What Are Spiritual Gifts?: Rethinking the Conventional View

As the title of his book suggests, Kenneth Berding's goal in writing this book is to provoke the reader into viewing the subject of the spiritual gifts from a different perspective. Berding encourages his readers to ask, "Does the Holy Spirit give special abilities that we must discover? . . . or does the Holy Spirit call and place us into various ministries that build up the community that He has formed?" Berding's conclusion is that Paul's "vision for the church was a Spirit-filled corporate body that, despite the diversity of functions and assignments, was constantly being strengthened and unified through the ministries exercised in it" (Berding 7). Berding insists that his goal is biblically based, and he ultimately wants to show the reader "what Paul always intended to communicate, or not to communicate--about spiritual ministries (and/or abilities)" (Berding 8). Berding breaks the book down into four parts. Part One is a series of questions and answers in the form of a dialogue; Part Two is described by Berding as the "heart of the book;" Part Three focuses on Paul's letters and spiritual ministries; and Part Four gives practical ways to apply the author's teaching. The book also has an excellent appendix section and extensive notes and references. Overall, the book is very well written, however, Part One weakens the book. Berding, in an attempt to portray a lecture scene, included unnecessary dialogue such as "Let's pause for a few questions right now. Yes, over on the right side" (Berding 36). The question and answer dialogue format of Part One was distracting, and even at times annoying. Even though the dialogue format is annoying, the reader should not be discouraged from reading the section. Berding addresses his central theme in this section. Berding approaches the spiritual gifts from a different perspective than mainstream Christianity, and he uses this format to introduce his view. Berding also clearly explains the opposing view. The conventional view "says the spiritual gifts are abilities, or enablements, given by the Holy Spirit to individual believers to help them serve others" (Berding 25). These are spiritual abilities for use in the ministry. It is dependent on the Christian to find his or her gift either via taking a spiritual gifts test or checklist, or by the act of serving and eventually discovering the gift in the act of serving--it eventually reveals itself (Berding 27). Either way, the responsibility and power of finding what spiritual gift a person has is dependent on that individual's actions. If the person does not proactively seek to discover his or her gift, the gift remains dormant or unused. My question is, where does the Holy Spirit and His power stand according to this viewpoint? If the gifts' activation depends on the individual, is not the Holy Spirit's power diminished? My understanding is that the Holy Spirit, part of the Godhead, all knowing and all powerful, is fully able to best

If you think about our word "gift" it can either be an object (here's a gift!) or a enablement/ministry (you have a gift for helping others). Kenneth Berding cuts through the normal definition of gifts and gives a great book of clear observations and logic. I am deeply interested in the Old Testament/New Testament relationship and also the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and was not sure if I would enjoy this book on starting it. Very few Old Testament quotes! However, upon reading it there isn't a lot of OT quotes because Kenneth doesn't go far beyond the observation stage. 5/5 stars, excellent and refreshing read in an age where everyone wants a "gift" and no one wants to perform a ministry.

a great conversation starter! rethink what you think you know. Dr. Berding gives a great deal of "food for thought" from extensive research and much prayer. I think every Christian should read this book and search the bible for himself.

Whether or not you agree with the premise of this book, you will most likely still gain much from reading it. I gained a deeper and richer understanding of the parts of Scripture discussed and was graced with the sincerity and reverence that Dr. Berding's writing exudes. Furthermore, this book has the potential to bridge so many divisions in Christ's body today between charismatics and non-charismatics through a better understanding of God's truth and the biblical emphasis on unity in Christ above 'spiritual gifts', that they are to be used to build up the body, not tear it down.

If one is involved in Evangelical Protestantism, one of the more common themes is the discerning of spiritual gifts. Local churches, denominations, and various parachurch ministries all encourage those involved to discover the hidden talent that God has given them (it is naturally assumed such a talent exists) and to answer the call to use these special gifts in His service. Often there will be seminars and courses offered to assist the Christian in the discernment process. So pervasive is this trend that it is rarely ever challenged or even given a second thought...until now. Kenneth Berding, a professor of New Testament at Biola University, has in What Are Spiritual Gifts? given the topic careful consideration and concluded that the conventioal wisdom, however well-intentioned, simply cannot hold water biblically. He effectively argues that the conventional view fails to understand the scriptural context and imposes an interpretive framework that is foreign to the understanding of the New Testament writers. After an introductory section done in question and answer format, Berding gets to the heart of his thesis by refuting the common assumptions within the Evangelical tradition concerning the spiritual gifts. Rather than special abilities conferred to an individual, he argues the spiritual gifts are to be seen as ministries conferred to the Church and it is through the Holy Spirit working within the Body of Christ that these ministries are properly conducted. The passages in the New Testament concerning spiritual gifts are thoroughly examined and, in a careful exegesis, Berding convincingly demonstrates the weaknesses inherent in the conventional view. In the various passages in the Epistles of St. Paul that are commonly put forward to encourage Christians to discover their "special gifts", he points out the complete misunderstanding of the Apostle's actual intent in outlining the functions of the early Church. Anticipating counterclaims, Berding also clinches the argument in advance. Berding then fleshes out his arguments by adding a richer context in which to understand the larger context of the epistles. He considers key elements in the passages (i.e., ministry and service, the role of the Holy Spirit in the Church) and gives the larger picture painted by St. Paul in his epistles so as to understand them more accurately within the more limited context that is the topic of this book. In so doing, the misorientation at the foundations of the more common understanding of these passages within the Evangelical movement becomes more readily demonstrable. The final section of the book moves from theory to practice and examines the implications of the previous discussion and its applications within the Church. Examples of the use of the spiritual gifts within the Church are taken from the New Testament and suggestions as to how the general blueprint given in Holy Scripture may be applied today are considered. An important conclusion to be drawn