Seven motivational spiritual gifts

Romans 12:4-8 (NIV)

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. 

The body of Christ is like the human body.  Every part of the human body is important.  If one part fails, the whole body suffers.  The same is true with the body of Christ, the church.  Paul is affirming the church with each member being part of the body of Christ and each member belonging to all the other members within the body of Christ.  As a Christian you are called to belong to the body of Christ, not to be apart from it.  By being apart from it you are not using the gifts God gave you to use for the benefit of the whole church. Reflect on this fascinating truth from Eph 2:10---“It is God Himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives and long ago He planned that we should spend these lives in helping others”.  God has given you a spiritual gift to help others and others’ spiritual gifts help you.  

The Bible has three main chapters describing spiritual gifts---Romans 12, I Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4.  I was highly influenced about the nature of spiritual gifts by the teaching of Bill Gothard in his Principles of Christian Life seminars.  He stressed that Romans 12:6-8 lists the seven main motivational spiritual gifts with other biblical passages on spiritual gifts describing how these motivational gifts are manifested.  The following is a brief description of each motivational gift, its good qualities and how the gift can be recognized in people via negative qualities.  I use the pronoun “he/his” to describe both men and women.  

The person with the gift of prophecy proclaims the truth, exposes sin, and clearly sees future results.  He expresses himself openly, is alert to dishonesty/false teaching, and is loyal to the truth.  He sometimes will expose others without restoring them, jumps to conclusions, reacts harshly to sinners, and can be very judgmental.

The person with the gift of serving meets the needs of others and frees others to do other things.  He cannot say “no” and goes out of his way to help.  Sometimes he works beyond physical limits, neglects other priorities, and can become frustrated because of lack of appreciation.                 

The person with the gift of teaching presents the truth clearly and systematically.  He is very alert to false teaching, loves to gather and present the facts and clarify misunderstandings.  He can sometimes become too proud of his knowledge, might talk too much, and can be argumentative.

The person with the gift of encouraging/exhorting stimulates growth in faith.  He is very committed to seeing people growth spiritually.  He sees opportunities rather than problems and raises hopes for solutions.  He can become too self-reliant, proud of results, and may not finish what he started.

The person with the gift of contributing/giving entrusts his assets and does all he can to maximize results.  He desires to give secretly, exercises personal frugality and encourages others to give.  He can use his gifts to control others, he might be more willing to give to projects rather than to people, and might be overly focused on the use of money and resources.

The person with the gift of leadership does an excellent job of planning, organizing, and completing the task.  He has the ability to delegate, makes good decisions, and is alert to details.  He can show favoritism, might over-delegate to avoid work himself, and might fail to explain or praise others.

The person with the gift of mercy is very willing to bear others’ burdens and remove stress.  He is deeply loyal to friends, empathizes significantly with hurting people and measures acceptance by closeness of relationships.  He can be possessive, might tolerate evil, and can be a poor leader.  

You will not have one of these spiritual gifts until you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.  At that point, His Holy Spirit enters your life and you will receive spiritual gifts. Spirit-filled Christians have all spiritual gifts, but there is one that motivates you the most.  If you do not already know what your motivational spiritual gift is, do these descriptions give you some clues?  Be in prayer and ask the opinions of other believers to help you know what your spiritual gift is.  It is so important that you know what your spiritual gift is so that you can use it to benefit others in your local church.