Do not believe every spirit
1 John 4:1 - God never contradicts Himself, and testing statements and occurrences against His Word is the ultimate test of truth.
'Beloved, 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
John the Evangelist starts off chapter four of his first epistle with a warning; don’t assume that every spiritual “feeling” or what seems to be a sign of God is actually from God. John is warning that his readers (believed to be the people of Ephesus) should test spiritual experiences and phenomenon to see if they are actually God-given.
Particularly with those new to faith, there can be a rush of emotion when confronted with the reality of God’s love and power. This makes it too easy for new believers to be deceived by false prophets. This can also happen in established congregations when something new and powerful happens — a true revival, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and so on. Christians, lifelong or new to the faith, can be so impressed by what appears to be from God that they don’t question or test these occurrences.
How do you “test the spirits”, especially in cases where someone appears to be making a prophetic statement? All Christians need to be on guard, but it’s even more critical for those in positions of church leadership. There are several other epistles that repeat this need to test miraculous or prophetic occurrences, including 1 Corinthians 14:29 (“Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment” and 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (“But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good”.
What’s needed to perform this test is the gift of discernment that God gives to Christians, but is often ignored… It can be especially difficult to be discerning when one is trying to be part of a unified church body, as you might not want to be called out as a skeptic or nonbeliever!
In particular, prophecy needs to be judged by Scriptural standards. Just because someone makes a proclamation from a pulpit, or a congregant dramatically says he or she received a message or vision from God doesn’t mean that it should immediately be accepted as such. God never contradicts Himself, and testing statements and occurrences against His Word is the ultimate test of truth.
Even more important is to have the “spirits tested” by more than one person. 2 Peter 1:20-21 tells us not to interpret these events by ourselves:
“But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
If testing the spirits against the Word of God proves their veracity, and the body of Christ — the Church — agrees and confirms, then a true prophecy or miracle has occurred. Even then, it’s not likely that everyone will be in agreement.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father in Heaven, give me the wisdom to take this warning from John seriously, testing all teachings and doctrines against Your Word of Truth. May I be discerning, focused in heart and mind on Jesus, and abide in Him so that deceptive spirits and misleading teachings will not sway me. I pray this in the name of Jesus, AMEN.