A Study on the Identity of God and the Discernment of Spirits
The true Spirit of God is identified by one central confession: that Yahweh—the eternal Father and Creator—has come in the flesh as Yahshua the Messiah. Anyone who denies that the Father Yahweh dwelt in the Son is operating under the spirit of antichrist, which means “instead of Christ” from the Greek.
The apostle John teaches that the ultimate test of spiritual discernment is not emotion, religious activity, or outward appearance, but confession—specifically, the confession of who God is and how He came among us. To discern the Spirit of God from the spirit of antichrist, we must begin where Scripture begins: with the name and identity of God Himself.
The Name of God and the Incarnation of Yahweh
The first step in spiritual discernment is to get the name of God right. Scripture reveals that Yahshua is the name of the incarnate Yahweh—Yah in human form. Yahweh is the Father, and Christ Himself testified that the Father dwelling within Him performed the miracles (John 14:10).
Yahweh declares plainly: “For I am the LORD [YAHWEH] your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior… and beside Me there is no savior.” (Isaiah 43:3, 11) Therefore, the one who confesses that Yahweh is the Savior, and that He has come in the flesh as the Anointed One, is confessing the truth revealed by the Spirit of God.
The Spirit of God vs. the Spirit of Antichrist
John gives the test: “Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. This is the spirit of the antichrist…” (1 John 4:2–3). To “confess Christ come in the flesh” is not merely to acknowledge that a man named Jesus once lived. It is to confess who came in that flesh: Yahweh Himself—the Father—dwelling in the Son.
John later calls this “the Spirit of truth.” The “spirit of error” denies that Yahweh has come in the flesh of Christ. He sharpens the point: “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22). To deny the Son is to deny the Father, because the Father was in the Son. To deny the Father in the Son is to deny the Son Himself. This is the essence of the antichrist spirit.
The Witness of the Spirit
John also teaches that eternal life is in the Son (1 John 5:11). Paul calls this the “Spirit of life” (Romans 8:2), and John says, “the Spirit is truth” (1 John 5:6). This Spirit bears witness with our spirit (Romans 8:16), testifying to the truth of God’s identity.
What truth does the Spirit testify? That Yahweh, the great Creator Spirit, poured Himself into a human vessel—the Son Yahshua—whose very name means “Yahweh is the Savior.” This is the witness the Spirit gives inside every believer.
Believing in the Name of the Son
John concludes his first epistle with this assurance: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life…” (1 John 5:13)
To “believe in the name of the Son of God” is to believe that the Father was in the Son, and that through this union Yahweh saves His people from their sins. “He who believes in the Son has the witness in himself” (1 John 5:10). That person has the Spirit. That person has eternal life.
John echoes this in his Gospel: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12). To receive Him is to believe in His name—Yahshua, the same name as Joshua of old, meaning “Savior.”
Conclusion: The Foundation of Spiritual Growth
Spiritual growth begins with getting the identity of God right. Everything in the life of faith flows from this revelation: Yahweh the Father has come in the flesh as Yahshua the Messiah.
This is the Spirit of truth. This is the confession of the Spirit of God. This is the foundation of eternal life. To deny this is to embrace the spirit of antichrist. To confess it is to walk in the light, to receive the witness of the Spirit, and to enter into the life of the sons of God.
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Immortality Road 