How can I increase my spiritual discernment?

He prays for discernment (judgment). Sometimes this may signify a “spiritual sense of smell,” or “taste;” but here it has the sense of taste for judgment, discernment, reason. Paul prays for the Philippians in chapter one verse 10: “That ye may approve things that are excellent,” or as the N.I.V. puts it: “ … so that you may be able to discern what is best … ” For the believer it is not a question of refusing sin or sinful things, but of discerning what is profitable and constructive, and what is not. Good judgment and knowledge are essential for spiritual growth. “ … but solid food belongs to full-grown men, who, on account of habit, have their senses exercised for distinguishing both good and evil” (Heb. 5:14). Now this kind of spiritual discernment does not come to us automatically, as we learn from the verse in Hebrews 5. It comes with practise. That is why the writer begins this verse 66 with: “Teach me … ” Are we willing to be taught?

Since the divine instructions to us are that we be transformed by the renewing of our minds, we may well enquire how we may get our minds renewed. The answer is, by getting them formed according to God's thoughts and forsaking our own. And how shall this be? By soaking them in God's Word, which conveys to us God's thoughts. As we read and study the Word in prayerful dependence on the enlightening of the Spirit of God, our very thinking faculties, as well as our way of thinking, become renewed.

The epistle to the Hebrews furnishes us with an instance of the latter requirement. The apostle evidently desired to teach them many precious things about the Melchisedec priesthood of Christ, but they had been so unexercised by divine truth that they were dull of hearing. He said, "Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (Heb. 5:11-14.) It is clear therefore that exercise of mind by the truth of God is indispensable to our making spiritual progress, or to giving us competency to distinguish between good and evil. It can easily be seen how both these points bear on the line of truth now before us.

The Hebrew Christians were in fact not going on. For the time they had been learning, they ought to have been able to teach others; but instead of that they still needed themselves to be taught, and taught the very elements. They still needed milk, rather than solid food suited for people accustomed to exercise in spiritual things, and thus educated to discern between good and evil. How much of right knowledge lies for us in this kind of discernment "The man is become as one of us, to discern good and evil." To innocence we cannot go back; and though we have got into our present condition by a fall from God, He in grace would turn it into blessing. The world, such as it is, is a place well fitted to produce and cultivate such moral discernment. If it does not this, however, it dulls and hardens the soul; and as the word of God is that which God would use to form us after His mind, the not going on with it shows this dullness of soul; and light, neglected or refused, becomes darkness.

(V. 14). The stronger food — the full truth of Christianity into which the Apostle desires to lead us — belongs to the full-grown Christian, the one who is established in the position in which the righteousness of God has placed him as a son before God. Such, instead of being dull of hearing, have their senses exercised to distinguish both good and evil.

The corresponding adjective is translated "of full age" (Heb. 5:14) simply, meaning "maturity" in contrast to the state under the Jewish system which was occupied with "the first principles" or rudiments" of the "oracles of God" or of the "doctrine of Christ." The Hebrews were encouraged to go on to perfection, i.e., to the apprehension of Christ in glory. Judaism, i.e., ritualism, never could effect that end. They had not even got the question of righteousness settled in their souls and were necessarily inexperienced in the word of righteousness. The further method of discernment was quite beyond them. The Holy Spirit's presence consequent on Christ's exaltation and glory is the factor which sharpens our senses or spiritual faculties to discriminate between subtle distinctions of good and evil. This is much more comprehensive than what man describes as morality or conduct.

From all this it is evident, my brethren, that it is not merely by little scraps of truth, brought out whenever some impulse to that end visits us, that the church is to be edified.* No; they by whom the Holy Ghost acts to feed and nourish and guide the saints of God, are they whose souls are exercised habitually in the word of God; they "who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (Heb. 5:14.) As has been said, the least that can be expected of those who minister in the church is such acquaintance with the word of God as this.

Milk is not now the only nourishment that suits us. We can take with thankfulness the strong meat belonging to them that are of full age (Heb. 5:13-14), who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. The wind of doctrine that issues from the infernal regions which at one time we may have been ready to hail as balmy breezes from the Paradise of God, we shall not now be likely to be mistaken as to its origin.

We are living in the last days before the Lord Jesus comes to take His bride home. These are days of apostasy and departure from the faith. We must therefore “… try the spirits whether they are of God … ” (1 John 4:1). We shall be able to discern these false spirits only when we know what the Word says. “Therefore I love Thy testimonies” is the positive attitude taken by the Psalmist. We do well to follow his example!

But there must be guards as to the operation of the Spirit of God, that is, the child of God must be guarded against all that would imitate the operation of the Spirit. Satan is extremely cunning, and his agents are abroad everywhere. We must remember that all that professes to be spiritual necessarily has a spirit behind it. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” The trying of the spirits therefore is testing the teachings of men by the pure Word of God. The Spirit of God can teach nothing contrary to the Word of God, and fundamental falsehood is the deliberate attack of Satanic wickedness, “the spirit of antichrist.” How urgent then is our own responsibility of learning the Word of God, to be preserved from the deceptions of evil spirits! If even while the apostle was still living, “many false prophets” had “gone out into the world,” their number today is increased beyond measure, comparative to the number of the prophets of Baal and of the groves in the days of Elijah, in contrast to the number of true men of God (1 Kings 18:19‑22). But these New Testament false prophets are of course those who assume a profession of Christianity which is hypocrisy, rather than the true knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.