to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another
the distinguishing of spirits ” (1 Cor 12: 9, 10)

To distinguish spirits means to determine who is from God and who is not from God, especially in regards to religious teachers. For example, John told us to test the spirits to see whether they are from God. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 Jn 4:1).

John said, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 Jn 4:1).

In putting religious teachers to the test, it all starts with you. Do you believe everyone of them? Are you wise or naive about them? Naive people are unsuspecting, gullible, and believe things they should not. As the wisdom of Solomon has said: “The naive believes everything, but the sensible man considers his steps. A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is arrogant and careless.” (Prov 14:15, 16) But God’s word has a goal and objective: “To give prudence to the naive.” (Prov 1:4) Just like Solomon wanted his listeners to be the opposite of naive--wise, John wanted the same for his listeners, for them to be wise, prudent, careful, and sensible about whom they believe, listen to, and follow; whom they turn towards and whom they turn away from. A naive person does not test, validate, or prove what he hears. But a wise person will test or: “examine everything carefully...” (1 Thess 5:21) God expects us to test or prove all things.