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GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION

Spiritual Gifts – An Incomplete List

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Do you know your spiritual gifts? Every believer has spiritual gifts (see 1 Pet. 4:10), but not every believer has put their gifts to work. Have you?

Spiritual gifts are special abilities God gives us that enable us to experience his divine life and reveal his heart to others. Everything God gives us – salvation, faith, righteousness, the Holy Spirit – is a spiritual gift. If you are good at something, such as writing music or showing hospitality, you can thank God for giving you that ability.

Yet in scripture, certain abilities are identified as “spiritual gifts”. An incomplete list of spiritual gifts includes:

  1. Wisdom (1 Cor. 12:8). The gift of wisdom is the ability to receive spiritual insight, known as “a word of wisdom,” which illuminates and brings clarity to situations. A word of wisdom helps us understand the Holy Spirit’s read on a specific situation. To have the wisdom that comes from above is to see earthly problems from a heavenly perspective.
  2. Knowledge (1 Cor. 12:8). The gift of knowledge is the ability to receive spiritual revelation – a word of knowledge – that helps us to know something that we could not have otherwise known (e.g., Acts 9:11–12, 10:19–20).
  3. Miracles (1 Cor. 12:10, 28–29). The gift of miracles is the ability to co-labor with Jesus the miracle-worker by working miracles such as healing and deliverance (e.g., Acts 19:11–12). Other examples include supernatural provision (e.g., Matt. 14:19–20), raising the dead (e.g., Acts 9:40), supernatural protection (e.g., Acts 28:5), and instantaneous travel (e.g., Acts 8:38–39).
  4. Prophecy (Rom. 12:6, 1 Cor. 12:10, 13:2). The gift of prophecy is the ability to impart truth from God’s heart in a way that encourages, strengthens, and comforts people (Acts 15:32, 1 Cor. 14:3). Sometimes this gift will be experienced as visions or foresight (e.g., Acts 11:28, 16:9–10, 21:10–11).
  5. Speaking in tongues (1 Cor. 12:10). The gift of tongues is the ability to speak, pray, or praise the Lord in an unknown language (Mark 16:17, Acts 19:6, 1 Cor. 14:14). Other languages include human languages (e.g., Acts 2:4–6) and heavenly languages (1 Cor. 13:1).
  6. Interpreting tongues (1 Cor. 12:10). The gift of interpretation is the ability to make sense of what has been spoken in an unintelligible tongue (1 Cor. 14:13). In public settings, speaking in tongues will ideally be accompanied by the gift of interpretation (1 Cor. 14:27).
  7. Hospitality (Rom. 12:13). The gift of hospitality is the ability to reveal the unconditional acceptance of Jesus by making a safe space for others. This is typically done by receiving people into your home or to your table (e.g., Acts 16:14–15). Although we are all called to be hospitable (Luke 14:12–14, Heb. 13:2, 1 Pet. 4:9), those with this gift are true ambassadors of the kingdom. They excel in making the unwelcome feel accepted and connected.
  8. Teaching (Rom. 12:7, 1 Cor. 12:28, Eph. 4:11). The gift of teaching is the ability to reveal Jesus the Living Word of God (Acts 4:2, 13:12, 15:35, 18:11, 28:31, Col. 3:16, 2 John 1:9). Teaching also includes the ability to unpack the scriptures (Acts 2:42).

You may not know it, but you are already gifted. The moment you were joined to the Lord in spiritual union, his grace began to flow into your life and one outcome of this is one or more spiritual gifts.

God’s marvelous grace imparts to each one of us varying gifts and ministries that are uniquely ours… (Romans 12:6, TPT)

But what if you don’t know what your gifts are? How do you discover the gifts God has given you? There are several ways.

Perhaps when you read the list of spiritual gifts above, some gifts excited you more than others. They resonated with your spirit and you thought “That’s me,” or “I would like to do something like that.”

Or maybe when reading the scriptures you get inspired by specific types of ministry. “I would love to lay hands on the sick like Jesus did.” “I’d like to be known as a Son of Encouragement like Barnabas.” “To preach to unreached groups like Paul would be a dream.”

