RECOGNIZING THE FALSE TEACHERS - 1 JOHN 4:2

Verse 2: By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.

There is a tendency in the Church today of those who carelessly handle the Word of God, either unknowingly, from the lack of adequate training or deliberately, determined to lead astray God’s people. This is evidenced by the insufficient attention a teacher might give to the accurate analysis of Scripture or when they intend to satisfy those who embrace personal notions or cultural dictates, even when they conflict with Biblical truth. Our primary consideration in understanding the meaning of Scripture is that it is never based upon one’s own private interpretation (2 Peter 1:20). Instead, it was designed by God to be understood according to His standards, having a specific and significant purpose for believers, as the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy:

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

The Test

Believers need to be vigilant of modern day “destructive heresies” (2 Peter 2:1) since there is a real potential of encountering false teachers today. Dr. Francis Schaeffer observed that,

In our day most heresies deny the true deity of Christ, but in the early church the common heresy was the denial of the true humanity of Christ.1

These heresies were identified as the Gnostic heresy in the Introduction to this study of 1 John. John, and the early church, was confronted by a branch of Gnosticism known as Docetism, whose followers believed that Our Lord was not human but a phantom, an apparition. They denied the conception and physical birth of Our Lord, advocating that Jesus had what only seemed or appeared to be a real body, yet able “to converse, to eat, to suffer, and to die.”2 The 19^th Century theologian Albert Barnes quoting from Edward Gibbons’ The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 3 further explained what this heresy alleged of Our Lord’s nature:

He first appeared on the banks of the Jordan in the form of perfect manhood; but it was a form only, and not a substance; a human figure created by the hand of Omnipotence to imitate the faculties and actions of a man, and to impose a perpetual illusion on the senses of his friends and enemies.4

Therefore, John provided a much needed and very simple test to utilize in determining if the Holy Spirit is the actual influencer of a person claiming to be a teacher of God’s Word. In order to counteract the Gnostic heresy, John clearly stated that “every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ comes [and continues to remain5] in the flesh is from God.” This absolute statement of fact makes any other interpretation of the nature of Our Lord a Biblical impossibility, conflicting the plain teaching of Scripture (John 1:14; Romans 1:2; Galatians 4:4; Hebrews 2:14). Note the Apostle Paul’s warning:

Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. (Romans 16:17)

The Truth

It is important to note that Jesus refers to His humanity and Christ refers to His deity. Possessing both natures eternally indicates that Jesus Christ is the unique person of the universe—the God-Man. This is known in theology as His hypostatic union; it refers “only to Christ in whom, as in no other, two distinct and dissimilar natures are united.”6 This is the “description of Jesus Christ as undiminished deity and true humanity in one person forever.”7 Paul proclaimed “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9). Upon this truth, the relevancy of Christianity exists.

So, what makes confessing the permanency of Jesus Christ having come in the flesh of such vital importance? Why is this essential truth so crucial to the Christian faith?

Scripture concludes: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), therefore an atonement to satisfy God must be attained if mankind is to make peace with their Creator. In the Jewish Age, atonement for sin was undertaken by the high priest who offered sacrifices for sin. However, the writer of Hebrews concluded that “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4) and therefore a more perfect sacrifice were needed.

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:11–12)

The sacrifice He offered as our high priest is Himself, by His vicarious suffering and death on the cross on behalf of all sinful mankind. By His work on the cross, He becomes our mediator, one who can alleviate the adverse relationship between God and man—the barrier of sin (Isaiah 59:2). A mediator must be “someone who understands both God and man and can bring them together in harmony.”8 This was Job’s dilemma in the midst of his intense suffering; when he felt helpless before God he proclaimed:

There is no umpire between us,

Who may lay his hand upon us both. (Job 9:33)

But God in His matchless grace provided, on behalf of all mankind, Jesus Christ as mediator—the One who can intercede between God and man, since He is both God and man.

For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. (1 Timothy 2:5–6)

Conclusion

Based upon Christ’s self-sacrifice, the Apostle Paul asserts that all those who believe are “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus whom God displayed as a propitiation in His blood through faith” (Romans 3:22-25). This Greek word for propitiation literally refers to the mercy seat of the Old Testament, where the blood sacrifices were offered for the atonement of sin. Those sacrifices satisfied God’s righteousness demands, so that now Christ’s atoning work "causes God to deal with us mercifully,”9 and thus providing mankind a peaceful and harmonious relationship with his Creator. As the Apostle Paul affirmed “For He Himself [Jesus Christ] is our peace” (Ephesians 2:14a; cf. Isaiah 9:6).

We now understand why John emphasizes this so vital truth twice in his epistle:

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. (1 John 2:2)

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

---

[1] Schaeffer, Francis A. (1985). The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2.338.

[2] Barnes, Albert (2005). Notes on the New Testament (R. Frew, Ed.), Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, XIII.2.276.

[3] Gibbon, Edward (1776–1789). The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 3.245.

[4] Barnes, XIII.2.276.

[5] This is the essential meaning of this verb “comes” from the Greek.

