08 What John Means by ‘Test the Spirits (1 John 4:1-6)

In a culture overflowing with spiritual voices, opinions, and platforms, 1 John 4:1–6 calls us to something surprisingly countercultural: do not believe everything you hear—even when it comes “in the name of Jesus.” Instead, John urges believers to test the spirits by what they say about Christ, how they handle the apostolic gospel, and the kind of life that flows from their teaching. In this week’s episode, we explore:What John means by “spirit” in this passage, and how it relates to the inner “eyes” or perspective that shape what teachers see as true and worth believingThe biblical pattern for discerning true and false prophets—from Deuteronomy to 1 John—and why accuracy alone is not enough if a message leads us away from the true GodJohn’s “drop-dead giveaway” test: what a teacher does with Jesus Christ—His identity as Messiah, His real humanity, and His historical life, death, and resurrectionHow modern distortions of Jesus (mythologizing Him, downplaying His resurrection, or redefining “Messiah”) echo the ancient errors John confrontedWhy popular, polished, and widely admired teachers can still be wrong—and how John explains that “the world listens to them” precisely because they speak its languageFive practical red flags in a teacher’s life and ministry: ignoring inconvenient facts, refusing to be corrected, reacting with anger to biblical challenge, dismissing hard truths about God, and showing little interest in genuine dialogueThe comfort of John’s encouragement: that his readers have “overcome” the false teachers not by superior intellect, but because the One who is in them is greater than the one who is in the worldAfter listening, you’ll come away better equipped to sort through the many spiritual voices around you—not by cynicism, but by clear, biblical tests centered on who Jesus is and what He has done. You’ll be invited to value substance over style, to recognize that rejecting certain errors is as important as embracing the truth, and to rest in the promise that the God who opened your eyes to the gospel will also keep you from finally being swept away by lies.Series: 1 John: Discerning the True Gospel