Beloved, do not believe every spirit,

Worst Time ever?

Some say that these are the most evil times in history. I don’t know. How do you even assess such a statement? I’m sure that during the black plague people thought things were pretty bad. Living in Europe during either world war was pretty bad. Living in Uganda or Rwanda during their genocides was pretty bad if you were there. I am not sure that trying to assess if these are actually the most evil times ever in God’s eyes is even worthwhile. Because what good is such knowledge, if it does not tell us how to live?

What do we know?

According to the passage above (and the news) we know that the world is full of lies. We also know these lies are not all as random as they seem. There is a spiritual wickedness behind these lies. And what’s more, the forces behind these lies have an agenda. I know, I know, this sounds like conspiracy stuff. But it’s not a conspiracy in the normal sense of that term, it is simply the reality of spiritual evil at work in this world. It is the spirit of antichrist according to the text and it has been at work in the world since John’s time, so it is safe to assume it is still at work.

We also know from this text that the one who is in us (as believers) is greater than the one that is at work in the unbelieving world. Namely, the antichrist spirit that has made pawns of all those who do not believe.

How do we know?

This is the whole point of this article. John has given us a way to discern between the true and the false, the spirit of antichrist and the spirit of Christ.

They are from the world;

They are from the world

The spirit of antichrist is not some unusually evil thing as many expect. It is a very common and ordinary thing for the most part which is why it is so influential. It is of this world, it speaks to this world, and the world listens. It is a perverse kind of common sense, something the whole world knows and understands. But it is anti-Christ and anti-God, it is a very human centered and physical world focused spirit.

We are from God

We often shy from even speaking like this because it sounds proud to us. But when properly understood, it is the exact opposite of proud. Being “from God” is not a status that we have earned, our life and new life is a gift from God it is the Spirit of God in us. Those who are for God will hear us, those who are not will only hear the spirit of antichrist, that spirit of this world that opposes God and Christ. What makes the difference between those that can hear and those that will not? That is an old argument that many theologians have fought about, I do not have time for those kinds or questions today. Not that anyone can answer them definitively anyway, and I’m not sure the answer really matters in the end. The fact remains, there are only two kinds of people in the world. Those that listen to God and those that will not. We see these two groups interacting from the Gospels to Revelation.

By this we know

“By this we know the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of error.” Those motivated by the spirit of error will not listen to the truth of God and those motivated by the spirit of God will. Ironically, this holds true whether they claim to be believers or not. There are those that have ears to hear and those do not. Jesus spoke and still speaks to those that have ears to hear.

Now that we know, what do we do?

As always “what to do?” is the toughest question of all. Is this bit of discernment meant to give us the smug self-satisfaction of being a bit smarter than others? Well, if we go there it is very questionable if we even know the Spirit of truth. Smug, superior, self-righteousness is the spirit of this world, which is the spirit of antichrist. We see it everywhere today. It is the spirit that thinks it does not need Christ or God. It is truly anti-Christ.

No, the knowledge that we belong to God and that our life is now only to be found in Christ should take us in a very different direction. The knowledge that many others are led by a different spirit should move us as well. If you read the broader passage in 1st John you will see that the church was being influenced by those that were motivated by worldly thinking, by the spirit of antichrist. John wanted them to be wise and discern what they were listening to, who they were really listening to. They were not hearing the Spirit of God but the spirit of antichrist in all this worldly (though often religious) chatter.

Today the Church and by “the Church” I am not referring to some denomination or local fellowship I am talking about the entire body of true believers in Christ. Today we need to think carefully about who we listen to. Their proclaimed allegiance to a group or the lack thereof is not enough to give anyone credibility. The real question is, “Do they hear and respond to truth?”. Or do they, reject it when they hear it? There are many claiming to be Christians that through their actions and teachings deny Christ. And ironically many that have no such stated beliefs that will respond to the truth and even defend it when they hear it. Today more than ever we need to listen and watch and judge our observations not on a persons stated beliefs or allegiances, but rather assess those speaking on their response to the truth of Jesus.

And we need to pray, Jesus opens blind eyes, he always has. He opened our eyes, if we can in fact see. This new found sight is a miracle and a gift, and we must pray for that miracle in others as well. We must lead people to Jesus so that he can do this miracle for them. And to lead them we first need to go ourselves.

May we all, as we live and work this week, allow the Spirit of God to so motivate us that anyone that would follow us would be walking toward Jesus. And may God grant us the grace to know the difference between His Spirit and the lying, self-serving, spirit of antichrist. Jesus is still Lord of all and He that is in us is still greater than he that is in the world.

Have a great week!