Walden, John: The Difference Between Talents And Gifts ~ Subject Study

I want to have a little study with you about the difference between, uh, native ability, or talents, as we call them, and spiritual gifts. And the word talent is used only in Matthew's gospel, once in the eighteenth chapter, where a king had a servant who wrote him a tremendous amount of money, and the all the other times in eighteen twenty five, in what we call the parable of the talents. Now the word talent is really a unit of weight or a measure, and it amounted to about two hundred and forty pounds sterling, which would be about twelve hundred dollars each, considerable amount of money. And in the case of this story, one of these men received five talents, which would be around, uh, 6 or seven thousand dollars, another two, and another one. We read that in, uh, verse fifteen of the twenty fifth of Matthew. And it says that he gave to every man according to his several or his separate ability, and straightway took his journey. Then it tells about his coming back after a while and calling the servants to reckoning and finding out that the man who had five had gained five more, and the one who had two had gained two more, but the one who had one talent took it and hid it in the earth and, uh, gave it back to the Lord and said, uh, uh, I was afraid. And the reason he said he was afraid was because, uh, he said, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and so on. Now this shows that the man didn't know the Lord at all. No one who knows our Lord would say he's a hard man, or say that he's reaping what he didn't sow. For our blessed Lord was the creator of all and the redeemer. And, uh, this man had the talent taken away from him, and, uh, he himself was, uh, as an unprofitable servant cast into outer darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. That's in verse thirty. I know there are some who think that this man was a Christian who got lost. If you read it carefully, you'll find that no such things involved here or implied at all. He's telling us strictly that all of us have talents. And we do. All people are talented, whether they're saved or not. Every Christian should, uh, give himself to the Lord without reservation, and this will include all your possessions and all your talents or native ability. Now, unsaved people don't do this. They either keep it for themselves or they don't use it at all, and of course they'll have to give an account of how they use whatever talent or native ability they have. It's because this, uh, word talent is used as a unit of weight or measure, uh, that it has come to mean in the English language, uh, the idea of ability, natural endowment, and this would include the creative or artistic ability and activity. So then, we all are talented, saved or unsaved. Now, people who have not received Christ are dead in trespasses and sins, according to Ephesians two one to three. They are of the world, and they do not have the Holy Spirit of God. The Lord said, the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive. John fourteen sixteen and seventeen. Now, as they do not have the Spirit, they couldn't have spiritual gifts. They have talents, they have native ability, but they do not have spiritual gifts. In contrast, First Corinthians chapter twelve— and you should take time to read this chapter, plainly is written to brethren. They're so addressed in the very first verse. These are the children of God, and they call Jesus Lord by the Spirit, according to verse three. And it is by or in the Spirit that, uh, we are baptized or placed into the body of Christ, his church. And to each one of us who are believers, the Holy Spirit gives one or more spiritual gifts. Just as each member of your body has a function, so each member of his body is given the gift suited to function in the church. To use a crude illustration, show you the difference between the two, I may have a dog or a horse who has talents, but he's not part of my body. Only the members of my body can, uh, function to the edifying or help of other members. Or to put it another way, even many unsaved people were born with a good voice and musical talent. They use their talent to entertain, make money, get recognition for themselves, and so on. But they have no spiritual gift. Now, if that unsaved person is born again, he may offer his talent to the Lord, who will then take it and use it for the Lord's own glory. But in addition, the Holy Spirit... Let that train get past. But in addition, the Holy Spirit will give that born-again believer some spiritual gift, say, for instance, the gift of an evangelist, and will use it to honor Christ by preaching the gospel, winning souls, leading them on in the word and ways of God. Now, as an unsaved man, he could sing well, and he might even learn to sing Christian songs, but he has no spiritual gifts. These are given only by the Spirit to born-again persons who have the Holy Spirit living in the temple of their bodies, as it's called in First Corinthians six nineteen and twenty. So you see, there is a distinct difference between talent, which is native ability, and which may be turned over to the Lord when we become Christians, and what is described as the gifts of the Spirit. Now let's consider some of these spiritual gifts. There are three passages that you ought to read in order to understand them. Romans twelve, First Corinthians twelve, and Ephesians chapter four. I suggest that you read those before you continue to, uh, uh, listen to what I have to say about them. I'll not take time to read them on this tape. If, uh, if you'll take time to read them, then we can go ahead with this. They are Romans twelve, First Corinthians twelve, and Ephesians four. Let me look a little bit at First Corinthians twelve now. