Different Gifts But The Same Family
God has given His children many different kinds of spiritual gifts. It can be encouraging and exciting to learn about how God has wired you to honor Him, serve others, and grow in your relationship with Christ.
Before you begin learning more about the spiritual gifts, it’s important to take a moment and pause. Remember that there’s no ranking system for the gifts. One gift is not necessarily better or worse than another. Just like all of God’s children are equal in His sight, all spiritual gifts are also equal.
With that in mind, let’s start exploring the gifts. They’re listed alphabetically (but again, they aren’t meant to be ranked).
Administration
This gift is the gift of organization. But it goes beyond a tidy sock drawer or a well-swept home. Those with this gift are often action takers who get things done. If you need a new ministry organized or a complicated task planned out in phases, you want someone with the gift of administration on your side.
Sometimes, those with this gift find themselves in leadership positions. This is usually due to the administrator’s ability to implement plans and direct others to make sure the desired outcome is met.
Apostleship
The gift of apostleship is a passion or desire for sharing your faith with others. Often, those with apostleship value relationships and they are great at connecting with people who are vastly different from themselves. They can easily cross-cultural, racial, and other barriers that prevent many in the church from reaching out.
It’s not uncommon to find those with this gift in positions where a connection is needed. For example, apostles are often excellent missionaries, church planters, and ministry starters. They are influencers who lead others without realizing it.
Discernment
Discernment is the spiritual ability that allows someone to discern the difference between right and wrong. This can be a precious gift—the discerners can recognize when someone is lying or when others are being led astray by a false teaching.
Often, those with discernment are known to their family and friends for their strong “instincts”. They know what to do in a situation, even if they’ve never faced anything like it before. They tend to be excellent listeners and make exceptional advisors.
Evangelism
Sometimes, those with the gift of evangelism are mistakenly told they have the gift of apostleship. It’s true that there is some overlap between the two gifts. Both share a passion for relationships and connecting with others. But they do it in distinctly different ways.
While the apostles long to plant something new (like a ministry or organization), evangelists want to recruit. It’s not uncommon for God to bring together someone with a gift of apostleship to begin a good work and someone with a gift of evangelism to grow that work.
Those with the gift of evangelism bring in the lost sheep and help those sheep connect to the body of Christ. Evangelists are often bold and enjoy sharing their faith with others. They can be just at home during a worship service as they are on the baseball field or in the office. This gift often attracts those who are searching for Jesus.
Exhortation
The gift of exhortation is the ability to encourage and motivate others. Exhorters are excellent cheerleaders. But they do so much more than just telling people “good job” or praising them for their accomplishments.
Often, exhorters are gifted at discipling and counseling. They support and strengthen the church with great patience and persistence. They show others the path then they walk it with those who need their encouragement.
Faith
Every Christian is given a measure of saving faith. However, to some God pours out the spiritual gift of faith. These people are the ones who can see God’s hand at work, even when it seems everything is going wrong. They trust the Almighty with quiet assurance and confidence.
Sometimes, those with the gift of faith witness or participate in a miracle. The woman who touched Jesus’ hem and experienced healing was commended by Jesus for her faith (Matthew 9:22).
Giving
The spiritual gift of giving is the ability to spot a need and meet it. Sometimes, this need may be financial, emotional, or spiritual. Regardless of the need, those with the gift of giving do so with generosity and sincerity.
Christians with this spiritual gift are typically wise stewards with the resources God has entrusted them with. They genuinely enjoy meeting needs and love that God is using their gifts to provide for His children.
Healing
Those with the gift of healing care deeply about those who suffer due to illness, injury, or other circumstances. Often, healers walk with people through physical, emotional, or spiritual suffering. They encourage and strengthen the body of Christ with their great compassion.
Sometimes, healers may find themselves discouraged. They may have prayed over and believed in healing that didn’t happen on this earth. In these cases, it’s important that healers are reminded that it wasn’t their fault. God had a greater purpose for that suffering or disease.