Discovering what your spiritual gifts can be something that is fun because most of the time when someone does this, they don’t know what their giftings are and this is new to them.
Having a spiritual gift means that God has chosen something for you that you can use to help you to be able to serve people and the church.
According to 1 Corinthians 12:4, there are different gifts that people have but that the gifts all come from the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual Gifts
There are people that are chosen to do the work of God and He chooses people so that they can help to make the church better and can help God while on earth. He is the one that chooses the gifts and as people, we sometimes don’t understand the decisions of God.
God can do anything because he is all mighty and so the decisions that He makes are the decisions that He chooses for each and every one of us. He could have had the angels to talk to people to help get them saved or to do other things, but He chooses us.
There is much scripture in the Bible that tells us about how God chooses us. He could have made someone that had no sin to go and tell the world about Him or God could have come down to talk to people but instead, He chooses men and women and children to do His work.
As followers of Christ, we need to use the giftings that He has given us. We need to look at the gifts that are in the Word and use them in the church as our giftings. Why does God give us gifts? The Bible talks about the way that believes live so that God can give gifts to each of us.
Knowing Christ
Spiritual gifts are not something that should ever be thought of over God but as people look at their gifts, they can see signs and miracles happen around them. This is a sign that people are growing in their spiritual being.
When we learn to grow in Christ, we realize that God is the utmost importance and that He has given us His word so that we can learn about Him and seek Him.
Having a spiritual gift is not a goal but it is exactly what it is called, a gift. The gift is not given so that you can have a hobby, but it is given to be able to fight against the evil of the world and to honor God for His glory. The gifts are not given so we can better who we are but so that we can show others who He is.
1 Peter 4:10 talks about how God has given people a variety of spiritual gifts so that they can use them to serve each other.
Using Spiritual Gifts
Some people get their spiritual gifts, but they do not use them. When they do this, they miss out on the blessings that they could have, and they miss out on giving others a blessing. God has given us these gifts so that we can use them, and the Holy Spirit has given them to our life and so they are important for us to learn and use.
Gifts in the Body of Christ
All of the gifts that God has given us are used to help some part of the body of Christ, or the church. These gifts are important such as teaching, prophesying, preaching and more. The gift of hospitality is very important along with serving others. God has given each of us these gifts so that we can help each other. None of the gifts are more important than any other.
Here are the gifts that God has given to the people that choose to follow Him:
- Administration
- Apostles
- Discernment
- Evangelizing
- Exhortation
- Faith
- Giving
- Healing
- Helps
- Hospitality
- Knowledge
- Leadership
- Mercy
- Prophecy
- Serving
- Teaching
- Speaking in Tongues
- Wisdom
Administration
This is the gift to help the church to be able to run. This is when someone will help to plan things and to organize, along with supervising things within the church.
Apostles
Apostles are people that are there to help spread the gospel of Christ. This can include missionaries that go and teach the gospel around the world. This can also be someone that helps to look at spiritual matters within the church.
Discernment
Discernment is being able to know the truth even if someone is not telling the truth.
Evangelizing
Evangelizing is spreading the gospel of Jesus to people in the community and around the world. This is usually to people that don’t believe in Christ.
Exhortation
This gifting is comforting and encouraging others when they seem to be running low.
Faith
When someone has faith, they are able to believe that God can do anything. They can pray for others and stand up for those that need to be defended.
Giving
This is a gift of someone that can share what they have such as money or other resources to help make the church stronger.
Healing
The gift of healing is to help those that are sick in their body, emotions, mind, or spirit to heal with God’s help.
Helps
Helps is the gift of supporting people and ministering to others. It is also someone that is very giving.
Hospitality
Someone with the hospitality gifting is able to help everyone feel welcome and to serve them. This can be strangers or friends.
Knowledge
Someone who has knowledge of the Bible and is able to spread the word and even give facts or data.
Leadership
Leaders are needed in the church to help take care of the church and to motivate people to reach the church’s goals.
Mercy
Someone that is sensitive and is able to help those that are hurting, or suffering have the gift of mercy. They are able to give compassion to those that are suffering and to help people that are in need.
Prophecy
The gift of prophecy is to be able to speak what God says. This can have visions or information and it can be used as a warning or for encouragement.
Serving
The body of Christ needs people with the serving gifts so that things around the church can get done.
Speaking in Tongues
This is a gift of speaking in another language that only God knows and not anyone else.
Wisdom
Wisdom is being able to know facts and to figure out what the church needs.
Teaching
Teaching the Bible and being able to help people to grow in their spiritual journey.
Not every Christian believes that all of the spiritual gifts are given by God but some things that some of the gifts such as being able to speak in tongues is no longer needed in the church and it was only there for the past church age.
Knowing Your Giftings
Here are some ways that you can figure out what gifts you have:
- When you read the descriptions, you feel that you fit one or more of the gifts.
- You can ask your pastor or other people that know you to describe you and see which gifting they feel fits you.
- Ask God to show you what your gifts are.
- Take a spiritual gifting class and learn your gifts.
- Look online and find a spiritual gift test that you can take.
Sometimes it is easy to forget to serve and follow hard after Jesus when we are too worried about what our giftings are. God has allowed us to have gifts and He will show you what your gifts are as long as you always seek Him. Remember, He is what matters, first and foremost.
Once we know what our gifts are, we have to learn to work with them. If you are a teacher, it doesn’t mean that you are to pastor the church and your gifting are there to help you grow. Ask your pastor or another spiritual leader what you should do with the gifts that God has given you.
As you get older and wiser, you might find that you develop more gifts or that your gifts change. You might have more faith because you are reading the word more or you might find that you are able to tell others more about your faith than you were in the past.
The older you get, the wiser you get, and you will have new experiences along your Christian journey so your gifts can change and get stronger. God is able to help you along the way.
What to Do with Your Gifts
Once you realize what your giftings are, you need to use them to do what God intended you to do. Use your gifts to help people in the church or to volunteer your time to tell people about God. Do what you can and remember that no gift is small.
Serve with your gift in your church or in the community. You will see that using your gifts can be very exciting and you will be blessed while you are blessing others. You might even see how easy it is to seek God and to use the gifts that He has given you. You will love using your gifts to help others.
The best place to use your gifts at first is in your own church. Talk to your leaders at church and find out what is needed and what you can do to help. If you have the gift of mercy, let your pastor help you to find a place to use it such as a drug rehab or a prison ministry. These places can really use the mercy gift. Ask God to help you find your place. If you have the gift of exhortation, you might want to join the prayer ministry so that you can believe with them for miracles.
Your gifts can be used in so many different ways, so you need to find out where you fit with your gift. You will have many opportunities when you tell your pastor of your gift, and you will see the joy that it brings you along the way. If you find that whatever you do makes you happy, chances are that you have found the perfect gift that God has given you.
Find out your gifting and use it to make God’s kingdom shine!