These sorts of desires signal the gifts that God has given you.

—–

If you would like to learn more about spiritual gifts – what they are, how to discover yours, and how to put them to work, check out my new study note “Spiritual Gifts: How to Use the Gifts God Has Given You.” It’s available now on Patreon and E2R’s Supporters’ Page.

Read this article in Portuguese.

Spiritual Gifts – An Incomplete List

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Do you know your spiritual gifts? Every believer has spiritual gifts (see 1 Pet. 4:10), but not every believer has put their gifts to work. Have you?

Spiritual gifts are special abilities God gives us that enable us to experience his divine life and reveal his heart to others. Everything God gives us – salvation, faith, righteousness, the Holy Spirit – is a spiritual gift. If you are good at something, such as writing music or showing hospitality, you can thank God for giving you that ability.

Yet in scripture, certain abilities are identified as “spiritual gifts”. An incomplete list of spiritual gifts includes:

  1. Wisdom (1 Cor. 12:8). The gift of wisdom is the ability to receive spiritual insight, known as “a word of wisdom,” which illuminates and brings clarity to situations. A word of wisdom helps us understand the Holy Spirit’s read on a specific situation. To have the wisdom that comes from above is to see earthly problems from a heavenly perspective.
  2. Knowledge (1 Cor. 12:8). The gift of knowledge is the ability to receive spiritual revelation – a word of knowledge – that helps us to know something that we could not have otherwise known (e.g., Acts 9:11–12, 10:19–20).
  3. Miracles (1 Cor. 12:10, 28–29). The gift of miracles is the ability to co-labor with Jesus the miracle-worker by working miracles such as healing and deliverance (e.g., Acts 19:11–12). Other examples include supernatural provision (e.g., Matt. 14:19–20), raising the dead (e.g., Acts 9:40), supernatural protection (e.g., Acts 28:5), and instantaneous travel (e.g., Acts 8:38–39).
  4. Prophecy (Rom. 12:6, 1 Cor. 12:10, 13:2). The gift of prophecy is the ability to impart truth from God’s heart in a way that encourages, strengthens, and comforts people (Acts 15:32, 1 Cor. 14:3). Sometimes this gift will be experienced as visions or foresight (e.g., Acts 11:28, 16:9–10, 21:10–11).
  5. Speaking in tongues (1 Cor. 12:10). The gift of tongues is the ability to speak, pray, or praise the Lord in an unknown language (Mark 16:17, Acts 19:6, 1 Cor. 14:14). Other languages include human languages (e.g., Acts 2:4–6) and heavenly languages (1 Cor. 13:1).
  6. Interpreting tongues (1 Cor. 12:10). The gift of interpretation is the ability to make sense of what has been spoken in an unintelligible tongue (1 Cor. 14:13). In public settings, speaking in tongues will ideally be accompanied by the gift of interpretation (1 Cor. 14:27).
  7. Hospitality (Rom. 12:13). The gift of hospitality is the ability to reveal the unconditional acceptance of Jesus by making a safe space for others. This is typically done by receiving people into your home or to your table (e.g., Acts 16:14–15). Although we are all called to be hospitable (Luke 14:12–14, Heb. 13:2, 1 Pet. 4:9), those with this gift are true ambassadors of the kingdom. They excel in making the unwelcome feel accepted and connected.
  8. Teaching (Rom. 12:7, 1 Cor. 12:28, Eph. 4:11). The gift of teaching is the ability to reveal Jesus the Living Word of God (Acts 4:2, 13:12, 15:35, 18:11, 28:31, Col. 3:16, 2 John 1:9). Teaching also includes the ability to unpack the scriptures (Acts 2:42).

You may not know it, but you are already gifted. The moment you were joined to the Lord in spiritual union, his grace began to flow into your life and one outcome of this is one or more spiritual gifts.

God’s marvelous grace imparts to each one of us varying gifts and ministries that are uniquely ours… (Romans 12:6, TPT)

But what if you don’t know what your gifts are? How do you discover the gifts God has given you? There are several ways.