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that you were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols even as you were led. Wherefore I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed, and that no man say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. That is, there are different kinds of gifts, and there are differences of administrations, or literally ministries, or different ways of serving, but the same Lord. And there are, uh, diversities, uh, simply there are, uh, different, uh, effects of operation, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. Now you can see this is only a Christian. Only a Christian knows Jesus as Lord. Only a Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Only a Chris- a Christian is used of God, uh, to be a tool for him and one in whom God works. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit with all. And then follows, in the next three verses, a list of nine separate gifts. Now, this is not a complete list, because if you look further down in First Corinthians twelve, you see in verse twenty eight that you have, uh, another list of eight gifts, and, uh, these are not exact duplicates. And then in verses twenty nine and thirty— no, just twenty nine, I guess, you have, you have, uh, that's right, the two verses, twenty nine and thirty, you have seven gifts again. And these gifts are not exactly the same. And then there are some mentioned in chapter twelve of Romans that are not mentioned here. And there are definitely some in Ephesians four that are not mentioned here. I counted, I believe, twenty two different gifts, and there may be more of them in the New Testament scripture that are called gifts. Now, again, let me say these are not, uh, talents. These are not, this is not native ability. This is not something which, uh, can be learned out of a book. You can't go to a Bible school or a seminary and, uh, become a useful servant of Christ. They that are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans eight verse seven and eight. So, if you have never been born into God's family, you do not have life, you do not have the Holy Spirit, and therefore you do not have any real spiritual gift. Now, the purpose of these gifts is plainly stated. He says they are given to every man to profit with all. To profit with all, I think, simply means to profit to the benefit of all. They're not selfish. No gift is ever given for selfish reasons. Some people who are carried away with the charismatic movement and, uh, sign gifts say that they do these because, uh, it makes them feel so good and it's something that they can enjoy themselves. Well, no gifts were ever given for this purpose. You read these three passages and you'll see plainly that they were given to function as members of the one body. Now, my tongue may get the pleasant sensation of taste, but that isn't the purpose of putting food into my mouth. My, uh, teeth and, uh, jaw muscles proceed to, uh, grind that food up, and my epiglottis, uh, sends it down the canal to the stomach, and, uh, the stomach and the rest of my elementary canal, uh, turn it into useful, uh, building blocks for the rest of the body and send it around through the bloodstream. As David said, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. And so the tongue doesn't have a sense of taste just for its own pleasure. The same is true of, uh, all of the parts of our body. Each one functions for the blessing and help of each other, and we build each other up. Uh, I may use my, uh, my mouth, as I was saying, my, my teeth and, and my alimentary canal to, um, build up all the other parts of my body to transfer the food to them. And I may use my feet to carry myself out into the fresh air so that my lungs can be filled with the good fresh air, if you can find any. You want to know how old I am, I can remember when you couldn't see air. It's pretty rotten now, isn't it? But anyway, our feet are to carry us out and to carry us to certain places. Uh, our hands are to be used to, uh, uh, clothe ourselves, to wash ourselves. Every part of our body is to help each other, but above all, the members of the body of Christ are to glorify the head. We're to be subject to the head, which is Christ. Now, Christ is the only head of the church. There was one other reason for some of the gifts. According to First Corinthians one twenty two, the Jews require a sign. And, uh, some of the gifts were temporary gifts, which were given to convince the Jews that the Lord Jesus was truly the Messiah. Now, that has already been done. They have served their purpose, and they have ceased as functioning gifts. For instance, you do not find tongues mentioned, uh, longer than twelve years after Pentecost. Of course, you will find an imitation of this, and you will find this happening in, uh, practically all pagan religions, as well as in, uh, among even genuine Christians who are carried away