Lead:

In 1 John 4, John exhorts us to “test the spirits?” This presupposes both that there are spirits and that we can discern good from bad. A little reflection on that today…

Intro:

Alright crew, here’s another one for those of you of certain vintage:

Remember that? For those of you who don’t know, Mutual of Omaha was an insurance company that sponsored a regular Sunday evening TV show called Wild Kingdom with Marlon Perkins. You might guess that, as a kid, I watched regularly.

So today my dot connecting brain and I were sitting in church listening to a killer sermon on spiritual warfare, and as the pastor commented on the nature of how the Enemy picks us off when we get isolated, the image that came to mind was that of a herd animal in the plains of Africa. And whether the predator was a cheetah or lion or whatever, what they target are the sick or young or…you guessed it, those who get separated from the pack. And we’ll pick back up on that theme in today’s All Our Minds segment.

The church in Thessalonica was a young one. Paul was encouraged that they were standing firm despite persecution, and he wrote to encourage them. As is common for Paul, he warns them against false teachers and reminds them that the way of Jesus is walking in His power and grace, not one of pulling yourself up by own bootstraps. Unlike Paul’s other writings, though, a big theme to the Thessalonians focuses on a confident hope motivated ultimately by the return of Christ and what that means for us. We’ll talk more about that in the next couple days.

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Bible:

Passage: 1 Thessalonians 1-2
Translation: HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 30
Words: ~621

All Our Minds:

If it seems like I comment on false teachers a lot, you’re probably right — but it’s not just me. It is something that most New Testament writers mention, Paul totally pounds the table on, and Jesus himself says is going to be part of our experience. And today one question is on my heart because I heard it in this morning’s sermon: Which spirit is speaking?

A few thoughts to help us focus on this one thing:

If you don’t have a daily experience of paying conscious attention to the spirit world, maybe today’s a day to start. The Enemy and his minions are real, and his greatest weapon isn’t wearing a big obvious neon sign going “I’m the deceiver.”
The oldest tactic in the Book is in the garden of Eden…and what was the lie? What God has given you isn’t enough. He’s holding out on you. See that thing over there? Everyone else around you is telling you that’s okay, and God wants you to be happy, right? He’s placed you where He wants you in terms of role and leadership and followership, but He’s holding out on you. Shouldn’t you decide what’s right and wrong for yourself? Are you going to let Him tell you what to do with who you are?
Remember, Father, Son, and Spirit are one essence in three persons. The Holy Spirit has a different role.

His Work in Redemption
The Holy Spirit has an active role in redemption (see Volume 3, chapter 9). He convicts unbelievers of sin (Gen. 6:3; John 16:8); He regenerates those dead in trespasses and sin (Eph. 2:1); He seals believers till the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30); He baptizes all believers into the spiritual body of Christ at the moment of salvation (1 Cor. 12:13), assuring us of salvation (Rom. 8:16); He performed miracles to confirm the truth of Christianity (Gal. 3:2–5; Heb. 2:4); He bestowed spiritual gifts on believers (Acts 2:4; 1 Cor. 12:11—see Volume 4, chapter 6). He reveals (1 Cor. 2:10) and teaches (Luke 12:12). He inspired the Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20–21), and He is also enlightening believers to God’s truth (Eph. 1:17–18) and witnessing to God’s Word (1 John 5:9–10). He anoints believers for service (1 John 2:20) and fills those who yield to Him (Eph. 5:18). Of course, the Holy Spirit indwells all believers forever (John 14:16–17).
Many other acts are attributed to the Holy Spirit. He searches (1 Cor. 2:10), knows (1 Cor. 2:11), speaks (2 Peter 1:20), invites to salvation (Rev. 22:17), testifies (Acts 20:23), commands (Acts 16:6), calls to missions (Acts 13:2), moves (Gen. 1:2), helps (John 14:26), renews (Ps. 104:30), sanctifies (Heb. 9:14), intercedes (Rom. 8:26), unifies (Eph. 4:3), glorifies Christ (John 16:14), orders the affairs of the church (1 Cor. 14:32–33); and guides (Acts 8:29).(1) (emphases mine)

By contrast, the Holy Spirit can and will speak to you. But you can also quench His voice. That said, it’s important that we learn to hear His voice. That’s a good thing! Notice here that the Holy Spirit can and does teach us, and He has done so in history, and, I believe, still does. But catch this: He also inspired the Scriptures. So here’s the four dollar philosophy question that you don’t have to have a PhD in philosophy to get: If the Scriptures are God-breathed (as we’ll read in Paul’s letter to Timothy) and therefore true, will the Holy Spirit ever direct you to something that is contrary, something that contradicts?
Next to last, Jeremiah, quoting God speaking, wrote, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I, the Lord, search the heart and test the mind” (Je 17:9-10a, ESV).

The bottom line

So back to the question that my pastor asked: Which spirit is speaking? As John wrote 1 Jn, “ test the spirits to see whether they are from God” and "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." (1 Jn 4:1–3a, ESV)

Can you trust the Bible or are voices calling it into doubt? Is God good and knows what you need or are voices telling you you need to take the bull by the horns on your own? How about God’s ethics? Most importantly, how do we know which Jesus?

One thing is for sure: If Satan prowls about like a lion seeking to bring someone down, a sure opportunity for you to be the one targeted is to get separated from community.

Wisdom:

Passage: Proverbs 13:15-14:6
Translation: HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 17
Words: ~272

Passage: Psalm 134
Translation: HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 3
Words: ~49

Love you!

-R

ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.

Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.

Sources and resources:

Thank you for supporting this ministry should you choose to use the Amazon affiliate links below.

(1) Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Two: God, Creation (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2003), 677–678.

Not used today, but stuff I like:

D. A. Carson, For the Love of God: A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God’s Word., vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1998).

Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993). <—this, and it’s OT companion, are great commentaries if you like something more than a study Bible and less than a set of 66 books — they add a lot of interesting details. Keener’s a killer apologist, too.

The Story of Reality, Greg Koukl — Love this book. A killer intro to the Christian worldview that is philosophically and theologically sound while being accessible to all readers.

#949 1 Thessalonians 1-2 | Which spirit? | Proverbs 13:15-14:6 | Psalm 134

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