We live in a world where “being spiritual” has never been more popular, while Christian ideals are almost frowned upon. The result? A confusing marketplace of spiritual experiences where Christian gifts of the Spirit are rebranded as “intuition,” “energy reading,” “manifestation,” and “personal power.”
I’ll be honest, the first time I heard someone praying in tongues, I was pretty freaked out. It was so unfamiliar to me, and I interpreted it as something out of a scary movie. Without a biblical framework to understand what I was witnessing, I defaulted to fear, not discernment, assuming what I heard must have been demonic or manufactured.
Many believers find themselves in similar positions—either dabbling in practices that subtly lead away from Christ, or rejecting spiritual gifts altogether out of fear. But what if there’s a better way to navigate this confusion?
Biblical Foundation of Authentic Spiritual Gifts
1 Corinthians 12:7 says, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” The Holy Spirit empowers each of us with spiritual gifts to further God’s Kingdom—not to elevate ourselves.
After Jesus ascended to Heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell among us forever. In doing so, the Holy Spirit blesses us with a variety of spiritual gifts. Romans 12:6 outlines several gifts including prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, generosity, leadership, and mercy. 1 Corinthians adds apostleship, evangelism, miracles, healing, speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, and faith (1 Corinthians 12:7-10, 28). And this isn’t an exhaustive list of spiritual gifts. Many more are outlined in the Bible.
We have to remember that we’re not entitled to any of these gifts. All gifts come from the Holy Spirit; they’re not earned but given freely by God’s grace. Hebrews 2:4 confirms this: “while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.”
What makes these spiritual gifts so beautiful is how they each work together in the body of Christ. Even though we have different gifts, we are one body in Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-14), and no one gift is more important than another. Each gift is necessary for the whole (1 Corinthians 12:21-22).
The Enemy’s Three-Step Strategy
Despite this beautiful design, the enemy has a calculated strategy to distort, twist, and ultimately neutralize these gifts. Scripture warns us in 2 Corinthians 2:11, “so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.”
Step 1: Counterfeit – Creating Occult or Self-Centered Versions
Satan doesn’t have the ability to create, only to corrupt what God has already made. John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” He’s not capable of creating something from nothing like God can, so instead he resorts to twisting and corrupting the good things God’s made.
We can see this throughout history. In Acts 8:9-24, a sorcerer named Simon saw the power of the Holy Spirit and wanted to buy it to use for himself. Matthew 24:24 warns us that “false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”
Here’s where we see the modern example of the New Age movement. New Ageism repackages spiritual gifts as manifestation, clairvoyance, affirmations. The occult practices mimic genuine spiritual abilities but draw power from other sources. Even the self-help industry claims spiritual powers as human potential.
The question then becomes, if people are able to do signs and wonders without giving credit to the Holy Spirit, where is the power really coming from?
Step 2: Credit Shift – Misattributing the Source
Pride tends to be one of humanity’s biggest downfalls. Instead of giving God credit for the gifts of the Spirit, we like to take credit and brag that it’s all of our own doing. But Paul speaks on this in 1 Corinthians 4:7, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” All blessings, opportunities, and abilities are from God.
This happens in our secular world too. We relabel spiritual gifts as natural abilities. Discernment gets reduced to “intuition” or “emotional intelligence”. Prophecy becomes “good people-reading skills”, and wisdom gets minimized to “common sense”. Instead of acknowledging these gifts come from Christ, we take God out of them completely and give them secular names.
1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
Along with taking credit for spiritual gifts instead of giving credit to God, we can also confuse certain gifts’ origins. The enemy sometimes provides “accurate” information through wrong sources, which is why we can’t judge spiritual gifts solely by apparent “results”. Like a poison well, the first few sips may seem fine and might even quench your thirst, but will eventually harm you.
In Acts 16, Paul and Silas encounter a slave girl with the gift of divination. She followed them around saying, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation!” Though her words were true, Paul discerned it was coming from a demon, rather than God.
Why does the source matter if the words were true? Because the demonic spirit in the girl had a different agenda from God’s—it was using partial truth to build credibility. It also tried to associate itself with Paul’s ministry to ultimately serve its own purposes, not the Kingdom’s. Just like when the devil quotes Scripture to Jesus in the wilderness, the words were biblical but the purpose was deception (Matthew 4:5-7).
This is why it’s important to test the spirits even when messages seem positive (1 John 4:1). Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 11:14, “Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”
Even when the initial message seems helpful, wrong spiritual sources eventually lead people away from God. It creates dependency on the source rather than focusing on a relationship with Christ. It also creates a partial truth mixed with enough error to be spiritually dangerous and ends up contaminating the genuine gift.
God-given gifts are meant to strengthen our identities in Christ, but these counterfeit gifts often create an identity apart from Christ.
