Bible Strands
1 John 4:3
and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and which is already in the world at this time.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The epistle’s author addresses believers to establish a doctrinal boundary during a period of emerging false teaching. The text frames this instruction as a necessary test for the community to identify the origin of their teachings.
The words — The Greek verb ὁμολογεῖ (homologei) literally means "confesses" or "acknowledges publicly," indicating a verbal alignment with a specific claim.
The thread — This testing criterion recurs in 1 John 2:22 and 2 John 1:7, where the text explicitly links the denial of Jesus as the Christ or the refusal to acknowledge his incarnation with the spirit of the antichrist.
Why it lands — The text demands that readers evaluate every teaching by whether it explicitly acknowledges Jesus Christ's physical incarnation, treating such denial as definitive proof of a spirit not from God.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
Cross-references
- 1 John 2:22 Who is the liar, if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son.
- 2 John 1:7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, refusing to confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.
- 1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed.