Article for April 28, 2024
1 John 4:1–2 1Beloved, 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. 2By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
I am sorry to keep preaching this to you, but the world is not on your side. In fact, the world is trying to kill you daily and trying to teach you to hate everyone except the worldly. The worldly are the false prophets and they have infiltrated our denominations of churches. By this they have turned churches against God and against His word.
When someone gives you their word it’s like a contract. A person’s word is like a promise that the person giving their word will in fact keep truth in honesty. We have seen that man and woman is not always good at keeping their word. Now man and woman are trying to steal God’s word from us which is trying to steal God’s promises from us.
Thank God He is the one truly in control and His word cannot be stolen from us. We listen to our Lord Jesus Christ who tells us not to listen to false prophets and only listen to God’s word. We know that these churches who have turned from God’s word are not of God anymore. Rather the churches who have rejected God’s word are of the world and embrace the world rather than embracing God.
1 John 4:3 3and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
Think of when John wrote this as John says the antichrist is already in the world. John is not trying to point out a single person as being the antichrist but pointing to the world. The world wants to move away from God to indulge in its sinful ways and justify its sinful ways as well.
Look at what is reported on the news right now. You are watching the world throwing hate and prejudice at God’s people. Law is being stopped, criminals are being freed, sin is promoted as good. The world is even murdering helpless and innocent unborn babies, taking away their freedom to have life.
Yes, the antichrist is here today, and it is not one person, it is many. Jesus expelled the demons who called themselves legion. Now legion has returned, and it is calling itself the world and the world is being swallowed up by this movement called the antichrist.
1 John 4:4–5 4Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5They are from the world; therefore, they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.
Take heart oh people of God, take heart our Lord Jesus Christ says: He has overcome the world and this He overcame the antichrist as well. The battle wages on though the war has already been won. The minions of the evil one are defeated though they keep trying to take from God all they can as they fall into the endless pit.
Fear not little flock and every fold that holds tight to Jesus Christ and His word given to us by God. Jesus Christ came to save us and the Father promises that not one of us who have been given to Him our Savior will parish. Instead, we will be given eternal life.
So yes, keep fighting the good fight, know the evil of this world cannot drag you down to the bottomless pit. Know Jesus has gone to prepare a place for you that where He goes you can be with Him eternally.
1 John 4:6 6We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Listen to God for He has the words of truth. God gives us the word of His grace, His mercy, His love through the forgiveness bought by Jesus Christ. The world will not die for you, the worldly will not die for you. The antichrist sure as… will not die for you. The world, the worldly, the antichrist will fill you with untrue promises, false hope, and death.
Jesus did die for you and keeps His promises to all who have received them. We are in His word and His word is in us. So, we have received the word of God and His promises. We hope in the life eternal where we will be with our Lord of true promises kept forever and ever. Amen.
So, God loves us and is in us. With God in us let us well up in love for God and one another. Jesus tells us to love God, how can you not love God who saves us daily from our sin. God tells us to love one another, how can we not love one another when we are all loved by God who saves all daily.
1 John 4:9–10 9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Jesus took and suffered for our sins, Jesus even died and took our sins to the grave. And Jesus in all His Godly power rose from the dead and through His resurrection shows us the way to everlasting life and relationship with Him. Amen.