Spiritual Gifts
I’m excited to talk more about Spiritual Gifts after leaving the conversation hanging slightly in our last week of the “Take My Life” series. As always, we are hearing from God by searching the scriptures and inviting His Holy Spirit to speak to us. This week, we’re inviting the Holy Spirit to show us more about himself and our relationship to Him. What are Spiritual gifts? How can we put them to use? Is there a definite list, or does the Bible give us a range, with wiggle room and nuance for how they actually show up in each individual? Let’s talk! As always, please feel free to reach out to me with questions (In person, or email me at nate@utmc.ca.)
Carla Quigley - Carla makes various works of art inspired by Christianity - she has an Etsy store here.
Anchor Texts:
Romans 12:4-8 NIV - For just as each of us has one body - Bible Gateway
Ephesians 4:7-14 NIV - But to each one of us grace has been - Bible Gateway
1 Corinthians 12:1-31 NIV - Concerning Spiritual Gifts - Now about - Bible Gateway
Questions to Ponder:
Pastor Nate talked about three categories of abilities today, they are: 1. ______________, 2._________________, 3.__________________.
If you’re following the message, write down Pastor Nate’s definitions of each:
2. How would you define a “talent” and what makes it different than a spiritual gift?
3. How would you define “virtue” and what makes it different from a spiritual gift?
4. How would you define spiritual gift?
5. Read Romans 12:4-8, try to put in your own words the point Paul is trying to make here. Note: His goal isn’t to make a spiritual gift list!
6. Just become something is “spiritual” doesn’t make it “good.” Can you think of some unhelpful or even dangerous spiritual practices? What makes them this way?
7. What were the three categories of spiritual gifts Pastor Nate mentioned? 1._____________, 2.______________, 3._______________
8. Read Ephesians 4:7-14 - What category do these gifts seem to fit in, and how mightthat help us understand the point Paul is making in his letter to the Ephesians?
The List of Gifts:
Please note that this is my (Pastor Nate’s) list compiled from my studies and Bible reading this week. There are other lists that use slightly different terms to denote the same gifts, and still others that include gifts that might not be on mine because they are inferred from passages of scripture. You may even find gift lists that are shorter than this one because they're only drawing on a certain passage or criteria.
I haveI have included a scripture reference and brief description of each gift.
Prophecy: The ability to speak forth God's messages, often for edification, and comfort (Romans 12:6).
Serving: The capacity to serve others selflessly and meet practical needs within the church (Romans 12:7).
Teaching: The ability to communicate and explain God's truth effectively to others (Romans 12:7).
Encouragement (Exhortation): The gift of motivating others toward spiritual growth and maturity (Romans 12:8).
Giving: The ability to give generously and cheerfully, often contributing resources for the benefit of the church and those in need (Romans 12:8).
Leadership: The gift of providing leadership, organization, and guidance within the church (Romans 12:8).
Mercy: The gift of showing compassion, empathy, and kindness to those who are suffering or in distress (Romans 12:8).
Wisdom: A deep understanding of God's truth and the ability to apply it practically to life situations (1 Corinthians 12:8).
Knowledge: Special insight and knowledge of God's Word and His will (1 Corinthians 12:8).
Faith: A supernatural ability to trust God and His promises in extraordinary circumstances (1 Corinthians 12:9).
Healing: The ability to pray for and witness physical, emotional, or spiritual healing in others through divine intervention (1 Corinthians 12:9).
Miracles: The ability to perform extraordinary signs and wonders, demonstrating God's power (1 Corinthians 12:10).
Distinguishing between spirits: The ability to discern the truth about a situation or the presence of spiritual influences (1 Corinthians 12:10).
Speaking in tongues: The ability to speak in languages not known to the speaker, often for the purpose of prayer or worship (1 Corinthians 12:10).
Interpretation of tongues: The ability to interpret the messages spoken in tongues (1 Corinthians 12:10).
Apostleship: motivators, church planters, missionaries: people who look beyond the walls (Eph 4:11 - 12)
Evangelism: the building up of the church so others will be led to Christ- (Eph 4:11 - 12)
Shepherding: looking out for the spiritual welfare of others - (Eph 4:11 - 12)
Hospitality: Making people feel welcome, appreciated, and wanted (1 Peter 4:9 NIV)
Discovery Resources:
Here I will include links to a few spiritualhere I will include links to a few spiritual gifts tests and a very brief summary of them. Please note: a spiritual spiritual gift survey may be an interesting resource for you to try but it cannot compare with godly conversation with a wise Christian friend and with time spent in prayer asking God to reveal your gift through studying the Bible, contemplation, and practicing in real life!
Spiritual Gifts Test - Discover your spiritual gifts! - This quiz is a simple, short survery that gives you your top five results at the end. I think this quiz will be most helpful to someone who has a few possible gifts in mind and would like to see whether a survey like this can confirm them.
Research Spiritual Gifts - The Spiritual Gifts Project - This features more detailed questions that may be a little more difficult to understand. The end result is a percentage match rating between your answers and each of the spiritual gifts. This is helpful to see how you score on each gift according to the questionaire.