They can see how it connects to every situation and circumstance and how the reality and truth of the Gospel is to inform every decision a Christian makes. See also 1 Corinthians ; Romans ; 2 Corinthians The Greek word for the spiritual gift of leadership is proistemi. This word means to lead, to assist, to protect and to care for others. The spiritual gift of leadership is found in Romans sandwiched between the gifts of giving and of mercy.
It is placed there intentionally to show that it is a gift associated with caring for others. It is more people oriented than task oriented in its application. This is not to say those with the gift of administration do not care for people, of course they do, but those with the spiritual gift of leadership focus on people and relationships more directly.
The word proistemi is connected to caring for people in other passages as well. They base their success on how well they help others succeed and grow in their spiritual walk with Jesus. They are able to accomplish many different tasks and objectives as they lead, but they will always lead relationally and with a deep concern for the well-being of others.
Many are entrepreneurial and willing to take risks to see the kingdom of God advanced through the church. They will go to great lengths to protect those under their care and are well-equipped to lead through crisis situations. See also Romans ; 1 Thessalonians ; 1 Timothy , 12; All Christians are called to be merciful because God has been merciful to us Matthew ; Ephesians The Greek word for the spiritual gift of mercy is eleeo. It means to be patient and compassionate toward those who are suffering or afflicted.
The concern for the physical as well as spiritual need of those who are hurting is covered by the gift of mercy. Those with this gift have great empathy for others in their trials and sufferings. They are able to come alongside people over extended periods of time and see them through their healing process.
They are truly and literally the hands and feet of God to the afflicted. The Holy Spirit gives the spiritual gift of mercy to some in the church to love and assist those who are suffering, and walk with them until The Lord allows their burden to be lifted.
They are sensitive to the feelings and circumstances of others and can quickly discern when someone is not doing well. The spiritual gift of miracles is described in Scripture much like the gift of healing. Thus, the gifts are subject to the divine will of God and His purposes and are not decided by the one who performs the miraculous works.
We know that Jesus performed many miracles in His earthly ministry, even more than those recorded in Scripture John , Acts The Apostles regularly performed miracles of all kinds including casting out demons, healings, raising people from the dead, striking people dead, causing blindness, and much more Acts ; ; ; ; ; Other believers performed miracles as well, including Stephen Acts and Phillip Acts Miracles were given by God to the church to reveal the presence and glory of God among His people and to create a sense of awe and wonder and Godly fear.
Though there were many enemies of the church, often the result of miracles being performed was more people coming to faith in Jesus and glorifying God, as well as greater faith and boldness within the church Acts ; , Those with the spiritual gift of miracles often have a heightened sensitivity to the presence and power of God through His Holy Spirit.
They have a special measure of faith and desire for God to reveal Himself and draw many to faith in His Son Jesus Christ. They take care not to draw attention to themselves or have a following of people, but are constantly pointing others to Jesus. Those with this gift understand that God is Sovereign and He can work when and how He desires, but they make sure they are available and listening to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
This gift is often accompanied by prayer and strong petition by these individuals for God to reveal His glory to people. They do not claim power themselves, but always give credit and glory to God for His mighty works.
Often God will deliberately humble them to keep them relying on His grace and pointing to His Son, rather than miracles. See also 1 Corinthians , ; Acts ; Galatians This gift is closely related to the spiritual gifts of leadership and teaching. The Greek word for pastor is poimen and simply means shepherd or overseer. In the Biblical context, shepherds had several different responsibilities to their sheep and ultimately, to the owner of the sheep. They kept a lookout for predators and protected the sheep from attackers.
They cared for wounded and sick sheep, nursing them back to health. They rescued them if they became lost or trapped. They spent enormous amounts of time with them guiding them to he places of nourishment and rest.
The result was a trust and relationship that kept the sheep following the shepherd. Pastors are called shepherds because their calling and gifting are much like those who care for sheep. Pastors are first and foremost servants. They are servants of God and servants of His bride, the church.
They are given a mixture of abilities by grace that allows them to serve the needs of an entire community. The primary way the pastor will do this is by teaching the Word of God to the church.
The gift of pastor is directly linked to the gift of teaching in Ephesians and elsewhere. In fact, this gift could be called the gift of pastor-teacher.
The ability to teach the Scriptures is also one of the many requirements of being an overseer 1 Timothy ; Titus The Holy Spirit gives the spiritual gift of pastor to some in the church to humbly teach them, guide them, protect them, and to lead them in the mission that God has for His church, namely the Great Commission.
The pastor loves the Gospel of Jesus Christ and puts it at the center of his life and ministry. Pastors do not seek fame or recognition for themselves, but they are placed in a position of authority by the Holy Spirit.
See also Ephesians ; Jeremiah ; Acts ; John The spiritual gift of prophecy is an extraordinary and unique gift. Those who have the gift of prophecy differ from the Old Testament Prophets who spoke the authoritative Word of God directly.
