We have to be as strong as John was. He stood his ground against those who claimed the Spirit’s presence and yet denied Jesus Christ as the Son of God. You cannot come from or speak for God and deny everything from the incarnation to the baptism to the blood of Jesus Christ. The antichrists were accepting the baptism of Jesus but not the Lord’s Supper, not the message of the cross, not the power of the blood of Jesus.
John opened this letter by saying he/they had seen, heard and looked upon Jesus, it was their human testimony, an acceptable one. But the testimony of God outweighs even theirs.
“This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 6 This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.“ (1 John 5 v 4-9)
There is no experience or encounter of God without the surrender to Jesus Christ as the Son of God. The Spirit does not lead people away from Jesus but rather reminds them of what Jesus taught and who He is. The Spirit sits in alignment with the water (the baptism of Jesus) and the blood (the cross of Jesus). Anything less isn’t of God. Anything less leads to not overcoming the world.
What a preacher or a ‘move of God’ says about Jesus is the hallmark of genuineness.
Missions Paul 