The Believe Every Spirit Error (4:1-6)

Early Errors
A Study of 1st John

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.

1. What did John refer to as ‘spirit’?
- Every person making a prophetic utterance

2. Why was it necessary to test them?
- Because there are lots of false ones! Valuable things get counterfeited.

3. Are there prophets today?
- Cessationists argue that there is no such thing as the gift of prophecy or the office of prophet today, but they do so with little biblical support. Even still, few claim to know a legitimate 'Prophet.' I take no issue with there being legit prophets today, but I am not sure I have ever met one.

4. How do we test them?
- Here John states one major test. What do they say about Jesus? If they do not lift up Jesus as the Christ/Messiah, then they are a false prophet.

5. What does he mean by ‘overcome’?
I'm not sure. He could be referring to morally overcoming the pull of the flesh or the ultimate Christian triumph.

6. What advantage do false prophets have?
The world, and even sometimes the institutional church, is full of carnal people. They tell such people what they want to hear.