The Greek word for the gift of prophecy is propheteia which is the ability to receive a divinely inspired message and deliver it to others in the church. These messages can take the form of exhortation, correction, disclosure of secret sins, prediction of future events, comfort, inspiration, or other revelations given to equip and edify the body of Christ 1 Corinthians , Again, they do not constitute the authoritative Word of God, but are the human interpretation of the revelation that was received.
They are spoken in human words through a human mind which is why they must be tested against the Scriptures 1 Thessalonians This gift is for the benefit of both believers and unbelievers and is a sign that God is truly among His church 1 Corinthians Those with this gift are sensitive to both the prompting of the Holy Spirit and the needs of the church body. They should be humble and continually study the Scriptures in order to test these revelations before speaking them.
When they do speak, they should allow and even expect others to weigh what is said against the Scriptures and interpret the message accordingly. In this way the church may be continually built up together in unity 1 Corinthians , See also Romans , 1 Corinthians , , Ephesians , 1 Peter The spiritual gift of service, or ministering, covers a wide range of activities in its application.
There are two Greek words for this gift. The first one, found in Romans , is diakonia. It has a similar meaning: to help or aid in love within the community. The Holy Spirit endows some believers with this gift to fill the many gaps of ministry and meet the needs of the church as it fulfills the Great Commission. The goal is to energize the church and free up others to use their gifts to the fullest.
The result is the continued edification of the church and the added ability to see beyond its own needs and reach out into the community. We see people with this gift in passages like Acts , 1 Corinthians , and many others.
Those with the gift of service are committed to the spread of the Gospel. They serve in ways that benefit others with different gifts and ministries that are more public.
They have a heart devoted to Jesus and a desire to follow His command and example in Matthew cf. Mark They are content with serving in the background knowing that their contribution will bless the church, display the love of Christ to the world, and bring glory to God. The spiritual gift of teaching is one that carries a heavy responsibility in the church. But the greater responsibility to which they are called is to be stewards of the Word of God to His people.
Teachers have been entrusted with the task of effectively communicating what the Bible says, what it means, and how we as followers of Jesus Christ are to apply it to our lives here and now. The Greek word for those with the spiritual gift of teaching is didaskalos.
Those with the spiritual gift of teaching love to study the Word of God for extended periods of time. They consume the Scriptures as food for their hearts, souls and minds with the expressed purpose of knowing Him and then making Him known to others. They want to know what God has revealed of Himself and what He requires of us as people created in His image. They love to see how the Gospel is woven throughout the Scriptures and how it glorifies and magnifies Jesus Christ in the hearts and lives of those who love Him by grace.
Without this gift, the church would quickly fall into error and sin. They hate when Scripture is abused and used out of context or with ill intent. They love the truth and speak the truth in love. They will never hide or withhold it. On the contrary, they desire to follow in the footsteps of Jesus who taught in the synagogues and in the Temple as well as anywhere the people were gathered. See also Ephesians ; 1 Corinthians ; Romans ; James The spiritual gift of tongues is more accurately called the gift of languages.
To properly understand this gift, we need to begin with a brief history of language in the human race. In the garden mankind had one language and was in direct communication with God, having perfect communion with Him.
Unfortunately, this relationship changed at the fall when Adam sinned against God and he and Eve were cursed and banished from Eden along with their descendants. Mankind continued to have one language up until Genesis 11 where God confused their language and people were dispersed throughout the earth. He did this because they had united together in one language and conspired to build a tower at Babel.
After God confused their language and scattered them across the earth, He chose one people with one language to bring Him glory and draw mankind back to Himself. Fast forward to Pentecost and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the people of God. This is the beginning of the redemption of language for its intended purpose: to glorify God and draw all people to Himself. In heaven an innumerable group from every nation, tribe, people and tongue will join together to praise God with one language.
See Revelation This is where tongues will cease as mentioned in 1 Corinthians The intention of the spiritual gift of tongues is to glorify God now, but also to prepare ourselves as His church to glorify Him forever in heaven.
The gift however is only partial, in that it is not given to all believers, and in the context of the church requires an interpreter in order for it to be edifying. There is much more to be said about the spiritual gift of tongues, but we will summarize a few points here:. The gift of tongues is not a requirement or a necessary sign of salvation. See 1 Corinthians See 1 Corinthians , 33, The Holy Spirit gives some believers the spiritual gift of tongues to glorify God and, with the help of an interpreter, to edify the church.
This gift is dealt with extensively in the Scriptures and its use should not be discouraged. That said, it should be used properly with pure motives and intentions, of course in the power and prompting of the Holy Spirit. The motivational gifts are how the Spirit of Grace moves through us motivating our words and actions. If your gift is prophesying , then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving , then serve; if it is teaching , then teach; if it is to encourage , then give encouragement; if it is giving , then give generously; if it is to lead , do it diligently; if it is to show mercy , do it cheerfully.
If you look at the things you do, examine the why behind them. All these gifts are wonderful and have a place. Some may sound more important than others, but that is not true. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all. God has given us His love as a gift.
We love because He loved us first. Without love all the actions supposed to be gifts are empty. Love is the best gift. Love is what matters most. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless.
But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation ; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Danielle Bernock is an international award-winning author. Share this. What Are Spiritual Gifts?
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