Now we know that the word of God is "Powerful" - easily capable of tearing down strongholds (i.e. long established false doctrines in us we've nursed and took care of) if we will but sit at His feet and seek to HEAR/UNDERSTAND the word of the Lord!!!
If we take the word of God seriously when it comes to the plain text then there can be no doubt as to the simple meaning of (for example) John's words in 1 John 4:2 and 3.
John begins (v.1) by warning us not to believe every spirit we hear but to test them to see whether they are of God or not, because a whole slew of "false prophets" (some of whom you may even be accepting right now as fellow Christians) have gone out into the world.
Never forget, Satan's job is to deceive. He is superior in cleverness and more cunning than a man, and if he can just "appeal to our flesh" and get us to listen to and believe his voice instead of Christ's, we're going to be in serious doo doo! Remember too that his "ministers" as well are also transformed as ministers of righteousness... the wolves in sheeps clothing: ravenous wolves!
So it's not the cult, or the disobedient or the hateful or the athiest we are to discern and test (for they already reveal what they are without saying a word), rather it is the guy you and I might be rubbing shoulders with who sincerely believes that he is a Christian (and he may well be) that needs testing in order to see just what spirit he is of....
I Jn 4:
This is HOW we "test the spirits"!!!
What does the word of God tell us?
#1. "That Jesus Christ is come in the flesh!"
John also tell us -
#2a. "That every spirit that confesses him ( i.e. ":witnesses to Him" ) as coming in the flesh IS of God...
#2b. ...while every spirit that doesn't confess him coming in the flesh witness to Him is NOT of God!"
Now I'm no rocket scientist but it is all too simply clear to me that "ALL MEN" COME IN THE FLESH!
"JESUS" would be no exception!!!
I know "athiests and agnostics" who believe and even confess that there was a Jesus and that he "CAME IN THE FLESH" just like every other man comes, because he was JUST a man anyway!
According to John's "TEST" wouldn't that: "Yes I believe that Jesus Christ came in the flesh", mean that they are of God too??? They MUST be of God as well!!!? They passed the test!!!
"IF" all men come (i.e. are born) in the flesh (and we all are), and Jesus Christ is merely a "man", then the majority of Jews, Arabs, Mormon's, J.W.'s, Atheists, Agnostics, Cults, Perverts, etc., all belong to God because it is NO BIG THING for any of them to believe and even confess that Jesus Christ CAME IN THE FLESH! Thus the "spirit" in them must be "of God"!???
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....
But what if "GOD" was the One who came in the flesh????
You see, John "KNOWS ABSOLUTELY": that Jesus Christ is God (John1: 1 John 1), else you can throw out his epistles because they has no relevance, and we could then rightfully say that God's word is stupid!
But His word is not stupid and is very powerful and full of THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH... the "SAME SPIRIT" that John is talking about in verse 2, the One who revealed Jesus to him as being... "GOD in the flesh"!
So John knows exactly who and what he is talking about, under the inspiration of the Spirit, the same one in him that witness to him that Jesus Christ is indeed God, and therefore it was "GOD" in the Person of Jesus Christ who became flesh!!!!!!
Verse 2... The WITNESS/SPIRIT that confesses that 'GOD' came in the flesh (1 Tim.3:16) by becoming flesh, is the same WITNESS (The Spirit of Truth) that proclaims that 'JESUS CHRIST' (God - the Word made flesh) came in the Flesh, IS of God!!!
Verse 3... And the WITNESS/SPIRIT who confesses otherwise has not the Spirit of Christ in him that testifies to Jesus coming as God in the flesh and therefore is NOT of God at all but of the Devil!!!
These spirits and ministers have but one purpose: "To destroy the Christian by destroying (taking away from him) his God!"
Pretty cut and dried?It usually is!
Conclusion: IF you have the witness in you of the Holy Spirit then you know absolutely, confess and witness that Jesus Christ/God indeed came in the flesh!
IF you don't then you won't!
This is some more of what John is talking about in 1 John 4:1-3....
