Prophecy And Discerning of Spirits
1 Corinthians 12:10 (Audio Only)
Message #6
We’re on week six of the Holy Spirit study, We started with the “Baptism of The Holy Spirit.” Then, we dealt with “The Holy Spirit at Work in The World,” and we dealt with the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives, “The Manifold Grace of God.” We did “An Overview of The Gifts” of the Holy Spirit. Last week's message was "Knowledge And Wisdom"
Today continues a technical message on the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians Chapter 10, Paul is listing some of the gifts given by the Spirit, and he says,
1 Corinthians 12:10 (NKJV)
10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits,…
Those are our two subjects today. This is our second message on the specific gifts. We are going to do a few of these, and then we will wrap all of the gifts into the last message. All of the Holy Spirit messages are available online at wordbymail.com, or download the wordbymail phone app and get the teachings there.
Before we get into prophecy and discerning of spirits, pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal these tools to us today.
Prophecy first. The definition of prophecy (we’ll always start with a definition as we go through the gifts) is “speaking forth the Word of God through the anointing of the Holy Spirit.” That is the simple definition of the gift of prophecy.
So, the first thing we have to understand about prophecy is that it is not just foretelling. It is not only a foretelling of the Word of God, though it is sometimes that. It is also a forth-telling of the Word of God, which is where we are going to focus today. We always see the Holy Spirit at work in the Old Testament. It is a sad, sad thing for people to believe the Holy Spirit is a New Testament theology. I don’t know what they think he was doing during the Old Testament, but he was hard at work. And so, we see the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit throughout the Old Testament. All the gifts of the Spirit are displayed in the Old Testament.
Of course, this one, prophecies, and the ministry or the office of prophet makes up the Old Testament. From Moses, to David, to the Major Prophets, to the Minor Prophets – the Old Testament is full of prophets and the gift of prophecy. Always in the Old Testament, prophecy was used to bring Israel, the People of God, either into a right fellowship with God or to bring them back into a right fellowship with God. Even when prophecy was used as a foretelling, a telling of the future, it was to bring the People of Israel back into a right fellowship with God.
Well, that is no different than it is in the New Testament and no different than it is today. The gift of prophecy is used for guidance, for direction, and for calling the People of God into a right fellowship with God. Of course, we also have hundreds of foretelling prophecies in the Old Testament that we use to stand on as proof of the Word of God.
In the New Testament, the gift of prophecy is just as prevalent. In fact, because of the forth-telling of the Word of God, you can say no book of the Bible was written without the gift of prophecy. And that is a very true statement. And so, this is a critical, critical gift of the Holy Spirit.
Now, remember back when we did “An Overview of The Gifts,” I said there were manifestation gifts, and there were ministry gifts. We’re talking primarily about manifestation gifts. These are gifts that are given to each one of us. Every one of us, as the Spirit sovereignly wills, can receive a manifestation gift for a certain time, for a certain instance, a certain circumstance. And so, the manifestation gift of prophecy can be and is as the Spirit wills, given to any or all of us. In fact, at the end of 1 Corinthians 14, Paul says we can all prophecy. That’s the manifestation gift of prophecy. Now, there is a ministry gift of prophet, also, where this gift of the Spirit works. But we are going to save the ministry gifts for a little later (we’ll go into Romans and look at those).
If you turn over to Chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians, I want to show you just how critical this gift of prophecy is to the Church.
1 Corinthians 14:1 (NKJV)
1 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.
We love it that Paul says first, pursue love. And it’s not by coincidence that the two primary chapters on the spiritual gifts, 1 Corinthians 12 and 1 Corinthians 14, are sandwiched on either side of Chapter 13, the “Love Chapter.” The fruit of the Spirit is love. And so, Paul says, pursue love. Those words pursue love come at the end of 1 Corinthians 13, the Love Chapter. And the gifts of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 start with love, and if you will study the Galatians 5:22 passage, you’ll see that all of the other fruits of the Spirit issue forth from the first fruit, which is love.
1 Corinthians 14:1 says, …especially desire that you may prophesy. Why do you think he says that? Well, if we continue reading (as usual), we’ll find out.
1 Corinthians 14:2 (NKJV)
2 For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.
Paul is going into a teaching on tongues, and he is going to use prophecy to prepare the Corinthian’s understanding of the gift of tongues.
1 Corinthians 14:3 (NKJV)
3 But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.
That is our key verse for the gift of prophecy.
1 Corinthians 14:4-5 (NKJV)
4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.
5 I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.
Hopefully, you see the Holy Spirit’s point (through Paul) there that the gift of prophecy is meant for the edification of the Body – edification, exhortation, and comfort, as we see in verse 3.
Guys, all the gifts, except for tongues without interpretation, have nothing to do with you; they’re not for you, they’re not because of you. Your only role is obedience to be part of the Body so that God can minister through you. And so, the gifts are for the good of the Body. Always, the gift, when it is exercised, is for the benefit of the receiver, not the giver. The giver is to not be puffed up, pumped up, appreciated, or anything else because it’s God who is giving that gift for the receiver. And so, Paul says, desire that you would prophesy… because prophecy brings edification, exhortation, and comfort to the Body, to men. That’s the reason Paul says to especially desire this gift.
So, let’s take a look at those three words from verse 3, edification, exhortation, and comfort.
Edification is a great word. It is literally a construction term. It means “to shore up or support a building.” And that is a perfect word picture. To edify a building would mean to shore it up, to support it, to strengthen the building. And so, it’s exactly the same for us when the Holy Spirit gives us a word to edify us; it is to strengthen us, to support us, to encourage us, to give us strength to continue on. It’s hearing a word from God just when you need it most, when your knees are shaking, and you’re moving half of a step at a time, and God delivers a very specific word to strengthen you or to support you. That is the gift of prophecy in edification.
1 Timothy 1:18 (NKJV)
18 This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,
Paul says to Timothy twice, remember the prophecies that were made over you when we laid hands on you. And here in 1 Timothy, he says, by them wage the war. Continue to fight the good fight. What he is saying is remember what God has said. Take that prophecy and cling to it when you are weak, when you’re shaking in the ministry because of the work of the enemy. Cling to that prophecy and continue to fight the good fight. The Christian life is a battle. The ministry is also a battle. And so, God delivers this gift through the gift of prophecy to edify, to strengthen, to equip us, to continue to give us the strength to fight the good fight.
