1 John 4:1-6

Can you throw yourself back into the late first century, perhaps 50 or more years after Jesus was crucified and resurrected? His re-appearance to his disciples triggered a massive, worldwide movement. He was alive! When He appeared to Mary in the garden, he gave her the first missionary message: Go tell the disciples and Peter...” Then after over a month of appearances, He left them with that famous missionary challenge: Going into all the world, make disciples...  Later the Holy Spirit interrupted a prayer meeting and ignited the Christians gathered there. They erupted onto the streets and began preaching Jesus. Peter preached what became a tremendously famous and important sermon. In that message Peter reviewed OT history and concluded with an accusation that his countrymen had crucified Jesus. He then called on the people to repent and believe. Three thousand did! That message was enough to get people into the kingdom of God.

For years, that message was all that was needed. God sent the Messiah in Christ. Believe in Him and  you will be saved. Very simple. But as the gospel spread and people all over the world began to follow the Way, different opinions arose, often because of a person's background. Jews who were devoted to the law of Moses wanted to know what their believing in Jesus still meant following the Jewish law. Then the question of whether Gentiles could become Christians, and if so, did they have to keep the law. Peter had a dream and preached to a Roman household. Paul's call to missions specifically sent him to Gentiles. Perhaps some of Paul's letters, like 1 Thessalonians, were the first books in the New Testament to be written. Paul repeatedly explained that salvation came by faith alone, not by works of the law.

Still other Christians from the Greek world would explore what this new religion meant to them. Many of these are grouped together and called “Gnostics,” from the word meaning “know.” They believed secret knowledge led to salvation and/or rewards. The underlying Greek idea was that spirit was good and matter was evil. Thus, Jesus only appeared to be human, and he only appeared to die on the cross. That belief underlies John's insistence that one who denies Jesus has come in the flesh is an antichrist. It was essential to preach Jesus as both Son of God and son of man.

Another factor in the writing and collecting of the New Testament books was that  disciples who knew Jesus began to die. Just this week I saw on Facebook a reminder to interview your grandparents while you still could.  Probably the loss of first-hand witnesses influenced people to start writing down what they remembered. Mark wrote first, and traditionally recorded Peter's remembrances. Though the Matthew and John are not identified in the text as the authors (compare Paul's letters), tradition says they were, and as disciples their witness is firsthand. John wrote the last gospel as an old man in the 90's. His letters may have been ten years earlier. This particular part of his first letter is aimed at preserving faithful witness and doctrine.

4:1 – Don't believe every spirit. He assumes that every preacher or witness is led by some spirit, preferably the Holy Spirit. Since some spirits are lying spirits, John wants his readers to question all the spirits, that is the messages they hear from various preachers or teachers. In Acts 17:11 the Bereans were praised for both receiving the gospel eagerly, but also searching the scripture (Old Testament) to see whether these things were so.

Our traditional Baptist view has been the authority of Scripture supersedes any creed. In our occasional confessions of faith (we have no creed) we are making a statement about what most Baptists believe at that time. Thus it has altered from time to time. But we have always said that in any conflict between Scripture and statements of faith, we must give the Bible the top authority. John was adding to this the authority of the Holy Spirit, who inspired the Bible in such a way He can lead Christians to interpret and apply it correctly. John, Paul, Peter, and others won that fight, so we have a Bible verified by its authors and the church that received it as scripture.

“Many false prophets have gone out into the world.” This has been true since the beginning of the faith. How can you tell the difference?

4:2 “Every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus in not from God.” That's how you tell the difference. Though we don't know exactly who John was writing to, it seems obvious he was writing to a church or churches that had been exposed to some form of the Gnostic heresy. Even today that's the basic test. Whatever your denomination recognizing Jesus as the incarnate Son of God who came in the flesh is a great test of your Christianity. (Not the only one, because next week we'll look at the test of love.)

4:3 He goes on to say that those refusing to confess Christ and preaching against his incarnation are filled with the spirit of anti-Christ. Note they have heard anti-Christ is coming. Does this mean John does not believe in one final world ruler anti-Christ? Remember this same guy may well have written Revelation. You can take it either way. There may well be a final Anti-Christ. But whether or not there is, we must deal with those anti-Christs of our day as John did in his day. He is speaking not simply with unbelief, but with those who teach and propagate unbelief.

4:4 Here is one of the most exciting verses in the NT! “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” I've had friends who have taken that as one of their mottoes for life. This fact is so strong John assures them they are God's people and thereby have ALREADY overcome.


4:5 Their opponents are from the world, the non-Christian society, who promote alien values. They speak from the viewpoint of the world, and so the world listens to them. In today's world much of what passes as political correctness comes under this category. Remember there are multiple ideas of what is PC, depending on where you live, your own upbringing, and the influence of family and friends. The challenge is to evaluate the world's teachings piece by piece and compare each of them to the scripture.

4:6 – John unequivocally states “we are from God.” Those who listen share that faith, but those who do not listen are non-believers.

A final comment. Today's national political correctness has launched into a discussion of the value and limits of marriage. As I understand it, a major trend believes that whatever consenting adults do sexually together is fine. Anyone who hinders that is considered bigoted or reactionary. The gay marriage is just the latest. In fact, since surveys show only about 2% of the population is gay, and not all of them want to marry, this may be of the least concern. A huge amount of couples now live together before and without any thought of marriage. Some figures say that 30-40% of babies are born to unmarried mothers. Sex for many has become only a recreational activity.

This is just one area of concern. There are many others. Frankly the church is losing this battle. We have not yet become smart enough and effective enough to call the nation successfully to a higher moral status. Pray we can do better than that. And be alert that you and your friends are not swept away by these trends.