I John 4:2-3

View Video Blog, Right Click Link: I John 4:2-3

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

THE STUDY:

          When it comes to false prophets, verse 2 is not hiding some secret formula in detecting them. John states it very clearly, “every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God”! We can assume that John was dealing with a specific issue that was detrimental to the spiritual walk of the believers.

          The Christian recognizes the Spirit of God in anyone who openly confesses that Jesus Christ is both human and divine, and that Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, “has come in the flesh.” Here we have the established principle for testing whether a particular teaching comes from the Holy Spirit ^[1]

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away with the understanding that anyone who acknowledges that Christ is both human and divine is a prophet of God! We can only assume that this is the key foundational belief for a prophet of God.

CONCLUSION:

          One afternoon in 1965, Daniel Waswa, a citizen of Kenya, struggled up a hill and was crucified by his wife at his own direction. As he hung on the cross, he told the gathered crowd, “I am dying for the sins of all Kenyans.” After nailing her husband to the cross, the woman collapsed on the ground and died, apparently from shock. Waswa’s neighbors knew this was no spur-of-the-moment act. He had talked about it for a year and had told them he had been called by God for this purpose.

          They begged him to let them take him down. He refused all requests. Finally he was taken down still alive, but he soon died from the nail wounds which had become infected.

          Superstitious people now make pilgrimages to the spot where Daniel Waswa died and pray for him to forgive their sins.

          In our world today we find so many false prophets and teachings. Let us be reminded though, that Christ is “ … the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:6-7)

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

---

^[1] Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Vol. 14: New Testament commentary : Exposition of James and the Epistles of John. New Testament Commentary (325). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.