If you have ever wondered what are the spiritual gifts in the Bible or asked questions about spiritual gifts, you have come to the right place.
There is a lot of information on spiritual gifts on the internet, and it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not, especially if you’re new to this subject.
There are nine spiritual gifts in the Bible. They are; the word of wisdom, word of knowledge, gift of faith, gift of healing, working of miracles, gift of prophecy, discernment of spirits, speaking in diverse tongues, and interpretation of tongues.
The Holy Spirit gives each of these gifts to believers for the benefit of the church. The manifestation of these gifts varies and may depend on factors such as maturity and gifting.
Not all Christians will have all nine of these gifts, but each may have at least one. In this article, I will show you everything you need to know about spiritual gifts and provide answers to questions you may have asked on what are the spiritual gifts in the Bible.
What Are Spiritual Gifts, And What Is Their Purpose?
You may often wonder what are spiritual gifts and what is their purpose. Spiritual gifts are abilities that God has given Believers to serve others and build up the body of Christ through the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
The purpose of spiritual gifts is to edify (build up), exhort (encourage), and comfort the church. These are the primary functions you should remember when next you get a question on what are the spiritual gifts in the Bible.
Although from the scriptures in 1 Corinthians 12, we can see a list of spiritual gifts. Never forget that they are all spiritual gifts from God, and ultimately their purpose is to glorify God.
Definition Of Spiritual Gifts
Many people ask a lot of questions on what are the spiritual gifts in the Bible, as they are unable to define spiritual gifts.
Spiritual Gifts are gifts of the Holy Spirit given to believers by the Holy Spirit so they can accomplish a ministry God’s way according to His grace and discernment within the context of the Body of Christ.
Apostle Paul, one to who God handed the mysteries of the matter of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 from verses 1 through 11, spoke expressly concerning spiritual gifts: Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.
Verse 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other, you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but it is the same God at work in all of them and everyone.
Now to each one, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one, there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gift of healing by that one Spirit,
Verse 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b]
11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. (1 Corinthian 12: 1 – 11) This scripture lists these gifts and informs us how they should be used, not for personal gains.
Apostle Paul accentuated, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” In other words, gifts of the Holy Spirit are meant to be profitable, to meet a need, and not used for personal and selfish gains.
Paul used the analogy of the body where the members (parts of the body) are different (he means that not everybody has to have the same spiritual gifts) and that the members of the body should care for each other.
So we also need spiritual gifts in this connection (care for each other).
How Many Spiritual Gifts Are There?
Before now, you may have wondered how many spiritual gifts are there. This section will provide clarity on the list of spiritual gifts and definitions.
The list below answers the question: what are the spiritual gifts in the Bible? While showing the meaning of these gifts as seen in 1 Corinthians 12 from verses 7 to 11. The nine spiritual Gifts and their meanings are;
1. Word of wisdom: Word of wisdom is a supernatural ability to get insights, directions and information about future matters.
2. Word of knowledge: Word of knowledge is a supernatural ability to get knowledge of past occurrences and situations without having prior knowledge.
3. Faith: The gift of faith is the ability to possess great confidence in the power and promises of God, standing firm, believing, and being unshakable and resolute.
4. Speaking in diverse tongues: Speaking in diverse tongues is the supernatural ability to speak in another language (that has never been learnt or understood).
5. Interpretation of tongues: The gift of interpretation of tongues is the supernatural enablement to express in a comprehensive language an utterance spoken in an unknown tongue.
(This is not learned but imparted by the Holy Spirit; therefore, it should not be confused with the acquired skill of language interpretation.)
6. Prophecy: Prophecy is the ability to speak the message of God to others. This sometimes involves foresight or visions of what is to come. This is to bring counsel, exhortation, encouragement and warning.
7. Healing: Healing is a way God uses to restore others, such as through physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual renewal.
8. Working of Miracles: Working of miracles is a supernatural, God-given ability to perform special signs that testify to the God of the Bible. This consists of more than the gift of healing; this is where something creative occurs beyond restoration.
9. Discernment of spirits: Discernment of spirits is the wisdom to recognize truth from untruth by correctly evaluating whether a behavior or teaching is from God or another, an ungodly source.
How To Identify Your Spiritual Gifts
Have you ever wondered how to identify your spiritual gifts? To identify your spiritual gifts, you must fully understand how they operate and their manifest dimensions.
