FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
THE GIFTS
OF THE SPIRIT – XX
THE GIFT
OF DISCERNING OF SPIRITS
1 Corinthians 12:10 …to another discerning of
spirits…
Review: Last week we concluded our study on the gift
of prophecy, and noted that this gift which the Apostle Paul desired every
believer to have is perhaps the least manifested gift in the church, today. The reason for that is principally due to a
lack of understanding of what the gift of prophecy actually is. The source of the confusion is the soulish
and egoistic efforts of believers mimicking bad examples that have established
a “cultural” standard for prophetic utterance.
When the genuine gift is exercised, it will bring edification,
exhortation and/or comfort every time.
What passes for prophecy today does none of these. It simply excites and impresses. The hearer attributes no real lasting value to
the words spoken. Read the 23rd
Psalm and compare its effects with what you most recently heard that was
intended to be a prophetic utterance and you will understand the difference.
As
we take up this next “gift,” let us remember that these are not actually “gifts”
at all. They are distributions of grace –
enablements/power to manifest the Spirit of IAUE in order to do the will of IAUE
in ways that are supernatural to man.
The
grace, or power, to discern spirits may be the most obvious of all these
enablements. The word “discerning” comes from the Greek word “diakrino,”
and it means “to distinguish thoroughly for
the purpose of passing judgment.” It
includes the idea of being able to “separate
thoroughly” in the sense that this grace enables one not to be fooled by
first impressions or outward show; and to be able to see through any facade. “Spirits” are the object of that supernatural
evaluation and judgment.
In
the New Testament alone, we find the following kinds of spirits:
Matthew
10:1 Unclean spirits
1
Timothy 4:1 Seducing spirits
Hebrews
1:4 Angels
as ministering spirits
Ephesians
4:30 The holy
Spirit of IAUE
John
4:24 IAUE is a spirit
Mark
9:25 Deaf and dumb spirit
Luke
13:11 Spirit of infirmity
Acts
16:16 Spirit of divination
Acts
17:16 Spirit
of a man (1 Corinthians 2:11; 1
Thessalonians 5:23; Romans 8:16)
Acts
19:15 An
evil spirit
Romans
8:15 Spirit of bondage
Romans
11:8 Spirit of slumber
2
Corinthians 11:4 Another spirit (received
in response to accepting a false gospel message)
2
Timothy 1:7 Spirit of fear
1
John 4:6 Spirit of truth
1
John 4:6 Spirit of error
1
John 4:3 Spirit of anti-Messiah
Let’s look at some examples of the exercise of the
discerning of spirits.
Discerning
Satan:
Matthew 4:10 - Messiah recognized that it was Satan
that was tempting him in the wilderness.
Matthew 16:24 - Messiah recognized that it was Satan
that was using Peter when he rebuked Yahushua after he said that he was going
to suffer and die.
Discerning
Human Spirits:
Luke 13:14-15
- After Yahushua healed the woman with the spirit of infirmity which had
caused her to be bowed over for 18 years, the ruler of the synagogue accused
him of healing on the Sabbath; but Yahushua instantly recognized the hypocrisy of
his spirit speaking through him. This
was not a demon speaking through the ruler of the synagogue. It was the hypocrisy of his own spirit.
John 1:47 Yahushua saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of
him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
Discerning
Angels:
Acts 27:21 But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the
midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have
loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.
22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there
shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship.
23 For there stood by me this night the angel
of IAUE, whose I am, and whom I serve,
24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before
Caesar: and, lo, IAUE hath given thee all them that sail with thee.
Discerning
Demons:
Acts 16:16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a
certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which
brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying,
These men are the servants of the most high Elohim, which shew unto us the way
of salvation.
18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved,
turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Yahushua Messiah
to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
In each experience throughout the New Testament involving
Messiah or one of the apostles or disciples, whenever a wrongful spirit was
discerned it was immediately addressed.
If it was a human spirit, the man was rebuked. If it was an evil spirit, the demon was cast
out of the person in whom it was manifesting.
Thus, we may deduce from the testimony of Scripture that a person who is
graced with the ability to discern spirits generally has the responsibility of rebuking
or rebuffing people who are speaking or acting in dishonest ways…whose spirits
are engaged in guile, deception, hypocrisy, jealousy, envy, pride, etc. All of these may be attributes of a man’s
spirit, without engaging the presence or aid of a demonic spirit.
If a demonic spirit is discerned, it is for the
purpose of casting it out of the person; and thus a person with the gift of the
working of miracles (the operation of power) may be needed to rebuke and to
cast out the demon. In my experience, it
is common for a person who has the gift of discerning of spirits also to have
the gift of the working of miracles (the operation of power).
