Gifts of the Spirit

The Holy Spirit distributes His gifts to the Body of Christ for encouragement and the common good. Scripture uses the Greek word χαρίσματα (charismata), “grace-gifts”. They are gifts built on χάρις (charis), grace and unmerited favour. They are not earned, not achieved, and moving in them is not a measure of anyone’s maturity. They are given to people who have the indwelling Holy Spirit, as the Spirit determines, for everyone’s benefit.

“To each one” means nobody in the room is left out of it. And “for the common good” means what is profitable together.

The Scripture does not present these as fixed possessions that people “have” and that define them.

“As He determines”, His choosing and not ours. So one moment someone may be operating in one gift and half an hour later in another, because the Spirit is distributing in real time, into whatever the Body is facing. You might be prophesying encouragement to a fellow believer and the next moment they’ll be praying for your foot to be healed. You might be teaching something in Scripture to a brother or sister and the next moment they’ll be giving you a word of knowledge.

This is how normal operation of the spiritual gifts should show up. Every follower of Christ has the potential to be moved by the Spirit to operate in any of them, at any time, across any number of contexts. As we open ourselves to the Spirit, He will move on each of us to serve the Body of Christ and minister to the world.

Below is a list of the gifts named in the New Testament, where they’re found and a short explanatory description.

Prophecy gets more attention in these chapters than anything else on the list. Someone operating in this gift speaks something the Spirit gives, for the strengthening, encouragement and comfort of the Body.

It is open to everyone. “For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged” (1 Cor 14:31). Both men and women (Acts 2:17–18; Acts 21:9). What Moses wished for — “I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” (Num 11:29) — is what we now have as New Testament followers of Jesus.

Prophesying should be a normal part of everyday Body life. Encouraging, prophesying and building each other up as we go. Operating in this gift is not meant to sound or look “formal”. Most of the time it won’t even be labelled as “prophecy”. It will just be what we do and who we are to one another and to the world.

We are His Body, and operating in the prophetic gifting is part of testifying to and about Him.

When prophecy is spoken in a group setting, it is important that it’s done in turn (1 Cor 14:32–33) and the rest of the Body weighs what is said carefully (1 Cor 14:29). It shouldn’t just be believed or accepted at face value. We need to ensure it lines up with the truth of Scripture and bears witness in our own spirits.

Love is the greatest expression of Christ on the earth. If I don’t have love I am nothing and I gain nothing. This is the measure.

There are many words for “love” in ancient New Testament Greek. The word used here is ἀγάπη (agapē). It is a love that focuses on esteem, goodwill, and concern for another’s well-being. It is the same word used for love in the New Testament that expresses how Christ loved us and died for us. Paul explains what it means in the same passage:

Paul’s conclusion a few verses later:

The gifts of the Holy Spirit might sound dramatic, but most of the time they happen without much fanfare. This is the way it should be.

• Someone has a Scripture that speaks directly to what another person was struggling with and they’re encouraged.
• Someone else says the thing another person needed to hear that week and they had told nobody about it!
• Somebody notices a family that has quietly run out of money and does something about it.

These are the gifts of the Spirit in operation. In a house church setting everyone can contribute and everyone can be heard. As we worship we can sing, pray, prophesy and encourage each other.

That last line is the test: did it build the others up?