How many Spiritual Gifts are there?

How Many Spiritual Gifts Are There?

The Scripture lists 21 different Spiritual Gifts.

There are four different passages of Scripture where Spiritual Gifts are identified by name: Ephesians 4:11-12, Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-10, 28 and 1 Peter 4:10-11.

While there are certainly other references that speak of the operation of Spiritual Gifts or show the powerful result of their exercise, it is from these four passages that we construct a list of 21 Spiritual Gifts for our consideration.

Listed alphabetically, they are:

Apostle – Eph. 4:11; 1 Cor. 12:28

Administration – 1 Cor. 12:28

Discerning of Spirits – 1 Cor. 12:10

Encouragement – Rom. 12:8 (Exhortation)

Evangelism – Eph. 4:11

Faith – 1 Cor. 12:9

Giving – Rom. 12:8

Hospitality – 1 Pet. 4:10-11

Healing – 1 Cor. 12:9; 1 Cor. 12:28

Word of Knowledge – 1 Cor. 12:8

Leadership – Rom. 12:8

Mercy – Rom. 12:8

Working of Miracles – 1 Cor. 12:10

Pastor – Eph. 4:11

Prophecy – Eph. 4:11; Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:10, 28  

Service (and Helping) – Rom. 12:7; 1 Pet. 4:10-11; 1 Cor 12:28

Speaking – 1 Pet. 4:10-11

Teaching – Eph. 4:11; Rom. 12:7; 1 Cor. 12:28

Tongues – 1 Cor. 12:10

Interpretation of Tongues – 1 Cor. 12:10

Word of Wisdom – 1 Cor. 12:8

I should point out that some teachers view this list as “sampling” of the kinds of Spiritual Gifts the Holy Spirit makes available to the believer, rather than seeing the list as a “closed catalog.”

They point to Dream Interpretation (See Gen. 41:1-45; Ex.  Dan. 2:1-49), and/or Artistry (see Ex. 31:1-6) as mentioned in the Old Testament as examples.

But for our purposes, we will focus on the 21 Spiritual Gifts identified in the New Testament.

Because it is difficult to remember 21 Spiritual Gifts, it is helpful to break them into three different categories or subgroups.

1. Support Gifts/ Ministry Gifts
2. Service Gifts/ Motivational Gifts
3. Sign Gifts/ Manifestation Gifts

We’ll look into each of the designations for the categories shortly, but for now, let’s see how they layout.

Support Gifts / Ministry

• Apostle – Eph. 4:11; 1 Cor. 12:28
• Prophecy – Eph. 4:11; Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:10, 28  
• Evangelism – Eph. 4:11
• Pastor – Eph. 4:11
• Teaching – Eph. 4:11; Rom. 12:7; 1 Cor. 12:28

Service Gifts / Motivational

• Administration – 1 Cor. 12:28
• Encouragement – Rom. 12:8 (Exhortation)
• Giving – Rom. 12:8
• Hospitality – 1 Pet. 4:10-11
• Leadership – Rom. 12:8
• Mercy – Rom. 12:8
• Service (and Helping) – Rom. 12:7; 1 Pet. 4:10-11; 1 Cor 12:28
• Speaking – 1 Pet. 4:10-11

Sign Gifts / Manifestations of the Spirit

• Discerning of Spirits – 1 Cor. 12:10
• Word of Knowledge – 1 Cor. 12:8
• Word of Wisdom – 1 Cor. 12:8
• Faith – 1 Cor. 12:9
• Healing – 1 Cor. 12:9; 1 Cor. 12:28
• Discerning of Spirits – 1 Cor. 12:10
• Working of Miracles – 1 Cor. 12:10
• Tongues – 1 Cor. 12:10
• Interpretation of Tongues 1 Cor. 12:10
• Prophecy – 1 Cor. 12:10

Now that we have each of the Spiritual Gifts placed in one of the three categories, let’s look into each of these and add some detail to help our understanding.

First of all, let’s consider the Support Gifts / Ministry Gifts

1. Apostle – Eph. 4:11; 1 Cor. 12:28
2. Prophecy – Eph. 4:11; Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:10, 28  
3. Evangelism – Eph. 4:11
4. Pastor – Eph. 4:11
5. Teaching – Eph. 4:11; Rom. 12:7; 1 Cor. 12:28

As you can see from the designation given to this category, these five giftings are often associated with those serving in one of the Five-Fold Ministries: Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor (Shepherds) and Teacher as Paul lays out in Ephesians 4:11.

In this passage, the Apostle Paul indicates that these particular people not only possess Spiritual Gifts, but they themselves are actually gifts given by Jesus to his Church.

As we’ll see when we open this subject in a later study, most often these individuals function in some measure of ministry in the Word, be it preaching, teaching, exhorting, etc.

Also, I refer to these as “Support Gifts” because they undergird each of the other Spiritual Gifts found in the other categories.

The purpose of the Support Gifts is to accomplish two primary goals: First, to equip the believers for the work of the ministry, and secondly, to bring the Church to a place of maturity.

Next, let’s look at Service Gifts / Motivational Gifts

1. Administration – 1 Cor. 12:28
2. Encouragement – Rom. 12:8 (Exhortation)
3. Giving – Rom. 12:8
4. Hospitality – 1 Pet. 4:10-11
5. Leadership – Rom. 12:8
6. Mercy – Rom. 12:8
7. Service (and Helping) – Rom. 12:7; 1 Pet. 4:10-11; 1 Cor 12:28
8. Speaking – 1 Pet. 4:10-11

It is clear through a solid study of Scripture and a keen examination of life-experiences, that each Christian is given a primary Service / Motivational Gift.

In other words, inside each believer is a dominant Service Gift / Motivational Gift that is uniquely intertwined with their personality and makeup. Notice that the Spiritual Gifts of “Prophecy” and “Teaching” found in the Support Gifts / Ministry Gifts category are also listed in Romans 12:6-7 among the Service Gifts / Motivational Gifts.

This tells us that these gifts, and the others that Five-Fold Ministers may exercise, are distributed widely throughout the Church. In other words, a believer may not be called to a Five-Fold Ministry Office, but still be gifted by the Holy Spirit to function in one of these respective roles.

Our third category is Sign Gifts / Manifestations of the Spirit

1. Discerning of Spirits – 1 Cor. 12:10
2. Word of Knowledge – 1 Cor. 12:8
3. Word of Wisdom – 1 Cor. 12:8
4. Faith – 1 Cor. 12:9
5. Healing – 1 Cor. 12:9; 1 Cor. 12:28
6. Discerning of Spirits – 1 Cor. 12:10
7. Working of Miracles – 1 Cor. 12:10
8. Tongues – 1 Cor. 12:10
9. Interpretation of Tongues 1 Cor. 12:10
10. Prophecy – 1 Cor. 12:10

We find the nine Sign Gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 where they are each described as a “manifestation of the Spirit” (v7). These Spiritual Gifts are given to believers to reveal the power of Christ in any given situation.

While some Christians may be used in a particular manifestation of the Spirit quite regularly, all believers can be used by the Spirit at any moment should the Spirit lead.

In conclusion, there are a total of 21 different Spiritual Gifts mentioned in Scripture, which can be found in the following passages: Ephesians 4:11-12, Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-10, 28 and 1 Peter 4:10-11.