Spiritual Gifts Categories: Support Gifts

For 23 years the Sears Tower in Chicago was the tallest building in the world.  It rises a quarter mile into the sky and encompasses two city blocks with over 4 million square feet of office and commercial space.  The building was built with enough concrete to pave a highway four-lanes wide and 10 miles long. The building’s foundation is 100 feet deep using 200 circular caissons to support the building’s weight.  In a similar way the support gifts support the building up of the Church by laying a strong foundation in the bedrock of Jesus Christ.

Discernment
The spiritual gift of discernment is like a spiritual x-ray. Believers with this gift can see inside a person’s heart and sense if people’s intentions are good or evil and their words are true or false. They perceive if people are God’s sheep or wolves in sheep’s clothing. Discernment is an invaluable gift that protects the church from harm as an early warning system that something’s wrong. It helps avoid problems and maintain unity in the Body.

Roy has the gift of discernment. He defines it as “the movement of the Holy Spirit that allows a believer to see inside and outside someone’s life situation.”  If you have this gift you know if people are being truthful and whether their motives are pure. But he cautions, “You can’t see any more than you see in yourself.” Discernment helps church leaders make great decisions, fuels a strategic mindset, and develop a high capacity to impact the world.

Faith
The believer with the spiritual gift of faith believes that God is always trustworthy, and this trust goes beyond human faith. It’s when the Holy Spirit works through believers to have no doubts that God will do what He has promised – without fail.

Phyllis was given the gift of faith. In the summer of 2006 the doctors discovered that cancer had spread throughout her body. On March 20, 2007 she died peacefully at home surrounded by her children.  Phyllis Lake was my Mom. Once I asked her if she was afraid to die. She smiled and said, “No Steve. I’m just going to close my eyes, and when I open them, I’ll see Jesus.”  That’s faith.

Knowledge
The literal meaning of knowledge is to speak known or revealed truth. It’s when the Holy Spirit works through a believer to deliver God’s truth at the exact moment it’s needed. People with this gift have a broad storehouse of information and experiences, including Bible verses, stories, analogies, illustrations, and quotations.

I have the spiritual gift if knowledge. I love studying the Bible and discovering spiritual principles I can share with others. God has allowed me to gather a diverse collection of personal stories, illustrations, diagrams, analogies, and memorized Bible verses. He often brings one of these to mind, or something completely out of the blue, that is exactly what needed to be shared in that moment.

Wisdom
The spiritual gift of wisdom means to see life and apply truth from God’s perspective. It’s when the Holy Spirit works through believers to apply biblical truth to specific needs in the Body. Believers with this gift often have others come to them for advice.

Frank has the spiritual gift of wisdom. Years ago I wanted to leave my job and start another career. I asked for advice from the men in my small group. Each one shared their thoughts until Frank, the last one to speak, said, “I’m not going to tell you what to do, but here’s a principle to help you decide. Don’t run FROM something; run TO something.” Those words cut through the fog and revealed that I merely wanted to escape a stressful situation. My friend’s gift of wisdom helped me decide to stay and work through the issues.

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