The second word there in verse 3 is exhortation. For edification, exhortation… The word literally means “to call one up to you.” So, if you were one place maybe higher on a hill, and you called someone to come to you, that word would be the literal definition of exhortation. It is a word of action. To spur someone on to action. To get them to do what they know is right. And, so often, God will give a prophecy through somebody to call someone to action, to just tell them, do what God is calling you to do. That is exhortation.
It’s not necessarily to reprove or to correct people. We use that word tongue-in-cheek when we want to correct someone. I have a word of exhortation for you, and that is the Christian way of saying, I am about to correct you. But it’s not necessarily just that. It’s to call someone to action. Don’t just talk it, but walk it. And the gift of prophecy, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14, verse 3, is used for that.
The last thing he says there in verse 3 is comfort. This is a wonderful word. The Greek words have pictures. Greek is a pictorial language. And the word for comfort here literally means “to put salve on a wound.” Isn’t that a great picture? And so, Paul says, the Holy Spirit uses this gift of prophecy to put salve on a wound. So, when you’re hurting, when one your shield of faith has missed a fiery dart, and it has hit you, then Paul says the gift of prophecy is used to put salve on that wound, to bring you comfort, to bring you encouragement when you’re hurting. We need to hear that God is on the throne. We need to hear that he sees us in the storm. We need to hear that he is coming to us, that he will not leave us or forsake us. That he has a purpose, that he’s going to bring about his goodwill in our lives. That, through the gift of prophecy, is comfort.
You know, when Chuck Smith was called to a little church in Huntington Beach (this is out of the book Living Water), the day before he was to come, they called him and said, don’t bother coming, we disbanded. We’re quitting the church; it is shutting its doors. And Chuck said, well, I don’t have anything to do anyway, I already quit my last position, so I’m going to come out anyway. So, he tells this story about coming out to twelve people who had already decided to disband and close the doors of the church.
The day after he got there, a prophecy was given over him. And the prophecy was that he would be the shepherd of many flocks. Now, he had been in the ministry seventeen years, with basically very little fruit at that point. The second prophecy was that he would have a nationwide radio ministry, to which he scoffed. And the third prophecy was that this little group who had already disbanded was going to need a much larger facility to meet in. Now, those prophecy’s given to Chuck in the presence of this group, he says in Living Water, is what gave him the strength to continue on, to keep that group together. That group, of course, became Calvary Chapel through the gift of prophecy.
The gift of prophecy used to strengthen and encourage me when I was saved on April 29, 1979, I was a long-haired recording engineer living on the streets of Hollywood, and a pastor put his hand on my head, and he prophesied about my parents. And he gave me that prophecy so that I would know that it was from God. And then, after he prophesied about my parents, he said, “God is going to put you in the ministry.” And those words have rung true in my head for twenty-five years. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone back and said, God, you said… I didn’t do this. I didn’t ask for this. This is your decision. You put me here. I remember those words ringing in my ears. And that’s the gift of prophecy, to strengthen us, to encourage us, especially when we are shaky and need to be supported. Praise the Lord.
The other thing that prophecy does, down in verse 24 of chapter 14,
1 Corinthians 14:24-25(a) (NKJV)
24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all.
25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed;
That’s the other thing that prophecy does. Someone will give you a prophecy, or you will give someone else a prophecy, and it will reveal something in that person’s heart that was a secret. And that is a shocking, shocking thing to a person. And verse 25 ends by saying what happens.
1 Corinthians 14:25(b) (NKJV)
25 …and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.
That is what happened when I got saved. This man told me not only what was going on, which the spirits of divination could even do that, but he told me what God was going to do. And when it all came to pass, I fell on my face and worshiped God and have been, through his strength, since then.
So, how does the gift of prophecy operate? Well, last Wednesday in the Wednesday night group, we went through what hinders the operation of the Holy Spirit. And that’s probably more important because you’re not going to put the Holy Spirit in a box. There is no box. It’s not getting God outside the box. The box doesn’t exist. There is no box for God. There is no recipe for God. I can’t tell you, “This is how God works.” I will say, normally, the Holy Spirit will give you an impression to say something. You will feel very, very impressed to speak something to someone and it will usually be very specific and about their life. And, as you develop your communing, your relationship with the Holy Spirit, as you ask him for these gifts, you will feel more and more confident in the operation of them.
When this gentleman walked up to me today and gave me this word, it was about a very specific situation that was factual (it was actually going on), and he delivered it with confidence because he knew that the Lord was speaking it. And I pray, and I trust that it is true because it is very encouraging words. But that is how it usually works.
Quite often, you see this gift in teaching. Any of us who teach have moments where we say, “Whoa! Where did that come from? That wasn’t planned.” And I’m not talking about tangents. Tangents aren’t from God; they’re usually from the flesh. But, when God delivers something that opens up, that unveils a mystery of his Word, that you hadn’t planned to say, that is the gift of prophecy working through a teacher. The forth-telling of the Word of God. It is a wonderful thing to experience, where we walked away saying, “Wow. I learned more than anybody in the room.” That’s a great example.
Down in verse 29, Paul gets into judging prophecy. All prophecy is given to encourage, to edify, to exhort, and to comfort. To edify, exhort, and to comfort the Body. And so, that gives us some things to watch for in prophecy because that is its purpose. And so, as Paul goes through Chapter 14, he lists “rules of engagement” (if you will). How to operate in the gifts decently and in order. Now, I could go through all those rules and really hammer them for you, but the problem is that the rules were given to the Church at Corinth, not because they were not operating in the gifts, it’s because they were over-operating in the gifts. And so, if you guys were out of control in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, I would really spend time on rules and regulations, and how to do things decently and in order.
But, instead, as Paul said to Timothy, we say stir up the gift. Allow the Holy Spirit to work in you. And then, once you’re out of control, then we’ll put some restrictions on you because everything has to be done decently and in order. And so, in verse 29, he starts giving some of that order. But let me just tell you for time’s sake, three ways to judge a prophecy.
1). Does it line up with God’s Word?
