Are You Following False Teachers?
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OPTIONAL: ((Show a short video on False Teachers))
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
John wants them to be aware of the fact that not every spiritual teacher is a credible teacher.
There are spiritual deceivers and liars out there, and they work hard to earn our trust, our allegiance.
So John says, “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God.”
The word “test” carries the idea of putting something to rigorous examination to discover its genuineness.
We are all to be doctrine detectives, theological investigators!
We are all to be doctrine detectives, theological investigators!
Our goal is to determine if these prophets are from God or if their origin is to be found in another source, in a different kind of spirit.
John’s point is straightforward: Behind every prophet, every proclamation, there is an energizing spirit.
Their message will inform us as to the origin and source of their message.
They are not all from God.
Watch! Listen! Test!
Here a healthy dose of “spiritual skepticism” is warranted.
In fact, it is essential for the health and well-being of the Christian community.
And note, these false prophets are everywhere: “many … have gone out into the world.”
They are demonically inspired missionaries on satanic assignment.
They are not simply guilty of theological error; they are guilty of theological heresy!
False prophets are not new to John’s readers.
They have been around for a very long time.
2 Cor 11:3-4
3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!
There is a tendency with most people to ascribe any unusual phenomenon to God.
Such a lack of discernment opens the door for false teaching and provides an opportunity for demonic activity to invade the church.
Remember: spiritual or religious activity is not necessarily godly activity!
Watch and wait.
Look and listen.
Evaluate the message and the messenger by the Word of God.
False prophets are deceptive in their message.
And they have their own Great Commission, having been sent out “into the world.”
You cannot say, “I was never warned.”
Jesus warned us (Matt 7:15; 24:11, 14; Mark 13:21–23).
Paul warned us (Acts 20:28–30).
Peter warned us (2 Pet 2:1–22).
Jude warned us (Jude 4–19).
Where there is truth, error will be lurking in the background.
Be on the lookout.
Are You Confessing the True Jesus?
Are You Confessing the True Jesus?
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
Once again John makes it plain that Christianity is rooted and grounded in “the Christological question”: What do you believe about Jesus?
Testing the spirits of verse 1 is greatly aided by asking “the Jesus question” of verses 2 and 3. “This is how you know,” recognize, come to understand, “the Spirit of God” and those who bear His gospel message.
Verse 2 puts the issue in a positive light and verse 3 in the negative.
What confession bears witness to the presence of the Spirit of God? It is this: “Jesus Christ [the Messiah of God] has come [perf. tense] in the flesh [He is the incarnation of God].”
It is on this truth that authentic Christianity stands or falls—that there was a true, genuine, and permanent wedding of deity and humanity in the person of Jesus Christ, God’s only Son.
The Spirit of God always honors Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Jesus said in John 16:14 concerning the Spirit, “He will glorify Me, because He will take from what is Mine and declare it to you.” If there is no glorifying of Jesus as God incarnate then there is no Spirit of God present.
14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
Amazingly, even demons got it right and recognized the deity of Jesus while He walked on earth, though they certainly did not worship Him for it (Mark 1:24; 3:4; 5:7–8).
24 saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
Tragically, demons have a better theology than do some professing Christians, pastors, teachers, and theologians.
Verse 3 is the antithesis of verse 2.
Those who deny the truth of the incarnation of the Son of God (1) are not of God and
(2) are of the antichrist.
When it comes to what people believe about Jesus, the early church was plagued much like the twenty-first century.
Already there were people who refused to believe the truth about God sending His Son as the Savior of the world in the person of Jesus.
A man named Cerinthus said the Spirit of God’s Christ empowered the human Jesus at His baptism but left Him at the crucifixion.
(OPTIONAL: Video Short on Cerinthus belief)
The bottom line is that they denied the genuine reality of the incarnation and the wedding of deity and humanity in the person of Jesus.
“Antichrist” here means “against Christ” (cf. 2:18, 22; 2 John 7)
7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
John says you heard he was coming (and he is), and he (through his devilish spirits) is now already in the world.
He was active in John’s day, he is active in our day, and he will remain active until the day that Jesus comes again.
So once more: Are you confessing the true Christ? Do you confess with the apostles, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matt 16:16)?
Are You Trusting in the Greater Spirit?
Are You Trusting in the Greater Spirit?
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
The opposition of Satan—the world system that daily assaults us, false teachers that seek to seduce us, faulty worldviews that attempt to confuse us, and our own sinfulness that yearns to enslave us—is divinely ordained to fail.
Why? Because of the glorious truth of verse 4: “The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
We have a Champion, a Victor, a source of power that all of these enemies from hell cannot overcome.
How did we obtain this victory? The Greater Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is in you, and He is greater than he who is in the world.
Is the world strong? Yes, but our God is infinitely stronger!
Are false prophets wise? Yes, but our God is infinitely wiser!
Is Satan great? Yes, but our God is infinitely greater!
And this One who is infinitely stronger, wiser, and greater now and forever “is in you”!
By a true and faithful confession of Jesus as Messiah, I declare that I am God’s.
In response, God gives Himself to me through His Spirit and takes up residence in me and in each and every one who sincerely calls Jesus “Lord.”
Amazingly, the God who can live anywhere desires to live inside of you and me!
Are You Listening to the Right Teachers?
Are You Listening to the Right Teachers?
5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
John brings this section to a close with words that are simple.
Those who are from the Devil’s domain speak out of that worldview and with that spirit’s inspiration.
They speak satanic sermons.
They deliver demonic discourses, and those who belong to that worldview listen to and embrace their teachings.
Therefore, we should never be surprised when the lost think like lost people and live like lost people.
This is true even for those who once claimed to believe in and follow Christ.
Those enslaved to the world cannot help but listen to those who speak their own language.
Verse 6 paints a different picture.
Those who know God through confessing Jesus as the incarnate Christ and Savior (cf. 4:10) listen to those who were with Him, who were commissioned by Him.
They stay with the apostles and the prophets (cf. Eph 2:20) and refuse to move away from this true and trustworthy source even one inch!
In John 8:47 Jesus says, “The one who is from God listens to God’s words.”
47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
There is no “Jesus-plus” or “Bible-plus” theology for those who truly know God.
And there is no “Jesus-minus” or “Bible-minus” theology either.
This is how you can without question tell the difference between “the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
The phrase “spirit of error” is interesting.
It has the idea of wandering away from the truth. False prophets and those who listen to their teachings hang around the truth for a while, but they don’t stay.
They wander away.
Again and again, their error comes back to what they think and believe about Jesus.
The Bible says He is God, but they wander away and deny His eternal deity.
The Bible says He is sinless, but they wander away and say He sinned or at least committed error.
The Bible says He did miracles, but they wander away and say these are myths and fables.
The Bible says He is the only Savior, but they wander away and say He is only a savior.
The Bible says He died on the cross for our sins, but they wander away and deny penal substitution, calling it cosmic child abuse.
The Bible says He rose bodily from the dead, but they wander away and say the disciples imagined that He did.
The Bible says He ascended into heaven as Lord, but they wander away and say this is just another myth.
The Bible says He is coming again, but they wander away and say it’s pop-Christian fiction.
And finally, the Bible says He will judge us all.
Conclusion
A battle is indeed raging for the hearts, the minds, and the souls of men and women.
Be a good soldier of Christ and the cross, of that which is true and that which is right.
Test the spirits, confess Christ as Lord, trust the Holy Spirit who is within, and stay latched to the Word.
(Hold up the Bible)
Here is your strength.
Here is your safety.
Here is your salvation.