Spiritual Gifts – Part 1 Ministry Gifts

What is a spiritual gift? A spiritual gift is a God-given ability to be used for service within the body of Christ. Each person who is born again into God’s kingdom is given one or more spiritual gifts. The purpose of these free gifts are to edify the body of Christ and to help us mature in our walk. There are three places in the bible where we can find a list of spiritual gifts: Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4. There are also three categories for the gifts: Ministry Gifts, Operational Gifts, and Manifestation Gifts. There are also three sources from which the gifts are given: Jesus Christ, God and the Holy Spirit. Let’s take an in depth look at all of the spiritual gifts given to us.  As we go through this ask God to reveal to you what your spiritual gifts are.

MINISTRY GIFTS

In Ephesians 4:7-16 we find a list of the ministry type spiritual gifts: Apostles, Evangelists, Pastors, Prophets and Teachers. These gifts are used for a variety of service, but they are given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:5 in the Amplified Bible says “And there are distinctive varieties of service and ministration, but it is the same Lord [Who is served].” The ministry gifts are given to us by Jesus because they are a direct extension of His own ministry.  Jesus was an apostle (Hebrews 3:1), an Evangelist (Matthew 9:35), a Pastor (1 Peter 5:2-4), a Prophet (Luke 24:19), and a Teacher (John 3:2). These gifts are pivotal in assuring that the other operational and manifestation type of spiritual gifts are being used in the body of Christ. The purpose of the five ministry gifts are “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and to become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13).

APOSTLE

An Apostle has the ability to pioneer new churches, grounds the church in truth, preserves unity in the Body, lays the foundation of the Church, sets things in order, and fathers new ministries. This gift is used in founding new churches. The Twelve disciples who hung out with Jesus Christ all had the gift of Apostle, along with many others that helped to develop the foundation of the local church. (1 THESSALONIANS 2:6-9)

CHARACTERISTICS: This gift is in continuing need today for the strengthening of churches and the establishment of new churches. The Apostles started a radical new thing after Jesus went back to heaven, and God continues to do a new thing in our lives today. This gift can be looked for in regional directors, church planters, and denominational leaders.

EVANGELIST

An Evangelist has the ability to share the gospel to unbelievers in such a way that the unbeliever becomes to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. (ACTS 8:26-40)

CHARACTERISTICS: Rather than waiting for opportunities to present the Gospel, the evangelist often create opportunities.  You have a desire to see others come to know Jesus, you have a heart for the lost, are heartbroken that not everyone knows who Jesus Christ is, want the world to know how awesome God is.  God gifts evangelists with an ability to have unusual sensitivity to when someone is ready to accept Christ, and will generally have greater success in leading people to Christ than other Christians. People with this gift should be active in training others in how to share their faith.

PASTOR

A Pastor has the ability to assume long-term personal responsibility for the spiritual welfare of a group of believers. (1 TIMOTHY 3:1-7, 1 PETER 5:1-4)

CHARACTERISTICS: Those with the gift of pastor have a great need for long-term relationships. Pastors will sacrificially give themselves to other people in such a way that they are spurred on in their faith, help people grow spiritually, plus have the ability to see where a believer is at in their walk with the Lord and show them the next step. Pastors take personal responsibility for the successes and failures of those in their group that they invest themselves in.

PROPHET

A Prophet has the ability to proclaim God’s message and to predict the future. All of the messages whether proclaiming or predicting come directly from God through special revelation. All words of prophecy should always line up with scripture.(Acts 11:27-28)

CHARACTERISTICS: Prophets have a great sense of urgency to their message. Unless paired with the gifts of exhortation or teaching, prophets will often not feel the need to explain their message, but will expect immediate response. The message of a prophet must always be tested in line with scripture. Prophets would be wise to test their message against Scripture prior to delivering it.

TEACHER/TEACHING

Teacher is the ability to communicate the truths of God’s word in a way that everyone understands and learns.(MATTHEW 28:19-20, HEBREWS 5:12-14)

CHARACTERISTICS: People with the gift of teaching enjoy studying the Bible and related materials in order to communicate what they have learned to other Christians. Those with this gift find it easy to organize vast amounts of information in such a way as to make it easy to communicate, understand, and remember. A Teacher is able to explain things in multiple ways so that everyone understands.