In a meeting where I was an advisor to a chapter of
Women’s Aglow in Austin, TX, a woman had come into the meeting who was not
known by any of the regular attendees. At
the time of her choosing, she spoke in tongues as though she were delivering a
message to the group. Having discerned
that she was speaking from a prideful spirit seeking to attract attention to
herself, and to appear to be spiritually superior to the others; when she
finished speaking, I declared this fact to the entire group. The woman was clearly outraged that I had “outted”
her wrongful human spirit to the group; and she never returned.
How often have those of us with this grace to
discern spirits refused to speak out for fear of embarrassing someone, or of
disrupting the order of a service in progress? The Holy Spirit manifests this gifting within
the disciple for the very purpose of bringing correction. It is not just the “knowing” or recognizing the
nature of the spirit discerned that fulfills the will of IAUE. The nature of the spirit is revealed for the
purpose of bringing correction to the circumstance. Remember, these spiritual “gifts” are graces
to empower us to do the will of IAUE.
His will with this gifting is not just to provide us with an awareness
of a spirit. It is that we might address
that spirit as is necessary to the circumstance. If this does not occur, then the entire
assembly misunderstands what they have experienced, and the error is not
pointed out to them. Consequently, the
one with the gift of discerning of spirits who fails to act is personally
responsible for the damage that may occur in the lives of the others.
It is easy for the person with this gift to think
that EVERYONE can see what they see; but they can’t. That’s the point of this gift. It is primarily for the purpose of bringing
correction and maintaining order in the Spirit.
In addition to the various kinds of spirits we have
listed above, the Scripture also says that there are two elements to the
Scriptures, themselves: the letter and
the spirit. The letter kills, but the
spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6)
Messiah said that “the words I speak unto you, they are spirit and they
are life." (John 6:63). The gift of
discerning of spirits may also be able to detect if a preacher or teacher is
merely passing on academic information he/she has learned, or if they are
speaking out of an illumined spirit, having received the life and spirit of the
Word of IAUE.
How
is the Gift of Discerning of Spirits experienced?
1 Corinthians 12:5-6, tells us that the gifts vary
in the way they are used in ministry, and that they operate in different
ways. This gift is used heavily in the
deliverance ministry by those who are sought out for relief from evil
spirits. It is experienced, as discussed
above, to help provide order and to bring correction to the body of
Messiah. It may also be experienced to
aid in the decisions we make whether or not to work with someone, join in an
adventure with someone, or even to get into the same car with someone. Knowing the nature of a person’s own spirit
or recognizing the demons working in and through a person helps us to make wise
decisions.
Regarding how the gift operates; for me, most of the
time I just instantly know the nature of the spirit as though I have always
known it. I look at a person, and the
Holy Spirit just puts it into my understanding if a particular spirit is in
manifestation, or is even latent within a person.
I know a disciple who sees the name of the spirit
run through his mind’s eye like a ticker tape, and he actually reads it.
I have a friend who experienced this gift through
her sense of smell. Spirits, both good
and bad, had a distinct smell, and she knew from the smell what they were. One
afternoon, I visited this lady, a woman many years my senior. She had been worshipping the Father all day
and she virtually glowed from being in His presence. She smiled and said, as I entered her home, “Can
you smell Him?” I asked, “Smell what?” She said, “Can’t you smell Him? The Holy Spirit has filled this house. He smells like peppermint!” As we sat down at her kitchen table I smiled
back at her with an unmistakable dubious look. I didn’t really know what to
make of her. She was grieved by my doubt
and reached across the table, grabbed my arm and cried out, “Oh Father, let him
smell your Holy Spirit.” Instantly, my
entire body felt like peppermint was running through it; and peppermint was all
I could smell.
In years gone by when I went out to eat, while
sitting in the restaurant I would scan the room and look at all of the people
there. At the same time, I would be
sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit; and He would give me words of
knowledge about many of them, and on occasion would discern spirits operating
in their lives. This was an exercise I
did to “practice” in order to develop and cultivate the gifts that were in
me. I recommend it as a good exercise to
learn what gifts have been given to you, and to become familiarized with how
the Holy Spirit manifests them in you.
One more thing I should say before we leave this
subject. I have heard many times people
say, “I have the gift of discernment.”
There is no such gift; and usually, it is ego talking about a perceived “natural”
ability of their flesh. Discernment, as
taught in the Scriptures, is a benefit that is derived from learning the wisdom
of Scripture. Thus, true discernment
recognizes the wisdom in not boasting of itself.
Next
week: The Gift of Divers Kinds of
Tongues
Kingdom
heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the
performance of the will of IAUE.
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