Perhaps when you read the list of spiritual gifts above, some gifts excited you more than others. They resonated with your spirit and you thought “That’s me,” or “I would like to do something like that.”

Or maybe when reading the scriptures you get inspired by specific types of ministry. “I would love to lay hands on the sick like Jesus did.” “I’d like to be known as a Son of Encouragement like Barnabas.” “To preach to unreached groups like Paul would be a dream.”

These sorts of desires signal the gifts that God has given you.

—–

If you would like to learn more about spiritual gifts – what they are, how to discover yours, and how to put them to work, check out my new study note “Spiritual Gifts: How to Use the Gifts God Has Given You.” It’s available now on Patreon and E2R’s Supporters’ Page.

Read this article in Portuguese.

How to Test the Spirits

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Spirit, soul, and body – do you know the difference?

Your spirit is that inner part of you that connects you to the spiritual world; your body or flesh is that external part of you that connects you to the physical world; and your soul is that part of you that chooses whether you are going to walk after the spirit or the flesh.

Walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Faith is the means by which we live the spiritual life. Or to put it another way, you cannot live the spiritual life by relying on your natural senses and abilities.

And if you want to walk in newness of life, the spirit comes first. This is why it is helpful to think of the spirit as an antenna that connects us to the spiritual realm. The spirit receives signals from the spiritual realm (e.g., the Holy Spirit) which it transmits to the soul, and the soul exercises the body in response to the spirit’s instruction.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. (1 John 4:1a)

Since our spirits can detect signals from any spiritual source, divine or demonic, we need to test the spirits to see if what we are hearing is from God.

For instance, if we find ourselves doubting what God has said and asking, “Did God really say?” we can be sure we are hearing from the demonic realm. Since God is unchanging, he will never contradict himself. So anything that causes you to question what God has said is not from the Holy Spirit.

A word from the devil

One of the sadder stories in the Bible concerns a man called Ananias. Ananias told a lie and died when Peter confronted him about it:

Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit …? (Acts 5:3)

The temptation to lie came from the father of lies. It did not come from the Spirit of Truth. Nor did it come from Ananias himself. “Satan filled your heart” means Satan fed him a lie and Ananias swallowed it.

He never tested the spirits.

Many outrageous claims come prefaced with the words, “God told me to…” Did he really? Are you certain? Or were you fed a lie?

“God told me to divorce my wife.” Are you sure about that?

“God told me to bet the farm on a suspect business dealing.” And how did that work out?

Growing up I had a friend who blossomed into a beautiful young woman. During her late teens and early twenties about a dozen men proposed to her saying, “God told me you were going to be my wife.”

Hmm. They couldn’t have all been right.

No doubt handsome young men have heard similar things from Christian women. “God told me you were going to be my husband.”

Playing the God-told-me-so card is one of the most dangerous things believer’s do. If you ever hear it, make sure you test the spirits to see whether it is actually from the Lord.

All sorts of ideas pass through our heads; some are good, others are not-so-good. We should not act on anything without first asking, is this from the Lord?

How do we test the spirits?

We test the spirits by asking questions:

  • Does this idea (or word or message or advice) encourage me to rely on the Lord or myself?
  • Does it feed my faith or my doubts?
  • Does it release freedom or bind me in chains?
  • Does it promote man’s agenda or bring glory to God?
  • Does it glorify Christ’s righteousness or my failures?
  • Does it fill me with peace or anxiety?
  • Does it have the stench of flesh or the fragrance of Jesus?

Ultimately the test is: who does it point me to? Origin determines destination. Any spirit from God, will lead you to God.

When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me. (John 15:26)

If the message you are hearing causes you to look to Christ or rely on Christ, you can be sure that you are hearing from the Holy Spirit.

—–

Source: Spirit, Soul & Body: How to Walk in the Spirit, available now on Patreon.

How to Walk in the Spirit

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You were designed to be spiritual. You were created to walk in the spirit. Yet many people walk after the flesh. They make judgments based on what they hear, see, and understand, rather than listening to what their spirit is sensing the Lord is saying.

