Discerning of spirits

For several weeks now the Holy Spirit has been prompting me with thoughts regarding the “discernment of spirits”. I am convinced that being a successful warrior in Christ requires the ability to analyze spiritual activity and know how to act accordingly. Between the ascension of Jesus into heaven, which took place shortly after His resurrection from the dead, and His triumphant return, which will mark the end of this present age, we - meaning He and His followers, are at war.

To be more correct I should say that the war between the spirits of heaven and those of hell began even before the opening of the Book of Genesis. This war between the spirits is seen in the purpose of God creating man, and God destroying man in the flood except for Noah who walked with God (and his sons), God calling Abraham, God choosing the nation of Israel, and God anointing Jesus as the Messiah-Savior-Lord who has all authority in heaven and in earth, and God choosing those who follow Jesus to act in earth as His personal liaison.

We are at war, and this war of spirits will continue until all enemies and things contrary to the express nature of God and heaven are brought under the feet of Jesus, just as it so clearly says in 1st Corinthians 15:24-28, “Then will come the end, when He will deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; WHEN HE WILL HAVE PUT DOWN ALL OPPOSING RULE AND ALL AUTHORITY AND POWER. FOR HE MUST REIGN UNTIL HE HAS PUT ALL ENEMIES UNDER HIS FEET. The final enemy to be completely annihilated will be death itself. For He has put all things under His feet. But when He says, ‘All things are put under Him’ it is manifest that He is excepted, which put all things under Him. And when all things have been subdued unto Him, then will the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.”

That is an incredibly powerful scripture thought, but the apostle Paul is merely echoing the prophet Daniel when he prophesied of Jesus, “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and His kingdom that which will not be destroyed…And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, will be given to the people of he saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions will serve and obey Him”, (Daniel 7:13-14, 27).

It has been, and always will be about God’s kingdom in the earth. Jesus came preaching and demonstrating the kingdom of God and basically saying, “You can relax now. The new kingdom has arrived. This is what all of the prior messages from God to man have been about.” But in declaring the invasion of God’s kingdom in earth Jesus also demonstrated to us the power of His reign in contrast to that of the spirits of hell.

Please hear me carefully on what I am about to say. If we do not “get” this point, then we do not “get” the point of God’s eternal purpose in the universe, and we do not “get” God’s eternal purpose in mankind, and we do not “get” the point of God’s eternal purpose in Jesus and we do not even begin to “get” the entire point of Christianity and the point of being “born again” and living a life under the constant influence of the HOLY SPIRIT of God. This is because God’s eternal purpose, His only begotten Son and Supreme Lord of all things Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit immersed life, which is to be lived by all followers of Jesus, has very little to do with things AS THEY ARE SEEN in the natural realm but everything to do with things as they known to be IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM.

Everything in life is spirit and it is the delight of the spiritual enemies of mankind’s salvation to take our eyes off of this fact. DARK FORCES HOPE WE WILL JUST ACCEPT CIRCUMSTANCE AS IT IS and let them continue to feed on the souls of men, like leeches and parasites sucking the life from their host. There is nothing that passes through the visible world that is not first the byproduct of the spiritual world. As Paul the apostle taught the Corinthians (2nd Corinthians 4:17-18), “For our light affliction, which lasts only a moment, works for us a far more excessive and eternal weight of glory; WHILE WE LOOK NOT ON THE THINGS WHICH ARE SEEN: BUT ON THE THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SEEN: for the things we see ARE MERELY TEMPORARY (and passing); but THE THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SEEN ARE ETERNAL.”

And why was Paul’s focus on the unseen? Because he perceived that in the unseen and spiritual realm true reality exists. This is why, when writing to the Jesus followers living in Ephesus, he said, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high (supernatural) places”, (Ephesians 6:12). Paul recognized that until every enemy of Christ is brought into submission to Him, we are in a conflict of supernatural warfare. But the conflict is not between flesh and blood but between Spirit and spirits, and the power to change what is seen in this temporary realm lies in the enforcement of the power of the ASCENDED LORD, JESUS against the wicked spirits who work their works against men and women. Here is what we need to understand: ALTER THE SPIRIT OF A THING AND YOU ALTER THE SUBSEQUENT REALITY OF A THING.

