How to Discern the Work of the Holy Spirit

1 John 4:1

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world." 

Listen up, children of God.  Be very careful about what you are accepting as the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, the third part of the trinity.  He is God in Spirit form.  He lives in believers who've become born again by faith in Jesus Christ. He is depicted as having the appearance of a dove when He descended upon Jesus in His earthly ministry (Luke 3:22). He is depicted as a dove because He is pure and easily offended by all that is unclean and sinful. He is perfectly righteous so anything immoral is offensive to Him. When He is too offended He eventually just leaves. He is God and He should be respected and feared. He should be regarded at all times as sacred and holy. You must develop your spiritual gift of discernment so you can discern the difference between strange (demonic) spirits and the one true Holy Spirit of God.  There is only one Holy Spirit, but many counterfeits.  Some counterfeits are very good and will be harder to discern.  The best way to discern the counterfeit is to know the real thing very well. You will need to spend time intimately developing your relationship with the Spirit of God that's within you.  You must not grieve the Holy Spirit. Sin is what causes the Holy Spirit to grieve within you.  Let the Holy Spirit guide you in the WAY to avoid sin.  If you do sin, be sure to confess your sins to God as soon as possible, and He is faithful and just to forgive us of all of our sins.  Keep on confessing all known sin and asking God to reveal any unknown sin so you can confess it.  The Holy Spirit helps us achieve...you guessed it...holiness.

I could describe the spirits that are not of God, but I think it would be better to tell you the characteristics of the Holy Spirit and then let you figure out for yourself which spirits are not of God.  I will give you questions to ask so you can test the spirit and know for sure. These are ways you can discern the spirits in people and places.

1. The Holy Spirit exalts and magnifies Jesus. He glorifies the "real" Jesus above all else, and proclaims Jesus is God. I say the "real" Jesus because some spirits exalt a Jesus that is not the true and biblical Jesus, so beware. Some people are exalting their idea of who Jesus is, instead of the real and true Jesus, who is God in the flesh. The biblical Jesus was and is absolutely righteous and just. Some people are worshiping a mystical counterfeit of Jesus that focuses on signs, wonders and strange manifestations more than His holiness and righteousness. Some people are allowing strange spirits to take the place of the Holy Spirit and worshiping these strange counterfeits. Does the spirit confess that Jesus is God come in the flesh?

1 John 4:2-3

"By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world."

2. The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of PURITY.  He is our helper and our teacher.  He leads us away from sin and towards holiness. He is working for our sanctification, which is the process of becoming fully holy and fully righteous. The end result will be when we are made complete and perfect. Not everyone finds this narrow way. Some miss out on God's best because it is difficult, but the Holy Spirit helps us every step of the way. Don't settle for anything less than God's best, no matter the difficulty and no matter what you have to give up. The Holy Spirit brings comfort and encouragement on our journey of sanctification. He brings LIFE, love and revival to man's spirit.  Does the spirit comfort you in your times of distress?  Does the spirit lead you away from sin and towards holiness and righteousness?

John 14:26

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."

3. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of TRUTH and contains no error. There are many spirits that have a measure of truth and some error. These are not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit contains absolutely no error whatsoever. The Holy Spirit is greater than every other spirit. All spirits submit to the Holy Spirit. Does the spirit speak the truth without error? Does the spirit have authority over every other spirit?

1 John 4:4-6

"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."

4. The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of LOVE.  Many times you will see churches where there are apparent manifestations of the Holy Spirit but there is no love present. Where the true Holy Spirit is there will be a deep love and bonding between people. Those who have the true Holy Spirit will pass the love test.  Do they manifest a deep apparent love for God and people?

1 John 4:7-16

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him."

5. The Holy Spirit is bold and without fear. When He's present it's a Spirit of joy and all fears fade away.  Does the spirit bring fear or anxiety or peace and joy?

1 John 4:17-19

"Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us."

6. The Holy Spirit forms fruit in people's character. Do you see the fruit of the spirit formed in the person's life?  Does the person's character exude love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self control? Do you see these characteristics in action? Do they keep growing (in each of these areas) as time goes on?

Galatians 5:22-23 
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."

7. The Holy Spirit manifests a deep love for ALL different kinds of people.  Does the person or spirit manifest a deep love for ALL people? Does the spirit unite people of all races, genders, ages, social classes and denominations ?

1 John 4:20-21 

"If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also."

So...does the spirit pass the test?  Now you will know how to discern the true Holy Spirit of God. Keep developing your gift of discernment so it's razor sharp and always in use. You're going to need it in the future for what's coming. God bless you in your walk with Him always!