LEARNING DAILY

1 John 4:1, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

As Believers, we must not believe everyone who claims to have a message from God. The reason is obvious if you have been reading this blog – there are going to be many in the last days the teach, preach, write things that are misleading and not true. Because of false teachers and false prophets in the world in the last days, John writes it is a must to test the spirits. Back in the eighties, I used to do some teachings on rock music. One of the basic premises was not only the words but the spirit behind the music. The rock and roll music of that day was often dark, written by those doing drugs, demonic, and led to those listening to be disobedient to parents and those in authority. I taught to not only listen carefully to the words, but to also see what spirit was behind the music.

When referencing “the spirit” in this case is not necessarily pointing to ghosts, demons, or some other kind of creature; it points to the approach and attitude of the individual. Truth comes from the Holy Spirit, and that means anything else is not true. This is especially true when one is claiming to speak for God. That leads to the question of how to test the spirits. John addressed that in verses 2-6.

Verse 2 states the first way, “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God”. Does the individual believe that Jesus is the Christ, and He came in the flesh into this world? In the days that John wrote there were many who accepted the humanity of Jesus but did not accept other aspects of the gospel. An example of denying other aspects of the gospel is denying the resurrection of Jesus. 1 Corinthians 15:14 states that if Christ has not risen from the dead, Paul’s preaching would be empty, making our faith empty. What does the individual believe about the resurrection of Jesus?

Verse 3 continues, “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”. Paul writes in Romans 10:9, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”. How can one who refuses to confess Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, how can the individual be a believer? The answer is he/she can’t! It goes back to what John wrote in the previous verse. John writes that this individual has the “spirit of the antichrist”, this person has the attitude of the evil one to come; it is the attitude of false teaching that promotes phony godliness. Those who reject Jesus Christ are deceivers and considered against Christ. Did you notice John wrote “This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already”. That was in John’s time and you can believe that spirit is certainly in the world today. That’s why believers test the spirits.

Verse 5, “They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them”. False teachers are from the world, not from God. 1 John 2:15 reminds his reader the love of God is not in these people. Because the individuals are from the world, they have a worldly view of things, not a biblical worldview. They are “abiding” in the world, thinking like the world. You see these people all around you every day; they do not speak truth or live by God’s standards. They do and say whatever serves their purposes. And notice, “the world listens to them”. Yes, this is the natural result. Unbelievers listen to and follow unbelievers.

“And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17). As a Believer, you are to be distinctly different from the world, to be set apart! Listen to teachers who are godly; walk with them! John is giving this warning because it is possible for Believers to be deceived. Test the spirits. Be in God’s word. Read/study/meditate on it. Be diligent about knowing the truth from the false. How else can you do this except by being in the Word and constantly praying for discernment!

Know this: “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”. You are from God because you believe; because you believe Jesus Christ lives within your heart and He has overcome these false teachers and the world!