How to Biblically Discern Spiritual Experiences: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Oj
- Jan 22
- 6 min read
Have you ever had a spiritual experience that left you wondering, "Was that really God?" Maybe you felt an overwhelming sense of His presence during worship. Perhaps you had a vivid dream that seemed too significant to be random. Or maybe someone gave you a prophetic word that stirred something deep in your soul.
I've been there. And I've learned the hard way that not every spiritual feeling, vision, or supernatural encounter comes from God. It took me years to understand what Scripture means when it warns us to "test the spirits to see whether they are from God" (1 John 4:1). The truth is, our hearts are capable of deceiving us, spiritual counterfeits are real, and learning to discern the difference can protect us from painful detours in our faith journey.
But how do we actually do this? How can we distinguish between experiences that are genuinely from the Holy Spirit, those that stem from our own emotions or desires, and those that may have a darker origin? This guide will walk you through a biblical framework for discerning spiritual experiences with wisdom and clarity.
Why Discernment Matters
The Bible doesn't dismiss spiritual experiences as unimportant or irrelevant. Throughout Scripture, God speaks through dreams, visions, prophetic words, and direct encounters. From Moses at the burning bush to Paul's vision on the Damascus road, genuine spiritual experiences have shaped the course of redemptive history.
However, Scripture equally warns us that counterfeits exist. False prophets can perform signs and wonders. Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. Even our own hearts can deceive us, manufacturing experiences that feel spiritual but are rooted in wishful thinking, emotional manipulation, or psychological projection.
The stakes are high. Poor discernment can lead believers into deception, false teaching, spiritual pride, or bondage. Good discernment, on the other hand, helps us recognise God's genuine work in our lives while protecting us from error.
Step 1: Test It Against Scripture
This is the foundational and non-negotiable first step. Any spiritual experience must align completely with the revealed Word of God. Scripture is our ultimate authority and the measuring stick by which all experiences must be evaluated.
Ask yourself: Does this experience contradict anything in the Bible? Does it lead me toward biblical truth or away from it? Would the experience encourage me to disobey God's clear commands or embrace teaching that conflicts with apostolic doctrine?
If someone claims to have received a revelation that contradicts Scripture, that alone disqualifies it, regardless of how powerful or compelling the experience felt. God does not contradict Himself. The Holy Spirit will never lead you in a direction that opposes the written Word He inspired.
Consider what the experience emphasises. Does it magnify Christ and His finished work on the cross? Does it lead you to love God more deeply and obey Him more faithfully? Or does it centre on the experience itself, on you, or on seeking additional revelations beyond what God has already revealed?
Step 2: Examine the Fruit
Jesus taught us that we would know false prophets by their fruit. This principle applies equally to spiritual experiences. What is the outcome of this experience in your life and in the lives of others involved?
Genuine encounters with God produce the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. They lead to greater humility, deeper repentance, increased holiness, and a stronger desire to serve others. They draw you closer to Christ and make you more like Him.
Deceptive or self-generated experiences often produce different fruit: spiritual pride, division, fear, confusion, obsession with the supernatural, a sense of superiority over other believers, or a diminished view of Scripture. They may create dependency on experiences rather than on Christ Himself. They might lead to emotional instability or an unhealthy focus on subjective feelings over objective truth.
Give it time. Some fruit takes a season to appear. A truly transformative encounter with God will have lasting effects that endure beyond the initial emotional high.
Step 3: Seek Counsel from Mature Believers
We are not meant to navigate the spiritual life in isolation. God has placed us in the body of Christ precisely so we can benefit from the wisdom, experience, and perspective of others.
Share your experience with mature believers you trust, particularly your pastor, elders, or other spiritually grounded mentors. Be willing to describe what happened honestly and listen carefully to their response. Do they affirm that this aligns with Scripture and God's character? Do they see good fruit? Are they cautious or concerned about any aspect of it?
Proverbs repeatedly emphasises the safety found in a multitude of counsellors. This is especially true when evaluating spiritual experiences, where our own subjectivity and emotional investment can cloud our judgment. Wise counsel provides an external checkpoint against self-deception.
Be wary if your experience makes you resistant to input from others or leads you to believe you have special insight that other mature believers don't understand. That attitude itself can be a warning sign.
Step 4: Consider the Source and Context
Where did this experience occur? What were the circumstances surrounding it? Who was involved? These contextual details matter.
If an experience happened during a time of intense prayer, biblical meditation, corporate worship, or while serving others in Jesus's name, that context is more conducive to genuine encounters with God. If it occurred while engaging with questionable spiritual practices, New Age techniques, mind-altering substances, or while under the influence of manipulative leaders, that raises significant concerns.
Consider also your own spiritual state. Were you walking in obedience and fellowship with God? Or were you in a vulnerable place spiritually, emotionally, or psychologically? Were you desperately seeking an experience or a sign from God? Sometimes our desperation can make us susceptible to counterfeits or cause us to misinterpret natural phenomena as supernatural.
Step 5: Evaluate the Message and Focus
What was the content of the experience? What truth or message did it communicate, if any?
Experiences from God will always glorify Christ, emphasise His lordship, point to His work on the cross, and lead you toward greater faith and obedience. They align with the gospel message and the character of God revealed in Scripture.
Be cautious of experiences that focus excessively on you, your importance, your special calling, or your unique spiritual status. While God certainly speaks personally to His children and calls them to specific purposes, genuine encounters with God tend to humble us and magnify Him.
Be equally wary of experiences that communicate new doctrines, claim to add to Scripture, predict specific future events, or seem designed primarily to create fear or manipulate behaviour. God's voice brings clarity, peace, conviction, and hope even when it challenges us.
Step 6: Look for Christlikeness and Love
The ultimate test of any spiritual experience is whether it makes you more like Jesus and increases your love for God and others. This is the central aim of the Christian life and the primary work of the Holy Spirit in believers.
Does this experience increase your love for God? Does it deepen your compassion for others? Does it make you more patient, kind, and forgiving? Does it increase your desire to serve, to give, to sacrifice for the sake of the gospel?
Or does it make you more focused on yourself, more judgmental toward others, more consumed with having additional experiences, or more convinced of your own spiritual superiority? Does it create division or foster unity? Does it build up the church or create factions?
An experience that truly comes from God will conform you more closely to the image of Christ. It will produce in you the same sacrificial love, humble service, and radical obedience that characterised Jesus's earthly ministry.
Moving Forward with Wisdom
Discerning spiritual experiences isn't about approaching God with cynicism or suspecting every movement of the Spirit. It's about approaching with wisdom, anchored in Scripture, surrounded by community, and focused on Christ.
God is still speaking. He still moves. He still encounters His people in powerful ways. But He has also given us everything we need to distinguish truth from error, light from darkness, His voice from counterfeits.
When you experience something you believe may be from God, don't dismiss it out of hand, but don't accept it uncritically either. Walk through these steps prayerfully and patiently. Hold the experience with an open hand, willing to embrace it if it proves genuine and willing to reject it if it proves false.
Above all, remember that your relationship with God is not dependent on dramatic experiences. You are secure in Christ through faith, known and loved by God, indwelt by His Spirit. Whether or not you ever have another supernatural experience, you have everything you need for life and godliness in Christ and in His Word.
Test everything. Hold fast to what is good. And fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith.
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