All gifts for all

 

This teaching that all believers should desire all gifts is further validated by the presence of the word “But” below:

 

1 Cor 12:28-31

28               And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.

29               Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?

30               Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?

31               But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.  (NIV)

 

If I could summarize Paul in my own Georgian language, I would say this:

 

“I know y’all don’t all operate in all these gifts right now, BUT y’all should each eagerly desire ALL of them in greater degree”

 

This argument is further embellished by looking at this same word for gifts, charisma {khar'-is-mah}, as it is used in other biblical commands concerning it. 

 

1Ti 4:14 Neglect 272 not 3361 the gift 5486 that is in 1722 thee 4671, which 3739 was given 1325 thee 4671 by 1223 prophecy 4394, with 3326 the laying on 1936 of the hands 5495 of the presbytery 4244.

 

2Ti 1:6 Wherefore 1223 3739 156 I put 363 0 thee 4571 in remembrance 363 that thou stir up 329 the gift 5486 of God 2316, which 3739 is 2076 in 1722 thee 4671 by 1223 the putting on 1936 of my 3450 hands 5495.

 

1Pe 4:10 As 2531 every man 1538 hath received 2983 the gift 5486, [even so] minister 1247 the same 846 one to another 1519 1438, as 5613 good 2570 stewards 3623 of the manifold 4164 grace 5485 of God 2316.

 

Rom 1:11 For 1063 I long 1971 to see 1492 you 5209, that 2443 I may impart 3330 unto you 5213 some 5100 spiritual 4152 gift 5486, to the end 1519 ye 5209 may be established 4741 ;

 

The word some here is interesting.  The NIV renders this passage this way:

 

Romans 1:11-12

11I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong-- 12that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.

 

 

1) a certain, a certain one

2) some, some time, a while

Authorized Version (KJV) Translation Count — Total: 448

AV - certain 104, some 73, any man 55, any 37, one 34, man 34,
     anything 24, a 9, certain man 7, something 6, somewhat 6,
     ought 5, some man 4, certain thing 2, nothing + 3756 2, divers 2,
     he 2, thing 1, another 2, not tr 17, misc 22; 448

 

Paul did not say, “whatever spiritual gift it is God’s will for you to have—and not the ones He does not want you to have”.  It does not sound like he cares about which gift--Except that he prefers they seek the greater gifts, and the seek more of the gifts they already experience (1 Corinthians 12:31). 

 

The biblical account of Paul shows that he had or at least operated in all the gifts that he lists in 1 Corinthians 12.  It might be outside of the scope of this document to prove that here.  I’m not aware of anyone who would disagree on this point, so I won’t bother with that. 

 

1Cr 1:7 So that 5620 ye 5209 come behind 5302 in 1722 no 3361 3367 gift 5486; waiting for 553 the coming 602 of our 2257 Lord 2962 Jesus 2424 Christ 5547:

 

Come behind in no gift?  That sounds like it includes all of them does it not?  The NIV turns this command into a statement of doctrine:

 

1 Corinthians 1
7Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.

 

Does this not prove that all the gifts are available to all believers?  I’m not saying that there are no conditions.  Many of the same blockades to healing also block other gifts of the Holy Spirit.  If you are not willing to travel, it might impede a prophetic or apostolic gift.  If you have not truly repented, you may initially receive no spiritual gift.

 

Acts 2
The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[1] as the Spirit enabled them.

 

The immediate effect in Acts Chapter 2 of this Baptism was powerful ministry:

 

Acts Chapter 2

38Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call."
40With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." 41Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.


The Fellowship of the Believers
42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.

 

 

Church History

Church History confirms the idea that all the charismatic gifts are for all believers:

 

Ambrose (340-98), bishop of Milan, taught that all the gifts of 1
Corinthians 12 were part of the normal Christian experience (Ambrose, Of
The Holy Spirit, 2.8, NPNF 2nd ser., X, 134).

 

The Didache says : "For the Father desireth that the gifts be given to
all" and also describes prophets who speak "in the Spirit" (See The Teaching of
the Thrive Apostles, 1.5 & 11.7; ANF VII, 377 & 380).
 
Novatian (died 257?), a presbyter in Rome, wrote about the Holy Spirit :
 
"This is He who places prophets in the Church, instructs teachers, directs
tongues, gives powers and healings, does wonderful works, offers
discrimination of spirits, affords powers of government, suggests
counsels, and orders and arranges whatever other gifts there are of charismata; and
thus makes the Lord's Church everywhere, and in all, perfected and
completed" (Novatian, Treatise Concerning the Trinity, 29, ANF V, 641).
 
Much like Paul’s command to all believers individually (1 Cor 1:7), Ignatius writes Polycarp to “abound in every [miraculous] gift”:  Not just that one gift that God gave him a few years back.
 
