Test the Spirits
Notes
Transcript
Welcome/Prayer
Text today is 1 John 4:1-6 (go ahead and turn there)
We are going to hear from the beloved disciple of Christ, John the Apostle, why and how we are to test the spirits.
We will look at the need to test the spirits, then look at the standard of which John presents to us that we are to test the spirits by… and then we will be reassured by his words, that if we are of the elect, and God’s great Spirit dwells within us, then we can be confident that we will be led by and to spirits of truth, not of deceit.
Now, what has to be said this morning is of great importance… your soul and the souls of those you love could be at stake if you neglect John’s teaching this morning.
So, I will speak with as much grace as I know how at this point in my life, while at the same time speaking however necessary to ensure that God’s Word is heard and understood… we are in the middle of a great cosmic war… there is no room for pandering on such matters… people’s eternal destinies are at stake.
READ 1 John 4:1-6
The Need
The Need
Remember the context of John’s letter… he’s writing to deal with a church split so-to-speak...
False teachers are encouraging people to a different kind of faith...
Opponents of John were either claiming divine inspiration or at least affirming it when people suspected it of them...
Whether it was their eloquent speech
Or perhaps it was there logical arguments
Or maybe even it was their works, speaking in tongues, or some other miraculous sign...
None of those things are evidence of of God’s approval
Even demonic activity could and does, as Marshall puts it in his commentary - “penetrate the church.”
Unfortunately, too much is assumed within the church.... We don’t test enough in the church… just look at the multitude of false teachers out there today who have far reaching influences within the church.
But this shouldn’t surprise us… b/c this was foretold… so don’t think I’m being harsh in this assessment.
The presence of many False Prophets was...
Foretold by Jesus
Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven—only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do many powerful deeds?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’
Matthew 24:11, 24-25
And many false prophets will appear and deceive many,
For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Remember, I have told you ahead of time.
The presence of them was Warned by the Apostles, here are some references, outside of John’s letters
Acts 20:28-30 (Paul speaking to the elders at Ephesus)
Watch out for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son.I know that after I am gone fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Even from among your own group men will arise, teaching perversions of the truth to draw the disciples away after them.
The importance of well trained men, as elders, who are grounded in God’s Word cannot be overstated.
If you elders that are weak or fail in testing the spirits, greater the likelihood of your church being led by a spirit of deceit.
Especially, in our denomination currently, when senior pastors are not required to be credentialed by the denomination.
All elders will be held responsible for such recklessness with this responsibility of care towards the bride of Christ… but you too are responsible for knowing...
2 Tim 4:3-4 (Again, Paul)
For there will be a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching. Instead, following their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves, because they have an insatiable curiosity to hear new things.And they will turn away from hearing the truth, but on the other hand they will turn aside to myths.
2 Peter 3:17-18
Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men and fall from your firm grasp on the truth.But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the honor both now and on that eternal day.
This is Satan’s MO - John 10.10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
False teachers/prophets existed in the OT
Ezekiel 13.9
My hand will be against the prophets who see delusion and announce lying omens. They will not be included in the council of my people, nor be written in the registry of the house of Israel, nor enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.
Jeremiah 23:16
The Lord who rules over all says to the people of Jerusalem: “Do not listen to what those prophets are saying to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They are reporting visions of their own imaginations, not something the Lord has given them to say.
And they Exist Now, today...
In the pulpits & churches
Daniel Akin - “Spiritual activity is not necessarily Godly activity. We must be discerning. We must listen and evaluate carefully the message and messenger against the infallible authority of Scripture.”
Simply confessing with one’s mouth statements like, “God told me...” “God has laid on my heart...” “God has anointed me...” or whatever it may be… none of them, by themselves, are evidence of God as the source of the spirit within.
Nor is the presence of “conversions” or at least supposed conversions. Powerful experiences absent of the presence of truth, are not rooted in the truth. Thus the person remains in the lie that he/she has always been in. The lie that leads to Hell.
This is my biggest critique against youth conferences, as well as some conferences geared towards adults.
