1 John 4:1-12 [NLTse]
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 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.
4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. 5 Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. 6 But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.
7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
A man was starting a new diet and so altered his drive to work to avoid passing by his favorite bakery. However, he accidentally drove by the bakery one morning and as he approached, there in the window were a host of chocolates, donuts, and cheesecakes.
The man felt this was no accident, so he prayed: “Lord, it’s up to You. If You want me to have any of those delicious goodies, You’re going to have to give me a sign: Create a parking place for me directly in front of the bakery.”
And sure enough, as he drove around the block for the eighth time, there it was! God is so good!
We’ve been talking about prayer for the past couple of weeks, but not just about the talking-to-God kind of prayer, we’ve been talking about the listening-to and hearing-from-God kind of prayer, as well. But like the man driving ‘round and ‘round the bakery until his “sign from God” appeared, we need to know that we’re truly hearing from the Almighty and not just our own desires or worse.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the Roman Catholic monk who founded the Jesuit Order, published some rules for discernment that are as instructive today as they were back when he wrote them in the mid-1500s. He writes:
“In souls that are progressing to greater perfection, the action of the good angel [the Holy Spirit] is delicate, gentle, delightful. It may be compared to a drop of water penetrating a sponge.
“The action of the evil spirit upon such souls is violent, noisy, and disturbing. It may be compared to a drop of water falling upon a stone.
“In souls that are going from bad to worse the action of the spirits mentioned above is just the reverse. The reason for this is to be sought in the opposition or similarity of these souls to the different kinds of spirits. When the disposition is contrary to that of the spirits, they enter with noise and commotion that are easily perceived. When the disposition is similar to that of the spirits, they enter silently, as one coming into his own house when the doors are open.”
In our day the depth of Christian discernment can often be heard as going no deeper than if we have a sense of peace then the response must have come from God or if we have good feelings about the answer then it must have come from God. But Ignatius’ rules show the shallowness of such a standard: The counsel of a lying spirit will be received peacefully to one with a lying heart; the counsel of a lustful spirit will be received peacefully to one with a lustful heart; the counsel of a greedy spirit will be received peacefully to one with a greedy heart; etc…
The prophet Jeremiah famously states: “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” When we trust God’s Word about the sinfulness of the human heart we know that everyone of us has the potential to be deceived and to deceive ourselves. That knowledge compels us to be careful in, and to treasure, discernment.
The gift of discernment is a vital necessity for the Church. Without it, the body of Christ is vulnerable to the assaults of Satan and false teachers and false teaching. Without discernment, Christians are unable to move forward boldly, trusting the leading of the Holy Spirit.
We live “between the times”, the time of the working of the Holy Spirit, but also of human sinfulness and the working of Satan. “Jesus answered, ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, claiming, “I am the Christ,” and will deceive many.’” (Matthew 24:4-5) Jesus tells us that not all signs, wonders, and miracles come from the Holy Spirit. “For false Christ’s and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible.” (Matthew 24:24) And Paul tells us, “… such people are not serving our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naïve people.” (Romans 16:18)
It is critical for us to learn about discernment because there are different sources of inspiration and religious experience. We can be spoken to by 1) God and His angelic beings; by, 2) Satan and his evil spirits; 3) our own human minds, spirits, and emotions can be at work; or the response might be coming from 4) the pressures of culture and society; or we might be being wowed by 5) the awesomeness of nature; and, of course, any combination of the above.
Because of these different sources of inspiration and religious experience, nothing can be taken simply as being from God. Everything must be weighed carefully.
Have you ever had the experience of listening to someone preach or teach, or listening to a friend share with you about something God just revealed to them, in which something felt wrong, but you weren’t sure what it was? This could have been the Holy Spirit within you alerting you to some false doctrine or to the presence of evil spirits…
Each new word or action that is from the Lord must be discerned anew. Even among those who are recognized as godly preachers and teachers. Such a person may begin to assume that each time he or she speaks that the Holy Spirit is leading. The result is that he or she is no longer submitted to the rigors of the discernment process. This is very dangerous! Often the preacher or prophet’s ego, in collaboration with the passivity and praise of their hearers, provides an opening for Satan to slip in and work his mischief. Each new word that is given must be discerned.
