Theological Term of the Week: Spiritual Gift
Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 2:30AM 
A God-given empowerment to minister to others within the church.
- From scripture:
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, [12] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ… (Ephesians 4:11-12 ESV).
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. [4] For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, [5] so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. [6] Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; [7] if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; [8] the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness (Romans 12:3-8 ESV).
- From Keep in Step With the Spirit by J. I. Packer, pages 82-83:
Nowhere does Paul or any other New Testament writer define a spiritual gift for us, but Paul’s assertion that the use of gifts edifies (“builds up,” 1 Corinthians 143-5, 12, 26, see also 17; Ephesians 4:12, 16) shows what his idea of a gift was. For Paul, it is only through Christ, in Christ, by learning Christ and responding to Christ that anyone is ever edified. Our latter-day secular use of this word is far wider and looser than Paul’s; for him, edification is precisely a matter of growing in the depth and fullness of one’s understanding of Christ and all else in relation to him and in the quality of one’s personal relationship with him, and it is not anything else. So spiritual gifts must be defined in terms of Christ, as actualized powers of expressing, celebrating, displaying and so communicating Christ in one way or another, either by word or by deed. They would not be edifying otherwise.
- From Daily Doctrine by Kevin DeYoung, pages 82-83:
The word gift (charisma in the Greek) is a flexible term. We see this throughout the New Testament (Rom. 1:11; 5:15-16; 6:23; 2 Cor. 1:11; Heb. 2:4), and we see it most obviously in 1 Corinthians 12. Notice the Trinitarian structure. Paul says there are varieties of gifts from the same Spirit, varieties of service from the same Lord, and varieties of activities from the same God. A gift is virtually synonymous with service and activity. Charisma is no more than no less than what the triune God does in the church.
Learn more:
- Tom Schreiner: The Gifts of the Spirit
- Ligonier Ministries: Spiritual Gifts
- Nicholas T. Batzig: The Gift and Gifts of the Spirit
- Tom Schreiner: How (Not) to Discover Your Spiritual Gift
- Stephen Kneale: What Are Spiritual Gifts and How Do I Discover Mine?
- Michael Horton: The Purpose of Spiritual Gifts (video)
- J. I. Packer: Keep in Step With the Spirit (book)
- Thomas R. Schreiner: Spiritual Gifts: What They Are and Why They Matter (book)
- Keri Folmar: The Good Portion: The Holy Spirit (book)
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