What Is A Spiritual Gift?

Some people are confused about the idea of what a spiritual gift is. Spiritual gifts are mentioned in several places in the New Testament.

Throughout His ministry, Jesus promised the coming of a “Helper” for the people of God. That Helper is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us to stay united as believers and to walk with God better. He does this by empowering believers, giving each of us a different gift which is useful to building up the church. In Romans, we have a list of these gifts.

Romans 12:6-8

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

Every believer possesses at least one of these spiritual gifts that are listed throughout the epistles of the Bible, although some gifts are more prominent than others. So, how do we use them? We find a clue in the “one another” statements of the church:

• Love one another

• Stimulate one another to good works

• Encourage one another

• Care for one another

• Bear one another’s burdens

• Greet one another