1 João 4
Leon Morris · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 João 4:2
Morris - (1 John 4:2). The great truth associated with Christmas is the glorious fact of the incarnation, that the eternal Word of God, without whom "was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3) "was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). The Bible warns, therefore, that anyone who denies the human nature of Christ "is not of God" but rather is of the "spirit of antichrist" (1 John 4:3). This problem is very real because "many false prophets are gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1)—that is, those "New Age" teachers, gurus, rabbis, and mullahs who deny that Jesus and the Christ are eternally one, and that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again, and that this was a physical death and bodily resurrection. The real message of Christmas is not about a baby or gift-giving or good will, though these elements are all there, but about the God/man, who once came "in the likeness of sinful flesh" to die in our place, and thereby "condemned sin in the flesh" (Rom. 8:3). It will not do to say that any person can become a "Christ" or any other compromise that dilutes either the humanity or the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. As the apostle John testified, "For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us" (1 John 1:2). That living Word of God "was made in the likeness of men... and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him.... That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:7-11) (Days to Remember) Jack Arnold - All heresy can be tested by one’s belief in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Christian Science: They say that Jesus was a mere man upon whom the Spirit of Christ came. The Spirit of Christ is the eternal One and he came upon Jesus at his baptism and left him again before he died upon the cross. Thus Jesus was born a mere man and died a mere man. Thus the only thing of real value is the moral teachings of Christ. Jehovah Witnesses: They believe that Jesus Christ was the first created being from Jehovah and then everything after that was created through Christ. They deny the deity of Christ. Mormons: They say that Jesus never was the eternal, unchangeable God, but he was a man who became God and came to show us how we might become God’s someday. They deny Christ’s eternality as the Son of God. Modern Day Liberals In The Professing Church: They say that the Jesus of history is not important to us; that His virgin birth, His miracles, His resurrection, and even His crucifixion are but myths, legends gathered about the figure of the man, Jesus highly exaggerated ideas that the early church added to the facts. The facts of the historical Jesus are not important. The important thing is his moral teachings. Liberals deny the deity of Christ. The Psychedelic Cult: Dr. Timothy Leary, the high priest of the psychedelic cult, the father of the New Age movement, is constantly urging young people to try LSD. He calls his organization, using the letters “LSD”, “League of Spiritual Discovery”. He claims that LSD can open your eyes to the world of reality about God and life. And what does this apostle of pot have to say about the Lord Jesus? Why, that he was a man who was “turned on” by psychedelic drugs, and that is why he spoke in such an amazing way. He, too, was a user of LSD, in some form or another. The Outsider “The Anglican clergy who belong to the Modern Churchmen’s Conference are pledged ‘to proclaim the Christian Gospel in the light of modern knowledge and in the idiom of today.’ Last week, the idiom was at least controversial as Canon Hugh Montefiore, a respected theologian, calmly told a conference meeting at Oxford University that Jesus might have been a homosexual. After all, the graying New Testament scholar argued, ‘Women were his friends, but it is men he is said to have loved. The homosexual explanation is one we cannot ignore.’ One modern churchman who thought it should be ignored was Dr. Michael Ramsey, Archbishop of Canterbury, who promptly issued a statement affirming that ‘Christ’s dealing with both men and women were those of a perfect man.’ The canon was also accused by a conference delegate of words that ‘smear our Lord.’ But Montefiore, author of such books as ‘Awkward Questions on Christian Love,’ defended his suggestion as ‘serious and reverent.’ In fact, he believes his theory helps to explain God’s efforts, through Jesus, to identify with society’s outcasts. ‘Jesus was identified from conception to death with the outsider. Whether or not we accept the so-called virgin birth, no one can deny that he was born out of wedlock.” SIGNS OF THE CULTS Bruce Barton - borrow Life application New Testament commentary Following are some common characteristics of the teachings of cults that attack Christianity. Knowing about them will help Christians stand firm. 1. Allow a central authority to make the decisions. Cults find their authority, not in the Bible, but in a powerful and dictatorial leader. 2. Claim to have “new truth” from special prophets or special revelation. Because of so-called problems in the Bible or in Christian doctrine, cults appeal to new authorities or new spiritual revelation to counter Christianity. 3. Attack the Christian church. Cults take great pains to point out that Christian denominations show the disunity of the Christian church. A cult may point out immorality, racism, and hypocrisy in the Christian church in order to “prove” that it is not the true church. 4. Twist Christian doctrine. To establish their authority, cults try to prove the “unreasonableness” of Christian doctrine. They especially attack the doctrine of the Trinity and of the deity of Christ. 5. Undermine Scripture. Cults will string together unrelated verses or twist the Scripture’s grammatical or textual background in order to “prove” some way-out viewpoint. 