Discerning of Spirits - Part 1

.... Of all the spiritual gifts that Paul mentioned, the one called ‘discerning of spirits’ seems to be the least understood. (1 Corinthians 12:10). What, exactly, is this gift, and what purpose does it serve? You are likely to hear one of two popular theories, and both are wrong. Nevertheless, let’s start by explaining them and then we'll address the problems they present.

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.... The predominant theory (as it would appear in the best Bible commentaries today) would offer an explanation by elaborating on the context in which the gift is mentioned:

.... "Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit."

(1 Corinthians 12:3)

.... Based on this context, it has been theorized that the gift of ‘discerning of spirits’ was used for the purpose of judging prophecy, to determine whether the prophet spoke by the Spirit of God, by a demon spirit, or even by his own spirit (see Ezekiel 13:3). This is a brave correlation and it is usually a good practice to look to the context of a passage for pertinent clues. But in this particular case, they have entirely missed the point.

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.... Here is the first problem that their theory presents. How could a prophet, filled with the Holy Spirit, speak alternately for God, for himself, and for the devil? "Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring can yield both salt water and fresh." (James 3:12). Or as Paul would state rhetorically:

.... ". . . For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial . . . ?"

(2 Corinthians 6:14-15)

.... No one speaking for God would alternately speak for the devil, and then be trusted again! But even beyond this fundamental consideration, their entire argument defeats itself. We have only to think for a moment and it becomes apparent. For if they fear that a demon could infiltrate the church through a false prophecy, and if they believe that discerning of spirits is the protection mechanism to prevent this, then our next most logical question must be, Who discerns the discerner? What is the protection mechanism to insure that they got it right?

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.... If the devil was really intent on infiltrating the church through false prophecy, would he not find it even easier to infiltrate with a false discernment, and control the final outcome of the utterance in that way? For which is easier, to give an utterance or to simply say 'yes' or 'no' in response to it? Or maybe he could use a false prophecy and a false discernment together, to pass off the false message as true in a 'tag-team' effort? Wouldn’t that be even more to his advantage? But in truth, judging prophecy is performed otherwise:

.... "Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge."

(1 Corinthians 14:29)

.... As we discussed in an earlier posting, prophecy is actually judged by other prophets, and not by a gift called discerning of spirits. The qualification for judging prophecy, among prophets, is very simple yet stringent: "in the mouth of two of three witnesses let ever word be confirmed." In other words, two or three prophets must hear God's message independently, and afterward come together for the purpose of comparing their notes. When this comparison is made, their prophecies must agree in order to pass in the judgment. Any part of their messages that cannot be verified in this manner must not be presented.
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.... This procedure offers the protection mechanism that the predominant theory, described above, lacks. Furthermore, a prophecy needs to be judged on the basis of whether or not it is Scriptural, and not by the exercise of a spiritual gift:

.... "And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts."

(2 Peter 1:19)

.... For if the prophecy is a gift that must be safeguarded against one's own subjectivity, then the same human weakness would certainly effect the gift of discerning of spirits as easily. But the word of our God stand forever that we may never be ashamed. We will continue this discussion in our next posting.

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Daily Bible Reading: Galatians 5