Discovering Spiritual Gifts

Discovering Spiritual Gifts

How to discover one’s spiritual gifts is always a popular topic, one filled with a lot of interest and questions. So, here’s a few reminders from a sermon on spiritual gifts last year:
 

1. Spiritual gifts are intended to express both unity and diversity in the body of Christ, unity through the common source of the Holy Spirit, and diversity through the variety of expressions in which gifts are displayed. Furthermore, the purpose of gifts is to serve one another to the glory of the Lord, rather than any kind of self-serving attempt to bring attention/focus to oneself (1 Peter 4:10-11).
2.  The two main places that spiritual gifts lists show up in the Bible are Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. Though there is no exhaustive list of spiritual gifts, one way we might classify them is according to the primary ministry functions seen in the leadership of God’s people in the Old Testament: prophet, priest, and king.
   1. A general idea of “prophecy” gifts would be those in which someone possesses the ability to understand and articulate the truth of God’s word, which could be manifested through teaching or evangelism or interpreting tongues, as well as the ability to speak a well-timed word of wisdom in a fitting situation.
   2. A general idea of “priestly” gifts would be those in which someone possesses the ability to be aware of and meet needs in the lives of others. This includes varieties of serving, healing (both physical and mental/emotional), encouraging, showing mercy, or perhaps having unique insight into when, where, and how to practically assist someone.
   3. A general idea of “kingly” gifts would be those in which someone possesses the ability to lead, guide, and direct groups of people, which could show up in elders, administrators, deacons, small group leaders, nursery captains, children’s and youth workers, etc. 

3. Three questions to ask to assess one’s potential areas of gifting: 
(1) what do I enjoy doing?  (2) what am I good at?  (3) what are current needs in my context?
4. Lastly, but very important, is to remember that spiritual gifts can best be identified in the context of relationships. While spiritual gift “inventories” or “tests” may be helpful, getting plugged into relationships is the far superior way to explore one’s spiritual gifts.