Spiritual gift

In Christianity, spiritual gifts (or charismata) are endowments which may be given by the Holy Spirit. These are the supernatural graces which individual Christians need (or needed in the days of the Apostles) to fulfil the mission of the church. They are described in the New Testament, primarily in 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4. 1 Peter 4 also touches on the spiritual gifts. The gifts are related to both seemingly "natural" abilities and seemingly more "miraculous" abilities, empowered by the Holy Spirit. The two major opposing theological positions on their nature is that they ceased long ago or that they continue (Cessationism versus Continuationism).

Spiritual gifts are distinguished from other graces of the Holy Spirit, such as the fruit of the Spirit and the Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, in that the charismata are to be used for the benefit of others while the fruit of the Spirit and other gifts result in personal sanctification.

The New Testament contains several lists of spiritual gifts, most authored by St. Paul. While each list is unique, there is overlap.

Christians believe that the charismata were foretold by the Prophet Joel (2:28) and promised by Christ (Gospel of Mark 16:17,18). This promise was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost and elsewhere as the church spread. In order to correct abuses concerning the spiritual gifts at Corinth, Paul devoted much attention to spiritual gifts in his First Epistle to the Corinthians (chapters 12-14).

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