The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: - Vital Christianity

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Luke praised the Bereans because they carefully examined his teaching:
“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they
received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every
day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).
The following are general tests that the body of Christ is to use to discern whether a teaching
or teacher is of God or not:
1. Is Jesus Lord of that person’s life? “No one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says,
‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (I Cor. 12:3).
2. Is Jesus Christ acknowledged as perfect man and perfect God? “This is how you can
recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh
is from God . . . Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ” (I Jn. 4:2; 2:22).
3. Is the apostles’ teachings accepted? “We are from God, and whoever is not from God does
not listen to us” (I Jn. 4:6). John points out that false teachers speak “from the viewpoint of the
world” and therefore have a great hearing from the world (I Jn. 4:5).
4. Are the person’s messages always positive? “Do not listen to what the prophets are
prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not
from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord says: ‘You
will have peace.’ And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will
come to you’” (Jer. 23:16-17); see also Jer. 14:15; Lam. 2:14; Zech. 10:2).
5. Is the person’s life characterized by godliness and holiness? “By their fruit you will
recognize them . . . every good tree bears good fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad
tree cannot bear good fruit . . . . Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them” (Mt. 7:16-18, 20;
see also II Pet. 2).
The Reformed theologian Jonathan Edwards developed a test for inward experiences. In a
commencement address at Yale University in 1741 Edwards based a message on I John 4:1 and
entitled it: “The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God.” He proposes four tests to
distinguish any kind of spiritual experience to see if it is of the Holy Spirit or some other spirit.
The first test is: Love for and Confession of God the Father and the Son. Wherever Christ
comes alive, the Spirit is at work. The Holy Spirit raises our God-consciousness and Jesusconsciousness,
but not our Spirit-consciousness. This is the Christological test which asks whether
a spirit points to Jesus as Lord or to itself. The Holy Spirit does not glorify Himself. Rather,