This We Know: Week 9 - Discernment: The Fruit of Knowledge

Week 9: Discernment - The Fruit of Knowledge 
1 John 4:1-6 Let’s open our Bibles together. 
We have learned in 1 John that we can know that we belong to God and that true knowledge comes from God. One of the signs that someone truly possesses knowledge is they have discernment. Discernment is the fruit of knowledge. We said earlier in the study that Light is the application of knowledge. We walk in the light when we know God and know the truth. We know what is light and what is darkness by discernment. 
 Ian Fleming, the British spy novelist and the creator of James Bond, served as the assistant to Rear Admiral John Godfrey of the Royal Navy’s Naval Intelligence Department in WW2. Fleming published the famous “Trout Memo” in which he compared deceiving the enemy to fly fishing. Fleming produced a list of various schemes to deceive the Germans and number 28 on the list was the idea of letting the Germans discover a corpse with a set of false plans on it. This gave birth to "Operation Mincemeat” which included over 6 months to plan and execute, enlisting the corpse of a homeless man, creating fake top-secret documents, meticulous detail in the deciding the contents of the corpse’s pockets, and shackling a brief case to the wrist of the body that was then packed in dry ice, driven to a naval base, loaded onto a submarine that dropped the body into the sea where it could wash up onto the Spanish coast. The “neutral” Spanish authorities passed the contents of the brief case onto the Germans who bought the story hook line and sinker. On May 14, 1943, based solely on the falsified documents, Adolf Hitler declared that Sicily was not the next landing of the Allied Troops and that Greece and Sardinia must be reinforced all based on the deception. Hitler ordered the 1st Panzer Division moved from France to Greece along with 7 infantry divisions from Italy, and an additional 10 infantry divisions from Italy to the Balkans. 
Sardinia was also heavily reinforced with aircraft and naval elements as well.  
Even when the invasion of Sicily began on July 9, 1943, Hitler apparently still believed a major attack would fall on Greece. The greatest success of the operation was that Hitler no longer trusted his intelligence and he discarded multiple legitimate discoveries that could have change the course of the war in his favor, had he acted upon them. Sir Michael Howard, in his book Strategic Deception in the Second World War, called Operation Mincemeat “the best known, and perhaps the most successful single deception operation of the entire war.” Which is why it has inspired many books and two major movies. [1] The church of Jesus Christ has an enemy. Our enemy is working day and night to deceive us and neutralize us in our calling to make disciples. He doesn’t play fair! ― Sun tzu, The Art of War “All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.” One of Satan’s favorite deception strategies is using false teachers to spread false doctrine in the church. This is why Discernment matters.
 What is Discernment? Pastor John MacArthur wrote, “In its simplest definition, discernment is nothing more than the ability to decide between truth and error, right and wrong. Discernment is the process of making careful distinctions in our thinking about truth. In other words, the ability to think with discernment is synonymous with an ability to think biblically.” [2] We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:21…test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
Again in Romans 12:9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. How do we tell what is right and wrong? What is good and evil? If we do not have discernment, as we are commanded to in Scripture, we will be unable to tell false teaching from sound doctrine. Where do we get discernment? 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” 2 Timothy 3:15, from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Discernment comes from the Holy Spirit of God through the word of God. Sinclair Ferguson pointed out that, “We are on our guard against being led astray by false teachers. But there is more to discernment than this. True discernment means not only distinguishing the right from the wrong; it means distinguishing the primary from the secondary, the essential from the [non-essential], and the permanent from the transient. And, yes, it means distinguishing between the good and the better, and even between the better and the best.” [3] With that in mind, 1 John 4 begins, 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 

3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. 
This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Prayer: In these verses, John is calling on the church to be aware of the danger of Spiritual Deception. The very first temptation by Satan in the Garden of Eden was to twist, deny, and replace the word of God. It is also important to notice that this warning is bracketed in between the previous and following sections which are both about love! Every heresy and cult that exists in our day is done in the name of love. No other word has been twisted as much as this one. When it comes to discernment: 1. We can not separate the truth from love. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 
16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Loving someone without truth is like being a bad Uber driver who is meticulous about the comfort of his passengers, but doesn’t have any navigation skills or knowledge of the city where he’s driving. He makes sure the temperature in the car is just right, put on your passenger’s favorite music, provide them with a plethora of phone-charging cords, and offer gum or candy for the trip. But then you spend thirty minutes simply wandering around the streets of the city and end up dropping off your passenger miles from where they actually need to go. [4] On the other hand, if an Uber driver is the greatest navigator in the city, but treat their customers like an inconvenience, picks them up in a dirty car, and doesn’t drive safely, he is equally going to experience failure in this career. He is like someone who speaks the truth, yet doesn’t love. We are called to do both. As Christian’s we are called to love messy people and to speak the truth to messy people… because that’s the only kind of people there are. Everyone is messy, even Christians. From a distance some people seem to have it all together, but as you get to know them the pride, depression, narcissism, insecurities, anxiety, addictions, obsessiveness, laziness, abuse, prejudice… eventually comes out. We must love these people, but we must speak the truth to them.

