Together # 53
A Together of Battle
A Together of Battle
Test the Spirits Together
copyright by Dick Wulf, 2018
Together test spirits, doctrines, revelations, and ideologies with other Christians. Ferret out those situations, thoughts and emotions that come from the dark angelic world.
2 Cor 11:3-4; Eph 6:10-18; 1 Tim 4:1-2; l John 4:1-6; Jude17-19
Testing the spirits together means seeing if something comes from the Holy Spirit or the work of unclean, unholy, evil spirits presently or from past influence on our world. Testing the spirits will cause us to specifically understand what should direct our lives and what should not. This will help us more clearly see the strategy of Satan and the efforts of his demons against the truth.
Another word for angel is “messenger”. Fallen angels who do the bidding of Satan are messengers telling falsehoods and lies. Their deception is all around us. It is difficult to believe that there is a demon under every rock, but it is not so far-fetched to see that they cause trouble in one spot and leave to do it again to someone else. And, let’s remember that all evil was introduced into human existence by the most evil spirit, the devil.
In the early church to whom the Apostle John wrote, the primary distortion of truth the church needed to watch out for was about Jesus. Christianity was a new religion that arose from Judaism and there were those who understood differently. Experts tell us at that time a major threat was from two opposite teachings of Gnosticism. One insisted that Jesus was divine but not human. The other side said the opposite, that Jesus was human but not divine. Believers needed to put their heads together and sort out what was from God and true and what was from false teachers.
Another word for angel is “messenger”. Fallen angels who do the bidding of Satan are messengers telling falsehoods and lies. Their deception is all around us. It is difficult to believe that there is a demon under every rock, but it is not so far-fetched to see that they cause trouble in one spot and leave to do it again to someone else. And, let’s remember that all evil was introduced into human existence by the most evil spirit, the devil.
In the early church to whom the Apostle John wrote, the primary distortion of truth the church needed to watch out for was about Jesus. Christianity was a new religion that arose from Judaism and there were those who understood differently. Experts tell us at that time a major threat was from two opposite teachings of Gnosticism. One insisted that Jesus was divine but not human. The other side said the opposite, that Jesus was human but not divine. Believers needed to put their heads together and sort out what was from God and true and what was from false teachers.
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. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 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. 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. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 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.
l John 4:1-6
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We must not jump immediately to think that testing the spirits always means identifying evil spirits. This passage makes it clear that testing the spirits had to do with erroneous human spirits.
In every age, there are those with spirits who do not know God. Together Christians are to be able to know the “Spirit of truth” (the Holy Spirit) from the “spirit of error”. Those people we know and love who do not have regenerated spirits can only live from a worldly perspective, and their spirits are erroneous. They believe what they believe wholeheartedly, just as we know with the Holy Spirit residing in us what we believe with certainty. When we talk, we sound like we know what we are talking about. But, so do they.
This is why we test the spirits together. A loved one without belief will with all sincerity tell us what they believe. Because that person is cherished by us, we may be vulnerable to trying to find truth in what they are saying so that no discord develops. Testing the spirits with other believers is God’s way for us to sort out things that sound believable or that we want to believe.
An example that most all of us have witnessed is when a believer falls in love with an unbeliever. The believer is blinded by love and will often give the other “believer status” based on something said that connects with what true Christians believe. The lover might say that he or she believes in God, and that will be enough to keep going toward marriage. That the demons believe in God (James 2:19) is conveniently forgotten. Or the unbeliever will be a really good person who loves and serves others selflessly. Since there is strong but understandable resistance to recognizing inadequate belief, the Christian at risk needs his or her Christian Inner Circle to actively test the spirit of this good-hearted suitor. Does his or her good works come from true belief in God or in good deeds apart from a thankful love for God?
While we would all wish that anyone who thinks they are a Christian sincerely believes in Christ’s death and resurrection, it is not necessarily so. Jesus told those who had cast out demons in His name that He did not know them (Matt 7:21-23).
Those Christians who love a person do not want to see heartbreak in the future. They do not want a believer to be stuck in an unequally-yoked relationship which is advised against in Scripture (2 Cor 6:14). This is a challenge for that person’s Christian Inner Circle which must test the spirits to protect the person and the church. These close Christian friends and relatives are the ones who will meet the man or woman in question and be able to see whether he or she does or does not sincerely believe that Jesus died for the sins of those who believe. They will be the ones who can test the lover’s spirit.
The other reason the Christian Inner Circle wants to test the spirit of a suitor is that they are the ones who will have to live with the consequences. If the person turns out to be hostile or uncooperative to the friend’s faith after marriage, the misery is going to spread to all of them. The person’s Christian Inner Circle will deal with the pain and disappointment for years and years. They have a stake in the future marriage and must get involved.
In this day and age a person can easily discover what are the right things to say to convince a believer to marry. But, the testing of a person’s spirit seems to be about their relationship with Jesus, not words about Him. A statement of belief can be told with great sincerity but exposed by unconcern for God. What Christian friends and family members can do is carefully watch behavior and listen to words. They can also take stock of a person’s history which might reveal a phoniness about current courtship behavior.
This example is critical because the problem is quite prevalent. Christians can easily fall in love with someone who looks like a Christian. And, if the strength of the church is somewhat in the hands of its marriages, a marriage with one spouse uncooperative in matters of faith will damage the congregation.
There is the chance that someone in a person’s Christian Inner Circle will see that the suitor’s spirit is unsaved and lead that person to Christ. In this case, testing the spirits will actually make possible the marriage so desired.
This one situation represents hundreds of situations faced by believers. And, many of them are more subtle than a questionable suitor. Both Christians and unbelievers are targeted by evil powers. Let’s not be naive about this. It is not really debatable. The Bible clearly speaks of demonic involvement in the lives of people.
If we are old enough we remember cartoons, perhaps with Donald Duck or some other character with an angel on one shoulder whispering ideas and directions and a red horned devil on the other shoulder suggesting something evil. Although humorous, those cartoons illustrate what testing the spirits is all about. Humans can be influenced by the Holy Spirit or an unholy spirit, and, therefore, we are to test the spirits together as a way of life.
This concept that someone or something other than ourselves can get into our minds is really not that strange. Perhaps you have heard of “subliminal advertising” where a message is flashed on the television that is too brief to register in conscious thought but fully capable of being read by the quick human mind in the subconscious. Billboards on the highway are the same. People don’t pay much attention to them, but the advertisers pay a lot of money to influence us by what we are not paying much attention to.
The unseen powers of evil in the spiritual dimension cannot be seen except by their effect. Usually they do bad things, but sometimes they are behind good things. The end goal of Satan who commands these evil powers is to take away God’s glory. Some evil things are quite obvious. Others are incredibly subtle.
It is probably easier to identify hands-on involvement of demons in the lives of humans. However, the unseen evil forces mentioned in Ephesians 6 identify more subtle evil spirits that we mistakenly identify as people (“We do not struggle against flesh and blood,...). Certainly there are many aspects of secular and church culture initiated behind the scenes by the evil powers of Satan. This would be true of political and economic systems as well.
We Christians in our Inner Circles need to put our heads together to identify the spirits of evil hidden in our cultures, both secular and Christian. A thousand pages would not do justice to the list of possibilities. Nevertheless, we must test what comes from God and what comes from those not aligned with Him. Almost any situation, any choice, can be infiltrated by evil, and testing the spirits together is the answer.
Opportunity to Become More and More Like Jesus Christ
In every age, there are those with spirits who do not know God. Together Christians are to be able to know the “Spirit of truth” (the Holy Spirit) from the “spirit of error”. Those people we know and love who do not have regenerated spirits can only live from a worldly perspective, and their spirits are erroneous. They believe what they believe wholeheartedly, just as we know with the Holy Spirit residing in us what we believe with certainty. When we talk, we sound like we know what we are talking about. But, so do they.
This is why we test the spirits together. A loved one without belief will with all sincerity tell us what they believe. Because that person is cherished by us, we may be vulnerable to trying to find truth in what they are saying so that no discord develops. Testing the spirits with other believers is God’s way for us to sort out things that sound believable or that we want to believe.
