I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise
and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will

 
It's hard.  It's easy.

Discerning the spirits is one of the most difficult things that a disciple of the Lord must do . . . and yes, one must do it.  It is also a very simple thing, because the spirits are so easy to distinguish.

It's hard because it may tear relationships apart, whereas the love of God seeks only to bring us into one flock.

It's hard because it puts one under a fierce attack from the enemy.

It's hard because it is so very easy to make peace with the spirit of evil.

It's hard to sustain when peace is its alternative. 

It's hard to do when we stop to think of the possibility of error -- that we are the ones possessing the evil spirit.

It's particularly hard when others drag out certain misunderstood utterances of the Lord to chastise and rebuke anyone who has the temerity to judge, or discern the spirits.

These are only a few of the many forces that mitigate against being faithful in discerning the spirits -- but we must do it.  The fate of true brothers and sisters in the Lord may hang in the balance.  Let's look at some of the factors that relate to this, for (and I repeat) one must do it.


I. The Word Misunderstood

1. One of the most common of the Lord's Word brought to bear is this:

This applies only in the very limited case of judging a brother.  Even then, this is not a commandment not to judge, but an exhortation to judge with care.  Judge unjustly and one will be judged as unjust; judge justly, and one will be judged justly.  To judge a brother is excruciating, but there are times when it must be done and this utterance tells one to be very careful, and to be prepared to be judged should one judge unjustly.  It is very easy to know for a surety that the Lord does not forbid such judgment; just go on to hear this:

Now will anyone say that this commandment does not apply to a disciple?  Not me, for I see it as a dictum that applies to everyone, disciples not excluded -- else why preserve it in the gospels for our instruction?


2. We have confirmation of the assertions above by simply listening a bit further in Matthew 7, picking up where we left off above at Matthew 7:6:
He speaks not of dogs and swine, but of persons judged, or discerned, to be dogs and swine!  If there be any doubt, consider this response to the Canaanite (Gentile) Woman:

Matthew 7:6 is a commandment, and it is one that absolutely requires the discernment of spirits, whether one is of the 'dog' and 'swine' category.  One cannot apply Matthew 7:1 until one has applied Matthew 7:6.


3. The False Christs and False Prophets

Here is another of the Lord's exhortations that makes no sense whatsoever apart from the discernment of spirits. 

And yet another:

4. The Sheep and the Shepherds

It is essential that a disciple discern the spirits -- and it is inevitable that one will do so because it is of the nature of a true disciple.  listen:
It is my conclusion that the Word is grossly misunderstood by all who seek to make it say that a disciple of Jesus should not make judgments of others.  The contrary is the case -- a teaching given and repeatedly stated by the Lord.  It is a simple step to the further conclusion that all who would rebuke a disciple because he/she has made such a judgment are also judging and to be judged. 

II. The Evidence

Having established that a disciple, a lamb of the Little Flock, must inevitably practice discernment of the spirits -- even that such discernment is a commandment of the Lord -- it is appropriate that we go on to ask about the evidence.  There is no just judgment that ignores the evidence, and this must be the essence of any such activity.  The Lord does not leave us drifting with the wind, vacillating and uncertain.  He is very specific and we see this specificity here:

But what are the fruits?

The "fruits" consists of the "words" they (or we) speak from the fullness of the heart.  The Fourth Gospel with his metaphor of the sheep and the Good Shepherd confirms this, for it is by the voice that the sheep discern the spirits or distinguish between the stranger and the Good Shepherd.

The Christians often supply a different and contrary definition.  Here is one example from a commentary on Matthew 7:20.

By applying Matthew 7:21 to this comment, this commentator reveals that he has no true conception of the will of the Father.  The general conviction within Christendom is that deeds will determine our destinies on the Last Day; that is true, but only as the utterance or writing of words are also deeds.  What one actually does by the use of one's members other than the tongue is also evidence, but secondary evidence only.  Even those hypocrites who "say and do not" are thereby condemned by their words, not their deeds.  In their case, the actual deeds are brought to the fore, as Jesus brought forth the deeds of the Pharisees.  This explains the Lord's harsh invective against hypocrisy.  Soft words uttering hard evils are evidence of the very worst of evils!  Such is the deception of the strangers, but the sheep do not hear them.

As a bottom line, it is our words that are the fruits by which we are are and will be judged.  It is also the evidence by which we discern the spirit that is in another.


III. An Example From the Lord

How did Jesus discern an evil spirit?  There was an incident that can only be appreciated by recognizing it as such a discernment and as preserved for us that we might, among other things, understand thereby how to practice discernment. Jesus has presented the perfect example of discernment, so that we can see how to do it also.

