In Christianity, spiritual gifts refer to blessings upon believers by the Holy Spirit. There are three different lists of spiritual gifts in the New Testament that can be combined to create a comprehensive list of spiritual gifts:
Prophecy (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
Apostleship (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
Teaching (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
Leadership (Romans 12:6-8)
Utterance of Wisdom (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
Utterance of Knowledge (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
Discernment (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
Serving (Romans 12:6-8)
Helping (1 Corinthians 12:28)
Encouragement (Romans 12:6-8)
Administration (1 Corinthians 12:28)
Generosity (Romans 12:6-8)
Mercy (Romans 12:6-8)
Miracles (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
Faith (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
Healing (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
Speaking in Tongues (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
Interpretation of Tongues (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
Some choose to include the six additional gifts of evangelism, shepherding, celibacy, hospitality, craftsmanship, and intercession. However, these are not confirmed explicitly in scripture and are not widely considered spiritual gifts.
What is the purpose of Spiritual Gifts?
The apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians that spiritual gifts are all given by the one and the same Holy Spirit. These gifts are given for the sole purpose of benefiting the church:
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
1 Corinthians 12:7 ESV
However, the manner and extent to which these gifts benefited the church varied. For example, in 1 Corinthians 14, we read that prophecy spoke to the people, that is, the believers of the church, for their upbuilding, encouragement, and consolation.
On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.
1 Corinthians 14:3 ESV
Whereas, speaking in tongues is identified as a sign for unbelievers. So, while the believers would receive the gift, it was a sign to the unbelievers.
In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.
1 Corinthians 14:21-22 ESV
How do you identify your spiritual gifts?
God gives spiritual gifts, and there are no passages in the bible to help identify these gifts, or instructions for attaining them. However, several passages suggest you can earnestly desire these gifts. With that said, those passages do not specify how to do so.
It is widely considered that prayer would be that mechanism. However, gifts are ultimately given as apportioned by God and not on our preference:
All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
1 Corinthians 12:11 ESV
But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
1 Corinthians 12:18 ESV
Rather than striving to identify your existing gifts, particularly those that are miraculous, focus your attention on faith, hope and love. This is what Paul instructs their church to do in 1 Corinthians 13:13, and it's the same priority for today's church:
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV
How do I develop my spiritual gifts?
There are no passages in the Bible that suggest spiritual gifts are a craft that can be honed or developed. Instead, the Bible indicates that these gifts are given to us by God. When you receive these gifts then, they will come naturally to you and will not need to be refined further:
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 ESV
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