Bobservations' Column
Titled - "Fervent Charity"
Written by: Pastor Bob Lawrenz
In the Book of Revelation, John proved to us that he was an obedient servant in chapter 1:19. When told to “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;” that is what he did, and with precision. He had seen all of Jesus’ Earthly ministry, and the first century of church history. He recorded all of it: the good, the bad, and the ugly. From the blessings of Christian brotherhood to the errors of doctrine that gained a foothold in one church or another, John made sure he wrote of it.
- The Church at Ephesus had left its First Love.
- The Church at Smyrna was commended for their faithfulness.
- The Church at Pergamus, Thyratira, and Sardis received warnings.
- The Church at Philadelphia received a commendation, and
- The Church at Laodicia, a strong warning for their complacency because of their comfort and wealth. All these were “the things which are,” and they cover all of the Church Age.
Just today (5/16/24), I learned of an area Pastor encouraging his Congregation to allow some of the mysticism of today’s Babylon into the practice of their faith through questionable worship music and psychics! Divination, psychics and mystics apparently were to be welcomed in that Church. What will be next? Drug use, and altered states of consciousness from the pulpit? I’ll venture a guess that the spirit of antichrist is already present in that church.
John’s First Epistle is all about “Christianity 101.” He writes of the basic tenets of the Christian faith, for us to review, and examine our own hearts.
The acronym is familiar:
B.I.B.L.E. - Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.
“And now abide faith, hope, and love; these three; but the greatest of these is love.” - 1 Corinthians 13:13
1 John 4:1-6 - "Fervent Charity"
John turns from the importance of love to the importance of belief in god's truth. He focuses, once again, on the doctrinal test, and emphasizes the need to obey sound teaching.
Scripture is filled with stern warnings against false doctrine, error and against corrupting God's revelation both in the Old and New Testaments. From cover to cover there is one warning after the next about those who corrupt the Word of God. Ever since his temptation of Eve, Satan has sought to distort and deny God's Word (Genesis 3:1-5). He is the ultimate demonic source behind ALL FALSE teachers and false doctrine (2 Corinthians 11:13, 14). In this section, John provides us with two doctrinal tests to determine truth from error and false teachers from true teachers.
Since possession of "the Spirit which he has given us" (3:24) is a ground of assurance for the believer, it is important to test the spirits, because not every spirit is the Spirit of God (4:1-6).
In verse 1, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God." John understands how important it is to realize that you can’t believe everything you hear. You can’t believe everything that is purported to come from God. You can’t believe everything that is supposedly biblical. You cannot believe all teachers of religion. You cannot believe all Christian preachers, or Christian evangelists or teachers. You cannot believe all who claim to speak for God and claim to have a prophetic voice. See Acts 17:11; Colossians 2:8-10.
There is set loose in the world, you’ll notice at the end of verse 6, the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Religious information is not benign. It either comes from the Spirit of truth, who is the Holy Spirit, so called by our Lord Himself, and there is the spirit of error who would be Satan and his demons. Nothing is benign. All spiritual truth either comes from a divine source or a demonic source. And we know that God speaks truth and reveals truth and Satan speaks a lie and is a deceiver and so it is critical that we be able to discern the difference. God’s truth must be guarded very, very carefully. It is always under attack. It is relentlessly under attack. It amazes me, frankly, even though the Bible is clear on this, how inept the church has been through its history at protecting biblical truth. Every generation seems to fall into error. This is why the Apostle Paul instructed Timothy at the end of his first letter to him, 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 20, “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust.” And what had been entrusted to him was the treasure of divine revelation. Guard that.
It requires the knowledge of sound doctrine, and secondly it requires the recognition of error. Sound doctrine and sound discernment, are essential in the church. This is our primary responsibility. Sound doctrine and sound discernment go side by side and are the primary responsibility of every preacher, every elder, every shepherd and pastor in the church.
In this epistle here in chapter 4, John commands believers to test the spirits. This is necessary if you’re going to discern between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. You have to know whatever information is coming to you by its source. Error is not benign; it is malignant. It is not human; it is demonic. Spiritual truth comes from the Holy Spirit and it is life-giving, life-sustaining, life-producing, God-glorifying, or it comes from demons. It is either the doctrine of God or the doctrine of demons. It is either that word which is sent and energized by the Holy Spirit, or it is that which comes from seducing spirits. And teachers are either the true teachers of God or hypocritical liars, espousing the doctrine of demons fostered by seducing spirits. We must know the difference because of the malignancy of error, because of the power of truth. The truth gives life; error kills.
And so here, John is writing to his flock, to the people that have been put in his charge and all beyond them whom he can influence, including us today. And among the instructions that he gives here in this epistle, much of it, of course, is about who is a true believer. John gives all kinds of criteria for us to evaluate that, both doctrinal tests and moral tests. And part of that instruction includes these commands to make sure that we discern the truth from error.
In the second division of this chapter (4:7-21), John is true to his pattern of developing the same subjects, each time broadening, expanding, and enhancing their significance. John returns once again to the moral test of love. These verses constitute one long unit describing what perfect love is and that it is available to us.
False Prophets (4:1) - By juxtaposing "spirits" with "false prophets," John reminds his readers that behind human teachers who propagate false doctrine and error are demons inspired by Satan. Human false prophets and teachers are the physical expressions, the mouth pieces, of demonic, spiritual forces.
By This You Know the Spirit of God (4:2) - John gives a measuring stick to determine whether the propagator of the message is a demon spirit or the Holy Spirit.
God is love (4:7, 8) - This is the first of five reasons Christians are to love, God is the essence of love. Some cults and even some evangelicals misuse this verse, making God essentially synonymous with "love," denying in effect His other attributes. The Gnostics believed that God was immaterial spirit and light, but never defined the source of love as coming from His inmost being. As He is spirit (John 4:24), light (1:5), and a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29), so He is love. Love is inherent in all he is and does. Even His judgment and wrath are perfectly harmonized with His love.
Let Us Love One Another (4:8) - The original language conveys the idea of making sure that love is a habitual practice. Those who are truly born again exhibit the characteristic habit of love (2:10, 11; 3:14) because they receive God's nature (2 Peter 1:4). Since God's nature exhibits love as a chief characteristic (verse 8), God's children will also.
Note: (4:13-16) - John gives the fourth of five reasons why Christians love: love is the Christian's assurance. 1. The benefits of love are: 1. assurance of salvation (3:17-24); 2. answered prayer (3:22); and 3. the abiding presence/empowerment of the Holy Spirit (3:23, 24).
Love Made Perfect (3:17) - The fifth reason why Christians love: because love is the Christian's confidence in judgment. John is not suggesting sinless perfection here, but rather mature love marked by confidence in the face of judgment.
No Fear in Love (3:18) - The denial of God and rejection of Christ because of the fear of men will indeed lead to torment, because "the fearful...shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire..." (Revelation 21:8). A Believer will never experience this, because they are forgiven.