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 

 

IN HIS PENETRATING GAZE - 1 JOHN 3:21-22

Verses 21-22: Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

John addresses this passage to fellow believers, the beloved. It is a term of endearment, the “object of one’s affection,”1 and the only time he uses it in this epistle. We who are believers in Jesus Christ are part of the beloved members of the Body Of Christ.

Content of Our Heart

The heart does not refer to that vital organ within our body, but as defined in the previous post it refers to the “center and source of the whole inner life, with its thinking, feeling, and volition.”2 This is where the believer does his thinking and meditating upon the Biblical truth he has stored.

Based on this, a conditional statement is now presented: if our heart does not condemn us, then we are assured to have confidence before God. In order to establish that our heart does not condemn us, we must examine ourselves to determine that we are obedient to His commands and are consistently in fellowship—walking in the light, having confessed our sins (1:6-9). However, this is contingent upon an accurate understanding of Biblical truth in order to correctly align God’s divine standards with our practice of His truth (1:6). We cannot afford to deceive ourselves by using false standards (emotions, feelings, public opinion) in examining ourselves—only God’s Word is all-sufficient.

As in 2:28, John again aspires that we attain confidence before God. The Greek word for confidence means courage, boldness, fearlessness.3 This is the character of the mature believer, one who acquires the boldness to live and speak their faith, being in fellowship with his Lord and guided by the Holy Spirit. For John does not want us to be unfaithful in our spiritual lives, resulting in being ashamed of ourselves and hesitant in approaching Him in prayer, as he focuses upon in the next verse.

Whatever We Ask

With the confidence we achieve before God in mind, John now directs our attention to the matter of prayer. The writer of Hebrews explains the significance of confidence in our approach to God in prayer:

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

We approach prayer with confidence when we know that we have a clear conscience, that we have confessed our sins and humbly submitted to His divine specifications of effective prayer requests. This particular verse has been distorted and has misled believers throughout Church history. It has falsely been interpreted that God provides a blank check and all the believer needs to do is fill in whatever he asks and God will impart unconditionally whatever is desired. Also, the following phrase has been misconstrued as an exchange of favors, as if God is saying: “If you keep My commandments and do pleasing things then and I’ll do something (anything) for you.”

However, this perception of prayer is not in harmony with other Scripture passages. A fundamental rule of Biblical interpretation is that “Scripture interprets Scripture.”4 In order to arrive at the correct understanding of a Biblical principle, the Bible student must compare each Scripture passage with others that pertain to the same matter so that God’s intended meaning of a doctrine is clear and unambiguous.

For instance, when our passage is compared with what James wrote, it is apparent that whatever does not include all of our personal cravings:

You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. (James 4:3)

And by looking further into John’s epistle we discover the most important prerequisite of prayer: that what we ask must be according to His will (5:14). We have Our Lord as our perfect example of this when He agonized over His coming Passion. He prayed that the Father might remove His time of suffering, but added: “yet not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42b). This should be our attitude in whatever we request from God, to regard the accomplishment of the will of God to be the utmost important outcome of our prayers.

The logical question now is: How do we know what His will is so that we can pray accordingly? Our Lord provided the answer during His Upper Room Discourse.

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7)

There are two important stipulations given here that we must not ignore. First, the certainty that we are abiding in Him is to be factual. To abide in Him is expressed here as a completed activity, characteristic of our position of being in fellowship with Him at the moment we pray.5 If we expect for God to “hear us” (5:14) then we must first confess all known sins to be assured we are on proper prayer foundation, as the Psalmist stated: “If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear” (Psalm 66:18).

 The second condition is the confirmation that His words abide in us. This implies that our thoughts are to be formatted by His thoughts. The Apostle Paul characterized this as the transforming renovation of our minds (Romans 12:2). Through the prophet Isaiah, God explained the reason for this need:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8–9)

The Evidence of Abiding

In the final phrase of verse 22, John contemplates the conclusive evidence that we abide in Him and that His words are in us: “because we keep His commandments” and the practice of our Christian life consists of doing “the things that are pleasing in His sight”—His “penetrating gaze.”6 For we can never escape His presence (cf. Psalm 139:7-12).  

Do we have confidence that our prayers are heard or even answered? Only when we truly seek His will for whatever we ask in prayer can we claim the promise of this verse.

---

[1] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). In Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. New York: United Bible Societies, 1.293.

[2] Arndt, W., Gingrich, F. W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (1979). In A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 403.

[3] Arndt, et.al., p. 630.

[4] Couch, Mal, Gen. Ed. (2000). An Introduction to Classical Evangelical Hermeneutics, Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, p. 166.

[5] Dana, H.E. & Mantey, Julius R. (1957). A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, Toronto, Ontario: Macmillan Co., p. 196.

[6] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 13.157.

 © 2025 David M. Rossi