Put it to the Test

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1

When you “try” something (as used in this verse) it means to test, or put to test, examine, or prove. 

When car manufacturers design a new car, they will test out the safety of that car by purposely crashing it to see if it will keep the occupants safe in the event of an accident. They will even place a “dummy” in the driver’s seat to make certain that the vehicle passes the safety requirements. The vehicle may look perfectly safe, but in order to find any flaws in the vehicle design, they need to put it to the test, so they can fix any problems. If they didn’t perform these safety checks, a person could get seriously injured or killed.

When someone is on trial in a courtroom, they are being examined whether they are innocent or guilty of what they have been accused of. The final objective of a trial is to find out the truth and facts of the case.

For example, if someone is accused of a crime, something that the defense attorney will do is establish the defendant’s innocence by proving where their client was at the time of the crime. They will also seek to further prove their innocence by questioning eyewitnesses that can confirm that they saw the defendant at a certain place and time. The lawyer is “trying” the case, proving what is the truth.

In my family, we have talked about if a situation ever happened where we happened to be separated somehow, and a stranger came up and claimed that they were sent to bring us to each other, not to automatically go with them. We would ask them something that only our family would know, to test to see if they were telling the truth.

That is what John wrote about above. He taught to not just blindly believe every person, but to put them to the test. 

A person might seem honest, genuine, and caring outwardly, but they could be just “putting on a show” and be someone completely different inside. 

In Matthew 23, Jesus rebuked the Phrarisees over and over again because they tried to appear righteous and holy, but inside they were not that way at all.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 

Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 

Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. 

Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” Matthew 23:23-28 

The Bible teaches that the devil can appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). In the end times, we read that there will be someone who rises up, claiming to be the Lord, and will deceive many. But the true believers in Christ will not be able to be deceived, because we know the truth of the Word. We will be able to put it to the test and know without a shred of doubt that that imposter is not the Messiah, but a deceiver. 

“And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.” Luke 21:8

Jesus warned in Matthew 7 to beware of false prophets, likening them to wolves in sheep’s clothing. They might try to seem like they are of God, but if you examine them, their works will show differently. “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”

Don’t believe every spirit, buy try the spirits, whether they are of God. Test them to determine whether they are of the Truth, or if they are a lie. 

In Christ,

Andrew