1 John 4:2

[Elizabeth]

"By this you know the Spirit of G-d: every spirit that confesses that Yeshua the Messiah has come in the flesh is of G-d."
1 John 4:2

I'm wondering how other people understand and apply this verse. It seems pretty clear, but I'm in terrible confusion over either misunderstanding and/or misapplying this verse. Do you take it literally? If not how do you understand it? 

Consider the demon that professed Yeshua in Mark 1:24, "I know Who You are-the Holy One of G-d".

How do we reconcile this?

[alon]

Aug 17, 2018 6:48:38 GMT -8 Elizabeth said:

"By this you know the Spirit of G-d: every spirit that confesses that Yeshua the Messiah has come in the flesh is of G-d."
1 John 4:2

I'm wondering how other people understand and apply this verse. It seems pretty clear, but I'm in terrible confusion over either misunderstanding and/or misapplying this verse. Do you take it literally? If not how do you understand it? 

Consider the demon that professed Yeshua in Mark 1:24, "I know Who You are-the Holy One of G-d".

How do we reconcile this?

Obviously a demon can lie, and it can do so through a person who is under its influence. o I don't think this means just anyone who says "Jesus is the Messiah" is saved. Churches are full of people like that who say they are of God but are not. I think the key here is:

1 John 4:5-6 (ESV) They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.  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.

Many come with a word, professing to be of God yet their word is fundamentally flawed in some way that gets in the way of salvation. Something that the world likes and listens to. Two doctrines come to mind. God said "Obey My !" Man says "Oh that was for the Jews. You don't have to do all that." That man is from the world, and the worlld listens because they like what he has to say. yet they will swear all day long "Jesus is the Christ, Son of the Living God!" Which brings up another point where these false prophets miss the mark. Often those who say it like that deny the Jewishness of Yeshua. They'll tell you He was Jewsh, but He was raised in the Galillee where everyone was a Gentile and the schools were Gentile and you know He was a Christian ... I mean, He had to be, right? Wrong on every count, except that He was raised in the Galil. But it had a thriving Jewish majority. And where there were Jews there was synagogue; and where there was synagogue there was yeshiva where young Jews learned. Yeshua was a thoroughly Jewish man with a Jewish upbringing. Take that away from Him and you no longer have the promised anointed one of Melech Dovid and the line of Jesse. He'd be just another Hellenized Jew, an abomination before God and man. That man could save no one. Only God can forgive sins and raise the dead to eternal life. So those who tell you that are not of God.

Dan C