4 Dear friends, 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.
John begins this chapter by reminding us of a very important truth: not all spiritual demonstrations are from God. Why? Because many false prophets are in the world. If we go to Ephesians 6:10-12, we understand that there is a spiritual realm that is in battle with us.
First, we have to do a check within ourselves. Do we over-emphasize or underemphasize the spiritual world? Overemphasizing means that every single thing that happens in our life has a spiritual component to it. We hit our finger with a hammer, it was the devil trying to hurt us or God trying to get our attention. Underemphasis is when we discount a spiritual side at all. Both are dangerous. We must understand there is a powerful contingent of spiritual darkness playing right outside our lives. If we aren’t battling on a daily basis, then we must ask ourselves “what are we doing?”
Testing the spirits is important. Let’s first see how the spirits operate. If we go to Deuteronomy 18:10-13, we see that those who dabble in the occult are detestable to God. The bible does not say it doesn’t exist. It says not to dabble int he spiritual world. Why? Because our trust in God must be paramount. When we start trying to find answers to questions without going through God, we begin to play a very dangerous game. We don’t know if that voice on the other side is of God or not.
Second, 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 tells us that satan masquerades as an angel of light. So do his servants. We have to be wary of things that look holy and true yet gradually take us off the path of truth.
Third, Acts 16:16-18 tells an interesting story of the apostles meeting a prophetess who proclaims them holy and true. But she is dealt with at the end and a demon pops out of her. Even the demons can twist the truth around, proclaim truth and nest it in lies.
How do we test the spirits properly? 1. Study the word of God (1 Timothy 3:16-17) : Timothy tells us that the truth lies within the pages of scripture. It is good for many purposes. We need to know the truth in order to compare it to anything we see or hear in the world. If we can’t compare information to the word, then how will we ever know the truth? 2. Pray for wisdom (James 1:5): James tells us that the first step we need to take in times of trial is to pray to God to help us understand the truth. This holds true when it comes to false teaching. 3. Exercise your discernment (Hebrews 5:14): When we authentically come to Christ, we are given a very special tool, and that is the ability to understand right from wrong. True from false. But, like a muscle, this skill must be refined over time. We have to use it continually to help us navigate the lies that swirl inside our world.
2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
True teaching reflects the true Jesus. Denying that Christ is the savior is the spirit of the antichrist. In John’s time, the spirit of antichrist was prevalent. The Gnostics of his time was a group of ex-Christians who looked a lot like Christians, but had some deep distinctions. They did not believe in the resurrection. They believed that the flesh was rotten, therefore inconsequential. What they did in it had no bearing. It was all about the spirit. Therefore, they did not need a savior. They maligned the word of God and traded it for secret knowledge that only higher-ups in the religion could attain.
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. We don’t need to fear the spirit of antichrist because we have an indwelling. Jesus is greater that the world, that satan, than us. Our victory is assured when we walk in the truth. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
The spirit of antichrist always talks in terms of this world. Money, power, prestige (Matthew 12:34). It is because the world has influenced their speech. And the world listens to them. It is the same issue that attracts the world era after era. The world often believes that the biggest crowd somehow has the truth. But it is the world preaching to the world.
God’s Love and Ours 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
God loves us. We must understand his love in order for us to love ourselves, to have the capacity to change, to desire the relationship and to grow in it. When we do, a natural component that grows from it is our love for others. Our love for others is how we know that God is in us. The spirit testifies to this. We know we are His. By this love, we can have confidence that out judgment will not be harsh, because we have given ourselves to the relationship. There will be no surprises. We will be in communion and know what our reward is. If there is fear in judgment, then we fear punishment.