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"Every Spirit That Confesseth Jesus Christ Having Come in the Flesh is of God"
Writter: Evangelos Dim. Kepenes (June 3, 2026, 13:53)
«Πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ ὁμολογεῖ Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν ἐν σαρκί ἐληλυθότα ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἔστιν»
Exegetical Analysis of the Text: 1 John 4:1-4
NESTLE-ALAND Text
«Ἀγαπητοί, μη παντί πνεύματι πιστεύετε, ἀλλά δοκιμάζετε τά πνεύματα εἰ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν, ὅτι πολλοί ψευδοπροφῆται ἐξεληλύθασιν εἰς τόν κόσμον. ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκετε τό πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ· πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ ὁμολογεῖ Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν ἐν σαρκί ἐληλυθότα ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν, καί πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ μή ὁμολογεῖ τόν Ἰησοῦν [Χριστόν ἐν σαρκί ἐληλυθότα] ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν· καί τοῦτό ἐστιν τό τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου, ὃ ἀκηκόατε ὅτι ἔρχεται, καί νῦν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἐστίν ἤδη. ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστε, τεκνία, καί νενικήκατε αὐτούς, ὅτι μείζων ἐστιν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ.»
«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 confesseth Jesus Christ having come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus [Christ having come in the flesh] is not of God; and this is [the spirit] of the antichrist, which you have heard that it cometh, and now it is in the world already. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.»
The Framework for Testing the Confession
The biblical writer addresses a practical warning: believers must not blindly trust every word or prophecy presented as spiritual. The need to "test the spirits" arises from the appearance of many false prophets. The criterion for recognition is not based on external miracles or impressive speech, but on the content of the confession of the prophets who had gone out («ἐξεληλύθασιν») from the Church into the world (1 John 2:18-19).
The framework of this testing concerns the confession of faith in the heavenly origin of the Second Man (Adam), Jesus Christ, who stands in direct contrast to the earthly origin of the First Man (Adam):
«Εἰ ἔστιν σῶμα ψυχικόν, ἔστιν καί πνευματικόν. οὕτως καί γέγραπται· ἐγένετο ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος Ἀδάμ εἰς ψυχήν ζῶσαν, ὁ ἔσχατος Ἀδάμ εἰς πνεῦμα ζῳοποιοῦν. ἀλλ' οὐ πρῶτον τό πνευματικόν ἀλλά το ψυχικόν, ἔπειτα τό πνευματικόν. ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος ἐκ γῆς χοϊκός, ὁ δεύτερος ἄνθρωπος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ» — 1 Cor. 15:44-47.
“if there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual [one] . Thus also it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul; the last Adam a quickening spirit. But that which is spiritual [was] not first, but that which is natural, then that which is spiritual: the first man out of [the] earth, made of dust; the second man, out of heaven.” (Darby)
The criterion is practical and immediate for the community in Christ.
The Confession Concerning Jesus Christ "having come in the flesh" («ἐν σαρκί ἐληλυθότα») Is of God
The Significance of the Preposition "ἐν" and "the Flesh"
The preposition «ἐν» in the ancient Greek language is exclusively paired with the dative case, and its primary meaning is "inside," "within the interior of," denoting a fixed, static place (e.g., «ἐν τῇ πόλει» — inside the city).
The later Eastern Orthodox dogmatic interpretation: Later dogmaticians interpret "having come in the flesh" («ἐν σαρκί ἐληλυθότα») as a modification of the divine nature of the Only-Begotten of the Father—specifically, as the abstract concept of the incarnation or inhumanation of a supposedly pre-existing second person, God the Son. This interpretation deliberately introduces philosophical constructs regarding the "harmony of nature" and the "union of opposites." Consequently, it abolishes the ontological distinction between the heavenly and the earthly, the uncreated and the created, while introducing human boasting regarding the preservation and continuity of Greek philosophical thought. (Patrology. Stylianos G. Papadopoulos vol. A p. 69)
The Biblical Approach: The biblical text establishes that the man Jesus is “out of heaven” because He was conceived through the holy Spirit. An angel commanded His adoptive father, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the holy Spirit” (Matt. 1:20-23). He was named Jesus (“The Lord saves”) and Emmanuel (“God with us”). The Apostles later proved that this Jesus was indeed the Christ (the Messiah) whom the Jews expected (Acts 17:3, John 12:34). Furthermore, Jesus Christ promised His disciples that He would not leave them as orphans, but would come and dwell within them (John 14:17-20).
Critical Grammatical Breakdown:
Spatial Location vs. Transformation («ἐν» vs. «εἰς»): Standard English translations render this phrase as "in the flesh," which often leads Western readers to assume it implies "He became a human." However, in Greek, the preposition «ἐν» denotes location ("inside the flesh"). Therefore, the text does not imply that a divine nature underwent a transformation into flesh (as posited by the dogma of the incarnation). Rather, the use of «ἐν» demonstrates that human flesh is the vessel or temple of His indwelling, rather than the product of an ontological mutation.
The Present Reality of the Perfect Participle («ἐληλυθότα»): The participle «ἐληλυθότα» (having come) is in the Greek perfect tense. Unlike the English past tense, the Greek perfect denotes a past action with continuous, permanent, and abiding results in the present. It does not merely state a historical arrival of Jesus 2,000 years ago; it affirms that He has arrived and is currently, actively indwelling the physical bodies of the believers.
