Unpacking the Gifts-Discernment

As we continue in our series on Unpacking the Gifts, I want to lay a little background first. 

In Acts 18, we see that Paul went to Corinth and stayed with Priscilla and Aquilla, teaching at the temple.  He began telling them about Jesus and was run out of the temple.  The temple was where the Jews in Corinth gathered and knew that Jesus was considered a false prophet and was crucified.  Because of their rejection, Paul declared would only go to the Gentiles after that.  He left where he was staying and went to another home. 

Acts 18: 8-10 
Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, (this means he was a Jew) believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized. Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; “for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.”

Later Paul was brought up on charges and beaten, then after a time of healing he left Corinth for good.  After a time, Paul received a letter from the church that had formed there and was asked to address some issues that had arisen.  So, he wrote 1 Corinthians and sent it to them.  All of the Epistles are letters sent to teach, correct, and encourage the churches and individuals. 
 
Keep in mind, the believers were comprised of Greeks and Jews, and there was a lot of idolatry.  Introducing them to Jesus and keeping them out of idolatrous beliefs were a challenge.
 
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
1) Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:
2) You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.
3) 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.
4) There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5) There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.
6) And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
7) But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
8) for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
9) to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,
10) to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
11) But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
 
The word “Discerning” in Greek is ‘Diakrisis’ which means distinguishing, discerning, judging, between spirits.

Today, however, the term discernment in general is a bit broader, however there are always spirits at work behind everything.  This gift is in place to protect us and keep us seeking Holy Spirit daily in our lives and His guidance.

Charles Spurgeon said “Discernment is not simply a matter of telling the difference between right and wrong.  It is rather the difference between right and almost right.”

Many years ago, just after he was elected to the Texas Legislature Phil King came to speak at a conference I hosted.  When asked how we could pray for him, he said “I know where I stand on the black and white issues, the issues I was elected on, however it is the grey areas that are a bit more difficult.”

Discernment helps us in the grey areas of life.

Jesus told His disciples when He was sending them out:
Matthew 10:16
So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.

Remember, we are his disciples today, and we are also ‘sent out.’ This means we need to operate in the same manner, but we must have the Holy Spirit guiding us to do this.

Discernment is the ability to perceive, understand and judge things clearly, especially those that are not obvious or straightforward.  This is a gift that grows the more you use it.

In the South, unfortunately women often ignore discernment.  We are taught that surely other folks aren’t as bad as we think they are.  It is also a type of mindset where ‘men’ were typically smarter than we were.   However, if we begin to nurture it, it will grow as we mature and gain knowledge, wisdom and experience.

This gift is something always guided by the Holy Spirit. Some call it intuition, instinct, a hunch, or even 6th sense.  You walk into someplace and sense a particular atmosphere, maybe joy or peace, or even darkness or fear.  This is all part of discernment. 

It is a bit different than a prophetic gift, though.  A prophetic gift is when God tells you something revelation or supernatural understanding.  Discernment is more of an internal sensing.  I learned many years ago that when witchcraft is in the room, my tummy hurts.  Or if someone is operating in manipulation, I get angry.    Your discernment can give you triggers or clues when you need to pay attention to something. 

Nobody likes to be fooled and that is what this gift is for. How many women totally ignore their discernment and marry someone who is awful?  How many Christians get into a really bad financial deal because they turn their discernment off and trust the wrong people.

Discernment is often morphed by filter failure.  We all have a filter, like a funnel.  All of our hurts, wounds, and bad belief systems are stuck in that funnel.  Then, when God tries to speak to us, or show us something, it has to go down through that funnel.  Often what He is trying to speak to us, it can be morphed because of the stuff in that funnel. 

That is why we must work to get free and why I wrote my book, True Freedom.  When I realized just how much the enemy was affecting my thoughts, actions, and belief systems, I knew I had to get free of it so I could fulfill all God has for me. 

1 John 4:1-4
1) Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.
2) This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God.
3) But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.
4) But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

In verse 2, John was speaking specifically about the Gnostics of the day.  They rejected the idea that Jesus came in a real body with the Spirit of God.  But verse 3 tells us ‘they do not acknowledge the truth about Jesus’ which means they have an Antichrist spirit.  We have a lot of ‘Christians’ that do not acknowledge the full truth of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  So that is the litmus test for false believers. 

While this seems to be a test of a known fact, often if you are discerning, you will pick up on something that is just not right somewhere.  You may even sense the antichrist spirit in operation.  That is discernment.

Caveat – Just because a religious or spiritual leader says someone is OK, don’t ignore your spirit.  Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth to you.  Many church leaders will allow evil or bad people on stage because they don’t bother to check with Holy Spirit before they allow them to speak.  Ravi Zacharias was considered a lead theologian and Christian speaker, on stage at many mega churches and conferences, all the while he was operating in sex trafficking and worse.  It wasn’t discovered until after he passed. 

Before I got healed and set free, I was very critical, fault finding, negative and I claimed to have a strong sense of discernment, but in fact it was just a critical spirit.  This was because my filter was full of hurt and insecurity.   As a result, I put a lot of good people on blast and paid a heavy price for that.  When you curse God’s people, you curse yourselves.  But this faultfinding in the name of discernment is actually sin. 

1 Peter 4:10-11
God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.  Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
 
Hebrews 5:13
Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

The word ‘difference’ here is the same Greek word used for discernment.  So again, we see that discernment comes through the spiritually mature, those who are daily in the word and spending time in the presence of God regularly.

When Solomon became King, God came to him in a dream and asked ‘What do you want?’

1 Kings 3:8-10
8) “Now, O LORD my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around.
9) And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted!
10) Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”

Solomon actually prayed for discernment.  We should always pray before we take on any task.  Pray for an understanding heart and discernment. 

In today’s environment, our ignorance is no excuse, we literally have the wisdom of God at our fingertips.  We have bible apps, google, Wikipedia, everything we need to know in the natural is right there.  Couple that with the wisdom promised from the Holy Spirit and we can have the knowledge of the world.

And we also have a promise from the wisest man in history, King Solomon.

Proverbs 3:21-26
21) My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment.
Hang on to them,
22) for they will refresh your soul.
They are like jewels on a necklace.
23) They keep you safe on your way,
and your feet will not stumble.
24) You can go to bed without fear;
you will lie down and sleep soundly.
25) You need not be afraid of sudden disaster
or the destruction that comes upon the wicked,
26) for the LORD is your security.
He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.
 
This gift is a foundational gift we all must have, especially in today’s world.  You too can pray Solomon’s prayer. “Now, O LORD my God, give me an understanding heart so that I can love your people well and know the difference between right and wrong."