Jesus Christ launched His church with a bang on the Pentecost after His resurrection. As Head of the church, our Savior made sure that the people of Jerusalem—and others down through the ages—realized that something extraordinary and monumental began that day:

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:2-4)

This demonstration of divine power illustrates the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in God's chosen people. When His Spirit fills His disciples, they can perform mighty, wondrous acts in service to His purpose and to their brethren.

This occasion also revealed a spiritual gift: speaking in tongues, by which the apostles communicated the gospel through recognizable languages and dialects of those from far-flung lands who had gathered in Jerusalem for the feast (see Acts 2:5-11). Christ's gifting of an aptitude for foreign languages enabled the apostles to accomplish their commission: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8; emphasis ours).

In the first century, spiritual gifts were necessary to the small but vigorous church's work. The apostle Paul instructs church members at length about them in Romans 12, I Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4. They are a primary subject of his first epistle to the Corinthians, a congregation that he felt needed a better grasp of such gifts and their purpose. Apparently, many Corinthians were proud of their newfound spiritual knowledge and eagerly ran with it without much careful thought, humility, or wisdom. As the biblical record states, what they still failed to understand frequently landed them in trouble.

To counter their zealous though misguided behavior, the apostle writes: "We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know" (I Corinthians 8:1-2). In context, Paul refers to their supposed knowledge of meat offered to idols, but the same would hold true about what they thought they knew about spiritual gifts. He essentially tells them that their actions revealed their ignorance on the subject (see I Corinthians 12:1), which he desired to correct.

Among his first words to them, Paul assures them, "[Y]ou come short in no gift" (I Corinthians 1:7). He writes something similar in I Corinthians 7:7: "But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that." Again, in I Corinthians 12:11, he declares to the Corinthians that God's Spirit "distribut[es] to each one individually as He wills." The apostle's repeated message is that each of God's chosen people has received a gift through His Spirit, "differing according to the grace that is given to us" (Romans 12:6).

So, each individual in the church has at least one spiritual gift. This fact has confounded many because they look at themselves—the foolish, the weak, the base, the despised, the nothings of this world, as they consider themselves (I Corinthians 1:26-29)—and see nothing special among their abilities. They conclude that, for whatever reason, God has not given them a spiritual gift, or they complain that He gave them a gift so small or obscure that they cannot tell what it is, much less use it!

Paul employs the Greek word charisma (plural, charismata) to name these spiritual gifts. The word means "a free [unmerited, gracious] favor or gift; benefit; endowment." Such gifts come from God through His Spirit and manifest themselves as talents or abilities to accomplish spiritual aims. For instance, the gift of prophecy (Romans 12:6; I Corinthians 12:10, 28-29) enables an individual to proclaim God's Word. The gift of healings (I Corinthians 12:9, 30) allows a person to restore others to physical health. The gift of leadership (Romans 12:8) gives the aptitude to galvanize others into action. The gift of service or ministry (Romans 12:7; Ephesians 4:12; I Peter 4:11) imbues a church member with skills to provide aid to others. The Bible mentions several other spiritual gifts, and there are many others besides.

In the Old Testament, God bestowed various gifts on people for His specific purposes. God says of Bezalel, "I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works" (Exodus 31:3-4) in constructing the Tabernacle. He gave Moses a gift of miracles, among others (Exodus 4:1-9). To Joshua, He gave strength and courage (Deuteronomy 31:7-8, 23; Joshua 1:1-9). He gave Samson fantastic physical strength (Judges 14:19; 15:14); David, a godly heart (I Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22); Solomon, a wise and understanding heart (I Kings 3:9, 12); Isaiah, pure lips to speak God's prophetic words (Isaiah 6:1-7); Jeremiah, an ability to speak courageously (Jeremiah 1:6-10); Ezekiel, unassailable implacability (Ezekiel 2:4-9); and Daniel and his three friends, wisdom and understanding (Daniel 1:20). These divine gifts are just a sample of those found in Scripture.

Frequently, God enhances natural talents (which He gave in the first place), ones He likely inspired the individual to pursue perhaps long before conversion. He undoubtedly marked out the apostle Paul years prior to his encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road, and God made use of his exceptional intellectual talents, dogged persistence, and humility. God fully utilized David's and Asaph's musical talents. Moses, Samuel, Ezra, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John had evident skills in writing biography and history.

Our gifts may not be as monumental and famous as those given to the main actors we read about in the Bible, but they are present and helpful. They may be gifts that make us visible before the world or church, such as speaking, writing, singing, or playing an instrument. The church needs people with such front-and-center gifts to carry out God's work.

But the church also requires the gifts that few ever see. We may be able to organize activities, give sound advice, pray for the church's work and the brethren, bring light and cheer to others, or make others feel welcome and appreciated. Perhaps these "invisible" gifts are the more necessary and honorable, for they display the greatest gift of all, godly love (I Corinthians 13).

Whatever spiritual gifts God has graciously given us, He wants us to identify them and use them to the best of our abilities in service to Him and His people. Remember, He sternly warns us about burying what He has entrusted to us (Matthew 25:24-30; Luke 19:20-27). Instead, we are to give of them freely, just as they have been freely given (Matthew 10:8). Peter writes:

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (I Peter 4:10-11)