So, what is a spiritual gift anyway? I have much to learn myself, but here are the basics. Spiritual gifts are given to us in order to fulfill God’s will. We cannot manufacture these gifts. We must, however, do the work to find them within ourselves.
There are several places in the Bible where spiritual gifts are mentioned. Romans 12 is one of them, but 1 Corinthians 12 is also a commonly known book where they are listed. Spiritual gifts include wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing powers, miraculous powers, prophecy, and speaking and interpreting tongues. There are others listed in other places, such as in Romans 12, where they are listed as service, encouragement, and teaching. We all have at least one, if not multiple, spiritual gifts.
These gifts are demonstrated all over the Bible. Here are some various examples: Noah had wisdom and obedience, Moses had faith, and though Moses was the leader, one could argue Aaron was the speaker. Daniel had faith in the lion’s den, and Isaiah was a prophet who predicted the coming of Christ. Scripture in the New Testament also demonstrates these gifts. The lady who washed Jesus’ feet demonstrated faith. In Acts, Peter demonstrates the gift of healing, the gift of tongues, and the gift of working miracles. He also demonstrates prophecy when he was able to tell Ananias was lying.
We are, however, provided with direction to find our spiritual gifts. The directions also come with what I will call a cautionary warning. One example appears in Romans 12:
- We must be humble with our gift:
Humble Service in the Body of Christ
Romans 12: 3-5
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Many of us have some awareness of what our spiritual gifts are. If I asked you what you are good at, that might be a starting point. However, if we do not do the work to have a relationship with Christ, these gifts may never be shown to us. Some of us use our spiritual gifts incorrectly. Often, we are not aware of our spiritual gifts, but we know what we are good at and we use it to our advantage. For example, I am a good speaker and persuader. Instead of doing what I am doing here at Give You Story, I could be building a business to further feed my desire for material things. We all want stuff, right? I have to admit I have plans for stuff in my future. However, I already have a job to provide for that. Still, if I take the selfish route and get all the things I want using my gift of speaking and persuading, the results may (most likely) not be God’s plan for me. Now, there is nothing wrong with using your gifts to help yourself. The larger point here is, what is your primary MO (Modus operandi)? My MO is to GIVE beyond my current means for the GOOD.
- We must appreciate the gifts of others:
In our Sunday school class, an assignment was given to our class members to bring to class with them this week. We asked them to identify at least one spiritual gift they have that they can share with the group. Ok, so you have spiritual gifts. As described in the scripture reading in this post, we are not the body. We are part of one body. We need to recognize others’ spiritual gifts so that we may be able to work with them for the GOOD.
- We must know what the spiritual gifts are and understand them and how they function:
I would place a bet that it is easy for you to understand the gift of teaching. School teacher or Sunday school teacher might come to mind. What about a person who knows a lot about a particular kind of business whose job is to speak at events to inform others about everything they know about that business to help them understand the business they are in? Yes, they could be doing so in the service of God.
Let’s talk about prophecy. One might think, “Ok – yeah right, prophecy. Now there is a gift that surely doesn’t exist in today’s world!” Here is how we tend to learn about prophecy in our world: An extreme example of some people who may have thought they had this gift, and even if they did, surely misused it, is Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow. Yuk! They predicted the day the end of the earth would occur (the coming of Jesus), and it got so ugly they killed children over it! What the heck? Here is the thing: Prophecy doesn’t necessarily mean predicting the future. What it means is that a person has the capacity to speak the mind and counsel of God. Now that is a whole lot different than predicting the future. I am here to tell you that indeed, this gift is all around us today.
Another one for you to investigate is the power of miracles. Maybe you heard or read about someone lifting a car off someone at an accident scene. Maybe you could find more information if you looked up miracles of faith and prayer! The power of miracles may not be what you think it is. Hopefully, this helps reduce the fear around talking about spiritual gifts within yourself and others! Hopefully, what you find out when you investigate humbles you.
I hope that you are curious about how these gifts function, and investigate and look it up!
- We should use our spiritual gifts to do God’s will.
Now I have a belief, and if you do not agree with it, I am hopeful that it will at least help you formulate your belief. In some cases, God speaks directly to us and tells us what He wants us to do. (Read Do You Know Your Calling) Yes, I have heard and read those stories. In other cases, sometimes we are unsure of what to do. This is how I participate when I am unsure. I throw crap at the wall, and if it sticks, I take that direction. What do I mean? In simple form: I try different things, and if it fails, I move away. If it is successful, I don’t take all the credit (my ego) but rather understand that God likes what He sees and is blessing it and I continue in that direction.
Here is my hope for you in understanding spiritual gifts. A spiritual gift is a humble evaluation of yourself and your God-given ability to perform His work for the GOOD. We are to give thanks and appreciate the gifts of others so that we may become one body with them to do the will of God for the GOOD. Understanding spiritual gifts and how they function is a necessary component in order to participate and appreciate the gifts to be a part of the body. Go out and use your spiritual gifts in the name of Christ for the GOOD!
Reference material used – Tommy Higle – The Journey Series.