Discovering the Spiritual Gifts: Part 2

It’s one thing to know what spiritual gifts are, but you might be wondering, why does God give them and how do I know what my gifts are?

In the last post, I shared my own journey with spiritual gifts, but this post is intended to take you deeper on your own journey with spiritual gifts. The gifts are not intended to be used in isolation, but in the context of a body of believers for the purposes of encouraging, maturing, and growing the body of Christ — the church.  

This is illustrated beautifully by Paul throughout 1 Corinthians 12. He describes the multitude of gifts used for the benefit of others in the church using the metaphor of a body and its various parts to describe how these individual gifts work together in the context of the larger church.  

“For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.” 1 Corinthians 12:14-20

When we work together to use our individual gifts as a collective, the whole church becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Like a symphony composed with instruments of varied tone, timbre and range, we bring our distinct gifts together to perform a masterpiece that would be impossible on our own. For example, Sandy may have an incredible gift of mercy, but struggle when it comes to prayer. Steve may excel at prayer, but isn’t gifted in teaching the Bible. Joel may be an excellent Bible teacher, but he lacks mercy and prayer. On their own they are an inadequate representation of the church, but together they form a well-rounded and healthy church body (Romans 12:6-8). 

There are no second-rate gifts in the body of Christ. It’s vital that we learn to honor and appreciate the gifts of others if we are to become the church Jesus intended. And because every spiritual gift has value and purpose in the body, every believer has a role to play in the life of the church. Your church needs you using the gifts God gave you, in order to be the healthy and effective church that God intended!

So now comes the question we all want answered, “What are the gifts God gave me and how do I discover them?” 

If you google “spiritual gifts” you’ll be buried in sites offering gifts tests where you can answer a litany of questions and receive your results. While these sites can be helpful as you get started, understanding how God has uniquely gifted you is, in my experience, a process of discovery best undertaken in the context of a community on mission for the gospel.  

In a community of fellow believers who know you well and care deeply about you, you can receive real-world input. Often they will be able to see more clearly how God has gifted you because they have likely been the recipient of your gifts. They’ll know that every time you explain a passage of scripture your face lights up and everyone in the room understands it in a profound and useful way — perhaps you have the gift of teaching! Maybe every time a need arises in your small group, they recognize you’re the first person to organize an effort to help — the gift of serving. Or maybe they see that you consistently share impressions and images that seem to speak powerfully and accurately to what specific individuals are going through — they may suggest you have the gift of prophecy. 

Moreover, it is in community that we learn not only what our gifts are, but how to use them with wisdom and care. The people who know and love you the most will typically have a lot of grace and patience as you explore your gifts and make mistakes. Understanding how and when spiritual gifts are best utilized is an art developed over time because the process cannot be microwaved. In order to be beneficial in building up the church and encouraging others, we have to allow ourselves to learn and grow. And our church family is the best context to do that in! 

Furthermore, spiritual gifts are intended to be used for the building up of the body and the edification of others. Practicing them in the context of our church community helps us to avoid seeking to know our gifts as an attempt at a self-actualization. Our culture is replete with calls to worship ourselves and serve ourselves. Scripture on the other hand, is calling us to understand our gifts so that we can serve others.

As you learn, continue to spend time thinking and praying. Ask God things like: What grows your faith and the faith of others when you do a specific thing? What makes you and others come alive? What makes you and others look toward Jesus and love Him more? At the intersection of those experiences is often where the discovery of spiritual gifts takes place.  

Whatever they are, it’s important to remember that spiritual gifts are to be used with wisdom, responsibility, and in a way that encourages and benefits one another (1 Peter 4:10). We should all be encouraged to know our spiritual gifts and learn to use them well, so that we too can contribute to the body of Christ and the mission of the Kingdom in our unique and God-given way.

If you want to go deeper in this conversation, there are a couple great resources I’d recommend. If you really want to dig into this topic, pick up a copy of Sam Storm’s book Understanding Spiritual Gifts: A Comprehensive Guide.  Another great place to explore this topic in the context of church community and gospel mission is by joining one of our Rooted Groups where we learn about the spiritual gifts together, along with other bedrock practices of following Jesus.