As We End This Journey

I hope these last few months digging a little deeper in to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit have been life-giving. I hope they challenged you to explore your gifts a bit more as well as gain a deeper appreciation for the gifts present in others around you. To wrap up, I wanted to offer a reminder or two as well as point you towards some resources to study further on your own.

Remember that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are meant to build up the Body of Christ. Their purpose to empower God’s people to share His love in ways which are unique to each person and each situation. Teaching and theology surrounding the gifts which elevates an individual to a holier status is not in line with Scripture.

Also, the presence or absence of any particular Spiritual gift is not a confirmation of salvation. We are saved by grace through faith. Period. For some people, that will include a powerful, tangible display of a Spiritual Gift. However, for most of us discovering our Spiritual Gift(s) is a journey. If you are unsure of what your gift(s) might be, be patient, kind, and gentle with yourself as you explore and learn more. Spend some time in prayer asking God to show you how you have been gifted. Remember that the expression of any of the gifts of the Holy Spirit will vary depending on person’s personality, resources, season of life, natural talents, physical abilities, and so many other factors. Don’t convince yourself you don’t have a particular gift just because it doesn’t look like what you expect or want it to look like.

A final reminder is that the theology and practices around the topic of Spiritual Gifts presents us with a wide variety of options. While all Christians agree that the Holy Spirit gifts and empowers each of us in special and unique ways to do the work we are called to, to share the Gospel where we are called to share, they do not always agree on how exactly that worked out in the day to day life of the modern Church. Some denominations will emphasize certain gifts and seek to have them regularly present in their weekly worship services. Others teach that certain gifts were only meant for the apostles and early church and have since died out. And this variety in how Christians teach about the gifts of the Holy Spirit is OK because it is not vital to salvation.

For this series here at Everydaydiscipleship.org, I have done my best to bring an understanding of the Spiritual Gifts which is in line with Lutheran theology primarily because IOLBC, our sponsoring ministry, is Lutheran ministry. As long as you trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, acknowledging this death on the cross paid the price your sins, we can disagree on if speaking in tongues is a gift meant for today or if worship should be considered a spiritual gift or not. I just want to encourage you, as you search out more information about any of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, specifically or in general, to be aware of the background of the author and any bias they might bring to the table.

Personally, I have found the following resources most helpful in writing this series:

- ELCA Spiritual Gifts Assessment Tool

- Spiritual Gifts Summary – Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

- Spiritual Gifts Series from gotquestions.org

- The website Assessme.org

- The resources found at SpiritualGiftsTest.com, especially the “Definitions and Descriptions” page.

If you have resources you have found helpful in learning more about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, I would love to hear about them and potentially pass them onto others. Please contact us with the details on where to check them out!

To wrap up, check out the links to all the blogs which have been part of this series below:

- A Gift From Who? (Introduction Part 1)

- Why We (and the Holy Spirit) Give Gifts (Introduction Part 2)

- The Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Introduction Part 3)

- The Modern Day Super Pastor (Gifts of Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher)

- The Truth of the Matter (Gift of Discernment)

- God's or Man's? A Look at Wisdom and Knowledge (Gifts of Wisdom and Knowledge)

- As We Prepare to Celebrate a Miracle (Gift of Miracles)

- 'Tis Better to Give Than Receive (Gifts of Generosity and Service)

- Gotta Have Faith (Gift of Faith)

- Thy Will Be Done (Gifts of Healing)

- Say What?! (Gifts of Speaking in Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues)