Spiritual Giftings

So, here we are, finally, on the second half of our current study, by the end of which we hope to better understand the spiritual gifts, and especially how they appear in practical application for the edifying of the body of Christ. I believe that God has gifted each of us with spiritual giftings at the moment of our salvation, or at the point of our conversion, whichever terminology you prefer to use. At that time the Holy Spirit began to tell us about Jesus, teaching us, leading us into righteousness, and empowering us with what you might call “divine enablement” with which to do the work of the Lord. ( Do not confuse natural giftedness or physically inherited talents with the"supernatural" giftings of the Holy Spirit.)

One Christian author and teacher says there are 19 gifts of the Spirit. Another says there are only 7. Another says there are 7 primary, with a bunch more secondary. I like the last version the best, because I think it makes more sense scripturally, so here goes.

This introductory posting will just be an overview of the 7 primary gifts, and succeeding postings will elaborate on each one, leading up to the intended goal of each of us being able to recognize what our primary gift is.

Turn with me to Romans 12, verses 6-8, which I am showing both in KJV and in NIV:

KJV: “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.”

NIV: “We 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. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if 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.”

Paul has supplied us with a list of 7 gifts (in case you haven’t noticed, Paul was a master list-maker, he uses lists all throughout his letters...I happen to like that as it seems I cannot function without a list).

Choosing the better wording from the two versions given, the seven gifts that we will see are PRIMARY gifts, are:

- prophecy
- serving
- teaching
- encouraging (or exhortation)
- giving
- leadership or (governing)
- mercy


If you recall from our study of the elders and deacons, you can see that the main qualifications for both come from this list: elders – leadership or governing (as well as able to teach); deacons – serving.

You will notice that you don’t see apostles or pastors in this list. That’s because they are part of another list that Paul gives us in Ephesians 4:11:

“And he gave some, apostles, and some prophets, and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.”

But these are not the gifts themselves. These are ministries that come out of or follow the gifts, as we will see as we continue. (These read identically, by the way, whether in KJV or NIV.) And then, following the ministries, are the manifestations of the Spirit as seen in 1 Corinthians 12:7-10 (word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gift of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, divers kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues).

So you see, rather than call all of Paul’s lists “gifts”, they are more properly called “gifts” (Romans 12:6-8), then “ministries of the gifts” (Ephesian 4:11), then “manifestations of the Spirit through the ministries of the gifts” (1 Cor. 12).

So, we first must focus on what the primary gifts are and thereby go on to determine which ones we have been gifted with; that is, after all, the purpose of this part of the study. At the end of the study, with the knowledge of the Word in hand, and by seeking the Lord to show us what those gifts are in us, we hope to know what our primary gift is.

Is that important to know?

I think so. And the reason is this: if we know what our giftings are then we won’t waste a lot of our time and God’s by doing things that we are not designed or empowered to do. And equally important, I believe, we will find fulfillment in all that we do because we have been properly “fitted” for the work by the Lord, rather than being at odds with the work (and more importantly at odds with the people we minister to) because we have not been properly fitted to it in the first place.

We must remember that we each have a gift and those gifts “differ” from one another. Our biggest problems can come from comparing ourselves to others and trying to “fit” into their gift, instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to minister through us in the gift He has chosen for us.

Having said that, remember also that while giftings do not place one Christian higher than another(there is no unequal “respecting of persons” in the true church of Jesus Christ), Paul does say that of all the gifts, we should want most of all to prophesy.

“Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.” I Cor. 14:1

Why would that be?

Because the gift of prophecy edifies the church (I Cor. 14:4), and the spoken Word of God has the power to transform lives….beginning with the church.

So, now we’ve touched on our first gift which we will look at it in more detail tomorrow: PROPHECY.