1 John 4
English Standard Version
Test the Spirits
4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Here in verse 6 John refers to “we” meaning that there are many that are born again in the spirit and come to the lost because God has sent them. This is done through those who have been wise enough as homo sapiens to allow the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth to identify truth and error to speak for them.
Most of the lost were not raised up in Christian households where truth and error were brought to them by the love of God that dwells in the hearts of born again Christian. That was my experience and my witness that a family loved me where I was and drew me out of darkness and into the light. That was not my natural family.
Yesterday I said “Are we wise enough to understand how love is perfected with us?” The answer to that is simply if we see the love of God exists in others so that we may abide with them to learn from them how God made that possible.
That is the second part of 1 John 4:6 in listening to them.
But will just listening do the trick?
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
The hungry will listen, just be wise in what you feed them.