Gifts of the Holy Spirit



Firstly the term gifts is used in preference to abilities when refereing to what someone has, in reference to that fact that all these things are very literally gifts from God (through the Holy Spirit), and not the result of the persons own powers/ability.

These are the gifts describe in 1 Cor 12:28- (and several other letters of Paul). There is no 'definitive' list, as each list contains an overlap, and some distinct gifts no mentioned elsewhere.

In charismatic belief systems all (or some) these gifts are still with us, however in sensationalism all (or some) are believed to be no longer with us.

At fist sight the two look to be equivialent (or at least could be interpreted as such). This is not true.

In summary, charismatics believe that those gifts which are no longer with us, are mearly no longer with us because they were for a specific purpose that is not required in this location (place and time), but could happen if God chooses. Sensationalists] believe that certain gifts have been taken away from us as they were only there to help the early church. Which gifts remain defines which sensationalist viewpoint you believe in (though most believe that all have been taken away).

A list of gifts follows:
 * Healing
 * Prophecy
 * Speaking in Tongues (also known as Glossolalia)
 * The interpretation of said Tongues
 * helping
 * admin
 * working of miracles

The list was taken from (a quick skim) of 1 Cor 12. There are other lists, but no list can be complete, as God has the ability to give someone a new gift that is specifically tailered to a situation that has never been seen before. Also it is rare for one person to only have one distinct gift, as such you can either allow the definitions of the gifts to overlap, or the definitions of each gift to be specific, and allow each person to take a 'mix' of gifts as dictated by God. Either viewpoint is equivialent, and which one you take just depends on which one you find easier to describe.