“Spiritual Discernment”
Throughout this month I have been sharing the words of Jesus found in John 14:26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. Jesus is assuring His followers they would not be left as orphans, they would be given the Holy Spirit, the very power of God Almighty. The Spirit living in each of God’s children confirms salvation and eternal life. The Spirit is teaching us God’s truth and guiding us as we live today.
But in order for the Spirit to guide us we must be willing to follow. Unfortunately we have an enemy, his job; kill, steal and destroy. He will do this through lies, deception and distractions. I will admit at times it feels like the enemy’s lies are louder than God’s truth so how do we navigate? In today’s scripture Paul gives us some instructions.
1 Corinthians 2:12-13
And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. 13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.
Before we dive into this scripture please let me give you a little background on the church at Corinth. The church is made up of mostly Gentiles. This is important to understand because before Christ these folks were chasing the world. The city of Corinth was a major seaport for commerce therefore it was wealthy. It was also full of idolatry and immorality. The Apostle Paul established this church but unfortunately it remained very connected to the world. The letter which we are reading was written to the church to address some of the problems. I believe the church today mirrors a lot of the same problems we see in the church at Corinth. We have allowed the wisdom of man to establish the church rather than the wisdom of God.
The Apostle Paul reminds the people, “we have received God’s Spirit!” He even adds “not the world’s spirit.” He wants the readers (including us) to understand that there is a difference between the two. The Spirit allows us to know ALL the wonderful things God has freely given us. These words are very similar to the words of Jesus to His disciples. The Spirit is given to teach us all things that Christ said. Paul reminds his audience the words he speaks come from the Spirit and not human wisdom. Again pointing out there is a difference between God’s wisdom and human wisdom. The Spirit will ALWAYS explain spiritual truths. When we walk in God’s Spirit we will be given spiritual wisdom.
I know this is going a little long but hang in there. This truth and principle is important and powerful. Many of you reading this have come to me for council or should I say an answer. You will give me a scenario and you will want me to tell you what to do. Many times my answer is; what does God want you to do? Of course if you are asking something that is contrary to God’s word I will correct you. But many times it is not about God’s word it is about your journey. God invites us to come into His presence, to talk and walk with Him. I could give you my opinion but God through His Spirit will lead down the best pathway of your life. Through His Spirit He gives all of His children spiritual discernment. This wonderful gift will help us navigate and discern between the enemy’s lies and God’s truth. It will help us connect with God’s heart and His desires for our lives. But the only way it works is to be walking in God’s Spirit and letting Him do His work.
I hope and pray this makes sense to all of you. God loves you and He wants a intimate and personal relationship with you. He gave you His Spirit so you will never be alone. When you need to make a decision regardless of how big or small He wants to be a part of it. He wants to lead and guide you. Will you let Him? Blessings my friends!!
Categories: BLOG