If you’re about to say something to someone, or if you hear something for someone that doesn’t align with God’s Word, it is not from God – period. I don’t care if you have Hobo Kelly glasses on; if you’re looking at tablets found under a tree, some of you know who I’m talking about. I don’t care. There is no such thing as a “latter-day revelation.” God’s Word is finished, and it’s complete. It is one hundred percent complete, and he will not vary from it; he will not add to it, he will not take away from it, that’s his own words. So, if a prophecy doesn’t line up with the scripture, it’s not from God – period.
2). Does it line up with known facts?
God will usually refer to something in your life that has some kind of known fact. Something that is already evident, already known. And he does that to give you a revelation of “Wow. This must be God.”
3). Does it honor Christ?
Is Christ central in the prophecy? If he is not, the prophecy is not from God. Period. Jesus Christ is the center of Heaven’s focus. He is the center of the scripture; he is the center of all that the Holy Spirit has come to testify of. He said, himself, when the Comforter comes, he will testify of Me (meaning Jesus). So, any time someone prophecies something like, “I think someone here needs to give me some money.” Bam! Out the door, pal. Don’t come back! You call these prophecies what they are and stand on the Word of God.
The only thing I would point out there at the end of 1 Corinthians 14 is verse 32.
1 Corinthians 14:32 (NKJV)
32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
That is a critical, critical verse. The Holy Spirit will never take control of your body. Will never take control of your tongue, including speaking in tongues. He does not take control of you. In the scripture, the only Spirit we see taking control of a body is a demonic spirit, and that, never of a Christian. So, the Holy Spirit does not take charge. You can’t say, “Oh, I just couldn’t stop myself.” Yeah, you could because your free will is always at work. And so, the Holy Spirit will impress something upon you, but you’ve got to speak, you’ve got to be obedient to the leading of the Spirit.
And, let me just say that at the very end of Chapter 14, in the midst of talking about decency and order and public services, Paul discusses women. So, it’s important that I go ahead and address his comments about women at the end of this chapter.
Let me just say this. Some of his comments may be cultural, some of them may very well not be cultural. But it is important for you to know is where Calvary Chapel stands on the gifts of the Spirit and ministry for women. And what we say is what the Bible says when at all possible. And that is that every one of the gifts of the Spirit is used in scripture by women, including prophecy. There are prophetesses both in the Old and New Testaments. And so, we know that there is no restriction on women for the use of any of the gifts. The only thing that Calvary Chapel stands on, that women are not called to do, is to teach men. And that is the only thing that Calvary Chapel really stands on. We believe that Paul makes it clear that women are not to teach men, especially in a public setting. Other than that, women are called to the full scope of ministry. And that’s where you have that. Praise the Lord. We are all called to operate in the gifts of the Spirit, decently and in order. Men, women, combined.
That’s it for prophecy. I want you to know, guys, that as you ask for the Holy Spirit (Luke 11 says), the Father will give him to you. As you earnestly desire the gifts, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12, he will give them to you as he sovereignly wills. And so, this is not as big a mystery as we might like to make it. You ask God to baptize you with the Holy Spirit. And then you ask the Holy Spirit whatever gifts he sovereignly wills to give you, and then you spend your time in obedience to him, in walking in the Spirit, in intimate communion with the Spirit. It’s desiring to be used by the Spirit. And then, as you listen to his voice, he’ll begin to move you. And you will begin to operate in the gifts that he gives you.
People have tried to make this classroom training where you do step one, step two. It’s a relationship. So, as you develop the relationship, the Holy Spirit will begin to use you, and it will absolutely blow you away when you allow God to work through you. And again, the safeguards are there, and your leaders are watching you, so it won’t be too easy to stray too far.
Let’s move on to discerning of spirits. It’s not by coincidence that in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 10, that Paul lists discerning of spirits after prophecy.
1 Corinthians 12:10 (NKJV)
10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits,…
I believe that is there for a purpose because we need the gift of discerning of spirits when the gift of prophecy is in action.
So, what is the definition of discerning of spirits? “Discerning of spirits is when the Holy Spirit reveals to you the spirit behind a circumstance or an action.” It is the spirit behind what somebody is saying or doing. That is the definition of discerning of spirits. It is not a maturity issue where you say, “God, mature me. Give me discernment.” It’s a revelation of the spirit that’s behind an action. That is the discerning of spirits – when God supernaturally reveals the source of what’s going on to you.
It’s a glimpse beyond the natural into the supernatural. In the Old Testament, every single gift is used. In the Old Testament, the best picture of discerning spirits is in 2 Kings Chapter 6. Elisha and his servant are surrounded by the Syrian army. Elisha’s servant is terrified. Elisha, in 2 Kings 6:17, says Lord, open his eyes that he might see. The Lord lifts the veil between the natural and the supernatural. Elisha’s servant sees legions of angels ready to attack, ready to protect, standing guard at attention. We call these sentry angels. They are battle angels. They were always there, but Elisha prayed for the discerning of spirits for his servant. His servant saw beyond the natural, and he was not scared anymore.
In the New Testament, Jesus used this all the time. He was always speaking to the spirit side of what was going on. Not just the spiritual side, but the side of the spirit realm. In Acts 16, Paul does the same thing. Beginning in verse 16, there is a woman who begins to follow Paul and the Apostles around. And she is saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”
Is it right? Yes. It’s one hundred percent accurate. But if you read further, it says this in verse 18.
Acts 16:18 (NKJV)
18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.
Now, that’s odd, isn’t it? Someone who is saying, these are the servants of the Most High God who bring us salvation – Paul, given discerning of spirits, knows the spirit behind that comment and turns and casts that spirit out. This is a very powerful example of discerning of spirits.
Guys, discerning of spirits is a red flag. It’s a red flag where the Holy Spirit says to you, no matter what is being said, the spirit behind it is evil. Now, this is going to get a little hard to take. For the most part, we are conscious of only one of the two worlds we exist in. Chuck Missler describes the time/space continuum and from a physics, rocket science standpoint; he describes how two worlds can live together – not in a “Twilight Zone” way, but in a real “physics” way.
Well, we know that physical world well. But the spirit world exists in conjunction, along with, inside the physical world. And it’s not so unusual because that’s where the Holy Spirit works. The Holy Spirit works in the spiritual realm, in the spirit world.
