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216.
Lord, we rejoice.
Sit upon thy Father's throne.
What we rejoice.
That our arms to the heart.
Thy heart.
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We ask for God's blessing, our Father, our God. We're thankful that we have an hour set before us that has been set aside to open up that precious word. And now we would ask that the Holy Spirit would teach us more of our blessed Lord Jesus and to help us in our walk, even here on this pathway, this journey that we wait for our Lord Jesus. So we just ask earnestly for our hearts to be prepared, our Father and our God, as we open up this precious book and thy name, we pray, Lord Jesus, Amen. Amen.
John, Chapter 2.
First John chapter 2 and verse one.
My little children or my children, these things write eye unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and He is the propitiation for our sins, not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know Him if we keep His commandments. He to say, if I know him and keepeth not his commandments as a liar, and the truth is not in him.
Both so keep with His word. In him, verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith he abideth in Him ought Himself also so to walk, even as He walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which he had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you.
Which thing is true in him and in you? Because darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother is in darkness. Even until now he that loveth loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
I write on to you, children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because you have known Him, that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because you have known the Father. I've written unto you, fathers, because you have known Him, that is from the beginning. I've written unto you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abideth in you.
And ye have overcome the wicked one. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lusts thereof. But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Little children, it is the last time.
And as you have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are their minty many Antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time they went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest, that they were not all of us. But you have an unction from the Holy One, and you know all things I have not written unto you, because you know not the Truth.
But because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth, who is a liar but he that? But he that denies that Jesus is the Christ, He is Antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father, but he that acknowledges the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, He also shall continue in the sun.
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And in the Father. And this is the promise, that He has promised us even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you. And you need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teaches you of all things and His truth, and is no lie. And even as it has taught you, He shall abide in Him. And now children, abide in Him, that when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.
If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of Him.
Our brother Brother Ted in reading this chapter has.
Umm, it's helpful to see, uh, in verse one it says my little children and the King James Version, but it's really my children because he's addressing the whole family of God. The same is true in verse 12 where he says I write unto you.
As little children in King James, but it's really children because it's addressing the whole family of God, because your sins are forgiven you for his namesake.
Again, in the verse 28 at the end of the chapter, it's really children because it's addressing the whole family of God. When we come to verse 13 in this chapter, we find that there's three different categories that he addresses.
And there we have fathers, we have young men, and there it is proper little children, those that are youngest in the family of God.
In those three categories are addressed two times in this chapter, first briefly in verse 13 and then again beginning with verse 14. He addresses the Fathers.
The young men and then in verse 18, it is properly little children. I think it is helpful if we can keep that in mind as we go through this chapter.
Maybe someone can explain what the difference is. Why is it children? I understand you you're saying it represents the whole family, but children has a distinct aspect of something opposed to sons which is different. So maybe someone can explain what is the characteristic of of being children.
Those that have been born into God's family and have that divine nature.
Don't you think that's right? I think that's right, yeah.
Life and nature are connected with children. Sonship has to do with position before God in the sons place. We are before God in the very place of the Son of God himself that sonship.
So there are two different lines of truth and uh, Paul emphasizes sonship, John, the idea of the children in the family. Having said that, you should note that in chapter 3, the King James Version does not, uh, get this exactly right. And he mentioned sons there in verse one of chapter 3, but it should be translated children and again in chapter in verse 2.
It says, Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that he should we should be called sons of God, should be translated children of God, because that's the theme of John's writings. And in verse two, beloved, now we are the sons of us shall again be translated children. So it just helps us to.
Note that distinction.
The first 2 verses of the chapter really belong to the subject that has been in discussion in the end of the first chapter, and the chapter would probably have been better to be placed elsewhere. But anyway, he's talking about advocacy and he's talking about the confession of sin, and he's showing that the the results of a person of of of Christ's work as an advocate produces confession of sin.
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Notice what it says here. I write onto your little children or my children.
These things I write on to you, that you sin not if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, doesn't say. If any man confesses sins, we have an advocate with the Father. It's the work of the advocate that makes us turn to him, to the Father, and to confess our sins. So it's important to see that his work of his advocate begins when a believer sins, not when he confess, turns to God and confesses his sin, because he'd never do that apart from Christ's work as an advocate.
So sometimes we get the cart before the horse and these subjects, but just remember that we can't save ourselves, we can't keep ourselves, and if we fail, we can't restore ourselves. We need an advocate to produce that in US, and that's the subject of the first couple of verses of chapter 2.
