You know where we will be, so if you will take your Bible, turn with me to 1 John, chapter 4. 1 John, chapter 4, we'll be looking verses 1 through 6. Let's look back at chapter 3, verse 24, begin there. 1 John 3, 24. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God and God in him. By this we know that he abides in us by the spirit whom he has given us. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. 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. Little children, you are from God. and have overcome them. For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world, therefore they speak from the world and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us. Whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Let's pray. Father, we need your blessings upon this word, the preaching of your word. So Lord, enable me to preach a right according to the truth and help each of us to hear correctly. Lord, may we hear what the Spirit confesses. And certainly the confession of the Spirit is of Christ and his coming in the flesh. And so thank you for this opportunity to look to your word. We ask, Lord, that you would make it profitable to our souls. It's through Jesus that I ask this, amen. In this passage, we're going to see this necessity to test the spirits. Test the spirits, and simply put, testing the spirits would mean testing the teaching. What is actually being confessed? So in verse one, beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world because I love you. John writes this command. Do not believe every spirit. Do not believe everything you hear. That's important. Some people are very easily influenced. Of course we think about children. Many times they will believe what they are told even if it's not true. Adults are the same way many times. If we read something on the internet, hear it on the news, We believe it's true, many times automatically we believe it's true, but the Christian is not to believe just anything and everything that they hear. We need to test the teaching. This is not a popular practice because it takes time to understand what is being taught. When you hear something, you have to test it. ESV study note says, in today's age of tolerance, This discriminating discernment, this testing, can be viewed as judgmental. And then what is quoted is judge not. But yet, Jesus also taught, do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. From John chapter seven, verse 24. So there is a judgment that the Christian needs to make. Should we doubt everything we hear? In some ways, yes, we should doubt what we hear until we test the spirit to see if they're from God. That's very important for us to consider. John says that quick acceptance of teaching is not good. Before a Christian accepts a teaching, they must test the teaching or test the spirit, the one that's putting forth the teaching. How do you test a teaching or spirit? This means that you must determine if it is from God. Do you know how to do this? I hope that you do. We'll see in later verses in this passage specific ways to test the spirits, but we also see at the end of verse 1 the reason why we need to test the spirit. What does it say there? Right at the end of verse 1 it says, that there are many, many false prophets have gone out into the world. So there is the reason that we need to test the spirits. Testing the spirit is vitally important because the world is filled with many false prophets. John writing some 2000 years ago. And how many more false prophets have arisen in that time? The prophet is one who's supposed to give God's message to the people. These are false prophets. So these ones are claiming to give God's message, but they're really giving a message that is not true. So the false prophet is giving a message to the people that's not true. We see the connection between the spirit and the teaching. I've used spirit and teaching somewhat synonymously. The false prophet is influenced by a spirit that is not from God. So the spirit of error, the spirit of the devil is having influence on this prophet, which is clearly a false prophet that John is warning these believers he's writing to. He's warning them, you must test the spirits, you must test the teaching. So we need, so also, we need to test the spirit or test the teaching. John loves these people and he is under inspiration of the Holy Spirit to command these people not to believe every spirit. Rather, with another command, he says, test the spirits. We should see the seriousness of this issue. It's so important. How do we test the Spirit? The next two verses, verses two and three, will describe the difference between the Spirit. There is a great difference between the two Spirits, if you will, at work in the world. John MacArthur reminds us that Christians are to be like Bereans who, as students of the word, examine the scriptures to determine truth and error. So we know something about the Bereans from Acts 17. They were the ones that examined the scriptures to find out if the teaching was true. And here is the way to determine the difference between the Spirit. Again, verse 2 and verse 3 will lay this out, but verse 2 speaks about the Spirit of God. Verse 2 of chapter 4, By this