An example that most all of us have witnessed is when a believer falls in love with an unbeliever. The believer is blinded by love and will often give the other “believer status” based on something said that connects with what true Christians believe. The lover might say that he or she believes in God, and that will be enough to keep going toward marriage. That the demons believe in God (James 2:19) is conveniently forgotten. Or the unbeliever will be a really good person who loves and serves others selflessly. Since there is strong but understandable resistance to recognizing inadequate belief, the Christian at risk needs his or her Christian Inner Circle to actively test the spirit of this good-hearted suitor. Does his or her good works come from true belief in God or in good deeds apart from a thankful love for God?
While we would all wish that anyone who thinks they are a Christian sincerely believes in Christ’s death and resurrection, it is not necessarily so. Jesus told those who had cast out demons in His name that He did not know them (Matt 7:21-23).
Those Christians who love a person do not want to see heartbreak in the future. They do not want a believer to be stuck in an unequally-yoked relationship which is advised against in Scripture (2 Cor 6:14). This is a challenge for that person’s Christian Inner Circle which must test the spirits to protect the person and the church. These close Christian friends and relatives are the ones who will meet the man or woman in question and be able to see whether he or she does or does not sincerely believe that Jesus died for the sins of those who believe. They will be the ones who can test the lover’s spirit.
The other reason the Christian Inner Circle wants to test the spirit of a suitor is that they are the ones who will have to live with the consequences. If the person turns out to be hostile or uncooperative to the friend’s faith after marriage, the misery is going to spread to all of them. The person’s Christian Inner Circle will deal with the pain and disappointment for years and years. They have a stake in the future marriage and must get involved.
In this day and age a person can easily discover what are the right things to say to convince a believer to marry. But, the testing of a person’s spirit seems to be about their relationship with Jesus, not words about Him. A statement of belief can be told with great sincerity but exposed by unconcern for God. What Christian friends and family members can do is carefully watch behavior and listen to words. They can also take stock of a person’s history which might reveal a phoniness about current courtship behavior.
This example is critical because the problem is quite prevalent. Christians can easily fall in love with someone who looks like a Christian. And, if the strength of the church is somewhat in the hands of its marriages, a marriage with one spouse uncooperative in matters of faith will damage the congregation.
There is the chance that someone in a person’s Christian Inner Circle will see that the suitor’s spirit is unsaved and lead that person to Christ. In this case, testing the spirits will actually make possible the marriage so desired.
This one situation represents hundreds of situations faced by believers. And, many of them are more subtle than a questionable suitor. Both Christians and unbelievers are targeted by evil powers. Let’s not be naive about this. It is not really debatable. The Bible clearly speaks of demonic involvement in the lives of people.
If we are old enough we remember cartoons, perhaps with Donald Duck or some other character with an angel on one shoulder whispering ideas and directions and a red horned devil on the other shoulder suggesting something evil. Although humorous, those cartoons illustrate what testing the spirits is all about. Humans can be influenced by the Holy Spirit or an unholy spirit, and, therefore, we are to test the spirits together as a way of life.
This concept that someone or something other than ourselves can get into our minds is really not that strange. Perhaps you have heard of “subliminal advertising” where a message is flashed on the television that is too brief to register in conscious thought but fully capable of being read by the quick human mind in the subconscious. Billboards on the highway are the same. People don’t pay much attention to them, but the advertisers pay a lot of money to influence us by what we are not paying much attention to.
The unseen powers of evil in the spiritual dimension cannot be seen except by their effect. Usually they do bad things, but sometimes they are behind good things. The end goal of Satan who commands these evil powers is to take away God’s glory. Some evil things are quite obvious. Others are incredibly subtle.
It is probably easier to identify hands-on involvement of demons in the lives of humans. However, the unseen evil forces mentioned in Ephesians 6 identify more subtle evil spirits that we mistakenly identify as people (“We do not struggle against flesh and blood,...). Certainly there are many aspects of secular and church culture initiated behind the scenes by the evil powers of Satan. This would be true of political and economic systems as well.
We Christians in our Inner Circles need to put our heads together to identify the spirits of evil hidden in our cultures, both secular and Christian. A thousand pages would not do justice to the list of possibilities. Nevertheless, we must test what comes from God and what comes from those not aligned with Him. Almost any situation, any choice, can be infiltrated by evil, and testing the spirits together is the answer.
Opportunity to Become More and More Like Jesus Christ
The Vance Family makes sure they eat dinner together at least four times a week. Once the oldest child became 12 years old they began discussing at one of the weekly meal times the workings of evil in societal culture as well as church culture. Mr. and Mrs. Vance know how much more important this is than music lessons or sports activities, should there be scheduling conflicts.
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Jesus tested the spirits. He spoke against false truth. He stood against religious customs that were not God’s will. He distinguished between the ways of secular culture and true faith. And He recognized demons. The more we test the spirits, the more we become like Him.
We cannot be just as able as Jesus was to recognize evil powers, and certainly not alone. But, together we are able, according to Scripture, to know that what we see and hear obviously does not match up with the Holy Spirit. Anything evil is quite obviously not from God and cannot be from the Holy Spirit. Where discernment of spirits requires real effort on our part is in gray areas, where things are not so clearly evil and might or might not be the leading of the Holy Spirit.
In the early church with new spiritual reality, it was doctrine that required careful testing whether it was of God or of another spirit. When Jesus died for us and rose from the grave, a brand new spiritual reality dawned. This new, radical doctrine attracted all sorts of opposition from other doctrinal positions. Was Jesus both God and man at the same time? The Gnostics said no and presented arguments that fit in with theology and philosophy that had been around for a long time. Christians had to see through the arguments advanced, and that was testing the spirits.
Jesus is the Word, and the Bible is the word of God that can divide even soul and spirit. So, to get ready to test the spirits, it is necessary to study the Bible, and, especially, be close to our Savior.
We cannot be just as able as Jesus was to recognize evil powers, and certainly not alone. But, together we are able, according to Scripture, to know that what we see and hear obviously does not match up with the Holy Spirit. Anything evil is quite obviously not from God and cannot be from the Holy Spirit. Where discernment of spirits requires real effort on our part is in gray areas, where things are not so clearly evil and might or might not be the leading of the Holy Spirit.
In the early church with new spiritual reality, it was doctrine that required careful testing whether it was of God or of another spirit. When Jesus died for us and rose from the grave, a brand new spiritual reality dawned. This new, radical doctrine attracted all sorts of opposition from other doctrinal positions. Was Jesus both God and man at the same time? The Gnostics said no and presented arguments that fit in with theology and philosophy that had been around for a long time. Christians had to see through the arguments advanced, and that was testing the spirits.
Jesus is the Word, and the Bible is the word of God that can divide even soul and spirit. So, to get ready to test the spirits, it is necessary to study the Bible, and, especially, be close to our Savior.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1
John 1:1
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
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Heb 4:12
All Scripture is inspired by God [breathed out by God; literal: God-breathed] and is useful for teaching, for showing people what is wrong in their lives [refuting error; rebuking], for correcting faults, and for teaching how to live right [training in righteousness] Using the Scriptures, [literal: …so that] the person who serves God [literal: God’s person] will be capable [competent], having all that is needed [fully equipped] to do every good work.
2 Tim 3:16-17 (Expanded Bible)
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Prayer is also required to test the spirits. When in doubt ask the One Who Knows.
But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”
Mark 9:27-29
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It is probably true that in the more difficult situations requiring discernment of spirits, only those Christians with some biblical breadth in knowing “the whole counsel of God” and have a life of connection with God through prayer are hands down qualified to test the spirits. And that is why this testing of spirits is to be done by more than one Christian. The command is to test the spirits together.
Within contemporary Christianity there is one huge controversy that requires testing of where each belief comes from. That is the divide between salvation by works and salvation through faith. Excluding the cults whose doctrines are clearly not in line with Scripture, the belief that one must be good enough to get into heaven is preached by some but practiced by many. How many Christians celebrate Easter and communion but reply, “I hope so” when asked if they are going to heaven? The Holy Spirit tells us we are saved by Jesus’ death and not by our own goodness (“keeping the law”), but a spirit of many church cultures causes believers to not trust that all has been done for them to enter heaven. Christians in these churches and denominations and divisions within the faith do not truly trust they are free from the bondage to sin, headed to heaven, and capable of righteous living purely out of thankfulness to and love for God. They are more concerned that they are good enough to go to heaven when they die, rather than concerned that their good works are sincere expressions of thankfulness for their unearned salvation.
