Lord's Day: June 22, 2025 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Discernment Scripture: 1 John 4:1–3; Acts 20:30; Hebrews 4:9–13; 5:9–14; John 7:24; 2 Peter 1:3–4; 1 John 2:18–25; Matthew 7:13–14

1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.... 1 John 4:1–2

• Discernment in a sense illustrates law and gospel: It is both a command (law), a daily necessity and duty that we all must practice constantly, as well as a good, gracious gift from God (gospel)

I. Discernment is definitional to the Christian—to be a Christian is to discern

• Discernment is the mirror that allows us to see who we really are

II. How then do we grow in our discernment? In our ability to test every spirit?

• Discernment and sound judgment are closely related in Scripture, go hand in hand, frequently overlap
• You cannot judge righteously unless you first discern properly
• Grasping God’s Word, understanding it, requires discernment

III. Beware—A lack of active, consistent, constant, daily discernment points to and leads to a lack of understanding

• It leads to forgetting things that we previously learned, even to a lack of desire to understand, “dullness of hearing” (Heb 5:11)
• Discernment is cumulative

IV. One of the main reasons we must have our “powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” is because the devil and his antichrist spirit are master counterfeiters‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

• One of the necessary qualities of biblical discernment—in addition to knowledge of Scripture and of sound doctrine—is logic

V. There are many, many erroneous ways of relating to God, many false claims to the true God

• Matthew 7:13–14

We meet on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

• ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
  4712 Montana Ave
  El Paso, Texas 79903

Contact us at:

• web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
  call/text: (915) 843-8088
  email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com

Lord's Day: June 15, 2025 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Discernment Scripture: 1 John 4:1; Acts 20:30; 1 Timothy 4:1–3; 1 Kings 3:7–13; 11:1–6; Matthew 7:9–11; 1 Corinthians 12:7–13; 2 Timothy 2:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:21–22; James 1:5; Matthew 5:37

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1

I. “…to see…”

II. Who or what are these “spirits”? Πνεύματα

III. Discernment Defined

• Discernment, in part, is to “know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He gave us.” (1 John 3:24)
• Discernment is to “test the spirits to see whether they [too] are from God” (1 John 4:1)

IV. Does discernment really matter to God?

• King Solomon
• Wisdom is not “knowledge applied”

V. Discernment is a good gift from God

• 1 Corinthians 12:7–13
• The gift of discernment is a blessing and benefit of our Union with Christ and His Spirit, the anointing of truth, whereby God equips us with His means to teach us the truth and distinguish it from error

VI. Who then has the duty to discern, and how often must discernment be exercised?

• As “good soldiers of Christ” (2 Tim 2:3), we must know both our friends and our foes, allies and our enemies

VII. Analogy of Scripture

• 1 Thessalonians 5:21–22
• Discernment is a powerful weapon, and a lifestyle

VIII. We discern good from evil, true teachers from false prophets, good churches from bad ones...

• “All congregations in the Christian Reformed Church in North America may allow women to serve in the office of minister, elder, deacon, or commissioned pastor.”[1]
• “God’s Chisel,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqGIHpiqkjg

We meet on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

• ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
  4712 Montana Ave
  El Paso, Texas 79903

Contact us at:

• web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
  call/text: (915) 843-8088
  email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com

[1] ‘Women in Ecclesiastical Office | Christian Reformed Church’ [accessed 14 June 2025].

Lord's Day: June 8, 2025 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Union with Christ Scripture: 1 John 3:23–4:1; Ephesians 2:18; 1 Corinthians 1:30–31; Ephesians 1:3–6; Romans 8:32; James 1:27; Proverbs 7:7; Ecclesiastes 8:5; Hosea 14:9; Philippians 1:9–11

24And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He gave us. 1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 3:24–4:1

I. Union with Christ

• There is no tension between the renovative benefits of Christ and His forensic benefits, between objective and subjective benefits, or between the legal and the relational benefits
• Our Union with Christ also unites us to the entire Trinity

II. Summary of 1 John 3

III. What is Discernment?

• 1 John 4:1
• Discernment can mean different things in Scripture

• “The term 'discern' in the Bible refers to the ability to perceive, distinguish, or judge something clearly and accurately. It involves a deep understanding and insight that goes beyond mere surface-level observation. Discernment is often associated with wisdom and spiritual insight, enabling individuals to differentiate between truth and falsehood, right and wrong, or good and evil…. Discernment is a recurring theme in the Scriptures, emphasizing the importance of spiritual insight and understanding. It is considered a gift from God, essential for making wise decisions and living a life that aligns with His will.”[1]

We meet on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

• ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
  4712 Montana Ave
  El Paso, Texas 79903

Contact us at:

• web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
  call/text: (915) 843-8088
  email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com

[1] ‘Topical Bible: Discern’ [accessed 8 June 2025].