The Proper Way to Identify False Prophets: A Hermeneutical Study of 1 John 4:2

By Mark W. Christy, PhD

In 1 John 4:2, the Apostle offers a way to test whether or not a person should be numbered among those who are false prophets. He writes, “every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.”[i] His bold assertion, however, calls into question those whomany prominent members of the evangelical community as false teachers, given that most of these teachers affirm Christ’s incarnation. To resolve this apparent dilemma, this article will provide evidence that those commonly labelled as false teachers do indeed preach Christ’s incarnation, and then demonstrate how this evidence fails to help them avoid the charge of heresy by giving John’s words more careful consideration.

Among those commonly purported to be false teachers, Andy Stanley affirms that Jesus “was born of woman” and “born under the old covenant.”[ii] Joyce Meyer also acknowledges that Christ was “a human being” with “a natural human body” as well as “all God” and “the Son of God.”[iii] Placing the incarnation properly in the history of humanity, Steve Furtick rightly calls “the incarnation of the Son of God” “the event in world history.”[iv]

Presumptively, one would assume that these so-called false teachers would deny the incarnation of Christ based on a cursory glance at 1 John 4:2. While their quoted statements are brief (and much of their theology is poorly developed in their writings), they at least appear to pass the test. Nevertheless, one could ply them for more details to ensure that their meaning behind their affirmation of the incarnation accords with Holy Writ. To accomplish such an inquiry, one would need to affirm that they agree that Christ’s incarnational event was a permanent union of God and man for Christ came from God for He is fully God (cf. John 1:14; 6:51-55; 1 John 5:6; 2 John 7).

If, as has been assumed, these teachers hold to the fullness of John’s incarnational theology, then it would seem that they stand above any charge of apostasy. Even so, one still must consider the broader context of Scripture before giving a final assessment. When turning to 1 Corinthians 12:3, one finds Paul giving an entirely different test to determine whether or not a person is a false prophet, and at the bare minimum adds a further requirement to the one provided by John: “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus is accursed’; and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.”

As one considers Paul’s comments, one could find themselves in a similar conundrum in which John places his audience should they maintain an extremely wooden hermeneutic in their interpretational approach. Taken literally, Paul seems to lead his audience to just ensure that a given teacher upholds the Lordship of Christ while giving little concern to other doctrinal stances being taught, including those concerning Christ’s incarnation. In either case (that of John and that of Paul), neither Apostle seems to be putting forth a perfectly simplified test of doctrinal orthodoxy that suits every situation.

Since this is the case, the difference between the Pauline test of orthodoxy in 1 Corinthians 12:3 and 1 John 4:2 must relate to the particular doctrinal challenges found within the faith communities to which they were writing. Within those communities, the truth was being challenged in certain ways, and both Apostles were intent on providing the believers with formulated confessions of faith that directly countered the heresy being promoted by localized false prophets.

Along with Paul, those who struggle with John’s test of orthodoxy (in the face of many supposed false teachers who claim to affirm Christ’s incarnation) may also look to Christ’s own public ministry. In His days on earth as a man, many openly and directly called Him Lord even though they failed to obey Him, which proved their confession to be false (Matt 7:21-23; Luke 6:46). Surely, if these false confessors could openly affirm Christ’s Lordship even while He was plainly incarnated, then false prophets can also make such claims even while their hearts, like those rebuked by Christ in Matthew 7:21 and Luke 6:46, fail to uphold the doctrine they proclaim. Given that people can indeed falsely proclaim any number of biblical truths including those mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:3 and 1 John 4:2, simply holding out either one of these Scriptures (or even both in conjunction) as certain evidence of one’s identity as a false teacher (or not) would seem to be most foolhardy.

Thankfully, Paul provides a more comprehensive test to identify those who fail to align themselves fully with the doctrines the he espoused. In 1 Timothy 6:3-4, he writes, “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing.” To employ this test, believers will have to carefully consider the entirety of a given teacher’s words in light of Scripture. Should they find error as Paul and John had, they themselves could follow the example of these Apostles by pointing the error and making concise confessional statements in favor of sound doctrine.

In conclusion, one must be careful to take any passage out of the context of the whole of Scripture even while it is important to carefully consider the immediate context of a given passage first. At times, the larger context will aid the reader to better understanding how to perceive the immediate context. As has been shown, this is indeed the case for 1 John 4:2. After careful consideration of Paul and Christ’s dealings with doctrinal errors, it seems appropriate to conclude that John was also confronting specific errors within the community he was serving.

[i]All Scripture references are taken from NASB1995.

[ii]Andy Stanley, Irresistible: Reclaiming the New that Jesus Unleashed for the World, epub. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2018), 73.

[iii]Joyce Meyer, The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make: A Complete and Thorough Understanding of What It Means To Be Born Again (Tulsa, OK: Harrison, 1996), 26.

[iv]Steven Furtick, Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God’s Voice Above All Others, pdf (Colorado Springs: Multnomah, 2014), 80.