Dear Friends, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of “God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in flesh is from God.

As I was pondering the idea of “testing the spirit”, looking into the claims of prophets, and proclamations of teachers a painting of Norman Rockwell’s kept coming to mind. In case you don’t know who Norman Rockwell was, he was a painter who painted pictures that became the covers of the Saturday Evening Post. His pictures were of people engaged in everyday life sort of like you often find on the back of Reader’s Digest. Well, the painting that came to mind - the picture of testing, the picture of “by whose authority are you doing this” - is that of a young boy maybe seven or eight who is in the doctor’s office and it is clear that he is about a receive a shot in his behind and this young boy is up on a chair reading, scrutinizing, the doctor’s diploma. “Mom are you sure, are we certain, that this man has the training and authority to poke me with that needle?”

St John writes to us about being sure and certain, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. We live in a time and place when many will claim to speak for God, saying that God only wants us to be sincere or live lives that amount to more good than bad. Others will proclaim that life is a grand circle of rebirths. Others will subtly tweak the divinity of Jesus, saying he is a heavenly being, a most high prophet, or one of the sons of god, but without close examination they will lead many astray- oh they will look religious enough, probably more than many of us ever will, but they will be following a false Christ none the less. John tells us that many antichrists have gone out into the world. Back in 1st John 2.22 it says that Who is the liar? The man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist- he denies the Father and the Son. So who is this Jesus we don’t want to be denying?

“Jesus” was the name the angel had given to Mary when she was told that she would give birth to a son and she was to give Him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. (Luke 31-32) The name of Jesus is derived from the name “Joshua” which means “the Lord saves”. The prophet Isaiah had said, They shall call him Immanuel, which means “God with us.” (Is 7.14) Put these two points together: First, Jesus will be the one who saves and second, Jesus would be the incarnation of God - God with skin, God among us, God with us. St Paul writes in Colossians, For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form. (Col. 2.9) Jesus would be the God/man who saves us.

How many of us believe Jesus to be the anointed one, …then how many of us live from time to time as though that reality is somehow separated from our day to day lives? How many of us sometimes forget that in communion all that is Christ is joined to bread and wine, for just a moment that Christ is taking hold of us in a very, real way to forgive, strengthen and comfort us? How many of us acknowledge the Bible to be the very Words of God yet we fail to rejoice when those Words are read? We’d like to think it is all of them out there that fail to recognize Jesus or deny Him but sometimes might it be us?

The word “Christ” means, “anointed one”- the empowered one, authorized one, the appointed one. The One whom the angels declared to the shepherds, born to you this day in the town of David is a Savior; He is Christ(Luke 2.11); the One on whom the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form and came to rest on Him at His baptism (Mat 3.16), the One of whom the Father repeatedly declared, This is My Son in Whom I am well pleased, listen to Him, (Matt 17.5) the One upon whom the woman poured the expensive perfume anointing Him for, as Jesus declared, His impending death and burial.(Matt 26.6f) Jesus is the appointed one, the One who from before the creation of the world would be the One to save us from our sins. In 1st Peter we hear: For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver and gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the perish blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (here it comes) He was chosen before the creation of the world…(1st Pet 1.18-20a) Jesus is God is flesh appearing, and He is the Christ, the anointed one of the triune God who has come to save us from our sins.

….Now, how many of us believe that Jesus is that anointed one who died for our sins but then how many of us some times live as if we still have to in some way make ourselves good enough for God or that His sacrifice might not have been enough? How many of us hear the words of absolution but fail to apprehend them, to live out what it means for God to be at peace with us, for God to have granted us total amnesty for our sins? Are we the ones who sometimes deny what He has done for us?

Our lesson today tells us that many false prophets have gone out into the world. (But, how will we know a false one from a true one.)This is how you can recognize a right prophet of God: Every prophet that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in flesh is from God, but every one that does not acknowledge Jesus is from God- This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

Early in the church’s history about 300 years after the ascension of Jesus back into heaven there arose a false teaching, a heresy that threatened to mislead the people. It is called the Arian Heresy. It surrounds a man named Arius, a false teacher, who began erroneously teaching that Jesus was not “God in flesh” appearing; a heavenly being made by god, yes, but not God. A council of the church fathers was called to Nicaea to discuss what and how to deal with this teaching which left unchecked could lead many down the primrose path into false belief and into hell. Out of that council- those meetings, that Synod- came what we call today the Nicene Creed. It was and is a statement of what we believe about the divinity of Jesus: He is not a created being; He was not just a man, a just and inspired teacher, no He was the eternal God: “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God begotten”- having always existed-“ not made.” God from all eternity, without beginning and without end, from whom and through whom all things were made. Truly the Father and the Son are one in essence and being as is the Holy Spirit.

Three hundred and eighteen bishops at the Council of Nicaea affixed their signatures to this creedal statement, only two did not. This creed maintained the teaching that had been the teaching of church from its beginning - that Jesus is the eternal God in flesh appearing, one who came to save us from our sins.

Now that Arian heresy of challenging the divinity of Jesus would not die easily. We see it come back again and again. Jehovah Witnesses who come knocking on our doors trying to persuade us that Jesus is a first created being- this is a false teaching - the Arian heresy returned. We hear of a challenge to the divinity of Jesus in the best seller The DaVinci Code. We hear the challenge to the divinity of Jesus from the followers of Mohammed who want to make Jesus just a prophet. We hear the challenge to His divinity even in Christian churches that soft sell Jesus not the divinity of Jesus. His work of atonement through their portrayal makes the cross one of several ways to heaven. False teachers and prophets abound. We need to be careful. Like the little boy, we need to check their credentials.

We’d like to think it is all of them out there that don’t know Jesus, but how often do we let a little worldly teaching and a little of our reason and desire creep into our beliefs about Jesus? How often do we begin to believe in Jesus as we want Him to be rather than who He proclaimed Himself to be?

A study of the Gospel and letters of John tell that: those who deny Jesus for whom He proved Himself to be and the miracles He did, those who change or diminish what he did by His death on the cross for sins of the whole world and by rising again to life, and those who add to His teachings or preach a different or altered Gospel have the spirit of a false teacher, an antichrist and truth of God is not in them. But Pastor, how will we know these false teachers and/or false teachings? Be like the Bereans, study the scriptures daily to see if what you are being taught is true. Meet with other believers, study the Word of God and pray. Confess your sins daily and be assured of His forgiveness- if we confess our sins God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. (1st Jn 1.9) Be ever vigilant for the devil prowls around like a hungry lion looking for someone to deceive.

All around us are people who need to know about this anointed one from God, this one who takes away sins. They need to know about this One who teaches like no other teacher. They need to hear about our Jesus. He like that Doctor in the Norman Rockwell painting has the proper credentials, we all need to hear about Him, His cross and His rising to life.

Amen