Apostles Anglican Church
Fr. John A. Roop

Priesthood of the Laity: The Sevenfold Gifts of the Spirit

The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.

Today, I would like to begin our time together with a sung prayer, thought to be from the ninth-century, written by a German monk, archbishop and saint, Rabanus Maurus. The version we will sing was translated and edited by English Bishop John Cosin in 1625; it is found in the BCP 1662 and subsequent editions, including our own BCP 2019. There is a classic Gregorian chant tune for the text (https://youtu.be/QdPyzrWb3so?si=S0ZGUEAp2DpyYOEf), but we will use the simpler Psalm Tone that we have been using throughout Epiphanytide.

VENI, CREATOR SPIRITUS

Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire,
And lighten with celestial fire.
Thou the anointing Spirit art,
Who dost thy sevenfold gifts impart.

Thy blesséd unction from above
Is comfort, life, and fire of love.
Enable with perpetual light
The dullness of our blinded sight.

Anoint and cheer our soiléd face
With the abundance of thy grace.
Keep far our foes, give peace at home;
Where thou art guide, no ill can come.

Teach us to know the Father, Son,
And thee, of both, to be but One;
That, through the ages all along,
This may be our endless song:

Praise to thy eternal merit,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (BCP 2019, p. 492).

Decades ago I had a friend who was convinced that God had called him to the music ministry, to direct congregational and choral musical worship. There was only one major problem; my friend could not sing — at all. He could not hold a tune. Nor did he play either organ or piano; he did play trumpet tolerably well, but that instrument, while lovely, is not typically used for leading choral music. Mind, I could not say then, nor would I say now, with certainty that my friend had mistaken his own love for the church’s music as a call from God to direct it; I am suspicious but not certain. But, I can say that there was an obvious disconnect between his skills and gifts and the typical qualifications for the job, enough of a mismatch to suggest that further vocational discernment was necessary.

It is generally understood that professions, occupations, jobs have certain requirements — knowledge, skills, and attributes — necessary for success. For example, my mother was a personnel officer at the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1950s through the 1970s. Her job required proficiency in typing, shorthand, filing, fingerprinting, written communication, and inter-personal relations. [A teacher — I know this from personal experience — must have mastered subject matter content, the pedagogical skills of lesson preparation and delivery, rhetorical and questioning skills, and the theory of test design and analysis. In addition, a teacher must like children, must be good at interacting with them, must be tolerant of parents, and must have very thick skin.] Pick any vocation you wish and you will find a whole congeries of knowledge, skills, and attributes required for success in it. A whole industry exists to match applicant skills, knowledge, and attributes with the needs of business and industry. That used to be handled in the Help Wanted ads in the newspapers; now it is linkedin and other online services.

It is no different when we consider Christian vocations. Let me offer one example in particular: the office of bishop (επισκοπος, overseer) as St. Paul presents it in 1 Tim 3:1-7. The ESV even provides a section heading: Qualifications for Overseers.

1 Timothy 3:1–7 (ESV):
3 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

Let’s start here: the episcopacy is a noble task to which one aspires. To aspire is to recognize one’s own insufficiency, to know that the task is above and beyond one’s own ability. You must strive to reach it, work to grow into it, and achieve it, if at all, only with God being your helper. That being said, there are some markers that the aspiration is appropriate, that one is up to the task. There are some skills and attributes that must one have in proper measure to be entrusted with the office. Let’s look again at 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and list the skills and attributes an aspirant to the episcopate must have.

ATTRIBUTES

Irreproachable

Sober (not flippant, but properly serious about serious matters)

Self-controlled (disciplined, not rash or head-strong)

Respectable and respected by outsiders

Hospitable

Free from the passions: gluttony (alcohol), anger (violence), avarice, lust, pride

SKILLS

Teaching

Management

These are not arbitrary requirements; they are the skills and attributes necessary to exercise the spiritual vocation of bishop. If any of these attributes is missing, it represents a weakness in the foundation of the ministry, a chink in the armor that the enemy would exploit. St. Paul gives a corresponding list of qualifications for deacons in the verses immediately following, if you are interested.

How does one acquire these attributes and skills? Askesis — spiritual discipline, spiritual training — is part of the answer: through prayer and fasting, through study and worship, through obedience and repentance and service — in other words, through full participation in the life of the church and in the ongoing struggle of repentance. As essential as askesis is, though, it is not the whole answer. A bishop is not just trained and developed from below; he must be made from above: empowered by the Holy Spirit, imbued with spiritual gifts. In the Rite of Consecration of the Bishop, the Archbishop and two other Bishops lay their hands on the head of the Bishop Elect and say:

Receive the Holy Spirit for the Office and work of a Bishop in the Church of God, now committed to you by the imposition of our hands; in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

There must be a particular anointing of the Holy Spirit for the particular vocation of Bishop.

