The Five Spiritual Senses

All scripture references, unless otherwise noted, are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
You probably remember learning in grade school about the five senses, the sense of sight, the sense of hearing, the sense of taste, the sense of touch, and the sense of smell. I got to thinking about these the other day and I thought that there must be spiritual counterparts. Let's see if we can identify them.

The sense of spiritual sight. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." I would guess that one of the greatest desires in the hearts believers is that one day they would see God. Job said in Job 19:25-27, "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me." What a hope is expressed here! The Bible says in 1st John 3:2-3 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." There are many more instances in the Bible that mention the sense of sight.

The sense of spiritual hearing. Again, the Lord said in John 10:27, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me..." Earlier in the same chapter, verses 1-5 the Lord Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers." I am reminded of the story of the banker who was asked how he could tell a counterfeit bill. Did he study all the counterfeits that were out there? His reply was no, he only studied the real thing then he would know a counterfeit when he saw one.

The sense of spiritual taste. The Bible says in Psalm 34:8, "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him." Again in Psalm 119:103 the Bible says, "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Certainly if you have tasted of the Lord Jesus, you have found Him good, and His word is sweet to the taste of someone who has been born again. I am reminded of that chorus we used to sing in church. It goes like this;
     He's sweet I know, He's sweet I know.
     Storm clouds may rise, strong winds may blow.
     I'll tell the world everywhere I go,
     That I've found the Saviour and He's sweet I know.
When I think of His goodness to me I am reminded of the great price the Lord Jesus paid for my salvation for the Bible says that the Lord, "was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." (See Hebrews 2:9)

The forth spiritual sense is that of touch. Have you ever touched the Lord by faith? The Bible tells us of a man named Jairus who, "besought him that he would come into his house: For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying." As the Lord Jesus went to the man's house the Bible says, "a woman having an issue of blood twelve years... Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched." She had only touched the hem of His garment but, "...Jesus said, Who touched me?...Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me." What she had done was more than touch His' garment, she touched the Lord Jesus by faith. "...And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace." (See Luke  8:41-48)

Finally the fifth spiritual sense is the sense of smell.  There is an interesting account in Exodus 30:22-38 in which the LORD gave Moses instructions about preparing anointing oil. It was to be used to anoint the priesthood as well as the various articles of the furniture of the tabernacle. At the end of the instruction God told Moses, "And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD. Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people." Whenever I have read this account I have wondered what the perfume smelled like, have you? Perhaps we know. The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:18  "But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God." This is truly something that cannot be duplicated in an unregenerate man.

If you have never experienced the five spiritual senses in your life, you can! Put your faith in the Lord Jesus today. Repent of your sins, be baptized in the precious name of Jesus Christ , and God has promised to give you the gift of the Holy Ghost, just like He gave those early believers on the Day of Pentecost. (See Acts 2:1-4 and Acts 2:38) Do it today!