1 John Chapter 4 Verses 1 – 3

· John is addressing a very specific issue happening at that time within the church which was the creeping in of Gnosticism and Gnostic-influenced teachers. I’m not interested in taking our time to develop and describe for you all that the Gnostics thought and believed, you can do that on your own if you are into that sort of thing. Essentially, the Gnostics believed and taught that everything in and of the flesh is evil and everything in and of the spirit is good, and since humans had both, there was an element that was only evil and an element that was only good. The evil couldn’t be redeemed, and the good couldn’t be defiled…

· So, do whatever you want to do in the flesh, doesn’t matter…, because it was the spiritual side of humans, (enlightened by knowledge), that was saved. Ok, with that, they had to conclude and teach that Jesus, who was divine, could not have actually become a flesh and blood human being, or He Himself would have been part evil. So, their teaching was that Jesus was a spirit… And this was gaining in popularity. Why? Same reason why false teachings are still on the scene today…, the message serves our flesh…

· For example. Why is the health, wealth and prosperity movement on the scene today? Um, because who doesn’t naturally want all of those things anyway? And what happens in the moment you realize that health, wealth and prosperity was everything Satan offered to Jesus if He would worship him instead of going to the cross? HA!

· Ok, so pocket that… John does make a few key statements here that are not only for the very specific issue he was dealing with at the time he wrote this letter. John says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are out there.” A prophet is anyone that speaks on behalf of God. Has a word for you, a teaching for you, advice for you, guidance, counsel, encouragement or direction. Someone speaking authority into your situation or life…

· And you want to and MUST test incoming information because the things of God will lead you to life, what you want and what God wants for you…, and the things that are false will leave you on a round-about in life…, just cycling back through the same things…, the exit is right there, moving on, progress, growth, profit, right there…, but here we go in a circle again!!!

· So, be a bit skeptical, in a wise way, and test every spirit. Same word as in examining a diamond for authenticity… Ok, how? Not difficult at all… I could take you through the fruits of the Spirit and the fruits of the flesh… They are given to us in Galatians 5… Fruits of the spirit such as love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, and so on…, and fruits of the flesh such as uncleanness, lewdness, hatred, contentions, selfish ambitions, and so on… But here’s the problem. Fruits of the Spirit can be faked and fruits of the flesh can be present in the life of a true Christian!

· However, Jesus pretty much gave us the answer in Matthew 7:15-20, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.”

· Ok, I’m confused… I’ve met some of the nicest, most clean-minded, gentlest, most peaceful…, FALSE PROPHETS! HA! AND, I’ve ran across some of the most critical, mean, hateful, selfish Christians… HA! So, what’s this fruit that we are to know, test and discern by…

· Have you ever been furniture shopping and the dinner tables and countertops are staged with decorations? And perhaps you’ve seen the fake bowl of fruit? How do you know its fake? Well, for one, you’re furniture shopping! HA! The environment reveals its authenticity…, but perhaps you’re rich and the furniture shops you’ve been in, maybe that fruit was real. The sure-fire way to know is to take a bite! Why don’t you do that the next time you’re in American Furniture Warehouse!? HA!!!

· The point is, it’s the substance…, what is the substance, what’s it made out of, the composition behind surface level, of that beautiful fruit? According to the Word of God, true fruit comes from God. It is the “Fruit of the Spirit,” and God has fully revealed Himself within and as the Word of God (John Chapter 1 for example). And so, reconciling Galatians 5, 1 John 4 and Matthew 7, I give you the understanding that the fruit that Jesus was talking about, the discernment and testing that John says we must have, and the description of fruit given by Paul in Galatians 5 all converge solely upon the Word of God and that is how we are to test the spirits…

· Is what we are seeing, what we are hearing, what we are experiencing, what we are feeling, does it align with the Word of God? If so, safe. LIFE ahead! If not, false. Trouble is coming! John gives us one example, and this was specific for his time and situation for this letter, that anyone who does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, which means He was fully God AND fully man, they are a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a false prophet. Why? Because the Word of God has given us clear information that Jesus and the Father are One and that Jesus was born into the form of a human…

· So, can we receive a truth, guiding authoritative advice, from someone who is so kind, so loving, so peaceful, so mature and yet will tell you that Jesus is the brother of Lucifer or that He was once a man that ascended to divinity and was given His own planet? NO. Why not? Because they deny the Jesus of the Word of God and that’s how we know they are not of God. The fruit is from another tree… Isn’t it interesting that Satan deceived Eve with fruit that was pleasant to the eyes?

· So, can we receive a truth, guiding authoritative advice, from someone who is critical, mean, hateful, selfish and yet will tell you that Jesus is God Himself, fully God and fully man? Their advice aligns perfectly accurate to the Word of God? YES! Might not like them…, I get it, but if what they are saying aligns with the Word of God…, that spirit is of God. Their flesh is strong and I’m not hanging with them…, but the Spirit testifies through the Word of God that I need to heed what they have said… I don’t need to tell them that, give them that satisfaction though, HA!!

· So that is how you test the spirits and we must test all the spirits because the spirit that comes forth from God is in alignment with God’s word and will lead us in the ways of life… Anything else is the spirit of Antichrist, no matter how perfect that fruit looks in that bowl on that furniture store dinner table…, or in the hands of the deceiver…., you’re going to end up choking!

· The next verses conclude this discussion…

1 John Chapter 4 Verses 4 – 6

· Hear, hear, hear, hear…, do you hear the repetition of that word? Why? What do you hear? The spoken word… And this is how we know the spirit of error… and this is how you and I, we, overcome. What’s that mean? It means prevail… This is how we prevail… Another definition for prevail is to get control and become effective… That’s huge. That’s the opposite of the round-about… always moving, super-fast sometimes, powerful, just in a season of forward motion…, great? But going in circles and in the end accomplishing and becoming very little… That’s not what I want for myself and not what God wants for me either…