Paul mentions the charism or gift of discernment of spirits in his first epistle to the Corinthians: "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" 1 Corinthians 12:10.
The discernment of spirits is what allows us to know if a prophecy is correct. The gift of prophecy is listen (perceive with attention), meditate with intuition and inspiration and decide with creativity. Prophecy corrects, teaches, reveals the hidden. The discernments of spirits and the prophecy are complementary gifts.
The discernment of spirits distinguishes wisdom (the knowledge of the correct means to live) from heresy (teaching of the error): "Then we will no longuer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ." Ephesians 4:14-15; also: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone into the world" 1 John 4:1
We all have the ability to discern, to separate good from evil and to choose. But the discernment of spirits is a gift proper to those who are born again ( Jesus explain the gnosis to Nicodemus in John 3), it is a greater gift: "But earnestly desire the greater gifts" 1 Corinthians 12:10.
The discernment of spirits looks for the intention and judges the hearts, this spiritual gift is the true spiritual master that lies within us, the aim is to always reach the truth (that is to say, the precise and the exact), as in the case of the trial of King Solomon and the two prostitutes 1 Kings 3:16-28.
This spiritual gift enables us to perfect ourselves in the new spiritual life, the new childhood: we discern to persevere.
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