The Engine of the Church: The Gifts are for Today

Many years ago, when I was a younger man, my Dad related a story to me that happened to him when he was a young man, probably in the late 1950’s or so. In those days, Western Union had messengers who delivered telegrams and my dad was one of those guys. One day as he was making his deliveries, he was waved down by an older man on the side of the road with apparent car problems. He was dressed immaculately as was his wife who happened to be seated in the front passenger seat. Dad was a very good car mechanic and offered his services. The gentleman declined and simply asked my dad if he would use his car to push the man’s car to a nearby grocery store and he would take it from there. Of course, Dad agreed and did so. This happened several times in the coming months with this same gentleman.

Time passed and a few years later my dad was in the break room of another employer when he related this story to his fellow workers. They busted out laughing and when my dad asked them what was so funny, they said, “That was old Brother Jones. There wasn’t an engine in that car!”

I laughed until I cried.

That is what the church does, though, my friend. Many churches and pastors today have been trying to move the church forward on their own power, or some other power, like the latest program, or the recent church fad, or simply books on leadership, or even the sheer power of personality. Many of these things are very good and helpful, but none of them take the place of the intended power of the church―the power of the Holy Spirit. Christ told his followers “I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49, ESV).”

The rest is history. In Acts 1–2 we read of the beginnings of the most powerful movement in human history—the birth of the church and its expansion in the face of unbelievable satanic resistance and human persecution. But the forward movement of the church is unstoppable in the power of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing—no power, no human source, no king or dictator or political system that can stop the church. It will never happen.

A controversy that slows some churches is the notion that the very thing that is for the empowering and edifying of the church in any climate—the gifts of the Spirit—are no longer in operation. They believe that an integral part of the church’s “engine”—the gifts—are no longer for today’s church. Some have suggested that the words “that which is perfect has come, the partial ("that which is in part" in some tranlations) will pass away” (1 Cor. 13:9 ESV) has come to pass in the notion that the New Testament is “that which is perfect” and since the New Testament was canonized, there is no longer any need for the gifts.

The problem is that for this to be a viable meaning of these words, both Paul, the original human author (under the Spirit’s inspiration) and the Corinthians, the original recipients of the letter, would have had to have known that, therefore this particular view would have been unintelligible to them. Since there was not any way they could have known of a New Testament (and their scripture was still the Old Testament, of course) this is simply impossible.[i]

The point is that we have the gifts of the Holy Spirit until Christ returns, since the context is love; and Christ is the embodiment of perfect love. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that convinces people of their sin, not us, but he uses us in his power for service and witness (Acts 1:8) to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20). Part of that process is living out in our lives the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22ff). The fruit of the Spirit are not in opposition to the gifts, they are another part of the application of the empowering presence of God in our lives. As Christ is the perfect embodiment of love, which starts the non-exhaustive list in Galatians of the fruit of the Spirit, we can walk with the Holy Spirit daily as these fruit come to full harvest in our relationships.

We must submit to the power of the Holy Spirit, and boldly engage and receive his gifts into our lives and the life of our church as we also engage the world with the gospel.

We can allow God’s powerful presence, God, the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, empower and gift us.

Or we can remove the engine and be on our own.

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Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b]11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 NIV

©2018 by Ben Bounds. All rights reserved.

[i] See Gordon Fee’s outstanding discussion on these verses, especially the footnotes, in his landmark commentary The First Epistle to the Corinthians, New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich., William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1987.

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We can come to know Christ through confession of our sins and repentance (turning away from sin). Let me encourage you to do this by talking to God through prayer. Here is an idea of how you might do that:

"Dear God, I believe your son Jesus Christ died in my place on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day following his death. I confess my sins, all of them, to you now with a humble heart. I repent of those sins and ask you to empower me with your Holy Spirit in overcoming further sin. Amen”

If you prayed this or a similar prayer committing your life to Christ and becoming one of his followers, let me encourage you to find a good, Bible-believing church. If you live in the Weslaco/Rio Grand Valley area of Texas, let me invite you to the church I attend, Mid-Valley Assembly (www.midvalleyassembly.com).

Begin talking to God in prayer and reading the Bible daily. A good way to begin to read the Bible is to start with the Book of John in the New Testament. Feel very free in connecting with me if you need any further help in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. You can do this via the above email or facebook page or this web page.

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Mercy Road Ministries was founded and now led by Ben Bounds. Ben has pastored churches across Texas for over thirty years and is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA). He holds a BA in Pastoral Ministry and Biblical Studies from Southwestern Assemblies of God College and did graduate theological studies at the BMA Theological Seminary.

Ben's first book, The Divine Chase: Responding to a Pursuing God, was released on 12.08.2017 through Westbow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. It is available in paperback and hardback through your preferred bookseller (Mardels, Barnes and Noble, etc.) and paperback, hardback as well as ebook through online book retailers (www.christianbook.com, www.cokesbury.com, www.amazon.com, www.booksamillion.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, etc.).

Ben is the host of Staying in Bounds, an on-air Bible devotional broadcast multiple times daily on KWJV 103.7 FM Weslaco, TX which can also be heard worldwide online at www.kwjvthestar.com.

Ben and his wife, Linda, together have four adult children and nine grandchildren. They live in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

Ben can be contacted for preaching engagements at benbounds695@gmail.com or 903.441.3279.

Ben can also be contacted via his website @ www.benbounds.com, which is also his blog and contains more information about his ministry.

Follow Ben @ https://www.facebook.com/mercyroadministries/ and this website www.benbounds.com.