gifts of the Spirit

The joy of the LORD is your strength

Nehemiah’s completion of rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem (Nehemiah 6:15) was followed by Ezra reading from the book of the Law. It says in Nehemiah 8:1-2, “All the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard on the first day of the seventh month.” “People can perceive by means of their senses: eyes (Pr 7:7); ears (Pr 29:19; touch (Ps 58:9[10]); taste (Job 6:30). But actual discerning is not assured. Those who hear do not always understand (Da 12:8). In the final analysis, only God gives and conceals understanding (Is 29:14). Understanding what was being read was important because without understanding the people wouldn’t be able to appreciate the significance of what had been accomplishment.

The people’s eagerness to learn prompted some of the Levites to step in and provide additional insight to assist the Jews in their understanding of the text. It says in Nehemiah 8:8 that the Levites gave the sense of the Scriptures, “so that the people understood the reading.” The Hebrew word that is translated sense, sekel (sehˊ-kel) means “intelligence, good sense. This intelligence is more than just mere book knowledge or learning about a particular subject. It has a greater significance and means insight or understanding. This insight is a gift from God (1 Ch 22:12); and God holds the freedom to give it or to take it away whenever he chooses (Job 17:4).

The reading of the Book of the Law and the Jews understanding of it led to several responses from the people. At first, the people were dejected and sad as a result of understanding what Ezra was reading to them; but Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Levites told the people not to mourn or weep. Nehemiah told them:

Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to the Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)

Nehemiah used two different words to refer to the LORD. When Nehemiah said, “this day is holy to the Lord,” he used the word ‘adown and when he said “the joy of the LORD is your strength,” Nehemiah used the word yehovah or Jehovah, the Jewish national name of God (H3068). When ‘adown occurs with Jehovah is signifies “His sovereignty” (H113).

Nehemiah wanted the people to rejoice and be glad because the God who is sovereign over everything had brought them back to their homeland and had helped them to rebuild the walls of protection that had been destroyed by their enemies. The Jews knew they didn’t deserve God’s blessing because they had rejected God and turned away from his Law before they were taken into captivity (Nehemiah 9:29-31), but their hearts were strengthened by their contemplation and understanding of God’s essential glory and his constant grace toward them (Prayer as Confession, The Spiritual Growth Bible, p. 463).

Joy is an important part of being in a relationship with God. “Celebration brings joy into life, and joy makes us strong. Scripture tells us that the joy of the Lord is our Strength (Neh 8:10). We cannot continue long in anything without it…Joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). Joy is the motor, the thing that keeps everything else going. Without joyous celebration to infuse the other disciplines, we will sooner or later abandon them. Joy produces energy. Joy makes us strong” (Celebration Brings Joy, The Spiritual Growth Bible, p. 462). After the Jews celebrated the feast of booths and confessed their sins to God, they rededicated themselves to obeying the Law of God (Nehemiah 8:13-10:29). The people were able to do this because of the strength they received as result of them celebrating their understanding of God’s Word (Nehemiah 8:12).

Love

Paul concluded his discussion of spiritual gifts with this statement, “But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.” (1 Corinthians 12:31, NKJV). Paul’s reference to a more excellent way was meant to describe the ultimate attainment for a believer who wants to become like Christ. You could say that Paul was unlocking the secret to a successful Christian life. He said:

I may be able to speak the languages of men and even of angels, but if I do not have love, it will sound like noisy brass. If I have the gift of speaking God’s Word and if I understand all secrets, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I know all things and if I have the gift of faith so I can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give everything I have to feed poor people and if I give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it will not help me. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3, NLV)

Paul was talking about a way of life the ran counter to the mainstream culture of his day. Paul’s ministry took place when the Roman Empire was at the height of its success. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written around 55 B.C., when Nero had just become the emperor of Rome. Nero was one of the most violent leaders of the Roman Empire who killed his own mother and made public his hatred of Christians by burning them alive.

Paul’s description of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 emphasized the importance of putting others above ourselves. His statement “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7, ESV) suggested that Paul expected believers to strive toward perfection in their pursuit of loving others. In fact, Paul likened Christian love to the completeness or perfect maturity that a believer is able to achieve in his or her life. Paul stated, “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” (1 Corinthians 13:9-10).

The Greek word translated perfect in 1 Corinthians 13:10 is teleios. “Teleios means brought to its end, finished” (G5046). When Jesus was dying on the cross, he said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The word he used, teleo and teleios are derived from the same Greek word telos, which means “to set out for a definite point or goal” and by implication, “the conclusion of an act or state” (G5056). Paul made it clear that the goal every Christian should be to love his neighbor as himself (Matthew 22:39), but he also understood that perfection was not something that could be attained in this life. Paul concluded his discussion with a statement about life after death. He said, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face;: now I now in part; but then shall I know even as I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). What Paul was saying was that everything we know about each other right now is like a snapshot that can only capture a brief moment in time. When we get to heaven, we will see the whole story and be able to recognize the truth about who we really are. We will have a type of full perception that enables us to be perfectly united with everyone we love (G1921).

The body of Christ

Paul talked about spiritual gifts in the context of supernatural regeneration or what Jesus referred to as being born again (John 3:3). Paul wanted the Corinthian believers to understand that being identified with Christ meant you would receive a particular spiritual capability that was different than your natural capability in order to facilitate the effective functioning of the body of Christ. Paul said:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7, ESV)

Paul described all believers collectively as the body of Christ and explained that in the same way that a human body has many parts that enable it to function effectively, so all believers are expected to function as a collective unit. Paul referred to both diversity and unity in his description of the spiritual capabilities that every believer is given and stated, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12).

The point I believe Paul was trying to make was that spiritual gifts are only useful in a collective sense. Paul used the expression tempered together (1 Corinthians 12:24) to describe the process God uses to unify the body of Christ. The Greek word sugkerannumi (soong-ker-an’-noo-mee) means “to commingle” (G4786). Figuratively, sugkerannumi can mean to assimilate. Paul was most likely talking about Christians being joined together culturally. One of the Old Testament uses of the phrase tempered together had to do with the creation of a perfume that was placed before the ark in the most holy place of God’s temple (Exodus 30:34-36). The individual elements of this holy anointing oil were beaten together until they dissolved and became an aromatic fragrance comparable to a priceless perfume. When Paul said there should be “no schism” in the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:25), he was probably referring to an expensive garment that had been sewn together in such a way that it was impossible to tell that it wasn’t a single piece of cloth. Together, these illustrations suggest that the body of Christ is like an Olympic athlete that is able to accomplish superhuman feats through its collective efforts.