Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. 1 John 4:1 NLT
After seeing an AI (artificial intelligence) video that disturbed her because something that was not real appeared to be authentic, my friend was frustrated and frightened. She was worried that people might believe it, even though the video was shown to her as a joke. “I can’t believe this, “ she said. “In today’s world you have to be so careful. You can’t afford to believe everything you see or hear.”
She’s right. But it’s not just in today’s world. It’s been true from the beginning. John wrote to his friends, encouraging them to investigate and choose to believe wisely. There have always been voices that vie for our attention and that are not healthy, wise, good, or from God. John reminded followers of Jesus that you can’t believe every voice you hear, but to test the voices to see if they are actually and reliably from God.
How do you do that? There are key, central methods for testing the spirits that will keep us from making decisions that take us away from Jesus and wisdom:
Check out Scripture. This is actually much less simple than it may appear. Unfortunately, ever since the very beginning with Satan in the Garden, other voices have “proof-texted” an opinion with selected words/verses, and made things far from God’s character appear to be from Him. These “words” weaponize Scripture and distort the voice of the Bible. When you check Scripture, check the entire Word of God and especially check it against the life, words, and ministry of Jesus. If it doesn’t sound and look like what we see in Jesus, reject it. He is the exact image of God (Hebrews 1:3). Is the voice centered in the fact that Jesus Christ, Jesus the King, is God who came in the flesh? If not, reject it. The voice is not from God. Examine “fruit of the Spirit” in the voice and the message. Does the messenger’s life and the message promote love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? (Galatians 5:22-23). Check the origin of the message. Does it clearly come from the heart of God or from a personal agenda? Evaluate the impact on yourself and others. Does it promote love, peace, and freedom, or does it create doubt, shame, bondage, and confusion? Pray for discernment and get counsel from trusted godly friends who have nothing to gain or lose from your decisions. People who are honest and spiritually mature who will not try to influence you in a way to benefit them are priceless companions on the journey.
- Jesus, You are my Shepherd. I never want to follow another verse. Help me refuse to be naive or willfully ignorant because I will not do the work of testing the spirits and voices that speak into my life. I want only Yours.