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Almost every Christian knows the term "spiritual gifts". Many of us know
what the term means (gifts of the Holy Spirit). We may even know that Paul writes of them in several of his letters (Romans, 1st Corinthians and
Ephesians). But what are the gifts exactly?
In 1st Corinthians 12:1-11, Paul writes: "Now, to each one the manifestation of the spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same spirit, to another faith by the same spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another the ability to speak in different tongues and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same spirit and he gives them to each one, just as he determines."
In first Corinthians 12:28, he reasserts the same thing: "In the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then
workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different
tongues."
Later, in Ephesians 4:11, Paul writes: "It was he who gave to some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and teachers, to prepare God's people..."
In Romans 12:6-8, Paul writes: "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophecy, let him use it in proportion to his
faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is
encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give; if it is leadership,
let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully."
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So what are the Gifts of the spirit?: According to Paul, they are the gifts of the holy spirit and include...
Helping
Mercy
Giving
Healing
Teaching
Knowledge
Wisdom
Leadership
Prophecy
Discernment
Encouraging
Ministering
Faith
Evangelism
Apostleship
Miracles
Tongues
Are there others? Most likely (who among us is going to try and limit what
God can do?), but these are the spiritual gifts mentioned directly by Paul in the New Testament, and are the gifts we focus on in our classes, seminars and consultancies.
Now, let's start looking at the gifts one by one. But before we do, let's take a quick look at what gifts we think we might have by taking a quick self
examination in lesson #3.
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