Recognizing the spirit of the antichrist I John 4:1-6

Instead of trying to figure out who the ultimate Antichrist is, beware, be on the look out for, little antichrists, false teachers! How do you know if a spiritual leader or teacher is speaking from God? John gives us three tests we can use. Learn them and put them into use!
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An excerpt from the transcript:
The Doctrinal Test v. 2-3
The first way John highlights that we can know whether a teaching comes from God or from the spirit of antichrist is whether it conforms with God’s teachings, God’s doctrine. There are lots of tests of doctrinal purity in the Bible, I’m mostly going to focus in on the ones here in this paragraph.
• A spirit from God will acknowledge Jesus’ humanity. v. 2
The heresy John’s readers were facing was a denial of Jesus’ humanity. The very first paragraph of the book begins with the emphasis that they saw, visually studied, touched, and handled Jesus. Jesus was a real man!
I have these two next items as sub-points, not because they are any less important, but because they’re not in this paragraph.
­ A spirit from God will acknowledge Jesus’ deity. 5:20
The next-to-last verse in the book says that the Son, Jesus Christ, is the true God and eternal life. Remember that when you need a verse about Jesus being God, it’s the next-to-last verse in First John. If you prefer it by the numbers, it’s First John 5:20!
Look back with me just a couple of chapters at 2:22.
­ A Spirit from God will acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. 2:22-24
Denying that Jesus is the Christ is a fatal error, and identifies a liar and a lying spirit.
By the way, notice the Father and the Son in that paragraph.
• A Spirit from God will acknowledge the Trinity. 4:2, 14 Compare Ephesians 4:4-6.
Back in today’s chapter, in 4:2 it mentions the Spirit, and in 4:14 it mentions the Father and the Son. God is Triune, He has eternally existed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
I’m studying Ephesians with one of the men I meet with, and this past week we were in Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians 4:4-6 has a list of seven essential doctrines. If we agree on those seven essentials, we can agree to disagree about a lot of other things! On that list of seven essentials, three of them are the Spirit, the Lord, and the Father!
• The spirit of the antichrist does not confess Jesus. v. 3 Compare 2:22-23.
This one is pretty straight-forward, isn’t it? The spirit of antichrist will deny Jesus, sometimes overtly, often in more subtle ways.
 Is your preacher, teacher, or author truthful and accurate about Jesus?
On Sunday mornings when you’re here, and any other time you’re listening to or reading someone who claims to be presenting spiritual truth, assess their teachings about Jesus!
The Worldliness Test v. 4-5
• You have overcome, Jesus is greater! v. 4
Before we discuss the test here, take in, absorb, claim, and later meditate on verse 4. The Spirit of God in you is greater than the lying spirits that rule the world, that identify with the world. If you have a child who struggles with fears, teach them this verse. There are a couple of versions of it set to music, pick a tune; it helps to remember the verse!
As we see the world situation around us, the cultural situation in America and elsewhere seemingly more and more setting things up for antichrist, remember that Jesus is greater, His Spirit is in us, and we stand in His victory!
• The spirit of the antichrist is worldly. v. 3-5 Compare 2:15-17; 3:7-8.
Notice in verses 3, 4, and 5 that the false spirit, the spirit of antichrist, is identified with the world. In chapter 2 we are warned against the world’s temptations, and in chapter 3 we’re warned against worldly people. A false teacher will be identified by worldliness. In First Timothy 6:5 the Apostle Paul states that it is men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth that teach that godliness is a means of material gain. But there are bunch of them out there!
The Source Test v. 6
Notice in verse 4 John says “You are from God.” Verse 6 begins, “We are from God.” A marker of a true believer is that he seeks out and listens to others who are truly speaking from God. But I’m going to take John’s statement and make it a little more personal about him. He was the last of the apostles.
• Believe the original eyewitnesses! Compare Ephesians 2:20, II Peter 1:16; Jude 1:3, 8, 17.