Have you ever heard someone say, “God told me,” and something just didn’t sit right? Maybe you’ve scrolled through TikTok and seen one prophecy after another about blessings, curses, or timelines that sound spiritual but feel off.
In today’s culture, “God said” gets thrown around loosely. But not every word is from God. Scripture calls us to discernment. It commands us to test the spirits. If we want to hold fast to truth, we need to know how to do that.
The Call to Discernment
1 John 4:1 (ESV) says,
“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.”
John’s warning wasn’t just for the early church, it’s for us too. The believers he wrote to were surrounded by false teachers who claimed “special knowledge” of God. Many scholars believe he was addressing Gnostics, people who preached about Jesus but denied His divinity. They talked about Jesus, but not the Jesus who died and rose again.
Just like back then, people today are easily swayed by what sounds spiritual. Charisma and confidence are not proof of truth. A preacher with a big platform or strong stage presence isn’t necessarily speaking for God. If we don’t know Scripture, we won’t know when something is off.
That’s why John’s command is so clear: Don’t believe everything you hear. Test it.
Why Testing Matters
We live in an age of YouTube prophets, Instagram reels about “manifesting,” and vague talk about “divine vibes.” Without grounding ourselves in Scripture, it’s easy to mistake counterfeits for truth.
Even Satan’s first lie in Genesis started with, “Did God really say?” He used 90% truth and twisted the other 10%. That small distortion was enough to deceive humanity. That’s why testing matters because deception doesn’t always come dressed as evil. Sometimes it looks almost right.
What It Means to “Test the Spirits”
The Greek word for test is dokimazō, meaning “to examine, prove, or discern genuine from fake.” Testing isn’t about skepticism for skepticism’s sake. It’s about wisdom.
Acts 17:11 praises the Bereans for examining Scripture daily to verify Paul’s teaching. Paul didn’t rebuke them for checking his words, he commended them. True teachers invite testing because they want people anchored in truth, not personalities.
1 Thessalonians 5:20–21 says,
“Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.”
We’re not told to ignore prophecy but to evaluate it. Yet you can’t test something against nothing. If you’re not reading your Bible, you don’t have the foundation to measure truth against falsehood.
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How to Test the Spirits
1. Check the Message.
Does it align with Scripture, or does it contradict God’s Word? Feelings, popularity, and emotional resonance are not reliable tests. Truth doesn’t need to feel good to be true.
2. Check the Christology.
In verses 2–3, John says that the true spirit confesses Jesus Christ came in the flesh. False spirits deny Him. If a message downplays Jesus’ divinity, sin, or resurrection, it’s not from God.
3. Check the Fruit.
Does the word lead to holiness, humility, and obedience or to pride, confusion, and sin? A “God told me” that results in selfish ambition or greed is not from Him.
Prosperity preaching that treats Jesus like a genie in a bottle is a red flag. The Bible doesn’t condemn money itself, but the love of money. Any message that distorts this truth must be tested.
God Said vs. I Feel
One of the hardest parts of discernment is separating “God said” from “I feel.”
God still speaks today, through His Word, the Holy Spirit, and sometimes through people, but He will never contradict Scripture. Ever. If someone says God told them something that goes against His written Word, it wasn’t God who spoke.
Feelings are not facts. That’s true in business, and it’s true in faith. You can’t interpret Scripture based on how you want it to feel. If you approach the Bible looking for confirmation of what you already believe, you’ll twist the text to fit your preference.
When someone says, “God told me,” train yourself to ask:
- Where is that in Scripture?
- Does this reflect God’s character revealed in His Word?
These questions push us back to Scripture and that’s exactly where we need to be.
The Call to Maturity
Hebrews 5:14 says,
“But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
Discernment takes practice. Just like an athlete improves through repetition, a believer grows by spending time in the Word and applying it daily.
The more you study Scripture, the faster you’ll recognize spiritual counterfeits. The Holy Spirit sharpens your awareness, helping you see truth clearly in a world full of confusion.
Root Yourself in Truth
Testing the spirits isn’t about suspicion. It’s about love, love for truth, love for God, and love for people. When you hold God’s Word as your standard, you protect yourself and others from deception.
Remember: not every word is from God. We are called to test the spirits, not chase vibes. In a world full of voices, you need to know the Voice.
Root yourself in Scripture. Lean on the Holy Spirit. Let God’s truth be your standard. Doing this work will change your life.
Free Resource: The Discernment Guide
If you want a simple, practical way to grow in discernment, grab my free Discernment Guide.
It walks you through how to identify truth from error, recognize false gospels, and strengthen your ability to test what you hear against the Word of God.
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