I confirmed, above, the necessity of the judgment by which we make such a discernment.  We have shown that the evidence consists in the first instance of the words that issue from the mouth, because these come from the heart and are the telling indicators of the nature of the spirit that inhabits the heart.  With this in mind, proceed and read carefully these verses:

This sequence of events, jammed together by the evangelist, comprises one of the most remarkable and revealing passages in all the gospels.  Concentrate for the moment on how one event follows on another, though they are very different.  Let's examine them in detail.

First, Jesus asked his disciples, Who do men say the son of man to be?  This was a leading question, which led immediately to the next: But who do you say I am? Peter blurted out the correct answer: You are the Christ the son of the living God.

Yes, this was the correct answer.  From the mouth of Peter there has come fruit by which he was known in that instant, and the Spirit speaking from that mouth was none less than the Holy Spirit of the Father, for Jesus immediately responds:  Blessed are you, Simon Barjonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my father in heaven.  It is by Peter's fruits (words) that Jesus knows him as speaking truth revealed to him by none less than the Father.

Jesus has discerned that it is by the Father that Peter speaks and it is so wonderful and signal an event that the Lord immediately blesses Peter and makes of him the rock of the ekklesia that he will build.  It was by his fruits that he knew him.  Now, perhaps encouraged by this recognition by Peter that he is the Christ, Jesus speaks to them of what is about to happen to him.  He explains:

Peter responded without hesitation:


Jesus responds immediately with this shocking command:

What a fall!  The Lord has just discerned the Father speaking through Peter, and now he identifies him as Satan!  The microphone has changed hands!  If one looks carefully, one can again discern that it was because of his fruits that the Lord identified him with Satan, for it resulted directly from the words that proceeded from the mouth of Peter.

His fruits were his words, and it was by his fruits that the Lord discerned the spirit of Satan.  It is precisely as Jesus has told us:

These two transactions between the Lord and Peter, coming together in the gospels as a shocking contrast, serve as an example to all disciples of the discernment of spirits.  Concurrently they also teach all disciples the basis of that discernment.  It is first of all based on the fruits of the spirits, and these fruits are the words the spirits inspire in humans and speak through the mouths of humans.

If you read through this event again, you may perhaps ask why Peter's words identified him with Satan?  Why were his words, uttered in a moment of great concern for the welfare of his Teacher, the fruits of Satan?

Were I in that place at that time, I would surely have done the same as did the bumbling disciple.  Loving Jesus, Peter only asserted his hope that nothing bad would come to him.  Let's look at what Peter said once more.  Jesus had just confided in all of them that he must, among other things, go to Jerusalem and:

Then Peter replies:
Immediately Jesus said:


Those nine words (in translation) that gave evidence of a deep concern for the safety of his Lord had identified him, to Jesus, as Satan.  And look, Peter begins by invoking the name of God! 

I tell you, for years and years I struggled with these transactions.  Coming from a Southern Baptist background, most of my seminary indoctrination regarding this was concentrated on the seeming identification of Peter as the rock on which the church was to be built.  The Catholics identified it so, and it was mandatory for Baptist to find other meaning in it, and they did.  But that is irrelevant for our present purposes except to illustrate how church doctrine often distracts from the Truth or masks it entirely, as it did for me in this case.  But finally, outside the church for other reasons, I was free to ask a deeper question that had nagged me from the beginning.  How unjust!  Why did the Lord brand Peter as Satan, when he only exhibited care and concern for the safety and protection of his Master's life, and that in the name of God? 

The answer to this has to be in the nine words.  Now, examine them again:
 
To what do these nine words object?  The source of Peter's objection lay in the phrase, and be killed.  It is reasonable to accept this as an appropriate response of a concerned disciples, isn't it?  Peter just makes it known that he wants the Lord not to be abused and killed but to save his life.  Peter was yet attempting to do the very same when, in Gethsemane, the Lord again rebukes him for lashing out at the enemy with a sword.  With this in mind, how simple it is to drop down to the next verses and ascertain that the sharp rebuke was after all justified, for the Lord proceeded immediately to explain, to them and to us.


Peter's objection, appealing even to God (God forbid!), was a temptation to Jesus to save his life from the announced killing.  But, if he saves his life, he will lose it -- according to the Lord's explanation here -- which is a statement that we have labeled The Great Principle, comparable to The Great Commandment.  It is the Father's will that Jesus, a man on the earth, face death and refuse to save his life against all temptations, as an example of the Great Principle in action.  Such an exemplary death was the completion of all his work on the earth, who had come down from heaven to do the Father's will on the earth as it is done in heaven.  It would be the defeat of Satan who was very active at the time, doing everything in his power to cause Jesus to save his life and claim the victory for himself. 

