Spiritual Gifts, An Invaluable Resource in Christian Counseling

Spiritual Gifts (Greek: charismata, pneumatika) are divine endowments given, by the Holy Spirit, to every Christian (cf. , Romans 12:3-4; 1 Corinthians 1:4-7, 12:1-11, 14:1-3; Ephesians 7, 11-17; 1 Peter 4:10).  Gifts of the Spirit are given to Christians for edifying, equipping, strengthening, building up, unifying in faith and maturing the body of Christ.

Each one of us, every single Christian, has received special gifting for engaging in works of service in the body of Christ.  The spiritual gift(s) are given by the Holy Spirit at the time of salvation and are not limited to the 5-Fold Ministry Officers (cf. Ephesians 4:11-12).  They are also handed out to those who sit in the pews.  Through the generosity of Christ, each person has been given his/her own gift or ‘gift mix’.  These gifts are not natural abilities, but instead supernatural graces or God-given enablement for serving the Lord.  The gifts are given according to God’s sovereign will, for His purpose, in proportion to what Christ has given.  While there are different kinds of spiritual gifts, they are not given for our personal benefit, but instead for benefit of the Church.  They are not manifested by our own abilities, but by the anointing (empowerment) of the Holy Spirit.

Spiritual gifts differ from the fruit of the spirit, talent or abilities, skills or competencies.  Spiritual gifts, as noted above, are given by the Holy Spirit to believers specifically for serving in the body of Christ.  The fruit of the Spirit are expressions of what result when the Holy Spirit takes a role in the life of a Christian (cf. Galatians 5:22-23). Natural talent is provided to Christians, and non-Christians, and is a result of a combination of genetics, influences, development and/or because God chose to bestow certain talents upon a particular individual (cf. Matthew 25:14-28).  A skill is a learned capacity and expertise gained to do something well (cf. Exodus 35:10).  Competency is the ability to do a job property (cf.  Romans 15:14).

Spiritual gifts; also called ministry gifts, gifts of service, God’s unmerited favor or gifts of grace; are an invaluable resource for Christians who counsel.  God did purpose it that everyone is gifted for the ‘ministry of counseling’, however the Apostle Paul stated that he believed that Disciples of Christ are competent to counsel (cf. Romans 15:14 AMP).  Whether one is a commissioned, licensed or ordained minister; credentialed chaplain; ordained member of the diaconate; Pastoral counselor, Biblical counselor, professionally licensed Christian counselor; or lay person  . . . those who effectively provide Spiritual Counseling tend to have endowment of different spiritual gifts that includes (but are not limited to) one or more of the following ministry gifts: exhortation or encouragement (Romans 12:8), knowledge, wisdom, healing, discerning of spirits (1 Corinthians 12:8-10,28)and mercy (Romans 12:8).

According to research presented by Christian Author, Charles Schwartz in a book entitled “Three Colors of Ministry” (ChurchSmart, 2004):

• 80% of Christians don’t know what their spiritual gifts are

• 20% are not using their gifts in ministry-related tasks

• 51% are happier after discovering gifts

• 72% are happier when discovered gifts are applied to concrete tasks within the church

While the cited research indicates that 20% Christians know what their spiritual gifts are, others may benefit by doing an assessment that would help to identify or clarify their spiritual gifts.  While some of the available tests/assessments may be useful, in the final analysis, it is God who has the say about what spiritual gifts he gives to us.  Below you are just a few free resources we found on line for spiritual gifts assessment, inventories, analysis or questionnaires (these links are provided for your convenience only and do not represent an endorsement by Dr. Linda H. King or Soul Care Ministries International, Inc):

• Spiritual Gifts Test
• Ministry Tools Resource Center
• Gifted 2 Serve
• Church Growth Institute
• Kodachrome

Join the conversation!  What are your Spiritual Gifts and how do you use them to bless the body of Christ with good counsel?

*The scriptures noted in this post are from the New King James Version (NKJV) unless otherwise noted. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. You are welcome to reprint this article provided the author information, below, is included.