The New Man in Christ

1 John 4 & 5 All scriptures are quoted from the The REV unless otherwise stated. 1 John Chapter 4   1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, to see if they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. There is a figure of speech called metonymy: Met-o'-ny-my; or, Change of Noun When one name or noun is used instead of another, to which it stands in a certain relation. The word spirit here the manifestations of holy spirit. In this case the context makes it clear that “spirit” refers specifically to prophecies. The Christian is not to believe every “spirit,” i.e., every prophecy and spiritual utterance, but test them to see if they are from God because many “false prophets” have gone out into the world. The next verse continues the thought: every prophecy that acknowledges that Jesus has come in the flesh is from God, while those prophecies that do not are not from God. The REV  Commentary for: 1 John 4:1...