Category Archives: 1 John

In the previous program we saw that the existence and quality of our faith in Jesus Christ is tested by moral power. Before that, we also saw that our faith is tested by our expression of love. Now God, through Christ’s Apostle John tells us a third way in which our faith is tested. It is tested by our witness for Christ. The apostle wrote, “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for the witness of God is this, that he hath borne witness concerning his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in him: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar: because he hath not believed in the witness that God hath borne concerning his Son. And the witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life.” (1 John 5:9-12 ASV)

When this passage says, “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in him:” Are we to understand the words, “hath the witness in him” to refer to some intuitive testimony which God gives to the believer? Remember that this witness is about the identity of Christ. This is not witness about a believer’s standing with God. God does reassure the follower of Christ about his standing. “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” (Romans 8:16 NIV) Similarly, “God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’” (Galatians 4:6 NIV) But in this passage the Apostle John is not pointing to that internal witness which gives the follower of Christ reassurance of his acceptance by God. Rather, it is witness about who Jesus really is. Do believers in Christ need or do they receive some witness about the identity of Christ, in addition to the scriptural witness, to strengthen their faith or to be assured of their faith in Christ? That can hardly be the case because Scripture in Romans 10:17 tells us that “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” (NIV)

When John says, “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in him:” (1 John 5:10), what does he mean? He means that when the believer in Christ has received the witness which God has given concerning Jesus, that witness is now in the believer’s memory, in the believer’s understanding and in the believer’s heart. In this way, the believer has internalized the witness. It is no longer a witness coming only from outside by hearing or by reading, it is now a witness which the believer has ‘in him.’ “The human mind is made for truth, and so rests in truth, as it cannot rest in falsehood.”

This refers not only to a witness which the believer has received but also to a witness which also emanates from within the believer. That is how we know the witness is in a person. The believer does not keep it hidden in himself. He expresses it. Therefore, we know it is ‘in him.’ As the Apostle Paul pointed out, there is an inevitable relationship between faith and life. Paul calls our attention to this relationship when he explained the dynamics of his own ministry. He says, “But having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, I believed, and therefore did I speak; we also believe, and therefore also we speak;” (2 Corinthians 4:13 RV). Thus, if one really believes the witness which God has given concerning Christ, he cannot keep the fact of who Jesus is in secret. He will give witness of the great truth that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.

Every follower of Christ believes that the statement, “…that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners: is a trustworthy saying.” Therefore, he will inevitably, say, also, that this truth is “…worthy of all acceptation…” (cf. 1 Timothy 1:15). Once a person says that, he will then do all he can to help others accept it. It is only natural, therefore, that such a one will witness to others, because he “…hath the witness in him:…” (1 John 5:10 RV). This organic and spontaneous witness which inevitably springs from faith, is the broader meaning of the Apostle Paul’s affirmation that “…with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10 RV).

But what does the follower of Christ say when he gives witness? The Apostle John tells us what the believer’s witness is. He says, “And the witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life” (1 John 5:11-12 RV).

This touches the root of the problem of evangelism. If we who claim to be followers of Christ do not speak about him to others, it is because we do not believe. When we do speak from unbelief our words are hollow and powerless. Only the existence of faith, that faith which God is pleased to accept, will bring fruitful evangelism. When that faith flourishes the followers of Christ will not only manifest a love for each other through their obedience to God, but also God’s power in them through moral victory in a sinful world, and a love for the lost of the world by witnessing to them of the life that God has given us in Christ.

The facts about Jesus and the truth about Jesus are so overwhelmingly certain that those who do not accept them when God gives them the opportunity to know them are guilty of insulting and defaming God! The apostle John tells us, “He that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he hath not believed in the witness that God hath borne concerning his Son.” (1 John 5:10 ASV)

The greater the evidence, the greater the guilt one incurs who rejects that evidence! God became a witness that Jesus Christ was sent by him as the Savior. God gave this witness at Christ’s baptism, through the miracles which Christ performed and through Christ’s death and resurrection. To deny all this is to charge God who bore the testimony with falsehood. To charge God with falsehood is a sin. It is a crime. It will be punished. However, God does not want any to be punished but all to be saved.

“Try your own selves, whether ye are in the faith; prove your own selves. Or know ye not as to your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you? unless indeed ye be reprobate” (2 Corinthians 13:5 RV).

In the last program we saw that our faith in Jesus Christ is tested by our love. In these verses we will see that our faith is also tested by moral power. This scripture tells us that, “Everyone born of God has overcome the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believers that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 John 5:4-5 NIV).

A true follower of Christ is one who has accepted the teaching of Christ. Because he has become faithful to Christ’s teaching, he has been endowed with a new life from God. He has been “born of God.” (1 John 5:4) And this new life has given the follower of Christ unique moral power through the Holy Spirit. The Apostle John has already reminded the followers of Christ that God, “has given us of his Spirit.” (1 John 4:13). In the letter which he wrote to the followers of Christ in Rome, the Apostle Paul called this unique moral power, “the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13) The Apostle John has called the Holy Spirit, “the Spirit of God” (1 John 4:2), “the Spirit of truth” (1 John 4:6) and “his [that is, God’s] Spirit” (1 John 4:13) The power which the Holy Spirit gives to the one who follows Christ makes it possible for him to lead a life of moral victory. He has a victory which “overcomes the world.” (1 John 5:4)

The Apostle John has already told us what the word ‘world’ means. He said “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” (1 John 2:15-17 RV)

If these three elements are still among the passions which move us, then we have no victory over the world. Thus, we do not have the faith which John speaks of and, therefore, do not have that redeeming relationship with God which results in new life.

