“TEST THE SPIRITS!”

1 John 4:1-6                                             (ESV)

“1 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.

2 By this you know the SPIRIT of GOD: every spirit that confesses that JESUS CHRIST has come in the flesh is from GOD,

3 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.

4 “LITTLE CHILDREN”, you are from GOD and have overcome them, for HE WHO is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and THE WORLD LISTENS TO THEM.

6 We are from GOD. Whoever knows GOD listens to us; whoever is not from GOD does not listen to us. By this we know the SPIRIT of truth and the spirit of error.”

Often I have written about RECOGNIZING when GOD is speaking to me.  One of the best examples I can remember was on the beach five years ago and a bird was chirping so beautifully.  My mind almost instantly went to the book of Luke when JESUS told the Pharisees “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."  GOD WILL BE GLORIFIED, even if rocks have to cry out!  (Psalms 46:10b). 

1 Corinthians 13:11 states “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.”  As I have Spiritually matured I have become more and more adept at RECOGNIZING and IDENTIFYING FALSE TEACHERS.  Some of the FALSE TEACHERS are listened to by friends who may not have been through the same trials that I have experienced.    Others I hear espousing things that sound good to the natural man, but doesn’t contain TRUTH that is verified by THE WORD!  

We don’t have to look any further for TRUTH than to the passage of Scripture above, where it says “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”!  If a person tries to distort Scripture by inserting their own beliefs into what GOD says, they are preaching their own gospel, for their own gain (Philippians 1:15-18).  

It is our RESPONSIBILITY to “TEST THE SPIRITS” TO SEE WHETHER THEY ARE FROM GOD!  If they don’t line up with Scripture, then they are FALSE PROPHETS or are Spiritually immature.  1 Timothy 3 tells us the qualifications of those who are qualified to be a leader.  Listening to everyone who claims to be called to be a servant is IRRESPONSIBLE of us, something that we will have to answer for one say!  We MUST “TEST THE SPIRITS” and confirm they are from GOD, or suffer the consequences for being IRRESPONSIBLE!!!