1 John 4:1
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
John now moves into the theme of perfect love. In chapter 3 he has spoken of love in its purity and love in its practicality. Here in chapter 4 he begins to show us that mature love is not gullible. Perfect love is not soft headed. It does not throw open the door to every voice, every influence, every spiritual claim, and every teacher who sounds impressive.
It tests.
That is important because some people think love means never questioning anything. They think discernment is harsh, and testing is unkind. But John says otherwise. Mature love requires discernment. Love cares enough about the truth to examine what is being said. Love guards the flock. Love protects the simple. Love does not let error stroll in wearing a smile and carrying a Bible.
You need to see this.
John says, “believe not every spirit.” In other words, do not accept every spiritual sounding message at face value. Do not assume that because something sounds mystical, earnest, polished, or supernatural, it must therefore be from God. Many false prophets have gone out into the world, and John says the church must not be naïve about that.
That is still true.
There are voices that would gladly lure people away from the simplicity of the gospel. Some do it by denying who Jesus is. Some do it by adding to grace. Some do it by dressing up error in beautiful language. Some do it by making people feel deep and spiritual while quietly moving them away from Christ Himself.
So John says, test the spirits.
Think about that.
A jeweler does not apologize for examining a diamond. He holds it to the light because it is valuable. In the same way, the believer tests what he hears, not because truth is weak, but because truth is precious. The gospel is too glorious to hand over to every clever voice that comes along.
And this is where mature love shows itself. It is not loving to let people drift into deception. It is not loving to refuse discernment in the name of kindness. Real love protects. Real love watches. Real love knows that error ruins people, and therefore it takes the time to ask, “Is this truly of God?”
John is going to tell us how to do that as the passage unfolds. But already the warning is clear. If we would walk in perfect love, we must also walk in discernment. We must test the spirits so we are not carried away from the plain beauty of Christ and the simple power of the gospel.
Beloved, a mature heart is both warm and watchful. It loves deeply, but it also discerns carefully. It keeps its arms open to the brethren, but it does not keep its mind shut when falsehood comes calling.
Because perfect love is not blind.
It knows the difference.