What Spirit?

If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD our God with all your heart and with all your soul. - Deuteronomy 13:1-3



The world desires to see signs and wonders. The Pharisees desires that Jesus would show them a sign that he was speaking the truth to them. He answered . . . An evil and adulturous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. (Mat. 12:39) The only sign that they need to prove that Jesus is LORD was the fact that he was in the earth for three days and rose (pictured by Jonah being spit out of the belly of the whale after three days).

We need to be careful about the signs and wonders that are performed around us. Many spend their lives making decisions based upon the experiences of miraculous healings, visions, dreams, speaking in tongues, and the supernatural. The problem with this way of living lies in the fact that we can so easily be decieved. Paul warns us that false prophets and even Satan himself appears as something that is good. For such are false prophets, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light - 2 Corinthians 11:13-14. We would not be deceived if the lies weren't so believeable. Satan is an extremely powerful creature (though not all-powerful), and he has the power to perform wonders and signs. Even Pharoah's magicians could duplicate many of the miracles that Moses and Aaron performed at the hand of God.

The question that we must answer is how does a person discern the differences in the voices so that they shouls obey the truth. The answer lies in the safety of the Word of God. What does the Bible say - it is our final authority. As Jesus spoke to the Pharisees - the religious leaders of the day who had rejected Jesus as the Saviour of the world - he stated, Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it - John 8:44

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world - 1 John 4:1. The most basic test is to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. Literally to admit this truth means to believe that Jesus Christ is both Lord and God. Any teaching that contradicts the truth that God has given us in the Word of God is an attack on the very being and authority of Jesus who is God. As we test the spirits, we need to test their teachings against the truth of God's Word. It is only through knowledge of the truth that error can be revealed. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth sahll make you free - John 8:32

There are many voices today vying for our attention and allegience. We must be careful to diligently study the Word of God so that we may sincerely test the spirits. Anything that does not line up with Scripture must be discarded as false teaching [lies] even if it is accompanied by the supernatural and/or good feelings. We need to live our lives based on absolute truth not changing feelings [senses] which can so easily be deceived.