1 John 4:1-3
Beloved, 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. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and 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.
The Christian faith is founded on the truth of who Jesus is. Therefore, it is not enough that one simply believes, but that they believe in the truth. In fact, one of the traits of a cult is an erroneous view of Jesus, the Christ. For one to be a true Christian, however, they must believe that Jesus bore two natures – the human and the divine. In other words, Jesus was one person bearing two natures. His humanity and His divinity perfectly co-existed in perfect unity. This is the same way that in the Godhead, the three persons are perfectly united in one nature. Thus, the Christian believes that God is one in nature existing as three persons – the doctrine of the trinity. On the other hand, Jesus was one person bearing two natures. This is the mystery of God.
In this portion of his letter, John was refuting the teachings of the Gnostics. They believed and taught that Jesus was not fully human based on their undermining of the material world. John argues that the spirit that teaches against the full humanity of Christ is not from God. In fact, it is the spirit of the antichrist. This is because there is no other way in which mankind would have obtained salvation except that Jesus bears two natures. In His divinity, He offers up a perfect sacrifice to God. In His humanity, He dies in our stead. As Hebrews 2:14-15 states:
“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
The beginning of all truth is, first and foremost, the truth about Jesus. He Himself declared that He is the truth (John 14:6). From that fundamental truth, the other truths firmly tie together. To believe otherwise is not to believe at all.
Reflections
1. What beliefs about Jesus have you heard that do not accord with the truth?
2. Do you truly believe in Jesus? How does this shape your life?
