1 John Chapter 4

• 1John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 

Here is a necessary part that had to be written but it's sad that it was necessary. We have to be very careful here for some can use these scriptures to false accuse the wrong people. Yet if we study this carefully and prayerfully, we can avoid accusing the wrong ones. 

• 1John 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 

Every spirit that confesses that Jesus did not come into human flesh is not of God. 

Saying Jesus came into the flesh means that Jesus was the Son of God who came from heaven and was born of a virgin. He came into the world, born of God but became flesh. He died like we die and then raised by the heavenly Father from the dead to die no more. 

If any do not believe this, they are not of God. If they say He was not the Son of God and that he was a natural person or some other type of being like an arch angel or prophet and not the Son of God coming into the flesh, then they are not speaking by the spirit of God. 

Those that only teach an outward religion of conversion to Christianity is leaving out the part that saves the soul. When we are born again by the spirit of God, we repent of sin and believe in Jesus Christ as the son of God and savior that God sent into the flesh to save those that are lost. Those that truly believe to the point of turning from sin, are then "born again" by the spirit of God and are baptized into the body of Christ. All this is by faith and not by the works of sacraments, religious rituals, water baptisms or any other religious acts that we think saves the soul. 

Nothing saves the soul except by being born of the spirit. A spiritual change has to take place before one is born again or what we call, "saved" from sin. Jesus has to come into our lives by the spirit in order for any flesh to be saved. It is not just accepting the Christian religion. Religion and just acknowledging that a person name Jesus once existed is not enough to save. 

True faith will acknowledge that Jesus has to change a person before they can be saved. No priest, prophet, apostle, teacher or bishop can do this for us or pray us into heaven. So Jesus comes in the flesh by way of the Holy Spirit when we are "born again." Although this is true and that Jesus does come to us in this manner, John was referring to the fact that the Son of God who abode with God from the beginning, came into human flesh and became a mortal man. He was son of man but also son of God. God came into the flesh and died for our sins so that we may be saved. He that does not teach this is not of God. The Holy Spirit is not in a person who does not recognize the deity of Jesus Christ. 

• 1John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 

Anti Christ is being against Christ, against the truth of God's word and also one that tries to come in place of Christ. One that gains followers after themselves instead of Christ even if they use the name of Christ to do so is anti-Christ. If they try to say we can only get to God or to Jesus Christ through their words or their group, religion, cult whatever, they are really anti-Christ. 

No man made organization is the sole answer to salvation. Not even the church. The church is not the way of salvation but can be the messenger of salvation. I say, can be, because not all so-called churches preach the way of salvation in truth. Jesus alone is the author of salvation whether or not one is a church member or not. No priest, minister, pastor or pope is the author of eternal salvation. 

Pastors, preachers and we ourselves as believers are vessels that the Holy Spirit can use to lead others to salvation but we are not the way of salvation. One can be saved from sin by just reading the word of God apart from any person praying with them or for them. My dad was saved by reading the bible and discovering the word for Himself which gave him the faith to believe.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. It is the word that we need to get out to unbelievers. We must lead people to Jesus Christ, never to ourselves. If they decide to attend the same place of worship as we do, that is okay but they don't have to do that to be saved. It is not by the First church of the Nazarene, The Liberty Baptist, the United Methodist, the Cleveland TN Church of God, the Catholic Church or any other organized religion that saves. It is Jesus Christ and Jesus coming into the flesh or coming to abide in the believer that saves the soul from sin and brings to that soul eternal life. 

Jesus was the Son of God who came into the flesh and was born of the virgin Mary. He comes into the flesh again by way of the Holy Spirit when one repents of sin and believes in Him as the Son of God who came to save them. The one God sent to save is Jesus and there is no other way to be saved and have eternal life. 

• 1John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 

When the spirit of God abides within us, we then can be comforted by the fact that the spirit of God is greater than the spirit of the wicked one in the world. We are not greater than other people but the Holy Spirit is greater than any other spirit or power in the world. 

• 1John 4:5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 

This is why the world will not understand a person who walks in the spirit. If the world loves us, something is wrong. There are times when the spirit of God will cause our enemies to be at peace with us because of the influence of the spirit but basically those that live godly in Christ Jesus will be considered strange by those in the world. We should never try to win the lost by becoming like the world in order to gain their approval. We cannot please the world and please God at the same time. 

• 1John 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. 

If we want to be able to have discernment, we must seek the Lord diligently in both prayer and the study of the word. In order to not be deceived by the fake ones, we must be filled with the spirit and know the word of God for ourselves. This is why false religions do not encourage independent study of the word of God. They know when a person starts to study the word, they lose their power to deceive. Even innocent well meaning traditions can draw us away from the truth. 

Those that say we need the authority of the church, pope, priest, or prophet to interpret the word in order for us to understand it properly are making a grave mistake. There has in the past been too many corrupt teachers for us to be able to depend on anyone to interpret the word for us. It is dangerous to follow someone without question. Remember Jim Jones, some of the evil popes, the Jesuits, and countless others who either led people to their deaths or had people put to death for being so-called heretics. All this happened because they believed what was told them, not because they studied the word themselves. 