So focused on the experience, the energy, the fun…
But what happens when the music fades? The crowd dissipates? And the young man or woman is challenged on what she believes but there’s no one there to speak for him/her… in most cases they leave the faith. B/c they were never part of it…
And it’s not the role of youth conferences or youth programs through the church to be the primary source of truth… the parents are...
But they should enhance whatever the child or teenager are getting at home, not a replacement, a force multiplier if anything…
A place where yes, they can connect with other kids their age who can directly identify with their struggles, sure… but a place where they can wrestle with the doctrines of the faith...
Not the basics… we expect them to learn, algebra, physics, and chemistry, but when it comes to their faith we draw them a picture, have them play games… come up with gimmicky illustrations to teach them about the forgiveness of Christ… all the while not teaching them what “propitiation” means.
Propitiation is a key truth to our salvation experience… if you don’t know what it means, look up. Hopefully, once you learn what it means, most of you will understand why it matters.
I plan on preaching about come Easter… Lord willing
Anyway, this is what they should be learning...
and not being lead astray thinking that it’s all about the experience… it’s all about having a good time.
False teachers are in the bookstores
Christian bookstores sell and propagate false teachings
Discernment is necessary…
Just b/c a book or author is featured by a Christian bookstore… doesn’t validate the teaching. Test it. Investigate it.
More work than you think would be necessary...
RightNow Media… not everything or everyone on there is recommended...
A side note here… and it’s not always b/c they’re false teachers… but simply b/c they’re bad teachers.
For example, being an actress in popular christian movies does not, in of itself, qualify you to teach lessons on Scripture and theology.
In the Social Media world
The Twitter-verse and other social media platforms are full filth of every manner...
Be very very cautious there… but it does provide an opportunity to witness the fruit of some popular teachers… some of whom have shown their true colors on social media by what they say and share.
Again, discernment… but exactly by what measure? What standard?
The Standard
The Standard
Now, the standard that John uses here is not the only standard...
John’s standard in this text is a confessional standard, in other words, what do they believe?
But confessional simply isn’t enough… those that Jesus speaks about in Matthew 7:21-23, confessed Him, but they didn’t know Him
So, there are other standards and ways to test for false teachers...
Behaviors, language, fruit of the Spirit, so forth… but today we will focus on this standard by John for John’s particular context...
And this standard is perhaps the easiest, and as such the first standard we ought to measure anyone who claims to be of God.
And this standard is given to us in verse 2… and it is Christological… what do we mean by this word?
Christological - (in other words) What do they confess about Jesus?
EFCA SOF
Article IV of the statement of faith:
We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus—Israel's promised Messiah—was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.
Why do this matter?
The person impacts the sacrifice.
The person impacts the present reality and our relationship with God.
I. Howard Marshall - “John is in no doubt that denial of the apostolic confession about Jesus Christ is not merely intellectual error, still less “advanced theology”; it represents the very spirit of rebellion against God and can only be condemned.”
The Apostolic confession of Christ is the plain reading of Scripture...
Which is what is included in our statement of faith… that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, being fully God who took on flesh and thus became fully Man as well, without giving up any part or portion of His divine nature. A perfect, PERMANENT, union.
A person’s eloquence or ability to entertain is not the basis of the test. But this confession… what do they say about the person of Christ?
Hear me, it is not me saying this, but God saying this… if a person confesses about Christ something that is not true to Scripture, reject them, deny them.
2 John 10-11
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house and do not give him any greeting,because the person who gives him a greeting shares in his evil deeds.
And the teaching John is referring to is stated earlier in 2 John 7 which is rooted in the person’s Christological, that is who Christ is, in their understanding of Christ...
For many deceivers have gone out into the world, people who do not confess Jesus as Christ coming in the flesh. This person is the deceiver and the antichrist!
These people are of the world and the Spirit of Truth is not in them. Have nothing to do with them!
Simply and quite seriously based on what they confess and understand.
That’s God… not me, trying to bring others down. This is a clear teaching of God, and expectation for those who believe in Him.
