Test the Spirits: An Eastertide Meditation on 1st John 4

Beloved, believe not every spirit, 

but try the spirits whether they are of God: 

because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: 

Every spirit that confesseth that 

Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

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.

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.

They are of the world: 

therefore speak they of the world, 

and the world heareth them.

We are of God:

 he that knoweth God heareth us; 

he that is not of God heareth not us. 

Hereby know we the spirit of truth, 

and the spirit of error.

Discussing spirits in the 21st century is a challenging enterprise.  In scientific circles, the idea of spirits can seem superstitious and anachronistic— a way of explaining the undiscovered which no longer fits with educated modernity’s embrace of materialism and evolution.  Yet popular culture, movies, TV shows, books, and blogs reflect entire genres devoted to spiritualism where witchcraft, mediums, necromancers, ghost hunters, hauntings, and various other-worldly monsters are treated as dangerous possibilities for human encounters.  Even as one segment of society distances itself from traditional institutions which historically gave context to the spiritual world, other people in rapidly growing numbers find themselves in grave peril from exposure to dangerous spirits, such that churches from Rome to the Reformation are training more pastors to help as exorcists and spiritual combatants.  Such confusion is not unique to our time, as any rigorous student of history could attest— but it is a mark of our time, and St. John’s first epistle speaks directly to our situation.

In the fourth chapter, John clearly calls his readers not to believe every spirit, but to test them, acknowledging that they both exist and engage with people.  Such spirits can either be true, in that they speak the truth, or false, in that they lie and deceive.  While spirits may not always be visible to the naked eye, it is clear that Jesus, His Apostles, and the Prophets, not only believed they existed, but occasionally had direct contact with them— and a key distinction of those spirits was whether they were in fellowship with God and reflected His truth, or enemies of God who distorted His truth.  Whether those spirits were disembodied (like the angels who come to announce the birth and resurrection of Jesus, or demons who seek to posses and destroy those they deceive,) or incarnate (like the spirits of people still living in this world as a person united in body and soul,) the way to test a spirit is by whether it speaks the truth or lies.

Of course, fallen people such as ourselves are ridiculously easy to deceive.  Not only does fallen humanity already have a disposition not to believe in God (writ large in our post-modern western civilization’s idolization of science and technology,) but our fallen intellect is easily confused and leaves many with self-contradictory conclusions about life, reality, good, and evil.  As western societies distance themselves from the ancient pillars of the church which Jesus established by His Word and Spirit, fallen humanity becomes ever more gullible and triumphally hubristic.  Not only are fallen people easy to deceive, we are inclined toward self deception, and away from anything which might reveal our accountability before our Creator.  Thus we live in confused, chaotic, and dangerous times, where many ignore the Spirit of God, and harken instead to the dark whispers of malevolent spirits who deftly manipulate human lust, pride, wrath, greed, and hatred.

The solution, however, is always near at hand, with remarkable clarity and cohesion.  Unlike the endless variety of conflicting evil narratives, the truth of Jesus has been consistent and reliable since the foundation of the world.  He tells us we have a Creator who is both just and loving, before whose Law we stand condemned as wicked and evil, but by whose grace through Jesus’ Vicarious Atonement for the sins of the whole world, are now forgiven and free by faith in Him.  He tells us that the evils which surround and persecute us, which daily lie and deceive us, are overcome through the Cross of Jesus, and will find their final condemnation in the fiery prison of hell.  He tells us that through His life, death, and resurrection He has conquered sin, death, hell, and the power of the devil with all his lying hordes of demons, giving to everyone who abides in Him by faith in His Word that same victory and eternal life.  He tells us that He receives every penitent sinner who turns to Him, no matter how great or small his transgressions, for Jesus’ holy blood coverers all mankind.  He tells us that at the hour of our death, He comes to take us to Himself, and that at the end of the world, He will raise us all from the dead, never to die again.  He tells us that death, evil, corruption, and suffering will have an end with the new heavens and the new earth, and that the life He gives us today by grace through faith shall then shine forth like the stars of heaven forever.

And so, the Spirit of Jesus comes to you again this day, with the old and eternal message of faith and repentance, life and salvation— the truth which overcomes the world of sin around us, and world of sin within us.  Hear Him call to you, and turn from the lying spirits who draw you away from His Word of life which He sends you through His Prophets and Apostles of Holy Scripture.  Leave the dark cacophony of the world’s deceptions behind, and find in Jesus the truth your soul so desperately needs, both now and for eternity.  Amen.