So we see that illustrated with the Lord's dealings with Peter, don't we? Because even before Peter denied his Lord three times with oath and curses, the Lord said to Peter, I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. And when thou art restored, strengthen thy brethren. And so because the Lord was praying for Peter, there could be restoration. Peter failed and he failed badly, but there was immediate work began, a work of restoration. It was a process, of course.
But it immediately began when Peter had denied the Lord, looked and turned and looked and saw the Lord.
Then that work in his soul began. But it was because the Lord had been praying for Peter. And isn't it a tremendous thought, brethren, to think that the Lord Jesus, as a glorified man at the right hand of God this morning, is praying for us every hour of every day? I find that a tremendous thought. We had the privilege a while ago to pray for one another and to bring before our, the throne of grace, our own needs. But there's one who's praying for us every hour of every day.
And you'll notice here that when it's a question of his advocacy, it's with the Father. There are some contrasts and won't take a lot of time to go into them, but in Hebrews, where he takes up the high priestly work of the Lord, and maybe I'll just say this, His high priestly work is to preserve us in the path of faith and service. His advocacy is to restore us when we fail, when sin comes in. And so he's performing those two offices for us.
At the right hand of God this morning, praying for us in those two capacities.
But we find that we are in Hebrews, where he takes up at length the High Priestly.
Office of the Lord, it's with God, because that's power. It's power to go on in the path of faith and service. And in the measure in which we avail ourselves of his high priestly work, we won't need his advocacy.
But then it says here, if any man sin, not when, because remember, he's taking up the character what characterizes the family of God. And it's not sin. But if any man's sin, if, if it does come in, then there's an advocate not with God, but with the Father. And I sometimes said to the young people, to me, this is the clearest scripture on eternal security because I know when you go to school or work, you have Christian friends.
And acquaintances that will tell you, well, when you sin you lose your salvation. The family relationship is broken. If it said we have an advocate with God, we might well wonder. But the Spirit of God is so careful to guard the eternal security of the believer that it is an advocate with the Father, showing that when I fail or sin, in no way is the family relationship broken, but I do have to do with my Father. So any of us who have chil have had children know that when our children disobeyed us or went against us.
We didn't bring them up to the court of law. We didn't disown them, but they did have to do with us as parents. They did have to do with me as a as a father. And so it's an advocate with the Father. And if anybody comes along and tells you when you sin, you lose your salvation, you're no longer a child of God. Just turn to this verse and show them that in no way is the family relationship broken, but we do have to do with him.
As the family relationship.
I think it's beautiful, Ellis. Pardon. I think a beautiful illustration as to the difference between first John and Hebrews is like in.
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In First John, it's like the hospital at the bottom of the Cliff, and the book of Hebrews is like the fence that's at the top of the Cliff to keep you from falling.
Just gonna say that the exhortation here is that ye sin not. It is not necessary to sin. And sometimes you know, temptation can be very strong. Remember this young people and us who are older as well, it is not necessary to sin. We look up to that man in the glory and realize that he is interceding our cause.
And we're saying as our great high priest, ministering grace so that we will not sin often. Think of the prayer the Lord taught his disciples. Uh, lead us not into temptation. Remember, when you know there's temptation around the corner, don't go there. It's important. That's because we give place to our fleshly desires that sometimes we do sin, but it's not necessary. There's every provision made.
I like to think of the picture we have in the Old Testament when children of Israel came out of Egypt and they met up with their first enemy was Amalek, which is a picture of God of the Satan's working with the flesh in US. It's a strong battle that goes on, but there were two on the top of the mount with Moses as he interceded to hold up his hands.
One was Aaron and the other was her picture of the Lord Jesus as our great High Priest.
And as our advocate to keep us going, and we have an advocate with the Father, an interesting in the Spanish, the word advocate is the same word as lawyer. He's the one that takes up our cause here. And we have one advocate there in the presence of God, which is the Lord Jesus. And we have one advocate here, which is the Spirit of God. Both are working to keep us on track.
Don't give place to sin these things. I write unto you that ye sin not.
Do we send? Well, it's pretty clear in the last verses of the last chapter that we do sin and we can't deny it, but it's not normal for a Christian to sin. It's not characteristic of a Christian to sin.
Beautiful. Know that he's there for us, brother. Let's just go back a moment to what you said, Bob, about the two men with Moses on the on the mountains, because that was the secret of their victory that day. And I think we very quickly see that on the one hand, Aaron represents to us the the high priestly work of the Lord. I know he hadn't been officially put into the priesthood yet, but I think we see the picture very clearly.