To make the analysis even clearer one should read the catalog of victory which is given when God’s Spirit dwells in a person. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control; against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 RV)

The moral power of faith is clearly stated in the words, “This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4). However, not just faith in anyone or faith in anything has this power. It has to be a proper faith. Therefore John wrote, “Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 John 5:5 NIV).

But then the question arises, How do we know which Jesus “is the Son of God?” Christ’s Apostle John answers, “This is the one who came by water and the blood – Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.” (1 John 5:6 NIV)

“Faith in this truth is the only faith that can overcome the world and give eternal life.” (A. Plummer, The Epistles of St. John (University Press, Cambridge, 1894), p.157) The words, “the one who came by water and the blood” (1 John 5:6) refer to “the Baptism with which His public work began and the bloody death with which He finished it.” (A. Plummer, The Epistles of St. John (University Press, Cambridge, 1894), p.159)

About the baptism of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, the one who baptized him, said, “I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:33-34 NIV)

About the blood, the prophet Isaiah, by a divine message, made it clear that the true Savior of the world would have to die for all people. He wrote, “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. … he poured out his life unto death …” (Isaiah 53:4-5, 12 NIV) It is no wonder that, “the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, [when he] heard his cry and saw how he died, said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39 NIV)

In addition to the witness of Jesus’ baptism and the witness of his death, there is a third witness. The Apostle John wrote, “And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood: and the three are in agreement.” (1 John 5:6b-8 NIV)

Jesus had said that the Holy Spirit, “will testify about me.” (John 15:26 NIV) Jesus also said about the Holy Spirit, “He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.” (John 16:14 NIV)

“When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’” (Luke 3:21-22 NIV)

If we want victory over the lust of the flesh, over the lust of the eyes and over the vain glory of life, we must believe in this one whom God sent into the world and about whom he testified by water, by blood and by the Holy Spirit that this is the Savior of the whole world!

Being a follower of Christ involves both inner and outer elements of our being. It is important to have practical methods for evaluating the quality and reality of these essential factors in our lives. Evaluating the inner elements of being a follower of Christ, since these factors are invisible qualities, is infinitely more difficult than appraising the outward perceptible elements one must have to follow Christ.

Among the inner realities of being a Christian, love of God is fundamental. But how does one evaluate such an elusive quality as love? Another of the indispensable inner requisites for being a follower of Christ is faith in God and in Christ. What standards and procedures may a follower of Christ use to appraise his own faith? God has used the Apostle John in a unique way to give us the means to accomplish the difficult task of appraising these intangible factors in our walk with Christ.

The Apostle John reveals three criteria for evaluating our faith. They are: (1) love, (2) moral power, (3) and witnessing for Christ.

First, the Apostle John explains to us that faith may be tested by love. He introduces this test with a statement of the centrality of faith in the plan of God for reconciling man. He wrote, “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is begotten of God.” (1 John 5:1 RV).

He reminds us that in the normal course of events faith in Christ results in a birth which makes the believer a member of the family of those who follow Christ. This family relationship provides the opportunity to determine the existence and strength of our personal faith. John went on to say that “…whosoever loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of Him.” (1 John 5:1 RV). Thus, love, an intangible, becomes a means of determining the existence and quality of faith, which is another intangible!

The logic of this test is this: If we have the faith John speaks of, it will result in God imparting new life to us. This life will issue in a new birth resulting in a family relationship which will be permeated and motivated by love. Reasoning from the conclusion back to the premise, then: If one does not manifest the love that characterizes the family relationship, it is because he is really not in that relationship. This means he hasn’t been born anew which, in turn, indicates the absence of faith in Christ or a defect in one’s faith in Christ.

The love of which John speaks has two-dimensions. First, love has a vertical dimension. This is clear because the person who has received new life through faith in Christ, “loveth him that begat.” (1 John 5:1) That means he loves the one who gave him that wonderful new life! And that one is God. But love also has a horizontal dimension. This is clear because that love, “loveth him also that is begotten of him.” (1 John 5:1) That means that the one who has faith which results in new life will love the others who have received that new life!

The validity of this test is corroborated by all our experience of family life. How, for instance, is an infant’s love for his father brought into being? Aren’t the joy, the comfort, and the confidence of the little child in his father’s arms, a testimony of his love for his father? But on what is the child’s love based? It has not been won by the father through logical argument or temporal inducements. Love is evident long before such things could have any value to the child. The little child’s love for his father, the one through whom God gave the child life is, rather, a congenital love that is inherent in the child-father relationship.

The Apostle John’s next statement seems less obvious than the last. When jealousy, resentment, and animosity so frequently characterize the relationship between brothers and sisters doesn’t it jeopardize the assertion that “…whosoever loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him”? (1 John 5:1) If we consider the brother-sister relationship under all conditions we may never reach this conclusion. Brothers may be engaged one moment in mutual strife but if in the next moment one of them is set upon by an outsider, his brother does, automatically, what love and loyalty dictate; that is, he upholds his brother.

Though it seems, at first thought, that John only intensifies our problem when he attempts to evaluate one intangible by another, that is proving the validity of faith by love, it is a formula given by God’s inspiration, so we should be sure we will be able to obtain practical results from it.

