The Word Became Flesh
In the beginning was the Word,
and the
Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 eAll things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 fIn him was life,1 and the life was the light of men. 5 hThe light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man isent from God, whose name was jJohn. 7He came as a kwitness, to bear witness about the light, lthat all might believe through him. 8 mHe was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 nThe true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet othe world did not know him. 11 He came to phis own,2 and qhis own people3 rdid not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, swho believed in his name, the gave the right uto become vchildren of God, 13 who wwere born, xnot of blood ynor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And zthe Word abecame flesh and bdwelt among us, cand we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son4 from the Father,
full of Grace and truth.
15 (fJohn bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, g‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from hhis fullness we have all received, igrace upon grace.5 17 For jthe law was given through Moses; kgrace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 lNo one has ever seen God; mthe only God,6 who is at the Father’s side,7 nhe has made him known.
False apostles
are people who masquerade as Christian leaders,
get other people to follow them,
and then lead them
astray.
A true apostle is one who is “sent” by God as an ambassador of
Jesus Christ
with a
divine message.
A false apostle is a pretender who does not truly represent Christ and
whose message is false.
In 2 Corinthians 11, the apostle Paul addresses the problem of false apostles invading the Corinthian church.
He describes the false apostles as “those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about” (verse 12).
The book of 2 Corinthians is one of Paul’s more “sarcastic” letters, as he contends with the church to
recognize the error that had crept into their midst.
He contrasts his selfless service with that of the “super-apostles” (verse 5)
who were seducing the church with their
smooth speech
and apparent wisdom.
These impostors were pretending to be true servants of Christ,
but they did not know the Lord. They were deceivers, preying on gullible Christians in Corinth to
profit themselves and boost their ego.
Paul chides the church that they “even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or
slaps you in the face” (verse 20).
He even compares these impostors to Satan himself,
who also “masquerades as an angel of light”
(verse 14).
Paul warned the Ephesian elders about false apostles as well:
"I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and
will not spare the flock.
Even from your own number men will arise and
distort the truth
in order to draw away disciples after them”
(Acts 20:29).
They must have heeded his words, because in Revelation 2:2,
Jesus commends the church at Ephesus for
spotting the false apostles in their midst and rejecting them.
False teachers and false apostles have been plentiful throughout the history of the church.
They still infiltrate unsuspecting churches and have
even led whole denominations into
heresy and apostasy
(see 1 Timothy 4:1–4).
Scripture gives us clear warning if we will pay attention.
First John 4:1 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.”
The following are some ways we can identify false apostles:
1. False apostles deny any or all truths about the identity and deity of Jesus Christ.
In 1 John 4:3–4, John warns his readers against Gnostic teaching; the test, he says, is Christological: “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.”
There are many ways a spirit may deny that
Jesus is the Christ.
From demonic cults to denominations that have
veered away from the gospel,
evil spirits are always behind the slander of Jesus.
Any teacher who attempts to take away from or add to
Jesus’ finished work on the cross
for our salvation
is a false prophet
(John 19:30; Acts 4:12).
2. False apostles are motivated by their
greed, lust, or power.
Second Timothy 3:1–8 describes such teachers in more detail:
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
People will be
lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud,
abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love,
unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control,
brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited,
lovers of pleasure
rather than lovers of God—having a
form of godliness but denying its power.
Have nothing to do with such people.
“They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,
always learning but
never able to come to a
knowledge of the truth.
Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these
teachers oppose the truth.
They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.” Jesus said that an identifying mark of a
false apostle/prophet is sinful behavior:
“By their fruit you will recognize them”
(Matthew 7:16, 20; cf. Jude 1:4).
3. False apostles distort or deny the Bible as God’s infallible, inspired Word
(2 Timothy 3:16). In Galatians 1:8–9 Paul counters legalism with these strong words: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again,
If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”
The inspired writings of the apostles are part of the
Word of God,
and no one has a right to change
their message.
4. False apostles refuse to make themselves subject to spiritual authorities, but consider themselves the final authority (Hebrews 13:7; 2 Corinthians 10:12).
They will often adopt lofty-sounding titles for themselves, such as “Bishop,” “Apostle,” “Reverend,” or “Father.” This does not mean that every person carrying such titles is a false prophet, only that evil impostors love lofty titles and will self-title to gain a hearing.
False apostles can arise
anywhere the Word of God
does not reign supreme.
From organized churches to home Bible studies,
we must always be on guard against “new teachings” or “revelations”
that are not subject to the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).
