Discern Carefully
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Truth (from the Spirit) affirms the incarnation of God in Jesus, agrees with the apostles teaching (the Word) and can be discerned by those in-dwelt by the Spirit. (Lies (from the devil) do not do these things and are believed by the world)
delusion (from the devil/world) are discerned through their confession of Jesus and the Christ and agreement with
Test what you hear: truth (from the Spirit) affirms the incarnation of God in Jesus, agrees with the apostles teaching (the Word) and can be discerned by those in-dwelt by the Spirit. (Lies (from the devil) do not do these and are believed by the world)
Focus - We should test all teaching that claims to be from God by it’s confession of the incarnation and it’s alignment to the bible.
Function - To embolden us to stand firm against false teaching and embrace learning from the bible.
To heighten our vigilance against false teaching and provide a framework to test all teaching.
Function - To heighten our vigilance against false teaching and provide a framework to test all teaching by.
As you read the book of 1 John,
it becomes clear that John was writing to a church that had 2 problems.
1 that leads to another.
1 - There are people from within the church that are teaching falsely about who Jesus was and what he did.
You’ll remember in Ch 2, John calls then anti-christs.
And that false teaching about Jesus was clearly affecting how the application of being a Jesus Follower was being taught.
2 - The second problem then,
2 - The second problem then, is that the church was getting confused about the truth, they are beginnig to question what they thought. To the extent that they are now not sure if they have eternal life with God, or if they have it all wrong!
is that the church was getting confused about the truth,
they are beginning to question what they once believed.
To the extent that they are now not sure if they have eternal life with God,
or if they have it all wrong!
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
John’s aim in writing is to give the church confidence in their faith in Jesus, that in turn gives them confidence that they have a wonderful eternity with God.
You can be sure says John, by looking at your life:
Do you live in Light or Darkness,
Life or Death
Love or hate
Obedience or Disobedience
Jesus is Christ or are you anti-christ
child of God or child of the devil
Confessing sin or denying sin
Alot has been said in 1 John.
John counters the false teaching, the deception, each and every time with truth.
The world deceives says John but God is truth!
John counters the false teaching, the deception, each and every time with truth.
So, how can we be sure we are in the light or not.
That is all great, but, what do we do when we come across a situation not mentioned here in 1 John? How do we know who to believe and who to avoid. How do we know, what is truth and what is deception?
Well,
But how do we know what is truth
Entre, todays passage…
and what is deceptive in our lives, as we move forward.
What tests can we apply?
John’s going to help us again.
Firstly, we’ll look at what John means by the word ‘spirit’s’ in this passage, and why we should be testing those spirits?
We will then look at the 2 tests John gives us for the spirits.
Secondly, Who is listening to them, and what are they listening to?
1 - What are the spirits?
1 - What are the spirits?
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.
This is pretty straight forward, but I think the language John uses is important.
2 words to deal with - test and spirits.
How we should test?
At a basic level John is using the word ‘spirit’ to mean ‘message’
You could replace the word spirit with the word message.
Dear friends, do not believe every message, but test the meassages to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
But it is a little more involved than that, which is why he uses the word ‘spirit’. Tied up into the message are 2 things, both who is delivering the message (the person) and who the message is ultimately from (the source).
It’s not dissimilar to us today saying
What does John mean, why does he use the word spirits, and why should we test?
‘In what spirit are you saying that?’ What’s your source, what’s your motivation, where is this leading, who are you?
The spirit in which someone says somthing defines how we actually interpret the message.
And that is John’s point.
Don’t be naive!
Don’t believe everything you hear just because someone mentions God, or Jesus, or Christianity, or the Holy Spirit, or church.
Tests it.
Why? Because MANY false prophets (anti-Christs) have gone out into the world.
So who is giving the message?
It could be a faithful Christian, or it could be a false teacher.
It could be from God, or the devil.
‘test every spirit’. Don’t be naive.
Like a dog who hears the faint sound of rustling in the woods and his ears prick up, he stands silently concentrating hard, staining his hearing. What is it, a squirrel, a fox, something worth the fun of a chase, or a conker or acorn dropping from a tree. It sounds very similar, but the realities are very different.
then instantly our antennae should go up. - we are to ‘test’ the spirit, the message, the person and the source.
You will never hear me say ‘God told me, or the Holy Spirit spoke to me’ becasue instantly when we hear someone say that our antennae are to go up and we are to ‘test’ the spirit, the message, the person and the source.
