Spiritual Gifts

Introduction
Jesus’ ministry while on earth is one that took cognizance of the giftedness of His disciples. His mentor-apprentice model of leadership ensured the discovery and cultivation of the disciples’ gifts. Christ was an object lesson for them and by following Him and His teachings, they learned that spiritual gifts were primarily for service just as He selflessly served.

Paul, a great imitator of Christ, writes extensively on spiritual gifts and his writings constitute the basic biblical source for identifying and describing spiritual gifts. It should be noted that Paul’s list of spiritual gifts is not exhaustive but provides the needed principles for determining other spiritual gifts.

Growing and declining churches have the same growth tools at their disposal. The rightful usage or neglect of these tools contribute immensely to the quality of church life. The early Christian church is a typical example of a church that maximized the giftedness of its members. With the individuals who recognized their Spirit given gifts and served selflessly in that capacity, history bears record of the explosive growth in the quality and quantity of its membership.

Spiritual Gifts, what is it?
In 1 Corinthians 12:1, Apostle Paul expressed his earnest desire to have the church well abreast of what spiritual gifts are. The ignorance of these gifts constitute a major weakness in churches today and maximizing these gifts poses a challenge for churches that tend to recognize the giftedness of its members. Churches with little or no knowledge of spiritual gifts struggle to grow their churches both quality and quantity wise.

Spiritual gift is an ability God gives to enable us serve other people.¹ 1 Corinthians 12:1-31 and Romans 12:3-8 describe the gift given by the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4:12-13 constitutes the ultimate goal of these gifts: “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 become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

Keith Cressman in his research work summarizes, in few sentences, the principles from Apostle Paul’s teachings of spiritual gifts: “The body of Christ consists of many people with various gifts (1 Cor. 12:14). People have particular roles in the body of Christ (Rom. 12:4-5). Believers’ functions and responsibilities are determined and defined by the gifts (Rom. 12:6). The gifts will differ, but they are each part of the same body and given by the same Spirit for the common benefit of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:4-7). Each part should make its contribution to the whole (Eph. 4:12-13). Each part should have equal concern for the others (1 Cor. 12:25). The objective of reaching the full measure and purpose of Christ will be fulfilled as each part of the body makes its contribution (Eph. 4:12-13).”²

The Holy Spirit still gives these gifts to the church today just as He gave freely to the early church. “Oh, what a terrible mistake that totally ignores the doctrine of spiritual gifting! The clear teaching of Scripture is that every believer is given special ability for ministry. Having a spiritual gift is no common thing. It is something selected by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:11) just for us.”³

Spiritual Gift, what it is not!
The necessity to state in concise terms what spiritual gifts are not is of great import especially in the wake of their abuse. As earlier stated, they are given to individuals by the Holy Spirit for selfless service. As such, they are neither for the gratification of self nor tools for making inordinate gains.

Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 contain such gifts as prophecy, service, exhortation, teaching, giving, leadership, mercy, knowledge, faith, miracles, healing, discernment of spirits, tongues and interpretation of tongues. Of the aforementioned, the gift of tongues has been grossly misused. This, perhaps, is one of the reason why some churches do not acknowledge this gift. The gift of tongues was primarily given to break the walls of language barrier in the effort to propagate the gospel (Mark 16:17). Example of such is seen in Acts 2, 10 and 19. This gift is not a hallmark for becoming a born again Christian as some Christian groups would have people believe. It is not muttering or babbling of unintelligible sound, an experience otherwise known as “glossolalia”. The gift of tongue is given by the Holy Spirit for mission purposes.

Relevance for Ministry Today
Meaningful ministry should not be given to a few who are professionally trained when God has gifted all believers for mission. Everyone who truly professes the name of Jesus and believes in His name has something unique to render. “When we offer that gift for His use, He does more with it than we could ever imagine (Ephesians 3:20).⁴ “We must recognize people by their anointing from God rather than by how much they know or by how long they have been Christians.”⁵
Many in the church are faced with the challenge of how to discover their spiritual gifts. A simple guide could be by asking the following questions: “What am I passionate about? What moves my heart? What do I enjoy doing?”⁶ A Christian who ponders on these questions could just be on the way to fostering unity and edification of the church through his/her gift.

The best place to discover one’s spiritual gifts is in the local church. “The role of church leadership is to help its members to identify their gifts and to integrate them into appropriate ministries.”⁷  “When Christians serve in their area of giftedness, they generally function less in their own strength and more in the power of the Holy Spirit.”⁸ Bearing in mind that spiritual gifts are given by a Being loftier than humans, its use should be solely for service to God and humanity.

Conclusion
Unlocking the potential that God has already put into every church is essential to church growth. “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter. 4:10, NIV).

Spiritual gifts need to be identified, developed and used. Treasured and cared for? Yes. Raised up like a league trophy? No. The gifts are graciously given to believers for the edification of the body of Christ and to enable them serve just like their Master served in the bid to seek and save the lost.

1 Crystal Cox, What are Spiritual Gifts? Accessed on 17.11.2020. https://newspring.cc/articles/what-are-spiritual-gifts-and-how-can-i-use-them
2 K. Keith Cressman, “The Influence Of Spiritual Gifts On Effectiveness Of Leadership Development Among Undergraduate College Students” (DMin, dissertation, Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky, 2005), 25.
3 Floyd L. Schwanz, Growing Small Groups: Everything you need to Start and Lead a Small Ministry that Makes a Big Difference (Kansas Ciy, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1995), 16.
4 Crystal Cox, What are Spiritual Gifts?
5 Floyd L. Schwanz, Growing Small Groups. 24
6 Crystal Cox, What are Spiritual Gifts?
7 Christian A. Schwarz, Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches (Emmelsbül, Germany: C & P Publishing, 1998), 24.
8 Ibid.

 

- article by Gabriel Agbojo