Dear Preacher:

When does a Christian receive 'spiritual gifts'?

According to Ronald Baxter in his book The Gifts of the Spirit, "Since it is by the Spirit's baptism that we are placed in the body of Christ, it would seem reasonable to hold that the Spirit equips to function in that body at the moment of our baptism in the Spirit." It appears that a Christian receives his/her spiritual gifts at the moment of conversion.

These spiritual gifts may not be evident at conversion but they were latent within us at the point of our spiritual birth.

A spiritual gift is a Spirit-given ability to serve God. They are given to equip and build up the body of Christ. Lists of spiritual gifts can be found in 1 Corinthians 12: 8-10, 28-30, Romans 12: 5-10, Ephesians 4:11 and 1 Peter 4:10-11.