We Are Of God..They Are Of The World

    The phrase “are of God” occurs only five times in the Bible, and four of the five times it is found in the book of First John.  The phrase “not of God” is found only four times in the Bible, and three of the four times it is found in the book of First John.   In fact, of the combined seven times that one of these phrases is found in the book of First John, five of the seven times are in the first paragraph of chapter 4.  So, what can we learn?

John charges, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1).  Not every person and for sure not every teacher is of God.  So, how can we know whether one is of God or not of God?

Look at how the person lives. John speaks of only two different life-directions:  there are those who are “of God” (4:4, 6) and those who are “of the world” (4:5).  Those who are “of God” do not live anything like those who are “of the world.”  In chapter 2, those “of God” have their sins forgiven (2:12), “have overcome the wicked one” (2:13), “are strong, and the word of God abides” in them (2:14).  However, those “of the world” “love the world” and “the things in the world”; they are ruled by “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (2:15-16).  Those “of God” and those “of the world” live nothing alike!

Listen to how the person speaks. John says that those “of the world…speak as of the world, and the world hears them” (4:5).  Those who are “of God” do not speak anything like those who are “of the world.”  Those “of God” confess “that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” (4:2), and “God abides in him, and he in God” (4:15).  Those “of the world” do “not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh,” and thus, John says, they are “not of God” (4:3).  Those “of God” and those “of the world” speak nothing alike!

Look at how the person hears. John says that there are two responses one can make to the Word of God.  “He who knows God hears us” (4:6).  Hearing the message of God is a choice.  He goes on to say, “He who is not of God does not hear us” (4:6).  Those who are “of God” desire and gladly receive “truth”; those who are “not of God” desire and gladly receive “error” (4:6).  Those “of God” and those “of the world” hear nothing alike!

John tells us to differentiate between those “of God” and those “not of God,” and then he gives us the “test” to administer in order to “know” for sure.  Let us rejoice, knowing that we are “of God…and have overcome…because He who is in [us] is greater than he who is in the world” (4:4).                                                                               David Sproule