When I wrote my first book on spiritual gifts (The Beginner’s Guide) I identified no fewer than eight myths that people believe about the nature and operation of the charismata. I was recently interviewed by a program on Moody Radio where these myths were brought up once again. So, many of you may have already encountered these and know how to refute them. For the rest of you, I thought it might be helpful to address them once again.

Myth #1: Only ordained pastors or other super-saints have miraculous spiritual gifts. Right? Wrong! The apostle Paul says that to “each one”, male and female, young and old (1 Cor. 12:7a) has been given the manifestation of the Spirit. According to Rom. 12:3,6, if you have grace, you have a gift (see also Eph. 4:7; 1 Pt. 4:10). Peter cited the prophecy of Joel on the day of Pentecost to prove that gifts such as prophecy and tongues would be given to “all mankind,” including “your sons and your daughters,” “young men,” “old men,” as well as “bondslaves, both men and women” (Acts 2:17-18). Gifts are not the exclusive privilege of elders, deacons, pastors, house-church leaders or some unique class of alleged super-saints.

When I read 1 Corinthians 12:7-10, nothing suggests that only apostles are endowed with these gifts. On the contrary, prophecy, faith, miracles, and other supernatural manifestations are given by the sovereign Spirit to ordinary Christians in the church for the daily, routine building up of the body. Not merely apostles and elders and deacons, but housewives and carpenters and farmers receive the manifestation of the Spirit, all “for the common good” of the church.

It’s also important to keep in mind that whereas all of us are to be witnesses, not all have the gift of evangelism. All are to give, but not all have the gift of giving. All pray, but not all have the gift of intercession. All have a responsibility to judge and weigh prophetic words and to differentiate among the "spirits" (1 John 4:1-6; 1 Thess. 5:19-22) but not all have the gift of discerning of spirits. All have faith, but not all have the gift of faith. All can teach (Col. 3:16) but not all have the gift of teaching. All can prophesy (1 Cor. 14:24) but not all are prophets. All may receive wisdom (Eph. 1:17) without exercising the gift of word of wisdom.

Myth #2: All the gifts you will ever get you got when you were converted. Right? Wrong! Quick: name one verse in Scripture where it says all spiritual gifts are given at the moment of conversion. The fact is, on several occasions (1 Cor. 12:31; 14:1,12,13,31,39) we are told to "seek" or "pursue" gifts that we desire but don’t yet have. In fact, it’s not only biblical, it’s mandatory. To a Christian audience Paul says: “Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy” (1 Cor. 14:1). This is not mere permission or even a suggestion: it is a command. If you are not earnestly desiring spiritual gifts, especially prophecy, you are sinning!

Myth #3: Miraculous gifts were given primarily to authenticate apostles. Right? Wrong! The primary, but not exclusive, purpose of spiritual gifts is to edify others. Gifts are “other-oriented”. Some have erroneously concluded from 1 Cor. 12:7 that it is sinful and selfish ever to enjoy one’s gift or to be personally edified from its use. But this is to confuse the immediate or direct purpose of gifts with their secondary or indirect effect. It’s virtually impossible to faithfully exercise one’s spiritual gift, regardless of the context, and not experience a blessing of some sort. If the use of your gift sensitizes your heart to the grace of God and facilitates your maturity in Christ, you can’t help but be better equipped to serve and edify others. Although the ultimate purpose of spiritual gifts is to edify others, that is not their only purpose. Jude 20 actually commands us to “edify” ourselves!

My point is this: all the gifts of the Spirit, whether tongues or teaching, whether prophecy or mercy, whether healing or helps, were given, among other reasons, for the edification and building up and encouraging and instructing and consoling and sanctifying of the body of Christ.

Myth #4: Seeking spiritual gifts means you probably don’t believe in the sovereignty of God. Right? Wrong! But doesn’t Paul say that the Holy Spirit decides who will get what gift (see 1 Cor. 12:11,18)? Yes. But if it is God who bestows gifts according to his will, how can we pray for and seek after gifts according to our will? The answer is that our desire is itself often the fruit of God’s antecedent work in our hearts, stirring us to ask him for what he wants to give. Let’s not forget that although salvation is subject to God’s sovereign will, we still pray for, preach to, and persuade unbelievers. In fact, Paul says that God “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (see Eph. 1:11), but that doesn’t eliminate or diminish our human responsibility to obey the many commands of Scripture.

