First John, Fourth Chapter

John's letter to the church is a kind of checklist for your relationship with Jesus. Chapter four presents us with another aspect o this, focusing in on discerning spirits – that is, recognizing truth and lies ad the spirit behind each of these. He makes it quite clear here. If a man confesses Jesus as the Son of God come in the flesh, and his life matches this confession, this man has the spirit of truth. If, however, on or both of these pieces are missing, we have a problem. Both the verbal and active confession are necessary, it seems to me, because if you confess Christ, your life should reflect it in how you love others. Likewise, if you're loving others as Christ loved the church, you should have no problem confessing him. This, I believe, is why John goes on and on about the love of God abiding in us, because it is elemental to our testimony as believers. Let us not only be able to discern these spirits, but display clearly in whom we ourselves abide.