Try the Spirits

False teaching was a serious problem in John’s day. The error espoused by the false teachers was so damaging that John had to devote almost the entire letter to warning his hearers against it. No doubt, it’s a serious problem in our day as well. John is known as the Apostle of love. However, in our culture I’m not so sure we would give him that name today. John would probably be labeled as judgmental or intolerant. After hearing his message some in the church would probably not even call him an Apostle. John is an Apostle, nevertheless. In this section we see that the Apostle of love warns his hearers again of the spirit of antichrist. He compels us to test every spirit to determine its origin. Let’s look at what John says about trying the spirits.

John says that we should not believe every spirit. When John says “spirit” he is talking about the influence behind the human speaker. The false teachers, as well, as the true teachers of God’s word, claimed to be speaking on the behalf of God. John is saying that believers should not be so gullible as to think that just because a person claims to be speaking for God that they actually are. For some reason we have bought into the lie that it is virtuous to “believe in people”. If someone says they have heard from God, who are we to judge? If someone says they have truth, who are we to contradict their claim. That summarizes the invertebrate culture of our day. God forbid we not believe someone. After all, we may offend them, scar them emotionally or hurt their feelings. That ideology is the complete opposite of a Biblical worldview.

We are to try the spirits. That is we are to test them. Notice that John says the purpose of our testing is to determine if the person is of God or not (1). That means that many people who claim to speak for God are not speaking for Him at all. Why should we waste our time believing what they teach? Notice also in verse 1 that John says that many false prophets are gone into the world. These false prophets are inspired by a false spirit. So John says that we are to try the spirits because multitudes of people have gone into the world inspired by a false spirit. That means that they will have a false gospel. Christians should not only not believe such people but should outright reject such people as well. Paul said in Gal. 1:8 “But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed”. Everyone that claims a message from God should be tested before they are believed. Paul warned us that especially in the last days there would be an onslaught of demonic spirits deceiving people in the world. He said in 1 Tim. 4: 1 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils…” We should not feel guilty about looking and listening to a person with discernment. It is our responsibility as believers. Scripture records these words about the Berean believers in Acts 17:11 “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so”.

John tells us the number one way to know if a person is speaking by the Spirit of God or another spirit. In verse 3 John makes it about as plain as he can. The main message of the antichrist is to deny the truth about Jesus. Let’s consider some truths we can draw out of that.

First, John lets us know that Jesus is the Messiah. He calls Jesus the “Christ”. Anyone that has a message denying that Jesus is the Messiah is inspired by the spirit of antichrist. The religious leaders of Jesus day, generally speaking, did not believe He was the Messiah the Old Testament promised would come. Certainly there were many in John’s day that did not believe He was the Messiah as well. In our day, we have many that do not believe that Jesus is the promised Old Testament Messiah. Anyone that believes Jesus is not the Messiah has believed the message of the antichrist.

Second, John lets us know that Jesus is God in the flesh. This is probably more specifically what John was dealing with. The Gnostic heresy would not allow the idea that God would become man. Therefore they invented doctrines. They taught things such as Jesus did not become the Messiah until His baptism. Or they taught that Jesus was not really a man, He just appeared to be a man. He was actually a spirit being. Such teaching clearly contradicted the truth of the gospel. Paul said in 1 Tim. 3:16 “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh…” Interestingly, the very next verse in 1 Timothy is the one mentioned earlier warning of doctrines of devils and seducing spirits contradicting that very truth. Paul was saying the same thing that John is saying in this verse. God has come in the flesh but the spirit of antichrist denies it!

Any person, movement, denomination, etc. that denies that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh is inspired by the spirit of antichrist. We can easily discover if we should be listening to what a person says by simply asking them what they believe about Jesus. If they do not believe that Jesus is God in human form, we have no business listening to what they have to say. Probably the two largest groups in America today that fall into this category are Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses. Mormons believe that Jesus is the older brother of Satan. While they will tell you they believe He is God, their view of God is completely different than the Biblical view. In their belief system any man can become god. The Jehovah Witness’s believe that Jesus is the Archangel Michael. They openly deny that Jesus is God. These movements are working in the name of the Lord but under the power of the antichrist. They are deceiving multitudes with a false gospel that offers a false hope and a false christ.

