Testing The Spirits
Dear friends, 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. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. I John 4:1-6 (New International Version, NIV)
These verses tell us, and even warn us, that there are spirits and voices in the world. Some are from God and many are not from God. There are even many false prophets like our Lord Jesus warned us about in Matthew 24. This is a sign that we are truly in the last of the last days. An indication of the end of days is the prevalence of deception, false prophets, false Christs, false religions, and false teachings. Such false teachings are called doctrines of demons in I Timothy 4. Those who give Christ His proper place- acknowledging Him as God in the flesh, the Savior, and the Son of God- are of God. However, every spirit that denies who Jesus is and what He accomplished is not of God.
Such is a spirit of antichrist, which means against Christ, or against the Anointed One. False people and demons will fight against the Christ, resisting the promises of God, the power of God, and the presence of God. They are from the devil and of the world, so they speak as such. They have a worldly viewpoint that replaces God’s Word, and thus God. The world listens to them for they’re of the world. The world system and those of it reject God’s system and the Word upon which it is based. They work to establish their own Babylonian system, which is one without God, where man is god and he rules. These people will not listen to us Christians.
We can recognize the Spirit of truth and differentiate it from the spirit of falsehood or error. Always test every sourse by asking if it agrees with the Bible and if they give Jesus His proper place. In addition, look and see if they are really living for God or for themselves.
These are proven ways for us to test to see what is of God and what is not. Once identified, we are able to overcome and defeat error by knowing the truth of Jesus and His Word. We are to live the truth and defend it. Then, we will not be deceived and we won’t be defeated. Instead, we’ll know the truth and act on the truth. The truth will make us free and keep us free.
