Scripture Union Daily Guide 26th June 2020 – Test The Spirit
TODAY’S TOPIC: TEST THE SPIRIT
OPEN ING PRAYER: Help me to understand the exceeding greatness of your power as I read through this passage, dear Lord.
SCRIPTURE: 1 John 4:1–6
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
3 and every spirit that does not confess [a]that Jesus [b]Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.
6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Reflection
• Is there any warning for me to heed?
• What does the passage teach about God the Father, God the Son or God the Holy Spirit?
TODAY’S OUTLINE: SCRIPTURE UNION DAILY GUIDE 26TH JUNE 2020
Supernatural manifestations can have divine or satanic origin (2 Cor. 11:13–15). We need to test the spirits. In the Old Testament, prophecies were judged by with known injunctions of God. See Deuteronomy 13:1–5. We have here two tests of true prophecy. Read vv.2–3 and note the first proof test – belief in the human nature of Jesus.
Docetism, a very distinct heresy in the first century Church, suggests that Jesus did not have a real or natural body during his life on earth but had only an apparent or phantom one. In 1 John 1:1&2, John clearly affirms the humanity of Jesus. Every true prophet and preacher will teach that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man.
Anything less is ‘the spirit of the antichrist’. In vv.5–6, John presents a contrast between those who belong to the world and those who belong to God. Note the distinctive characteristics of each group. False prophets and preachers tend to seek popularity by telling people things that will please them.
A faithful Christian preacher will emphasize holy living, present God’s word against sin and evil lifestyle and demand transformational living. They are not likely to be popular with the world.
⁂ Any new insight or reinforcement of what you already know?
Practice/Word Application
• And So? Have you personally taken seriously the responsibility to test every sermon and prophetic message? Pray for grace to do this so you will never fall prey to their tricks.
Prayer
• Lord give me the grace to discern and decide rightly between good and bad.
• Pray that God will sustain all Christian literature and Bible printers and publishers.
• Offer a prayer of faith in line with Exodus 3:12a
Read the Bible in one Year: Deut. 1–3; Acts 1
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Scripture Union Daily Guide 25th June 2020
