I John 4:2
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By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Hereby--"Herein." know . . . the Spirit of God--whether he be, or not, in those teachers professing to be moved by Him. Every spirit--that is, Every teacher claiming inspiration by the HOLY SPIRIT. confesseth--The truth is taken for granted as established. Man is required to confess it, that is, in his teaching to profess it openly. Jesus Christ is come in the flesh--a twofold truth confessed, that Jesus is the Christ, and that He is come (the Greek perfect tense implies not a mere past historical fact, as the aorist would, but also the present continuance of the fact and its blessed effects) in the flesh ("clothed with flesh": not with a mere seeming humanity, as the DocetÃ&brvbr afterwards taught: He therefore was, previously, something far above flesh). His flesh implies His death for us, for only by assuming flesh could He die (for as God He could not), Heb 2:9-10, Heb 2:14, Heb 2:16; and His death implies His LOVE for us (Joh 15:13). To deny the reality of His flesh is to deny His love, and so cast away the root which produces all true love on the believer's part (Jo1 4:9-11, Jo1 4:19). Rome, by the doctrine of the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary, denies Christ's proper humanity.
Open source ↗In this chapter the apostle exhorts to try spirits (Jo1 4:1), gives a note to try by (Jo1 4:2, Jo1 4:3), shows who are of the world and who of God (Jo1 4:4-6), urges Christian love by divers considerations (Jo1 4:7-16), describes our love to God, and the effect of it (Jo1 4:17-21).
Open source ↗4:2 If a person claiming to be a prophet: John outlines a doctrinal test for prophets and teachers. Those who have the Spirit of God confess that Jesus Christ came in a real body. In other words, they must affirm the reality that Jesus is both fully man and fully God. Prophets and teachers who deny these basic teachings are antichrists (2:18). Certain false teachers in John’s day (the Docetists) taught that Jesus Christ only seemed to have a human body but did not really have one. They thereby denied that God became flesh; see 1:1-3; John 1:14).
Open source ↗Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Therefore I inform you 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.
By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves those born of Him.
and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and which is already in the world at this time.
Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.