Whatever is not of Christ is clearly anti-Christ, and this is why the warriors of Christ must learn to keenly exercise discernment of spirits. The word Christ (meaning the “ANOINTED ONE”) is a term rich in association with the Holy Spirit. The power that Jesus demonstrated as a flesh and blood man, warring against spiritual evil under the guidance of His Father, was because He was ANNOINTED with the HOLY SPIRIT. Here is what Jesus said of Himself as he read from the writings of the prophet Isaiah about Him, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has ANOINTED ME to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.’…And He began to say to them, ‘This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears’…” (Luke 4:18-21).

Peter was led by the Holy Spirit to visit Cornelius house and preach the gospel “officially” to the Gentiles. In his message to them he said, “The word which God sent to Israel, preaching peace (harmonization) by Jesus Christ - He is Lord of all: That word I say, you know, which was openly proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; HOW GOD ANNOINTED JESUS OF NAZARETH WITH THE HOLY GHOST AND POWER: Who went about doing good, AND HEALING ALL THAT WERE OPRESSED OF THE DEVIL; FOR GOD WAS WITH HIM”, (Acts 10:36-38).

In other words, the ANNOINTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT upon Jesus put Him on a collision course with spirits of the devil and the result was, the power of the Holy Spirit demolished the influence and bondage of the evil spirits, working their destruction on people’s lives. What this scripture does is further illustrate that the conflict is between spirits, the Holy and the evil, and if you alter the spirit of a thing you alter all subsequent reality, which is precisely what Jesus did. Whenever Jesus, the Anointed One of God, came on the scene there was a collision between the two spiritual worlds and Jesus, of course, prevailed because there is none greater than God.

John the apostle taught us that it is in the power of the believer to examine spirit forces and determine whether or not they are from God. He said, “Beloved, do not give credibility to every spirit, but examine the spirits to determine whether they are of God: because many false spiritual oracles are gone out into the world”, (1st John 4:1). John goes on to state that the measuring stick of spirit activity is Jesus Christ. There is no other measuring stick, which God has ordained.

What we see in Jesus is the purity of the Holy Spirit in action. What we see in Jesus is the fullness of God in a bodily form, bringing the present reality of what is true in heaven, into the changeable dimension of earth. Paul in Colossians 2:8-10 says, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and empty deceits, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, AND NOT AFTER CHRIST. FOR IN HIM DWELLS ALL THE FULNESS OF THE GODHEAD BODILY. And YOU ARE COMPLETE IN HIM, which is THE HEAD OF ALL PRINCIPALITY AND POWER.”

So Jesus is the standard of measure for all we encounter. If what we encounter meets the Jesus measure, we can trust it is of God. On the other hand, if upon examination we find it does not meet the witness of the life of Jesus, the thing is NOT OF GOD and we can assume another spirit is at work behind the scenes. Whenever such a situation is encountered then, it is the prerogative of the Holy Spirit anointed follower of Jesus to TAKE CONTROL of the situation, ENGAGE IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE against the unclean spirit(s) in the name and authorization of the ASCENDED LORD, JESUS. As Jesus co-warriors we may or even must conduct warfare against them until the very spirit of the situation is altered from one of evil and unclean to that which is purely and completely of the Lord, Jesus.

It is a clash of kingdoms. It is a clash of spirits. The one being the goodness of the Holy Spirit of God radiating forth all of the full blessings of heaven, and the other being the foul and death enhancing spirits of the devil, binding, destroying and doing the antithesis to creation of all that is of heaven. Jesus is the thesis and all else is the antithesis.

Whatever we find that does NOT reflect the kingdom of heaven is fair game for warfare! Spiritual warfare by us is an attack with the intent of bruising, spoiling and subjugation of an unclean spirit under the feet of Jesus. And Jesus is waiting still in heaven to rejoin us until all enemies are under this subjugation including finally death itself. Just prior to Jesus returning there will be a set of His co-warriors that simple become immortals, whose bodies change from corruptible to incorruptible. They will look death itself in the eye and will prevail against it and receive new supernatural bodies from God. (Extra! Extra! Read about it in 1st Corinthians 15:12-58).