John tells us that the spirit of antichrist will have a listening audience. Look at verse 5. John says the false teachers are “of the world”. “World” refers to a belief system contrary to the truths of God. The spirit of antichrist rests upon the children of this world. They are unbelievers. They belong to the world, therefore the world will listen to what they say. Jesus told the disciples in John 15:19 that the world would hate them. Here John shows that the world loves and accepts the false teachers. The reason is simple. They tell the world what the world wants to hear. “Heareth” means that the world receives the message of the false teachers.

If a person believes that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh it will affect his entire outlook on life. Because that also means that everything Jesus said is true. Jesus words on self sacrifice, materialism, love, heaven and hell must be accepted if He is God. It’s a lot easier if Jesus is just a prophet or a good man. Then one doesn’t have to take everything He said as true. That’s why the world doesn’t want the Jesus of the Bible. He is too intrusive upon their lives. So when someone comes along preaching another Jesus, the world jumps on that teaching. It’s what they want to hear. As well, Satan works hard to keep a person from believing that Jesus is God in the flesh (1 Cor. 4:4). He has no problem with us believing anything else about Jesus. In fact he will do his best to confirm belief in any Jesus other than the true One. The fact of the matter is that more people are going to listen to the false teachers and accept the false christ. It’s our responsibility to try the spirits and proclaim the true Christ.

John tells us that true believers need not fear the spirit of antichrist. We see that in verse 4. It really is an encouraging verse. It shows us that God does not mean for us to live paranoid lives in fear that we will be deceived. John tells us a few reasons why we shouldn’t fear the spirit of antichrist.

We belong to God. John says ‘‘Ye are of God”. We are the children of God. He is our Father. That means that we know Him. Romans 8:15 says the Spirit within us causes us to cry out “Abba Father”. Some may think that a person has to be very mature in the Bible or they will fall away from God. That’s not the case. Even a small child knows who its father is. As believers, we may not know a whole lot about the Bible, but we know who saved us. We know who our Father is. We have no reason to fear the false teachers because we are the children of God. We know Him.

We have already overcome. John says that we have already overcome the false teachers. Our salvation is a done deal. Look at what John says in 1 John 5:4. Those that are born again will overcome the world. We will not fall into the lies of the false teachers. God, by His grace will keep us in the truth.

We have a greater power within us. The very Spirit of God lives within believers (Romans 8:9). Ultimately He is the One that keeps us from falling away. He is our teacher (2:20). That means that we are more convinced than the world is deceived. God and Satan are not equals. At any moment God could release a person from the lies of the devil. However, the devil could never kidnap one of God’s children (John 10:28-29). We have the most powerful presence in the world living within us. That assures us that we will not be deceived by the spirit of antichrist.

John tells us that sharing the truth reveals a person’s spiritual state. Look at verse 6. He restates that fact that we belong to God. Then he lets us know how to determine who else belongs to God. At the end of the verse he categorizes the world into two groups. There are those who have the spirit of truth and those that have the spirit of error. The spirit of truth leads to eternal life and righteousness. The spirit of error leads to death and ungodliness. Those that are of God listen to the spirit of truth. Those that are not of God listen to the spirit of error.

John says “he that knoweth God heareth us”. In other words, they will agree with us. That sounds a little self righteous in our culture. But it’s the truth. Those that do not receive the historic gospel message that believers have been sharing for thousands of years do not belong to God. That’s what John is saying. To put it more simply, you can know if a person is influenced by the spirit of antichrist simply by asking them what they think about Jesus. If they have not adopted the Biblical presentation of Jesus then they are not of God. That may not make us popular people, but it’s just the truth. The spirit of antichrist is alive and well. It’s our responsibility to share Jesus as He is to a lost world. If they reject Him, they have rejected eternal life. You don’t have to take my word for it, let’s close with what Jesus said in Luke 10:16. He said “He that heareth you heareth Me; and he that despiseth you despiseth Me; and he that despiseth Me despiseth Him that sent Me.”

Thoughts to Consider

1. Christians should be critical thinkers.

2. False prophets are not as difficult to identify.

3. Some people would rather hurt God’s feelings than people’s feelings.

4. If you are truly saved, you will always be.