As Christians we are called to serve God in the church and in the world. Having been saved by God we have a responsibility and obligation to serve God. The question is, how do I serve God effectively with joy and passion? The answer is you need to discover your spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are bestowed on every Christian believer by the Holy Spirit. Know what gifts you have been given and use them for the glory of God and good of the people.

Let me introduce to you the spiritual gifts and hopefully you will be able to ascertain your spiritual gifts. Bible scholars classify these gifts differently (e.g., ministry gifts, manifestation gifts, and motivational gifts).^[1] There are four passages that discuss spiritual gifts. They are Rom. 12:3–8; 1 Cor. 12:8–10, 28–29; Eph. 4:11; and 1 Pet. 4:10–11.

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. (1 Pet. 4:10–11)

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. ⁷ If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. (Rom. 12:6–8)

To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. (1 Cor. 12:8–10)

Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those who can help others, those who have the gift of leadership, those who speak in unknown languages. Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? (1 Cor. 12:28–29)

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. (Eph. 4:11)

Definition of Spiritual Gifts

What are Spiritual Gifts?

The term “spiritual gifts” comes from the Greek words charismata (gifts) and pneumatikon meaning “expression of Spirit.” While there are different kinds of gifts (1 Cor. 12:4), generally speaking, spiritual gifts are God-given graces (special abilities, offices, or manifestations) meant for works of service, to benefit and build up the body of Christ as a whole. So, Spirit Gifts can be best defined in this way:

Spiritual gifts are special abilities sovereignly given by the Spirit of God to all the saints at the time of salvation to empower them for service in the church and community.

What are Some Implications?

1. All do not have the same gift and no one has every gift.
2. All believers have at least one gift or gift-mix.
3. They are sovereignly given.
4. Spiritual gifts are given for the common good.
5. All spiritual gifts given are to be used for the good of the people and glory of God.
6. All gifts are valid because the perfect has not come (1 Cor. 13:12–13).
7. Your spiritual gifts will determine your ministry.
8. Once given by the Holy Spirit, the gifts will never be taken away.
9. The purpose of spiritual gifts is 1 Pet. 4:10 (employ it for one another) and 1 Cor. 12:7 (for the common good).

Dynamics of Spiritual Gifts

How many spiritual gifts are there?

Although opinions differ on the actual number of spiritual gifts, God’s Word clearly indicates a variety of gifts. Scholars agree what is given is not an exhaustive list.

Definition of Terms

1. Ministry of Discernment

1. Wise Speech: the special ability to diagnose a situation or problem and give practical advice when needed. It is also saying or doing the right thing at the right time.

2. Putting deepest knowledge into words: the special ability to disclose facts concerning the people’s problems and needs through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. It is also the ability to understand the deep things of God.

3. Distinguishing spirits: the special ability to detect whether a person’s action and attitude is prompted by the Holy Spirit or evil spirit.

2. Ministry of Deeds

1. Stirring speech: the special ability to listen to people’s problems and give verbal encouragement to them.

2. Giving: the special ability to give money, time, talents, and treasures sincerely, wholeheartedly and generously with joy and abandonment out of one’s resources.

3. Helping others in distress: the special ability to feel for and help those in distress who are especially ignored by society.

4. Service: the special ability to do things needed to be done no matter how trivial it is.

5. Hospitality: the special ability to make guests feel at ease and at home by providing lodging, food, and friendship.

3. Ministry of Demonstration

1. Faith: the special ability to trust God for anything humanly impossible and obtaining results.

2. Healings: the special ability to heal a person physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

3. Miraculous power: the special ability to perform supernatural and extraordinary things beyond human capability.

4. Tongue speaking: the special ability to speak in another language one has never learnt before.

5. Interpretation of tongues: the special ability to interpret the meaning of the language (ecstatic utterance?) spoken by someone else.

4. Ministry of Declaration

1. Teaching: the special ability to communicate and transmit God’s truth simply and clearly that leads to desirable change.

2. Administration: the special ability to manage and organize things through people.

3. Leadership: the special ability to serve, motivate, and lead people to undertake a task.

4. Apostle: the special ability to work in another culture and do pioneering work and church planting and growth. Today, people also called it missionary.

5. Prophet: the special ability to proclaim God’s message with power and conviction.

6. Pastor-Teacher: the special ability to care for the needs and welfare of the members and feeding them through preaching and teaching the words.

7. Evangelist: the special ability to present Christ convincingly to outsiders that lead them to repentance.

5. Others

1. Singlehood: the special ability to remain single and enjoying.

2. Martyrdom: the special ability to undergo suffering for one’s faith even to the point of death yet display an attitude of victory and joy.

3. Poverty: the special ability to live a lifestyle of poverty through the voluntary renunciation of material comfort and luxury.

4. Exorcism: the special ability to cast out demons and evils spirits.

5. Intercession: the special ability to intercede for others for an extended period of time on a regular basis and seeing prayer answered.

What are the differences?

Between talents/skills and spiritual gifts. Both Christians and non-Christians have talents/skills. They can be inborn, learned, and be developed. Only Christians can have spiritual gifts and they are given by the Holy Spirit supernaturally at conversion.

Between fruit of the Spirit and gifts of the Spirit. It is Character versus Capabilities/Abilities. The fruit of the Spirit needs to be cultivated and depends on spiritual growth and maturity, while spiritual gifts are given at conversion. You judge a person not by his/ her gifts but by the fruit(s) he/ she produces.

Between gifts and roles. For instance, let us look at the gift of giving and grace of giving, or the gift of faith and grace of faith. Even though we may not have the gift of giving, we have a role to give money to God’s work. In other words, not having the gift of witnessing does not mean we do not have to do our part in witnessing!