3 Ways to Discover Your Spiritual Gifts

3 Ways to Discover Your Spiritual Gifts | June's Journal image 4

Dr. Charles Stanley says, “Probably the best way to discover your gift is to serve in a variety of ministry situations. When you find the area that suits your gift, you will know it.”  Indeed.  Jump into serving at church and before long you’ll discover a ministry where you are a natural fit–or not.  We all have spiritual gifts (1 Corin. 12:11).   At least one.  Do you know what yours is?  In addition to serving and praying for God to reveal your spiritual gift(s), you can also take an online spiritual gifts test for fun.   Technically it’s not a test but more of an assessment.  So the three ways of discovering your gifts are (1) serving (2) prayer (3) test.

But first, what exactly are the spiritual gifts?  Check out the chart below from a groovy handout I got at church.  You can even listen to an oral exegesis on Acts 3:1-26 discussing this very topic too if you click here.

New Testament List of Spiritual Gifts

For a sound, biblical definition of all the spiritual gifts listed in the chart above, click here.

Free Online Spiritual Gift Test

There are actually many spiritual gift tests online, but I’m linking to only one by TeamMinistry because I’m familiar with their ministry.  A few churches I know have used their test and were pleased with the “suggestions” it gives as to what a person’s spiritual gift(s) most likely are.  Also, seasoned saints who have taken this test bear witness to its accuracy.  But as stated previous, be sure to ask God to confirm your results, and serving in church is really the best way to discover your spiritual gifts.  When I took the test, it told me my gifts are (1) showing mercy, (2)  exhortation or encouraging others, and (3) administrative.  Folk who know me well can bear witness to those gifts.

>> CLICK HERE TO BEGIN TEST  <<

5 Things to Keep In Mind

1.  Does having a spiritual gift make a person “spiritual?”   It does not.   Spiritual maturity is to be gauged NOT by how “gifted” we are, but by (a) our love (1 Crin 13), (b) the control we have on our tongue (James 1:26), (c) how well we forgive, (d) visiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction, (e) and keeping oneself unspotted from the world (James 1:27)

2.  Which spiritual gift is best?  That depends on the situation.  The best gift changes depending on the situation at hand.  So each gift can be the “best gift” at some point.

3.  Can Christians experiencing gifts and be carnal?  Yes.  The Christians in Corinth were experiencing the spiritual gifts left and right (1 Cor. 1-4-7 & 2 Cor. 8:7), and yet, they were very carnal (1 Cor. 3:3).

4.  Are the spiritual gifts something one has to conjure up?  Nope.  Supernatural gifts tend to “move” in quite “natural” ways.  They are tools to build with, not toys.  Charasmania churches (emphasis on mania) often err on this side by putting too much emphasis on conjuring up spiritual experiences.

5.  With such diverse spiritual gifts, how can everyone get along?  Unity and love must co-exist.  Diversity leads to disorder when believers compete with one another.  But diversity lends to deeper unity when believers genuinely care for one another.  And the glue that sticks all of this together (unity without uniformity and diversity without disorder) is maturity and love.

Book on Spiritual Gifts

Looking to learn more about this topic?  The book “Living Water:  The Power of the Holy Spirit in Your Life” by Chuck Smith, founder of Calvary Chapel churches, is said to be “perhaps one of the most balanced book on the spiritual gifts and on the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer.”

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