We know that. We’ve seen that. I just thought of a story. My wife and I were driving back from Nevada when we were very first saved. When we were young, we would never pass a hitchhiker without picking them up or stop for a car broken down – zealous Christians as we were. And so, this car was broken down on the side of the road, and we pulled over. And as we pulled over, my wife heard the spirit side of what was going on and made it very, very clear that there was demonic activity behind us in that car, and we should speed away quickly, and that was a trap set for us by the enemy. And there’s no doubt in my mind it was. That is the glimpse into the spirit world.
The very first time I spoke behind the pulpit, in a different church, a long time ago, it seems, when I finished the message and Randy started doing worship, as I was giving the altar call, God let me see what was going on in the spirit realm. And I fell onto the stage. I sat down on the stage because, honestly, it scared me to death. But it was very, very powerful to see what was going on in church in the spirit realm.
Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
That’s the battle raging. It’s raging in between where we are. It’s raging in our midst. And so, in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11, let me deliver this bombshell of why discerning of spirits is so critically necessary for Christians.
2 Corinthians 11:12 (NKJV)
12 But what I do (Paul speaking), I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast.
13 For such are false apostles, (He’s talking about men putting themselves up to be teachers of God) deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
That is a very earthshaking statement. Because what Paul is saying is not that these ministers are demon-possessed. But that the spirit behind them is of the enemy. They are working for Christ but on the enemy’s payroll. Does that make sense? They are proclaiming the news of Jesus Christ, but the source is the enemy. That’s very sobering, isn’t it?
We see the exact same thing in the fabulous Matthew 16 example of Peter and his confession of Christ at Caesarea Philippi. When Jesus says, “Who do you say I am?” Peter says, “You Are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Moments later, what does Jesus say to him? “Get behind me, Satan.” Now, had Peter turned into Satan? No. Had Peter become possessed by a demon? No. What was Jesus talking about? The spirit behind what you’re saying, Peter, is Satan. The great Apostle, Peter. The spirit behind his actions was straight from the pit of hell.
And that is what Paul is referring to here in 2 Corinthians Chapter 11. The source, what’s going on behind these false apostles, is from the enemy. Guys, the enemy is at work in the Church, and we need the discerning of spirits to say, “Lord, give me a revelation into the source. What’s going on behind this?” Now, sometimes you don’t need a big revelation because I can just tell you that if somebody is destroying the Church, the spirit is not from God. If somebody is doing damage in the Church, if somebody is causing division, dissension, guys, that’s from hell. The spirit of that is Satan. We need to understand that because we pull it off as prayer requests or something idiotic. It’s from Satan.
The spirit behind that is Satan. The person could be full-on, going to Heaven. Peter was going to Heaven when Jesus called him Satan. But the spirit behind what is motivating them is the enemy. And the discerning of spirits is when we say, “You know what? I don’t think that’s from God. I think what you’re saying there is from the enemy.” I know this is heavy, but we need it. I can’t become a Dodger just because I put on a Dodger baseball cap. I can’t become a Christian just because I sit in Church. I can’t be serving the Lord just because I say I am. There’s a spirit behind our actions.
We need to use this gift on ourselves – just like Peter. Peter would have wished he had this gift so that when that thought came to him to say to Jesus, “Far be it from you to ever die,” he would have liked to have been able to say, “Wait a minute. That’s not from Heaven. That’s from the pit of hell. I can’t say that.”
We need this gift of discerning of spirits on our own weak, flesh-centered, selfish minds so that we can say, “Lord, is this from you, or is this from the enemy? Don’t allow me to bring destruction, don’t allow me to be moved by the enemy.”
I’m not talking about possession, don’t get me wrong. Peter wasn’t possessed. But the spirit of what he was saying wasn’t from God. That is a perfect example of discerning of spirits. It’s something we really need to watch for.
How does it operate? It’s an uneasiness. It’s not suspicion. There is no “gift of suspicion.” It’s an uneasiness. It’s like, “I don’t think so.” My wife has this gift way up high. A lot of women have this gift, actually. It’s just an uneasiness. I don’t feel right about that. Something is not right. It’s something you develop through an ongoing relationship with the Holy Spirit, where you ask, “Lord, give me discerning of spirits. What’s behind this? Is this really of God, or is it not?”
1 John 4:1 (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.
Do you see what he is saying there? He’s saying (not spirit like Casper, you have to get that out of your mind) spirit as in what is the force behind what this person is saying? The spirit of the person. That’s what John is saying here.
So, we need this discernment. We don’t always need it. There are times when it is very easy to say what a false prophet looks like; a false teacher looks like. All you need is the Word of God.
2 Peter 2:3 (NKJV)
(Speaking of false teachers) 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words;
If someone is exploiting you, they’re a false teacher, and if someone is asking you for money, they’re a false teacher – period.
1 Timothy 6:5 (NKJV)
(Speaking of false teachers) 5 (From which comes) useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.
Now, I want to give you a direct quote from Pastor Chuck out of Living Water regarding this verse. There is a key (meaning this verse) if anyone teaches you that godliness is a path to riches, Paul says you can consider him or her a false prophet. From such, withdraw yourself, he commands.
Anyone that teaches godliness is a path to riches… run from them fast! That is a false gospel. Rampant false gospel.
So, we don’t always need the gift of discerning of spirits. Usually, the clearest thing is money, but some things we can see from a mile away. But when we can’t see, that’s when we need to learn to listen to the Holy Spirit.
Let me just remind you that Jesus said, “it’s better that I go away. Because if I don’t go away, I can’t send the Helper, and when he comes, he will teach you, he will lead you into all righteousness.” It is the Holy Spirit who is primarily responsible for our day-to-day walk with Jesus. The gifts that he gives us are ones he gives us for that walk. He is available for us to be immersed in for the asking, Luke Chapter 11 says.
1 Corinthians 12 says desire spiritual gifts. And the Holy Spirit will give sovereignly as he wills so that the Body will fit together perfectly.
See, it’s not so mysterious. Mystery in the Bible means something that has not yet been revealed. And so, once it’s revealed, it’s not a mystery anymore. And the revelation of the Holy Spirit is this: ask for it. And then desire the spiritual gifts. Say, “God. Would you give me the gift of prophecy that I would be able to teach? That I would be able to speak forth your Word? That you would give me a word of edification, of exhortation, of comfort.” And we all need to say, “God, give me the discerning of spirits gift, I beg you. I need it.” That’s all it takes.
