1 John 4 (part 1)

1 John 4
(Part 1 - verses 1 through 6)

SECTION OUTLINE FOUR (1 JOHN 4)

John writes about discerning false prophets and loving one another.

I. LOCATE THE SPIRITS (4:1-6): We are to test those who claim to speak by the Spirit by asking whether their message comes from a false prophet, a demon, or from God.

A. The scriptural claim (4:1-2,4,6): All messages acknowledging that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh are of God.

B. The satanic claim (4:3,5): All messages that do not are not of God.

II. LOVE THE SAINTS (4:7-21).

A. What love proves (4:7-11, 14, 19-21)

1. Our love for God is proven by our love for one another (4:7-8,11,19-21).

2. God's love for us was proven by the sacrificial death of Christ (4:9-10,14).

B. What love produces (4:12-13, 15-18)

1. God is joined to us (4:12,15-16).

2. We are joined to him (4:13).

3. We are given confidence (4:17).

4. We are protected from fear (4:18).

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.

? Believe not. Literally, stop believing. Evidently some of his readers were being carried away with Gnostic teaching.

? The problem of such men among God's people was nothing new; false prophets had often troubled the Israel of the Old Testament, and Christ himself warned of the "false prophets ... in sheep's clothing ... but who are ravening wolves, etc." (Matt. 7:15f). Likewise, Paul had to contend with the same thing at Corinth (1 Corinthians 12:3). The test which Christ gave for recognizing such false teachers was, "by their fruits ye shall know them." [Coffman]

? {Prove the spirits ...} This admonition to establish the validity of the claims of any teacher claiming God as the origin of his message, was directed to the whole church. Every Christian is responsible for checking out the claims of allegedly inspired teachers, as noted by Sinclair: "This examination of truth and error is inculcated on all alike, not merely on an ordained or materially separate class."

? “Stop believing every spirit.” (Wayne Fussell)

? Every Christian has the responsibility of testing teachers and leaders in the church. Christians must not leave it to the professionals because they themselves could possibly be false teachers. See Isaiah 8:20; Matthew 24:24; Acts 17:11; 2 Peter 2:1;

? (A true prophet in New Testament times was one who had the “gift of prophecy” (Romans 12:6;

1 Corinthians 12:10; 13:2) and spoke for God. He was inspired by the Holy Spirit to be a proclaimer of God’s message unto men. A “false prophet” is one who claims to speak for God and pretends to be inspired by the Spirit of God. Jesus had predicted, “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” (Matthew 24:11). John says that this prediction was being fulfilled at that time. (Wayne Fussell)

2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

? Not only is it necessary for Christians to acknowledge that Jesus had come in the flesh, but also that He was born of a virgin, suffered and died on the cross, raised up the third day, and ascended into Heaven forty days after His resurrection. In addition, we as Christians need to realize that Jesus is both Savior and Lord.

? It cannot be supposed that a mere statement of this in words would show that they were of God in the sense that they were true Christians; but the sense is, that if this constituted one of the doctrines which they held and taught, it would show that they were advocates of truth, and not apostles of error. If they did not do this, (1 John 4:3), it would be decisive in regard to their character and claims. See John 19:34-35; 20:25-27; 1 John 5:6.

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.

? Anyone who denies that Christ was manifest in the flesh is not of God. False teachers have the spirit of anti-Christ. The influence of the anti-Christ is present in persons who have that spirit.

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.

? The Spirit of God dwells in Christians. The spirit of antichrist is in the world and has been since John’s day. See John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Philippians 2:12-13; Ephesians 3:16; John 9:5

5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

? {They are of the world ...} This is another in a series of tests by which evil teachers could be recognized and refused. Significantly, in the early church, there were persons supernaturally endowed with the ability to "discern spirits," that is, the ability to know which were of God and which were not (1 Corinthians 12:10); but it appears that John had the succeeding ages in mind here, a period when all who might have had that apostolic gift no longer lived. Other tests already stressed in this first paragraph of the chapter were: (1) the test of confessing that Jesus was the Christ who came in the flesh; (2) the test of whether or not they were indwelt by the Father (1 John 4:4); and (3) the test of their life-style. The false teachers were worldly, concerned chiefly with material and temporal things, living in pride and ostentation, being "of the world." These tests are still valid. [Coffman]

? In our own times, the false teacher speaks the wisdom of the world, reasons from the worldly frame of reference, quotes its philosophers, heeds its authorities, accommodates to its theology, all the while neglecting to declare emphatically the precious teachings of the apostles of Christ as revealed in the New Testament. [Coffman]

? The bible here refers to “the world” here not in a general sense, but in a way that depicts an evil system antagonistic toward God and godliness. Just take a look at 1 Corinthians 1:20-21. The wisdom of the world is foolish. Yet, they contend that it is foolish to follow after God’s way. Please take a look at John 15:19. The world constantly refuses to listen to the wisdom of God. They rather listen to those who are educated by the world’s principles and philosophies. The problem is, people prefer to listen to those things that tickle the ear rather than listen to the sometimes-unpleasant truth. See 2 Timothy 4:1-4; Matthew 12:34; 2 Corinthians 4:4

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.

? {We are of God...} “We” is emphatic; and those included in it are put in contrast with the false teachers earlier considered. It does not embrace all of the saints (if so, who were those who heard them?), but the apostles primarily, and in a secondary sense, those who taught the same truth. (Guy N. Woods - 292)

? {he that knoweth God heareth us...} Wuest gives this definition: “He that knoweth” is present tense, progressive action, speaking, not of a complete knowledge . It is the growing saint to whom reference is made (162). See Philippians 3:8-10. Paul had a closer relationship with the Lord than most men; however, he aspired to know Him even better. (Wayne Fussell)

? Jesus says to His apostles, “He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.” - Luke 10:16 (KJV). To hear the apostles is to hear Jesus; and to hear Jesus is to hear the Sovereign of the universe, God Himself. See Matthew 16:19; Matthew 18:18; John 16:13; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19; Matthew 28:18. (Wayne Fussell)

? {he that is not of God heareth us not...} Refusing to hear the words of the apostles is the same as refusing to hear as if Jesus Himself was speaking. Those who do not conform their lives to God do not have their origin in God. See John 8:47.

? {Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error} “Hereby” means “from this,” rather that “in this.”

? By observing the willingness or the unwillingness of teachers or anyone to accept God’s Word as it is, we can determine who is manifesting the spirit of truth and who is demonstrating the spirit of error. (Wayne Fussell).

? Attitude or dispositions are tell-tale signs of a saint or a non-saint. See 1 Corinthians 14:37; James 1:19-21