While it is tempting to talk about testing the spirits in more fantastic situations like “snake handling” theology, we will focus on those things that are more normal to regular life where evil powers in the spiritual realm influence Christians, most likely through culture that has been contaminated by sinful, ungodly philosophies and beliefs. Christians have to think about situations that confront them or someone in their Christian Inner Circle, “Is this really coming from the Holy Spirit?”
Suppose, for example, that a Christian in our Inner Circle of Believers comes to us and says that someone in his or her profession has suggested he or she apply for a particular open position. The advice is being strongly considered. According to Psalm 1:1, it is somewhat suspect if the advice is coming from a non-believer, so let’s suppose that it is coming from a Christian. That person could or could not be in the Christian Inner Circle of the person receiving the advice. It really does not matter. The advice needs to be tested. Did it come from the Holy Spirit, in which case obedience is the issue and the job should be applied for whether or not the person wants the job. Or the advice, however well-meaning, could come from the “spirit of this age”, meaning a source in either secular or Christian culture (sometimes they both agree).
Within contemporary Christianity there is one huge controversy that requires testing of where each belief comes from. That is the divide between salvation by works and salvation through faith. Excluding the cults whose doctrines are clearly not in line with Scripture, the belief that one must be good enough to get into heaven is preached by some but practiced by many. How many Christians celebrate Easter and communion but reply, “I hope so” when asked if they are going to heaven? The Holy Spirit tells us we are saved by Jesus’ death and not by our own goodness (“keeping the law”), but a spirit of many church cultures causes believers to not trust that all has been done for them to enter heaven. Christians in these churches and denominations and divisions within the faith do not truly trust they are free from the bondage to sin, headed to heaven, and capable of righteous living purely out of thankfulness to and love for God. They are more concerned that they are good enough to go to heaven when they die, rather than concerned that their good works are sincere expressions of thankfulness for their unearned salvation.
While it is tempting to talk about testing the spirits in more fantastic situations like “snake handling” theology, we will focus on those things that are more normal to regular life where evil powers in the spiritual realm influence Christians, most likely through culture that has been contaminated by sinful, ungodly philosophies and beliefs. Christians have to think about situations that confront them or someone in their Christian Inner Circle, “Is this really coming from the Holy Spirit?”
Suppose, for example, that a Christian in our Inner Circle of Believers comes to us and says that someone in his or her profession has suggested he or she apply for a particular open position. The advice is being strongly considered. According to Psalm 1:1, it is somewhat suspect if the advice is coming from a non-believer, so let’s suppose that it is coming from a Christian. That person could or could not be in the Christian Inner Circle of the person receiving the advice. It really does not matter. The advice needs to be tested. Did it come from the Holy Spirit, in which case obedience is the issue and the job should be applied for whether or not the person wants the job. Or the advice, however well-meaning, could come from the “spirit of this age”, meaning a source in either secular or Christian culture (sometimes they both agree).
However, in the presence of mature believers, we do impart true wisdom—not the phony wisdom typical of this rebellious age or of the hostile powers who rule this age. Despite what you may think, these ruling spirits are losing their grip on this world.
1 Cor 2:6 (The Voice Bible)
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It is too much for this one Christian to decide alone if God wants her or him to apply for this job, either to get the job or be turned down so that God can do something good for her or his spirit. However, in the spirit of our present age this person will be treated as if this is private, only her or his business.
The spirit of this age will talk about career advancement and increased income, and job enjoyment, among lesser considerations. And this illustrates why most testing of spirits is not easy and clear. Career advancement can be good or bad for a person and only God knows and reveals such through the only Good Spirit, the Holy Spirit. Likewise more income can be good or bad, depending on whether or not the person is equipped to use it wisely or whether God wants that person rich or poor. Job satisfaction is not really a biblical concept. Accepting the job where God places us and serving as working for the Lord is biblical.
In such a situation, advice offered too quickly from a trusted Christian friend, family member or spouse should be suspect. Surely there is time for those in this person’s Christian Inner Circle to pray and study what God says in the Bible. Certainly, the advisor needs time to weed out what he or she wants for the person that would cloud objective analysis aided by the Holy Spirit. And other Christians need to be drawn in to test the spirit of the advice to apply for the job. Seeing if a deceptive evil power, whether demon, or sin-contaminated culture, or some other evil spiritual power is at work is a job for many, not just one believer.
It takes self-denying love to test the spirits and keep one’s own needs out of the search for God’s truth and direction. For example, a friend who had the same attitude about advancing career and it worked out well must remember that it might not be God’s will for this person as it was for him or her. This need for objective advise is another reason that testing the spirits needs to be done preferably by two or three, with Jesus in the center of their deliberations.
Jesus asked people a lot of questions, presumably to find out what they were thinking as well as to get them to consider from a faith perspective. So, two or three friends should ask their friend what his or her thinking is about the job possibility, about why she or he would want such a job, etc. Listening with one ear tuned to the friend seeking spiritual discernment and the other tuned to the Holy Spirit, these friends can test the spirits involved. They can evaluate what they learn about motives, thoughts and feelings to spot an unclean spirit, whether that be an actual demon (which is usually not the case) or the result of evil guidance by the culture. If the person doesn’t even mention God in presenting answers, the friends must bring Him into the process. Leaving God out might not automatically rule out the leading of the Holy Spirit, but it will expose the person’s vulnerability to the evil powers in the spiritual realm.
Let’s be more conscious that we need to sort out of one another’s lives those things that bombard us from an evil perspective, generated at some point along the way by evil spiritual forces. Then, like Jesus, let’s point out that these things are not from God.
Opportunity to Worship God
The spirit of this age will talk about career advancement and increased income, and job enjoyment, among lesser considerations. And this illustrates why most testing of spirits is not easy and clear. Career advancement can be good or bad for a person and only God knows and reveals such through the only Good Spirit, the Holy Spirit. Likewise more income can be good or bad, depending on whether or not the person is equipped to use it wisely or whether God wants that person rich or poor. Job satisfaction is not really a biblical concept. Accepting the job where God places us and serving as working for the Lord is biblical.
In such a situation, advice offered too quickly from a trusted Christian friend, family member or spouse should be suspect. Surely there is time for those in this person’s Christian Inner Circle to pray and study what God says in the Bible. Certainly, the advisor needs time to weed out what he or she wants for the person that would cloud objective analysis aided by the Holy Spirit. And other Christians need to be drawn in to test the spirit of the advice to apply for the job. Seeing if a deceptive evil power, whether demon, or sin-contaminated culture, or some other evil spiritual power is at work is a job for many, not just one believer.
It takes self-denying love to test the spirits and keep one’s own needs out of the search for God’s truth and direction. For example, a friend who had the same attitude about advancing career and it worked out well must remember that it might not be God’s will for this person as it was for him or her. This need for objective advise is another reason that testing the spirits needs to be done preferably by two or three, with Jesus in the center of their deliberations.
Jesus asked people a lot of questions, presumably to find out what they were thinking as well as to get them to consider from a faith perspective. So, two or three friends should ask their friend what his or her thinking is about the job possibility, about why she or he would want such a job, etc. Listening with one ear tuned to the friend seeking spiritual discernment and the other tuned to the Holy Spirit, these friends can test the spirits involved. They can evaluate what they learn about motives, thoughts and feelings to spot an unclean spirit, whether that be an actual demon (which is usually not the case) or the result of evil guidance by the culture. If the person doesn’t even mention God in presenting answers, the friends must bring Him into the process. Leaving God out might not automatically rule out the leading of the Holy Spirit, but it will expose the person’s vulnerability to the evil powers in the spiritual realm.
Let’s be more conscious that we need to sort out of one another’s lives those things that bombard us from an evil perspective, generated at some point along the way by evil spiritual forces. Then, like Jesus, let’s point out that these things are not from God.
Opportunity to Worship God
Marianna and Carlos finally were able to buy a house when they received an inheritance. They used a realtor who attended their church. They looked at a good number of homes and Carlos wanted the most expensive they could afford. Marianna knew Carlos well. They had been married for ten years and had four children. She knew that Carlos wanted the best house to be able to feel like he was providing well for the family.
But Marianna told Carlos that they needed to work together to see if this most expensive house was the Lord’s will. She reminded Carlos that God knew the future while the devil had schemes they had to avoid. In prayer and Bible study, this couple decided that Carlos’ spirit was influenced by pride, not by the Holy Spirit. They decided to purchase a more modest home. Two months later Carlos lost his job. They had enough money in the bank to keep up with mortgage payments for a few months. Carlos found another job just in time. But, if they had bought the more expensive house, they would have been in a heap of trouble. Testing the spirits together was wise. By searching for God’s will, they worshiped. |
God has given us knowledge, insight and wisdom in community to test the spirits together. When we do so, we worship God by reflecting back to Him his perfect ability to recognize the work of evil spirits because of His pure and holy character.
The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
keeping watch on the evil and the good.
Prov 15:3
keeping watch on the evil and the good.
Prov 15:3
When we test the spirits together and steer one another away from evil thoughts and actions, we help one another become a little more separated from sin. This increase in holiness is an increase in worship. God is absolutely holy, so the more holy we are, the more we are reflecting back to God His own holiness.
In the Old Testament, God warned Israel to stay away from the things of evil spirits, usually in the way of other religions and their detestable ways. So when we test the spirits and then warn each other, the testing is like God determining right and wrong and the warning is like God admonishing His people. These two actions, testing spirits and warning Christians, implement two Togethers and are indeed worship because they reflect back to God in actual behavior His own nature.
In the Old Testament, God warned Israel to stay away from the things of evil spirits, usually in the way of other religions and their detestable ways. So when we test the spirits and then warn each other, the testing is like God determining right and wrong and the warning is like God admonishing His people. These two actions, testing spirits and warning Christians, implement two Togethers and are indeed worship because they reflect back to God in actual behavior His own nature.
“And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’”
Ezra 9:10-12
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For example, imagine that someone in our Christian Inner Circle leaves her husband. This calls for testing the spirits. We must hold off quick assumptions because we are not like God in absolute purity and are not omniscient, knowing all. We cannot go on our gut instinct because to worship God we must be correct in our discernment. We must ask questions and see what has prompted her action. We have to sort out which spirit is leading our friend who left her husband. Is it the Holy Spirit or is it some evil power, a demon or an evil culture caused by spiritual evil? This is so much better done together with other Christians.
Therefore, those of us close to this Christian woman meet with her and ask what is happening. We listen to what is going on with our ears while we listen with our spirits to test the spirits involved, whether they are directly involved or are the spirits of unholy cultural philosophies. Together with other Christians we need to determine if she is following the Holy Spirit or unclean spirits.
If she has a black eye and bruises and left a dangerous, abusive husband, we can see that she is in the will of God. When we learn more about the situation, after we see her husband’s response, we will again test the spirits regarding her return to her marriage or escape from it.
If, however, she says that she left because she is bored with her husband and found a “soul mate” at work, our testing the spirits will eventually recognize the work of the devil. Seeking spiritual understanding from the information we have learned, we turn to prayer and Bible meditation. After that we help our friend submit to God rather than to the ungodly view of life she has absorbed from the permissive culture. Doing this with the Christians most important and involved with our friend is critical to be effective.
There are many Togethers involved in this illustration. But, testing the spirits is the initial action. In doing so, we are attempting to be like God in seeing the situation from His point of view. Since boredom is hardly a righteous reason for divorce, God’s way is most likely to do something to solve the boredom. This means delving further into testing the spirits to see what aspect of evil culture or what message of a demon is influencing her about boredom in marriage. Is she believing that her husband has to be this spectacular man from her imagination, possibly based on some movie of the perfect romantic man? Is she herself boring and putting all the responsibility on her husband to liven up her life? Or is it something else? Since God would automatically know what the real problem is, when we work together to discover what God already knows, that is worship because we are trying to gain His perspective, which when accomplished, makes us like Him, reflecting His own nature back to Him.
Let’s test the spirits together, and not just in crisis situations. Then our increased separation from sin will keep us growing in holiness, which will be worship.
How Used in Battle to Defeat Evil and Satan
Therefore, those of us close to this Christian woman meet with her and ask what is happening. We listen to what is going on with our ears while we listen with our spirits to test the spirits involved, whether they are directly involved or are the spirits of unholy cultural philosophies. Together with other Christians we need to determine if she is following the Holy Spirit or unclean spirits.
If she has a black eye and bruises and left a dangerous, abusive husband, we can see that she is in the will of God. When we learn more about the situation, after we see her husband’s response, we will again test the spirits regarding her return to her marriage or escape from it.
If, however, she says that she left because she is bored with her husband and found a “soul mate” at work, our testing the spirits will eventually recognize the work of the devil. Seeking spiritual understanding from the information we have learned, we turn to prayer and Bible meditation. After that we help our friend submit to God rather than to the ungodly view of life she has absorbed from the permissive culture. Doing this with the Christians most important and involved with our friend is critical to be effective.
There are many Togethers involved in this illustration. But, testing the spirits is the initial action. In doing so, we are attempting to be like God in seeing the situation from His point of view. Since boredom is hardly a righteous reason for divorce, God’s way is most likely to do something to solve the boredom. This means delving further into testing the spirits to see what aspect of evil culture or what message of a demon is influencing her about boredom in marriage. Is she believing that her husband has to be this spectacular man from her imagination, possibly based on some movie of the perfect romantic man? Is she herself boring and putting all the responsibility on her husband to liven up her life? Or is it something else? Since God would automatically know what the real problem is, when we work together to discover what God already knows, that is worship because we are trying to gain His perspective, which when accomplished, makes us like Him, reflecting His own nature back to Him.
Let’s test the spirits together, and not just in crisis situations. Then our increased separation from sin will keep us growing in holiness, which will be worship.
How Used in Battle to Defeat Evil and Satan
When Jeffrey came into his small group one night with the praise that God was going to give him a Mercedes because he had "claimed it" in the name of Jesus, the group decided to ask many questions. After hearing Jeffrey's thoughts, testing his heart, and praying, the small group decided that Jeffrey was not listening to the Holy Spirit but to some other spirit that had to be ignored.
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Testing the spirits is very important to fighting Satan and his schemes to destroy people, Christian or unbeliever. Since all evil emanates from Satan, anything bad comes from him. Often it comes from the influence, direct or indirect, of the devil’s servants. Demons and whatever other powers under the control of the evil one carry out Satan’s strategies. Once we determine that something is not from God, and this includes all evil, then we can further analyze the evil spiritual powers at work and determine Satan’s scheme. Finally, we can go into battle correctly.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
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Eph 6:10-13
Some Christians object to the way demons are identified specific to a person’s struggles. For example, it might be stated by some of our brethren that a drug addict has a demon of addiction. If we can get past the way it is said, identifying that a drug addict is spurred on by Satan’s powers takes us into warfare at the spiritual level to augment what we are doing at the material level. At the non-spiritual level we can isolate the addict from drugs. But, Ephesians 6 makes it clear that other evil forces are always at work, what the Apostle Paul calls “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places”. These “schemes of the devil” powered by non-flesh and blood authorities, cosmic powers and spiritual forces are the reason we don the whole armor of God and fight.
This author is not sufficiently knowledgeable to address demon possession and demon oppression, so our focus will be restricted to testing spirits in order to identify the goal of evil spiritual powers so that we can battle in both the spiritual and physical dimensions. There should be no doubt based on Ephesians Chapter Six that we are to battle at the spiritual level, which always requires prayer.
This author is not sufficiently knowledgeable to address demon possession and demon oppression, so our focus will be restricted to testing spirits in order to identify the goal of evil spiritual powers so that we can battle in both the spiritual and physical dimensions. There should be no doubt based on Ephesians Chapter Six that we are to battle at the spiritual level, which always requires prayer.
. . . praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints . . . .
