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.”
With regard to testing the spirits to see whether or not
they are from God, we need to read this in the context of the whole of the book
of 1 John.
For in 1 John 1:6 we read:
“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”
And in 1 John 2:3-5 we read:
“And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.”
And in 1 John 3:7-10 we read:
“Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”
And then we need to compare this to other books in the New
Testament, for Jesus Christ, and at least the Apostle Paul, taught the same
thing as this. Especially look at these verses:
[2 Co 11:13-15; Php 3:2; Matt 7:15-23; Matt 24:11-14; John
10:1-15; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 Tim 1:3-7; 1 Tim 6:3-10; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:3-23]
For false teachers don’t always show their true colors. Many
of them come to us as wolves in sheep’s clothing. So they are going to
outwardly profess Jesus Christ as having come in the flesh, for they must make
an appearance of aligning themselves with the fundamental truths of the
Scriptures in order to be able to deceive the masses. But we will recognize
them by their fruit. And if we know the Scriptures, and if we test their words
against the Scriptures, taught IN CONTEXT, that should also tell us who they
are.
Then, with regard to the original meaning of this word
translated as “confess,” this should 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 that 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.
So, just because someone says he is a believer in Jesus
Christ it doesn’t mean he truly believes in Jesus Christ. For Jesus said that
not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven. For many people
will stand before God in judgment one day proclaiming all the things they did
in the name of Jesus and he is going to say to many of them, “I never knew you.
Depart from me you workers of lawlessness” (see Matt 7:21-23).
So it is not enough just to make a verbal confession of
Jesus as Lord or to make a profession of faith in him and to say that you
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Again read these
verses in their full context. For Paul clearly taught that God is going to
render to each one of us according to our works, and for those who are
self-seeking and who do not OBEY the truth, but who obey unrighteousness, there
will be wrath and fury (Rom 2:6-8). So we need to read all of Scripture, not
just selected verses.
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.”
John was teaching this to those of us who are of genuine
faith in Jesus Christ according to what the Scriptures teach in their fulness,
not according to a few select Scriptures taught outside their context. So, in
context, he is referring to people who have been crucified with Christ in death
to sin, who have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, and
who are not making sin their practice, not walking according to the flesh, but
now according to the Spirit in obedience to our Lord and to his commands.
We are from God who are no longer walking sin and who are
obeying the commandments of our Lord (New Covenant) in practice. We are those
who no longer practice sin but are those who practice righteousness in how we
live day in and day out. And we are those who love other people with the love
that comes from God, which is pure, righteous, holy, godly, honest, faithful, and
morally pure. And so this kind of love will not willfully practice what is
harmful and sinful to others, but we will do what is for their good.
And what is for their good is what God calls “good,” not
what man calls “good.” So, in addition to meeting people’s legitimate needs
from a physical perspective, we will also share with them the truths of the
Scriptures for their spiritual benefit. And if they are from God, as we are
from God, and if what we are teaching is the truth, taught in context, then
they should accept what we are sharing from God’s word. But so many people
professing faith in Christ are being taught to reject the truth and to embrace
the lies.
Now those who reject the words we share – words which are in
agreement with the Scriptures (in context) – they are from the world, and so
they are listening to the world, which includes the worldly “church.” Now some
of them may do so naively, being convinced that what they are believing is the
truth and that what we are sharing is not or is partially not. But they should
still be willing to check it out against the Scriptures and to not just ignore
it, and to not combat it without knowledge, which many do just that.
So, my encouragement to anyone reading this is to test
everything you read or hear or think you see – as much as can be tested against
the Scriptures, test it all, but do so in the biblical context and not
according to what your preacher or your church denomination believes, but
according to the whole of the New Testament, in particular.
And again, context is critical. Don’t quench the Spirit by
ignoring what others are teaching if you have not done due diligence in
searching the Scriptures to make certain if what they are teaching is a lie or
the truth. For you may be believing lies unaware (see 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22).
A
Believer’s Prayer
An
Original Work / July 31, 2012
With my whole heart, Lord, I pray
To be Yours, and Yours always.
Lead me in Your truth today.
May I love You and obey.
Lead me in Your righteousness.
When I sin, may I confess;
Bow before You when I pray;
Live for You and You always.
Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.
Life with You will never end.
You are with me through each day,
Giving love and peace always.
You will ne’er abandon me.
From my sin You set me free.
You died on that cruel tree,
So I’d live eternally.
Soon You’re coming back for me;
From this world to set me free;
Live with You eternally.
Oh, what joy that brings to me.
I will walk with You in white;
A pure bride, I’ve been made right
By the blood of Jesus Christ;
Pardoned by His sacrifice.
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