Gifts of the New Testament
The New Testament rarely hands anyone a list of their spiritual gifts. But it does record what people did, how the Spirit moved through them, and what others said of them. From those records we can reasonably infer how each person seems to have been gifted. This is a study aid for making the 28-gift framework concrete and human — not a doctrine, and not a verdict on anyone's soul.
A study aid, not doctrine
These are inferences drawn from what Scripture records about each person — a study aid, not doctrine. We separate what the text actually says from what we infer from it, and we mark how firm each call is. Written by people, not by God.
Barnabas
A Levite from Cyprus and early Jerusalem believer; Paul's first missionary partner and the man who vouched for him when the church was still afraid of him.
What we might infer
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The apostles renamed him Barnabas, 'son of encouragement' (Acts 4:36). He vouched for the newly converted Saul when everyone else kept their distance (Acts 9:27) and sought him out to share the Antioch work (Acts 11:25-26).
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He sold a field he owned and laid the money at the apostles' feet for the needy (Acts 4:37).
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The Spirit set him apart with Paul, and the church at Antioch sent the two of them out on the first missionary journey (Acts 13:2-3).
Timothy
A young disciple from Lystra, son of a believing Jewish mother and a Greek father; Paul's frequent co-worker and the named recipient of two letters.
What we might infer
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Paul left him in Ephesus to oversee the church and correct false teaching (1 Timothy 1:3); the two pastoral letters to him are about caring for a flock.
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Charged to 'preach the word' and to entrust sound doctrine to faithful people who could teach others (2 Timothy 2:2, 4:2).
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Paul recalls the 'sincere faith' that lived first in his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice and now in Timothy (2 Timothy 1:5).
Titus
A Greek co-worker of Paul, trusted with delicate missions and left to set the churches of Crete in order.
What we might infer
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Paul left him in Crete to 'set in order what was lacking' and to appoint elders town by town (Titus 1:5).
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His arrival comforted a downcast Paul, who was cheered both by Titus's coming and by the comfort Titus himself had received (2 Corinthians 7:6-7).
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He took the initiative of his own accord, going to the Corinthians out of earnest care rather than waiting to be told (2 Corinthians 8:16-17).
Lydia
A dealer in purple cloth from Thyatira, a worshipper of God, and the first recorded convert in Philippi.
What we might infer
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She insisted, 'If you have judged me faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay,' and prevailed on them (Acts 16:15); her home became the gathering place of the Philippian church (Acts 16:40).
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'The Lord opened her heart to pay attention,' and she and her household were promptly baptized (Acts 16:14-15).
Priscilla & Aquila
A tentmaking couple and Paul's co-workers, who hosted a church in their home and quietly mentored the eloquent Apollos.
What we might infer
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They took Apollos aside and 'explained to him the way of God more accurately' (Acts 18:26).
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A church met in their house, both in Rome and in Ephesus (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19).
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Paul calls them 'my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life' (Romans 16:3-4).
Stephen
One of the seven chosen to serve the church's widows; a man full of the Spirit, and the first follower of Jesus to be martyred.
What we might infer
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Described as 'a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit' (Acts 6:5) and 'full of grace and power' (Acts 6:8).
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His opponents 'could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking' (Acts 6:10).
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He was chosen among the seven to serve the daily distribution of food to widows (Acts 6:1-5).
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He 'did great wonders and signs among the people' (Acts 6:8).
Philip the evangelist
One of the seven, later titled 'the evangelist,' who carried the gospel into Samaria and to an Ethiopian official on a desert road.
What we might infer
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He is named outright 'Philip the evangelist' (Acts 21:8); he proclaimed Christ in Samaria and led the Ethiopian eunuch to faith from a single passage of Isaiah (Acts 8:5, 8:35).
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The crowds gave heed with one accord when they heard him and saw the signs he did (Acts 8:6-7).
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He was first chosen among the seven to wait on tables before he ever preached (Acts 6:5).
Dorcas (Tabitha)
A disciple in Joppa 'full of good works and acts of charity,' remembered for the clothing she made for the poor, and raised to life by Peter.
What we might infer
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She 'was full of good works and acts of charity' (Acts 9:36).
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The grieving widows showed Peter the tunics and garments she had made while she was with them (Acts 9:39).
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She was known specifically for the garments she sewed for those in need (Acts 9:39).
Apollos
An eloquent Jew from Alexandria, 'mighty in the Scriptures,' who watered in Corinth what Paul had planted.
What we might infer
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He was 'mighty in the Scriptures' and 'taught accurately the things concerning Jesus' (Acts 18:24-25).
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He 'powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus' (Acts 18:28).
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He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and was fervent in spirit, speaking and teaching accurately (Acts 18:25).
Phoebe
A servant (deacon) of the church at Cenchreae, commended by Paul to the Romans and most likely the trusted bearer of his letter to them.
What we might infer
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Paul commends her as 'a servant of the church at Cenchreae' and asks the Romans to help her in whatever she needs (Romans 16:1-2).
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He calls her 'a patron of many and of myself as well' (Romans 16:2) — a benefactor who backed the work from her own means.
Peter
A Galilean fisherman called by Jesus, spokesman of the Twelve, and the apostle entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised.
What we might infer
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He was entrusted with 'the gospel to the circumcised,' as Paul was to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:7-8), and stands foremost among the Twelve (Matthew 16:18).
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His sermon at Pentecost cut his hearers to the heart, and about three thousand were added that day (Acts 2:14-41).
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He healed the lame man at the temple gate in Jesus' name (Acts 3:6-8) and raised Tabitha (Acts 9:40).
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From the earliest days he stood up to lead the believers, proposing the replacement for Judas and speaking for the rest (Acts 1:15, 2:14).
John
Son of Zebedee, 'the disciple whom Jesus loved'; an apostle and a pillar of the church, and the writer of a Gospel, three letters, and Revelation.
What we might infer
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One of the inner Twelve and, with Peter and James, reckoned a 'pillar' of the Jerusalem church (Galatians 2:9).
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He was told to write what he saw and send it to the seven churches (Revelation 1:11, 19); the Fourth Gospel and three epistles are also his.
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He received and recorded the Revelation, 'in the Spirit on the Lord's day' (Revelation 1:10), a book that calls itself prophecy (Revelation 1:3).
Luke
'The beloved physician,' Paul's loyal traveling companion, and the careful author of a Gospel and the book of Acts.
What we might infer
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He wrote an 'orderly account' to Theophilus — the Gospel of Luke and its sequel, Acts (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1).
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He 'followed all things closely' and investigated carefully so as to set the facts in order (Luke 1:3).
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He was the companion who stayed: 'Luke alone is with me,' Paul writes near the end (2 Timothy 4:11).
James (of Jerusalem)
The Lord's brother and leader of the Jerusalem church, who steered the Jerusalem Council and wrote the practical epistle that bears his name.
What we might infer
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He summed up the Jerusalem Council and framed its decision, 'my judgment is...' (Acts 15:13-21); Paul names him a 'pillar' of the church (Galatians 2:9).
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His council ruling defused a crisis, and his letter is a sustained call to the 'wisdom from above' (James 3:13-18).
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He wrote the epistle of James to 'the twelve tribes in the Dispersion' (James 1:1).
The gift names below match the 28 gifts in BibleMonkey's Spiritual Gifts Test, so each one links straight to its description.