Question regarding 1 John 4:1-3

[Protoevangel]

1 John 4:1-3 NKJV
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: 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. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

Specifically in verse 2.

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.

I recently heard a Lutheran Pastor indicate that this may be a Eucharistic reference. According to this Pastor, the Greek for "has come" actually indicates a repeated or continuing coming.

I'm just curious what the Greek scholars here think about this.

[repentant]

Well the word in Greek used is elhluqota.this pretty much translates into what the English is.

As far as the meaning, that's a good question. I know the Orthodox Saints and Holy men speak on trusting Spirits. That if you have some kind of vision, or if some kind of spirit, angel, etc, comes to speak to you, send you a message..that you have to test them. If you ask if Jesus Christ the Son of God is their Savior, only a spirit from God could answer yes.

As far as it being a Eucharistic reference, I have no idea. I don't if an evil spirit could answer could answer this or not..

[Jacob4707]

It's a perfect participle. Simplistic definition: The perfect "tense"describes a past event with continuing results (that are still present from the time perspective of the writer). Sometimes, though, the perfect is used primarily for emphasis. One has to see how John (in the Gospel and in 1 John) uses the perfect to make any claims here, but the idea of it meaning a repeated or continuous coming would, to me, more usually require the present or imperfect, not the perfect.

[ThePosterFormerlyKnownAs]

As far as the meaning, that's a good question. I know the Orthodox Saints and Holy men speak on trusting Spirits. That if you have some kind of vision, or if some kind of spirit, angel, etc, comes to speak to you, send you a message..that you have to test them. If you ask if Jesus Christ the Son of God is their Savior, only a spirit from God could answer yes.


I think it was in The Mountain of Silence where it tells about Elder Paisius (I think, maybe Elder Porphyrios). He was praying in the chapel with a young monk when the Theotokos appeared to him. The first thing the Elder did was demand that she say, "Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit." before he would acknowledge her.

I may not have gotten it just right but I remember it was something very similar.