Greek philosopher Aristotle is widely credited with being the first to define the five senses by which humanity perceives the world. The concept that the acquisition of knowledge is limited to sight, sound, odor, flavor, and touch is taught even today. This concept appears at first to be logical as each of these senses seem to correspond well to an obvious sensory organ: eyes provide vision, ears provides hearing, noses reveal odors, tongues detect flavors, and skin detects the many varieties of touch.
Unfortunately, this list is far from complete. Consider the sense of balance that most people possess. Tiny canals in the inner ear help us determine whether we are upright or upside down. These same canals also help provide humans with the ability to detect acceleration.
Additionally, pain is not only limited to things that touch our skin. Certainly anyone who has experienced a headache, stomachache, or other internal ache realizes that their body is capable of slowing them down dramatically when it detects some problem.
Consider the ability of humans to know when their bodies require more food or water through hunger or thirst. Anyone who has indulged at a buffet may also recognize the sensation of being full, particularly when they may have over-indulged. We also are able to detect when our bodies are reaching their use limits through the sense of fatigue. Additionally, expecting mothers are perhaps most familiar with food cravings that can help them obtain vitamins, minerals, and chemicals that they need.
Though no specific organ is associated with it, humans have the ability to determine the passage of time. Though it may seem longer when waiting for water to boil or during an uninteresting meeting, even closed away from the light of the sun, people can have a general sense of time passing.
Current scientific understanding will likely discover additional ways that human bodies are able to perceive information about their surroundings and circumstances. One sense that may not be detected so easily is the ability of humans to detect spiritual truth.
The sense that something is spiritually true is dismissed by some because there are diverse views on what is spiritually true. Also, falsehoods have in some cases been peddled as truth using appeals to this sense. That having been said, its use is well documented.
Consider the following conversation between Christ and his Apostles:
"He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:15-18)
Certainly Peter had seen miracles and evidences that contributed to his belief that Jesus was the Son of God, but Christ did not point to the use of his sight and observation as the source of his acquired knowledge. He clearly stated that "flesh and blood" had not been the cause of his revelation, but his Father in heaven. He further declared that the ability to obtain truth from our Father in heaven, or sense spiritual truth was the rock upon which his church would be built.
Consider the following from the disciples of Christ on the road to Emmaus:
" ¶And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" (Luke 24:13-32)
The method by which these disciples recognized the identity of the man with whom they walked as the risen Lord was not sight, even though they saw him. They had sensed spiritual truth as he spoke, and noted this with one another as they described how their "heart[s] burn[ed] within" them.
The Apostle John declared at the beginning of his gospel how Christ was "the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." (John 1:9)
Additionally, Christ himself taught "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine." (John 10:14) Of course, the only way that he could be "known" by others is if they had some mechanism for recognizing who he was, just as Peter did.
Just as any other sense, there are limitations on our ability to discern spiritual truth. Optical illusions trick our sense of sight into seeing something that may not be. Spiritual illusions can fool people into trusting incorrect sources, or withholding trust from accurate sources. The children of Israel famously decided it was in their best interest to create a golden calf while Moses communed with God on Sinai. (Exodus 32) True prophets such as Jeremiah, Isaiah, and John the Baptist were killed by people who should have had spiritual sense to recognize them for who they truly were.
It is also important to note that like other senses, spiritual perception can be dulled. A person that first encounters the odor of rotting flesh will be repulsed immediately, but if they spend long enough around it, the odor becomes far easier to tolerate to the point that it may not be noticeable. The same thing is true of moral questions. King David went from seeing a woman bathing to arranging the death of her husband to cover his sins over a period of time. Additionally, senses that are not properly used, or are abused, will not be as missed when they are gone. People who as youth listened to loud music too often may not be able to distinguish sounds when they are older. People who intentionally ignore their spiritual senses are most likely to conclude later that they never had any to begin with.
There are those who might say that because spiritual sensitivity can lead people to different conclusions, it cannot be trusted. Of course, if that is true, then the same should be true of all other senses, which also tend to lead people to different conclusions. What inspires one observer of modern art to call a piece "moving" and "skillful" while another observer calls it "a heap of crap" and "something my kid could do blindfolded"? What is it that inspires one listener to enjoy the rhythm of a song, and another to complain of its "repetitive noise"? What causes one person to relish the flavor of a sushi roll, and another to spit it out in disgust? What causes the masochist to enjoy pain while others perceive it so negatively?
Ultimately, everyone embraces an incorrect view or perspective from time to time. The point of life is not to shut off your perception... A person is wiser when using all their senses to perceive the world around them. It is also wise to question the motivation of individuals that would have others disregard or avoid perceptions of any particular sense or group of senses.
If you are new to exercising spiritual senses, or if you have not used them in some time, do not let discouragement prevent you from persisting. Prayer and scripture study have aided people in developing their spiritual senses for thousands of years. Humility, diligence, faith, and penitence are as vital to recognizing spiritual truths as opening the eyelids or unstopping the ears are to improving vision and hearing.
In the end, whatever conflicts or discrepancies may arise with various perceptions will be overcome, and we will all understand the truth. "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." (1 Corinthians 13:12) Ultimately, we will all know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that his gospel offers solutions to every problem humanity faces. The sooner we use our perceptions to see him, the sooner his power will help to save us all.
