By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
Parallel translations
- WEB By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
- KJV Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
- NKJV By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
- NASB By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God;
- NLT This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Spirit of God is recognized by confessing that Jesus Christ has truly come in the flesh. The incarnation is the test of true teaching.
Overview
John gives the doctrinal test: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ come in the flesh is from God. This affirms the genuine humanity and incarnation of the Son against those who denied it. Right confession of the person of Christ marks the Spirit of God and distinguishes true teaching from false.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- John 1:14The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- 1 Cor 12:3Therefore I inform you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
- 1 Tim 3:16By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.
- 1 Jn 5:1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves those born of Him.
- 1 Jn 4:3and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and which is already in the world at this time.
- John 16:13–15However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come.
- 1 Jn 2:23Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Jesus is the Word of life made manifest, the propitiation for our sins, the Son in whom is eternal life — 'that you may know that you have eternal life.'
How 1 John 4:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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