Gifts and Ministry of the Holy Spirit

To be empowered by the Holy Spirit for life and mission, we need to have a proper understanding of the true personality of the One who empowers us.  (1 Corinthians 12:7-11; Ephesians 4:11-13; Romans 12:4-7)

Gifts of the Holy Spirit are special abilities that the Holy Spirit gives to disciples of Jesus for the purpose of building up the Body of Christ. They are divine abilities granted to followers of Jesus to accomplish what God has called them to do. As it is recorded in 2 Peter 1:3, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.” 

Some of these gifts are called the manifestation of the Holy Spirit which He manifests at any time He wants in order to build up the Body of Christ for God’s glory.

There are nine manifestations of the Spirit recorded in 1 Corinthians 12:8-11, and other ministerial gifts of the Spirit are also recorded in Romans 12:8-12 and Ephesians 4:7-13. Let’s briefly look at some of these gifts.

The word of knowledge is supernatural knowledge and insight that the Holy Spirit gives that no one can understand by human power. Sometimes the Holy Spirit gives us knowledge of something that is hidden or reveals a secret for the edification of the body.  

The word of wisdom is instant supernatural wisdom given by the Holy Spirit to apply the word of knowledge. This gift enables the church to handle complex problems or issues in a constructive, God-honoring way.  

The gift of faith is the manifestation of divine faith when it is needed so that we can believe and act accordingly. To reveal this gift, God may ask us to do something that seems crazy—for example, walking on water requires supernatural faith.

The gift of healing is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit to someone of any kind of disease or illness or evil spirit.  There are two plural words—“gifts” and “healings”—which means that there are different kinds of healings from different kinds of diseases.     

The working of miracles is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit that transcends the natural laws by which God reveals Himself to people. For example, the turning of water into wine, the feeding of the 5000 by multiplying five loaves of bread and two fishes, etc. Our God is a miracle-working God and He still loves miracles today.

The discerning of spirits is the supernatural ability to identify what is going on behind the spiritual scenes (1 John 4:1-4). This gift is needed to discern the source of any revelation or message because there are four sources (demonic, angelic, human, or divine). Missing this gift from the church of Jesus Christ brings confusion and division in the church.

The gift of prophecy is a divine ability to foretell the future and to explain the current situation. In 1 Corinthians 14:1, Paul told us to desire spiritual gifts, especially prophecy. The prophecy Paul mentioned here is a forth-telling one when someone gets a direct Word from the Lord to give to someone else or to the church so as to build up/restore.

Different kinds of tongues are the supernatural ability to speak in another language to edify self and to build up the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 14:2, 1 Corinthians 14:5, 1 Corinthians 14:13-14, 1 Corinthians 14:39-40). There are gifts of tongues for the edification of oneself and for the edification of the Church. There are times when tongues are given as a sign of receiving the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44-46; Acts 19:6).

The interpretation of tongues is the supernatural ability to interpret what is spoken in another tongue (1 Corinthians 14:13-14, 1 Corinthians 14:27-28). Sometimes the interpretation may be given to the one who is speaking in tongues or to another person.

There are also other ministry gifts of the Holy Spirit to equip the Church of Jesus Christ for the unfinished task of the mission of Jesus. Some of these gifts are people, such as apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, deacons, etc. These and other ministry gifts are given to every member of the body of Christ as the Spirit wills for the glory of God. Let us mention some of the ministry gifts.

The gift of serving is demonstrating the love of God by meeting practical needs. Those who have this gift have different eyes to see needs and respond promptly.

The gift of teaching is revealing the treasures in the Word of God. This gift discovers and validates truth for the edification of the Church of Jesus Christ.

The gift of giving is the sharing of resources in order to meet the needs of others.

The gift of exhortation is the supernatural ability to encourage others to help them reach their life and ministry goals by walking alongside them. 

The gift of administration is a supernatural ability to keep things organized and in accordance with God’s principles and priorities.

The gift of helping is the supernatural ability to help others to do whatever it takes to get a task accomplished. 

The gift of mercy is the supernatural ability to demonstrate God’s love and compassion by responding empathetically and graciously to another’s, or your own, hurt.

What is the purpose of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

Global Disciples Canada is a Christian mission organization that trains local leaders living near least-reached communities to multiply disciples for Christ. One-third of our world hasn’t heard the Good News of Jesus. Yet. Global Disciples refers to these as “least-reached” people, and fewer than 10% of all missionaries work among these groups. We live in a time when many of these people are within reach of a local church. Through our simple and effective strategy of training and coaching, believers share the Gospel in their own nations and cultures. Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” and we’re committed to doing just that. If you are looking for a Christian mission organization to partner with to become a better disciple and help make disciples, connect with us today!