Eph 6:18
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Acknowledging that we struggle with unrighteousness enticed by evil spiritual forces does not take away individual responsibility. It is not a way to excuse ourselves by saying, “The devil made me do it.” The devil tempts us, but we have power together to not respond sinfully. (See Battle Temptation Together.) The devil creates situations that force us into choices, but those are merely powerful temptations. The point is that we do not create our struggles all on our own, even if it appears so, but we cannot use that as an excuse to remove ourselves from responsibility to live righteously.
A narcissistic man eventually drives his friends away. He is personally responsible for being so self-centered. However, he has help from spiritual forces of evil, presumably demons setting the environment for him to develop his narcissism. Let’s examine a shocking example of something much worse.
A psychopath can be an ax murderer, but that is rare. Instead, think of the psychopaths who roam our streets, knock elderly ladies down, steal their purses, and feel completely justified in doing so, experiencing no guilt. When we catch such a heartless thief, we consider him responsible and put him in jail. Yet, at the same time we treat him as not totally responsible. He most likely was born into a home with parents who greatly neglected his needs. When one year old he had to manipulatively charm people to get food. And, he had to steal it from wherever he could. People to him were not people in the way we think of them. He had to consider them prey or a tree you take apples from. Unless something quite wonderful happened, by teenage years this person took advantage of people as necessary to get by. Remorse did not exist because he had learned only to survive. If he was smart he might become an inside trader stealing people’s retirement plans. If he did not have such resources, he might sell drugs and ruin children’s lives under the guise that he is a businessman. Sadder still is the fact that he is so damaged that there is little chance of change this side of a miracle made possible through redemption by Jesus Christ.
In this stark example, was this psychopathic male totally responsible? Or did he have help getting this damaged? Certainly he had help. The evil that Satan had sown in the world created his troubled parents who did hardly any parenting. They probably were drug addicts or alcoholics. All along the way, do we really think that the forces of evil in the spiritual realm did not coax him on to theft, armed robbery, assault, and maybe even murder? In light of what we know about demons, it is most certain that this man was driven by them in some way or other. They were not “his demons” as is a common expression. They were Satan’s demons victimizing him. They are our enemies.
In helping a psychopath, we Christians would have to fight at the spiritual level. Would it help to know that we would be fighting specific demons, however we might label them? If we are to focus the spiritual power we have in the Lord like a laser beam of faith, it would seem so. Being completely accurate regarding the specialty or effect of evil powers involved might not be the point. Testing the spirits is to help us become more acutely aware that we wrestle with evil powers carrying out specific strategies. Therefore, it seems to make sense that we must stand against spiritual forces of evil and their strategy by testing the spirits and specifically naming what they are up to.
Going back to the emphasis of this Together to test the spirits together for the good of the church, we should leave such a drastic example. Hopefully, it provided a framework in which to address the spiritual attacks we might see in our Christian Inner Circles. When we see an important relationship getting worse and worse, we need to pray for the relationship and ask for God’s help in that situation. We also need to join our Lord in His strength and take a stand in our spirits against the specific evil we find in the process of testing the spirits. We need to do this same thing when we see a Christian having serious trouble being obedient to Scripture, either hurting self or others because disobedience cannot be overcome. Often in these cases we will get a sense of the evil influence of the demons affecting our Christian friend or relative.
Occasionally Christians might need to deal with demons by naming their specialty. It seems we can declare, “Demon of lust, we command you to leave so-and-so’s life.” Jesus occasionally did this, so as His servants we may need to do this at times.
A narcissistic man eventually drives his friends away. He is personally responsible for being so self-centered. However, he has help from spiritual forces of evil, presumably demons setting the environment for him to develop his narcissism. Let’s examine a shocking example of something much worse.
A psychopath can be an ax murderer, but that is rare. Instead, think of the psychopaths who roam our streets, knock elderly ladies down, steal their purses, and feel completely justified in doing so, experiencing no guilt. When we catch such a heartless thief, we consider him responsible and put him in jail. Yet, at the same time we treat him as not totally responsible. He most likely was born into a home with parents who greatly neglected his needs. When one year old he had to manipulatively charm people to get food. And, he had to steal it from wherever he could. People to him were not people in the way we think of them. He had to consider them prey or a tree you take apples from. Unless something quite wonderful happened, by teenage years this person took advantage of people as necessary to get by. Remorse did not exist because he had learned only to survive. If he was smart he might become an inside trader stealing people’s retirement plans. If he did not have such resources, he might sell drugs and ruin children’s lives under the guise that he is a businessman. Sadder still is the fact that he is so damaged that there is little chance of change this side of a miracle made possible through redemption by Jesus Christ.
In this stark example, was this psychopathic male totally responsible? Or did he have help getting this damaged? Certainly he had help. The evil that Satan had sown in the world created his troubled parents who did hardly any parenting. They probably were drug addicts or alcoholics. All along the way, do we really think that the forces of evil in the spiritual realm did not coax him on to theft, armed robbery, assault, and maybe even murder? In light of what we know about demons, it is most certain that this man was driven by them in some way or other. They were not “his demons” as is a common expression. They were Satan’s demons victimizing him. They are our enemies.
In helping a psychopath, we Christians would have to fight at the spiritual level. Would it help to know that we would be fighting specific demons, however we might label them? If we are to focus the spiritual power we have in the Lord like a laser beam of faith, it would seem so. Being completely accurate regarding the specialty or effect of evil powers involved might not be the point. Testing the spirits is to help us become more acutely aware that we wrestle with evil powers carrying out specific strategies. Therefore, it seems to make sense that we must stand against spiritual forces of evil and their strategy by testing the spirits and specifically naming what they are up to.
Going back to the emphasis of this Together to test the spirits together for the good of the church, we should leave such a drastic example. Hopefully, it provided a framework in which to address the spiritual attacks we might see in our Christian Inner Circles. When we see an important relationship getting worse and worse, we need to pray for the relationship and ask for God’s help in that situation. We also need to join our Lord in His strength and take a stand in our spirits against the specific evil we find in the process of testing the spirits. We need to do this same thing when we see a Christian having serious trouble being obedient to Scripture, either hurting self or others because disobedience cannot be overcome. Often in these cases we will get a sense of the evil influence of the demons affecting our Christian friend or relative.
Occasionally Christians might need to deal with demons by naming their specialty. It seems we can declare, “Demon of lust, we command you to leave so-and-so’s life.” Jesus occasionally did this, so as His servants we may need to do this at times.
And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
Mark 9:25
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At other times, Jesus just commanded unclean spirits to leave without naming them. And, so can we when we can see what these evil powers are doing.
And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”
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Mark 1:23-27
When Jesus commanded demons to leave, they seem to be either causing a public disturbance or a serious illness or disability. We probably do not confront public disturbances driven by demons. And it is rare that an illness or disability is cured in western society as it is in areas of the world where people more openly experience the spiritual powers and have developed rituals and appointed special people to deal with them. Witch doctors really do expel demons. This clever strategy of evil spirits seemingly operating against evil spirits convinces people to serve the demons or adopt rituals to try to control them. However, here where the spirit world is dismissed or naively presumed beneficial, demons find only limited places to manifest themselves so openly. Like spies, they operate covertly. Not being so obvious, they can wreck their havoc unhindered because we act like they don’t exist just because we can’t see them.
Christians who give more than lip service to the dastardly deeds of demons probably consider them as generalists in doing evil. This has been illustrated in the book “The Screwtape Letters” by C. S. Lewis, a fantasy tale that might not be total fantasy. Lewis tells of an “uncle demon” writing letters to his “nephew demon” instructing him how to defeat Christians in their relationship with God and one another. This nephew is told to do a variety of things, not just specialize in one like lust or love of money.
We all wish it was as simple as commanding demons to leave. If that worked at a high percentage, we would all quit our jobs and go around commanding evil spirits to leave. Unfortunately, the biblical instruction to put on the whole armor of God implies a more difficult struggle against evil spiritual forces. Often the demon is long gone, having wrecked havoc in one life and already gone on to impact evil on someone else.