And then, as we go on in our communing with God, we develop those gifts.
Today continues a technical message on the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians Chapter 10, Paul is listing some of the gifts given by the Spirit, and he says,
1 Corinthians 12:10 (NKJV)
10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits,…
Those are our two subjects today. This is our second message on the specific gifts. We are going to do a few of these, and then we will wrap all of the gifts into the last message. All of the Holy Spirit messages are available online at wordbymail.com, or download the wordbymail phone app and get the teachings there.
Before we get into prophecy and discerning of spirits, pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal these tools to us today.
Prophecy first. The definition of prophecy (we’ll always start with a definition as we go through the gifts) is “speaking forth the Word of God through the anointing of the Holy Spirit.” That is the simple definition of the gift of prophecy.
So, the first thing we have to understand about prophecy is that it is not just foretelling. It is not only a foretelling of the Word of God, though it is sometimes that. It is also a forth-telling of the Word of God, which is where we are going to focus today. We always see the Holy Spirit at work in the Old Testament. It is a sad, sad thing for people to believe the Holy Spirit is a New Testament theology. I don’t know what they think he was doing during the Old Testament, but he was hard at work. And so, we see the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit throughout the Old Testament. All the gifts of the Spirit are displayed in the Old Testament.
Of course, this one, prophecies, and the ministry or the office of prophet makes up the Old Testament. From Moses, to David, to the Major Prophets, to the Minor Prophets – the Old Testament is full of prophets and the gift of prophecy. Always in the Old Testament, prophecy was used to bring Israel, the People of God, either into a right fellowship with God or to bring them back into a right fellowship with God. Even when prophecy was used as a foretelling, a telling of the future, it was to bring the People of Israel back into a right fellowship with God.
Well, that is no different than it is in the New Testament and no different than it is today. The gift of prophecy is used for guidance, for direction, and for calling the People of God into a right fellowship with God. Of course, we also have hundreds of foretelling prophecies in the Old Testament that we use to stand on as proof of the Word of God.
In the New Testament, the gift of prophecy is just as prevalent. In fact, because of the forth-telling of the Word of God, you can say no book of the Bible was written without the gift of prophecy. And that is a very true statement. And so, this is a critical, critical gift of the Holy Spirit.
Now, remember back when we did “An Overview of The Gifts,” I said there were manifestation gifts, and there were ministry gifts. We’re talking primarily about manifestation gifts. These are gifts that are given to each one of us. Every one of us, as the Spirit sovereignly wills, can receive a manifestation gift for a certain time, for a certain instance, a certain circumstance. And so, the manifestation gift of prophecy can be and is as the Spirit wills, given to any or all of us. In fact, at the end of 1 Corinthians 14, Paul says we can all prophecy. That’s the manifestation gift of prophecy. Now, there is a ministry gift of prophet, also, where this gift of the Spirit works. But we are going to save the ministry gifts for a little later (we’ll go into Romans and look at those).
If you turn over to Chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians, I want to show you just how critical this gift of prophecy is to the Church.
1 Corinthians 14:1 (NKJV)
1 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.
We love it that Paul says first, pursue love. And it’s not by coincidence that the two primary chapters on the spiritual gifts, 1 Corinthians 12 and 1 Corinthians 14, are sandwiched on either side of Chapter 13, the “Love Chapter.” The fruit of the Spirit is love. And so, Paul says, pursue love. Those words pursue love come at the end of 1 Corinthians 13, the Love Chapter. And the gifts of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 start with love, and if you will study the Galatians 5:22 passage, you’ll see that all of the other fruits of the Spirit issue forth from the first fruit, which is love.
1 Corinthians 14:1 says, …especially desire that you may prophesy. Why do you think he says that? Well, if we continue reading (as usual), we’ll find out.
1 Corinthians 14:2 (NKJV)
2 For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.
Paul is going into a teaching on tongues, and he is going to use prophecy to prepare the Corinthian’s understanding of the gift of tongues.
1 Corinthians 14:3 (NKJV)
3 But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.
That is our key verse for the gift of prophecy.
1 Corinthians 14:4-5 (NKJV)
4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.
5 I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.
Hopefully, you see the Holy Spirit’s point (through Paul) there that the gift of prophecy is meant for the edification of the Body – edification, exhortation, and comfort, as we see in verse 3.
Guys, all the gifts, except for tongues without interpretation, have nothing to do with you; they’re not for you, they’re not because of you. Your only role is obedience to be part of the Body so that God can minister through you. And so, the gifts are for the good of the Body. Always, the gift, when it is exercised, is for the benefit of the receiver, not the giver. The giver is to not be puffed up, pumped up, appreciated, or anything else because it’s God who is giving that gift for the receiver. And so, Paul says, desire that you would prophesy… because prophecy brings edification, exhortation, and comfort to the Body, to men. That’s the reason Paul says to especially desire this gift.
So, let’s take a look at those three words from verse 3, edification, exhortation, and comfort.
Edification is a great word. It is literally a construction term. It means “to shore up or support a building.” And that is a perfect word picture. To edify a building would mean to shore it up, to support it, to strengthen the building. And so, it’s exactly the same for us when the Holy Spirit gives us a word to edify us; it is to strengthen us, to support us, to encourage us, to give us strength to continue on. It’s hearing a word from God just when you need it most, when your knees are shaking, and you’re moving half of a step at a time, and God delivers a very specific word to strengthen you or to support you. That is the gift of prophecy in edification.
1 Timothy 1:18 (NKJV)
18 This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,
Paul says to Timothy twice, remember the prophecies that were made over you when we laid hands on you. And here in 1 Timothy, he says, by them wage the war. Continue to fight the good fight. What he is saying is remember what God has said. Take that prophecy and cling to it when you are weak, when you’re shaking in the ministry because of the work of the enemy. Cling to that prophecy and continue to fight the good fight. The Christian life is a battle. The ministry is also a battle. And so, God delivers this gift through the gift of prophecy to edify, to strengthen, to equip us, to continue to give us the strength to fight the good fight.
