Romans 12 Clemency, Charismata, Character II

Romans 12:3-3 Charismata or Gifts

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

not to think more highly than he ought to think – we are not to have an inflated view of ourselves, but have a proper estimate

dealt to every man the measure of faith – this is interesting, it seems to be synonymous with charismata or gifts

5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

Same metaphor as in 1 Corinthians 12, one body, many members; many gifts, one Spirit.

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

The last verb is in v 5, we are one body in Christ. Here is how it looks in Greek, you can see how terse the language is:

6 Having then various gifts according to the grace which is given to us, whether prophecy, according to the measure of the faith;
7 Whether ministry, in the ministering; whether he who teaches, in the teaching;
8 Whether he who exhorts, in the exhorting; he who gives, in simplicity; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Having then various gifts – this is charismata, same as in Corinthians, grace gifts. Here’s the list

Prophecy
Ministry
Teaching
Exhorting
Giving
Ruling
Showing mercy

Paul likes lists. In 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 he listed 9 gifts, in 12:27 he listed 8, in 12:28 he listed 7. And none of the lists are exact matches! I believe this tells us two things, (1) no list is exhaustive; and (2) there are different kinds of gifts. In 1 Cor 12:8-10 he is speaking of manifestations of the Spirit, which as I said, any Christian can experience any manifestation at any time, all controlled by the Spirit. The gifts mentioned here are ministry gifts, or what I call take home gifts. They are still supernatural grace gifts, but they can be exercised at any time by the person with that gift. He says nothing about how or when we receive them.

Here is a brief description of each gift, with help from John Rea†

Prophecy – “the ability to speak forth under divine prompting something which the Holy Spirit revealed to the one having this gift. According to the measure of the faith, in agreement with the teaching of the Christian faith.”

Ministry – “can refer either to the dispensing of the Word of life or to the administering to the temporal affairs of the local congregation.”

Teaching – “not simply systematic instruction, but a manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the ability to make plain the meaning of the Word of God which He has inspired.”

Exhortation – “the ministry of speaking words of comfort and encouragement. This gift usually accompanies preaching, teaching, and prophesying.”

Giving – The Lord has blessed some in the body with the ability to make money and the generosity to share much of it. “Giving should be done with ‘simplicity’, with no self-seeking or ulterior motive.”

Ruling – “leadership, a gift which implies the ability to rule, manage, or administer. This seems to be the same as ‘governments’ in 1 Corinthians 12.”

Showing mercy – “probably the same as the gift of helps. A person’s special ministry may involve visiting the poor, the sick or the sorrowing; it may be helping behind the scenes.”

“In conclusion, we should note that Paul did not include the gift of tongues in this list in Romans. Since he encouraged the Corinthians to desire to have the gift of prophecy (1 Cor 14:1), and since that gift is listed here, it seems that speaking in tongues is not an essential ministry gift in a local congregation. When accompanied by the gift of interpretation of tongues, however, it may be used to edify others (1 Cor 14:4,5).”

This is an interesting section, there is no verb, so we have to supply the action: “If your gift is prophecy, [then prophesy]” and so on with all the gifts. It seems that his emphasis is, If you have a gift, then exercise it!

If you have a gift. How do I know if I have a gift or which one? I suppose if I am emphasizing anything it is this, Paul nowhere offers a "quiz to discover your gift." He assumes if you have a gift, you will know it. It is the Holy Spirit who distributes the gifts; being born of the Spirit, we need to press in and be baptized with the Spirit. And when I've been filled with the Spirit, I ask Him to bless me with gifts and confirm the gifts he has blessed me with. Amen.

 

† The Holy Spirit In The Bible: All The Major Passages About The Holy Spirit; A Commentary, by John Rea; pages 223-225