with the charismatic movement today. But, uh, that wasn't the purpose of it. The purpose of the sign gifts, including healing, was in order that the people might be convinced that the Messiah had truly come. These were the credentials of the Messiah, and they have served their purpose, and according to First Corinthians thirteen, when that which is perfect has come, that which is in part shall be done away. And listed as what is in part would be, uh, in verse eight of First Corinthians thirteen, tongues, because they shall cease, and knowledge, that is the partial knowledge that they had before the scriptures was complete, would be superseded by the scriptures, and uh, uh, prophecies would uh, fail. There'd be no need any longer for prophets to receive messages from God, and any person today who, who uh, uh, claims that he has received a message from God should be tested by the word of God, because the Holy Spirit of God never contradicts himself. He never tells us in the Word of God, for instance, that women should keep silence in the churches and then give some woman, uh, a vision or a revelation that she's supposed to preach in public. We know right away which one is true and which one is false, because the Spirit of God never gives anything contradictory to what has been written. Now, that which is perfect is come. And notice it's not the one who is perfect. Some people say, well, this means when the Lord comes back. But both in our English language and in the language in which our New Testament was written originally, the pronoun here is in the neuter gender. That is, it means a thing and not a person. It isn't when he who is perfect has come, but when that which is perfect has come, and that which is perfect is the Word of God. According to Colossians chapter one, the Apostle Paul was chosen to give the final revelations, that is, the final doctrines, the final teachings called the mysteries concerning the church. Now, there were some who wrote after he did, but they merely reiterated or reminded the people of the truths that were already completely stated. And so the word of God is complete, and the sign gifts are no longer needed. So let's return to the thought of the gifts. Now, there's great variety in these gifts. As I said, there is no complete list. Some of these gifts are used publicly, some of them are used privately. Some of these gifts would be, uh, quite spectacular, uh, quite visible. For instance, in Ephesians four he says that some have the, the gift of an apostle. Now, there weren't many apostles, and there are no apostles today, because according to Acts chapter one, an apostle must have been a witness of the resurrection of Christ. So anyone who claims to be an apostle today is a false apostle. He has not witnessed Christ after his resurrection. Now, that was a very spectacular gift. It meant something to be an apostle. But you have another gift listed in First Corinthians twelve, and it's called the gift of helps. Now, just to be a help is a gift. But you say unsaved people can be a help. Yes, they can, but uh, for a far different reason. They do it because it pleases them to do it, or they do it because uh, they're helping someone whom they care about. Uh, there is no such thing as service for God by a non-Christian. He doesn't have the spirit. But when a person becomes a child of God, he may be given the gift of helps. And if he is a help among the Lord's people, this could be in a very private manner. For instance, uh, our Christian sister might be a great help to, uh, some of the women who have little children and, uh, need an opportunity to get a little rest or to get away from the children for, uh, an hour or so. And, uh, a sister could take care of the children and let her have a little time of quiet, perhaps a little time to read her Bible and pray quietly, or to get out into the fresh air. Um, someone might, uh, visit the sick and the shut-ins and be a great help to them. A young man might be a real help to older brothers in a local church by taking some of the responsibilities that they might have to, uh, uh, take care of if they didn't have someone else to do it for them, such as, uh, uh, maybe mowing the lawn around the building or cleaning up the place. I remember one of the first things the Lord gave me to do for him was to, uh, take care of the furnace and build the fires in the meeting house where we went. And this was a great privilege. And, uh, some people make a lifelong, useful, uh, contribution to the people of God by being a help. So then we must be, we must be satisfied with what, uh, gifts God has given us. Now, if you will notice in this chapter in which we're reading, First Corinthians twelve, he says to us in verse eleven, all these worketh at one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. That is, the Holy Spirit decides what gifts he wants to give to each believer. Now you have a similar statement in verse eighteen: but now hath God set the members, every one of them, in the body as it hath pleased him. And again in verse twenty seven, twenty eight: now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular, and God has set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, and so on. So God decides what gift he wants you to have, or gifts, for there may be, you may have more than one. In fact, uh, it would seem to be indicated