What is the Spiritual Gift of Discernment?
Every believer has received grace gifts, so use them to serve one another as faithful stewards of the many-colored tapestry of God’s grace. For example, if you have a speaking gift, speak as though God were speaking his words through you. If you have the gift of serving, do it passionately with the strength God gives you, so that in everything God alone will be glorified through Jesus Christ. For to him belong the power and the glory forever throughout all ages! Amen. —1 Peter 4:10-11
Every believer has received abilities, administrations, enablements, functions, and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The beauty of this truth is that each gift and ability is given for the profit of all. You see, the Church is a living being, a body, which is to function in a cooperative manner as a coalition and network to benefit and profit each other and influence and disciple culture. I appreciate how this is clearly explained in Romans 12:4-5: “In the human body there are many parts and organs, each with a unique function. And so it is in the body of Christ. For though we are many, we’ve all been mingled into one body in Christ. This means that we are all vitally joined to one another, with each contributing to the others.” Peter Wagner defines a spiritual gift “as the special attribute given by the Holy Spirit to every member of the Body of Christ, according to God’s grace, for use within the context of the Body.”1
You and I are a part of a living body with Jesus as the head. As further discovered in Romans, “God’s marvelous grace imparts to each one of us varying gifts and ministries that are uniquely ours” (Rom. 12:6). How awesome is it that our heavenly Father has created a many-colored tapestry of grace gifts that we are to faithfully steward. While this article is not a teaching on all the spiritual gifts, abilities, and functions, I do believe it is important to understand that we are all uniquely created and graced to be a part of the living Body of Christ. It is also vitally important to understand and to know how God has gifted each of us individually so we can learn, grow, function in, and mature in the giftings and abilities He has bestowed to benefit the corporate body. But in this message, we are going to focus on thoroughly outlining a particular gift that is not often considered or taught—discernment. What is discernment? How is it defined according to the Word of God? How am I to grow and mature in this Holy Spirit-given ability? These questions, along with many other topics, will be clearly discussed and explained.
The Ability to Discern
A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have (1 Corinthians 12:7-11 NLT).
Discernment is a revelatory gift. It is one of the nine gifts given to us through the Holy Spirit. It is a gift that has rarely been taught. For those who function in discernment, many have walked for years without teaching and training, feeling alone in their revelation. There are those who have misused the gift. And there are many believers who shun or do not accept the discernment of those who clearly function in this ability because it is difficult to lead, make decisions, and understand times and seasons based off revelation in the spirit realm that is not visible or tangible in the natural.
The ability to discern is very real and biblical. Several times people have asked me, “Can’t you turn that off or shut that down?” The question does make me laugh because, for the most part, those who have posed this question are coming from a genuine place of trying to understand. However, others have asked because they truly don’t want to hear what is being discerned. All of that being said, the reality is—no, I can’t. To ask someone who functions in the ability to discern if they can stop discerning is like asking someone who has the gift of faith to quit believing. It is real and functioning and is one of the ways the Lord has knitted me and countless others into the tapestry of the living being of the Body of Christ.
The Greek word for discernment is diakrisis (see 1 Cor. 12:10). It means the ability to judge or decide, the ability to judge the genuineness of gifts that come from the Spirit and those that do not, the gift to differentiate the Word of God proclaimed by a true prophet or that of a satanic deceiver (Strong’s #G1253). In this 1 Corinthians passage it is also used to describe one of the gifts or enablements of the Spirit and refers to the supernatural power of spiritual insight to know what is from the Lord and to detect and expose demonic and false strategies, teachings, and activities. A more simplistic explanation is the differentiation between good and bad and the discerning of spirits.
