The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: - Vital Christianity

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Aquinas passed no judgment on the continuation or cessation of individual gifts, nor did he
see any distinction between natural and supernatural gifts. All the gifts were seen as special
graces, whether knowledge, demonstration or expression. All relate to God's supernatural
revelation and are congruent with it. 25
There is no question that some spiritual gifts (especially the "sign gifts") became rare during
the time of the Middle Ages. They waned, however, not because they were no longer needed
but because the church was departing from New Testament principles and practices.
Political and social developments highly influenced the church's attitude toward spiritual gifts.
After the Western part of the Roman Empire fell in the fifth century, Christian thought and life
divided and separated. The Roman or Latin tradition developed a different attitude toward
spiritual gifts and worship in general than that of the Greek or Orthodox tradition.
In the West, the church was pressured to exercise many functions of secular authority and
thus became very practical in orientation. This led to an authoritative pattern of leadership in the
church which so emphasized unity of the body that there was little, if any, room for diversity.
Authority, not individual religious expression, was the emphasis. Thus the congregational exercise
of spiritual gifts held little place in the life of the church. 26
It was quite different in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire which retained a strong central
government at Constantinople until 1451. This provided a stable society in which the church
could develop. Therefore it was not pressured to take over the secular functions assumed by the
church in the West.
The Eastern Orthodox church continued to be more mystical and other worldly encouraging
introspection, individuality and religious experiences. They encouraged diversity in which the gifts
of the Spirit could be developed and used in freedom. All the spiritual gifts, with the possible
exception of tongues, have always been regarded as normative by virtually all of the Eastern
Orthodox Church. 27
The Reformation
With the Reformation period came an extraordinary outburst of prophecy where special
revelations of the Spirit were again claimed. The problem of spiritual gifts was posed in an acute
form for the reformers. The Zwingly band under the leadership of Storch brought confusion to
Wittenberg with the new prophesying until Luther chased them away with the Word and Spirit. 28