Chris Reed

[Esaias]

Originally Posted by votivesoul

The types of people Esaias mentioned are lawless people, some of whom were in the Corinthian church at the time of Paul's writing, the church which it is believed literally "came behind in no gift". So, if I am understanding Esaias correctly, how is it that if you lack compassion, God can't use you because you're a legalist who condemns, but if you're a sinner of a different stripe but are generally speaking, compassionate, God can use you just fine?

One the one hand, we have the idea that the gifts are lacking because people are not measuring up to high standards. Then on the other hand we have the idea that the gifts are disconnected from and not dependent on any such moral, ethical, or doctrinal standards.

Which seems to me to be a bit of a paradox. If gifts are not dependent on orthodoxy or morality or spirituality (!), then there ought to be no lack at all of charismata in today's church world.

On the other hand, if there IS a connection - that "no man can do these works except he be sent by God" - then either a lot of "gifts" simply aren't or we need to seriously re-evaluate our entire understanding of the whole subject.

And I think sometimes we generally forget that the gifts are "operations/working of the Spirit" not operations or workings of the individual. God does what He wants when He wants how He wants using whomever He wants. If gifts are lacking it may just be due to the fact that at THAT time God doesn't want to do that. Perhaps to remind an assembly just how dependent they need to be on the PRESENT manifest presence of God.

Which reminds me - if the manifestation of the Spirit is literally the manifesting presence of Jehovah God, then it would seem incongruous for people not in line with the will of God in at least some fundamental, basic sense, to be running around "manifesting the gifts".