In the continuing series “What’s the Shape of Your Faith,” Heather asks us this week about spiritual gifts. For those who might be unfamiliar with this term, the Bible teaches that God gives gifts in the form of abilities to His followers through which He works in and through the lives of believers. I Corinthians 12 is one of the main passages that teaches about spiritual gifts, though there are others which touch on it. The definitions for some of the individual ones will be discussed later.

Thankfully this is a topic I have thought through carefully at several points in the past. One church we were members of in another state did a very thorough study over several weeks on this topic. A few years ago at our church here we had a ladies’ Bible study using a book which was one of the best I’ve seen on the topic. Unfortunately I can’t remember the name and I am not sure where the book is. I had thought it was from Regular Baptist Press, but I searched and did not see it there. I will see if I can find it later because I would love to share the title with you.

There are things I learned in the wake of those two studies that I would like to share here before I get into my own spiritual gift survey.

First of all, while taking surveys like this can be helpful, there can be variance from each of them because of the way the questions were asked. I would not use any of them as a hard-and-fast diagnosis, but rather a guideline.

Secondly, one danger in a study like this is the possible “That’s not my job” mentality that may arise. There are certain things we are all supposed to do — give, help people, witness, etc. — but some people are especially gifted at it. Sometimes, I can testify, God puts us in situations we’re not gifted to handle — I think in order to cause us to see the need to depend on Him, and so the results will be attributed to Him and not our giftedness. So, while a study like this can be help us to know what types of ministry we might best participate in, ultimately we need to do whatever we feel the Lord is requiring of us every day, seeking His will and strength and grace and power to do it.

One thing to remember is that our gifts are not…foolproof, for want of a better word. There is Scriptural instruction for how we are to exercise those gifts — we don’t receive them fully developed usually. We still have a sin nature we need to battle against every day, and that will sometimes affect our gifts and how we exercise them. And, as we mature, our spiritual gifts should also mature. Why am I even bringing this up? Well, I have sat under those who have felt they had the gift of teaching who I really doubted had that gift. I have seen some who said they have the gift of discernment make errors in discernment. That doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have that gift, but for some reason their correct use of it was skewered. That is one reason there is Bible instruction on how to exercise our gifts

Another danger is that of tending to trust in our gift rather than in Him. This goes along with the preceding point.

A spiritual gift is also not an excuse for negative personality traits. In the former church I mentioned, there was an older man who could sometimes be a cantankerous and get all in a huff over something and “let loose” about it. The questions in that particular study seemed to indicate that the gift of a “prophet” would have that type of personality, so he felt fully justified, even exultant, that that was his gift. Well, first of all, I would disagree that a prophet is like that (the Biblical prophets all had different personalities. One pastor pointed out that many of them ministered at the same time and area, and one reason God raised up different prophets in the same time and place was so that the different personalities and approaches might reach different people), but secondly, as we grow in grace our spiritual gifts will become more refined and Christlike.

One positive thing to remember is that God gives to the body of Christ different people with different gifts to work together to accomplish His will, and they will tend to balance out each other. For instance, a church whose members all have the gifts of mercy and giving, but no one with discernment or administration, will probably run into trouble. So when we get frustrated in committee meetings or business meetings because other people don’t see things the way we do, that may be one reason. But the Lord will guide to the correct course of action.

One last thought: many of the test questions used words like “enjoy” or “take joy in” or the word “easily.” While what we enjoy doing or what comes easily to us may be a sign of a spiritual gift, I think of Moses and all the good reasons he gave God as to why he wasn’t gifted to go before Pharoah and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Yet God told him to go and promised to give him what he needed to do the job. I don’t think there is much record that he enjoyed the process. Paul told the Corinthians that he had been with them “in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.” He goes on to say, “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” That’s what a spiritual gift is!

OK, now that this post is already too long 🙂 I’ll get to the results of my surveys. 🙂

In the first Spiritual Gifts Discovery Survey that Heather referred us to, my highest results were Faith (20),Teaching (19), Administration/Ruling (15), Discernment and Giving (14), Exhortation and Wisdom (13).