Like a dog who hears the faint sound of rustling in the woods and his ears prick up, he stands silently concentrating hard, staining his hearing. What is it, a squirrel, a fox, something worth the fun of a chase, or a conqour or accorn dropping from a tree. It sounds very similar, but the rewards are very different.
Many in this world claim to teach truth.
from the pulpit
the friend that says ‘God told me’,
the home group leader,
Your child’s school teacher,
advertising,
Your child’s school, advertising, your boss.
your boss.
We are to test them all. Don’t be naive.
It’s not too much effort,
it’s not a waste of time,
it’s not cynical,
it’s not overkill,
it is life or death for you and your family.
It’s the difference between following deceit into all eternity,
or truth into joyful eternity.
Do not be naive, test!
What does John mean, why does he use the word spirits, and why should we test?
2 - What are the tests?
2 - What are the tests?
2a - Who is Jesus?
2a - Who is Jesus?
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, 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.
Jesus’s deity and humanity
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,
What the messenger acknowledges about Jesus reveals his source, God or the devil.
The wording again is important to determine what John says the a ‘true’ teacher needs to acknowledge about Jesus.
What the messager aknowledges about Jesus is vital, and is our first test.
There are 3 words we need to remember to run this test
Jesus,
Christ
and flesh.
Jesus is key.
It appears that the church John was writing to had some that were denying that Jesus was the Christ. We’ll talk about what the Christ means in a second, but for now, Jesus is the key word. There is no other person in all of history who can make us right with God the Father.
Not Ghandi,
not the Pope,
not Muhammad,
Buddha or anyone else.
Jesus is key.
And perhaps closer to home
The second word is Christ.
This is not Jesus’ surname - this is a title that means something.
The word literally means ‘annointed one’ or ‘chosen one’.
The Christ is the saviour that God promises will come to mankind to save them.
In other words,
Jesus is not just a great teacher,
or just a great bloke.
He is our actual saviour. He is the chosen one.
He is the one the Jews had been waiting for, for hundreds of years.
The promised saviour of the the universe.
Again, much like today.
Sure he was a great guy, very wise, very loving. But the promised saviour of the the universe, from God?
Don’t wind me up, he was just a normal bloke. No, not a normal bloke.
Jesus is the Christ, the one anointed, chosen, sent, by God to save.
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
You see, it’s crucial we know it is Jesus and nobody else. And it is crucial that we know Jesus is the Christ, he is THE one promised by God throughout history. Anyone hwo denies this is a false spirit.
The 3rd word is Flesh.
And this is also very important.
The word flesh makes 2 claims about Jesus. The first is obvious, Jesus was human.
Flesh and blood. He felt like us, walked like us, was like us.
And that is crucial, becasue to deny that Jesus was human,
to suggest that he was actually some kind of ‘spirit’ or ‘angel’ or ‘illusion’ causes us big problems.
It would mean he wouldn’t be able to take the wrath of God in our place, becasue he wouldn’t be one of us.
If you are caught driving at 120mph, the DVLA are going to politely ask you to hand back your license.
Giving them your hand drawn version, or asking them to imagine they have your license isn’t going to cut it! Justice hasn’t been served. It has to be the real deal.
And Jedus was flesh, the real deal.
The difference, was that he didn’t sin, so had no need to be punished himself by God.
SO he was able to die for us, as a man, so that we don’t have to.
Jesus came in flesh.
But if he came in flesh, it also implies the reverse is also true. It also means he must have another form to become flesh from.
Otherwise the statement is pointless.
If my mother told her friends that Sam came to us in flesh, they would gently recommend she got help.
Of course I came in flesh, you don’t need to tell anyone that.
But you do need to tell people that when someone who you don’t expect to see in flesh,
does actually come in flesh.
If God, becomes flesh, well then that needs to be made clear!
And this is John’s main point here. God became flesh in Jesus. Jesus is God.
And so, it is God who makes a relationship with himself possible,
through himself in the person of Jesus.
We looked at this in Chapter 1v1-4, so have a listen to that sermon online if you need more convincing of this.
But it is crucial we know that Jesus is the only way to God.
Jesus is the Christ, the promised, chosen saviour of the world,
and Jesus came in flesh, fully human and fully God.
To deny any of those is to be a spirt of the devil, to bring a message of deception.
To affirm all of those is to have passed test one.
And therefore the rest of your teaching may be considered for test 2.
2b - Who is listening (and to what)?
2b - Who is listening (and to what)?
Who is Jesus?
Have a listen to v4
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.
John’s reassurance is that while the false teachers of the world may be convincing,
and attractive,
we shouldn’t despair.
