The Manifestation Gifts - Discerning of Spirits
1 Corinthians 12:7-11 - 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.
The nine manifestation gifts of the Spirit are listed as follows:
1. Tongues
2. Interpretation of Tongues
3. Gift of Prophecy
4. Word of Knowledge
5. Word of Wisdom
6. Discerning of Spirits
7. Faith
8. Healings
9. Working of Miracles
The nine gifts of the Spirit can be divided into three groups of three each.
Gifts that say something
1. Tongues
2. Interpretation of Tongues
3. Gift of Prophecy
Gifts that reveal something
4. Word of Knowledge
5. Word of Wisdom
6. Discerning of Spirits
Gifts that do something
7. Faith
8. Healings
9. Working of Miracles
Spiritual gifts are manifestations of the Holy Spirit. These gifts belong to the church and are supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit and are manifest through Spirit-filled believers.
These manifestations are visible expressions of the Holy Spirit and reveal His character and His will.
The Word of God teaches us that we do not possess any of these nine gifts, but they manifest on any individual that the Spirit may choose for a particular time or purpose according to the will of the Spirit.
They are therefore temporary gifts and no-one can claim a permanent possession or operation of the gift.
When a believer exercises the gift, the Holy Spirit exhibits His power through that particular person and the Holy Spirit will reveal Himself in a special way.
These gifts therefore operate by faith and are given by grace and are given for the benefit of others. They are not intended for any self-glorification, but are for the benefit of others.
The purpose of the gifts is to build up the church. The Spirit manifests Himself through these gifts to edify the church and demonstrate the reality of God to unbelievers.
The gifts and the ministries of the gifts of the Holy Spirit have the purpose to build the church in unity and love for Christ.
* Edification - to build up
* Exhortation - to stir up
* Comfort - to cheer up
* Direction - to bring direction to the body of Christ
These are the means by which the Holy Spirit works publicly in gatherings of Gods people. These nine gifts are real, effectual and powerful in edifying, or building up the local church made up of believers in Christ Jesus. They aid in carrying God’s work forward in the world. They are operated through the members of the body and not just the leaders in the five-fold ministry. They are for each church and each member of the church. The Holy Spirit distributes the nine gifts across the whole body as He wills and the gift at the time of need is imparted for ministry purposes.
These gifts belong to the church and are manifested through individuals as the Spirit wills, not as man wills.
The following should be understood when it comes to any of the nine gifts of the Spirit:
* They are given freely by God to individual Spirit-filled believers - 1 Corinthians 12:7-11
* They are not a permanent mantle on any particular person but operate only as the Spirit wills for a particular occasion - 1 Corinthians 12:11
* The gifts operate by grace and faith - Romans 12:6
* They are not based on maturity - Acts 19:6
* They are not based on correct doctrine - 1 Corinthians 3:1-3
* The gifts of the Holy Spirit cannot be earned - 1 Corinthians 4:7
* The gifts cannot be purchased - Acts 8:18-21
The discerning of spirits
The discerning of spirits is one of the nine gifts of the Spirit and is one of the three gifts that reveal something.
For to one is given the discerning of spirits distributing to each one individually as He wills.
This gift of the Holy Spirit can only be done as the Holy Spirit wills. In other words, these gifts cannot be turned on and off at our will.
The discerning of spirits is the Spirit-given ability to receive and communicate timely Spirit-inspired messages from God that bring edification, exhortation, and consolation to the body of Christ, either individually or as a corporate body.
In church there is the need for all to be built up. In a corporate gathering, the church needs to receive building up or edification.
The Bible reveals that there is a spiritual realm which is unseen but which affects the physical world. The devil and his demons are waging a vicious and evil spiritual battle in an attempt to frustrate God's plans for mankind.
Discerning of spirits is a God given supernatural insight into the spirit world which gives a Spirit-filled believer the ability to see and hear in the spirit realm.
Believers functioning in this gift will be able to expose imposters and reveal the hidden plans of the enemy. They will also be able to perceive and evaluate what was said and done and will ascertain whether it was of God or Satan and to distinguish between spiritual truth and error.
The manifestation of the discerning of spirits supernaturally enables the believer to recognize entities in the realm of spirits. Believers functioning in this gift will be able to expose imposters and reveal the hidden plans of the enemy. The discerning of spirits does not come through training, but is manifested by the Holy Spirit when it is needed.
For example, Paul operated in the gift of discernment when the young girl was following his ministry. She was demon possessed, but appeared to support his ministry and told everyone that she agreed with what he was saying. Her presence and participation annoyed Paul and eventually he confronted the demon in her and cast it out.
Demons do not attend dead church meetings. They target meetings where signs and wonders are being performed, where people are given the opportunity to give their lives to the Lord and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. When we have these kinds of meetings, we need to allow these gifts to manifest in order to halt the evil plans of the devil.
Like all nine gifts, this gift is to encourage the church to conduct itself in faith, courage, love, and good works. The discerning of spirits is not for personal promotion but is intended for the edification, exhortation, and comforting others. We should encourage the discerning of spirits to function in the church and we should never allow ourselves to stand in God's way regarding this gift.
