The Spiritual World
1 John 4:1-6
Of all difficulties the modern Bible teacher
must face, the one which is least common to ancient times is
this: modern man has ceased to believe in the existence of the
spiritual world. We must address this first, for our ignorance
of it is certainly not bliss.
Test the Spirits
(1 John 4:1 NIV) 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.
I think it fairly obvious that John would not
have written this if he were not aware of the existence of the
Spiritual world. What evidence do we have for this?
First, we have the evidence of the
Scripture (and other ancient writings). The Roman empire is
no more, but all of us believe it existed. Why? Largely
because of the writings about it. Nothing is more obvious
from reading the Bible than the existence of the spiritual
world.
We have - if we will listen to it - the
evidence of our own lives. We live in the spiritual and
physical worlds simultaneously, and each affects the other.
By observing these effects we confirm the existence of both.
We have current evidence. Talk to a
missionary about this one; you'll find that Satan's strategy
is very different in, say, Thailand than in America. Here,
Satan's ploy is, "I don't exist, and therefore neither does
God." There the ploy is, "I am the strongest demon you can
imagine; worship me."
If we do not believe in the existence of the
spiritual world, we open ourselves up for attack from it. But
even if we do, we still need to know how to defend ourselves.
Testing
Wherever there is truth mixed with falsehood,
we need a method of telling the two apart - testing, in other
words.
Some might say, "John, how can your
intellectual approach to this be of any help? After all, I've
seen 'spiritual' people on television; they shout and jump
around and anoint people - you don't do any of that."
My gift is teaching. As to anointing,
jumping and shouting, presuming they are called to such, I
am not.
You are a spirit; but you are also an
intellect. What happens in the mind affects the spirit. If
you maintain your integrity (your "oneness") this will be of
benefit in the spiritual realm.
As we shall see later, perhaps the true
Spirit does not need to jump around so much. One does not
rule over the soul except by calm.
We must, therefore, know how to test the
spirits. Just how are we to go about constructing such a test?
To "test," as it is used here, means
something like we would road test a car. We try it out and
see if it's as good as the manufacturer claims. So testing
will involve us in some activity of some sort.
The first criterion of a good test is
this: it arrives at the truth. If it doesn't, throw it out.
That's pretty obvious.
The second criterion is a little more
subtle: it must be understandable. We must not only know
that we've arrived at the truth, but we must know how we
arrived at it, and have confidence in the method.
The third criterion is this: it must be
consistent with other true tests. The world and all in it
are God's, and he is not double minded.
False tests
Just like anything else in the truth, Satan
certainly would like to deceive you in this. He does this in two
ways:
Twists of true tests. Satan takes the
true tests of God (which we shall see in a minute) and turns
them into a false test. They look good - but they don't work.
Here are some of these:
Love. The greased pig of the English
language, we sometimes say that if it produces love, it must
be true. This is a twist of the test that the world shall
know we are his disciples by our love for each other. Satan
substitutes his own version of love.
Expertise. We are to listen to the
Apostles. Often, however, we presume that a Ph.D. will
substitute nicely for being an Apostle. Any hare brained
theory sounds good if you have a suitable degree to go with
it.
Denial of the true tests. Satan can also
deny the true tests. Here are some of the techniques:
New and improved. For six thousand
years man was mistaken, but now the truth has finally been
discovered (e.g., men and women are interchangeable parts).
Secret. The wisdom of the ages is
only available by consulting the mystic guru in the mountain
cave.
Think for yourself. Good advice, as
far as it goes. But take it too far and it can mean, "Make
up your own religion out of the bits and snatches you have."
It doesn't matter what you believe.
As long as you're sincere, the earth is flat.
True Tests
John now gives us the true tests we should
use:
(1 John 4:2-3 NIV) 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, {3} but every
spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is
the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and
even now is already in the world.
The Incarnation
Why does John begin with the Incarnation of
the Son of God?
If Jesus is not fully man, there is no
atonement - and no possible forgiveness of sins, no
reconciliation with God.
If Jesus is not fully God, there is no
authority in Him. His words are merely good advice - not the
commands that bring life abundantly. And without authority
of God, how could he forgive sins?
(And by the way, this believe should be shown
in action).
The Christ
That is to say, that Jesus is the Messiah
promised to the Jews from ancient times. Why is this important?
