For our Scripture reading and text tonight, we turn together to 1 John chapter 4, verses 1 through 6. 1 John chapter 4, verses 1 through 6. You recall from last week that we finished the previous section, chapter 3, with an introduction of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God, that God has given to us to confirm to our hearts that we are children of God, that we have fellowship with Him. And now he continues with a section with regard to the Spirit of God versus spirits of false prophets. 1 John 4, the first six verses. Hear now the Word of God. Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. Because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God. Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. But every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. You dear children are from God and have overcome them. Because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world and the world listens to them. We are from God. And whoever knows God listens to us. But whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. Dear people of God, there is a statement that says you can't believe everything you hear. And most often we might consider that statement in the case of the fact that there are two sides to every story. And therefore you can't believe everything you hear. And unfortunately we have to take that statement seriously because it's true. And it's true because the truth isn't very precious to some. And now this isn't really new because the lie has been around already from the Garden of Eden and Satan, the father of lies, continues even today to try to undermine the truth with the lie or with gossip or with imagination or with speculation or with whatever he can use to cast any sort of shadow of doubt upon the truth. yet when it comes to the things of god and the word of god we can and we must believe what he says all of it every bit of it because his holy spirit is the spirit of truth and as first john chapter two verse 20 teaches those who are anointed with the holy spirit of god they know the truth as we considered a bit last week through the Holy Spirit of God. We are children of God. And we enjoy fellowship with God. And believers give evidence of that also by the Holy Spirit and His work of sanctification. And that evidence includes obeying the commands of God and loving our brothers and sisters. You see, we are who we are because of the work of the Holy Spirit applying that which is Christ to us. And we respond as we respond to such a great salvation, again, because of the work of the Holy Spirit in God's people. But now in this text, John also teaches of another piece of evidence that identifies the child of God, and that is that he guards the truth by guarding against false teachings. And again, the child of God is enabled to do this. Boys and girls made able to do this by the power of the Holy Spirit. You see, the truth that destroys Satan is the truth of Jesus Christ. And that is the very truth that the devil continues to attack. But that truth is secure because the Holy Spirit reveals the truth of Jesus Christ. As we consider this Word of God tonight, we must remember that the Holy Spirit illumines the child of God. But this illumination includes teaching the believer to beware of the lie. And therefore, notice first of all the call for discernment. Verse 1, Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Do not automatically believe every spirit, but test the spirits. Apply a test of some sort. Now John reminds us here again of the antithesis. The lie versus the truth. You see, both are out there. That's undisputed. And again, it's been that way ever since Satan tempted Eve in the garden and Eve blew the call to be discerning. She messed up. Ever since sin entered the world, The lie has enjoyed a strong reception. The lie has enjoyed the status of the majority report, while the truth has been shoved into the minority report. But God's people are to know the difference. And we can know the difference, as we hope to consider a little bit later. But in this call for discernment, then, a test is necessary because, as the text says, many false prophets have gone out into the world. You see, the evil spirits of Satan have always been busy and continue to be busy trying to blind the eyes of mankind from the truth of God. They don't want us to see it. In sin, man is jealous of God and wants to be like God and thinks that he can be like God. The sinful heart of man is at enmity with God and not only wants to live life on his own terms and not only thinks that he doesn't need a Savior, but also wants and thinks he deserves some sort of eternal bliss because of all of his achievements. Man thinks that he deserves to have it good. To be healthy, wealthy, and wise with no problems. And this forever and ever. False prophets, led by the evil spirits of Satan, speak what the wicked men of the world want to hear. They tickle the ears of mankind in such a way that honors man and makes man feel good and raises man high on the pedestal of life and makes man the measure of all things. You see, those who walk in darkness speak the lie and with that lie they penetrate the world. They penetrate the consciousness of men. They penetrate the hearts of men. And as John says in verse 5, the world listens to them. You see, the world likes what it hears because the message of the false prophets is not a message of condemnation because of sin. It's not a message of eternal need. It's not a message that there is a Savior. It's not a message of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone. It's a message that man can be all that he wants to be. That man is the master of his own fate. that man is good. But you see, the world