Testing the spirits
Intro: The key to understand what John meant by ‘testing the spirits’ and how we must do it is in the context.
1) Context: Read 3:24a again, but from a literal translation (e.g. NKJV or ESV, not NIV). => What does it mean ‘to abide in Him’ [gr. meno: abide, stay, remain]? 3:23 =>
- What commandment (singular) must be kept to ‘abide’? =>
- Read Jn 8:31-32. What did Jesus teach new believers about ‘abiding’?
- Why abide in his word? Why not stick to the law of Moses that they already knew (Jn 8:17)?
- Accordingly, how can you be certain whether you are truly a Christian? cf Jn 15:4-12
Optional (if time permits, for anyone who lacks assurance of salvation):
- John didn’t write that by faith and love we are saved”. He wrote: “By this, we know that…(He abides in us…)”. How would you describe the difference?
- Hint: What would happen if you would stop to believe or to love?
2) 4:1-5 Besides measuring ourselves against this standard, what else needs testing? (lit. try the spirits, like trying a metal whether it is genuine). How?
- v2 distinguishes God’s Spirit from “the spirits (pl.) from (gr. ek) God”: Who are the latter? v5; cf Jn 3:6*
- v3: If “confessing Jesus” is all it takes for anyone to pass the test, how will hypocrites and wolves in sheep’s clothing take advantage? 1Jn 2:19; cf Jn 10:1; 2Cor 11:4; Gal 2:4
- v4: What is needed to be able to discern these spirits who are not begotten of God but who claim that they are? cf 1Jn 2:26-27
3) vv6-21 show how the spirits confess Jesus who are born of the Spirit:
- What must be ‘right’ about their doctrine?
- What must be right about their practice?
- of love, v11? [main theme of 1Jn]
- of religious experiences, v12?
- of what they regard as evidence of their salvation, vv12-13?** cf Ro 4:2; 1Cor 1:29-31
- in how they witness to an unbelieving world, v14?
- in how their orthodox profession of faith is accompanied by perseverance, vv15-16? [lasting union with Christ, cf 2Jn 1:9; Col 1:23]
- in their confidence/fearlessness of the day of judgement, vv17-18?
4) Personal & application
- This chapter is often thought to authenticate any teachers as from God as long as they don’t deny that Jesus is fully God and fully man. Do you think this criteria alone suffices to tell apart authentic and counterfeit teachers? Why or why not?***
- To discern whether teachers are true or false, which of the criteria discussed in this chapter do or don’t you already apply?
- Which ones have you found helpful in the past to choose or avoid any teachers? Why?
* Modern self-declared exorcists who claim to expel demons from genuine Christians do anything but that. The spirits that we are commanded here to test are the spirits of these and all other false teachers who are false in the sense that they do not originate from God. Although not born again of God, and in the name of another than the actual ‘incarnate’ Jesus, they disguise as Christians by pretending that they are the true defenders of morality and self-denial who deserve your allegiance and donations.
** Note the similarity of v12 and 1Jn 3:24, and the added emphasis here in v13 that we owe all of this love to His Spirit (not our own).
***Example #1: The prototype of false prophets in the Old Testament was Balaam. Though Balaam was moved by God’s Holy Spirit to confess Christ (Num 24:1-9), he was evidently not ‘from God’ for his ways were corrupt (Num 22:32; Rev 2:14; 2Pet 2:15). Example #2: In his commentary on 1Jn 4:2, Calvin wrote of the counterfeit church of the pope: “Though they confess Christ to be God and man, yet they by no means retain the confession which the Apostle requires, because they rob Christ of his own merit; for where freewill, merits of works, fictitious modes of worship, satisfactions, the advocacy of saints, are set up, how very little remains for Christ!”
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