To Discern (ἀνακρίνω)
As a derivative of the word for judge, discern expresses the careful study of a question, and is often used in a judicial hearing.
After discerning if Jesus was guilty, Pilate’s response to the Chief Priest and rulers of Israel was that he found no fault in Christ, whom they accused of misleading the people. Not only did he find no blame, but also Herod sent Him back to Pilate for Christ had done nothing worthy of death, Luke 23:13-15. Before the rulers and elders, Peter calls them out for having Christ put to death because he and John were being examined concerning a good deed done to a helpless man, Acts 4:8-10. After killing James and seeing that it pleased the Jewish leaders, Herod locks up Peter so he can continue putting the disciples to death after the days of Unleavened Bread were over, Acts 12:2-3. However, God sent a messenger during the night to release Peter from prison. In the morning, when the guards found that Peter was not in the prison, they were examined and put to death for failing to secure their prisoner, Acts 12:19.
Outside of a judicial setting, discern is used concerning what a person is speaking or how they are acting. The Jews of Berea were high-born, unlike those of Thessalonica. Therefore, they were able to examine the Scripture concerning what Paul was stating to them about the Christ, for they could afford personal copies of the scrolls. As a result of their access to Scripture, many believed what Paul was proclaiming, Acts 17:11. When it comes to discerning the things of the Spirit, they cannot be examined by those who are carnal, for the fleshly mind is not subject to God, 1 Corinthians 2:14; however, an individual who is spiritual is able to discern the things of the Spirit. One who has their mind framed on and seeking the desires of the Holy Spirit has to emanate this mindset through their actions and lifestyle in order for us to know they are Spiritual, for we cannot discern a spiritual person by their appearance, 1 Corinthians 2:15.
Attempting to discern the intentions of others is not something we are to be involved with, for it is the Lord who will judge the hidden things of the heart, 1 Corinthians 4:3-5. We are still to identify, mark, and, when necessary, separate from those who teach false doctrine and walk in a manner that is contrary to the Christ, Romans 16:17; 2 John 10; 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15. Be cautious concerning those who seek to discern others, for just as the false apostles did with Paul to persuade the Corinthians saints against him, they will do to gather people unto themselves. Although Paul had the right for the Corinthian saints to support him financially, he did not take anything from them, knowing that it would hinder the gospel among them, 1 Corinthians 9:3. The false apostles attempted to use this against Paul, claiming by it that he was not an apostle. What the purpose of the heart is should always be left up to God, for we judge the actions, not the intent.
Although the Spiritual gift of speaking in tongues has ceased, for we have the full revelation of Scripture, 1 Corinthians 13:8-10, we can still learn from the Corinthian saints who were not holding meetings in an orderly manner; therefore, when someone who did not understand what they were doing joined them, their impression was that these people were out of their minds. Within the context of 1 Corinthians chapters twelve to fourteen, Paul rebukes these saints for misusing Spiritual gifts, for the Church is not to be ignorant concerning them. If a person had the gift of speaking in tongues, he is not to speak unless he finds one who could interpret what he had to say. Since speaking in tongues was a known language, not what is falsely taught today in assemblies claiming the gift, the interpreter would be familiar enough with the language to express the wonder of God being stated in that tongue. However, with prophecy being active at this time, for all Scripture had not yet been written, Paul encouraged them to seek it out, for when an unbeliever enters their midst, it is through prophecy that he is convinced because it discerns all things, 1 Corinthians 14:23. Where speaking in tongues was a sign to the unbelieving Jew, not for the Gentiles, 1 Corinthians 14:22. Therefore, it is important that all things are done in an orderly manner within the Church and the spiritual gifts are not abused so that all can discern what is being taught.
The act of discerning requires a careful examination of a question to properly understand the answer. In terms of spiritual matters, one must focus his mind on the things above and prioritize seeking out and fulfilling the desires from the Spirit so that they are led by Him in order to discern them properly. When we attempt to know God through our emotions or fleshly desires, we cannot discern Spiritual things and will end up being led astray, for our sin nature wars against our soul, which is the center of our emotions, seeking to bring us into obedience to fulfill its desires.
Waging of War (στρατεύω)
As Christians, although we walk in the flesh, our waging of war is not done according to the flesh, for our weapons of warfare are not carnal in nature, 2 Corinthians 10:3-4. We battle malignantly evil spiritual forces that seek to ensnare our minds into doing the will of Satan while persuading us that we are doing what God wants, 2 Timothy 2:26. One of the most influential means by which war is waged upon humans is through the world system, for it is set up to pacify the sin nature through the desires of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of biological life, just as a baby is appeased by his mother rocking him in her arms, 1 John 2:16; 5:19. The wars of this world are a direct result of seeking to fulfill the desires of the flesh, James 4:1. Since we are engulfed in a spiritual battle, we are not to entangle ourselves with the affairs of this world, 2 Timothy 2:3.
