seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 John 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
Oh, this is way over my paygrade so please use the commentary.
Do not believe every spirit: John warned against believing every spirit; that is, we are never to assume every spiritual experience or every demonstration of spiritual power is from God. We must test spiritual experiences and spiritual phenomenon to see if they are in fact from God.
Many, when first encountering the reality of the spiritual world, are too impressed and amazed to ask whether they are of God. This leads to easy deception.
Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God: True prophecy, and true teaching, will present a true Jesus. In John’s day, the issue was about if Jesus had truly come in a real body of flesh and blood. Many Gnostic-influenced teachers said that Jesus, being God, could not have actually become a flesh and blood human being, because God could have no partnership with “impure” material stuff.
Is now already in the world: Though it will have its ultimate consummation in an end-times political and economic ruler, the essence of this antichrist spirit is present with us today. It is found everywhere a false Jesus is promoted in place of the true Jesus of the Bible.
He who is not of God does not hear us: Understanding just who hears what God has taught us through the apostles, as recorded in the New Testament, helps us to know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. If someone hears what God has said in the Bible, we know he has the spirit of truth. If he does not hear it, he has the spirit of error.
There was a shooting in a "church" yesterday. The shooter is dead and her son was taken to the hospital in critical condition with a bullet hole to the head. The news says "Palestine" was written on her gun. I am sorry for her, and really sorry for her son. The "church" has some damage. The preacher has a sermon he can use over and over and over again. When I saw this preacher on the news, he had a huge smile on his face. Some will say he always smiles. That smile I saw yesterday was pure joy. He will say he was joyful that God watched over "his flock". But I've heard what this man preaches... it's not God's flock... it's "his flock". He was on the news worldwide... with that big smile.
The publicity his "church" is receiving is priceless. He could run for President and win. He could put Jesus back on the cross and others will applaud and ask him when his book is coming out, and is it ready for pre-order. Mugs with his face on them will come onto the market. He'll have those bullet holes embossed so they will always be reminders of when "his flock" was under fire. The sympathy will drive book sales through the roof.
This man preaches that God wants us to have a new car and a new home. After all, who would want to join any group that is made up of the "poor"? When Hurricane Harvey tore through his Texas town, he refused to take the people in. The preacher is reported to deny it ever happened. Social Media, however, stated the victims of the hurricane had no place to go and this good preacher denied them sanctuary. Social Media reports that it wasn't until after the views and dislikes started to pile up that the smiley preacher opened the doors.
What a world we live in. It wasn't too long ago that no one, absolutely no one, would consider shooting up a church. Now... the preacher smiles, the book sales go through the roof, and the people say "oh that's horrible" and go on about their business like it never really happened.
Does it bother anyone else that it was a woman and her son?
My Online Bible titled these verses "On denying the Incarnation". Incarnation is defined as: a person who embodies in the flesh a deity, spirit, or abstract quality.
What incarnation was embodied in that woman who took her son to a shooting?
What incarnation is embodied in this smiley preacher and book salesman? That's what these verses are about.
John says it's a question we are supposed to ask.
Which incarnation?
