Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 John 4

The opponents not only lay claim to God but boast of their inspiration by the “spirit” (GK 4460). Likely they gave evidence of their inspiration through “prophetic utterings” and perhaps even other signs, such as ecstasies and glossolalia. Such “signs” were present in the religious milieu of the Greeks and Romans and most persons took them seriously. That they sometimes caused special problems in the early church is attested by Paul (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:3; 14; 1 Thessalonians 5:21). John’s warning here is not against those who pretend to have the Spirit’s presence but against genuine evil spirits’ inspiring of false prophets. Outwardly these people were no less inspired than members of the faithful community. They were zealous in proclamation (cf. 2Jn 7) and may have been even more successful than the faithful community in making converts from the world (4:5). Likely John saw in them the fulfillment of Jesus’ warnings (cf. Mark 13:22) against false prophets in the “end times” (cf. 2:18). His readers needed some test to discern the presence of false prophets.

The test itself appears to hinge on the words “that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.” The false prophets may well have believed that Christ was the Savior of the world, but they denied the connection between the divine Christ and Jesus of Nazareth. At least they clearly denied that “the Christ” ever had come “in the flesh.” The clause “that Jesus Christ has come” reflects the author’s clear view of the preexistence of the Son, who came from the Father and from the moment of his historical birth was Jesus Christ in the flesh.

How does this confession give evidence of the Spirit? For John, as for Paul, the truth of the Christian Gospel is hidden from the world (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:7–16). Only because there is a divine intervention and the darkness is removed can the light of the Gospel be recognized (cf. 4:6).

Here a negative confession gives the counterpart of that in v.2, and the source of this denial is seen as “the spirit of the antichrist.” John reminds his followers that Jesus had warned that the Antichrist would come. It is now John’s painful duty to announce that in the false teachers (cf. 2:18ff.) the spirit of antichrist is already present. By this the community was warned that the conflict between the false teachers and John was not a “leadership” or “personality” one. The Gospel itself was at stake. The struggle they were facing was not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12). Hence, whatever success the opponents had had within the community resulted from satanic inspiration.

Once again the author addresses the community with “dear children” . They have overcome the false prophets, because they resisted their teaching (v.5). Thus they are “from God”—i.e., “born of him” (2:29)—and the one who is in them is “greater than the one who is in the world” (v.4). The false teachers do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them because “living” involves “fellowship,” which is possible between God and his children only by the Holy Spirit. The false teachers are without this fellowship. Therefore they do not love because they do not know love. The antichrist can be “in the world” and evil spirits can be “in the false teachers,” but “living in God” is possible only for the children of God.

In contrast to the “dear children” who “are from God” are the false teachers who “are from the world.” The false teachers are successful “in the world” because their thinking is accommodated to the world’s beliefs. Naturally the world hears such teachers gladly. The term “world” (GK 3180) is probably to be understood in two ways: as a system of thought antithetical to Christian belief and as a description of those members of the community who were led astray by the false teachers. That some members of the community were easily persuaded to forsake the truth of the Gospel should not bewilder the faithful. Although these members appeared to belong to the community, their willingness to hear and follow the false teachers showed their true colors.