you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. Here is the way that you know the teaching comes from the Spirit of God. Here is the central and most important test of a spirit. What does the spirit confess about Jesus? This is a simple way as you begin to take this command and this scripture seriously. What does the spirit confess about Jesus? And at this context, John says, every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. This is definitely an emphasis from the letter. Back in chapter 1, turn back there quickly with me, 1 John 1 beginning in verse 1, that which was from the beginning which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon, we've seen with our eyes, we've looked upon, have touched with our hands concerning the Word of Life. The life was made manifest, we have seen it and testified to it and proclaim to you eternal life which was from the Father was made manifest to us. That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you. importance in this immediacy of what he's saying here, I have actually seen Jesus. I have actually seen Jesus. And you know that a spirit is of God. It's certainly the Holy Spirit that's at work. If there's a confession that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, no doubt this was denied to some degree in John's day. So the spirit, the that a Christian should believe is a teaching grounded in the truth that confesses Jesus as the anointed one or the Messiah, the hope for deliverer, the savior that God had promised throughout the ages, the conqueror, the one who would bring salvation. And the Bible teaches that This conqueror took on flesh. Jesus took on flesh and he accomplished the salvation of the people of God. This aspect is necessary in our understanding of who Jesus was. The Bible teaches that Jesus is both God and man. You can't separate these. The word was God. And then the Word became flesh, it says, from John chapter 1. So John has described many points of proper teaching about Jesus as the Christ. Jesus, he says, has sin-cleansing blood. Jesus has sin-cleansing blood. Well, a man has blood, a person has blood running through their veins. And it was necessary that Jesus have this blood so that it might be poured out for the forgiveness of our sins. We say, we see that if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his son cleanses us from all sin. He had to take on flesh. For he had to have this precious blood, this perfect blood, in order to cleanse us from our sin. Also that John has brought our attention to many aspects of the ministry of Jesus. Jesus as advocate, Jesus as propitiation. Well, if Jesus is going to be propitiation, if he's going to be a sin sacrifice that puts away the wrath of God, satisfies the wrath of God, then he has this body, he is in the flesh to accomplish this work. He is the propitiation for our sins, not only for our sins, but the sins of the whole world. And He came to destroy the works of the devil. How did He come? He came in the flesh. And of course, He was filled with the Spirit as well. Jesus would even lay down His life. If He didn't have a life to lay down, how could He lay down His life for us? Jesus laid down his life for all who would become Christians. We saw that in 1 John chapter 3 and verse 16. By this we know love that he laid down his life for us. We ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But this emphasis upon Jesus coming into the flesh, in the flesh, and there's a helpful summary of Jesus taking on flesh. Jesus took on flesh to be the one mediator between God and man, and it's found in chapter eight of our confession. It says much about that. It says, part of it, it says, the fullness of time had come, said he was eternally with the Father, but then he took upon him man's nature. And he was without sin. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. So we see that He is very God and very man, yet one Christ and the only mediator between God and man. Our understanding of Christ must be controlled by the scriptures. And this is the Spirit that's from God, because we need to test the Spirit, you see. And this is our test. What is it about Christ taking on flesh? Well, He was made under the law. like we are living as a person and he perfectly fulfilled the law of God. I hope this is causing you to rejoice because he even underwent punishment that's due to us. Those that are trusting in him believe upon his accomplished work of salvation. We should have suffered this punishment that Jesus did. He was made sin and a curse for us. I'm reading out a confession here. He endured the most grievous sorrows of his soul, in his soul, and most painful sufferings in his body. He was crucified. His body was broken, the scripture says. He died. If he didn't really have a life to give, then how could he have died? He died. He remained in the state of the dead, yet saw no corruption. And on the third day, he arose from the dead with the same body, the glorified body in which he had suffered. At this point, it's the glorified body. He also ascended into heaven. He sits at the right hand of the Father. He's making intercession. So judge men and angels at the end of the world. It was necessary that Jesus come in the flesh and the Spirit of God confesses The spirit