Discernment, the Bereans, and Scripture
As I said in a previous post, I’m working my way through a series on the role of discernment when the church gathers together. (See the “Introduction” post here.) I’ve also stated already that I believe that discernment is the work of those who are gifted at “distinguishing between spirits,” but it is also the work of those who are not gifted in that way. Similarly, I pointed out that discernment is part of the edifying process that occurs while the church gathers together.
For the last two posts in this series, I want to highlight a couple of examples of discernment that we find in Scripture. The first example is found in Acts 17:
The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. (Acts 17:10-12 ESV)
In this case, the Bereans were not judging “prophecy” in the sense that we read about in 1 Corinthians 14. Instead, they were discerning the good news that Paul and Silas was proclaiming in the synagogue. The “received” the message that Paul and Silas spoke, then checked it against what they read in Scripture. Some of those who weighed this message “believed,” while, apparently, some did not believe.
If we remember that at this time the Jews in Berea would not have owned a personal copy of the Scriptures, we can get a better idea what was happening. Obviously, they would have had to gather together in order to “examine” Scripture and compare that to the message proclaimed by Paul and Silas.
Similarly, we should not forget that Luke tells us that this examination happened “daily.” This was not a once-per-week synagogue service, but a daily gathering in order to check the verity of the good news concerning Jesus Christ. (By the way, this kind of daily gathering is more in line with other historical accounts that shows the synagogue as more of a gathering for community and social activities.)
In a similar incident, when believers gathered together in Jerusalem and discussed whether or not it was valid to teach that Gentiles must be circumcised and keep the law in order to be saved (Acts 15:6-21), Luke lists several methods of discernment. James, for example, turns to Scripture, like the Bereans mentioned above. Luke writes:
After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, ‘After this I will return,and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.’ Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God… (Acts 15:13-19 ESV)
James remarks that Simeon’s (Peter’s) experience matches up with what he had read in “the Prophets” (part of the Hebrew Scriptures).
Thus, in these two examples, we see people turning to Scripture to help them in discernment. (Of course, in both of those examples, the people were turning to the Old Testament Scriptures.) This does not mean, however, that Scripture always has all of the answers that we need in discernment. In the next post, we look at other examples where believers do not rely on Scripture to help them discern what God is telling them.
What are some of the benefits of using Scripture to help us discern what God is communicating with us? What are some dangers of using Scripture?
—————————————
Series on Discernment
Prelude: Let the Others Weigh what is Said…
1. Test Everything: The role of discernment when the church gathers (Introduction)
2. Discernment: A gift of the Spirit and the work of all
3. Discernment: Part of the edifying process of the church gathering
4. Discernment, the Bereans, and Scripture
5. Discernment when Scripture doesn’t Answer our Questions
Who is wise and understanding among you?
How do you know if someone is wise? How do you know if someone has understanding? Who do you think of when you think of someone who is wise and/or understanding? What makes you think about that person?
Last Sunday, we had the opportunity to get together with some friends of ours. During this time, we all read and talked about James 3:1-18.
James begins with a warning to teachers, then shifts immediately to a discussion about the destructive and untameable tongue.
But, at the end of that chapter, in James 3:13-18, he shifts again to a general discussion of wisdom. (Although, I think all of these topics are related.)
Notice how James begins his shift to the discussion about wisdom:
Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. (James 3:13 ESV)
Did you notice what James says? The person who is wise and understanding will demonstrate that through his or her manner of life. That right, it’s not what someone says that determines whether or not the person is wise or understanding. Instead, it’s the way the person lives…
So, who is wise and understanding among you? You will know who those people are based on the way that they live their lives. (Seems like this is a repeated exhortation in James… such as James 1:22 and James 2:14.)
Discernment: Part of the edifying process of the church gathering
As I said in a previous post, I’m working my way through a series on the role of discernment when the church gathers together. (See the “Introduction” post here.) I’ve also stated already that I believe that discernment is the work of those who are gifted at “distinguishing between spirits,” but it is also the work of those who are not gifted in that way.
