“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
TEXT — 1 John 4:1-6
Message
Nations of the world make great efforts and spend huge sums on security. The U.S. has satellites that scan the entire earth’s surface at least once every 24 hours. They look out for suspicious activities such as unusual construction sites, a heavy gathering of aircraft or ships, massive movement of weapons, assembly of troops, or signs of terrorist activities.
In warfare, it is crucial not to be ignorant of the enemy’s strategies. That is why Apostle John exhorts believers to detect the doctrines and activities of false teachers who operate by the spirit of the Antichrist. False teachers are enemies of Christ in disguise. They camouflage as messengers of God but are agents of Satan. The Apostle warns against the belief that every teacher, message or demonstration comes from God. He says to try every spirit to know its source. He also assures believers of victory over the world because the One who indwells them is greater than every other power in the world.
In John’s day, the dominant error of false teachers was to deny that Jesus Christ had come in the flesh. They rejected His humanity and by implication, refuted His Virgin birth, bodily crucifixion, burial and resurrection. Nowadays, different religions, pseudo-Christian groups and cults confess the humanity of Jesus but deny His deity. Some reverence Him as a good man or prophet of God but reject Him as God. But the Bible portrays Jesus as both divine and human.
Regardless of the respect or honour any teacher gives to Jesus, denying His humanity or divinity exposes such teachers as being influenced by the spirit of the Antichrist. The Holy Spirit helps believers to have victory by discerning and overcoming teachers, doctrines and spiritual manifestations that are not from God.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
1 comment
Thank God for the life of my Father In the Lord.
I’m always bless when ever I hear or read the word of God from him.
Thank God for the life of my Father In the Lord.
I’m always bless when ever I hear or read the word of God from him.