"Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is that spirit of anti-christ, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (1 John 4:2-3 KJV)

 These two verses seem to make it so easy to detect false religion. If someone preaches that Jesus came to earth and lived in the same flesh that we do, then they are of God, but if they don’t then they are the anti-christ. 

 But how can that be true with all these different Christian denominations; they all seem to teach that Jesus came in the flesh, yet their doctrines are so different.  

 Most believe in Sunday as the holy day of worship, and others believe it is Saturday, or the Sabbath.  

 Some believe it's wrong to accept blood transfusions while others see no problem with it.  

 Some say there is no eternal hell.  

 Most follow the latest fads of the world while others refuse to drive cars, use electricity and dress like it were still the 1800's. 

 What is the correct mode of baptism, do we sprinkle, pour or immerse; and when do we get baptized, as a baby or do we wait until we are adults. 

 Then there is the debate on when the rapture will occur, before, during or after the tribulation.  

 All these denominations confess that Jesus Christ came to earth as a baby born in a manger in Bethlehem. Yet their doctrines contradict each other so much that they cannot worship together as one body of Christ. Is the Bible perhaps wrong about this or is this the way Christianity is supposed to be? 

 The answer is no, the Bible is not wrong, and no, Christianity is not supposed to be separated by doctrines. There is a deeper meaning to the phrase "Jesus came in the flesh." Let’s take a closer look at Jesus.   

"The former treatise have I made, o Theopilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach," (Acts 1:1 KJV)

 Jesus Christ came in the flesh and lived a sinless and holy life. He lived for about 30 years before He began preaching what He had lived for the past 30 years. 

 There is much to be said about how He lived His life. After His baptism He spent 40 days in the wilderness away from all human influence. He didn't have a home and many nights were spent on a mountain by Himself in prayer with His Father. He knew how important it was to stay in touch with God. 

 He wasn't afraid to help the poor and needy. He associated himself with some of the so-called worst sinners even though He knew that He would be mocked as a result. He wasn't afraid to stand alone. 

 He was tempted in all points as we are tempted, yet He kept Himself pure. He taught others how to live a pure life and repeatedly instructed people to go and sin no more.  

Let's look at 1 John 4:2-3 again. Notice how it says "every spirit" and not every person or every preacher. The mouth can easily confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, but the spirit will not lie. If the spirit confesses that Jesus came in the flesh the actions and teachings of that person will line up with the actions and teachings of Jesus when He walked upon this earth.

 Any spirit which does not confess to this, the actions, teachings, or motives of that person will be contrary to what Jesus did and taught.

 We are instructed in several different passages to test the spirits to see if they are from God. We are not instructed to look at doctrines, but at the spirit behind the doctrines.