 percent. See C. Peter Wagner, Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow (Glendale, Regal Books, 1979), 177.

9 See Lloyd Edwards, Discerning Your Spiritual Gifts (Cambridge: Cowley Publications, 1988), 12.

10 Ellen White, Christ's Object Lessons (Melbourne, Australia: Echo Pub. Co. Ltd., n.d.), 328.

11 These were all my students, and I was privileged to chair each of these dissertations in an ongoing attempt to understand better the natural "clusters" of spiritual gifts and explore a possible connection between gift clusters and personality profiles. This
research utilized the 16 PF instrument


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Roy Naden, Ed.D. {retired) is a professor of religious education at Andrews University. He lives in Bainbridge Island, Washington.

October 2004

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