I call spiritual gifts, "Holy Spirit acts of grace" because Holy Spirit manifests Himself by acts of His grace through believers in Jesus. Holy Spirit is involved with every aspect of the believer's life, but for the purposes of this study, we are focusing on how they relate to personal discipleship, hence the name of this web page, Discipleship Gifts.
1 Corinthians 12:11 says:
“But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.” (LSB)
1 Peter 4:10–11 says:
“ Whatever specific grace you each have received, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God: If anyone speaks, speak the oracles of God. If anyone serves, serve with the strength which God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom is the glory and the power throughout all the ages. Amen.” (MSV)
By this we understand that Holy Spirit decides how He will manifest Himself through each believer. Our job is not to pick which "spiritual gift" we want, but to be a good steward of how Holy Spirit wants to manifest Himself through us - in other words, we are to work in cooperation with Holy Spirit to accomplish His will.
Not sure how Holy Spirit wants to extend His grace through you?
Pray. “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5, BSB)
Get involved in a ministry that catches your attention and your heart.
Pay attention to how Holy Spirit uses you in the lives of others as you serve in ministry.
Here is a list of the spiritual gifts mentioned in the passages indicated,
divided into two groups (speaking gifts, serving gifts) as implied in 1 Peter 4:11.
This should be considered a list of basic materials, like ingredients to a recipe. Holy Spirit uses a blend of a few gifts for each believer as He sees fit, to work through each believer in a unique way to accomplish His will.
This list is provided to give you an idea of ways Holy Spirit works through the lives of believers in Jesus.
Romans 12:6-8
prophecy
teaching
exhortation
service
giving
leadership
mercy
1 Corinthians 12:8-10
the word of wisdom
the word of knowledge
prophecy
speaking in tongues
translation of tongues
faith
healing
miracles
distinguishing of spirits
1 Corinthians 12:28-30
apostles
prophets
teachers
speaking in tongues
translation of tongues
miracles
healing
helps
administration
Ephesians 4:11
apostles
prophets
evangelists
shepherd-teachers
(This Page Last Updated 2/1/2025)