Many people, even in church are not taught about spiritual gifts. Even throughout the bible, Paul taught about the different gifts that we were given. In Romans, Corinthians and other books of the Bible, God gives power to the people and He shows the needs for the people to have gifts so that the church can function in a proper way.
The gifts can come in different groups such as in Ephesians 4:11, establishing the gifts, as apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists like in Corinthians 12:29 and other gifts that help to build the churches.
The gifts of teaching, giving, encouraging, prophecy, leadership, mercy, and service are all gifts that are found in Romans 12:6-8 and they help the church to be more responsible and helpful.
Other gifts, the ministry gifts include prophecy, administration, healing, knowledge, wisdom, faith, miracles, helps, understanding spirits, speaking, and interpreting tongues. These are Holy Spirit gifts that are found in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 and 27-31.
The congregation needs to have gifts and be able to act responsibly in the church so that they can manifest God’s word and work through the Holy Spirit.
If you want to figure out your gifts and identify them, here are a few ways to do that:
What is a Spiritual Gift?
A spiritual gift is a gift that God gives us through the Holy Spirit so that we can work in the lives of others and work in the church to execute Christ’s mission here on the earth.
Difference Between Gifts and Talents
Having a talent is something that you are able to do in the physical body including things such as working, playing music, building, art and more. A spiritual gift is something that you can do with a spiritual ability.
Natural talents can help people that have spiritual gifts to build their gifts such as a singer on the worship team or someone that has musical talents and can play in the worship band.
Signs of Spirituality
Being like Christ is when the fruits of the spirit will show and not through the giftings that people have (Galatians 5:22-23).
God might choose to take a new Christian and give them a spiritual gift such as speaking in the tongue but it is through their actions or their fruits that they will be known as to who they are (Matthew 7:16).
Satan can take gifts and imitate them and make people feel that they are living by the spirit and having the fruits of the spirit, so people need to be careful.
Do All Believers Have a Gift?
All believers are given some kind of God-given gift and this can be found in 1 Corinthians 12:6-7 and Romans 12:3.
How Many Gifts Are There?
According to the Bible, there are at least twenty-two different gifts such as pastors and teachers, apostles, prophets, understanding spirits, powers of healing, tongues, interpretation of tongues, leadership, mercy, giving, encouraging, service, faith, knowledge, wisdom, evangelism, celibacy and more (1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28-29; Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:11 and 1 Corinthian 7:7).
Getting Gifts
A believer will get their gift or know their gift when God gives it. There is no real answer to this question. Look at 2 Timothy 1:6 for more information.
Gifts They Want
The Holy Spirit gives people the gifts that He wants them to have and there is no gift that someone can just choose. The Bible talks to us about asking us to pray for other people and to be faithful with the gifts He gives us (1 Corinthian 12:29-31, 12:7, 8-9, 11).
Operation
Gifts are for people who are mature enough to work their gifts and they will do things to develop their gifts. Their gifts will work with others (Romans 12:4-6).
Winning People to Christ
Having a gift does not excuse you from winning people to Christ. We are all supposed to share the gospel with others no matter if we are working in our gifts or not.
Losing Spiritual Gifts
You can lose your gifts if you choose not to develop them. This is seen as a parable in Matthew 25:14-30. The gifts that the Holy Spirit gives you are talents and you are supposed to use them.
Important Gifts
Some gifts are more important such as speaking in tongues. Other gifts have value based on how useful they are. Paul wrote about the gifts throughout 1 Corinthian such as in 1 Corinthians 12:31. People should love their gifts and they should want to work hard on their gifts God gives them.
Misusing Gifts
Gifts can be misused such as the gift of tongues. Paul showed that when you speak in tongues without someone there and the gift is not interpreted that it can cause confusion in the church.
When a person misuses their gift such as a gift of tongues, the church should encourage those people to use their gifts in a private setting. They should use their gifts for worship and not be confused.
There are guidelines for using gifts and people should be careful when they speak and use their gifts, especially during a church service.
Scripture
Gifting is all throughout the bible and there are different manmade tools that people can use to try to figure out what kind of spiritual gifts they have. It is important that people understand their giftings and these tests can be helpful to help people know what Christ wants from them.
The spiritual gift test can help to identify gifts based on natural talents and the Holy Spirit can help to make the gifts work well with someone.
Spiritual gift tests can be useful, but we still have to be cautious when we talk about gifts.
Gifts of Tongue and Prophecy
God’s word talks about tongues and it being a gift that God’s spirit gives to some people. There are different ideas and thoughts on it and there is not definite list of gifts.
Some people operate in this gift while others do not and it is often believed that the Holy Spirit will build the church with the gifts He wants them to have and it is something that we should give to the Holy Spirit to control.
Identifying Your Gifts
Here are some things you can ask yourself to know your giftings.
- What do I like to do?
- How does the Bible reach my soul?
- What is the Holy Spirit speaking to me?
- What gifts operate in me?
- What ministry is God blessing me to do?
We must learn to live in obedience to God and if we are aware of having a gift, we have to be careful to know that it is for sure God.
Spiritual Gift Test
The spiritual gift test can help you to figure out what kind of talents and purposes you have. This is a way that you can begin serving in the church, with the strengths that you have. Serving God should be with all of your heart.
Holy Spirit
Make sure that you are listening to what the Holy Spirit is telling you. You might have a gift, but you need to make sure that you are being called to that gifting and you can tell this through the word and through the Holy Spirit.
Excuse
Do not use the excuse of having a spiritual gift as a reason not to help others. Do what God would want you to do, regardless of your gifting.
Even if you have taken a spiritual gift, know that you have to follow God’s word in all areas and be obedient.
Practice
Christian’s having to remember that life is not hard, and we have to practice the giftings that God gives us. We must learn to have our gifts increased and we have to ask God to give us direction and the Holy Spirit to guide us.
The spiritual gifts that we have are needed in the body of Christ and even Paul talked about exercising gifts in 1 Timothy 4:14.
Using your gifts, the right way will allow you to build your ministry and to help others along the way.
The guidelines for using spiritual gifts, especially during church services, are well outlined. Avoiding confusion and ensuring proper usage is essential for maintaining order.
The article provides a comprehensive overview of the various types of spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible. It is vital for congregations to understand these distinctions to better function collectively.
The mention of spiritual gift tests is intriguing. While they can be helpful, it’s wise to approach them with caution and always seek guidance from the Holy Spirit.
The differentiation between natural talents and spiritual gifts is well explained. It’s important to recognize that while talents can enhance our spiritual gifts, they are not the same.
I appreciate the emphasis on the need for maturity and responsibility when it comes to utilizing spiritual gifts. It’s a crucial point that often gets overlooked.