Spiritual Discernment


[PDF]Spiritual Discernment - Rackcdn.com2c16df6adb3dd77497a4-d39eda0d6acd6a2fdab4a8dbc93ee789.r45.cf2.rackcdn.com...

4 downloads 221 Views 108KB Size

1 John

Study

9

Spiritual Discernment Introduction In this study we look for a second time at the doctrinal test and learn about a very important Christian virtue namely spiritual discernment. In the face of the confident claims made by those identified as false prophets, John urges those who are true believers to ‘test the spirits’ i.e. to think carefully and critically about what they hear (1 John 4vs1). Such care in listening is essential for ‘many false prophets have gone out into the world’ and their confident claims and carefully structured speech will lead the undiscerning believer astray. So Christians need to know what they believe and to test everything they hear against the basic gospel message – the truth about Jesus. John reminds his readers that there are basically only two viewpoints with respect to Jesus – there is the world’s viewpoint of Jesus which refuses to acknowledge Him as the Christ and which rejects both the incarnation and the death of Jesus as the only way of salvation. In this viewpoint God remains aloof from the world and can only be known through esoteric knowledge and spiritual enlightenment. Jesus, if He is mentioned at all, is nothing more than a holy man and a prophet. In contrast to this view we have the Holy Spirit’s viewpoint of Jesus – the viewpoint that asserts the absolute necessity of the incarnation and death of Jesus if we are to be saved. Jesus is God become a man, the only Saviour of the world. It is important however to note that John is not denying the reality of true spiritual experience or simply reducing Christianity to doctrinal orthodoxy. Underlying the true viewpoint about Jesus is the inner working of God the Holy Spirit who indwells every true believer enabling them to discern truth from error and to go on believing the truth. At the end of this study you should be able to answer the following questions from the text  Why is spiritual discernment important for Christians?  What are the characteristics of true spirituality? Read 1 John 4vs1-6

Observe: 1. The exhortation to ‘test the spirits’ 2. The declaration that many false prophets have gone into the world

3. The incarnation and death of Jesus as the measure of truth and error 4. The reference to the world’s viewpoint and the God’s viewpoint 5. The alignment of God’s viewpoint with the apostolic teaching

?Think: 1. Why should Christians be discerning and not believe everything they hear?

2. By what criteria should we ‘test the spirits’? Why?

3. What two viewpoints of Jesus exist? How do they differ?

4. What is the hallmark of those who listen to God? Why should this be the case?

5. How can we know that the Spirit of God indwells us?

! Understand / Apply 1. What answers can you give to our key questions?