Laura J. Davis

How are spiritual gifts supposed to work within the church body? How do I know what spiritual gifts I have? What does the Bible say about spiritual gifts?

Since so many new Christians (and sometimes older ones) question whether they have any gifts at all, I think it is essential to properly understand what gifts God has given us and how we are to use them. So, I’m going to look at the subject of Spiritual Gifts for the next little while. And I will also examine the touchy subject of whether or not some gifts no longer exist. Some people say they all exist, others say they don’t. So I hope you will join me on this journey as we examine what the Bible says about Spiritual Gifts.

Spiritual Gifts

Let’s start by listing all the Spiritual Gifts found in Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, and 2 Peter.

• Prophecy (Romans 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:10; 1 Cor. 13:2; 1 Cor. 14:1; 2 Peter 1:19-21)
• Ministry or Serving (Romans 12:7)
• Teaching (Romans 12:7; 1 Cor. 14:6; 1 Cor. 14:26)
• Exhortation (Romans 12:8; 1 Cor. 14:3)
• Giving (Romans 12:8)
• Leading (Romans 12:8)
• Mercy (Romans 12:8)
• Word of Wisdom (1 Cor. 12:8)
• Word of Knowledge (1 Cor. 12:8)
• Faith (1 Cor. 12:9)
• Healing (1 Cor. 12:9)
• Miracles (1 Cor. 12:10)
• Discernment (1 Cor. 12:10)
• Tongues (1 Cor. 12:10, 28)
• Interpretation of Tongues (1 Cor. 12:10)
• Helps (1 Cor. 12:28)
• Administration/Governing (1 Cor. 12:28)
• Evangelists (Ephesians 4:11)
• Pastors (Ephesians 4:11)
• Apostles (1 Cor. 12:28-29; 2 Cor. 12:11-12; Eph. 4:11)

Aren’t you amazed when you look at this list? God has equipped us with the necessary gifts we need to carry out His mission here on earth. Fortunately, He doesn’t give us every single gift. To do so would mean that the body of Christ would not need each other. Instead, He has blessed each of us with what we need to accomplish His plans for us as individuals. Think about that for a moment. Our gifts are given for two purposes: to enable us to reach others for Christ and to build up the church body. We are so blessed.

You may wonder which gift you have and if you have more than one. Be assured that every Christian has at least one or more of the gifts above. What gifts do you think you have? I’d love to know, and perhaps throughout this study, you will learn if you have more than you thought!