“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for 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, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 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 of error.”

Understand What Moves You

Christians can sometimes, unfortunately, grow complacent in their salvation. This is not to say that we shouldn’t take comfort and assurance in the promises of God, but we also should not come to casually regard the mercy and grace that have been poured out on us. We read passages like John 10:29,

“My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

Or Romans 5:1–2,

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

And we come to regard our salvation as a box checked, as a task completed, that we can now move past and let fade from the forefront of our minds. We miss the context of the Scripture, and we fail to acknowledge passages like Philippians 2:12–13 which teaches,

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Assurance is beautiful, and wonderful, and right, but complacency ignores the gravity of what we were saved from, and the reality of Hebrews 10:31,

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Steering away from complacency, and an overly casual relationship with your Lord and Master can sometimes lead to overcorrection – the fearful place of questioning whether you’re truly redeemed or not. What we’ve seen and studied so far in 1 John gives us a reference point toward understanding who God is as our Father, who we are as His children, and what the world is that opposes His righteousness. Today’s passage continues this theme, as we shift angles, but continue our direction and look at the driving force that moves us as Christians.

1. What Spirit do you Serve?

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for 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.”

 In the past, when I’ve read this passage and not really paused to think about what I was reading, I’ve imagined that this was giving instruction for verifying the origin of a spiritual being. Like if something you took for an angel presented itself to you, the way you would determine its trustworthiness would be this quick questionnaire. You would say, “Did Jesus Christ come in the flesh?” and the apparent angel would say, “He did,” and you would know that the interaction was legitimate. I admit that I thought this, because I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one who’s mind went down that path, however I now understand that I was completely wrong. Firstly because while the Bible covers many varied topics, all instruction has practical application – this is especially true in a letter like 1 John, where everything we’ve read so far systematically applies to verifying your standing as a child of God, and discerning what is righteous from what is worldly. While I’m not saying it’s impossible that an angelic being could appear before you, and you could need to do your due diligence in confirming his legitimacy, I’ll be so bold as to assert that at the very least, this is not a common occurrence. It seems unlikely that John, offering wise and practical teaching up to this point would break off at the start of this section to say, “And also, if you run across any spiritual beings, here’s how you make sure they’re legit.” This also doesn’t fit because the Bible records demons confessing that Jesus is the Son of God. In the account where Jesus casts the legion of demons out and they enter into pigs, Matthew 8:28–29 says,

“And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?’”

The demons confessed Jesus as the Son of God, so if John were telling us that dark spiritual forces can’t speak this truth then that test has already failed. The demons saying this aren’t expressing faith or devotion, they’re simply acknowledging the very real and terrifying situation they’re in, fallen beings standing before the Son of the Holy, Living God. Their confession is in keeping with Scripture, as James 2:18–19 says,

“But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”

So, if you’ve ever thought like I used to that John was giving you instructions for ferreting out demons pretending to be benevolent angels, understand that you’re missing the meaning of the word “spirit.” Instead, consider Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21–23,

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

The Greek word used in today’s passage for spirit is “pneuma.” To understand the implications of the word, another passage where it’s used is John 3:8 where Jesus says to Nicodemus,

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

“Pneuma” is used twice here – once where we see the word “wind,” and again for the word “Spirit.” The spirit is the intent, it is the action, it is the wind that stirs, the breath that moves. This fits with what John has written previously as 1 John 3:18 says,

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

The spirit, the driving force that confesses Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the One who has come in the flesh is the movement of the Spirit sent from God. The teaching of any other way is in the service of another spirit, another driving force, and is not of God. In the context of the place and time of John’s letter this takes a particular shot at the Gnostics, who taught that as part of their “special knowledge,” all flesh was corrupt, and that Jesus never actually lived as a man, but acted out His life, crucifixion, and resurrection as a purely spiritual being. In John 14:6 Jesus states,

“… I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus presents the singular path to God, meaning that His identity is immovable, and uncompromising. He is God made flesh, He is the Son of Man shown in Daniel 7:13–14,

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

If you try to negotiate or compromise who Jesus is, then you’ve altered the path He offers and made it lead to somewhere other than the Father. He is not just a man who was a prophet, nor was He just a spiritual being, masquerading as a man. He was born, was tempted, lived righteously, and died perfectly both fully Man and fully God. Just because we can’t fully comprehend that in the understanding of our flesh doesn’t mean we reduce the Truth of God. But as John already wrote in 1 John 2:20,

“But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.”

