As taught By: Pastor Carl Stevens
I. What are the Purposes of Spiritual Gifts?
Spiritual gifts are given so that every Christian can experience the joy and fulfillment of God working through him or her.
I Corinthians 12:7 states: 7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.
They are a work and ministry of the Holy Spirit in us. The Lord does not want us to be ignorant concerning the gifts of the Spirit of God. These endowments are of vital importance to the body of Christ, look at I Cor. 12:1, 11
1 Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. 2 You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. 3 So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.
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 unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
II. Are there Different Categories of Gifts?
There are various ways to divide or catalog the gifts.
The following way has brought great joy and understanding to many Christians.
A. The Ministry Gifts - Ephesians 4:11,12
11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
Ministry gifts provide opportunities for recognized Christian service through the church. These gifts are ministries of church leadership.
They include:
1. Apostle - One who establishes and strengthens the churches.
2. Prophet - One who speaks forth the message of God, many times with an insight into future events.
3. Evangelist - One who is called to preach the Gospels to the unsaved.
4. Pastor - One who feeds and shepherds the believers.
5. Teacher - One who instructs believers in the Word of God.
The Holy Spirit quickens, anoints, and endues these gifts of leadership so that they may minister not in their own strength and understanding, but rather in His power, wisdom and creative abilities.
The church leaders ordained Timothy by the laying on of hands, and sent him out to assist Paul. His service to Paul was a ministry gift. Twice, Paul reminded Timothy about the ministry gift which he had been given. I Timothy 4:14 states: “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.” We also see in II Timothy 1:6: “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”
B. The Manifestation Gifts - I Corinthians 12:7-10
7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
The Greek word used for “manifestation” literally means “an exhibition, expression or manifestation.”
These gifts are given by the Holy Spirit as He wills to be an edification (or building up) of the Body of Christ.
1. The Word of Wisdom - a revelation of wisdom beyond natural human wisdom that enables a person to know what to do or say.
2. The Word of Knowledge - a revelation of information for a person, group or situation that could not have been known by any natural means.
3. Faith - the kind of wonder-working faith that moves mountains and waits expectantly for results.
4. Gifts of Healings - the many different ways and varieties of degrees in which God manifests healing.
5. Working of Miracles - the demonstration of the power and action of God that goes beyond natural laws.
6. Prophecy - an anointed proclamation of God through an individual to encourage, exhort or comfort.
7. Discerning of spirits - a person’s ability to perceive what type of spirit is in operation in a given situation.
8. Various Kinds of Tongues - the languages given to the believer by the Holy Spirit, but not learned or understood by the speaker.
9. Interpretation of Tongues - the supernatural ability to express the content of what has been spoken in tongues.
[All believers can have a measure of wisdom, knowledge, faith, discernment, etc., but the Baptism in the Spirit brings a person to a new level of anointing and power where the full measure of the gifts of the Spirit may be manifested in the life of the believer.]
C. The Motivational Gifts - Romans 12:6-8
6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Motivational gifts are the unique “energizing” of the Holy Spirit within us that give a believer the desire and power to concentrate on a particular aspect of spiritual concern.
They provide the motivational force for our lives. These gifts shape our personalities, and are given by the Holy Spirit in order to carry out the ministry. Every Christian has at least one of the seven motivational gifts listed in Romans 12:6-8. Everyone views other people and circumstances through his or her motivational gift.
1. Prophecy (Perceiver) - One who clearly perceives and proclaims the will of God, clearly identifying and exposing sin.
2. Server (Ministry) - One who loves to serve and minister to others.
3. Teacher - One who loves to research and communicate truth.
4. Exhorter - One who loves to encourage others to live a victorious life.
5. Giver - One who loves to give time, talent, energy and possessions to benefit others and advance the Gospel.
6. Administrator - One who loves to organize, lead or direct.
7. Mercy (Compassion) Person - One who shows compassion, mercy, love and care to those in need.
III. How Many Gifts Does Each Christian Have?
Every Christian has one main motivational gift, with other less prominent ones. However, every Christian can also have one or more ministry gifts, and any number of manifestation gifts. The ministry gifts are confirmed through the church, and the manifestation gifts are determined by God through the Holy Spirit.