Myth #5: If people abuse spiritual gifts, they should cease to use spiritual gifts. Right? Wrong! I find it nothing short of remarkable that to a church obsessed and glutted with spiritual gifts, to a church awash in spiritual gifts (1:5-7), indeed to a church that had abused spiritual gifts, Paul says: "Earnestly desire spiritual gifts" (1 Cor. 14:1)! This is stunning, if only because it is so different from the sort of counsel we might have given the Corinthians. The Corinthian believers came in second to no one in the charismatic race. Yet they had seriously misunderstood and abused these gifts. My first response is to assume that Paul would tell them to slow down, if not declare a temporary moratorium on the exercise of these gifts. At the very least he should have told them to stop praying for and seeking after such miraculous phenomena as tongues and prophecy. So much for my wisdom!

What he tells them to do is really quite amazing. To a church aflame with charismata, Paul commands them to earnestly seek for more (12:31; 14:1,39)! Whereas we might have doused their zeal with water, Paul appears to pour gasoline on the fire. The point is this. The solution to the abuse of spiritual gifts is not prohibition, but correction. We might have been tempted to say to the Corinthians, "Don't do it at all," whereas Paul simply tells them, "Do it right!" In other words, "Don't do it less. Just do it better!"

I could understand if Paul issued such counsel to a church with great character and little power. But Corinth was a church with little character and great power. This counsel strikes some as unwise, if not dangerous, like throwing a lifejacket filled with lead to a drowning man, or saying to a recovering alcoholic, "Hey, buddy, have another drink!" Yet, to the very people guilty of elitism and fanaticism, Paul says be eager and zealous for more gifts than you’ve already got. We, on the other hand, would most likely have said: "Cool it, Corinthians! Settle down. Forget about gifts. Your spiritual focus is way out of balance. Don't you realize that spiritual gifts are what got you in trouble in the first place?" But, of course, the problem was not spiritual gifts. The problem was immature and unspiritual people. The point is that suppression of spiritual zeal is never the answer. The solution to abuse is not disuse but proper use.

Myth #6: If you can ever use a spiritual gift, you can always use it. Right? Wrong! Many mistakenly believe that if you have prophesied once, you can prophesy at will, or if you have ever prayed and someone is healed, you can heal at will. The issue at stake here is whether spiritual gifts are permanent (what some have called “residential”) or occasional and circumstantial.

Perhaps the best answer is to say that some gifts, such as teaching, leading, tongues, mercy, etc., are more likely permanent and can be exercised at will, whereas others such as prophecy, healing, and miracles are always subject to the sovereign purpose and timing of the Spirit.

Myth #7: Spiritual gifts always operate at the same level of intensity and accuracy. Right? Wrong! Spiritual gifts often vary in intensity, strength, and accuracy (see 1 Cor. 14:18; Rom. 12:6; 2 Tim. 1:6)

It seems obvious that some teachers are more eloquent and effective than others, that some evangelists see a greater harvest of souls, that some church leaders are more successful at mobilizing people for ministry, and the list could go on. One should expect that some will pray more fervently in tongues than others do (as apparently Paul did; see 1 Cor. 14:18) and that some will have a comparatively greater capacity for faith. The efficacy and accuracy of spiritual gifts will vary depending on our personalities, our spiritual maturity, our facility in the Word of God, the depth of intimacy we have with Jesus and any number of other factors.

Myth #8: Those with more spectacular gifts are more spiritual. Right? Wrong! This is a myth that few people will affirm but many believe. It’s not unusual for those with gifts such as mercy and hospitality and helps to feel inferior to those with prophecy and teaching and tongues. Worse still is that those with the latter gifts often make them feel that way. People with gifts that draw attention and applause are especially prone to measure someone's personal value by their gifting (or their lack of it).

This was certainly a problem in ancient Corinth. Their tendency (ours too!) is to elevate the esteem of those whose gift(s) is characterized by a greater and more conspicuous supernatural display. We mistakenly think that if the manifestation of the Spirit is more explicit the individual is more mature, or at least more favored of God, or surely, if nothing else, more useful to the church. Or we think that because someone has more than one gift he/she has more of the Holy Spirit. The fact is, a person with ten gifts may be less mature than a person with only one.

I hope that all of us will labor to bring correction to those who embrace one or more of these myths.