Scripture Passage: 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. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 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. ~ 1 John 4:1-3 (NKJV)
As you might suspect, there can be a huge difference between the presentation of crime scene investigation, medicolegal death investigations, and autopsies on television shows like CSI and NCIS compared to reality. From a medicolegal death investigation standpoint, autopsies are one of those things I see on TV that have me shaking my head the most.
See, time and again, you’ll see a crime procedural in which the detectives investigate a scene of a death. The body will go to the medical examiner’s office. And within a short period of time, the results of that autopsy are being sent post-haste to aforementioned detective so he can solve the big crime.
This, of course, is necessary when you have a show that runs for about 48 minutes per episode. If you were forced to be realistic about time in such shows, a single episode might go on for weeks, if not months! Truth is, most of the time after an autopsy, the cause of death is listed as ‘pending,’ as in, pending further studies.
The reason?
Humans’ eyes (even pathologists’ eyes) are limited. While the word ‘autopsy’ literally translates to “see with one’s own eyes,” there are just some things the naked eye cannot see, and while the pathologist might have a general idea of what killed a particular person, they can’t be certain until they send specimens off for further testing. Toxicology. Histology (so they can view certain parts of the human body under a microscope). Even genetic testing, etc are some things that might hold up results.
The fact of the matter is, a medical examiner who wants to be thorough will examine all possibilities of a deceased person until they’re relatively certain their opinion is correct. This might hold up a criminal investigation a bit or it might put a pause on a family’s closure, but it is necessary to be sure a mistake isn’t made.
That’s kind of what John is saying in today’s passage. He begins by warning us to “not believe every spirit, but test the spirits.” He tells us that there are two types of spirits in this world: the spirit of God and the spirit of the Antichrist. And like an autopsy, until we really examine these spirits under a microscope, we might not be able to tell the difference because our eyes are limited. We are so easy to deceive. And by the way, it’s essential for a medical examiner to make such in-depth testing protocol for all cases at all times, lest they miss something when it’s least suspected.
As we go about our day to day lives, we’re constantly bombarded with ideas and concepts of varying degrees and conflicting rationale. Movies, TV shows, music, cartoons, video games…and don’t get me started on college courses, professors, politicians, and celebrities are all spouting a barrage of things at us on a daily basis. Even trusted pastors and Bible teachers pitch concepts we should test. Open theism, docetism, prosperity gospel, social gospel are just a few examples. How are we to know what is right? What is correct? What is from God and what is from the devil?
Take a look again at verse 2-3: By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 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.
We’re to put these concepts and ideas tossed our way through a litmus test of sorts. We are to send them to a toxicology lab or view such notions through a microscope and examine what is being said. The question that must be asked for each and every idea?
Recently, I stumbled on an article in The Atlantic. Normally, I don’t read the magazine because in an almost cartoonish way, it oozes pretension. But the subject of this article was about the so-called “historical Jesus” and the myths of the gospels. I won’t go into the details of the article because they were so ridiculously inane, it doesn’t bear repeating. But I will say that within the first six paragraphs, I was able to refute each and every argument against the biblical Christ it laid out and I didn’t even break a sweat doing it. I mean, it was seriously dumb for such a highfalutin’ magazine. Point is, it was super easy also to test the spirits of the article to know that it was biased against Jesus from the very first word and therefore, not of God.
The same day, I stumbled on another article somewhere else that purported that a homosexual pastor of a church in Washington D.C. had proclaimed the notion that Jesus must have been “queer” (his word) because he was a male in his thirties who wasn’t married, had no kids, and hung out with twelve other dudes. Sure, pastor. Your logic is…well, if you can’t say anything nice... But still, we can easily test the spirits here to see it is of the Antichrist.
Discernment
Some of you might say, “Well, Kent, your examples are obvious. What if something doesn’t even touch on Jesus? What if it’s something that doesn’t blatantly go against Christ and even sounds about right, but I’ve got doubts about it. How in the world are we to know what its view on Jesus is?”
Recently, a pastor named Doug Wilson (apparently Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s own pastor) made controversial statements about women and the fact the media is claiming he said that women shouldn’t be able to vote. He’s been labeled a ‘Christian Nationalist’, a term that has become somewhat of a slur (or at least, it’s used in such a way). Like I said, I haven’t kept up with it because if I kept up with every controversial pastor or those mired in scandal, I wouldn’t have time to study and worship God or teach His word at all (which I think is why Satan uses such controversies, by the way). From the cursory glance I’ve given his statements, I can’t find where he actually says women shouldn’t vote, but rather that families should vote together. Personally, I don’t know how I feel about such a comment, but that’s the point. That’s why I bring it up.
So, what’s the answer here? Is Doug Wilson’s statements of God or of the Antichrist?
That’s where the word ‘discernment’ comes in. Discernment is something we gain from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But how do we development discernment? How exactly do we test the spirits? There are three ways:
1. Know God’s Word
I know you hear this over and over again from pastors, teachers, mentors, and more spiritually mature friends, but that’s because it’s so true.
But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. ~ Hebrews 5:14 (NJKV).
The writer of Hebrews says that ‘solid food’ (i.e. Scripture) is essential for the spiritual nourishment of mature believers. By doing so, he says, the mature believers is able to discern both good and evil.
So, study the Bible. Memorize verses. Learn theology. And most importantly, apply it in your life!
2. Pray
Whenever I have a question about something, first thing I try to do is pray. I pray for wisdom. I pray for discernment. I pray for understanding. Prayer, along with an active knowledge of God’s word, usually helps with discerning whether something is of God or not.
3. Stay Vigilant
Finally, do what John says to do in this passage. Test the spirits whenever something comes up in your life. If you don’t know for sure, stop, pray, and wait on God. Don’t automatically trust because someone is famous…and that includes being a famous preacher. And that goes doubly for your own pastor too, by the way. Don’t take anything he says at face value. When he preaches, test the spirits of his words and see if it jibes with the rest of Scripture.
The only words ever written that can be fully and completely trusted upon are those within God’s word. Everything else should be suspect. Stay vigilant, my friends!
So, Doug Wilson? Women and voting? Is it of God or of the Antichrist? I’ll be honest, I still don’t know and honestly, don’t know if I care because it’s all a distraction from things far more important than this earthly realm. It all seems predicated on special interests on both sides and none of those interests seem to be on God.
As Joshua said (and I paraphrase), as for me and my house, I will focus on God and the heavenly rather than the political affairs of the world.
Father God, help us have discernment in this confusing time where information is at our fingertips and knee jerk reactions abound. Give us wisdom and help us keep our eyes on you and not the things of this world.
