Discernment of spirits

[ZNPaaneah]

Originally Posted by Evangelical

Can you explain why Paul and John did not refer to these verses in 1 John and 1 Corinthians? They could have easily referred to the words of Jesus as you have, but they didn't. They presented a completely different way to discern spirits.

4 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God;

This is what we are doing on this forum. We are proving, testing, examining, considering "whether they are of God".

because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

I feel this is one of the most important lessons we learned in the LRC. This is a direct referral to what Paul said to the Corinthians, and what Jesus said in the gospels.

2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

This is John, the same one who said that the word became flesh and tabernacled among us. Saying that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is equivalent to saying that the word of God has been lived out and witnessed by us. I understand this term "confesseth" differently than to just "say". So they "say Lord, Lord" that is not a confession. A confession is where you tell your secret, you tell the truth. Someone masquerading can put on a mask and pretend. Lies are merely from the lips, but a confession is from the heart.

3 and every spirit that [a]confesseth not Jesus is not of God:

This is my biggest issue with the doctrine of MOTA, I feel it is a denial of Jesus. The OT prophesied that Jesus would be "the Minister of the Age". To claim that for yourself or for Watchman Nee is to deny that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Likewise I feel at its heart the doctrine of the ground of the church denies the Lord's redemption.

and this is the spirit of the antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it cometh; and now it is in the world already.