Bestowal of the Gifts of the Spirit
By L. A. Phippeny
THE effect upon the church of Christ of the bestowal of the gifts of the Spirit must be determined from the purpose of the bestowal. For what purpose are the gifts bestowed? For personal aggrandizement? For the gratification of curiosity or pride or love of power? For private salvation only? The purpose is thus stated by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians: "For the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ." Eph. 4:12, A.R.V. The purpose, then, is wholly in relation to the church—to the perfecting of its members, who are called saints; unto the work of ministering; unto the building up of the body. All other aims or plans or individuals are excluded. Bestowed Only in the Church.
But will not the gifts, or some of them, or some one of them, be bestowed upon the individual outside of the church? This would be quite impossible from the nature of the purpose of the bestowal. But we must remember that this church of Christ is not composed of fifty here and five there, only. It will be and is made up of companies in organized capacity the world over, but it includes more—those who respond to the Gospel call from every nation and kindred and tribe. So the church, the body, is known only to Christ, the Head, in its entirety. Therefore, in harmony with the purpose, what gifts are bestowed will be bestowed only on "the saints"—members of the church. And then the gifts—the endowments of the Spirit—will be given only in harmony with the purpose, and it will be observed that this is a community purpose. It is not an individual, private matter. For me to have the gift of prophecy on a desert isle, living a hermit's life, would be incompatible with the purpose, unless the revelation could be communicated to those who might profit by it. And the illustration might be extended to the other gifts. The object seems, also, to be cumulative, sequential. After and along with perfecting is the work of ministering, named as a result of perfecting, and following this, as a natural result, the building up of the body. Then with a body of saints being fashioned unto perfection by the manifold operations of the Spirit, for ministration under the guidance and with the power of the Spirit, with the body growing, building up under the hand of the Master Builder, what will be the grand result?—Attainment "unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Hardly could a more glorious result be outlined than is stated in these few words. And in the statement is embraced the church's development, its history in detail if we wish to follow thru the history in ascertaining the effect of the bestowal of the gifts. "Unity of the faith"—"one faith." Gradually there will be eliminated everything of a dividing nature. The "saints" will become united; they will believe one thing; they will speak with one voice; they will be imbued with the spirit of oneness, because they are "saints," sanctified ones, fully controlled by the Head. At present there are some called "children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;" some who are not "dealing truly" with truth. These will either pass out from the church, which they are dishonoring with a vain profession, or they will die in the flesh and experience a new creation, and be made "saints." They will become fixed; they will have the "one faith;" they will speak "truth in love," and with all true members will "grow up in all things into Him, who is the Head, even Christ." There will be unity of knowledge of the Son of God; that is, perfect knowledge, which is the knowledge of Him as He is—the Head of the church in all that He is to the church. The members will all be new-covenanters, with every vestige of old-covenant principles forever eliminated from their experience, under the operation of the Spirit when the gifts are given in fulness. They will be full-grown, measured by Christ's measure. And then the complainers and disturbers and grumblers will step out, and the church will be a clean, free church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Happy day! Then will the way be cleared for one intent and purpose of the bestowal of the gifts embracing all others—the revelation of divine power in fulness thru instruments of flesh. This brings to mind more particularly those manifestations usually regarded as supernormal or supernatural, such as healings, miracles, tongues, prophecies, and the like; for it is these that seem specially to appeal to most minds. What will be the effect on the church when these gifts are manifested in the church? But have they not been manifested in individuals at different times? Wherein will the final days be different than other days? It may be stated as a basic proposition that the fulness of divine working has not been and will not be manifested in individuals here or there ahead of the growth of the body. The body has been growing thru the ages, and if there have been manifestations, they have been commensurate with the growth of the body, and have been properly timed by the One who does the work and gives the life. The development of the body is in good hands, and it is a fair assumption that there will be uniform growth. An arm, or a hand, or a set of muscles on this or that side of the body will not be abnormally developed. Stated in another way, there is a time of fulness of growth, a time coming—if not here already—when the church will be ready for a man's work, and then the man's work will be done with all of the gifts. Growing Up in All Things.