The Holy Spirit leads us into a deeper relationship with Jesus, but other spirits ultimately lead away from Jesus, despite initial appearances.
Step 3: Confusion – Rejection or Misuse
In today’s society, and in some certain churches, the spiritual gifts are often associated with fear. Many of us end up rejecting spiritual gifts altogether out of fear or immediately associate any and all supernatural experiences with the occult.
We may also fall down the slippery slope of using spiritual gifts for our own self-promotion. This creates spiritual elitism or a hierarchy based on which gifts you have. But Scripture teaches us that no gift is better than another. Some communities may place stronger emphasis on the “cooler” gifts like prophecy or speaking in tongues, making people with other gifts feel weaker or unnecessary.
But all spiritual gifts were created to be used together, just like all parts of the body work together toward a common goal. “If one member suffers, all suffer together,” Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:26, further proving the importance of each and every spiritual gift.
Three Common Spiritual Gifts & Their Imitations
Gift #1: Prophecy vs. Fortune-Telling & Affirmations
The Spiritual Gift of Prophecy
The biblical definition of prophecy is speaking God’s truth for edification (moral improvement), encouragement, and comfort (1 Corinthians 14:3). Prophecy also includes revelations for building up the church (1 Corinthians 14:4-5). This can include insight about the future, but primarily focuses on revealing God’s heart.
But for prophecy to function healthily, it must be tested by the community. 1 Corinthians 14:29 tells us to “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.”
True prophecies will always align with Scripture and have the end goal of helping the church.
Prophecy vs. Fortune-Telling
Here’s where the enemy tries to twist the gift of prophecy into the counterfeit gift of fortune-telling. Fortune-telling focuses on predicting future events rather than revealing God’s heart. In Acts 16:16 when Paul and Silas encountered the slave girl who practiced divination, “she brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling.” Her skill was used for personal gain or control. This counterfeit gift also creates dependency on the “prophet” instead of God. We start to praise the fortune-teller instead of giving credit to God.
Our culture has normalized this counterfeit through various means:
- “Psychic readings” advertised on social media platforms and storefronts
- Horoscopes integrated into mainstream magazines and apps
- Tarot cards rebranded as “self-reflection tools” in mainstream bookstores
- Fortune cookies and daily prediction notifications treated as harmless fun
- “Prophetic” TikTok and Instagram accounts offering generic predictions that could apply to anyone
What makes this normalization dangerous is how it grooms us to seek guidance outside of God’s Word and Spirit, creating dependency on human intermediaries rather than developing our own relationship with Christ.
Prophecy & Affirmations
Biblical declarations of God’s truth are powerful and healing. When we remind ourselves “God says I am His beloved child”, we stand on the solid ground of Scripture. The power isn’t in our words—it’s in the truth they reflect.
However, the enemy has twisted this practice into something that places creative power in human words themselves. When affirmations become “I manifest abundance” or “I create my reality through my words”, we’ve shifted from declaring God’s established truth to attempting to establish our own truth apart from God.
The line is crossed when we begin to believe our words have power in themselves, rather than drawing their power from alignment with God’s Word and will. As James reminds us, even our plans should be submitted with “if the Lord wills” (James 4:15).
Affirmations center on human potential—what can I do?—instead of centering on God—what will God do?
Red Flags & Reclamation
So, how can we remain vigilant and notice when the counterfeits start to overtake the spiritual gift of prophecy?
If attention becomes drawn to the messenger rather than God, this can be a sign that the gift has gotten twisted. When accuracy becomes the primary measure of validity, or if the words spoken create fear, confusion, or unhealthy dependency, this can be a sign of corruption. To put it simply, take Matthew 7:16 to heart. “You will recognize them by their fruits.” A true prophetic word will always embody the fruits of the Spirit, not works of the flesh.
For example, an authentic prophetic gift might be someone sharing a timely encouragement that builds faith. But a counterfeit might make specific predictions with the sole intent of gaining followers.
How can we reclaim this gift? Before accepting a prophetic word, we must test it against Scripture and community. Instead of focusing on the prediction itself, ask yourself, “Does this prophetic word help with moral improvement?” Like 1 Thessalonians 5:21 says, “Test everything; hold fast to what is good.”
Gift #2: Discernment vs. Clairvoyance
True, Biblical Discernment
Discernment, according to the Bible, is the ability to distinguish between spirits (1 Corinthians 12:10), to be able to tell the difference between the Holy Spirit’s influence and demonic spirits’ influence. Philippians 1:10 speaks on using discernment to “approve what is excellent”. Discernment is the ability to distinguish good from evil through the Holy Spirit’s moral knowledge (Hebrews 5:14).
