2
Byἐνthisτούτῳyou knowγινώσκετεthe Spiritτὸ πνεῦμαof God:τοῦ θεοῦeveryπᾶνspiritπνεῦμαthatὃconfessesὁμολογεῖJesusἸησοῦνthe MessiahΧριστὸνas having comeἐληλυθόταinἐνthe fleshσαρκὶisἐστινfromἐκGod,τοῦ θεοῦ
1 John 4:2
Study it in the app“By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus the Messiah as having come in the flesh is from God,”
With the Greek beneath
1 John 4:2, word by word
- you knowγινώσκετεginōskete
know
To be truly acquainted with someone, or grasp something fully.
Where else “ginōskete” appears- the Spiritπνεῦμαpneuma
Spirit
God himself at work, giving life and dwelling in believers.
Where else “pneuma” appears- of Godθεοῦtheou
God
The Creator and Lord of all, the one God of Israel.
Where else “theou” appears- confessesὁμολογεῖhomologei
confess
To state openly what one believes, as that Christ is Lord.
Where else “homologei” appears- JesusἸησοῦνIēsoun
Jesus
Jesus, the Greek form of the Hebrew Yehoshua (Joshua), which means "YHWH saves". It is the name the angel told Joseph to give him (Matthew 1:21).
Where else “Iēsoun” appears- the MessiahΧριστὸνChriston
Messiah
Messiah: literally "anointed", the king or envoy God consecrates with oil. It is a title, not a surname; in Hebrew, mashiach.
Where else “Christon” appears- as having comeἐληλυθόταelēlythota
come as Messiah
The coming of Jesus; "the one who comes" is the awaited one.
Where else “elēlythota” appears- the fleshσαρκὶsarki
mortal
Human beings, frail and mortal.
Where else “sarki” appears- isἐστινestin
be
To be: says who or what something is.
Where else “estin” appears
The context
1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 · This verse (above)
3and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is in the world already.
To study 1 John 4 in a group
1. What it says
What does John ask us to do with every spirit, and why (v. 1-3)?
2. What it means
John says, "God is love" (v. 8, 16). How does the text show that love, and what does it expect of us (v. 9-11)?
3. How I live it
John writes that perfect love casts out fear (v. 18). What fear would you like to hand to God today?