test the spirit by the spirittest the spirit by the spirit

They have no capacity for it. The antichrist spirit exists in the world because demons that are espousing anything that is not a representation that is accurate concerning Christ are espousing an antichrist idea. You need to know how to walk in the Spirit of God & test the spirits because there are many deceiving spirits in the world today. They taught that Jesus was a visible spirit without flesh. Down in verse 22, Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? In fact, in verse 5 he says, Theyre from the world. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world. - v.1, They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but a test the spirits, whether they are of God; because b many false prophets have gone out into the world. Verse 6, This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came, He came into the world as the one whom God sent. We cannot pass on the truth unless we protect it, unless we guard it. Verse 2 again, Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. Theres one thing demons will inevitably deny in all their demonic systems, and that is they will deny the deity of Jesus Christ. I am building upon an answer ably given here by Dottard. Still, we must give account on the day of judgment. Do we have to speak to the spirit and expect the spirit to answer? He can but will seldom communicate in an audible voice. I am certainly growing to have a deep and wonderful love for Luke, having some years back taught through the book of Acts, which Luke also wrote, and now going through the gospel of Luke, and being endeared to him because of his obvious passion for the person of Jesus Christ, which is contagious. The primary way is to look to God's word which has been largely preserved to reveal God's personal being and manner, His son Jesus, His plan for creation and the salvation of it. Never miss a beat with 4 Truth updates emailed directly to your inbox. And Paul is saying to Timothy, dont be like them, dont abandon the truth, dont abandon me the true apostle. Let me give you a second one. John loved to go back through the important truths in this gospel, laying again, as it were, the foundation of these truths in an enriched fashion in our minds. Jews. The Coming Global System. You cant honor the Father without the Son, because they are in essence one sharing the same divine and perfect nature. He was in verse 2, With the Father. Evidently, there may be a correlation between the spirits and the false prophets. But we are constantly being called to the defense of the Scripture and the defense of the truth. Copyright 2022 4 Truth Ministry. And then thirdly, when you bring the law of God to bear upon them, do they respond to it? -v.15. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Theyre everywhere everywhere. GDPR is the new European privacy regulation, which will replace the Data Protection Act 1998 in the UK and the equivalent legislation across the EU Member States. So first of all, it requires the fulfillment of this duty requires the knowledge of sound doctrine, and secondly it requires the recognition of error. First, John gives us a command to test, a command to test. Hence, those who claim that Jesus is God deny that Jesus has come in the flesh, for the true God is spirit in nature, without flesh and bone. Christian community should be quite different from the world. Guard that. Should Christians Listen for a Still Small Voice? What do they say about the incarnation? We saw last time that either religious truth, spiritual truth comes from the Holy Spirit and it is life-giving, life-sustaining, life-producing, God-glorifying, or it comes from demons. The growing willingness of many in the church to associate with men and women who can be categorized as false teachers or antichrists is staggering. He who is not from God does not listen to us. Heres the bottom line. They are falsely called knowledge. This is necessary if youre going to discern between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. We all like to make everybody in their religion feel good, but if they reject the deity of Jesus Christ, they do not know God at all. They speak as from the world and the world listens to them.. (irony intended). Is it valid to address (talk to) the spirit directly? In the third chapter of this gospel and the twenty-third verse we read about the commandments of God. Guest. May we be faithful and loyal to the truth, to fight for it. Again, there aremanydeceivers out there. Whatever you hear, read, sing, share, forward, anything, you should look into the source behind it. And He has given us understanding in order that we might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. Listen to this, This is the true God and eternal life., Over and over and over John makes this point. Teaching is consistent with already revealed Apostolic teaching (1 John 4:6, 2:19), Teaching is "good", encourages righteousness and truth (Eph 5:8-10), Teaching is nothing that we might be ashamed of on the day of judgement (Phil 1:9, 10) or even sooner (Rom 14:22). The second thing you look for is regeneration. Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange! In order to guard it, he says, you have to avoid worldly and empty chatter. Many have used bits of scripture to suggest otherwise and the questions and thoughts on this matter fill the pages of this site and many others. Answer. He and his wife, Lynn, have been married for 48 years. First, the ecumenical and universal spirit of our day that seeks to promote unity in the . And thats simply because of the sheer volume of letters that he left us, the author of 13 different New Testament books. 