doesn't understand that it is deceived because it is also not a message of true hope. Because it's not a message of the one and only truth. You see, beloved, Satan wants man to believe that these false prophets tell and teach the truth. But Satan knows that he is deceiving them because if they find out the truth, then they will reject him. But His goal is that we be destroyed just as He will be destroyed. I'm reminded of an episode in the Old Testament which clearly teaches the need to test the spirits, that there are lying spirits that try to deceive. In 1 Kings 22, you may remember the episode, there was good King Jehoshaphat of Judah, the kingdom of Judah. And somehow he was befriending wicked King Ahab of the kingdom of Israel. And Ahab asked Jehoshaphat to go with him to fight against the king of Aram at Ramoth-Gilead. And Jehoshaphat says, well, let's first seek the counsel of the Lord. I'll go with you, but let's first seek the Lord's counsel. So Ahab gathers together 400 false prophets. And of course, they say, go. Everything's going to be fine. Don't worry about it. You're going to win. Jehoshaphat seems to see right through that and says, but isn't there still a prophet of the Lord that we can seek counsel from? And Ahab says, there is one, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, only evil. And Jehoshaphat says, don't say that. They send a messenger to get Micaiah. And the messenger says to Micaiah, look, the other men spoke as one man, one voice. They said, they gave the king a good report. Go, you will be successful. Why don't you say the same thing? And of course, Micaiah comes and sarcastically says, Go. You will win. Go ahead. And Ahab picks up on a sarcasm and says, Didn't I tell you that to only speak to me the truth, of which he then goes on to talk about the sheep without a shepherd, pointing to the fact that Ahab would be killed. And Ahab says to Jehoshaphat, I told you, He only speaks evil against me. Nothing for good. But then what's interesting and fascinating here is that Micaiah continues, verses 19-22. Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on His throne with all the hosts of heaven standing around Him on His right and on His left. And the Lord said, Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there? One suggested this and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, I will entice him. By what means, the Lord asked. I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets, he said. Beloved, as a society, we test for many different counterfeits because we don't like to be taken. We don't like to lose out. We test for counterfeit jewelry. We test for counterfeit art. We test for counterfeit money. Tellers in a bank or cashiers in the store are taught how to identify a real $50 bill from a counterfeit, a fake $50 bill, just by looking at it in the proper light. We don't like to be taken. And the same was true back in John's day. Medals and coins were also constantly weighed and tested before they were accepted because those who were to receive them wanted them to be real and true and not fake, not counterfeit. Well, beloved, there are also counterfeit spirits and we should not want to be taken by them either. There are counterfeit spirits who do not teach the truth of the Word of God and therefore many are deceived. There are tens of thousands of religions in the world today, but only one is true and that is true Christianity. And we can say that beyond a shadow of a doubt because only Christianity is from God. And that's what John says. Test the spirits. To what? To see whether they are from God. Not from someone else. Not from man. But from God. You see, some say that it doesn't matter what you believe just so that you believe something. How wrong. How dangerous that is. Totally against what John says to see whether it is from God. You see, nothing will matter unless you believe the truth and only the truth is from God. That truth is what God has said in His Word. Again, we began to consider a little bit the work of the Holy Spirit last week. Our whole true spiritual life is from Him. He applies to believers all of the benefits earned by Christ and He applies to our hearts all that we believe, it all comes from Him. Even our response, our obedience, comes from the work of the Holy Spirit in our born-again hearts. Yet His work is not independent. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Blessed Trinity, doesn't work all by Himself. He doesn't work on His own authority. He has a standard according to which He works. You see, some only care about religious experience and they test the truth by what they have experienced, claiming that that's from the Spirit. They don't care about theology. They don't care about doctrine. Only how they feel and what they have experienced. But that's not Christian. And it is dangerous. Many a professing believer, maybe you know some, I do, have made decisions in life based on feeling or experience. They say, well, we believe God told us to do this or that. Well, how do you know that? How did God tell you that? Well, we just know. That's just how we feel. But at the same time, those decisions cause them to disobey the clear teaching of Scripture. Beloved, boys and girls, young people, God, through His Holy Spirit, would never ask one of His children to do something that would cause you to be disobedient to His commandments. He would never do that. He would never ask or instruct you to take a job that would keep you from worship with God's people. He would never tell you to marry an unbeliever just in case that unbeliever would be converted. He would never ask you to do that. because He has said the very opposite in His Word. He would never have you, for