Discerning the Spirit of Truth: Who Truly Hears God's Voice?
Written on 6 April 2025.
Discerning the Spirit of Truth: Who Truly Hears God's Voice?
When confronting the question of who is genuinely born again and who is merely a professing believer, Scripture provides an unwavering standard by which to judge—not based on feelings or reputation, but on who hears the truth.
1 John 4:6 (KJV) declares:
"We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error."
This verse gives a plain, spiritual litmus test. If someone truly knows God, they will hear the truth when it is spoken. Not everyone who calls themselves a Christian passes this test. The world is full of false converts—people who claim to believe, yet resist or outright reject the pure gospel of Jesus Christ. If a person cannot receive what a born-again believer proclaims from the Word of God, especially regarding salvation by grace through faith, it reveals that they are not of God.
Jesus Christ Himself said:
"He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God."John 8:47
And again:
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."John 10:27
If someone says, "I've never heard anything of God from that man," referring to a true believer, it’s not the believer who is being exposed—it is the one who cannot hear. Their deafness to the things of God is a mark of their lost condition. Paul puts it plainly in 1 Corinthians 2:14:
"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
This shows that only the spiritually reborn can recognize God's truth. The saved are not subject to the judgment of the lost. It is not for the unregenerate to decide who is of God and who is not. Rather, those who are of God will hear and respond to the truth, regardless of who speaks it, so long as it is in line with the Word of God.
Therefore, if someone consistently resists sound doctrine, mocks or dismisses biblical preaching, or outright rejects the message of the gospel as spoken by a true believer, they show themselves to be of the spirit of error. It is not merely disagreement—it is spiritual deafness.
This standard may seem harsh to the world, but it is deeply comforting to those who are in Christ. For we know that the Word of God is true, and Jesus’ sheep will hear His voice—even when spoken through humble vessels. As 1 John 4:6 reminds us, this is how we "know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error."