Verse: 1 John 4:1-3
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. 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, 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.
Devotion
This letter to the early church was written by John, the apostle, in his old age, about 50 years after Jesus died. Already there are people trying to change the gospel and John is giving advice on how to know what is true. Here we are almost 2000 years later and we still see that there are people trying to change or replace the gospel. This is right in line with what Christian has been teaching the last few weeks.
John was warning the church about the early Gnostics who believed that the body is evil so Jesus could not have been a man. John knew Jesus and Mary, his mother, and could verify that Jesus was born, lived and died as both man and God. Jesus even calls himself many times, Son of Man. And isn’t it interesting that these early people had no problem believing Jesus was God but had trouble believing that He was a man also.
So how do John’s admonitions to the early church help us deal with false doctrine today? First, we have to recognize that there are many “false prophets” today in the world. When Jesus sent the disciples out on their own to heal the sick, he told them to be “as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves”. We need to be discerning of what is going on around us. How do we do that?
The first test is whether the person who is proposing a new way of living is also acknowledging that Jesus is Lord. If they are proposing a different way than what the Bible says, then you should be wary. Also, it was John who wrote that Jesus told the disciples that He would send them a Counselor, the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit. We can ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and for the ability to discern the forces around us.
Lastly, John wants us to know that there are evil forces in the world (the devil) that are pushing these false ideas that things like pleasure, money, fame, independence or self-determination are better ideas than what Jesus provides us. The more power we give to these other “gods”, the more we are drawn away from the true, fulfilling life that God has for us. That is why John is warning the early church and also us. So let’s be discerning like snakes and see these false doctrines for what they really are.
Prayer
Dear Lord, we only want you. Help us to not get caught up in earthly gods but instead to follow you to find real truth and freedom and meaning.
Author: Brad Dunn
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