Although we are at war, we do not need to fear. God has given us all things pertaining to life and godliness, 2 Peter 1:3. We are not ignorant of Satan’s methods and have been provided with armor that handles any attack he brings our way, Ephesians 6:10-18; 2 Corinthians 2:11. As part of our salvation, we also have light armor for everyday use so that we are always ready to give a defense for the hope that we have as we shine as luminaries to this crooked and perverse generation through living out who we are in Christ while casting off the works of darkness, Romans 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:8. We are not part of the world system, for our citizenship is in the heavens, John 17:15-16; Philippians 3:20. Even though we live in the world, we are not to govern our lives according to its desires, for we are strangers and pilgrims in this land, 1 Corinthians 7:31.
Therefore, our focus should always be set upon the things related to God. What job we have, where we live, what we purchase, who we associate with, and all other things related to the world need to be governed by who we are in Christ. First and foremost is the fellowshipping with the saints, Hebrews 10:26. Then we are to be content with what we have, for godliness with contentment is of great gain, 1 Timothy 6:6. There is nothing wrong with being wealthy; however, the fondness of money is a root of all wrong things, 1 Timothy 6:10. Therefore, we should not be seeking money over the care and fellowship of other saints. When the desires from our sin nature rise up within us and strongly seek to be fulfilled, we are to respond by using the truth, for through it, we will always have victory over our sinful desires (the truth is doctrine for having victory over the sin nature, Romans 6:3-13). When we are discouraged, disappointed, or find ourselves desiring what others have, we are to put on the armor from God to protect ourselves from all the fiery darts of the malignantly evil one. When the world system seeks to impose its desires upon us through the lust of the flesh and eyes and the pride of biological life, we are to recognize the fact that we are not of the world. Although we use it, we do not abuse it, for it is designed to distract us from seeing things as they truly are and living out the life we have in Christ.
Therefore, since we are at war, let us abstain from fleshly desires that are waging war against our emotions so that our conduct in this world is proper, 1 Peter 2:11, for we are the children of the light, and sons of the day, Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5.
No savingness (ἀσωτία)
In Ephesians 5:18, the saint is instructed to stop being drunk with wine, in which is no savingness. In many English translations the word “dissipation” is used, meaning the foolishness of using one’s money or time in a way that only seeks pleasure, resulting in these resources being wasted. However, in the original language, it is a negation of the word “save”, which expresses the lack of salvation; not focusing on using one’s time and resources in a preserving manner. Therefore, intoxicated Christians are not able to relate to the things pertaining to salvation; rather, they are wasting their time with foolishness due to seeking after pleasure. Therefore, they are not redeeming the time, Ephesians 5:16. This type of lifestyle is seen in the parable of the prodigal son, who took all his possessions and foolishly squandered them, Luke 15:13.
In Titus, Paul writes concerning the requirements of a Pastor. He is to be a one-woman type of man, meaning only married to one woman, and not have children who are accused of seeking pleasure over the things that relate to salvation, Titus 1:6. These are children who have no discipline in using their time and resources in a proper way and are living a lifestyle following after foolish things.
The things related to salvation impact our conduct. As Christians, we are not to foolishly waste our time with the things the Gentiles go after, for they seek pleasure above all else, living a lifestyle of licentiousness, running after every desire in debauchery and partying. This type of conduct leads to destruction for it does nothing more than waste the resources a person has, bringing upon them ruin. When we start to govern our lives according to the things related to salvation, those who are unsaved or carnal will look on with surprise that we do not follow with them after the flood of dissolution (unsavingness) they mindlessly follow, while speaking false things about us because we refuse to join them, 1 Peter 4:3-4.
Drunkenness has no value in the Christian life, for it comes from a mindset that is seeking after foolish pleasure and wasting resources on licentiousness. Therefore, when Christians are intoxicated, they are not able to focus on Spiritual things and therefore cannot relate to their salvation.
Stop Quenching the Spirit (μὴ σβέννυτε)
“Quenching” involves the ceasing of a function by extinguishing it. It is used for not dousing smoking flax in Matthew 12:20 and putting out a lamp in Matthew 25:8. By faith, the saints of old were even able to quench the violence of fire, Hebrews 11:34. For those who reject the truth of the Gospel for salvation, they will abide in a place where the worm is not quenched, Mark 9:44. The worm is referring to the sin nature; therefore, it is a place where the sin nature will never cease its cravings, for it will at no time be satisfied.
