Discerning the Spirit of Truth and Confessing Christ as Lord

A Brief Discussion on I John 4:1-6

A Beloved One

Several months ago, while I was chatting with a teacher at my office, he said to me, “You are a beloved person. If I were to write a book about you in future, I would certainly mention this very important point.” I was very delighted to hear his comment.

There is much truth in what he said. Since I assumed the presidency, I do not shoulder everything alone. Instead, my faculty and staff colleagues spare no effort in sharing the burden with me. There are also many zealous volunteers who come to my help. Among these volunteers some have already retired. They could have taken a break from work to enjoy God’s creation and the goodness of life, but they with a willing heart help the seminary with various affairs. My colleagues do their utmost to watch over and maintain the seminary. Some of them even come to the campus after work hours to carry out lawn care work voluntarily; some go the extra mile and come to serve the seminary or do the school work during their holidays. With regard to the new academic building project, which is close to completion, there are deacons and leaders from various churches taking up the duty of project management supervision, which eases my mind. As for the issue concerning a major sewage pumping station proposed by the government to be constructed at a site adjacent to the seminary, we have a number of experts in environmental protection and drainage engineering to help with our negotiation with the Drainage Services Department. With so many brothers and sisters who love God, His churches and the seminary walking with me, I am beloved and blessed indeed.

When it comes to the term “beloved,” mention must be made of John the Apostle. John was a beloved person, commonly known as the “apostle of love.” In the Gospel of John, John describes himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (13:23; 19:26; 21:20, etc.). He was also the disciple leaning against Jesus during the Last Supper (13:25). His life thereafter was closely connected to the theme of “God’s love.” According to tradition, besides writing the Gospel, he was also the author of the Book of Revelation and the Letters of John.

Distinguish the True Spirit from the False Spirit

It was the last years of the first century when John wrote 1 John. During that period, the churches in some regions were faced with persecution. At that time, the church confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and that no one had greater authority than Jesus did. In addition, the early churches had to face the danger of false teachers. These false teachers lifted up themselves and viewed themselves as better than others in moral virtues and religious doctrines. They believed that real incarnation of divinity in human life was impossible and that Christ was a deity, who descended on Jesus, a human, at his baptism and departed before the crucifixion. Christ may have “seemed” (δοκεῖν) to be human but was actually not because the divinity and holiness of God could not be dishonored by the human flesh. In this way, false teachers denied the fact that Jesus Christ possesses true humanity and flesh.

John advised believers to resist the false teachers who claimed to have been inspired by the Spirit to put forward new teaching. He encouraged them to recognize the true Spirit from the false ones. John said, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 Jn 4:1a). What John meant was that it is essential to discern spirituality. True faith carries the power of discernment. Believing recklessly is without doubt “an intellectual suicide.” When Christians believe in Jesus Christ, they have to face this world with faith and wisdom.

Criterion 1: Know Who Jesus Christ Is

John pointed out that the false teacher’s faith is an antichrist faith. His direct advice for the readers was: “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world” (1 Jn 4:2-3). The spirit of the antichrist is opposed to the confession that “God has come to this world in the person of Jesus Christ.” The antichrist is opposed to Jesus Christ and God’s salvation plan.

John pointed out that the identification of truth and falsehood hinges on a core question: who is Jesus Christ? The answer is: as God came to this world in the person of Jesus Christ and in the flesh, Jesus Christ is wholly God and wholly human. Jesus was the son of Mary, suffered under the hand of Pilate, was crucified, died, was buried and was risen on the third day. He ascended to heaven in glory and sat on the right hand of God the Father. This is the main confession of Christianity, and is the yardstick to measure and test the truth of prophetic messages.

For this reason, the story of Jesus Christ is not the story of just a benevolent man or a wise person; nor is it the story of a social activist. There is nothing wrong with these claims but they are far from being able to point out the core of the issue. If the Jesus Christ confessed in Christianity is purely a leader who is caring, inspiring, particularly wise and charismatic, then the story we own about Jesus Christ will just be one about “a great humankind” and we will just be worshipping ourselves. If God had not come to the world in the flesh, the teaching and learning at our seminary would have been a waste of brothers and sisters’ efforts and offerings.

Put simply, the first established criterion and confession of the truth is: “God has come in the person of Jesus Christ,” or “God has come in the flesh.” John moved on to give the readers another established criterion and test. This test is about the nature of the listeners of the Word: to see if they are from God.

Criterion 2: Distinguish Two Types of Listeners.

Speaking of the two types of listeners, John said, “Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore, what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (1 Jn 4:4-6). The first type of listener is from God. To John, those who are from God listen and believe in the gospel. They firmly believe Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Their lives are also clear proof that they are from God. God dwells in their hearts and souls. The God living in them is greater than the one who is in the world.

Although the God greater than the one who is in the world lives in a believing person, that person does not necessarily have a better grasp of the expertise and terminology of the Bible and theology than others; nor is he necessarily smarter and more outstanding than others. But if the Holy Spirit does dwell in that person, the biblical and theological knowledge he owns will be nurtured into a heart with genuine faith. This explains why some humble people know God more than those who are complacent.

I know a brother in Christ who has great talents and intelligence. He had studied a Ph.D. program in a reputable school but finally lost his faith. He went back to his mother church and discussed theologies with his pastor. The pastor had not received advanced training in theological education; nor was he smarter than the brother. But he knew God and Jesus Christ. Comparatively speaking, that brother did not know God despite his profound knowledge in theology; he did not know how to tell the truth from falsehood and he did not dare to do so. The pastor is from God and so he possesses spiritual insights. He calls the truth “truth” and errors “errors” because God dwells in his heart and He is greater than the one who is in the world.

I also met a famous professor of liberation theology in the United States. His parents were devoted missionaries and they let him study in an evangelical college. Afterward, he obtained a doctor of philosophy degree in theology in a prestigious university. Since then, there have been changes in his theological perspectives. He was focused on the study of politics, racism, and feminism and enjoyed religious dialogues, especially those involving pluralism and universalism. Now, he always says that his theology is centred on “christic” experience; he thinks that such experience can be seen in the core experiences in various religions and the spirit of Christ can be revealed and working in folk religions in various cultures. He has not returned to what he originally believed in. Then, does he really know God?