Then the Archbishop continues with this prayer:

Most merciful Father, send down upon this your servant your heavenly blessing; so endue him with your Holy Spirit that, in preaching your Word, he may not only be earnest to reprove, beseech, and rebuke, with all love and godly doctrine, but may also present a wholesome example in word and conduct, in love and faith, in chastity and purity; that, having faithfully run his course, at the last Day he may receive the crown of righteousness, laid up by the Lord Jesus, our righteous Judge, who lives and reigns with you and the same Holy Spirit, one God, world with end. Amen (BCP 2019, pp. 506-507).

This prayer harkens back, at least implicitly, to the qualifications enumerated by St. Paul in 1 Timothy. Some may be acquired by askesis, but they are all nurtured and brought to fruition and maturity by the Holy Spirit. They are, in that sense, spiritual gifts.

The episcopacy is just one particular vocation amongst many in the Church. In 1 Corinthians (12:4-11), St. Paul says that the Holy Spirit gives to each member of the Body of Christ particular spiritual gifts for the unique ministry to which that person is called, and that all of the gifts are for the common good.

1 Corinthians 12:4–11 (ESV):
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

There is no reason to believe that this list of ministries and spiritual gifts is exhaustive. I feel sure, for example, that there are gifts of beauty that enable some to make music and art, to arrange flowers, to sow vestments; gifts of holy boldness that make some able to speak against moral injustice in the culture; gifts of nurture and formation which allow some to minister to children; and so on. I have a gift or two — as do each of you — but I do not have all of them. And, the gifting I have received is a signpost pointing toward the particular ministry to which I am called; the gifts equip me for that ministry. Particular ministries require particular gifts.

So much for particular ministries. But what about the common ministry shared by every baptized believer — the ministry that flows from our baptismal identity? Over the past few weeks, Fr. Jack has made the case that all humans, all image-bearers of God, were intended to share a common priesthood inherent in the human identity. That means that we were to share a common vocation of priesthood. You may recall Fr. Jack’s definition of a priest:

A priest is a mediator who serves in a temple, guards holy things, and offers sacrifices to God.

Question: If this is our common vocation that flows from our identity, what skills, what attributes and spiritual gifts are required to exercise that vocation well? What qualifications must one bring to this vocation of our common priesthood? [Discuss in groups.]

I want to explore that question from a biblical standpoint, starting with a very brief history of the priesthood, a Cliff Notes summary of what Fr. Jack has done over the past few weeks.

Adam and Eve were the priests of creation: of Eden, of the lands beyond the Garden, of all the world. But, they forfeited that priesthood — not just for themselves, but also for their descendants — when they failed to serve (to be obedient) in the temple of Eden, when they failed to guard holy things (themselves and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil), and when they refused to offer the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to God.

But, God still intended to have human priests. So, God called Abram and through him created a people who would be holy unto God, separated from other peoples to learn to be priests for them, on behalf of the world. Through generations, God formed this people into a nation, Israel, in which the common priesthood was to flourish, exercised primarily in tribes and families by patriarchs. One of those tribes — Levi — was chosen by God to exercise not just the common priesthood, but also the vocational priesthood dedicated to sacrifice and tabernacle/temple worship. And so God created a nation of priests and within it a tribe of vocational priests, to resume the work of Adam and Eve.

But, you know the rest of the story: the faithlessness of Israel at Sinai, the death of that generation in the wilderness, the conquering and division of the land, the inconsistency of the priesthood — both common and vocational — during the period of the Judges, the short-lived united kingdom, the apostasy/idolatry of Israel and the Assyrian captivity which destroyed Israel, the slower but certain decline of Judah and the end of the Davidic house along with the destruction of the Temple and the priesthood.

So, once again, as in Eden, the priesthood lies shattered. Still, God will have his way, which means that God will have his priests. But before God has priests, he will first have a Priest, a great High Priest from whom the common priesthood of God’s people derives its nature, through whom it receives the spiritual gifts necessary for that priesthood. In other words, the common priesthood narrows down to one High Priest — Jesus — and then opens outward again to all those who will be baptized into him. That means that the skills, attributes, and spiritual gifts we need to exercise our common, baptismal priesthood are those that find their fullness and their perfection in Jesus. So, what qualifications must one have for this vocation of our common priesthood? We find the answer in Isaiah, in a Messianic passage.

