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Spiritual Gifts
What can I do when I serve?
Spiritual gifts are divine empowerments, or abilities, that have been
given to each believer by God. As you begin to serve, you will begin to
discern an increasing awareness of your gifts -- through God's leading,
and through the affirmation of those with whom you serve. These gifts
are given as 'the manifestation of the spirit ... for the common good.'
The gift is the Holy Spirit working in and through you!
As you look at definitions for various spiritual gifts, remember that
these represent unique expressions of the Holy Spirit. The way the Holy
Spirit works through you is unique to you. How does God want to work
through you to impact the lives of others?
Listed below are some of the ways the Holy Spirit works through believers
-- not an exhaustive list. For scripture references about spiritual gifts,
see I Corinthians 12-14, Ephesians 4, I Peter 4:9-10, and Romans 12.
- Administration:
- understanding what makes an organization function, having the special
ability to plan and execute procedures to accomplish goals
- Apostleship:
- ability to start and oversee the development of new churches or
ministry structures
- Craftsmanship:
- ability to creatively design and/or construct items to be used
for ministry
- Creative Communication:
- ability to communicate God's truth through a variety of art forms
- Discernment:
- ability to distinguish between truth and error, and to discern the
spirits, differentiating between good and evil, right and wrong
- Encouragement:
- ability to present truth so as to strengthen, comfort, or urge to
action those who are discouraged or wavering in their faith
- Evangelism:
- ability to effectively communicate the gospel to unbelievers so they
respond in faith and move toward discipleship
- Faith:
- ability to act on God's promises with confidence and unwavering
belief in God's ability to fulfill his purposes
- Giving:
- ability to contribute money and resources to the work of the Lord
with cheerfulness and liberality. People with this gift do not
ask 'How much money do I need to give to God?' but, 'How much
money do I need to live on?'
- Healing:
- ability to be God's means for restoring people to wholeness
- Helps:
- ability to accomplish practical and necessary tasks which free-up,
support, and meet the needs of others
- Hospitality:
- ability to care for people by providing fellowship, food, and shelter
- Intercession:
- ability to consistently pray on behalf of and for others, seeing
frequent and specific results
- Interpretation:
- ability to make known to the body of Christ the message of one who
is speaking in tongues
- Knowledge:
- ability to bring truth to the body through a revelation or biblical insight
- Leadership:
- ability to cast vision, motivate, and direct people to harmoniously
accomplish the purposes of God
- Mercy:
- ability to cheerfully and practically help those who are suffering
or are in need, compassion moved to action
- Miracles:
- ability to authenticate the ministry and message of God through
supernatural interventions which glorify him
- Prophecy:
- ability to reveal truth and proclaim it in a timely and relevant
manner for understanding, correction, repentance, or edification.
There may be immediate or future implications
- Shepherding:
- ability to nurture, care for, and guide people toward on-going
spiritual maturity and becoming like Christ
- Teaching:
- ability to understand, clearly explain, and apply the work of God,
causing greater Christ-likeness in the lives of listeners
- Tongues:
- ability to speak, worship, or pray in a language unknown to the
speaker. People with the gift may receive a spontaneous message
from God which is made known to his body through the gift of
Interpretation
- Wisdom:
- ability to apply spiritual truth effectively to meet a need in a
specific situation
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