1 John 4:1-3 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you will 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. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and is already in the world at this time.”
There have always been lots of spirits in the world. The Bible tells us that one third of the angels joined Lucifer in his rebellion and fell from heaven to become demons. Some of these demons are territorial; they remain in one area. Other more important demons may range a wider area. There are also angels at various levels of authority. Psalm 103:20 says, “Bless the LORD, all His angels mighty in strength who carry out His word, who hearken to the voice of His command.”
Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity. Just before Jesus was betrayed, he told his disciples, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocatef to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17 We all are influenced by spirits and have spirits living inside us. If we are following Jesus, if we have confessed our sins and repented, and if we are striving to do God’s perfect will, then God has promised that He will send the Holy Spirit to live inside each one of us. But if we are going our own way and feel that we don’t need God, we have laid ourselves open to evil spirits. We have left ourselves wide open for Satan to manipulate us, and he will!
Some people would like to believe that there is such a thing as neutrality in the spirit world; however, the Bible does not support this idea. Jesus destroyed this concept in Matthew 12:30 when He said, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.” This was at a time when religious leaders had accused Jesus of driving out demons by using satanic power. Jesus pointed out that a house divided against itself could not stand and that Satan could not drive out Satan.
How can we tell if we are hearing the Holy Spirit? First, does this advice follow Scripture or not? God honors His Word above His Name and will not go against His Word. Second, does this advice bring peace or confusion? The mark of the Holy Spirit is peace. Third, who does this spirit say that Jesus is? Does this spirit say that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, or does this spirit try to say something less? John lays out this test when he says,
“ 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.”
Why must we test the spirits? We are leaves on a tree, easily blown in every direction according to the wind. It is not enough to have a “spiritual” experience; such experiences can easily come from Satan. We must even be careful about our dreams for not every dream is of the Lord either.
In James 1:5 God promises to give us guidance. “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” When we are perplexed as to whether or not a spiritual experience or a spiritual leading is from God, we can stop and pray and ask God to reveal it to us. One of two things will happen at that point: either the choice we have been considering will suddenly begin to recede at the speed of light, or we will receive the peac of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds that this leading is of the Lord.
PRAYER: Father God, help all who read this devotional to seek your face and to ask you for guidance. We thank you that you are a good Father who does not play games with His children, but that you will give us your wisdom if we will only ask. Thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to everyone who believes on Jesus Christ. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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