1 John 4:1 (ASV)

Passage

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Nearby Context

1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

1 John 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

1 John 4:3 and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it cometh; and now it is in the world already.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "world", "beloved", "believe", "prove", "spirits", "whether", and "false". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "world", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The next verse adds "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God...", so "Spirit" and "world" should be read forward into that movement. In 1 John context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "world" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.