The Supernatural Gifts (of the Holy Spirit)
By Matt Dawson
There was this awesome little book that came out in January of this year called “Gifted:Unleash the Power Within” by a brilliant young author (yes, the joke is intended)…if you haven’t read it yet – you can purchase a copy in the lobby or online!
When I talk to folks about the Spiritual Gifts, 99% of them go straight to their confusion, misunderstanding, or outright rejection/acceptance of the supernatural gifts (or manifestation gifts) written about in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10.
“To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wisdom; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.” (1 Corinthians 12:8-10 NLT)
Wisdom, Special Knowledge, Faith, Healing, Miracles, Prophecy, Distinguishing Between Spirits (Discernment), Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues.
Paul continues this conversation in chapter 14 around the 2 gifts that the church in Corinth had trouble with as well (Prophecy and Tongues).
Why are these “supernatural” gifts so hard to understand?
Let me give you 3 reasons that I believe why we struggle with these 9 supernatural gifts given to us through the Holy Spirit.
1. We Don’t Have Spiritual Awareness in The West.
One of the greatest benefits to modern western culture is our ability to think critically. We are taught from a very young age to logically analyze, process, and critically challenge our own thoughts and actions. This is something that is not all that common in the rest of the world. However, the rest of the world is highly attune to supernatural and spiritual manifestations, while we in western culture have all but full removed them from our existence.
This makes understanding the spiritual and supernatural a greater challenge for us. We read scriptures and hear testimonies of miracles, divine intervention, and healing but it all seems suspect to our minds. It all seems like a fairy tale or something that only happens on a fictional middle earth. Or we see the abuse of these gifts being used for fame & profit (healing revivals, prosperity gospel) and witness gifts like tongues in a group of babbling believers that looks more like chaos than worship.
All spiritual gifts are supernatural, however these 9 gifts not only occur when the Holy Spirit resides in us, they “manifest” themselves supernaturally in our lives. The more we can train ourselves to become spiritually aware (read Don’s book “Sixth Sense”) the more we will see and experience these gifts.
2. Supernatural = Evil.
Because of the exploitation of our Enemy’s power in our modern culture, most of us were raised (outside of superhero comics) to relate the supernatural to that of demons, evil spirits, and ghosts. From tales of witches to modern day paranormal activity, we as a modern culture entertain ourselves with negative examples of supernatural power and therefore have a difficult time seeing anything supernatural in a positive light.
If God were to supernaturally use your hands on someone to heal them right before your eyes, most of us would be personally filled with fear and bewilderment rather than awe and wonder of our God who has answered our prayers so miraculously!
3. Loss of Control (Fear).
One of the reasons many churches and denominations simply do not teach or encourage the use of supernatural gifts is the loss of control it represents. All religions are based on an organization system of control – including most evangelical churches. We embrace what we can control and activate – we shy away from or denounce what is mysterious and outside of our ability to control it. Such is the gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit. We embrace faith and wisdom, but fear the rest because they don’t easily fit within the context of our church programming.
If you ask God to “move” in your life – then expect it to be supernatural and outside of your control or ability to control it. Discernment is needed because many will use mysticism as a way to engage the spiritual without being led by the Holy Spirit. However believers should NEVER fear the work of the Holy Spirit through those who are mature in living out of their spiritual gifts!
STUDY THE GIFTS
Studying these gifts are essential to every believers journey as they continue to grow in maturity in Christ. I also believe every single person has at least one manifestation gift in their mix of gifts given to them by the Trinity. God desires to supernaturally work through you, but you cannot experience this or live in the power of the Holy Spirt if you relate to the struggle listed above.
Confess to God where you personally struggle the most with understanding the spiritual/supernatural. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you and to help you address these issues so that you can continue to grow and mature in your walk with Jesus!