“God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will” (Hebrews 2:4 NIV).
We can define a “spiritual gift” as a God-given empowerment that helps enable us to fulfill His call upon our lives. While an artist, craftsman, or athlete may possess a great degree of natural ability, a spiritual gift involves a supernatural enablement. The Biblical books of Romans (12:6-8), 1 Corinthians (12:8-10), and Ephesians (4:11-12) offer several different inventories of these spiritual gifts.
These gifts originate with the Holy Spirit, who distributes them according to His will as we’re told in the Scripture quoted above. Thus, we can say that such gifts should glorify the God who provides them. If the exercise of a spiritual gift serves to draw our attention to someone or something else, we would be wise to question the validity of that gift or the manner in which it is employed.
We should also note the following passage from 1 Corinthians 12:7: “The evidence of the Spirit’s presence is given to each person for the common good of everyone” (GW). Unlike some other types of gifts, a true spiritual gift produces a beneficial effect upon others and thus serves to exemplify Jesus’ message from Acts 20:35: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
In addition, 1 Corinthians 12:7 indicates that “each person” has received at least one spiritual gift. Therefore, we can rest in knowing that God has blessed every individual Christian with no less than one gift of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:11 reiterates this point with a similar declaration: “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills” (emphasis added).
Finally, there is one further aspect to consider in the context of this discussion. You see, it is important to recognize that every man or woman of God occupies a distinct place in human history. For instance, every Christian possesses a unique set of talents, skills, abilities, personality traits, life experiences, and spiritual gifts that have never been seen before. And once he or she passes from this earthly existence, that unprecedented combination will never be seen again.
This should encourage us to make the best use of our God-given gifts in the time He has allotted to us. It should also give new urgency to Jesus’ important reminder from John 9:4-5…
“All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, for there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end” (TLB).