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Testing the Spirits

What the Bible means by Testing the Spirit(s)

How to Test the Spirit operating in a Church

PART 1

1 John 4:1 

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try [test] the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God:

There are very strict tests that SHOULD be applied (found in 1 John) about whether or not Christians – in a church setting – are supposed to accept the stream of utterances and/or tongues as being “from God”. Christians are supposed to find out – by asking directly – whether or not the spirit in that person – which is the source of the tongues – acknowledges that Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh – and some Pentecostals circles skip this step, and then become spiritually deceived as a result. 

Word of Faith (WOF) preachers who make a habit of taking their so-called “revelations” and “visions” and place the authority of those visions ABOVE the authority of the Bible, are splitting away from authentic pentacostals. And authentic bible-following charistmatics would recognize those WOF preachers as teaching FALSE Doctrine. And those preachers who are leading themselves and others astray...are called Word of Faith teachers. And the reason is that they place Faith in THEIR own word, and NOT the Words of the Bible. 

To the extent that any of them do that, they would be as wrong as any Roman Catholic Visionary or anyone else who elevates their own revelation above God and the Bible. The Bible talks about this, about men who elevate their own Prophecy and treat it and approach it...as though it were a New revelation from God – through their own private interpretation.

"Visionaries" elevate the prophecies they receive and the private interpretations they have, as being above scripture. That practice is Unbiblical and contrary to what the Bible teaches. Anyone who does this...would be disregarding the Bible – the source of authentic information about Jesus and Christianity, and engaging in conduct which is wrong. 

When anyone elevates what they say (no matter what the circumstances) above the Bible, and begins to treat what comes out of their own mouth as though God were saying something directly through them, in cases where these sayings/prophecies contradict the Bible, those people - at the least - are guilty of IDOLATRY, worshiping themselves and their own false utterances, rather than what is in the Bible.

Part 2

Question:

Why is there such an unwillingness or appearance of rejection in following the instruction of 1 John 4? Didn't God give us this command to help protect us from deception and spiritual destruction?

Our Reply:

The passage in 1 John 4 often meets with the same degree of enthusiasm as this passage:

Matthew 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 

Here is the passage in 1 John 4, just to be sure we are on the same page:

1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

There appears to be many false and demonic spirits - these days - that are appearing as an "Angel of Light" in order to try and deceive us - and working inside Churches. John - in 1 John - gives us the test of how to recognize their work:

Find out if that Spirit operating from within that person, is from God.

What this passage seems to be saying is - literally: Go up to a person about whom you have a question, and say something like the following:

Brother so-and-so, I am here because I want to make sure that we continue to walk in righteousness and truth, and I want to continue to make sure that all that we do is edifying to the Body of Christ, and as a result of the prompting of the Holy Spirit. So I have to ask the spirit within you a question:

In the name of Jesus Christ, I command the spirit that is within you to answer me, do you, the spirit that is [ Fill in the blanc : "speaking in tongues" "prophecying" "praying" etc ] acknowledge and confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh and is of God ?

If the spirit that initiates an action is either a) the person themselves or b) the Holy Spirit within them, then they will answer in the affirmative. If the spirit within them does not answer, or does not answer in the affirmative, or starts to make some other sounds, then you and others around you - may have some extra homework for the evening ...or the week.

 Ideally - what would be practiced in this context - would first have been preached on and addressed by the Pastor. And maybe he would have given a demonstration from the pulpit, so that people know what to expect, and so that they know that this is a Biblical teaching. Otherwise, people are going to think that you may know something that they don't. You may be asking someone a question, and others may surmise that you know something they don't about the person you are addressing. Next thing you know, people are grabbing him and getting ready to help you do some kind of exorcism - because you certainly must have known what you were doing, if you were going to initiate that kind of action in the midst of a meeting or Bible study.

And maybe that pastor would have given a demonstration from the pulpit, so that people know what to expect, and so that they know that this is a Biblical teaching. Otherwise, people are going to think that you may know something that they don't. You may be asking someone a question, and others may surmise that you know something they don't about the person you are addressing. Next thing you know, people are grabbing him and getting ready to help you do some kind of exorcism - because you certainly must have known what you were doing, if you were going to initiate that kind of action in the midst of a meeting or Bible study. 

