1st JOHN LESSON 4
SONSHIP AND THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH
Lesson: 1st John 4:1-21
I. SONSHIP AND THE DISCERNMENT OF ERROR. vs. 1-6
The Sons of God should be able to discern between “the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” v. 6. God has given his Word as a standard, and His Holy Spirit as a guide and teacher. If the Sons of God cannot tell the difference, then perhaps they are not sons, or they have not studied the Word and yielded to the Holy Spirit.
A. The Trying of False Prophets. v. 1
1. We are not to believe every spirit. v. 1a
2. We are to try the spirits. v. 1b; Isaiah 8:20, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”
3. There are many false prophets. v. 1c.
a. Transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”
b. Some shall depart from the faith, 1 Timothy 4:1, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” 2 Timothy 3:1-8; 4:3-4.
c. Be careful that you are not deceived, Matthew 24:4, “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.”
1) Men from our own ranks, Acts 20:30, “Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.”
2) There shall be false teachers among us, 2 Peter 2:1, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”
B. The Test for False Prophets. vs. 2-6
1. They are tested in relation to the doctrine of Christ. v. 2
a. They must confess that Jesus is the Christ, v. 2, “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:”
b. They must confess that “Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.” This verse is written in the perfect tense that indicates that He came in the flesh and continues to abide in the flesh. This is true; he abides in heaven.
2. Those who fail the test are of antichrist, v. 3a; 2 John 7, “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:”
3. The spirit of antichrist is already in the world. v. 3b; 2 Thessalonians 2:7, “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.”
4. The Holy Spirit, who is greater than the spirit of antichrist, indwells the believer. v. 4.
a. We know that this is the Spirit of Truth, John 14:17, “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
b. We know that we are of God, 1 John 5:19, “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.”
c. We know that Antichrist is “the prince of the power of the air,” Ephesians 2:2, Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
5. False teachers have a different source of knowledge. v. 5; Luke 16:8, “And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.”
6. Those who hear the true teachers and those who do not. v. 6. This explains why multitudes follow the false teachers of our day.
a. The world does not know Him, John 14:17, “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
b. He indwells and comforts the believer, John 15:26, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.”
c. He guides the believer, John 16:13, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”
II. SONSHIP AND THE MANIFESTATION OF LOVE. vs. 7-16
A. Love is a Family Trait. vs. 7-8
1. We are to love one another because it is of God. v. 7. This does not mean that we are to love and fellowship with false prophets and teachers, for this would contradict verses 1-6.
2. Love is evidence of the new birth. v. 7; 1 John 5:1, “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.”
3. Lack of love gives evidence of NO new birth. v. 7; John 14:21, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
4. God is…
a. “God is love.” v. 8, “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
b. “God is a Spirit.” John 4:24, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
c. “God is light.” I John 1:5, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”
5. To know God means you have deep intimate relationship with Him, Ephesians 3:19, “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” Much that is called love today has no resemblance to the love of the Bible.
B. The Greatest Manifestation of Love. vs. 9-10
1. The greatest example of this love, was God’s love for man and for His Son, v. 9; John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
a. We “live through Him,” 1 John 4:9, “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.”
b. We live “for Him,” 2 Corinthians 5:15, “And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”
c. We live “with Him.” 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.”
2. The direction of this love. It came down from God. v. 10. Deuteronomy 7:7-8, “The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”
a. You were not chosen “because ye were more in number than any people.” Deuteronomy 9:4-6, “Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee. 5Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.”
b. But because the LORD loved you, Ephesians 2:4-5, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)”
3. The result of this love. v. 10.
a. Propitiation is not man doing something to appease God, Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”
b. It is God doing something to make it possible for men to be forgiven, 1 John 3:1, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”
4. The Responsibility to Love, vs. 11-12
a. God’s love obligates us to love. v. 11. “God so loved” is the same expression as in John 3:16.
b. Love is not seeing God, but the manifestation of His indwelling us. v. 12; 1 John 2:5, “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”
B. The Indwelling Presence of God and Love, v . 13-16
1. The Spirit testifies to a double indwelling. v. 13; Romans 8:16, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:” Compare John 15:1-10.
2. The Spirit’s indwelling enables us to testify. v. 14; Acts 18:5, “And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.”
3. Confession that Jesus is the Son of God, is more than the recital of a creed. v. 15; vs. 2, “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.”
4. Love is a working force in our lives. v. 16.
a. “Oh how great is thy goodness,” Psalm 31:19, “Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!”
b. Note David’s attitude, Psalm 18:1-2, “I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. 2The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler [shield], and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.”
III. LOVE’S PERFECTION AND INCENTIVE TO LOVE, vs. 17-21
A. Love’s Perfection in Us. vs. 17-18
1. He makes our love mature. v. 17a.
a. If we love one another, v. 12, “No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.”
1) Evidence of salvation, “God dwelleth in us.”
2) His love matures in us, “his love is perfected in us.”
b. This love is the only evidence that the public may see regarding Jesus Christ in our lives, John 15:10, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”
2. This will help us face the judgment seat of Christ. v. 17b; 1 John 2:28, “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”
3. There is no fear in love. v. 18a; 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
4. Love casteth out fear. v. 18b.
a. Passed from death unto live, John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
b. No fear of condemnation, Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Our sins were judged on the cross.
5. Fear reveals immaturity. v. 18c, “He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”
a. We have help, Romans 8:15, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
b. We have encouragement, Romans 8:35-39.
1) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? vs. 35-36, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
2) We are more than conquerors through him that loved us, vs. 37-39, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
B. The Greatest Incentive to Love. v. 19
1. The eternal sovereign love of God is the fountain of all that is good in us. v. 19, “We love him, because he first loved us.”
2. He loved us when we were unlovely. v. 19;
a. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived… Titus 3:3-7, “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
b. But Jesus Christ has “washed us from our sins in his own blood,” Revelation 1:5, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.”
“He did not wait till I loved Him,
But He loved me at my worst:
He needn’t ever have loved me at all,
If I could have loved Him first.”
C. The Brotherhood of Love. vs. 20-21
1. The man who is a liar. v. 20a
a. 1 John 1:6, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:”
b. 1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
c. 1 John 1:10, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
d. 1 John 2:4, “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
e. 1 John 2:22, “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.”
2. The unanswerable question. v. 20b, “for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”
3. The commandment of consistency. v. 21, “And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”
1. The command from God.
2. The proof of salvation is in loving your brother in the Lord.