1If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don’t have love, I am nothing. 3If I give away all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing.
4Love is patient and is kind. Love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, 5doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; 6doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with. 11When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things. 12For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known. 13But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.
| Gift | Description | Result | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prophecy Rom 12:6; 1 Cor 14:29-32 | Speaking truth directly revealed from God | Understanding mystery, 1 Cor 13:2 | Timothy, 1 Tim 4:14 Daughters of Philip, Acts 21:8-9 |
| Service, helping Rom 12:7 | Aiding others to do God’s work; giving practical assistance to needy members of the church | Serving the church and the needy, Acts 6:1 | Onesiphorus, 2 Tim 1:16 |
| Teaching Rom 12:7; 1 Cor 12:28; Eph 4:11 | Communicating the truth and application of Scripture | Understanding the word of God, Acts 18:26 | Priscilla and Aquila, Acts 18:26 Apollos, Acts 18:27-28 Paul, Acts 18:11 |
| Encouraging Rom 12:8 | Urging one to pursue proper conduct or offering consolation | Encouragement, Acts 18:26 | Barnabas, Acts 4:36 |
| Giving Rom 12:8 | Liberally and cheerfully imparting substance to God’s work | Meeting physical needs, Acts 9:36 | Dorcas, Acts 9:36 |
| Leadership Rom 12:8 | Organizing and administering the work of the ministry | Order, Titus 1:5 | Titus, Titus 1:5 |
| Showing mercy Rom 12:8 | Giving undeserved aid to others | Sympathy and compassion toward the undeserving | Barnabas, Acts 9:27 |
| Apostleship 1 Cor 12:28; Eph 4:11 | Being an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ and speaking authoritatively about faith and practice | Setting forth God’s precepts for the church, 1 Cor 14:37 | Paul, Gal 1:1 Peter, 1 Pet 1:1 |
| Evangelism Eph 4:11 | Presenting the gospel with clarity and with a burden for the unsaved | Understanding the gospel | Philip, Acts 21:8 |
| Pastor-teacher Rom 12:7; Eph 4:11 | Shepherding and teaching the church | Care and godly instruction, Acts 20:28-31 | Paul, 1 Thess 2:7-12 |
| Message of wisdom 1 Cor 12:8 | Perceiving and presenting the truth of God; applying God’s word or wisdom to specific situations | Ability to grasp and apply the revelation given, 1 Cor 1:18 | John, 1 John 1:1-3 |
| Message of knowledge 1 Cor 12:8 | Understanding and exhibiting wisdom from God and revelation from God about people, circumstances, or biblical truth | Truth understood in its spiritual sense, 1 Cor 2:6-12 | Paul, Col 2:2-3 |