Conclusion

In instructing Christians on the exercise of these gifts, Paul is concerned to stress their practical nature. The Spirit bestows his charismata for the edification of the church, the formation of Christian character, and the service of the community. The reception of a spiritual gift, therefore, brought serious responsibility, since it was essentially an opportunity for selfgiving in sacrificial service for others. The more spectacular gifts (tongues, healings, miracles) necessitated some degree of order that would prevent their indiscriminate use (1 Cor. 14:40). The spirits of the prophets must be subjected to the prophets (vs. 32). Paul clearly insists that spectacular gifts were inferior to those that instructed believers in faith and morals and evangelized non Christians. Tongue speaking was not forbidden (vs. 39), but intelligent exposition of the word, instruction in faith and morals, and preaching the gospel were infinitely superior. The criteria used to judge the relative values of spiritual gifts were doctrinal (1 Cor. 12:3), moral (1 Cor. 13), and practical (1 Cor. 14).

The problem was where to strike the balance. The greatest peril lay in overemphasizing the gifts, which tended to exalt the offices that grew out of them. That led inevitably to institutional ecclesiasticism and the inevitable corresponding loss of the church's awareness of the Spirit's presence and experience of the Spirit's power.

J G S S Thomson and W A Elwell
(Elwell Evangelical Dictionary)

Bibliography:
L Morris, Spirit of the Living God; H W. Robinson, The Christian Experience of the Holy Spirit; J R W Stott, The Baptism and Fullness of the Holy Spirit; C Williams, The Descent of the Dove; M Griffiths, Grace - Gifts; K Stendahl, Paul Among Jews and Gentiles; J R Williams, The Gift of the Holy Spirit Today; A A Hoekema, Tongues and Spirit Baptism; F D Bruner, A Theology of the Holy Spirit; E E Ellis, Prophecy and Hermeneutics.

Spiritual Gifts

Advanced Information
Spiritual Gifts (Gr. charismata), are gifts supernaturally bestowed on the early Christians, each having his own proper gift or gifts for the edification of the body of Christ. These were the result of the extraordinary operation of the Spirit, as on the day of Pentecost. They were the gifts of speaking with tongues, casting out devils, healing, etc. (Mark 16:17, 18), usually communicated by the medium of the laying on of the hands of the apostles (Acts 8:17; 19:6; 1 Tim. 4:14). These charismata were enjoyed only for a time. They could not continue always in the Church. They were suited to its infancy and to the necessities of those time.