1 jn 4:
1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2Hereby know ye the Spirit of God:
Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
4Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
5They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
6We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us.
Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
Contrary to what the false church propagates today, that believers arent to Judge, because of a misapplication of Matt 7:1, which is only a caution against unchatiableness in Judging ones brother, yet to elimiante Judging altogether is not right and the intent of the verse. In fact Jesus right afterwards endorses good judgment in vs 6
6Give not that which
is holy unto
the dogs, neither cast ye
your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
Now tell me, How can one know what is Holy without Judging it so ? Or How is one to know what a dog is, without Judging them so ? How about the difference between pearls and swine, doesnt one need to make a rational Judgment to know the difference ?
There is a very important truth contained in my text, a Truth given to Gods true people to discern or judge wether or not one is speaking as a spokesman for God or not. The criteria set for th in the passage is wether or not one confesses that
Jesus christ has come in the flesh !
1 jn 4:
2Hereby know ye the Spirit of God:
Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
Notice something very important here. John did not say, if one is confessing that God come in the flesh, but wether Jesus christ hath come in the flesh, the Anointed of God, hath came in the flesh ! The focus is wether the GodMan Mediator hath came in the flesh. The emphasis of the Holy Ghost is not at this time about the Deity of Christ, of which He certainly is Deity, but about His Mediatoral Manhood. You see when scripture calls Him Jesus christ or Christ Jesus, His office of Mediator is in view.
1 tim 2:
5For there is one God,
and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
The man Christ Jesus [Mediator] hath came in the flesh is the focus of the passage, and in order for the man to have come in the flesh [manifested], this neceesarily presupposes His exisitence prior to, as God Man, but just not in the flesh, as in flesh and blood.
This is confirmed by eph 3:
9And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God,
who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Simply stated by the Apostle, The world was created by the GodMan Mediator Jesus christ..
Being the medium of creation is an act of the Man Christ Jesus, the Mediator between God and men.
Also John writes how that Jesus christ became manifested 1 jn 1:
1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have
seen with our eyes, which we have
looked upon, and our hands have
handled, of the Word of life;
(For
the life was manifested, and
we have seen it, and bear witness, and
shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us
For something or someone existed before being manifested. This Person was capable of being:
#1. Heard #2. Looked upon #3. seen and
handled with hands. All these denote tangibility, and that it existed before being manifested, for the point here is not Jesus christ Invisible Deity in view, but His Ancient Mediatoral Manhood.
Those who are confessing this ancient Mediatoral Manhood, are speaking as enlightened by God...But those who
deny this are speaking for the Anti christ..
And this I judge to be True..
1 jn 2:
22Who is a liar
but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?
He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
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