Spiritual gifts

Introduction to spiritual gifts

Spiritual Gifts are Gifts of God enabling the Christian to perform his (sometimes specialized) service. There are several words in the NT used for spiritual gifts. Dorea and doma are so used but are rare (Eph. 4:8; Acts 11:17). Pneumatikos and charisma are frequently found, with charisma being the most common.
The term charisma ("spiritualgift"), except for 1 Pet. 4:10, is used only by Paul. Charisma signifies redemption or salvation as the gift of God's grace (Rom. 5:15; 6:23) and a gift enabling the Christian to perform his service in the church (1 Cor. 7:7), as well as defining a special gift enabling a Christian to perform a particular ministry in the church (e.g., 12:28ff.).

Paul offers instruction on spiritual gifts in Rom. 12:6 - 8; 1 Cor. 12:4 - 11, 28 - 30; Eph. 4:7 - 12. Spiritual gifts were unusual manifestations of God's grace (charis) under normal and abnormal forms. Not every spiritual gift affected the moral life of the one who exercised it, but its purpose was always the edification of believers. The exercise of a spiritual gift implied service in the church. This practical approach is never lost sight of in the NT, these spiritual gifts often being divided into miraculous and nonmiraculous; but since some are synonymous with specific duties, they should be classified according to their significance for preaching the word, on the one hand, and exercising practical ministries, on the other.

The Gifts of the Spirit

There are five gifts of the Spirit
Working of Miracles (1 Cor. 12:10, 28 - 29)
"Miracles" is the rendering of dynameis (powers). In Acts dynameis refers to the casting out of evil spirits and the healing of bodily ailments (8:6 - 7, 13; 19:11 - 12). This may explain "working of powers," but this gift is not synonymous with "gifts of healing." Probably the former was much more spectacular than the latter, and may have signified raising the dead (Acts 9:36ff.; 20:9ff.). Paul himself exercised this gift of working of powers, and it was for him proof of his apostleship (2 Cor. 12:12), and authenticated both the good news he preached and his right to proclaim it (Rom. 15:18ff.).

Gifts of Healing (1 Cor. 12:9, 28, 30)

The gifts were given by the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, as described in the Bible in Acts of the Apostles. According to 1 Corinthians 12, the manifestation gifts include speaking in tongues, the interpretation of tongues, prophecy, the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom, the ability to distinguish between spirits, faith, the working of miracles and gifts of healing. While the ability to cast out demons may also be considered a spiritual gift, some Pentecostals and Charismatics would prefer to classify that ability as one of the gifts of healing. In the New Testament, apparently these gifts were often transmitted by the laying on of hands.

According to some Protestant denominations, the spiritual gifts, especially gifts such as speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues, were enjoyed only for a short time and were suited to the Church's infancy, not to modern (or even medieval) times. Pentecostalism takes an opposing view, believing that the spiritual gifts are still given by the Holy Spirit today, and Pentecostal meetings often involve ordinary parishioners displaying the use of these gifts (1 Cor 14). Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and many other Protestant sects also continue to believe in and allegedly make use of spiritual gifts!