Here it seems that the whole argument is turned back on itself for John says, “Hereby we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and do his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” (1 John 5:2 RV).

This means that our horizontal love, that is, love of our brethren, is to be evaluated by our vertical love, which is our love to God. First, then, we need to understand how one love may be checked or evaluated by the other.

One definition for love will help clarify the meaning: Love is a deep personal attachment for someone which seeks the good of the one to whom it is directed. Now, we may see how my failure to love God can intimately effect my brethren in such a manner that I can no longer defend my profession of love for them.

The love of God is expressed in obedience to him, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3 RV). But, if I allow myself to become disobedient to God, I invariably violate any definition of brotherly love. My disobedience may bring my brethren under the wrath of God. Who can confine the consequences of rebellion against God? Scripture tells us, “Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the devoted thing, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity” (Joshua 22:20 RV). Brotherly love, out of consideration for our brother’s welfare, will keep us from this selfishness regardless of the contrary inducements.

The followers of Jesus are not only commanded to love but are empowered to express love. One of the most complete discussions of our responsibility to love is given by Christ’s Apostle John. John originally wrote the scripture which God gave him by using the Greek language. One Greek word for love refers to physical passion (eros). Another Greek word for love refers to affection like that between brothers (phileo) The highest form of love is expressed by a the Greek word ‘agapae.’ It seeks nothing in return for being given. It only seeks the well being and joy of the one to whom that love is given. That is the kind of love the followers of Jesus are commanded to show. How can we recognize that kind of love? The Apostle John tells us “We love, because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19 ASV)

First of all, this verse says, “We love.” It does not say whom we love, whether it is God, mankind, our family or fellow followers of Christ. It just says, “We love.” This verse is not concerned about the object of one’s love but the exercise of love toward anyone. Though it says that the followers of Christ now exercise love, the clear indication is that previously, that is before they became followers of Christ, they did not exercise love. On a world-wide basis, sin and Satan had so distorted human nature that love had died out. Man had to learn anew to exercise love. Man needed an object lesson. Man needed an example. Man needed to be shown how to love

In the phrase, “because he first loved us,” we learn who gives the object lesson. It is God himself. Even though the statement, “because he first loved us,” is in the past tense, his love is continuous. It didn’t stop in the past. The statement is put in the past tense because he had given the object lesson prior to the followers of Christ beginning to exercise love to God and to others. All around us we see the evidence of God’s love. It is obvious in the regularity of the seasons, in the predictability of the ocean tides, in the certainty of day and night, of winter and summer, of seed time and harvest time. Obviously someone cares or these areas of predictable regularity would be engulfed in unpredictable chaos. But more than these ‘natural’ manifestations of God’s love, he gave us the ultimate expression of his love in sending Jesus Christ into the world to become the Savior of sinners!

Man not only needs an object lesson to know how to love but he needs power to overcome indifference, to overcome animosity, to overcome selfishness and to overcome hate with love. That power comes from the fact that, as we have seen in verse 15, that “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God.” (ASV) When God abides in the follower of Christ, only then that follower is empowered to love.

It is easy for all of us to be deceived about our true inner condition. We need some way to know whether we truly love or not. God has used John to show us how to test ourselves. He wrote, “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen.” (1 John 4:20 ASV)

In the words, “If a man say, I love God,” (1 John 4:20) The apostle John is repeating a claim that many make about their relationship with God. However the confirmation of that claim can be made good only by a proper relationship with our fellow human beings.

If while one makes the claim that, “I love God,” in fact he “hateth his brother” (1 John 4:20) his claim is totally negated. How can anyone love God while hating a person whom God has created and one whom God loves? The fact that the person we hate is living is proof that God loves him. Our lives and the lives of our fellow human beings are only sustained by God’s love. If anyone doubts the statement that the one we hate is sustained by God’s love, he should ask, who keeps our metabolism working? Further, he should ask who keeps the ecosystem working which supplies the materials which are needed by our metabolism? In other words, because God loves him, he is sustaining and upholding the one we hate! Obviously, then, for one to make the claim that I love God while hating one whom God loves means, “he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen.” (1 John 4:20 ASV) The easier, that is loving our brother whom we have seen, must precede the more difficult, that is, loving God whom we have not seen.

Someone might think that he will just love God but not have the same feeling for his fellow human beings. The apostle John shows that there is no room for such a choice. He wrote, “And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also.” (1 John 4:21 ASV)

“this commandment have we from him,” Where do we find this commandment? It has been a commandment from the time of Moses and even before. Through Moses God said, “Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah: and thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5 ASV) God also said, “Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am Jehovah.” (Leviticus 19:18 ASV)

“he who loveth God love his brother also.” This does not mean “that one can love God only in [or through] one’s brother; rather love for brother and love for God [must] coexist.” (Raymond E. Brown, The Anchor Bible, The Epistles of John, (New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1982), p. 562, n.64.) However, when we love people we show our love to God. Jesus’ statement recorded in Matthew 25:40 gives us this very principle. He said, “Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.” (ASV)

God seeks the most intimate fellowship with those who serve him. Through the Apostle John God tells us, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:15 ASV)

When he tells us, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God,” it means that it is not enough to know and believe that God visited mankind in and through Jesus Christ, we must be willing to openly acknowledge that truth.

