1 John, Chapter 4
© Copyright 1998 Darroll Evans-all rights
reserved
1 John 4: 1 Beloved, believe
not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many
false prophets are gone out into the world.
Now, John hits the nail on the head by
telling us not to believe every spirit that comes down the path of life.
We are to test the spirits to determine if
they are from God!
Not all spirits are The Spirit!
We must do that because many false prophets,
I call them Pretenders, have appeared.
This is a good time to bring up false
conceptions about false Prophets.
We will use the most infamous false Prophet,
Balaam, as an example.
Let's take a peek at what Balaam actually
said.
This may take some time.
Please read this carefully.
Numbers 22:38-41
38 And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at
all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.
39 And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto Kirjath-huzoth.
40 And Balak offered oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes
that were with him.
41 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him
up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of
the people.
Numbers 23:1-30
1 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here
seven oxen and seven rams.
2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every
altar a bullock and a ram.
3 And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go:
peradventure the LORD will come to meet me: and whatsoever he sheweth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place.
4 And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I
have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram.
5 And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and
thus thou shalt speak.
6 And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and
all the princes of Moab.
7 And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me
from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come,
curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.
8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how
shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo,
the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of
Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!
11 And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to
curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.
12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to
speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth?
13 And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from
whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the
utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence.
14 And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to
the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on
every altar.
15 And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the
LORD yonder.
16 And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again
unto Balak, and say thus.
17 And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the
princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What
hath the LORD spoken?
18 And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto
me, thou son of Zippor:
19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should
repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath
he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I
cannot reverse it.
21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in
Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of
a king is among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.
23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any
divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and
of Israel, What hath God wrought!
24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a
young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood
of the slain.
25 And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at
all.
26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I
thee, saying, All that the LORD speaketh, that I must
do?
27 And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto
another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest
curse me them from thence.
28 And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon.
29 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here
seven bullocks and seven rams.
30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every
altar.
Numbers 24:1-10
1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to
bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he
set his face toward the wilderness.
2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents
according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.
3 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor
hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
4 He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the
Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!
6 As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the
trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and
as cedar trees beside the waters.
7 He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many
waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and
his kingdom shall be exalted.
8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and
shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.
9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great
lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth
thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.
10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and
he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse
mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.
(KJV)
First, let me point out that every preacher
in America and around the world quotes a known false prophet.
Furthermore, what they say is true and
accurate.
Numbers 23:19a God is not a man, that he should lie;
Now, take time to go back and read Balaam's
statements again.
As you read what Balaam said in his
prophecies, you will not find one word that is not true.
It shocks most theologians to find that a false
Prophet can speak with such great accuracy and truth.
Most uninformed people think that false
Prophets speak lies.
Here we have a classic example of the
Anti-Christ.
Do not judge by the words Prophets or
Preachers speak, and believe me there is a major difference between a Prophet
and Preacher.
The anti-Christ false Prophet may say things
that are totally true and accurate.
He may say things that most cannot, nor are
willing to say are false.
How does God judge?
1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his
countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for
the LORD seeth not as man seeth;
for man looketh
on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on
the heart. (KJV) (emphasis mine)
Men seek political candidates that look good
on TV.
God looks at the content of their character.
Anti-Christs are
judged in the negative by the lack of love in theirs hearts.
They are not judged by their words.
Again, please understand that false Prophets are
not false because of what they say.
They are considered false because of what is
in their hearts.
1 John 4: 2-3
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of
antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is
it in the world.
This is a most interesting passage.
It is taken out of the context of the times
and used by the uneducated to validate Pretenders.
Let me put it into context.
In the late first century Christians faced
satanic Gnostic teaching.
The Gnostics taught that Christ was human
only in superficial appearance.
They taught that man must force his flesh
into a false mold.
Gnosticism is a cross between Hinduism and
false Christianity.
Martin Luther King did not espouse
Christianity!
Martin Luther King espoused the practices of
Gandhi’s non-violence protest!
Many deny that Christ Jesus came in the
flesh, or lived as a human being.