Therefore, whoever confesses Jesus Christ «ἐν σαρκί ἐληλυθότα» confesses that the heavenly man Jesus Christ has come and is dwelling within the believers' bodies. The text thus declares that Jesus Christ, according to His promise, came and made His abode inside the believers, who constitute His body, His Church.
«Ἑαυτούς πειράζετε εἰ ἐστέ ἐν τῇ πίστει, ἑαυτούς δοκιμάζετε· ἢ οὐκ ἐπιγινώσκετε ἑαυτούς ὅτι Ἰησοῦς Χριστός ἐν ὑμῖν; εἰ μήτι ἀδόκιμοί ἐστε.» — 2 Cor. 13:5.
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
The Connection to the Gospel of John (John 14:16-20) and the New Covenant
The biblical cross-reference with the promises of Jesus during the Last Supper is decisive. Jesus promised: «ἐγώ ἐν τῷ πατρί μου καί ὑμεῖς ἐν ἐμοί κἀγώ ἐν ὑμῖν» (“I [am] in my Father, and you in me, and I in you”). The only Paraclete, who is the Spirit of Truth, manifests the presence of Jesus Himself — “Now the Lord is the Spirit” («ὁ δέ Κύριος τό Πνεῦμά ἐστιν» — 2 Cor. 3:17)—who comes to dwell inside His disciples. Consequently, the prophet who speaks "of God" confesses precisely this living presence of Christ inside human flesh. Thus, the promise of God is fulfilled:
«Καί θήσω τήν διαθήκην μου ἐν ὑμῖν καί οὐ βδελύξεται ἡ ψυχή μου ὑμᾶς καί ἐμπεριπατήσω ἐν ὑμῖν καί ἔσομαι ὑμῶν θεός καί ὑμεῖς ἔσεσθέ μου λαός» — Lev. 26:11-12 (LXX, Rahlfs).
[“And I will set my covenant in you, and my soul shall not abhor you; and I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people.”]
The placement of the covenant «ἐν ὑμῖν» ("in you") is not a mere external arrangement but an internal reality. This is later fully illuminated in Hebrews 8:10, where the nature of the New Covenant is explicitly defined as an internal implantation of God's order directly into the human faculties:
«διδούς νόμους μου εἰς τήν διάνοιαν αὐτῶν, καί ἐπί καρδίας αὐτῶν ἐπιγράψω αὐτούς» [“putting my laws into their mind, and I will write them upon their hearts”]. The prepositional movement from the internal setting of the covenant leads directly to the permanent indwelling of God.
The Apostle Paul confirms the ultimate fulfillment of this indwelling promise:
«… τίς δέ συγκατάθεσις ναῷ θεοῦ μετά εἰδώλων; ἡμεῖς γάρ ναός θεοῦ ἐσμεν ζῶντος, καθώς εἶπεν ὁ θεός ὅτι ἐνοικήσω ἐν αὐτοῖς καί ἐμπεριπατήσω καί ἔσομαι αὐτῶν θεός καί αὐτοί ἔσονταί μου λαός» — 2 Cor. 6:16.
[“...and what agreement [has] a temple of God with idols? For we are a temple of the living God, just as God said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among [them], and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”]
The Indwelling of Christ in the Believers
The "spirit that is of God" is recognized by the fact that it confesses Jesus Christ as present and active inside the flesh of the believers. Whoever denies this living, internal presence of Jesus in man, and shifts the truth to abstract, imposed philosophical constructs, operates under the spirit of the antichrist.
The passage concludes with the absolute assurance of the believers' victory:
"greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" («μείζων ἐστιν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ»)
Victory over deception is not achieved through human philosophical arguments, but because He who dwells inside the believers—Jesus Christ, who came and remains inside their human flesh—is incomparably stronger than the spirit of error that dominates the world through religions.
In the same spirit, the same apostle writes in his second epistle:
«ὅτι πολλοί πλάνοι ἐξῆλθον εἰς τόν κόσμον, οἱ μή ὁμολογοῦντες Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί· οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ πλάνος καί ὁ ἀντίχριστος» — 2 John 1:7.
“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, they who do not confess Jesus Christ coming in flesh--this is the deceiver and the antichrist.”
Textual Cross-Examination
Greek Terms:
ἐληλυθότα (1 John 4:2) is Perfect Participle, meaning (Having come with a permanent, ongoing indwelling presence.)
ἐρχόμενον (2 John 1:7) is Present Participle, meaning (Actively, continuously "coming" in the flesh of the believers right now.
The use of the present participle «ἐρχόμενον» (coming) completely shatters the notion of an exclusively past historical event or a distant, future second coming. Instead, it underscores a continuous, present, and living manifestation inside the Church.
Conclusion
Through whose flesh does Jesus come? The answer is purely biblical and harmonizes completely with the promises of Jesus Himself in the Gospel (John 14:16-20). Jesus, as the only Advocate and Paraclete (1 John 2:1), promised His disciples that He would not leave them orphans, but would dwell within them. Therefore, the heavenly man Jesus Christ comes to inhabit the human flesh of His believers. Consequently, the believers become the very vessels of His presence in the world, as confirmed by His own words: "He that receiveth you receiveth me" («ὁ δεχόμενος ὑμᾶς ἐμὲ δέχεται» — Matt. 10:40).
Grammatical Distinction: The syntax «ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα» (1 John 4:2) is entirely differentiated from a syntax denoting a modification of nature. It is structurally and grammatically confirmed that the flesh is the location (the bodies of the believers) in which Jesus, our life, has come and remains.
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