Discernment is a Necessity for all Christians
This article is republished from the author’s blog by permission.
In the apostle John’s first letter to believers in Christ, he speaks plainly about the false teaching and false prophets of his day. His warnings present believers with a calling back to the fundamental principles and doctrines of the faith. Throughout the first three chapters, John addresses the biblical views of Christ, sin, faith, and obedience—all enveloped by love. The envelopment looks like this in chapter four,
Beloved, let us love one another for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
(1 John 4:7-11)
With the word “love” and its derivatives written thirteen times in just five verses, the Holy Spirit is capturing our attention through John’s repetition. How are we going to define “love” here? The passage above is informing our minds in a Christ-centered context, where defining “love” through the world’s lens will show us a counterfeit. This brings us to the opening six verses in chapter four of John’s letter, where he identifies an often-overlooked spiritual discipline. John discusses the necessity of practicing discernment.
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. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
(1 John 4:1-6)
Defining Discernment
This time the word “spirit” is repeated seven times to account for the influences which govern a person. Those influences could be powers, emotions, experiences, etc. As we take both passages together, the apostle John is building a framework for believers to separate the influences of God (“spirit of truth”) from the influences of the world (“spirit of error”). This framework is for building spiritual discernment. According to Webster’s Dictionary (1828 edition), “discernment” is “the power or faculty of the mind, by which it distinguishes one thing from another, as truth from falsehood…[with] acuteness of judgment.”
When we separate the spirit of truth from the spirit of error, this is called morality, or knowing right from wrong. How is it possible for us to naturally know morality? Our source for this distinction comes from God, by the Spirit whom He has given us (1 John 3:24). In his classical work, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis builds the case for God as the Moral Lawgiver. He writes, “You find out more about God from the Moral Law than from the universe in general just as you find out more about a man by listening to his conversation than by looking at a house he has built”2
Going further, Charles Spurgeon defined discernment as “not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong; rather it is telling the difference between right and almost right” (emphasis mine). This is acuteness of judgement. Yet, it doesn’t mean we go around thinking everyone and every truth claim is suspect. At the same time, we should not just blindly believe everything we hear, read, and see.
Beloved, Test the Spirits
Beliefs and claims should be tested… why? The apostle John tells us in verse one… “because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). The apostle Paul also encourages testing, as he wrote to the believers in Thessalonica, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast to what I good. Abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22). In both cases, believers do not carry a disposition of skepticism, but rather a Berean mindset of “trust but verify.” In Acts 17:11, we read that when Paul and Silas entered Berea, they found the Jews in the synagogue to be noble-minded in the way they exercised discernment. They “received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”
In one verse we are told two essentials: Believers with strong discernment anchor their testing to the Word of God, and they search the Scriptures daily as a spiritual discipline.
Test the Experiences
Similar to John’s exhortation to test the spirits, remember that “spirits” can be defined as “experiences.” Now, experiences are fine, and they can bolster our Christian faith at times (think about your own testimony). But they can also be a subjective measurement of authenticity. Believers can get into trouble by exalting their experiences above the anchoring point of truth (God’s Word). Let us draw from the wisdom of the Holy Spirit as He records the misplaced wisdom of King Solomon as the sun sets on his reign.
In Ecclesiastes, we notice that Solomon’s attempts to live a fruitful life apart from God ends in fruitless pursuits of personal satisfaction. This is “vanity” and “grasping for the wind.” He tries to unlock life’s mysteries through many means including philosophies (chapter 1), pleasures and materialism (chapter 2), time and labor (chapter 3), friendship and popularity (chapter 4).
Believers with strong discernment anchor their testing to the Word of God, and they search the Scriptures daily as a spiritual discipline.
Solomon turns to religion in chapter 5. This turning includes sound advice, but it is mixed with man-centered results. In verses 3 and 7, Solomon speaks of “dreams” as experiences. He rightly warns, “For a dream [experience] comes through much activity, And a fool’s voice is known by his many words,” and “For in the multitude of dreams [experiences] and many words there is also vanity. But fear God” (Ecclesiastes 5:3, 7). Even in Solomon’s self-centered pursuit, the Holy Spirit records wise words for us to understand our own lived experiences appropriately. It is better to fear God, to be anchored to His Word, over and above trying to convince someone that “The Lord told me.” Understandably, this is difficult ground to travail when it comes to hearing from the Lord. However, we have another example, this one in the New Testament, of someone submitting his lived experience to the “more sure” Word of God (2 Peter 1:19, NASB1995).
Peter Discerns the Transfiguration
The Gospel of Matthew records Jesus’s transfiguration on the mountain with descriptions of radiance and witnesses present to capture the event. “Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain… His face shone like the sun and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matthew 17:1-2).
After we read about the added witnesses of Moses and Elijah, Peter speaks up about how it is beneficial that they are all present and they should build tabernacles for everyone. During his untimely assertion, God speaks and says, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matthew 17:5). This interaction reminds us of Solomon’s earlier words in Ecclesiastes about experiences, many words, and fearing God.
Peter genuinely saw the transfiguration of Jesus, and to keep his experience and “many words” in check, God Himself anchored Peter with the imperative, “Hear Him!” We read in Matthew 17:6, “And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.” They feared God, and Jesus lifted their eyes.