In this section, we will extensively see each spiritual gift, how they are further categorized, and the ways they manifest.
Categories Of Spiritual Gifts From The Bible
Spiritual gifts are further categorized into three groups. Understanding these categories answers the questions around what are the spiritual gifts in the Bible. These categories are:
A. Vocal Gifts.
B. Revealing Gifts.
C. Power Gifts.
A. Vocal Gifts
The gifts under this category are also referred to as speaking gifts. Three gifts are under this category and manifest their operation through speaking. The three gifts in this category are;
1. Speaking in (diverse) tongues.
2. Interpretation of tongues.
3. Prophecy
Manifestation Of Vocal Gifts
Often people who make inquiries on what are the spiritual gifts in the Bible are most likely to find information relating to the vocal gifts because these are the three most popular spiritual gifts in the Bible.
Let us see how the three spiritual gifts in this category manifest.
1. Speaking In Diverse Tongues
Some believers question the importance of speaking in tongues; they see it as an archaic gift that existed when Jesus walked the earth and vanished shortly after. However, other believers say that speaking in tongues is still a spiritual gift bestowed on Christians.
Even within that group, many misunderstand the function and significance of this gift of the Holy Spirit. They find speaking in tongues strange or, at the very least, disturbing.
The gift of speaking in tongues is referenced in several parts of the New Testament, so examining those scriptures clarifies its intention.
What Is Speaking In Tongues?
Speaking in tongues is a very controversial subject relating to gifts of the Spirit, and you may have asked what is speaking in tongues.
Speaking in tongues is when an individual speaks a language they do not know. These tongues may be human languages with which the speaker is unfamiliar (Acts 2:8–11) or non-human, holy languages with which no one is familiar (1 Corinthians 14:2).
Speaking in tongues manifests in three dimensions. They are;
1. It manifests as a language of another nation.
We can see how this was manifested in the Bible in Acts 2: 8 – 11: “Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya near Cyrene;
Visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” (NIV)
The earlier verses of this same chapter reveal what had made this happen: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1 – 4 NIV)
So we see the Holy Spirit enabled them to speak these unknown, unlearnt languages of different nations.
2. It manifests as a prayer language
Reading 1 Corinthians 14 shows another manifestation of the gift of speaking in diverse tongues. Anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his Spirit.
But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement, and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. (1 Corinthians 14:2 – 3 NIV)
The manifestation of the gift of speaking in diverse tongues, as seen in 1 Corinthians chapter 14, is different from what we saw in Acts chapter 2. Here, speaking in tongues is a tool to pray, communicate and fellowship with God.
The Bible says, “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his Spirit.”
Verse 4 went on to say; He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. The root word for ‘edifies’ is gotten from Greek oikodomeo (oy-kod-om-eh’-o), a verb often used for the phrase to build, as a builder builds a house.
We see speaking in tongues manifest as a praying language that we can use to build ourselves spiritually, granting us direct access to God the Father as we pray mysteries in the Spirit.
Again, that is unprofitable to our human understanding but necessary and profitable to our spiritual experience and growth journey.
3. It manifests as a supernatural language conveying a message
The third dimension of speaking in diverse tongues manifests as a supernatural language to pass a message from God to a congregation. This particular manifestation is often displayed closely with the prophecy.
In 1 Corinthians 14: 5 – 6, Apostle Paul counsels about this manifestation; I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy.
He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified.
Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you unless I bring you some revelation, knowledge, prophecy, or word of instruction?
Apostle Paul directly compares speaking in tongues, manifesting as a supernatural language conveying a message to an audience without an interpretation of this supernatural utterance and prophecy.
While speaking in tongues is excellent, the Author also tells us it is in no profit when it isn’t interpreted. Hence the need for a divine interpretation.
He said, now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction?
The value of this manifestation of speaking in tongues is truly productive only if there is an interpretation, of course, of a divine source as the message, which brings us to the second category under the vocal gifts.
2. Interpretation Of Tongues
Interpretation of tongues is not the ability to understand a language one has already learned. It is instead a supernatural ability to understand someone speaking in a language they have never known.
In other words, it is a gift from God to fully comprehend and interpret unknown (to others) deep mysterious language and articulations.
Of course, this does not mean that you are incredibly talented at picking up languages, but rather that you were given the gift of understanding the meaning of the tongue at the time.
