Spiritual Gifts

Years ago when I was working for the Phone Company in Southern California, I was privileged to be able to lead a coworker to Jesus. After the Lord graciously opened up her heart and saved her, she immediately began growing in her faith. Jesus had transformed her so dramatically that she soon joined a Home Fellowship to meet other Christians and continue growing in her faith. After a few months of going to her new Home Fellowship, she asked me the following question:

“My Bible study teacher left me a message on my machine saying that Friday we will be doing spiritual gifts. I am unsure of what he meant. Do I go to the Christian Book Store to find them?”

To this day, that is still one of the sweetest, and most memorable questions I have ever been asked. What innocence and pureness of heart she had! How blessed God must have been that she was taking her new walk with Jesus so seriously, wanting to participate to the fullest at her home group, but just a bit uncertain about how to go about doing so. “Where do I go to find spiritual gifts? Do I go to the Christian Book Store to find them”?

What a great question, and an important question to ask. The reason this is such an important question to ask is because the Bible tells us that none of us should be “ignorant” about our “spiritual gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:1). The reason we should not be ignorant about our spiritual gifts is because we are all responsible for using them. The Bible tells us in Romans 12:6, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them...”

Since the Bible exhorts us to not be ignorant about our spiritual gifts, while at the same time we are also exhorted to “use them”, I think it is imperative that we truly understand what spiritual gifts are, how we obtain them, and what manner we are to use them in. This is what this article is dedicated to doing, shedding light on our spiritual gifts.

What are Spiritual Gifts?

The spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to every believer are special abilities that are to be used to minister to the needs of the body (Eph. 4:11-16). Spiritual gifts have nothing to do with our natural talents, skills, or abilities, as every person has when they are born. Spiritual gifts are sovereignly and supernaturally given to us by the Holy Spirit in order to effectively serve God with our lives (1 Cor. 12:7, 11).

What kind of Spiritual Gifts does the Holy Spirit give to us?

There are four primary places that the Bible addresses the type of spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit gives to us. 

1. Romans 12:3-8
2. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 28-30
3. Ephesians 4:11
4. 1 Peter 4:9-11

Here is a Spiritual Gifts List, which includes their definitions.

How do we obtain Spiritual Gifts?

The Bible tells us the Holy Spirit has given every believer a gift or multiple gifts that are to be used to fulfill God’s Calling upon our lives (1 Corinthians 12:4-6).

In what manner are we to use our Spiritual Gifts?

Because each of us has been given at least one spiritual gift, the Bible tells us that we are accountable to God for how we use them. The Bible instructs us in (1 Peter 4:10) to be “good stewards” of these gifts by serving others with our giftings so that God “may be glorified in all things” (1 Peter 4:11). It is also very important to note that our spiritual gifts were not given to us for our own benefit, but for the benefit of others (1 Peter 4:10-11). 

Jesus warns us of the enormous consequence of being a believer and not tapping into the gifts God has given to you in His sermon to the disciples in Matthew 25:14-30, that is why it is so important to respond to Paul's exhortation about spiritual gifts in Romans 12:6, where he commands us to "use them!"

Do Spiritual Gifts have parameters?

Because our gifts are “gifts” of the Spirit they must also bear fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), which will bear evidence to everyone that we truly “live in the Spirit, and walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25-26). In other words, everything we do when serving God should have the following character traits guiding our words and actions; "Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23).

Not only should these 9 characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit be manifested in and through all areas of our life (though we are all imperfect beings who fall short daily), but everything we do and say should be done for the glory of God (1 Peter 4:11), and not ourselves (1 Corinthians 1:31; 2 Corinthians 10:17).

Why are Spiritual Gifts essential to the life of a believer?

Evidence of the Holy Spirit 

First off, just as the Holy Spirit is the one who works in our lives to display Jesus in us to the world (Galatians 5:22-23), and through us in the world (Acts 1:8), so too do our spiritual gifts manifest the work of the Holy Spirit in us and through us to one another. In fact, Pastor Gene Wilkes puts it this way, "A spiritual gift is an expression of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers which empowers them to serve the body of Christ, the church."

Evidence of Fruit in the life of a Believer

Secondly, spiritual gifts are the tools that God uses in our lives to produce spiritual fruit through our lives. In fact, our spiritual gifts are actually the key to fulfilling God’s purpose for our life here on earth, and are the tools that God has given to us to bring Him glory (1 Peter 4:11), and build up the Kingdom of God on earth (Ephesians 4:11-16). 

In conclusion, I hope I have show you in this article that God has created each of us to make a specific contribution to the body of Christ, and to this lost world by using our spiritual gifts to serve God by serving one another. 

If you are unsure of what your spiritual gifts may be, talk to your pastor about taking a spiritual gifts test so that you can discover, develop, and begin living out God's purpose for your life to the fullest.