CONFIDENCE IN A CHAOTIC WORLD
(Don't be deceived - September 19, 2021)
Series Big Idea: "Close fellowship with Christ silences the destructive beliefs and behaviors of this world"
Sermon Big Idea: "Born again Christians should evaluate every teacher they hear, with the Word of God"
Key Scripture (1 John 4:1-6)
When we last met we discovered that at the end of Chapter three John gave his readers, and us, several benefits of the love of Christ. This week, as we move into Chapter four, John turns his attention from the importance of that love to the importance of believing God's truth. His theme of this section involves the need to follow and obey sound teaching or doctrine because he knew his readers were experiencing the onslaught of this false teaching they all had been warned about (Matthew 24:11) (2 Peter 2:2).
(1 John 4:1-6)
1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. 3 But every spirit who does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist; you have heard that he is coming, and he is already in the world now. 4 You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world. Therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us; anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.
John's first words out of the gate in Chapter 4 is a command, "Don’t believe every spirit." He wanted his readers to recognize other spirits exist (1 Timothy 4:1-2). But all teaching comes from either the Spirit of God (His Word/Bible) or from false spirits. And if you are a born again Christian that means when you are hearing any kind of teaching, such as you are right now, there has to be a certain level of skepticism. But for that to happen, born again believers must be students of God's Word themselves. (Acts 17:11-12) says that the Bereans examined the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul and Silas were teaching was true. We must be students of the Word!
John goes on to say "Test the spirits." He is telling his readers that just because someone says they have a message from God doesn’t mean it is from God. So, the best way to test a teaching is to compare it with Scripture. We should also be encouraged to ask several questions like: Is this teacher committed to the body of Christ? (1 John 2:19) Is their lifestyle holy? (1 John 3:23-24)Does the fruit of their ministry match what Scripture says the fruit should be? (1 John 4:6) Are they teaching that God was fully God and fully man? What do they believe about Christ? (1 John 4:2). Believers are not to be gullible!
John also explains how to tell the difference between the Spirit of God and demon spirits. Spirit of God inspired teachers will teach that Jesus is God in human flesh. What they are confessing then is that the human body of Christ was a real physical body. They will preach that Jesus is fully God and fully human at the same time. The Holy Spirit will testify to that nature of Christ but Satan will seek to distort it. t Satan will seek to distort it.
John called these spirits "The spirit of Antichrist." It was this spirit that was directing the false prophets. It is a spirit of deception (1 John 4:6). This is the same kind of spirit that will direct the final world ruler (Revelation 13:1-8). But this final Antichrist will not be something new to the world, but he will be the ultimate in perverting God's truth and promoting his own agenda. This Antichrist is yet to be revealed but you must know that his lawlessness is seen at work at this very moment in the world.
CONCLUSION
Finally, and may I say thank God, John says born again believers don’t have to overpower false teachers to have victory over them. He says here that born again believers overcome by recognizing that as false teachers and refusing to follow them.
These believers had not given in to these false teachers yet and that is only by the power of Holy Spirit in them. But I want you to see something very important here. In verse 4 he says "The One who is in you" not "The One who is in me." Some people like to change the wording here from "you" to "me." When they do this they are attempting to do battle with Satan alone. The word is, "You."
Even though born again believers have personal assurance of Holy Spirit's presence, they should never try to battle Satan alone. We need each other! We need one another for: Prayer/Resources/Advice/Guidance/Protection/Healing and more. We need each other! Remember, the One who is in "you" is greater than the one who is in the world! Pastor Beaver's thoughts and ideals for this message, are inspired by:
Holman Christian Standard Bible
English Standard Version Bible
King James Version Bible
Christian Standard Bible
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