In this post I want to point out something that I’ve assumed several times already: discernment is part of the edifying process that occurs while the church gathers together. That would also mean that discernment is a mutual process, meaning that the whole church is involved in the work.
As I said in the previous post, Paul includes “discernment” (“the ability to distinguish spirits”) among the examples of the many ways that the Holy Spirit manifests himself in his children for the benefit of all. (See 1 Corinthians 12:10.) However, it is important to note that Paul also includes “discernment” (“weigh what is said”) specifically in the principles that he lays out for meeting together in a way that allows the church to work together to build up one another:
What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up… Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. (1 Corinthians 14:26-29 ESV)
So, the context of this passage is coming together as brothers and sisters in Christ, and Paul begins by stating (emphatically) that everything done should build up others (not only the one speaking). He also specifies that several should be allowed to exercise each type of speaking (one at a time, of course).
In the midst of these instructions about meeting together, Paul includes discernment, saying, “[L]et the others weigh what is said,” referring specifically to what prophets say, in this case. For Paul, these instructions about discernment fall within the realm of the church gathering and fall within the process of building up one another.
Don’t miss the significance of this: discernment is both part of gathering together as the church and also part of mutual edification.
In another letter to the church in another city, Paul again included discernment within the context of the work of edification by the whole church:
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:11-22 ESV)
While this passage from Paul’s letter to the Thessalonian Christians is not limited to times when the church gathers together, it does seem to include those times as well. Again, the focus is on encouraging and building up one another, and both listening to prophecies as well as discernment (“test everything”) is part of that edification.
This last passage will lead us to the final two passage in this series. In 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, Paul wrote in stoccato fashion: Test everything. Host fast to what is good. Abstain from every kind of evil. In many ways, this helps us understand what the work and role of discernment is when we gather together.
Have you ever gathered together with other Christians in a way that included the work of discernment? Would you share something about that with us?
—————————————
Series on Discernment
Prelude: Let the Others Weigh what is Said…
1. Test Everything: The role of discernment when the church gathers (Introduction)
2. Discernment: A gift of the Spirit and the work of all
3. Discernment: Part of the edifying process of the church gathering
4. Discernment, the Bereans, and Scripture
5. Discernment when Scripture doesn’t Answer our Questions
Looking for mature brothers in Christ to follow
Arthur at “The Voice of One Crying Out in Suburbia” has written an excellent post called “Dudes need dudes to learn how to be dudes.” His post picks up where my post “My Word of Prophecy: Stop Listening to Prophetic Voices” leaves off, and then applies it to another post about manhood.
(As an aside, I’m overlooking Arthur calling my post title “clunky” because he also called it “clever.” I’m assuming the first adjective was a mistake…)
Arthur recognizes that less mature brothers in Christ need more mature brothers in Christ as examples to follow. (In the same vein, of course, the same could be said for women.)
He writes:
In most churches, the guy everyone is supposed to look up to is the pastor. This raises an issue because the way we have created a separate clerical class means that a) most men are not going to find much in common with the pastor and b) secretly most men have little interest in being a vocational minister so there is not much that seems desirable from an imitation standpoint. Most pastors seem stressed, overworked, underappreciated and generally frustrated and unhappy in spite of the happy face they put on. Who wants to imitate that? Compounding this, many times the pastor is younger and frankly less mature than many of the other men in a congregation. Not less “mature” in the sense of being able to delvier a sermon or exegete a passage of Scripture or throw out Greek and Hebrew terms, less “mature” in the sense that actually matters. Who should a young husband and father emulate and seek to learn from, a guy his own age who is starting a family and struggling in the same ways just because he is the pastor or a more mature older brother who has come out on the other side and has the experience to match?
There is much, much more to Arthur’s post. He even tackles the problem of “celebrity preachers”…
As I’ve said several times on this blog, I believe this is an important (and missing) aspect of discipleship among the church. We need more mature examples to follow. However, for most of us, we tend to learn from and follow people that we don’t really know.
Thanks for the reminder, Arthur!
Discernment: A gift of the Spirit and the work of all
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I’m working my way through a series on the role of discernment when the church gathers together. (See the “Introduction” post here.)
