Understanding Discernment

 

For my 3rd ❤️

When we hear the word “discernment,” we often think of knowing when something is not quite right. We may say, “I just discerned something about that person,” or “I had a feeling about that situation.” But when we come to Scripture, discernment is much deeper than just a feeling. The Bible does not present discernment as suspicion, natural cleverness, or simply being good at reading people. Discernment is the ability to understand, distinguish, examine, and recognize according to what is true. When we follow that idea through the Torah, the Books of the Prophets, and the New Testament, we discover that discernment is something God wants His people to learn.

One of the important Hebrew roots behind this idea is בִּין, bin. It is used for understanding, perceiving, and discerning, and its related forms describe insight and understanding. But we need to let the context show us what the word means rather than trying to make one Hebrew word carry every shade of the English word “discernment.” We can see this clearly in Solomon's prayer.

In 1 Kings 3:9, Solomon asks God for something very specific: “Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.” The Hebrew wording contains לֵב שֹׁמֵעַ, lev shomea, literally a “hearing” or “listening heart.” Solomon then uses לְהָבִין, lehavin, meaning “to discern” or “to understand,” together with בֵּין, bein, meaning “between,” good and evil. Solomon was not merely asking God to make him intelligent. He was asking for a heart that could hear and understand so that he could make the right distinction between good and evil.

That gives us an important foundation. Discernment begins with listening. Solomon did not ask for a heart that automatically assumed it knew the answer. He asked for a heart capable of hearing and understanding. God was pleased with that request. In 1 Kings 3:11-12, God says that because Solomon asked for understanding so that he could administer justice, He would give him a wise and discerning heart. Solomon's discernment was connected with his responsibility to judge God's people rightly.

The Torah had already established the importance of making distinctions according to what God had revealed. In Leviticus 10:10, the priests were commanded to distinguish between the holy and the common and between the unclean and the clean. The priest was not being told to create his own standard. He was to recognize distinctions that God had established. Later, Ezekiel 44:23 repeats this responsibility for the priests. They were to teach the people the difference between what was holy and what was common and help them distinguish between the unclean and the clean.

That gives us something basic about biblical discernment. It is not simply noticing that two things are different. It is recognizing the difference according to a true standard. A person can be very good at noticing differences and still make the wrong judgment if he has no reliable standard by which to judge what he sees. God gives His people that standard through what He has revealed.

The Torah also connects wisdom and understanding with living according to God's revealed ways. Deuteronomy 4:6 tells Israel that keeping God's statutes would display their wisdom and understanding before the other nations. The knowledge of God's ways was not supposed to remain in the head. It was supposed to shape the way His people lived. Discernment therefore cannot be separated from obedience.

The wisdom writings develop this even further. Proverbs 2:2-6 tells us to turn our ears toward wisdom, incline our hearts toward understanding, cry out for insight, and seek it like hidden treasure. Then it tells us where this wisdom comes from: “...For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Biblical discernment is something we seek, but God is the One who gives the wisdom and understanding we need.

This is also why the discerning person in Scripture remains teachable. Proverbs 1:5 says that the wise listen and increase in learning, while the discerning person receives guidance. Discernment is not demonstrated by refusing correction. It is demonstrated by being willing to listen, learn, examine, and grow.

The psalmist understood this dependence upon God. He did not boast that he already understood everything. He asked God for understanding. Psalm 119:34 says, “...Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart.” Later he prays, “I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes.” (Psalm 119:125) Notice the reason he wants discernment. He wants to understand God's ways so that he can obey them. Discernment is not given to make a person impressive. It is given to help a person walk faithfully.

The Tanakh also shows us what happens when people fail to understand where their choices are leading them. Deuteronomy 32:28-29 describes Israel as a nation lacking understanding and says that if they were wise, they would understand and consider their end. The problem was not simply a lack of intelligence. They were failing to perceive the meaning and consequences of what they were doing.

