For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.
4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesusis not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world. 4 Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
- The term “spirits” (v.1) is equivalent to “prophetic messages.”
- The same word “spirit” is rendered prophecy in 2 Thess 2:2.
- The idea is similar to that in 1 Thess 5:20-21.
- The point: don’t be duped by false prophets. God’s true Spirit always works in harmony with God’s Word and will never teach, tolerate or lead us into error.
- Are there prophets today? Click here.
- The world—and this includes pagans and the worldly religious—accepts worldly thinking and excuses, approving of the messages of the false prophets (vv.4-6).
- Anyone on the side of truth will eventually join us—or we will join him.
- Our focus should not be “Who’s right?”, but “What’s right?” Begin with the truth in God’s word, then apply it relentlessly and accept the conclusions.
- Can a Gnostic Christian be saved? Click here.
7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
- Verses 7-10 are poetic, and based on an ancient Christian hymn.
- Love is revealed by action, particularly by going.
11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 15 God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. 16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
- Love is the very nature of God (vv.7-11). It is impossible to understand real love without appreciating the cross of Christ.
- In regard to vv.12-15, no one has ever fully, completely seen God (John 1:18; Isa 55:8-9), though at times God has made one aspect or another of himself visible (Exod 34, for example).
- We see God in the person of Jesus as recorded in the Bible (Col 2:9). But today Jesus is at the right hand of the Father, and through his spirit he lives in his body, the church (Eph 1:22-23; 2:22).
- Although God is invisible, he is seen in Christian relationships. It’s so difficult to lead someone to Christ without his or her seeing the community of faith. The abstract becomes concrete in the fellowship of the saints.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.
- In regard to vv.16-18, believers in Christ possess spiritual confidence.
- Fear has to do with punishment. Christians know they’re forgiven, and perfect (mature, complete) love drives out fear. We revere God (a good sort of fear), but we don’t stand in terror of God (the bad sort), for three reasons:
- We're already acquainted with him (he's no stranger), and we're confident about his unchanging nature. A true Christian need not fear death. We don't fear him because we know him.
- God has assured us in Christ that he'll do anything to get us to heaven. The cross is a powerful disclosure of his heart. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17).
- He sets our hearts at peace, providing us with forgiveness and the gift of a good conscience (Heb 9:14). When we're living right, our hearts are at rest. This should be the “default setting” of a disciple of Christ. At his return Christ will bring salvation to those waiting for him (Hebrews 9:28).
- What will the judgment day be like for Christians? Will our lives be reviewed in order to determine whether we go to heaven or hell, or merely to determine some level of reward in heaven?
- All believers will appear before the judgment seat (2 Cor 5:10).
- We are not saved by our works (Eph 2:8-9), but we are rewarded according to our works (Matt 25:21). Before death we know that we are saved (1 John 5:13) and thus be confident and unashamed before God at his coming (2:28).
- Jesus frequently mentions treasures in heaven (Matt 6:20).
- Punishment, like reward, is in direct proportion to knowledge and responsibility (Luke 12:47-48). It is just not true that all get the same reward or punishment.
- At the return of Christ we will:
- receive the gift of eternal life (1 Cor 15:50, 53),
- meet Jesus Christ, and
- become like him (3:2).
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. 21 The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
- As John puts it in 4:20, if we claim to love the (invisible) Lord while we don’t love our (visible) brother, we lie.
- It isn't logically possible to love God (who is invisible) if you don't love your brothers and sisters (who are visible).
- Contradictions to the claim that we love God -- all of which bring reproach on the Christian church -- include:
- Bitterness and resentment (Heb 12:15).
- Racism and prejudice, which are forms of hatred (Gal 5:20). It has been accurately observed, “11:00 on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week.”
- Refusal to connect relationally with other Christians. Isolation contributes to denominationalism (1 Cor 1:10-12; 3:16-17; John 17:20-23).
- Fragmenting or fractured marriages (Eph 5:22-33).
- Disrespectful treatment of others, violating the spirit of love (1 Cor 13:1-8).
- Lack of forgiveness -- which is damnable (Matt 6:14-15).
- Love is the bottom line.
- A true Christian must actively love God, his brothers and sisters in the faith, and the lost.
- These truths -- a personal walk with God, involvement in the church, and commitment to evangelism -- we hold to be (biblically) self-evident.
Thought questions:
- Am I spiritually gullible, or am I cautiously skeptical, testing everything by the Word?
- Are we walking confidently before God and man? How do we feel about the judgment?
- Does the church you attend reflect local demographics, or is there a lack of love for those who are different from the norm?