Spiritual Gifts

“S” IN SHAPE

“The Holy Spirit displays God’s power through each of us as a means of helping the entire church” 1 Cor 12:7. Many of us have heard of Spiritual Gifts, but we are not quite sure we understand them. A Spiritual Gift is a special ability, given by the Holy Spirit to every believer at their conversion, to be used to minister to others and therefore build up the Body of Christ. Their use and purpose need to be understood and developed as we grow spiritually. A Spiritual Gift is much like a muscle; the more you use it, the stronger it becomes.

Unwrapping My Gifts

God wants you to know the Spiritual Gift(s) He has chosen for you. Learning more about His gift(s) to us, and the many ways we can use those gifts within the church and our community, is a lifelong process.

The Bible does not lock us into tight restrictions as to the number of Spiritual Gifts or even their definitions. The major lists of gifts, enablements and ministries are found in Rom 12:3-8; 1 Cor 12:1-11, 27 -31; Eph 4:11-16 and 1 Pet 4:9-11.

There are other passages that mention or illustrate gifts not included in these lists.

What Are the Gifts?

Different resources in this area provide quite varied lists of Spiritual Gifts. For the purposes of making it simpler in this resource we are using the seven Spiritual Gifts as outlined in Rom 12:6-8. Other Bible references mentioning “Gifts” of the Spirit include spiritual ennoblements and ministries also given by the same Spirit that are not necessarily Spiritual Gifts.

According to Rom 12:6-8:

• Prophecy Proclaiming God’s truth

• Serving Meeting practical need

• Teaching Clarifying truth from Scripture

• Exhortation Encouraging the faith of others

• Giving Losing yourself in the needs of others

• Ruling Providing leadership or standing before others

• Mercy Pity plus acting on the needs of others

Take time to explore further the theme of Spiritual Gifts and complete the SHAPE Workshop to discover yours.