example, take a job in which you would have to assist in performing abortions or assisted suicide. And we could go on and on. You see, you cannot separate the Holy Spirit from doctrine. That is, from the truth of the Word of God. Because God's Word is the tool in the hand of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is the only one who is able to apply the truth of that Word to your heart and to my heart. And just as Jesus said that He did not come to do His own will, but He came to do the will of the Father who sent Him, in the same way Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would apply to God's people that which is Christ's. And Jesus tied this all together when He said in John 16, 13-16, But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own. He will speak only what He hears and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is Mine and make it known to you. Test the spirits to see whether they are from God. Now, in a moment, in our second point, as we find in the text, John gets specific about a test to be applied, talking specifically about a test with regard to Jesus Christ. And the comment I want to make just before we go to that is the fact that if the Holy Spirit lies about Jesus Christ, He will lie about so many other things. Boys and girls, He will try to tell you that it's okay to take that piece of candy in the store. Oh, it's only 10 cents. The owner of the store, it's not going to hurt him. You've been good. You deserve it. One little piece. Don't worry about it. Students, he's going to tempt you to cheat on that test. Oh, you need this A to bring your GPA up just a little bit. One question. One question. It's going to be for your good. It's not going to hurt you. Go ahead. Our whole life must be tested against the Word of God. Young people, you need to keep that in mind. The movies that you see, the TV shows that you watch must be tested against the Word of God. The clothing, the fashions that you give in to must be tested. Against the Word of God. The Word of God speaks to how you ought to dress. The friends that you keep must be tested against the Word of God. Beloved, the occupations that we engage in must be tested. Even the locations where we place our families can be tested. Must be tested according to the Word of God. Well, then John goes on to talk about specifically the test to be applied as he explains a fundamental truth of Christianity that is from God. Verses 2 and 3. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God. Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. Now, we need to remember that John was combating Gnosticism, which basically denied the need for any outside Savior. As well, one of the forms of Gnosticism was Docetism, which denied the humanity of Christ. Docetism taught that Christ only appeared to be human, but He really wasn't human. And other heresies about Christ taught, for example, that Jesus was just a man, that at His baptism, the eternal Christ descended upon Him for the time of His ministry, but then while He was hanging on the cross, before He died, the same eternal Christ left Him and went back to heaven, and therefore it wasn't God who suffered and died on the cross, but simply the man, Jesus. Now we believe, as hard as it may be to understand and comprehend, That the God-man, Jesus Christ, is one person, two natures, human and divine. But the heresies about Christ, and there were many of them in the early New Testament church from which we get our Trinitarian creeds, the heresies about Christ are that He was everything but that. And Gnosticism also taught that matter, that which is physical, is evil and temporary, and only the spiritual is good and eternal, and therefore it doesn't matter what you do with your body. Do whatever you want. Eat, drink, be merry, for tomorrow we die and the body just dies. It's nothing. It's destroyed. Flesh is evil. But John is reminding his readers here that our salvation depends upon the God, man, Jesus Christ. That without His humanity, without His coming in the flesh, there is no salvation. There is no hope. And John explains that this is what separates those who speak and preach the truth of the Gospel from those who have embraced and teach the lie. The spirit of Antichrist, which John introduced in chapter 2, is opposition to Christ. Antichrist is to be against Christ. And this could be to say that Christ doesn't exist at all, or it could also mean, as it does here, to preach a different Christ. To preach a Christ, but not the true Christ. The false prophets, John speaks of our antichrists, who were once in the visible church, the congregation, but have gone out from there, as chapter 2 says, and gone into the world, as we have here in the text, with their own false ideas about Christ. And the litmus test, if you will, the test to be applied, has to do with one's attitude about the incarnate person of Jesus Christ. A very, very important matter. And actually, John adds to what he taught in chapter 2. In verse 20 of chapter 2, he said that the liar is the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ. In other words, denies the divinity of Christ. And in doing so, denies both of the Father and the Son. And therefore, in chapter 2, John is saying that those who do not profess Christ's deity, those who do not profess that Christ is God, he says they are not from the Father. And here then in chapter 4, he adds to that. He is saying that those who do not profess Jesus Christ as God and man come in the flesh, they do not have the Spirit living in them. And it's clear what that means from what we have considered before. without the Spirit living in them, they are not children of God. If you do not believe that Jesus Christ actually came to this earth, that the Son of God became man in the flesh, like you and me, sin accepted, then you are not a child of God. You see, John teaches here that Christ come in the flesh is a without a doubt sign that it is the Spirit of God in me that confesses that. In fact, this is the central truth of the whole truth that the Spirit teaches about Christ, that He has come in the flesh. Well, why is that so important? Because the whole of atonement, the entirety of salvation depends upon the truth that Jesus Christ died as human and divine on the cross. As the writer of Hebrews says, the blood of bulls and goats and doves and sheep was not sufficient to pay the debt for our sin and also a high priest who had to offer sacrifices daily for his own sin as well as the sins of the people, he wouldn't do. Our high priest had to be perfectly sinless. He had to offer himself for us. Man sinned and therefore man must pay. And that's why he had to be a human being. And that's why we could sing so confidently as we did this morning, We read thee best in Him who came, to bear for us the cross of shame sent by the Father from on high, our life to live, our death to die. But a normal human being like us, that is sinless, couldn't pay for his own sins, let alone the sins of another. And on the other side, a mere creature could not bear the burden of God's wrath and punishment against sin. And that, only God Himself could do that. Beloved, proof of being baptized by the Holy Spirit. Proof of the Holy Spirit living in me is not simply having some great abundance of assurance or confidence or simply being on fire for the Lord. We've all seen the fire go out. Or simply having so-called spiritual experiences. Those things may accompany the Spirit living in me. But proof of being filled with the Spirit is believing what the Spirit reveals in Scripture especially with regard to the only Savior. And that is that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Well, again, what does that mean? First of all, it points to our Lord's preexistence. It points to His divinity. He has come, the idea being that He came from somewhere and that He came for a particular task. You see, He didn't begin when He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. That was the beginning of His humanity. But He already was before that. And John tells us when He was from in chapter 1, verse 1. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched, this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. That which was from the beginning. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, always was. And Jesus Christ Himself tells us where He came from. John 3, verse 19 says, This is the verdict. Light has come into the world. In Malachi 4, verse 2, the coming Messiah is referred to as the Son of Righteousness. These, light and Son, point to the fact that He came from the realm of glory. Are you not convinced? Well, Paul confirms this then. In Philippians 2, when he says of Jesus, who being in very nature, God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing. And Jesus Himself talks in John 17 in His prayer about the glory He had with the Father before. But not only has He come, but He came in the flesh. He was a real human flesh and blood being. The incarnation, boys and girls, God becoming man. Even though we cannot totally understand how that could happen, is a fact. because if the Incarnation isn't true, then Christ didn't really humble Himself. Then God didn't really suffer on my behalf. Then there was no real atonement. Then there was no removal of God's wrath against my sin. There was no payment for my sin. There's no salvation. There's no hope. Plain and simple as that. The Incarnation was and is essential for salvation. And this is what the apostles taught and as John says in verse 6, whoever knows God listens to us. Talking about the apostles. You see, true Christianity, beloved, is apostolic Christianity. That which the apostles seen and heard, they witnessed, they touched, and they passed on to you and me. Those who know God Listen to the apostles. And I believe that by extension that includes today those who know God, listen to the true preachers of God's Word who preach the truth of Jesus Christ. Even today there are so many false religions that may speak of Jesus Christ, but not the historic Jesus Christ of Christianity and of Scripture. Paul speaks in 2 Corinthians 11, verse 4, of those who come to you and preach a Jesus other than the Jesus we preach. or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted. It happened in that day, it happens today. And we are being warned to test the spirits. Don't believe everything you hear. Don't trust them. You see, it's nothing new, unfortunately. And as Paul also says in Ephesians 6.12, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. It will continue until Christ comes again. Jesus said in Matthew 24, verse 24, For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect. And then praise God for the words to follow, if that were possible. But the Holy Spirit of God unfailingly reveals the truth of Jesus Christ. And we have the testimony of the apostles concerning that truth. And that is that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Beloved, the test to be applied with regard to the truth of Jesus Christ is not our own sin-tainted reason, not our own experience, not our own feelings, but the very teaching of God, about God. And this is to be enough for us because of the confidence of the abiding Holy Spirit. Verse 4, You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them because the One who is in you is greater than the One who is in the world. Again, Jesus said that Satan comes to deceive even