Friday, July 31, 2026
The Spirit of Truth vs The Spirit of the World – 1John 4:1-6 Submitted by Kay Crumley
Truth, what is it? Whose truth are you talking about? Maybe these are questions you’ve asked or heard before. In this culture many believe truth is relative and there is no definitive truth. However, we know God’s Word is truth. Scripture teaches that the battles we face are not of this world but of the spiritual realm. Thus, there are spirits, good and evil, fighting for our attention and allegiance.
1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
John wrote to the believers calling them friends or beloved warning them about false prophets. We must test the teaching we hear to ensure they are from God and not from the worldly spirits. Those that are based on falsehoods or opinion. Matthew 15:18
But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person.
2 This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming; even now it is already in the world.
What is the test we are using? John states it simply; the spirit that is from God, truth, declares that Jesus Christ is both God and man. It is the teaching from scripture. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. The Word, God became flesh, man. He is truly God in the form of man. It was necessary for Him to come to earth in that manner to be able to provide the final sacrifice for our sin so we can be sons and daughters of the King.
4 You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world. Therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us; anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.
Those who have become children of God have the Holy Spirit living in them and are filled with His power. We are overcomers not because of our human power but because the One in us is all powerful. The false teachers are not from God and are teaching things that do not align with scripture. Those who know God will hear the truth and understand Godly teaching. All others who do not accept the truth found in His Word are only trying to confuse and deceive the truth. We must test the truth by searching the Bible and determine if the teaching we hear aligns with God’s Word. That is discernment and it begins with our knowing His truth and having intimate relationship with the One True God, Jesus Christ.