In that context, "every spirit"
that acknowledges that Jesus Christ lived as human being says that through the
power of God.
That has nothing to do with what we face in
most cases today.
However, if you face modern Gnosticism the
same answer is true.
Spirits that do not acknowledge Jesus as Lord
are not from God.
The spirit of the anti-Christ has already
come into the world.
It is alive and well in the midst of many
churches (small c).
There is an alternate view that must also be
addressed.
These verses tell us, “Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh is of God: And
every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not
of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist”
That may not mean what we think it does!
Although Islam acknowledges that Jesus was a
man who lived and died, they deny the crucifixion.
There is another thing that Islam
denies.
They explicitly deny that Jesus is Lord!
Koran
Surah 112.3 He [allah]
begets not, nor is He begotten.
Islam denies that Jesus is the Son of God and
that God has been begotten of God.
Their god may not have am only begotten Son,
but The God does!
Of course Jesus was not begotten of their
god!
They accept Jesus while denying the fact that
He is Christ.
Islam denies that Jesus “Christ” came in the
flesh.
Islam was born of the spirit of antichrist.
As in 1 John 2:22, this use of antichrist
also contains the Greek definite article!
Verse 3, in part says, “this is that spirit of antichrist”. The literal translation of the “of
antichrist” section is “of the antichrist” (Gr. tou antixristou-tou antichristou).
“The” Antichrist is said to be a “lawless”
one.
II
Thessalonians 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord
will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of
His coming. (NKJV)
Islam follows Sharia Law, and not the Law of
God.
Islam does not follow the Law of Spirit!
It does not have the Spirit and so cannot be
led by the Spirit!
While pretending to be a law abiding
religion, it is actually a “lawless” religion.
Allah is not God!
.1 John 4: 4 Ye
are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that
is in you, than he that is in the world.
Here we might say that all true Christians
are "of God."
But look around, does it appear that we have
overcome the world?
I don't think so!
But appearances may be deceiving!
What does it mean to overcome the world?
It is really quite simple.
We are Christ's due to faith in Him.
If we retain that faith despite the seemingly
overwhelming odds of Satan's onslaught, we have overcome the world.
Christians reflect the fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians
5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
We do not actually overcome this current
social chaos.
Christ keeps us, guards us despite social
chaos.
Greater is He who is in us than he who is in
the world.
1 John 4: 5 They
are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
Those who love darkness are anchored in this
perverse age.
That is why they speak and act as they do.
The perverse of this age love follows them
because they seem to validate sin.
They speak and act in that same manner as the
lost of this age!
They commit crimes, sins against God!
And, the lost of this age listen to them.
1 John 4: 6-8
6 We are of God: he that knoweth
God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the
spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth
God.
8 He that loveth not knoweth
not God; for God is love.
Today, certain racists use these and other
verses as a condemnation for many Christians of different colors. These is NOT
a civil rights verses! But, many use these verses in an attempt to prove a
certain political view! Those who do that are heathen!
We are God's representatives.
Any person who knows God listens to the truth
we bring.
Those that are not children of God will not
hear what we are saying!
Furthermore, they will deplore the way we
act!
We are to love one another!
We are not to love this age or its social
practices that God will judge and find lacking.
Love is has its origin in the heart of God.
Everyone knows God, who is intimate with
Christ and the Holy Spirit is born again of God.
2 Cor
5:17 Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold,
all things are become new.
The person who does not love God, nor
acknowledge Christ Jesus, or blasphemes the Holy Spirit does not know God.
God is love!
1 John 4: 9-11
9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us,
because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live
through him.
10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his
Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
God sent His only begotten Son, Christ Jesus
into the world so that we might live through His atoning sacrifice.
Due to His Atonement the love of God has come
alive in us.
True love is not based in our love for God.
True love is based in God's love for us.
God loved us and sent His Son to be the
sacrifice for our sins.
However, His atoning sacrifice doe not stop
with just those who, at the time have acknowledge Christ!
I Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours
only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
If God loves us so much, we should love other
Christians!
1 John 4: 12-14
12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given
us of his Spirit.
14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour
of the world.
This section begins with a truism.
