Testing the Spirits

1 John 4:1 says, "...do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God..." Supposedly mature Christians employ the greatest "cop out," so to speak, when they act outside of the character of Christ. Any foul or unacceptable behaviour is attributed to the "flesh," and, therefore, it is excusable, in a manner of speaking. Now that might not sound like anything to be concerned about, but, the works of the flesh in accordance with Galatians 5:19 range from adultery to idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, jealousy, fits of rage, strife, selfish ambition and the list goes on even to murderings. Obviously, none of the works of the flesh are born of God. Thus, when one tests the spirits and finds any of the above -- or others equally offensive -- the discovery resulting from the testing of spirits proves invaluable.

Testing the spirits may involve something as simple as verifying whether a spirit is as good as his word. Matthew 21:28 tells of a man with two sons whom he asked to go and work in the vineyard. The first said "no" but later repented and went to work. The second had said "yes" and later did not go at all. The better of the two, of course, is the first, as he did the will of his father. Another example can be found in Matthew 5:37 says, "Let your 'yes' be 'yes' and your 'no' be 'no'. Anything beyond this comes from the evil one." When a 'yes' in response to do something for God switches to a 'no', it is as the verse says, "Anything beyond this comes from the evil one."

Adam and Eve had a covenant with God agreeing not to touch the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And for a while they obeyed. But in time, their 'yes' became 'no'. Who caused it? The voice of the evil one. In Genesis 3:1, the serpent sowed a seed of doubt into Eve which grew into disobedience the moment she ate from the tree. Later Adam did likewise, partaking in that disobedience. Testing the spirits will bring to light whether or not your sevice is unto the Holy Spirit or the unholy spirit, whether your are heeding the voice of God or the voice of the Satan.

Testing the spirits to determine whether they are of God must go beyond what people say. People can say they follow Christ, but sometimes their inconsistent actions prove otherwise. Once common sayings stated that "you are what you eat," or "you are what you read," or "what you do or don't do is really who you are." As for testing, everybody needs it. In truth, yesterday's hero could very well be today's villain. That old expression "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" seems most apt for those who think they now have God by the ear. For anybody who wants to test his own spirit, James 4:17 tells us that, "Anybody who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." When one voice tells you to do right, while the second voice advises the opposite, Deuteronomy 13:4 says, "It is the LORD your God you must follow...keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him."