Product Description

Spiritual Gifts: Their Purpose & Power is a balanced, popular treatment of the gifts of the Spirit. The work includes teaching on thirty spiritual gifts from the Old and New Testaments. A biblically-grounded presentation that includes a clear understanding and respect for the various approaches to modern-day spiritual gifts.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #450324 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 308 pages

Customer Reviews

Excellent study material
If you are looking for a well-balanced book on Spiritual Gifts, this is it! In researching for a class I'm teaching in the Netherlands on the gifts I looked at and read numerous books on the topic. This was the most comprehensive and well-balanced I found. Bryan Carraway does an excellent job of approaching the topic objectively and always defers to the Bible whenever possible. This book is rooted in the Word and when Mr. Carraway offers his opinion, he's very careful to identify it as such. He clearly holds the Bible as authoritative in all things.

He begins by defining and explaining the the differing points of views on the matter ranging from the Charismatic movement to absolute cessationism. I thought he gave both sides, as well as those in between, a fair hearing and presented their cases fairly. Some of the best advice offered in the book is to obey your church leaders submissively and not be the cause of dissention. Once I read that, I knew I had the right book!!! If you're looking for ammunition to blast "the other side" this isn't the right book for you. If you, rather, are looking for a serious study on the gifts of the Spirit, what they are, where they come from, how they are ideally employed, how to grow them, and some examples in history of how they were used, this is the best choice I've found outside of the Bible.

The book is well documented with excellent footnotes as well as a very comprehensive "Spiritual Gifts Inventory" in the appendices. Many have been critical of these types of inventories claiming that we shouldn't limit the Spirit. I'm not one to speak for Mr. Carraway, but from reading his book, I suspect he would agree on the point of not limiting the Spirit. His inventory is properly used as a gauge for beginning to get an idea of where the Spirit is leading a person. I don't think any inventory should be used conclusively, but I do think it's accurate in identifying possible directions or confirming gifts.

Read this book and expand your horizons for letting God use you to carry out His will. I heartily give this book my warm recommendation.

Well Researched and Concise

"Spiritual Gifts" By Bryan Carraway is a welcome addition to the current teachings in this field. His approach to the subject is both relevant and relational. His explanations on the gifts gave me personal insight into areas I had been struggling with in my own life.

The book begins with an overview of God's interaction with people throughout the Scriptures. I really appreciate this foundation and the fact that the Old Testament is brought into consideration. This flows well with his argument that God has always been active in the gifts. He gives a well researched argument against cessationism (belief which states gifts ended with Apostles).

I also appreciated the outlining of the major beliefs -- constitutional versus manifestational and people like me who have a hybrid view on the subject.I have never been one for strict divisions when it comes to theology. But the classification system Mr. Carraway uses is helpful, if at least from the stance of study. Many gifts, I believe can overlap, but we do have to have some way of looking at them. The contemporary and biblical examples aide in understanding how the gifts operate on a practical level.

I appreciate the addition of a glossary so gifts can be referenced quickly. Also, the study questions and inventory self-exam.
I highly recommend this book, even if one has studied this field in depth.

A (Rare) Middle of the Road Position on Spiritual Gifts
I recently read several books on the gifts of the Spirit, in preparation for an adult Bible class I was asked to teach. I intentionally included both very conservative and very Charismatic texts, in order to be able to present the range of opinion on the subject. Brian Carraway's book is the delightful exception that takes a moderate, well-argued centrist position. Well worth reading for anyone interested in learning about spiritual gifts (hint: that should be all Christians).