Isaiah 11:1–10 (LES2):
11 And a rod will emerge from the root of Jesse, and a flower will come up from the root. 2 And God’s spirit will rest on him, a spirit of wisdom and intelligence, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and piety. 3 He will fill him with a spirit of the fear of God; he will not judge according to reputation or reprove according to speech. 4 Rather, he will render fair judgment to a low one, and he will reprove the low of the land; and he will strike the land with the word of his mouth, and with breath through his lips he will destroy ungodly things. 5 And he will be girded at the waist with righteousness and enclosed with truth at his sides. 6 And a wolf will feed together with a lamb, and a leopard will rest with a kid, and a little calf and a bull and a lion will feed together, and a small young child will lead them. 7 And an ox and a bear will feed together, and they will be together with their young, and a lion will eat straw like an ox. 8 And an infant child will lay its hand on an asp’s hole and on a bed of asps’ offspring. 9 And they shall surely do no wrong, nor will they be able to destroy anyone on my holy mountain because the whole land was filled with knowing the Lord, as much water covers the seas. 10 And in that day there will be the root of Jesse and the one who rises up to rule nations; nations will put their hope in him, and his rest will be honor.

[Note: This text is taken from the Lexham Septuagint, 2nd Revision. The Septuagint is from Greek manuscripts of the Old Testament and not from the Hebrew manuscripts which generally form the basis our English translations. So, if you read this text in the ESV, you will not some few minor differences, one of which impacts this lesson. When the Old Testament is quoted by the authors of the New Testament, it is generally the Septuagint that they quote.]

Let’s look at the beginning of the text and list the spiritual gifts that this root of Jesse will have, gifts which he will share with us as we exercise our common priesthood:

Wisdom

Intelligence

Counsel

Strength

Knowledge

Piety

Fear of the Lord

There are seven of these gifts, the Sevenfold Gifts of the Spirit. Now, I’d like you to look back to the song we chanted at the beginning of this session, particularly at the first verse:

Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire,
And lighten with celestial fire.
Thou the anointing Spirit art,
Who dost thy sevenfold gifts impart.

Notice the mention of the Sevenfold Gifts of the Spirit. This song is said or sung at the ordination of a priest and bishop and may be sung at the ordination of a deacon. These are the spiritual gifts required for the vocational ministry. But, it’s more than that. The rubrics for the song say this:

The Veni, Creator Spiritus is sung or said as a prayer for the renewal of the Church (BCP 2019, p. 492).

That means that these gifts are not just for the vocational priesthood, but for the common, baptismal priesthood, not just for priests and bishops, but for the baptismal priesthood of all the laity. That is emphasized again in the Rite of Confirmation when the Bishop prays for each confirmand:

Almighty and everliving God, we beseech you to strengthen these your servants for witness and ministry through the power of your Holy Spirit. Daily increase in them your manifold virtues of grace: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and true godliness and the spirit of holy fear, now and for ever. Amen (BCP 2019, p. 178).

Notice that we’ve drawn a straight line from the Sevenfold Spiritual Gifts embodied in the Messiah, who is the Great High Priest of Israel and of the world, to those same gifts bestowed upon all those baptized into Jesus and thus called into the common priesthood of all believers, to those same gifts bestowed upon the shepherds of the Church, the priests and bishops. These are the Sevenfold Spiritual Gifts of all Christian priests, lay and clergy.

So, what are they? The following definitions/descriptions of the Sevenfold Gifts of the Spirit are based upon the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas as found in his Summa Theologiae as summarized in Catholic Answers Magazine (https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-seven-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit).

“Wisdom is both the knowledge of and judgment about “divine things” and the ability to judge and direct human affairs according to divine truth.”

It is this spiritual wisdom that the newly crowned Solomon asks God for in 1 Kings 3:

1 Kings 3:9 (ESV):

9 “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this great people.”

Then follows an example of Solomon’s extraordinary wisdom, his ability to discern the right path, and to govern the people with righteous wisdom. We see that also on full display in the Proverbs and in the other Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament.

This is not the same as human wisdom; it is the spiritual gift of recognizing the voice of God, of knowing God and the things of God beyond human reasoning and intellect. Jesus described it this way:

John 10:1–6 (ESV):

10 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Isaiah writes:

Isaiah 30:21 (ESV):

21 And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.

How will you know that the voice you hear is God’s, that the wisdom is his? St. James tells us:

James 3:13–18 (ESV):

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

“Understanding is penetrating insight into the very heart of things, especially those higher truths that are necessary for our eternal salvation — in effect, the ability to “see” God.”

