The Gift of Discernment of Spirits

Continuing my study of Spiritual Gifts, I have come to the gift of discernment of spirits.

How do you define discernment?

The spiritual gift of discernment is also known as the gift of "discernment of spirits" or "distinguishing between spirits."  The Greek word for the gift of discernment is Diakrisis. 

Thayer’s Greek Lexicon describes the word as being able to distinguish, examine, discern, judge or appraise a person, statement, situation, or environment.  In the New Testament it describes the ability to distinguish between spirits as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:10, and to discern good and evil as it says in Hebrews 5:14.

The Holy Spirit gives the gift of discernment of spirits to enable certain Christians to clearly recognize and distinguish between the influence of God, Satan, the world, and the flesh in a given situation. The church needs those with this gift to warn believers in times of danger or keep them from being led astray by false teaching.

Here are several examples of the gift of discernment of spirits as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.

Acts 8:18-23 (NKJV)

¹⁸ And when Simon (the sorcerer) saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰ But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! ²¹ You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. ²² Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

In the above passage Peter correctly discerns the motives of Simon the Sorcerer.  Peter called out His sin of pride and of profit of the spiritual gift.  Notice in verse 22 that Peter describes this as “…the thought of your heart”…, Peter is not describing an action of sin, but an intent of sin.  There is no way Peter could have known this apart from the Holy Spirit revealing it to him.

Acts 13:6-12 (NKJV)

⁶ Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, ⁷ who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.”

And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Paul accurately discerned the evil spirit in Elymas in the scripture above and called him out to the astonishment of Sergius Paulus.  Paul recognized that Sergius Paulus had faith to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, and this sorcerer “Elymas” was preventing him from hearing the truth of the good news of Christ.  When Paul confronted “Elymas” with the truth the Holy Spirit revealed to him and spoke “…the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time…” this was an amazing demonstration of the power of God which astonished the proconsul giving him the freedom to believe.

The gift of discernment of spirits is from the Holy Spirit revealing or unwrapping of truth in a given situation.

 

There is also another form of discernment which comes from abiding in Christ and permitting the Word of God to penetrate into our natural man.  We are changed as Paul describes by ‘the renewing of our mind”.  This is where we apply the knowledge or wisdom we have learned from the scriptures and put it into practice.

Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)

¹ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

For me personally there have been many times when I have applied my learned discernment and also sought the gift of discernment of spirits in a given circumstance.  For me God has been very clear to reveal the underlying reasons the action needed to be taken on my part either to protect myself or my family from error or worse.

God uses the gift of discernment of spirits both individually and corporately to keep us or the Church from either danger or error.  When Church leadership recognizes this gifting as an important part of the function of the gifts of the Holy Spirit working within the Church, we operate as Jesus intended the Church to operate in unity.  

Why do we need the gift of discernment of spirits in our day? 

It is very easy to be deceived if our defenses are down either by tiredness, sickness, complacency, sin, or by isolation.  If we are not diligently dialed in to the proofs that are revealed in scripture by testing the credibility of a person who professes Jesus Christ, then we have a propensity to be led into deception.  Oftentimes, we just need to wait and observe the fruit of another person’s life as described in Galatians 5:22-23 as evidence or a witness of truth.

1 John 4:1-6 (NKJV)

¹ Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, ³ and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

⁴ You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. ⁵ They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. ⁶ We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 

It may sound harsh on the surface, but with the gift of discernment of spirits we are called to judge others and different situations.  The gift of discernment of spirits is not for the purpose of judgmentalism and condemnation, it’s purpose is for assessment and engagement that we might grow in unity as the body of Christ.  There have been far too many hurt Brother’s and Sister’s who have left God's Church feeling condemned or misunderstood because of well-meaning Saints in leadership who have misapplied these gifts in a way which was not assessing and engaging our fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ in affirming ways.

With discernment there must be Wisdom.

Proverbs 3:21-22 (ISV)

²¹My son, do not let wisdom leave your sight.

Carefully observe sound judgment and discernment,

²²and they will be life to you

and a graceful ornament for your neck.

There are mixed messages coming at us us every day.  As a Christian our job is to discern what the Spirit of God is speaking to us through scripture and through our prayer lives and sort through that avalanche of data very carefully with wisdom.

When we are confronted with error or heresy, we need to rely heavily upon the wisdom of God we have been given through the scriptures, and the gifting of the Holy Spirit to discern what God's truth is.

Philippians 4:8 (NKJV)

⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Paul says this as a reminder that we are an affirming people as Christians.  We have been given a great gift in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, it is a position in Christ as an heir with Him.  We have a duty to demonstrate and declare the virtues of Christ in ways that build each other up and not tear down.  Ways that affirm, and not alienate.

May you be affirmed and empowered by the moving of God’s spirit within your life.  May He  lead you and teach you His ways as you grow as a student of the word and of the practical application of His spiritual gifts.

Stephen Barnett

God is good all the time―all the time God is good!

You Are A Loving God
Words and Music by G. Scott Fairclough

          Verse
   You are a loving God

   And You love me

   And thanks to Jesus Christ

   You have received me

     
           Chorus

   You are a loving God

   You are a loving God

   You are a loving God

   Such a loving God

            Bridge

   Though it's hard to understand

   Deep inside I know

   That Your love has brought me here

   And You'll never let me go

                    

 ©1997 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing

The lyrics above are copyrighted by the respective artists and are demonstrated here for educational purposes only and not for profit.