Our faith is not a blind faith.
We are not called to simply believe in something that we know nothing about...
We are called to know our Lord and Savior… to glorify Him, to meditate on Him, to worship Him, to share Him, to be edified by His truth… none of that can happen without understanding
Yes, some will have more than others… but each of us… are required to do this to the capacity of which God has given us...
The heart of a person does not matter if they fail in this understanding of who Christ is and are unwilling to repent of that...
Nor does it matter what good they have done or are doing for society… the spirit of deceit is within anyone who denies the truth and reality of Jesus Christ, being the Son of God in the flesh, fully human and fully God...
Now, what sort of confessions should we be looking out for?
Heresies - 5, actually 6, that I want to point out… I say 6 b/c the sixth one popped up all over my social media this week. But the sixth one is an issue with the Trinity more as well as an issue with the person of Christ.
In...
John’s particular situation
Docetism - Jesus only appeared in the flesh.
After John in the Early church - late 3rd into the the 4th century
Arianism - The Son of God, was created… “there was a time when He was not.”
Want to know how that heresy was spread and popularly accepted?
Arius wrote a hymn that a lot of people liked… music matters.
Apollinarism (Word-Flesh Christology) - Only human element Jesus had was His flesh. Christ was a divine immaterial center controlling the human flesh.
Nestorianism (Word-Human Christology) - Over emphasized the two natures (God-Human) to the point, that He was only one of the natures at one time.
For example, when He slept, it was the human nature, when He walked on water, it was the divine… when He died on the Cross it was the human nature… not the divine nature.
Eutychianism - the two natures were mixed in such a way they created a 3rd new nature.
What about nowadays?
All of these heresies still exist today in some form and manner… nothing new is under the Sun
Which is where the value of knowing historical theology and the history of the church comes from.... it helps us know how to engage and respond to the problems of today… so be sure to read dead people and read about them.
Let me give you some examples of these heresies today...
Bill Johnson of Bethel as I have mentioned many times before...
He teaches and believes kenotic theology… the idea that Christ emptied Himself fully of His divine nature, so that He was merely a human in perfect relationship with the Father… not the Son of God incarnate.
TD Jakes, health and wealth prosperity teacher, is a modalist, this is the 6th heresy I want to cover… so what’s a modalist?
A modalist denies the Trinity… a modalist claims that Yahweh, is the Father, but when Jesus came, Yahweh, or the Father, changed forms and took on flesh to become Jesus and the Son of God… then they go on to teach that when Jesus left, He didn’t really leave b/c He comes back as the Holy Spirit.
Like an actor playing different characters in different movies… same person behind each character, but still different characters
Modalism is a flat-out denial of Jesus Christ as a person… let alone a straight forward denial of the Triune nature of God. When you ascribe to this belief you deny the permanent union of Jesus Christ, of God and Man… along with other aspects of Him… If He is here now in the Spirit, then who is at the right hand of God?
The issues with this belief are numerous and we won’t dive into all of them, what I have pointed out ought to be enough…
Now, caveat… if anyone misspeaks, or teaches erroneously about Christ or the nature of God… it does not immediately make them a heretic or false teacher.
It is when they are confronted with their error in truth and grace, and how they respond to that correction that will determine their state.
What’s the danger in these beliefs? Why does this matter?
First… B/c God says so… this is the very standard of which John tells us to use… so it matters greatly.
Second, let’s look at the theological implications… bear with me on this… and if any of this goes over your heads… let it go, press on, come back to it later.
If Jesus wasn’t fully God, then we have no true real knowledge of God John 14:9-13 is a lie.
Jesus replied, “Have I been with you for so long, and you have not known me, Philip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father! How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father residing in me performs his miraculous deeds.Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me, but if you do not believe me, believe because of the miraculous deeds themselves. I tell you the solemn truth, the person who believes in me will perform the miraculous deeds that I am doing, and will perform greater deeds than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If Jesus was merely human, being a finite creature, His life and death cannot apply to the whole world...
If Jesus was human, not God, than worshipping Him is a blasphemy.