The second word there in verse 3 is exhortation. For edification, exhortation… The word literally means “to call one up to you.” So, if you were one place maybe higher on a hill, and you called someone to come to you, that word would be the literal definition of exhortation. It is a word of action. To spur someone on to action. To get them to do what they know is right. And, so often, God will give a prophecy through somebody to call someone to action, to just tell them, do what God is calling you to do. That is exhortation.
It’s not necessarily to reprove or to correct people. We use that word tongue-in-cheek when we want to correct someone. I have a word of exhortation for you, and that is the Christian way of saying, I am about to correct you. But it’s not necessarily just that. It’s to call someone to action. Don’t just talk it, but walk it. And the gift of prophecy, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14, verse 3, is used for that.
The last thing he says there in verse 3 is comfort. This is a wonderful word. The Greek words have pictures. Greek is a pictorial language. And the word for comfort here literally means “to put salve on a wound.” Isn’t that a great picture? And so, Paul says, the Holy Spirit uses this gift of prophecy to put salve on a wound. So, when you’re hurting, when one your shield of faith has missed a fiery dart, and it has hit you, then Paul says the gift of prophecy is used to put salve on that wound, to bring you comfort, to bring you encouragement when you’re hurting. We need to hear that God is on the throne. We need to hear that he sees us in the storm. We need to hear that he is coming to us, that he will not leave us or forsake us. That he has a purpose, that he’s going to bring about his goodwill in our lives. That, through the gift of prophecy, is comfort.
You know, when Chuck Smith was called to a little church in Huntington Beach (this is out of the book Living Water), the day before he was to come, they called him and said, don’t bother coming, we disbanded. We’re quitting the church; it is shutting its doors. And Chuck said, well, I don’t have anything to do anyway, I already quit my last position, so I’m going to come out anyway. So, he tells this story about coming out to twelve people who had already decided to disband and close the doors of the church.
The day after he got there, a prophecy was given over him. And the prophecy was that he would be the shepherd of many flocks. Now, he had been in the ministry seventeen years, with basically very little fruit at that point. The second prophecy was that he would have a nationwide radio ministry, to which he scoffed. And the third prophecy was that this little group who had already disbanded was going to need a much larger facility to meet in. Now, those prophecy’s given to Chuck in the presence of this group, he says in Living Water, is what gave him the strength to continue on, to keep that group together. That group, of course, became Calvary Chapel through the gift of prophecy.
The gift of prophecy used to strengthen and encourage me when I was saved on April 29, 1979, I was a long-haired recording engineer living on the streets of Hollywood, and a pastor put his hand on my head, and he prophesied about my parents. And he gave me that prophecy so that I would know that it was from God. And then, after he prophesied about my parents, he said, “God is going to put you in the ministry.” And those words have rung true in my head for twenty-five years. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone back and said, God, you said… I didn’t do this. I didn’t ask for this. This is your decision. You put me here. I remember those words ringing in my ears. And that’s the gift of prophecy, to strengthen us, to encourage us, especially when we are shaky and need to be supported. Praise the Lord.
The other thing that prophecy does, down in verse 24 of chapter 14,
1 Corinthians 14:24-25(a) (NKJV)
24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all.
25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed;
That’s the other thing that prophecy does. Someone will give you a prophecy, or you will give someone else a prophecy, and it will reveal something in that person’s heart that was a secret. And that is a shocking, shocking thing to a person. And verse 25 ends by saying what happens.
1 Corinthians 14:25(b) (NKJV)
25 …and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.
That is what happened when I got saved. This man told me not only what was going on, which the spirits of divination could even do that, but he told me what God was going to do. And when it all came to pass, I fell on my face and worshiped God and have been, through his strength, since then.
So, how does the gift of prophecy operate? Well, last Wednesday in the Wednesday night group, we went through what hinders the operation of the Holy Spirit. And that’s probably more important because you’re not going to put the Holy Spirit in a box. There is no box. It’s not getting God outside the box. The box doesn’t exist. There is no box for God. There is no recipe for God. I can’t tell you, “This is how God works.” I will say, normally, the Holy Spirit will give you an impression to say something. You will feel very, very impressed to speak something to someone and it will usually be very specific and about their life. And, as you develop your communing, your relationship with the Holy Spirit, as you ask him for these gifts, you will feel more and more confident in the operation of them.
When this gentleman walked up to me today and gave me this word, it was about a very specific situation that was factual (it was actually going on), and he delivered it with confidence because he knew that the Lord was speaking it. And I pray, and I trust that it is true because it is very encouraging words. But that is how it usually works.
Quite often, you see this gift in teaching. Any of us who teach have moments where we say, “Whoa! Where did that come from? That wasn’t planned.” And I’m not talking about tangents. Tangents aren’t from God; they’re usually from the flesh. But, when God delivers something that opens up, that unveils a mystery of his Word, that you hadn’t planned to say, that is the gift of prophecy working through a teacher. The forth-telling of the Word of God. It is a wonderful thing to experience, where we walked away saying, “Wow. I learned more than anybody in the room.” That’s a great example.
Down in verse 29, Paul gets into judging prophecy. All prophecy is given to encourage, to edify, to exhort, and to comfort. To edify, exhort, and to comfort the Body. And so, that gives us some things to watch for in prophecy because that is its purpose. And so, as Paul goes through Chapter 14, he lists “rules of engagement” (if you will). How to operate in the gifts decently and in order. Now, I could go through all those rules and really hammer them for you, but the problem is that the rules were given to the Church at Corinth, not because they were not operating in the gifts, it’s because they were over-operating in the gifts. And so, if you guys were out of control in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, I would really spend time on rules and regulations, and how to do things decently and in order.
But, instead, as Paul said to Timothy, we say stir up the gift. Allow the Holy Spirit to work in you. And then, once you’re out of control, then we’ll put some restrictions on you because everything has to be done decently and in order. And so, in verse 29, he starts giving some of that order. But let me just tell you for time’s sake, three ways to judge a prophecy.
1). Does it line up with God’s Word?
If you’re about to say something to someone, or if you hear something for someone that doesn’t align with God’s Word, it is not from God – period. I don’t care if you have Hobo Kelly glasses on; if you’re looking at tablets found under a tree, some of you know who I’m talking about. I don’t care. There is no such thing as a “latter-day revelation.” God’s Word is finished, and it’s complete. It is one hundred percent complete, and he will not vary from it; he will not add to it, he will not take away from it, that’s his own words. So, if a prophecy doesn’t line up with the scripture, it’s not from God – period.
