~ The Spiritual Gift of Discernment ~
Opening Comment ~ “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:16-18).
Serving Gifts ~ Within the Service Sector we compared the Spiritual Gift of Serving with non-profit organizations in society. The Gift of Going / Mercy was likened to Missionaries, while the Gift of Helps is a parallel for food banks and similar organizations. The Gift of Hospitality was compared to the travel industry, and the Gift of Leadership is a direct parallel to leaders throughout society. The Gift of Administration is a clear counterpart to managers throughout society. Gifts of Discernment are similar to counselors in society.
The Gift of Discernment ~ The God-given ability to see beyond the surface and obvious factors to more subtle, but very important factors.
The Gift of Discerning Spirits ~ In our society many would consider this a sub-set of a larger category of the Gift of Discernment. “The ‘discerning of spirits’ means the ability to distinguish between the false and the true.” –J. Vernon McGee
“The God-given judicial ability to stand over people in order to detect a genuine or non-genuine motive by distinguishing the spirit-source behind any person's speech or act.” –Loren Fischer
Scripture ~ “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).
“These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For ‘who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:13-16).
Traits ~ The person with the Gift of Discernment will typically; 1) pick out quickly the Biblical principles which pertain in making a decision, 2) pinpoint the source of difficulty when evaluating a situation, 3) will spot a weakness in a presentation and speaks out when others are being misled, and 4) rely heavily on their own intuition and will exercise caution so as not to reach a conclusion too quickly.
The person with the Gift of Discerning Spirits will typically; 1) recognize if the intentions of a person are good or bad, 2) have a tendency to be critical of others and to question their motives, 3) sense the hidden motives in why people act as they do, detects hypocritical tendencies in self and others, 4) trust their personal insight to detect when people are not what they claim to be, and 5) find it hard to accept the good a person offers, if the person does not live up to his profession.
Closing Comments ~ “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:12-16).
“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).
“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.
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