Spiritual Gifts In The Bible
What are the spiritual gifts in the Bible?
The New Testament talks about spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit bestows on Christians.
Spiritual gifts, like faith, knowledge, and healing help believers grow in their spiritual journey, and also uplift the community of faith.
In this article, we talk about what these spiritual gifts are, how you can recognize your gifts, and how to enhance them for the glory of God.
How many spiritual gifts are there?
The Bible talks about 9 spiritual gifts.
These are:
- Wisdom
- Knowledge
- Faith
- Healing
- Miracles
- Prophecy
- Discernment
- Languages/tongues
- Interpretation
St. Paul talks about these gifts when he is writing an epistle to the church in Corinth.
He says while the gifts are many, they all come from the one spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8).
Many modern theologians, like Marcus Borg and John Shelby Spong, consider Christ to be a ‘Spirit Person’, someone full of God’s Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit was given to the church on the Day of Pentecost, according to Acts chapter 2, where St. Peter was addressing the crowd who had come to celebrate the festival of Pentecost in Jerusalem.
Where did the Pentecost take place?
According to the text, the apostles “returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olive, which is near Jerusalem”, and then “they went up into the upper room where they were staying” (Acts 1:12-13).
This ‘upper room’ is called The Cenacle, situated on an upper floor of King David’s Tomb at Mt. Zion.
It is one of the holiest sites for Christianity in the Holy Land.
It was also the site where the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles on Pentecost.
Today, Christians can invite the Holy Spirit into their lives by believing in Jesus Christ.
Pastor John MacArthur says “A spiritual gift is a supernaturally designed ability granted to every believer by which the Holy Spirit ministers to the body of Christ.”
What is the meaning of these gifts?
Each spiritual gift has a special meaning for believers.
1) The Gift of Wisdom
Wisdom is one of the most prominent themes in the Bible.
One of the sections of the Jewish Bible is called ‘Wisdom’ literature, which contains the Psalms of David and the books of Solomon.
Solomon was famous for his wisdom, so much that the Queen of Sheba came to visit him at his palace at the City of David in Jerusalem.
The Jewish Bible also talks about wisdom (Hebrew: chokhmah ) being personified in Proverbs 8.
In the New Testament, Jesus is both the Word (Greek: Logos) and Wisdom (Greek: Sophia) of God (John 1:1, 1 Corinthians 1:24).
Jesus and John the Baptist are also called children of wisdom in the New Testament (Luke 7:35).
When John the Baptist baptized Jesus at Qasr El Yahud on the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove from heaven (Matthew 3:13-17), just like the Spirit descended on the apostles in the upper room.
This is another connection between the Spirit and Wisdom in the Bible.
The gift of wisdom allows Christian believers to lead holy lives and overcome the challenges of this world.
2) The Gift of Knowledge
On the night of his arrest, Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Visitors to the Holy Land can see an ancient Olive tree dating back to the time of Christ, and the place where Jesus prays in Gethsemane.
While praying, Jesus spoke these words:
“This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ” (John 17:3)
The highest pursuit of a believer’s life is to attain knowledge of God.
The Greek word for this gift is “gnosis”, and refers to an understanding of the things in this world and the Bible.
It is closely related to the gift of wisdom.
In the Bible, knowledge is more than just intellect or information.
To ‘know’ someone in the Bible means to have a relation with them or be intimate with them.
This spiritual gift enables some believers to understand the Bible and matters of faith and inform the church or individual believers.
3) The Gift of Faith
Faith is also a gift, but it is more than just acceptance of certain religious doctrines.
In the Bible, Faith (greek: Pistis) means trusting in God.
The scriptures tell us that the ‘righteous live by faith’ (Habakkuk 2:4).
We find many examples of faith in the Bible, particularly in the book of Genesis.
The Tombs of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron are vivid reminders of the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who spent their life as sojourners who trusted God.
Visitors to the Holy Land can also visit the Temple Mount and view the site where Abraham presented his son as a sacrifice, based on faith.
St. Paul tells us that faith comes from listening to God’s word (Romans 10:9)
People with this gift possess great confidence in the power and promises of God, helping them to navigate the challenges of life.
They can also take a stand for their faith, defend it and move it forward.
