“God became man in Jesus Christ” 1 John 4:1-3
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world” (1 John 4:1-3 NKJV).
Sometimes I get asked how one can discern which faith is correct. The Bible gives us a simple answer in 1 John 4:1-3. Firstly, we are asked to “test the spirits” because many false prophets have gone out into the world (v1). Behind every statement made there hides a spiritual reality. The fallen spiritual world, Satan and his demons, is behind all the false religions, the ungodly philosophies and the human ideologies. This does not mean, though, that all that we encounter out there is evil or immoral. It is a fact that Satan disguises himself as an “angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14). Deception is most effective and when it lies as close to the truth as possible. This is when it becomes most difficult to discern. If the saving truth is not there then all good and morals are without value, at least from an eternal perspective.
The spirit that confesses that Jesus has come in the flesh is from God (v2). John also writes about this in the fourth gospel when he says that the Word was God (John 1:1) and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). A real simple truth one could think, but we all know that this is the hardest confession that someone can make. In our meeting with people there may be an openness to speak about God and of spiritual things, but to admit that Jesus was God is an entirely different matter. God’s Spirit is in the world and convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8-9). This work of the Spirit can, however, be resisted and God respects our free will so that He allows us to reject His invitation to salvation.
No one can be saved if he or she does not recognize that God became man in Jesus Christ. The One that reconciled fallen man with God must be God ((nothing more than a perfect and holy sacrifice could satisfy a perfect and holy God). But, He also had to be human to be able to die a substitutionary death for man. He took our place (2 Cor 5:21) and thus could take the punishment for our transgressions (Isa 53:5). The one that believes this will be justified without having earned it (Rom 3:24). Salvation is by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-9). This belief encompasses the recognition of Jesus’ divinity and His substitutionary death.
If any spirit does not confess the incarnation (that God became man in Jesus Christ) then that spirit is not from God (v3). It is instead Antichrist’s spirit. Even though the final Antichrist has not yet come into the world, his spirit is working through many “antichrists”, persons that deny the most basic belief in the Christian faith, the incarnation. In Hinduism and Buddhism Jesus is an enlightened teacher and master. Islam teaches that He is a prophet. Jehovah’s witnesses claim that He was the archangel Michael. Among liberal Christians and secular humanists, He was a good person. But He was and is something much more, namely the Son of God (John 3:16).
Who will tell the world about it – proper priests or mystical monks? No, unfortunately not. It is normal, common testimonies from people like you and me who put forward this truth to a fallen world. In the USA there is a TV series called “Duck Dynasty” that has beat all viewing records. Personally I have never seen the program, just small YouTube snippets here and there. The family’s “patriarch”, Phil Robertson, has, however, a crystal clear testimony on how he came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you understand the “Southern drawl” then you can watch and listen to him give his testimony here