Is the Gift of Discerning of spirits and Discernment the same thing?

There is a word that gets thrown around a lot in the Christian culture. Especially in the charismatic circles of Christianity. Discernment. A lot of people assume that discernment which is being able to tell the difference between what is truth and what is almost truth is the same thing as the gift of discerning of spirits.

Discernment is what every believer should develop as they grow closer to Jesus Christ. The bible tells us to test every spirit to know that is from God. (Reference 1 John 4:1). As we continue to draw nearer to God and study Scripture; we begin to notice when something doesn't align with His Word.

The gift of discerning of spirits is different. This is a spiritual gift given to some believers by the Holy Spirit. It is the supernatural ability to know when there is a demonic spirit tormenting a person, when it is simply human or fleshly nature being displayed, or when someone is operating out of the Holy Spirit.

It is not the same as discernment because the gift of discerning spirits allows you to understand exactly what spirit the person is dealing with.

I will give you an example of discerning of spirits that I had today. I went to the gas station and as I am walking back from the attendant to pump my gas, a man who pulls up. He is irate and he is berating his girlfriend. He was saying horrible things to her and she just sat there and took it.

As I walked to my car, he walked toward the attendant. Our eyes met briefly and I knew without a doubt that there was a demonic force tormenting him, that is why he was so irate. I immediately began to pray for him.

I stood there pumping gas wrestling with the idea of whether I should say anything to him about Jesus.

The interesting thing is that as I was standing there I began to sense there was a spirit trying to intimidate me and that was the spirit of fear. I decided as I got in my car that I was going to drive by him.

Without a second thought, I rolled down my window and told him Jesus loved him. He said something and turned around as I drove off.

I only said what I said to him because the spirit of fear was not going to keep me from being used by God to plant a seed that the Holy Spirit will water later.

Discernment is important for all believers. It is the way we are able to call out false teaching, false doctrine, and overall falsehood. The gift of discerning spirits is necessary so when the Lord uses you to reach someone, you know the spirit to call out in them. But they are not the same thing and I wish that was talked about more in the Church.

A wise woman once told me that when you are operating in the gift of discerning spirits, you must speak to the person not the spirit. You never negotiate with demonic forces, but instead you speak to the heart of the person that is being tormented. Another thing that I will address at a later date is the difference between discernment and a critical spirit-when being discerning turns into being judgmental, how to spot it, and what to do if you find yourself in a situation where your discernment has turned into being overly critical.

Stay tuned.

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