Spiritual Gift: Discernment - SHEPHERDS OF THE LOST

WHAT IS The Gift of DISCERNMENT?

The gift of discernment is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to know with assurance whether certain behavior purported to be of God is in reality divine, human or satanic.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES FOR this Gift

Tap each verse to read it. Unless otherwise noted, all scriptures are in the English Standard Version.

1 CORINTHIANS 12:10 [KJV]

To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

MATTHEW 16:21-23

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. ²²And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” ²³But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

ACTS 16:16-18

As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. ¹⁷She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” ¹⁸And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

1 JOHN 4:1-6

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. ⁴Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. ⁵They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

IN THE GREEK

DIAKRISIS

Strong's Number: 1253
To separate one from another; divide; part; distinguishing.

SUGGESTED POTENTIAL STRENGTHS & CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS GIFT

Able to tell good spirits from evil spirits and right spirits from wrong spirits (1 John 4:1).
Enjoys spending time in and gaining a deeper understanding of God's Word.
Quick to recognize whether a specific teaching is true, false, or misleading.
Often able to sense the true motivation lying behind the words and actions of others.
Able to understand the spirits operating (1 Corinthians 14:29; Mark 5:6-13).
Able to discern the spiritual condition of individuals (Acts 16:16-18).
Sensitive to environments.

SUGGESTED POTENTIAL WEAKNESSES & WARNINGS OF THIS GIFT

Can be viewed as a suspicion rather than a perception.
Others may view discernment of subtle cues as personal bias or an overreaction; conversely, personal bias may masquerade as discernment.
Tends to be judgmental; can lack mercy.
May struggle to separate the person from spirit driving the person.
An incorrect judgment of someone could cause great harm to that individual and to the Body of Christ.
Have a tendency to forget using the authority of Jesus’ name (Jude 8-10; 2 Peter 2:1-11) and opening the door to spirit activity in his/her own life.
May have a quick fix mentality regarding evil (Luke 11:24-26).

SUGGESTED WAYS TO SERVE BASED ON THIS GIFT

Deacon/Deaconess
Board or Committee Member
Recovery Ministries
Counselor
Altar Worker

Recruiter
Worship Leader
Sponsor/Mentor
Service Moderator
Prayer Group Member

GOOD BIBLICAL EXAMPLES

PAUL & THE CHURCH AT EPHESUS

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