I struggled with how to being this series… or, actually, I guess I should say that I struggled with how to continue this series. I’m going to study several passages, and I could have begun with any of those passages. However, I decided to continue where I started in the introduction: from Paul’s teaching on spiritual gifts in his letter to the Corinthians.
In 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, Paul lists several types of ways that the Holy Spirit gifts individuals to help the church:
For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:8-10 ESV)
As you can tell, Paul is focusing on the fact that the same Spirit is giving these different gifts. The variety in the giftings does not detract from the singularity of the source (i.e., the Holy Spirit). And, if you started reading a little earlier, you would have found that there is also a singularity of purpose: for the common benefit (or, as Paul would say later, for building up the church). (1 Corinthians 12:7)
In this list, “discernment” is called “the ability to distinguish between spirits,” or, literally, “the differentiation of spirits.” Paul uses the verb form of “differentiation” (“discernment” or “ability to distinguish between”) in 1 Corinthians 14:29 in the context of prophecy and “weighing” what prophets said. (I mentioned that passage briefly in the introduction post.)
Thus, “discernment” is a gift of the Spirit, along with prophecy, teaching, apostle, etc. As Paul insinuates later, all are not gifted with “discernment,” just as all are not gifted as apostles, teachers, prophets, etc. So, some are divinely empowered to do whatever it is that I am calling “discernment.”
However, as we see with the other spiritual gifts, the activities described by the “spiritual giftings” are not limited to those with the gifts themselves. Thus, while only some are “gifted” as teachers, all believers are instructed to teach each other. Similarly, while only some are “gifted” as exhorters, all believers are instructed to encourage one another. (I think we also see that all believers have the ability to prophesy in 1 Corinthians 14:31.)
So, I would say the same thing applies to discernment. Some are divinely gifted to discern “between spirits.” However, all are to do this work. (By the way, if Ephesians 4:11-12 is not limited to the gifted individuals there, then those gifted at discernment should be equipping others to do the work of discernment as they all serve the church.)
Putting this all together, we see that both those gifted at discernment and those who are not gifted as discernment are to do the work of “distinguishing between spirits.” I think that every follower of Jesus Christ would be included in one of those two groups. So, when we are gathered together, we should all seek to discern what is said.
[This is a side note – although related. It really shouldn’t have to be said, but it does. There is nothing in this passage (1 Corinthians 12-14) or any other passage to limit the work of discernment when the church gathers to only those who view themselves as leaders or are viewed by others as leaders (pastors, elders, bishops, deacons, etc.). Of course, there is also nothing in this passage or any other passage to limit any type of speaking when the church gathers to leaders.]
But, what does it mean to discern what is said? And, what type of speech should be discerned? Is discernment only for prophecy? Should teaching/preaching be discerned?
In the next couple of posts, I’ll examine some passages that will help us answer those questions.
—————————————
Series on Discernment
Prelude: Let the Others Weigh what is Said…
1. Test Everything: The role of discernment when the church gathers (Introduction)
2. Discernment: A gift of the Spirit and the work of all
3. Discernment: Part of the edifying process of the church gathering
4. Discernment, the Bereans, and Scripture
5. Discernment when Scripture doesn’t Answer our Questions
The kingdom of God is radically different
When you read the Gospels and the other books of the New Testament, you can’t help but notice that God’s kingdom is radically different than any kind of earthly kingdom. Seriously… at times, it is described as being and operating in a way that is completely opposite from the expected.
Dave Black wrote a little about that this morning on his blog. In this entry, he’s talking about speaking with a church yesterday. But, in the middle of the post, he writes this description of God’s backward and upside-down kingdom (see his entry from Monday, November 7, 2011 at 7:45 a.m.):
The kingdom is a subtle contagion. It expands one small step of obedience at a time in our lives. For example, Jesus turns power and authority on its head, and His followers say, “Okay, makes no earthly sense to us, but if that’s what the Master says, it’s good enough for us.” Before his conversion to Christianity in AD 200, Minucius Felix said of the Christians, “They despise titles of honor and the purple robe of high government office … calling one another brother and sister indiscriminately.” He noticed how radically different the kingdom of God is from all versions of the kingdoms of this world. The radical vision of a Calvary-like kingdom is so new to me that I sometimes forget that it’s been around for almost 2,000 years!
