Our Victory over Deception: 1 John 4:1-6

In 1 John 4, John assures believers that they can have victory over deception, and he provides yet another test--this time a test for whether the message we are hearing is true or false.

In the first verse of chapter 4, believers are instructed to "test the spirits to see whether they are from God." John isn't describing some sort of mystical experience; believers are being instructed to test the spirit of a teaching in order to determine what the teacher is saying. This is a general command to all believers--not just to ministers and elders.

The reason believers need to test the spirits is because there are many false prophets knocking on the door of the church of Jesus Christ(v. 1b). Satan has an interest in challenging the truth of the church. In Matthew 24:23ff., Jesus explains that those claiming to be Him, claiming to have received a special word from Him, or who will claim to have seen Him in a special revelation are false. But the deceivers John is referring to are more subtle than the ones Jesus is talking about. It is important that we understand that there are two spirits: God and Satan (antichrist).

Verse 2 tells us that "every spirit that confesses that Jesus has come in the flesh is from God." It would seem that this is a simple test, but there is much here in this verse. In fact, the Greek verb for "has come" is difficult to translate, and different Bible translations have translated it in different tenses. This one verb conveys the idea that at one time Jesus had not come in the flesh, but now He has come in the flesh, and He will remain in the flesh in the future. This test for truth raises a huge difference between Christianity and Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, and historic liberal churches who would claim that Jesus is less than God; in fact, liberal churches would say that He was simply a good example for us to follow.

The true hearers in vv. 4-6 have overcome the false teachers by God's grace: "for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." And what of the false hearers? Because they are of the world, it is not surprising that they find the false teachings attractive. The true hearers will hear the true heralds who are "of God." God is at work in them, and they believe that Jesus is God incarnate. This is foundational to our beliefs, and we embrace this truth wholeheartedly.