In the second Spiritual Gift Inventory she mentioned, my highest scores were Knowledge (16), Teaching (15), and Administration, Exhortation, Giving, and Wisdom all tying at 14.

In the previous book study I mentioned, I scored higher in Discernment. That may be because the second survey above seemed to define discernment as knowing when demonic activity is present, whereas the previous study I did defined it more as discerning between what teaching is Biblical and what is not. Other studies might put that in the category of wisdom or knowledge. (That’s why I say no one study is foolproof. 🙂 )

In both, Helps and Mercy hover around the middle of the scale, with evangelism low.

That has pretty well been the way it has played out in the other tests I have taken, with maybe a little different order, but those same ones are the ones that keep popping up.

Here are the definitions from the first survey for the ones I scored highest in:

Faith: “It is the special gift whereby the Spirit provides Christians with extraordinary confidence in God’s promises, power, and presence so that they can take heroic stands for their future of God’s work in the church. See Hebrews 11.”

Teacher: “It is the special gift whereby the Spirit enables particular Christians to communicate the truths of God’s Word so that others can learn. See Hebrews 5:12-14.”

Administration: “It is the special gift whereby the Spirit enables certain Christians to understand the goals of a given segment of the Church’s ministry and to direct that area effectively, keeping the Church on course. See Acts 15:12-21.”

Giving: “It is the special gift whereby the Spirit enables certain Christians to offer their material blessings for the work of the church with exceptional willingness, cheerfulness and liberality. See 2 Corinthians 8:1-5.”

From the second site’s definitions:

Knowledge: “The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to discover, accumulate, analyze, and clarify information and ideas which are pertinent to the well-being of the Body.”
This gift is a practical gift. Those with the gift of knowledge are at home in a book or studying. Those with this gift will often spend countless hours researching information. These people are interested in ideas and problem solving through gathering information and studying. Often, those with this gift have a low need for people. On rare occasions, people with this gift will gather vast amounts of information through studying and analyzing personal experience, but the primary method of learning with this gift is reading and studying books and other written materials. Scriptures: Luke 1:1-4; Acts 5:1-11; 1 Corinthians 2:14; 12:8; 2 Corinthians 11:6; Colossians 1:10; 2:2-3; 1 Timothy 2:15.

Teaching: “The special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to communicate information relevant to the health and ministry of the Body and its members in such a way that others will learn.”
This gift is a communication gift. People with the gift of teaching enjoy studying the Bible and related materials in order to communicate what they have learned to other Christians. Those with this gift find it easy to organize vast amounts of information in such a way as to make it easy to communicate, understand, and remember. Scriptures: Matthew 7:28-29; 28:19-20; Acts 15:32; Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:10, 28; Ephesians 4:11-14.
Note: Exhortation, Prophecy, and Teaching are considered the communication gifts. The distinctions for each gift are often confused. Often, gifted communicators have a mix of these gifts. Exhortation focuses on personal and practical application of the message or truth being communicated. Prophecy focuses on the urgency and impact of the message or truth being communicated. Teaching focuses on bringing thorough or adequate understanding of the message or truth being communicated.

I think the latter two definitions hit the nail on the head for me. I love studying and researching the Bible. I used to be confused by my scores on “Teaching,” though, because, though I majored in education, I came to feel that teaching was not what I wanted to do. Now, with some physical problems, while it wouldn’t be impossible, the standing in front of a classroom type of teaching is still not what I feel called to. However, one of the previous spiritual gift studies mentioned writing as a method of teaching, and my heart leapt at that. I don’t know how the Lord may use that just yet. He has used it in smaller ways in various opportunities He has given me to write, here, and in our ladies’ ministry newsletter, and on a subscriber list I am on for TM patients and caregivers. If that is as far as He wants it to go, that’s fine.

