Discerning the Risen Christ
Through the discerning of spirits, or seeing into the spirit realm, one could also discern the
risen Christ. No one has actually seen Jesus in His physical
flesh and bone body (Luke 24:39) since His ascension and seating on High (Acts 1:9; Heb 1:3)
because He is now seated on the right hand of the Father where He ever lives to make
intercession for us (Heb. 7:25).
Therefore, since Jesus' ascension and seating on High, no one has ever seen Him except
through the gift of discerning of spirits.
But through this supernatural gift of the discerning of spirits, some people have been able to
see into the spirit realm and have seen the Risen Lord.
All such visions would be a manifestation of the gift of discerning of spirits. This gift of the
discerning of spirits, however, might bring with it a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge. But
the vision itself would be the discerning of spirits because the person would at that time be
seeing into the spirit world.
Remember, the gift of the discerning of spirits is supernatural insight into the spirit world where
there are divine spirits as well as evil spirits. Also, the discerning of spirits can be manifested to
reveal the human spirit; that is, the good or evil tendencies of the human spirit. Discerning of
spirits, then, deals with three kinds of classes of spirits: divine, satanic, and human.
So you see, discerning of spirits may be discerning the similitude of God, discerning the risen
Christ, or even the discerning of the Holy Spirit.
Discerning the Holy Spirit
For instance, John, in his vision on the Isle of Patmos, saw the Holy Spirit as seven spirits
before the throne of God (Rev. 4:5). That simply meant that in the spirit realm John was seeing
these seven aspects of the Spirit of God.
The discerning of spirits can also reveal cherubim, seraphim, archangels, or a host of God's
angels. It could reveal Satan and his legions. Discerning of spirits can reveal the power,
whether good or evil, that may be enforcing a supernatural manifestation or influencing a type
of behavior.
Discerning the Spirit Behind an Operation
Supernatural manifestations can come from different sources. In fact, many things that seem
miraculous or supernatural to us actually do not come from God. We must remember that
Satan is also a supernatural being. Too many times folks are ready to follow anything that is
supernatural or spectacular, whether it is proven by the Scriptures to be of God or not.
It is good to have a genuine manifestation of the Spirit of God, but we must realize that all
supernatural manifestations are not necessarily a demonstration of the Spirit of God. If the
discerning of spirits is in operation, we can know the spirit behind a given manifestation or
operation.
An example of this is found in Acts 16. Here Paul dealt with an evil spirit behind an operation.
When the maiden who had the spirit of divination followed Paul and said, ". . . These men are