1 John 4:1-3 ESV
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for 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, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.”
This passage of Scripture is an example of a passage of
Scripture that should not be interpreted on its own without the larger context.
And that larger context goes beyond just the book of 1 John but reaches to all
passages of Scripture which talk about false prophets and what makes one a
false prophet or teacher. For one, our English words don’t always capture the
true meaning of the original writings and words.
Take for example this word “confess.” In the English language
it can mean merely to admit something verbally. So many false assumptions have
been made by people about such passages of Scripture as in 1 John 1:9 where it
says, “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This is not speaking of a mere
verbal admission of sin. Plus we need to read that in the whole of 1 John.
This word “confess,” in this context, literally means to fully
agree with God, to speak to the same conclusion as God, to have the same
mindset as God, and to align with God regarding our sin. And what does God say
about our sin? He says that we must die with Christ to sin, that sin must be
put to death in our lives so that we are no longer enslaved to sin but so we
are now becoming slaves of God and of his righteousness. So, this we must do.
Now, with regard to this passage in 1 John 4, it would read “every
spirit that fully agrees with God, that speaks to the same conclusion as God,
that has the same mindset as God, and that is aligned (united, allied) with God
regarding Jesus Christ and who he is, that when he walked the face of the earth
he was God incarnate, God in the flesh, fully God yet fully man, this one is
from God. And this alignment with God should be obvious.
But then we have to look at other passages of Scripture
which describe what it means to be “from God,” for there are many other
stipulations. And then we should also look at other Scriptures which define false
teachers for they are not ones who teach the truth. But, and this is important
that we realize this, they are charlatans, fakers, pretenders, and this is why
we cannot go by a mere verbal confession coming from their lips, for they are
messengers of Satan who disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.
So, when we test the spirits, the words and the character of
human beings, and we test what they say and what they do against the Scriptures,
in their context, then we can begin to see who is of God and who isn’t, and again,
that goes way beyond just a profession of who Jesus is. For 1 John alone says
that if we say (with our lips) that we have fellowship with God while we walk
(in conduct, in practice) in darkness (sin), we lie and do not practice the
truth (1 Jn 1:6).
And then we read on that by this we know that we have come
to know him if we keep (obey) his commandments (New Covenant instructions). For
if we say (with our lips), “I know him,” but we do not make obedience to our
Lord’s commands our practice, but sin is what we practice, then we lie, and the
truth is not in us. We do not really know the Lord if we do not keep his
commandments and if we continue to live in deliberate sin (see 1 John 2-3; also
Matt 7:21-23). So, we test the spirits against these verses, too.
Therefore, the moral of this lesson is that we cannot go
merely by what people say with their lips. Now, if with their lips they are
clearly teaching what is false, we can test that. But if with their lips they
profess faith in Jesus Christ, maybe they do and maybe they don’t have faith.
That is tested by other words they say and teach and it is tested by what they
do, too. But we should do this prayerfully and carefully so that we don’t misjudge,
too.
1 John 4:4-6 ESV
“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
This is yet another way we can test those who say they are
from God. Those who are false believers in Jesus and/or who are false teachers
of the faith are from the world, and they speak from the world. And to speak
from the world means that what comes from your lips is mostly all about what is
of the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life –
all this is not from the Father but is from the world. And if we embrace and
prefer the world, then the love of the Father is not in us (1 Jn 2:15-17).
So, what do you talk about the most? What do you talk about
with your co-workers, with your family and friends, on social media, with your
hairdresser, and with your fellow Christians, etc.? Do your conversations
primarily revolve around your walks of faith in Jesus Christ and what you are
learning from the Scriptures, or are your conversations primarily or always
about what is of this world? What do you talk about most? Unless of course it
is work-related and so your primary conversation at work is about work, which
it should be, what we talk about most shows where are hearts are.
It grieves me to get on social media, and in some cases to
see so many Christians talking about all things that are of this world but
rarely ever talk about Jesus Christ and his word unless it is Easter or
Christmas. And then their conversations are mainly just the story of Jesus’
birth and death, but rarely do they speak about what that means for us in our
lives, and what God requires of us. So they go through the motions of religion,
but their conversations are full of the world.
So, either their faith in Jesus Christ is not genuine, and
what they have is religion but not a genuine walk of faith in Jesus Christ, or
else they are Christians but presently they are not walking according to the
Spirit but they are walking according to the flesh. Now, if a person professing
faith in Jesus Christ has never truly repented, and never truly surrendered
their lives to Jesus Christ, but they just made a verbal profession of faith,
but then continued on in their sin, according to Scripture, they are not saved.
The Scriptures also appear to show us that it is possible
for Christians to move away from their pure devotion to the Lord and to fall
back into sin and to need to repent and to be revived and brought back into
true fellowship with their Lord. And the Scriptures also indicate that if this
does not take place, but they continue living in sin, they will not inherit eternal
life with God.
Now, if those who profess faith in Jesus Christ have genuine
faith they should be willing to listen to others of genuine faith who are
speaking the truth of God’s word. But so many professers of faith in Jesus
Christ want nothing to do with hearing the truth of the Scriptures but they
only want to hear what tickles their itching ears and what makes them feel good,
and they are also ones whose conversations are mostly about the world. And this
is a very sad reality.
Oh,
to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics
by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music
by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s
treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy
love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy
fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg
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