All about Perception
TEACHING ON PERCEPTION – THE “EXPERIENCE” OF KNOWING
TO “KNOW” DEEPER THAN THE SURFACE
I always thought that to “perceive” something was like an elusive 6th sense. However that 6th sense is actually our spirit or our conscience that is instinctively felt which is another lesson. The Lord took me through some lessons to teach me that PERCEPTION is actually much less obscure than knowing our conscience.
In the Hebrew and Greek Perception is not a sense, it is an experience. To perceive is a verb with action. The word perceive means to suddenly know, to understand, to be aware, recognize, acknowledge. This definition is true in the English language as well.
In the English language to perceive means to become aware or conscious of (something); come to realize or understand.
synonyms: discern, recognize, become aware of, see, distinguish, realize, grasp, understand, take in, make out, find, identify, hit on, comprehend, apprehend, appreciate, sense.
Through scripture and rhema of seeing/ hearing He has taught me that the process of perceiving something is just like receiving a Word of knowledge. The difference is that a Word of knowledge is a knowing that comes as a result of HEARING a word. On the other hand, perception is the same process but it is a knowing that comes as a result of SEEING something. Both hearing and seeing are experiences that take place in the spiritual realm beyond what our natural ears and eyes tell us.
THE ROAD TO EMMAUS MODELED AN EXPERIENCE
The following scripture shows that the disciples eyes were closed and they didn’t realize they were talking to Jesus. And then they received the experience of having their eyes opened and they suddenly KNEW they had been with Jesus. That knowledge is the experience called perception.
Luke 24:31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
Luke 24:15-16 And it came to pass, that, while they discussed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. 16 But their eyes were held that they should not know him.
EYES – LITERAL OR FIGURATIVE
Strong’s Greek Dictionary
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- ὀφθαλμός ophthalmos (ophthalmós)
Search for G3788 in KJVSL; in KJV.
ὀφθαλμός ophthalmós, of-thal-mos’
from G3700; the eye (literally or figuratively); by implication, vision; figuratively, envy (from the jealous side-glance):—eye, sight.
masculine noun
OPENED – TO THOROUGHLY OPEN
Strong’s Greek Dictionary
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- διανοίγω dianoigo (dianoígō)
Search for G1272 in KJVSL; in KJV.
διανοίγω dianoígō, dee-an-oy’-go
from G1223 and G455; to open thoroughly, literally (as a first-born) or figuratively (to expound):—open.
verb
HELD – TO HOLD BACK OR RETAIN
Strong’s Greek Dictionary
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- κρατέω krateo (kratéō)
Search for G2902 in KJVSL; in KJV.
κρατέω kratéō, krat-eh’-o
from G2904; to use strength, i.e. seize or retain (literally or figuratively):—hold (by, fast), keep, lay hand (hold) on, obtain, retain, take (by).
verb
Matthew 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, who said, By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive:
KNEW – RECOGNIZE, PERCEIVE
Strong’s Greek Dictionary
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- ἐπιγινώσκω epiginosko (epiginṓskō)
Search for G1921 in KJVSL; in KJV.
ἐπιγινώσκω epiginṓskō, ep-ig-in-oce’-ko
from G1909 and G1097; to know upon some mark, i.e. recognize; by implication, to become fully acquainted with, to acknowledge:—(ac-, have, take)know(-ledge, well), perceive.
Verb
Mark 2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
Luke 5:22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?
Luke 5:22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?
WORD OF KNOWLEDGE IS AN EXPERIENCE BASED ON A WORD
Through my own experiences, I felt that this experience of perception operates just like receiving a word of knowledge and I wondered if it had the same Greek words. Yes both types of knowledge have the same below root word, #1097:
1 Corinthians 12:8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
ROOT WORD:
Strong’s Greek Dictionary
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- γινώσκω ginosko (ginṓskō)
Search for G1097 in KJVSL; in KJV.
γινώσκω ginṓskō, ghin-oce’-ko
a prolonged form of a primary verb; to “know” (absolutely) in a great variety of applications and with many implications (as follow, with others not thus clearly expressed):—allow, be aware (of), feel, (have) know(-ledge), perceived, be resolved, can speak, be sure, understand.
Verb
PERCEPTION IS AN EXPERIENCE BASED ON THE EYES IN OUR MIND
The following is a word study on this scripture:
Ephesians 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
SANDY TRANSLATION: That the vision of your imagination have its light turned on, so that you will be able to perceive.
The above translation is based upon the below Greek language. The vision in our imagination is not thoughts. We don’t SEE thoughts, but we see images in our mind connecting with our thoughts. These are not spiritual visions, but the ability to picture something, like a mental image – like visualizing what a tree looks like.
Through the following study of the Greek words, this scripture is speaking of what we SEE in our imagination, not what we think.
