“Spiritual Gullibility”

“Digging Deeper”
An opportunity for you to continue the study of God’s Word throughout the week.

MONDAY
“Spiritual Gullibility”

1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Have you ever had an experience where a person shared with you that God told him or her something? Perhaps they had a suggestion for how you should handle a situation or make a decision based on what “God told them”. When this happens, we should always be prepared to ask them one important question.

Question: HOW DO YOU KNOW IT WAS GOD?

One study found that people tell two to three lies every 10 minutes. Spirit is used in this passage to mean the “spirit of man.” It refers to man’s insight, feeling, and will. In contrast to John’s previous discussion of the importance to “believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ”, he now says DO NOT believe every spirit.

In other words, don’t believe everything people tell you… even if they say it is from God. Don’t be spiritually gullible. Instead, examine and evaluate what they say based on the truth of the Word of God. John wants his audience to be aware and on guard because he knows that MANY false prophets (not just a few) are out in the world.

APPLICATION: Watch out when someone says, “God told me”.