Do You Know What Your Spiritual Gifts Are?

Now, Contending for the Faith. In this regular feature, Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call. Here’s this week’s question: “Dear Dave and T.A., My church has been doing a program on discovering one’s spiritual gift. Since I’m not sure what my spiritual gift is, I sat in on a couple of sessions. Now, I’m more confused than ever.  They explored everything from what type of personality I am, to whether or not I speak in tongues, to having someone prophesy over me, or lay hands on me, to receive the gift. Is it all that complex?

Tom: Dave, this is representative of a number of letters that we get, because whether it be a charismatic church with regard to their view of the gifts, or even non-charismatic, there are all kinds of programs. It’s called Your Spiritual Gift Assessment Program. In other words, they’re promoting the idea—and as I said, this is non-charismatic, as well as charismatic.

Dave: Mm-hmm.

Tom: The whole idea is to go through a spiritual gifts inventory, it’s called, by some, and decide what your gift is; figure out how to do it—which, Dave, down the line a bit, in a couple of weeks, as we’re going through Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life, that’s a major part of his book, how to figure out what your gift is, how to apply it, you know, and so on.

So, the question is, from this listener, as well as others, how should a Christian deal with recognizing what their spiritual gifts are, or gift is, and go about using it for the edification of the body, for the glory of God?

Dave: You said it both ways there, Tom, but the program is “gift” not “gifts”. That was the teaching of Campus Crusade; I can remember 30 years ago…find out what your gift is. The idea was taught that, when you became a Christian, you received a spiritual gift. Now, you’ve got to find out what that gift is. That’s very much like The Purpose Driven Life…find out what your purpose in life is.

You could have many purposes in life. Now, of course, basically our purpose is to glorify God; to live for Him, to serve Him and that could involve many….

Tom: Mm-hmm.

Dave: …many things. Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 12 ends, chapter 12, “Covet earnestly the best gifts.” In other words, “desire.” And it says, “Desire spiritual gifts,” Paul says. That’s in chapter 14. “But rather that you may prophesy,” so it says, “desire spiritual gifts” in chapter 14; end of chapter 12 says “covet earnestly the best gifts,” and that chapter ends, of course, “Yet show I unto you a more excellent way,” and then he goes on.

Chapter 13, the “love chapter,”—“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not love…” and so forth. So, never in the Bible do I find that someone was given a particular spiritual gift when they got saved, that they only have one gift, and that their task is to find out what that gift is, and then begin to manifest it. No, the gifts of the spirit are given in the plural it says, I Corinthians 12. They are manifestations of the Holy Spirit, given, it says…I’m quoting the King James…”severally, as he wills,” okay?

So, there’s no reason why a person only has one gift. It’s like strumming on one string on a guitar, or something.

Tom: Mm-hmm.

Dave: Did Paul just have one gift? What was his gift? I think he had many gifts. And he tells us to desire these gifts.

Now, how do you go about this? Look, God is the one who is going to give you a gift. It doesn’t—in fact; it talks about manifestation of the charism, and how are they to be manifested? Well, as I yield myself to Christ, as I learn of Him, as I become more mature. Now, is God going to use me in someway that…I do not even have an understanding from the Scriptures? I haven’t studied the Bible, I don’t know what it is…but now, suddenly, is miraculously going to use me, in some powerful way, if I just go through a course to find out what my spiritual gift is. I don’t believe that’s biblical, Tom. I don’t believe it’s rational. If I’m going to be used by the Lord, I must, first of all, be surrendered to Him.

Tom: Mm-hmm.

Dave: I’m in His hands. I belong to Him. He bought me with His blood. I recognize I’m not my own. Okay? Well, then, I want to know Him. It’s not the gifts that I’m after, but the giver. And, as I get to know Him, as Paul said, “Oh that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection,” and so forth.

Tom: Mm-hmm.

Dave: Then the Holy Spirit will be able to manifest through me the various gifts. He will be able to use me in certain ways, but only on the basis of my yielding to Him, and my comprehension; my understanding of the Scriptures. I need to know the Word of God better and better and better. It should be in my heart and it should just come out, you know.

Tom: Mm-hmm.

Dave: Now, Tom, when I sit next to someone on a plane, for example, I have an option. Well, I don’t know, this person looks unapproachable. I mean, they’re so busy, and so forth. Or, I can…as I say, “Lord, I don’t know how to approach this person, but I’m trusting you, you open the door. If you open the door, I’ll try to walk through it,” you know. But, I have to be willing to use the opportunities God gives me, whether it’s with my family, wherever it may be…with an acquaintance. But if I’m not willing, then all the gifting in the world is not going to manifest itself. I have to be ready, available, but I have to be knowledgeable and understand the Word of God, because God is going to use His Word.

Tom: Dave, we’re going to come back to this, because as I mentioned…not only with The Purpose Driven Life, but churches are developing these courses and people are flocking to them, going through, as I mentioned, spiritual gifts inventory and so on. Also, confusing issues like: well, are my talents my gifts? Are my abilities? And, now, we have a whole profile as it were—personality profile on how you will work best to effectively use your gifts for the Lord.

Dave: Mm-hmm.

Tom: This is man-made stuff, Dave. It’s not what you’ve just been referring to.

Dave: What is the problem with the gift of tongues, for example? People think they possess it and they can do it any time they want. Now, you can’t raise the dead any time you want. You can’t walk on water any time you want. You can’t heal the sick any time you want, or prophesy any time you want.

So, look, I have laid my hands on sick people, a few times, not many times, but a few times and prayed and seen them instantly healed. Now, that was the gift of healing, at that moment. It doesn’t mean that I possess this gift. That’s another reason why you don’t just have one gift, and now you possess it, and now you can do with it what you want. You can begin to use it as you please. You can’t do that with the gift of tongues, and that’s a basic error of the tongues movement. You can’t do it with any other gift. The Holy Spirit will manifest a gift through you, or me, or whoever it is, as He sees fit, as the situation requires and based upon you’re submission to Him, and your understanding of His Word and your ability to proclaim the gospel.