The first acknowledgement of the identity of Jesus comes from a demon! “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” That goes to show you that having the right answer does not ensure that you are in the right. Maybe it helps to explain St. Paul’s instruction to the Corinthians: we speak with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms. There are different spirits out there and not all of them are the Holy Spirit. In the tradition figuring out what the Spirit of God is saying is called the “discernment of Spirits.” St. Ignatius developed a set of “rules” to help us hear the genuine voice of the Spirit.