Discernment, in the sense of discerning whether teaching is in line with the Word of God, comes into play here. I would never profess to be perfect at it, but sometimes during ladies’ Bible studies we will gloss over something in the book, and I’ll say, “Wait a minute…is that saying what I think it is?”

This gift is one for which you have to take the test questions very cautiously. Some of them say thing like, “I can size a person up after first impressions.” There is great danger in being presumptuous with that sort of attitude.

When I first began to serve in the church, it seemed that all the opportunities that came my way involved children’s ministries. While I could do it, and even enjoy it to some extent, I really didn’t look forward to it and often dragged my feet about it. For several years my family was active in Awanas. The one thing I liked about it was that it was something we could do as a whole family, rather than all separating at the door the way some ministry opportunities are. And my husband was really good at it. 🙂 Those two things kept me in it longer than I really wanted to be. But one year the Awana secretary needed a helper. That involved the more administrative behind-the-scenes details: ordering supplies, finding out who earned what awards and laying them out to be given at the end of the night, record-keeping, etc. That changed my outlook dramatically — I felt as if I had finally found my niche. That was one of my first clues, really, about God’s gifting people for different ministries. It was like a light bulb came on. Nowadays the Lord has used that primarily in the ladies’ ministry at out church. When it first began in the format it is now, another lady headed it up. Because I was interested in it, I asked questions and offered comments and help. When her family moved away, I was asked to take over. I really feel more comfortable as a “second banana” implementing the outworking of the various things we do, arranging for speakers and activities, etc. I’m not really comfortable as a leader and don’t feel I inspire or motivate people to action (which seems to be the definition of a leader.) I don’t think I have the personality to be the out-front person. Many times I have wished the other lady would move back and we could go back to the way it was before. 🙂 But I do feel confident that this was the Lord’s will for me these last few years and have seen Him work through me in that ministry. But if He wanted to raise up another leader and put me back as assistant, I’d be more than willing. 🙂

I think maybe because of seeing the Lord’s working in many of the different situations I mentioned earlier, plus reading many missionary biographies, it doesn’t seem hard now to trust the Lord to do things. When my husband has come to me at times with concern over a job situation, there has been a rock-solid conviction that the Lord will take care of us. Oh, there has been some measure of concern as to how it will all work out. But ultimately he enables me to trust in the fact of is control, provision, guidance, and protection. This may be where the scores for the gift of “faith” have come in. I have to confess, though, that I have more trouble trusting the Lord fo smaller everyday things than for the major crises of life. Silly, isn’t it, that I can trust Him with the saving of my soul and the care of my family and then wobble over things like helping me to find a bathroom when we are traveling. 😳

I do love to give, and not just money. I love looking for just the right gift for someone. I can’t understand when people give gifts without any thought as to what the recipient might want or like. The Lord has been using this in two ways. One is our church’s missions closet which we take missionaries through when they visit our church. Just recently a missionary my husband took back there picked up a small set of tools and said, “I almost bought these, but didn’t. May I take these?” Sure! It gives me a lot of joy to be used in that way. The second area is the missionary Christmas gift collection that our ladies’ groups sponsors for our church. We do ask the missionaries for ideas, and then make up lists that our folks can sign up on for what things they would like to contribute. I can sometimes drive myself (and my husband, I’m sure!) crazy with the details of that, wanting to get just the right thing, making sure the gifts are even among family members, etc. But overall I love it.

I have to confess, though, that I don’t always give sacrificially. I do love to give, but I like to have, too. 😳 And I have to learn that running over the budget to give is not exercising that gift in the best way, but praying over it and exercising discernment in what to give and being willing to do so sacrficially is something I need more of.

Whew! Are you still reading? Pat yourself on the back for me. 🙂

I would encourage any of you who want to discern what your spiritual gifts are to try different ministries within the church and your sphere of influence. That and other people’s feedback, along with studying the Word of God, are the best ways, I think, to see where you “fit” within the body of Christ. And you do fit somewhere.