“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.” (1 John 4:1-3 ESV)
Before I get into the meat of what this is teaching, I want to say that these words must be studied and taught in the context of the whole of 1 John to be correctly interpreted and understood. For a mere outward confession (or profession) of faith in Jesus Christ, or a mere outward acknowledgement that he has come in the flesh, does not mean that person is from God. For the Scriptures warn us about “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who masquerade as servants of righteousness, but inwardly are ferocious evil beasts.
[Matthew 7:15-20; Matthew 24:11,24; Luke 6:26; Jude 1; 2 Peter 2:1-22]
Also, this word translated in English as “confesses”, means to speak to the same conclusion as God, to be in full agreement and alignment with God, together (united) with God. So this is not a superficial and false confession, and it is not lip service only, but this has to do with us being united with God in thought, belief, and purpose, and in truth. So, there is a reason why we must test the spirits, and why we must not believe everyone’s words, for liars and deceivers abound. So we can’t go strictly by what people say.
So, what are these spirits which we are to test? Well, this is talking about human beings, is it not? We are to test their spirits. And a person’s spirit is his inner being, his nature, his character. But remember that these are deceiving spirits, so we cannot always go by what we see outwardly or what people display about themselves when they have an audience, and especially when they are desirous to be regarded by others in a particular way, sometimes for the sole purpose to deceive and/or to injure others.
So, we need to be aware that not everyone is who they claim to be or who they appear to be in front of other people. For many walk (in conduct, in practice) in darkness (sin) and will not come into the light (truth, the gospel of Christ, righteousness, repentance, obedience to God) lest their evil deeds be exposed for what they are. They hate the light (Jesus Christ, his gospel), and they prefer the darkness (their habitual sins), because then they can continue living in sin, and many of them while claiming faith in the Lord.
So, if we are going to test the spirits (the true nature of human beings), we can’t go by their words alone, although we must certainly test their words against the teachings of the Scriptures (in the right context) to make certain that what they are teaching is the truth and not the lies made to sound like truth. The Bible says we will know them by their fruits, by what they produce. For, those who are faithful servants of the Lord Jesus are going to produce what is righteous, godly, morally pure, and obedient to God/Christ.
Those who are false to the truth, who are wicked and immoral in their true nature, and who are those who use and abuse others to their advantage, will share particular natures, which are sinful natures, and which produce what is unrighteous. Among them you will find these characteristic traits:
They are chameleons, lacking in moral character and consistency of character. They are one way with some people, but a different way with other people, or when they are alone and no one is watching what they are doing in secret. For they are double-minded, double-dealing, hypocritical, two-faced, deceitful, treacherous, unfaithful, double-crossing, without compassion, without caring, heartless, mean, cruel, and malicious. They are cold-hearted and cold-blooded, dishonorable, and utterly corrupt.
They are those who create and who exhibit (display) false impressions, distortions of truth, and the twisting of truth for the purpose to deceive. And they are those who are morally filthy, lewd, and licentious. They are those who spy on other people and who betray those they claim to love. For they are those who love to deceive, and who love to gossip and to convince people to believe lies about other people out of anger, spite, hatred, and resentment and bitterness. It is their way of “getting even” with people.
For they are those who are dishonorable, sordid, vile, wicked, depraved, dishonest, and evil, who will try to bait others into particular conversations with themselves in hopes that they can get them to say something that they can use against them. So, they will try subtly or deviously to elicit a response from others who they are targeting, which usually is then taken out of context and bent in their favor and against the person who they are betraying and targeting and baiting. Another way of “getting even.”
“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.” (1 John 4:4-6 ESV)
So, when this tells us not to believe every spirit, this means we should not believe everything people tell us unless it is Scripture, or backed up with Scripture (in context), or consistent with the teachings of the Scriptures (in context), or proven true in some other way. But even there, just because we read it or hear it or think that we see it, it could be fake. It could be taken out of context. It could be photoshopped to make it look like one thing while it is another. So, we should test everything, especially what people tell us about other people. And we test these in prayer and with the Scriptures.
And if you are a person who is being targeted by these who fake their Christianity and who fake their true character for the purpose to deceive, and for the purpose to do evil to others, don’t let what others do to you make you afraid. If you are following Jesus Christ with your life, he has you in his hands. And you can overcome them via prayer and faith and continued walks of righteousness and holiness, in obedience to the Lord, regardless of lies being spread about you or any other persecutions you might face. Keep following Jesus, and keep speaking the truth of his word. Some people are listening.
People Need the Lord
By Greg Nelson / Phill Mchugh
Everyday they pass me by
I can see it in their eyes
Empty people filled with care
Headed who knows where
On they go through private pain
Living fear to fear
Laughter hides their silent cries
Only Jesus hears
We are called to take His light
To a world where wrong seems right
What could be too great a cost
For sharing life with one who's lost?
Through His love our hearts can feel
All the grief they bear
They must hear the words of life
Only we can share
People need the Lord, people need the Lord
At the end of broken dreams, He's the open door
People need the Lord, people need the Lord
When will we realize that we must give our lives?
For people need the Lord, people need the Lord
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uZcGaixMhg
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