Sermon Outline: 1 John 4:1

1 John 4:1

COMMAND to Test the spirits

Pastor Jason Stewart

I.      Introduction:

Please read Wreckers for an illustration to help drive home the importance of this message.

II.      Revelation/Application: Testing the Spirit

a.    The Command for Testing (4:1)

1. Not every spirit is of God. Just as God has His representatives so too does Satan have people under his influence also. Ever since Satan successfully tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden, he has been distorting God’s Word in order to deceive people and separate them from God.

2. In fact Scripture tells us that he is the master mind behind all false teachers and errant doctrine (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). That is why John says, “Do not believe every spirit” (4:1a). In essence, John is telling us not to believe everything we hear! As Christians we are called to be like the Berean’s in order to determine what is true and what is error (Acts 17:11).

3. We are to put our beliefs to the test. We must “test the spirits” to see “whether they are of God” (4:1b). This word in the Greek for “test” is an important word in scripture. It is dokimazo, and it is the word that is used to describe a metallurgist’s work of testing and examining metals to determine their purity and value. In like manner, we as Christians are called to test any new or different type of teaching with a view to approve or disapprove of it. Dokimazo is a verb in the present tense. Which means that we are always called to be testing what is being brought before us in Scripture. Now, I am not promoting that you take it upon yourself to be the critical spirit of Christianity, but to critically test anything that causes you to cringe in the spirit, or appears to be amiss. When something is presented that just sounds a bit off, or that you absolutely know that it is off, you will definitely want to search the Scriptures to see if what is being said is of God or not.

4. The adjective for dokimazo is also an important word for us as Christians. It is dokimos. Dokimos means to “be approved”. Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 2:15 that as Christians you must, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Approved is dokimos in the Greek. In the ancient world there was no banking system as we know it today, and no paper money. All money was made from metal, heated until liquid, poured into moulds and allowed to cool. When the coins were cooled, it was necessary to smooth off the uneven edges. The coins were comparatively soft and of course many people shaved them closely. In one century, more than eighty laws were passed in Athens, to stop the practice of shaving down the coins then in circulation. But some moneychangers were men of integrity, who would accept no counterfeit money. They were men of honor who put only genuine full weighted money into circulation. Such men were called "dokimos" or "approved". That is what Paul is telling us God has called us to be when it comes to the Word of God. He wants us to be men and women of honor who know how to rightly understand and apply the Word of God into our lives, while at the same time be able to defend it against heresy.

1. Dokimazo (v.) is the command to test
2. Dokimos (adj.) is the result of the test

5. John tells us that we must “test” whether or not someone is from God or not. What is John talking about when he says we must, “test the spirits”? The reason we must test the spirits is because in (v.6) John says that it is by testing the spirits that we can “know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error”. Because the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error are both vying for our devotion, we must be able to discern which one is which, so that we can make sure we are committing our lives to the truth.

6. Many false prophets have gone out into the world (4:1c).

In John’s Day to name a few, there were:

1. The Docetists: They believed that Christ was divine but only seemed to become human
2. Simon Magus (Acts 8:9-24): He was an early-Gnostic father who tried to purchase the Holy Spirit. The Theological term “Simony” which is “the buying or selling of ecclesiastical privileges” is named after him.
3. Cerinthus (Cerinthians): They believed that Christ-Spirit merely came on Jesus, but denied that he was actually the one and only Christ.

During and after the Apostolic Age

1. Gnosticism: (Secret Knowledge): They believed you had to receive “secret knowledge” an inner-light, in order to be saved. They also believed that all matter was evil, and only the spiritual was pure. Therefore, they taught that Jesus was not the Christ, because Jesus was a man in the flesh, and Christ could not be corrupted by flesh.
2. Marcionism: Marcion was the son of the bishop who grew up in a Christian home. He had a profound dislike towards both Judaism and the material world, and because of this he developed an understanding of Christianity that was both anti-Jewish and anti-material. In A.D. 144, he went to Rome, and gathered a faithful following. But eventually the church at large came to the conclusion that his doctrines contradicted several fundamental points of the Christian doctrine, and therefore he was branded a heretic. Though he was branded a heretic and rightly so, he played an instrumental part in Christianity. He is responsible for the canonization of the Scriptures. Meaning, because of this individual, the church was forced to take the individual recognized books of the Bible and put them into a single volume. (There are many great books out that go into great detail of how this process happened).
3. Donatism: The validity of the sacraments depended upon the moral character of the minister.
4. Arianism: This was a very dangerous and almost victorious movement against the Christian Faith and deity of Christ. This debate began in Alexandria, when the bishop of Alexandria, Alexander, clashed with one of the most popular presbyters of the city, Arius. The main issue that they argued over was the deity of Christ. Alexander believed that the Word of God was coeternal with God. While Arius believed that the Word was not coeternal with the Father. Though this may not seem like too big of a deal to some, what was at stake was the very divinity of Jesus. Arius taught that the Word was not God, but the first of all creatures. He believed that Jesus was the first creature made in all creation, but not the eternal God. Alexander taught that the Word was Divine and therefore could not be created. Alexander died in AD 328, and that is when Athanasius took over as the chief defender of the Faith (Christ is God), and passionately fought for the deity of Christ for the next 40 years. Arianism was such a major threat to the Christian faith that if it hadn’t been for Athanasius it might have become the religion we all know and practice today. Athanasius is considered one of the greatest theologians of all times. The church is highly indebted to his efforts to defend the faith.