The same concern appears when people claim to speak for God. The Torah had already given Israel standards by which such claims were to be examined. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 warns about a prophet or dreamer whose sign comes to pass but whose message leads the people toward other gods. Deuteronomy 18:21-22 gives another test concerning a word claimed to have come from the LORD. God's people were not instructed to accept every spiritual claim simply because someone attached God's name to it. They were given standards by which those claims could be tested.

That brings us into the New Testament, where several Greek words help us understand this process. One particularly important word is διάκρισις, diakrisis. It carries the idea of distinguishing or making a distinction. The related verb διακρίνω, diakrinō, can mean to distinguish or differentiate and, depending on the context, to make a judgment. The noun diakrisis, appears three times in the New Testament. It is used in Romans 14:1, 1 Corinthians 12:10, and Hebrews 5:14.

Paul uses in a particularly important way in 1 Corinthians 12:10, where he speaks of διακρίσεις πνευμάτων, diakriseis pneumatōn, “distinguishings of spirits.” Paul places this among the manifestations of the Holy Spirit and makes clear in 1 Corinthians 12:11 that the Spirit distributes these manifestations according to His will. This particular passage concerns a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. We should not confuse it with the discernment that believers are to develop through God's Word. They are related, but they are not the same thing.

Another important Greek word is δοκιμάζω, dokimazō. It means to test, examine, or prove something, with the idea of determining its genuineness or worth. Paul uses this word in Romans 12:2 when he speaks of proving or discerning what the will of God is. The renewed mind does not simply accept whatever comes along. It learns to examine and recognize what agrees with God's will.

Paul gives us the same principle in 1 Thessalonians 5:21: “...Test everything. Hold on to what is good.” That is a remarkably simple command. Test everything. The believer is not commanded to accept every teaching, claim, spiritual experience, or message merely because it sounds religious. We are told to examine what we encounter and hold firmly to what proves to be good.

The Bereans give us an excellent example of this in Acts 17:11. They received Paul's teaching eagerly, but they also examined the Scriptures every day to see whether what they were being taught was true. They listened and then searched the Scriptures. That is a healthy picture of discernment. It is also the very reason I tell you at the end of my teachings, “Don't just take MY word for it. Study the Word for yourself to see if what I teach IS according to God's Will.”

John gives believers a similar command concerning spiritual claims. 1 John 4:1 says, “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” John does not tell believers to accept every spiritual claim, nor does he tell them to reject everything supernatural. He tells them to test the spirits. The question is whether what is being presented agrees with what God has revealed. Does it agree with HIS Word?

Jesus also taught His disciples to recognize what is genuine by examining what it produces. In Matthew 7:15-20, He warned about false prophets and said, “By their fruit you will recognize them.” He did not teach His followers to judge a person simply by outward appearance. He taught them to look at what a person's life and teaching actually produce. In other words, don't judge a book by its cover. Look at what is actually inside the book.

The Gospels also show Jesus exercising perfect discernment. John 2:24-25 says that Jesus did not entrust Himself to people because He knew all people and knew what was in a person. Scripture presents this knowledge as belonging to Jesus Himself. We should therefore be careful not to take passages describing His perfect knowledge and use them as though ordinary believers possess the same ability to know another person's heart.

That is important because biblical discernment is not the same thing as cynicism. A cynical person assumes the worst, while discernment seeks the truth. A person may have a feeling about something, but Scripture does not tell us to make that feeling our standard of truth. We examine what can actually be known, compare it with what God has revealed, and allow the truth to determine our judgment.

Hebrews gives us one of the clearest descriptions of discernment developing through practice. Hebrews 5:14 says that solid food is for the mature, whose senses have been trained through constant use for distinguishing between good and evil. The mature believer has trained faculties, and that training has a purpose. It enables him to recognize the difference between good and evil. Discernment grows through practice.

