Sunday, November 23,
2014, 4:44 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “For Our Nation.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read 1 John 4:1-6 (NASB).
Beloved,
do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from
God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know
the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from
God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is
coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children,
and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in
the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and
the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he
who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth
and the spirit of error.
What is Spirit?
What is spirit? First of all, we have the Holy Spirit, who
is God the Spirit, the third person of our triune God – Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. Angels are God’s ministering spirits. Then, there are evil spirits who
work for Satan, and who cause all kinds of havoc, distress and evil in the
world.
And, then there is the human spirit, which is the breath of
life breathed into us by God Almighty, and is the seat of our emotions,
intellect, creativity, reasoning, personality (character) and will. The human
spirit is also the non-physical part of us which is able to sense and
comprehend what is of the Spirit of God. As well, it is the nature of a person.
Since we are born with sin natures, it is thus affected by original sin.
It is in our spirits that we think, reason, and believe what
we do. As well, if we are truly in Christ, the Holy Spirit of God now dwells
within us and his life is to also be lived out through us. So, the question
becomes, “Is our spirit under the control of the human nature (or Satan) or is
it under the control of God’s divine nature?” “Is what is being lived out
through us of God, of the flesh, or of Satan?”
Test the Spirits
So, when it says here that we are not to believe every
spirit, but we are to test the spirits, what is it that we are to test? I
believe we are to test thinking, ideas, concepts, beliefs, emotions, reasoning,
decisions and character against the word of God (the Gospel of our salvation)
to see whether or not they agree, in principle, with scripture and with godly
character, or whether they stand opposed to what is of God.
We are given a rather simple test here in this passage of
scripture, which on the surface may seem to be saying one thing, yet when we
look at the meanings of some of these words, and we compare it with other
scripture, it helps us to grasp the true meaning of this test. For instance,
what does it mean to confess something? Certainly we can make a confession or
profession of something audibly with our lips, but not truly believe it in our
hearts. So, I don’t believe this is speaking merely of audible confession. This
word translated for us here as “confess” means to agree, to voice the same
conclusion, to align with (endorse), assent, and to NOT deny” (Source:
biblehub.com). What this tells me is that this confession is not verbal only,
but it is realized by how we live our lives, i.e. if we truly align ourselves
with someone, it should be obvious by our lifestyles and our words.
So, just because someone audibly professes faith in Jesus
Christ or audibly acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, it does
not necessarily mean that person is from God. As we know, Satan is an angel of
light, and the antichrist is described in terms of having the appearance of a
lamb but speaks like a dragon. Also, scripture teaches us that there will be
false brothers (and sisters) among us who are wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Another Test
Then, another test is given. “They are from the world;
therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.” So,
even though they may make a confession of Christ audibly, yet if their manner
of speaking, thinking, reasoning and behaving is worldly, and not godly, and
the world listens to them and likes them, then they are of the world. So, we
need to know what is of this world and we need to know what is of the Spirit of
God so we can test these spirits.
The problem here is that so many Christians in today’s
culture are so meshed with the world that they are not able to discern what is
of the world and what is of the Spirit, because many of them, as well, spend
little time in God’s word, in prayer and in obedience to what the Word teaches
us. And, thus, many who call themselves believers in Christ are following after
these who are antichrist (against and/or in place of Christ) and don’t even
know it.
What I mean here is that it is nearly impossible for us to
recognize and to test every spirit who is not of God, who is of this sinful
world, if we are so engrossed and engaged in the ways of the world ourselves,
and if we are not delighting ourselves in the Word of God, meditating on it day
and night. We are supposed to come out from the world and be separate, and yet
many of these false shepherds of the people today are encouraging Christians to
immerse (engross; occupy) themselves in their cultures (worldly philosophies,
values, traditions, customs and the like) so that they may connect with the
world around them. As well, the church has brought these worldly customs and
values into the church so as to attract the world to the church. Yet, we are
commanded to be holy as God is holy. To be holy means to be different from
(unlike) the world because like God; to be separate from the ways of the world
so as to be set apart to God and to his service.
