1 John 4:2 By this we know the spirit is of God: every spirit which confesses Jesus Christ in the flesh has come from God,
ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκετε τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ· πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ ὁμολογεῖ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν,
The central and most basic question one can answer is what to do with Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit works in people to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3). The Holy Spirit brings recognition and new life in Jesus Christ. John is referring in this verse to spirits that agree with the Holy Spirit. The previous verse implies that these spirits are humans or at least work through humans. Behind this verse is the battle that every human faces, and it is a battle that has waged behind the scenes in the spiritual world: the battle between good and evil, that which brings God glory and that which rejects God. This verse draws the line of one side or the other. The line recognizes Jesus’ divinity and humanity. In John’s day, there were people who denied the humanity of Jesus. In our day, there are people who deny his divinity. John says that both are part of one whole. In theological terms, Christology (the study of Christ) determines orthodoxy (true doctrine). Everything else hinges on this. Those who teach and preach must equip God’s people to be discerning what people say. We can do this by teaching Scripture and theology. Ignorance is no excuse. John says that “we know,” a statement of certainty. The best defense against false teaching is to know the True One.
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