What About ‘Miraculous’ Spiritual Gifts?
How do we understand what might be called ‘miraculous’ or ‘supernatural’ gifts/manifestations of God’s grace – given freely by God out of the sheer generosity of His divine grace? First, we cannot assume that the lists of spiritual gifts in the NT are definitive or exhaustive; the Holy Spirit may remove gifts or add new gifts as needs arise within the church and as He wills. Second, while the “carnal” Corinthians esteemed certain gifts more than others, in 1 Cor12 Paul does not draw sharp distinctions between “miraculous” and “non-miraculous” gifts. Every gift is first and foremost a gift of grace, not a “right” or a “reward.” Third, the gifts sometimes deemed “supernatural manifestations of the Spirit” include the following: ‘heroic’ faith; gifts of healings; the workings of miracles/powers; prophecy; distinguishing between spirits; various kinds of tongues; and interpretation of tongues (CTCR, 33-35). Fourth, the emphasis in Scripture is never on the people who received these gifts, but simply on the presence of these gifts in the Christian community by the Spirit’s doing. Whatever one’s divine-gifting, the overarching principle for all gifts is love. Without love, any spiritual gift is worthless. The more excellent way, Paul says, is to bear our gifts with love. Love is the supreme attribute because it abides.