4) The Gift of Healing
This gift has special relevance during the Covid-19 pandemic when millions of people are battling physical and mental illnesses.
In the Bible, healing is one of the most vivid symbols of God’s salvation (Isaiah 53:5, Acts 4:12).
Christ is the true healer, and his healing miracles were signs of the Kingdom of God coming to this world (Luke 11:20).
For example, he healed St. Peter’s mother-in-law in Capernaum, who was suffering fever (Luke 4:38-40).
Visitors to the Holy Land can also visit the St. Anne Church and the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed a paralytic of 38 years (John 5).
The disciples of Jesus were also given authority to heal and cast out demons, and Christian believers can also exercise this gift today.
Those who have this gift are compassionate toward the sick and pray over them regularly.
They have great faith and trust that God can and will heal people because He doesn’t want anyone to get sick.
5) The Gift of Miracles
The gift of miracles is similar to healing, only more extensive.
Both theologians and historians consider Jesus to be a miracle worker.
And most of his miracles happened in the Galilee region.
It includes the dramatic miracle of walking on water (Mark 6:47-52), and the multiplication of the loaves and fishes (John 6:1-14, Matthew 14:13-21).
Miracles are ‘signs’ of God’s power, grace, and mercy.
The Holy Spirit gives miracles to the church to reveal the presence and glory of God.
One of the most common miracles believers exercise today is exorcizing individuals who are ‘possessed’.
6) The Gift of Prophecy
The Bible is a book of prophecies.
There are more than 300 prophecies about the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Prophets (Nevi’im) figure prominently in the Jewish Bible, in fact, there’s an entire section devoted to prophetic books.
Jesus was also a prophet in the Hebrew tradition, and he made many prophecies about the end times and the Holy Land (e.g. Luke 21:24)
We also read about prophets in the New Testament (Ephesians 4:11), which was one of the gifts that the risen Jesus gave to the church.
Paul encouraged Corinthian Christians to pursue this gift above others (1 Corinthians 14:1).
This gift enables believers to know God’s will in their lives and the life of the church.
This gift is for the benefit of both believers and unbelievers(1 Corinthians 14:22-25).
7) The Gift of Discernment
The spiritual gift of discernment is also known as the gift of “discernment of spirits.
The New Testament describes the ability to distinguish between good and evil (Hebrews 5:14).
The Holy Spirit gives the gift of discernment to help certain Christians to distinguish between the influence of God, Satan, and the world in a given situation.
Discernment also helps Christians understand what they are reading in the Bible so that they are not led astray by wrong interpretations.
8) The Gift of Languages / Tongues
In a broad sense, the gift of tongues enables believers to praise God and proclaim his glory in their mother tongue.
Hebrew was the language of God’s people, the Jews, this was the language of their scriptures as well.
According to Isaiah, there will come a time when people will worship God in their languages (Isaiah 28:11-12).
The Temple in Jerusalem had a Court of the Gentiles, where people from other nations could visit the outer part of the building and only the Jewish people were allowed inside.
Since they worshiped in Hebrew, foreigners couldn’t understand what was going on.
Thanks to the gift of the tongues, now believers can worship God in any language.
This is what St. Paul means when he says “Therefore other languages are for a sign, not to those who believe” (1 Corinthians 14:22).
That said, tongues can refer both to human languages such as those heard in Acts 2, but also to languages no one understands (See 1 Corinthians 14:2).
St. Paul calls them the “language of the angels” (1 Corinthians 13:1).
The gift of tongues was the first gift given to the church!
When the disciples were in the upper room (cenaculum), the Bible tells us that “tongues of fire came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them (Acts 2:3-4).
The purpose was these tongues to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people from different nations who had come to celebrate Pentecost in Jerusalem.
9) The Gift of Interpretation
Finally, we have the gift of interpretation.
The simplest meaning of this gift is translation.
The Greek word for interpretation is “hermeneia” and simply means to interpret or explain some message that no one can understand.
The spiritual gift of interpretation is given by the Holy Spirit to certain individuals to reveal messages spoken in languages or unknown tongues for the building up of the church.
How do I know what my spiritual gifts are?
While the apostle Paul encourages Christians to pursue spiritual gifts, there is no formula to tell us exactly what our spiritual gifts are.