It establishes the factual verification -
the authenticity - of Jesus. This is not just some belief
that will help you if you swallow it whole, no Peter Pan
getting the audience to wish Tinkerbell well. It is rooted
firmly in reality.
It also implies that you understand, from
prophecy, what is to come. If you accept Jesus as the
Christ, you accept the prophecy of things to come. Therefore
you have hope for those who believe - and warning for those
who do not.
Listening to the Apostles
This is somewhat more difficult to discern -
as it involves knowing what the Apostles taught! But the rub of
the matter is this:
Is what you hear consistent with the
Scripture? We have examples of the kinds of things that
would be heard to be inconsistent (celibacy) and also of the
diligence of the Bereans - who "searched the Scripture."
This must be balanced by the Spirit's
leading in our time. Many things said in the New Testament
are intended as examples specific to Roman times, and these
we must transform to our own times. We cannot ignore the
principles they represent.
There are other tests which John does not
mention here:
There is the test of love for the
brethren, which we will examine in the next lesson.
There is the test of a prophet's complete
infallibility.
There is Christ's test: "by their fruits
you will know them." Things that happen in the spiritual
world have their effects here - and those effects will be
very telling.
Three Groups
(1 John 4:4-6 NIV) 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. {5} They are from
the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world,
and the world listens to them. {6} 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.
John now talks about three groupings, and it
is profitable for us to examine them individually.
Dear children
There are two key points that John brings out
for the true Christian:
They have overcome. Kindly note the past
tense. John is talking about the children of God who are in
right relationship with God.
First, there is no call to panic! We can
hear all we like about how much evil there is in the
spiritual world (and there is plenty), but it makes no
difference. The Spirit in us is greater than any and all in
the world.
Second, "the big dog sleeps wherever he
likes." This means that ordinary Christians, those who are
not called to spiritual warfare directly, are not troubled
by such things. For most of us, that means that the
spiritual world cannot hinder our work in Christ.
They have overcome by the power of God.
It is not our victory; it is His. We can see that in a number of
ways:
True power is shown by an air of calm.
The Great Dane never barks at the Chihuahua. Perhaps there
is more show than substance in screaming and anointing?
True power brings peace and security.
Satan cannot assault what God defends; therefore, we have
peace.
These things remain so - as long as we
remain in Christ. Remember, it is not our power, but his.
The world
One of the great doubts for Christians is
this: how come I'm the only one who believes? (One reason we
meet as a church is so that we can see that there are other
believers!) If this is so obvious, why doesn't everybody get it?
The Western world today does not believe
that the spiritual world exists. Therefore, such things need
to be explained away somehow.
To "not believe" is to accept the spirit
of this world - the spirit of Satan himself. Blind to the
spiritual, they are spiritual - and cursed.
This produces pain in this life and great
sorrow later.
Such people serve only their own
appetites. If you live for your belly, what happens when you
die?
You cannot cheat an honest man, but the
deceivers themselves will be deceived.
Their words sound good, but as Jeremiah
asked,
(Jer 5:31 NIV) The prophets prophesy lies,
the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it
this way. But what will you do in the end?
What will you do in the end? If God did
spare the angels who rebelled, what will He do with you?
Apostles and teachers
The "we" in verse six refers directly to the
Apostles, and by inference can be extended to all those who
teach that which the Apostles taught (my authority is not my
own, but given to me with the gift - as is the responsibility.)
They are the standard by which we are to read Scripture. I read
many writers from many different times, from the days of the
Apostles, through the Middle Ages and on up to the present.
Here's how I handle it:
Don't ask whether or not they agree
or disagree with what your particular point of doctrine
might be. You are not the standard; you and your
denomination might very well be wrong. Just because you see
it a particular way today doesn't necessarily mean the older
guy got it wrong.
Don't ask if they do or don't love
the people in our church. Some of these people are rather
crusty ascetics. Some are just naturally irritable people.
Their love in person doesn't always show in their writings.
Ask - do they listen to the Apostles?
Do they follow the teaching handed down? Or are they
inventing a new doctrine?
It is my intention in this class that I hand
on to you the doctrine of the Apostles, unchanged, no additions
or deletions, just as it was handed to me. No doubt I am
mistaken on many points; no doubt my mental failures have given
the appearance of contradiction. But that just shows I'm human;
I miss the target. But at least I know where the target is.
