Discerning the Spirits by Asking the Right Questions
By Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo
(A message delivered to the East Africa Christian Alliance, Nairobi, Kenya, August 29, 2006)
1 John 4:1-3 says, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And 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.”
“Believe Not Every Spirit”
The Apostle John issues a warning not to believe every spirit, but to try the spirits to see if they are of God. The word “believe” here is the Greek pisteuo. It is the same word that is used by the Biblical evangelists to call on people to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation (Acts 16:31). “Believe” here means to have complete faith and trust in someone or something. The Apostle John commands God’s children not to be quick to trust or have faith in “every spirit.” Why? It is because there are many false spirits out there in the world which come from the devil. These antichrists are “the spirits of devils” (Rev 16:13-14). These devilish spirits are false prophets, and there are many of them not only in the first century world, but more so today, in the 21st century world that is nearer to the return of Christ. Thrice in His Olivet Discourse Jesus warned of false Christs and false prophets in the endtimes: verse 5, “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many;” verse 11, “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many;” and verse 24, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
As God’s children, we ought not to be gullible and easily deceived. Take note that these false spirits come in the name of Christ. They claim to be Christians, they carry their Bibles, they use Christian terms, they speak the same Christian language, they can even perform miracles. They look like
Christians on the outside, but are full of poison inside. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Jesus warned in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” Not every spirit who names the name of Christ is from Christ.
“Try the Spirits”
So how can we tell a true spirit from a false spirit, a true prophet from a false prophet? John says we must “try the spirits.” The word “try” here is the Greek word dokimazo which has the idea of subjecting something to a series of stringent tests in order to prove its genuineness, quality or worth. How can one know a true prophet from a false one? Jesus tells us how, “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matt 7:16-20). There are many false believers and false prophets in the world, and they seem to think they are indeed doing God’s will and God’s work when they are actually not. Jesus said, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matt 7:21-23). Many who call themselves “Apostles” and “Prophets” today, performing “signs and wonders” in the name of Christ, will one day find to their horror that the Saviour does not know them, that they are not saved, but are actually servants of Satan and of sin.
Jesus said, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” What are these fruits? They are the fruit of doctrine and the fruit of conduct. In Deuteronomy 13:1-3, the Lord taught the Israelites how to identify a false prophet, “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams.” The fruit of false doctrine is in the teaching, “Let us go after other gods.” Paul warned against false teachers who preach “another gospel,” “another spirit,” and “another Jesus” (Gal 1:6-7, 2 Cor 11:4). Paul named two such false teachers in his day, Hymenaeus and Philetus, who denied the fundamental doctrine of the resurrection and undermined the faith of the saints (2 Tim 2:17-18).
A false teacher can also be identified by his conduct. The Pharisees, for instance, were teachers of the law, and Jesus told the people to do whatever they were told to do if it was according to the Scriptures, “All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do.” But the problem with the Pharisees was that their walk did not match their talk. Insofar as their conduct was concerned, Jesus told the people, “but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not” (Matt 23:3). Paul says that such men have a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof by their sinful conduct (2 Tim 3:1-5). One such person was “Alexander the coppersmith who did much evil by opposing the Apostle Paul and his doctrines “for he hath greatly withstood our words” (2 Tim 4:14-15). Another example would be Diotrephes who stood against the Apostle John. His wicked deeds led John to single him out as a troublemaker, “I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church. Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God” (3 John 9-11).
“That Spirit of Antichrist”
In the days of John, the church was being plagued by a heresy called Docetism. The Docetists propagated the heresy that Jesus was not truly and fully a human being—Jesus only seemed to be a human being, but actually he was not. This was a serious error for a denial of the 100% humanity of Christ would mean that Jesus could not be our Representative and Substitute, and thus could not have died for our sins on the cross. And if Jesus did not die on the cross, then we would still be in our sins. For if there was no death, then there would be no resurrection, and “if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins … [and] we are of all men most miserable” (cf 1 Cor 15:17-19). But it is a historical fact that Jesus Christ—the Son of God—did come in the flesh and did die on the cross in the fulness of time and in fulfilment of Scripture (Gal 4:4-5, 1 Cor 15:3). John commanded the believers to watch out for these false teachers, and to expose them by asking the right question: “Did Jesus come in the flesh?” The Docetists who cannot affirm the doctrine of the perfect humanity of Christ have “that spirit of antichrist.” With “that spirit of antichrist,” they pose a great danger to the church, and the saints must be warned against them.
In the 21st century, there are many more false doctrines than in the first. Today, we are seeing a revival of some ancient heresies. For example, 2nd century Gnosticism as found in the Gnostic gospels of Thomas and Judas is popularised today by Dan Brown’s bestseller The Da Vinci Code; and 4th century Arianism is held by the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a widespread, modern-day cult. Other false “isms” include Roman Catholicism, Modernism, Neo-evangelicalism, and Neo-fundamentalism.
Ask the Right Questions
In order to discern the spirits, we must learn to ask the right questions. Ask the Gnostic, “Is the knowledge of Jesus Christ in the Holy Scriptures sufficient for salvation?” Ask the Jehovah’s Witness, “Is Jesus Christ 100% God, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing?” Ask the Roman Catholic, “Is salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, based on Scriptures alone?” Ask the Modernist, “Is the Bible the divinely inspired Word of God?” Ask the Neo-evangelical, “Is the Bible verbally and plenarily inspired and totally without error not only in matters of salvation, but also history, geography and science?” “Ask the Neo-fundamentalist, “Is the Bible verbally and plenarily preserved without the loss of any word to the last jot and tittle, and thus 100% infallible and inerrant today?” The key words or phrases in the above questions are italicised. These words or phrases will get the teachers of error to reveal what they really believe in, and what they truly mean by what they say without any ambiguity. So know your Christian fundamentals according to 100% inspired and 100% preserved infallible and inerrant words of the Holy Scriptures, and learn to ask the right questions in order to test the spirits to see whether they are true or false. In such apostate and perilous times, let us make sure that we “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
May we ever be true to Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, and His 100% inspired and 100% preserved, forever infallible and inerrant words to the glory of His Name, and until He returns. Amen.
