The Whole Christ:
Rediscovering the Gifts of the Spirit
by Lynn Ridenhour
April 3, 2000
Part of Christ has been missing for some time within the restoration.
A small remnant of latter-day saints are rediscovering the joy of true
worship again, discovering for the first time the excitement of his
resurrection power brought about by his gracious gifts. It’s the presence
of the resurrected Christ in our midst. Doctrinal differences and present
controversies are fading away as we bathe our souls in his Presence. As the
writer of the Song of Songs put it, "…I am sick with love!" Saints
are becoming once again more enthralled with his closeness than with correct
administrations, more enthused about his power than our programs.
Joseph once said, "…the gifts which follow them that believe and
obey the gospel…began to be poured out among us, as in ancient days."
And these gifts, one hundred-seventy years later, still remain with us. Today
hungry saints are rediscovering them.
There are many ways to describe the restoration movement, but one way is—up
until 1830 part of Christ was missing. May I be so bold? Joseph Smith
restored the Whole Christ to the Church. That, I believe, was his mission. May
I make another bold assertion? I believe--today the Whole Christ needs
to be restored to the restoration. I, of course, am referring to restoring the
balance of Christ’s personality within the Church: Christ as authority.
Christ as power. And Christ as character. Jesus
Christ is all three.
For instance…
Christ’s AUTHORITY is manifested in His five-fold ministry: apostles,
prophets, evangelists, pastors & teachers (Eph.4:11). Christ was
the great apostle, the probing prophet, the fiery evangelist, the good
shepherd, and the skilled teacher. His authority and personality exemplified
each office. At times, Christ ministered as prophet; on other occasions, as
teacher, etc. It’s said of him, "…And it came to pass, when
Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine, for
he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes…"
(Matt.7:28, 29).
Christ’s POWER is manifested in His gifts: the word of wisdom, the word
of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy,
discerning of spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues (I
Cor.12:8-10). His power speaks for itself. Miracles, healings &
prophecies followed Him as He walked the hillsides of Palestine.
Christ’s CHARACTER is manifested in His fruit: love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Gal.5:22,23).
Christ loved the downtrodden, spoke peace to the brokenhearted, and told the
poor & meek to rejoice, for theirs was the kingdom of heaven.
There we have it--the Whole Christ: Christ as authority, Christ as
power, & Christ as character.
Needless to say, as latter-day saints, we’ve been limping along for some
time now on two of the three parts—Christ as authority and Christ as
character. We (rightfully so) possess the Priesthood garments, and, for the
most part, wear them in humility. However, it bears repeating, part of Christ
has been missing within the restoration—Christ as power! More
often than not, we’ve not presented the Whole Christ to the world.
Joseph did.
Hear Oliver B. Huntington, eyewitness, tell an amazing story.
"…Soon after Joseph settled in Kirtland, members of the Church
began to gather to that place. The name of Joseph Smith and his power with
God aroused everybody either for good or for bad. Mrs. John Johnson,
who lived at the town of Hiram, forty miles distant from Kirtland, heard of
the wonderful man that could receive revelations from God, heal the sick and
see angels. She had a stiff arm that she wanted healed and made useful
like the other, so she induced her husband to take a journey to Kirtland to
see the prophet. Joseph asked her if she believed that God could make
him instrumental in healing her arm which had been stiff a long time.
She answered that she believed her arm could be healed. The Prophet only
remarked that he would visit her the next day. The next day Joseph
came to Bishop Newell K. Whitney’s home where Mr. Johnson and his wife
were staying. They were a Campbellite doctor and a Methodist preacher in the
room. He took Mrs. Johnson by the hand and without sitting down or standing
on ceremonies, and after a short mental prayer, pronounced her arm whole in
the name of Jesus Christ. He left the house immediately. When he was
gone, the preacher asked if her arm was well. She immediately stretched out
her arm straight, remarking at the same time, "…it’s as well as
the other…" --The Young Woman’s Journal, II, Dec., 1890,
p.124.
That’s authority.
Joseph whispers in her ear, pronounces her arm well, and calmly exits the
room.
Hear another story. Zera Cole, member of Zion’s Camp, relates…
"…While traveling across a vast prairie, says Cole, treeless and
waterless, they encamped at night after a long day’s march. They had been
without water since early morning and men and animals suffered greatly from
thirst, for it had been one of the hottest days of June. Joseph sat in his
tent door looking out upon the scene. All at once he called for a spade.
When it was brought, he looked about him and selected a spot the most
convenient in the camp for men and teams to get water. Then he dug a shallow
well and immediately the water cam bubbling up into it and filled it, so
that the horses and mules could stand upon the brink and drink from it.