The gift of discernment is needed to protect the church from deception and to verify an authentic movement of the Spirit—otherwise, false ideas may worm their way into the church under the guise of being from the Holy Spirit. Discernment helps to navigate complex spiritual situations with wisdom, like Paul discerning the demonic spirit in the slave girl in Acts 16. He recognized it wasn’t the Holy Spirit dwelling in the girl even though she was speaking things that were true.
Discernment Twisted Into Clairvoyance
This is why discernment is so important; and probably why the enemy twists discernment into something more prevalent in the secular world: clairvoyance. Maybe you’ve seen people on social media claiming to have psychic abilities or a “third eye”. They might offer readings or claim to perceive spiritual entities or energies.
What’s fascinating is how similar the experiences can feel. Someone with genuine spiritual discernment might perceive spiritual inconsistencies or deception in a situation. Meanwhile, someone else claiming clairvoyance might describe the same sensation but attribute it to their own special powers rather than the Holy Spirit’s revelation through them.
Our culture has normalized this counterfeit through:
- “Spiritual TikTok” videos about auras, energy fields, and psychic abilities gaining millions of views
- Language shifts from “discernment” to “being an empath” or having “heightened sensitivity”
- Celebrities openly discussing their “psychic abilities” in mainstream media
And this counterfeit doesn’t stop at clairvoyance. Discernment can also become twisted into spiritual paranoia where we start seeing demons behind every single hardship or attributing ordinary problems to spiritual warfare. We can also see judgmentalism when discernment is misused to condemn instead of protect others. And some may use “discernment” to elevate themselves as more spiritually advanced.
Matthew 7:15 warns us, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” This warning isn’t just about others. It’s also about being careful that our own gift of discernment isn’t corrupted.
What to Watch Out For & Reclamation
How can we recognize when discernment’s been corrupted? Keep an eye out for a constant focus on demonic activity. We should be aware of it, not obsessing over it, whether it be out of fear or fascination. If discernment creates fear instead of wisdom, condemnation instead of freedom, this could signal corrupt discernment.
For example, authentic discernment looks like a believer sensing spiritual deception in a teaching and quietly guides others to fact-check it with Scripture. Counterfeit discernment could be a person who claims a special “spiritual sight” to see demons around specific people, creating fear and positioning themselves as spiritually superior.
How can we reclaim this gift? We need to make sure to balance discernment with love and hope. It shouldn’t be fear-based or used to condemn others. Like with prophecy, we can test our impressions against Scripture to make sure it’s biblically sound. We can also seek confirmation from more mature believers. In John 7:24, Jesus instructs, “Do not judge by appearance, but judge with right judgment.” We are to separate biblical discernment from being judgmental. It’s about making a right judgment based on the Truth of the Bible, not on appearances.
Gift #3: Faith vs. Manifestation
The Spiritual Gift of Faith
At its core, the biblical gift of faith is an innate trust in God’s power and promises. It’s a confidence based on God’s character and Word and a humble submission to God’s will. The definition of faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is a settled confidence that something in the future—something God has promised—will actually happen because God said He will make it happen. As a result, God receives all glory for outcomes.
Faith functions healthily, not by blindly submitting, but by being comfortable asking questions, asking “Why?”, while remaining steadfast in our biblically-grounded beliefs. And faith isn’t a passive belief, but a belief put into action. It must act on what we believe to be true, just like trusting a chair to hold us because we’ve seen it hold others before.
Manifesting: Faith’s Counterfeit
So, it’s no wonder the gift of faith is a prime target for the counterfeit of “manifesting”. When we use manifestations to try and create our own realities instead of trusting in God, we’re corrupting our gift of faith. Manifesting uses a confidence based on “universal laws” or our own personal power. We attempt to bend reality to our will by believing the New Age principle of “your thoughts create your reality”. As a result, the self receives all credit for outcomes, displacing credit to God. Our language subtly shifts from “God provides” to “I attracted”.
Manifesting has become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon. We can’t scroll far before seeing “I’m manifesting…” or “I’m speaking it into the universe”. Vision board culture has replaced prayer and submission to God’s will.
This isn’t to say we aren’t allowed to strive for more. It’s not a sin to be ambitious or to pursue opportunities that will better ourselves. The problem comes when we start shifting to a self-sufficient mindset rather than acknowledging all that God does for us.
Signs of the Counterfeit & Reclamation
When focus shifts from God’s will to personal desires, our faith may be corrupted by the self. Faith then becomes a formula or a technique just to get results. We emphasize human words and attribute them to having creative power. Our counterfeit faith causes an absence of surrender to God’s sovereignty when we start measuring success by visible outcomes rather than faithfulness.
This can look like someone who declares specific outcomes, believing their words have power to shape reality and become disillusioned when things don’t manifest as spoken. Authentic faith is someone who trusts God through a difficult situation, finding peace in surrender to His will regardless of the outcome.
