Knowing the Difference

 DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE

1 Cor 12:7-11

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.   11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

NIV

The gift of being able to distinguish between spirits is one of, if not the most, important gift. Of course, we would think that we would know the voice of our Lord. Jesus taught that lesson about His being the Good Shepherd and that we are His sheep, and how we only listen to the voice of our Shepherd. He was speaking to people who knew about the life of shepherds, and that at night they would join together, putting each shepherd’s sheep in a pen, which was most likely made of stones, and they would sleep at the gate or opening. In the morning each shepherd would call out his voice, perhaps in a song, or a chant and only his sheep would follow after him out of the pen. The point is that we should know the voice of our Lord, and be able to distinguish between His voice and the voice of the one who lies. However, the devil is a deceitful one who might try to mimic the voice of God, speaking what sounds to be true, but has no truth. If and when the devil attempts to deceive us, the Spirit is right there to manifest this gift of distinguishing spirits. This could also apply to being able to distinguish between the spirits of men. This is not to say that some men are like the devil, but there are people who live under the influence of the evil one rather than under the influence of God. It would seem rather easy to be able to detect who is who in this regard. However, there are also people who profess to be a part of the body of Christ, who may even be in positions of either preaching or teaching and who could have wrong motives. We can see many of them broadcasting their form of Christianity over many of the multi-media sources. Here too, we need this gift to distinguish between the truth and their half-truths or downright lies, or perversion of the word of God for their own profit. Everything we hear or see regarding Godly things must be compared to the one source of truth, God’s word. Yet, if someone perverts or manipulates the word to fit their own agenda, then we need to be able to tell the difference, and the only way to do that, so as to not get dragged away by every wind and doctrine is to listen for the voice of the Spirit, and even ask Him to manifest this gift of discernment, or distinguishing spirits, so that we are kept in the truth. So it is more than knowing the difference between good and evil spirits, as it is also about knowing right from wrong spirits.