Aug. 17, 2025

“WALKING IN THE LIGHT”

“DISTINGUISHING TRUTH FROM ERROR”

1 JOHN 4:1-6

John now focuses on the responsibility not of the teachers but of the hearers, our responsibility to distinguish truth from error.

1.  The Importance of Doctrinal Purity- 1 John 4:1

1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

1 John 3:23 “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.”

John issues two commands, the first is negative, the second positive- “…do not believe every spirit…” and “…test the spirits…” vs.1

The term translated “spirit” here is “pneuma”, which most basically means “breath” or “wind.”

*The command- “Do not believe every spirit”

Everyone who teaches is either the mouthpiece of the spirit of truth, speaking for God, or the mouthpiece of the spirit of error, speaking for Satan.

*The command- “test the spirits”

This leads to the second command; we are to “test the spirits” of teachers, “to see whether they are from God” 4:1.

Luke describes those who heard the gospel in Berea this way:

Acts 17:11 “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” 

John uses the term dokimazo, “to test,” in a way similar to Paul’s use:

1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 “Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22Abstain from every form of evil.”

The word means, to make a critical examination of something to determine genuineness.

He follows his commands with a purpose statement:

1 John 4:1 “…because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

Already in John’s day the prophecies of Christ had begun to be fulfilled:

Matthew 24:11 “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.”

2.   How Do We Exercise Discernment Between The True and the False? 1 John 4:2-3

1 John 4:2-3 “By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.”

John addresses this question, “By this you know the Spirit of God…” vs.2. Listen up!

What is this thing which a person can know the Spirit of God?

Jude 1:3 “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”

True faith centers on the person and work of Jesus Christ. 

John couldn’t of been clearer. Authentic teachers who are motivated by the spirit of truth confess faith in the true Jesus. The word translated “confess” “homologue” implies a wholehearted, whole-life profession of personal faith in Jesus Christ.

Titus 1:16 “They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.”

Both elements, words and deeds, make a true confession.

Similarly, when Paul referred to the future Antichrist as the “man of lawlessness.”

2 Thessalonians 2:3 “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.”

2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 “And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.”

3. Urgent Warnings Against False Teachers- 1 John 4:4-6

Note the opening words of these three verses: “You” vs.4…”They” vs.5…. “We” vs.6. The first and the last refer to those who are from God, the middle refers to those who are from the world.

1 John 4:4-6 “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

Because of this, they “have overcome the world.”

1 John 5:5 “Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

When John says his readers have “overcame them” who is “them?”

They overcame, “… because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” vs.4.

Luke 12:11-12 “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. 12For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

John 16:13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

The Spirit of God who is within us is mightier than any enemy of the truth, human or demonic.

He further describes “them” vs.5, they are from the world, captivating others by their deception.

John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

1 John 4:6 “We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

The “us” here likely refers to the genuine apostles, John and his circle of truth tellers.

When you’re trying to discern between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error, remember this two-pronged principle: 

1. Listen carefully to the one who’s teaching.

2. Look closely at those who are following.