1 John 4:1 (NASB) Now, notice something. Is it not? For many false prophets have gone out into the world. You have the right beginning. The end of verse 3 tells us that our fellowship consequently is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: ( C ) Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess [ a ] that Jesus [ b ] Christ has . He is the advocate, the High Priest seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. It is, rather, that we shall call his name (which is Jesus Christ) God with us. 1 John 4:1-6 (NRSV) stresses the importance of testing the spirits, given that not all spirits come from God: 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. This is the right place where you will get the proper information. 1 JOHN 4:1: Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but TEST THE SPIRITS, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. How does one accept Jesus as flesh? When you meet these teachers and they come with their teaching, you test their Christology. He assisted with a church plant near OSUs campus and was the preaching pastor of that church for seven years. 1 JOHN 4: 1-6 TEST THE SPIRITS [1 Peter 2:1-10] Close to the BATTLE LINES during the Korean War a sentry was walking his post one night. Every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. His specialties include studies/teachings on the books of Daniel and Revelation. You cant believe everything that is purported to come from God. They do not go beyond or out of bounds in regard to teaching Gods Word. When/Where Will the Antichrist First Be Seen? The command, weve seen. And Ive just summed it up. 1 John 4:1 ESV. Now that brings us tonight to the emphasis on the way to test or the means to test. (John 1:14, ESV). Subukan ang Espiritu na nagsasalita at makikita ninyo na ito ang boses ng RUACH ha KODESH na nagsasalita. Is it legal to bill a company that made contact for a business proposal, then withdrew based on their policies that existed when they made contact? Sinners have an affinity for error. If a minister or a pastor does not know sound doctrine, he cant guard it. Be skeptical to discern whether it is the truth or error that is being taught, whether it comes from the Spirit of God or a demonic spirit. If Jesus is God, is he really flesh? So tragic. Heres how he began his second letter to Timothy. Just as he cannot come from heaven with great glory without already existing there (and his name there is "The Word of God"(Rev 19:13)), he did not "come" the first time except that he already existedin the beginning the Word was God. What exactly? Because you have the indwelling anointing that we saw in chapter 2, you possess the Holy Spirit, the Lord lives in you and protects you. A person can not claim to confess that Jesus has come in the flesh if they claim that Jesus is spirit in nature. People who tell me repeatedly they go to a town, they try to find a church where the Word of God is being taught faithfully, and it is very often an almost impossible task. hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/a/56241/38524, Starting the Prompt Design Site: A New Home in our Stack Exchange Neighborhood, Statement from SO: June 5, 2023 Moderator Action. 1. Here at Grace to You Europe we take our data protection responsibilities very seriously and, as you would expect, have undertaken a significant programme of work to ensure that we are ready for this important legislative change. Who are the Two Witnesses in Revelation 11? However, I still wonder: how are we to do this in practice? Who are you going to listen to? You know, people want to say today, Well, these other religions, they dont know Jesus, so theyre trying their best to worship God. The vast majority of the world is swept away in false teaching, because the world believes false teachers because theyre of the same ilk.Sinners have affinities for demons, seducing spirits, hypocritical lies cause they have no apparatus for the truth. (From How to Test the Spirits). The god (Satan) of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. What are you going to believe? All rights reserved. And again I say, error is not benign; it is malignant. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming . We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. The second test, he says You or we, better, including all of us You are from God, little children, and have overcome them because greater is He that is in you than he who is in the world. You are a partaker of divine life. If evil spirits have personhood, does the Holy Spirit also have personhood? 1 2 3 4 5 Next 1 JOHN 4: 1-6 TEST THE SPIRITS [ 1 Peter 2:1-10] Then if you would look at chapter 2 verse 1, further concerning Jesus Christ, If anyone sins the middle of the verse we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And here we learn that Jesus Christ is sinless, that He is our sinless advocate, our sinless High Priest. So, we are commanded and persuaded by John, an apostle whom Jesus loved, that we are to test the spirits. means became (had a beginning). Ultimately, the actual teaching is what will confirm or expose them for what they really are. The Apostle John basically says we are to filter anything before we accept it as true. Is there demonstration of regeneration? The 'spirits' 1 John 4:1 refers to are living spirits: ministers. The vast majority of the world is swept away in false teaching, because the world believes false teachers because theyre of the same ilk. Hes just saying basic to testing the validity of any teacher as coming truly from God is that teachers doctrine of Christ. Contemporary English Version and you can know which ones come from God. Home Discipleship What Does Test the Spirits Mean? He cant discern them. You are saying He is come from God. He is the eternal life that came from dwelling in the very presence of God the Father and God the Spirit down to earth. Have they become the children of God and are they indwelt by the Holy Spirit and is the Holy Spirit manifesting the evidence of His being there, which is love for the true Christ and love for the true Word? Thats the first test. You reject Jesus as God in human flesh, you reject Jesus as the God-Man, fully God, fully man, who came as a substitute for sin, then you dont know God no matter what you think. False Christs claim to be the "I AM" (Mark 13:6, Luke 21:8). They were called antichrists because they preached and taught of a different Jesus and another gospel proving that they had a different spirit. (See Galatians 1:6-9; 2 Corinthians 11:1-4) Evidently some of their teaching may have seemed sound, but ultimately, they did not truly confess the Lord Jesus Christ of the Scriptures! But what was their foundation? There are many spirits. No matter who wrote them. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. One with the Father, sharing the same essence with the Father and dwelling in an affable light with the Father before He came to earth. 2 John 1:7. Instead, His "voice" will often feel like a gentle knock on the door of our hearts or a "knowing" in our spirits. You have spiritual instincts that are right and accurate. So the first test that we learn from John in regard to how we can test the spirits is the Christology test. Father, we thank You tonight for this look at Your precious Word. This goes for the false prophets John is referring to also. The ones who are true, like the noble Bereans, will search the Scriptures to see whats really true. The Bible tells us: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" ( 1 John 4:1 NKJV ). Those who are true confess the divine Lord, the full truth about Christ. Guard or keep through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us the treasure which has been entrusted to you. Literally the good deposit, and that is the deposit of divine truth. Do they manifest, do they demonstrate the characteristics of regeneration? What Does Be Still From Psalm 46:10 Actually Mean? You are confessing that Jesus is a person, not just a proposition. By this you know the Spirit of God and here comes the means by which we can test. And He has earned that privilege because of His righteousness, His holy perfection, which rendered Him as a fitting sacrifice for sins which satisfied the requirement of God. [This suggests the the real, true, Christ correctly claims to be the "I AM", as per John 4:26, 6:20, 8:24, 28, 58, 13:19, 18:5, 6, 8, etc]. Well their system is always a work system. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Verse 9, Anyone who goes too far and doesnt abide in the teaching of Christ anybody with an aberrant doctrine of Christ does not have God. Thats all bound up in His incarnation. But what about when you are the one who is receiving revelations (not someone else)? 6 Bible Verses about Testing Spirits 1 John 4:1 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. "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit Help Grace to You bring important resources like this to people in your community and beyond, free of charge. He is namely the Son in the Trinity who is Jesus Christ. It is not that we shall "name" him Emmanuel (and that name means such and such). You can trust them. Is it usual and/or healthy for Ph.D. students to do part-time jobs outside academia? You have overcome them. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. There is the written Word of God on the one hand, Scripture. Angels are already spirits or can become spirits? Luke 10:16 from our last Sundays message says, The one who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me. You reject Jesus, the true Jesus, the one and only, and you are rejecting God, no matter what you think. John repeats himself a lot, that gives me a great amount of comfort because I do that also. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. Lets call it the confession of the divine Lord. If he is somehow God - he is not flesh but God, he is not made like one of us! In the third chapter of John well go to the twenty-third verse for a moment of John 2, before we go on or twenty-second verse, Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ: This is the Antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. There is no plain teaching that Jesus is God anywhere in the bible. Why did the demon-possessed Gadarene bow down before Jesus? There in the middle of verse 3, This is the spirit of the antichrist of which you have heard that it is coming and now it is already in the world. We think of antichrist, we think of some future person, the beast of Revelation. And that's simply because of the sheer volume of letters that he left us, the author of 13 different New Testament books. the spirit of the times. There were many very well-educated, articulate Jews. Why does the present continuous form of "mimic" become "mimicking"? You are a possessor of the Holy Spirit. Im saying it again, that those who believe the truth are a small part of the population of the world. The world will listen to them. He communicates as a still, quiet and gentle prompting God is spirit and He will connect with us spiritually. These false teachers were against Jesus Christ even though they were in the church and among the brethren. Are they free from error, heresy? Anybody who rejects Christ rejects God. From this and a few other references we may now tabulate what constitutes the test of these spirits and the messages they inspire: Notice how central the doctrine of christology is as the measure of what is true and what can be approved as a reliable spirit and its teaching. Secondly, possession of the divine life. Those who proclaim some pre-existing Jesus - who is NOT like us in every respect, speak not the spirit of truth, but some other spirit is guiding them. Heres a benediction we lose with, Jude 2, May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you. Back to chapter 2 verse 20, You have an anointing from the Holy One and you all know. 2 He was in the beginning with God. The standard of loyalty was set by Jesus Himself. Guard it, Timothy; retain it; hold on to it, because it is ever and always under assault. When and Where Will the Antichrist First be Seen. Those that do not acknowledge Jesus Christ ascoming in the fleshare immediately defined asthose who go too far and do not abide in the teaching of Christ. a new spirit of cooperation. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made . It is relentlessly under attack. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life 2the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us What Is Spiritual Formation and Is It Biblical? Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. You see that in verse 1, Beloved, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits. John understands how important it is to realize that you cant believe everything you hear. He says youre from God. They would naturally become part of synagogues and begin teaching. And people in other religions that have never seen a Bible or heard the gospel, theyre looking up and seeing that there must be a Creator, and they fabricate in their minds some idea of God. Christians are saved from the wrath of God and the penalty of sin. In the incarnation God becomes a partaker of human nature. It is not unusual to have loyalties. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Because they wouldnt have been led astray by lies and false doctrine. It is in the spirit of antichrist. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. In the incarnation, God becomes a partaker of human nature. Jesus denied being a spirit (Luke 24:39), yet God is spirit (John 4:24). You are from God, little children, and have overcome them because greater is He that is in you than he who is in the world. This is primarily a statement of their security against false teachers. Though not a formal pastor now, he continues to shepherd the flock informally and through 4 Truth Ministry. 40 Days that Start with a Different Gospel, Are You Prepared? . 1 John 2:18-22 (NASB). You test their regeneration. And so here, John is writing to his flock, as you would understand it, to the people that have been put in his charge and all beyond them whom he can influence, including us today, and among the instructions that he gives here in this epistle, much of it, of course, is about who is a true believer. It is not just confessing Jesus Christ has come in the flesh that saves, we have to borrow from other elements of the Scripture. Just one little footnote here. We may understand from this that God intended man to experience the horror of sin as part of His gracious salvation - depicted in many respects by the message about Jesus being foreknown and 'slain from the foundation of the world'. True teachers have a true and faithful confession regarding Jesus Christ and they abide in His truth. And he who is not from God, doesnt listen to us. Thats the final. Gods holy name is at stake. 1 Timothy 4:1 (NASB). What about you? We sent you an email. 1 Samuel 16:14-16 & Matthew 12:43-45. Jesus is the litmus test of reality for people. Evidently, there may be a correlation between the spirits and the false prophets. Lord. Deceivers do not. This is why you have to test out any spirit that would suddenly appear to you. We pray that You will make us diligent contenders for the once-for-all, delivered-to-the-saints faith. They do not abide in God who do not confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who "came" in the flesh. It is either the doctrine of God or the doctrine of demons. We grieve in our hearts at how unwilling so many are to contend for the faith. (9) To tempt the Spirit of the Lord--i.e., to try, or test, whether the Spirit that dwelt in the Apostles was really a discerner of the secrets of men's hearts. It should be based in a relationship with God, truth, and obedience. We should want teachers to pass the test and rejoice when they do! The Roman Catholic Church recognizes God in human flesh. This position fails the litmus test John has given. Demons recognize His deity. This was the first test to pass. We are warned to recognise and then avoid such spirits. - v.2-3, Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Look at verse 4. And that is the very test we should perform: truth vs. error. And those are simple tests, but theyre guaranteed to function. 1 John 4:1 (NASB). These false prophets may likely be under the influence of demons! Yet, thank God, the overall narrative remains intact and a source for great encouragement and truth of things that matter. And this duty falls heavily upon me as it does any servant of God. For ex. But true saints need to realize not everyone is like them. Jews that had dispersed. The one who has the right teaching of Christ has both the Father and the Son.. It is always under attack. Their theology has its source in demons. If one errors on the identity of Jesus Christ, that is not from the Spirit of God. The evidence of their view of Christ, the evidence of manifest fruit of regeneration and the evidence of submission to biblical truth, thats what youre looking for in discerning a true teacher. However, the testing of spirits is a job for us all as Ellicott points out. The doctrine of incarnation, you confront them about regeneration. What is another word for try the spirit by the spirit meaning? 5 They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. 4 Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. So basically to test a spirit we need to check whether the spirit confesses Jesus or not. Something could sound good on the surface, but there may be more to it than that. You can be led astray on some issues, but not concerning the truth of the gospel. But John doesnt get in all of the nuances here. They do not obey God. The first is called "a spirit from God," "the Spirit of God," and "the Spirit of Truth." The second is identified as "the spirit of a false prophet," "the spirit of antichrist," and "the spirit of falsehood." That engulfs His humanity. Jesus, Greek form of Joshua, means Jehovah saves. As you walk in the Spirit and walk in obedience to the truth, the Spirit of God exercises that protective influence. These 'Christians' claimed to have the truth and was specially revealed to them to proclaim to the people.