Just as with Diotrephes, there are many today who are leading God's people astray with a spirit of error, and in this passage of scripture, John gives us the means by which we can test the spirits to see if they are from God. Keep in mind that many of these brothers and sisters are not false brethren or evil people, but are in fact good people who at times cooperate with the spirit of antichrist, not intentionally, of course, but because they have been seduced by it themselves.
In this very important, yet perhaps puzzling passage of scripture, the apostle John gives us the criteria by which we determine if someone is operating in the spirit of antichrist, or the Spirit of God; whether they are operating in the Spirit of truth, or the spirit of error. Incidentally, read in context with the rest of John's letter, as well as his other two letters, this passage obviously is not giving us a tool for discerning demon possession, but rather, truth or error in those who would lead us.
For years, the means by which I "tested" the spirits was primarily by what I felt. Did I feel the anointing or the presence of God, and was what the man or woman said scriptural? If I felt a strong anointing, and if what was said was scriptural, then I felt it was the Spirit of God; the Spirit of truth, and the messenger could be trusted. However, I find it interesting that in this particular passage, John never mentioned testing by the anointing or the presence of God, nor by miracles or power, nor by correct doctrine, but rather by what is not said, so to speak, as much as by what is said (1 John 4:2, 2 John 7). "Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God." It is possible to be led astray, even by someone proclaiming correct doctrine, and just as surely, by someone with a powerful anointing. Therefore, we would do well to heed John's exhortation to test the spirit behind the preacher.
In 2 John 7, John wrote, "For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist." In the above quoted passages: 1 John 4:2 and 2 John 7, John speaks of Jesus as coming in the flesh in the perfect tense and the present tense, respectively. This uncovers to us the significance of these passages of scripture, for he is not saying that any spirit that does not confess that Jesus came in the flesh at some point in the past is not of God, for if that were the case, then John would've used the aorist tense, as he did in John 1:14 where he wrote, "And the word became [aorist tense] flesh and dwelt among us..." No, John is saying that anyone who does not confess that Jesus Christ is presently coming in human flesh now in the earth, is not of God. This is the spirit of antichrist. The spirit of antichrist will not acknowledge the presence of God, the authority of God, or the word of God in the body of Christ that is to be the full representation of Christ in the Earth; the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. "...as He is, so are we in the world" (1 John 4:17). "And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Eph. 1:22, 23).
John gives us further criteria for discerning truth and error: "We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error" (1 John 4:6). So, those who hear us are of God, and those who do not, are not of God, but who is us, in this verse? Is it the apostles? No, not exclusively, for he wrote in verse 4, "You are of God, little children...", so those who are of God are all those in whom the Spirit of God dwells (His body), and those who are of God and of the truth hear us in whom the Spirit of God dwells, whether we are in positions of influence or not. Those who are of God and of the truth hear us "little people" who have the indwelling Spirit. Those who are of God hear His body, and they hear the word of God through, and recognize the Living Word within His body. Jesus said, "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God" (John 8:47).
(Romans 12:3-5) For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
Any man or woman who stands too tall to receive from the "lowliest of the brethren", to some degree or another, has the spirit of error at work in their lives. Anyone who believes that they have attained a special place in God (such as "the ministry") whereby the life of God and the truth of God flow in only one direction: from them to "the people", and not from every member to every member, to some degree, has the spirit of error at work in their lives (Eph 4:16). Any man or woman who believes that through God's anointing, commissioning, calling, or through education, knowledge, insight, understanding, or ordination, that they can stand between "the people" and God as a representative of God to the people who are unable to hear from God directly and for themselves, to some degree or another, has the spirit of error at work in their lives. That is the spirit of antichrist; the spirit of error, that says, "The authority of God through the Living Word does not dwell in human flesh by His Spirit, and therefore I will not hear anyone but those 'special few', who, like me, have climbed God's mountain, or who, like me, have been specially trained in theology."
That type of "ministry" will forever cripple its people by making them dependent upon the minister, never allowing them to come into their place in Christ and in His body, and will never allow God to do in that minister what can only be done through God's people and through the humility that frees God to minister His grace through others. That type of ministry, though appearing effective because of the people's dependence upon it, to some degree, abuses God's people, and places that minister in the inevitable position of not only the abuser, but the abused. "Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion" (Romans 12:16). How many times have you seen a pastor who is not the most spiritual man in the congregation, and yet, simply because of his position as pastor, would not "hear" those of his congregation who were more spiritual than he? Even more unthinkable than simply hearing them: How many pastors would share their pulpit with these wise and mature co-elders, that the people might be more blessed and better equipped?
The spirit of antichrist is that spirit that resists or stands against the Sprit of God by attempting to be God to the people. It is that spirit of the world that seeks headship or control over the people, or that even sees a difference between "the people" and "the minister" (See 1 Corinthians Chapter 12), for "The head of every man is Christ" (1 Cor. 11:3). The Spirit of God seeks to intimately connect all of God's people to The Head. The Spirit of antichrist seeks to maintain the people's dependence upon "the minister", or upon "their covering", or "the eldership", or whatever you call a hierarchy in which man exercises authority over another man by being his connection to God. Let us test the spirits to see if they are of God.
As we saw with Diotrephes, those who are operating in the spirit of error are those who love to have the preeminence, and it is this ambition for distinction that opens them up to a spirit of error, the spirit of antichrist. This spirit of antichrist will not allow them to really hear God speak through His body, or to recognize His presence, His authority, or His word dwelling within His body. He will not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh.
The Spirit of Antichrist Series