from verse two of chapter four, we see by this, you know, the spirit of God, every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. We're not to believe every spirit, but only the spirit of truth that confesses Jesus as Christ. It was important for John's initial readers 2,000 years ago. It is important for us today. Who should we listen to or who should we believe? Only those that confess the biblical Jesus. This is eternal truth. John knew that many false prophets had gone out into the world. And what is the goal of the false prophet? He said back in chapter 2, verse 26, the goal of a false prophet is they're going to try to deceive you. They're going to try to lead you off course. They're going to try to lead you away from the truth and into error. So we know what the spirit of God is, the spirit of truth, the one that should be trusted. It's the one that confesses Christ. What spirit, as we test, should be rejected? How do we know what should not be received? What teaching? What is that that proceeds from the spirit of the Antichrist? That should be rejected. And verse 3 of chapter 4 tells us 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. So we have the false prophets that have gone out into the world and now we have the spirit of the Antichrist that is now, John says, in the world already. The spirit of error, the spirit that does not confess Jesus, is not from God. I hope that as we learn to discern And as we learn to detest the spirits, that the confession of Christ will be the central point that we must always hold in mind as the test. The spirit of error teaches lies. And who is the liar? But he who denies Jesus is the Christ. This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. That was from chapter two, verse 22. There's a lot of unity in this letter. John's saying the same thing over and again. If you really want to test the spirits accurately, then start with this question. Does the spirit confess the biblical Jesus? And everyone that does not confess Jesus, it says, is not from God. The best place to begin your test. You know, John did not say to these Christians, take a world religion class in order to be able to understand everything. He didn't say that. He said, what is the confession of Christ? What is the confession about Jesus as the one who took on flesh to accomplish the salvation for the people of God? John did not tell the Christians to believe every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus was a historical figure or a moral teacher. You know, some people would say, well, this religion, they say something about Jesus, so they've confessed Jesus? No, they've not confessed Jesus as the Bible confesses Jesus. The one who came and took on flesh, the one who Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality a thing to be grasped. But he emptied himself, taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man. This is Jesus. Being found in human form, he humbled himself to become obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. You see, Jesus came and He had something to do. Jesus came and He took on flesh for a purpose. And our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and His righteousness. This is the dividing line. Jesus took on flesh for this purpose and any confession that is less than what the Bible says about Jesus is not a confession of Jesus at all. And it's not from God. So this Christ-less confession of Jesus is the spirit of the Antichrist. The spirit, this spirit opposed to Christ. John's readers knew that the spirit opposed to Christ was coming, but John made it clear that the spirit of the Antichrist was in the world already. And we can see the spirit of Antichrist or spirit of error all around us. that deny Jesus as the Christ, the God-man who accomplished salvation for sinners. The spirit of the Antichrist is a serious threat, and that is why John commands the Christians not to believe every spirit, to test the spirits. And he teaches them how to test the spirits. Now, We see that John encourages the Christians not to be overcome by fear. We'll see this in verse 4. But don't be overcome by fear. He says there, little children, 1 John 4, 4. You are from God and have overcome them. For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. All of this talk about false prophets, And the spirit of the Antichrist and the spirit of error contempt the Christian to fear. We think I don't want to be influenced by an evil spirit. And this is good for us to be aware that there are spirits at work in the world, evil spirits at work in the world, but it is not good for Christians to have any fear except for to fear the Lord alone. Fear of the Lord is a beginning of wisdom. We see the Lord says, fear not. Jesus says, fear not man. Only fear God who has authority over body and soul. Fear the Lord. That's what we need to have. And this will produce a proper reverence and respect and a submission to Him. John encourages the Christians with these words in verse 4. He says that the little children that are so easily tempted to fear, you have nothing to fear. You have nothing to fear because you are from God. This is the difference. The Christian's victory is based upon being born of God, having fellowship