What are Spiritual Gifts in the Bible & How Do They Work?
A Spiritual Gift is a supernatural ability given by grace to a Christian by the Holy Spirit to strengthen the Church and reveal Jesus Christ to the world.
How do we arrive at the definition?
Well, let's break down the phrase "Spiritual Gift" and see what we find.
First of all, a Spiritual Gift is "Spiritual."
In other words, it doesn't find its origin or action in something that is "Natural," such as human energy or ingenuity.
Instead, a Spiritual Gift finds its source, motivation, and operation in and through the person of the Holy Spirit.
Next, it is a "Gift" freely given by grace to a Christian.
Therefore, because it is a gift, it cannot be earned.
In other words, a Spiritual Gift is received, not achieved!
If it could be earned, it would be called a "wage" and not a "gift."
So, there is no reason to stress out.
So, it is helpful if you think of Spiritual Gifts as "Grace-Gifts," for you'll see, as we study this topic, that Spiritual Gifts are most often mentioned in the context of grace.
In this beginner's guide to spiritual gifts, we will take a closer look at what you need to know about Spiritual Gifts in the Bible and how they work.
We'll cover everything you need to know, including:
- The purpose of spiritual gifts
- How many spiritual gifts there are
- How you can discover your spiritual gifts
The Purpose of Spiritual Gifts
As we reconsider our working definition, we see that Spiritual Gifts are given "to strengthen the Church and reveal Jesus Christ to the world."
If we break that down, we see that the purpose of Spiritual Gifts is to strengthen the Church by equipping and encouraging believers and to evidence the Living Christ to an unbelieving world.
This is seen particularly in three ways:
1. Spiritual Gifts Are Given To Equip
In writing to the believers at Ephesus, Paul tells them that every believer is to be actively engaged in "the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ" (Eph. 4:12).
In other words, every believer is a minister and should seek to function in the area of ministry for which they have been equipped.
Said another way, we will be the most effective in ministry when we serve in our Spiritual Giftedness area.
Indeed, it is possible to muster our natural strengths, talents, and abilities and push our way through to some measure of success.
But how much more glorifying to God will it be when we serve within the areas for which He has spiritually gifted us by His grace.
2. Spiritual Gifts Are Given To Encourage
While our Spiritual Gifts can bring great joy to us personally, Spiritual Gifts are given to enable us to encourage, edify, and strengthen other believers.
In Acts 15:32, we read about two believers, Judas and Silas, who were prophets. The Scriptures tell us that as they exercised their Spiritual Gifts, they, "encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words."
This is in line with Paul's admonition to the Corinthians regarding their exercise of prophecy. Here, the Apostle underscores the fact that "the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation" (1 Cor. 14:3).
In our zeal to understand our Spiritual Gifts let us each determine to yield to Paul's encouragement and "strive to excel in building up the church" (1 Cor. 14:12).
3. Spiritual Gifts Are Given To Evidence
Moving outside of the Church, Spiritual Gifts enable the believer to evidence the message of Jesus' Lordship to an unbelieving world.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians act as representatives of Jesus by utilizing their Spiritual Gifts and allowing Jesus to move through them to bless a world in need.
The book of Hebrews tells us, "God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will" (Heb. 2:4).
Likewise, as Christians faithfully declared the Gospel of Jesus, "the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs" (Mark 16:20).
Additionally, suppose an unbeliever were to come into a gathering of believers. In that case, it is the exercise of Spiritual Gifts that would cause them to fall on their face, worship God and, "declare that God is really among you" (1 Cor. 14:24-25).
How many spiritual gifts are there?
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
1 Peter 4:10-11.
While there are other scriptures that speak about Spiritual Gifts or show the powerful result of their exercise, however, it is from these four passages that we construct a list for our consideration.
Taken together, these Scriptures list 21 different Spiritual Gifts.
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 list."
They point to Dream Interpretation (See Gen. 41:1-45; Ex. Dan. 2:1-49) or Artistry (see Ex. 31:1-6), as mentioned in the Old Testament as examples.
However, for our purposes, we will focus on the 21 Spiritual Gifts identified in the New Testament.
Because it can be difficult to remember 21 different Spiritual Gifts, it helps to place them in three different categories or subgroups.
