1 Corinthians 12:7-10 “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: (8) for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, (9) to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, (10) to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.”
God’s leading of His children through visions is another method which has not changed between the old and the new covenants. God still guides His saints through visions, but again only as He wills. The New Testament saints see visions through the operation of the spiritual gift called the “discerning of spirits”. In teaching the church at Corinth about spiritual gifts, the apostle Paul lists the nine gifts of the Spirit in the above quoted passage of scripture, of which one is the discerning of spirits.
1 Samuel 9:9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: "Come, let us go to the seer"; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.)
So just what is the gift of discerning of spirits? To better understand this gift we need to look at the office of the prophet. As revealed in the above quoted passage of scripture we see that under the old covenant, before prophets were called prophets they were called seers. The reason that prophets were called seers is because they could see into the realm of the spirit as the Holy Spirit enabled them. The Holy Spirit enabled them to see into the spirit realm through visions and through dreams. And so we see that the gift of discerning of spirits is the supernatural ability to see into the spirit realm through visions and dreams. As with all of the gifts of the Spirit, there are different levels of anointing in which the gift of discerning of spirits operates, resulting in three types of visions that occur. Firstly, there is a spiritual vision. This is when the individual is enabled by the Holy Spirit to see into the realm of the spirit with their spirit. In this instance, the physical eyes of the individual will be shut. Dreams from the Lord fall into this category. The second level of vision is when the individual falls into a trance and their physical senses are suspended, and they are then taken into the spirit world by the Holy Spirit to see that which God would have them to see. The third level of vision is what is commonly referred to, as an open vision. This is when the individual sees the spirit world manifest itself in the natural world and the vision forms part of their natural surroundings. In this type of vision there are also instances where the Lord takes the individual physically into the realm of the spirit, to show them things and then returns them to the natural world. We have already dealt with dreams in the previous section, and so in this section we want to discuss the next two levels of visions i.e. trances and open visions.
Acts 9:3-8 “As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. (4) Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" (5) And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." (6) So, he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." (7) And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. (8) Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.”
The next level of vision which we will discuss is the trance. Unlike dreams, in these instances the individual’s physical senses are suspended while they are awake. In other words they are no longer aware of their physical bodies or their physical surroundings. During a trance the Holy Spirit restrains the body of the individual from any movement and they become motionless. While in this state of physical suspension the Holy Spirit opens the spirit realm to their inward man, allowing them to see and hear that which the Lord would show them. Very often when the individual falls into a trance, the Holy Spirit will take the person out of their bodies and transport them to another location to show them that which He wants them to see and hear. And so the first example that we will look at to discuss this level of vision is given to us in the above quoted passage of scripture. In this account we see that the Lord Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus. When the Lord appeared to Saul he immediately fell to the ground in a trance. In other words all of Saul’s physical senses were suspended during this encounter, and he lost all consciousness of both his physical body and physical surroundings as he lay motionless on the ground. We know that Saul lay motionless on the ground throughout this encounter, because this passage reveals to us that it was only at the end of the encounter that he arose from the ground. When Paul relates this account to us in a later passage of scripture however, he tells us that the Lord told him to stand up on his feet while He spoke to him (Acts 26:16). And so we see that it was with his inner man that Saul stood before the Lord Jesus on that day, while his body lay motionless on the ground in a trance. During this encounter the Lord Jesus gave Paul guidance concerning the ministry that the Lord had called him to.
Acts 22:17-18 “Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance (18) and saw Him saying to me, 'Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.”
The next example that we want to look at is recorded in the above quoted passage of scripture. In this instance the apostle Paul fell into a trance while he was praying in the temple. And so while he was in the trance the Lord Jesus appeared to him and conversed with him. If you read the full account in scripture you will see that Paul had an extensive conversation with the Lord during this vision. And so we see that trances can last for some time or can be of short duration, depending on what the Lord wants to reveal to the individual during the vision. As an aside, no one present would have heard either the Lord Jesus or Paul speaking during this encounter, for Paul conversed with the Lord with his inner man in the spirit realm, while his body remained motionless in the physical realm.
Acts 10:9-11 “The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. (10) Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance (11) and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth.”
The next account we want to discuss is recorded for us in the above quoted passage of scripture. In this account we see that just like the apostle Paul, the apostle Peter fell into a trance as he was praying. The difference on this occasion was that Peter was alone on the roof, whereas Paul would not have been alone in the temple. And so we see that the Lord gave Peter the vision of the sheet let down from heaven to show him that the Lord had cleansed the Gentiles as well as the Jews. Again if you read the full account in scripture you will see that Peter argued with the Lord during the vision, because in Peter’s mind the Lord was instructing him to do that which was unlawful. And so the Lord had to repeat the instruction to him three times to drive the point home. Nevertheless if anyone had been present on the roof that day they would have heard neither the Lord nor Peter, because all of the discourse took place in the spirit realm as Peter conversed with the Lord with his inner man, and his physical body remained in a motionless state.
Michael E.B. Maher
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