Epsilon - Gifts & talents

"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth."

Jesus (John 14:15-17a)

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. (Acts 2:17,18)

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)


In the Old Testament it seems that only a select few had a special anointing from God to ministry for His glory. But Moses himself wished that the LORD would put His Spirit upon all His people! (Numbers 11:29). This wish of Moses has now been fulfilled in the NT era! Now not just a select few have an anointing from God; now it is for all who believe in our Lord Jesus Christ.

As a follower of Christ Jesus, a member of His Body, it is helpful to know what part / role you have in the Body, to be equipped to perform that role well, and to know the greater purpose for that role. While for some this knowledge is not important (they just do it anyway!!), for others it is very helpful so that they can know where they don't fit!! But the interesting thing is that the Holy Spirit can sometimes give you specific gifts for specific seasons, empowering you at just the right time for just the right task. The key thing with God is your availability for Him to use! This being so, it is most common, however, for God to set aside certain individuals for certain tasks, and this stage is to help a person come to that realization for their own lives.

(Note: whereas my primary ministry commitment should be in the area where I am gifted, I must still be prepared to serve in any other area when I am needed. For example, I may not have the specific gift of 'showing mercy', but if I come across someone lying helpless in the street, I must still help them (cf Luke 10:25-37, James 2:15-17)).

But please note, our identity as Christians is not first and foremost from the gift we exercise - it is first and foremost that we are humans in the image of God! Our gifts, roles, etc, are just 'sub-expressions' of who we are in Christ. We must never let ourselves be defined by the gift we exercise or the role we play.

This being so, we can say that any role we exercise must be for the common good. That is, it is to build up and edify others ultimately. It is in this light that we should read Ephesians 4:11-16 :

God has given -

Apostles sent to new places
Prophets for the church (giving specific words from Jesus for the flock)
Evangelists for the contacts around / in the church
Pastors & Teachers for those in the church

for the purposes of:

a) preparing people in the church for works of service
b) for the shepherding, encouragement, & growth of the "body of Christ"
c) achieving the goal of us all being united in the faith & in the knowledge of the Son of God, and becoming mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will not be infants and will be able to withstand strong oppression (both physically and from false teaching). Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow up into Him who is the head (Christ). From Him the body grows & builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

With this understanding let us begin to address how we can discern what role we are (being) designed for as part of the body of Christ. Note that this is best not done in isolation. Whilst you can read through the following information, gift discernment and development occurs best in an apprenticeship model, just like Jesus with His disciples. You should be seeking to share your insights from the following material with other mature believers so that they can help you in your development.