(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see why)
Focus Question:
What’s one way to “test the spirits?”
Intro:
We’ve been talking about the Holy Spirit a good bit lately because, well, John talks about the Holy Spirit a good bit. We talked about how Jesus confirmed the divine authority of the OT and promised the divine authority of the NT, and today’s romp through John 16 includes another one of those verses where we hear Him talking about the role of the Spirit in that.
Also yesterday as we talked about wisdom I mentioned in passing that in the letter that we call 1 John, John exhorts us to “test the spirits,” and this is consistent with one thing we’ll hear Jesus say today and leads to our focus question of the day — What’s one way to “test the spirits?”
And note one thing…I’m going to begin today with the last few verses of chapter 15 because the really belong with today’s reading.
New Testament segment:
Passage: John 16
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 33
Words: ~709
And thus ends a significant section of John which is Jesus’ farewell discourse.
Old Testament segment:
So let’s begin today’s OT segment with a confession: I used to avoid the book of Ezekiel. If I’m honest, it was my own immaturity, and because, to be fair, the closing chapters that go on and on about the design of the temple didn’t do it for me. BUT…now I love Ezekiel. Not that I’m the best teacher of it, because I’m not. But it is SO rich.
The first three chapters describe Ezekiel’s calling, and today we’ll catch the first one which describes Ezekiel’s vision of God’s glory. I encourage you to loosen up the imagination that God gave you and imagine yourself in Ezekiel’s shoes.
Passage: Ezekiel 1
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 28
Words: ~818
If we’re honest sometimes, it’s hard to imagine stuff as outlandish as this. But might that be because an infinite God is so beyond us that it would tweak our brains and make us question our sanity if we me His glory? Ezekiel, much like that famous response of Isaiah, is like, “Whooooooah!”
Wisdom segment:
Passage: Proverbs 19:9-23
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 14
Words: ~222
The bottom line:
For our Bottom Line segment today we can’t do a whole systematic theology on discerning spirits, but we can look at one aspect that. So let me read you two passages:
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming; even now it is already in the world. 1 Jn 4:1–3, CSB
When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: About sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. Jn 16:8–11, CSB
Now here’s our focus question: What’s one way we can test the spirits (besides what we mentioned yesterday — that the Holy Spirit will always affirm Jesus because He’s of one essence with Jesus)?
Conviction versus condemnation.
The Father of Lies, the Devil (and his minions) will tell you’re worthless, you don’t deserve Jesus, no one will ever love you, that little sin you indulge in isn’t so bad…and then you feel…condemned.
As the great Twister of Words, he’s partly correct. We are condemned because we all fall short of the glory of God and that has and will have its consequences. And the wrong spirits make hay with this.
But what’s the Holy Spirit’s MO? Conviction. If you’re not a believer, you’ve got a choice, and many choose to run the other direction or numb themselves. If you are someone who has trusted Jesus as your Rescuer, the Holy Spirit convicts. You’ll hurt because you hurt the one person who has loved you perfectly. You’ll hurt because you blew it again. But you’ll be pointed back to Jesus who is the ultimate lover of prodigals and misfits and responds to your repentance with a holy bear hug.
Condemnation? Or Conviction?
Jesus loves me, this I know.
And I love you, too.
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
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