A gift of the Spirit

The Gift of Faith

The nine gifts of 1 Corinthians 12 · 1 Corinthians 12:9

The gift of faith is a Spirit given ability to trust God with extraordinary confidence in a particular moment, to believe Him for what seems impossible and to hold steady when others waver. It is more than the saving faith every Christian shares; it is a special measure given, like all the gifts, for the strengthening of the whole body.

To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;1 Corinthians 12:9 (KJV)

What the gift is

Paul lists faith among the gifts of the Spirit, and this is not the ordinary faith by which every believer is saved, for that belongs to all who come to Christ. This is a heightened, God given confidence for a specific situation, a settled assurance that God will act, that rises up in a believer beyond their natural temperament. It is the faith that could remove mountains, of which Paul speaks in the very next chapter, and even that, he says, is nothing without love.

Where does saving faith end and the gift of faith begin? Scripture does not draw a sharp line, and we should not pretend to. But the church has always recognized certain believers who trust God with a steadiness and daring that steadies everyone around them, who pray with confidence where others only hope, and who seem to have been given, for the good of all, an unusual grace to simply believe.

How it appears in the New Testament

The Gospels are full of faith that amazed even Jesus: the centurion who believed a word from a distance would heal his servant, the friends who tore open a roof, the woman who pressed through the crowd sure that a touch of His garment would be enough. The book of Acts shows the apostles believing God for the spread of the gospel against every obstacle. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is a whole gallery of this gift, of men and women who through faith subdued kingdoms, obtained promises, and out of weakness were made strong.

In each case the faith is not confidence in themselves but confidence in God, and it is never for their own glory. It carries a mission forward, holds a church together under pressure, and encourages the fainthearted to keep trusting the same faithful Lord.

How it builds up the body of Christ

A believer with this gift is an anchor for the whole church. When a congregation faces a wall it cannot climb, when fear spreads and hope thins, the person of great faith says, quietly and truly, God can be trusted here, and the body takes heart. Their prayers are bold, their peace is contagious, and their steadiness in trial preaches a sermon words cannot.

This gift builds up not by drawing attention but by pointing everyone back to the faithfulness of God. It is meant to serve the common good, and it does so by lifting the eyes of the whole family to the One who has never once failed His people.

How to recognize and use it

If God has given you an unusual capacity to trust Him, do not hide it and do not flaunt it. Use it in prayer, standing in faith for the needs of others and of the church. Use it to encourage, coming alongside the discouraged with a real, grounded hope. And keep it tethered to the Word, for the gift of faith believes the God of Scripture for the things He has promised, not a private certainty that runs ahead of Him.

Above all, remember that faith is nothing without love. The most mountain moving faith, Paul says, is empty if it is not joined to charity. Let your faith serve people, and point them always past yourself to Christ, in whom all the promises of God are yes and amen.

How this gift points to Christ

The faith this gift stirs is always faith in a Person, for its object is Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. It looks not to itself but to Him who calmed the sea and emptied the tomb, and it trusts the God who cannot lie. Every mountain moving confidence rests on the faithfulness of Christ, in whom all the promises of God are yes and amen. So the gift of faith preaches Christ by trusting Him openly, and it draws the wavering to fix their eyes where the believer's own are fixed, on the Lord who has never once failed His people and never will.

The more excellent way

Whatever place the gift of Faith holds, Paul sets one thing above every gift. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, he says, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal; and though I have all knowledge, and all faith, and have not charity, I am nothing. The gifts will one day pass away, but now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; and the greatest of these is charity.

So this gift, like all the rest, is given by one Spirit for the common good, to build up the one body of Christ, and it is nothing at all apart from love. The gifts are not for our standing but for our serving, and they all belong to Him whose body the church is. Use whatever you have been given to love one another, and to point every eye to Jesus, from whom every good gift comes and to whom every gift returns its praise.

The Giver calls you

Every gift of the Spirit comes from the risen Christ and points back to Him. The same Lord who pours out gifts on His church calls you by name to know Him, to be filled with His Spirit, and to take your place in His body. Read the Word, pray, and gather with the family of God on The Living Bread. Free, with no ads, for all people.

Get the app Who is Jesus?

Questions people ask

How is the gift of faith different from saving faith?

Saving faith is the trust in Christ by which every believer is saved; it belongs to all Christians. The gift of faith in 1 Corinthians 12:9 is a special, heightened confidence given by the Spirit for particular moments and given for the good of the whole church.

Does the gift of faith mean I will never doubt?

No. It is not a promise of a life without struggle. It is a grace God gives to trust Him with unusual steadiness in specific situations, for the strengthening of others, and even it must be joined to love to have any worth.

Can I ask God for more faith?

Yes. The disciples prayed, Lord, increase our faith, and a father cried, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. God delights to grow the faith of those who ask, and all faith is finally a gift of His grace.