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

  1. Only believers have spiritual gifts.  I Corinthians 2:14
  2. Every Christian has at least one gift.  I Corinthians 12:7
  3. No one receives all the gifts.  I Corinthians 12:27-30
  4. No single gift is given to everyone.  I Corinthians 12:29-30
  5. You can’t earn a spiritual gift.  Ephesians 4:7
  6. The Holy Spirit decides what gifts I get.  I Corinthians 12:11
  7. The gifts I’m given are permanent.  Romans 11:29
  8. I am to use/develop the gifts God gives me.  I Timothy 4:14
  9. It’s a sin to waste the gifts God gave me.  I Corinthians 4:1-2; Matthew 25:14-30
  10. Using my gifts glorifies God and grows me.  John 15:8

 

The Purpose of Spiritual Gifts

  1. Not for my benefit, but for others.  I Peter 4:10
  2. 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.