If Jesus wasn’t fully human, then humanity has not been reconciled with God.
For through the hypostatic union of Jesus Christ, was man united with deity. For without deity, man cannot be saved.
Likewise, if Christ is not fully human, the work of Christ doesn’t apply to humankind.
If Jesus wasn’t fully human, than His acting as intercessor for us, is pointless.
If He was not fully human, then He has not experienced what we experience. Hebrews 4:15 would be a lie. He cannot understand our suffering, or trials, or temptations as humans because He was never fully human.
For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin.
If Jesus isn’t human… then He cannot understand our suffering, or trials, or temptations as humans because He was never fully human.
If you are lost, come back…
Understanding the intricacies of the work of Christ is complicated, yes, and confusing at times… thankfully, the ins and the outs do not need to be fully understood, not neglected, but not mastered either… but we do need to know what and believe what Scripture teaches, whether we fully understand it or not… so let’s go back to Scripture on a summary on this matter....
Hebrews 2:14-18...
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in their humanity, so that through death he could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death. For surely his concern is not for angels, but he is concerned for Abraham’s descendants. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. For since he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
Now, if you are feeling overwhelmed about this matter...
The presence of a multitude of false teachers out there along with many more false teachings...
And trying to discern who and what to listen to… fear not, worry not… we are not left alone in this matter…
In fact, the matter of all matters has already been decided for those of us who are currently part of the elect, for those of you are not yet part of the body…
As you breathe, God’s grace is upon you and He patiently waits for you to call upon and believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to repent and be baptized in that very name, so that you can share in the good news that we, who are currently part of His body share in...
If you do this… then you, with the rest of us can have confidence when we test the spirits… and why is this? Verse 4… being from God we have victory.
The Victory
The Victory
We have victory/We have overcome
B/c of Who is in us, go back to the end of our passage last week
1 John 3:24
And the person who keeps his commandments resides in God, and God in him. Now by this we know that God resides in us: by the Spirit he has given us.
The Holy Spirit is who is in us...
And He is in us b/c we keep His commandments… in other words we know the Truth, and we submit to it.
We confess it rightly, we live it rightly.
Orthodoxy (Right belief) leads to Orthopraxy (Right practice)
Holy Spirit leads us to Truth
Isaiah 26:3
You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith, for they trust in you.
See, if we trust in God… meaning we listen to Him, we do as He says, we continue to allow the Word of God to transform us through the renewing of our minds so that we may discern His will (Romans 12:1-2 )…
Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God—which is your reasonable service. Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.
He will keep us. He will hold us fast. By the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And...
We will be able to recognize the spirits… those that come from God… the ones that are true.
As well as those that we ought to reject.
This victory is exhibited by...
Not being passive
Not being tolerant
But actively rejecting their teaching
The spirits of deceit do not listen to the Apostle’s message...
People who ascribe to “Red Letter” Christianity fall into this category
Or those who reject the need for God’s Word to reveal to us who Christ is.... same thing… you can’t know Christ apart from the Apostles. Apart from His Word. Period.
And if you are repeating their message, as I aim to do every Sunday, don’t be surprised that there will be those who don’t listen.
By their refusal to listen to the plain and rightful teaching of Word of God, we know whose children they are… and they are not ones that we desire to have fellowship with, at least not in their current state… we still pray for them, yes, as lost souls in need of a savior.
Let me end with this....
God’s elect will not be led astray from the faith. This is the victory that has been accomplished for us let us not be anxious nor worry over this. Be diligent and discerning with who you allow to influence you, absolutely. But trust God, ask God, to show you, teach you, to keep you. Not only you, but all the brothers and sisters in the faith.
And on the flip side, when you witness to others or speak to others… we might not be the wisest or most articulate people to speak on certain matters. But when we are grounded in the Word, we know enough and can share enough. And those who are of God, will listen. Those who are not, will not. And that will not change until they are born of God. So, do not be anxious over your inability to get those of the world to listen to the things of God. Keep praying, keep trusting, keep testing.
Let’s pray.