To know how to use your spiritual gifts, you need to, first of all, understand what they are. So let’s look at each gift, and how it is meant to be used by believers.

Word of Wisdom

This is the ability to supply spiritual truths to fellow believers, so that specific needs and situations are met.

Use this gift to offer wise counsel to your church members and leaders when the need arises. For example, you can counsel singles who want to remain faithful to God and pure till marriage. Doing that will help them to continue living in a way that is pleasing to God.

Gift of Serving/Helping/ Ministering

People with a gift of serving fill up gaps found in ministries. They usually meet practical needs by doing actual work. Servers or helpers energize the church and allow others to use their spiritual gifts to the fullest. Stephen was a man with such a gift. He and several others used to wait tables as the twelve apostles focused on preaching the word. (Acts 6:1-7)

If your gift is helping or serving, you can do ushering, beautification, or secretarial duties in the church. That way, you will give room for the preachers, evangelists, and people gifted in other areas to focus on preaching the gospel.

Apostleship

The role of people with the gift of apostleship is to build churches and ministries. They are to set up churches in areas where there are no churches, rise up leaders, and develop them. These are leaders of leaders and influencers. Apostles are not afraid of taking big risks for God’s glory.

People with this gift are always but not limited to missionaries, institutional leaders, church planters, and believers with multiple ministries.

Encouraging

This is also called the gift of exhortation. Encouragers remind others about the goodness of God.  They will remind and tell others about Jesus Christ and his atoning work to strengthen them so that they can continue living in ways that are pleasing to God. (2 Timothy 4:2)

Motivate, uplift, rebuke, and challenge others to walk in the right path so that they can grow spiritually and bring glory to God.

The Gift of Prophecy

Paul encouraged the Corinthians to earnestly desire this gift. This goes to show that the gift of prophecy is extraordinary. A prophet receives a divinely inspired word and tells it to other believers. The message received from God is meant to exhort, rebuke, correct, and build others up.

Don’t be afraid to speak the truth when God tells you to, but remember to be gentle like a dove and wise as a serpent.

Evangelism

All of us have been called to evangelize. But some people have been given an extra measure of faith so that they can evangelize to the lost. Believers with this gift always have a heavy burden in their hearts to spread the gospel. They will go the extra mile to reach lost souls.

A person with this gift will easily overcome the fear of rejection and reach out to non-believers.  If you have this gift, then you have to continually seek unbelievers, form healthy relationships with them, and share the gospel. Please always seek the leading of the Holy Spirit so that you can remain on course for Christ.

Gift of Pastor/ Shepherd

Pastors have been given the gift of taking care of God’s flock. Like the way a shepherd watches over sheep, a pastor is supposed to watch over the spiritual well being of God’s children. They do this by teaching the word of God. It’s through pastors that God nourishes and gives rest to the body of Christ.

How should you use this gift if you have it? Well, first of all, you need to know that you have been called to serve, not to be served. You should reveal God’s glory to the people. Teach and guide the body of Christ in your local church to carry out the will of God.

Teaching

A teacher is a steward of God’s word to his children, so teachers need to be careful about what they say. Teachers will be judged harshly (James 3:1). A teacher of the word is someone who enjoys studying the word of God intensely. They want to get revelations about who God is and why he created man through scripture. People with these gifts also enjoy sharing the revelations they get with other believers to build the body of Christ.

Do not add or subtract the things of God.  Teach the word according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Bible study should be something that you take seriously and ask God to give you a profound revelation of his word as you study so that you can share the great truths in the Bible with his children.

Giving

Do you find fulfillment in giving?  Givers conserve resources so that they can be able to share with others. Givers prefer not to show off. They would rather remain anonymous. They also love motivating other people to save and give generously. This gift is given to some people so that they can help other people in the body of Christ.

As a giver, your goal is to encourage and share the blessings God has given you with others while giving God all the glory.

