Today’s reading is 1 John 4.
In our break down of the sermon known as First John, the fourth chapter kicks off with the answer to a question that has plagued God’s people since the very beginning. Not every spirit out there comes from God. That is, not every spirit out there is doing or teaching the will of God. There are false prophets. There are false teachers.
In the garden, the serpent was a false spirit, if you will, who led Eve and Adam astray from God’s will. In Jeremiah 28-29, Hananiah and Shemaiah competed with Jeremiah. Jeremiah proclaimed the truth about the Babylonian captivity, the other two professed lies. In Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus warned false prophets would come.
Sure, when all is said and done and the world comes to an end, we’ll be able to look back and tell who was true and who was false. But what about right now? How do we determine whom to follow?
John provided a test for his day.
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
1 John 4:2-3 (ESV)
John is surely not saying if any teachers can say the words, “Jesus came in the flesh,” no matter what else they teach, they are true to the Lord. We must remember we are reading someone else’s mail. John was dealing with errors prevalent in his day. Clearly, a divide was occurring over the nature of Jesus. The side that declared Jesus came in the flesh upheld the truth, the other side was in error. Certainly, even today, to be true to God’s Spirit, we must declare Jesus came in the flesh. But obviously, there is much more to the true spirit of God than merely declaring the incarnation. Of course, if someone denies the incarnation, that person is antichrist even today.
Many overlook the next key John declares. And this one provides great guidance for us as well.
We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit or error.
1 John 4:6 (ESV)
As John began this sermon declaring the apostles’ fellowship with the Lord (see 1 John 1:1-4), he comes back to it now. The “we” refers to the apostles who had fellowship with the Lord and taught truth that we might have fellowship with them and the Lord. The teachers of error who walk in darkness, denying sin, denying Jesus came in the flesh, denying anything the apostles of Jesus declare are teachers of error and follow the spirit of error. This is our key today. Jesus recorded the New Testament by the working of the Holy Spirit through His apostles and prophets. The Spirit of truth is seen in those who follow the apostles of Jesus. The spirit of error is seen in anyone who goes astray from what the apostles declared.
The Spirit of truth is not found among those who search within their own heart for truth. It is not found in those who look to the traditions of the church. It is not found in those who write creeds today. It is found by those who open up the writings of the New Covenant apostles and prophets and submit to them. That is the Spirit of Truth.
Tomorrow’s reading is 1 John 4.
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PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family
How does 1 John 4 prompt or improve your praise of God?
Read the Bible 