Therefore, when situations arise, we first test the spirits to see if what has happened is the work of the Holy Spirit or of an evil spirit. We need to recognize that it might be the work of a good spirit, an angel, and that would be the same as the work of the Holy Spirit. Like Jesus doing only the will of His Father, angels are good spirits that only do what they are told to do by God.
We must test the spirits to know what evil they are up to. Then we implement other Togethers of Battle such as taking up the armor of God, warning one another, battling temptation together, and standing up to the devil at one another’s sides. Let’s analyze the troubled situations of those in our Christian Inner Circles to determine the specific strategy of Satan and take up battle.
How in the Sinful Environment this Together Prepares Us for Heaven
Christians who give more than lip service to the dastardly deeds of demons probably consider them as generalists in doing evil. This has been illustrated in the book “The Screwtape Letters” by C. S. Lewis, a fantasy tale that might not be total fantasy. Lewis tells of an “uncle demon” writing letters to his “nephew demon” instructing him how to defeat Christians in their relationship with God and one another. This nephew is told to do a variety of things, not just specialize in one like lust or love of money.
We all wish it was as simple as commanding demons to leave. If that worked at a high percentage, we would all quit our jobs and go around commanding evil spirits to leave. Unfortunately, the biblical instruction to put on the whole armor of God implies a more difficult struggle against evil spiritual forces. Often the demon is long gone, having wrecked havoc in one life and already gone on to impact evil on someone else.
Therefore, when situations arise, we first test the spirits to see if what has happened is the work of the Holy Spirit or of an evil spirit. We need to recognize that it might be the work of a good spirit, an angel, and that would be the same as the work of the Holy Spirit. Like Jesus doing only the will of His Father, angels are good spirits that only do what they are told to do by God.
We must test the spirits to know what evil they are up to. Then we implement other Togethers of Battle such as taking up the armor of God, warning one another, battling temptation together, and standing up to the devil at one another’s sides. Let’s analyze the troubled situations of those in our Christian Inner Circles to determine the specific strategy of Satan and take up battle.
How in the Sinful Environment this Together Prepares Us for Heaven
Our team at the Rescue Mission dealing with homeless people riddled with drug and alcohol abuse come face to face with the workings of demons all the time. We see first hand the destructiveness of Satan and it makes us extremely sad. That is why we keep on loving these folks. It is also why we carefully discuss the damage done each person by the evil in society and even personal attacks by evil spirit beings.
Occasionally, we get a sideways glimpse of the ministry of a good angel carrying out the love of God on behalf of one of the homeless. You can’t imagine the joy of knowing that there are good angels out there. We all often comment how wonderful it is going to be to live with these angels in heaven and be around their purity and sinlessness. |
Testing the spirits now when they harass us either personally or through culture will prepare us to appreciate angels in heaven. Paying attention to unclean, unholy evil spirits that are really angels exiled from heaven before the creation of mankind helps us grow in appreciation of good angels who have never sinned or been disloyal to God since they were created.
When we enter heaven there will be angels, and we will be able to see them. Can you imagine how wonderful that is going to be?
All our lives in heaven we will be fascinated by angels. They will come in different shapes, and who knows what else will be wonderful about them. However, the most amazing thing about them will be their loyalty to God. Since angels do not procreate, the very angels we will live with will have been ones who resisted betraying God before the creation of Adam and Eve. They will have been tempted by Satan to follow him and did not. For their steadfast loyalty to God for more years than we can count, we will honor them and feel privileged to be in their presence.
There is nothing like seeing a really filthy home to appreciate a clean one. Comparison works to help us appreciate things. A car that seldom breaks down is so much more appreciated if before we owned cheap and unreliable used cars. With regard to our spirits, there are many benefits for heaven that requires the presence of sin to help us appreciate good. Forgiving others takes us closer to our own sin and helps us appreciate that we have been forgiven. Hating sin helps us appreciate God’s purity.
How much we appreciate a Christian leader who understands our doubts, especially if we have had another Christian leader judge and accuse us. How much more we appreciate preaching that tells us of God’s great love if we have witnessed preaching that tries to scare us into accepting Christ.
In heaven we will appreciate angels more if we have tested the spirits and seen the damage unclean spirits do to others. Therefore, we should not want to turn our attention away from the dark spirit world because it is uncomfortable. We will be able to contrast the holiness of angels in heaven with the unholiness and awful character of demons and other evil spiritual forces.
All kinds of evil surrounds us. Each evil needs to be hated, addressed by another Together. But, we should go further and realize that each evil we see came from the mind of the most evil angel, Satan, and is propagated through fallen angels who serve him. In testing the spirits, let’s pay attention to their awfulness so that we can begin to appreciate the wonderfulness of angels.
The rude people we meet in life have most likely been treated pretty bad by people urged on by evil powers we cannot see. Ephesians 6 makes that clear. If we realize that they are not acting on their own when they talk harshly to us, we will have a little more awareness that there are unseen evil forces, some of whom are angels who once lived in heaven but stupidly turned against God.
When we see someone so trapped that all of their efforts to shake some dysfunctional or hurtful behavior does not work, we can recognize that in one way or another a demon has been involved. Identifying the particular evil and understanding that it came from Satan and his fallen angels will allow us to appreciate every angel in heaven because they did not do such horrible things. Ever!
Imagine a young woman meets a man in whom she sees good qualities. When she tells her friends or her parents, she does not just mention one of his good qualities. She tells all. He is a gentleman, he doesn’t get angry when things go wrong, he has saved up money in the bank, he loves children, and on and on. And her presentation is not cold understanding without strong feeling of appreciation.
When we have contact with an angel in heaven, we will be able to not just understand that they are clean and pure of ever having sinned, we will be able to feel joyful appreciation that they have never, ever influenced a person to lie or a culture to ignore its poor. Hundreds of other sinless qualities will come to mind in heaven if we recognized that the opposite comes from the unclean spirits in our world.
This specific appreciation of angels cannot be developed as finely in heaven. It is likely we will remember evil, yet feel no pain in heaven. But merely remembering sin does not have the power of revulsion as does testing the spirits and fighting evil powers up close and personal. This heartfelt appreciation of the purity of the good angels in heaven will not be able to grow in heaven to match the depth of growth we can have now by becoming convinced that each specific evil has had behind it some evil power in the unseen world.
When we enter heaven there will be angels, and we will be able to see them. Can you imagine how wonderful that is going to be?
All our lives in heaven we will be fascinated by angels. They will come in different shapes, and who knows what else will be wonderful about them. However, the most amazing thing about them will be their loyalty to God. Since angels do not procreate, the very angels we will live with will have been ones who resisted betraying God before the creation of Adam and Eve. They will have been tempted by Satan to follow him and did not. For their steadfast loyalty to God for more years than we can count, we will honor them and feel privileged to be in their presence.
There is nothing like seeing a really filthy home to appreciate a clean one. Comparison works to help us appreciate things. A car that seldom breaks down is so much more appreciated if before we owned cheap and unreliable used cars. With regard to our spirits, there are many benefits for heaven that requires the presence of sin to help us appreciate good. Forgiving others takes us closer to our own sin and helps us appreciate that we have been forgiven. Hating sin helps us appreciate God’s purity.
How much we appreciate a Christian leader who understands our doubts, especially if we have had another Christian leader judge and accuse us. How much more we appreciate preaching that tells us of God’s great love if we have witnessed preaching that tries to scare us into accepting Christ.
In heaven we will appreciate angels more if we have tested the spirits and seen the damage unclean spirits do to others. Therefore, we should not want to turn our attention away from the dark spirit world because it is uncomfortable. We will be able to contrast the holiness of angels in heaven with the unholiness and awful character of demons and other evil spiritual forces.
All kinds of evil surrounds us. Each evil needs to be hated, addressed by another Together. But, we should go further and realize that each evil we see came from the mind of the most evil angel, Satan, and is propagated through fallen angels who serve him. In testing the spirits, let’s pay attention to their awfulness so that we can begin to appreciate the wonderfulness of angels.
The rude people we meet in life have most likely been treated pretty bad by people urged on by evil powers we cannot see. Ephesians 6 makes that clear. If we realize that they are not acting on their own when they talk harshly to us, we will have a little more awareness that there are unseen evil forces, some of whom are angels who once lived in heaven but stupidly turned against God.