The Holy Spirit freely distributes the gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7-11), and it’s up to the believers to accept the Spirit’s will with humility.
Christian author Jay Adams says:
“God distributes His gifts for His purposes and the good of His people.
His sovereign administration of these gifts must be acknowledged as right and proper by His people, even when they cannot see the good.” (Christian Living in the Home, p. 60).
When God calls anyone for a particular mission or service, he equips them with the gifts they need to accomplish the task.
New believers can ask mature Christians about their gifts.
Prayer is also important.
Watch this video from Pastor Joseph Prince >>
How can I improve my spiritual gifts?
You may have trouble identifying your gifts, but they may be obvious to those around you.
For instance, you might aspire to the spiritual gift of knowledge, but your pastor, parents, or friends may think you should develop the gift of healing, as you are a compassionate person.
One of the best ways to develop your gifts is to surround yourself with people who have the gifts you desire.
If you want to be a healer, learn from those who practice this gift.
Spiritual Gifts Test
If you need quick guidance, you can take numerous online tests to get an idea of what your spiritual gifts might be.
Just Google “Spiritual Gifts Test”, and you can find a wealth of free online material to not only help you discover what your spiritual gifts might be, but to get deeper word studies into each spiritual gift to give you the biblical background for each gift.
Mark Ballenger talks about hat spiritual gifts God lead you to use?
You can also use this list of questions by the Baptist pastor Curtis Thomas in his book “Life in the Body of Christ” to discover your gifts:
- What can I accomplish with my present abilities?
- What type of service am I personally drawn to?
- What have I been educated or trained to do?
- What gifts do my pastors and church leaders think that I possess?
- What does my family (who should know me best) think that my gifts are?
- What specific needs are there in the church body?
- Have I attempted to use a gift in a certain area and have regularly failed?
- When have I met with success in attempting to exercise a gift or meet a need in the body?
- Have I asked my closest friends to honestly help assess where I could most successfully serve?
(Life in the Body of Christ, Founders Press, 2006, p. 172)
How Holy Land gifts can enhance your spiritual gifts?
You can also use Holy Land gifts and artifacts to enhance your spiritual gifts.
For instance, oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit in the Bible.
When Samuel anointed David with oil to be the new king of Israel, “Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.” (1 Sam 16:13).
Likewise, oil in the Bible is also used for healing (James 5:14).
So, you can get anointing oil from the Holy Land to start your spiritual journey and also improve spiritual gifts like healing.
Kabbalah Jewelry - a Jewish Spiritual gift:
Another example of a spiritual gift from the Holy Land is Kabbalah jewelry.
According to the Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), the Hebrew word for God (YHWH) has 72 names, each having a 3-letter combination.
The combinations help individuals to tap into specific energies and virtues present in the universe, which can be accessed by looking at or meditating on these numbers.
One can also connect to these energy channels by wearing Kabbalah jewelry like pendants, talismans, amulets, necklaces, bracelets or rings.
Each item has symbolic meaning and deep intention to bring blessings, guidance, and healing.
For example, the divine name “מהש” (mem-hey-shin) represents the gift of healing.
These are excellent gift items to give to a young believer who wants to wear fashionable jewelry and is trying to discover his spiritual gifts.
What is the difference between gifts of spirit and fruit of the Spirit? (Galatians 5)
Along with the 9 gifts of the Spirit, the Bible also talks about the “fruit of the Holy Spirit” in Galatians 5:22.
These are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
How do different denominations understand spiritual gifts?
Regarding the gifts of the Spirit, several prominent Christian groups have different opinions on the subject.
For instance charismatics, non-cessationists, and Pentecostals believe that these gifts are still available to believers today.
On the other hand, baptists, Dispensationalists, and those holding to Covenant, or Reformed Theology believe that the gifts ceased in the first century AD after the New Testament was written in the compiled.
The later view is known as cessationism because it teaches that the gifts have ‘ceased’.
Mainline churches like Anglicans, Roman Catholics, and Orthodox Christians believe in the spiritual gifts, but they emphasize discipline when practicing these gifts and call for great discernment with prayer, fasting, and theological education before a Christian can practice his gifts.
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