Rather than leaning on our own understanding, we come to Christ and receive true knowledge, water that never runs dry, bread that never runs out, peace and certainty in a faith that does not fail. John’s opening words, “Do not believe every spirit,” reminds us of the purposeful confusion of false gospels that existed in the early church and persist today. It calls to the bedrock commandment of Paul given in Galatians 1:6–9,

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”

The gospel is not to be compromised, the good news of Jesus Christ does not get edited or added to. This foundation of the gospel gives a first line of warning against false teachers. Jesus taught in Matthew 7:15–20,

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”

Words matter, but words lead to deeds, the spirit of what moves us drives us to action, and the fruit we bear gives credence to who we are, and who we serve.

“This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.”

As we’ve looked at previously, 1 John 2:18–19 says,

“Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”

Through the Holy Spirit we have discernment – we have the Truth written on our hearts, we bear the fruits, not of flesh, but of the Spirit of God, and we see the dividing line between the Light within us and the dark teachings of the enemy. 2 Peter 2:1–2 again drives us away from complacency, and reminds us of the steadfastness we must practice in the face of the spirit that opposes Truth,

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.”

Jesus is singular in His identity, in that He is only who He says He is, and there is no compromise or distortion of Truth. What opposes Truth however does not walk a singular path – if Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, if He is the Light of the world, then what is of the enemy is everything that is not the Way, all that is shrouded in lies and death, all that exists, driven out of the presence of the Light. The enemy opposes Christ, and in this, desires most earnestly to see you die spiritually and permanently – by any means necessary. Someone who seeks to do you harm may stand before you, and with loud declaration announce their intent to do you harm. They may draw their sword, beat it against their shield, and then charge to cut you down. There are those whose hatred and opposition to righteousness is unmasked, unbridled, and poured out with no discretion or regard. But the one who seeks to do you harm may just as easily come alongside you, and with soft words, take you by the hand and walk with you down another path. Many of their words are familiar and friendly, and it may even feel that the most courteous thing to do is to walk with them, even though it seems their path leads quite clearly into an abyss. Satan doesn’t care so much how he causes you to stumble, just that you stumble. There are those who will loudly and angrily scream their hate for God, for the followers of Christ, for the Church – but there are also false teachers who will attempt to slip in among us, who twist Truth and doctrine that cannot be twisted and still remain intact. We talk about Jesus, the Mormons talk about Jesus, the Jehovah’s Witnesses talk about Jesus – so if we nod politely and ignore any specifics, we can treat it like we’re all on the same team. But if you have the discernment of the Spirit, if you understand the Spirit that you serve, the breath, the Life behind the Truth that has set you free and calls you forward, you know exactly where you are, and you know exactly what is wrong when you’re led from the path of righteousness. I had a dream once where, wandering through underground caverns I found a room. Inside there was a group of attractive women, gathered around a bed as though for a slumber party. They took no notice of me at first, but laughed and smiled without ceasing. One of them announced in this clear voice, “The sins of Jesus Christ are as thin as bee glue now.” As it turns out “bee glue” is actually a thing, the technical name being “propolis,” and it’s used by bees for various purposes around their hives. But dreams are weird sometimes, and it’s a fool’s errand to try to make sense of every detail, and I didn’t know anything about bee glue before looking it up. What stood out however was a claim concerning “the sins of Jesus Christ.” The women laughed and laughed at the statement, and while they did, I thought, “No… That’s not right. There are no ‘sins of Jesus Christ.’ He’s perfect, He’s sinless.” The situation almost immediately changed – the laughter, which was all girlish giggles before, shifted. It was this eerie, pulsing, staccato, almost chanted, “ha-ha-ha,” instead of actual laughter. The women turned to look at me, and their faces were gone – rather they had burlap sacks over their heads with their wide eyes and smiling mouths painted on them. They weren’t women, they were demons. They rose together and came toward me, reaching for me, and I woke. Now, contrasted against some of the teachings that in dreams everything has to mean something, sometimes dreams are just dreams. But there was a lesson to this one that was apparent as soon as I woke up. The “thin as bee glue” declaration was meant to be something reasonable – rather than say that Jesus lived perfectly, making the seemingly small amendment that He was mostly perfect, that any imperfections were so small, so thin, so almost nonexistent that it barely matters – but that idea changes everything. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world – no spot, no blemish, fully perfect in the will of Holy God. Compromise that at all and He’s no longer the perfect sacrifice – He’s no longer who He says He is. The mountains matter, but so do the alleged “mole hills,” because the Spirit we serve is the One who makes the path straight and level. If we compromise the spirit of our mission, our calling, our aim, then we seek to compromise our salvation – we blasphemously and satanically seek to alter the God we have been called to serve.

