Testing the Spirits of Truth and Falsehood
4:1 Beloved, do not trust every spirit, but test the spirits to determine whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 4:2 This is how you know God’s Spirit: Every spirit that acknowledges, “Jesus is the Christ who has come in the flesh,” is from God. 4:3 And without exception, every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus in this way is not from God. Indeed, this is a spirit from the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and even now is already in the world.
4:4 But you are God’s offspring, little children, and have overcome ˹the false prophets˺ because greater is the one who is in you than the one who is in the world. 4:5 They, on the other hand, are the world’s offspring. Because of this, they speak from the world’s mindset and the world listens to them. 4:6 But we are God’s offspring. The one who knows God listens to us. Whoever is not God’s offspring does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Translation by the author from the SBL Greek New Testament.
Summary of Verses 4:1-6
In this unit, John warns that not every spirit that claims to speak for God can be trusted. He provides tests for believers to discern the spirits of truth and error because there are many false prophets and Antichrists who attempt to deceive and lead away others from true fellowship with God. There are two tests to determine the spirit of truth and the spirit of error:
- Test One: Is their confession about the incarnation of Jesus Christ consistent with the established truth?
- Test Two: Who listens to their message – the world or God’s offspring?
Click here for a full outline of First John.
Structure of Verses 4:1-6
This unit (4:1-6) is linked to the previous unit (3:19-24) by the word “spirit” which occurs at the end of the previous unit in verse 3:24, and occurs at the beginning of this unit in verse 4:1:
3:24 And this is how we know that ˹God˺ abides in us, from the Spirit whom He gave to us.
4:1 Beloved, do not trust every spirit…
Verses 4:1-6 cover material that is similar to the material found in verses 2:18-28 where John warned that walking in the light in not compatible with denying the Son. There, as here, John probably has the disruptors in mind who separated (see verse 2:19) and had gone out into the world (see verse 4:1).
Verses 4:1
Beloved, do not trust every spirit, but test the spirits to determine whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
John ends the section that focuses on the theme God is Righteous (2:29-4:6), with a unit that deals with testing the spirits of truth and falsehood. In the previous unit, John noted that assurance requires right belief accompanied by deeds of love. Right belief means adhering to the truth. But John now warns that not every spirit that makes a claim about truth can be trusted. And so he provides a test for believers to discern the spirits of truth and the spirits of falsehood.
Beloved,
As noted previously, John addresses his readers as “beloved” (ἀγαπητοί / agapētoi) six times in this short letter: 2:7, 3:2, 3:21, 4:1, 4:7, and 4:11. The word is significant for the following reasons:
- In each instance, It gets the attention of the reader and signals that what follows is an important statement.
- It highlights the affection John has for the readers.
- It implies that John writes as a mentor who has a true personal interest in the spiritual development of the readers.
“beloved” should probably be understood as not just John’s love for the readers, but also God’s love for the readers – they are beloved by John and God.
do not trust every spirit,
Not everyone who claims to speak for God actually speaks for God. There are many who are deceived and who try to deceive. John probably includes the disruptors in this group because they claimed to have spiritual inspiration.
Thus the readers are not to “trust” every spirit, that is, they are not to accept what they teach as true without first testing it.
but test the spirits to determine whether they are from God,
Because not everyone who claims to speak for God actually does so, John instructs his readers to “test the spirits to determine whether they are from God“. Apparently the disruptors and other professing Christians were spreading false teachings by appealing to the authority of the Holy Spirit.
“Spirit” here does not refer to divine spirits (angels) or evil spirits (demons), but to people who are inspired by God or Satan. It might even refer specifically to those who claim to have the spiritual gift of prophecy. In either case, the spirit of God or Satan is ultimately expressed in the words and actions of the person.
So, to “test the spirits” means to evaluate what these people say and do. Do their words and actions reflect the character of God who is Light and Righteous? A specific criterion for testing is spelled out in verses 4:2 and 4:3.
because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
The false prophets went out into the world in order to win converts for their cause. And there is a real danger of deception since many false prophets went out. [MARSHALL p. 204]
The disruptors might be included in this group of false prophets, as they were described as separating from John’s church in verse 2:19.
