Mission Venture Ministries

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 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. (1 John 4:1-3) 

Believers must be discerning in spiritual matters, so how will they accomplish this? 

First we need to understand the meaning of discernment since biblically it means having the ability to properly make determinations of what we are presented with, applying God’ wisdom given to us thru His word.  

From the day that Satan deceived Eve in the garden, until the last days, when the final antichrist will deceive the world (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12), evil spirits have promoted false teaching to lead people away from being true to God. When John says, “Many false prophets have gone out into the world,” we need to realize that these were outwardly normal looking people who didn’t appear evil or satanic. 

Many false prophets use Christian lingo and even profess to believe in Jesus. They have a charismatic personality and make convincing arguments. Jesus called them ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15). Paul warned that such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:13-14). 

We need spiritual discernment because Satan and his forces are alive and working, promoting falsehood at every opportunity. So, how do we test the spirits? 

John clarifies this for us by telling us that there are two spirits: 

• God’s Spirit, which is called the Spirit of Truth because it inspires truth (vv. 4:2, 6); and
• The spirit of antichrist, which promulgates falsehood, and does not acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ (vv. 3, 6). 

And he warns us how important it is to understand that we cannot believe everyone we hear and that we cannot believe everything that is alleged to come from God, but like the Bereans we need to check the Scriptures (Acts 17:11). We are to test the spirits, to discern whether a message is the truth that comes from God. Therefore, we are not to just accept what some teacher or preacher is saying; we are to examine what is being taught by the word of God.

We know that God speaks and reveals truth, and the enemy speaks lies and is a deceiver, therefore it is very critical that we be able to discern the difference. If information comes from the Holy Spirit it is life-giving, life-sustaining, life-producing and God-glorifying. If it is not sent and energized by the Holy Spirit, it comes from seducing spirits or false prophets, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This was and continues being a huge problem and those without discernment have been and are continually being victimized. 

It is very sad when we discover that many so called “religious leaders” are false teachers and people are having a hard time finding a church where the Word of God is being taught accurately and faithfully. 

Unfortunately there are many churches that claim and appear to be “Christian churches” but are not teaching the word of God. Meaning, they are downplaying or removing altogether the doctrines of sin, repentance, the Trinity, salvation by grace alone through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, and the deity of Jesus Christ, and replacing them by more “seeker sensitive ideas.” 

The Bible teaches that, “The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear – (2 Timothy 4:3). These false teachers are teaching their followers doctrines and practices that are not in harmony with God’s word, like the “contemplative prayer” and the “labyrinth prayers” which are actually taken from “New Age and Hindu practices” which are being introduced and accepted by many churches that are moving towards the Emergent Church movement today.

These teachers are hypocritical liars and are teaching doctrines of demons motivated by seducing spirits. This is an enourmous problem for those that are uninformed and the world is literally drowning in a sea of demonic lies. We live in a time when we must be so close to the Fahter and ask Him to fill us daily with His Spirit of discernment.

John continues giving instructions on how to know the Spirit of God: “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.” When someone comes and affirms that Jesus Christ is God in flesh that is the divine truth taught by the Holy Spirit. ^“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.” False teachers deny the deity of Jesus Christ and therefore as believers and students of the Bible we recognize them as being controlled by the devil and his lies. So: “Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22).

The false teacher does not believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. He may accept Jesus Christ as a great teacher and a great religious leader, perhaps the greatest, but he does not believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior and the only way to God, when Jesus says that: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The false teacher believes there are other ways to God. Therefore, beware!

The spirit of the antichrist was very much alive in John’s days and today our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). When we think of the antichrist, we think of some future person, the beast of Revelation. However, all teaching that presents untruth about Christ have the spirit of antichrist which has been in the world for nearly 2000 years and is yet to come in its final terrifying satanic form.

Before we accept any teaching, we need to be sure of the person’s view of Christ, their view of salvation, and their view of Scripture. Do they acknowledge that: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”? (2 Timothy 3:16). Do they manifest a regenerate life? Do they submit to the Word of God? Since “by this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (1 John 4:6).

Paul and John gave significant attention to protecting believers from false teaching, as they knew of the existence of influential false teachers. Paul warns Timothy to be on guard against falsehood (1 Timothy 6:20; 2 Timothy 4:15). John warns his readers to be on guard against idols (1 John 5:21). Peter adds that believers should be on guard so they are not carried away by error (2 Peter 3:17). 

Testing everything and holding fast to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21) remains an important discipline for every believer, in all eras of their life. And in order to do this, a Christian must “be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

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