The character and life of the person who receives the inspiration is also important. Jesus gives us clear guidance as to discerning the source of a word. That guidance is to check out the source. “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns or figs from thistles?” (Matthew 7:15-16) This test of character works. Lifestyle and character will reveal the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Discernment is a supernatural gift given by the Holy Spirit as needed and prayed for, but it is also an art that may be cultivated through experience. Discernment involves both the ability to tell what is truly from the Spirit of God and what comes from other spirits. It is a process involving human reason and observation in which words or behaviors may be measured against the standard of Scripture. It is the eye-opening work of the Holy Spirit that reveals the source of some counsel or action.
There are four questions we can ask to help us discern if the spirit someone has, and/or the counsel someone has or has been giving, comes from God.
First, does it give glory to Jesus Christ in the present and in the future? John 14:26 says, “But when the Father sends the Advocate as My representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” The Holy Spirit will always point to Jesus and bring to us the words of Jesus, not anyone else.
“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His Oown but will tell you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring Me glory by telling you whatever He receives from Me. All that belongs to the Father is Mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever He receives from Me.’” (John 16:13-14) The Holy Spirit has a single-minded focus on Jesus Christ as the truth, and will bring glory only to Jesus. If the counsel or guidance or word does not make the Lord Jesus Christ look good and draw people’s attention to Him, that counsel or guidance or word is not from God.
A second question we can ask when seeking to discern whether or not an answer to prayer is from God or not is, is the answer or counsel or proclamation consistent with the intentions and character of God as revealed in Scripture?
Paul wrote to young Pastor Timothy, “You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:15-17)
Whether personal to corporate, every word or direction from God must be tested by Scripture.
Another question to ask is, do other people who are filled with the Holy Spirit have a confirming witness? To the Corinthians, Paul wrote: “Let two or three people prophesy, and let the others evaluate what is said.” (1 Corinthians 14:29) If guidance or a manifestation is from the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit will confirm it in the hearts of others. The same reason we talked about last week as to why it’s so important to pray with others and have the Holy Spirit demonstrate His agreement as others pray like us.
Spiritual reality is not accessible to those who are not walking with Jesus. “But people who aren’t spiritua can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. [He’s speaking about non-believers here.] For, ‘Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach Him?’ But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:14-16)
Too often we seek the counsel of well-meaning friends and family members who are not Christians when trying to discern our courses of action. But only those being filled with the Holy Spirit can help us discern God’s will.
Lastly, we need to ask, is there confirmation in objectively verifiable events or facts? “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with My Word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)
God is the Lord of the universe. He is sovereign and is acting in nature and in human history. This means that there will always be an objective dimension to God’s work.
God said, “Let there be light,” and there was! This light may be objectively studied and observed.
This is true for other words and actions by God. They are objective. This is why Isaiah says God’s words will not come back empty. And it’s these objective results that provide us with our answers to the fourth discernment test.
Moses wrote in Deuteronomy, ““But you may wonder, ‘How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord?’ 22 If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared.” (18:21-22)
Some examples of this would be that
Sometimes when praying for healing, there will be manifestations. If there is an actual healing, the doctor will confirm it.
If a vision or prophecy is from God, it will start to have objectively verifiable indications that it is actually being fulfilled.
A word of knowledge will connect with actual facts in the person’s life.
Etc…
Of course, sometimes the objective evidence does not come all at once. Sometimes we have to reserve judgment on whether a word or action is from the Lord until we can see the fruit, and that may take some time. But we must be willing to take the risk of obedience even though we are still waiting. Sometimes we will not know until we actually obey and step out in faith.
Because we are imperfect, there is always risk in the discernment process. We could be wrong. Yet we still have to act and make decisions. God knows this, and He helps us even when we miss His guidance.