What is Worldly?
So, how do we know if someone is from the world and if they
speak as from the world? What are some of the characteristic traits of such a
person?
For one, they do many of the same things as the world does,
and in many of the same mannerisms. For instance, they regularly lie (includes
flattery, white lies), cheat, steal, gossip, overeat, lust, tell off-color
jokes, and/or are humored by sexual jokes and innuendos. They hate those who
are not like them, and they are cutting and nasty, and insult and mock others
who are different from them, or who believe different from them. They are
entertained regularly by the acting out of others’ sinful practices – adultery,
fornication, homosexuality, lying, cheating, etc., via TV, movies, video games,
the internet, music, and the like. They are consumed with self and with
self-pleasure and with entertainment. They have a “Me-Me” mentality which looks
to gratify self, and excuses this behavior away as though it is something they
deserve. They also compromise truth and look for loop-holes in order to make
themselves feel better about their sinful behaviors.
The craving for entertainment, the pleasing of human flesh,
the compromise of truth, concessions with worldly ways, and the desire to not
judge or offend has led the church on a downward spiral away from godliness to
living just like the world. They twist, distort, delete and disregard scripture
in order to excuse away their way of living. The gospel of Jesus Christ has
become more about them than it is about God; more about what they don’t have to
do, rather than it is about pleasing and obeying their Lord Jesus Christ in
humble submission and surrender to his will for their lives; more about what
Christ thinks of them, rather than it being about their minds, hearts,
attitudes, etc. being centered on Christ; and it has become, to them, more about
what God does for them than it is about honoring, glorifying, and reverencing God
by how they live their lives day in and day out.
From God
So, what does it mean to be “from God”? Well, first of all
it means we have accepted God’s gift of grace into our lives by faith. We do so
by willingly dying with Christ to our old lives of living for sin and self, by
being transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God, and by being
regenerated of the Spirit of God in him giving us new lives in Christ, “created
to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (See: Eph. 2:8-10; 4:17-24;
cf. Ac. 26:16-18; Ro. 6-8; Gal. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:24-25; & 1 Jn. 1-5).
A true understanding of God’s grace, thus, is that it
teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live
self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return. Jesus
Christ gave himself up for us, not just so we could escape hell and go to
heaven when we die. He died “to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to
purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds”
(See: Tit. 2:11-14). He died, too, that we would no longer live for ourselves,
but for him who gave himself up for us (See: 2 Co. 5:15).
So, if we are from God, that means we are in Christ by
faith, and that the Spirit of God dwells within us, and his life is to be lived
out through us via our submission to Christ and our surrender to his will for
our lives, i.e. via our cooperation with God’s work of grace in our hearts and
lives. It means we no longer live to gratify the passions and desires of our
sinful flesh, but we live, in the power and working of the Spirit within us, to
please God. It means we hunger and thirst after righteousness, and we want to
get to know our Lord intimately and to do what pleases him. It does not mean we
live in absolute sinless perfection, but we should regularly and consistently agree
with God about any sin which creeps its way into our lives, and we should put
those sins to death, i.e. we should eradicate them (cast them away, throw them
off) from our lives. And, we should walk in the ways of the Lord. Then, those
who are also from God should listen to us, because we should be speaking what
is in line with the Word of Truth, and we should not be telling lies.
For Our Nation /
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting.
Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently
calling
You to follow Him in
all ways.
Trust Him with your
life today.
Make Him your Lord and
your Savior.
Turn from your sin.
Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of
your sin;
Cleanse your heart,
made new within.
Men betraying: Our
trust fraying.
On our knees to God
we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us
answers
That are only found in
Him.
God is sovereign over
all things.
Nothing from His mind
escaping.
He has all things
under His command,
And will work all for
good.
Jesus Christ is gently
calling
You to follow Him in
all ways.
Men deceiving: we’re
believing
In our Lord, and
interceding
For our nation and its
people
To obey their God
today.
He is our hope for our
future.
For our wounds He
offers suture.
He is all we need for
this life.
Trust Him with your
life today.
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