1 John 4:1

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

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Beloved	Ἀγαπητοί, Agapētoi	G27	beloved · adjective — vocative plural masculine
believe	πιστεύετε pisteuete	G4100	to have faith (in · verb — present active imperative, 2nd person plural
not	μὴ mē	G3361	(adverb) not · particle — negative
every	παντὶ panti	G3956	all · adjective — dative singular neuter
spirit	πνεύματι pneumati	G4151	a current of air · noun — dative singular neuter
but	ἀλλὰ alla	G235	properly · conjunction
try	δοκιμάζετε dokimazete	G1381	to test (literally or figuratively) · verb — present active imperative, 2nd person plural
spirits	πνεύματα pneumata	G4151	a current of air · noun — accusative plural neuter
whether	εἰ ei	G1487	if · conditional particle
are	ἐστί estí	G2076	he (she or it) is
of	ἐκ ek	G1537	literal or figurative · preposition
God	θεοῦ theou	G2316	figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
because	ὅτι hoti	G3754	demonstrative · conjunction
many	πολλοὶ polloi	G4183	(singular) much (in any respect) or (plural) many · adjective — nominative plural masculine
prophets	ψευδοπροφῆται pseudoprophētai	G5578	a spurious prophet · noun — nominative plural masculine
out	ἐξεληλύθασιν exelēluthasin	G1831	to issue (literally or figuratively) · verb — second perfect active indicative, 3rd person plural
into	εἰς eis	G1519	to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
world	κόσμον. kosmon	G2889	orderly arrangement · noun — accusative singular masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable he…
1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines…
Proverbs 14:15 The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
2 John 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
Matthew 24:4-5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Jeremiah 29:8-9 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neit…
Matthew 7:15-16 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 John 4:1-3

The apostle, having said that God's dwelling in and with us may be known by the Spirit that he hath given us, intimates that that Spirit may be discerned and distinguished from other spirits that appear in the world; and so here, I. He calls the disciples, to whom he writes, to caution and scrutiny about the spirits and spiritual professors that had now risen. 1. To caution: "Beloved, believe not every spirit; regard not, trust not, follow not, every pretender to the Spirit of God, or every professor of vision, or inspiration, or revelation from God." Truth is the foundation of simulation and counterfeits; there had been real communications from the divine Spirit, and therefore others preten…

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Adam Clarke on 1 John 4:1

Beloved, believe not every spirit - Do not be forward to believe every teacher to be a man sent of God. As in those early times every teacher professed to be inspired by the Spirit of God, because all the prophets had come thus accredited, the term spirit was used to express the man who pretended to be and teach under the Spirit's influence. See Co1 12:1-12; Ti1 4:1. Try the Spirits - Δοκιμαζετε τα πνευματα· Put these teachers to the proof. Try them by that testimony which is known to have come from the Spirit of God, the word of revelation already given. Many false prophets - Teachers not inspired by the Spirit of God, are gone out into the world - among the Jewish people particularly, and…

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John Gill on 1 John 4:1

Beloved, believe not every spirit,.... The apostle having mentioned the word "spirit" in the latter part of the preceding chapter, takes an occasion from thence to return to what he had been suggesting in the "second" chapter, concerning the many antichrists that then were, and whom he points out, and here cautions against. By "every spirit" he means, either every doctrine that is pretended to come from the Spirit of God, or every teacher, who professes to be qualified and sent by him, and to have his light, knowledge, and doctrine from him. Every true minister of the Gospel has the Spirit, and the gifts of the Spirit, more or less, to qualify him for his work; he is separated, and called to…

The Church Fathers

First we must scrutinize thoroughly anything that appears in our hearts, as well as anything that is said to us. Has it come purified by the divine and heavenly fire of the Holy Spirit? Or does it lean toward Jewish superstition? Is its surface piety something which has come down from bloated worldly philosophy? We must examine all this most carefully, doing as the apostle bids us.
— John Cassian, CONFERENCE 1.20

"Beloved, believe not every spirit." Because he had said, "In this we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us." But how this same Spirit is known, mark this: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits whether they be from God." And who is he that proves the spirits? A hard matter has he put to us, my brethren! It is well for us that he should tell us himself how we are to discern them. He is about to tell us: fear not.
— Augustine of Hippo, Ten Homilies on 1 John 6

Just as in ancient Israel there were some prophets who spoke the word of God and others who did not, so also, as soon as the apostles appeared, speaking in Christ and having the Holy Spirit whom the Lord had given to them, many false apostles were sent by the devil to counterfeit the teaching of the gospel. It is essential to have that gift of the Holy Spirit which is called the discernment of spirits in order to have the ability to test the spirits, to see which ones are to be believed and which ones are to be rejected.
— Didymus the Blind, CATENA

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Doctrines, False · Try, by Scripture — Try, by Scripture
Prophets, False · Mode of trying and detecting — Mode of trying and detecting

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 John 4:1

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 John 4:1-3

Adam Clarke on 1 John 4:1

John Gill on 1 John 4:1

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 John 4:1

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 John 4:1-3

Adam Clarke on 1 John 4:1

John Gill on 1 John 4:1

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on 1 John 4:1-3

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 John 4:1-6