Reference: Discerning Of Spirits
American
1Co 12:10, a miraculous gift of the Holy Ghost to certain of the early church, empowering them to judge of the real character of those who professed to love Christ, and to be inspired to teach in his name, 1Jo 4:1; 2Jo 1:7. Compare Ac 5:1-10; 13:6-12.
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Only, be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded thee; thou dost not turn aside from it right or left, so that thou dost act wisely in every place whither thou goest;
And a certain man, Ananias by name, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, and did keep back of the price -- his wife also knowing -- and having brought a certain part, at the feet of the apostles he laid it. read more. And Peter said, 'Ananias, wherefore did the Adversary fill thy heart, for thee to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back of the price of the place? while it remained, did it not remain thine? and having been sold, in thy authority was it not? why is it that thou didst put in thy heart this thing? thou didst not lie to men, but to God;' and Ananias hearing these words, having fallen down, did expire, and great fear came upon all who heard these things, and having risen, the younger men wound him up, and having carried forth, they buried him. And it came to pass, about three hours after, that his wife, not knowing what hath happened, came in, and Peter answered her, 'Tell me if for so much ye sold the place;' and she said, 'Yes, for so much.' And Peter said unto her, 'How was it agreed by you, to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? lo, the feet of those who did bury thy husband are at the door, and they shall carry thee forth;' and she fell down presently at his feet, and expired, and the young men having come in, found her dead, and having carried forth, they buried her by her husband;
and having gone through the island unto Paphos, they found a certain magian, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name is Bar-Jesus; who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man; this one having called for Barnabas and Saul, did desire to hear the word of God, read more. and there withstood them Elymas the magian -- for so is his name interpreted -- seeking to pervert the proconsul from the faith. And Saul -- who also is Paul -- having been filled with the Holy Spirit, and having looked stedfastly on him, said, 'O full of all guile, and all profligacy, son of a devil, enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease perverting the right ways of the Lord? and now, lo, a hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season;' and presently there fell upon him a mist and darkness, and he, going about, was seeking some to lead him by the hand; then the proconsul having seen what hath come to pass, did believe, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
and to another in-workings of mighty deeds; and to another prophecy; and to another discernings of spirits; and to another divers kinds of tongues; and to another interpretation of tongues:
Beloved, every spirit believe not, but prove the spirits, if of God they are, because many false prophets have gone forth to the world;
Fausets
1Co 12:10. Discerning between the operation of God's Spirit and that of the evil spirit, or unaided human spirit claiming to utter the dictates of God's Spirit. Ac 5:1-11; 8:28; 1Co 14:23,37: "if any man think himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord." It is this which assures us of the inspiration of the New Testament The books were accepted as inspired, by churches having men possessing" the discerning of spirits" (1Jo 4:1; 1Ti 4:1).
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And a certain man, Ananias by name, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, and did keep back of the price -- his wife also knowing -- and having brought a certain part, at the feet of the apostles he laid it. read more. And Peter said, 'Ananias, wherefore did the Adversary fill thy heart, for thee to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back of the price of the place? while it remained, did it not remain thine? and having been sold, in thy authority was it not? why is it that thou didst put in thy heart this thing? thou didst not lie to men, but to God;' and Ananias hearing these words, having fallen down, did expire, and great fear came upon all who heard these things, and having risen, the younger men wound him up, and having carried forth, they buried him. And it came to pass, about three hours after, that his wife, not knowing what hath happened, came in, and Peter answered her, 'Tell me if for so much ye sold the place;' and she said, 'Yes, for so much.' And Peter said unto her, 'How was it agreed by you, to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? lo, the feet of those who did bury thy husband are at the door, and they shall carry thee forth;' and she fell down presently at his feet, and expired, and the young men having come in, found her dead, and having carried forth, they buried her by her husband; and great fear came upon all the assembly, and upon all who heard these things.
he was also returning, and is sitting on his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
and to another in-workings of mighty deeds; and to another prophecy; and to another discernings of spirits; and to another divers kinds of tongues; and to another interpretation of tongues:
Beloved, every spirit believe not, but prove the spirits, if of God they are, because many false prophets have gone forth to the world;
Morish
This was one of the gifts in the early church, needful for 'testing the spirits,' because even then many false prophets had gone forth into the world. 1Co 12:10; 1Jo 4:1-3. This gift was especially necessary at the time when the word of God was not fully written.
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And it cometh to pass, when all the nation hath completed to pass over the Jordan, that Jehovah speaketh unto Joshua, saying, Take for you out of the people twelve men, one man -- one man out of a tribe; read more. and command ye them, saying, Take up for you from this place, from the midst of the Jordan, from the established standing-place of the feet of the priests, twelve stones, and ye have removed them over with you, and placed them in the lodging-place in which ye lodge to-night.'
and to another in-workings of mighty deeds; and to another prophecy; and to another discernings of spirits; and to another divers kinds of tongues; and to another interpretation of tongues: