Don’t believe everything your hear is being the truth. We need to test those spirits, to see if this is from God or the Devil. Let us look at 1 John 4:1-6 (MSG) to how we can know it’s God’s word they are speaking.
1 John 4:1-6 (MSG) – Testing the Spirits
1 Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how 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; this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now is already in the world. 4 Little children, you are from God and have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore, they speak from the world’s perspective and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us; anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.
Explanation with Scripture References:
- Testing the Spirits (1 John 4:1 (MSG))“My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world.”: Comment: John starts by cautioning believers not to believe every spirit but to test them to determine if they are from God. This echoes Jesus’ warning about false prophets in the Sermon on the Mount. Reference: Matthew 7:15-20 (ESV)
- Confessing Jesus Christ (1 John 4:2-3 (MSG)) “Here’s how you test for the genuine Spirit of God. Everyone who confesses openly his faith in Jesus Christ—the Son of God, who came as an actual flesh-and-blood person—comes from God and belongs to God. And everyone who refuses to confess faith in Jesus has nothing in common with God. This is the spirit of antichrist that you heard was coming. Well, here it is, sooner than we thought!”: Comment: John provides a crucial test for spirits. A spirit is from God if it confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. This confession is central to the Christian faith and aligns with Jesus’ teachings about His identity. Reference: Matthew 16:15-16 (ESV); 1 Corinthians 12:1-3 (ESV)
- Victory Over False Spirits (1 John 4:4 (MSG)): “Here’s how you test for the genuine Spirit of God. Everyone who confesses openly his faith in Jesus Christ—the Son of God, who came as an actual flesh-and-blood person—comes from God and belongs to God. And everyone who refuses to confess faith in Jesus has nothing in common with God. This is the spirit of antichrist that you heard was coming. Well, here it is, sooner than we thought!” Comment: John assures believers that they have conquered false spirits because the Holy Spirit within them is greater than any deceptive spirit in the world. This reminds us of the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Reference: Romans 8:31-39 (ESV)
- Worldly vs. Godly Perspective (1 John 4:5 (MSG)):My dear children, you come from God and belong to God. You have already won a big victory over those false teachers, for the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world. These people belong to the Christ-denying world. They talk the world’s language and the world eats it up. But we come from God and belong to God. Anyone who knows God understands us and listens.” Comment: John distinguishes between those who speak from a worldly perspective and those who are of God. This highlights the contrast between the values and teachings of the world and those of God’s kingdom. Reference: Romans 12:2 (MSG); James 4:4 (ESV)
- Listening to Apostolic Teaching (1 John 4:6 (MSG)): “The person who has nothing to do with God will, of course, not listen to us. This is another test for telling the Spirit of Truth from the spirit of deception.” Comment: John asserts that those who are from God will listen to the apostolic teaching, while those who are not from God will reject it. This underscores the authority of the apostles’ message and the discernment needed in identifying true believers. Reference: Acts 2:42 (ESV); 2 Peter 3:2 (ESV); 2 Timothy 4:3-4 (ESV)
In 1 John 4:1-6 (ESV), John encourages believers to be discerning about the spirits and teachings they encounter. He provides a clear test for identifying true spirits from false ones, emphasizing the confession of Jesus Christ’s incarnation as a crucial criterion. John assures believers of their victory over deceptive spirits through the Holy Spirit and warns against adopting a worldly perspective. Ultimately, he underscores the importance of listening to apostolic teaching as a sign of genuine faith. These teachings align with broader biblical principles regarding discernment, the confession of Jesus as Lord, and the role of the Holy Spirit.
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