How Do You Know If Someone is Speaking for God?

Discerning False Prophets

4 Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 2 This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet[a] acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. 3 But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. 

I am sure you are not able to count how many times you have heard someone use the words, "The Lord told me to say ...". First of all it is very presumptive to assume one is speaking on behalf God. John gives us these important precautions in the reading today. Most importantly he says don't assume just because someone claims they are speaking for God that they are. 

Then, John gives the believers a way to test whether someone who claims to be speaking for God can be trusted. The question is are they a "true prophet" or a "false prophet". They can't be both. If one word of prophecy does not come true, it is false prophesy. This is why it is so precarious to say, "I am speaking for God." 

Then, John gives a very specfic test to determine if someone is a false or true prophet. His test is whether they acknowledge that Jesus came in the flesh as a human being. To understand this statement you need to know the primary "heresy" which had infiltrated the church. The teaching was that Jesus only looked like man, but really was only a spirit being, albeit a special messenger from God. This heresy is called "Gnosticism", which comes from the Greek word "Gnosis", which means, "to know". The Gnostics claimed they had "gnosis", which was secret knowledge about God. 

The problem with the belief that Jesus wasn't truly human is then that Jesus DID NOT really die on the cross. If Jesus DID NOT really die on the cross, we are still dead in our sins. This is why John is so quick to point out that a person who teaches this has the spirit of the "antichrist". Of course, if the evil one wanted to corrupt the church, he would do something to deny the reality of who Jesus was and what he did for us! 

And guess what? This is the message of Christmas. Jesus came as a baby boy in a manger. He was born of a virgin teenage girl. He was truly human and truly God. He grew up and showed the world what God was like and most importantly how God loves every person the same. Jesus proved how much God loved us, when he willingly died on the cross to forgive us of our sins! 

Jesus' life, death, and resurrection is the greatest fulfillment of prophecy. In these words there is no lie. It is the truth. If anyone denies these words, they are not from God and you should not listen or associate with them. 

Pray for the church that we would continue to protect the doctrine of the nature of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! He was fully human and fully divine  This is why we always need to be testing everything that is taught using God's Word, especially as it relates to Jesus' true nature. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Acts 22 - Paul Sees the Light

Image
6  “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.   7  I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me,  ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’  8  “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.  “  ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,  whom you are persecuting,’  he replied.   9  My companions saw the light,  but they did not understand the voice  of him who was speaking to me.  10  “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “  ‘Get up,’  the Lord said,  ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do. This is the famous story of the apostle Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus.  Paul was going there to persecute Jewish Christians and throw them into prison and he meets Jesus is a spectacular way.  Not only is he blinded by a briliant light, but he hears the Lord's voice audibly.  And the Lord asks him, "Lord, Lord why are you persecuting me!"  Paul thought he was serving the Lord, but he was persecuting him b
Read more

Hebrews 6 - Have You Graduated From Elementary School of Faith Yet?

Click Here to Read or Listen to Hebrews 6 6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so. The author once again picks up with the theme of moving on to Christian maturity.  He teaches them to move on from the "elementary" teachings about Christ. What does he mean by that?  He gives clues by citing repentance, faith, cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, and teaching on the judgment and resurrection from the dead. We might call these the basics of the Christian faith. If you read through the Apostle's Creed, which our church confesses in our 8am service, it contains many of these core doctrines.  Click here to see the Apostle's Creed Written Around “When we consider the
Read more

2 Timothy 4 - Fight the Good Fight! Finish the Race!

Click Here to Read or Listen to 2 Timothy 4 4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. Paul gives a closing charge to Timothy. First of all, he is to preach the word. God's Word speaks to all situations and seasons. The Word of God will sometimes correct us. Our lives can get of out alignment with God's will as outlined in
Read more