On the surface, the whole thing could have a semi-comical aspect to it. But to the person who is on the receiving end, it would not really be perceived that way. But with appropriate teaching and demonstration, it would sober up that individual church about what was going on in their situation(s) and meetings. 

Certainly, John thought that Christian believers could be deceived (and still can) and that is why he and Peter took time to advise those congregations (and us) how to deal with those situations. 

The Premise or idea that if a person is a Christian, that they cannot be deceived by demonic spirits, or that they cannot be deluded, that is NOT what the Bible says. The Bible is constantly warning Christians to be on guard about their own spiritual walk and their own situations because Christians CAN be deceived - yes EVEN Christians who are in a church, and YES - Even in a Church Context

If we are told (as an imperative command) to See whether they (the spirits in the situation) are of God or not, the presupposition is that some of them may not be, and Christians could be deceived by those spirits. This is why those evil spirits represent a danger, which is overcome by testing those spirits, before their messages are accepted as truth. If the WOF and others applied this test, they might have a much smaller following.

Testing the spirit in this manner would certainly make people more cautious about speaking out, wanting to ensure that the spirit inside them was the Holy Spirit. I wish that more people would do this. But this would require genuine caring by others towards the person at whom this was directed, as well as a loving attitude and ways to follow this up, in case it is found out that the spirit inside of them is Not the Holy Spirit. It would also require those who try it -  to be willing to look bad or feel foolish perhaps, until they get use to it. As time passed, hopefully they would realize that other christians are following these guidelines for the spiritual safety and true spiritual wellbeing of Every Christian inside that Church.  

This is a Biblical Teaching that where practiced - would lead to a church that would be much more Sober Minded and Concentrating on the REAL things of God, and not simply the latest trend or fad. 

If the Pastor has not taught on this topic, you may be the person that the Holy Spirit puts it on your heart to share this with him. If you have to, print this out and take it to him. A Pastor who is a man of God who is serious about putting God First in his congregation will Want to test the spirit of those who are speaking. It may not be easy or comfortable - until people learn to do this by habit, but it is a lot better to actually do what the Bible says, than to risk being instructed by a demonic spirit, because the Spirit was Not Tested. God institutes His guidelines for Our Protection.

A Witness of Truth from the Net
Testing the spirits! 

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Years ago I decided to test the spirits and I found that many Christians failed the tests,This really shocked me, Even leaders of churches. But I found that if I explained to them the truths that they were ignorant of, they were Ok.
A false spirit will resist , or deny , the truth.

How is it done ? yes and no questions dont work , and are easily lied upon.
You must test their beliefs, and doctrines in depth.

For example a person may say that they believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ,and if you do not then you are not a Christian.But many believe in a spiritual resurrection only ,this is a serious error.

M

Why is it so serious? because a spiritual resurrection only - would deny that Jesus is in the Flesh, Jesus was and is in the flesh. Have you ever heard the heresy that Jesus has no blood in his body because he gave it at calvary? Well if that were true then He could not have flesh either, because flesh without blood cannot be alive. So again a further testing into a person's view & understanding of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ can reveal many errors.

if they can be corrected. then they consent to the truth. But if they resist, they are false. I hope this helps.

You can even test the spirits often without them knowing it because they are ignorant of alot of truth.

So it shows to me just how much the spirit of antichrist & false teachings is at work in Christendom. Simply because of ignorance.

That is why the Bible says that All Christians must:

1 Timothy 2:15: Study [the Bible ] to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

and 

1 Timothy 4:16: Take heed [Take Great Care and Pay Attention] unto thyself [your spiritual self], and unto the doctrine [in the Bible]; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

P.S. IF your Pastor is not preaching on this passage from the Bible, feel free to print out this page and take it 1) to him 2) to other church leaders and 3) to your Bible Study leader. Those who seek Truth do not fear truth. Those who seek God do not resist studying His Word. Pay attention to what your pastor says. But pay MORE attention to what he actually Does. 

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