It is saying our natural mind suddenly has an experience that is not natural. The concept is that what we picture in our imagination needs to have the EXPERIENCE of 2 things:
The sudden light turns on AND
The sudden understanding, awareness, knowledge comes.
These experiences are not a personal choice, but something that happens TO you. The Lord comes and suddenly makes something manifest and as a result He gives sudden knowledge or awareness.
Why is this important? The importance is to be able to decipher between what is our natural way of thinking and what is the Lord. When we recognize what is the Lord, this is intimacy as we partner with Him. When we dissect this scripture it is clear Paul is speaking about the intimacy of experience.
Ephesians 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
EYES – VISION
Strong’s Greek Dictionary
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- ὀφθαλμός ophthalmos (ophthalmós)
Search for G3788 in KJVSL; in KJV.
ὀφθαλμός ophthalmós, of-thal-mos’
from G3700; the eye (literally or figuratively); by implication, vision; figuratively, envy (from the jealous side-glance):—eye, sight.
masculine noun
Matthew 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
UNDERSTANDING – IMAGINATION
Strong’s Greek Dictionary
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- διάνοια dianoia (diánoia)
Search for G1271 in KJVSL; in KJV.
διάνοια diánoia, dee-an’-oy-ah
from G1223 and G3563; deep thought, properly, the faculty (mind or its disposition), by implication, its exercise:—imagination, mind, understanding.
feminine noun
Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
ENLIGHTENED – ILLUMINATE
Strong’s Greek Dictionary
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- φωτίζω photizo (phōtízō)
Search for G5461 in KJVSL; in KJV.
φωτίζω phōtízō, fo-tid’-zo
from G5457; to shed rays, i.e. to shine or (transitively) to brighten up (literally or figuratively):—enlighten, illuminate, (bring to, give) light, make to see.
verb
Luke 11:36 If your whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp does give you light.
1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
KNOW – PERCEIVE
Strong’s Greek Dictionary
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- εἴδω eido (eídō)
Search for G1492 in KJVSL; in KJV.
εἴδω eídō, i’-do
a primary verb; used only in certain past tenses, the others being borrowed from the equivalent G3700 and G3708; properly, to see (literally or figuratively); by implication, (in the perfect tense only) to know:—be aware, behold, × can (+ not tell), consider, (have) know(-ledge), look (on), perceive, see, be sure, tell, understand, wish, wot. Compare G3700.
Verb
Matthew 4:16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
Matthew 9:4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Why think you evil in your hearts?
PRIOR TO PERCEPTION IS ELUSIVE, VAGUE AND OBSCURE
I used to think that perception could be interchanged with words like: impression, sense, inkling, clue, hunch, notion. Those words are more vague and abstract and difficult to explain. Years ago I remember someone asking me some questions. When I answered I didn’t know, he rephrased the questions and asked for my best prophetic hunch, not holding me prophetically accountable. That liberated me to at least try and share what I sensed about the topic and not as something as firm as “The Lord told me.”
There is a process of mystery of things that are unclear that takes place BEFORE perception arrives. In both the OT and NT the word perceive means to KNOW, to understand, to be aware, recognize, acknowledge. The difference between first identifying something that is an inkling that is somewhat vague and obscure vs how scripture speaks of perception is that a decision that has been made. In scriptural perception there is a definite understanding or knowing that has taken place. There is something that happens between a hunch and a knowing.
A good parable to describe this is like seeing through our peripheral vision which is seeing things from the sides of our eye. We see fuzzy shapes and movements that we have to INTERPRET what they mean because we don’t see the details. That is like when we have to rely on our other senses to tell us more so we can understand what is going on beside us when we are not directly looking at it. Trying to describe what we see would be blurry, illusive and without clear boundaries. If we turn our head and look to the side, that would be like the clarity of perception which knows what is taking place.
The only way to clearly communicate what we are seeing through our peripheral vision is to say the bottom line – which is what we UNDERSTAND we are seeing. Jesus didn’t say a discourse on hearing their thoughts, He simply addressed them.
Luke 5:22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, Why reason you in your hearts?
Perception is a difficult word to teach, and has been considered quite low on the revelation scale. This is because people have a very hard time distinguishing what is soul and what is spirit. Soul is mind, will, emotions. If they are used to living life and filtering everything through their soul first, they are going to have a hard time knowing what is God and what is not on any level.
However even though perception is “low on the revelation scale” it doesn’t require more faith. When God speaks in any fashion it is an experience. Something invades your world that you hadn’t seen, understood or perceived before. It happens TO you, not THROUGH YOU. That is a HUGE difference. If a person can slow down their time with the Lord to the point that they recognize each time He invades, they will know without a shadow of a doubt that it was not their choice or vivid imagination. They KNOW that it is God and therefore it does not take faith at all.