To be led by the Spirit is to live with our eyes fixed on the Lord. It’s looking to the Lord as our source and supply and asking, “What does God want? What does he say?” When we make this our habit, we are acting like mature sons of God.

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Romans 8:14)

To follow the Spirit we need to sense the Spirit. How do we do that? The Bible provides numerous examples but in this article I will focus on just three ways we can sense the Spirit.

Troubled in the spirit

When Jesus had said this, he became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray me.” (John 13:21)

If you have ever known the stabbing pain of betrayal, you will know how Jesus felt when Judas betrayed him. The difference is that Jesus felt the sting of betrayal before he was betrayed.

His spirit was troubled because he knew what was coming.

To be troubled or agitated in your spirit is to know something is wrong even when everything appears normal.

Some might say “I felt a check in my spirit,” or “I was heading in a certain direction but stopped because something didn’t sit right inside.”

I have had many experiences like this, and I have learned that if your spirit is troubled or agitated, you need to pay attention. Especially if everything seems fine in the natural. If your spirit is sensing something is a little off, you would do well to heed it.

An example: Maybe you are considering an intern or job applicant who ticks all the boxes, but your spirit is troubled. Don’t hire them. Stop and pray. Ask the Lord to give you wisdom to know what to do.

Provoked in the spirit

Stronger than the feeling of being troubled is the sense of being provoked or distressed in our spirits.

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. (Acts 17:16)

In every city Paul visited there were idols and temples. But when he came to Athens, his spirit reacted with anger. “The longer Paul waited in Athens, the angrier he got – all those idols!” reads the Message Bible.

Idol worship destroys those Jesus loves, and this affected Paul so deeply that he preached one of his most memorable sermons (see Acts 17:22–31).

It would be nice to hear God speak in a burning bush, as Moses did. But sometimes he gives us a burning heart. God help me if I don’t speak up. That’s what Paul experienced in Athens.

Sometimes you hear or see something that doesn’t trouble anyone but you. This isn’t right. Something must be done.

I’m not talking about something that just makes you emotional and upset, but if there is some situation that troubles your spirit, that is a sign of spiritual significance. You need to bring that to the Lord.

“No rest for my spirit”

Another sign that something is off is we feel no peace. When Paul said “I had no rest for my spirit” (2 Cor. 2:13), he was saying he had no peace. For the spirit-filled believer, a loss of peace is a sure sign that all is not well.

This is a lesson I learned the hard way.

While we were living in Hong Kong, I convinced Camilla that I should buy a Honda Shadow 750 motorcycle. “We’ll go cruising down the highway just like old times.”

Camilla has ridden with me many times, but on this occasion she was unsettled. “I don’t have a peace about it.”

I dismissed her concerns – “You’re being a wet blanket” – and bought the motorbike.

A week later, we were cruising down the highway and livin’ the dream when we were hit from behind by a boy racer going 100+ miles an hour. His car and my bike were smashed to bits, and Camilla and I were sent flying.

I picked myself off the concrete and saw Camilla’s motionless body lying in the middle lane. For a long moment I was struck with the fear that she was dead and I had killed her. Miraculously, we survived but it was weeks before either of us could walk again.

I should’ve listened to my wife, because, unlike me, she was listening to her spirit.

—–

For more stories and tips on how to walk in the spirit, check out my new book, Spirit, Soul & Body: How to Walk in the Spirit, available now on Patreon.

What Does it Mean to be Spiritual?

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What comes to mind when you think of the word spiritual? In scripture, we are exhorted to desire spiritual gifts, sing spiritual songs, and pray spiritual prayers. We are to walk in the spirit and live a spiritual life.

Sounds good. But what does it mean?

Here’s what spiritual does NOT mean: Spiritual does not mean religious. Or pious. Manmade religion may stimulate your intellect and feed your flesh, but that doesn’t make it spiritual.

To define spiritual, it will help to know what your spirit is.

Your spiritual antenna

Your spirit is that part of you that makes you spiritually aware or God-conscious.

