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What Are the Nine Gifts of the Holy Spirit?

When Jesus came to Earth, He was fully man and fully God.

The power of His ministry did not stem from Him being the Son of God; it was because the Holy Spirit rested upon Him.

That’s why He said in the book of John:

“He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” —John 14:12

The same Holy Spirit that rested on Jesus lives inside us today, so if we believe, we have the ability to heal the sick, cleanse lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons. Freely we have received, and now we can freely give! (Matt. 10:8)

God does not want us to be ignorant when it comes to the gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:1), and Paul went on to list them a few verses later:

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. —1 Corinthians 12:7-11

The gifts of the Spirit are all part of the present-day ministry of the Holy Spirit.

In this blog, I won’t go into an in-depth study of each one. I just want to list and give a brief definition of them. If you would like more on this subject, you can get my free series, The Ministry of the Holy Spirit by clicking on the image below. I go into much more depth and give examples of each one from Scripture.

The Ministry of the Holy Spirit cover art with flying dove

The gifts of the Holy Spirit can be divided into three categories: the revelation gifts, the power gifts and the utterance gifts.

THE REVELATION GIFTS

The Word of Wisdom

Definition: The word of wisdom might be defined as a supernatural revelation of the mind and purpose of God communicated by the Holy Spirit. It is God’s wisdom imparted to man. It might be designated as the gift of the word of God’s wisdom. When the Lord specifically reveals His purpose to an individual, that person possesses a word of God’s wisdom. By this gift, the Holy Spirit reveals things to come with respect to the world, nations, cities or individuals. Note also that it’s the word of wisdom, not the gift of wisdom.

    The Word of Knowledge

    Definition: the word of knowledge is a supernatural revelation of the existence or nature of a person or a thing, or the knowledge of some event, given to us by the Holy Spirit for a specific purpose— supernaturally knowing something that is or was.

    Discerning of Spirits

    Definition: The discerning of spirits gives us insight into the spirit world. It’s the ability to see the presence or activity of a spirit being and can only come through a revelation God gives. By this insight, we can discern the similitude of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, cherubim or seraphim, archangels, the host of angels or Satan and his legions.  

    THE POWER GIFTS

    The Gift of Faith

    Definition: The gift of faith is a supernatural operation of the Holy Spirit someone experiences that enables them to sustain an unwavering trust in God for personal protection and provision.

    The Working of Miracles

    Definition: The working of miracles is the supernatural demonstration of the power of God by which the laws of nature are altered, suspended or controlled.

    The Gifts of Healing

    Definition: The gifts of healing are manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the sphere of diseasea spiritual and supernatural manifestation of the Holy Ghost given to the Church for the purpose of removing sickness, disease, and infirmity.

    THE UTTERANCE GIFTS

    Prophecy

    Definition: The specific gift of prophecy is defined in 1 Corinthians 14:3: “But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.” Prophecy is a simple gift, and has often been greatly misunderstood because the term “prophecy,” like so many other terms, is used both generally and specifically. The gift of prophecy is not to be used for guidance. This is one of the major ways people have misused this gift.

      The Gift of Tongues

      Definition: The gift of tongues is the power to speak supernaturally, by the Holy Spirit, in a language not known to the one possessing the gift. Speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and is a heavenly prayer language for us to communicate with God. This is not to be confused with the gift of tongues, which is usually a message given in tongues at a gathering and requires interpretation. The gift of tongues combined with the next utterance gift, the interpretation of tongues, equals prophecy.

      The Interpretation of Tongues

      Definition: The interpretation of tongues is the ability to translate into a known tongue what has been spoken in an unknown tongue. The one interpreting the gift of tongues will be in the Spirit when the utterance in the other tongue was given and they will feel the urge to speak what God gives them.

      These wonderful gifts of the Spirit are all given by God to benefit the body of Christ.

      All of us, as believers, can operate in any of these gifts as the Spirit wills. When we maintain an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit and are sensitive to His leading, we can do the works that Jesus did—and even greater!

      2 thoughts on “What Are the Nine Gifts of the Holy Spirit?”

      1. This is SO good! Thank you! Praying the church rise up and labors release his kingdom!

      2. Look at the gift of prophecy in the book of Acts. It is prediction. Agabus is a totally different prophet to any Christian I’ve ever met. Prophecy is the lost spiritual gift. No one I know practices and no church I know teaches the gift of prophecy. Agabus guides the church to prepare for famine. He warns Paul that he will be imprisoned in Jerusalem.

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