How should Christians test spiritual experiences?

Christians should test every spiritual experience, dream, impression, or supernatural claim by the authoritative Word of God. First John 4:1 commands believers to test the spirits, and 1 Thessalonians 5:21 instructs Christians to test everything and hold fast to what is good.

Can a powerful spiritual experience still be misleading?

Yes. An experience may feel powerful, sincere, or supernatural without necessarily being from God. Feelings and experiences are not the final authority for Christians. Every claim must agree with Scripture because God does not contradict His revealed Word.

What are practical ways to evaluate a spiritual claim?

Christians should ask whether the claim agrees with Scripture, whether it exalts Jesus Christ as He is revealed in Scripture, and whether it can withstand examination by mature believers and faithful church leaders.

Why is the sufficiency of Scripture important for biblical discernment?

Second Timothy 3:16-17 teaches that Scripture equips believers for every good work. Because God's Word is sufficient for faith and practice, Christians do not need secret knowledge, hidden revelation, or mystical experiences to know God's will for salvation and faithful Christian living.

Testing Spiritual Experiences by the Word of God

Name: Testing Spiritual Experiences by the Word of God
Duration: 7 min 37 s
Channel: Dave Jenkins
Description: Dave Jenkins explains why Christians must test spiritual experiences, dreams, impressions, and supernatural claims by the authoritative and sufficient Word of God.

⏱️ Estimated Reading Time: 2 min read

Testing Spiritual Experiences by the Word of God

How can Christians know whether a spiritual experience, dream, impression, or supernatural claim is truly from God?

In this episode of Anchored in the Word with Dave Jenkins, Dave explains why every spiritual claim must be tested by the authoritative and sufficient Word of God. Drawing from 1 John 4:1, 2 Timothy 3:16–17, Acts 17:11, 1 Thessalonians 5:21, and Isaiah 8:20, he shows why biblical discernment is the responsibility of every Christian.

Christians are called neither to gullibility nor cynicism. Experiences may feel powerful or meaningful, but feelings, impressions, and personal experiences are never the final authority. Scripture interprets our experiences; our experiences do not interpret Scripture.

Dave also considers three practical ways Christians can test spiritual experiences: whether they agree with Scripture, whether they exalt Christ as revealed in His Word, and whether they withstand the wisdom and accountability of mature believers and faithful church leaders.

Spiritual experiences may be powerful, but only Scripture is the final authority for faith and practice.

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Dave Jenkins

Dave Jenkins is happily married to his wife, Sarah, and lives in beautiful Southern Oregon. He is a writer, editor, and speaker who loves Christ, His people, the Church, and sound theology.Dave serves as the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries and the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine. He is the Host and Producer of the Equipping You in Grace Podcast and a contributor to and producer of Contending for the Word.He is the author of The War of Worldviews: Truth, Lies, and the Battle for the Christian Mind (Theology for Life, 2026), Contentment: The Journey of a Lifetime (Theology for Life, 2024), The Word Matters: Defending Biblical Authority Against the Spirit of the Age (G3 Press, 2022), and The Word Explored: The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy and What To Do About It (House to House, 2021).You can connect with Dave on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, or subscribe to his newsletter.When he is not engaged in ministry work, Dave enjoys spending time with his wife, going to movies, sharing a meal at a favorite restaurant, or playing a round of golf with friends. He is also a voracious reader, particularly of Reformed theology and the Puritans, and is often found working through a stack of new books from a wide range of Christian publishers.Dave earned his M.A.R. and M.Div. from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.

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