Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Careers, Workplace and Religion
The Holy Spirit and Vocation: Spiritual Gifts for Work

The Holy Spirit and Vocation: Spiritual Gifts for Work

Last updated on: December 17, 2015 at 9:06 pm by Bob Robinson

The Holy Spirit and Vocation: Spiritual Gifts for Work 2015-12-17T21:06:04-04:00 Bob Robinson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The role of God’s Spirit cannot be ignored in the concept of calling. For if there is a calling, then there is a caller.

The problem with false dualism is that what is perceived as the “spiritual” life is disconnected to the actual work humans do as participation in the mission of God. Miroslav Volf contends,

“The sphere of the new creation cannot be tied to the ‘inner man.’ Because the whole creation is the Spirit’s sphere of operation, the Spirit is not only the Spirit of religious experience but also the Spirit of worldly engagement.” (Work in the Spirit)

Volf believes that our understanding of “Spiritual Gifts” needs to be broadened:

“One should not define charisma so narrowly as to include in the term only ecclesiastical activities.”

Are Spiritual Gifts Tests Misleading?

Churches often give “Spiritual Gifts Tests” to their congregants with the intention of helping people find their role in the local church. I’ve done this on a number of occasions in the past. LifeWay Christian Resources has a downloadable “Spiritual Gifts Survey” authored by Gene Wilkes. In its introduction, he writes,

“Ken Hemphill defines a spiritual gift as ‘an individual manifestation of grace from the Father that enables you to serve Him and thus play a vital role in His plan for the redemption of the world.’ Peter Wagner defines a spiritual gift as “a special attribute given by the Holy Spirit to every member of the Body of Christ according to God’s grace for use within the context of the Body.’ I like to use this definition: A spiritual gift is an expression of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers which empowers them to serve the body of Christ, the church.”

Notice that while Hemphil’s definition is broad (he says that spiritual gifts are to “play a vital role in His plan for the redemption of the world”), Wagner’s and thus Wilkes’s definitions are narrowed to the belief that the gifts can only be used within the context of the church. But is this truly the case?

Are Spiritual Gifts Limited to Church Ministry?

Volf points out that biblically, the charisms are not limited to that which is done in the local congregation.

After all, he argues, the gift of an evangelist presupposes action outside the Christian fellowship, and contributing to the needs of the destitute does not cease to be a charisma when it is exercised to non-Christians!

We have grown accustomed to calling human skills, abilities, and knowledge (like crafts, poetry, medicine, etc.) “natural,” while we call certain more sensational gifts “supernatural.” No dichotomy like this is found in the Bible, not in the original Created Order, nor in the New Creation ushered in by Jesus Christ. Volf says that in spite of the fact that in many churches charismatic gifts are still widely believed to be “extraordinary,”

“One of the main points of the Pauline theology of charisms is the overcoming of such a restrictive concentration on the miraculous and extraordinary. For this reason it is of great importance to keep the term charisma as a generic term for both the spectacular and the ordinary.”

Spiritually Gifted to Do Work

Throughout biblical history, there is evidence that humans were spiritually gifted to do work. For instance, Bezalel, Oholiab, and other men were “filled with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts”(Exodus 31:1-11 ).

God’s gifts of poetry and song were given to various people, as well as the gifts to interpret dreams and to prophesy. God’s gifts to humans are freely given to his people at various times and in varying degrees.

When Jesus began his ministry, we read that “Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee” (Luke 4:14 ). This power healed and cast out demons (Luke 4:31-41). Jesus proclaimed that “if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matthew 12:28). A new day had begun to dawn in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

But this spiritual power not only did these amazing feats, but it also did what we would not normally call “supernatural.” This power anointed Jesus to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:15-22). Overcoming injustice is not normally seen as “supernatural,” but it is just as much a part of the New Creation as casting out demons.

One of the great promises concerning the New Creation was given by the prophet Joel. “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my spirit” (Joel 2:28-29). Joel says that when the New Creation begins, God’s spirit will be poured out like never before. Peter announced that Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the church at Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2:16-21.

Natural Supernatural Gifts

In the original Creation, God empowered humans with gifts so that they could do their work. Albert M. Wolters believes that

“the charismatic gifts are not supernatural at all; rather they belong to the nature of God’s good created earth. They are gifts of the Spirit as genuinely as love, joy, and peace are, but they do not add anything to what God had intended for his earthly creation from the beginning.” (Wolters, Creation Regained)

So, even though a new manifestation of the charisms was introduced in the New Testament, spiritual gifts are not peculiar to the New Testament Church but rather they are the redemption of the gifts that God has always intended for humanity. Certainly, in the present age of redemption, the Holy Spirit gives new gifts that are used to edify the church and to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God.

But we must remember that. as Wolters writes,

“All human talents and abilities can flourish and blossom under the regenerating and sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit to the glory and service of God. When opened up by the Spirit they are all charismatic gifts. This applies to social tact, to a way with children, to a knack for communicating, to mechanical skill, or whatever. There may be degrees of importance or splendor in the gifts, but all alike qualify as ‘charismatic’ and ‘spiritual’ if they are directed to Christ’s redemption, sanctification, and reconciliation.”

Therefore, Wolters and Volf are in agreement that the charisms are a part of God’s intention for the original creation, and all the more in the New Creation that came in Jesus Christ. Therefore, local churches should help believers discover and exercise these gifts not only within the context of church ministry but also in their vocations. This means that the Church needs to take seriously the role of the Holy Spirit in congregants’ discerning of their callings.

Image by Karol Franks. Used with permission. Sourced via Flickr.

Previous Post

December 8, 2015

What is Vocation?

Next Post

December 31, 2015 2015 top 10 posts to (re)integrate faith, life, and vocations

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category arts and entertainment audio/video bible / theology business church college community culture education faith family government/politics leadership media medicine podcast science & tech social sector tech Uncategorized work and calling

Select a Month November 2025 May 2025 October 2024 September 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 October 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 August 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 July 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 July 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 July 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 November 2016 September 2016 August 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Samson's strength came from his long hair.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE