Test the Spirits, Not the Spirit
A Short and Seemingly Unrelated Introduction
To explain today’s passage, I’m going to chase a rabbit, but I promise it’s on purpose. In Genesis 1:1, we learn that God created the heavens and the earth. Now, “heavens” refers to both the stars you see in the night sky as well as the spiritual beings we can’t see. God made the cherubim, seraphim, angels, and other spiritual beings along with all the physical animals, stars, and critters. God made human beings to live in a physical and spiritual world. Before sin entered the world, human beings could interact with the spiritual world as well as the physical world. But after the introduction of sin, humanity became spiritually dead (1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2:1). From Genesis 3, onward a central problem with humanity is our spiritual death and our spiritual enemies (who we can no longer see) pursuing out final death. One way to look at the story of the Bible is by God promising new spiritual life to His people. Each time God made a promise to His people, he did so through a covenant promise to bring spiritual life to them.
A Much Longer Introduction
The history of the Bible is God working through covenant to give new spiritual life. That Goal was fulfilled in Jesus. He paise for our sins and died in our place. He rose from the dead to give new life to His people. He gives His Spirit—the Holy Spirit—who gives us the spiritual eyes to see God.
With the inauguration of the New Covenant, the Old Covenant Jews rejected the Messiah of the New Covenant (John 19:15). So, now you have two covenant people of God. You have the Old Covenant Jews who reject Jesus as messiah, and you have the New Covenant church who follow Jesus as messiah. Who do you listen to? Well, obviously you listen to the church. But how do you know to listen to the church? Because God sent the Apostles.
It’s no surprise that we call the first book after the gospels, “the Acts of the Apostles.” It is on the foundation of the Apostles that the church was built. Paul says in Ephesians 4 that Jesus ascended into heaven and then He gave gifts to men, His church (Ephesians 4:8). The gifts He gave were apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (Ephesians 4:11). Now the purpose of these gifts is to build up the church into the unity of the faith (Ephesians 4:12). One day the church will be unified on earth because Jesus promised it and Jesus is sending gifts to the church to make it happen (John 17:21). Jesus wants the church to know who one another are.
We know Jesus gave the apostles unique authority to gather the early church around their ministry.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19–22
The Apostles gathered the early church around their ministry. This is why Apostles like Paul wrote 2 Corinthians. If the Corinthian church rejects Paul, they reject Jesus. The Apostles were able to unify the church around their ministry through the Holy Spirit empowering the church and the Apostles with the same gifts.
So, why go through all of this? Because this is the world of the early church. If you went to church 2,000 years ago, the temptation wouldn’t be to go to either the Baptist church or the Methodist church. The temptation would be to follow either the teaching of the Apostle John or the teaching of Jewish Rabbi. Both taught out of the Old Testament Scriptures. Both claimed to be people of God. But the teaching of John was empowered by the Holy Spirit and therefore had life while the teaching of Rabbi so and so was empowered by the Devil and only brought death.
So, the New Covenant brings Spiritual life through the power of the gospel. The Apostles once stewarded this gospel so the church could take the baton and run. In the context of the baton exchange, John wrote this letter to the church.
The Passage
Beloved, 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. 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, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 1 John 4:1–6
Explanation of the Passage
These six verses first deal with the spiritual then with the physical. The first three verses tell us about these two kinds of spirts in the world. The Spirit of God glorifies Jesus who came in the flesh to save us (v.2). While the second kind of spirit rebels against Jesus (v.3). Because there are two types of spirits, John commands the church to test every spirit to see if it’s from God or from the devil (v.1).
John then reminds the church of the three types of people working the life of a church. First, he encourages the church that they overcame the temptation of false prophets. The church proves they have the Spirit of God (v.4). Second, he reminds the church that false prophets speak for the world, not the church (v.5). Third, he reminds them of the ministry of the Apostles who speak as God’s last prophets (v.6).
This passage should wake up the church to test the spirits.
We are in a Spiritual World
In the Old Testament, pagan spiritual forces resulted in child sacrifice (2 Kings 3:27), physical mutilation (1 Kings 18:28), and sexual perversion (1 Kings 14:24). Back then if you wanted economic power, you would sacrifice your child to Molech. Today, women sacrifice their child in gestation for economic access. Back then if you wanted female empowerment, you would become a temple prostitute. Today, if you want empowerment, you join a community all about your sexual urge. Back then if you were desperate to shame the God of Israel, you would mutilate your body. Today, you do the same thing. The spiritual forces at work in the Bible are still working today.
The power of the Devil is in our guilt and our death. Guilt ruins our union with God. Death makes that ruin permanent. Because the Devil hates God, he also hates all people because we are made in the image of God.
Christ has Already Won our Spiritual Battle
When Jesus bore the wrath of God on the cross paid for the guilt of the church. That means the Devil and his minions can’t use our sin to manipulate us from union with God anymore. Jesus paid our penalty and disarmed the evil rulers of this world.
When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. Colossians 2:13–15
Jesus’ death on the cross disarmed the Devil from using our guilt. Jesus’ resurrection from the grave disarmed the Devil from using our death.
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Hebrews 2:14–15
Now, death no longer ends our union with God. Rather, God uses death to bring us to new life in Christ. The work of Jesus disarmed the Devil.
Just because the Devil is disarmed, doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous. He ruins people’s lives today with all the pagan worship we see around us. He ruins churches by sending false teachers and antichrists to lead the church astray. The Devil is still dangerous. But Christ also sent us the Holy Spirit to protect us and lead us from danger. God the Spirit, always points us to the glory of Christ (v.2). Spiritual doctrine focuses on Christ.
Test the Spirits, Not the Holy Spirit
How do you test the spirits? By submitting to the Holy Spirit. How do you submit to the Holy Spirit? By obeying Him. First, lean into the church. The Devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for individual Christians separated from the flock and from the shepherd (1 Peter 5:8). God gave us the church to protect us. Second, focus your attention on Christ. Notice that the Holy Spirit doesn’t point to himself. He always glorifies Jesus. Third, pray. When we pray like our Lord taught us to pray, we also pray what the Spirit wants us to pray too. When we pray, the Spirit is working in us (Ephesians 6:18) and working through our prayers (Romans 8:26-27). Fourth, be people of the word. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17). Notice the Holy Spirit wrote in His word what His favorite weapon is. It isn’t your devotional. It isn’t your social media group that shares religious phrases. It isn’t your prayer journal or your Sunday school curriculum. The Spirit’s weapon of choice is His own word in the Bible. Use it!
Conclusion
Children struggle with stubbornness. They just love to test their parent’s patience. Sometimes they test their parent’s patience out of a desire to go above and beyond. “Dad said to clean my room. But what if I draw a picture on the hallway wall instead.” Children shouldn’t discount the powerful act of deliberate obedience.
You are in a spiritual battle. Your spiritual enemy wants you miserable and dead. But Christ has already won the victory. So, don’t feel the pressure that you have to be creative and plumb the depths of the spiritual world. If God wanted you to do that, He would have told you how. But He did tell you how to worship. He did tell you how to love your neighbor and care for your family. He did tell you how to work and when to rest. The best way to test the spirits is by not testing what God has already told you to do.