[6] Chafer, Lewis Sperry (1976). Systematic Theology, Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 1.382.

[7] Thieme, R.B., Jr. (2022). Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary, Houston, TX: R.B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, p.130.

[8] Ryrie, C. C. (1995). Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1995 update. Chicago: Moody Press, p. 790, note.

[9] Zodhiates, S. (2000). In The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G2435. 

 

© 2025 David M. Rossi 

 

BELIEVE NOT EVERY SPIRIT - 1 JOHN 4:1

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.

In the first six verses of chapter 4, John warns against false teachers. Having just confirmed that we have been given the Holy Spirit (3:24), we now possess the promised Helper (John 14:16; 16:7) Who is capable of instructing us on how to recognize false teachers.

Test to Verify

John begins with two commands: that we not believe every spirit and that we test the spirits. His intention here is that we not become gullible, “falling victim to the latest fads”1 of spiritual deception. Therefore we must substantiate whether what we are hearing is truth or error.

With the fascination in our present culture of mysticism, wizardry and demonic forces, heightened by the movie industry, it becomes necessary that we understand what is meant by this word spirit. This word is not necessarily referring to a ghost or a nonphysical being, but here it denotes “an attitude or disposition reflecting the way in which a person thinks about or deals with some matter.”2 Put another way, a person’s spirit—their attitude or disposition—is a reflection of what influences their frame of mind, their conviction of what they believe. The Apostle Paul uses spirit in this manner when he asked the Corinthians: “Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness” (1 Corinthians 4:21). Seeing that gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 6:23), it can be determined that this attitude of Paul’s is influenced by Godly wisdom.3

However, not everyone is influenced by God. John is referring here to the spirit of deception, the essence of false prophets, false teachers, antichrists (2:18, 22) being inspired by the evil one (2:13-14). Therefore, the command for believers to test the spirits is so that they can detect and distinguish4 what exactly influences those who claim to teach the Word of God—compelling believers to consistently test their legitimacy. The Apostle Paul explained that in reality the nature of our conflict is spiritual:

 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. (1 Timothy 4:1)

Also,

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

Many False Prophets

Next, John provides the reason for testing the spirits: because of the many false prophets. For the sake of accuracy, in the Bible a prophet is not simply one who foretells the future by direct inspiration from God, like the Old Testament prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc.; but generally prophets refers to those who speak openly in proclaiming a divine message.5 Dr. Zodhiates explains further that “Prophets were a class [classification] of instructors or preachers who were next in rank to the Apostles and before the teachers (1 Corinthians 12:28)”6 (cf. Ephesians 3:5; 4:11-12).

Ideally, God’s initial plan for His Church was for teachers to instruct believers, to equip them for the “work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-13). The distressing reality is that there are now many false prophets within our culture today. The Greek word many infers not just a few or several, but instead, multitudes or many, or a great number.7  This is exhibited by the vast number of present day Christian sects and cults that reject the fundamental tenets of the Christian faith.

The objective of these false prophets is to develop and disseminate an alternative belief system based upon a human viewpoint inspired by the doctrines of demons. The reason for this assertion can be corroborated by other writers of Scripture. James characterized the errant attitudes of believers as ungodly wisdom that is “earthly, natural, demonic” (James 3:15). The Apostle Paul wrote of the Judaizers of his day, that “there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers...teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain” (Titus 1:10-11). Paul elsewhere branded them as “men who have gone astray from the truth” (2 Timothy 2:18a); and also warning Timothy:

But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:13)

Jude concludes by reminding us of their intentions, that “These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.” (Jude 19).

Gone Out

Briefly looking ahead to verse 3, it will be observed that John states that the spirit of the antichrist is the attitude of these false prophets. So when John states that they have gone out into the world it elicits the question: Where did they come from? We should recall that he has already told us that these many antichrists “went out from us” (2:19). This calls to mind Paul’s warning to the Ephesian elders:

I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. (Acts 20:29–30)

An important principle to observe is that these false prophets/antichrists may indeed have their origin from within the Church, but they were not sent to us from God, not today nor in the Jewish dispensation, as He certified to Jeremiah:

Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds.” (Jeremiah 14:14)

Our Attitude

What should be our present day attitude? We should observe the same advice Paul gave to the Ephesian elders: “Therefore be on the alert” (Acts 20:31a), and just as the Apostle Peter warned us of our demonic adversary:

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

To be on the alert means to be on guard and an effective guard is one who is vigilant. Therefore, we cannot be asleep on our watch and we need to be armed and ready with the sword of the Spirit—the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). Then will be ready, able to discern spiritual error in order to defend the Truth.

---

[1] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1 John 4:1.

[2] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). In Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. New York: United Bible Societies, 1.349.

[3] Note further Paul’s use of spirit in this manner in Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 4:23.

[4] Zodhiates, S. (2000). In The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G1381.

[5] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). In Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 2.493.

[6] Zodhiates, G4396.

[7] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A., 1.594.

