“discern between good and evil” (1 Kings 3:9, NKJV)
We have now taken a rather wide detour in our untangling of Heb. 5:14 – “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” A few things are now more clear:
- Man lost his innocence at the time of the fall, and this lead to his state of sickly self-awareness, and nakedness (“For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.” – Rom. 7:14).
- Nothing can change this state of carnality, especially not any attempts at bettering the self – “Flesh and blood give birth to flesh and blood, but the Spirit gives birth to things that are spiritual.” (John 3:6, GW).
- The Spirit of the Lord is absolutely necessary in order to destroy these works of the flesh, in other words, your carnal state – “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Rom. 8:13).
- In the inner man (Rom. 7:22; 2 Cor. 4:16; Eph. 3:16) and through the Spirit that renders us alive (1 Cor. 15:45), the believer develops spiritual senses that lay siege of the self-conscious fleshly state of the self.
- Thus the believers “are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18).
- Throughout this process the believer becomes more and more mature, as his spiritual abilities are put into use, discerning good from evil.
- This eventually leads to his full measure, “to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).
A key Scripture in this regard is Solomon’s prayer in 1 Kings 3:9: “Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” An understanding heart manifests in wisdom! 1 Kings 3:28: “And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.” But what exactly is an understanding heart? The word in Hebrew is shâma, which means: “to hear, listen to, obey” (BDB).
In practical terms Prov. 16:3 in the Amplified Bible is our best pointer: “Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.”
- Selah: An understanding heart manifests in wisdom.
- Read: 7-9
- Memorise: 8:22
