Spiritual Gifts/Assessment
Before we get to the spiritual gifts inventory, it’s important that you understand the purpose and function of the spiritual gifts, as well as what scripture defines as a true spiritual gift. Spiritual gifts are NOT just for church leaders or for just physical church growth. The New Testament promises that spiritual gifts are available to believers in Christ.
Begin Your Free Spiritual Gifts Test – (link in button at bottom)
What Are Spiritual Gifts?
The apostle Paul used five different Greek words in God’s word to describe spiritual gifting or gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:1-7).
Pneumatikon (spiritual) describes the character of these gifts as spiritual or of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:1)
Charismata (gifts) emphasizes God’s free and gracious gifts (1 Cor. 12:4)
Diakonia (ministries) describes gifts as opportunities for ministry (1 Cor. 12:5).
Energama (activities) suggests that gifts are an endowment of God’s power or energy (1 Cor. 12:6).
Phanerosis (manifestation) describes gifts as evidence of God working through us (1 Cor. 12:7).
What are the Types of Spiritual Gifts?
There are 3 “types” of spiritual gifts which are broken into miraculous gifts, enabling gifts and task-oriented gifts.
Miraculous or Sign Gifts
The miraculous gifts include such gifts as tongues and healing. These gifts are meant for edifying the Christian in his relationship with God, and the Church.
Enabling Gifts
The four enabling gifts, which each Christian appears to have to some degree, include discernment, faith, knowledge, and wisdom.
Task-Oriented Gifts
There are nine task-oriented gifts:
Evangelism
Evangelism is communicating the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit to unbelievers at their point of need with the intent of seeing conversions.
These conversions take place as individuals repent of their sin and put their trust in God through Jesus Christ, to accept Him as their Savior. Normally, people who are converted determine to serve the Lord in the fellowship of a local church.
Those who are gifted in evangelism are effective in making disciples of various types of people through their personal evangelistic efforts, which may include personal anecdotes of God’s attributes, different kinds of Bible studies, or discipleship of people one-on-one or in small groups to propel their spiritual growth.
Prophecy
Prophecy is when a child of God receives a divine revelation from the Holy Spirit concerning a certain subject and then communicates this truth to those it was intended for. An individual with the gift of prophecy “strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them.” (1 Corinthians 14:3) through exercising this gift.
This gift appears to involve some measure of the, enabling gift of faith (Romans 12:6). Christians gifted in this area are usually able to discern problems and apply appropriate biblical principles to help alleviate the problems.
Teaching
Teaching is communicating biblical principles in the power of the Holy Spirit to others and demonstrating how those principles relate to the specific needs represented.
Christians gifted in the area of teaching tend to be diligent students of the Scripture, who have accumulated a thorough understanding of the Bible and biblical principles as a result of their consistent study habits.
Exhortation
Exhortation is urging others to act on the basis of their faith in God, advising others how to accomplish specific goals in life and ministry, cautioning others against actions that are potentially dangerous, and motivating others in the Christian life and ministry.
Those gifted in exhortation usually develop simple strategies to accomplish goals and effectively encourage and motivate others to remain faithful in their service for God.
Pastoring/Shepherding
Pastoring/Shepherding is compassionately caring for others in your sphere of influence through providing spiritual guidance, nourishment, and protection from potentially destructive individuals or influences.
They are concerned about the needs of others and passionate about seeing God’s work in the lives of those around them.
Those who have this gift readily express their concern for others and are often looked to for spiritual counsel and guidance.
Mercy
Showing mercy is discovering emotionally stressed and distressed individuals and ministering to their emotional needs.
Mercy-showers express sympathy, empathy, and spiritual ministry to help alleviate the inner pain that is causing a person’s dysfunctional emotional response.
Those gifted in showing mercy tend to be drawn toward hurting people and are somewhat effective in helping others rebuild their lives.
Serving
Serving is discerning and meeting the spiritual and physical needs of individuals. Those gifted in this ministry support others and are concerned with helping them in any way possible. They often enjoy manual tasks.
