82 属灵的恩赐——圣灵装备教会SpiritualGifts - The Holy Spirit equips the church

《简明神学》Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs，巴刻（J. I. Packer）著/張麟至译，更新传道会，2007年。

https://yibaniba.blogspot.com/2020/01/blog-post_98.html

http://www.geocities.ws/gary_bee_za/packer/gifts.htm

82 属灵的恩赐——圣灵装备教会

Spiritual Gifts - The Holy Spirit equips the church

我们各人蒙恩，都是照基督所量给各人的恩赐.......祂所赐的，有使徒，有先知、有传福音的、有牧师和教师，为要成全圣徒，各尽其职，建立基督的身体。（弗4:7,11-12）

新约圣经描写在地方教会里，有的基督徒担任正式的、有职称的行政职分（长老-监督和执事，腓1:1），而所有其他的人则担当任非正式的服事任务。在基督身体里人人都参与侍奉，是新约圣经的一大理想。担任监督职分的人不当限制非正式职分的人，不当反抗或制造任何分裂一样，而当让监督来管晝他们的服事，使之有秩序并且造就人（亦即坚固并建立人，林前14:3-5,12,26,40；来13:17），这点是很清楚的。基督的身体是[照着各体的功用]（弗4:16），在爱心和信心中长大成熟，并按照蒙恩的方式服事（弗4:7,12）。

[恩赐]（原意是[赐予]）这个字只有在以弗所书4:7-8里出现时，是与属灵的服事联在一起使用。保罗解释[祂......将各样的恩赐赏给人]时说，这是指着升天的基督将蒙召并受装备担任使徒、先知、传福音者，和牧师、教师等职分的人。赏赐给祂的教会。又透过有这些功能者的运作，基督将一种或他种的任务，赐给每一个基督徒。在他处经文里（罗12:4-8；林前12-14章），保罗称呼神所赐予的这些服事能力为[恩赐]（charismata，指神的恩典，祂那活波而富于创意性的爱的特定彰显，见林前12:4），或[属灵的恩赐]（pneumatika，指圣灵——即神之灵——的能力特定的揭示，见林前12:1）。

有关新约圣经所论之恩赐，众说纷纭，单有三件事是很清楚的：第一，任何一项属灵恩赐都是一种能力，以某种方式表达基督、称颂基督、显示基督，因此也传讯基督。我们知道恩赐若正确使用，就能建造基督徒与教会。然而，惟有在基督里对神的认识才能造就人，所以每一种恩赐必须是由基督而来，以某种造就人的方法，彰显基督、分享基督的能力。

第二，恩赐可分两类：有话语的恩赐，也有爱心是实际用来助人的恩赐。保罗在罗马书12:6-8交互地在两类之间列出诸般的恩赐：第一、三和四项（说语言、教导和劝化）属话语的恩赐；第二、五、六和七项（作执事、施舍、治理和怜悯人）属助人的恩赐。如此互相排列，是为了避免让某一种恩赐大于另一种恩赐的想法渗透进来。不论恩赐就人的活动形式而言，其差别有多大，其尊贵都是相等的，唯一的问题只在于：人是否能合宜地使用他所拥有的恩赐（彼前4:10-11）。

第三，没有一个基督徒是没有恩赐的（林前12:7；弗4:7）；每个人都有责任发掘他拥有哪些神所赐的服事能力，而去发展并充分地使用它。

SPIRITUAL GIFTS

THE HOLY SPIRIT EQUIPS THE CHURCH

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.... He... gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. EPHESIANS 4:7, 11-12

The New Testament depicts local churches in which some Christians hold formal and official ministerial offices (elder-overseers and deacons, Phil. 1:1), while all fulfill informal serving roles. Every-member ministry in the body of Christ is the New Testament ideal. It is clear that officers who oversee should not restrict the informal ministries but rather should facilitate them (Eph. 4:11-13), just as it is clear that those who minister informally should not be defiant or disruptive but should allow the overseers to direct their ministries in ways that are orderly and edifying (i.e., strengthening and upbuilding, 1 Cor. 14:3-5, 12, 26, 40; Heb. 13:17). The body of Christ grows to maturity in faith and love “as each part does its work” (Eph. 4:16) and fulfills its grace-given form of service (Eph. 4:7, 12).

The word gift (literally “donation”) appears in connection with spiritual service only in Ephesians 4:7-8. Paul explains the phrase he... gave gifts to men as referring to the ascended Christ giving his church persons called to and equipped for the ministries of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher. Also, through the enabling ministry of these functionaries, Christ is bestowing a ministry role of one sort or another on every Christian. Elsewhere (Rom. 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12-14) Paul calls these divinely given powers to serve charismata (gifts which are specific manifestations of charis or grace, God’s active and creative love, 1 Cor. 12:4), and also pneumatika (spiritual gifts as specific demonstrations of the energy of the Holy Spirit, God’s pneuma, 1 Cor. 12:1).

Amid many obscurities and debated questions regarding New Testament charismata, three certainties stand out. First, a spiritual gift is an ability in some way to express, celebrate, display, and so communicate Christ. We are told that gifts, rightly used, build up Christians and churches. But only knowledge of God in Christ builds up, so each charisma must be an ability from Christ to show and share Christ in an upbuilding way.

Second, gifts are of two types. There are gifts of speech and of loving, practical helpfulness. In Romans 12:6-8, Paul’s list of gifts alternates between the categories: items one, three, and four (prophecy, teaching, and exhorting) are gifts of speech; items two, five, six, and seven (serving, giving, leading, and showing mercy) are gifts of helpfulness. The alternation implies that no thought of superiority of one gift over another may enter in. However much gifts differ as forms of human activity, all are of equal dignity, and the only question is whether one properly uses the gift one has (1 Pet. 4:10-11).

Third, no Christian is giftless (1 Cor. 12:7; Eph. 4:7), and it is everyone’s responsibility to find, develop, and fully use whatever capacities for service God has given.