Reviewing the Spiritual Gifts

Mike Hosey, Elder

For the past few weeks we've been looking at spiritual gifts. In that process, we've determined that spiritual gifts are different than talents. Talents are those abilities that we're born with, or that we've learned over time. They can be used for our own benefit, or for the benefit of others. In fact, we often use them to make our way in the world. Spiritual gifts, however, are those abilities that God has blessed us with after we have become Christians. These gifts are used for building God's church in the world. These gifts exist for the promotion of the common good of the church, rather than for our own personal good (1 Corinthians 12:7).

Here are some of the gifts (there are many more) that we've surveyed in the past few weeks:

Helps and Service (Romans 12:7, 1 Corinthians 12:28): These gifts exist for the maintenance of an established or growing church. They allow a person to use their resources or talents to bolster, support, or aid the ministry or condition of someone else. The people with this gift see a need and meet it without having to be asked.

Equipping Gifts (1 Corinthians 12:8, 1 Corinthians 12:28, Ephesians 4:11): These are gifts like pastoring/shepherding, prophecy, teaching, wisdom, or knowledge. These gifts exist for the building of the church. They all overlap. In it's plainest form, prophecy is being able to understand and proclaim the word and will of God to the people. Teaching is being able to organize the word of God, and and convey it to the people in a way that they can learn it. Wisdom and knowledge is being able to remember the word of God, understand it, and use it in one's daily walk. And pastoring is being able to guide and protect God's people with knowledge and understanding of his word.

Prayer and Worship Gifts (1 Corinthians 12:8-10): These gifts are also for the building up of the church. They include things like healing, miracles, prophecy, and discernment. The person with a gift of discernment, for instance, is able to tell when lies are being told, or when the intentions of someone are not pure, or when the bible is being twisted to fit an end for which it was not intended.

The Greatest Gift: But greater than all of these gifts is the singular gift of Jesus. Without Him as the head of our individual lives, or as the head of our church body, then there is no real church body to build up. The bible tells us that that God is love (1 John 4:8), and Paul tells us that love is the greatest of all spiritual elements (1 Corinthians 13:13). Once a person receives Him as the greatest gift, then he can be flooded with so many more.