Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see
WEEK 44
LONGING TO BE MORE USEFUL
1 JOHN 4:1-10
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
GRACIOUS FATHER, we thank You for Your precious Word,
which declares that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, and bore in His own body all our sins on the cross— thereby becoming the propitiation for those sins. He satisfied justice, placated Your righteous wrath against sin,
and fully canceled the certificate of debt
consisting of decrees against us. He took out of the way every element of the law that was hostile to us,
nailing it to the cross.1
Then He rose as proof of our justification
and future glorification in Your sight.2
Our guilt has therefore been put away forever. Christ already bore our judgment,
so there is no condemnation
for those who are united with Christ by faith.3
We are dead to self, and our lives are hidden with Christ in You.4
Our full and free pardon is an accomplished fact. Our lawless deeds are forgiven;
our guilt is covered; and You do not count sin against us.5
That is Your just verdict from heaven's throne in our favor.
So we come to confess our sins not as legal transgressors
who have been dragged before a judge,
but as wayward children coming to a loving Father. Although we have been justified
and washed from our sins in the eternal sense,
we still need daily cleansing, fatherly correction, and restored communion with You. So forgive us, dear Father, for sins of rebellion—
those times when we have knowingly disobeyed
Your commandments.
Forgive us for other sins of commission:
foolish sins, worldly lusts, evil thoughts, and wicked pride. We are also guilty of many sins of omission:
we have shirked our duties, neglected the needs of our neighbors, squandered opportunities to do good, and failed to render appropriate worship and service to You.
When we stumble and are weak,
when we sin, when we are negligent in praise
or careless in our thoughts, it grieves us. We see the wretchedness of sin. We feel the shame of it. We can only begin to see how much our sin cost Christ. We bless You that the atonement He made
is so wonderfully and completely sufficient.
We trust that You, O God,
through the power of Your Spirit who indwells us, will sanctify us. Help us recognize, despise, and mortify the sin that remains. When we stray, arrest our hearts. Convict us, awaken our consciences,
and draw us back to Your throne of grace. May we be thorough and sincere in every confession,
and may we henceforth be more faithful— and thus more useful. Empower us by Your Spirit and order our steps
according to Your Word.
This we pray in the name of Christ. Amen.
1. Colossians 2:14 2. Romans 1:1-4; 8:28-30 3. Romans 8:1 4. Colossians 3:3 5. Romans 4:7-8