“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.” 1 John 4:3 NIV
When John states that “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh”, he is referring not only to His true deity, but also to His true humanity. The Docetists taught that matter is evil; thus, Jesus was only a spirit-being who seemed to be a real man. The Cerenthian Gnostics, whom John was probably combating, taught that Jesus was a mere man, but that “the Christ”, a divine emanation, came upon Him at His baptism, but left just before His crucifixion. John’s test refutes both heresies. Jesus is the Christ (the Anointed One or Messiah) who was conceived supernaturally by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary. He had a human body, although apart from sin. To deny that Jesus is true God and at the same time true man is to deny the Christian faith. To deny either Jesus’ deity or His humanity is to deny that He is our Saviour. If He were not God, He would have been a sinner and His death on the cross could not have atoned for anything beyond His own sins. If He were not man, He could not have assumed our sins on the cross (Hebrews 2:14-17). Thus, faith in Him to save us from sin would be worthless. Any teaching that denies that Jesus is true God and true man, that as the second person of the trinity Jesus took on human flesh in the incarnation, is a doctrine of demons. It is the spirit of the antichrist. John has shown us why we must be discerning, because Satan and his forces are actively trying to deceive us on essential biblical truth. He has shown us that the basis for discernment is a person’s confession about Jesus Christ as true God and true man.
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord Jesus, let my confession of faith be true to who You are.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Holy Spirit, help us to always be discerning, because Satan and his forces are actively trying to deceive us on essential biblical truth. Let our confession of faith in Jesus Christ be true to who He really is. AMEN
I.B.R.A. Readings
Luke 7:29-35
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