that when a person uses what talent, uh, he has, he receives more talent in the sense of native ability, and it's true spiritually. If he uses what spiritual gift he has, God may give him more gifts. A person who serves faithfully in the gift that God has given him may be given more gifts. Now, some of these gifts are better than others. Uh, we have, of course, God's best gift, the gift of his son. God who spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? That, of course, is a gift of a different sense. But now the gifts are among the good things which God gives, and he loves to give them, uh, generously and profusely. And so God gives us, by means of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the gift or gifts that he sees, uh, that we may use in order to please him. Let's think of, uh, some of these gifts for a moment that have to do with the word of God, because I'm sure this is what he means by the last verse of First Corinthians twelve: covet earnestly the best gifts. Now the best gifts, I think, is made plain in chapter fourteen and again in Ephesians four. as being the gifts that have to do with the Word of God. A- and, uh, one of these is the gift of an evangelist. If God gives a man the gift of an evangelist, that man has one of the best gifts, because he has a gift of winning souls for Christ, of going and preaching the word in Holy Spirit power, and of seeing men and women, boys and girls brought to Christ, and then of staying with them until he teaches them the things that they ought to know, sees that they're baptized, sees that they're met, that they're taught to meet together on the first day of the week to remember the Lord, and uh, teaches them other things that they need, and uh, either remains with them or uh, uh, has someone else uh, helping them until there is a calling out of men in that group who can serve as overseers. They're called elders as to the person because they are mature, older than the others, and they're called overseers as to their function because their business is to look after the, the flock of God. And so the evangelist stays until he sees that they are getting along well and, uh, are able to, uh, function, and then occasional visits by himself or by, uh, teachers, and this is another very, uh, wonderful gift, one of the best gifts, the ability to teach the word of God. Now, an evangelist may not be a teacher in the deeper sense of the word. He may, uh, teach the simple truths of salvation and, uh, what is associated with becoming a child of God, whereas a teacher may go into much deeper things. Uh, we're told this, that newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, First Peter two. but milk is for babies. And in Hebrews five, we are told that there are some people who are still taking milk, who ought to be able to eat solid food, but they have not developed to the point where they can take in solid food. And solid food, the deeper things of God, would include the, the high priestly work of Christ, as it is, uh, set forth in the book of Hebrews. It would include our spiritual blessings in the heavenlies, as is taught in Ephesians, the book of Ephesians, especially the first three chapters. And so a teacher is one who has one of the best gifts of being able to, uh, uh, teach the deeper things of God. And then there is the gift of, uh, a pastor. Now, this does not mean a man who is hired to stay in one place and do all the preaching. That is totally unknown in scripture. And I believe that the clergy and laity division of God's people is one of the worst heresies, one of the most damaging things that has ever happened to the local church. You see, what happens is that one man really assumes to himself all of the gifts. He is conceited enough to think that because he has taken some training, or because he's had more experience, or because he has some native ability, he's a good talker, he assumes that he should do all the preaching. It may be that he ought to be an auctioneer. It may be that he does have ability to teach, but he doesn't have all the gifts, and he should not do everything. He should not be the pastor. In fact, wherever you read of, uh, men serving in the local church as overseers, they are always in the plural. It takes a number of people to meet the needs of God's people in any, uh, local situation. And so we should be concerned about trying to, uh, uh, develop the gift in younger brothers and sisters. Now, women are limited in their service, just as some men are limited in their service. And God allowed women very high honor of, uh, bringing the Lord Jesus into this world. As to his humanity, he was born of a woman. No man was given any part in the birth of our Lord Jesus, his incarnation. So a woman was given the high honor of bringing the message of the revela- of the resurrection to the apostles who were afraid and were hiding out. God has given very high honor to women. Christianity puts woman in a higher place than, uh, any of the world's religions. However, the Word of God teaches that a woman is not to usurp authority over the man or to teach men. She may teach women and is told to teach women. We're given this in, uh, in two places, in First Corinthians fourteen and again in Paul's letter to Timothy. And the women are told in Titus chapter two, the older women should teach the younger women, and he tells them