Yes, the kingdom of God has been around for a long time. But, have you notice how easy it is to drift into “this world” kingdom kind of thinking? Because of that tendency, it’s good to have reminders like this.
Test Everything: The role of discernment when the church gathers
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul begins a long (3 chapters) section of the letter addressing spiritual gifts. In the first part (chapter 12), Paul focuses mainly on the variety types of gifts and the importance of all the gifts working together for the benefit of the whole church. In the next part (chapter 13), he tells his readers that demonstrating love is more important than exercising any kind of gift. (In a rhetorical exclamation, he announced that even exercising great faith is nothing if the person is not showing the love of God to others.)
Finally, in the last section of this teaching about spiritual gifts, Paul turns more toward the use and exercise of the various gifts when the church gathers together. Since he primarily discusses the gifts of prophecy and tongues, some believe that the Corinthian church struggled with those two gifts. This is possible; perhaps probable.
But, while correcting the way that the Corinthians were practicing or emphasizing spiritual gifts, Paul gives them (and us) a key principle: everything that is said or done when we are gathered with other Christians should edify those others. In fact, the only reason (according to Paul) that prophecy is preferred to tongues (uninterpreted) when the church is gathered together is that prophecy directly edifies the church while speaking in tongues does not.
When Paul comes around to laying down some general guidelines for speaking when gathered with other believers (1 Corinthians 14:26-40), he again divides his instructions into two parts: one set of instructions for speaking in tongues and another set of instructions for prophesying. Among the instructions for prophesying, Paul adds the importance of “discernment”: Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. (1 Corinthians 14:29 ESV)
So, while Paul believes that prophesy directly edifies the church, he also says that prophesy should be weighed. He says something similar when writing to the church in Thessalonica: “Do not despise(AD) prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:20-22 ESV)
This discernment (or judging/weighing) becomes even more important when we think about other forms of speaking when the church gathers together. For example, I would think that teaching is directly edifying also (like prophesying). Thus, teaching would fall under the same guidelines as prophecy, and any type of instruction should be judged also. The same would be true of other types of speaking such as encouragement or even admonishment.
But, what does it mean to “weigh” what someone says? What is discernment? Who should judge what is said and for what reason? What examples of discernment do we find in Scripture? I hope to examine each of these questions in the next few posts.
But, let’s be honest. For the majority of Christians who gather together (at least in the Western world), discernment is not and cannot be part of their gatherings. Usually, only one person speaks. If someone else speaks, that person must first be given permission to speak. Then, if someone has a question about what is said, or if someone disagrees, there are few avenues of asking questions, much less discernment. (Yes, I understand that some “preachers” or teachers allow for questions and disagreements. But, for most Christians in America and the west, this is not allowed or encouraged.)
In spite of this, discernment was important to Paul. Plus, this is a topic that I have not studied much. So, I’m looking forward to looking at various passages of Scripture that I think are related to this topic.
What passages would you study in order to understand discernment? Do you think everything said among the church should be “judged”? Why or why not? When something is spoken, what about that should be “weighed” by others?
—————————————
Series on Discernment
Prelude: Let the Others Weigh what is Said…
1. Test Everything: The role of discernment when the church gathers (Introduction)
2. Discernment: A gift of the Spirit and the work of all
3. Discernment: Part of the edifying process of the church gathering
4. Discernment, the Bereans, and Scripture
5. Discernment when Scripture doesn’t Answer our Questions
Scripture… As We Live It #181
This is the 181st passage in “Scripture… As We Live It.”
Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen called to be “church planters” and trained as interns in the Jerusalem church traveled were sent to plant churches as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them who were trained in cross-cultural ministry, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus from the pulpit of their churches every Sunday morning. (Acts 11:19-20 re-mix)
(Please read the first post for an explanation of this series.)
Let the others weigh what is said…
The title of this post comes from the ESV translation of 1 Corinthians 14:29. According to Paul, when 2 or 3 prophets speak, others should “weigh” what the prophets say. This is sometimes called “judging” or “discernment.”
