Let's Get Critical

Fake News

We hear a lot about fake news today. We have the President of the United States of America, at odds with those in control of much of the media today. This message today is not about politics. It is not about republicans versus democrats. It is not about CNN vs. Fox News. But it is about the importance of us thinking critically about our faith. We are called to purposefully evaluate the system of belief that we rely on. We are called to carefully weigh the reliability of our doctrine. We are asked to prove the truthfulness of the things we rest upon, the things we rely on, the things we make decisions based upon, the things that affect our behaviors.

This is the cry of the apostle John, as the Holy Spirit moved in his heart to record the very thoughts and truths of God the Father, in relation to the very essence of His Son, Jesus Christ, who’s birth and incarnation we have just celebrated together a few days ago.

Please follow along with me as I read

1 John 4:1–6 ESV

1 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. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 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. 4 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. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 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.

Don’t Believe Every Spirit

Test Every Spirit

Spirit of God

Spirit from God, Spirit of God says that Jesus has come in the flesh- teaches the truth about Christ Jesus

Two Natures-

God in Full

Man in Full, yet perfect

Gnostics- Christ was

Council of Chalcedon confirmed what the apostles taught and the church clarified in the previous councils.

The Spirit of God confesses, states, proclaims, bears witness of the incarnate Christ, the Son of God. It is not silent on the matter. This is an important factor, in

Spirit of the World is opposed to the Spirit of God

Faith and confidence in the One True Triune God is contrary to the spirit of the world.

Spirit?

What is meant here in this passage, when it says “Spirit”?

We hear this term used a lot. People think it is a great idea to have the “Holiday Spirit”, this time of year. Some schools used to have “Spirit” week, which was really a week, focused on the excitement and pride the students and staff have for their particular school.

Spirit is often interchanged with the “breath” or “wind” which moves a being. The “Leeward side” the part of a person that faces the direction of the wind. The guide or director, yet unseen part of someone or something. Not exactly the same as the “heart” of a person.

There are spirits at work all around us. We don’t like to talk about them or think about them, but denying their existence does not help. If anything it simply makes things worse.

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Eph 4:

The Importance of being Critical

Being critical preserves truth in our hearts

Have you ever been tricked? Have you ever been a victim of fraud? What does that feel like? For me, just getting one of those robo-calls, saying this is your credit card company, and we want to help you lower your interest rates, is enough to send me into a frenzy of TRUTH PROCLAMATION!!!

Maybe you have been given a sales pitch for a product that just didn’t measure up once it had been bought and tested.

Maybe you were given wrong directions by your GPS and you were so excited as the miles passed, that you were nearing your destination, only to find out when you arrived, that you weren’t at your intended destination.

John is saying that is exactly the problem with the message of the spirit of this world. The antichrists that are in the world, and speak from the world, are doing the same thing to those who are of the world. They are liars and deceivers, who deny the reality of the nature of the Messiah, who is our Savior, Redeemer and Friend.

1 John 4:3–5 ESV

3 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. 4 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. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.

1 John 4:3-

These false teachers were trying to lead people away from a belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. They had a warped understanding of the 2nd Person of the Trinity and were relying on a faulty belief system.

They believed there was a Supreme Being, who was distinguished from lesser spiritual/divine beings. The Creator God, was not the the One True God, of the Bible but was instead a lesser diving being who according to the Oxford Bible Dictionary:

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church Gnosticism

was the immediate source of creation and ruled the world, which was therefore imperfect and antagonistic to what was truly spiritual. But into the constitution of some men there had entered a seed or spark of Divine spiritual substance, and through ‘gnosis’ and the rites associated with it this spiritual element might be rescued from its evil material environment and assured of a return to its home in the Divine Being. Such men were designated the ‘spiritual’ (πνευματικοί), while others were merely ‘fleshly’ or ‘material’ (σαρκικοί or ὑλικοί), though some Gnostics added a third intermediate class, the ‘psychic’ (ψυχικοί). The function of Christ was to come as the emissary of the supreme God, bringing ‘gnosis’. As a Divine Being He neither assumed a properly human body nor died, but either temporarily inhabited a human being, Jesus, or assumed a merely phantasmal human appearance.

