Spiritual Gifts
What does the Bible say about Spiritual Gifts?
“Now about spiritual gifts I do not want you to be ignorant.”
I Corinthians 12:1
Definition: a spiritual gift is a special ability, given by the Holy Spirit to every believer at their conversion, to be used to minister to others and therefore build up the body of Christ.
10 Truths
- Only believers have spiritual gifts. I Corinthians 2:14
- Every Christian has at least one gift. I Corinthians 12:7
- No one receives all the gifts. I Corinthians 12:27-30
- No single gift is given to everyone. I Corinthians 12:29-30
- You can’t earn a spiritual gift. Ephesians 4:7
- The Holy Spirit decides what gifts I get. I Corinthians 12:11
- The gifts I’m given are permanent. Romans 11:29
- I am to use/develop the gifts God gives me. I Timothy 4:14
- It’s a sin to waste the gifts God gave me. I Corinthians 4:1-2; Matthew 25:14-30
- Using my gifts glorifies God and grows me. John 15:8
The Purpose of Spiritual Gifts
- Not for my benefit, but for others. I Peter 4:10
- To produce maturity and stability in our church family. Ephesians 4:11, 13-14
Spiritual Gifts
Administration (organization): the ability to recognize gifts of others and recruit them to a ministry; to organize and manage people, resources, and time for effective ministry; to coordinate many details and execute the plans of leadership.
Apostleship (church planter): the ability to start new churches/ministries and oversee their development.
Craftsmanship: the ability to creatively design and/or construct items to be used for ministry.
Creative Communication: the ability to communicate God’s truth through a variety of art forms.
Discernment: the ability to distinguish right from wrong, truth from error, and to give an immediate evaluation based on God’s Word; to discern whether the source of an experience is Satan, self, or God’s Spirit.
Encouragement: the ability to motivate God’s people to apply and act on biblical principles, especially when they are discouraged or wavering in their faith; the ability to bring out the best in others and challenge them to develop their potential.
Evangelism: the ability to communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ to unbelievers in a positive, non-threatening way; to sense opportunities to share Jesus Christ and lead people to respond with faith.
Faith: the ability to trust God for what cannot be seen and to act on God’s promise, regardless of what the circumstances indicate; the willingness to risk failure in pursuit of a God-given vision, expecting God to handle the obstacles.
Giving: the ability to generously contribute material resources and/or money beyond the 10% tithe so that the Body may grow and be strengthened; to earn and manage money so it may be given to support the ministry of others.
Helps (service): the ability to recognize unmet needs in the church family and take the initiative to provide practical assistance quickly, cheerfully, and without a need for recognition.
Hospitality: the ability to make others, especially strangers, feel warmly welcomed, accepted, and comfortable in the church family; to coordinate factors that promote fellowship.
Intercession: the ability to pray for the needs of others in the church family over extended periods of time on a regular basis; to persist in prayer and not be discouraged until the answer arrives.
Knowledge: the ability to discover, collect, analyze, and organize information that is vital to individual believers or the entire church family; to comprehend a large amount of information and provide it when needed for effective decision making.
Leadership: the ability to clarify and communicate the purpose and direction (vision) of a ministry in a way that attracts others to get involved: to motivate others by example to work together in accomplishing a ministry goal.
Mercy: the ability to detect hurt and empathize with those who are suffering in the church family; to provide compassionate and cheerful support to those experiencing distress, crisis, or pain.
Preaching (prophecy): the ability to publicly communicate God’s Word in an inspired way that convinces unbelievers and both challenges and comforts believers; to persuasively declare God’s Will.
Pastoring (shepherding): the ability to care for the spiritual needs of a group of believers and equip them for ministry; to nurture a small group in spiritual growth and assume responsibility for their spiritual welfare.
Teaching: the ability to educate God’s people by clearly explaining and applying the Bible in a way that causes them to learn; to equip and train other believers for ministry.
Wisdom: the ability to understand God’s perspective on life situations and share those insights in a simple, understandable way; to explain what to do and how to do it.