Verses 4:2
This is how you know God’s Spirit:
John now gives a specific positive criterion to determine how to know God’s Spirit.
Every spirit that acknowledges, “Jesus is the Christ who has come in the flesh,” is from God.
The criterion is an acknowledgment or confession of the person’s belief that emphasizes the reality of the incarnation of Jesus Christ – that the Son of God became a human being (“has come in the flesh“). It is an affirmation of Jesus’ true humanity. See John 1:14. The incarnation was a permanent union of the divine and the human.
As Glenn Barker explains in his commentary: “The false prophets may well have believed that Christ was the Savior of the world, but they probably denied the connection between the divine Christ with Jesus of Nazareth.” [BARKER p. 340] “The false spirit can be detected because he will deny that Jesus Christ came in the flesh.” [BARKER p. 339]
F.F. Bruce applies it this way in his commentary: “Test the prophets: ask them if Jesus Christ has come in flesh or not. If they say Yes, then they are to be recognized as speaking by the Spirit of God; if not [see verse 4:3], then it is not the Spirit of God but the spirit of the Antichrist that speaks through them.” [BRUCE p. 105]
Greek Note: has come
The verb “has come” (ἐληλυθότα / elēlythota) is in the perfect tense in Greek which points to a settled state. Christ did not take on human flesh temporarily, but He is still the union of God and man.
Karen Jobes notes in her commentary that when John uses this verb in Christological contexts, it signifies saving action. “Therefore, the confession that Jesus Christ “has come” in flesh does not simply acknowledge that Jesus was a historical person, but expresses the redeeming significance of his incarnate life, death, and resurrection on behalf of the human race.” [JOBES p. 178]
This is not the only test that John gives to “test the spirits“. As noted above, there is the practical test of evaluating what people say and do, and especially in regard to their love for others. Words and actions flow from the heart. Anyone who practices or encourages moral laxity or hatred does not have God’s Spirit, in spite of what they confess.
Verses 4:3
And without exception, every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus in this way is not from God.
John makes it clear that there are no exceptions to the status of the person who does not acknowledge the confession stated in verse 4:2. The spirit of that person is not from God.
Indeed, this is a spirit from the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and even now is already in the world.
A denial of Christ’s incarnation is the very spirit of the Antichrist.
John is not saying that the Antichrist is already in the world, but rather that the spirit of the Antichrist is already present, exercising its evil influence. Those people with the spirit of Antichrist oppose Christ and deny the true teachings about Christ, especially about the true humanity of Christ (“Jesus is the Christ who has come in the flesh“). They are forerunners of the end-time figure known as the Antichrist and they try to deceive others through their false teachings about Christ.
For more about the end-time Antichrist, see my prior post on First John.
Go back to verses 3:19-24
Go forward to verses 4:4-6
Your Personal Study
Read First John 4:4-6 below and answer the questions.
4:4 But you are God’s offspring, little children, and have overcome ˹the false prophets˺ because greater is the one who is in you than the one who is in the world. 4:5 They, on the other hand, are the world’s offspring. Because of this, they speak from the world’s mindset and the world listens to them. 4:6 But we are God‘s offspring. The one who knows God listens to us. Whoever is not God’s offspring does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
1. Who are the readers contrasted with? How are they different? [Review verses 4:1-3 to help with your answer.]
2. How have the readers overcome the false prophets?
3. Who or what do you think the phrase “the world” refers to?
4. Is God stronger than, equal to, or weaker than the world?
5. What is the believer’s source of strength to overcome the world?
6. Why are the false prophets accepted by the world?
7. What further test does John provide in verse 4:6 to determine the spirit of truth and the spirit of error?
First John Translation.
First John Translation with Outline and Notes.
Bibliography of source information used for this series of posts.
Title Slide Image Credit: First John in Codex Alexandrinus, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.
How you can have eternal life.
© Copyright 2022-2024 by Matthew Jones
koinefoundations@gmail.com
Koine Foundations 
Leave a comment