What are the Gifts of the Holy Spirit?

1 Corinthians 12:4-13

4     There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.

5     There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord.

6     God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

7     A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.

8     To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice*; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.*

9     The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.

10     He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in

11     It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

12     The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.

13     Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles,* some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.*

The Holy Spirit is the theme of this passage (9 times).

The Gifts of the Spirit (vs 4-11)

Spiritual gifts are special spiritual abilities to serve others. Gifts result in "ministries," which means service (vs 5). They are given "for the common good" (vs 7b).

They are therefore not power for self-advancement, as so many seminars and books imply. This is what the occult is all about! Nor are they given primarily for our self-gratification. This was the Corinthians' problem—they were using their gifts selfishly, to cop a buzz. Spiritual gifts are exciting and fulfilling to use—but they are to be expressions of serving love.

Because of this, the willingness to consistently serve other people is often a pre-condition for discovering our gifts. Those who want to discover their gifts before they serve have it backwards: serve, and you will eventually discover.

       

Every true Christian has at least one spiritual gift. This is clear from vs 7,11 ("each one").

Because of this, everyone has a significant contribution to make.

God decides which gifts we get. This is Paul's point in vs 11b.

        

As Paul points out later, God has decided that no one gets all the gifts (read vs 28-30). This is one of the ways God develops humility in us and appreciation of others.

This list (vs 8-10) is not exhaustive. We know this because in others passages (Rom. 12; Eph. 4), Paul refers to other gifts not mentioned here. Even all these gifts combined are probably only representative of the kinds of spiritual gifts God gives. Peter groups them into "speaking" and "serving" gifts (1 Pet. 4:10,11)  

 

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit puts Christ into us. The phrase "we were all made to drink of the same Spirit" refers to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. When we personally believe in Christ, he comes to live in our hearts through the Holy Spirit  (Rev. 3:20 Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.)

Here is God's basis for our unity. No matter what our gender, ethnic heritage, social status, or spiritual gifts, all Christians have the exact same standing before him, and we are all equally indwelt by him.

But there is more. These two ministries of the Holy Spirit also unite us with one another. Paul likens Christians to a human body (read vs 12). Though we retain our individuality (like body organs), we are all truly members of the same body. Therefore, as Paul states in Rom. 12:5, we are truly members of one another.

Romans 12

4     Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function,

5     so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

6     In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.

7     If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.

8     If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

Ephesians 4

11     Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.

12     Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

13     This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

14     Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.

15     Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

16     He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Gifts of the spirit are clearly distinguished from the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22). Jesus predicted the occurrence of false gifts, particularly in the end time (Matthew 24:24, 7:22,23). Hence while spiritual gifts are very important for a Christian, the fruit of the spirit is a better test of the genuineness of a person.

Gifts of the Spirit Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12,13 & 14, Ephesians 4

Apostle: One sent by God with a holy mission to fulfill; and the supernatural power and spiritual gifts to fulfill the mission. Known by the fruit of the spirit overflowing. Apostolic ministry involves laying foundation. In the case of Paul and Barnabas, we see this expressed in 'church planting' by preaching the Gospel in new areas. Apostles in scripture worked in teams. An apostolic team shared a 'measure of rule' in churches started through their ministry in regions where they are the first to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. (II Corinthians 10.)

Prophet: One who speaks, or communicates a message, authoratively, as moved by the Holy Ghost. Known by their good fruit.

Evangelist: Someone who desires that all should come to know the truth that God loves everyone so much that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for their redemption, or someone who is gifted to proclaim this message.

Pastor: A word that means 'shepherd.' Pastors are gifted to lead, guide, and set an example for other Christians.

Teacher: Someone able to understand the more difficult things of God and explain them in a way that is easy to understand and live by in daily life.

Service: Supernatural ability to do for others whatever needs to be done. Divine ability to carry another burden or task without notice or earthly reward.

Exhortation: the ability to motivate Christians to do the works of Christ.

Giving: being blessed by God with resources or time and being able to give them where and when they are needed with a cheerful heart.

Leadership: God-given insight into when something needs to be done, who can do it, how it can be completed, and how to lead those people to get it accomplished.

Mercy: A heart to care for and encourage those who are not able to care for themselves and whom no one else would care for. Knowing who to help and when to help.

Word of wisdom: A message, concept, or bit of wisdom that God reveals supernaturally to the recipient. It may or may not be shared with others.

Word of knowledge: A message, concept, or bit of knowledge that God reveals supernaturally to the recipient. It may or may not be shared with others.

Tongues: First use is a supernatural ability to speak another language not known by the believer speaking it. Second use is a supernatural ability to speak another language not known by the believer speaking it; to build up the body of Christ when the message is interpreted. It is the language of the Holy Spirit.

Interpretation of tongues: Supernatural ability to make tongues a clear message to all that are present to edify, exhort and comfort the body of Christ.

Prophecy: Supernatural ability to receive a message from God to edify, exhort and comfort the body of Christ or a believer. To speak as moved by the Holy Spirit. Not all prophecies contain predictions about the future.

Working of miracles: The ability to perform supernatural acts by the Spirit of God.

Gifts of healing: Supernatural ability to bring or release healing to a person in their body or soul.

Ability to distinguish between spirits: Supernatural ability to know what is from God and what is not from God. Divine ability to reveal a demonic spirit or influence and bring God's power (Jesus' blood) and God's love (Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection) in its place.

Faith: Knowing what you hope for, having a conviction about things you cannot see, trusting God, believing God’s Word, and obeying God. (See Hebrews 11)