with God through Christ, the one who came in the flesh to accomplish this salvation. You have nothing to fear because you have overcome them, these false prophets who are influenced by the spirit of the Antichrist. You have nothing to fear. Because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. You don't have anything to fear. The Holy Spirit is in you. More powerful than the spirit of the Antichrist, you see. What a relief! What a relief Christians can rest. If you think the evil one can overtake you, remember that he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. What a relief. In what sense has the Christian overcome the spirit of the Antichrist? The victory is not merely winning an argument for truth. though we should study truth much so that we can give a defense for the hope we have, that we can be a proper Christian witness. But what is this victory? And certainly God gives us victory in our witness over others, but what is this victory? It's not a victory in a debate with those who have the spirit of the Antichrist. The spirit of the Antichrist, that one who is opposed to Jesus Christ. What is the victory? Commentator that I was reading, Candlish, says, it is the actual coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. And his actual accomplishment in the flesh, of all in the flesh he came for, that's what they resent and what they resist. And you have victory over them because of the work of Christ. See, this is an eternal victory. In some ways, it would be helpful for us to think in that way. So, because it says there at the beginning of verse 4, it says, you are from God. See, the victory is not something that is going to be won. This is a victory that they're already standing in. They've already overcome at this point because they are in Christ. They are from God. The relationship has already been established. The Lord has saved them. So before a person is a Christian, they are opposed to Jesus Christ. Everyone who does not confess Jesus is overcome with the spirit of the Antichrist. But the Christian, this victory, the Christian no longer opposes Jesus Christ. Now we've overcome the spirit of the Antichrist and it is by the grace of God. It's a gift that's given, you see. The Christian no longer opposes Jesus Christ. The Christian trusts in Jesus Christ who took on flesh, that he lived a perfect life in their place. You see, we do not live a life perfectly in conformity to the law of God. We have transgressed his law, but Jesus did not ever break the law of God. The overcoming is based upon the Christians trust in Christ. The Christian even begins to love Jesus Christ who died bearing punishment for their sins. So the Christian depends upon. Jesus, who was resurrected from the grave, that is our only hope of eternal life. This is the overcoming of being of God, being in Christ, abiding in Him as the Spirit will teach us to do and lead us to do. This conversion is brought about by the Holy Spirit. I said the Christian has faith, trusting in Christ. The Christian has a hope. The Christian begins to love the Lord who has loved them first. This conversion comes about by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who is in you, Christian, is greater than the Spirit of the Antichrist who is in the world. I hope that we can see this comfort that comes from Scripture. The Holy Spirit has testified to us that Jesus Christ came in the flesh to do this mighty work of salvation. May God give each one of us a spirit which confesses this glorious truth of the work of Jesus Christ in salvation. So verses five and six, they will show us the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian. If you see there in five and six, They are from the world. Therefore, they speak from the world and the world listens to them. They are from the world, the false prophet, the spirit that does not confess Jesus, the spirit of the Antichrist, all from the world. They are worldly. They are not godly. Therefore, they speak in a worldly way. And what does the world say? Well, the world says Jesus is a historical figure, but the world denies Jesus as the Christ who has come in the flesh as the only means of salvation. The viewpoint and the values of the world is represented by these false prophets. The world's viewpoint includes much more than denying Jesus Christ, for the world believes that a person should live for this life alone. The world says don't worry about the next life, but the Christian says Jesus came, took on flesh, lived this life so that I could have eternal life. It begins now as I trust in Christ, but the fulfillment is yet to be. We have begun to see the salvation of the Lord, those that are in Christ. The world doesn't think this way. The world says pursue maximum pleasure for yourself right now. And the Holy Spirit says that maximum pleasure for a person is possible in Jesus Christ. The world listens to these false prophets. False prophets, the world listens to what they say, those that do not confess Christ, and the world doesn't confess Christ either in the biblical sense. So it is clearly a demonic spirit having influence upon the false prophet and a demonic spirit having an influence upon a person who will listen to or believe this false