Page 51 - Pneumatology - Student Textbook

Study Section 10: What are Your Spiritual Gifts?

10.1 Connect

Isn’t it interesting, that when you got saved, the Holy Spirit came into your life to indwell you?
But at the same time, He brought with Him a special gift and anointed you with it. It is not a gift
to use for yourself. It is a special service gift to be used to be a blessing to others. We studied
the various gifts with which He equips believers and one of them or even more than one are in
you. If you do not know your special gift, you should seek to find it out so you can use it in the
body of Christ. Today we are going to learn how you can find out what your special gift is. We’ll
also look at the characteristics of some of the gifts called “sign gifts,” why they were given, and how they
are to be used. So, let’s get started….

10.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to explain how to determine which gift of the Holy Spirit you may
possess.

2. The student should be further be able to explain how the gifts are distributed and to be used
for God’s service.

3. The student should be able to give a defense about the use of the “sign gifts”, for what they were given,
and whether they are necessary and active today.

10.3 So how can you determine which of the Gifts of the Spirit were given to you?

There is no magic formula or definitive test that can tell us exactly what our spiritual gifts are.
The Holy Spirit distributes the gifts as He determines (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). A common
problem for Christians is the temptation to get so
caught up in our spiritual gift that we seek to serve
God only in the area in which we feel we have been
gifted. That is not how the spiritual gifts work. God
calls us to obediently serve Him in all things. He will equip us with
whatever gift or gifts we need to accomplish the task He has called
us to.

The best way to determine your spiritual gift is to give each a try. Teach a class and see what happens. Ask
your pastor if you can preach a sermon. Volunteer for a service project. Study the list above and try each
one as an opportunity for ministry to others. What will happen is that you will receive confirmation from
others that your ministry has been a special blessing to them. Other people who see us serving the Lord
can often identify a spiritual gift in use that we might take for granted or not recognize. Sometimes other
people will let you know what your gift is. And if you are not specially gifted in an area, that will become
obvious also.

Prayer is also important. The one person who knows exactly how we are spiritually gifted is the gift-giver
Himself—the Holy Spirit. We can ask God to show us how we are gifted in order to better use our spiritual
gifts for His glory.

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