what they should teach. Teach them to love their husbands and to love their children and to be keepers at home and so on. And, uh, women certainly have a responsibility, and, uh, and, uh, many of them have a definite gift of teaching children, and they should have a function in that way, but they are not to teach men. So God himself gives the gift, and God himself directs where that gift and how that gift is to be used, in what way we are to function. Now, if you go through all of these, uh, gifts and study them in detail, then I would suggest that you go a step further, and that is, find out what your gift is if you're a child of God. If you're not born again, you have no, no spiritual gifts. You have talent, you have native ability, but you can't use it for God. They that are in the flesh cannot please God. You have never done one single thing to please God, as long as you reject his son. If you are born again, if you are a child of God, then you should find out what your gift is. I'd suggest three things that would help you to find out about your own gift. I'd suggest, first of all, that you read the word of God, because if you don't know what the gifts are, how would you know what they are, and how would you know which one is yours? When you read the Word of God, you should be able, knowing this list of gifts, you should be able to recognize that you fit into this particular niche or that one. Now, a very young Christian will not have that discernment, just as a very young baby does not really understand, uh, about the parts of his body. He, uh, he tries to put his feet in his mouth, but after a while he learns what his feet are for, and he begins to walk on them. A very young believer is not likely to know what his gift is. In fact, he has all he can do to, uh, study the word and pray and, uh, grow. But then, uh, you should begin to learn what your gifts are. So you study the word of God. Secondly, you pray about it. Now, in prayer, you need to remember that you are not only calling on, uh, God as your father, but you're calling on God as your Lord. He is, he is called our Lord Jesus Christ, and he has a perfect right to say what he wants each one of us to do. He gave to every man his work. And as you pray, God often will reveal to you, while you're praying, some of the things that he wants you to know. Psalm thirty seven verse thirty four says that we should wait on the Lord. If you just rush into God's presence and say, Lord, what do you want me to do? And then you don't have any, uh, answer immediately, and you rush right back out again, say, well, he didn't tell me, I think I'll have to go out and find it for myself. That is not waiting on the Lord. And that suggests the third thing, and that might be that you, uh, talk it over with more mature believers. Oftentimes, older Christians can recognize gift in younger ones before they do. Uh, let me give you an example from the scriptures. Barnabas, who was an older man, recognized that Saul had a real spiritual gift, and that God was going to use him. And so, after he had had a little time to, uh, mature and study and be alone with God, uh, Barnabas went and found him and brought him to Antioch, and he was there with the church for a while. And then the Lord called, uh, Barnabas and Saul, later called Paul, to go out to, to preach the gospel on the first missionary journey. They went out together. So older brothers and sisters can often recognize in young Christians, uh, a decided spiritual gift, a definite spiritual gift, which the Holy Spirit has imparted to them. And then I suggest a fourth thing that you experiment with whatever gifts you may reckon that you have. Uh, suppose, uh, I ask you, do you often think about this gift? For instance, the gift of an evangelist. Do you often think about this? Would you like to, uh, preach the gospel to others? And if you try it, are you conscious of God's help? And, uh, when you preach, do others expect ex- express appreciation for what you have had to say? I don't mean, uh, the, the common saying, shake hands with them, uh, thank you very much, I enjoyed that message. That may or may not mean anything, but I mean genuine, uh, appreciation. Do they enjoy listening to your preaching? Not because you're an entertainer, but because you evidently get help from the Lord. And, uh, I'll ask you another question. Do you really desire to improve your skill? Now, if you do, very likely you are on the right track, that God has called you to, uh, use that particular gift. Uh, I think it was, uh, probably Paul that recognized in Silas the gift that he had and suggested that he go with him on the second missionary journey. I know it was Paul who recognized Timothy in Acts, uh, sixteen. He mentions again in the second letter to Timothy in the first chapter, and, uh, probably a good many others. I, I know that he recognized in Priscilla and Aquila some real helpers, and, uh, from that time on they were often working together. So these are the ways, uh, in which we may find out what our particular gifts may be, and, uh, willingly functioning, the Lord will bless you and use you and make you a blessing to both the saved and unsaved. Now, may the Lord bless these uh, few thoughts about the difference between uh, mere native ability or talents, as we call them, and the spiritual gifts which he gives for his name's sake.