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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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TESTING
THE SPIRITS (1 John 4:1-6) Grace
Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming Pastor
Daryl Hilbert A. Evidences
of Familial Relationship (1Jn 3:1-10) B. Evidences of Love (3:11-18) C. Evidences of Truth (3:19-4:6) 1. Assurance
of Truth (1Jn 3:19-22) 2. Children of Truth (1Jn 3:23-24) 3. Spirit
of Truth (1Jn 4:1-6) a) Test
the Spirits (1) (1) Consistent
to one of the themes of 1 John, the author writes concerning false teachers
and how to detect them. (2) John affectionately calls his readers,
“beloved” (agapêtoí - loved ones, from agape) because they are
believers under his care. (3) He begins with an imperative (command) not
to believe every spirit. A believer is not to have a spirit of naivety. Many
churches pride themselves on accepting whatever they hear or whatever is
novel. This is a dangerous door that leads to error. (4) John adds another imperative and it is that
believers are to “test” the spirits. “Test” is the Greek word dokimázō,
which carries the basic notion of proving a thing whether it is worthy or
not. It was used of things to test the genuineness of metals and materials
(cp. 1Co 3:13). It was also used to test people, such as trials, politicians,
and students. Here it used to test the truthfulness of doctrine to see
whether it is from God (cp. 1Th 5:21). (5) These believers are admonished to test the
spirits because many false prophets have gone out into the world. A false
prophet (pseudoprophếtês) is a pseudo-prophet, one who claims to
be a prophet under false pretenses. One who falsely claims to be a spokesman
for God. It is one who proclaims false teaching and doctrine contrary to the
Bible. b) Test
of Confession (2-3) (1) John
gives a test to know whether someone is from God or not. The test is one,s
confession of Christ (2). (a) If
someone confesses that Christ has come in the flesh, he is from God. (b) There are two reasons for this test. One
reason is the truthfulness of the incarnation of Christ. Christ, as the Son
of God, has indeed taken on humanity so that he could be man’s substitute and
mediator (Phil 2:6-8; Heb 2:9). (2) The
second reason is that the false teachers were denying the truth that Christ
came in the flesh (3). (a) [Cerithus]
represented Jesus as having not been born of a virgin, but as being the son
of Joseph and Mary according to the ordinary course of human generation,
while he nevertheless was more righteous, prudent, and wise than other men.
Moreover, after his baptism, Christ descended upon him in the form of a dove
from the Supreme Ruler, and that then he proclaimed the unknown Father, and
performed miracles. But at last Christ departed from Jesus, and that then
Jesus suffered and rose again, while Christ remained impassible, inasmuch as
he was a spiritual being.
(The Ante - Nicene Fathers Vol 1, Ch 26). (b) Such a Pre-Gnostic view that denies
Christ’s humanity denies Christ’s substitutionary death. Any view that denies
Christ’s deity is heretical and denies Christ’s work as divine mediator. To
deny the Person and work of Christ is to reject salvation (Mt 16:16-18; Jn
20:31). (c) This is also an anti-Christ spirit. John is
not speaking of the anti-Christ to be revealed in the last days (2Th 2:3-10;
Re 13:1-8). It is anti-Christ because it opposes (Grk. antì -
against or in opposition) Christ’s true person and work. It is
anti-Christ because such false doctrines are promoted by Satan (1Ti 4:1). c) Test
of Victory over the Evil One (4) (1) John
mentions a truism concerning the true children of God. It is in a sense
another test. A true believer has overcome Satan and his false teachers. (2) The reason why true believers have overcome
Satan and his false teachers is because the Holy Spirit, who indwells all
believers (Jn 14:17; Ro 8:9, 11; 1Co 3:16) is greater than Satan and his
anti-Christ movement. (3) Another reason why true believers have
overcome the evil one is that Christ has defeated the works of the devil (1Jn
3:8) and has delivered the believer from the dominion of darkness (Col 1:13). d) Test
of Listening (5-6) (1) Another
test in which to discern the spirits is to listen to the speech of the false
teachers. Since false teachers are not believers, they are of the world and
speak from the world (5). (a) John
is not speaking of simply of worldliness (cp. 1Jn 2:15-16) but specifically
of those who teach from a worldly philosophy rather than a biblical
perspective. (b) Those who are of the world, hear the world,
listen to the world, and speak from a worldly centered philosophy. (2) Those
who are from God know God and hear His word (6). (a) They
are in the process of renewing their minds from a worldly perspective to a
biblical perspective (Ro 12:2). (b) This does not speak of a mystical hearing
God’s voice, but rather an understanding of God’s truth being taught by the
Holy Spirit (1Co 2:14 cp. 1Co 1:18). (c) It is through the Word of God that a true
believer is to discern between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error (plánê - wandering, i.e. from the truth of
God’s Word). 4. Application a) Testing
the Spirits is not a Mystical Process but a Biblical Process (1) It
is not through the burning of the bosom, or the feeling in one’s stomach, or
even the feelings of one’s emotions that one discerns truth. Furthermore, it
is not through experience (2) It is by comparing Scripture with Scripture
in order to test teaching by the context of the truth of God’s Word. (a) We
are able to test ourselves to see if we are in the faith (2Co 13:5). (b) We are able to discern what is God’s will
(Ro 2:18; 12:2). (c) We are able to discern the spirit of truth
from the spirit of error (1Jn 4:6). |
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