1 John 4:1-6 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is 1 John 4:1-6. Let’s go!
1 John 4:1-3 (NIV)
1 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.
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.
On verses 1-3: Why is John telling his readers to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (v1)? It’s because in John’s day false prophets were preaching messages that contradicted the gospel message, the message that Jesus Christ the Son of God came into this world, died for our sins, and rose again. For example, historians report that a man called Cerinthus taught that Jesus was not divine and that he was not supernaturally born of a virgin but that he was the naturally born son of Joseph and Mary. Cerinthus taught that the only reason Jesus had any connection with God was because at his baptism he received a spirit from heaven called the Christ and that this spirit left him at his crucifixion. According to Cerinthus, Jesus and the Christ were two separate beings, implying that Jesus was not God, but a man who temporarily possessed a special spirit for a few years.
In contrast, Christians believe that Jesus Christ is one person, fully divine and fully human. What difference does it make? Here’s why it matters. In order for Jesus to be able to save us, in order for Jesus to be the perfect bridge between us and God, Jesus had to touch both sides: the divine and the human. And that is what the Bible teaches. On one hand Jesus is by very nature God (e.g. Philippians 2:6), and on the other hand Jesus is human like us (e.g. John 1:14). Jesus didn’t just have the Christ; He is the Christ (Matthew 16:16; Mark 8:29; John 11:27). This concept of Jesus being fully God and fully man is known as the hypostatic union. To claim that Jesus was merely a man who temporarily possessed a divine spirit is to deny all that the Bible teaches about Jesus Christ being the incarnate Son of God. It also undermines the message that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) who saves us.
That is why John tells his readers to be discerning. He tells his readers to filter every teaching they hear using this test: a teaching is from God if the teaching acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; that is, the one God-man Jesus Christ came to earth as a human being to save us (v2). If someone teaches about Jesus but refuses to acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, be careful because the totality of their teaching is not from God, but from the devil, which John calls “the spirit of the antichrist” (v3).
What can we learn from this? Like John’s readers, we too must be discerning when we hear people talking about Jesus. Many cults today will teach about Jesus. They may quote the Bible in their teachings. But their teachings will often fall into one of two categories: they will either deny Jesus’ humanity or deny Jesus’ divinity. Be careful with such teachings because they are not from God, but an enemy-empowered deception. The truth is that both Jesus’ humanity and His divinity are taught in Scripture and are essential to Jesus being able to save us from our sins.
1 John 4:4 (NIV)
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.
On verse 4: The “one who is in the world” is a reference to the devil. Elsewhere Jesus calls him the prince of this world (John 12:21). Whether you are combating enemy-empowered heresies or facing other spiritual attacks, always know that the one who is in you – i.e. the Spirit of God – is greater than the one who is in the world. The key to overcoming your battles is knowing that through faith in Christ God’s Spirit lives in you and that He is greater than anything else you will face in life.
1 John 4:5 (NIV)
5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.
On verse 5: “They”, meaning the false prophets, are from the world (the system of thinking, feeling and living that does not acknowledge Jesus) and thus their message appeals to those who are trapped in that system (v5).
1 John 4:6 (NIV)
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.
On verse 6: This might sound like an arrogant and self-serving statement from John – to paraphrase, “If you listen to us, you are from God but if you don’t listen to us you are not from God.” But remember that John’s confidence is not so much in himself as it is in Jesus. Remember that John personally walked with Jesus, personally saw Him crucified and die on a cross, and personally spend time with Him on numerous occasions after Jesus resurrected. John knows without a shadow of a doubt that the Jesus He preaches is the real Jesus, and thus he can make a bold statement like this.
What can we learn from this? As we learned when looking at 1 John 3:16-17, having a strong personal conviction about Jesus comes from having a personal encounter with Jesus. If you don’t have a strong personal conviction about who Jesus is, maybe it’s time you humbly ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you personally so that you can experience Him in a personal way.
Lord Jesus, more and more deepen my understanding of who You are and reveal Yourself to me, that my faith and my worship would be in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). Thank You that greater is the One who is in me than he who is in the world. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
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