I am sure some of you reading this can relate to these definitions. There have been numerous times I have heard someone speak and minister and I have absolutely no peace. Or I am watching a governmental leader, media anchor, businessman or woman, even ministry leader or fellow believer speak and everything inside of me is telling me what is being spoken is not truth but deception and a lie. Then there are those times I hear an individual speak and I know that everything that is being said is coming from truth, a genuine honesty, or a pure and true revelation of the Lord. It definitely takes time to mature in this area so as not to cross over into a critical or judgmental spirit that is not from the Lord or to try to force someone to fix an unrighteous area in their lives when they are not ready to do so. When I was younger in the Lord and new in discovering and operating in this gift, I had to go through many lessons on how to maneuver in wisdom with the revelation I was hearing and receiving.
A Personal Learning Lesson
As I listened to the prophet speak revelation to the group, I was extremely troubled. Many were listening, certain that what was being shared was a message from the Lord. As the ministry time progressed, I could not understand how those receiving were not able to recognize the subtly controlling, demeaning tone of the words being released and the power play occurring through this individual. I could see in the near future great division coming to the prayer group if this individual was allowed to continue down this vein of ministry. Suddenly, in the midst of his corporate ministry, this individual turned to me in front of the entire prayer team and called me out, “The Lord says you are still in fear! He has told me to ask you how long you will hold on to this demonic spirit in your life!” He then abruptly turned and proceeded to the next person in a demeaning, intimidating, and divisive manner. All the words being given were totally off and inaccurate. Not only did this occur publicly, but there were also many private divisive conversations about the leadership of this network.
This individual decided to become a very active member in this prayer ministry. It became apparent to me that they were aiming extreme jealousy at me and several others. I decided to try to remedy this situation. Against the wisdom of my husband, I met with this person in a sincere attempt to work through the jealousy and negative prophetic words that they continued to aim toward me. I thought to myself, “I am being overly judgmental and critical. Certainly, this person’s motives aren’t as bad and divisive as I feel they are.”
We planned a private meeting at a public location. I wanted to inquire if I had done something to cause this person to view me as fearful and as a threat. The response was, “You are jealous of me.”
I gently replied, “No, I am not jealous of you. But if I have given you that impression I apologize, and I ask you to forgive me.”
As soon as this statement came out of my mouth the reply was, “Thank you for sharing that. I receive it. But let’s not tell anyone about this conversation. I don’t want the leaders of this group to view you in a more negative light because they have confided in me that they already do. If you tell them you came to me, this might harm your relationship with them and your position in this group.” Instantly, red flags sounded the alarm in my spirit man and I knew this was not an acceptable response, but in my lack of experience I did not know how to maneuver this situation and I agreed to the terms.
Within 48 hours, this individual decided to share with the leaders and others in the prayer group that I had admitted my jealousy. As a result, I was thrown into a season of having to lay low and pray that this divisive spirit would be fully exposed. Soon, this person overplayed their hand, and exposure did come. I was invited into a leadership meeting and asked, “You have been very quiet about this person; what have you been discerning?” I shared what I had discerned through revelation of the Holy Spirit, and within a short amount of time this individual was brought into a meeting and offered help to receive freedom and training in order to move beyond these divisive ways. Unfortunately, the person chose not to and left the group. What proved heartbreaking was the number of other individuals hurt and falsely accused during this short time. It took many several months to recover from the chaos and confusion released.
The Wise in Heart Are Called Discerning
The one with a wise heart is called “discerning,” and speaking sweetly to others makes your teaching even more convincing (Proverbs 16:21).
I cannot express enough the need for wisdom when operating in discernment. In my personal testimony above, my discernment was correct, but my lack of wisdom in handling this situation set me up for a season that proved to be difficult. We will discuss maturing in this gift later, but our foundation here is an important truth in the Word: “Solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil” (Heb. 5:14 NASB). When discerning, wisdom and maturity to handle and share the revelation must be an intentional goal.
As also exemplified in the above testimony, the individual functioning in division was not using words of love and caring to bring wise instruction but was purposely acting in a divisive manner in order to be the one heard and in control. This is a clear example of manipulation in action—when someone is attempting to operate in prophecy and a gift of discernment but is either not gifted or is gifted but does not carry the depth of purity or maturity necessary to function in the wisdom of the Lord.