• 1John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 

I return to one of the best ways to know whether or not someone is of God. Love one another. This can be faked but sooner or later, true colors will show in the life of those who claim to know God. They may get mad and angry once in a while but they will forgive and be reconciled. Love doesn't mean that we go around approving everything and everyone. Love is in deed and in truth.

There are times when we get burdened and full of concern. Love doesn't mean we are happy all the time. Those that love will get through the bad times though and they will love those that hurt them. This isn't easy to maintain. It takes constant prayer and determination to overcome the temptations in the flesh. Pride and arrogance is to be avoided. We have nothing we did not receive so we must avoid boasting about ourselves and thinking we are better or more spiritual than the other worshippers on the next block. 

There are times when we are tempted to hate in these things but we overcome eventually if we seek God continually. I believe John is warning about continual sin and hate. Not an occasional anger that we repent of and forsake by the overcoming power of the Spirit that has been given to us. Only the spirit of God can lead us into perfect love but it is something we should always seek. 

• 1John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 

This is pretty plain language. If we do not love, we do not know God. This may be the first step in apostasy. I often wonder why the believers in Acts are so different from the church I read about in the middle ages and even in the reformation period. The first letter to the congregation in Ephesus (Revelation 2) gives us a hint. That congregation was commended in all things except they left their first love. That first love is most probably their love for Jesus and that in turn would cause them to love one another and even their enemies. 

Losing that first love leads to apostasy because, if we lost love, we would either turn away from the word of God and live how we desire and back into sin or else go the other extreme and have the commandments and doctrines without love and begin to hate and despise those that disagree with us. This also would cause us to add commandments that God didn't give and cover up the true way of salvation by our own creeds and doctrines. 

This is why I believe the warning to the first congregation of believers in the book of Revelation is the beginning of the apostasy that followed leading to the Roman church and their apostasy. That church did not resemble the believers in Acts. 

• 1John 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 

We can only live a godly life through Jesus. We cannot go it alone and expect to bring forth the fruits of the spirit. 

• 1John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

We didn't love God first, He loved us and made the way for all who believe to be saved and then we are to love one another because the love given to us was given freely without our earning it, so we ought to love others when they do nothing to earn our love. 

• 1John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 
• 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 
• 13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 

When we receive the Holy Spirit, we will know that God is in us. He is the witness to our spirit that God is true, His word is true and God dwells within us. 

• 1John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 
• 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 

This is not just mouthing the words, but confessing within our innermost being that Jesus is the Son of God. By faith we are confessing this reality. It is not just words we hear someone say and repeat after them. 

I could go around saying that I am an American, but I could be lying or making it up. I'm not an American just because I say it but because I was born in America. So true confession has to be from the our inner spirit not just words. 

• 1John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 
• 17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 
• 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 

This should be our goal. To seek this love that casts out all fear. Fear has torment. Our greatest enemy is fear. How many of us suffer because of the things we fear more than the things that really happen?

Fear will cause us to hate others. I believe those that put so-called heretics to death was done out of fear. If they would have trusted God completely and not feared, they would have left judgment of heretics to God. I wonder if they ever heard of praying. If a congregation has a problem of false doctrines and heretics in their midst, why not pray them out?

There is no need to walk in fear. Warn, teach, correct and admonish but never physically harm someone who thinks differently. We need to pray with faith and believe God just in case we are the ones that need the correction. If we are perfect in love and walk in faith, we would not feel threatened by dissenters. If we are sound in our own faith and are teaching our children to be sound in faith living holy by example and love, we do not need to fear dissenters. Trust God. Oppose false doctrine by spirit anointed preaching with the true doctrine. If we begin to fear, attack and fight our enemies, we do more harm than if we pray and teach truth. Fight falsehood by truth not personal attacks. 

Jesus said to love our enemies and do good to them that hate us. This doesn't mean that we let someone come in and teach false doctrine and lead the flock astray. It doesn't mean that we do not correct sin and error. It does mean that we do all with love and with truth in the spirit and power of God. A person perfect in love will also be a person of sound doctrine and faith. Seems as if church history is full of believers going too far one way or the other but true love shed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit will also love sound doctrine. 

• 1John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us. 
• 20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 

Hate is not a temporary anger when someone hurts us. We must repent of that and overcome it but that is not hate. Hate is something that causes us to be unforgiving and seek vengeance. Hate will cause us to gloat when something bad happens to our enemies. Hate will cause us the harden our hearts when someone has a need we have the means and the power to help them. 

• 1John 4:21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. 

We must never forget these words of John. They forgot it in the Middle Ages, they forgot it in Geneva Switzerland when John Calvin influenced the execution of so-called heretics, my heart cries out continually when I read of people be burned at the stake for merely wanting to translate the bible into the language that people could read. I cry out because I too am human and capable for such cruelty if I lose the things God has given me and do not stay filled with His spirit and allow the love of God to be shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Spirit.

We are not saved once and are eternally safe. We must stay filled with the spirit. We must fight the fight of faith and fight to maintain the love of God. All our lives we must walk by faith. It is an everyday battle that we can overcome but only by the spirit of God dwelling within us. God would not have given us so many warnings in His word if we were never in danger of losing it. This love John tells us about is the key. DC

1 John 5