To another with "miraculous powers, to another with prophecy, to another distinguishing spirits, to another speaking in various kinds of tongues, and to yet another with the interpretation of tongues,"12:10 in 1 Corinthians
The spiritual gifts that God has granted to man are discussed in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 10. The capacity to recognize the differences between demonic, holy, and human powers is the gift of differentiating spirits. Verse 2 of Paul's letter states that his people lacked any feeling of leadership during their pagan days. The impact the people had on one another led to them even worshiping idols. He clarifies this by saying if you believe in God, the High and Mighty, one is filled with the Holy Spirit that makes him be reasonable up to his doings. There will be no utterances of words like Jesus is cursed and it is also impossible to say Jesus is Lord when one is not full of the Holy Spirit this is found in Chapter 3.
The gift of discernment refers to the capacity to distinguish between good and evil spirits, and, also, to differentiate whether an individual behaves and speaks through the Spirit of God, through his own spirit or through the possession of an evil spirit.
Discernment of the law is regarded as a way of comprehending and acknowledging the will or desire of God for every person3. It is specifically needed in several aspects of life. Discernment works under the direction of one’s conscience, spirit, decisions, emotions and personal experiences.
The Theological Basis of Discernment
According to Paul’s writing in 1st Corinthians Verse 12, the concept of discernment has a correlation with one’s ability to “distinguish between spirits”. The word “discerning” does not necessarily mean possessing the spiritual gift of discernment. Paul connects “being discerning” with the gift of “distinguishing between spirits”, and not the ability to discern human character. Discernment involves being able to differentiate one spirit from another.
Paul further says that there are different kinds of gifts given to human beings by the same spirit. They differ in all manners. Discerning of spirits, as he says in verse 9, is the ability given to you to distinguish between the powers of the evil spirit to that of the Holy Spirit. One is given options on what route to take and this is clearly stated in 1st Timothy chapter 4 that states that other people will abandon their faith in Christ and decide to follow the teachings of the devil otherwise known as deceiving spirits. The Devil will come in different ways such as liars who are hypocritical, and whose conscience has been scorched with iron. Another teaching by Paul about distinguishing of the spirits is in the book of 1st John chapter 4 states that for one to distinguish between the spirits, let him test it to know if it is from the Lord since there exists many false prophets.
Discernment has been defined in numerous philosophical texts aside from the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. Discernment was mentioned in the Bible. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours? , 1 Kings 3;9.‘So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?’ It was also mentioned by Paul in Romans 12:2.o not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will5 ’. According to Lewis Smedes, discernment is ‘having the nose for what’s going on under the surface’. It can be deduced from these definitions that discernment is closely associated with wisdom.
For theologian Max Turner, one of the major aspects of Paul’s writings dealt with the importance of spiritual gifts. These spiritual gifts were identified in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, namely, faith, word of wisdom, word of knowledge, working of miracles, gifts of healing, tongues, prophecy, interpretation and the discernment of spirits. Turner also explains that Jesus Christ’s words in Acts 1:5-8 should be interpreted in such a way as to correlate the giving of the Spirit as not only for the purpose of empowerment but as the spirit of prophecy which was promised upon the prophet Joel .
One of the highest forms of spiritual gifts is the gift of discernment. This particular gift along with the gift of speaking in tongues and the gift of prophecy are also indicative of one’s deep connection with the Spirit of God.
Paul also presents three components necessary for one to attain discernment, namely, insight, knowledge and love. Practicing the gift of discernment of spirits leads to ultimate holiness and righteousness, which glorifies God. For Paul, the gift of discernment also entails empowerment in order to cultivate a mature, Christian life. Furthermore, Paul asserts the fact that love is a requirement for discernment to work especially in matters entailing deep worship and also, he also explained how discernment works best in a community of believers.
First and foremost, it is important to differentiate whether or not a person who comes to another person brings a spiritual message from God. Discerning should let people know whether a message is from God or not. Therefore, when the spirit of God resides in the Christian body and the Christian life that gift is meant to establish and discern whether a person bringing a message is from God. The Pharisees obviously did not have discernment often, for they did not perceive that Jesus was speaking by the spirit of God, but rather linked his speaking to a demonic force. They even thought that he was a crazy fool.
The gift of discernment is needed to distinguish whether or not a person is bringing a message from God as seen in 1 Corinthians 14: 29, ‘Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said’. This is confirmed in the 1 John 4:1- ‘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’
A second reason is to distinguish physical appearances from inner realities. Jesus one time exercises discernment with Simon Peter when the Lord said in Matthew 16:23, ‘I’m going to Jerusalem to die’ and Simon Peter said, ‘No, Lord, you can’t do that’. Jesus turning around rebuked Peter of mouthing the words of Satan. Jesus distinguished between outer reality of Simon Peter simply being protective of the lord and the inner reality that the lord saw and those kinds were really from satanic origin, in that they wanted to divert him from his mission in life. Jesus looked at the Ephesian church and saw it in the Book of Revelation. From the external point of view, it looked like everything was in order. It had correctly fought false doctrine but Jesus discerning its inner motivation, said in Revelations 2:4, “No, you’ve left your first love.” Therefore, discernment helps one distinguish outward from inward reality.
Gift of discernment has another functionality of distinguishing whether a person is possessed by the evil spirit or not. This is probably the best explained and understood functions of discernments.
Mental and physical illness shouldn’t be considered as belonging to the demon. The Scriptures never treated paranoia or spirit of loneliness as a spirit of inferiority, addiction or fantasy. These are matters which reside in the flesh. Therefore people need to know what necessarily is caused by the demon possessions and what is just a normal scenario taking place.
Spirit of evil doings is committed to ensuring that people remain in the dark and continue doing evil. The evil spirit will therefore make the people be contented with their evil ways and pleasures of the world.
Another issue of the discerning spirits is that, when people are trying to live in the ways of the Lord, the Good Spirit will give peace, motivate, strengthen and provide comfort. On the other hand, the evil spirit will work against the good doings of the people and try to convince them otherwise.
Conclusion
The distinguishing of spirits entails a deep understanding of certain concepts that have been established by famous theologians aside from Paul’s writings in the Holy Bible. It is of great benefit for a Christian to know how most theologians perceive the gift of distinguishing spirits as a way to attain ultimate maturity and righteousness in Christ. Indeed, the distinguishing of spirits or discernment is a demanding task. It needs maturity, a quiet time, and a possibility of reflecting on one’s personal life. Discernment takes practice. One must be ready to improvise and adjust because God is in action on each person’s life in a unique way. God speaks to people through His Word, one must hear the leading of the Spirit and the call of God’s voice and not allow one’s convictions as his or her own distraction. This is for the purpose of clear discernment.
Also, it is biblically mandated to check one’s interpretation of the Bible with the body of Christ as a whole. One should never make personal judgments of doctrine or practice. A Christian is duly required to follow God’s voice and His Spirit more closely than the voices of temptation. One should have the wisdom to focus entirely on His Word and be single-minded in his or her obedience to it. This is the only one effective way to distinguish between spirits.
References
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