16.What is discerning of spirits? .

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A supernatural ability given to some members of the Body of Christ so they may be able to recognize, to distinguish, to discriminate among the various spirits present in the assembly of saints or affecting a fellow Christian.

The Christian churches labor in a mixture of holy and deluding spirits. We experience the effects of these spirits as pleasant and helpful or painful and destructive. Yet, we cannot "see" well enough into the spirit realm to cope satisfactorily with the invisible personalities.

An excellent illustration of the need for discerning of spirits is found in the Book of Acts:

And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: the same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation (Acts 16:16,17).

Notice what the slave-girl was proclaiming: "These men are the servants of the most high God, that show to us the way of salvation."

She spoke the truth. Paul, Silas and Timothy indeed were the servants of the most high God. The men were showing the way of salvation. However, Paul commanded the spirit of divination to come out of her.

How many churches of today would be able to discern a spirit as being evil if it were announcing the truth?

The Christian churches, although preaching some of the truth of the Gospel, are filled to overflowing with unclean spirits of every sort imaginable: lust, self-seeking, vaunting, jealousy, hatred, suspicion, criticism, factionalism, backbiting, malice, whispering, sectarianism, profanity, rage, the love of money, of prestige, of status, the seeking of places of importance, lying, stealing, cheating, adultery, fear, unbelief, compromise, the love of entertainment, gluttony, and every other wicked, stubborn, rebellious spirit destined for the Lake of Fire.

The saint who does not know this to be true has had little experience with the Christian churches, and certainly has not been gifted with the ability to discern spirits.

Now is the day in which judgment is being restored to the household of faith. We increasingly are able to identify the spirits that for so long have inhabited the assemblies of the saints and have led the believers into deception of various types.

The Holy Spirit can give us the ability to distinguish between spirits that are from God and spirits that are from Satan and from our fallen adamic nature.

We may think of the discerning of spirits as the "nose" of the Body of Christ.