No person, aside from Christ Jesus has beheld
the fullness of the father.
We trust Him by faith.
Saving faith is an imputed faith!
The unregenerate man cannot seek a righteous
Savior!
Rom
3:23 For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Consequently:
Rom
3:10 As it
is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
We trust Christ by means of the faith he has
imputed to us!
Gal
2:16 Knowing that a man is not
justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we
have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of
Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no
flesh be justified.
Christ has given us His faith, and His spirit!
Rom
8:9b Now if
any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Do you realize as you read John Gospel and
his letters that he actually saw Jesus?
He walked and talked with Jesus.
John and the others were physical and
spiritual witnesses to the presence of the Savior of the world living among us.
The words in verse 14, “to be” are not in the
Greek text. Christ Jesus did not come into the world to become the Savior, He
came AS the Savior!
Jesus is the Savior of the world---the entire
world!
Many try to qualify verse 14 by teaching that
it is only for those who will bow to Christ and confess that he is Lord!
In that teaching they are correct! However…
Romans 14:11
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
Verse 14 may be literally
translated, “And, we have seen and
testify that the Father sent the Son, the Savior of the world!”
1 John 4: 15-16
15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of
God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love;
and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth
in God, and God in him.
I have waited until this point to bring out a
most important part of Christianity.
The English text says, "Whoever shall
confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God."
That is good, only a bit weak.
Confess (Gr. omologeesee-omologhsh) means far more than to just acknowledge.
It means the one confessed, admitted, declared
openly!
I recently heard a man who claimed he was a
Christian, but admitted that he had no revelation of Christ!
That is impossible!
We that are Christ's have come to understand
and believe in the love that God has for us.
Verse 15 is far more than simply saying,
“Jesus is the Son of God!”
All, who deeply understand that Jesus is the
Son of God, also know beyond any doubt that Jesus is Lord of all!
As Lord, Jesus is our Savior!
Jesus was in the beginning with the Father!
John
1:1-4
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 The
same was in the beginning with God.
3 All
things were made by him; and without him was not any thing
made that was made.
4 In
him was life; and the life was the light of men.
That is not and cannot be said of any created
thing! It cannot be said concerning angels! They are all created beings!
If the Son was there in the beginning, He
must be God…the Son!
God is love! God the Father, God the Son, and
God the Holy Spirit all operate from a point of love!
Furthermore, the person that draws true life
from God lives in a state of love.
We say that he lives in God and God lives in
him.
1 John 4: 17-18
17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth
out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth
is not made perfect in love.
What is perfect love?
We like to substitute the word
"mature" whenever we see the word "perfect" used in
Scripture.
In this case it would be inaccurate to do so.
In this case, and others, the word
"perfect" means completed, or finished.
Now, let me become just a little
controversial.
Here, love is completed love.
It is God's love that is completed within us.
How can that be?
We have God within us, The Holy Spirit.
His love is perfectly complete.
Let’s look at the last part of verse 17: “as
he is, so are we in this world.”
That small portion is astounding! Just think about it. While we are here on
earth, we are also similar to Him as He is in Heaven. Surely that cannot be
accurate.
Only God can be fully confident in the
presence of God.
Neither angels nor men can be confident
within themselves.
It is His love within us that brings us
confidence on the Day of Judgment.
His love, and His alone, is sufficient for
that purpose.
The Holy Spirit keeps us safe within the sin
of this world.
There is no fear in love.
Perfect love casts out fear.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit
of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (NKJV)
1 John 4: 19 We love him, because he first loved
us.
Our love is a reflection of God's love for
us.
We love Him, because He first loved us.
1 John 4: 20 If a man say,
I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for
he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how
can he love God whom he hath not seen?
As we go through life, if someone says,
"I love God," and then that person feels hatred toward his fellow
Christian, he is a liar.
This verse makes a bold statement concerning
human relations.
In essence it says, "The person that
does not love his fellow Christian that he does see and have physical contact
with, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
1 John 4: 21 And
this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth
God love his brother also.
Here is the commandment we have received from
God.
It is that anyone who loves God must also
love his brother.