How can we tell a false from a true messenger of God? How does love separate truth from error? How do we know God loves us? Let’s examine God’s love and the difference it makes, by looking at 1 John 4:1-11.
1 John 4:1 Test the Spirits
In 1 John 4:1 we read, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” A misunderstanding of Jesus’ instructions not to be judgmental, is that we should not discern who are false prophets. Yet after Jesus said, “Judge not” (Matthew 7:1) He said “Beware of false prophets.” (Matthew 7:15) Is that a contradiction? Jesus does not want us to be always judging, hypercritical, and beware of false prophets, falsely claiming to bring a message from God. How do we test without judging? We do not condemn, but discern by the fruits.
1 John 4:2 Test of Confession
1 John 4:2 says, “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God”. One test of who is led by the Spirit of God is their confession. John refers to the ancient heresy of Docetism, which claimed that Jesus did not have a body, but was a disembodied spirit, a ghost. They claimed that He did not really suffer, die and rise again. On the other hand, He was not a mere man, because of John’s words “has come in the flesh,” alluding to his Gospel claim that He was God, the Word (John 1:1-4).
1 John 4:3 Spiritual Discernment
1 John 4:3 says, “and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.” Being anti- or against Christ is a spirit that we are familiar with in our world, but when a religious teacher claims to be Christian, yet teaches that Jesus was a mere human being, we should beware. Or when someone claims that our four records of Jesus’ teachings are to be disregarded as God-breathed because they were written by men, we should discern a wrong spirit.
1 John 4:4-5 Of God or the World
1 John 4:4-5 says, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.” In dramatic opposition to false teachers, those who believe the truth are on one side; false teachers are on the other. There is no mention of a neutral position and to assume a neutral position is also to be in error, because we “have overcome them.” Echoing Jesus’ words, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own.” (John 15:19)
1 John 4:6 Spirit of Truth or Error
1 John 4:6 says, “We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” John is saying that we who teach the things of God are heard by those who know God. What qualifies any teacher is not apostolic succession or ordination by men, but the spirit of truth rather than error. When people give in to the spirit of falsehood, contradicting the teachings of the Apostles, claiming the Bible is just the teachings of men, they become false prophets, falsely claiming to be speaking for God.
1 John 4:7-8 Love is of God
1 John 4:7-8 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” When churches show hatred instead of love, then they do not know God. Only by loving God can we truly know God and this love is intimately connected to knowing truth. The greatest truth of all is love. Whatever love for one another a person has within them comes from God. Because God is love, then love of God and neighbor is the surest test that a person is from God.
1 John 4:9 God’s Love Manifested
1 John 4:9 says, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” In this verse John summarizes his Gospel and John 3:16. Jesus is distinguished from all other sons of God as His only begotten Son or uniquely God’s Son in a manner that no other is. This counters the Ebionite heresy that denied the divinity of Christ. God’s love is made most conspicuous in the birth of Jesus and we believers are the specific beneficiaries of life through Him. Eternal life is given us by faith in Jesus Christ.
1 John 4:10-11 The Penalty Paid
1 John 4:10-11 says, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [satisfaction] for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” No higher manifestation of love than this can be found. It is not in our imperfect love for God, but in His love for us, that real love is understood. The consequences of that love are permanent, the propitiation, atoning sacrifice or payment for our sins. Since God loves us, we also on our part ought to love one another. Loving God involves loving our fellow man.
Postlude to Part 1
A false messenger is distinguished from a true messenger of God by his confession that the Son of God came from heaven and became flesh and by his love of church people. Love also separates truth from error because all true doctrine is founded upon love. We know God loves us because His Son paid the price that we might live forever.
Prelude to Part 2
Why is love of the church and its people such an important indicator of our love for God? How can we willingly and openly confess Christ? Why can we boldly face judgment day without fear? Let’s examine how the love of God and loving the people in the church are intimately connected, by looking at 1 John 4:12-21.