Ignatius (died 107?) wrote to the church at Smyrna : "Ignatius... to the
Church of God the Father, and of the beloved Jesus Christ, which has
Through mercy obtained every kind of gift, which is filled with faith and love,
And is deficient in no gift, most worthy of God, and adorned with holiness...
Be ye strong, I pray, in the power of the Holy Ghost" (Ignatius, Epistle to
The Smyrnaeans, superscription & 12, ANF I, 86 & 92). He also admonished
Polycarp to pray so that he might "be wanting in nothing, and... abound in
every gift" (Ignatius, Epistle to Polycarp, 2, ANF, I, 99).
 
http://www.talkaboutreligion.com/group/alt.religion.christian.pentecostal/messages/364652.html 
 
Furthermore, Tertullian applies a “practicing the charismatic gifts or not” test to a false teacher below.  This shows how he viewed the importance of obeying God’s commands regarding the miraculous gifts.
 
*Third Century* :
 
Tertullian wrote against the heretic Marcion shortly after A.D. 200:
 
"[T]he Creator promised the gift of His Spirit in the latter days; and... Christ
has in these last days appeared as the dispenser of spiritual gifts".
 
Tertullian specifically mentioned the gift of tongues and quoted 1
Corinthians 12/8-11 and Isaiah 28/11 as applicable in his day (Tertullian,
Against Marcion, 5.8, ANF, III, 446). He regarded speaking in tongues as
one
of the marks of a true church :
 
"Let Marcion then exhibit, as gifts of his god, some prophets, such as
have not spoken by human sense, but with the Spirit of God... let him produce a
psalm, a vision, a prayer - only let it be by the Spirit, in an ecstasy,
that is, in a rapture, whenever an interpretation of tongues has occurred
to him... Now all these signs (of spiritual gifts) are forthcoming from my
side without any difficulty" (Ibid, III, 446-47)
 
http://www.talkaboutreligion.com/group/alt.religion.christian.pentecostal/messages/364652.html 
 
Nowadays churches are usually buildings with one preacher leading the meetings.  An early church father made an example of this type of situation as one that proves that his adversary’s church was not a true one.  
 
Asterius Urbanus (c. 232) indicated that the Christians of his day expected
the spiritual gifts to remain permanently in the church. Writing against
the later Montanists, he asked why they no longer had prophets after their
prophet Montanus and his co-workers died. Urbanus noted that the true
church would always have the prophetical gifts (prophecy, tongues, interpretation
of tongues) : "For the apostle [Paul] deems that the gifts of prophecy
should abide in all the church up to the time of the final advent"
(Asterius
Urbanus, Extant Writings, 10, ANF; VII, 337).
 
http://www.talkaboutreligion.com/group/alt.religion.christian.pentecostal/messages/364652.html 
 
In the West today, the doctrine of tongues as the initial evidence angers most of those who attend church buildings.  However, church leaders as late as the 300’s would be surprised by such a view.  Not only were the gifts “ordained of God”, they were still considered to be the “normal Christian experience”.  
 
Ambrose (340-98), bishop of Milan, taught that all the gifts of 1
Corinthians 12 were part of the normal Christian experience (Ambrose, Of
The Holy Spirit, 2.8, NPNF 2nd ser., X, 134).
 
Fourth and Fifth Centuries* :
 
Hilary (died 367), bishop of Poitiers, mentioned both tongues and
interpretation of tongues, describing them as "agents of ministry"
ordained of God (Hilary, On the Trinity, 8.33, NPNF 2nd ser., IX, 147).
 
By the late fourth century and early fifth century, Christendom had for
The most part evolved into what came to be known as the Roman Catholic Church.
Apparently, speaking in tongues had practically disappeared from most
places in the backsliding church, but the memory of it remained to some extent.
John Chrysostom (345-407), bishop of Constantinople, wrote a comment on 1
Corinthians 12 :
 
"This whole place is very obscure: but the obscurity is produced by our
ignorance of the facts referred to and by their cessation, being such as
then used to occur hut now no longer take place... Well: what did happen
then? Whoever was baptized he straightway spoke with tongues... They at
once on their baptism received the Spirit... [They] began to speak, one in the
tongue of the Persians, another in that of the Romans, another in that of
the Indians, or in some other language. And this disclosed to outsiders
that it was the Spirit in the speaker" (John Chrysostom, Homilies on First
Corinthians, 29, NPNF, 1st ser., XII, 168).
 
http://www.talkaboutreligion.com/group/alt.religion.christian.pentecostal/messages/364652.html 
 

John Chrysostom summarizes the “good old days” of New Testament Christianity for us here.  The doctrine of initial evidence is implied by his use of the word “whoever”.  He, like the writers of the New Testament, believed that tongues are available to all believers, and that they “straightway spoke with tongues...” when they “received the Spirit...”.  I can’t imagine a more clear summary of the doctrine of ‘initial evidence”.  Furthermore, the first two Church history quotes above imply that all gifts (including tongues) are available to all believers.

 

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