Is There a Biblical Spiritual Gifts List?

Written By Anthony Delgado

Christians often ask, “Is there a biblical spiritual gifts list?” The Bible describes spiritual gifts as divine empowerments, but it never presents one definitive list. Instead, Scripture emphasizes that the Spirit gives gifts as He wills, for the sake of God’s mission and the strengthening of His people (1 Corinthians 12:11). Spiritual gifts are not static possessions handed to the church to keep; they are living empowerments given for the church to carry out the mission of God in the world.

While the Bible provides examples of gifts in both the Old and New Testaments, these should not be treated as exhaustive. Instead, they reveal the Spirit’s pattern of equipping God’s people with whatever is needed in their specific time and context.

1. What Are Spiritual Gifts?

Spiritual gifts are divine empowerments for service in God’s mission.

  • Source: They come from the triune God—Father, Son, and Spirit. They are not natural talents, though they may elevate those, but supernatural endowments for God’s purposes (Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:4–6).

  • Purpose: Gifts are for carrying out God’s mission in the world. They are not private possessions or church trophies but tools to advance the gospel and build up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12).

  • Flexibility: Because the Spirit gives as He wills, gifts adapt to context. They may shift or appear differently depending on what the mission requires.

Spiritual gifts are therefore best understood not as a fixed list but as God’s ongoing empowerment for the life and mission of His people.

2. Old Testament Empowerments for God’s Mission

Spiritual gifts are not unique to the New Testament. The Old Testament provides examples of God empowering His people to fulfill His purposes.

  • Craftsmanship: Bezalel and Oholiab were filled with the Spirit for skill in artistry and metalwork to construct the tabernacle (Exodus 31:1–6). This gift advanced God’s mission by establishing the place of His dwelling among His people.

  • Prophecy: Prophets like Samuel and Isaiah received words from God to guide, warn, and comfort Israel. Their empowerment served God’s mission by keeping the people aligned with His covenant.

  • Leadership and deliverance: Judges like Gideon and Samson were empowered by the Spirit to deliver Israel from enemies (Judges 6:34; Judges 14:6). These gifts preserved God’s people so they could fulfill their role in His plan.

  • Wisdom: Solomon’s gift of wisdom (1 Kings 3:12) equipped him to govern God’s people in righteousness.

  • Music and worship: David was empowered by the Spirit in song, writing psalms that continue to lead God’s people in worship (2 Samuel 23:1–2).

Each of these gifts demonstrates the same pattern: divine empowerment for God’s mission in a particular moment of redemptive history.

3. New Testament Spiritual Gifts Lists

In the New Testament, the Spirit continues to equip God’s people with gifts for the mission of proclaiming Christ and building up the church. Several passages highlight specific examples:

Romans 12:6–8

  • Prophecy

  • Service

  • Teaching

  • Exhortation

  • Giving

  • Leadership

  • Mercy

1 Corinthians 12:8–10

  • Wisdom

  • Knowledge

  • Faith

  • Healing

  • Miracles

  • Prophecy

  • Discernment of spirits

  • Tongues

  • Interpretation of tongues

Ephesians 4:11–12

  • Apostles

  • Prophets

  • Evangelists

  • Pastors and teachers

1 Peter 4:10–11

Peter simplifies all gifts into two categories: speaking and serving, both to be carried out “by the strength that God supplies, in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”

These lists overlap but are not identical, showing that the Spirit’s work cannot be reduced to one catalog. Each passage highlights how gifts equip the church to participate in God’s mission in the world.

4. Gifts for the Mission, Not to the Church

It is important to emphasize that gifts are not handed over to the church as possessions to own. Rather, they are given for the church, to enable her participation in God’s work.

  • Dynamic empowerment: Because they are for mission, gifts may change depending on context. A person may exercise one gift in one season and another in a different season as God provides.

  • Mission-shaped distribution: The Spirit equips the church with what it needs for the advancement of the gospel in its specific context—whether leadership, mercy, or prophetic speech.

  • Christ-centered purpose: Gifts are never about exalting individuals or institutions. They are about glorifying Christ and advancing His kingdom (1 Corinthians 12:7; Colossians 1:18).

The church should not view gifts as personal badges of honor but as tools entrusted for service, always oriented toward God’s purposes in the world.

5. Why There Is No Exhaustive Biblical List

The Bible offers multiple examples of spiritual gifts, but never claims to provide a final, exhaustive list.

  • 1 Corinthians 12 explicitly says the Spirit distributes as He wills, reminding us that He is not bound to repeat the same set of gifts in every age.

  • Old Testament vs. New Testament: The Spirit empowered craftsmanship in Exodus, prophecy in Samuel, and tongues in Acts. The variety itself demonstrates adaptability.

  • Implication for the church: God may raise up new expressions of empowerment today that serve the mission just as powerfully as those listed in Scripture.

This reinforces the truth that spiritual gifts are about God’s sovereign freedom to equip His people for His mission in every generation.

Conclusion

Is there a biblical spiritual gifts list? The Bible does not provide a single, definitive catalog. Instead, it offers examples that reveal a pattern: the Spirit equips God’s people with whatever is needed for His mission. From the artisans of Exodus to the apostles of the New Testament, gifts have always been dynamic, contextual, and mission-driven.

Spiritual gifts are not to the church as possessions to keep, but for the church as empowerments to carry out the work of God. Their purpose is to glorify Christ, build up His people, and advance His kingdom until He comes again.

Bible verses about spiritual gifts

  • Exodus 31:3 – “I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship.”

  • Judges 6:34 – “The Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet.”

  • 1 Kings 3:12 – “I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.”

  • 2 Samuel 23:2 – “The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me; his word is on my tongue.”

  • Romans 12:6 – “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.”

  • 1 Corinthians 12:7 – “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

  • 1 Corinthians 12:11 – “All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”

  • Ephesians 4:12 – “To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”

  • 1 Peter 4:10 – “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”

  • Colossians 1:18 – “He is the head of the body, the church… that in everything he might be preeminent.”

Anthony Delgado https://anthonydelgado.net
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