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church Gnosticism

was the immediate source of creation and ruled the world, which was therefore imperfect and antagonistic to what was truly spiritual. But into the constitution of some men there had entered a seed or spark of Divine spiritual substance, and through ‘gnosis’ and the rites associated with it this spiritual element might be rescued from its evil material environment and assured of a return to its home in the Divine Being. Such men were designated the ‘spiritual’ (πνευματικοί), while others were merely ‘fleshly’ or ‘material’ (σαρκικοί or ὑλικοί), though some Gnostics added a third intermediate class, the ‘psychic’ (ψυχικοί). The function of Christ was to come as the emissary of the supreme God, bringing ‘gnosis’. As a Divine Being He neither assumed a properly human body nor died, but either temporarily inhabited a human being, Jesus, or assumed a merely phantasmal human appearance.

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church Gnosticism

The function of Christ was to come as the emissary of the supreme God, bringing ‘gnosis’. As a Divine Being He neither assumed a properly human body nor died, but either temporarily inhabited a human being, Jesus, or assumed a merely phantasmal human appearance.

The false teachers, to which John was referring may or may not have adopted all of these beliefs, but they were certainly denying that Christ was God and had literally come in the flesh, which is contrary to what the Bible teaches.

The Creator God, or lesser God, by a series of misfortunes became the source of creation and the ruled world. Only those who were “enlightened” with “gnosis” knowledge, were able to

Having a warped understanding of God is sinful, harmful and even fatal, spiritually speaking in many cases. John warns them that the false teachers’ beliefs are from the world (Satan).

So testing the spirits and being critical, proving our theology our doctrine upon the word of God preserves our correct perspective of what is truth and what is not. His Word has given us all things that pertain to life & godliness, which in turn gives us assurance.

Being critical (testing the spirits) gives us assurance

Being critical preserves truth

Assurance that God has conquered death

Assurance that God has justly offered me eternal life by His Grace and that I am fully trusting in Him for my salvation

The Marrow controversy- a fight to find the balance of legalism and antinomianism (works based salvation vs. free grace).

One person was attempting to understand another person’s motive in asking questions, which seemed to dilute the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The person being questioned said in a sense, “I am not asking whether I can know or believe, that God is able to save me, by His grace alone. . . I am asking is, “how can I know that I truly believe and will continue to believe that I am saved by grace through faith?”

1 Jn 4:

1 John 4:4 ESV

4 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.

A Word of Warning

Thinking critically, and testing the spirits, does not give us the license to become arrogant, selfish, angry, harsh and hateful towards the world.

I do not read anywhere in this passage, that God gives us permission to:

attack a person for their belief system

gossip about a person or people

slander a person

condemn a person

The Importance of Proclamation-

1 John 4:2 ESV

2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,

It is very clear in this verse, that every spirit that CONFESSES, that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 33.221 ὁμολογέω

to make an emphatic declaration, often public, and at times in response to pressure or an accusation—‘to declare, to assert.

And if there is any question, John clears it up in verse 3

1 John 4:3 ESV

3 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.

The spirit that does not confess Jesus, is not from God.

CONFESS! Proclaim, refute the spirit of the antichrist and the false teaching, proactively!

We ought to be doing this, on a regular basis, especially this time of the year. When our culture still celebrates Christmas. When we can easily proclaim the joy that we have, because Christ, the Son of God was born, in the flesh, in order that we could have the forgiveness of sins.

Let’s get critical- Listen carefully to people and the messages that they proclaim. Are they proclaiming the Spirit of God, or the spirit of antichrist?

Are they being moved along by the Holy Spirit or another spirit. What is propelling them, moving them, guiding them as they live?

What is moving us, propelling us, guiding us as we live?