To Each One the Manifestation Is Given: Spiritual Gifts
To Each One the Manifestation Is Given
Spiritual Gifts
7 minute read
The Statement of Faith
We believe that the Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts to every believer for the common good and the building up of the church. These gifts include both "speaking" gifts (prophecy, teaching, tongues) and "serving" gifts (helps, administration, giving), as well as supernatural manifestations (healing, miracles, discernment of spirits). All gifts are operative today, to be desired, exercised in love, and subjected to Scripture. The gifts are given not for personal status but for mutual edification and effective mission.
How Did We Get Here?
Spiritual gifts should be one of the most unifying topics in the church. Instead, they've become one of the most divisive.
Some churches embrace the "spectacular" gifts with such enthusiasm that they neglect order, doctrine, and discernment. Others react by declaring the miraculous gifts ceased with the apostles, leaving large portions of Scripture practically irrelevant. Meanwhile, many believers go through their entire Christian lives without ever discovering or exercising their gifts.
Scripture presents a different picture. Every believer is gifted. Every gift matters. All gifts work together for the health of the body. The diversity of gifts isn't a problem to manage but a design to celebrate.
And the gifts aren't primarily about us—they're about others. "To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good" (1 Corinthians 12:7). Gifts are given not for personal fulfillment or spiritual status but for building up the church and advancing Christ's mission.
What the Bible Says
Every Believer Is Gifted
"Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good."
— 1 Corinthians 12:7
"To each one"—no exceptions. If you're a believer, you have at least one spiritual gift. You're not a spectator in the body of Christ; you're a participant. You have something to contribute that no one else can.
"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms."
— 1 Peter 4:10
"Whatever gift you have received"—Peter assumes every reader has received a gift. The question isn't whether you're gifted but whether you're stewarding your gift to serve others.
The Lists of Gifts
Scripture provides several lists of spiritual gifts. They differ, suggesting they're illustrative rather than exhaustive:
1 Corinthians 12:8-10: Word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues.
1 Corinthians 12:28: Apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, healing, helping, administration, tongues.
Romans 12:6-8: Prophecy, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, mercy.
Ephesians 4:11: Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers.
Notice the range—from the supernatural (healing, miracles) to the "ordinary" (serving, administration, mercy). All are spiritual gifts. The person with the gift of helps is just as Spirit-empowered as the person with the gift of prophecy.
The Purpose: Common Good
"So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church."
— 1 Corinthians 14:12
The criterion for evaluating gifts is edification. Does it build up the church? A gift exercised selfishly or showily fails its purpose, even if the gift itself is genuine.
"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up."
— Ephesians 4:11-12
The gifted leaders exist to equip others for ministry. The goal isn't a few superstars doing all the ministry while others watch. It's every member equipped, deployed, and serving.
Love Is Supreme
"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."
— 1 Corinthians 13:1-2
1 Corinthians 13—the "love chapter"—sits right in the middle of Paul's teaching on gifts. That's not an accident. Gifts without love are worthless noise. The most spectacular gift, exercised without love, amounts to nothing.
Order, Not Chaos
"For God is not a God of disorder but of peace... everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way."
— 1 Corinthians 14:33, 40
The Corinthians were using gifts chaotically, and Paul corrects them. Gifts should be exercised in order—one at a time, interpreted if needed, tested, and submitted to leadership. The Spirit's work doesn't create confusion; it creates peace.
How It Fits the Full Narrative
The Spirit has always empowered God's people. In the Old Testament, the Spirit came upon craftsmen for building the tabernacle (Exodus 31:3), upon judges for delivering Israel, upon prophets for proclaiming God's word. What's new in the New Covenant is the breadth—poured out on all flesh, not just select individuals.
Jesus exercised the gifts. He prophesied, healed, worked miracles, taught with authority, and discerned spirits. His ministry models what Spirit-empowered living looks like. And He promised His followers would do "even greater things" (John 14:12).
