1 John 4:2

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

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Hereby	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
ye	γινώσκετε ginōskete	G1097	to "know" (absolutely) in a great variety of applicatio… · verb — present active indicative, 2nd person plural
Spirit	πνεῦμα pneuma	G4151	a current of air · noun — accusative singular neuter
God	θεοῦ· theou	G2316	figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
Every	πᾶν pan	G3956	all · adjective — nominative singular neuter
spirit	πνεῦμα pneuma	G4151	a current of air · noun — nominative singular neuter
that	ὃ ho	G3739	the relatively (sometimes demonstrative) pronoun · relative pronoun — nominative singular neuter
that	ὁμολογεῖ homologei	G3670	to assent · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
Jesus	Ἰησοῦν Iēsoun	G2424	Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua) · noun — accusative singular masculine, a proper name
Christ	Χριστὸν Christon	G5547	anointed · noun — accusative singular masculine, a title
come	ἐληλυθότα elēluthota	G2064	to come or go (in a great variety of applications · verb — second perfect active participle, accusative singular masculine
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
flesh	σαρκὶ sarki	G4561	flesh (as stripped of the skin) · noun — dative singular feminine
is	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

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

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace a…
1 Corinthians 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is…
1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached…
1 John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye…
1 John 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of hi…
John 16:13-15 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall…
1 John 2:23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

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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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 John 4:2

Hereby--"Herein." know . . . the Spirit of God--whether he be, or not, in those teachers professing to be moved by Him. Every spirit--that is, Every teacher claiming inspiration by the HOLY SPIRIT. confesseth--The truth is taken for granted as established. Man is required to confess it, that is, in his teaching to profess it openly. Jesus Christ is come in the flesh--a twofold truth confessed, that Jesus is the Christ, and that He is come (the Greek perfect tense implies not a mere past historical fact, as the aorist would, but also the present continuance of the fact and its blessed effects) in the flesh ("clothed with flesh": not with a mere seeming humanity, as the DocetÃ&brvbr af…

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Adam Clarke on 1 John 4:2

Hereby know ye the Spirit of God - We know that the man who teaches that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah, and that he is come in the flesh, is of God - is inspired by the Divine Spirit; for no man can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost.

John Gill on 1 John 4:2

Hereby know ye the Spirit of God,.... This is a rule by which believers may know whether a man professing to have the Spirit of God, and to be called and sent by him, and whether the, doctrine he preaches, is of him or not: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God; or of the Spirit of God; that is, every doctrine which carries this truth in it; or every man that owns, and professes, and publishes this doctrine concerning Christ, is on the side of God and truth; and which contains several articles in it, respecting the person and office of Christ; as that he existed before he came in the flesh, not in the human nature, or as man, or as an angel, but as…

The Church Fathers

But whosoever denies that He is come in the flesh is not of God, but is of the spirit of Antichrist."
— Cyprian, Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews

The Manichaean denies that Christ has come in the flesh. There is no need to labor the point or to persuade you any further that this error is not from God.
— Augustine of Hippo, SERMONS 183

A spirit which comes from God will confess that Jesus Christ, although he was in the form of God, took upon himself the form of a servant and came in the flesh.
— Didymus the Blind, COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN

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

Confessing Christ · Influences of the Holy Spirit necessary to — Influences of the Holy Spirit necessary to
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 4:2

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 John 4:1-3

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 John 4:2

Adam Clarke on 1 John 4:2

John Gill on 1 John 4:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 John 4:2

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 John 4:1-3

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 John 4:2

Adam Clarke on 1 John 4:2

John Gill on 1 John 4:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on 1 John 4:1-3

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 John 4:2