1 John 4:2-6  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:  (3)  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.  (4)  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.  (5)  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.  (6)  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

If there was a spirit of antichrist in the Apostle John’s day, how much worse is it today? Not everything you see and hear today is of the Lord! There are many false prophets today saying God told them, or God told them that. But hath God said? The devil asked Eve this same question, but he surely was not trying to guide Eve into doing what was right. The devil was guiding Eve to sin! Verse 4 is quoted by many Christians and interpret it to mean that God is greater than the enemy. This is true, but in the context of verses 1-6, it means that we don’t have to be deceived by the spirit of antichrist because God is greater and He will guide us!

1 John 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Born-again believers possess the Holy Spirit of God. He wants us to check with Him whether what we are seeing or hearing is truly of Him and guides us through the voices and influences that surround us. God, in His infinite wisdom, bestows upon us discernment in our spirit, enabling us to discern truth from deception. This wisdom acts as a compass and directs us toward righteousness, and away from confusion. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher, always ready to teach our hearts and minds, leading us closer to an understanding of His Word and His will for our lives.

John 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Acts 17:11  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

We are well equipped with God’s Word. We need nothing else to guide and direct us. The only thing we have to do is to pick up our Bibles and read for ourselves. Are you well equipped? If you are not born again, you cannot possibly understand the Bible. If you would like to be born again, follow this link and it will guide you through the Scriptures showing you how to be saved.