Pentecost unleashed the gifts. The Spirit's outpouring included immediate manifestations—tongues, prophecy, boldness. From that day forward, the church operated in the Spirit's power, with gifts evident throughout Acts.
The gifts build the church until Christ returns. Paul says gifts operate "until we all reach unity in the faith" and "become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13). We haven't arrived yet. The gifts are still needed.
Why This Matters
You have a role. The body of Christ needs you. Your gift isn't optional or decorative—it's essential. When you don't function, the body suffers. When you do, it flourishes.
Diversity is designed. "The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don't need you!'" (1 Corinthians 12:21). Different gifts aren't competing; they're complementing. The spectacular and the ordinary, the upfront and the behind-the-scenes—all are necessary.
The church is empowered for mission. We're not trying to advance God's kingdom in our own strength. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead equips the church with power for witness and service. The gifts are tools for the mission.
We avoid opposite errors. Neither quench the Spirit (suppressing gifts) nor grieve Him (abusing gifts). Pursue the gifts eagerly (1 Corinthians 14:1) while exercising them in love and order.
How to Communicate This
Affirm all gifts. Don't create a hierarchy where tongues and healing are "real" gifts while serving and administration are lesser. Every gift is the Spirit's work. Honor them all.
Emphasize the purpose. Gifts are for building up others, not puffing up ourselves. Keep the focus on service, not status.
Encourage discovery and use. Help people identify their gifts through teaching, experimentation, and feedback from the community. Then create opportunities for exercise.
Maintain biblical balance. Desire gifts, especially prophecy (1 Corinthians 14:1). But test everything (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Prioritize love (1 Corinthians 13). Keep order (1 Corinthians 14:40). All of these together.
Defending Against Critics
Objection: "The miraculous gifts ceased with the apostles."
Response: The cessationist view argues that gifts like tongues, prophecy, and healing ended when the New Testament canon was completed. But 1 Corinthians 13:10 ("when completeness comes") most naturally refers to Christ's return, not the canon. The gifts are given "until we all reach unity in the faith" (Ephesians 4:13)—which hasn't happened yet. And throughout church history, credible reports of miraculous gifts have continued. The burden of proof is on those who claim the gifts have ceased.
Objection: "Charismatic gifts lead to chaos and false teaching."
Response: Abuses exist—Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 12-14 precisely because of abuses. But the answer is proper use, not non-use. Paul didn't say "stop using gifts"; he said "use them in order and love." Every good gift can be counterfeited or misused. The solution is discernment and maturity, not cessation.
Objection: "I don't have any gifts."
Response: Scripture says every believer is gifted. You may not have identified your gift yet, or you may be comparing yourself to others, or you may undervalue "ordinary" gifts like serving and encouragement. Explore, experiment, ask others what they see in you. Your gift may be less visible but no less real.
Objection: "Aren't some gifts more important than others?"
Response: Paul says to "eagerly desire the greater gifts" (1 Corinthians 12:31), suggesting some kind of ranking—prophecy is "greater" than tongues because it edifies more directly (1 Corinthians 14:5). But he immediately pivots to love as the "most excellent way." Greater gifts aren't more valuable people. And the "weaker" parts of the body are "indispensable" (1 Corinthians 12:22). There's a functional priority without a personal hierarchy.
Going Deeper
Key passages to study:
- Romans 12:3-8 – Gifts in the body
- 1 Corinthians 12:1-31 – Diversity and unity of gifts
- 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 – Love as the context for gifts
- 1 Corinthians 14:1-40 – Order in gift exercise
- Ephesians 4:7-16 – Gifts for equipping the saints
- 1 Peter 4:10-11 – Stewardship of gifts
Questions for reflection:
- What spiritual gifts has God given me? How am I using them?
- Do I value "ordinary" gifts as highly as "spectacular" ones?
- Am I exercising my gifts in love, or has pride or self-promotion crept in?