While the Camp stayed there the well remained full, despite the fact that
about two hundred men and scores of horses and mules were supplied from it…."
That’s power.
And hear one final story about our beloved prophet.
Joseph Smith was a man of great integrity. In the spring of 1843, he asked
Thomas Colburn to lend him one hundred dollars in order to pay the lawyer who
had defended his friend, the falsely accused Porter Rockwell. Said Joseph of
the money, "This shall be returned within three days, if I am
alive." Thomas Colburn’s daughter reported:
My aunt, father’s sister, was quite wrathful [after Joseph left].
"Don’t you know, Thomas," said she, "you will never see a
cent of that money again. Here are your family without a home, and you throw
your money away." The day came when it was to be paid—a cold,
wet, rainy day. The day passed. Night came—9 o’clock, 10 o’clock, and we
all retired for the night. Shortly after there was a knock at the door. Father
arose and went to it, and there in the driving rain stood the Prophet Joseph
[with the money in gold]. He said, "Brother Thomas, I have been trying
all day to raise this sum, for my honor was at stake. God bless you."
That’s character.
It’s obvious, Joseph presented the Whole Christ to the world. Paul, the
apostle, speaks to this very theme:
"…building up the body of Christ. In this way we are all to come
to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we
become the perfect [or complete] Man…" (Eph.4:13). --The Jerusalem
Bible
Paul speaks of the Complete Man as corporate. The body of Christ, as we
recognize one another’s gifts and callings, is to grow up into Him and to
become the Whole Christ before a dying world. That’s the Complete
Man. Nothing brings unity in the earth quite like the Complete
Man. The whole earth is groaning for its manifestation.
The uniqueness of the restoration message to more than a few of us hungry
souls is its holistic approach to life and Christianity. We embrace the gifts,
the power, as well as other expressions of the gospel. Our intention is
to merely possess the kingdom in its fullness, and to walk in the light of our
beloved prophet—who gave witness to Christ as authority, power, and
character before his world.
May we do the same.
ADDENDUM:
Because more than a few saints have not seen the gifts of the Spirit in
operation, I present a brief outline.
In I Corinthians 12:7 we’re told, "…the manifestation of the
Spirit is given to every man…" The word "manifestation"
means: a showing forth, a making visible, or making known. This word shows the
gifts of the Spirit to be the ministry of Jesus shown through his people
today.
CLASSIFYING THE NINE GIFTS:
- Three gifts of communication (spirit)
- Three gifts of revelation (soul)
- Three gifts of power (body)
The nine gifts of the Spirit affect the whole man.
Gifts of Communication:
- Prophecy = supernatural utterance in the language of the speaker:
…for announcing future events, Acts 11:27-30
…for imparting a ministry, I Tim.4:14
…for edification, I Cor.14:3
- Diverse kinds of tongues = supernatural utterance in an unknown language:
…as a sign to unbelievers, I Cor.14:21-22
…for speaking to God, I Cor.14:2
…for devotion, I Cor.14:15-17
- Interpretation of tongues = the supernatural giving forth of the meaning
of utterance in other tongues.
…for edification, I Cor.14:6-13
…for understanding, I Cor.14:14-16
…for participation of hearers, I Cor.14:16
Gifts of Revelation:
- The Word of Wisdom = supernatural utterance of divine wisdom:
…for divine aid in persecution, Luke 21:12-15
…to minister the Word of God, Acts 6:8-10
…to escape a snare, Matt.22:15-22
- The Word of Knowledge = supernatural utterance of divine knowledge:
…to reveal a person’s need, Jn.4:6-32
…to expose a hypocrite, Acts 5:1-11
…to reveal a person’s identity, I Kings 14:1-6
- Discerning of Spirits = supernatural insight into the realm of spirits:
…an utterance, Acts 16:16-18
…sickness, Mark 9:14-29
…insanity, violence, immodesty, Luke 8:26-36
Gifts of Power:
- Faith = (special faith) = supernatural impartation of divine faith for:
…protection against enemies, II Kings 6:13-17
…divine intervention, I Kings 18:17-39
…preservation from beasts, Heb.11:33
- Working of miracles = supernatural intervention in the ordinary course of
nature for:
…recovering a lost item, II Kings 6:1-7
…providing a need, I Kings 17:1-16
…Mastery over elements, Matt.14:22-23
- Gifts of healing = supernatural healing of diseases, i.e., to heal:
…progressively, John 4:46-2
…unconditionally, Matt.20:29-34
…conditionally, II Kings 5:1-14
Note: Every child of God is granted at least one gift. "…the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man…" --I Cor.12:7
