Spiritual Discernment
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SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT
We are looking at spiritual discernment today because spiritual warfare is just that--spiritual--it must be understood with a spiritual mind. In our natural, sinful state, we cannot understand spiritual things:
1 Cor 2:14
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.
It is necessary to use "spiritual discernment" to understand spiritual things.
Perhaps one of the best examples of natural and spiritual discernment is recorded in 2 Kings chapter 6. It records the story of a natural battle in which troops of the enemy nation of Syria had surrounded a small town called Dothan where the prophet Elisha was staying. When Elisha's servant, Gehazi, saw the great host of the enemy he became fearful. Elisha prayed that God would open Gehazi's spiritual eyes so he could see the angelic hosts surrounding and protecting them. On this occasion, God actually opened the natural eyes of Gehazi and allowed him to visibly see the superior forces of God aligned for battle.
The story of this battle at Dothan is similar to present spiritual conditions in the Church. There are some, like Elisha, who see clearly into the realm of the spirit. They know there is a conflict occurring, have identified the enemy, and recognize the greater forces of God that assure victory. There are others like Gehazi, who with a little encouragement, will be able to open their spiritual eyes and no longer be fearful of and defeated by the enemy. But sadly, there are many people who, like those in the city of Dothan, are spiritually sleeping. They do not even know that the enemy has surrounded them and is poised for attack.
It is critical for Christians to develop spiritual discernment because the Bible warns us that many will leave the faith following lies.
Now the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared.
It is sad to see such things occur - but if you know the Lord, and learn to hear his voice, and are obedient to his Word, then your approach to world is going to be different and you won’t be easily fooled.
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
(This lesson from the book Victorious Spiritual Warfare by Lighthouse Ministries.)
Developing Discernment God’s Way
Key Truth: God gives Christians supernatural discernment from the Holy Spirit as we grow in our faith and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Word. God also equips the saints with supernatural gifts for the edification of the Body of Christ.
"Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you, that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, 'Jesus is accursed'; and no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit."
1 Corinthians 12: 1-3.
The foundation of all discernment is the Word of God.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
A. Discernment for the Christian is the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure or hidden in darkness; the mature believer, who eats the solid Word of God and practices it, is marked by the ability to know good from evil.
Everyone who lives on milk is not used to the word of righteousness, because they are babies. But solid food is for the mature, whose senses are trained by practice to distinguish between good and evil.
Definition of discernment
In the original Hebrew language of the Old Testament, to discern
is "to recognize, to distinguish or separate out." [Vine's, 1985, p.60]
In the New Testament, the word discernment means "to separate thoroughly, to investigate by looking throughout". In Matthew 16: 3; also "to test and approve"; Luke 12: 56; and "to make a judicial explanation"; Hebrews 4: 12, the Word of God as "quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart," i.e., discriminating and passing judgment on the thoughts and feelings.
Purpose of discernment
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,
Why have real knowledge and discernment? To recognize and/or pick out and approve the things that are excellent in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.
Motive of discernment
What must motivate seeking discernment? Discernment must be
motivated by God's love and our function in the Body of Christ.
The Old Testament prophets were broken, weeping intercessors who loved their people, and therefore God could use them to discern and declare the will of God.
Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
Jesus discerned only out of love. For example in the case of the rich young ruler, the Bible says that "He loved him", so Jesus could then give him hard discerning words that uncovered the real issues and made judicial judgment on his situation.
And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Apart from God's love and the Holy Spirit motivating us, discernment can become a divisive tool in the hands of the enemy. The first and foremost strategy Satan used against Adam and Eve was to offer them false discernment, “the knowledge of good and evil”. In Genesis 3:5 the word ’knowledge’ [Hebrew—yada] means ’to ascertain by seeing’.
The enemy uses false discernment in the form of occult practices like clairvoyance, premonitions, fortune telling and psychic knowledge. In this way, people who use these abilities possess knowledge without God's love and are motivated by false motives. The fruit of false discernment is fear, spiritual bondage, confusion, and curses.
B. Our Lord Jesus Christ discerned every step of His ministry. As we remain in union with Him, the Holy Spirit will give us the truth needed to discern and accomplish the will of God.
Jesus knew in His Spirit what men were thinking in their hearts.
And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?
Jesus revealed through precise discernment the real sin issue in the Samaritan woman without condemnation.
The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”
By abiding in His Father's presence, Jesus was able to discern correctly every situation. The meaning of discernment in Luke 12: 54-57 is "to judge what is right".
He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
Jesus rebuked the Jews for having discernment for the physical world but none for the spiritual world. He implied the need to properly discern the present time.