II Jn 1:
This is the dotrine of Christ!!!!!! WALK IN IT!!!!!!!! John is saying.
We are "commanded" to hold fast and walk after this doctrine, never letting it go!
THAT is the test!!!!!!!! "The doctrine of Christ!"
We are to walk in 'WHO JESUS IS' with no excuses - no arguments - no doubts - and absolutely no controversies....
1 Tim 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
If a "brother" vows to fight against us in opposing the Truth of this doctrine, then we cannot consider him a "brother" but a "deceiver"!
He, by his own words, makes himself a deceiver, not Ius
We merely "Judge" what we know personally and hear otherwise based on our God-given knowledge of the Lord!
Arguing with any Christian over eschatology, angels, the 5-fold ministry, the gifts, etc., is one thing, but arguing with them over who Christ is and was is digging their own grave!
I "KNOW" the Doctrine, and whether it be of God or not!
EVERY "CHRISTIAN" should KNOW and HAVE everything I'm talking about here!!!!!
This "Doctrine" is Basic - Fundamental - Pure - and Absolute. Every new "child" of God HAS and KNOWS this doctrine in their mind and in their spirit!
Can what we have received in Christ be lost??? "YES!!!!"
We have been warned many times over, scripturally!
THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST IS THE CORNERSTONE OF OUR FAITH!!!!
It was GOD shedding His Blood through the Person of Jesus Christ! His divinity cannot be seperated and ripped apart; as the deceivers insist, from his humanity!
He - THE SON OF GOD, is still IN THE FLESH: NAIL HOLES AND ALL and is sat down once again the right hand of God - WHERE HE ALWAYS WAS AS THE WORD OF GOD, BEFORE that brief moment when He became flesh and dwelt amongst us!
Again John is saying that "MANY deceivers" have gone out into the world with false doctrine, the doctrine of antichrist, which says that Jesus was not God; couldn't be God (for a zillion and one reasons!!!) therefore "God" did not come in the flesh.
And who would these DECEIVERS be? Mormons? Atheists? Various Cults? NO! They would be "Christians" - or at least believing and confessing that they were such, yet all the while denying Christ His diety and/or pre-existence.
Their reasons for saying what they do in why they believe as they do could be many or few - it does not matter. It is not the commandment of Christ!
We are first commanded to LOVE the Truth above all!
"Jesus" is The Truth - His word is the truth because He is God!
This "Commandment" to keep/obey His word, comes "Naturally" in the believers heart.
It's like saying: "Lord, we do love you! How can we help not loving you??? Can the stars leave the sky for which they were made? Neither can we bear to be without you!"
Whereupon we would hear Him say...
"Then IF you love Me.... Prove it! - 'KEEP My words'!"
If we do not LOVE His words then how dare we pretend that we Love Him?????? Absurd!!!!!
And "THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST" heads that list of "words" we are to keep and treasure... forever!!!
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
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.
Well for one, that would eliminate those groups I just mentioned above.
They would or could NEVER confess that Jesus is God, meaning that it was "GOD" who came in the flesh, shed His blood and laid down His life, whose name was JESUS CHRIST!
So be sure and... "Test the spirits", by this "simple" test: "Is Jesus God come in the flesh!?" Yes or no.
5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
We are all told to love one another and walk in the Truth - AND ONLY IN THE TRUTH - To Love one another IN TRUTH - AND ONLY IN THE TRUTH!!! "THY WORD IS TRUTH!"
It is THY WORD that let's us know whether we're speaking to a brother or not, based primarily on WHO HE SAYS JESUS IS!!!!
I need "NONE" to tell me what is and what isn't of God - for I have God's Spirit illuminating the Word of God who told me Himself and backs it up with the word of God. His word does not lie!
"Jesus is God in the flesh." Period. This is no NEW revelation!!! It's clearly written in the word, and just as absolutely revealed to each one of us by the Spirit of God Himself!
If we don't look after ourselves - if we allow the deceivers to rob us of our crown - if we won't gaurd our hearts - if we don't hold fast our faith - then we're going to lose it and we're not going to receive a reward!!!