Therefore it was not Peter that Jesus rebuked.  It was Satan speaking through Peter, and thus Jesus recognized and discerned the spirit of Satan and directly rebuked, not Peter, but Satan!

The full significance of this temptation to save his life can only be appreciated when we further realize that the Great Principle is a universal principle.  That is what makes of the death of Jesus an example and not a substitute.  Look at it again, now, and see if you can find any other meaning in it, with its exhortation to Whoever:

Jesus discerned the spirit of evil -- of Satan -- as that spirit tempting him, urging him or encouraging him to save his life.  Now, since the Great Principle is a universal principle, it applies to Jesus, to us and to all.  Therefore, when our hour has come, as it had come for Jesus, we discern and identify the spirit of Satan in the voices tempting, urging and encouraging us to save our lives.


Summarizing, we have a situation here in the experience of the individual, Jesus, in which:

These, at the very least, are the conditions that prevailed in this example of the Lord's discernment of the spirits.



IV. A Current Application

A new and different voice recently appeared on the Voice of Jesus Forum.  There were actually two mutually supportive voices, the one that of a man, the other was the voice of a web site he is promoting where there is a document called "The Journey Guide."  The man highly recommended this document.  On reading it, I quickly discovered it to be one of the most effusive outpourings of the praise and love of life in this world that I have encountered.  Here is an example of what one hears (Note: "he" and "§*%+'" refer to Jesus):

Jesus informed his disciples that he was about to be killed -- to die.  Peter raised the loudest cry:
Our Lord immediately discerned that voice as the voice of Satan, and rebuked it accordingly.  Why? Because it was tempting him to save his life.

The self styled "Journey Guide" does the same for every one who reads it.  It tempts one to try to save his life in this world forever.  It loves and lauds the life of this world and makes fantastic claims of its endless possibilities.  It explains Jesus' death as substitutionary, saying that he died so that we wouldn't have to. It carefully avoids the obvious: If never dying were the doctrine of Jesus, the only way for him to verify it is for him to never die.  Then it tells us that the apostles died only because "they didn't believe they wouldn't."

It claims that this is a fuller revelation of the message of Jesus.  But compare with what Jesus says:

It is a no brainer.  The voice of the Journey Guide, coming to us in the guise of a developed doctrine of Christ and in his name, is the voice of Satan.  Anyone who knows Jesus can discern this for themselves.  It doesn't require long investigation and cogitation.  Jesus rebuked Satan immediately when Peter spoke -- and we know immediately on reading the Journey Guide that it is the voice of Satan for it is the same voice.  Concerning death and dying, we can sum its message in the very words of Satan speaking through Peter:

The one who brought this Journey Guide before us on the Forum  may well have been in the place of Peter -- a loyal disciple who, in a zealous but misguided moment, praised the voice that promises life even as it kills.  For that reason and in that hope I continued to remonstrate with him for a while, but he is obdurate.  May our Lord have mercy.


Conclusion

Our Lord has exhorted us to beware of false prophets and false Christs who come in his name seeking to lead astray even the chosen ones.  There are many of them.  The discernment of spirits is therefore a prime defensive responsibility for every disciple for, as we learn from the Peter episode, even those closes to the Lord are subject to deception so as to become spokespersons for Satan.  By examining that episode with Peter, we have seen these conditions that prevailed and by which we can judge similar incidents in our experience when we suspect we may be hearing the voice of Satan.  Listing them again, they are:

These are the prime conditions for discernment of the voice of Satan; In the case of the Journey Guide,
The prime conditions are all there. The Spirit of the Lord speaks of the hatred of life in this world, of losing it for the sake of eternal life; the sprit that is of Satan speakes of saving life in this world for it's own sake.  It is the spirit that loves life in the flesh and seeks to save it.

Do not misunderstand.  All of these conditions do not apply in most cases where we are exposed to people urging on us the love and saving of life. The spirit of Satan is seldom speaking because it is usually the case that a human being is simply voicing a human point of view.  They are only doing what comes naturally to men.  Satan knows they are securely his, and seldom bothers to hand them the microphone.  We have no warrant to discern spirits in such cases, but only to testify, in some helpful way, to the truth concerning their condition who love the life that is in this world:

Be on guard!