Perception is definitely a viable way He speaks. The way to know for sure is to recognize it is always something that happens TO a person, not THROUGH a person.
PERCEPTION CAN COME AFTER IMAGINATION
I once met a gal whose entire time with the Lord operated entirely from creative imagination of descriptive scenes, emotions interactions. It sounded exactly like a romance novel and I knew (because I knew the Lord) that she just wasn’t a seer of visions to the degree that she was presenting herself to be and I knew she could not be hearing His still small voice to that degree. It was like a fabrication and I felt she was actually deceived and misleading others, especially women. I worked with her to help her know exactly what a vision was and hearing His still small voice and she was grateful for the pruning, as it saved her ministry and life.
Imagination can take someone all over the place and they can create things by DECIDING to go there. Artists and avid readers also have the ability to visualize what they read on paper or think in their mind. Imagination is what one pictures in their mind, as recalling a scene or a snapshot or trying to picture something in one’s mind from memory.
If the Lord arrives with perception it is what happens as a result of what is seen. When the Lord is involved with this as an experience, the perception is a surprise. Perception is a sudden awareness that suddenly POPS into your heart, mind, senses, etc. It is a sudden awareness about something that you weren’t aware before.
When considering the avid reader or even the artist, the following is an exercise to show the difference between natural word association, imagination, and the Lord intervening into both as a surprise.
WORD ASSOCIATIONS
If I were to play a word association game as fast as I can, I would most likely draw connections via my thoughts as words, without actually seeing what the connection was as a picture. The word associations come from my natural brain as years of reinforced thinking.
- Car = road
- Finger = hand
- Baseball = bat
- Tree = green
- Vacuum = dirt
I did the above without actually seeing any of these things as pictures in my mind. I went so fast I did not have time to visualize or imagine them as objects. They were merely word associations that were triggered as natural connections.
BTW: Looking up vision or dream symbols in a book is an exercise of the mind just like playing Word associations. There is no Holy Spirit in it unless it is quickened by the Holy Spirit as life giving application to a person at that moment.
John 6:63 It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
IMAGE ASSOCIATIONS
Now I am going to do the same exercise with my imagination. I take my time and I recall into my memory what my car looks like and picture it in my mind. In my mind’s eye I see where it is parked right now. Next I randomly imagine what it would look like if it were parked somewhere else.
In my imagination:
- I am standing outside the exit door of Wallmart and searching for where I parked it.
- I see it parked in a lot below a snow capped mountain.
- I see it parked in the parking lot at a boat ramp in front of a river.
- I see it parked on a ferry boat and I am on deck overlooking the bay water.
- I see it driving up to a winter cabin surrounded in snow.
Now I look at my list. I realize the possibilities of all that I could have imagined and didn’t. I realize someone else might have imagined being in a StarBucks drive through or in front of a shoe store. My Wallmart scene was based from my normal experience of searching for my parked car. Knowing myself, the scenes following were my desires of where I wished my car could be.
In this exercise I have discerned between what I pictured in my mind as coming from what I have learned through engrained experience, and what my wishes are. None of these imagination pictures were God speaking to me.
HOLY SPIRIT PARTICIPATION
Now I am going to wait upon the Lord and picture my car and ask HIM if He wants to SHOW me something about it that is not related to my repeated experiences or my own desires. In other words, what comes into my imagination would not come from me. I am asking the LORD to intervene on my imagination of both what I see as mental imagines and word associations to KNOW what He has to say through them.
Just as before I pictured my car where is it parked right now. Suddenly in my mind’s eye I see the windshield wipers moving back and forth on its windshield. I am surprised by that! Immediately the Holy Spirit reminded me that I have been asking for clear visions.
OK back to the same exercise. I picture where my car is parked right now. My mind’s eye immediately sweeps down to the tires and the word pun: re-tread comes to mind. I know this is the Lord because I know He speaks in surprise word puns. Treading upon and putting the enemy under our foot comes to mind.
OK back to the same exercise. I picture my car and choose to decide it is on the move out the driveway. But instead of seeing all the things I do to make the car move I suddenly see the red stop sign at the end of the road. What I saw is still in my mind’s eye, but it is a surprise image on that screen of my mind. The impression to be cautious and look both ways is a warning from the Lord.
OK back to the same exercise. In my imagination I choose to look both ways, choosing to turn right. Suddenly I am coming to the dip in the road which is about 2 blocks from our house. Now why would I suddenly have that pop into my imagination??? I realize that HAS to be the Lord. The first thing that comes to mind is that the emotional low I have been feeling for a few days will pass, I will quickly overcome and put it under my feet! This too shall pass comes to mind! I realize this little exercise is inspired and from the Lord! Thank You Lord.