IV. How can we Discover our Motivational Gift?
A. Make sure you are a Christian.
Our spiritual gifts are given to us when we become a Christian. When we are born physically, we are endowed with physical abilities. Similarly, when we are born again, we are endowed with spiritual abilities.
B. Break sin’s power.
Root sins of pride, bitterness, temporal values, and moral impurity grieve the Holy Spirit and quench His power in our lives. Since it is the Holy Spirit who makes known His gift to us, then works through that gift, it is quite obvious that sin will hinder us from discovering our motivational gifts.
C. Concentrate on others.
The purpose of our motivational gifts is to give God’s love to others. If we are not involved in the lives of others, there will be no basis or purpose for discovering what our gift is.
The more we concentrate on the needs of those around us, the more the Holy Spirit will be free to work through our motivational gift to meet those needs.
D. Discern your motives.
Each motivational gift prompts its possessor to view others from a different perspective. A prophet (perceiver), for example, will be aware of needs in the lives of others that a server may not even notice.
Meanwhile, a server will notice needs that a prophet may overlook entirely. By asking yourself why you really want to help others, you can narrow your choices in identifying your motivational gift.
E. Examine your irritations.
Every Christian will view people and circumstances from the viewpoint of his or her own motivational gift. Each one will see needs which will not be seen by those of different gifts.
The tendency is to assume that everyone else sees the things that you see. This will result in being irritated with others for not being sensitive to needs, or concerned about them.
F. Find your characteristics. Each motivational gift exhibits specific characteristics. Those who have the same gift will tend to emphasize and illustrate certain characteristics more than those who have other gifts.
The precise characteristics of each gift will be explained as we go through this series. The list that most describes you is a good indicator of your motivational gift.
G. Give adequate time.
Not everyone can identify his or her main motivational gift right away. Sometimes it takes more time to discern which one it really is.
H. Humble your heart.
James 4:6 States: 6But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
With this statement, God promises to give grace to the humble. The discovery and exercise of motivational gifts is accomplished by the grace of God, not by our own desire and power. Romans 12:6 states: 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
I. Identify gift misuses.
When a mature Christian exercises his or her motivational gift, there will be spiritual fruitfulness. However, when an immature or carnal Christian exercises his or her gift, there will often be reaction or misunderstanding.
These misuses usually provide the clearest confirmation of what a person’s gift really is. The misuses will be discussed as we continue the series.
V. How can I Begin to develop my Motivational Gift?
Begin by being open to all the gifts. You will never achieve God’s purposes through your motivational gift until you learn how to properly understand the other gifts. God designed the gifts so that we would realize that we need each other just as much as we need each member of our physical body.
If one with the gift of prophecy (perceiver) does not learn from one with the gift of mercy (compassion), he or she may speak the truth, but probably not in love as we are commanded to do. Look at Ephesians 4:15: 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
Or if one with the gift of exhortation does not learn from one with the gift of teaching, he or she may give steps of action for spiritual growth, but they may not be scripturally accurate.
Only as we understand this will we avoid the danger of thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. Romans 12:3-5 state:
3For 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 measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Also in verse 11 the bible declares:
11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
VI. How can I Learn to See through Other’s Eyes?
Begin asking those with other gifts to tell you what things are important to them. Ask them to describe what they see in a particular situation. Encourage them to point out “blind spots” in your life and service to Christ.
Find Christians who are successfully using their gift, and study how they go about doing various things:
* How does a prophet (perceiver) identify and expose sin?
* How does a server see and meet practical needs?
* How does a teacher validate truth?
* How does an exhorter visualize steps of action?
* How does a giver make wise investments?
* How does an organizer get jobs done?
* How does one gifted with mercy know what hurts others?
