The ESV calls it a “power”, along with Wuest and Philips. The NKJV, NASB, and CSB say it’s a “sense.” They all say it’s a mark of spiritual maturity. It is discernment.

The writer of Hebrews has been contending for the faith — the faith of a community of Jewish-Christians in which some are ready to cash out on this “following Jesus thing.” It’s new. It’s counter-culture — both ethnic culture and popular culture. And it is, quite simply, hard! So, they are ready to just go back to “following God” the “old way”, the way their forefathers had for centuries. But, says this impassioned writer, in these days God has spoken to us by His Son, and His Son IS God (Heb. 1:1-3). So, to follow Jesus IS to follow God. And, in order to “show his work”, the preacher presents a crash course on tying the old to the new.

But there’s a problem. Many in his audience, though familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures, don’t really know the Scriptures. And though they’ve responded to the good news of the new covenant, the gospel, they don’t really get it either. Though “by this time they ought to be teachers”, they are more like kids. Though they should be ready to take on “solid food”, when it comes to leaning in to how the Old Testament points to the Christ, they are still settling for milk from a sippy cup. The writer to the Hebrews is ready to move on to mind-stretching implications of “the order of Melchizedek”, and many of his listeners are only interested in Joseph and his coat of many colors put up on a flannel graph.

And it’s not just about connecting theological facts. It’s not about dotting systematic i’s and crossing doctrinal t’s. It’s about growing up in the faith in order to faithfully navigate their world. And that takes discernment.

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

(Hebrews 5:14 ESV)

Powers of discernment . . . that’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

And okay, maybe too much of the Marvel Universe has infiltrated this guy’s inner man, but what comes to mind pretty quickly is that discernment is one of the mature Christian’s “superpowers.” This faculty of the mind for perceiving, understand, distinguishing, and judging comes with growing up in the faith. And that growing up comes from solid food. And that solid food is turned into muscle with constant practice.

One of the things I find frustrating with my almost 5-years-old grandson is that I can’t anticipate the next thing he’s gonna do that he shouldn’t do. I don’t even think to tell him not to drop his toothbrush in the toilet until he does it — then it’s too late (for the toothbrush). Instead, I need to teach him principles that hopefully will eventually help him distinguish good from evil before he undertakes “evil.” Principles like, “Use things only for their intended purposes.” Principles which will, with constant practice, eventually give him the power to realize that what’s meant to go into his mouth shouldn’t go into the toilet. That’s discernment.

That’s what becomes part of the believer’s operating system as we take in the solid food of Scripture. Not a comprehensive list of “to dos” and “to don’ts” but a functional knowledge of the workings of redemption, the ways of the kingdom, and the callings to holiness. Having the word of God in us gives the Spirit of God something to work with to lead us so that we can realize the practical reality of the mind of Christ as we seek to navigate the world around us.

Discernment. One of the powers that comes from solid food — and not just for superheroes.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.