Spiritual Gifts Definitions

Spiritual Gifts Definitions

Administration	Evangelism	Encouragement
Faith	Giving	Serving
Hospitality	Intercession	Leadership
Mercy	Missionary	Shepherding
Teaching	Tongues	Wisdom/Knowledge

Take the Spiritual Gifts Inventory

Administration: "The special ability that God gives to certain members of the body of Christ to understand clearly the immediate and long-range goals of a particular unit of the body of Christ and to devise and execute effective plans for the accomplishment of those goals." This gift is a leadership gift and is often characterized by people who lead the body by steering others to remain on task. These people generally are concerned with the details of how to accomplish tasks, and tend to be masters at delegating specific tasks to other people according to their gifts and talents. Scriptures: Luke 14:28-30; Acts 6:1-7; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Titus 1:5.

Evangelism: The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to readily share the gospel with unbelievers in such a way that men and women often become Jesus' disciples and responsible members of the Body of Christ. This gift is a practical gift. While the task of evangelism is an important spiritual exercise that all Christians should be involved with, God gifts certain members 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 to share their faith. Scriptures: Acts 8:5-6, 26-40; Ephesians 4:11-14; 2 Timothy 4:5.

Encouragement: "The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to minister words of comfort, consolation, encouragement, and counsel to other members of the Body in such a way that they feel helped and healed." This gift is a communication gift. Those who use this gift within a teaching or ministry situation are often driven to give practical application to their insights. Often, those gifted in this gift desire step-by-step plans of action to help others mature in Christ. Exhorters often find it natural to discover insights from personal experience when validated and amplified in Scripture. The distinctions for Encouragement and Teaching are often confused. Encouragement focuses on personal and practical application of the message or truth being communicated. Teaching focuses on bringing thorough or adequate understanding of the message or truth being communicated. Scripture: Luke 3:16-18; Acts 11:23; 14:22; Romans 12:8; 1 Timothy 4:12; 5:1; Hebrews 10:25.

Faith: "The special ability that God gives certain members of the Body of Christ to discern with extraordinary confidence the will and purposes of God and to step out boldly to act on it." This gift is a practical gift. Those with this gift often scare other people with their confidence. People with this gift are often very irritated by criticism, as they consider it to be criticism against God and His will. Probably the biggest danger for those with this gift is that they often try to project their gift onto other people. Scriptures: Acts 11:22-24; 27:21-25; Romans 4:18-21; 1 Corinthians 12:9; Hebrews 11.

Giving: "The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to contribute their material resources to the work of the Lord with liberality and cheerfulness." This gift is a practical gift. While all Christians should practice the discipline of giving,God gifts certain members of the body to give remarkably greater amounts of their income with liberality and great joy. These people have an acute awareness that all they have belongs to the Lord and they are merely stewards, therefore they know that God will supply their needs and richly bless them in their giving. Scriptures: Matthew 6:2-4; Mark 12:41-44; Romans 12:8; 1 Corinthians 13:3; 2 Corinthians 8:1-7; 9:2-8; Philippians 4:14-19.

Service: The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to invest the talents they have in the life and ministry of other members of the Body, thus enabling those others to increase the effectiveness of their own spiritual gifts. This gift is a practical gift. People with this gift often enjoy doing routine tasks in order to free others to do the ministry God has called them to do. Service focuses on accomplishing little tasks that may otherwise go undone in order to move the greater goal of the ministry or church toward completion. People with this gift are often not looking for recognition for the work they do. Scriptures: Mark 15:40-41; Luke 8:2-3; Acts 9:36; Romans 16:1-2; 1 Corinthians 12:28; 2 Timothy 1:16-18.

Hospitality: "The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to provide an open house and a warm welcome to those in need of food and lodging." This gift is a practical gift. Those with this gift have an acute awareness of visitors and have a desire to make all people feel welcome. People with this gift enjoy visitors in their home, and are usually not bothered if someone stops by and their home is not spotless. Those with this gift are a key to helping new people become a part of the group. Scriptures: Acts 16:14-15; Romans 12:9-13; 16:23; Hebrews 13:1-2; 1 Peter 4:9.

Intercession: "The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to pray for extended periods of time on a regular basis and see frequent and specific answers to their prayers, to a degree much greater than that which is expected of the average Christian." This gift is a practical gift. Those with this gift often feel compelled to pray for specific requests when they are made known. Gifted intercessors have a much greater occurrence of specific answers to prayer than most Christians. Intercessors often have an acute understanding that prayer is genuinely a conversation with God, and when left alone, find themselves engaged in prayer. Many intercessors experience times when God moves them to pray for situations when they are not entirely sure what they are praying for. To those who get to know intercessors well, prayer becomes contagious. Those with this gift should help others learn how to pray more effectively. Scriptures: Luke 22:41-44; Acts 12:12; Romans 8:26-27; Colossians 1:9-12; 4:12-13; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; James 5:14-16.

