1 John Chapter Four Vs: 1-6

Thursday's Daily Word and Thought Journal (By: Yusun Beck)

1 John Chapter Four vs: 1-6

"1^(A)Beloved, do not believe every ^(B)spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because ^(C)many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(D)every spirit that ^(E)confesses that ^(F)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3and every spirit that ^(G)does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the ^(H)antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and ^(I)now it is already in the world. 4You are from God, ^(J)little children, and ^(K)have overcome them; because ^(L)greater is He who is in you than ^(M)he who is in the world. 5^(N)They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6^(O)We are from God; ^(P)he who knows God listens to us; ^(Q)he who is not from God does not listen to us By this we know ^(R)the spirit of truth and ^(S)the spirit of error." (Quoted from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%204;&version=49;)

"Alright here is the paragraph so far: Jesus Christ is God and has manifested the truth making our joy complete with the incarnate word. We are wicked, and we need Christ, otherwise God is a liar, so be honest following and trusting Jesus Christ who is the light, the savior, and the righteous one because those in darkness deceive themselves. Focus on Jesus walking in the light while loving your God and your brother because God loved us first by giving us His advocate, Jesus Christ, whenever we stumble... Love God and not the world because this world is soon to pass away; it is in its last hour, and the antichrist will soon be here. God has made for us eternal life, and we must continue to abide in Him so that we may have confidence when we see Him and not shrink away in shame. We are separated from the world at our rebirth in Christ given a different mindset, and we must love our brother; the world will hate us, but soon the world's goods and ideas will pass with the devil while God will be with His children in the end. The next study will continue the examination of 1^st John. God bless. The next study will continue the examination of 1^st John. God bless." (Recap from earlier studies...)

This section of John is really to the point too. I find myself saying this a lot about this book, book other books have parables, wise sayings, alliteration, analogies, and many other tools to help you contemplate. Sometimes, even the disciples had trouble understanding the meanings, yet this book is very straightforward. It is the type of book that you would write to your child before they are getting ready to move on and take on the world. Wait a minute!?! That's what we as Christians must do. We must tell the world the truth of God without fear or frowning from our responsibilities. What an epiphany? No not really... God tells us to be the salt of the earth, and He says that we will be hate because He was hated first, even in the days of old, He was hated first. How would someone counter a man on the battlefield who is willing to tell the truth at the cost of their very life? That is what this next section is about. We, who trust God, will tell the truth, but there are seeds planted in this world to deceive us and tear apart our message, and this is what John warns us about.

"1^(A)Beloved, do not believe every ^(B)spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because ^(C)many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you know the Spirit of God: ^(D)every spirit that ^(E)confesses that ^(F)Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3and every spirit that ^(G)does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the ^(H)antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and ^(I)now it is already in the world." You can see the warning plain as day here. The truth is that many false spirits come with the intention of deceiving us. Consider this... If we truly believed in God, then why would there not be an enemy that opposed His truth. The very fact that there is such a group effort for every non-Christian to attack Christ has to say something. The spirit of the antichrist is here, and many will continue to forge lies about Christ. Don't be like Joseph Smith because, otherwise, you will destroy yourself. Because this danger exists, God has given us a litmus test for our teachers to see where they are coming from.

"4You are from God, ^(J)little children, and ^(K)have overcome them; because ^(L)greater is He who is in you than ^(M)he who is in the world. 5^(N)They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. 6^(O)We are from God; ^(P)he who knows God listens to us; ^(Q)he who is not from God does not listen to us By this we know ^(R)the spirit of truth and ^(S)the spirit of error." This is the way to tell where a spirit is coming from. Also earlier it explains that a spirit that does not confess it is from Christ, and that Jesus Christ is God, is not a right spirit. Likewise, if you tell somebody something that is concrete in the Bible, such as, Jesus is God and He will cleanse our sins or homosexuality is non-biblical, and the person does not listen, then they are not of God either. The Bible should be the ultimate word for all Christians because it is God's word on earth. Why do churches accept false teachings, have preachers that are practicing homosexuals, attack their wounded, and not care for the truth of God. It is because they have let the spirit of the antichrist takeover and have lost their salt. Satan would love nothing more, but for God's people to lose their saltiness.

Therefore, we must stay sharp and change the flavor of the world without letting the world change our flavor. We have been entrusted with God's word, and this is not a small task at all. Even if you simply live and die to tell only one person about Christ, then you are still a part of the body of Christ. Christians must be strong... Unite in truth and be ready. The spirit of the antichrist is here to kill, steal, and destroy. It wants to take away the one precious thing that we have: the truth. Do not be deceived; test all spirits. If I were to sum this section up, I would say that it is saying, "Stay sharp and test all spirits, for if they do not confess the truth and Jesus Christ as God then they are from the spirit of the antichrist/error."

Alright here is the paragraph so far: Jesus Christ is God and has manifested the truth making our joy complete with the incarnate word. We are wicked, and we need Christ, otherwise God is a liar, so be honest following and trusting Jesus Christ who is the light, the savior, and the righteous one because those in darkness deceive themselves. Focus on Jesus walking in the light while loving your God and your brother because God loved us first by giving us His advocate, Jesus Christ, whenever we stumble... Love God and not the world because this world is soon to pass away; it is in its last hour, and the antichrist will soon be here. God has made for us eternal life, and we must continue to abide in Him so that we may have confidence when we see Him and not shrink away in shame. We are separated from the world at our rebirth in Christ given a different mindset, and we must love our brother; the world will hate us, but soon the world's goods and ideas will pass with the devil while God will be with His children in the end. Stay sharp and test all spirits, for if they do not confess the truth and Jesus Christ as God then they are from the spirit of the antichrist/error. The next study will continue the examination of 1^st John. God bless. The next study will continue the examination of 1^st John. God bless.