Lesson 104: God The Holy Spirit – Part 9

INTRODUCTION: In our study of the gifts of the Holy Spirit we learnt that the nine gifts could be grouped into three parts and that the first part consists of (i) the word of wisdom (ii) the word of Knowledge and (iii) the discerning of Spirits. These three are usually called the revelation gifts. Now we have studied the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge. Right now, we wish to study the gift of the discerning of Spirit, I Cor. 12:10. May the Lord bestow these gifts on all the hunger and thirst for it in Jesus Name. Amen.

la. DISCERNING OF SPIRITS IS DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL
As we learnt earlier on, there are different kinds of spirits, unclean spirits, seducing spirits, lying spirits, spirits of error, spirits of anti-Christ, etc. To be able to differentiate between these evil spirits and good ones require a Divinely given gifts called the gifts of discerning of Spirits (not the gift of discernment).

Matt. 10:1; I Tim. 4:1; I Kings 22:23; 1 John 4:6; I John 4:3; Acts 16:16-18; Matt. 16:15-17, 21-23.

Ib. THIS GIFT ENABLES YOU TO SEE INTO AND HEAR IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM
The ability to differentiate between evil and good spirit pre-supposes the ability to see into the spiritual realm and hear in it. Man is a spiritual being and has spiritual faculties i.e. eyes, ears, etc. Those who have this gift readily observe that the spirit world is highly organized.

I Thess. 5:23; Jude 13:2-5; 6:11-12; Luke 1:26-28; Eph. 6:12; Dan 10:12-13.

2. THE GIFT IS GIVEN FOR VARIOUS PURPOSE
There are various reasons why God could give the gift of the discerning of spirits. These include, among others, (a) to give an advance warning of impending judgment, (b) to reveal the future, (c) to enable special instructions to be given before a special event, (d) to announce special happenings that has happened (e) to assure in time of grave dangers (f) to stabilize a Christian warrior (g) when there is no other way to get the message across (h) to prepare someone for a special assignment and (i) to show Divine Appreciate. Gen. 18:1-3; 17-22; Rev. 1:10-12; Luke 1:11-17; 1:26-3 7; Jos. 5:13,; 6:5; Jude 13:3-4; Luke 2:8-15; II Kings 6:14-17; Acts 27:21-24; II Cor. 12:2-4; 12:2-4; Acts 10:1-6; Isa. 6:1-8; Dan. 3:24-25; Acts 7:55-56.

3. HOW TO KNOW WHEN SPIRITS ARE NEAR AND HOW TO IDENTIFY THEM
There are Biblical signs for knowing when a spirit or an angel is near. As soon as you sense the presence of a spirit you could command it to manifest in the name of Jesus Christ. To identify if it is good or evil you can ask the following questions: (a) Has Jesus come in the flesh? (b) Is Jesus Christ the Lord? Moreover, good spirits or angels always say, “Fear not” to subdue your fears whereas evil spirits enjoy your being troubled.

Job. 4:15-17; Heb. 1:13-14; I John 4:1-3; I Cor. 12-3; Mark 9:38-40; Luke 1:11-13; Luke 1:29-30; Jude 6:22-23.