Whatever is not a reflection of good is a reflection of evil. Whatever is not a reflection of what we would expect if Jesus were present in the very moment is a reflection of an anti-Christ spirit. And regarding this whole dynamic Jesus said, “You’re either FOR Me or AGAINST Me.” So, whatever is not a reflection OF the Spirit of Jesus is a reflection CONTRARY to and AGAINST it. It needs to be made to submit under the power of Jesus and crushed under His feet.

This is the thing John said about the “trying of the spirits”. It centers on the reality of what would be true if Jesus were actually present right here in the moment with you. The fact is that Jesus has risen from the dead and is seated on the throne of the universe and has poured out the Holy Spirit on those who surrender to Him and by that HE IS PRESENT WHEREVER ONE OF HIS SURRENDERED CO-WARRIORS IS PRESENT. Listen again to the apostle John, “Beloved believe not every spirit but examine the spirits whether they are of God: because many false spiritual oracles are gone out into the world. By this will you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses (agrees with, speaks in harmony with) that Jesus Christ IS (present tense, in the moment) come in the flesh IS OF GOD: And every spirit that does not confess (agree with, speak in harmony with) that Jesus Christ IS (present tense, in the moment) come in the flesh is NOT OF GOD: and this is that spirit of anti-Christ, which you have heard would come and even now is already in the world” (1st John 4:1-4).

In a light glimpse and foundational understanding, this is what the “discernment of spirits” is all about. There is more to it and some of Jesus co-warriors become highly proficient at the use of this weapon, being very helpful to the Body of Christ. But the bottom line is the Holy Spirit works within those who are aware and listening to Him in order to draw comparisons between what we are witnessing in earthly situations and what we know to be the truth from the view of Christ as He sits upon the throne of heaven itself, waiting there until ALL OF SPIRITUAL DISORDER AND DISCORD is brought under the order of HIS THRONE of absolute love, forgiveness, healing and blessing.

Let me try and close this down with this thought from the apostle Paul to Jesus followers at Ephesus, “For this very reason, after I heard of your faith in the LORD JESUS, and love to all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may KNOW THE HOPE OF HIS CALLING, and what the RICHES OF THE GLORY OF HIS INHERITANCE IN THE SAINTS, And what is the EXCESSIVE GREATNESS OF HIS POWER TO US who believe, according to the working of HIS MIGHTY POWER, which He wrought in Christ when He RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, AND SET HIM AT HIS OWN RIGHT HAND IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES, FAR ABOVE ALL PRINCIPALITY AND POWER AND MIGHT AND DOMINION, AND EVERY NAME THAT IS NAMED, NOT ONLY IN THIS WORLD BUT ALSO IN THAT WHICH IS TO COME: And has put ALL THINGS UNDER HIS FEET, and gave Him to BE THE HEAD OVER ALL THINGS TO THE CHURCH, WHICH IS HIS BODY, THE FULNESS OF HIM THAT FILLS ALL IN ALL”, (Ephesians 1:15-23).

It is all about spiritual warfare and will be until every disorder of spirit is brought under the heavenly goodness of the order of Jesus. Every warrior of Jesus needs to enmesh themselves in the continual flow of the Holy Spirit and examine the activity of spirit around him or hers self, whether it be events within your own life or events in others. Behind these events is spirit of some sort or another. Whatever events do not match what we know to be true in heaven, we may go to war against in the spiritual realm until the offending spirit of the thing is altered to reflect the Holy Spirit and the throne of Jesus.

Paul taught the Corinthians to become spiritually minded about all of the events of life. He said in 1st Corinthians 2:9-16, “But as it is written, ‘Eye has not seen, not ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us BY HIS SPIRIT: for the Spirit searches all things, yes, even the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of man, save the spirit of man that is in him? Even so the things of God knows no man, but the Spirit of God certainly knows them. Now we have received, not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are FREELY GIVEN TO US OF GOD. Which things we speak, not in the words which mans wisdom teaches, but which the HOLY GHOST teaches; COMPARING SPIRITUAL THINGS WITH SPIRITUAL. But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him: neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual JUDGES (tries, weighs and examines) ALL THINGS yet he himself is judged of no man. For who has known the MIND OF THE LORD, that he may instruct (literally means to “be knit together or united with”) Him? BUT WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST.”

Wow! I think my hair (or what’s left of it) is on fire.

Randy