For the person who is courageous enough to openly acknowledge the truth about Jesus Christ, “God abideth in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:15 ASV) This epistle was written to those who openly followed Christ. They had already surrendered their lives in obedience to Christ and had been baptized. Because of that, as the Apostle John said in 1 John 4:13, the follower of Christ knows “he [God] hath given us of his Spirit.” Through his Spirit God abides in the follower of Christ. If the follower of Christ will continue to “confess that Jesus is the Son of God,” then “God abideth in him, and he in God.”

In the heart of every honest person, knowledge of the truth leads to faith and trust. Thus the Apostle John could say, “We know and have believed.” (1 John 4:16 ASV) In an honest heart belief grows in response to the facts and the truth which one knows. In this case it is faith growing out of the knowledge of God’s love. As this passage says, we “have believed the love which God hath in us,” (1 John 4:16 ASV) That love is evident all around us but it has had its culminating expression in the coming of Jesus Christ who gave his life to redeem the whole world from the penalty of our sin.

How does one know whether he or someone else is enjoying the mutual and reciprocal indwelling which is clearly indicated by the words, “God abideth in him, and he in God.”? (1 John 4:15) One way to know, as we have already seen, is because the follower of Jesus knows God dwells in him, “because he hath given us of his Spirit.” (1 John 4:13 ASV) In this verse, (1 John 4:16) there is a method to test whether God abides in a person. The person who “abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him.” The change of character from indifferent, or from envious, or from malicious to loving is proof that God is abiding within the changed person and is in control of his or her life.

The mutual fellowship of one who abides in God and in whom God abides yields beautiful fruit. “Herein is love made perfect with us,” (1 John 4:17 ASV) “Herein,” that is love will be perfected because God who is love abides in the follower of Jesus. “The perfection of love comes from this divine indwelling.”

God works in the believer in Christ to produce love so “that we may have boldness in the day of judgment;” (1 John 4:17 ASV) As the love which is in the heart of the follower of Jesus is made perfect, it gives him boldness as the day of judgment approaches.

God-inspired love manifests itself through a unique life style. The Apostle John wrote: “because as he is, even so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17 ASV) God, who is love, resides in the heart and life of the follower of Christ. That brings the follower of Christ into mutual union and indwelling with God, on the pattern of Christ’s union with God. This completely transforms one’s life style. Because the power of divine love changes behavior, the behavior of the follower of Christ is changed from being self-centered to being God-centered. Thus, “as he is, even so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17 ASV) This means the true follower of Christ by divine power is patterning his life on the model of God’s life. Obviously that will give such a person great boldness in the day of judgment.

The consequences of a life which is motivated by God-inspired love may be expressed both negatively and positively. As we have already seen, when expressed positively, such a person will, “have boldness in the day of judgment;” (1 John 4:17 ASV) Now, to make sure we understand these invaluable consequences, God through Christ’s Apostle John expresses them negatively. He tells us, “There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear,” (1 John 4:18 ASV) Obviously, then, love and fear are mutually exclusive. Fear involves not only the absence of love but also the anticipation of punishment. Expressing the consequences of God’s love working in us through Christ, we say positively we will have boldness but negatively we will not have fear!

The Apostle John tells us, “fear hath punishment; and he that feareth is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18 ASV) This means, “Love has not reached perfection in one who is still afraid.”

In the expression, “fear hath punishment;” the word “punishment” comes from the original Greek word (kolasis) which often means the kind of punishment a parent gives to a child to correct him. It also is used to describe the pruning process a gardener uses to give trees a better shape or to make trees produce more fruit or better fruit. One translation [Concordant Literal] has correctly translated the word, “Chastening.”

This passage means that until we are “made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18) God will continue to discipline, chastise and correct us. It will be a painful process. But for many of us, it is the only way we can reach the level of perfection in love which God wants for us.

We must remember the, “word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: ‘My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.’ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.. Moreover, we have all had human father who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 125-11 NIV)

Everyone has some awareness of God. How close may humans come to the Creator of the universe? John answered that question when he wrote, “No man hath beheld God at any time: if we love one another, God abideth in us, and his love is perfected in us:” (1 John 4:12 ASV)

In the fourth gospel account of the life of Jesus Christ, this same Apostle John revealed long before he wrote this epistle which we are now studying that, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” (John 1:18 ASV, Also compare Colossians 1:15 and 1 Timothy 1:17 and 6:16)

Probably one of the claims of the false prophets had been that they had seen God and, therefore, had more profound and significant knowledge about him than the ordinary followers of Christ. That may have been John’s reason for repeating the statement he had made before by saying here in his first general epistle, “No man hath beheld God at any time:”

Ultimately seeing God is a cornerstone of the Christian’s hope. As John has already told us, “we shall see him even as he is.” (1 John 3:2 ASV) But that will have future fulfillment. Those who claim to have seen him already not only are lying but they are also undermining the hope of those who follow Christ!

The only ones who have a superior experience of God are those in whom love is at work because love is the essential nature of God. Thus, “if we love one another, God abideth in us.” Thus, the nature of God manifests itself through us when we “love one another.”

The false prophets had tried and failed to divert the followers of Christ into their own movement. John reminds the brethren that those false prophets had failed. Therefore, “they went out from us.” (1 John 2:19) They had tried to cause a rift, or create a faction. That was not a mark of love! Therefore, they, obviously, had not had a deeper or more significant experience of God. Their claim that they had “beheld God” was surely false.

