Daily Journal: 9 October

Recognise Truth

from Error

1 John 4:6 (NLT)

But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.

Other translations say falsehood or error, in place of deception.

1 John 4:7-8 (NIV)

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

There ought not to be competition, disregard, or division among believers. We experience those things in the world. If that happens between believers, we can say we do not know God.

1 John 4:15-16 (TLB)

Anyone who believes and says that Jesus is the Son of God has God living in him, and he is living with God. We know how much God loves us because we have felt his love and because we believe him when he tells us that he loves us dearly. God is love, and anyone who lives in love is living with God and God is living in him.

If God loves each one of us, and lives in us, we ought to love each other as God loves us. But in the world, we know it is different. We live amongst communities that renounce God and Jesus Christ. We live in communities that are hostile to people who carry the Spirit of Christ because they carry a spirit that is against Christ. But this should not make us weak. We are to position ourselves in victory over that spirit and live, behave and speak in the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

1 John 4:2-4 (GWT)

This is how you can recognize God’s Spirit: Every person who declares that Jesus Christ has come as a human has the Spirit that is from God. But every person who doesn’t declare that Jesus Christ has come as a human has a spirit that isn’t from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that you have heard is coming. That spirit is already in the world. Dear children, you belong to God. So you have won the victory over these people, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

We can show tolerance towards people who reject us but we don’t receive their rejection. We treat people peaceably even when they are disrespectful to us, but we don’t receive their hostility. It’s important we don’t confuse respect and tolerance for powerlessness and acceptance. We don’t receive the abuse of our Christian fellowship towards people; those who would dismiss us, slander us, hurt us, and disdain us. We have won the victory over the spirit in these people because of the Spirit of Christ in us, who is greater. When we recognise truth from error, we walk in victory, and in love, not accepting abuse, not tolerating evil, but allowing God’s Spirit in us to be stronger, and to rise.

Romans 12:17-21 (NIV)

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

There is a way to stand against the spirit of the anti-Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:4

(NIV) The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

(NLT) We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.