We Have to Test the Spirits. & God is Love. Bible Study. 1 John Ch 4

Here is a teaching on chapter 4 of the book of 1 John. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added to that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.

I did want to say a quick prayer... Lord, I pray that you lift up every person reading this right now. Please open up our eyes, our ears, our hearts, and our minds to you Lord. Please give us knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we are reading and the wisdom to implement it in our daily lives. Holy Spirit please guide us and help us to see the truth, know the truth, discern the truth, and live by the truth. I pray that whatever it is that each person is supposed to receive from this Bible study, they receive it and implement it in their daily lives. I love you with every ounce of my being. In Jesus' name, Amen.

1 John Chapter 4:

1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

Alright, so I am going to stop right there and discuss these verses with you guys here. So in verse 1, not every spirit is from God. There are evil spirits and a lot of people that will try to deceive you. In verses 2-3, Jesus Christ walked on this earth and lived a sinless life and he died on the cross for our sins. Any spirit that does not acknowledge that is not from God but is against God. There are many people in this world that deny Jesus so we have to make sure that we are standing firm in our faith and testing the spirits. In verses 4-6, Jesus Christ has overcome the world and he is in us whenever we are saved. People in this world will be heard by worldly people but whoever truly knows God and believes in Jesus will listen to us. Those that belong to the world and belong to satan will not listen to us.

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7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says " I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Alright, those are all of the verses of chapter 4 of the book of 1 John, but I'm going to discuss these verses with you guys here. In verses 7-12, God is full of mercy, love, grace, and compassion and we have to love others and let our light shine through to others. In verses 13-16, whenever we are saved and we have a new life in Jesus and we live in him and he lives in us, we have the Holy Spirit within us. What John says here in verse 15, we can see Jesus talk about this in John 17:21 and it says: "that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me."

In verses 17-18, when we seek to live and have a heart like Jesus and obey his commands we can be confident on the day of judgment. Our relationship with God should not be marked with agonizing fear. We are made perfect in His love. Being in awe of God and having a healthy fear of God is good but not this agonizing fear of being afraid of God. We know that God is in complete control, He has our best interests at heart, He loves us, and has chosen us. What John says here in verse 20, we can see Jesus talk about this in John 13:35. There is no way for someone to love God but hate others because whenever we love God and we are saved by Jesus Christ he changes our hearts and we are going to have compassion, mercy, and love for others. If we can't even love someone that we've seen, then how could we love the one that we haven't seen? What John says in verse 21, we know that there are two great commands. Jesus says these two great commands in Mark 12:30-31 and they say: 30 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” So these two commandments go hand in hand. We can't love the Lord with all of our heart, mind, strength, and soul, and not also love our neighbor as ourselves.

Here are 3 takeaways to write down:

1. We have to test the spirits

2. God is love

3. We can't truly love God if we don't love others

1 John Ch 4 Study Guide

Why should we test the spirits?
If a spirit doesn’t acknowledge Jesus, is it from God? Why or why not?
Why should we love others?
Should we live in agonizing fear of God? Why or why not?
What are the two greatest commands?
Can someone love God and hate his brother or sister? Why or why not?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?

So that concludes this Bible study on chapter 4 of the Book of 1 John. Next time we're going to go into chapter 5 so make sure that you stay tuned for that.

I love you guys so much.

Never forget to choose faith over fear.

-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)

p.s. If you'd rather listen to Faith-based, spiritual growth, mindset, and mental health tips, then check out my podcast. There I will share my personal experiences, stories I've never told before, and bring you along with this hot mess life of mine. New episodes daily.

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