We Are Called to Carefully Evaluate Things
This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:13-16 NIV).
People often ask me, “Can all believers discern?” My answer to this question is yes. While some might not function in this ability on a regular basis, I do believe people can learn how to discern and can mature in it. The Greek word in this scripture for “discern” is anakrino. It means to examine, evaluate carefully, investigate, interrogate, determine, and judge (Strong’s #G350).
Paul is teaching here that all believers are being taught by the Spirit. As sons and daughters of God, we are no longer taught by the ways of the world but by the Holy Spirit. We are spiritual beings. As representatives of His Kingdom we must know and understand the vocabulary of His Kingdom. This also includes the realities and vocabulary of the Spirit. Just as an engineer, a teacher, a doctor goes to school and has to learn the vocabulary and ways of that trade, we too must learn the vocabulary and ways of the spirit realm. Hear me—the spirit realm is more real than the physical realm. The physical will pass away, but the spirit lives eternal. As believers, we have now entered the plane of the spiritual. We are now able to live in the realm of the Spirit. Therefore, we all must grow in this reality in our lives. The unsaved cannot understand or comprehend the things of the Spirit. However, you and I can and must.
One of the marks of growth and maturity in our spiritual lives is discernment. While it might look different for each of us, there is a divinely given ability to be able to examine, evaluate, and judge in order to see or penetrate beyond the surface of life and the natural world to see, perceive, and understand the way things truly are. You see the unsaved walk by sight and yet they really see nothing; they lack depth of sight because they are spiritually blind. Paul clearly states:
Beware that no one distracts you or intimidates you in their attempt to lead you away from Christ’s fullness by pretending to be full of wisdom when they’re filled with endless arguments of human logic. For they operate with humanistic and clouded judgments based on the mindset of this world system, and not the anointed truths of the Anointed One (Colossians 2:8).
The maturing believer grows in discernment and the ability to understand more and more the ways of God, the Word of God, and the realm of His Kingdom. Maturity positions us for victorious insights and solutions to issues that can only effectively be resolved through understanding and wisdom in the realm of the Spirit.
Salvaging the Good and Discarding the Useless
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:9-11 NIV).
Let’s investigate this scripture further. In this scripture, the Greek word for “discernment” is dokimazo. It means to approve or the testing process that salvages the good and discards the useless (Strong’s #G1381). It signifies the ability to regard something as genuine or worthy on the basis of testing. This is exactly what Solomon prayed and asked the Lord to bestow on him.
Most scholars believe that Solomon was twenty years old when he began his reign. His words express his feelings concerning his lack of experience in order to fulfill this new position. It seems evident that it was weighing heavily on him to be able to function effectively as the vice-regent of Yahweh. We read that the Lord came to him in a dream and gave the following instructions: “Ask for whatever you want me to give you” (1 Kings 3:5 NIV). As we continue to read, we learn what transpired.
“Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be” (1 Kings 3:7-12 NIV).
I can imagine the overwhelming weight of following in the footsteps of his father David. And even though he had reached manhood, he was still younger in years. We see the awesome exchange between him and the Lord and the promise of destiny released. Solomon asked for a discerning heart to govern the people. The Hebrew word for “discern” in this encounter is habin, also stated as byin. It means to understand, pay attention, examine, realize, hear, and pay attention to information; have specialized knowledge that is effectively implemented; teach, perceive, look closely, see with the eyes, cunning; and to have perception and judgment about what is seen (Strong’s #H995).
It is evident from his reign that wisdom and discernment were indeed bestowed on Solomon. He was able to build the temple and return the Ark of the Covenant to its divinely designed home. He built his palace, he attained great wealth, he traded with nations. His fame spread wide because of the gift of wisdom conferred on him by the Lord. However, Solomon did not listen to the Lord concerning his wives and concubines from the nations He had previously warned the children of Israel about. The Lord said that if they lay with them in sexual relations, they would succeed in turning their hearts away from the God of Israel and toward their gods. That is exactly what happened to Solomon in his later years. Therefore, when his son became king, the kingdom was torn out of his hands due to the sin of his father.