John further wrote, “his love is perfected in us.” Because the true followers of Christ persisted in showing love even in the face of the efforts of those who tried to divert the message and purpose of Christ, it showed that Christ’s love was perfected in them. The proof of love being perfected in a follower of Christ is found in that person’s love of his fellows who also follow Christ. The false prophets had not shown that love. They had come to “steal, and kill, and destroy.” (John 10:10) They had gone out from the fellowship of the followers of Christ (1 John 2:19) after having enjoyed the nurture of that fellowship. Now they were seeking to lead the church astray. (1 John 2:26, 3:7)

Does the average follower of Christ have a deeper awareness of God than those who claim they have seen him? John tells us, “hereby we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.” (1 John 4:13 ASV)

One must not only understand what he knows but how he knows. Therefore, John says “hereby we know” It is not simply that we know but hereby we know. Not only is the knowledge itself reiterated but the method by which we have arrived or may arrive at that knowledge is stressed as well.

To prove the reality of God or to have a deeper awareness of God, visual evidence is impossible because, as we have just been told in the preceding verse, “No man hath beheld God at any time:” This is in harmony with the attributes of God revealed through the apostle Paul. He wrote, “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17 ASV) Since God is “invisible,” it is obvious that, “No man hath beheld God at any time:” Thus, seeing God is not one of the ways by which we ‘know’ or become aware of the highest spiritual truth.

We have a greater awareness of God when “we abide in him and he in us,” This is the reality which is to be known by the true follower of Christ. This mutual abiding, we in him and he in us, gives us a more intimate knowledge of God than simply ‘seeing’ or beholding him would.

But, how do we know that we have such an intimate relationship with God, the Creator of the whole universe? The method of knowing is explained in the next phrase of this verse. We can have that greater knowledge and greater awareness, “because he hath given us of his Spirit.”

This is the method by which we know that “we abide in him and he in us.” Everyone who truly follows Christ is given the marvelous gift of the God’s Spirit to abide within him. This was the promise from the first day when Christ’s kingdom was established. Peter told the multitude, “Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38 ASV) God’s Spirit comforts, guides and encourages the follower of Christ.

The irrefutable evidence that God’s Spirit dwells in the follower of Christ was given in verse 12 when John wrote, “if we love one another, God abideth in us.” A life which previously was motivated by hate and animosity but is now consistently motivated by love shows the unmistakable presence of God for God is love and love is of God.

While God himself is invisible Jesus Christ was not. The apostle John reminds those who follow Christ that “we have beheld and bear witness that the Father hath sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” (1 John 4:14 ASV)

The false teachers and false prophets had falsely claimed that they had seen God and were, therefore, qualified to be spiritual leaders. The apostle John has shown that the claim of those deceivers was totally false because, as he has pointed out, “No man hath beheld God at any time:” But Jesus Christ was, “the image of the invisible God.” (Colossians 1:15) The Apostle John had seen the one who was the, “effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance.” (Hebrews 1:3 ASV) Because of the opportunity which John and the other Apostles had to behold Christ, they testified that, “the Father hath sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” (1 John 4:14 ASV)

So far, the apostle John has given us two ways to test whether a prophet is from God or not. Now, he introduces the third test we may use to evaluate the spirit by which a ‘prophet’ speaks. If a prophet really speaks for God, this will first be evident in what he teaches about Christ. Secondly, it will also be obvious in the respect he shows for the teaching of Christ’s Apostles. In the third place, it will be evident in the reflection of the nature of God in his life and teaching. So John tells us, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God.” (1 John 4:7 ASV)

Love is supreme among the virtues of God’s character. Thus, “love is of God.” (1 John 4:7) The ‘antichrists’ (1 John 2:18) who are also called “false prophets” (1 John 4:1) had created a faction which ultimately had split off from those who followed Christ (1 John 2:19). Here John tells us that “every one that loveth is begotten of God and knoweth God.” The prophet, if he is qualified to speak for God, must manifest the character of God in his teaching and in his life. If he doesn’t show the love of God in his life and teaching, he doesn’t even know God! How, then, can he do the work of a true prophet of God?

The character traits of those who had caused a faction among those who followed Christ are in stark contrast to love. Those who instigate faction among the followers of Christ are not begotten of God and do not know God even though they may claim to be prophets of God!

There is a simple direct rule to apply when testing those who claim to be prophets of God. The rule is, “He that loveth not knoweth not God.” (1 John 4:8 ASV) Those who had claimed to be prophets and, thus, to be spokesmen on behalf of God had revealed the truth about themselves. They had not shown love. On the contrary, they had been the perpetrators of faction (“They went out from us.” 1 John 2:19) They were still trying to lead the children of God astray (1 John 2:26) Such people do not even know God, much less speak on his behalf!

The highest pinnacle of the verbal revelation of God tells us that “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) This characteristic of God’s personality is so important that it is repeated in 1 John 4:16. Only the personal revelation of God in Christ transcends this high verbal revelation.

Through John God has given us three ‘God-is’ statements [three predicate nominative statements] about himself: First, in the gospel of John 4:24 we learn, “God is a Spirit.” Then, in 1 John 1:5 we are told, “God is light.” Finally, here we reach the apex when it is revealed that, “God is love!” If those who claim to be prophets do not even reflect the highest and most pervasive of God’s attributes, how can they claim to speak on behalf of God? Obviously, such people are false prophets!