This isn’t to say we should sit back and think, “Oh well, God’s in control, so there’s no point in doing what I want. God’s will be done.” We still need to pair our faith with works as “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). As stated earlier, faith isn’t passive belief. Faith is acting on our beliefs while trusting God will be there for us no matter what.
How can we reclaim this gift? We need to anchor our faith in God’s character instead of desired outcomes. We can still pray for things to happen as we’d like, keeping in mind the answer could be “no” even when we don’t understand why. We can embrace the tension of confident trust in God while also surrendering to His will. Instead of focusing on results, we can focus on our personal relationships with God. 1 John 5:14 says, “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
Speaking in Tongues: When a Gift Becomes Controversial
Understanding This Divisive Gift
And now, we come to one of the more controversial spiritual gifts: speaking in tongues. We first see this gift in Acts 2:1-13, speaking about the Pentecost when the Holy Spirit filled the crowd, and they each heard one another speak in their native languages. Paul defines speaking in tongues as a spiritual gift and a personal prayer language in 1 Corinthians. But Paul also warns that without someone able to interpret, speaking in tongues won’t strengthen the faith of anyone other than the speaker (1 Corinthians 14:6-19). He also states, “Do not forbid speaking in tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:39).
Why This Gift Particularly Triggers the Enemy’s Strategy
Paul even writes about this in 1 Corinthians 14: “If therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?” The initial reaction to hearing tongues can be one of discomfort that overrides spiritual discernment. Then comes the challenge of separating emotional reaction from spiritual evaluation.
When I first heard someone speaking in tongues, I felt very uneasy and fearful, to be honest. The unease and fear brought on by hearing tongues for the first time definitely muted my discernment. I wasn’t able to spiritually evaluate if what I was hearing was of God because I was so shocked.
And this is exactly where the enemy tries to sneak in.
Counterfeits and Distortions
Some may use speaking in tongues as a spiritual status symbol, making it a measure of spiritual maturity or salvation. This only creates division between believers, and we know the devil loves to isolate and pit us against each other.
Sometimes there’s pressure to produce the gift of speaking in tongues, pressure that can become so great that we may start mimicking rather than authentically engaging in speaking in tongues. Now that I’ve heard it a few times, I probably could imitate the sounds made, but I wouldn’t be able to replicate the Holy Spirit-filled experience on my own.
And then there are, of course, the occult parallels. I’m sure we’ve all seen scary movies where the demon-possessed character starts speaking Latin in a scary, deep voice. But this channeling and trance state shows a lack of control, whereas speaking in tongues demonstrates a Holy Spirit-led self-controlled expression.
Finding Middle Ground
Instead of being fearful or judgmental of certain denominations who engage in speaking in tongues, we should acknowledge different theological positions, while maintaining Jesus at the center. We need to create safe spaces for diverse expressions of faith and find unity amid diversity.
With all these twisted counterfeits of spiritual gifts surrounding us, we need practical ways to test what we encounter. Whether we’re evaluating our own spiritual experiences or discerning the validity of others’ claimed gifts, Scripture provides us with clear criteria for distinguishing authentic from counterfeit.
5 Biblical Tests for Spiritual Gift Discernment
When encountering any spiritual gift or practice, apply these five biblical tests:
1. Scripture Test: Does it align with God’s Word? “If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn” (Isaiah 8:20). Any genuine spiritual gift operates within the boundaries of Scripture, never contradicting God’s revealed truth.
2. Focus Test: Does it glorify Christ or something/someone else? “Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” (1 John 4:2). Authentic gifts always point to Jesus rather than elevating the gifted individual.
3. Fruit Test: What does it produce in lives and community? “You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). Look for the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
4. Community Test: Do mature believers confirm this? “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said” (1 Corinthians 14:29). No gift should operate in isolation from the body of Christ.
5. Peace Test: Does it bring God’s peace rather than confusion? “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). Authentic gifts bring clarity and peace, even when they challenge us.
Reclaiming What’s Been Given
The enemy works hard to distort our understanding of spiritual gifts, because they’re powerful tools for Kingdom work. Our gifts may have been operating even before we recognized them, or perhaps we’ve avoided them out of fear of counterfeits.
The safest place for gifts is in a posture of humility and biblical community. When properly understood and used, spiritual gifts strengthen our faith rather than leading us astray. They connect us deeper with God rather than replacing Him with self-sufficiency.
We don’t need to fear spiritual gifts, nor do we need to chase counterfeit versions. 1 Corinthians 12:7 reminds us that the Spirit’s manifestations are given “for the common good”—not for self-advancement or spectacle.
By learning to discern authenticity from counterfeits, we can reclaim the spiritual gifts God has given us, use them to build up the church, and give Him all the glory.
How has your understanding of spiritual gifts been shaped by culture rather than Scripture? Have you ever confused a counterfeit for the real thing? Share your experience in the comments below.