2). Does it line up with known facts?
God will usually refer to something in your life that has some kind of known fact. Something that is already evident, already known. And he does that to give you a revelation of “Wow. This must be God.”
3). Does it honor Christ?
Is Christ central in the prophecy? If he is not, the prophecy is not from God. Period. Jesus Christ is the center of Heaven’s focus. He is the center of the scripture; he is the center of all that the Holy Spirit has come to testify of. He said, himself, when the Comforter comes, he will testify of Me (meaning Jesus). So, any time someone prophecies something like, “I think someone here needs to give me some money.” Bam! Out the door, pal. Don’t come back! You call these prophecies what they are and stand on the Word of God.
The only thing I would point out there at the end of 1 Corinthians 14 is verse 32.
1 Corinthians 14:32 (NKJV)
32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
That is a critical, critical verse. The Holy Spirit will never take control of your body. Will never take control of your tongue, including speaking in tongues. He does not take control of you. In the scripture, the only Spirit we see taking control of a body is a demonic spirit, and that, never of a Christian. So, the Holy Spirit does not take charge. You can’t say, “Oh, I just couldn’t stop myself.” Yeah, you could because your free will is always at work. And so, the Holy Spirit will impress something upon you, but you’ve got to speak, you’ve got to be obedient to the leading of the Spirit.
And, let me just say that at the very end of Chapter 14, in the midst of talking about decency and order and public services, Paul discusses women. So, it’s important that I go ahead and address his comments about women at the end of this chapter.
Let me just say this. Some of his comments may be cultural, some of them may very well not be cultural. But it is important for you to know is where Calvary Chapel stands on the gifts of the Spirit and ministry for women. And what we say is what the Bible says when at all possible. And that is that every one of the gifts of the Spirit is used in scripture by women, including prophecy. There are prophetesses both in the Old and New Testaments. And so, we know that there is no restriction on women for the use of any of the gifts. The only thing that Calvary Chapel stands on, that women are not called to do, is to teach men. And that is the only thing that Calvary Chapel really stands on. We believe that Paul makes it clear that women are not to teach men, especially in a public setting. Other than that, women are called to the full scope of ministry. And that’s where you have that. Praise the Lord. We are all called to operate in the gifts of the Spirit, decently and in order. Men, women, combined.
That’s it for prophecy. I want you to know, guys, that as you ask for the Holy Spirit (Luke 11 says), the Father will give him to you. As you earnestly desire the gifts, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12, he will give them to you as he sovereignly wills. And so, this is not as big a mystery as we might like to make it. You ask God to baptize you with the Holy Spirit. And then you ask the Holy Spirit whatever gifts he sovereignly wills to give you, and then you spend your time in obedience to him, in walking in the Spirit, in intimate communion with the Spirit. It’s desiring to be used by the Spirit. And then, as you listen to his voice, he’ll begin to move you. And you will begin to operate in the gifts that he gives you.
People have tried to make this classroom training where you do step one, step two. It’s a relationship. So, as you develop the relationship, the Holy Spirit will begin to use you, and it will absolutely blow you away when you allow God to work through you. And again, the safeguards are there, and your leaders are watching you, so it won’t be too easy to stray too far.
Let’s move on to discerning of spirits. It’s not by coincidence that in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 10, that Paul lists discerning of spirits after prophecy.
1 Corinthians 12:10 (NKJV)
10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits,…
I believe that is there for a purpose because we need the gift of discerning of spirits when the gift of prophecy is in action.
So, what is the definition of discerning of spirits? “Discerning of spirits is when the Holy Spirit reveals to you the spirit behind a circumstance or an action.” It is the spirit behind what somebody is saying or doing. That is the definition of discerning of spirits. It is not a maturity issue where you say, “God, mature me. Give me discernment.” It’s a revelation of the spirit that’s behind an action. That is the discerning of spirits – when God supernaturally reveals the source of what’s going on to you.
It’s a glimpse beyond the natural into the supernatural. In the Old Testament, every single gift is used. In the Old Testament, the best picture of discerning spirits is in 2 Kings Chapter 6. Elisha and his servant are surrounded by the Syrian army. Elisha’s servant is terrified. Elisha, in 2 Kings 6:17, says Lord, open his eyes that he might see. The Lord lifts the veil between the natural and the supernatural. Elisha’s servant sees legions of angels ready to attack, ready to protect, standing guard at attention. We call these sentry angels. They are battle angels. They were always there, but Elisha prayed for the discerning of spirits for his servant. His servant saw beyond the natural, and he was not scared anymore.
In the New Testament, Jesus used this all the time. He was always speaking to the spirit side of what was going on. Not just the spiritual side, but the side of the spirit realm. In Acts 16, Paul does the same thing. Beginning in verse 16, there is a woman who begins to follow Paul and the Apostles around. And she is saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”
Is it right? Yes. It’s one hundred percent accurate. But if you read further, it says this in verse 18.
Acts 16:18 (NKJV)
18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.
Now, that’s odd, isn’t it? Someone who is saying, these are the servants of the Most High God who bring us salvation – Paul, given discerning of spirits, knows the spirit behind that comment and turns and casts that spirit out. This is a very powerful example of discerning of spirits.
Guys, discerning of spirits is a red flag. It’s a red flag where the Holy Spirit says to you, no matter what is being said, the spirit behind it is evil. Now, this is going to get a little hard to take. For the most part, we are conscious of only one of the two worlds we exist in. Chuck Missler describes the time/space continuum and from a physics, rocket science standpoint; he describes how two worlds can live together – not in a “Twilight Zone” way, but in a real “physics” way.
Well, we know that physical world well. But the spirit world exists in conjunction, along with, inside the physical world. And it’s not so unusual because that’s where the Holy Spirit works. The Holy Spirit works in the spiritual realm, in the spirit world.