teaching. That's kind of a scary statement. They are, verse five, let's read it again because I think the statement can be made directly from the scripture. They are from the world, therefore they speak from the world and the world listens to them. Non-Christians listen to error. Non-Christians receive the testimony of the spirit of error, the spirit of the Antichrist. Oh. But the Christian. What does the Christian do? There's a difference between the non Christian and the Christian. Verse 6 says what the Christian does in relationship to the testimony of Jesus. We are from God. Those that are witnesses of God, John himself, an apostle and this apostolic teaching that was delivered to them from the Lord, whoever Knows God listens to us, John says. If you know God, you'll listen to the truth. Whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this, we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Whoever knows God listens to us. Those confessing Jesus come in the flesh, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. What do those from God say? Well, I've said it several times already. It's certainly the core of the gospel. How do you know a person is speaking in a godly way? Well, they will say what the Bible says. That's the safest way for us to understand it. John was speaking according to the eternal truths of God. We have these collected now and are included in our Bible. How do we know what they will say? They will say Jesus took on flesh. He was sent from God, took on flesh to save sinners. Whoever knows God listens to the truth of the Bible. And this is the only reliable source for faith and practice. The Bible is the only reliable source. Again, John MacArthur says, the Old and the New Testament are the sole standards by which all teaching is to be tested. This is helpful for us, isn't it? In contrast, demonically inspired teachers, they either reject the teaching of God's word or they add to the teaching of God's word. And so the Bible is the foundation of truth for us. Truth contained reveals truth. God has preserved his word and we are very thankful for it. Whoever knows God listens to the truth of the Bible. That's such a simple statement to make, but it is so true. Something for us to consider. Who do we listen to? Who do we listen to? I mean, of course, you can watch the news or whatever. We're taking in lots of information. Oh, maybe be listening to the spirit of truth. By this, we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. There's the conclusion. By this, we know. You need to test the Spirit. Certainly do not believe every spirit. I would say that means test the teaching. Ultimately, what is the teaching of Christ? And is this teaching in conformity to what the scripture says? Don't believe everything you hear. Test it. And don't be afraid of the spirit of the Antichrist. We saw in this scripture Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. Only listen to those confessing the biblical Jesus, otherwise we'll be listening to error. If we listen to or believe error, then we are not of God. But if we listen to the voice of Jesus, if we listen to the voice of Jesus, if we believe the truth, about Him taking on flesh and accomplishing the salvation. If we believe in His accomplishments, His name and all that goes behind the name, what the man with the name did as he walked this earth. If you believe in Jesus for salvation, if you're trusting in His finished work, He came in the flesh to save the people of God, then we can say from this scripture, you are of God. You are of God. There is a battle taking place. Many false prophets have gone out into the world. We saw again from verse three, the second half, the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard was coming now is already in the world in the world already. So there is a battle taking place. But the Christian is the one who overcomes first for little children, you are from God and have overcome them. Let us rejoice in our Savior this evening. Let us trust him. Let us test the spirits. Let's pray. Father, I ask that you would help us to heed this word. May we listen and obey, for we know that there is no other way to be reconciled to you except for through the one mediator, Jesus Christ. We are so thankful that Jesus took on flesh He took on flesh and he was showing us that he was willing to be crucified. He was willing to suffer greatly for the salvation of his people, that he was willing to pour out his own blood so that we might be cleansed of our sin. He lived in that perfect. He had the perfect righteous life so that we might be given a righteousness, not our own. Oh, we rejoice in Jesus this night. I pray that you give us discernment to understand teaching properly. May we test the spirits, not believe every spirit. May we test the spirits. And Lord, I ask for your work of your Holy Spirit among us. Oh, would you enable each one of us to hear the voice of Jesus? Say, come on to me and rest. Lay down your weary head upon the Savior's breast. Oh, may we trust in Christ. We thank you for the gift of salvation, and I ask that you'd pour it out upon each one here. And may we continually rest in Christ this day for our life. It's only through Jesus that I lift up this prayer. Amen.