Spiritual Gifts and Godly Character

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  1 Corinthians 13: 2

Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.  1 Corinthians 8:1

His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.  2 Peter 1:3

Many will say to me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name”? And I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”  Matthew 7: 22-23

Truth must be accompanied by compassion, godly character, and integrity. This principle applies to any aspect of our relationship to the Lord and His word, whether it be Bible study, preaching, personal counsel, exhortation, or prophecy.  Complications arise when carnal man (rather than the spiritual man) handles the word of God. The lack of compassion causes it to be used as a legalistic hammer to condemn and hurt people. The lack of character and holiness brings deception, mixture, and contamination. The lack of integrity causes men to “use” people and act with wrong and selfish motives.

When we think of spiritual gifts we think of God’s power. But God’s power must not be divorced from godly character and God’s holiness. Character and integrity are the things that prevent prophecy and the other gifts from being “flash” and glitter. Character is the foundation for the anointing and a ministry that has purity and durability. A person’s character can destroy what his gift builds. It is essentially character, not gifting, that determines whether or not we pass the tests of life.

Therefore, we seek to walk in God’s holiness as well as in His power. Power without holiness and character is empty and rings hollow. The world will scorn us if we walk in the power of God but fail in the holiness of God.  The holiness of God (right living, right motives, and moral purity) is what distinguishes us from the rest of the world. The devil can imitate our noise and our power, but he cannot reproduce holiness and godly character.
The devil’s counterfeit imitation of God’s power is seen in soulish mysticism, sorcery, witchcraft, the occult, and psychic phenomena.  His attempts at imitating holiness and character become legalism and bondage.

Godly character is something we as Christians must be careful to cultivate. Good people excelling at good things have to beware of pride. Immature and unlearned people must remain humble in order to learn and avoid the paths of error. People who experience the power and working of the Holy Spirit must especially guard their hearts to maintain integrity and pure motives.  There have  been men and women of God who moved in healing and power gifts who fell because they were deceived into thinking God was overlooking their sin.  Because the miracles continued, because God was still using them, they presumed to think God was giving them special dispensation to continue in their sin with impunity. The fact is the Holy Spirit will continue to use a person who is in disobedience and sin, at least for a season, while the Holy Spirit tries to draw him to repentance in the particular area of transgression.   However, eventually “the bottom will drop out” and the person will face the consequences of his un-repentant sin. Sometimes the problem may be an area of stubbornness, an area which grieves the Lord. Whether sin or childish stubbornness, eventually a person may face either judgment or discipline.

In this same vein of thought it should be noted that some very interesting (though not godly) people have prophesied. Balaam was a soothsayer who spoke some wonderful prophetic words over Israel, words which also prophesied of Jesus (Numbers 22-23). King Saul himself prophesied, even while trying find and kill David (1 Samuel 10:6, 10-12;  19:18-24). The high priest Caiaphus, while leading the plot to put Jesus to death, prophesied that one must die for the nation.  These examples (and maybe some you know personally) show us that the gifts and manifestations of the Holy Spirit operate by the mercy and grace of God, and that God will use imperfect vessels.

The imperfections may be related to ungodly character (like those discussed above) or to issues related to normal spiritual growth and character development experienced by all Christians. If the issues relate to sin and evil, we should repent and change. If the issues relate to the stumbles and imperfections of normal growth, we should recognize that mistakes are a part of growth, thank God for the disciplines of learning, and move forward rejoicing in the grace, mercy, and goodness of the Lord.