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 Gift / Manifestation *
- Discerning of Spirits – 1 Cor. 12:10
- Faith – 1 Cor. 12:9
- Healing – 1 Cor. 12:9; 1 Cor. 12:28
- Word of Knowledge – 1 Cor. 12:8
- Working of Miracles – 1 Cor. 12:10
- Tongues – 1 Cor. 12:10
- Interpretation of Tongues – 1 Cor. 12:10
- Word of Wisdom – 1 Cor. 12:8
(* Note that "Prophecy" is listed under "Support Gifts")
Now that we have the Spiritual Gifts 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
- 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
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.
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
- 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
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, resident within 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
- Discerning of Spirits – 1 Cor. 12:10
- Faith – 1 Cor. 12:9
- Healing – 1 Cor. 12:9; 1 Cor. 12:28
- Word of Knowledge – 1 Cor. 12:8
- Working of Miracles – 1 Cor. 12:10
- Tongues – 1 Cor. 12:10
- Interpretation of Tongues – 1 Cor. 12:10
- Word of Wisdom – 1 Cor. 12:8
(* Note that "Prophecy" is listed under "Support Gifts")
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.
For our purposes, it will be helpful to divide the Sign Gifts / Manifestations of the Spirit into three distinct subgroups that highlight their unique function.
1. Power to Know – Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Discerning of Spirits
2. Power to Speak – Prophecy, Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues
3. Power to Act – Faith, Gifts of Healing, Working of Miracles
In a future study, we will delve into each of these Spiritual Gifts' exercise, mining the beautiful truths about each spiritual gift and giving Biblical examples of their use and practice.
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How can you discover your spiritual gifts?
It can be challenging to connect the dots between what the Bible says about spiritual gifts and what is happening in your own life.
Here are two super practical steps to discovering your spiritual gifts.
1. How is God moving in your life?
Many people don't know what spiritual gifts are supposed to look like.
They assume that if it is spiritual, it must be some carry with it some mystical feeling.
Now, this analogy may sound a bit silly.
But if it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck, and quacks like a duck – it's most likely a duck.
In the same way, if it looks like a spiritual gift, moves like a spiritual gift, and sounds like a spiritual gift - it's most likely a spiritual gift.
It is a common mistake to assume that spiritual gifts function as a divine takeover of the Holy Spirit, where a person loses control of their own will, and God takes over.
I can tell you confidently this is not the case.
Just because the word spiritual goes before the word gift, it should not cause you to picture a mystical takeover.
And for that matter, why would the gifts of the Spirit contradict a fruit of the Spirit self-control?
No matter what the spiritual gift is, it will operate through your life and unique personality.
Because of this, we are often too close to ourselves to perceive how God is working through us.
Other people around you may see you as incredibly merciful or quick to serve. And you may think to yourself that isn't a spiritual gift in your mind; everyone is like that.
That's not true.
God has given you unique spiritual gifts, and sometimes we are too close to perceive them.
So, practically talk to someone who knows you (pastor, mentor, friend) and ask them how spiritual gifts they see in your life.
2. Take a Free Spiritual Gift Test.
I want to be clear.
The first point about talking to someone is most important.
But it can also be helpful to take a spiritual gift test to see where God is moving in your life.
To help you, I created this free spiritual gift test.
The test is comprised of 133 questions and takes just a few minutes to complete.
Once you complete it, you will get a detailed profile that ranks your Spiritual Gifts in percentages as well as a descriptive profile for each Spiritual Gift.
In closing,
Definition of A spiritual Gift
A Spiritual Gift is a supernatural ability given by grace to a Christian by the Holy Spirit to strengthen the Church and reveal Jesus Christ to the world.
The Purpose of Spiritual Gifts
Spiritual Gifts Are Given To Equip
Spiritual Gifts are Given to Encourage
Spiritual Gifts are Given to Evidence
How many spiritual gifts are there?
There are 21 spiritual gifts that can be divided into three categories
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 Gift / Manifestation *
- Discerning of Spirits – 1 Cor. 12:10
- Faith – 1 Cor. 12:9
- Healing – 1 Cor. 12:9; 1 Cor. 12:28
- Word of Knowledge – 1 Cor. 12:8
- Working of Miracles – 1 Cor. 12:10
- Tongues – 1 Cor. 12:10
- Interpretation of Tongues – 1 Cor. 12:10
- Word of Wisdom – 1 Cor. 12:8
(* Note that "Prophecy" is listed under "Support Gifts")
How can you discover your spiritual gifts?
Talk with someone close to you (pastor, mentor, friend)
Take a free spiritual gift test.
