Part 9 of 10 of the theme 'The Holy Spirit in the NT ' by Gijs van den Brink

Last time we concluded that Paul assumes that every believer has a gift. Paul's conception of spirit gifts is very broad. He understands them to include not only the special manifestations of spirit, but also the more ordinary human qualities and talents.

Moreover, in 1 Cor. 7:7 he says of his unmarried state, "I would rather that all men were like me, but everyone has received from God his own gift, some this, others that. So he also sees his social position as celibate as a charism, a gift of grace.

Everything a Christian is or may do for the Lord by grace, Paul sees as a gift of grace (charisma), a privilege received by grace from God to serve Him. So a very broad conception of charismata.

Then there is another question: Is the outpouring of the Spirit and are the gifts of the Spirit also for the benefit of unbelievers? We read in 1 Cor. 14 (verses 3,5,12,26) that the gifts are to be for the edification, for the benefit of the church. Are we to understand this to mean that Paul emphasizes the usefulness of the charismata limited to the community of believers? No, not really, for in verses 24-25 he speaks of the usefulness of the gift of prophecy to unbelievers:

'But if everyone prophesies, an unbelieving outsider will be judged and rebuked by everyone. Everything that secretly moves him will come to light, and then he will throw himself to the earth, worship God and confess, 'Truly, God is in your midst.'

Author: Gijs van den Brink
From: Study Bible Magazine

This is part 9 of 10 concise blog on the topic of "The Holy Spirit in the NT" from Study Bible Magazine, Some of which we will be posting online in the near future. We hope this will help you understand the Bible better!