the elect if that were possible. But this verse makes it clear that it's not possible. The Holy Spirit of God is God's signature of truth in the heart of the child of God. You see, the command to test the spirits here that John gives is not a vain command as if we are going to waste our time. God's people can test with confidence because they are empowered with the truth to know the truth, to see the truth, to be discerning. There is only one Spirit of truth and that is the Holy Spirit of God. Yet, He is more powerful than all of Satan's hosts. even more powerful than Satan himself. Indeed, Satan has power. Let there be no doubt about that. Jesus says that. Makes that clear in Matthew 24, 24. Yet his power is limited by and is subject to the very power of Almighty God. And congregation, that's the believer's confidence. God has given His very best to His people, namely Himself. And therefore, the believer can no more be conquered than God Himself can be conquered. and that's simply impossible. God's people who know the truth by the anointing of the Holy Spirit have overcome the world's heresies and lies. We are able to see the difference. To be discerning. To test and know. And the Holy Spirit preserves God's people from falling prey to the lies of Satan. And He does that by applying the truth of God's Word, the doctrine of Christ, to our hearts and lives. what do you believe about Jesus Christ? It's not an unimportant question. It's a matter of life or death. Boys and girls and young people, you need to know that throughout your whole life long, there will be those who try to seek you out, that try to tell you that the Jesus Christ of whom you have been taught, the one in Scripture, the one and only, That he's not true. People will come to your door two by two. Well-meaning. As Paul says, even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light. And they will seem sincere. They will look sincere. They will sound sincere. But they bring you a lie. If it's anything but the truth of Jesus Christ that we have in the Word of God. Don't believe them. Don't fall for it. You see, if the Holy Spirit of God lives in you, then you can only know the truth about Jesus and yours as life everlasting. The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus as the complete and all-sufficient Savior. There is no other. But those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in a false Christ of someone's imagination will suffer eternal death. But the day will come when all will know the truth. I believe Pastor Donovan touched on that this morning. All will know the truth. That day will come. When Jesus comes again on the clouds of heaven, all will see Him as He truly is. Every single eye and every knee will bow before Him, even knees in hell. But it will be too late. Because they didn't believe. And that's why as ministers of the Word of God, we have the responsibility, the urgent responsibility to issue the call each and every Lord's day to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you do not yet believe on Him, today is the day. Turn to Him in repentance and faith. Because only in Him is there true life. Because He is the true Savior. There is no other. And as a true believer, as a temple of the Holy Spirit of God, God has given you His best. Himself. The One who is in you is greater than He who is in the world. And therefore you will not be overcome, but you are more than a conqueror through Him who loves you. Beloved, what is that worth to you? What is that worth? You see, these counterfeits we talked about. We don't like to be taken. Our jewels, our art, our money, it's precious to us. It's worth something to us. What is this worth to you? Are you willing to show your love for Him? Are you willing to demonstrate that in daily life? Are you willing to live in obedience? Are you willing to guard the truth? Are you willing to stand up against false prophets who preach a false Christ? Are you willing to stand up against those who take the Lord's name in vain? Are you willing to stand up proudly against those who say, your life is a waste, you're wasting your time, look at everything you're giving up. What is the truth worth to you? You see, the excuse that you don't know what to say or that you're not equipped will not work. Jesus said, He who confesses me before men, him will I confess before my Father who is in heaven. but Him who denies Me before men. Him will I deny before My Father in Heaven. You see, if you truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ by the illumination of the Holy Spirit, then you have nothing to fear because the One who is in you is indeed greater than the One who is in the world. That's why we can sing with confidence, My God, how great Thou art. Beloved, God's people enjoy eternal security precisely because Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. That's a truth that must be believed, every bit of it. And that's a truth that's worth talking about. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, as Your people, we delight in Your Word. And we delight in You. And we pray that You would strengthen us even from Your Word which we have heard tonight. That Your Holy Spirit would be active and powerful applying that Word of God to our hearts and lives. That we might go away from here, Father, strengthened in the faith. Challenged indeed as those who are more sanctified than we arrived today. Father, we pray that indeed we would have the courage to stand up for Jesus knowing that the one who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world. Lord God, hear our prayer. And may you receive all the glory and the honor and the praise from our lives. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.