Giving
Giving is investing financial and other resources, like your time and/or talents, in ways that further the purposes of God through individuals and/or ministries. Givers are inclined to be generous in financially underwriting a wide variety of ministry projects.
Administration
Administration is the management of human, physical, and financial resources through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
Planning involves projecting the future, establishing objectives, developing policies, programs, procedures, and schedules for accomplishing these objectives, and budgeting adequate resources for the task.
Organization involves developing an organizational foundation, delegating responsibilities, and establishing interpersonal relationships. Leading involves making decisions, communicating ideas, and selecting, enlisting, training, and motivating people. Controlling involves establishing performance standards, then measuring, evaluating, and correcting performance on the basis of those standards. People who are gifted in administration are effective managers.
Discovering Your Spiritual Gift
In light of the Holy Spirit’s work in giving us spiritual gifts, it is important for every Christian to discover his or her spiritual gift, demonstrate it in ministry, and develop it to its fullest potential. Doing so will not only strengthen a Christian’s personal relationship with God but will be an encouragement to the body of Christ as well.
There are several ways Christians can discover their spiritual giftedness.
They can use a Spiritual Gifts Test to help them identify areas in which they are probably gifted.
They can look at their personal ministry passion as an indicator of probable giftedness in that area.
They can compare themselves to a standard profile of a person gifted in some area to note areas of similarity.
Once you have identified your spiritual gift, you should begin using it in ministry.
Many churches experience a shortage of workers because church members do not use their gifts in ministry. By simply calling the church office, most Christians can quickly learn of several ministry opportunities available for utilizing their gift.
Your involvement in ministry will motivate you to develop your giftedness further. Every Christian needs to continually learn more about his or her spiritual gift and develop gift-related ministry skills to increase his or her effectiveness. Every follower of Jesus should be focused on doing effective ministry. An important step in doing that is identifying and operating in your spiritual gift.
Begin Your Free Spiritual Gifts Test – (link in button at bottom)
What Are Spiritual Gifts?
The apostle Paul used five different Greek words in God’s word to describe spiritual gifting or gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:1-7).
Pneumatikon (spiritual) describes the character of these gifts as spiritual or of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:1)
Charismata (gifts) emphasizes God’s free and gracious gifts (1 Cor. 12:4)
Diakonia (ministries) describes gifts as opportunities for ministry (1 Cor. 12:5).
Energama (activities) suggests that gifts are an endowment of God’s power or energy (1 Cor. 12:6).
Phanerosis (manifestation) describes gifts as evidence of God working through us (1 Cor. 12:7).
What are the Types of Spiritual Gifts?
There are 3 “types” of spiritual gifts which are broken into miraculous gifts, enabling gifts and task-oriented gifts.
- Miraculous Gifts
- Enabling Gifts
- Task-Oriented Gifts
Miraculous or Sign Gifts
The miraculous gifts include such gifts as tongues and healing. These gifts are meant for edifying the Christian in his relationship with God, and the Church.
- Speaking in Tongues
- Miracles
- Healing
Enabling Gifts
The four enabling gifts, which each Christian appears to have to some degree, include discernment, faith, knowledge, and wisdom.
- Discernment
- Faith
- Knowledge
- Wisdom
Task-Oriented Gifts
There are nine task-oriented gifts:
- Evangelism (Ephesians 4:11)
- Prophecy (Romans 12:6)
- Teaching (Romans 12:7)
- Exhortation (Romans 12:8)
- Shepherding (Ephesians. 4:11)
- Mercy (Romans 12:8)
- Serving or Service (Romans 12:7 and 1 Corinthians 12:28)
- Giving (Romans 12:8)
- Administration (Romans 12:8 and 1 Corinthians 12:28)
Evangelism
Evangelism is communicating the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit to unbelievers at their point of need with the intent of seeing conversions.
These conversions take place as individuals repent of their sin and put their trust in God through Jesus Christ, to accept Him as their Savior. Normally, people who are converted determine to serve the Lord in the fellowship of a local church.