But, what does this mean? As important as this is for the church when we gather together, I realized recently that I haven’t written much about discernment. So, I’ve written a series on the topic of discernment that I plan to publish next week.
Specifically, my series covers the role of discernment when the church gathers together, and I look at a few passages of Scripture in which we see different types of discernment.
But, I want to start by asking you (my readers) about discernment. What do you understand “discernment” to be? What do you think it means for others to “weigh” what prophets say? Do you think other types of speech (teaching, encouragement, etc.) should be “weighed” in the same way? Who is responsible for this kind of discernment/weight/judgment? Finally, what passages of Scripture do you think are important for us to understand what discernment means? (These passages can be instructions about discernment or examples of discernment.)
I hope you decide to share your thoughts on this topic, even if you haven’t thought about it much before.
Replay: Submission is given, not taken
Three years ago, I wrote a post on the topic of leadership called “Submission is given, not taken.” The point of the post is simple: some things can only be given by others; those things cannot be taken from them. For example, think about love. Love can be given, but it can’t be forcibly taken by someone else. Submission is the same way. Some think that since instructions to submit to others is the same as an instruction to exercise authority. But, this is not true. Why? Because submission can only be offered freely. If it is required by someone else, then it is not submission.
————————————-
Submission is given, not taken
This post is part of a monthly synchroblog. The topic for November is “leadership”. At the bottom of this post you’ll find links to other posts about leadership.
Today is election day in the USA, and many Americans are thinking about leadership. In the church, Christians often think about leadership as well. In fact, as Hans Kung has stated, leadership defines the church to such an extent that, for many, ecclesiology is simply an exercise in hierarchiology.
Whenever we discuss church leadership, the question of submission arises. Who is supposed to submit to whom? How do those “above” get those “under” to submit to their decisions? I suggest that these questions demonstrate a flawed understanding of the leadership that Scriptures teaches the church.
Starting with Jesus, he said:
You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:25-28 ESV)
Thus, according to Jesus, leadership among Christians is to be radically different – not front and center – but among and under. Leaders who follow Jesus’ example are not in front of a group directing them, but among and under a group serving them. Jesus was not talking about “servant-leadership”, but “servants”.
However, the more important point for this post revolves around the idea of “submission”. According to Hebrews 13:17, we are to “Trust our leaders, and submit to them.” This passage, and others like it, are often used by leaders to force, encourage, persuade, even cajole people into acquiescing to the decisions made by the leaders. This practice demonstrates a misunderstanding of submissions.
Leaders cannot force people to submit to them. This is not submission, but subservience. Instead, submission can only be given.
We often take instructions given to others and apply them for ourselves. For example, husbands often feel it is there responsibility to force their wives (or at least remind them strongly) to submit. Yet, the instruction is for wives to submit, not for husbands to force their submission (which is not submission but subservience or enslavement). Instead, husbands are instructed to love their wives. What does a husband do if his wife does not submit? He loves her.
The same can be said of leaders. We are told to follow or submit to those who are leading us. In reality, our submission demonstrates who our leaders are. Leaders are never told to force or even try to persuade others to submit to them. What are leaders to do if others do not submit? Keep living as an example of a disciple of Jesus Christ. We cannot choose whether or not people submit; we can only choose to obey for ourselves.
To look at it another way, is someone a leader if no one is submitting? If someone chooses not to submit (or follow) then I am not their leader – it doesn’t matter what “position” I hold, or what they say about me being a leader.
When Jesus began to teach about leaders among Christians, he pointed his followers to the “Gentiles” and said, “It shall not be so among you.” Today, most leaders in the church model themselves after the prevailing Gentile cultures and norms. But, this is NOT the type of leadership that Jesus taught.
Its time for believers to start following servants, not those who place themselves in the front of the group because of position or education or knowledge. And, its time for leaders to stop trying to force people to submit (which is not submission), and instead simply live their lives as examples of Jesus Christ. We persuade people to follow Christ, not our decisions and our leadership and our vision.
Submission is something that can only be given; submission cannot be taken.