Unveiling the Meaning and Role of Spiritual Gifts.

Are the gifts of the Spirit still active today? The answer I stand with is yes. The gifts and offices described in Scripture are given by the Holy Spirit to build, equip, correct, and mature the church. Understanding how they differ and how they are meant to function prevents confusion, disunity, and misuse. Below I walk through the major objections to continuationism, explain the distinctions between fruit, ministry gifts, and manifestation gifts, and unpack how each gift operates in the life of the church.

Why this matters

Gifts of the Spirit are not merely emotional experiences or private curiosities. They are tools God uses so the church grows into maturity in Christ. When gifts are misunderstood or ignored, the body becomes imbalanced. When they are embraced with character and tested by Scripture, they bring unity, maturity, and supernatural help to ordinary people.

Two camps and where we land

There are two primary positions:

• Cessationism - the belief that supernatural gifts ceased after the apostolic age or when the biblical canon was completed.
• Continuationism - the belief that the gifts and their manifestations continue today as in the early church.

We hold to continuationism: the Holy Spirit still gives gifts, manifests, and equips believers today. There is room for honest questions and growth, but we must pursue unity, kindness, and humility while we learn.

Four common objections to continuationism and why they fail

People often point to four arguments against continuation. Each one needs to be tested by Scripture and sound hermeneutics.

1. The textual argument (1 Corinthians 13:8-10)

Some read "prophecies will cease" and "that which is perfect will come" as referring to the completed Bible. But hermeneutics requires that Scripture interpret Scripture. When we compare 1 Corinthians 13 with passages like Ephesians 4:11-16, a contradiction appears if we insist "perfect" equals the completed canon. Ephesians says apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers are given until the body reaches unity and maturity in Christ. We are not yet fully mature. Therefore the simpler reading is that the partial will pass away when fullness arrives at Christ's return, not at canonization. The textual argument does not hold up once the whole counsel of Scripture is considered.

2. The usage or validation argument

Some say gifts only validated apostolic ministries. But Paul clearly teaches the manifestation gifts are given for the common good and for the edification, exhortation, and comfort of the body (1 Corinthians 12 and 14). The gifts are not primarily about proving a leader's calling. They are corporate grace for building others up.

3. The observation argument

People claim, "We do not see gifts operate today, therefore they do not operate." Personal observation is not the foundation for objective truth. Outcomes are often shaped by what we ask God to do. The absence of frequent visible demonstrations in one context does not disprove biblical teaching about the Spirit's gifts.

4. The cluster argument

Some argue gifts only appeared in pockets of biblical history. But prophecy and other gifts appear consistently across Scripture. You cannot use limited textual exposure to prove that gifts ceased outside the recorded events. That is circular reasoning and ignores the broader scriptural witness.

Three important distinctions

The church often confuses three different realities that Scripture treats distinctly:

• Fruit of the Spirit - Who we are. The character qualities produced by abiding in Christ: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
• Ministry gifts (offices) - Gifts from Christ to the church as a corporate body: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher. These are governmental and equipping functions given to the body.
• Manifestation gifts - Individual spiritual gifts given by the Spirit for the common good. Examples include prophecy, tongues, healing, and the word of knowledge.

Remember: the fruit of the Spirit is character. Ministry gifts and manifestation gifts are often what we do. God can use people regardless of perfect character, but God also calls leaders to moral and spiritual maturity.

The Five Ministry Gifts and their roles

Ephesians 4:11-16 describes gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. Each serves the corporate body in complementary ways:

• Apostles - Govern the church. They ground doctrine, set culture and structure, mobilize the body, and provide governmental oversight. Apostolic leadership often carries signs and wonders as the work grows.
• Prophets - Guide the church. Prophets speak God's heart and mind to the people for edification, exhortation, and comfort. They frequently operate with revelation gifts like word of knowledge and discerning of spirits.
• Evangelists - Gather the church. Their primary role is to bring people to salvation by preaching the good news.
• Pastors - Guard the church. Pastors shepherd, care, and protect the flock by building relationally and spiritually.
• Teachers - Ground the church. Teachers explain Scripture, train believers, and help people mature in doctrine and practice.

When all five operate together the body grows and builds itself up in love. When one or more are missing or neglected the church becomes unbalanced: for example, heavy evangelism without teaching and pastoral care leads to a large but immature congregation.

The Manifestation Gifts: nine gifts and three categories

1 Corinthians 12 lists the manifestation gifts. Paul emphasizes: "To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." These gifts flow from the same Spirit and are distributed as He determines. I find it helpful to group them into three categories.

Revelation gifts - they reveal something

• Word of knowledge - Supernatural revelation about facts in the mind of God concerning people, places, or things in the past or present.
• Word of wisdom - Revelation about God's purpose or plan; often speaks into future direction or how to apply truth.
• Discerning of spirits - Insight into the spirit realm; seeing or sensing spiritual realities such as demonic activity or angelic presence.

Power gifts - they do something

• Gift of faith - Supernatural faith that receives miracles; often passive in nature because the miracle is already decreed and the believer receives it.
• Working of miracles - Supernatural acts that temporarily suspend natural laws to bring about God purposes.
• Gifts of healing - Supernatural anointing to heal physical or emotional disease.

Inspirational gifts - they say something

• Prophecy - Speaking God's word for edification, exhortation, and comfort in a known tongue.
• Different kinds of tongues - Supernatural utterance in an unknown tongue.
• Interpretation of tongues - Supernatural interpretation or translation of an unknown tongue.

All of these are legitimate workings of the Holy Spirit. They are given to individuals for the common good, and Scripture indicates that the Spirit distributes them as He wills. That means anyone can be used in any of these gifts in a moment when the Spirit moves. Do not box yourself into thinking you only have one fixed function.

To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.