From 1 Corinthians 14: 6, we can see that the goal of the gift of interpretation of tongues is to speak to the people in such a way that they will understand the mind of God. It is not limited to the manifestation of a prayer language.
Like the gift of speaking in diverse tongues, the interpretation of tongues is not mentioned in the gospel during the life of Jesus. Instead, this gift emerged with the other gifts of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was first poured out.
But, other than in 1 Corinthians, there are no instances of this gift being demonstrated. However, there is a possible occurrence of this gift mentioned in Acts 10 when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentile believers at Cornelius’s house.
It says there that they spoke in tongues and prophesied. So perhaps the prophecy there represented the interpretation of those tongues.
3. Prophecy
The gift of prophecy refers to the ability to speak forth God’s message. A prophet is someone who speaks the Word of God to people through direct revelation.
Prophetic utterances can be aimed at specific people, the church, or a broader context; rather than implying a future prediction.
It is used to proclaim what God has said rather than to predict the future. The spiritual gift of prophecy is extraordinary and unique. Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:1, “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.”
This gift is a blessing to the church and should not be quenched or despised (1 Thessalonians 5:20). The Greek word for the gift of prophecy is ‘propheteia,’ which is the ability to receive a divinely inspired message delivered by someone to others in the church.
These words are spoken through the human mind, which is why they must be tested against the scriptures (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21). The Holy Spirit grants some Christians the gift of prophecy to declare God’s message and strengthen the church.
This gift helps believers and unbelievers learn more about God and clearly shows He is present among His people (1 Corinthians 14:22-25). In addition, individuals who have this gift have an insight into the Holy Spirit and what is going on in the body of Christ.
If you have read till this point am sure that the next time you get questions on what are the spiritual gifts in the Bible? You will be able to mention speaking in diverse tongues, interpretation of tongues, and prophecy, the most popular of the nine gifts categorized as vocal gifts because they manifest through speaking utterances.
B. Revealing Gifts
Gifts under this category are also referred to as seeing gifts. They are three, and they manifest their operation through sight. The three gifts of the Spirit in this category are;
1. Word of knowledge
2. Word of wisdom
3. Discernment of spirits
Manifestation Of Revealing Gifts
1. Word Of Knowledge
This spiritual gift of knowledge is the supernatural ability to know specific details about people, events, and occurrences in the past that were never disclosed. This ability ‘sees’ in parts hence the name’ word of knowledge.
Often God reveals brief information about an individual’s life and what they had gone through or what is causing the pain or discomfort.
Those who operate this spiritual gift do not know all the details or secrets of everybody except for the ones God reveals through the Holy Spirit.
In most cases, God reveals this because He intends to address this. This spiritual gift also manifested during the life of Jesus and the early church Apostles.
In John chapter 4, verses 7 through 17, we see the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan Woman by the side of the well;
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
This was the word of knowledge at work – Jesus’s ability to tell her about her past occurrences and details about her life. However, he was meeting her physically for the first time.
In Acts chapter 5, we can also see the manifestation of the gift of the word of knowledge; Now, a man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira also sold a piece of property.
With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back part of the money for himself but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold?
And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” When Ananias heard this, he fell and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. (Acts 5: 1–5 NIV)
Peter’s ability to get information about the past, informing Ananias of how he had sold the land and decided to put away some of the money, was divine. This was the word of knowledge in manifestation.
2. Word Of Wisdom
The gift of the word of wisdom gives direction about the future. It is a response or remedy to an already disclosed predicament, proving a way to provide relief and freedom. This gift also comes in ‘parts’ and not the whole picture.
While many people confuse the word of wisdom with wisdom from God, you should understand that the two are unique.
While there is the Spirit of wisdom as one of the seven manifestations of God as seen in Isaiah 11: 2; The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD (NIV).
The gift of the word of wisdom is different. The gift of the word of wisdom is a quick and divine insight into God’s sovereign wisdom, purpose, plan, or counsel concerning things of the past, present, or future.
This gift is not called the “gift of wisdom” but the “word of wisdom.” A word is a fragment of a sentence. A word of wisdom, therefore, is a fragment of the total arena of God’s plan and wisdom.
Knowing that a word of wisdom comes to minister to the need is important. It is much the same as a lawyer. He does not give you all of his knowledge, only what is necessary for the case.
