Test the Spirits | Part 4: The Spirit of Antichrist

TEST THE SPIRITS

Part 4: The Spirit of Antichrist

July 27, 2025

 

The Spirit of Antichrist

 

1 John 4:3 (NIV) But every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

 

The Three Faces of the Spirit of Antichrist

 

1 John 2:18 (NIV) Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.

1. of Jesus.

 

John 1:1 (NIV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 

Jehovah’s Witness “New World Translation” (NWT)

John 1:1 (NWT) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.

 

Colossians 2:9 (NIV) For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.

 

Matthew 3:16-17 (NIV) As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

 

Our Confession

Jesus is fully God and fully man, eternal Son of the Father,

distinct from but equal to the Father and Spirit.

2. than Jesus.

 

2 Corinthians 11:4 (NIV) For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received…you put up with it easily enough.

 

Hebrews 13:8 (NIV) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

 

Our Confession

Jesus is the only Savior, eternally the same,

unique in His person and work, the once-for-all sacrifice.

3. of Jesus.

 

Galatians 1:6-8 (NIV) I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!

 

Galatians 2:16 (NIV) Know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.

 

Our Confession

Jesus’ finished work is enough. He alone saves,

and any gospel that adds or subtracts is “another gospel.”

Subtle Signs the Spirit of Antichrist is at Work

 

1. You can’t , even after Jesus has .

 

Hebrews 10:14 (NIV) For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

 

1 John 1:9 (NIV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

 

Romans 8:1 (NIV) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

2. You’re drawn to but bored with .

 

1 Corinthians 1:22-24 (NIV) Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified…

 

Ephesians 1:18-19 (NIV) I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

3. You find it easier to believe in than a .

 

Acts 4:12 (NIV) Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.

4. You are more offended by than by .

 

John 14:6 (NIV) I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV) Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

5. You’re always looking for outside the .

 

Colossians 2:6 (NIV) So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him.

 

2 Peter 1:3 (NIV) By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him…