Poster 1-
I am poster 1.
I am posting this as I
am interested in this topic. I am wondering what are your gifts of the
Holy Spirit as a Christian who is neurodiverse. Perhaps this can help to make others who are
non believers more aware of the faith and that it too can support
someone who is diagnosed with autism through the Holy Spirit. It too may also strengthen you.
I have been a Christian all my life really, but found
my own path at 16. I am diagnosed with autism with some level 1 and level 2 needs. I was given one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit at
17. (1 Corinthians 1-31) lists the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gifts
of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, faith, knowledge, prophecy, healing,
miracles, discerning spirits, diverse tongues and interpretation of
tongues. There are also different ministry roles in the church and we can fulfil these roles using our spiritual gifts which are found in (Ephesians 4:11-16), These ministry roles are apostles prophets; evangelists; pastors and teacher. These roles are chosen by Christ "and he gave some" as Christ is the head of the Church (1 Ephesians 1:22) and these roles are given by the Holy Spirit. Some people receive these gifts after baptism.
I am also confirmed in the church and the fruits of the
spirit is important to which is listed in (Galatians 5:22-23) which
should be nurtured. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace,
long suffering/perseverance, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and
temperance
Catholics gifts of the Holy Spirit is somewhat
different and they also have fruits of the Spirit. The Catholic gifts of
the Holy Spirit is found in (Isaiah 11:2-3).
The gift that was
given to me at 17 was prophecy which has mainly focused around sight. This has been used a number of times in my life when God wanted to.
All of the gifts are good gifts from God to support the believer and the church today.
Poster 2-
To answer your questions, I believe my gift to be Faith (I have known
of God's existence since late toddler hood, despite growing up in a
secular, unchurched family).
How does it work in my life? It
is everything, it is everywhere; I am thankful for every experience I
have, even if I cannot immediately see the benefit. I am hopelessly
optimistic.
Poster 3-
Mine, in this context, is the last one listed.
This might explain why Sacred Tradition, among Catholics, defines the Gifts of the Holy Spirit as:
https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print ... oly-spirit
-- Wisdom is both the knowledge of and judgement about “divine things”
and the ability to judge and direct human affairs according to divine
truth.
-- Understanding is penetrating insight into the very
heart of things, especially those higher truths that are necessary for
our eternal salvation—in effect, the ability to “see” God.
-- Counsel allows a man to be directed by God in matters necessary for his salvation.
-- Fortitude denotes a firmness of mind in doing good and in avoiding
evil, particularly when it is difficult or dangerous to do so, and the
confidence to overcome all obstacles, even deadly ones, by virtue of the
assurance of everlasting life.
-- Knowledge is the ability to
judge correctly about matters of faith and right action, so as to never
wander from the straight path of justice.
-- Piety is,
principally, revering God with filial affection, paying worship and duty
to God, paying due duty to all men on account of their relationship to
God, and honoring the saints and not contradicting Scripture. The Latin
word pietas denotes the reverence that we give to our father and to our
country; since God is the Father of all, the worship of God is also
called piety.
-- Fear of God is, in this context, “filial” or
chaste fear whereby we revere God and avoid separating ourselves from
him—as opposed to “servile” fear, whereby we fear punishment.
Poster 4-
Perseverance.
(Closely tied to the gift of fortitude /courage).
As an adult with ADHD, Autism and mood issues (anxiety and depression) I have a lot of ups and downs. I keep coming back.
Poster 5-
I read the Gifts and do not believe I have any in abundance, but I
think all are available to everyone at times and can be developed
through practice. Discernment of spirits is an interesting gift to read
about in the Bible.
Poster 6-
I am diagnosed with Autism level 1. I have the gift of knowledge. I have had insights on the Bible granted to me divinely in a few occasions.
I also, as strange as it sounds, have the gift of evangelism. I have been posting to a separate atheist forum for 20 years. A few of them have came to Jesus. I also share my knowledge freely with my own coworkers and friends, and on social media. I get an opportunity to share the Word almost everyday.
It is pretty odd that God would grant someone who's deaf, who's nonverbal, who's got a social anxiety score off the scale, etc. the gift of evangelism. But as Jesus told Paul - my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Poster 7-
Hi Rachel !
Check out the life of other Christians on the spectrum who received gifts of the Holy Spirit, like the amazing story of Josiah :
- https://the-art-of-autism.com/how-josiah-a-non-speaking-autistic-child-conveys-spiritual-truths/
- his mother's blog : https://tahnicullen.wordpress.com/josiahs-fire/
- https://kidsinministry.org/the-spiritual-lives-of-autistic-children-2/
You will see some epic gifts of the Holy Spirit manifested in a young autist !
Josiah is non verbal and God does extraordinary things in his life with
prophetic gifts. The boy (now he has grown up, he's a teen) has words
of knowledge and God speaks to him, teaches him such wisdom you know it
doesn't come from the boy nor an adult.
Poster 8-
Every Christian has the indwelling Holy Spirit and has been given at least one spiritual gift. I read that we’re given all we need to exercise our gift(s); therefore, autistic or not, every Christian is specially and fully equipped to operate in their gifting.
As to whether any gift operates in one person the same way it does in another, it’s possible. But Paul went to great lengths to relate the variability of the overall scheme of gifts operating concurrently in the church; different gifts operating in different people in different ways and to different effects. Plus, he makes clear that there is always the potential to receive additional gifts, which I suspect will likely modify the operation of the original gift(s).
I have an ongoing discussion about this with myself. I don’t think of myself as any more special to the Lord than any other child, but it has always seemed to me that I hear more clearly than most others. Often, the meaning or importance of something is very clearly before me, while others see nothing. (This has about the same feel as when an IQ disparity becomes apparent, but over the years I became convinced that, about church business, it was a matter of revelation and not comprehension; just as the things of the Spirit in general are not visible to those to whom they haven’t been revealed.) So it seemed to fall to me to relate these things to others. From that perspective, it makes sense that God will have some among his children who are more sensitive than others. And, there again, some extra sensitive to the written word, some more sensitive in the moment.
Poster 9-
Diagnosed with autism level 1God gives gifts it as it is needed.
I get Word of Wisdom often, too. It's clearly different than my own wisdom. God is awesome!
How can you get these gifts?
By going to a church where use of one's gifts is encouraged. In Vineyard churches, the concept is known as "Everyone gets to play."