Notice the progression in Peter’s discernment between Matthew 17 and 2 Peter 1. This fully repentant and restored servant of Christ describes his previous experience in this way:
For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
(2 Peter 1:16-21)
Instead of exalting his glorious experience, Peter’s recollection of Jesus’s transfiguration is tethered to the “prophetic word confirmed.” He does not downplay the validity of lived experiences, but Peter adds that we ought to heed (trust) God’s Word more than our five senses. He ends this section by speaking about hermeneutics, or understanding Scripture through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, not our own interpretation. This is a key principle and parallel wisdom for connecting the apostle John’s words in 1 John 4. Remember that many false prophets have gone out into the world, and our proper examination of their prophecies, claims, worldviews, etc. (“spirits”), is to filter everything through the sieve of God’s Word and be anchored by the Spirit whom He has given us (1 John 3:24). That is how Christians build a strong discernment framework.
Discernment to Advance the Gospel
The truth is: Every believer already has discernment, just like every believer is an apologist (a defender and commender of the the faith – 1 Peter 3:15). You might be thinking, With “acuteness of judgment,” does this mean I have to know how to figure out every societal issue? Understand all the nuanced language of the culture? Scrutinize everything I see and hear on the news, social media, or the latest podcast?
The good news is: No, you do not need to figure out all of those things comprehensibly and exhaustively. The task is too daunting, and how much discernment is too much anyway? Is there such a thing as too much acuteness? As believers, we are sanctified by the Word of God (John 17:17), so we are supposed to grow…primarily in our knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18), our walk with Him (Colossians 2:7-9), and our fellowship with others (Acts 2:42; Hebrews 10:25). The apostle Paul was well-read in cultural apologetics, as evidenced by his time spent in Athens (Acts 17:16-34), but he used his opportunity to advance the good news of Jesus Christ. He focused on the genuine article (God’s Word) which helped him identify idols and counterfeits elsewhere.
Since we already have discernment, we should grow in practicing it personally and publicly. One of the ways we can love God and neighbor is through building up our minds (Luke 10:27; 1 Peter 1:13). Before we conclude with more personal inventory applications, let us briefly flex our discernment muscles up to this point.
Discernment is Never Neutral
If we zoom out to the worldview level first, take what you already know about Secularism. Within its tenets, this system boasts neutrality over religious matters. However, this is a myth. It is a “spirit,” and it is our task as discerning Christians to examine which kind of spirit camp Secularism lands in. This worldview has affected every institution that we have familiarized ourselves with (education, government, entertainment, religion). Keep in mind that every truth claim comes from a set of beliefs inside of a worldview, so logically, neutrality is not possible. So then, Secularism either advances godly claims and biblical principles, or it advances worldly, man-centered claims coming from another spirit. If neutrality is not possible as you examine Secularism (and other worldviews), then discernment is never neutral.
If neutrality is not possible, then discernment is never neutral.
Zooming in, let us talk about the mainstream news media. What is the purpose of the mainstream or establishment news media? To report the latest news and to do it factually… at least that is what we have been led to believe. Perhaps we can test our preoccupation with the latest news cycle:
Think about some of the headlines and current events we gathered from the media this week. It is likely we do not remember much (or anything) about those events because they are constantly cycling (every 24 hours, even every 24 minutes). The next breaking news story is right around the corner. This cycling makes anchoring quite difficult.
Out of the events we remember, were there any stories that we could respond to by taking some form of immediate action? How about any action at all? Is this story giving me an opportunity to love my neighbor? That’s the idea. In a recent interview, Walter Kirn mentioned that the function of the establishment media is not for us to be informed and responsive; it is designed to manipulate our opinion and govern our emotions. This attempt at governance seems similarly defined as a “spirit” we would do well to test. Staying informed is good and beneficial, even when action is not required. Yet, the better element is to grow in wisdom and discernment.
Personal Inventory Examination
So how can we practically grow in our discernment, separating truth from the “spirits” and influences of the world’s system? I am convinced that practicing strong discernment as a believer in Christ springs from a framework of Reading, Praying, Relying, and Restraining.
- Reading … Like the apostle Paul, the more time we spend with the genuine article, the easier it will be to spot a counterfeit. The more time we spend in God’s Word by reading, studying, memorizing, and meditating, the stronger our discernment will grow. Preferably, reading should be done without distractions, and we have the story of Mary compared with Martha in Luke 10:38-42 as our guide. Spending undistracted time with the Lord is our strong foundation and framework for knowing Truth.
- Praying … This spiritual discipline is essential for sanctification. Prayer allows us to be still and know the Lord (Psalm 46:10), to spend time communing with Him, and to align our will with His. Make prayer a daily habit.
- Relying … Submission and dependence on the Holy Spirit is one of the main umbrellas over all the passages discussed above. He has been given to us (1 John 3:24); Jesus said it is to our advantage that we have the Spirit (John 16:7-14); and His ministry is to testify about Christ (John 15:26). He is our main anchoring point.
- Restraining … You still might be thinking, But if I don’t keep up with the latest information, won’t I be missing out? Won’t I be behind? I do not believe so. Take Adam and Eve for example, all the way back to the beginning in Genesis. Our first parents had incredible opportunities with knowledge from above. They had perfect fellowship with God. They had everything they needed. But there was something they did not know: That they already knew enough. The serpent deceived them with the fruit that was “desirable to make one wise,” a form of super-wisdom of the flesh (Genesis 3:6). Adam and Eve did not need that; their discernment had not remained anchored to the Lord. Comparatively, Solomon’s discernment depreciated for the same reason. In 1 Kings 11:4 we read, “For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David.” Being disciplined to restrain ourselves from what Michael Foster calls, “the temptation of unnecessary knowledge,” is critical for biblical sufficiency.
God’s Word is sufficient or “enough” for life and godliness through our knowledge of Christ. Pursue Him, and by the Spirit He has given us, He will supply our discernment needs.
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