What is the lesson here? We must ask the Lord for increased wisdom and discernment, but also learn to walk in obedience with the Lord and allow His purifying work in our hearts so that we will not bow our knee to idols of our culture. Even the wisest are able to stumble and be lead astray by the desires of the flesh and the seduction of worldly and impure cultures.
Building an Altar That Broke Offense
As I travel and minister throughout the nations, there is a consistent prayer I voice to the Lord: “Lord, give me Your heart, discernment, wisdom, presence, message, and strategies for transformation.” For several years, I visited a particular city and region in Mississippi. We watched the Lord move miraculously in tangible breakthrough and victory leading to transformation. On this visit, the Lord spoke to us to go to a location where there had been hurt and offense from the white man to the First Nations people of our land.
As we stood in on-site intercession and worship, the Lord moved powerfully. We engaged in effective repentance and true intercession, healing a divide. As we were completing the time of intercession, all on the team felt we were to do a prophetic act on the land. It was an act of building an altar to the Lord, dedicating this land to Him. When the Lord moved powerfully on behalf of the children of Israel, altars of covenant and dedication were erected. Likewise, when it was mentioned we all agreed, including myself.
As we gathered stones to build the altar of covenant, I quickly felt a check and uneasiness in my spirit. I stopped and engaged the Holy Spirit. “Holy Spirit, why am I uneasy? Is there something we need to know?” I quickly heard Him and gained wisdom I would not have known in my own understanding. As I approached the team I shared, “The Lord just spoke to me. He said we are not to build an altar made of stone with our hands on this Native land. If we do, it will be another act of the white man enforcing our ways and spirituality on their sacred places. He revealed that we are to form a circle, kneel on our knees, and lock arms. We are to build a human altar of love and blessing for our Native brothers and sisters and their land.” As soon as I voiced His Kingdom strategy, the glory presence and anointing enveloped the entire group. We fell to our knees in a circle and locked arms, establishing a covenant of love, acceptance, and blessing. It was a weighty and powerful moment. When we shared it with leaders from the tribe, they were beyond blessed. From that act that night, the beautiful people of this First Nations tribe blessed me as one of them and said, “You are truly one of us.”
Friends, I had no understanding in the natural that this would bless my Native friends to the degree that it did. This is what occurs when we ask for an increase in discernment and wisdom. Our hearts become so in tune with Him that we are able to maneuver in ways beyond our own knowledge to see deliverance, healing, breakthrough, and victory.
Moving On
As we have discovered, discernment involves words that carry much weight and responsibility—words such as examine, test, evaluate carefully, to know if a message is true or false, to judge, to know if one is a true or false prophet, the differentiation of good and bad, to discern spirits in operation, and to salvage the good and throw out the useless. All of us as believers are to discern or approve what is good and what is useless. But we must be sure to do this with the heart of love. This is something I want to ensure from the beginning—to invite and welcome His heart of love so that as we learn to function in this ability we do not cross into critical judgment, which then becomes sin in our own lives. This is the point of caution. God is not giving us this gift so we can be critical or judgmental. He is not licensing us to glorify the demonic and get our focus out of balance. He is not bestowing this ability for us to use our discernment as a gossip session or as an invitation to think or operate in a rebellious way. Operating in this realm is to be done in love, wisdom, maturity, and revelation from the Holy Spirit. This gift is bestowed because it is a key to powerful breakthrough prayer and intercession, clear prophetic words, and victorious warfare for individuals, churches, cities, regions, and nations. The truth is, discernment is to be used in beautiful ways that bring victory over death and healing over wounds that have existed for hundreds of years. So let’s advance in our journey to understand how learning to hear and receive the voice of the Lord causes our discernment to mature and increase.
Note
1. C. Peter Wagner, Discover Your Spiritual Gifts (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2002), 15.