THE PERCEPTION, THE MESSAGE – THE UNDERSTANDING COMES
Now I reflect on these pieces and I perceive or become aware of what He is saying to me:
Dear heart I have heard your cries for clear vision. I am washing your eyes with My Word and My blood and granting you the desire of your heart. I am going to give you the authority you need to overcome everything that hinders your advancing forward in Me. As you advance, always check in with Me for wisdom and warnings at every crossroad you come to. I will guide your decisions to turn left or right. Yes I understand that dips in the road that come, but always remember they do not last. As you keep your focus on Me and the path I have prepared for you, you simply ride through them and out the other side as you keep going. Good job dear one, keep going!
Joshua 1:3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
In this section we see that perception is not imagination, but it can come as a result of imagination IF the Lord by His Spirit turns on the light and we suddenly are AWARE or UNDERSTAND that He is partnering with us and speaking to us through what we are imagining.
Imagination is a tool towards perception only if the Lord quickens it by His Spirit.
PERCEPTION CAN COME AFTER A VISION OR SOMETHING WE SEE
Perception is not a type of vision. It is rather how we understand or interpret what we see. In both the OT and NT the word perceive means to KNOW, to understand, to be aware, recognize, acknowledge. Those words are not what is literally seen with one’s eyes, they are the knowledge gained from what has been experienced.
When we see something in our mind’s eye it can be fuzzy and without details. It is like the difference between seeing straight ahead or seeing through peripheral vision. What a person sees directly in front of them is literal and clear. That is like seeing things with very clear boundaries with all the details of color. It is just like seeing a photograph or a movie that is not blurry.
For instance when I saw in my mind’s eye the dip in the road, it was not a real spiritual vision on the screen of my spiritual eyes. It came to me through my mind’s eye and I did not see all the detail of the road, or its surroundings. Details were fuzzy but the dip was the main image as though recalled into memory, only it was something I didn’t choose to recall.
Scripture shows that perception is not something that comes through what we see with our senses of literal eyes, spiritual visions or even mental pictures. Perception comes in our spirit. This means that perception is not a vision or a natural product of our vision. Perception is an experience on the inside of us that can come after we see something.
Mark 2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned among themselves, he said unto them, Why reason you these things in your hearts?
PERCEIVE
Strong’s Greek Dictionary
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- ἐπιγινώσκω epiginosko (epiginṓskō)
Search for G1921 in KJVSL; in KJV.
ἐπιγινώσκω epiginṓskō, ep-ig-in-oce’-ko
from G1909 and G1097; to know upon some mark, i.e. recognize; by implication, to become fully acquainted with, to acknowledge:—(ac-, have, take)know(-ledge, well), perceive.
Verb
Notice in this passage it clearly says that it is possible to see with our eyes and hear with our ears and not perceive or understand. Therefore we can conclude that perception is not vision and it is separate from vision.
Mark 4:12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
In the following passage, Paul did not see anything with his eyes that the lame man had faith to healed. There was something unseen that happened inside of Paul that took place as he gazed at the man. The Greek says that he gazed, beheld, fastened his eyes upon the man. This suggests Paul was searching way past skin deep and into the man’s soul.
Acts 14:8-10 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked: 9 The same heard Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, 10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on your feet. And he leaped and walked.
Isaiah 11:3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
Vision is a tool towards perception only if the Lord quickens it by His Spirit.
PERCEPTION CAN COME AFTER THE 5 SENSES
For many years I have prayed that I would be able to experience hearing and seeing His Word on a regular basis and not just observe them. Although I have had several encounters where my spiritual senses are totally alive and experiencing what I am seeing/ hearing – I want to live in that realm! Visitation is different than habitation!
I call these prophetic encounters or visionary experiences. This is exactly what Paul spoke of when he was taken to Paradise and could not tell whether he was in his real body or in a spiritual state.
1 Thessalonians 1:5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance; as you know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
1 Corinthians 2:4-5 And my speech and my preaching were not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
2 Corinthians 12:2-4 I knew a man in Christ fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knows;) such a one caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knows;) 4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
Senses can be both nouns and verbs depending upon whether the senses are being experienced or being described. The 5 literal senses and spiritual senses are our capacities of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, that are stimuli originating from either outside or inside the body. Our senses are tools to help us experience the tangible and spiritual world. Our perception is the understanding we have gained after those experiences – IF the Holy Spirit adds the understanding to it.
I remember the experiment that someone who is blindfolded with their nose plugged, cannot taste the difference between apples, potatoes and onions. The understanding or perception of what is being eaten is lost. This is a good parable that our spiritual senses don’t give us perception. Perception or awareness of what is occurring happens with the Holy Spirit.
Senses are a tool towards perception only if the Lord quickens it by His Spirit.
