Discerning of Spirits

Discerning Of Spirits

Category	Revelation Gift
Definitions	Recognizing what is of God verses the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Example	Paul recognizing that the girl in Philippi had a spirit of divination.

Discerning of spirits is the supernatural ability given by the Holy Spirit to perceive the source of a spiritual manifestation and determine whether it is of God (Acts 10:30-35), of the devil (Acts 16:16-18), of man (Acts 8:18-23), or of the world. It is not mind reading, psychic phenomena, or the ability to criticize and find fault.

Discerning of spirits must be done by the power of the Holy Spirit; He bears witness with our spirit when something is or is not of God. The gift of discerning of spirits is the supernatural power to detect the realm of the spirits and their activities. It implies the power of spiritual insight – the supernatural revelation of plans and purposes of the enemy and his forces. It is a gift which protects and guards your Christian life.

You can discern or test whether or not a spirit is of God by the following three ways:

1	Observing what a person does. In Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus explains that false prophets are known by their fruit – by their conduct and actions.
2	Observing whether or not a person exalts Jesus Christ as the Son of God and as Lord and Saviour (I Corinthians 12:3).
3	By listening to what a person says (I John 4:1-3). Does their confession line up with the truth of God’s Word?