Those who are gifted in evangelism are effective in making disciples of various types of people through their personal evangelistic efforts, which may include personal anecdotes of God’s attributes, different kinds of Bible studies, or discipleship of people one-on-one or in small groups to propel their spiritual growth.
Prophecy
Prophecy is when a child of God receives a divine revelation from the Holy Spirit concerning a certain subject and then communicates this truth to those it was intended for. An individual with the gift of prophecy “strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them.” (1 Corinthians 14:3) through exercising this gift.
This gift appears to involve some measure of the, enabling gift of faith (Romans 12:6). Christians gifted in this area are usually able to discern problems and apply appropriate biblical principles to help alleviate the problems.
Teaching
Teaching is communicating biblical principles in the power of the Holy Spirit to others and demonstrating how those principles relate to the specific needs represented.
Christians gifted in the area of teaching tend to be diligent students of the Scripture, who have accumulated a thorough understanding of the Bible and biblical principles as a result of their consistent study habits.
Exhortation
Exhortation is urging others to act on the basis of their faith in God, advising others how to accomplish specific goals in life and ministry, cautioning others against actions that are potentially dangerous, and motivating others in the Christian life and ministry.
Those gifted in exhortation usually develop simple strategies to accomplish goals and effectively encourage and motivate others to remain faithful in their service for God.
Pastoring/Shepherding
Pastoring/Shepherding is compassionately caring for others in your sphere of influence through providing spiritual guidance, nourishment, and protection from potentially destructive individuals or influences.
They are concerned about the needs of others and passionate about seeing God’s work in the lives of those around them.
Those who have this gift readily express their concern for others and are often looked to for spiritual counsel and guidance.
Mercy
Showing mercy is discovering emotionally stressed and distressed individuals and ministering to their emotional needs.
Mercy-showers express sympathy, empathy, and spiritual ministry to help alleviate the inner pain that is causing a person’s dysfunctional emotional response.
Those gifted in showing mercy tend to be drawn toward hurting people and are somewhat effective in helping others rebuild their lives.
Serving
Serving is discerning and meeting the spiritual and physical needs of individuals. Those gifted in this ministry support others and are concerned with helping them in any way possible. They often enjoy manual tasks.
Giving
Giving is investing financial and other resources, like your time and/or talents, in ways that further the purposes of God through individuals and/or ministries. Givers are inclined to be generous in financially underwriting a wide variety of ministry projects.
Administration
Administration is the management of human, physical, and financial resources through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
Planning involves projecting the future, establishing objectives, developing policies, programs, procedures, and schedules for accomplishing these objectives, and budgeting adequate resources for the task.
Organization involves developing an organizational foundation, delegating responsibilities, and establishing interpersonal relationships. Leading involves making decisions, communicating ideas, and selecting, enlisting, training, and motivating people. Controlling involves establishing performance standards, then measuring, evaluating, and correcting performance on the basis of those standards. People who are gifted in administration are effective managers.
Discovering Your Spiritual Gift
In light of the Holy Spirit’s work in giving us spiritual gifts, it is important for every Christian to discover his or her spiritual gift, demonstrate it in ministry, and develop it to its fullest potential. Doing so will not only strengthen a Christian’s personal relationship with God but will be an encouragement to the body of Christ as well.
There are several ways Christians can discover their spiritual giftedness.
They can use a Spiritual Gifts Test to help them identify areas in which they are probably gifted.
They can look at their personal ministry passion as an indicator of probable giftedness in that area.
They can compare themselves to a standard profile of a person gifted in some area to note areas of similarity.
Once you have identified your spiritual gift, you should begin using it in ministry.
Many churches experience a shortage of workers because church members do not use their gifts in ministry. By simply calling the church office, most Christians can quickly learn of several ministry opportunities available for utilizing their gift.
Your involvement in ministry will motivate you to develop your giftedness further. Every Christian needs to continually learn more about his or her spiritual gift and develop gift-related ministry skills to increase his or her effectiveness. Every follower of Jesus should be focused on doing effective ministry. An important step in doing that is identifying and operating in your spiritual gift.