Believe Not Every Spirit

John speaks about spirits, and we find some relative advice for use in these times.

“I John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. (5:19) And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.”

This passage gives us a feeling of the supernatural and rightly so. There is a present evil in this world, and it’s not because of man’s heredity, the ethics, or the culture of today. Evil exists because there is the presence of the evil one. The devil does exist as well as the spirit of evil. It has influenced the hearts of every generation. We live our life in the midst of this spiritual realm.

The devil tries to influence us constantly with temptations and feelings; he pulls at us. All the conflicts we have deal with the spiritual side. By in large the world rejects the notion of a God and Satan, but they cannot deny the existence of wickedness. We can’t see the devil, but we’ve faced him. He and his spirits exercise powerful influence on the hearts and minds of everyone, lost or saved. All spiritual opposition is disguised as moral; it’s in a pretty wrapper. John says not to believe every spirit. The devil doesn’t come outright to us; he says “I’ll give you this.” He does it through the power of things that are not of God. Though the anti-Christ has not been revealed, the spirit of anti-Christ has been around since Adam and Eve sinned. The end of verse 3 says “and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” Long before he visibly comes, he’s gained invisible control of this world system. That’s one reason we look forward to a new heaven and earth.

When we sin, we have somehow and in some way listened to the devil. We must be mindful of him. There is never a time we can be a-spiritual, a-Christian. We can’t set it aside. We have something to block it, but have you noticed that if you say you’re going to read your Bible in 5 minutes that something happens and you don’t do it.  You say you’ll pray in just a minute; you walk into the living room and a television program gets your attention. You don’t read your Bible or pray. The devil is real and wants to stop us from being spiritual in the Lord; we could fall for the spirit of anti-Christ because it’s a strong force. Every day is a struggle. As real as the devil is, God is more real; He keeps us from the edge of giving into wrong standards and even doubting who has redeemed us. There is a God.  Have you noticed that when an atheist curses, he does so using the name of our God—the very God he says doesn’t exist? Darwin’s conjectural theories are accepted while Christians are considered second rate when we believe in creationism.

We can’t believe 90+% of what is in the world.  When statements are made, try (test) them. Satan works in cunning ways. He knows how to deceive even the elect. The only thing to trust is the word of God.  Test what is says. What direction is it driving you? What kind of information do you have? How will it affect your decisions? How can we figure it out?  In his book, Amos says the Lord dropped a plumb line for Israel. Test it. Is it square with the Bible? What does the spirit of God say?

Verse 4 says “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”  Don’t be too open minded. Our way is through the straight gate; that truth set us free. We can see the error of what the devil does. We get aggravated at what we see people do, but we cannot get complacent or give up. We have to keep our senses sharp.  The spirit of error exists, but the presence of God is always there to get us through. We survive by detecting error. Regardless of the opinions of the world, Satan is real, and we need to be on our guard.

We feel weak at times. We see the fog of sin. Others may fall away, but that doesn’t mean I have to. Verse 4 says we “have overcome them.” Always remember “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”  That “he” is He.  In the garden Jesus said “I AM HE.”

Let’s allow the spirit of God to work in us.  HE will take care of us. We shouldn’t say “I faced the devil all day long.”  Say “we faced the devil.”  Jesus pushed Satan down. I want Jesus to fight my battles. I want him to face the devil for me.  Verse 6 says “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.” Don’t listen to every opinion or get involved in every situation. If we’re not careful about what we’re willing to accept, we may find ourselves in trouble. Defer to the Savior. By him “know we the spirit of truth.”  Believe HIM! He’ll get us through.

Chapter 5 verse 19 says “we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” We can all say “thank you Jesus for being with me.”  He is the way, the truth, and the life.  Believe this, and be not afraid.