Spiritual Gift
In Christianity, spiritual gifts (or charismata) are endowments given by the Holy Spirit. These are the supernatural graces which individual Christians need to fulfill 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, but all spiritual gifts are empowered by the Holy Spirit. 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 the Isaiahan gifts result in personal sanctification. The two major opposing theological positions on the nature of the charismata are cessationism and continuationism (see also Cessationism versus Continuationism).
Read more about Spiritual Gift: Biblical and Theological Overview, Descriptions, Other Spiritual Gifts
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“We may not pay Satan reverence, for that would be indiscreet, but we can at least respect his talents. A person who has for untold centuries maintained the imposing position of spiritual head of four-fifths of the human race, and political head of the whole of it, must be granted the possession of executive abilities of the loftiest order.”
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