So when next, you may be asked what are the spiritual gifts in the Bible. Do not confuse the word of wisdom and the Spirit of wisdom.
3. Discernment Of Spirits
The gift of discernment spirits is the ability to discern whether something is really from God if it is based on His righteous standard or not.” The Greek word for the gift of discernment is ‘Diakrisis.’
The term describes distinguishing, discerning, judging, or appraising a person, statement, situation, or environment. Hebrews 5:14 says; But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (NIV)
With the help of the Holy Spirit, some Christians are granted the gift of discernment of spirits to recognize and distinguish between the influence of God, Satan, the world, and the flesh in any given situation.
The church needs these people to warn followers when they risk being fooled by false teaching. In 1 Kings 3:9, King Solomon prayed earnestly for this gift:
Therefore, give your servant an understanding mind to govern your people so that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people? (ESV).
If you have read till this point, I believe most confusion you had about what are the spiritual gifts in the Bible have been addressed. So let’s see the last category of spiritual gifts in the Bible.
C. Power Gifts
Like the previous two categories, the power gift houses three gifts of the Spirit. It manifests by causing a change, hence the name power gifts. The gifts in this category are;
1. Faith
2. Healing
3. Working of miracles
Manifestation Of Power Gifts
1. Faith
All believers have this gift. It is the currency to which all Christian journey is made. The gift of faith is defined as an extraordinary level of confidence in God’s promises, power, and presence, which allows Christians to take heroic stands to ensure the future of God’s work in the church.
Although not all believers can be said to have reached a place of martyrdom, this is because although when we begin our Christian journey, a level of faith is credited to our spirit.
What we do and how our lives turn out is depended on how much or how far we are willing to stretch and exercise our faith.
Romans 12:3b tells us; God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. (KJV). Faith is the foundation of our Christian journey. “By grace, you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8).
“Without faith, it is impossible to please [God], for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6 KJV).
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16-17 KJV).
Faith is powerful and necessary in our daily walk with God (relationship) and works for God (service). The creative power of faith makes it a must for all believers to understand and utilize fully.
2. Healing And Working Miracles
While these gifts may be similar, they are not the same. Unfortunately, because of their close similarity, they are often confused.
While healing is a way God uses to restore others, such as through physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual renewal, the working of miracles is a supernatural, God-given ability to perform unique signs that testify to the God of the Bible.
It consists of more than the gift of healing. It is where something creative occurs beyond restoration. There are several occasions littered around the New Testament where we see God’s power at work through the healing.
In Jesus’s ministry on earth, these weren’t scarce. Let us look at an instance where Jesus manifested the gifts of healing and the working of miracles.
Luke 17: 14 – 19 (KJV) And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass that, as they went, they were cleansed.
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice, glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
And Jesus answering said, were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
The ten lepers all heard the instruction to go show themselves, and when they did, they were made clean – healed. Except for the one who returned to show gratitude, he was made whole (complete as though he had never been afflicted with leprosy before) – working of a miracle; with him, something else happened.
Beyond the pains ceasing, there was a creative miracle. His nails were restored, and his skin was fully restored. So now am sure that the next time you are asked what are the spiritual gifts in the Bible? You will answer without missing words.
Difference Between Ministry Gifts And Spiritual Gifts
The difference between ministry gifts, as seen in Ephesians 4: 11 – 12, and spiritual gifts, as seen in 1 Corinthians 12: 1 – 11, is the gifts mentioned in Ephesians are ministry gifts to enable believers properly do the work of the ministry while spiritual gifts to edify the body of Christ.
Verses In The Bible About Spiritual Gifts
Lastly, let’s see ten verses from the Bible that talk about spiritual gifts;
1. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:7).
2. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:4)
3. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one just as He wills. (1 Corinthians 12:11)
4. Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. (1 Corinthians 14:1)
5. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; (Romans 12:6)
6. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. (1 Timothy 4:14)
7. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; (1 Corinthians 12:8)
8. But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12:31)
9. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, (Acts 8:18)
10. For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. (2 Timothy 1:6)
Conclusion
The gifts of the Spirit are for us to use. I hope this article has provided an adequate explanation and answers any questions you may have on what are the spiritual gifts in the Bible. If you still have questions, feel free to ask through the comment section.
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