Test Every Spirit

“My loved ones, do not put your faith in every spirit, but put them to the test, to see if they are from God…” (1 John 4:1a, BBE).

For a few years I frequented a five-fold ministry where the leaders actively used their gifts given by God for building up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-12 and 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, NIV).  Although this ministry gave me refreshment and encouragement, there were moments when my spirit was not in agreement with some of the prophecy and the counsel spoken over me. I suppose at the time I was seeking out a minister or ministry to hear a Word from God for me directly: What’s God’s special message for me?  Receiving in ministry is proper and good and has its place in our spiritual lives.  We need it for growth and for building up our faith when the race gets wearisome. But we also need to be careful here because we can become self-focused and even misdirected.   

For example, one person said they “felt in their spirit” that I had not forgiven someone from my childhood.  I took into account what the person said, but I did not accept it as truth in my life. I brought it before the Lord, praying and allowing Him to examine my heart in this area.  These were the truths that were already in place: When I got saved at 18, the people and occurrences that took place during my childhood were the first things God spotlighted in my life.  God healed me where I was fully able to forgive and love those people unconditionally. To extend proof of that forgiveness and healing, I had pursued peace by cultivating relationships with them, knowing the possibility of limited interest on their part.    

Life can leave us questioning when and if true healing has occurred.  After all there are times when we think we are healed from something and then, low and behold, something happens and we find out we are not.  We must allow God to examine the deep waters of our heart so that wholeness and proper healing can occur.

On the flip side, we must be careful not to overly dwell on what one person has said in the name of the Lord.  If God has healed past afflictions, it’s not smart to poke around closed wounds, aggravating old scars. Remember, we are called to freedom in Christ, and we don’t want to entangle ourselves again by those things which once enslaved us (Galatians 5:1, NIV).

I later brought a man I was dating to this ministry with me.  One of the ministers told me I was holding back in my relationship with him, needing to trust so that it could lead to marriage and children.  The man I dated was putting up a front, and what we saw was the mere form this man had created for others to see (See my blog post “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood” for more on how the Holy Spirit helped me through this situation).  Had I continued the relationship with him based on what someone spoke over me in this ministry, it would have ended in a disastrous, short marriage with the likelihood of children involved. Hindsight is everything, but we need to make wise choices before we open doors in our life that should’ve remained shut in the first place.  

In these two cases, the words spoken over me and my life were not God-inspired. Did the people in the ministry mean well? I believe so. As humans, we will not get it right all of the time.  Our human capacity limits us where we get in the way of the Spirit of God. This is why we should test every spirit.    

We should not solely rely on any human and what they minister over us without testing its foundation on the Word of God and the voice of the Holy Spirit.  What people minister into our life should be confirmation of what we have already read and heard. Through His Son, Jesus Christ, God paved a way for us to hear His voice:    

“Long ago, at different times and in various ways, God’s voice came to our ancestors through the Hebrew prophets.  But in these last days, it has come to us through His Son, the One who has been given dominion over all things and through whom all worlds were made” (Hebrews 1:1-2, VOICE).  

According to this Scripture, the voice and witness of Christ in you is powerful enough to keep you inside the will of God.  If you are following the ways of Jesus and living according to God’s Word, then you will know His will (Romans 12:2, NIV).

Let’s look at the covenant God promises us in knowing Him:    

“This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts. 
I will be their God, 
and they will be my people. 
No longer will they teach their neighbor, 
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ 
because they will all know me, 
from the least of them to the greatest.” 
(Hebrews 8:10-11, NIV)

After the time of Moses when the people of Israel were lead out of Egypt (Exodus 13:21-22, NIV), God made a new covenant through His Son for His people.  He would imprint His laws on their innermost thoughts and understanding; He would engrave His laws on their hearts, affecting their regeneration. Therefore, it would be unnecessary for each one to teach his fellow citizen because all will know Him by experience and have knowledge of God, whether educated or uneducated, whether a pastor or a common believer (Hebrews 8:9-11, AMP).     

As we can see here, the Holy Spirit is not contained to a specific minister or ministry.  The church and fellowship with other believers has its proper place in our life. Church is an extension of our fellowship with God, but it is not the end all and means to all.  This covenant from God is for us directly. We all have direct access to God. When Jesus died on the cross, the barrier between The Holy God and sinners was removed:

“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.  At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27: 50-51a, NIV).

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings…” (Hebrews 10:19-22a, NIV).

Access to God is no longer limited to the religious leaders and confined to a physical temple.  God is now made accessible to all through His Son’s obedience on the cross.  We can approach Him with confidence because His sacrifice paved the way.    

As you test every spirit, put your trust in Christ.  Your relationship with Christ is the most crucial part of your faith walk.  What others minister over you should be in agreement with what you already know, being rooted and grounded in Christ. He is the Source of abundant life and truth.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash