1 John 4:1–6 (ESV)
Test the Spirits
4 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. 2 By
this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 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. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the
world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We 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.
Whenever a teacher speaks of a “Christ” or a “Jesus” or a “God” who comes to us without human flesh, know this: it is a demon speaking
through a man, a demon who is seeking to destroy both your faith and your soul everlastingly. “Whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works” (2Jn 11). Faith in the heart cannot be seen; it can only be shown through acts of love. The greatest
testimony is the true flesh-and-blood testimony of God’s love manifest in Jesus.
I pray: Lord, enable me to test all spirits for what they are and remain forever
faithful in Him, the only God-man and Savior of the world. Amen.
Edward A. Engelbrecht, The Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2009), 2178.