Commentaries:
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1 John 4:1-5
Their message appeals to human nature, not to divine nature. The divine nature will recognize it for what it is and reject it! But human nature accepts it. To human nature—to the carnality within us—it looks logical and right, like something we can apply and use as a part of our personality and character.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Wisdom of Men and FaithRelated Topics: Divine Nature | Human Nature | Human Nature, Perversity of | Human Reason | Test all Things | Test the Spirits | Testing All Things | Testing the Spirits
1 John 4:1
Jesus says in Matthew 24:24 that many false prophets and false christs will arise, and they will do signs and wonders so that it will be possible for them to deceive even the elect. The Bible, then, is clear that in the church era, spiritual power to do miracles is present in false ministers, but that it is evil and misdirected.
The spirit that power comes from is revealed in the teaching, the doctrine, of the prophet. Jesus says, "Depart from Me you who work lawlessness." Moses says that if they say anything about worshipping another god, they are not of God. Revelation 13 says that the miracles of the False Prophet will deceive people into worshipping the beast, a false god. His miracles will not witness to the truth, which always directs people to worship the true God. Thus, though we may see a miracle, we can tell its source through the doctrine, through what the miracle-worker is teaching. We have to ask, what is the doctrine of the prophet? The answer will reveal the source of his power.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Is God a Magician?Related Topics: False Miracles | False Prophet | False Religion | Lawlessness | Lawlessness, Mystery of | Miracles | Miracles, False | Test all Things | Test the Spirits | Testing All Things | Testing the Spirits | Worship the Beast | Worship, False | Worshipping in VainOther Forerunner Commentary entries containing 1 John 4:1:
Deuteronomy 13:1-5
Deuteronomy 18:22
Jeremiah 29:8-9
John 4:24
1 Corinthians 10:13
1 Corinthians 12:10
1 Corinthians 12:15-21
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
2 Timothy 4:3-4
James 1:23-24
Jude 1:15-19
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What Does 1 John 4:1 Mean?
False prophets arise performing signs and wonders to deceive even the elect. Their spiritual power is evil and misdirected; its source appears in the prophet's doctrine, which directs worship to a false god. The message appeals to human nature, appearing logical and usable. Spirits manifest their thinking through these men, as when disciples sought to destroy others while influenced by a destroying spirit. One determines the spirit by testing what the prophet teaches.