Why in the Reformed tradition the 7 spiritual gifts mentioned in Isaiah 11:1-3 are no longer taught?
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### Two lists of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Protestant vs. Catholic
In the **Evangelical church circles**, when they do retreats / workshops, when they talk about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, they usually mean what this [*Christianity.com* article](https://www.christianity.com/god/holy-spirit/what-are-the-seven-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit-scripture-meaning.html) lists, based on 1 Cor 12:8-10, Eph 4:7-13, and Rom 12:3-8:
1. **The Gift of Wisdom** - the gift to make choices and give leadership that is according to God's will.
1. **The Gift of Knowledge** - the gift to have a comprehensive understanding of a spiritual issue or circumstance.
1. **The Gift of Faith** - the gift to trust God and inspire others to trust God, no matter the conditions.
1. **The Gift of Healing** - the wondrous gift to use God's healing power to cure a person who is ill, wounded or suffering.
1. **The Gift of Miracles** - the gift to display signs and miracles that give credibility to God's Word and the Gospel message.
1. **The Gift of Prophecy** - the gift to declare a message from God.
1. **The Gift of Discerning Spirits** - the gift to recognize whether or not something is truly from God or in accordance with righteousness.
1. **The Gift of Tongues** - the gift to communicate in a foreign language that you do not have experience with, in order to converse with those who speak that language.
1. **The Gift of Interpreting Tongues** - the gift to interpret the speech and writings of a different language and translate it back to others in your own.
1. **The Gift of Administration** - the gift to keep things ordered and in agreement with God's principles.
1. **The Gift of Helps** - the gift of a desire and capacity to always help others, to do whatever it takes to get a task achieved.
But in the **Catholic church circles** the term "The Gifts of the Holy Spirit" usually means [the following seven](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_gifts_of_the_Holy_Spirit) , based on Isa 11:1-3:
1. **Wisdom, *sapientia***: the first and the greatest of the gifts. It acts upon both the intellect and the will, it illumines the mind and instills an attraction to the divine.
1. **Understanding, *intellectus***: helps one relate all truths to one's supernatural purpose; it further illuminates one's understanding of Sacred Scripture; and it assists us to understand the significance of religious ritual.
1. **Counsel, *consilium***: Counsel functions as a sort of supernatural intuition, to enable a person to judge promptly and rightly, especially in difficult situations.
1. **Fortitude, *fortitudo***: A willingness to stand up for what is right in the sight of God, even if it means accepting rejection, verbal abuse, or physical harm.
1. **Knowledge, *cognitiĆ* (or *scientia*)**: The gift of knowledge allows one, as far as is humanly possible, to see things from God's perspective.
1. **Piety, *pietas***: accords with reverence. A person with reverence recognizes his total reliance on God and comes before God with humility, trust, and love.
1. **Fear of the Lord, *timor Domini***: akin to wonder / awe. With the gift of fear of the Lord, one is made aware of the glory and majesty of God.
The Catholic list turns out to originate from the patristic period, [mentioned in St. Augustine's *De doctrina christiana*](https://taylormarshall.com/2010/02/augustines-seven-steps-to-wisdom-and.html) . Between the 11th and 13th centuries medieval theologians explored the connection between the Holy spirit gifts and the virtues until the theology of the gifts and virtues were settled with St. Thomas Aquinas's theology (see [Fr. Joseph d'Amécourt's lecture](https://soundcloud.com/thomisticinstitute/sets/on-the-holy-spirit-a-thomistic)) . This understanding of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit continues until today, shown by this 21st century [Aquinas 101 course, Lecture 96](https://aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org/the-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit) of the Thomistic Institute and this [Catholic Answer article](https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-seven-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit) .
### Question
Why the Reformed tradition didn't continue to teach the seven gifts identified by St. Augustine while continue to borrow and to teach St. Augustine's other doctrines such as the Original Sin and Predestination? Why the change? Is there any objection by the Reformed circle in using the equally Biblical seven gifts of Isa 11:1-3? (See The Seven Gifts and the Spiritual Arsenal section of [this article](https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-seven-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit) making the case how the gifts are connected to the Israelite Wisdom tradition.) After all, it was St. Augustine who originally [associate the seven gifts with the Beatitude blessings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_gifts_of_the_Holy_Spirit#Augustine:_relation_to_the_Beatitudes) in the sermon on the mount (in his [commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, Book 1](https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/16011.htm)) !
Asked by GratefulDisciple
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Oct 21, 2021, 06:14 PM
Last activity: Oct 30, 2021, 10:58 AM
Last activity: Oct 30, 2021, 10:58 AM