Testing the Spirits

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. I John 4:-2

As part of our morning devotions, Joel and I have been going through the daily devotional, Walking with God, by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and the topic for November is "Tests of Truth and Love." The command of scripture is clear: test and try the spirits to see if they are of God. "An important reason for testing and trying the spirits is the evidence provided by the long history of the Church of the havoc that has often been wrought in the Church because people would not try and test the spirits, because they said, 'I have received such a wonderful experience, therefore I must be right.' What we are concerned about is not a matter of sincerity and honesty - we are concerned about truth and error, and truth and error have to be defined."' The command to test the spirits was not given only to the theologians and ministers; John gave the command to the average church member when he addressed the "Beloved." It is our duty of Christians to not fall into indolence, but to be diligent in examining the spirits by the power of the Holy Spirit which is in us (I Corinthians 2:12).

So how is the testing of spirits to be done to determine whether they be true or false? "There are those who claim that the gifts of the Spirit are absolutely essential, and that unless men and women are able to manifest certain gifts of the Spirit, they have not received the Spirit...The whole of chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians is designed to show that the gifts, and the manifestation of gifts is not an essential proof of the possession of the Spirit." Lloyd-Jones goes on to explain that a very dangerous way of examining the claim of being from God is to judge in terms of phenomena, as in the gifts of healing or the results of a ministry. "The test of phenomena, taken alone, is an extremely dangerous one because evil spirits can work miracles; our Lord warned His followers that these spirits would be able to do such marvelous works. The fact that people are full of fervor does not imply that they have the Holy Spirit. Evil spirits are often very fervent. Great excitement is not a proof of the Spirit; great energy is not a proof of the Spirit; much assurance or confidence is not a proof of the Spirit."

The ultimate test of spirits is its conformity to scriptural teaching. "The first thing to ask about a man who claims to be filled with the Spirit and to be an unusual teacher is, does his teaching conform to Scripture? Is it in conformity with the apostolic message? Does he base it all upon this Word? Is he willing submit to it?" We should also consider the the person's readiness to abide by scriptural teaching, which has always been a characteristic of a true prophet. Under close examination, a false prophet's life will instead display a contempt for the applied teaching of the Word.

The true Spirit will always glorify Christ, giving him the preeminence. "The true prophet is not the man who talks about experiences and visions and what he has done and seen, but about Christ. And when you have heard him you do not say, 'What a wonderful man'; you say, 'What a wonderful Savior!' You do not say, 'What a wonderful experience this man has had'; you say, 'Who is the Man of Whom the Spirit is speaking?' The attraction is to Christ; the Spirit glorifies Christ." On the other hand, teaching of a false spirit will misrepresent Christ by either by doing something to him or by detracting something from him. This is so prevalent on "Christian" television, where men and women are preaching another Jesus. Their messages, motivated by their own greed, do not pass the test of the apostolic teaching of the Word. It's a shame so many people allow themselves to fall victim to their teaching.

(All quotations are from Walking with God, November 1 - 5)