In the beginning was the Word,
and the
Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 eAll things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 fIn him was life,1 and the life was the light of men. 5 hThe light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man isent from God, whose name was jJohn. 7He came as a kwitness, to bear witness about the light, lthat all might believe through him. 8 mHe was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 nThe true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet othe world did not know him. 11 He came to phis own,2 and qhis own people3 rdid not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, swho believed in his name, the gave the right uto become vchildren of God, 13 who wwere born, xnot of blood ynor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And zthe Word abecame flesh and bdwelt among us, cand we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son4 from the Father,
full of Grace and truth.
15 (fJohn bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, g‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from hhis fullness we have all received, igrace upon grace.5 17 For jthe law was given through Moses; kgrace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 lNo one has ever seen God; mthe only God,6 who is at the Father’s side,7 nhe has made him known.
False apostles
are people who masquerade as Christian leaders,
get other people to follow them,
and then lead them
astray.
A true apostle is one who is “sent” by God as an ambassador of
Jesus Christ
with a
divine message.
A false apostle is a pretender who does not truly represent Christ and
whose message is false.
In 2 Corinthians 11, the apostle Paul addresses the problem of false apostles invading the Corinthian church.
He describes the false apostles as “those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about” (verse 12).
The book of 2 Corinthians is one of Paul’s more “sarcastic” letters, as he contends with the church to
recognize the error that had crept into their midst.
He contrasts his selfless service with that of the “super-apostles” (verse 5)
who were seducing the church with their
smooth speech
and apparent wisdom.
These impostors were pretending to be true servants of Christ,
but they did not know the Lord. They were deceivers, preying on gullible Christians in Corinth to
profit themselves and boost their ego.
Paul chides the church that they “even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or
slaps you in the face” (verse 20).
He even compares these impostors to Satan himself,
who also “masquerades as an angel of light”
(verse 14).
Paul warned the Ephesian elders about false apostles as well:
"I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and
will not spare the flock.
Even from your own number men will arise and
distort the truth
in order to draw away disciples after them”
(Acts 20:29).
They must have heeded his words, because in Revelation 2:2,
Jesus commends the church at Ephesus for
spotting the false apostles in their midst and rejecting them.
False teachers and false apostles have been plentiful throughout the history of the church.
They still infiltrate unsuspecting churches and have
even led whole denominations into
heresy and apostasy
(see 1 Timothy 4:1–4).
Scripture gives us clear warning if we will pay attention.
First John 4:1 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.”
The following are some ways we can identify false apostles:
1. False apostles deny any or all truths about the identity and deity of Jesus Christ.
In 1 John 4:3–4, John warns his readers against Gnostic teaching; the test, he says, is Christological: “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.”
There are many ways a spirit may deny that
Jesus is the Christ.
From demonic cults to denominations that have
veered away from the gospel,
evil spirits are always behind the slander of Jesus.
Any teacher who attempts to take away from or add to
Jesus’ finished work on the cross
for our salvation
is a false prophet
(John 19:30; Acts 4:12).
2. False apostles are motivated by their
greed, lust, or power.
Second Timothy 3:1–8 describes such teachers in more detail:
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
People will be
lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud,
abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love,
unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control,
brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited,
lovers of pleasure
rather than lovers of God—having a
form of godliness but denying its power.
Have nothing to do with such people.
“They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,
always learning but
never able to come to a
knowledge of the truth.
Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these
teachers oppose the truth.
They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.” Jesus said that an identifying mark of a
false apostle/prophet is sinful behavior:
“By their fruit you will recognize them”
(Matthew 7:16, 20; cf. Jude 1:4).
3. False apostles distort or deny the Bible as God’s infallible, inspired Word
(2 Timothy 3:16). In Galatians 1:8–9 Paul counters legalism with these strong words: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again,
If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”
The inspired writings of the apostles are part of the
Word of God,
and no one has a right to change
their message.
4. False apostles refuse to make themselves subject to spiritual authorities, but consider themselves the final authority (Hebrews 13:7; 2 Corinthians 10:12).
They will often adopt lofty-sounding titles for themselves, such as “Bishop,” “Apostle,” “Reverend,” or “Father.” This does not mean that every person carrying such titles is a false prophet, only that evil impostors love lofty titles and will self-title to gain a hearing.
False apostles can arise
anywhere the Word of God
does not reign supreme.
From organized churches to home Bible studies,
we must always be on guard against “new teachings” or “revelations”
that are not subject to the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).
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