When teachers talk about love, I want to know if they love Christ, first. Do they love God’s word. Do they love the church, Christ’s bride, Other Believers? Jesus loved it so much He gave His life for it. Do they love those who are being deceived by false teachers enough to call them out? Discernment teaches us that we must not separate truth from love. It also teaches us: 2. We Must Test the Spirits. (1-3) 

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
 - Doctrinal Test Deity of Christ - If Jesus is not God manifest in the flesh, we have no Christian Faith! Trinity - The Son of God is the second person of the Godhead
 In his book, “The fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith, R.A. Torrey wrote the following words in 1918, ”If a man really holds to right views concerning the person of Jesus Christ he will sooner or later get right views on every other question, but if he holds a wrong view concerning the person of the Lord Jesus Christ he is pretty sure to go wrong on everything else sooner or later." The same is true regarding the doctrine of the 
Atonement: If a man really holds to right views concerning the Atonement made by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary, he will sooner or later get right on every other question; but if he holds a wrong view regarding the Atonement made by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, he is pretty sure to go wrong on everything else sooner or later. 1 John 2:1 …But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. God’s Spirit does not deny Himself! Those who deny Christ, deny God. Doctrine Matters!!! False teachers are so dangerous because of their false doctrine! Behavior always follows belief!
 - Purity Test - 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.
 Teachers who claim to be believers… that’s a pretty good requirement… should live like Jesus and their disciples should be encouraged to live holy lives
 I did not say the perfection test… I said the purity test. 
 All throughout the Epistles of John, he calls us to walk in obedience. Chapter 1: 
If we say we have fellowship with God and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 

2: I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.

Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

3: No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 

8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 

10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

That’s just a few of the verses… 
 - Unity Test - 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Sound Teachers - Unity with God, Scripture, & the Church. 

 - Qualifications of a Shepherd / Pastor Above Reproach (Titus 1:6, 7; 1 Tim 3:2) Devoted to his wife; one-woman man (Titus 1:6; 1 Tim 3:2). Children must be in submission, though not perfect (Titus 1:6; 1 Tim 3:4-5). Faithful steward - Hard worker (Titus 1:7). Humble — not arrogant (Titus 1:7). Gentle — not quick-tempered (Titus 1:7; 1 Tim 3:3). Sober — not a drunkard (Titus 1:7; 1 Tim 3:3). 
Peaceful — not violent (Titus 1:7; 1 Tim 3:3). Financial integrity — not greedy for gain (Titus 1:7; 1 Tim 3:3; 1 Peter 5:3). Hospitable (Titus 1:8; 1 Tim 3:2). Lover of good (Titus 1:8). Self-controlled (Titus 1:8; 1 Tim 3:2). Upright (Titus 1:8). Holy (Titus 1:8). Able to teach (Titus 1:9; 1 Tim 3:2). Spiritually mature (1 Tim 3:6). Respectable - within and without (1 Tim 3:7).Example to the flock (1 Peter 5:3)
 False teachers have unity with darkness. Opposite of Pastoral qualifications - Defined by: - Popularity - Tickle ears, “But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts” (1 Thes. 2:4) - Focus on the wrong things - “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others” (Matt. 23:23) - Gifting > Godliness - “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds” (Jer. 14:14) “…puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth,” - Exploit followers - “imagining that godliness is a means of gain” (1 Tim. 6:4-5)
 The late A. W. Tozer had some wise counsel on “How to Try the Spirits” [5] He posed seven tests to apply to any teaching: 

(1) How does the teaching affect my relationship with God? Is He magnified and glorified, or diminished? 

(2) How does the teaching affect my attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ? Does it magnify Him and give Him first place? Or, does it subtly shift my focus onto myself or some experience?

 (3) How does the teaching affect my attitude toward Scripture? Did the teaching come from and agree with the Word? Does it increase my love for the Word?

 (4) How does the teaching affect my self-life? Does it feed self or crucify it? Does it feed pride or humility?

 (5) How does the teaching affect my relationships to other Christians? Does it cause me to withdraw, find fault, and exalt myself in superiority? Or, does it lead me to genuine love for all that truly know Christ?

 (6) How does the teaching affect my relationship to the world system? Does it lead me to pursue the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life? Does it lead me to pursue worldly riches, reputation, and pleasures? Or, does it crucify the world to me?

 (7) How does the teaching affect my attitude toward sin? Does it cause me to tolerate sin in my life or to turn from it and grow in holiness? Any teaching that makes holiness more acceptable and sin more intolerable is genuine.
 Application: 
 - We must value Scripture over Tradition. 
 - We must value God’s approval over man’s applause. 
 - We must value Purity over pleasure. 
 - We must value the Church over culture. [1] https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/secret-agents-secret-armies-operation-mincemeat [2] What is biblical discernment and why is it important? By John MacArthur [3] In Christ Alone by Sinclair Ferguson [4] Loving Messy People: The Messy Art of Helping One Another Become More Like Jesus by Scott Mehl [5] A.W. Tozer - Adapted from Moody Monthly [12/79], pp. 51-55