God’s love was in existence before he created man. We know this because love is the essence of God’s nature. God is love. Therefore, from the moment of creation there have been many expressions or manifestations of God’s love. For example, one who thinks deeply on the endless variety of foods with their visual, olfactory and gastronomical delights knows they were created by one who loved their recipients. Similarly the regularity and predictability of the seasons, the tides, and the planetary cycles tell us of the love of the Creator. In this way he made it possible for man to plan and to predict. But, in general, man has brutalized himself (Psalms 73:22) to the point that God’s message through such natural revelation has not been able to make an adequate impact. Therefore, there had to be a greater manifestation of love. God made that greater manifestation of his love by sending “his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:9 ASV)

Here in verses 9 and10 the expositions of divine love by the Apostles Paul and John meet. In order that we might understand the magnitude of his love, God through the Apostle Paul has reminded us that, “scarcely for a righteous man will one die: for peradventure for the good man some one would even dare to die. But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:7-8 ASV) In a very similar way God’s Spirit, through John, tells us, “Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:9 ASV) In spite of all God has done for us we are still, because of the consequences of our rebellion against God’s love, under a death sentence. To nullify that sentence of doom and grant us life “God hath sent his only begotton Son into the world!”

It is amazing that we human beings have not reached out in reciprocal love to God! We are, obviously, not self existent. We are created beings. Obviously, too, we are not self sustaining. Our sustenance comes from above. Our lives depend on conditions which we could neither create nor control. Obviously, then, “he loved us.” Still, we have taken no initiative to respond toward God in love. It is God who at every step has taken the initiative in reaching out to us in love! God has taken one final, ultimate step in love toward us, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10 ASV)

God’s love has even gone to the ultimate extent that he has “sent his Son.” He had previously sent so much else that it is incalculable. But as the climactic expression of divine love God “sent his Son!” He did not send him to judge and condemn which he could have justly done. (See John 12:47) Neither did God send him to impose a begrudging acknowledgment of divine goodness upon man. Obviously, he didn’t send him to receive honor. Rather, he sent him “to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10) That means he sent him to make peace by meeting the demands which divine justice requires in order that man might have peace with God! Thus, he sent “his Son” as the ultimate and climactic expression of his love for us!

The basis of moral behavior is the character of God, because “if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:11 ASV) This principle was powerfully stressed in Jesus’ parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35). The merciless servant was asked, “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” (Verse 33 NIV) The false prophets who claimed to speak on behalf of God had not shown the character of God in their personal conduct. In this way, that is by looking for evidence of the influence of God’s character in their behavior, we may prove the spirits by which anyone who claims to speak for God operates and teaches.

The danger from false prophets is so great that the Apostle John gives us further information about them. First of all, he tells us, “They are of the world: therefore speak they as of the world,” (1 John 4:5 ASV)

No matter how they tried to disguise their message, the basic message of the “many false prophets” (1 John 4:1), who are also called “anti-Christs” (1 John 2:18), shows them to be of the world. Christ is not the epicenter of their teaching. Their most fundamental commitments are those which are in harmony with the basic commitments of the world. Those basic commitments are, “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life.” (1 John 2:16 ASV) False prophets speak in harmony with these base values which are the most fundamental principles upon which the general society and popular philosophy of the world are based.

The basic message of the “many false prophets” (1 John 4:1), of the “many antichrists” (1 John 2:18), no matter what its trappings, shows that the ‘prophets’ themselves, the ‘antichrists’ “are of the world: therefore speak they as of the world,” (1 John 4:5 ASV).

Christ is not the epicenter of their teaching. Their most fundamental commitments are in harmony with, “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life.” (1 John 2:16 ASV) Naturally, they speak in harmony with their most basic commitments, which are one and the same as those upon which the society, philosophy and learning of the world is based.

Even though false prophets have a corrupt message, “the world heareth them” (1 John 4:5). The reason their message is eagerly received by the world is quite clear. That society whose fundamental commitments are “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life,” is very perceptive. It recognizes any message, no matter how obtuse or obscure, which in reality is in harmony with its own selfish and sensuous creedal assumptions.

Naturally, the world rewards any bearer of a message which is harmonious with its own views. The world is constantly looking for corroboration, approbation and commendation. It will, therefore, reward with adulation (popularity or admiration), and often with money, those who give worldly society the caress of approval it so constantly seeks.

Conversely (on the other hand), the world will show its hostility to anyone who challenges its assumptions or principles. Jesus said, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.” (John 7:7 NIV)

When the apostle John says “the world heareth them,” he may indicate that the false prophets had been gaining a large hearing since they broke their connections with the church. However, the followers of Christ will not be dismayed because they understand the basis upon which the false prophets’ acceptance had been gained.

In chapter 4 verse 6 John presents the second test by which we may determine the validity of a prophet that is one who claims to speak on behalf of God. He tells us, “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he who is not of God heareth us not.” (1 John 4:6 ASV) The first test of a prophet is what he teaches about Christ. The second test is the ‘prophet’s’ response to the teaching given by Christ’s Apostles. Eight verses later John identifies the pronoun ‘we’ which he uses here. He tells us, “And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father hath sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.” (1 John 4:14 ASV)

Those apostolic witnesses were in a vitally unique position. The apostle Peter tells us, “Him [i.e. Christ] God raised up the third day, and gave him to be made manifest, not to all the people, but unto witnesses that were chosen before of God, even to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he charged us to preach unto the people, and testify that this is he who is ordained of God to be the Judge of the living and the dead.” (Acts 10:40-42 ASV) It was this message which served as a touchstone to determine those ‘prophets’ who know God. Anyone who teaches but who rejects the divinely authenticated testimony which was proclaimed by the apostles cannot have God’s approval. Such a ‘prophet’ is not of God.

