"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." – 1 John 4:1
The world today sees various people and things presenting themselves as a "messiah" of sorts. Some of them talk good but have nothing except smooth words. Some have actions but their actions act as cover-ups for who they really are and what they do.
As such, we all need to be more discerning. We all need to know who to follow and who to ignore and just pray for. We need God's help in doing this.
Testing the spirits
In 1 John 4 we are taught how to "test the spirits " Doing this is not that hard, provided we grow in our relationship with God who knows all things. The logic follows here: if you're able to grow your relationship with God and have seen His holiness, righteousness, and truth, it would be pretty easy to spot a fake one.
Spotting false messiahs requires one to know who the real Messiah is: the Lord Jesus Christ. People who dare promote themselves by using the name and Word of God, no matter how "holy" or kind they may be, are already doing something off.
To help you learn how to identify false messiahs and true servants that merit attention, here are a few things to remember.
"This is how 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 that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and is already in the world." (1 John 4:2-3)
1. The right confession
Those who are real Christ-followers will never dare hesitate to say that Jesus Christ is their Lord. True followers of Christ know that He is the only begotten Son of God who was born of a virgin, lived a sinless human life, died a terrible sacrificial death, rose from the grave on the third day, and ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father.
Any person who presents himself to be God's "anointed" but can't make Christ Lord of his life isn't real.
2. Holiness in life and tongue
There are some who know how to use clever words. Nowadays, many false messiahs boldly use the name of God for their own good. While their words can be deceiving, how they live and talk will ultimately give them away.
1 John 4:5 says of these false messiahs, "They are of the world, and therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them."
The Lord Jesus Himself said in Matthew 7:20 that "by their fruit you will know them." We will see them in one way or another.
3. Obedience to God's Word
Lastly, anybody who's an authentic Christ-follower will do the will of the Father. We who truly serve God desire that He alone be glorified and praised as we obey Him.
In Matthew 17:21, Jesus tells us,
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven."