That power has been manifested in extraordinary ways thru chosen instruments at various times thru the ages, no one can deny, but if we are safe in following the analogies of the word, it is clearly evident that when the time comes for the fulness of divine power to be manifested in all of the gifts thru the church, individual instruments will be more amply equipped, more efficaciously used, than have any individuals until that time, because of a riper knowledge of "all things," which is to be expected and looked for in the members of the remnant church. Notice the scripture: "But speaking truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him, who is the Head, even Christ; from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together thru that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love." One of the effects, therefore, of the bestowal of the gifts will be to prepare the church for the final and fullest manifestation of divine power in the close of the Gospel message. Locality may enter little into the consideration, but time will be an important element. The time will be the time of the "latter rain," when the "increase of the body" has progressed "in due measure of each several part," and the body is complete—a harmonious advance, a proportionate development toward the culminating revelation of power. This culminating manifestation may be likened to the final charge of a line of battle. Thru the ages the lines have been forming, the forces marshaling,—spiritual forces,—for men and women have come and gone, leaving to the actors of the last generation a heritage only of truth, for which they must fight. There have been skirmishes, and individual combats, and personal deeds of valor under the direction of the great General—wonderful manifestations of power. Even now there are seen here and there His glorious workings thru individuals sent on special missions. But He has batteries in reserve, forces waiting, implements preparing, such as the world has seen little of, and some equipments never revealed, for the church of the last days. Everything is making ready for an advance all along the line. There is where the power lies—in the7firm, steady, simultaneous charge of the body. And the mighty General leads on before. Then notice another effect of this perfecting, upbuilding, transforming Spirit: "Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power." What a soul-stirring thought, that His "people shall be willing." Therein lies the secret of success in this great conflict—willingness! It is a wonderful secret, but it is open, free; every one may profit by it. It is the secret of the reception of power; it is the condition upon which the Spirit is bestowed. It is not primarily willingness to be used as a human dynamo, or thunderbolt, or even as an obscure wedge or a nail; but first of all willingness to die to the flesh, to crucify the old man. The Lord Jesus wants men dead to the flesh, men consecrated into His image, renewed with His Spirit of service, in this closing campaign. Then there will be no question as to how or where they are to be used. There will be only one concern—to remain dead, that the life of Jesus and His glorious power and His beauty of holiness may be continually manifested in their flesh. Then there will be the humility and contriteness of heart requisite for indwelling power. Then there will be no glorying in and of the instrument. Some, chosen as scouts and special agents, and endued with power for the occasion, forget that theirs is only a small part of the battle, and imagine that they constitute the whole and have precipitated the final struggle. This is one reason why the General has not bestowed upon individuals in the past the measure of power He will bestow upon them when the church as a body moves forward in the grand charge. He knows the weakness of man, and the danger to individuals when they are given extraordinary power and isolated responsibility—the danger of self-exaltation. So He reserves the measure of fulness for the individual until the time of plentitude of power for the church as a whole. There will then be community of interest and responsibility, each soldier acting a part, an important part to be sure, but still only a part, not the whole thing. Even captains and lieutenants and corporals will be subordinates—not the head. And then the stragglers will drop away, and the fearful will turn back, and the sowers of discord will pass on to more congenial fields, and the stumbling-blocks will take themselves out of the road, and the back-biters will flee, and the victory will be to the faithful who are left—will it?—The glory of the victory will be the Lord Christ's, and His only. For will He not be fighting the battle with men saved by grace—men bought with a price? And yet in His greatness of heart, in His goodness, He calls them brethren, co-laborers, co-heirs, and says all the gain is for them—"all things are for your sakes." He is a wonderful Leader. Who would not enlist under His banner! This is the day of His power. Are you "willing"?