God's Spirit and Spirit of Antichrist (1 John 4: 1-3)

GOD'S SPIRIT AND SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST (1 JOHN 4: 1-3):

Apostle John continues his writing for the believers to be aware of the truth and continue to be in it. Apostle John addresses the believers as beloved and tells them not to believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. If the person starts believing everything that was told by everyone, it will not be appropriate. Apostle John cautions the believers not to believe every spirit though they may have some similarities with each other. There are some people who have not believed God and Lord Jesus Christ as savior, as the way it needs to be in truth, so the believers ought to test the spirits of the people to see whether they had accepted truth and born of God because there were many false prophets who had gone out into the world during the time of the author, who had deviated many from the teachings of the Word of God and truth.

After writing about testing the Spirits, Apostle John further writes about the way the believers would know the Spirit of God. The actual instinct and the purpose of believing God, by a person could not be measured or known completely as it is something that is not explicit. The only way to find out the genuine belief of a person is through their expression of thoughts or teachings or actions. Apostle John writes that every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. The confession makes others clear that Jesus is the Son of Man and Son of God for the redemption of mankind and reconciliation with God.

Also, Apostle John writes that every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. The person who could not acknowledge Jesus for the salvation from sins had not known the need of man and redemptive works of God for righteousness, as well as important attributes of God. The purpose of God could not be completely fulfilled in them. The author further writes that the Spirit of the antichrist which the believers heard was coming and then they were in the world already. The teachings about the antichrist were given by the prophets as well as Jesus already, and the believers should have been familiar with it. The false teachers were prevalent and many new philosophies like Gnosticism, that were against Word of God existed during the period of Apostle John, and even many other authors of epistles were addressing to be careful to be away from the teachings of false teachers. 

Stimulations for Self-Reflection:

1.      What believers should not do? Why?

2.      What believers need to test? Why?

3.      Who are false prophets? Where they had gone?

4.      How we can know the Spirit of God?

5.      Why every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in flesh is from God?

6.      Who is not from God?

7.      Why every spirit that confesses Jesus is not from God?

8.      Who is the one who doesn’t confess Jesus? Why?

9.      What does Apostle John say about Antichrist?

10.  How believers have heard about the antichrist and how they are in the world already?

11.  How can we know false prophets and test the spirits?

12.  How can we avoid false prophets?