Lesson 5. The “Discerning of Spirits” School will help you successfully recognize demonic forces. Author: John Edwards.
Luke wrote the Book of Acts as a continuation of the Gospel named after him. His purpose was to provide Theophilus with a clear account of how the Church grew after Jesus ascended into heaven. In his narrative, he mentions instances of healing and deliverance that affected the life and growth of the Church. One such instance is the healing of the lame man at the temple gate in Acts 3:1–10. After his astonishing healing, this man attracted the attention of all the people by leaping in the temple courts, as a result of which the Jewish authorities forbade the apostles to preach in the name of Jesus. Luke does not tell us exactly how many people received a miracle from God in their lives at that time. However, whenever the Gospel was preached, believers were strengthened and formed into local churches, where healings and deliverances took place. Luke mentions Paul’s arrival in Corinth, where he worked for eighteen months, but says nothing about whether any miracles occurred there. Nevertheless, in his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul describes his preaching among them this way: “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power…” (1 Cor. 2:4), so the supernatural truly took place during Paul’s stay in Corinth.
Although Luke did not intend to describe all the miracles and healings that took place during that period of history, he nevertheless gives us several examples.
Jerusalem
Soon after the healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate, the apostles were able to testify with great power. We are told that “great grace was upon them all” (Acts 4:33), and that “through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people” (Acts 5:12).
People carried the sick into the streets so that even Peter’s shadow might fall on them. Acts 5:16 says: “Also a multitude gathered from the cities around Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.”
Samaria
When, following Stephen’s stoning, persecution of the believers in Jerusalem began, Philip went to Samaria and preached Christ there. The miracles accompanying his preaching drew the attention of the local people; we read: “For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed” (Acts 8:7). I have often attended services where evil spirits cried out in the same way as they did at Philip’s meetings in Samaria, especially when the power of Jesus’ name to cast out demons was mentioned.
Several years ago, I was invited to preach at a Gypsy church in Montpellier, southern France. On the second evening of the meetings, I spoke about the danger of involvement in occultism and how such involvement opens the door for demons to enter a person’s life. Then I led the meeting in prayer, asking the Lord for forgiveness and renouncing occultism. Immediately, a reaction swept through the entire hall as spirits began to manifest and come out of people. Some fell to the floor, others began gasping for breath and coughing, and several people were delivered with loud cries and wails. Taking part in such deliverance ministries brings to life the descriptions of Philip’s revival meetings. Always after such an outpouring, as in Samaria, “there was great joy.”
Philippi
In Philippi, Paul cast out from a servant girl a spirit of divination that had annoyed him and Silas for several days. When the spirit of divination left the girl, she lost the ability to predict the future. This is the only place in Scripture that speaks of a person receiving deliverance who apparently had not previously sought the Lord’s help for deliverance or trusted in Him (Acts 16:16).
Ephesus
We read that during Paul’s ministry in Ephesus, “God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them” (Acts 19:11–12). From this and a number of other verses, it follows that the Word of God often links sickness with the presence of evil spirits. Of course, not every illness is caused by demonic activity, but there is probably more connection between them than the Church generally recognizes today.
If God gave us the Book of Acts as a model for evangelism and Church life until Jesus returns, then we should expect manifestations of the power of the Holy Spirit like those in the early Church as we proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom. One of the key factors accompanying the present revival in Argentina is a deep awareness of the need for spiritual warfare, along with a willingness to discern, resist, and cast demons out of believers and the thousands of people newly converted to Christ. I believe that one of the urgent tasks facing the Church is equipping believers to be ready to minister effectively in the lives of those who need deliverance.