1 John 4:12-13 Spirit of Love
1 John 4:12-13 says, “No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” No one has ever yet seen God. Why does John say this here? How can we love an invisible God? We show love to God by loving the image of God in His people. In other words, love of faulty fellow church goers proves the indwelling of God. That is, possession of the loving Spirit proves “we abide in Him”.
1 John 4:14-15 Open Confession
1 John 4:14-15 says, “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” The apostles were eyewitnesses to Jesus and His apostleship. The word “sent” literally means “apostled.” So, Jesus is an apostle of God the Father, “one sent.” God the Father can be only spiritually seen by a pure heart. But Jesus, God the Son, was visibly seen by His Apostles. How can we tell who God abides in? Whosoever “declares openly” or “speaks out freely" that Jesus is the Son of God.
1 John 4:16 Living in Love
1 John 4:16 says, “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” Literally, we have come to know and have come to believe the love God has within us. This connects experience and faith. God’s love has been placed within us through the Holy Spirit. We experience love as a fruit of the Spirit. Love is the principle doctrine of the Church. It is the Church's principle creed. Pure religion is love. When we continually live in love, we continually live in God and God continually lives in us.
1 John 4:17 Boldness on Judgment Day
1 John 4:17 says, “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” We who are ever conscious of our sins must understand the love of God. Because of His love, we may enter judgment day with boldness, not because we have attained sinless perfection, but because we understand His love for us. Because we dwell in Christ and He in us, we are as He is. A Christian is meant to be a living likeness of Christ. (1 John 3:3, 7) How? Not by immaculate faultlessness but by faith.
1 John 4:18 Love and Fear
1 John 4:17 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” Perfect love casts out fear, even the fear of judgment day. We know we can stand on judgment day, because our sins are forgiven in Him. Both love and fear exist together in us because love is not yet perfect in us. Fear prepares the way for love. We fear to disobey God until perfect love obeys without fear. Fear torments us now, because love is not yet perfect. Fear deters us from sinning, but love leads to righteousness.
1 John 4:19 He First Loved Us
1 John 4:19 says, “We love Him because He first loved us.” Love in us is not to our credit, but comes from God. Why did Abel offer a better offering than Cain? Why did Abram willingly leave the comforts of home to become a nomad? Why did Moses lead a bunch of squabbling, complaining people out of slavery? Why did David compose love songs to God? Why did Elijah preach an unpopular message that put his life in danger? Why did most of the Apostles willingly die for the Gospel? Love for God is the only answer. Do we love Him? We love Him because He first loved us.
1 John 4:20 Hate of Brethren
1 John 4:20 says, “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” Yet, some say they hate the church but claim to love God. That’s a contradiction. We cannot claim to love God and hate church people, because God loves His church. Yes, the church is very faulty, but God loves her. Yes the Bride of Christ is sometimes the Whore of Babylon, but as Hosea loved Gomer, so Christ loves us, His Bride. If we love God, we love His church.
1 John 4:21 Love of Brethren
1 John 4:21 says, “And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.” We have no choice but to love our brothers and sisters in the church. Jesus was quite clear that this is the great commandment, on which hang all the Law and the prophets (Matthew 22:37, Matthew 22:39; Luke 10:27; John 13:34). God’s command is to love, not only our invisible God, but also our visible brothers and sisters in whom God lives. It may be difficult, but let us never forget that even the most wretched human being was made in the image of God.
Postlude
Do we love the church and its people? That is an important indicator of our love for God. Do we willingly and openly confess that Jesus is the Son of God? As we grow in love for Christ, confessing Him openly becomes easier because we care more what He thinks than what others think. Do we boldly face judgment day without fear? As we grow in love fear will fade.
1 John 4:1-11; Matthew 7:1, 15; John 1:1-4; John 15:19; John 3:16; 1 John 3:3, 7; Matthew 22:37, Matthew 22:39; Luke 10:27; John 13:34
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