For want of a better analogy, your spirit is like an antenna. Just as our physical bodies connect us to the physical realm, our spirits connect us to the spiritual realm. Just as we have natural senses (sight, smell, hearing, etc.), we have spiritual senses (e.g., intuition).

Think of a television. Just as a television can detect signals from both terrestrial transmitters and heavenly satellites, our souls can sense physical things via our bodies and spiritual things via our spirits.

Now we begin to understand why Watchman Nee, in his seminal book The Spiritual Man, referred to the soul as the medium or the middle bit between the spirit and the body. The spirit receives signals from the spiritual realm (e.g., the Holy Spirit) which it transmits to the soul, and the soul exercises the body in response to the spirit’s instruction.

What does it mean to be spiritual?

The generic definition of spiritual is “having to do with the spiritual realm as opposed to the physical realm.” The spiritual realm includes God, the heavenly host, fallen angels, and the spirit of every person who ever lived. (The physical realm includes your body, the food you put in it, the bed you slept on, and the clothes you are wearing.) In a general sense, spiritual simply means of the spirit.

Yet there is another meaning of spiritual:

He who is spiritual appraises all things… (1 Corinthian 2:15)

In this context, a spiritual person is someone who has been born of the Spirit, has the Spirit of God, and is led by the Spirit (John 3:5, Rom. 8:9, 14). In contrast, an unspiritual person is someone who remains in the flesh or is walking after the flesh (Rom. 7:5, 8:4).

Some teachers, including Nee, would describe the latter person as soulish or soulical, as though to live by the soul was the opposite of walking in the spirit. A better adjective would be fleshly (e.g., 1 Cor. 3:3) or worldly (Jude 1:19).

The soul is neither fleshly nor spiritual; it is the chooser that decides how we will live. This may come as a shock, but you can be in the spirit (i.e., born again, in spiritual union with the Lord), but still walk in the old ways of the flesh.

Two ways to live

But I say, walk by the spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)

If you have not been born of the spirit, you cannot walk after the spirit. You can only walk after the flesh. But if you are in the spirit, you can choose to walk in the new way of the spirit or the old way of the flesh (Gal. 5:17).

For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the spirit, the things of the spirit. (Romans 8:5).

The choice between the flesh and the spirit is not like choosing between two flavors of ice cream. It is a choice of life or death.

The way of the flesh leads us down a cursed path to self-destruction, but the way of the Spirit leads to a blessed and everlasting life (John 6:63, Rom. 8:13, Gal. 6:8).

For the believer, walking in the spirit is the life-giving choice. But the problem is we are much better at walking after the flesh. We’ve been doing it all our lives.

Nearly every movie we watch, every song we hear, every book we read, and even some sermons reinforce the old message of self-reliance. “Work harder. Trust yourself. Follow these steps to a better life.”

Our flesh responds with zeal but the result is sin and death. We try to fly but fall short again and again. Our flesh is incapable of living the spiritual life.

But just as we learned to walk in the natural, we can learn to walk in the spiritual.

Sure, there will be a few stumbles along the way and missteps are to be expected. But God does not condemn us when we fall. Our loving Father comes alongside us to guide us and help us soar.

Be encouraged. God is for you and by his grace you will learn how to walk in newness of life. And when you do – when you learn to rely on the spirit and distrust the flesh – you will have a good and blessed life.

The spiritual life is the life you were made for.

—–

Source: Spirit, Soul & Body: How to Walk in the Spirit, available now on Patreon.

Duck Church

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Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish existentialist, used to tell a story about Duck Church. It goes something like this:

Once upon a time there was a town of ducks. On Sunday morning all the ducks came waddling out of their houses and waddling into church where they squatted in their pews. After they sang their duck hymns and said their duck prayers, the duck minister began to preach. “Ducks, you were born to fly. God has given you wings to soar like eagles. Fly, ducks, fly!” This rousing message was met with cries of “Amen” and “Preach it!” After the service the ducks lined up to thank the minister for his inspiring message, and then they all waddled home.

Kierkegaard’s tale illustrates the difference between walking after the flesh and the spirit.

