Do Not Believe Every Spirit (1 John 4:1)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 09/25A/2004

My Worship Time                                                                    Focus: Do Not Believe Every Spirit

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  1 John 4:1

            Message of the verse:  “1 Beloved, 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.”

            While looking at my older SD’s from 1 John I found that there was a section that I messed and so I will begin to write about the ones I missed.  I will use the notes from my John MacArthur Study Bible to help us understand the verses that I missed beginning with 4:1.

            “Do not believe every spirit.’  The mention of the Holy Spirit in 3:24 prompts John to inform his readers that other spirit’s exist, i. e., demonic spirits, who produce false prophets and false teachers to propagate their false doctrine .  Christians are to have a healthy skepticism regarding any teaching, unlike some among John’s congregations who were too open minded to anyone claiming a new teaching regarding the faith.  Christians are to be like the Bereans who, as students of the Word, examined the Scriptures to determine truth and error (Acts 17:11, 12).  ‘test’ The word ‘test’ is a metallurgist’s term used for assaying metals to determine their purity and value.  Christians must test any teaching with a view to approving or disapproving it.  ‘The spirits…many false prophets.’  By juxtaposing ‘spirits’ with ‘false prophets’ John reminds his readers that behind human teachers who propagate false doctrine and error are demons inspired by Satan.  Human false prophets and teachers are the physical expressions of demonic, spiritual sources.”