209 Discerning the Spirit Within

The Spirit within will determine our interpretation of any biblical passages we read. This became crucial as we discover how passages can be understood very differently. As we desire to understand the God that Jesus knew to becomes essential that we have the Holy Spirit within to teach us about Jesus who is God in the flesh. We discover how James and John could be so wrong in their understanding of the story of Elijah and Jesus had to rebuke them and tell them He did not come to destroy. They had a spirit of violence and destruction just like many of us do when we settle with an interpret the Bible that attributes so much violence and destruction to God. Jesus says, 'No my Father is just like me - if you have seen me you have seen the Father."

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Testing the Spirit in Me

The spirit within us will determine our interpretation of any biblical passage we read. This is why we encourage each other to pray for deliverance from pettiness, prejudice and the

wrong spirit working in us. This is also the reason we need to discern which spirit is

operating within us. Are we desiring to show mercy and compassion to all we meet

including the characters in the biblical narratives? (guilt and fear)

1 Corinthians 12:10 NLT

10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to

prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is

from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the

ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret

what is being said.

Here are some examples of discernment.

1. Jesus’ Discerned the Devil’s Temptations (Matthew 4:1-11)

2. Jesus Discerned Nathanael’s spirit of integrity and devotion (John 1:47-51)

3. Jesus’ Discerned the spirit in the Pharisees (Matthew 16:1-4; John 8:44)

4. The Pharisees discerned the spirit of Beelzebub in Jesus (Matthew 12:22-24)

5. The natural, sinful, carnal mind cannot discern the spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:14).

6. Peter discerns the lying spirit moving Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10)

7. Some discern the divinity of God in a human body (1 John 4 :1-2 NLT)

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must

test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false

prophets in the world. 2 This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person

claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that

person has the Spirit of God.

8. Jesus discerns the spirit in James and John Luke 9:51-56 NLT

51 As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for

Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his

arrival. 53 But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his

way to Jerusalem. 54 When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord,

should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up like Elijah did?” 55 But Jesus

turned and rebuked them. And he said, “You don’t realize what your hearts are

like. 56 For the Son of Man has not come to destroy people’s lives, but to save

them.” So they went on to another village.

James and John are the “Sons of thunder” according to Jesus (Mark 3:17). They are violent

by nature and personality.

“Like Elijah did”

1. At Mount Carmel.

Fire came down from heaven and burned up the sacrifice, the altar, and the water

on Mount Carmel. Elijah is impressed by this violent method 1 Kings 18:30-40

Then Elijah called to the people, “Come over here!” They all crowded around him as

he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down. 31 He took twelve stones,

one to represent each of the tribes of Israel,[c] 32 and he used the stones to rebuild

the altar in the name of the Lord. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough

to hold about three gallons.[d] 33 He piled wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces,

and laid the pieces on the wood.[e]

Then he said, “Fill four large jars with water, and pour the water over the odering and

the wood.”

34 After they had done this, he said, “Do the same thing again!” And when they were

finished, he said, “Now do it a third time!” So they did as he said, 35 and the water ran

around the altar and even filled the trench.

36 At the usual time for odering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to

the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,[f] prove today that

you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at

your command. 37 O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that

you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.”

38 Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the

young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the

trench! 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried

out, “The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!”

40 Then Elijah commanded, “Seize all the prophets of Baal. Don’t let a single one

escape!” So the people seized them all, and Elijah took them down to the Kishon

Valley and killed them there.

Elijah is a violent man. This is why James and John identify with him. He would have

sudered from Post-Traumatic Syndrome Disorder after this event. Which means he is more likely to resort to violence.2. Elijah kills 102 innocent men with fire

2 Kings 1:9 Then he (King Azariah who succeeded Ahab) sent an army captain

with fifty soldiers to arrest him (Elijah). They found him sitting on top of a hill. The

captain said to him, “Man of God, the king has commanded you to come down

10 But Elijah replied to the captain, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from

with us.” heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and killed

them all. 11 So the king sent another captain with fifty men. The captain said to him, “Man of God, the king demands that you come down at once.”

12 Elijah replied, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy

you and your fifty men!” And again the fire of God fell from heaven and killed them

all. Who is killing these men at Elijah’s command. It depends on the spirit in the reader.

13 Once more the king sent a third captain with fifty men. But this time the captain

went up the hill and fell to his knees before Elijah. He pleaded with him, “O man of

God, please spare my life and the lives of these, your fifty servants. 14 See how the

fire from heaven came down and destroyed the first two groups. But now please

spare my life!”

15 Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him, and don’t be afraid of

him.” So Elijah got up and went with him to the king.

The Angel of the Lord is Jesus and he discerns that Elijah’s response is based on his fear of king Azariah. It was not God sending the fire. There was another supernatural being sending it to cause mayhem and death. This is the incident John and James, the sons of thunder, are referring to. They think this is the appropriate response for them to make because they have the same spirit as Elijah before Jesus corrected him. They do not discern their own spirit.

The way we interpret Bible stories depends on the spirit we have in us. Do we have

the spirit of Jesus or the spirit of violence which John and James had at this time.

The fruit of the Holy Spirit has no violence but gentleness (Galatians 5:22-23).

The spirit of God is clearly described by Jesus in:

Matthew 5:38-47 NLT God’s love is unconditional

Matthew 12:18-21 Jesus revives the flickering flame. He does not destroy it.

Matthew 20:28; Luke 9:56 Jesus did not come to destroy but to save men.

Luke 10:29-37 The good Samaritan represents Jesus who came to care for his

enemies.

Luke 12:37 Jesus serves the saved at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Luke 15:11-32 The Magnificent Father in the prodigal son story treats both sons with

utmost dignity, acceptance and love.

John 8:44 Satan is a liar and a murderer from the beginning.

John 10:10 Satan steals, kills and destroys people. Jesus gives them abundant life.

Attributing the work of the devil to the Holy Spirit (the HS killed A &S) is blasphemy

(insulting God) which is unforgivable according to Jesus (Matthew 12:31-32) because the

Spirit will teach us the truth (John 14:17, 15:26, 16:13). If we reject the One who teaches us

the truth who can help us discern our own false spirit and beliefs?

Ian Hartley, July 2025.