Each week throughout 2021, I will share a Bible study blog post taking us through the letter of 1 John. Only five chapters long, this brief book is worthy of our consideration. Whether you drop in for one post or many, I pray that you enjoy them. Access all posts here.
Last week we considered the importance of not believing every message we hear, but testing them to see if they are from God (1 John 4:1). Today we will look at three questions we can ask of the messages we hear. Each question is a test designed to see if the message is from God.
Question 1: Are They Allegiant to the True Jesus? (2-3)
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.
Christological Confession
Here, John highlights the confession of the false teachers from his era. Many of them challenged the idea that Jesus was flesh and bones. It's likely many of them said, Jesus was pure spirit. So John said we can know a message comes from the Spirit of God if they confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh (2). Conversely, every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God (3). It's the spirit of antichrist (3) that twists and denies the identity of Jesus.
But what is this confession that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh all about (2)?
First, confession is more than mere intellectual belief. To confess Christ is to believe in Jesus, but also to surrender to Jesus. You could pay anyone to say, "Jesus came in the flesh," and many nonbelievers know He walked the earth. But it wouldn't be a confession.
To confess is to not only say the words but live the life. The confessor submits their life to Jesus Christ.
To quote Paul:
"Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:3, ESV)
Second, this confession has to do with Jesus' identity. That He has come, which implies He came from somewhere (2). The rest of Scripture tells us He came from eternity. He is God who came for us.
And this confession says Jesus came in the flesh (2). God became human. The second person of the Trinity, the Son, fully divine, took on the fullness of humanity. He became one of us. We rejoice because He can now relate to us. He is God who became a man.
Know False Teaching Exists
But the spirit of antichrist loves to lead people away from the truth about Jesus (3). Many theories about Jesus abound. Even by John's day, a false message about Jesus was in the world already (3), twisting His identity until it was out of step with Scripture. This still occurs, and John tells us to beware.
And a simple knowledge that false teaching exists will help us be alert. It's all around us. Competing truth claims are nothing new. And, since Jesus called Satan the father of lies, we should have an expectation deceitful truth claims will saturate the world (John 8:44).
Jesus braced us for various false messages and messengers by saying things like:
""Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits." (Matthew 7:15–16, ESV)
And Jesus' apostles backed up Christ's words with statements like these:
Peter to the church: "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." (2 Peter 2:1, ESV)
So we must know false teaching -- messages and messengers -- exist. We must be aware. And as we scroll Instagram, read the latest headlines, or listen to the most popular podcasts, we must be aware the great deceiver is out there, trying to lie to us. We must be on guard.
So the first question: are they allegiant to the true Jesus?
Question 2: Are They of the World? (4-5)
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.
The World's Praise
A second test John holds out has to do with the audience and the origination of the message. If the messenger comes from the world system, then they are false messengers (5). If the world system listens to them, they are false messengers (5).
John feels this is a shame, because true believers, his audience, had overcome the world (4). He says, He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (4). He assured them, they were from God and had overcome them (4).
Apparently, the false teachers hadn't completely overturned the churches John served. The Spirit lived in them, and He helped them stand up against false teaching.
But notice how the false teaching was known: The world listens to them (5).
This helps us understand that popularity and praise are not the best measures of legitimacy. Truth claims are not a democracy. The highest vote-getter doesn't win.
Just because the world went along with their message, didn't mean it was true. In fact, the message's popularity helped demonstrate how demonic and worldly it was.
Meanwhile
But the message of Christ, at least on this side of eternity, will not be the majority view. It won't receive worldwide praise and acclaim. It will get you outcast.
Jesus said:
"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." (Matthew 7:13–14, ESV)
So the second question: are they of the world?
Questions 3: Do They Hear the Apostles? (6)
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.
The Final Question
The final question is one John alluded to at the beginning of the letter:
"that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ." (1 John 1:3, ESV)
The "we" John referred to there, and refers to in this passage, are the original Apostles (6). So, whoever knows God listens to the Apostles (6). Whoever is not from God does not listen to the Apostles (6).
The question is simple: Do they hear the Apostles? That's how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error (6).
But how does one "hear the Apostles"? By adhering to the Word of the Apostles, which is the Word of God. The Apostles communicated the Old Testament word of God, and wrote the New Testament word of God, just as Jesus had promised. To hear them is to hear God.
"Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God."" (John 8:47)
Know The Word
Error is out there, man. And we need to grow in our knowledge of the Word so we can be guarded against this spirit of error.
I am a huge baseball fan. I have my team, but I also just love the game. To many people, it is boring, but baseball purists are convinced people think the game is dull because they don't understand the intricacies of the game. But, since I've played, watched, listened to, and read about baseball, I can appreciate the game a little more than the average person.
And, because of my working understanding of the game, it's easier for me to tell if a player makes a mistake or an error than if my wife were watching the game. Because I'm familiar, I can tell an error when I see one.
In a similar way, the more we familiarize ourselves with the Word of God, the easier it will be for us to notice errors. We will notice it when it happens.
Some Help
At the end of our next study, I will recommend some study aids to help you stay true, but not before observing John's words about love for one another. Truth blends perfectly with love, and the Christian community is to be one of truth and love flowing together. Next week, we will study this love.
