5 Biblical Ways to Test the Spirits

Contributing Writer

Updated March 18, 2022

PLUS

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

In John’s letter we are commanded to test the spirits. One of the main reasons behind this command is because there are many false prophets who have gone out into the world. When it comes to testing the spirits and identifying false prophets, the difficulty is their messages are often very close to the truth; that is why you must test.

However, knowing that you should test the spirits does not tell you how to test the spirits. This is what I want to clear up for you today. I am going to give you five tests you can use which will help you identify which spirits truly are from God.

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5 Tests to Help You Test the Spirits

1. The Jesus Test

“This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,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” (1 John 4:2-3).

The first way to test the spirits is to pay attention to what they say about Jesus. Typically, a cult or false doctrine is going to get their identification of who Jesus is wrong. Some of the common misstatements about Jesus are usually concerning his divine nature, his purpose, or him being the only way back to the Father. When the Spirit of God is really speaking through a person, they will define Jesus correctly. In case you are not sure who Jesus is, let me tell you.

Jesus is God incarnate, which means he was God in the flesh and was fully God and fully man at the same time. He was in the beginning, eternally existing with God the Father and everything that was made by him and through him.

He is the Word of God in human form. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the one to whom every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. He is the way the truth and the life and the only way to the father. His name stands alone from all the other names in heaven and earth and there is no other name whereby a man can be saved except by the name of Jesus. He is the one who stretched out his hands and died on the cross, shedding his blood to provide a way of salvation for you and me. He is the soon-coming king who conquered death, hell, and the grave and at the end He will be standing and will reign as Lord forever and ever.

This is who Jesus is, and if anyone tells you anything else they are not speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is a false spirit, and they would have failed the first test.

“Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3).

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2. The Glory Test

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father — the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father — he will testify about me” (John 15:26).

“He will glorify and honor Me, because He (the Holy Spirit) will take from what is Mine and will disclose it to you” (John 16:14, AMP).

One of the unique markers of the Holy Spirit is he seeks no glory of his own. He points the direction, the glory, and the honor to Jesus. One of the clear ways to tests the spirits and uncover a false prophet is to pay attention to who is getting the glory.

To recognize this, you must pay close attention, because many times these people operate in pulpits and do things in the name of Jesus. However, their goal is not to draw people to Christ but to draw people to themselves. They will often connect some power or blessing to their ministry or their ability to pray for or deliver you. This does not point to Christ but to themselves. This is why you must test, and if Jesus is not truly getting the glory, then run because that is a false spirit.

3. The Gospel Test

“When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8).

One of the major works of the Holy Spirit is to bring conviction of sin and draw people to Christ. The heart of God is to see people come to repentance. This is his first desire for every human on the face of the earth.

When the Spirit of God is truly moving in a place and people are following his lead, the message of the gospel will go forth. It doesn’t matter how wonderful the worship, how inspirational the messages, or how relevant everything seems; if the gospel is not preached then God’s Spirit is not in it. Do not be deceived by the size of the crowds, that is not an indicator God is in a place, listen to what is being said. When God is present the gospel will go forth because that is one of the primary works of the Holy Spirit. That’s why you must listen carefully to what is being said and test it against the Scriptures.

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4. The Chaos Test

“The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace — as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people… Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (1 Corinthians 14:32-33; 39-40).

The fourth way to test the spirits is to simply see if there is order or if there is chaos. I call this the chaos test. Many times, people will have you believe the Holy Spirit will cause you to have uncontrollable reactions that occur in your body. Be careful when you hear or see such things. It is common to have an emotional response when you are confronted with the presence of God, however it is not common for that response to cause you to lose control of what you are doing.

I remember a time I went to see a preacher who was very popular at the time and was travelling all over the world ministering. His popularity was over a specific experience that he said was a work of the Holy Spirit. There were literally millions around the world flocking to see and experience what this preacher was talking about. His travels brought him to my area, so I wanted to check it out. When I walked into the service, I could sense there was a spirit in that place, unfortunately I could also sense it wasn’t the Holy Spirit.

As the night went on, very weird things began happening, and at one point chaos broke out. The place was literally out of control as people in the service reacted to what they believed was a work of the Holy Spirit, but everything was out of order. When you see this, you can be certain that is not the Holy Spirit at work. The Holy Spirit can empower you to do things that are beyond your ability, but never to the point where you can’t control yourself.

God is a God of order, not chaos. To be clear, I fully believe in the work of the Holy Spirit and the move of the Holy Spirit, however it must be done fittingly and in order. If not, then you have the right to question if that is the Holy Spirit at all.

5. The Alignment Test

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1-2).

The final way to test the spirits that I want to share with you is called the alignment test. The simple question you must ask is does this teaching or experience align with what God has established in his word?

One of the things you must recognize about the Holy Spirit is that he operates in cooperation with the word of God, not in contrast or contradiction to the word of God. The Holy Spirit chooses to operate within the parameters of the Word of God because it gives us insight into how he works. If you remove these guidelines, then you remove the measurement to test with. Apart from the word of God, how will you determine what is of God and what isn’t? The answer is you can’t. That’s why the Holy Spirit works within the parameters of the word of God. This is not for his benefit, but for ours. He wants us to identify when he is moving, and he has given us the basis to identify when and how he works.

It's Time to Become a Berean

“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).

How do you faithfully and consistently test the spirits? Become like the Bereans. Don’t think it’s strange or judgmental to test the spirits or what you are being taught. In fact, testing is biblical, so engage in it. I am not encouraging you to become skeptical, I am encouraging you to know your word, so you are not prone to deception.

When you do test the spirits – and now you know how – you will identify what is of God and what is not. Whenever you are taught something, whenever you experience something, always search the scriptures and connect the dots. If they don’t connect, then leave that teaching or experience alone because the test will prove it is not of God.

Clarence L. Haynes Jr. is a speaker, Bible teacher, and co-founder of The Bible Study Club. He is the author of The Pursuit of Purpose which will help you understand how God leads you into his will. His most recent book is The Pursuit of Victory: How To Conquer Your Greatest Challenges and Win In Your Christian Life. This book will teach you how to put the pieces together so you can live a victorious Christian life and finally become the man or woman of God that you truly desire to be. Clarence is also committed to helping 10,000 people learn how to study the Bible and has just released his first Bible study course called Bible Study Basics. To learn more about his ministry please visit clarencehaynes.com.