Thoughts on 1 John 4:1-7

Verse 1 -Do not believe every teacher that you hear, but test them to see that they are from God. There are many teachers (spirits) that have gone throughout the world preaching lies and falseties, and it is our job to be skeptical of them. Test them by their faith.

Verse 2 - This is how to test them. Do they profess Christ, that He has come in the flesh? If they do, then they are from God. If they don't, they are not from God. (There are teachers that are actually professing believers that are not from God. I don't think I'm taking this too far, but I think that we can derive that we can tell false teaching by comparing it to the Word of God. If they don't line up, they either need to be corrected or labeled false.

Verse 3 - The spirit of the antichrist is already in the world. The teaching is already there. Watch for it.

Verse 4 - We are from God. We have overcome the false spirit of antichrist because God lives in us, and He is greater than antichrist

Verse 5 - The false spirits/ antichrists are of the world. they are not of God. We know this because they speak like the world and they are appealing to the world. Therefore, the world listens. Beware of those guys

Verse 6 - We know God. Everyone who knows God listens to us. Everyone from the world doesn't listen. We can tell about a preacher/teacher by who they listen to and also by whom we listen to.

Verse 7. Let love be the theme of the brethren. Not strife. Because God is love. He has shown us so much love in our salvation and sanctification. Not to mention all of the grace that he gives us daily. Those who love the brethren truly know that God is God. As Christians, we cannot go on without loving the brethren. It is essential. Of course, we know that all Christians have something wrong with their theology, but that doesn’t mean that we love any one more or less based on their accuracy. In other words, we should love all Christians the same even if their theology be more skewed than our own. Yes, Love our Armenian brothers. Love the Charismatic. Love all who are of the bride of Christ. But…teach them. Teach them, in light of Scripture, of their errors. Teach them in love. Not in arrogance, but love. It is our command, and it can be our joy as well. “Let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God.”