Don’t Be Deceived! (1 John 4:1-3)

“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.” (1 John 4:1-3)

Every generation has asked the question: “Is this the Antichrist?” Yet in our hunt for the one man, we so often miss his henchmen lurking among us. In the days of the disciples, they twisted the Scriptures and denied the Lord who bought them. One generation of antichrists denies the extent of Christ’s work, and another denies the need of Christ’s work. The apostles labored day and night to defend the church, and their letters are nothing less than weapons stained by spiritual combat. The antichrists continue, do they not? And how much more experience have they gained over the last two millennia? How much greater the threat and subtle their snares? In such dire times, necessity lays upon us that we test the spirits.

For one, God has given us His Word as a rule by which we may measure every statement. His Word is the true and perfect guide, exposing every counterfeit Christ. But wait - there is more! Christ has procured for us the blessed Holy Spirit - the Spirit of wisdom and revelation which makes known to us the mystery of the gospel. On the one hand, he bears witness in our own hearts to the truth of God’s Word, coming “in power and in the Holy Spirit and in full assurance” (1 These. 1:5). As our own Confession says, “Our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth, and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit, bearing witness by and with the word on our hearts (WCF 1.5). On the other hand, he speaks through the church as his holy instrument. How often has the church served as the buttress of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15), as the organ of God to both deliver and defend the gospel against an array of antichrists (Eph. 2:22, 4:11-16). Our Savior has not left us as orphans amidst antichrists, but He has sent us a Helper to “teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that Jesus has said to you.” (John 14:26). What joy! What hope! What assurance this brings! Let us use the means God has given that we may enjoy that blessed assurance.