Hi,
I am an adult leader of my church's youth group. There are not that many teens in it at the moment (I go to a relatively small church). The Lord has put it on me to teach them about the gifts of the Spirit, and to help them discover what their gifts are as well so they can continue to develop them, Any advice?
A tough job - teaching teens. May the Lord be with you.
According to Ephesians Chapter 4, the Gifts are for building the Church. If we discount the additional gifts in the Book of Romans, but take Acts, 1st Corinthians and Ephesians, ALL the gifts are "speaking gifts". Even the gift of miracles causes speaking. In Acts 9:42, Peter's raising of Tabitha from the dead caused the gospel to be "known" in Joppa. That makes the Gifts perfect for the Meetings - if everybody may exercise their gift. My experience in the modern Church is that usually only one or two get to speak.
There are some who say that the gifts are not given any more. But that would mean that Christ is not building His Church anymore, for it is through these that it is built (Eph.4). A case can be made for God not giving Apostles any more. the reason is that the Apostles were the foundations of the Church, and God does not lay foundations more than once (Heb.6:1). If the foundations had to be laid again and again, that would mean that the Church can be destroyed over and over again. But it does not really matter if one claims that he is an Apostle. Our Lord tells us to test any such claim (Rev.2:2). The test for an Apostle is threefold:
- They must have been taught by Christ personally (Act.1:21)
- They must have seen the risen Lord (Act.1:22)
- They must do signs and wonders in public (2nd Cor.12:12)
You will note that Paul fulfilled these. I personally think that the Apostles were once given as a foundation of the church, and to write the New Testament. The difficulty arises because the Greek word for "Apostle" is the same as "messenger". The context and the three tests above should settle the issue.
According to Acts 2:38 the qualification to receive these gifts is full immersion Baptism in Jesus' Name. It makes sense. Baptism is a command by Jesus. Even if you don't understand why, you should be obedient. The Lord asks for obedience. Why would He give gifts to build the church when the believer is disobedient in the first command. Acts Chapter 19 seems to confirm this. There, believers had received neither the Holy Spirit nor any gifts until they were Baptized in Jesus' name.
Some of the gifts can also be an OFFICE. Apostle is BOTH Gift and Office. So is Elder and Deacon.
Tongues seem to be the least important gift. Not only does Paul curtail their use, but they are listed last in 1st Corinthians 12:28.
Prophecy is the most important Gift (1st Cor,14:1). A prophet in the Church is not one who foretells the future. They Church is not like Israel. It lives by faith. The Church prophet speaks God's instant word to "admonish, edify and comfort" the Church (1st Cor.14:3). An example would be that someone in the Church is committing adultery and thus "leavening" the Church. God wants it stopped, but His order in Matthew 18 is first to do it in secret. So the prophet in a Church Assembly might speak that someone (anonymous) is caught in a sin and should repent. This "admonishes" the guilty party without exposing him/them. He sets in motion a way in which the church will be "built up" if the guilty party repents. And his/her words are a "comfort" to the rest of the Assembly that God is watching over them and not going to judge them.
Apostle, Teacher and Elder can only be men. This is not because there are not capable and spiritual women. Many women Christians are far better than many men. God has TWO ways of dealing with His creature. (i) He deals in GRACE. In this, all are equal before Him. (ii) He has an order for GOVERNMENT. From the tiny atom to the greatest galaxy, God has laws in place to govern and keep order. The atom has three
parts – protons, neutron, and electrons. Each of these
parts has an associated charge, with protons carrying a positive charge, electrons having a negative charge, and neutrons possessing no net charge. Each keeps its place, never changes place, and in so doing, prevents disorder and the breakdown of the universe. A car has an engine, a gear box and a differential. They form the drive-train. They each do a specific job. If the gearbox suddenly wants to be in front of the engine, the car will still go but (i) the gearbox becomes redundant, and (ii) when the engine reaches its maximum RPM the car will not go faster. The car then becomes useless for the intended purpose. If the differential decides to go ahead of the gearbox, the car will go well until the first corner and then the drive train will be destroyed as one wheel will go faster that the other on the same axle. The order that God gave for the correct function of the Church is God, Who is Head over Christ, Who is Head over the man, who is head over the woman, who is head over the children. This order does not reflect talent or spirituality. The lowly position of the man is shown in the matter of the head covering. A woman must "cover" her head when she goes directly to God in prayer or prophecy. Conversely, the man, whose Head is Christ, must NOT cover his Head. The symbolism is that the man in an unworthy go-between the woman and God, but that for the angels sake, the woman acknowledges God's government.
The gift of tongues given at Pentecost was given for two reasons. It is the most visible expression of the Holy Spirit, and God overcame the curse of Babylon in a most sovereign way. The toe great false religions, Roman Catholicism (1.3 billion) and Islam (1.6 billion) must have a standard language to reach all men. Rome chose Latin and Islam chose Arabic. God is not restricted like men. He gave the gift of tongues. But as Local Churches were established, the need for a foreign tongue diminishes as the sainst all speak the same language. The Jews are special as they are in the diaspora and speak many different languages, and Corinth was special because it was the major trading city for all Europe and the Middle and Far East. Business men of all nations gathered there.
According to Matthew 25:14 and the talents, each spiritual gift is given "according to individual human talent, or natural ability".
Although the Apostle Paul seems to have had all the gifts, this is not the rule. Each Christian gets a gift dedicated to him/her for the supply of each other (1st Cor.12).
I hope these notes are a starting point for you. You have a tough job ahead of you. As you yourself know, teenagers are just learning to flex their muscles and seek independence (which is normal).