We continue our walk through the Epistle of 1 John. Picking up at verse 1 of Chapter 4, we find the Apostle John teaching on the importance of listening to the right voices, and making sure they are from God. He writes:
“Dear Friends, 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.”
1 John 4:1
At the time the Apostle wrote this message to the Church, things were in a state of major change. When Jesus came into the world as the Christ, and brought a new message of Grace and mercy, and love from God, everything changed. Instead of life being centered in the old covenant of the Law of Moses as they had been taught, it is now centered in faith in Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus did not come to abolish the law, He came to fulfill it, and take us to a new level of life. A level that accomplishes the spirit of the law which is to love the Lord, and ourselves, and our fellow man, and do unto others as we would have them do unto us through faith in Him.
He Himself finished all of the requirements of the works of the old law by doing it for us. When asked by His disciples, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” (John 6:28), Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.” (John 6:29) When we believe in Christ Jesus, we are born again by and in the Holy Spirit. We are given the mind of Christ, (1 Corinthians 2:16) in our soul, but we still have the old mind of the flesh. The combining of the two is a process called ‘sanctification’ (1 Corinthians 6:11) by the work of the Holy Spirit within. It begins as we accept Christ and gets sweeter as we go.
John speaks in the verse we are looking at today about the message the Pharisees would teach. They continued to teach that salvation was by works. Or the message the Sadducees taught saying “there is no resurrection.” (Mark 12:18), when the heart of the Gospel says that Christ was born for us, and died for us, and was raised from the dead for us. He lives and always intercedes for us. (Hebrews 7:25) Both of these groups were highly Religious, but the message they taught was without Christ. He is the true test of any voice we hear.
Christ Jesus is the personification of God and His love for us. Let us walk in Him, and His ways. Let us be His personification to the world He has chosen for us to live in. Let us be His true prophet (messenger).
Be blessed in all things, and in all ways, God’s Beloveds. May you prosper and be in good health even as your soul prospers.
Poppa B.
Abundant Life Christian Fellowship, On Line