Truth is established by testimony of eye witnesses. In the case of Christ the witnesses were, “witnesses that were chosen before of God” (Acts 10:41 ASV) Thus, God gave them the invaluable opportunity to have three-and-a-half years’ intimate association and fellowship with the one about whom they were to testify. The possibility of the witnesses giving testimony based on mistaken identity in such circumstances is extremely remote. The spirit which animates a ‘prophet’ who rejects such an authenticated message is not the Spirit of God but “the spirit of error,” the spirit of the antichrist. Thus, “By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.” (1 John 4:6 ASV)

How can we accurately evaluate spiritual teaching? Christ’s Apostle John gives us the answer which all of us need. He points out that the definitive reference point by which we can judge the truth of religious teaching is Christ himself. In 1 John 4:3 he wrote, “and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the spirit of the anti-Christ, whereof ye have heard that it cometh; and now it is in the world already.” (ASV)

The words, “every spirit” focuses our attention, not on the ‘prophet’ who claims to declare God’s message, but on that energizing spirit which motivates him. While a teacher may present many admirable lessons, we must examine the validity of his teaching at its most central and critical level which is what he teaches about Christ. Many prophets verbally acknowledge that Christ came by being born of the virgin Mary. However, at the same time, they deny the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Some of those prophets who say Jesus never died, say instead that he ascended to God without experiencing death. Thus, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus which are utterly central and essential in Jesus’ own teaching are all denied.

Some prophetic teaching denies that the work of the Messiah was to become a substitutionary sacrifice for the sin of the world. According to them, Jesus is the Christ of God but not the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The great sacrifice which God gave to redeem Abraham’s son pointed to the greater sacrifice God gave through Jesus to redeem the whole world! That is why John the Baptist introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Thus, not only denying the incarnation of Jesus but denying who Jesus is or what he did while living among men which was related to his being the Christ, also is refusing to confess Jesus. Just this one test is enough for us to understand the deceitful nature of many prophets and to understand the energizing and motivating spirit which animates their whole system.

When John says, “this is the spirit of the anti-Christ, whereof ye have heard that it cometh;” (1 John 4:3 ASV) he again takes up a theme which he introduced in chapter 2:18-19. Here he gives us further essential information about this critical subject. The anti-Christ mentioned by John is synonymous with the “man of sin” and “the son of perdition” whom Christ’s Apostle Paul mentioned in (2 Thessalonians 2:3). It was undoubtedly from Paul’s letter to the followers of Christ in Thessalonica that these followers of Jesus to whom John is writing had heard that the anti-Christ was coming.

John told us in an earlier passage in his letter that “now have there arisen many anti-Christs” (1 John 2:18 ASV). These were the forerunners of the ultimate anti-Christ. Here, in chapter 4 verse 3, John further informs us that behind this huge movement against Christ is an animating spirit which he calls, “the spirit of the anti-Christ.” (1 John 4:3) That means there are satanic spiritual forces at work which raise up highly effective opposition to the Messiah!

When John says, “now it is in the world already.” (1 John 4:3) The pronoun ‘it’ refers to “the spirit of the anti-Christ.” This assertion that a satanic and demonic spirit “is in the world already” should be paralleled with the Apostle Paul’s statement that, “the mystery of lawlessness doth already work.” (1 Thessalonians 2:7 ASV) Thus, at the very dawn of the great world-wide movement started by Jesus Christ, Satan began sending false and deceiving messages. The false prophets, who were Satan’s messengers, misled people by wrong messages about Christ. Those false prophets were only the forerunners of the ultimate “anti-Christ.”

About the true followers of Christ, John said, “Ye are of God, my little children and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4 ASV) In the congregations of the followers of Christ to which John originally addressed this epistle there had been a cleansing and purging. The “many anti-Christs,” which are mentioned in 1 John 2:18; the “many false prophets,” mentioned in 1 John 4:1, had gone out of the assembly of those who truly followed Christ.

The apostle John tells the followers of Christ why the false prophets had left the assembly of the saints. He said, “Ye are of God, my little children and have overcome them:” (1 John 4:4 ASV) Those anti-Christs had been falsely associated with those who were true followers of Christ. Now they had “gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1) That was the place where they really belonged. It was the place in which their views and their goals were truly compatible. Those who remained in the assembly of the followers of Christ were “of God.”

The followers of Christ had “overcome them.” No doubt, the pronoun ‘them’ refers to the “many false prophets.” (1 John 4:1) There had, apparently, been a struggle in which the false prophets had tried to take over the assemblies of the followers of Christ. Probably those anti-Christs had tried to establish their false teaching about Christ in the assemblies so that it would become the official program for the congregations of those who followed Christ. But, thank God, the people who were committed to that which had been proclaimed from the beginning (1 John 2:24, 3:11) had prevailed. Thus the assemblies of those who followed Christ were saved from becoming a centers of activity in opposition to Christ!

