1 John 4:1-6 John now turns to the discernment of spirits. John
specifically instructs his reader to test the spirits. The acid test is whether
a spirit affirms or denies that Jesus Christ is from God, in the flesh. If
anyone prophesies or gives any other message which they claim is from God, (e.g.
gives a word of knowledge, preaches a sermon that is anointed) you can know
for certain if it is or is not by this test. However, there may be occasions in
which this doctrinal test is not addressed. John goes on. Bona fide Christian
messages will embody consistency with the teaching of John and the other
apostles. Messages that are imbued with the values, beliefs, and
"wisdom" of the world are recognizable as not being from God. If they
sound spiritual but "off", that is because the One who is in the
hearer is greater than the one who is in the world, empowering them to recognize
the spirit of error.
1 John 4:7-14 God is love. The entirety of Christian faith and
practice is the outworking of this foundation, and built on it. John 3:16
recapitulated. But the next step is to make complete His love by loving one
another. This is once again evidence or proof that we abide in Him and He in
us. We cannot see God, but we can see love manifested. (John 13:35)
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