We know that. We’ve seen that. I just thought of a story. My wife and I were driving back from Nevada when we were very first saved. When we were young, we would never pass a hitchhiker without picking them up or stop for a car broken down – zealous Christians as we were. And so, this car was broken down on the side of the road, and we pulled over. And as we pulled over, my wife heard the spirit side of what was going on and made it very, very clear that there was demonic activity behind us in that car, and we should speed away quickly, and that was a trap set for us by the enemy. And there’s no doubt in my mind it was. That is the glimpse into the spirit world.
The very first time I spoke behind the pulpit, in a different church, a long time ago, it seems, when I finished the message and Randy started doing worship, as I was giving the altar call, God let me see what was going on in the spirit realm. And I fell onto the stage. I sat down on the stage because, honestly, it scared me to death. But it was very, very powerful to see what was going on in church in the spirit realm.
Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
That’s the battle raging. It’s raging in between where we are. It’s raging in our midst. And so, in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11, let me deliver this bombshell of why discerning of spirits is so critically necessary for Christians.
2 Corinthians 11:12 (NKJV)
12 But what I do (Paul speaking), I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast.
13 For such are false apostles, (He’s talking about men putting themselves up to be teachers of God) deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
That is a very earthshaking statement. Because what Paul is saying is not that these ministers are demon-possessed. But that the spirit behind them is of the enemy. They are working for Christ but on the enemy’s payroll. Does that make sense? They are proclaiming the news of Jesus Christ, but the source is the enemy. That’s very sobering, isn’t it?
We see the exact same thing in the fabulous Matthew 16 example of Peter and his confession of Christ at Caesarea Philippi. When Jesus says, “Who do you say I am?” Peter says, “You Are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Moments later, what does Jesus say to him? “Get behind me, Satan.” Now, had Peter turned into Satan? No. Had Peter become possessed by a demon? No. What was Jesus talking about? The spirit behind what you’re saying, Peter, is Satan. The great Apostle, Peter. The spirit behind his actions was straight from the pit of hell.
And that is what Paul is referring to here in 2 Corinthians Chapter 11. The source, what’s going on behind these false apostles, is from the enemy. Guys, the enemy is at work in the Church, and we need the discerning of spirits to say, “Lord, give me a revelation into the source. What’s going on behind this?” Now, sometimes you don’t need a big revelation because I can just tell you that if somebody is destroying the Church, the spirit is not from God. If somebody is doing damage in the Church, if somebody is causing division, dissension, guys, that’s from hell. The spirit of that is Satan. We need to understand that because we pull it off as prayer requests or something idiotic. It’s from Satan.
The spirit behind that is Satan. The person could be full-on, going to Heaven. Peter was going to Heaven when Jesus called him Satan. But the spirit behind what is motivating them is the enemy. And the discerning of spirits is when we say, “You know what? I don’t think that’s from God. I think what you’re saying there is from the enemy.” I know this is heavy, but we need it. I can’t become a Dodger just because I put on a Dodger baseball cap. I can’t become a Christian just because I sit in Church. I can’t be serving the Lord just because I say I am. There’s a spirit behind our actions.
We need to use this gift on ourselves – just like Peter. Peter would have wished he had this gift so that when that thought came to him to say to Jesus, “Far be it from you to ever die,” he would have liked to have been able to say, “Wait a minute. That’s not from Heaven. That’s from the pit of hell. I can’t say that.”
We need this gift of discerning of spirits on our own weak, flesh-centered, selfish minds so that we can say, “Lord, is this from you, or is this from the enemy? Don’t allow me to bring destruction, don’t allow me to be moved by the enemy.”
I’m not talking about possession, don’t get me wrong. Peter wasn’t possessed. But the spirit of what he was saying wasn’t from God. That is a perfect example of discerning of spirits. It’s something we really need to watch for.
How does it operate? It’s an uneasiness. It’s not suspicion. There is no “gift of suspicion.” It’s an uneasiness. It’s like, “I don’t think so.” My wife has this gift way up high. A lot of women have this gift, actually. It’s just an uneasiness. I don’t feel right about that. Something is not right. It’s something you develop through an ongoing relationship with the Holy Spirit, where you ask, “Lord, give me discerning of spirits. What’s behind this? Is this really of God, or is it not?”
1 John 4:1 (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.
Do you see what he is saying there? He’s saying (not spirit like Casper, you have to get that out of your mind) spirit as in what is the force behind what this person is saying? The spirit of the person. That’s what John is saying here.
So, we need this discernment. We don’t always need it. There are times when it is very easy to say what a false prophet looks like; a false teacher looks like. All you need is the Word of God.
2 Peter 2:3 (NKJV)
(Speaking of false teachers) 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words;
If someone is exploiting you, they’re a false teacher, and if someone is asking you for money, they’re a false teacher – period.
1 Timothy 6:5 (NKJV)
(Speaking of false teachers) 5 (From which comes) useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.
Now, I want to give you a direct quote from Pastor Chuck out of Living Water regarding this verse. There is a key (meaning this verse) if anyone teaches you that godliness is a path to riches, Paul says you can consider him or her a false prophet. From such, withdraw yourself, he commands.
Anyone that teaches godliness is a path to riches… run from them fast! That is a false gospel. Rampant false gospel.
So, we don’t always need the gift of discerning of spirits. Usually, the clearest thing is money, but some things we can see from a mile away. But when we can’t see, that’s when we need to learn to listen to the Holy Spirit.
Let me just remind you that Jesus said, “it’s better that I go away. Because if I don’t go away, I can’t send the Helper, and when he comes, he will teach you, he will lead you into all righteousness.” It is the Holy Spirit who is primarily responsible for our day-to-day walk with Jesus. The gifts that he gives us are ones he gives us for that walk. He is available for us to be immersed in for the asking, Luke Chapter 11 says.
1 Corinthians 12 says desire spiritual gifts. And the Holy Spirit will give sovereignly as he wills so that the Body will fit together perfectly.
See, it’s not so mysterious. Mystery in the Bible means something that has not yet been revealed. And so, once it’s revealed, it’s not a mystery anymore. And the revelation of the Holy Spirit is this: ask for it. And then desire the spiritual gifts. Say, “God. Would you give me the gift of prophecy that I would be able to teach? That I would be able to speak forth your Word? That you would give me a word of edification, of exhortation, of comfort.” And we all need to say, “God, give me the discerning of spirits gift, I beg you. I need it.” That’s all it takes.
And then, as we go on in our communing with God, we develop those gifts.