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AN EXPOSITION OF 1

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Bibliotheca Sacra 146 (1989) 420-436. Copyright © 1989 by Dallas Theological Seminary. Cited with permission. An Expositional Study of 1 John Part 7 (of 10 parts): An Exposition of 1 John 4:1-6 D. Edmond Hiebert Professor Emeritus of New Testament Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, Fresno, CaliforniaThe first six verses of chapter 4 form a unit on the conflict be-tween two spiritual realms, "the spirit of truth and the spirit of er-ror" (v. 6). They show no close connection with what follows and are best viewed as an elaboration on the reference to "the Spirit whom He has given us" (3:24). The conflict now presented forms the final aspect of the conflicts of the faith that John had been depicting since 2:18. He had already dealt with the conflict between truth and falsehood (2:18-28), the conflict between the children of God and the children of the devil (2:29-3:12), and the conflict between love and hatred (3:13-24). Now John marked the supernatural character of this conflict as ultimately involving "the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." Beloved, 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. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and ev-ery spirit that does not confess Jesus is 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. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error (1 John 4:1-6).John now showed the importance of the proclamation of a sound Christology for confidence and victory in the Christian community.420An Expositional Study of 1 John 4:1-6 421Those who are truly of God must adhere to the apostolic message con-cerning Jesus Christ, who constitutes the very heart of the Christian gospel. Those who reject that message thereby reveal their anti-Christian character.John urged his readers to test the spirits to determine their true identity (v. 1); he gave them criteria for testing the spirits (vv. 2-3); and then he set forth criteria for identifying the true character of the human speakers (vv. 4-6).The Charge to Test the SpiritsIn dealing with this crucial matter, John as a wise pastor again addressed his readers with the tender designation, "Beloved" ( ]Agaphtoi<; cf. 2:7; 3:2, 21). It expresses his personal, loving concern for them as they faced the subtle danger of the false spirits. John charged them to test the spirits to determine their nature (v. 1a) and added why such testing is needed (v. 1b).THE COMMAND IN REGARD TO THE SPIRITS (v. 1a)John formulated his charge to the readers both negatively and positively. Negatively, his command is, "do not believe every spirit" (mh> panti> pneu<mati pisteu<ete). John spoke against a gull-ibility prone to believe "every spirit" claiming to be from God. The use of the dative (panti> pneu<mati) with the verb warns against an attitude of acceptance and personal trust in the various spirits declaring their message through the human messenger. The force of the original order, placing "every spirit" between the negative (mh>) and the present tense verb, has been differently understood. Robert-son held that the negative is to be taken with the immediately fol-lowing adjective "every"; this connection would negate an uncritical attitude which accepted every spirit, but would permit acceptance of some of the spirits as from God.1 Kistemaker thinks the separation of the negative from the verb gives emphasis to the prohibition.2The negative with the present imperative generally means "stop be-lieving." Burdick thinks this prohibition "suggests that the readers had shown a tendency to give credence to the false teachers."3 It is possible that some members had been prone uncritically to accept the claims of the spirits; but it is unwarranted to assume that John now1 A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Histori-cal Research, 5th ed. (New York: Richard R. Smith, n.d.), p. 752.2 Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Epistle of James and the Epistles of John, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1986), p. 324.3 Donald W. Burdick, The Letters of John the Apostle (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985), pp. 291-92.422 Bibliotheca Sacra / October—December 1989censured them by commanding them to stop the practice. Rather, John insisted that they must never yield to such an attitude of credulity. Let them not "believe" or give credence to every spirit that claims to be from God. As those who have personally experi-enced the divine endowment of the Holy Spirit (3:24), they must not uncritically accept every spirit speaking through some "inspired" human messenger who claims to be God's prophet.The reality of powerful spirits speaking through human indi-viduals as their mouthpiece was well known in the pagan world of John'is day. The reality of such false prophets was long known to the people of Israel as well, and it early manifested itself in the church (cf. 1 Cor. 12:1-3). It seems clear that John's charge was prompted by the presence of mighty spiritual powers working through professed spokesmen of God. Whether various signs and wonders accompanied their teaching is not indicated. At various periods in the history of the church individuals have claimed supernatural empowerment which exhibited itself in professed revelations, prophecies, mira-cles, and the like. As Plummer observes,About all such things there are two possibilities which must put us on our guard: (1) they may be unreal; either the delusions of fanatical en-thusiasts, or the lies of deliberate impostors; (2) even if real, they need not be of God. Miraculous powers are no absolute guarantee of the possession of truth.4It is a perilous mistake simply to identify the presence of the super-natural with the divine. Need for a critical assessment of religious teachers and their pronouncements has always been felt by Spirit-directed believers. And today, with the sweeping


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