Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.
1 John 4:1-6 NLT
V. 1-3 “Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God.”
Penned to believers at a time when false teachings and doctrines were penetrating the early church, written sometime around AD 90, John’s message is still fitting for today’s Christian as a standard to accurately discern whether a person is following Christ, or a false doctrine constructed by humans.
I am reminded of a recent conversation of a friend who believed Jesus died an agonizing death on the cross, but he did not believe that Jesus rose from the dead. When someone says they believe in God, or says they believe in Jesus, they may or may not believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, crucified, died, buried, rose again, is alive and is seated on the throne at the right hand of the Father.
Years ago, I put my hope in people and beliefs that professed a counterfeit Christ. Now, through God’s grace, I put my faith in God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each person will choose to accept or reject the death, burial,and resurrection of Christ.
How can your story of Jesus as your hero reveal His power? According to John how do you know if someone has the Spirit of God?