If you are a child of God, you have the Holy Spirit (capital S - Spirit now) living in us.
And no surprise, He, the HS is greater than any opposition.
And it seems John tells us this as both a reassurance and a challenge.
The HS is greater, therefore you are able to stand against the false teachers, and not be drawn in.
They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.
1 john 4 5-
Dear children, says John, you do not need to be swayed by them, be encouraged
but becasue you have the HS, you are also equipped to spot them.
And the way to do that is to look at who is listening to them.
Is it the world, or is it Jesus Followers?
The world loves a bishop on TV, or a minister at their local church who does not offend but is accepting of all things.
We, should not!
But, Jesus Christ, who came in flesh is divisive and offensive to all who refuse to bow the knee to Jesus!
An interfaith service to celebrate each other’s religion is a spirit of the devil because it denies the one True God who is only known in Jesus Christ in the Flesh.
But the world loves it!
A church that does not proclaim Jesus as the only way, or who do not demand repentance of sin, or who do not believe Jesus is God, is a spirit of the devil.
And the world loves it, becasue it allows us to live how we want, to serve our own wants, to believe what we want!
We know it in our own lives though too.
When a friend or colleague says we can all believe what we want or they don’t believe in God
and we imply by our response, or lack off response, that we think that’s ok.
But it’s not, and we can know it’s not ok, becasue they, the world, are happy with our response!
But to say, I can see what you are saying, but I actually believe Jesus is the only truth in this life is hard.
Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
But if the world likes a message, then it is a strong indicator that it is not from the Spirit of God.
But becasue he is greater, perhaps we can have the confidence next time to be loving enough to stand for the truth of Jesus in our conversation.
Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
The other side of the coin, is v6
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.
The first word, ‘we’ in this verse is pivotal to what John is saying.
Who is listening?
John has to be referring to the ‘we’ that finds it’s home in the ‘we’ of 1v1-4
But there is a problem with that. If all Jesus Followers always listen to what all Jesus Followers say, we have a rather circular argument, and, it wouldn’t make sense for John to be warning us against people in the church teaching falsely.
The whole point of this section is to give us clarity of how we spot a false teacher.
And it would be naive, to think that no true believer will ever believe something false about God, again ,otherwise there would be no point in writing this book.
No, this ‘we’ finds it’s home in the ‘we’ of 1v1-4
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
Infact 1v3 is very very similar to 4v6 - v3 summarised 3 We proclaim to you..., so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
4:6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us;
WE, the apostles, the people that saw Jesus, touched him, walked with him, We, proclaim, so that ‘whoever’ The rest of us’ can believe, can listen, can be sure.
YOu see, the second test of the spirits is to see who is listening, the world or Jesus Followers,
but more importantly,
Jesus Followers will be listening because of what is being taught.
And the only thing that should be being taught as truth by someone who has the Spirit of God, is the bible.
The place we find the accurate record of the apostles.
I’ve been to a church that started preaching through the book ‘Pilgrims Progress!’ Test failed.
I’ve been to a church that was preaching through the book ‘Pilgrims Progress!’ No, not acceptable.
I went to church that that only taught what the world wanted to hear, the promise of healings, miracles and prosperity. Test failed.
Do not be Naive is John’s claim.
You are ready and equipped to know the truth, becasue
1stly whenever we hear anyone speak about God they need to acknowledge Jesus Christ, who came in flesh.
And secondly we can know they are speaking truth, if it is from the bible, not from themselves.
And we have the HS to help us discern these things.
I find it very uncomfortable when people say God told me:
Why? Becasue kicks in. I immmedietly want to know what they aknowldege about Jesus, and then secondly I immedietly need to know if what they are saying is from the apostles teaching in the bible.
If not, then it fails this test.
All of this is not often easy,
I prefer the language of, I think God is telling me, becasue now we can together apply and see if it’s truth or not.
oh, he said this, let’s apply test 1 and 2, tick the box, job done.
This isn’t all easy, oh, he said this, let’s apply test 1 and 2, tick the box, job done. No it’s often complicated, it’s tied up with people and their walk with God, it’s tied up with deceivers and liars, and those who operate unknowingly for the devil.
No it’s often complicated, it’s tied up with people and their walk with God, it’s tied up with deceivers and liars, and those who operate unknowingly or knowingly for the devil.
It’s complicated and stressful,
and heartbreaking as we watch churches, or friends,
slowly drift down the rivers of human teaching
that only pleases the itching ears of the world,
rather than the divisive but loving truth of the bible.
