Spiritual Gifts
Week 07: Word Gifts
One of my favourite movies of all time is School of Rock. I know it’s not a prime example of cinematic art and sophistication. It’s not award-winning material by any stretch of the imagination. It’s more of a guilty pleasure. And I know you’re already judging me for my taste in movies… But hang with me.
The main character, Dewey Finn, is played by Jack Black. In the movie, Jack black is a washed-up musician who got kicked out of his band. He thinks he has a gift. He thinks he’s got what it takes to become a rockstar. But his gift has only led him to be a selfish jerk and a huge failure in life. He finds himself without a job and camping out in the living room of his friend's apartment.
It’s only when he takes the role of a substitute teacher and uses his gift to reach and build up others that he finds true meaning and success. As a substitute teacher, he uses his musical gifts to inspire a group of fifth-graders to become rock n’ roll legends.
The same is true of spiritual gifts. The only way we’ll discover our true potential is if we use our gifts to serve others. In fact, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would empower his followers to be his witnesses (Acts 1:8). In other words, spiritual gifts are for reaching people and building up others.
This week, we want to focus on word gifts: teaching, encouragement, apostleship, leadership, pastoring, and evangelism. Each of these gifts are for reaching others and/or building them up.
Teaching is the ability to communicate what the Bible says and means. Those with this gift help people understand the truths of Scripture and simplify complex ideas. They love to learn and teach others. They help people understand the Bible, know God, and apprentice Jesus.
This gift doesn’t require a seminary degree, pulpit, or platform. Many with this gift don’t have access to any of these things. Some with this gift faithfully study the Bible before they go to work. Others seek to understand the truths of the Bible late at night in order to lead a Bible study at their church. These people don’t just want to know what the Bible says; they want to know what it means so they can teach others.
Encouragement is the ability to inspire and motivate others in their apprenticeship to Jesus. This gift extends well beyond positivity and fluff. It has the power not only to cheer someone up but also to give them the courage to carry on in their pursuit of Jesus (Acts 14:22; 2 Cor. 1:4; 7:6; 1 Thess. 5:11; Heb. 10:25). While the gift of teaching helps people understand the truths of scripture, the gift of encouragement spurs people to live them out in their apprenticeship to Jesus.
Apostleship is the ability to go out and break new ground, lay a new foundation, and start new ministry initiatives (Eph. 2:20; Rom. 15:20). The word apostle means “to be sent out” or to be a messenger. Those with this gift are empowered to start new ministries, reach new people, and be sent out with the message of Jesus.
The gift of apostleship is not the same as the office of Apostleship. The office of Apostleship was for twelve whom Jesus sent out to continue his ministry and bear witness to his resurrection (Mk. 3:14). These twelve held the office (or role) of Apostleship.
However, there were more than the twelve Apostles. The Bible mentions Matthias, Andronicus, Junia, Paul, and Barnabas as “apostles” or having the gift of apostleship (Acts 1:24-24; 14:14; Rom. 16:7; 1 Cor. 15:5–7). In addition to these, Titus is also mentioned as an apostle (2 Cor. 8:23). The NIV translation uses the English word “representative,” but the actual word here is apostolos (apostle). These folks had the gift of apostleship even though they didn’t hold the office of an Apostle. Therefore, it appears that the gift extends beyond and is not limited to the office of Apostleship.
Some assume that the Apostles wrote Scripture and conclude that the gift of apostleship is no longer in effect because Scripture is no longer being written. Now, it’s true that some Apostles did write scripture, but most didn’t. Therefore, we can’t assume that the gift died out with the office of Apostleship or that the gift and the office are the same thing. While the office of Apostleship no longer exists, the gift of apostleship is very much alive and well.
Those with this gift are sent out by the Holy Spirit to start ministries and bring the message of Jesus to others in new ways. This gift is more than being a starter or an entrepreneur. It is the gift to break new ground and bring the gospel of Jesus to new people in new ways.
Pastoring is the ability to lead and care for the needs of a group of people. The word used for pastor (Eph. 4:11) literally means herdsman or shepherd. Like shepherding, the gift of pastoring is about leading and caring for the needs of a group of people.
It is important to know that you don’t need to have the title or job of a pastor to have the gift of pastoring. Many community group leaders, for instance, have the gift of pastoring even though they may not hold the position of pastor at their church. Those who have the gift of pastoring care for, guide, teach, and help the people they lead. Like a shepherd caring for and leading sheep, a pastor cares for and leads a group of people.
Leadership is the ability to lead others. Those with the gift of leadership can say “follow me as I follow Jesus” and people will follow them (1 Cor. 11:1). They have been gifted by the Holy Spirit to lead others.
At this point, you may be wondering why there seems to be so much overlap between apostleship, pastroing, and leadership. They all involved some sort of “leadership” authority. So, how are they different? The best way I can explain the difference is that apostles start ministries, pastors care for people in those ministries, and leaders lead people in those ministries.
Those with the gift of leadership might not be the person in charge, but they have the Spirit-given capacity to lead a group of people toward what God is calling them to. Those with the gift of leadership lead people to better serve Jesus and accomplish his mission (Mk. 10:42-45).
Evangelism is the ability to share the gospel with others. People with this gift love to share the good news of Jesus with others. They most likely share the same fear and insecurities around sharing their faith as anyone else, but they know that unless someone shares the gospel, people won’t encounter Jesus (Rom. 10:13-14). Those with the gift of evangelism are compelled to share the good news of Jesus with others because they see it as the most loving thing they could do.
Now, every Christian is called to practice regular evangelism. This is what it means to be an apprentice of Jesus (Matt. 4:19; Matt. 28:18-20). All pastors are called to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim. 4:5). But some folks are actually gifted in evangelism and see a greater amount of power in their evangelistic efforts.
Each of the gifts listed above manifests the word of God:
The gift of teaching makes the word understandable.
The gift of encouragement uses the word of God to encourage folks to keep following Jesus in the face of hardship and setbacks.
Those with the gift of apostleship expose the word of God to more people by people being sent out to start new ministries.
The gift of pastoring feeds and guides people with the word of God.
The gift of leadership helps lead people to accomplish the vision of the word of God.
The gift of evangelism leads people to new life in Jesus by preaching the word of God to people who are far from God.
01 – Ask God for gifts. Ask God for gifts. There is a connection between asking for gifts and receiving gifts. If there weren’t, there wouldn’t be such an emphasis on asking for gifts of the Spirit (Lk. 11:13;1 Cor. 12:31;14:1). We don’t need less of the Spirit. We need more. So ask!
02 – Step out and practice. We are told to grow or excel in spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 14:12). The only way to know if you have a gift or to grow in a gift is to step out and practice. This week, choose gifts that you’d like to step out and practice.
03 – Stay faithful. Spiritual gifts require faithfulness. We need to keep with it. Even when you don’t feel gifted, keep with it. Keep practicing. We need to fan these gifts into flame and grow in them (1 Cor. 14:12;2 Tim. 1:6). Keep practicing spiritual gifts. Stay faithful.
Recommended reading: Gift & Giver by Craig Keener