Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual Gifts are known as endowments in Christianity, the gifts which are given by the Holy Spirit. These are the supernatural graces which individual Christians need to fulfil the mission of the church. The gifts are related to both seemingly “natural” abilities and seemingly more “miraculous” abilities, but all spiritual gifts are empowered by the Holy Spirit. The two major opposing theological positions on the nature of the charismata are cessationism and continuationism.

From these scriptural passages, Christians understand the spiritual gifts to be enablements or capacities that are divinely bestowed upon individuals. Because they are freely given by God, these cannot be earned or merited. Though worked through individuals, these are operations or manifestations of the Holy Spirit—not of the gifted person. They are to be used for the benefit of others, and in a sense they are granted to the Church as a whole more than they are given to individuals. There is diversity in their distribution—an individual will not possess all of the gifts. The purpose of the spiritual gifts is to edify (build up), exhort (encourage), and comfort the Church.

It is generally acknowledged that Paul did not list all of the gifts of the Spirit, and many believe that there are as many gifts as there are needs in the body of Christ. The gifts have at times been organized into distinct categories based on their similarities and differences to other gifts. Some divide them into three categories using Old Testament offices. “Prophetic” gifts include any gift involving teaching, encouraging, or rebuking others. “Priestly” gifts include showing mercy and care for the needy or involve intercession before God. “Kingly” gifts are those involving church administration or government. Others categorize them into “gifts of knowledge” (word of wisdom, word of knowledge, distinguishing between spirits), “gifts of speech” (tongues, interpretation, prophecy), and “gifts of power” (faith, healing, miracles).The gifts have also been categorized as those that promote the inner growth of the Church (apostle, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, teaching, word of wisdom/knowledge, helps, and administration) and those that promote the Church’s outer development (faith, miracles, healing, tongues, interpretation of tongues).

Proponents of cessationism distinguish between the “extraordinary”, “miraculous”, or “sign” gifts and the other gifts. Cessationism is held by some Protestants, especially from the Calvinist tradition, who believes that miraculous gifts and their operations were limited to early Christianity and “ceased” afterward. Other Protestants, mainly Pentecostals and charismatics, adhere to the continutionist position, believing that all the spiritual gifts are currently available and that they are normative in contemporary Christianity. In addition, Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy also continue to believe in and make use of all of the spiritual gifts.

 

Prophet: In the New Testament, the office of prophet is second only to the office of apostle (1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11). The prophet’s corresponding gift is prophecy. Prophecy is “reporting something that God spontaneously brings to mind”. Many, particularly Pentecostals and charismatics, distinguish between the “office of prophet” and the “gift of prophecy”, believing that a Christian can possess the gift of prophecy without holding the prophetic office.

Service: The word translated as “ministry” is diakonia, which can also be translated “service”. Since there are many types of ministries and service to the Church, this then describes a broad array of gifts rather than a single gift.

Giving: Those with this gift share their own possessions with others with extraordinary generosity. While all Christians should be givers, those possessing this gift will go beyond this normal giving.

Leading: This gift speaks to the various leadership roles found in the Church. While many think of roles such as administration, management of funds, strategy planning, etc. as functions outside of the supernatural realm, in reality individuals in these positions are just as in need of supernatural empowerment as are ministers of the gospel.

Mercy: Possibly identical to the gift of helps, the mercy-shower possesses a ministry of visitation, prayer, and compassion to the poor and sick.

Word of wisdom: An utterance or message of wisdom supernaturally granted to an individual. For Paul, wisdom refers to “the knowledge of the great Christian mysteries: the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection of Christ, and the indwelling in the believer of the Spirit of God “.

Word of knowledge: The knowledge referred to is often said to relate to understanding Christian doctrine or scriptural truth. It is sometimes said to be connected with the ministry of teachers.

Faith: This refers to that strong or special faith “which removes mountains, casts out devils and faces the most cruel martyrdom without flinching”. It is distinguished from the “saving” and “normal” Christian faith.

Gifts of healings: The ability to supernaturally minister healing to others. The plural indicates the variety of sickness healed and the many forms the gift takes.

The supernatural ability of speaking an unlearned language. Paul seems to have distinguished between the public use of the gift, ad the private use which was for the spiritual strengthening of oneself. Currently among Christians there is a dispute as to whether tongues were/are always xenoglossy or whether it also included/includes glossolalia. This gift always follows the public exercise of the gift of tongues. This required that speech given in an unknown tongue be interpreted in the common language of the gathered Christians. This gift has to do with service to the sick and the poor. Possessor of this gift has a “spiritual burden and a God-given love for the needy and afflicted.”

Also called the gift of governing, the Greek word translated “governments” is kubernesis, the verb form of which means “to steer” or “to be a helmsman.” This gift then refers to the God-given capacity to lead or guide the Church through storms and difficult seas.