One of the supernatural gifts of the Spirit is discernment. It is translated as “distinguishing between spirits” in the NIV. “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues” (1 Cor. 12:7-10).
The word means to distinguish, test, judge, or discern. The gift allows a person to sense whether a spirit is from the Lord or from the enemy. It allows a person to sense whether something is good or evil or even if some evil is operating in a predominately good person. It allows us to determine whether a word of knowledge, a prophecy, or a teaching is from the Holy Spirit, an unclean spirit, or the human spirit. Although some have a highly developed spiritual gift of discernment, we are all called to be discerning and to test things from the spiritual realm.
Paul wrote, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil” (I Thess.5:19-22). In this context, he was instructing the church not to consider all prophecies as false but neither to consider them all from the Lord. Any time we feel as though we have heard from the Lord or had an experience from the Lord, we need to test what we have heard or experienced to discern whether it was, in fact, from God, the enemy, or our own well of thoughts and desires.
We are not to become cynical or jaded and suspect every word of knowledge, every interpretation of tongues, every prophecy, or every spiritual experience, as being from the enemy or from the imagination of man. However, we are to be wise and “test the spirits” as John instructs us, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (I Jn. 4:1). Wherever there is a genuine experience from God, the enemy will try to counterfeit that experience in some way that actually leads us away from God.
As we are certainly in the end times (how far in I don’t know), we are experiencing heightened spiritual activity on both sides of the conflict. Certainly, the church is moving in the gifts of the Spirit, perhaps, in the greatest numbers ever known. Prophetic words are abundant. Thousands of teachings about the Word and all kinds of spiritual matters are on the internet. Paranormal experiences are becoming mainstream, instead of fringe, in our culture. Demonic affliction and demonic presence in households seems to be growing. Numerous “freedom ministries” are being birthed around the world to teach the church how to engage in spiritual warfare. Within all of this, some is from God, some from the enemy, and some from our own imagination or desires.
Because of the time we are in, It is imperative that we pray for and practice discernment. Jesus told us that the Spirit would lead us into all truth. Discernment is simply truth about a spirit or experience. Before we chase a new teaching or a new approach to spiritual matters, we should pray for discernment. If something doesn’t feel right, we should pay attention to that feeling because it may be a prompting from the Spirit.
Paul told Timothy, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron” (1 Tim.4:1-2). Some deception will come through the church from men and women who are being influenced by demons. These individuals will be compelling, eloquent, and mostly biblical. Satan usually leads men astray by only introducing small amounts of error at a time that eventually take us far away from the truth. Speaking of such men, Paul warned, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:13-15).
I’m not trying to make us paranoid about every spiritual leader. The great majority will be sincere men and women serving God. But I am saying that we need to wait before allowing ourselves to embrace a new teaching, a new pastor, a new prophet that many are raving about. Jesus told us that we would have to judge men and prophets by their fruit. It takes time for fruit to appear and for that fruit to be examined. We will have to pray, see some long-term effects of a teaching or movement, compare their teachings to the Word, see if the teaching or movement is pointing us primarily to Jesus or to a man and new experiences.
Sometimes, we question a teaching, but then decide that the pastor or prophet must know much more Bible than we do so we credit what they are saying as being biblical and accept it. I often did that as a new believer only to discover later that what I had been taught did not really line up with the word of God. Paul called the Bereans noble because they searched the scriptures every day to test the teaching of the apostle. To preach an inaccuracy does not make a person a false teacher because we all continue to learn and receive understanding from the Spirit. If I teach the same things today that I did 30 years ago about every scripture or topic, then I have not been growing in the Lord.
However, when men begin to question essentials – the inspiration of scripture, the divinity or humanity of Christ, the reality of his resurrection, the power of the Holy Spirit, salvation by grace alone, and the clear moral teachings of scripture…I need to pay very close attention. God is unchanging and his standards of righteousness are unchanging, The gospel that the apostles preached is also unchanging, Culture does not get a vote.
We live in a day when discernment and the testing of spirits is more needful than ever. Please pray for the gift of distinguishing between spirits and equip yourself with biblical truth and understanding, Wisely test what you hear and the spiritual experiences people are pursuing. Some experiences take us right to God, while others take us in a different direction. May the Spirit lead us all into all truth and may we always ask for his leading on new and exciting things we encounter. Blessing IN Him.
Note: My website is now www.tomvermillion.org rather than tomvermillion.com.
