WHAT ARE YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS? PART ONE

What are Your Spiritual Gifts?

Spiritual gifts, is a concept present only in the New Testament, primarily in the Pauline Letters, although the idea of being empowered by the Holy Spirit for particular tasks is by no means alien to the ot (e.g., Judg. 3:10; Num. 11:29). Various Greek terms are employed when these are in mind, but most notably ta pneumatika, which emphasizes the spiritual origin of the gifts (pneuma means 'spirit'; see 1 Cor. 14:1), and, more often, ta charismata, which emphasizes that they are bestowed as an act of divine grace (charis means 'grace'; see Rom. 12:6). In distinction from 'the fruit of the Spirit,' which all Christians are to manifest without variation (Gal. 5:22-23), the gifts of the Spirit are understood to vary from one believer to another (Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; cf. 1 Pet. 4:10).
In the Letters of undisputed Pauline authorship, there are four separate listings of the Spirit's gifts (Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:8-10; 12:28; 12:29-30), but since no two of the lists are identical it seems clear that no one list is intended to be definitive. The various gifts may be grouped under three general headings:

The gifts of utterance include prophecy (Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:10, 28; cf. 1 Cor. 12:8; 14:6), with which the ability to distinguish between true and false prophecy is closely associated (1 Cor. 12:10; cf. 14:29 and 1 Thess. 5:19-21); instruction (Rom. 12:7; 1 Cor. 12:28; cf. 1 Cor. 14:6); speaking in tongues (1 Cor. 12:10, 28; cf. 14:1-19); and the ability to interpret speaking in tongues (1 Cor. 12:10, 30; cf. 14:5, 13).

The gifts of practical ministry are caring for the needy (Rom. 12:7-8): serving, encouraging (TEV), contributing, performing acts of mercy, and perhaps giving aid (1 Cor.12:28: helping); and administration (1 Cor. 12:28; perhaps giving aid in Rom. 12:8).

Healing (1 Cor. 12:9, 28) and performing miracles (1 Cor. 12:10, 28) are gifts of wonder-working faith, this 'faith' (1 Cor. 12:9; cf. 13:2) being distinguishable from the faith 'reckoned as righteousness' (Rom. 4:5) of which Paul usually writes.

The gift of apostleship, ranked first in 1 Cor. 12:28, is active in all three ways: in the ministry of the word (e.g., 1 Cor. 1:17; 4:17), in pastoral care (e.g., Rom. 15:25-29; Philemon), and in the working of miracles (e.g., 2 Cor. 12:12; Gal. 3:5). It is notable, however, that the lists in Eph. 4:11 and 1 Pet. 4:10-11 include only gifts of intelligible utterance and of practical ministry; there are no references to speaking in tongues or miracle working.

Responding to disruptions caused by speaking in tongues in his Corinthian congregation, Paul emphasized that every believer is graced by some gift and that all gifts are bestowed by 'the same Spirit' (1 Cor. 12:4-11). Nevertheless, since their purpose is to serve 'the common good' (12:7), he concluded that prophecy, intelligible to all, is to be preferred to speaking in tongues, intelligible only to God (unless there is an interpreter; 1 Cor. 14:1-5). See also Apostle; Corinthians, The First Letter of Paul to the; Holy Spirit, The; Miracles; Paul; Prophet; Teaching; Tongues, Speaking with.

by V.P.F. from Harper's Bible Dictionary

Dear Christian Friends,

Having considered the above, the question arises, What are your spiritual gifts?. What part of the Body of Christ are you? What function are you supposed to fulfill in God's great scheme of things?

In order to help you assess what spiritual gift or gifts you may have that the Holy Spirit wants to put to use in the Body of Christ, here is a website which gives an on-line "inventory" test which you can use to attempt to determine which spiritual gifts God has given you that you may not be aware of.

The website is called......"Spiritual Gift Assessment Tool"
and is to be found at http://www.lhbc.org/gifts/Serv/gift.html. The test itself is found at that website, and below are given some descriptions of the gifts themselves. At the website is also found examples where these gifts may be applied in the modern church. (Unfortunately, at present, this site is changing servers and may be down for a while. Look for it again later.)

Here are some exerpts from this site to help you understand the various gifts of the Spirit.

Exerpts from the Spiritual Gift Assessment website:

Descriptions of gifts...
Administration
The ability to understand what makes an organization function, and the special ability to plan and execute procedures that accomplish the goals of the ministry. People with this gift: develop strategies or plans to reach identified goals; assist ministries to become more effective and efficient create order out of organizational chaos-, manage or coordinate a variety of responsibilities to accomplish a task; organize people, tasks, or events.

