Shiloh Bible Church
1 John 4:1-6
How To Spot The Devil’s Kids
Introduction
Robert Philip Hanssen. Perhaps you recall that name from a few years ago. It was national news. Robert Hanssen was a 57-year old FBI agent who was convicted of spying for the Soviet Union. He was arrested in February, 2001 at Foxstone Park near his home in Vienna, Virginia. He was charged with selling American secrets to Russia over a 15-year period for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds. His treason has been described as “possibly the worst intelligence disaster in US history.”
Robert Hanssen deceived his fellow FBI agents into believing he was on their side when in reality he was working for the enemy. The same thing can happen in the spiritual realm. False teachers seek to deceive us into believing they are on God’s side when in reality they are working for the devil. The Apostle John tells us about them in his first epistle. Please turn with me to 1 John chapter 4.
I remind you that the book of 1 John is a book about fellowship—not relationship. John is not writing to tell us how to get saved, but rather how to have ongoing fellowship with God after we get saved. And John warns us that we need to be on the lookout for false teachers who will throw us off track in our fellowship with God. Now, John has issued this warning twice already. In 2:26, John states: “I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.” And over in 3:7 John writes: “Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray.”
But how do you know who is trying to lead you astray? How can you identify a false teacher? How can you spot the devil’s kids? John tells you in 1 John 4:1-6.
We begin in verse 1 where John warns: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
John tells us not to believe every spirit. Don’t believe everything you hear. Why? Because there are false teachers in the world. Not every Bible teacher is teaching the truth. Just because you see a man on TV dressed in a nice suit with a smile on his face, holding a Bible doesn’t mean he’s teaching the truth. Just because you hear a deep, soothing, authoritative voice on the radio, talking about spiritual things doesn’t mean that man is teaching the truth.
Now, we need to remember that a false teacher is not a Christian who simply disagrees with you on some minor point of doctrine. For example, last week we celebrated the Lord’s Table here at Shiloh. And it is our practice to take Communion once a month—on the first Sunday of the month. Now, some churches serve Communion every week, others on a quarterly basis, and still others on an annual basis. Just because a pastor serves Communion on a less frequent or more frequent basis than we do does not make him a false teacher.
The real core issue of Christianity is this: What does a person believe about Jesus Christ—His person and work? After all, Christianity is centered in Christ.
And we see this in verse 2: “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.”
Notice what John says about Jesus—He is the Christ—Jesus Christ. The word “Christ” is the Greek form of the Hebrew word “Messiah.” And the Old Testament predicted the person and work of the Messiah. As to His person, the prophet Isaiah taught that the Messiah would be both God and man. So, in Isaiah 9:6 we read: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given …”—Messiah would be a man. Isaiah continues: “… and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Not only would Messiah be a man, but He would also be God Himself. Isaiah also goes on to tell us about the work of the Messiah—that He would die for the sins of man. In chapter 53:6, Isaiah prophesied: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.”
Jesus Christ—who is God and man—died for our sins and offers us eternal life as a free gift. And the Apostle John is clear as to how we appropriate that gift—by faith. Turn over one page in your Bible and look at 1 John 5:13: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” It is by belief in Christ—faith in Him alone—that we have sins forgiven and a home in heaven. This is the foundational truth and the core teaching of Christianity. But a false teacher doesn’t believe this—a false teacher denies either the person or work of Christ.
That is true in our day, but it was also true back in John’s day. Look at verse 2 again: “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.” Most Bible teachers believe that John was combating an early form of a heresy called Gnosticism—which was more fully developed after John’s time in the second and third century.
Basically, Gnosticism taught that the spirit is entirely good, but matter—such as the human body—is entirely bad. So Gnostics denied the humanity of Christ. Now, some taught that Christ only seemed to have a body, but in reality He was just a phantom—a spirit that appeared to be human. This was a teaching known as Docetism. Others taught that the spirit of Christ indwelt the man Jesus at his baptism. But then the spirit left him before he was crucified. This was a view known as Cerinthianism, named after its leading advocate Cerinthus.
Well, we can’t say for certain whether John was battling the heresy of Docetism or Cerinthianism. But we do know that John was addressing a false teaching that denied the incarnation—a heresy that taught that Jesus did not come in the flesh.
But who inspired this false teaching? Who was ultimately behind it? The answer: Satan. John continues in verse 3 by saying: “This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”
Now, we’ve seen this word “antichrist” before in our study. We were introduced to it back in 2:18. And we said that John used the term “antichrist” in three ways. It is used to describe a person who will head up the final world rebellion against Christ. It is used to describe false teachers in John’s day. And it is used to describe a spirit in the world that opposes or denies Christ.
