Dear Friends, Do Not Believe Everyone Who Claims To Speak By The Spirit
Test The Spirits
1 JOHN 4:1-3
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because 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 of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
”I John 4:1-3 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/1jn.4.1-3.NKJ
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We Christians should not believe everything we hear just because someone says it’s a message from God.
There are many false prophets and teachers, and we must test them to see that the spirit they have is of God.
There are many ways to test such people to see if their message is truly from the Lord.
One way is to see if their words match what is written in the bible, but to do that one must have knowledge and understanding of the Word.
Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ””
Matthew 4:4 NKJV
True knowledge and understanding can only come from regular study and relationship with Christ, for a veil hides understanding of the Word from the world. “But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
II Corinthians 3:15-17 NKJV
Other tests include their commitment to the body of believers (2:19), their lifestyles (3:23-24), and the fruit they produce (GALATIANS 5:16-26).
“But John says, the most important test of all is what they believe about Christ. Do they teach that Jesus is fully God and fully man?
Our world is filled with voices claiming to hear God’s voice to teach and prophecy, but we believers must test everything we hear to be sure that they are indeed speaking God's truth.
Signs and wonders stir up our emotions to believe, but they are not necessarily confirmation of the Holy Spirit; even the devil can do miraculous things too; he is a liar and very quick to mimic God and His people.
Jesus said, “”Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV
My brethren, do not be deceived; if you do not make time to know Christ in this lifetime, He will choose to not know you in the next.
Therefore, don’t be complacent, but rather, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (PHILIPPIANS 2:12).
“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
I John 4:4-6 NKJV
My beloved, we can gain knowledge of the Word by regularly study, but understanding and revelation can only come from God.
Notice, God’s Word tells us to test the spirit, the source of what we are told, not the words spoken.
The devil will bring lies and deception through the flesh of people and it may well sound good, it may even be encouraging, but sadly, it will be corrupted in one way of another.
Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
John 10:10 NKJV
With or without the influence of the demonic, the flesh doesn’t nothing more than satisfy its lust. “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
Galatians 5:19-26 NKJV
Only Jesus can give us life, and only by His Spirit can we know the truth and produce good fruits.
He is the only truth that we can trust. He alone is the way to our Father in heaven (JOHN 14:6) and abundant life.
Without His Holy Spirit, we cannot receive the truth. “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”
John 16:13-14 NKJV
But first my beloved, one must believe and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.””
Acts 2:38-39 NKJV
All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.
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God bless you all.