Administration

Administrators give directions to a group of people that are working to reach a particular goal. These people are good at creating plans and putting them into action by delegating responsibilities. They are usually in charge of a board or group in the church.

You can be a chairperson, office manager, director, or deacon in your local church.

Leadership

This gift is related to the gifts of pastor and administration. A leader cares about people and has the heart of helping them to move forward in their spiritual walk. Leaders inspire others to work as one body so that they can achieve godly goals. A good leader is one that is willing and eager to serve and is ready to give direction. (1 Peter 5:2-4)

You need to come up with visions, take risks, motivate, and build teams that will advance the kingdom of God in different parts of the world.

Showing Mercy

People with this gift empathize with those that are going through a hard time. They are the kind of people who love to minister to the poor, sick, those with physical disabilities and the aged. These people always say the right words to those that are hurting.

Use your gift in times of joy and sorrow. Celebrate with those that are celebrating life and mourn with those that are grieving.

Discernment/ Discernment of Spirits

Has someone ever tried to befriend, but you just had a hunch that something was not right with them? Could it be that it was not a hunch but the gift of discernment?

You may have felt judgmental then but realized that you were right on track.

Someone with the gift of discernment can distinguish between good and evil. The Holy Spirit imparts this gift to some people so that they can differentiate between the things of God, the devil, and the flesh. This gift will enable you to know erroneous doctrines and warn people about them.

Faith

While all Christians have been given a measure of faith, Romans 12:3, that is saving faith, some believers have the gift of faith. A person with this gift lives boldly for Christ. They have confidence in him because they know that God is faithful.  The gift of faith is meant to build the confidence of the body of Christ in God.

Take God at his word and place your entire life in God’s hands. Use this gift to lift others up by letting your faith show in all that you do or say.

Healing

A believer with this gift has the spiritual ability to speak, touch, and pray words that cause healing to take place in someone’s body, emotions, and spiritual life.  It is the manifestation of God’s miraculous power in someone’s body or emotions that brings deliverance from sickness or disease. (Acts 5:15-16)

You can use this gift to speak words or touch people so that they can be delivered from sickness and disease.

Working of Miracles

Closely related to the gift of healing, this gift is not used by the people the Holy Spirit gives it to, as they wish. It is subject to God’s divine will. Miracles reveal the presence and glory of God.  People with this gift are always pointing people back to Jesus and not to oneself.

Pray and make petitions to God to reveal his glory to his children. Always give God glory when he uses this gift to manifest his presence and touch the lives of people through you.

Interpretation of tongues

Are you able to understand what another believer is saying when they speak in tongues?

Well, you have the gift of interpreting tongues. This gift is essential because the interpreter tells the church what the person speaking in tongues is saying, and this causes the church to turn their attention from the person speaking in tongues to God.

Word of Knowledge

People with the gift of knowledge speak wisely about a given situation with scripture.

If you have this gift, then you can relate the things that are happening in the world with Scripture. Use your gift to give sound advice to fellow believers so that they can know how to connect life situations with the word of God.

Diverse Kinds of Tongues

This is the spiritual ability to speak in unknown languages. This gift works best if there is someone that can interpret what you are saying. That is why Paul discourages people from using the gift of speaking in tongues if there is no interpreter. (1 Corinthians 14)

In conclusion

It is only when the spiritual gifts of God are used together that the purposes of God are accomplished. It is pointless for Christians to use spiritual gifts to compete with each other. Just the way the leg needs the hand so that it can wear shoes that are the way we need each other.

God did not choose a few individuals to accomplish his purposes. He chose all of us to be part of his grand plan. Do not disregard your gift because it doesn’t allow you to stand on the pulpit or become famous

Spread the gospel with the gift that you have, and God will reward you in ways that you have never imagined. Do not isolate yourself. Work together with other believers, for we belong to the same body that is Jesus. Remember to practice humility and use your gifts for God’s glory.