1 John 4:2
[2] “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:”
One of the things I love most about the Bible, is that it gives us clear instruction on how to make the right choices. The first verse of this chapter warned us about spiritual error. The second verse teaches us how to know if what we are seeing and hearing is God, or not. I’m thankful we do not have to be deceived, but we learn from God’s Word was is true, and what is false.
We can know if a man, a message or a ministry is of God. We can also know when it is not of God. John emphasizes that, in this first phrase, by reassuring us that there is one principle that will tell us if it is of God. The Spirit of God will always speak of Jesus Christ. This means that everything will be built upon Jesus, and everything will magnify Jesus. Whenever the emphasis is upon anything other than Christ, it is not of God.
Do not allow the personalities and philosophies of man to persuade you. Do not follow a ministry that places more emphasis on the Holy Spirit than on Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God speaks of Jesus Christ and not of Himself. The Spirit of God declares Jesus Christ to be God in the flesh. This is what separates Christianity from all other religions. We preach, and believe, that Jesus Christ came into this world and lived a sinless life. We believe that the Bible proclaims Him to be the God man! He was the perfect Son of God, who lived a sinless life in the flesh for thirty-three and half years. We believe that Jesus Christ is alive at the right hand of the Father, and that he is the only begotten Son of God.
Friend remember, that the Spirit of God, and the Word of God, will always magnify Jesus. The Spirit will reveal Christ to a lost world, and so should we.