The picture is not of someone who suddenly wakes up with perfect spiritual perception. It is of someone who has been repeatedly exposed to God's truth, has learned to recognize it, has practiced obedience, and has developed the ability to distinguish. Scripture gives us a process of growth. The more faithfully we learn God's ways and practice what we have learned, the better prepared we become to recognize what agrees with those ways.

This is why knowing God's Word matters so much. The Scriptures give us the standard against which things can be examined. Psalm 119:104 says, “I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every false way.” The psalmist's ability to recognize a false way is connected with the understanding he has gained from God's precepts. He is not creating his own standard. He is learning God's.

James gives us another valuable way to examine what claims to be wisdom. In James 3:13-17, he describes wisdom from above as pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. That gives us something concrete to examine. If someone claims to possess great spiritual wisdom while producing jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder, and evil practice, Scripture has already given us reason to question that claim.

Discernment therefore does not spend its entire life looking for what is wrong. It also recognizes what is right. When we know the genuine, we have a true standard by which to recognize the counterfeit. Biblical discernment is not about becoming suspicious of everything around us. It is about learning God's truth so thoroughly that error can be recognized for what it is.

There is humility in this as well. James 1:5 tells us that anyone who lacks wisdom should ask God, who gives generously. Solomon asked. The psalmist asked. James tells us to ask. Scripture repeatedly brings us back to God as the source of wisdom.

We also need to understand that discernment does not give us permission to claim knowledge that God has not given us. Scripture tells us to examine teachings, actions, words, fruit, and spiritual claims. It does not make us omniscient. God alone knows the heart perfectly. 1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us that people look at outward appearance, while the LORD looks at the heart. Therefore, calling something “discernment” does not make an unsupported accusation true.

When we follow this subject from the Torah into the Tanakh and then into the New Testament, we can see the same foundation developing. God teaches His people to recognize the distinctions He has established. Solomon asks for understanding so that he can distinguish good from evil. Proverbs teaches us to seek understanding as treasure. The psalmist asks God for discernment so that he can understand God's statutes. God's people are given standards for testing those who claim to speak for Him. Jesus teaches His disciples to recognize false prophets by their fruit. Paul commands believers to test what they encounter, and he also speaks of the manifestation of the Spirit that enables the distinguishing of spirits. John tells believers to test the spirits. Hebrews shows mature believers whose faculties have been trained to distinguish good from evil.

So what is discernment?

Discernment is the ability to understand and distinguish what we encounter according to the truth God has given us. It means learning to recognize the difference between what is true and what is false, what is good and what is evil, what is holy and what is common, and, where spiritual discernment is involved, what is from God and what is not.

The goal is not to become a person who thinks he can figure everybody out. The goal is to become a person who knows God's ways well enough to recognize what agrees with them. That is why the prayer of the psalmist is such a fitting prayer for anyone who wants discernment: “I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes.” (Psalm 119:125)

Discernment is not primarily about becoming suspicious of the world around us. It is about becoming so acquainted with God's truth that we can recognize the difference.

And that is something worth asking God for.

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Prayer

Holy Father, I worship You because You are the source of all wisdom, understanding, and truth. You alone know all things, and Your Word is true. Thank You for giving me Your Word so that I can learn Your ways and recognize the difference between truth and error, good and evil, and what is of You and what is not. Father God, give me a listening heart and teach me to discern according to Your Will. Help me never to trust my own feelings above Your Word, but to test what I hear and see against what You have revealed. Train me through Your Word and through obedience, so that I may grow in understanding and recognize what is right. Help me remain humble, teachable, and willing to be corrected. Let my discernment never become suspicion or pride, but let it help me walk faithfully before You. In Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

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Don't take my word for it. Like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, search the Scriptures daily to see whether these things are so. Open your Bible, study God's Word for yourself, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth. Don't simply accept my conclusions. If what I've written agrees with Scripture, hold fast to it. If it doesn't, let God's Word be your final authority.

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