Discernment of spirits

[Nell]

Yes, byHisMercy, an excellent testimony.

Your words remind me of something Witness Lee actually said many years ago, when discussing discernment of "the real thing."

As you know, part of the mission of the United States Secret Service is investigating counterfeit US Currency. In their training, they do not study the myriad of currencies printed. They study THE REAL THING. They memorize it. They learn the intricacies and tiny details of genuine US currency. This makes counterfeit currency obvious. When you know what's real, you recognize a fake when you see it.

At this, Witness Lee encouraged us to know the Lord and in so doing, you recognize what is NOT the Lord. This actually helped me to recognize the signs when Lee himself began to go off the rails. It helped me to stand with what I knew to be true...what I knew of the Lord to be true. When you know what is true, you will be cognizant of the need to "try the spirits" when something seems "off". I began to see that Lee was contradicting the Word, and in many cases, his own ministry.

I think this is the essence of this verse:

1 John 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you[a] know all things. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

Nell