Do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. (Rom. 8:4b)

When we walk after the flesh, we are like ducks waddling through life. We were made for more than this. God gave us spirits so that we might soar like eagles. Problem is, we don’t know how.

Occasionally we’ll hear an inspiring message. “Saints, God has given you spirits so you can rule and reign with him.”

We shout “Amen” and “Preach it!” But we don’t know how to fly so we waddle home and nothing changes.

I have been to Duck Church, or something like it. I have heard countless sermons on how to walk in the spirit and while many of them were inspiring, few of them were practical.

It’s good to be inspired, but inspiration without application leads to frustration. For that reason I have written an ebook to help you experience the spiritual life. It’s called Spirit, Soul & Body: How to Walk in the Spirit, and it is available now on Patreon.

If you are not a patron, fear not. I plan to release some extracts from the book here on E2R. Here’s the first one:

A new covenant temple of the Holy Spirit

Don’t you know you are the temple of God and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16).

To walk in the spirit we need to understand the relationship between the spirit, soul, and body. God’s temple serves as a metaphor. As God dwelled in the temple of Jerusalem, God dwells in you.

The old covenant temple was divided into three parts just as you are (see Figure). The outer or external court corresponds to your physical body which is visible to all. The internal Holy Place corresponds to the inner soul. Further in and behind the veil was the innermost Holy of Holies, the secret place of the Most High. This corresponds to your spirit which lies beyond your self-consciousness and above your natural senses.

You may think this is a brilliant comparison, but it’s not mine. Watchman Nee was teaching this metaphor 100 years ago, and he himself had been influenced by Andrew Murray and F.B. Meyer.

In the 1960’s, Nee’s teachings were translated into English and published in a book called The Spiritual Man. In it, Nee said the various courts and rooms of the temple…

serve as images and shadows of the regenerated person. His spirit is like the Holy of Holies indwelt by God, where everything is carried on by faith, beyond the sight, sense or understanding of the believing one. The soul resembles the Holy Place for it is amply enlightened with many rational thoughts and precepts, much knowledge and understanding concerning the things in the ideational and material world. The body is comparable to the outer court, clearly visible to all. The body’s actions may be seen by everyone.

Just as temple services were regulated by what happened in the innermost Holy of Holies, our lives are to be guided and shaped by what God reveals to our spirits. Spirit, soul, and body – that’s the proper order. Everything we do begins in the spirit.

Or at least that’s how it’s supposed to be.

Before the Fall of man, we were spirit-led creatures. Our spirits controlled our whole being via the soul.

But when we walked away from God we severed that divine connection and became creatures of instinct and appetite, enslaved to the flesh.

Sure, a few of us had moments of enlightenment when our souls briefly rose above the muck. But like Kierkegaard’s flightless ducks, we were merely hopping, not soaring.

What was God doing during this time? He was trying to get our attention and woo us back to himself:

You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. (Act 7:51)

The religious leaders resisted the Holy Spirit with their hearts (souls) and ears (bodies). The Spirit was knocking, but they weren’t listening.

Neither were we. For the longest time we resisted the Holy Spirit. But then everything changed.

On the most important day of your life you felt the tug of the Holy Spirit and for the first time you responded in faith.

In your spirit you received the Holy Spirit and were connected to the Author of Life. Instantly, you were born again and you became a fully spiritual creature.

Like a duck that had discovered its wings, you lifted your eyes to the heights. In your spirit, you began to sense that something truly monumental had happened and that everything was new.

The time of waddling had passed.

—–

Source: Spirit, Soul & Body: How to Walk in the Spirit, available now on Patreon and E2R’s supporters’ page.

Sample contents:

  • The high cost of spiritual ignorance
  • What are the soul and spirit?
  • What does it mean to be spiritual?
  • Two ways to live: Flesh vs spirit
  • Four spiritual foundations
  • Six ways to walk in the Spirit
  • Spiritual revelation/guidance
  • How to test the spirits
  • What is the inner man?
  • How does the conscience fit in?
  • What does it mean to be born of the spirit?
  • Does God only care about your spiritual wellbeing?
  • What is a word of wisdom and a word of knowledge?

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