How are we going to make correct decisions about important issues.
The kids had 3 easy true or false statements,
but how are we going to make decisions on topical issues, the land mines, that impact on our faith?
Same sex marriage?
Divorce?
Materialism?
War?
Ethical issues at work?
Your children being taught in a school that denies God?
Planting a church where there already is one, but the Gospel isn’t being proclaimed?
I could go on listing things all day long. We are never going to walk through life unscazed by the mines of deceptions.
So what are we going to do to make sure we are vigilant and alert?
Reading the bible daily is crucial, perhaps with trusted notes to accompany that.
wave Explore notes
We also have a whole battalion of fellow soldiers.
And we have one
Church is essential to grow in God’s word, so we are ready to spot deceipt.
And if you’re not already in one,
it is time for you to recommit or commit for the first time to a home group.
It is time to prioritise grappling with God’s word,
applied to the worlds situation together each week,
so that we are not swayed by the spirit of the world?
Do not be naive, deceipt and danger is out there, so let prepare for it.
The world or the faithful. To the world to the bible/God?
Implication - the world wont like our message - do not be surprised if they hate you.
Ours may sound circular - but the world most certainly is round!!!!!
DO not conform to this world. Why do we gravitate towards the world!? Because we don’t gravitate enough to God’s word?
Truth acknowlde
The entire section thus sets in “bold relief” God and the “world,” truth and delusion (Bultmann, 64). As the heretics are “in” the worldly evil one, and the evil one is in their world (vv 3–5), so the believer is in Christ, and Christ in the Christian (vv 2, 4, 6).
v1
v1
The New American Commentary: 1, 2, 3 John 2. Test the Spirits (4:1–6)
behind every statement is a spirit, a pneuma, but not every spirit is the Spirit of God
The New American Commentary: 1, 2, 3 John 2. Test the Spirits (4:1–6)
John is interested in the source of the prophetic message. One should not receive as true every prophetic pronouncement just because the prophets claim to speak with divine authority. Perhaps in their readiness to hear from God John’s readers were unwisely open to what the false prophets had to say. The verb “test” (dokimazete) means “to prove, to examine,” like coins that are being tested for genuineness and proper weight—something that should be done on a continual basis.
Pray
v2-3
The New American Commentary: 1, 2, 3 John 2. Test the Spirits (4:1–6)
The actuality of the incarnation is not secondary or optional. It is essential. The Spirit of God always gives honor to Jesus the Christ, the Son of God. John’s concern with the mode of Christ’s coming again reveals that he is battling a Docetic Christology of the false prophets. Jesus himself was the incarnate Christ, and “far from coming upon Jesus at the baptism and leaving him before the cross, the Christ actually came in the flesh and has never laid it aside.”81 Therefore, no matter how convincing or eloquent the deceivers may be, they still must be judged by their own confession to Christ. The confession is crucial. It will affect every other aspect of one’s theology and worldview. What one thinks about Jesus always has far-reaching ramifications.
v4
The Spirit is more interligent that the false spirirts
The Spirit of God provides past tense victory - that is therfore still true everyday as we experience victory over sin.
v5
The New American Commentary: 1, 2, 3 John 2. Test the Spirits (4:1–6)
As Hiebert explains, “They draw the substance of their teaching from the godless world.” Further, their message is attractive to those who think like the world. Their words entice and capture those for whom the world is their home. “The world listens to those who speak its own language.”88 The words of these false teachers spring from the world, and “no stream rises above its source.” This is the precise reason that the world hears them. The world “recognizes its own people and listens to their message, which originates in its own circle and reflects its own perspective.”
v6
All Christians, but also
The New American Commentary: 1, 2, 3 John 2. Test the Spirits (4:1–6)
Therefore one who affirms the world’s message is from the world, and, likewise, one who affirms the message that Christ came in the flesh is of God. Whoever “knows God listens to us,” and he is attracted to the apostles’ message because of his abiding commitment and relationship to the true God. This readiness to hear springs from a growing knowledge of the truth, which welcomes and appropriates the message of God’s prophets.93
The New American Commentary: 1, 2, 3 John 2. Test the Spirits (4:1–6)
John summarizes his intentions and claims that this is how we know the Spirit of truth from the spirit of falsehood (ta pneuma tēs planēs). The spirits may be tested by first examining their confession, which comes through human instruments, and then by examining the character of their audience, who would give them credence. We can know the true from the false, the Spirit of God from the spirit of the antichrist. It is imperative that we be vigilant in this assignment.