When we see someone so trapped that all of their efforts to shake some dysfunctional or hurtful behavior does not work, we can recognize that in one way or another a demon has been involved. Identifying the particular evil and understanding that it came from Satan and his fallen angels will allow us to appreciate every angel in heaven because they did not do such horrible things. Ever!
Imagine a young woman meets a man in whom she sees good qualities. When she tells her friends or her parents, she does not just mention one of his good qualities. She tells all. He is a gentleman, he doesn’t get angry when things go wrong, he has saved up money in the bank, he loves children, and on and on. And her presentation is not cold understanding without strong feeling of appreciation.
When we have contact with an angel in heaven, we will be able to not just understand that they are clean and pure of ever having sinned, we will be able to feel joyful appreciation that they have never, ever influenced a person to lie or a culture to ignore its poor. Hundreds of other sinless qualities will come to mind in heaven if we recognized that the opposite comes from the unclean spirits in our world.
This specific appreciation of angels cannot be developed as finely in heaven. It is likely we will remember evil, yet feel no pain in heaven. But merely remembering sin does not have the power of revulsion as does testing the spirits and fighting evil powers up close and personal. This heartfelt appreciation of the purity of the good angels in heaven will not be able to grow in heaven to match the depth of growth we can have now by becoming convinced that each specific evil has had behind it some evil power in the unseen world.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Eph 6:12
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Let’s help one another think in terms of battling evil in spiritual warfare as well as material intervention. Let’s give money for relief operations but not forget to blame evil spiritual forces for the terrible things displaced people go through. Let’s test the spirits, not just recognizing the situation of hunger, but also see in our spirits the spiritual forces causing the horrendous situation. Let’s do this because we must pray for God’s intervention to stand against those evil spirits with the force of our spirits. Let’s prepare to eventually experience more joy in the presence of angels in heaven.
How this Together Can Make It Really Good in Heaven
How this Together Can Make It Really Good in Heaven
Whew! It took the wind out of me. I just met an angel who battled against demons who were urging my father to physically abuse my mother. The angel’s sadness was obvious at not being able to stop all of my father’s aggression, especially when he broke my mother’s arm.
I always stand in awe of the heavenly angels, that Jesus did not have to die for them to cover any sins. You’ll be delighted, when you get here, to fellowship with good angels and see how different they are than the evil spiritual forces you test and identify now. |
In heaven we will always remember that God saved us through His Son’s sacrifice. Therefore, it seems that we will remember sin. We won’t be affected by it anymore, but so much of what we will praise God for will have to do with His deliverance of us from sin before death.
In heaven, it will feel especially good when everyone treats us as valuable if we were slighted and overlooked back in life on earth. Every hurt we had ever experienced before entering heaven’s safety will have its wonderful counterpart of good all throughout our eternal life. How good that will feel.
Similarly, we will have great appreciation of angels if we have tested spirits and experienced the hurtfulness of demons. Imagine the joy in meeting an angel who has never, intentionally or unintentionally, hurt any person or thing. That will be different than every other meeting of humans, save perhaps those citizens of heaven who died in the womb or in infancy and never had the chance to hurt anyone. But even this will be different. Every single angel has been alive since before the creation of mankind and never hurt anyone – but could have.
You and I cannot go long without hurting someone, even when we don’t want to. These angels in heaven we are going to meet have never done evil since their creation. What an honor it will be to meet them.
There have been some U.S. presidents who have not had extra-marital affairs. Hopefully, we would want to meet them and shake their hands for their fidelity. We look forward to seeing bosses who in the past treated us with fairness. We appreciate friends who always return what they have borrowed in as good or better condition than when they borrowed them. But, don’t we also like to visit with people who treated our parents or our children respectfully?
Well, the angels in heaven meet all criteria for goodness. They are beings who have never been sinful. Let’s get excited to meet these angels in heaven when we get there.
Opportunity for a Closer Relationship with God through Empathy
In heaven, it will feel especially good when everyone treats us as valuable if we were slighted and overlooked back in life on earth. Every hurt we had ever experienced before entering heaven’s safety will have its wonderful counterpart of good all throughout our eternal life. How good that will feel.
Similarly, we will have great appreciation of angels if we have tested spirits and experienced the hurtfulness of demons. Imagine the joy in meeting an angel who has never, intentionally or unintentionally, hurt any person or thing. That will be different than every other meeting of humans, save perhaps those citizens of heaven who died in the womb or in infancy and never had the chance to hurt anyone. But even this will be different. Every single angel has been alive since before the creation of mankind and never hurt anyone – but could have.
You and I cannot go long without hurting someone, even when we don’t want to. These angels in heaven we are going to meet have never done evil since their creation. What an honor it will be to meet them.
There have been some U.S. presidents who have not had extra-marital affairs. Hopefully, we would want to meet them and shake their hands for their fidelity. We look forward to seeing bosses who in the past treated us with fairness. We appreciate friends who always return what they have borrowed in as good or better condition than when they borrowed them. But, don’t we also like to visit with people who treated our parents or our children respectfully?
Well, the angels in heaven meet all criteria for goodness. They are beings who have never been sinful. Let’s get excited to meet these angels in heaven when we get there.
Opportunity for a Closer Relationship with God through Empathy
There are times here in heaven when I am reminded how God has been opposed by the evil powers that once felt His love and then rebelled and were tossed out of heaven. At those times, I feel a sadness that God was treated that way. And, strangely, at those times I feel in my spirit closer to God. And, when I feel sadness remembering that evil crucified my Savior, I feel that Jesus is closer. Although I am feeling sad, I cherish these moments of heightened closeness with God.
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Testing the spirits should help us to feel great sadness for God, now and also in heaven. Satan and his evil followers first defiled His home, heaven, and then His creation earth. We will feel sadness for God so many angels turned against Him.
It is not too unreasonable to think we might be able to feel sad in heaven. Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and that sadness was not sin.
God created heaven just as He wanted His home to be. Like the Garden of Eden before man’s fall into disobedience, heaven was good and perfect. Then the angel Lucifer and one-third of the angels rebelled. Heaven is just as wonderful today as it was then because God exiled those angels who rebelled. But it has a history, a blight in its past. We experience a similar shadow when we learn our own country’s history with its previous slavery. God deserved better.
Hopefully, if someone in our Christian Inner Circle uses the Lord’s Name as a swear word, we feel sad that he or she treated Jesus so disrespectfully. It is not that Jesus can’t “take it”, but that He did not deserve to be treated so in light of His great love for us. We can probably have much impact on the swearer if we do nothing more than tell him or her how sad for God we are that he or she would use our Lord’s name so carelessly.
Testing of spirits makes us take a closer look at evil until we see more clearly the vicious behavior of fallen angels. While we might want to avoid experiencing evil at such close quarters, there can be value in doing so. With relation to God, perceiving demons and the demonic helps us see the derision and hostility they threw at God when they were citizens of heaven. And, they have kept it up for thousands of years. Our response should be sorrow. In biblical days it would have aroused anguish and the tearing of one’s clothes.
Some of us will witness a person tormented by actual demons while most of us will only clearly experience the results of the devil’s evil works. In either case, when we test the spirits to see what evil is operating, we sense the insult to the God by those rebellious evil spirits in heaven before they were exiled to our planet. As concerned for God as we have allowed the Holy Spirit to take us, we feel sadness.
When something hurtful occurs to us and another feels sad that it happened, we feel close to her or him. It means that person cares from down deep inside. When someone we love does not take advantage of God’s salvation and offer of eternal life, we should be very sad for them. But, in light of God’s great love, we must also be sad for Him.
The question is if feeling sad for God will develop more closeness in our relationship with God in heaven. It is hard to think that it would not. In heaven, when communication with God is less hindered and more spontaneous, it is plausible that He will feel closer to us if our earthly encounters with those angels who turned against Him generated sadness for Him in our hearts.
There is another important gain in relationship with God for eternity if we test the spirits. In essence, testing the spirits is looking for God. We are evaluating if something is coming from a spirit of error or the Spirit of God. Therefore, every time we test spirits, we are in some way searching for God. In heaven God will surely have more appreciation for those of us who in searching out evil spirits occasionally found Him.