2. What Father do you Obey?

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

The world is marked by sin, characterized by desolation and darkness, but this reminds us again of who we are in Christ, that we as children of God have already been delivered to victory. Jesus prays in John 17:14–15,

“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.”

Concerning the enemy, the evil one, the antichrist, we see the ruin he is decisively brought to in 2 Thessalonians 2:7–8,

“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.”

Christ is our King, as well as our example. We see the word “pneuma” used again in this passage for “breath,” the Spirit that pours forth from Christ and annihilates the enemy. His victory over darkness, over evil, over the spirits and intents that oppose righteousness is absolute, and this is the victory that we’re delivered to.

“They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.”

Romans 2:3–5 says,

“Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”

Paul writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:3–5,

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. But as for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

After Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath John 5:16–17 says,

“And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I am working.’”

In John 8:42–45 Jesus says to the ruling Jews,

“If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.”

We are motivated and driven along by the spirit of our aim, and our father is the one we obey. The world resonates with the ones who serve the world in their flesh. False prophets and ones who blaspheme the Word of God do the work of their father, the Devil. They speak lies into a world that is hungry for dishonesty and has no taste for the Truth. We once walked in this same way, but no longer. In serving Christ, in obeying God as our Father we are freed and raised to serve a higher calling, and we have been delivered to overcome the world.

3. What Shepherd do you Hear?

“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 of error.”

Week after week, we continue to study and see these dividing lines, these stark contrasts between what is righteous and what is evil. In John 10:11–16 Jesus teaches,

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

We are part of the flock, or we’re not. We hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, the Truth of the gospel, and we respond – whether that response be joyful acceptance, or foolish rejection, and our response indicates to whom we belong, and who we belong with. In Matthew 25:31–34 Jesus speaks concerning the final judgement saying,

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’”

Whoever is of God hears us, because we’re speaking to the same purpose, because the Word we speak is not our own, but the one that has been given to us. If you are of the world then you delight in the wicked teachings of the world, and the words of righteousness have no place in your heart or mind. Matthew 15:10–14 says,

“And he called the people to him and said to them, ‘Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.’ Then the disciples came and said to him, ‘Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?’ He answered, ‘Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.’”

To walk in the Light is to have sight, to understand, and to be filled with joy at the Truth. But if you walk in the spirit of error then you live as a plant destined to be rooted up, you walk blind, and regardless of the direction you believe you’re pursuing, you will ultimately find yourself in the pit of outer darkness. Christian, do not approach the matter of your salvation with anxious uncertainty – rather look to the Word, pray in the Spirit, and take heart in the One who has saved you, who loves you, who works all things to your good, and His glory, and understand what moves you.

Pastor Chris’ sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgogqKwP5V8