Spiritual gifts by which the Holy Spirit works in extraordinary ways, such as healings, miracles, prophecy, tongues, and interpretation. Christians differ on how, or whether, these gifts continue today, but Scripture presents them as gifts for the good and orderly edification of the church.
Extraordinary Spirit-given gifts used for ministry and edification.
Miraculous gifts are those spiritual gifts in which the Holy Spirit works through believers in extraordinary or striking ways, commonly including healings, miracles, prophecy, various kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. The principal New Testament discussions appear in 1 Corinthians 12–14, where these gifts are treated as Spirit-given manifestations for the common good, for the orderly edification of the church, and under the governing principle of love. Other passages such as Romans 12:6–8 and Ephesians 4:11–13 also place spiritual gifts within the normal life and ministry of the church. Conservative evangelicals agree that the gifts named in Scripture were genuine works of God and that the Spirit sovereignly equips believers for service. They do not all agree, however, on whether every miraculous gift continues in the same form throughout the church age. Some believe these gifts continue; others understand some of them to have been especially associated with the foundational apostolic period. A sound dictionary definition should therefore affirm the reality of the gifts in Scripture, the Spirit’s freedom in giving them, and the need for biblical testing, humility, and order in any present-day claim.
In the New Testament, miraculous gifts are connected with the work of the Holy Spirit in the early church. Acts records healings, signs, prophecy, tongues, and other extraordinary works accompanying the spread of the gospel. Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians emphasizes that such gifts are to serve the body of Christ, not to promote pride or disorder.
Across church history, Christians have differed over the continuation of miraculous gifts. Some movements have emphasized ongoing manifestations, while others have held that certain sign gifts were more closely tied to the apostolic era. The debate remains within conservative evangelicalism, so the entry should state the biblical data clearly while avoiding dogmatism beyond Scripture.
In the Jewish and broader biblical world, signs and wonders were recognized as acts of God that authenticated his saving work and prophetic message. The New Testament continues this pattern, but places the church’s use of gifts under apostolic teaching, love, and discernment rather than spectacle.
The New Testament commonly uses charismata for gifts of grace and pneumatikos for spiritual things or things of the Spirit; in some contexts, power-language also highlights God’s mighty works. The category is descriptive rather than a single technical Greek term.
Miraculous gifts highlight the Holy Spirit’s freedom, the reality of God’s power, and the church’s dependence on divine grace. They also show that spiritual power is meant for edification, witness, and love under the authority of Scripture.
The term refers to events that go beyond ordinary providence and human ability, but it does not imply that God is inconsistent or arbitrary. In biblical thought, miracles and related gifts are signs that God may use to advance redemptive purposes, not violations of truth or substitutes for doctrine.
Do not confuse biblical gifts with every modern claim of spiritual experience. Scripture requires testing, discernment, and order. The presence or absence of miraculous gifts in a given setting should not be used to judge the spiritual worth of believers or churches. The New Testament does not authorize these gifts to add new doctrine or override the sufficiency of Scripture.
Evangelicals commonly differ between continuationists, who believe miraculous gifts may continue today, and cessationists, who believe some sign gifts were associated especially with the apostolic era. Both sides affirm that God still answers prayer, heals, and acts supernaturally; the disagreement concerns the ongoing normativity of specific gifts named in the New Testament.
Any claim to miraculous gifting must remain subordinate to Scripture, centered on Christ, governed by love, and tested by biblical discernment. No alleged gift may contradict sound doctrine, produce chaos, or claim canonical authority. The Holy Spirit gives gifts as he wills; believers do not control or manufacture them.
This entry encourages believers to pray with faith, seek the Spirit’s help, exercise gifts for service rather than self-display, and evaluate all claims carefully. It also promotes charity among Christians who disagree about continuation and cessation while maintaining a high view of Scripture.