Leadership: "The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to set goals in accordance with God's purpose for the future and to communicate these goals to others in such a way that they voluntarily and harmoniously work together to accomplish those goals for the glory of God." This gift is a leadership gift. People with this gift are often focused on the greater goal of the group and are not overly concerned with the details. Leaders delegate tasks and details to others to accomplish the greater goal. Leaders are visionaries. Leaders have followers-a visionary without followers is not a leader. Scriptures: Luke 9:51; Acts 6:1-7; 15:7-11; Romans 12:8; 1 Timothy 5:17; Hebrews 13:17.

Mercy: "The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to feel genuine empathy and compassion for individuals (both Christian and non-Christian) who suffer from distressing physical, mental, or emotional problems, and to translate that compassion into cheerfully done deeds which reflect Christ's love and alleviate the suffering." This gift is a practical gift. Those with this gift find themselves visiting and assisting those in need, and often feel the pain of the person they are helping within themselves. People with this gift find it extremely difficult not to help those who seem less fortunate than themselves. Those with this gift generally enjoy helping those with physical or mental problems and do well in ministries involving visiting hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and shut-ins. Scriptures: Matthew 20:29-34; 25:24-40; Mark 9:41; Luke 10:33-35; Acts 11:28-30; 16:33-34; Romans 12:8; Jude 22-23.

Missionary: The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to minister whatever other spiritual gifts they have in a culture other than their own. This gift is a leadership gift. Those with this gift find it easy or exciting to adjust to a different culture or community. Missionaries find great joy working with minorities, people of other countries, or those with other distinct cultural differences. Those with this gift have a stronger-than-average desire to be a part of the fulfillment of the Great Commission around the world. Scriptures: Acts 8:4; 13:1-4; 22:21; Romans 10:15; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23.

Shepherd: "The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to assume a long-term personal responsibility for the welfare of a group of believers." This gift is a leadership gift. This gift is often called "pastor," however, that name has a connotation of a specific position in the church. In actuality, when pastors have this gift, their ability to continue sustained growth in their churches is greatly diminished, as they tend to require a certain level of interaction with every member of their congregation. Those with the gift of shepherd have a great need for long-term relationships. Shepherds will sacrificially give themselves to other people in such a way that they are built-up in their faith. Shepherds take personal responsibility for the successes and failures of those in the group that they invest themselves in. Scriptures: John 10:1-18; Ephesians 4:11-14; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; 1 Peter 5:1-4.

Teaching: "The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to communicate information relevant to the health and ministry of the Body and its members in such a way that others will learn." This gift is a communication gift. 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 of information in such a way as to make it easy to communicate, understand, and remember. Scriptures: Matthew 7:28-29; 28:19-20; Acts 15:32; Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:10, 28; Ephesians 4:11-14.

Tongues: "The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ (a) to speak to God in a language that they have never learned and/or (b) to receive and communicate a message of God to his people through a divinely anointed utterance in a language they never learned." Tongues is often associated with intercession and/or faith. Tongues, like any other spiritual gift, is given by God to whomever He chooses to be used to His glory and the edification of the Church. 1 Corinthians 13:1 suggests that there are two forms of the gift of tongues: tongues of men and tongues of angels. This would mean that the speaker could be speaking in an earthly language, or in a language beyond normal human understanding. When used in a group setting, an interpretation must take place, or else the one speaking the tongue should remain silent. If a tongue is spoken without an interpretation, the speaker is edified. If the tongue is interpreted, it is for the edification of the body. Scriptures: Mark 16:17; Acts 2:1-13; 10:44-46; 19:1-7; Romans 8:26-27; 1 Corinthians 12:10,28; 13:1; 14:13-19, 26-28, 39.

Wisdom: The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to know how given knowledge may best be applied to specific needs arising in the Body of Christ. This gift is a practical gift. Those with this gift have an excellent ability to apply spiritual truth to everyday life. Often, people in the church naturally seek out people with this gift when they are facing complicated spiritual problems. When a person with this gift considers past experience, they realize that they often make good and correct decisions and judgments. Scriptures: Proverbs 4:5-8; Acts 6:3, 10; 15:13-20; 20:20-21; Romans 12:17; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11-14; Colossians 1:28.

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