Overview
God bestows gifts upon individual believers to build up His body, the church. The gifts are given as a stewardship, by grace, to each one as needed for a supernatural work. These grace gifts are under the direction of the Holy Spirit for spiritual work by believers. Therefore they are not the same as natural human abilities which can also be performed by non-Christians. Natural human abilities may come through genetics, being in a particular family, or by development in an individual, but are ultimately given by God to His creation. God may refine a believer’s natural abilities to be used in ministry.
Another manifestation of supernatural gifts was given by God to authenticate His message or the messenger. The authenticating gifts are briefly covered in the related article, God’s Authenticating Gifts.
The following chart summarizes these concepts:
| Gifts of the Spirit |
| Supernatural or Natural but used in a spiritual endeavor |
| Directed by the Holy Spirit for ministry |
| Human abilities |
| Natural -used in normal, non-spiritual activities |
| God given, but not necessarily used for God’s spiritual work |
Speaking on our natural abilities being used by God in the spirit, John MacArthur says,
“The Spirit transformed Saul in two fundamental ways. First, He took Saul’s natural strengths and refined them. Saul was a gifted natural leader, with strong will power. He was a man of strong convictions, a self-starter, bold, a master at using his time and talents, a motivated individual, and a profoundly gifted thinker and speaker. The Holy Spirit also eliminated undesirable characteristics and replaced them with desirable ones. He replaced Paul’s cruel hatred with love; his restless, aggressive spirit with peace; his rough, hard-nosed treatment of people with gentleness; his pride with humility. Only the Spirit of God can so thoroughly sanctify a life.”1
Let’s look at the word used in the New Testament that describes supernatural gifts and how it was used.
Charisma
chárisma -grace gift (cháris -grace) -a (spiritual) endowment. “Extraordinary powers, distinguishing certain Christians and enabling them to serve the church of Christ, the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating on their souls by the Holy Spirit.”2
Stewardship of The Gifts
1 Peter 4:10-11
1 Peter 4:10 As each one has received a special gift (charisma), employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace (charis) of God. 11 Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.3
Peter explains that the grace gifts are given as a stewardship for serving the body of Christ, the church. He gives examples of one speaking or serving done in a supernatural way to honor Christ.
Romans 12:4-8Rom 12:4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 And since we have gifts (charismata)4 that differ according to the grace (charin) given to us, let each exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Paul also demonstrates that the grace gifts are used in a supernatural manner, and are exercised according to the grace given to the individual.
Ephesians 4:11-13Eph 4:11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ
1 Corinthians 12:4-111 Cor 12:4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
Conclusion
The grace-gifts are necessary for the functioning of the Body of Christ. Believers, as good stewards, should look for ways to exercise their gifts. Imagine a human body that is crippled -it has missing parts or parts that don’t work very well. It might function to some degree, but would not be as effective as a body that is whole. When God’s people do not exercise their gifts, it cripples the church so that it cannot be everything that God intended it to be -‘so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.’
1 John MacArthur study guide on the book of Acts, pg 50
2 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon
3 Underlined for emphasis. Parentheses are to show the use of ‘charisma’ and ‘charis’ being used in the verse.
4 charismata -plural form of charisma