False Prophets of the Modern Church: 

1. Joseph Smith (Mormonism - 1830). There are many errors within the Mormon Religion, and for the sake of time, I will briefly mention the most important error, which is the Person of Jesus Christ. 
1. Mormonism teach that Jesus was a spirit child by the Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother, and Jesus is the elder brother of all men and spirit beings (including Satan). Jesus is the good seed, and Satan is the bad seed. However, the Bible is very clear that Jesus created everything (Jn. 1:1-3; Col. 1:16-17), and that Satan is a created being (Ezek. 28:12-19; esp. v.15 cf. Isa. 14:12-14). Even though Scripture is quite clear about this, Mormon doctrine teaches that when Jesus came to earth, His body was created through sexual union between Elohim and Mary, which of course eliminates the doctrine of the incarnation and the virgin birth. 
2. In “Joseph Smith History of the Church 1:19”, Smith says; “For they (Christians) were all wrong, and the personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in His sight.” Meaning, that God's word has failed us, and He came to Joseph Smith to reveal it again. However, Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” The historical and archaeological evidence supporting the fact that the Word of God we have today in any given language or accepted translation, has been accurately transliterated from the same Greek texts that Apostles wrote when they were divinely inspired by God.
3. In bearing testimony of Jesus Christ, former LDS President Hinckley spoke of those outside the LDS Church who say Latter-day Saints ‘do not believe in the traditional Christ.’” This is what he said on June 20, 1998, and I quote: “No, I don’t. The traditional Christ of whom they (Christians) speak, is not the Christ of whom I speak of. For the Christ of whom I speak has been revealed in this the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times.” This quote can be found in LDS Church News – week ending June 20 1998, p.7. 
1. We know from God’s word that this man is a false prophet for the fact that the Bible tells us that the “Traditional Christ” of Scripture and the Christian faith, will never, ever, ever change! The Bible tells us in Hebrews 13:8 that, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” What does this mean to a Mormon who takes the Bible seriously? It means RUN! It means RUN FAST! Do not hesitate to ask God to forgive you for following a lie, and ask Him to receive you into His fold, and He will not turn you away (Romans 10:9-11). Come to the true Jesus of Scripture and He will save you!
2. I don’t know if it can be any clearer, or how any bible believing person could ever say Mormonism is okay. It’s not okay. It is ruled and influenced by the spirit of error.
3. Mormonism also teach that God the Father was first a man who achieved "Godhood". If this is the case Mormonism by default would have to believe in Evolution due to the fact that God the Father was first a man, and could in no way be Creator. 

2. Mary Baker Eddy  (Christian Science - 1875)
1. Jesus was not the Christ, but a man who displayed Christ idea. (Christ means “perfection” not a person)
2. Jesus was not God, and God can never become man or flesh
3. He did not suffer and could not suffer for sins.
4. He did not die on the cross. He was not resurrected physically. He will not literally come back.
5. Humanity is already eternally saved. Sin, evil, sickness, and death are not real.

3. Charles Taze Russell (Jehovah Witness - 1879)
1. Jesus is not God Almighty, but only a “god”.
2. Before He lived on earth, he was Michael the archangel (HEB. 1:5-8).
3. After Jesus died on the cross, he was resurrected as a spirit; his body was destroyed.
4. Rejected the TRINITY
5. Rejected Eternal Punishment
6. FALSE PREDICTION OF THE 2^nd COMING: 1914, 1915, 1918 (He conveniently died in 1916).

4. Judge Joseph Rutherford (Jehovah Witness – Russell’s successor)
1. Claimed Jesus would come in 1925
2. Jesus is not coming again. He returned invisibly in 1914 in spirit.

5. New Age Movement (Popularized by actress Shirly MacLaine – 1980’s)
1. Jesus is not the one true God. He is not a savior, but a spiritual model, and guru, and is now an “ascended master.”
2. He was a New Ager who tapped into divine power in the same way that anyone can.

What do all of these false prophets and their false religions have in common? The one thing that all of these False Prophets have in common is that they all preach another Jesus, which is something that Paul warned us about in 2 Corinthians 11:3-4. In 2 Corinthians 11:3-4: 

“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted – you may well put up with it!”

Here we see that Paul is warning the Corinthian church of those who preach “another Jesus”.

III.     Conclusion:

   There is nothing new under the sun guys. The devil has been using people as false lights throughout the history of the church in order to shipwreck their faith. We have seen this morning that we have been given an incredible responsibility from God to preserve the truth of His word throughout the ages. We are the custodians of truth. How do we do this? How do we guard against the spirit of error? We turn to God’s Word for guidance.

   The bible tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Here we see that the Bible was given to us by God in order to transform our lives and our way of thinking, as well as to equip us to serve God in the world. We also see that the Bible is our standard for testing everything else in life that claims to be true. It is our safeguard against false teaching. One of my heroes of the faith, R.C. Chapman once said, “Every error may be based upon some part of Scripture taken from its connection; but no error can stand the test of all Scripture.” 

   At the beginning of this message we talked about the Wreckers who use to set up false lights on the shore in order to lure unsuspecting ships into the rocky cliffs in order to shipwreck them. They use to set lanterns upon the tops of Donkeys and have them move up and down the coastline in order to deceive the sailors, and eventually lead them to their doom. And it is no different for us today. 

   The enemy is still using men to serve as Wreckers of the Christian Faith. There is the false light of busyness. This wrecker will tell you that you are too busy to read your bible and pray. This wrecker will tell you that you are too busy to give God your schedule. This wrecker will tell you that it is okay to live in bondage to sin, and to give up on turning to God for help, and on and on the false lights and wreckers will do their best to move us further away from God and deeper into darkness and despair.

   Let us leave here this morning as men and women who never allow the enemy to shipwreck our faith by following his false lights. Let us be men and women of God's word who are able to grow in our discernment to protect ourselves from falling prey to false lights.