C. The prophet Daniel had God-given discernment which was manifest through his extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of enigmas, and solving of difficult problems.
Daniel explained that the revealing of what was a mystery was not a natural ability that resided in him, but rather God gave it to him for the advancement of God's purposes.
But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.
because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”
D. The Christians in the early Church discerned the leading of the Holy Spirit as the Church grew.
1. Often, they would boldly identify a false gift, motive or enemy spirit and deal with it and thereby advance the Kingdom of God.
Study these passages and write down the discernment given by God:
a. Acts 5: 3
b. Acts 8: 29
c. Acts 10: 19- 20
d. Acts 13: 9- 10
e. Acts 16: 16- 18
2. When we exercise discernment, we must depend on God to reveal to us by His Holy Spirit the necessary truth or direction to accomplish His purposes. Discernment is given to us as believers for the Kingdom of God work and not for personal knowledge or convenience.
ANSWERS TO D1: a. Peter discerned Satan, the liar, in believers who were disciplined by death. b. Phillip was led by the Spirit to save a soul. c. God confirmed a vision to Peter that led to the salvation of Gentiles. d. Paul discerned the enemy in Elymas and rebuked him so that the Gospel could be shared with the proconsul. e. Paul discerned an evil spirit of divination hindering the Gospel in Ephesus.
E. Spiritual discernment must be developed.
As we walk in the Spirit and stay in tune with Him, we develop in spiritual discernment.
Paul teaches this truth in:
Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. 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. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
2. Spiritual discernment is a sign of spiritual growth. Spiritual discernment is the result of all the senses God has given us and the gifts of the Holy Spirit being submitted to the Holy Spirit for His wisdom and truth to be made known.
F. All the gifts of the Holy Spirit are used with discernment, but the "gift of discerning between spirits" is specifically used in spiritual warfare.
Let us look at:
1 Corinthians 12: 1- 11
The "gift of discerning or distinguishing between spirits" is found in this list of ministry gifts for the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good of the Body of Christ.
Question: Who receives this gift? How is it used?
St. John Chrysostom wrote in the early centuries of the Church:
"What is, “discerning of spirits?” The knowing who is spiritual, and who is not: who is a prophet, and who a deceiver: as he(Paul) said to the Thessalonians, 'despise not prophesying:' (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21) but proving all things, hold fast that which is good.' For great was at that time the rush of the false prophets, the devil striving underhand to substitute falsehood for the truth." He says the gift helps, "to discern and know which is he that speaketh by a pure spirit, and which by an impure."- Homily 29 on 1st Corinthians
Kara Sensenig wrote “Discerning of spirits operates a bit like a Geiger counter that measures radiation; it is a spiritual detection system that measures spiritual realities not apparent to the natural senses. It is the God-given ability or enablement to recognize the source of spirits—whether they come from the Holy Spirit, angelic spirits, demonic spirits, or individual human spirits--which are behind different manifestations or activities. It is not natural discernment. Many people are by nature very perceptive or discerning, but that is not the same as the spiritual gift of discerning of spirits.”
G. Principles of discernment
1. Be clean, filled with the Holy Spirit, and dressed in the Armor of God before you seek the Lord for a specific word about a specific situation. Then wait quietly before the Lord.
What instructions do we find in these passages:
Psalm 25:4-5
Psalm 27:14
Psalm 62:5
Note the specific instructions in the following
passages:
Psalm 25: 4-5
Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.
2. Notice in Psalm 119: 66, 99
Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments.
I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.
...the Psalmist requests discernment, and then he reveals how God is answering that prayer.
3. We are commanded to 'examine everything carefully' and to 'test the spirits'. These are the Scriptural commands for testing the spirits.
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
5. Test and examine "a word from the Lord" with Scriptures. The primary test for all supernatural acts and words received is carried out by comparing them with the Word of God. Study intensely the real (the Bible), and you will be able to recognize the counterfeits. (Acts 17:11)
Let me wrap up with this quote from Kara Sensenig:
“Not all revelation comes from God, and certainly not everything that appears spiritual is from the Holy Spirit. When we have an insight about what is taking place in the spiritual realm, our first response should always be prayer. This is as simple as dialoging with the Holy Spirit to ask him if whatever is happening is from him or another source. Sometimes the gift of discernment is a “knowing” that can feel similar to a gut instinct – but it does not originate with us. It can often be a warning from God. If we sense pride, perversion, occultism, or any other form of evil, our spirits will grow uncomfortable. We may not know exactly what is wrong with a person or his or her message, but we will sense danger and recognize the warning to be on guard.” K.S.