 

© 2025 David M. Rossi 

 

FOR THERE IS NO OTHER WAY - 1 JOHN 3:23-24

Verses 23-24: This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

At the outset, John summarizes Our Lord’s commandments into one single directive. It should be noted that he uses this word commandment more than any other writer— 30 times out of 66 occurrences in the New Testament. It is not that he is needlessly preoccupied with Our Lord’s commands, but instead the Holy Spirit intentionally led him to emphasize this essential truth for our benefit, so that we might advance in our spiritual life.

His Commandment

There are two major components that comprise Our Lord’s commandments: believe and love. These two aspects of this commandment are now intricately entwined with faith in Christ and love for one another.

First we are to believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ. This we should recall was what Our Lord pronounced: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:29)

But note that the emphasis here is upon His name, since John’s readers would have been familiar with the ancient beliefs concerning magic which considered there is power and efficacy in names, and that the knowledge of names gives power to the ones using it.1 However, John is referring to Our Lord’s Prayer in John 17:11-12, where He asked that the Father to keep us in His name, “the name which You have given Me,” for the explicit purpose of Christian unity. Dr. Beetham notes:

To say that the disciples are kept in the name of God indicates that they live in the sphere of an effective power, which protects them from ruin and unites them with each other.2

The name of Jesus Christ is the name of eternal power. To believe in His name “is to be firmly persuaded”3 regarding the reality of His deity: His attributes, authority, majesty, power and excellence.4 Scripture declares it is “the name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9; cf. Hebrews 1:4); “no other name under heaven” has the power to save mankind (Acts 4:12); His name is the believers’ power source to receive anything we ask (John 14:13-14; cf. 1 John 3:22). However, we should be very cautious, understanding that there is no magical enchantment obtained by using His name as a sorcerer’s incantation. There is no spiritual efficaciousness in the repetition of His name.

Second, this commandment reiterates the directive to love one another. John is not obsessed with this matter of love. He has expounded upon it in this chapter and will continue so in the following chapters. Suffice it to say, here he provides a very concise reason for emphasizing this command: “just as He commanded us.” Specifically, he desires for us, his readers, to respond rightly to the absolute authority of Our Lord’s commandment that He gave just prior to His death (John 13:34).

This command to love was considered in chapter 2:7 of this epistle with a fine example of what this love entails submitted by the late Chester McCalley (1935-2000): “True love is the mental attitude that demands that we do what is best for another no matter what the cost to us.”5 The Lord Jesus is our extreme example of this type of love when He suffered the death of crucifixion in our place for our sins. The Apostle Paul reminded us of exactly who He died for: “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). We must never forget that we were the ungodly ones for whom Christ gave His life.

John’s Divine Observation

It is impossible to study this epistle and not recognize John’s reiteration of the personal teachings he received from the Lord Himself, verse 24 is a clear example of this. For this reason, he is able to maintain that the “one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him.” This is the exact teaching of Our Lord’s to the Jews in John 6:53-58. There He equates the eating of His flesh and drinking of His blood with that of partaking of Him, “the bread of life” (John 6:48), for eternal life, concluding that the one who partakes, “abides in Me and I in him” (John 6:56). This is a theme that He restated to His disciples prior to His death in John 15:4-7 and then advanced His desire of unity even further:

“That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:21; cf. John 14:23)

The believer who keeps His commandments exhibits consistent and unwavering fellowship with Our Lord and with the Father—an exclusive union that is unparalleled with any other relationship on earth.

What We Know

John attributes the origin of our knowing that “He abides in us” from the ultimate source of the Holy Spirit. This is the first mention of the Spirit in this epistle, although He was alluded to in 2:20, 27 as the Holy One who anointed us and teaches. The fact that we know this vital truth is not derived from emotional feelings or sensations. Instead, we know this by experiencing the Spirit’s effects upon our lives by His teaching (John 14:26; 16:13) that results in the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). This is His enabling power for us, the Word of God imbedded in our heart and mind, so that we respond to every circumstance of life in a manner which coincides with Biblical principles. And by this we are then able “to do the things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22). The Apostle Paul taught this exact same truth:

That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:16–17a)

This is the essence of executing the Christian way of life—led by the Holy Spirit; walking in the Light; having fellowship with our Creator; enjoying His steadfast grace provision for time and eternity—for there is no other way.

Something to Ponder

Where do we stand on this truth? Do we build our relationship with God on His terms, upon the Rock—His Word? Or are we like the unwise, building upon sinking sands (Matthew 7:24-27)?

---

[1] Bietenhard, H. (1964–). ὄνομα. In Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley, & G. Friedrich, Eds.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 5.250.

[2] Beetham, Christopher A. (Ed.) (2021). The Concise New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, p. 650.

[3] Zodhiates, S. (2000). In The Complete Word Study Dictionary. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G4100.

[4] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). In Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 2.425.

[5] McCalley, Chester. http://wordoftruthkc.org/sites/default/files/file/I%20Corinthians%20Commentary.pdf, p. 96. [Retrieved August 14, 2024]

 

© 2025 David M. Rossi