Here in 4:3, John uses the word “antichrist” in the third way—to describe the spirit in the world that opposes or denies Christ. And throughout Church history there has been a deceptive power under Satan’s influence that has been working in the world. And that same deception is still in operation today.
You say, “Doug, if that’s true, then what chance do I have? I mean, if there is a powerful Satanic deception in the world today, how do you expect me to stand against that?” Well, in your own strength you can’t. But look at what John says in verse 4: “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” You can withstand the Satanic deception of false teaching because of the Holy Spirit of God who lives in you! The indwelling Holy Spirit can help you to recognize false teaching and not be duped by Satan. Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
But how does the Holy Spirit do this? How does He help you to recognize false teaching? He does so by helping you to test the spirits to see if the teaching is true or false. Remember what John said in verse 1? “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” You say, “Okay, but what do I use to test whether or not a teaching is from God?” The answer: The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
Look at verse 4 again: “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God.” Let me stop here for a moment. Notice that John refers to three different groups in these three verses. The “you” in verse 4 are John’s readers. The “they” in verse 5 are the false teachers. And the “we” in verse 6 are the apostles.
Now, notice what John says in verse 6 about the apostles: “We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.” The way you discern whether a teaching is truth or error is by comparing it to what the apostles say. You say, “But Doug, the apostles died 2,000 years ago! They aren’t speaking anymore!” Well, it’s true that the apostles are gone, but their teachings are still with us. We still listen to the apostles through their writings in the New Testament. And that’s how we test whether or not a person is a false teacher. We compare what they say to the teachings of the Word of God. And so we ask the question: “Does what a person says line up with what the Bible teaches?”
Louis Talbot in his book Heresies Exposed wrote, “The days in which you and I are living are days in which Christians need to know their Bibles, for the only way by which we may know whether or not a system of teaching is of God is by viewing the system through the lens of God’s Word.”
A.W. Tozer adds, “We must demand that every claimant for our confidence do more than weave in a text occasionally, or hold up the Bible dramatically before the eyes of his hearers. His doctrines must be those of the Scriptures. The Bible must dominate his preaching. He must preach according to the Word of God. …The price of following a false guide on the desert may be death. The price of heeding wrong advice in business may be bankruptcy. The price of trusting a quack doctor may be permanent loss of health. The price of putting confidence in a pseudo-prophet may be moral and spiritual tragedy. Take heed that no man deceive you.”
By way of application, let me give you 4 ways that you can guard yourself from being led astray by false teaching. First …
1. Receive Biblical Instruction
Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” We need to know what the Word of God teaches in order to recognize false teaching when we hear it. That’s why it’s important for you to sit under the ministry of the Word of God as you’re doing right now. That’s why it’s important to attend Sunday School to discuss the Scriptures with others. That’s why it’s important to have your own private devotional time with the Lord, reading His Word. Receive Biblical Instruction. Secondly …
2. Resist False Teaching
If you hear someone teaching error, do something. Raise a firm, yet gracious question. And warn others if the error does exist. Paul said in Ephesians 4:15, “Speak the truth in love.” Jude urges us in verse 3 of his epistle to … “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” We have a responsibility to see that the faith given to us is not altered as we pass it on. Resist False Teaching. Thirdly …
3. Refuse To Assist False Teachers
In his second epistle, John proclaims this warning in verses 10 and 11: “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.” Now, that doesn’t mean that you become belligerent toward false teachers and persecute them. But it does mean that you refuse to assist them. You don’t give them money. You don’t invite them into your home to conduct a Bible study so they can disseminate their heresy. Refuse To Assist False Teachers. And then, fourthly …
4. Renew Your Love For Jesus Christ
The Bible challenges us to renew our love for Jesus Christ. Jude closes his letter on false teaching with a call to … “keep yourselves in God’s love.” Continual renewal in God’s love is a key to guarding against false teaching taking hold in your life. Peter concludes his second epistle with this challenge: “Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”
Conclusion
Fritos corn chips. [Show bag.] They come in attractive, colorful packaging. And it appears to be a tasty little snack. You look on the back of the bag and see that it’s only 160 calories—not bad! But a closer look reveals that it’s 160 calories per serving. And this little bag contains 4 servings—that’s a total of 640 calories! It looks so innocent and harmless. But looks can be deceiving. And so it is with false teachers. They look innocent and harmless. But looks can be deceiving. Be careful what you swallow!
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
Let’s pray.
