Gifts: Gifts of the Father, Part 1

Obviously, since this is a blog, the newest blogs are on top of the list. But since this posting is more in the fashion of a serial blog, if you haven't read the previous posts, it might be helpful to go back to the first posting of 2021, titled Note and continue through the subsequent posts. 

Okay, so that was a lot to take in at one sitting. It also took a lot out of me; so much so that it's taken a couple of days to get back to it. I failed at one of the principles of Instructional Design (something I have a Master's degree in) called "chunking": never give them too much at one time; they'll never retain it all.

So we've established a scriptural principle from 1 Cor. 12:4-6 that there are three types of dispensations or gifts from God (the Trinity): gifts of the Father (energies or motivations), gifts of the Son (services, administrations, or ministries), and gifts of the Spirit (charismata, gifts of grace, or manifestations).

Now, I'm not presenting an opinion here. I'm trying to exegete the Word of God by examining the words in Scripture both in English and the original Greek. Whether or not the particular sect (i.e., denomination) you identify with adheres to what I'm presenting is immaterial. These are Scriptural principles that I'm examining in detail and that I have personally seen borne out in my own life and in the lives of others. So I am integrating Scripture with experience.

I have labeled the dispensations or gifts by means of the source: gifts of the Father, gifts of the Son, and gifts of the Holy Spirit. As I alluded to above, others have used a sort of onomatapoeia (from onoma, name; and poeia, make; or "to make a name") by using three words beginning with the letter "M": Motivational gifts (gifts of the Father), Ministry gifts (gifts of the Son), and Manifestation gifts (gifts of the Holy Spirit). Some systems and their tests try to lump them all together and assess them all at once. However, I will try to demonstrate that this is like trying to compare apples, oranges, and bananas: all you end up with is a fruit salad. The purpose of each category is very distinct and should be discriminated carefully to ensure accurate understanding and purposeful employment.

I'm going to first look at the Motivational gifts. Why are they called "Motivational?" Probably because the word seems to indicate a personal motivation in how we each respond to life situations. We're going to dive into personality theory, because this is the essence of this category and has to do with how God wired us from conception and birth to respond to life situations. These gifts are the basis of what makes each of us different, why people do some of the crazy things they do, and why we respond to them the way we do. No two people are alike. Just look at any marriage: opposites attract. It's a principle of physics that God established in the universe. The trick with marriage is that it's similarities that keep people together.

So here's the deal: I mentioned in my last post that in Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth, the only time he references the gifts of the Father is in verse 6 of chapter 12. He lists both the Manifestation and the Ministry gifts in that chapter, then goes into detail on the Manifestation gifts in chapters 14 and 15. But we have to go to Paul's letter to the church at Rome to find the Motivational gifts. We'll look at that next time in Romans 12.