Apostleship
The ability to start and oversee the development of new churches or ministry structures. People with this gift: pioneer and establish new ministries or churches; adapt to different surroundings by being culturally sensitive and aware: desire to minister to unreached people in other communities or countries; have responsibilities to oversee ministries or groups of churches: demonstrate authority and vision for the mission of the church.
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Craftsmanship
The ability to creatively design and / or construct items to be used for ministry. People with this gift: work with wood, cloth , paints, metal, glass, and other raw materials; make things which increase the effectiveness of others' ministries; enjoy serving with their hands to meet tangible needs; design and build tangible items and resources for ministry use; work with different kinds of tools and are skilled with their hands.

Creative Communication
The ability to communicate God's truth through a variety of art forms People with this gift use the arts to communicate God's truth; develop and use artistic skills such as drama, writing, art, music, dance, etc., use variety and creativity to captivate people and cause them to consider Christ's message; challenge people's perspective of God through various forms of the arts; demonstrate fresh ways to express the Lord's ministry and message.

Discernment
The ability to distinguish between truth and error, to discern the spirits, differentiating between good and evil, right and wrong. People with this gift: distinguish truth from error, right from wrong, pure motives from impure; identify deception in others with accuracy and appropriateness; determine whether a word attributed to God is authentic: recognize inconsistencies in a teaching, prophetic message, or interpretation; are able to sense the presence of evil.

Encouragement
The ability to present truth so as to strengthen, comfort, or urge to action those who are discouraged or wavering in faith. People with this gift: come to the side of those who are discouraged to strengthen and reassure them; challenge, comfort, or confront others to trust and hope in the promises of God; urge others to action by applying Biblical truth; motivate others to grow; emphasize God's promises and to have confidence in His will.

Evangelism
The ability to effectively communicate the gospel to unbelievers so they respond in faith and move toward discipleship. People with this gift: communicate the message of Christ with clarity and conviction; seek out opportunities to talk to unbelievers about spiritual matters; challenge unbelievers to faith and to become fully devoted followers of Christ; adapt their presentation of the gospel to connect with the individual's needs; seek opportunities to build relationships with unbelievers

Faith
The ability to act on God's promises with confidence and unwavering belief in God's ability to fulfill his purposes. People with this gift: believe the promises of God and inspire others to do the same; act in complete confidence of God's ability to overcome obstacles; demonstrate an attitude of trust in God's will and his promises; advance the cause of Christ because they go forward when others will not; ask God for what is needed and trust him for his provisions.

Giving
The ability to contribute money and resources to the work of the Lord with cheerfulness and liberality. It does not ask, "How much money do I give to God?" but, ³How much of Gods money do I keep?" People with this gift manage their finances and limit their lifestyle in order to give as much of their resources as possible; support the work of ministry with sacrificial gifts to advance the Kingdom; meet tangible needs that enable spiritual growth to occur, provide resources, generously and cheerfully, busting God for his provision; may have a special ability to make money so that they may use it to further God's work.

Helps
The ability to accomplish practical and necessary tasks which free-up, support, and meet the needs of others. People with this gift: serve behind the scenes wherever needed to support the gifts and ministries of others; see the tangible and practical things to be done and enjoy doing them, sense God's purpose and pleasure in meeting everyday responsibilities; attach spiritual value to practical service; enjoy knowing that they are freeing up others to do what God has called them to do.

Hospitality
The ability to care for people by providing fellowship, food, and shelter. People with this gift provide an environment where people feel valued and cared for, meet new people and help them to feel welcomed; create a safe and comfortable setting where relationships can develop; seek ways to connect people together into meaningful relationships; set people at ease in unfamiliar surroundings.

Intercession
The ability to consistently pray on behalf of and for others, seeing frequent and specific results. People with this gift: feel compelled to earnestly pray on behalf of someone or some cause; have a daily awareness of the spiritual battles being waged and pray; are convinced God moves in direct response to prayer, pray in response to the leading of the spirit, whether they understand it or not exercise authority and power for the protection of others and the equipping of them to serve.

Knowledge
The ability to bring truth to the body through a revelation or biblical insight. People with this gift: receive truth which enables them to better serve the body: search the scriptures for insight, understanding, and truth; gain knowledge which at times was not attained by natural means; have an unusual insight or understanding that serves die church; organize information for teaching and practical use.

Leadership
The ability to cast vision, motivate, and direct people to harmoniously accomplish the purposes of God. People with this gift provide direction for God's people or ministry; motivate others to perform to the best of their abilities; present the "big picture" for others to see; model the values of the ministry; take responsibility and establish goals.

God's blessings to each of you,
rECj/LJG

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