The Building

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.  Ephesians 4:11-13 (NLT)

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.  Romans 12:6-8 (NLT)

10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.  1 Peter 4:10-11 (NIV)

Spiritual Gift Descriptions [Reference Texts: Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, 1 Peter 4]

Equipping Gifts – also known as “Ministry Gifts” (Ephesians 4:11-13)

APOSTLESHIP – The divine enablement to start and oversee the development of new churches or ministry structures. (1 Corinthians. 12:28)

PROPHECY – The divine enablement to proclaim God’s truth with power and clarity in a timely and culturally sensitive fashion for correction, repentance, or edification.  (1 Corinthians. 12:28; Romans 12:6-8)

EVANGELISM – The divine enablement to relate well to those outside of Christianity and to effectively communicate the gospel in ways that compel people to respond in faith and draw closer to God.

SHEPHERDING / PASTORING – The divine enablement to nurture, care for, and guide people towards ongoing spiritual maturity and towards embodying Christ-like character.

TEACHING – The divine enablement to understand, clearly explain, and apply God’s Word in ways that cause Christ-like character and inspires greater obedience in people’s lives. (Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians. 12:28)

Motivational Gifts - every follower has one of these (Romans 12:6-8)

MERCY – The divine enablement to cheerfully and practically help people who are suffering or in need. A special ability to identify with and comfort those who are in distress.  And your compassion moves you to action.

SERVICE / HELPS – The divine enablement to attach spiritual value to the accomplishment of physical tasks within the body of Christ that supports, frees up, and meets the needs of others. (1 Peter 4:10-11; Romans 12)

EXHORTATION / ENCOURAGEMENT – The divine enablement to present truth so as to strengthen, comfort, or urge to action those who are discouraged or wavering in their faith.

GIVING – The divine enablement to earn money, manage it well, and wisely contribute to the work of the Lord with cheerfulness and liberality. A special ability to entrust personal assets to others for the furtherance of their ministry.

LEADERSHIP – The divine enablement to see what needs to be done, cast vision, set goals, and to lead and motivate people to accomplish the purposes of God. 

(*Prophecy and Teaching are in Romans 12 and can be motivational or ministry gifts)

Manifestation Gifts (1 Corinthians 12:8-10)

WISDOM – The divine enablement to effectively apply biblical truth in a practical way to meet a need in a specific situation. The exercise of this gift skillfully distills insight and discernment into excellent advice. (Can be considered a “speaking gift”)

KNOWLEDGE – The special ability to discover, analyze, and systematize truth for the benefit of others. With this gift, one speaks with understanding and penetration. But “the word of knowledge” can also involve supernatural perception and discernment for the purpose of ministering to others.

FAITH (this is not saving faith) – The special ability to have a vision for what God wants to be done and to believe with tremendous confidence and optimism that it God will accomplish it in spite of circumstances and appearances to the contrary. The gift of faith transforms vision into reality.

HEALING – The divine enablement to serve as a human instrument through whom God cures illnesses and restores health. The possessor of this gift is not the source of power but a vessel who can heal only those diseases the Lord chooses to heal. Also, healing can not only involve physical but also emotional, psychological, and spiritual healing.

MIRACLES – The divine enablement to serve as an instrument through whom God accomplishes acts that manifest supernatural power. Miracles bear witness to the presence of God and the truth of his proclaimed Word and appear to occur most frequently in association with missionary activity.

DISCERNMENT (Distinguishing of Spirits) – The special ability to discern the spirit of truth and the spirit of error (I Jn. 4:6). With this gift, one may distinguish reality versus counterfeits, the divine versus the demonic, true verses false teaching, and in some cases, spiritual versus carnal motives.

TONGUES – The special ability to receive and impart a spiritual message in a language the recipient never learned. For other members of the body to be edified, this message must be interpreted either by the recipient (I Corinthians. 14:13) or by another person with the gift of interpretation (I Corinthians. 12:10, 28, 30; 14:1-40)

INTERPRETATION – The special ability to translate into the vernacular a message publicly uttered in a tongue. This gift may be combined with the gift of tongues (I Corinthians. 14:13), or it can operate separately (I Corinthians. 14:26-28).

(*Prophecy can be categorized as a motivational, ministry, or manifestation gift, depending on various uses)

ADMINISTRATION – The divine enablement to understand what makes an organization function, and the special ability to plan and execute procedures that accomplish the goals of the ministry. (1 Corinthians. 12:28)

CREATIVE COMMUNICATION – The divine enablement to communicate God’s truth through a variety of art forms – music, painting, sculpting, graphic design, writing, and art of all kinds. (Psalm 15:3-5)

CRAFTSMANSHIP – The divine enablement to creatively design and/or construct items to be used for ministry. (Exodus 31:3-5)

HOSPITALITY – The divine enablement to care for people by providing fellowship, food, and shelter. A special ability to create a safe and comfortable environment where people feel welcomed, valued, and cared for. (I Peter 4:9-10)

INTERCESSION – The divine enablement to consistently pray on behalf of and for others, seeing frequent and specific results. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)