6. Promote salvation by works. Cults stress the actions necessary—meetings, training, doing the work of the group—as essential to acceptance by God. 7. Undermine the assurance of eternal life in God’s grace. Cults teach that salvation exists in adherence to their teaching and practice, not in the merciful love of God through Jesus Christ. Related Resources: What is the definition of a cult? | GotQuestions.org What is the difference between a sect and a cult? | GotQuestions.org Who are the Jehovah’s Witnesses and what are their beliefs? Is Mormonism a cult? What do Mormons believe? How can I help someone to leave a toxic cult? OLD TESTAMENT TESTS FOR FALSE PROPHETS In the Old Testament, various signs or works pointed to a true or false prophet. Many of these can be applied today. 1. Does the prophet use fortune-telling? Divination was expressly forbidden by God (Deuteronomy 18:9–14). No true teacher or prophet would use fortune-telling or have any dealings with spirits of the dead (Jeremiah 14:14; Ezekiel 12:24; Micah 3:7). 2. Have the prophet’s short-term prophecies been fulfilled? Deuteronomy 18:22 used this as a test. Do predictions come to pass? 3. Is the prophet marked by a desire to say only what pleases people? Many false prophets told people what they wanted to hear. A true prophet serves God, not people (Jeremiah 8:11:14:13:23:17; Ezekiel 13:10; Micah 3:5). 4. Does the prophet draw people away from God? Many teachers draw people to themselves or to the system or organization they have built (Deuteronomy 13:1–3). 5. Does the prophet’s prophecy confirm the Bible’s main teaching? If a prophecy is inconsistent with or contradictory to Scripture, it is not to be believed. 6. What is the prophet’s moral character? False prophets were charged with lying (Jeremiah 8:10; 14:14), drunkenness (Isaiah 28:7), and immorality (Jeremiah 23:14). 7. Do other Spirit-led people discern authenticity in this prophet? Discernment by others who are led of the Spirit is a key test (1 Kings 22:7). The New Testament speaks of this a great deal (John 10:4–15: 1 Corinthians 2:14: 14:29, 32; 1 John 4:1). Bruce Barton - borrow Life application New Testament commentary
1 João 4:3
Morris says "The fact that a preacher or teacher talks about "Jesus" means little, for false prophets and false teachers have always invoked His name whenever it suited their purposes, and they still do. There are the "buddy" Jesus of country music, the socialist Jesus of liberal theology, the esoteric Jesus of the New Age and the ritualistic Jesus of sacramentalism, but none of these Jesus-figures is the Savior. The true Jesus is the Creator of the universe, the Word made flesh, the one Sacrifice for sins forever, the resurrected Lord and our coming King. There are many evil spirits at large in the world who would seek to counterfeit the Holy Spirit in the believer's experience if they could. We must "try the spirits." Paul warned against believing any man or even any angel who came preaching some other Gospel than the true saving Gospel of Christ which he had preached (Galatians 1:6-9-note). That Gospel includes the fullness of the person and work of Christ, from eternity to eternity. (Defender's Study Bible Notes) Confess (acknowledges) (3670)(homologeo from homos = one and the same or together with+ lego = to say; confess from con = together, fateor = to say) literally means to say the same thing as another and so to agree with another's statements. As discussed above (see especially Ray Stedman's remarks), this confess is not merely a verbal acknowledgement. Hiebert adds that "The verb “confesseth” (homologei, literally, “is saying the same thing”) denotes not mere verbal acknowledgment but an open and forthright declaration of the message as one’s own position. The present tense marks it as an ongoing acknowledgment, made whenever appropriate. Such a confession is crucial for a vital Christian faith (Rom. 10:9–10; 1 John 2:23; 4:15)." Bob
1 João 4:4
Morris - The devil may be "the god of this world" (2Co 4:4+) and have a multitude of demonic spirits under his control (Eph 6:11,12+), but the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer is the omnipotent God. As long as we neither "grieve the Spirit" nor "quench the Spirit" (Eph 4:30+; 1Th 5:19+), we can take great comfort in knowing that through the Spirit and His Word we can "overcome the wicked one" (1Jn 2:14+). Pleasure, profit, preferment are the worldling's trinity. -- John Trapp Earlier John had given his readers "warning signals" about the world… Do not love (present imperative) the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever. (1Jn 2:15-17+) See (aorist imperative) how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. (1Jn 3:1+) Do not be surprised (present imperative) brethren, if the world hates you. (1Jn 3:13+) John
1 João 4:14
Morris - The Savior of the World "And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world" (1 John 4:14). This unique title of the Lord Jesus Christ assures us that, when the Father sent His Son away from the glories of heaven down to a world lost in sin, it was not just to be the Messiah of the Jews, or to assume David's throne as king of Israel, or to punish the wicked Gentile nations. "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved" (John 3:17). In fact, this special title is used only one other time in the Bible, and it was used by Samaritans rather than Jews when they came to know Jesus as He ministered among them for two days. These people were mostly of Gentile background with a mixture of Israeli blood who had become adherents of a quasi-Jewish religion that was also part pagan. They were actually looking for a Savior, and their testimony after meeting Jesus was: "Now we believe... and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world" (John 4:42). They perceived that He had come to bring salvation to lost sinners in every nation, not just to Israel or Samaria. As He said later "I came not to judge the world, but to save the world" (John 12:47). So He commanded His disciples "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations" (Luke 24:47). He became to the Father "the propitiation... for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2), when He offered up His life as a sacrifice for sins, then died and rose again. We who have believed on Him as our personal Savior are now to be His witnesses "in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8)