Test the Spirits

“[The Lord] who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the heart.” 1 Cor. 4:5.

He does not judge according to what the human eye sees or what the ear hears; His judgment is righteous. He looks into the depths of the heart and searches the motives. If they are found to be pure, then everything is pure before God, even if other people can find much of which they disapprove. Sweet words and flattering speech can deceive the simple, but if you take the time to test the spirit, you will usually find that behind these words, there is a false heart.

It is written that we are to test the spirits to see if they are of God. This is not referring to the spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places, but rather to the spirit that is at work in a person. Test the motive behind their words to see if there is guile in their spirit. The body cannot be tested, because the body without the spirit is dead.

Our external ear can hear, but it is useless when it comes to testing the spirits. For that we need to make use of our inner ear—the ear of our heart. It might sound strange that we are to listen with our heart, but that’s how it is. Our heart not only needs ears, it also needs eyes. “[He] may give you enlightened eyes of the heart; that you may understand the hope to which He has called you.” Eph. 1:18 [Norw.]. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Of course, they all had ears, but not all of them had ears of the heart, which is what is being referred to here.

A person who allows himself to be fooled by worldly refinement, riches, or human beauty is incapable of testing the spirit of the person he has been fooled by. He himself will be judged a fool. Therefore it is vital that we remain stable-minded at all times, because we are to have the same mind that was in the Lord Jesus Christ. If we have this mind, we will not be thrown off balance. It can truly be said of such people that they are “the glory of Christ.”