What if a Christian friend doesn’t appear so very Christian when expressing doubts about his faith? We wonder if his doubts are coming from Satan via personal demonic influence or the corruption worked into the human race. We ask a lot of questions of our friend and we search the Bible. And, wonder of wonders, our spirits working closely with the Holy Spirit conclude that God wanted our friend to express his doubts in such a way that we would step up and help. We would than have tested the spirits – and found God.
During the testing of spirits, let’s feel sadness for the God we love. Sure, those evil powers hurt us and our world. But, even more so their continual rebellion against God is hurtful to Him. Let’s see testing of spirits, although usually ending up in spiritual warfare of some kind, also as a search for God and His Spirit.
Praise and Prayer Regarding this Together
Most Holy God, consistently honored for thousands of years by the good angels in heaven, I feel sad for You that the evil powers of the rebellious and blasphemous angels - Satan and his demons - sowed evil in heaven before You exiled them and spread sin here on Earth ever since.
Help me to remember that there are unseen spiritual forces of evil behind all the hurt in this world. It is not easy to remember that my struggle is not against people.
I and those in my Christian Inner Circle will need Your help to grow our spirits to be able together to distinguish spirits of error from the Holy Spirit in confusing situations when it is not very clear. Help us to yield to the work of the Holy Spirit for all of us to give You more glory by assertively paying attention to identifying evil spirits and their strategies, and then giving spiritual battle against them.
Please help us all to become more like Jesus and recognize demons behind the evil in our world and communities. Like Him, empower us to drive them out with the power and authority of Jesus and then go on, again like Jesus, and repair the damage done. After that, let us help in the building up of the faith of Satan’s targets and remove any spiritual emptiness demons might return to inhabit.
May our lives worship You more because we stand against those evil powers that attempt to rob You of glory and destroy the good You have intended for us by testing the spirits together. Give us Your ability to be pure and recognize the work of evil spirits.
Make us strong in Your power to defeat the devil by paying much more attention to the evil around us and how it affects hurtfully those in our Christian Inner Circles as well as people all over the world. Make us more comfortable in using our redeemed spirits to oppose evil spirits. Help us to battle evil at the spiritual level every day through the authority given us by Jesus using the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God as well as Holy Spirit-guided prayer.
Help us all prepare for heaven by growing ever increasingly aware of the evil Satan is wielding through rulers, and authorities, and cosmic powers over this present darkness, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. We want our awareness of the absence of such evil in heaven to be as expansive as it can be so that our joy can be great that You are not being opposed in Your home and that we are no longer impacted by the dark, evil spiritual forces.
It is not too unreasonable to think we might be able to feel sad in heaven. Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and that sadness was not sin.
God created heaven just as He wanted His home to be. Like the Garden of Eden before man’s fall into disobedience, heaven was good and perfect. Then the angel Lucifer and one-third of the angels rebelled. Heaven is just as wonderful today as it was then because God exiled those angels who rebelled. But it has a history, a blight in its past. We experience a similar shadow when we learn our own country’s history with its previous slavery. God deserved better.
Hopefully, if someone in our Christian Inner Circle uses the Lord’s Name as a swear word, we feel sad that he or she treated Jesus so disrespectfully. It is not that Jesus can’t “take it”, but that He did not deserve to be treated so in light of His great love for us. We can probably have much impact on the swearer if we do nothing more than tell him or her how sad for God we are that he or she would use our Lord’s name so carelessly.
Testing of spirits makes us take a closer look at evil until we see more clearly the vicious behavior of fallen angels. While we might want to avoid experiencing evil at such close quarters, there can be value in doing so. With relation to God, perceiving demons and the demonic helps us see the derision and hostility they threw at God when they were citizens of heaven. And, they have kept it up for thousands of years. Our response should be sorrow. In biblical days it would have aroused anguish and the tearing of one’s clothes.
Some of us will witness a person tormented by actual demons while most of us will only clearly experience the results of the devil’s evil works. In either case, when we test the spirits to see what evil is operating, we sense the insult to the God by those rebellious evil spirits in heaven before they were exiled to our planet. As concerned for God as we have allowed the Holy Spirit to take us, we feel sadness.
When something hurtful occurs to us and another feels sad that it happened, we feel close to her or him. It means that person cares from down deep inside. When someone we love does not take advantage of God’s salvation and offer of eternal life, we should be very sad for them. But, in light of God’s great love, we must also be sad for Him.
The question is if feeling sad for God will develop more closeness in our relationship with God in heaven. It is hard to think that it would not. In heaven, when communication with God is less hindered and more spontaneous, it is plausible that He will feel closer to us if our earthly encounters with those angels who turned against Him generated sadness for Him in our hearts.
There is another important gain in relationship with God for eternity if we test the spirits. In essence, testing the spirits is looking for God. We are evaluating if something is coming from a spirit of error or the Spirit of God. Therefore, every time we test spirits, we are in some way searching for God. In heaven God will surely have more appreciation for those of us who in searching out evil spirits occasionally found Him.
What if a Christian friend doesn’t appear so very Christian when expressing doubts about his faith? We wonder if his doubts are coming from Satan via personal demonic influence or the corruption worked into the human race. We ask a lot of questions of our friend and we search the Bible. And, wonder of wonders, our spirits working closely with the Holy Spirit conclude that God wanted our friend to express his doubts in such a way that we would step up and help. We would than have tested the spirits – and found God.
During the testing of spirits, let’s feel sadness for the God we love. Sure, those evil powers hurt us and our world. But, even more so their continual rebellion against God is hurtful to Him. Let’s see testing of spirits, although usually ending up in spiritual warfare of some kind, also as a search for God and His Spirit.
Praise and Prayer Regarding this Together
Most Holy God, consistently honored for thousands of years by the good angels in heaven, I feel sad for You that the evil powers of the rebellious and blasphemous angels - Satan and his demons - sowed evil in heaven before You exiled them and spread sin here on Earth ever since.
Help me to remember that there are unseen spiritual forces of evil behind all the hurt in this world. It is not easy to remember that my struggle is not against people.
I and those in my Christian Inner Circle will need Your help to grow our spirits to be able together to distinguish spirits of error from the Holy Spirit in confusing situations when it is not very clear. Help us to yield to the work of the Holy Spirit for all of us to give You more glory by assertively paying attention to identifying evil spirits and their strategies, and then giving spiritual battle against them.
Please help us all to become more like Jesus and recognize demons behind the evil in our world and communities. Like Him, empower us to drive them out with the power and authority of Jesus and then go on, again like Jesus, and repair the damage done. After that, let us help in the building up of the faith of Satan’s targets and remove any spiritual emptiness demons might return to inhabit.
May our lives worship You more because we stand against those evil powers that attempt to rob You of glory and destroy the good You have intended for us by testing the spirits together. Give us Your ability to be pure and recognize the work of evil spirits.
Make us strong in Your power to defeat the devil by paying much more attention to the evil around us and how it affects hurtfully those in our Christian Inner Circles as well as people all over the world. Make us more comfortable in using our redeemed spirits to oppose evil spirits. Help us to battle evil at the spiritual level every day through the authority given us by Jesus using the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God as well as Holy Spirit-guided prayer.
Help us all prepare for heaven by growing ever increasingly aware of the evil Satan is wielding through rulers, and authorities, and cosmic powers over this present darkness, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. We want our awareness of the absence of such evil in heaven to be as expansive as it can be so that our joy can be great that You are not being opposed in Your home and that we are no longer impacted by the dark, evil spiritual forces.
Ever increasing practice of the Togethers of Scripture will (1) create in you the loving essence of Jesus, (2) give Jesus the kind of love He requested, (3) provide you with the most significant spiritual lifestyle which is attainable only through Christian community, (4) offer significant worship to God by reflecting his own character back to him through your behavior, and (5) bring God’s kingdom to earth as asked for in the Lord’s Prayer. And for heaven, such growing obedience to Scripture now will later (6) qualify you for a more responsible place of service as reward in heaven, and, (7) most important of all, give you greater empathy with God for a closer relationship with Him for all of eternity.