Those followers of Christ were told that they had been victorious “because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4 ASV) They had been victorious in a mortal struggle with the powers of darkness and their human representatives who were the many false prophets. The ultimate cause of their victory was not their personal tenacity, their personal honesty, or their personal humility (virtues which they undoubtedly possessed and brought to bear in the great struggle they had been through) but the cause of their victory was, “the Spirit of God” (1 John 4:2) working in them.

In stark contrast, it was the “spirit of the anti-Christ” (1 John 4:3), “the spirit of error” (1 John 4:6) who was at work in those false prophets who had gone out into the world. But it is “the Spirit of God” who is at work in “the children of God.” That is “the Spirit which he gave us.” (1 John 3:24) Obviously, since God is God, “the spirit of God” which works in the children of God is greater than “the spirit of the anti-Christ,” “the spirit of error” which is at work in the false prophets and in the world!

Jesus Christ said, “ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32 ASV) Of course, the most important truth is the truth about God and about God’s will for our lives. That is the kind of truth that God gives us through prophets. But Satan sends lying prophets to lead us astray. It is essential that we be able to distinguish between a true prophet of God and false prophets sent by Satan. God used Christ’s Apostle John to tell us how to distinguish between true prophets and false prophets. He wrote, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1 ASV)

The reason John wrote, “prove the spirits, whether they are of God;” is because behind the false prophets are evil spirits which motivate and animate them. This, of course, is in imitation of the operation of the Spirit of God who works in the process of true prophecy. For example, the prophet Joel said of God, “I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh: And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, …” (Acts 2:17 ASV, See also 2 Peter 1:21.)

John here is warning us of the operation of the “spirit of the antichrist” (1 John 4:3), of “the spirit of error” (1 John 4:7). Christ’s Apostle Paul warned Timothy about this same dangerous phenomenon. He wrote, “the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, …” (1 Timothy 4:1-2 ASV)

Thus, John instructs us not only to evaluate the ‘prophets’ but to scrutinize the spirit which animates them. False prophets err from the truth, not through sincere ignorance, but through hypocrisy which welcomes demonic influences into their lives. Prophets who make sincere mistakes can be corrected. Other prophets who are not sincere are incorrigible because being hypocritical they have thrown themselves open to satanic influences. These are the prophets who are deceptive and treacherous. They are the ones against whom every one who wants to know the truth needs protection.

We should not be surprised that false prophets exist. Certainly, it is “no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15 ASV)

The Apostle Paul also gave one of the tests by which we may distinguish between the operation of the Holy Spirit and the spirit of the antichrist. He said, “no man speaking in the Spirit of God saith, Jesus is anathema; and no man can say, Jesus is Lord, but in the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3 ASV)

Through the Apostle John, God gives us four tests which every person may apply to any ‘prophet’ to determine the most fundamental spiritual well springs of his teaching. The first test is to ask what he teaches about Jesus Christ. This test is presented in 1 John 4:2-5. In this broadcast we are only beginning to discuss this first way to test a prophet. The remaining three tests are, first, is a prophet amenable and obedient to the teachings of the Apostles of Christ. (1 John 4:6) Secondly, is his manner of life compatible with the character of God (1 John 4:7-12. The last, test to apply to every prophet is whether his life shows the fruits of the Holy Spirit. (1 John 4:13 ff)

When the Apostle John wrote, as well as in our own time, this was not an isolated and occasional problem which confronts everyone who wants to do the will of God. Rather, there were, and are, “many false prophets [who] are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1 ASV) Thus, every person is in danger and needs a method for discerning the validity of those who profess to speak to them on behalf of God.

Every false prophet is “of the world.” (1 John 4:5) The world is that realm in which the most fundamental commitments are, “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life” (1 John 2:16 ASV). The world is the place where false prophets’ spiritual, philosophical and ethical affinities consistently take them. However, they still pose a mortal peril for anyone who wants to serve God because he may be beguiled by their subtle blandishments.

In order to recognize the presence and working of false and wicked spiritual forces we must be able to recognize the presence of God’s Spirit. Through the Apostle John, God tells us, “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:” (1 John 4:2 ASV)

It is not only important to recognize error when it is present, in this case to recognize the “false prophets,” but it is even more important to recognize what is valid, what is true. Thus, it is even more important to “know … the Spirit of God.” (1 John 4:2) If we recognize the working of God’s Spirit, then we will be able to recognize “the spirit of the antichrist.” (1 John 4:3) The “spirit of the antichrist” is also called, “the spirit of error.” (1 John 4:6)

The first way both “the Spirit of God” and the “spirit of the antichrist” may be recognized is by their christology, their doctrine about Christ. This is supremely important because Christ is the focal point of the eternal plan of God. Thus, “every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:” (1 John 4:2 ASV) In order for Christ to be our redeemer we must acknowledge certain truths about him. Utterly fundamental among those truths is the fact that “Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.” (1 John 4:2) If Christ had not come “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Romans 8:3) there could have been no sacrifice for sin because Christ was immortal before his incarnation. Before he was born in Bethlehem, he existed in the form of God who is immortal. (See Philippians 2:5 and 1 Timothy 6:15-16.)

Had Jesus not come in the flesh, that is, had he not become a man he would have remained immortal. That would have canceled God’s scheme of redemption. Without the sacrifice which Jesus offered for all men he could not have become our sacrifice for sin. In that case, he could not have become our Savior. [“he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.” (I John 2:2 ASV)]