I might describe understanding as discernment, as the ability to penetrate beyond external appearances to perceive the true spiritual meaning of things, to see the spiritual essence and implications of the ordinary. You see this in Jesus, particularly in some strange conversations he has in the Gospels. Nicodemus comes to discuss one thing, and Jesus cuts across him to say, “You must be born again.” The rich, young, ruler comes to find out how to go on living the good life in this age and in the age to come, and Jesus says, “Go, sell everything you have, give it to the poor, and come, follow me.” Photini, a woman of Samaria, just comes to get water from a well, and Jesus interrupts her day and her life to offer her the living water of the Spirit. And on it goes. Jesus understands. He penetrates to the heart of things, especially as they pertain to eternal salvation. And you have done it too. A friend is beating around the bush in a conversation, avoiding something, and you perceive that something deeper is going on, and you move directly there. That is spiritual understanding: getting to the spiritual heart of the matter.

“Counsel allows a man to be directed by God in matters necessary for his salvation.

Perhaps we can describe it this way: Counsel is keeping the end in mind — the end for which we were created, our salvation — and then determining and taking the right path to get there. A friend faces a major decision with many factors that weigh on it. Counsel is keeping the focus on the eternal import of the decision: what does this decision mean for your friend and for his/her salvation? What is God’s perspective on it? What decision will increase your friend’s faith, hope, and love? How does Scripture and the Church speak to this? All of these are matters of counsel.

“Knowledgeis the ability to judge correctly about matters of faith and right action, so as to never wander from the straight path of justice.”

Contrary to the Reformers’ insistence on the perspicuity of Scripture — the clarity of Scripture to the simplest of minds — Scripture is not self-interpreting. To handle Scripture rightly, to understand matters of faith and right action, requires training and practice and apprenticeship to the Church. It means acquiring the mind and heart of the Church. It requires spiritual knowledge in the sense used here. It is work and gift, something we must train to do, something empowered by the Holy Spirit.

“Piety is, principally, revering God with filial affection, paying worship and duty to God, paying due duty to all men on account of their relationship to God, and honoring the saints and not contradicting Scripture. The Latin word pietas denotes the reverence that we give to our father and to our country; since God is the Father of all, the worship of God is also called piety.”

We see examples of piety in our Eucharistic Prayers.

And we earnestly desire your fatherly goodness mercifully to accept this, our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; asking you to grant that, by the merits and death of your Son Jesus Christ, and through faith in his Blood, we and your whole Church may obtain forgiveness of our sins, and all other benefits of his passion (Holy Eucharist: Anglican Standard Text, BCP 2019, p. 117).

It is right, our duty and our joy, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth (Holy Eucharist: Renewed Ancient Text, BCP 2019, p. 132).

Piety is a love for God, for the things of God, and for the people of God.

“Fear of God is, in this context, “filial” or chaste fear whereby we revere God and avoid separating ourselves from him — as opposed to “servile” fear, whereby we fear punishment.”

One of the best, prayerful descriptions of fear of God, comes from one of our collects.

80. FOR TRUSTFULNESS IN TIMES OF WORRY AND ANXIETY

Most loving Father, you will us to give thanks for all things, to dread nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care on the One who cares for us. Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, and grant that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested unto us in your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen (BCP 2019, p. 670).

Fear of God means dreading nothing but the loss of God, putting aside faithless fears and worldly anxieties that hide from us the light of God’s love.

These are the Sevenfold Gift of the Spirit that ready us for faithful service in our common, baptismal priesthood: wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, piety, and fear of God.

The last matter I’d like to address is how these gifts are used in the exercise of our common priesthood. What are we to do with them? The answer — at least the essence of the answer — is found back where we started, with Isaiah’s description of the Messiah. Read Isaiah 11:1-9 again.

What we have here is a description of the Kingdom of God, sometimes called The Peaceable Kingdom. The Sevenfold Gifts of the Spirit are not given for our personal enjoyment, but rather for the salvation of the world, for creating signposts — here and now — that direct people toward the Kingdom of God. Look at what that means:

Righteous judgment for the poor

Equity for the meek of the earth

Death to the wicked (first, death to the wickedness in us and then prophetic rebuke of the world, the flesh, and the devil)

The offer of peace to all, the healing of enmity between “natural” enemies — perhaps the refusal to have enemies

The proclamation of the Gospel so that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God

If these are the things that our Great High Priest does, then they are also the essence of the baptismal priesthood we share in through him. They are the things we need to work toward. And, through the Holy Spirit, he gives us the Sevenfold Gifts that we need to be the priests he has called us to be.