As Christians, we have been given the tools in Christ that enable us to quench the fiery darts of the malignantly evil one, Ephesians 6:16. These are his attempts to get us to act independently from God by persuading us to be bitter, disappointed, discouraged, lie, steal, gossip, or in any other way speak and act in a manner that is contrary to who we are in Christ. They are rightly described as fiery darts, for when we allow them in, they burn within us as they seek to overtake our thoughts and impact our actions. However, the shield of faith is able to quench them all.
We are not to quench the Holy Spirit, 1 Thessalonians 5:19. The Holy Spirit impacts us through our desires, Galatians 5:17. He does this by giving us desires that are contrary to the cravings from our flesh, which is where the sin nature resides. When we quench Him, we are rejecting His desires over the yearnings from the flesh. By applying the truth, we are able to have victory over our sin nature and will seek to fulfill the righteous desires He gives us so that we govern our conduct in the newness of life that we have in Christ Jesus and will stop quenching Him.
The Without Guile Milk of the Logical
(τὸ λογικὸν ἄδολον γάλα)
Guile is the use of words in cleverness to deceive. We see this type of vile workings in those who crucified Christ, plotting to have Him arrested, but not in public lest there is an uproar from the people, Matthew 26:4-5. After the resurrection of Christ, guile is used by Elymas, who sought to pervert the proconsul of Paphos from the straight ways of the Lord, Acts 13:8-10. Guile is an aspect of unrighteousness, for when used, what a person says may not be sinful, but the use of cleverness to manipulate others is done out of deceit, Romans 1:29.
Logical is that which comes out of proper reasoning. One who is being logical will draw inferences from premises to conclusions that are based upon, and tested by, truth. God’s word is logical and cannot be interpreted through emotions, for emotions do not require proper reasoning and are based upon feelings, not actuality or facts. Therefore, the Word of God does not use the cunning, deceitfully persuasive words of men in their wisdom; rather, it comes in Spirit and inherent ability, 1 Corinthians 2:4. Spirit is our rational part; therefore, the soulish man cannot receive the things from the Spirit, 1 Corinthians 2:11,14. Those who seek to deceive the saints use persuasive words, changing the grace of our Lord into licentiousness, according to the principles of the world by using the passions of the flesh, not the truth related to the Christ, Colossians 2:4, 8.
It is our reasonable logical religious service to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God, Romans 12:1. For the truth of the matter is, He purchased it, 1 Corinthians 6:19. Any logic that lifts itself above the knowledge of God is to be cast down so that every thought is brought into captivity to the Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:5. For these are not logical at all, but rather through the principles of the world using the wisdom of men in self-made religion and neglect of the body, which has no benefit in controlling the desires of the flesh, they lift themselves up against the knowledge of God, Colossians 2:23.
The unadulterated (without guile) milk of logic rejects malic, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and speaking down to others, for none of these result from proper reasoning based upon the truth. Therefore, the milk of logic is pure, not mixed with philosophy or deceit, for its intent is to speak that which is truthful in a plain manner.
Reviled (λοιδορέω)
“Revile” is to speak in an insulting way towards another.
The Pharisees reviled the blind man that Jesus healed because he questioned if they wanted to become disciples of Christ after they continued to ask him how he was healed, John 9:28. This man was blind from birth and Jesus healed him on the Sabbath as a sign to the Jews that those who do not see will see. After hearing his story, the Pharisees again call him back to recount what happened to them. They revile him because the man who was blind calls them out for not listening to him and the fact that no one has ever been healed in this manner before; therefore, Jesus has to be from God. In response, the Pharisees claim to be Moses’ disciples, insult him, and cast him out of the synagogue.
In Jerusalem, while Paul was being accused by the Jews so that the Romans would put him to death, after stating that he has lived in all good conscience before God, Ananias commanded the ones nearby to strike him. Paul calls him out for his unrighteous action, referring to him as a whitewashed wall. Paul is then rebuked for reviling the High Priest, Acts 23:4. However, Paul was not aware that Ananias was the High Priest at that time and apologetically quotes Scripture, which states they are not to speak bad concerning a ruler of the people, Acts 23:5. Although what Paul stated was not inaccurate, it was intended to be an insult and therefore not appropriate for him to say against the High Priest.
In response to being reviled, Paul speaks well of others, 1 Corinthians 4:11. Just as Christ, when He suffered for righteousness, did not return revile when He was berated, we are to commit ourselves to God, Who is the righteous judge, 1 Peter 2:22. Satan will take every opportunity he can to accuse the saints before God. This is why it is very important for younger widows to marry, bear children, and tend to the household so that they give their adversary no opening to revile them, 1 Timothy 5:4. In addition, we are not to keep company with those who habitually revile others, for they are not ones who inherit the kingdom of God, 1 Corinthians 5:11; 6:10. Therefore, in being reviled, we are to counter with speaking well of, knowing that we are called to suffer for righteousness, 1 Peter 3:9.