But we might say, why do you say that her is a picture of his advocacy? Well, it's interesting that hers name means purity. And I believe it corresponds with what we have in the end of our first verse here, Jesus Christ the righteous. How can the Lord Jesus be our advocate? Because the when I sin, it's just as if the Lord Jesus in the presence of the Father says I've paid for that sin.
There's no compromise.
Because of the death of Christ. Because of the work of Calvary that has taken care of my sin.
The Lord Jesus can be a righteous advocate. You know, sometimes I haven't always acted righteously in connection with my children.
Perhaps sometimes there was compromise, but there's no compromise in connection with the advocacy of Christ. So Aaron's name means purity, and that's why, as you say, he's a picture of the advocacy means purity, and that's why he's a picture of Christ, Jesus Christ the righteous. You and I have a righteous advocate who's paid for every sin. As we said yesterday, when our sins were taken up at the cross, they were all future.
And he has taken care of my sins, past, present and future.
It's all been taken care of through the work of Calvary, and now I have one in the presence of the Father when I sin.
He says I've paid for that sin. There can be restoration. Another thing to meditate on, brethren, that her was from the tribe of Judah. Very interesting.
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Go to Revelation Chapter 12 to see why we need and advocate with the Father.
Uh, here is speaking about Satan and notice what it says uh.
Verse 10 of Revelation 12 and I heard a loud voice saying in heaven as come salvation, and strengthen the Kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ. This part for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accuse them before our God day and night. So and then when we give place to sin.
There's an accuser and he flies to the presence of God and he says.
Before God, God, where is your righteousness? Look at this guy that says he's your son and look what he's doing. Where's your righteousness? And there on God's right hand, one rises up who has nail prints in his hands and he says, yes, he sinned the Father. I will take that into account. I made propitiation on the cross.
To to take up this.
Matter in a way that is completely righteous. And brethren, he cannot have another word. If it were not for that, brethren, where would we be? We would be long gone. But it's because of him, his presence there, not only as our great High priest but as our advocate, that we can go on.
One of the things about sin, our brother mentioned we in connection with sin yesterday, you know, uh, in a garden that weeds are way easier to pull. They have a lot smaller roots when they're small. And we may be going through the day and a thought comes to our mind and the Lord by the Holy Spirit will tell us that's wrong, that's a wrong thought. And if we disagree with the Lord and we just say, I'm sorry, it's over, that's the end of it.
But if we go on and we start to make excuses for ourselves and say, well, you know, and we toy with sin, it grows and grows and grows and grows and grows. And then it's a big deal. And maybe, you know, as it grows, let's say I don't touch that. Now it's a problem between me and my wife and the Lord's talking to me and he's saying that are you listening? This is a problem. And maybe I don't judge it. And then it just keeps getting escalated. And so maybe it comes in before.
Might be good to say too, that the Lord never as our advocates, sympathizes with us in our sins.
He's faithful and just as the advocate as our high priest. He's faithful and merciful as our high priest. He sympathizes and empathizes with us because he passed through this world. He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. But as far as his advocacy, he's faithful and just, and he does not sympathize with us in our sins. Again, you see it in the Old Testament. He heard their groaning.
That was one thing, but when they murmured and complained when sin came in, he did not sympathize with them. He came in in his governmental ways.
I think what Jim mentioned earlier about Peter.
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Uh, certainly shows the work of restoration, don't you think Jim? Yes, and with David too, he said he restoreth my soul. David recognized he couldn't restore his own soul. He came in repentance and you guessed his prayer in the 51St Psalm of repentance. But again there he says restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. He recognized that he needed to come in repentance and repentance is recognizing that I sinned.
That I've sinned in the sight of God, taking sides with God as to that sin.
And coming in contrition in that way. But that's all we do. He's the one that restores.
He leads us in the paths of righteousness. He brings us back to the right way.
So we we need to come, but even that work of repentance is a work of grace in US, isn't it? It's God that works in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. I know that applies to something specific, but I think there's a broad application whether it was initial repentance for salvation that was the work of God, whether it's repentance on an ongoing basis in my Christian life, it's the work of God.
Whether I'm going on well in my Christian life, if there was some response to the Lord today, something done for him, that's the work of the Spirit of God in my soul. It's all His work. And brethren, when we get home to glory and we review the pathway, we're going to have nothing to boast in whether it was our salvation, whether it was our preservation in the path of faith, whether it was the times we were restored when there was failure.
We're going to recognize that everything came from himself. He works in us, He works with us, and He's going to get all the glory in the end. But again, I say David recognized that the work of restoration was the work of God himself, a work of the Lord himself. And in Peter's case, you mentioned, Jim, that the Lord Jesus prayed for him even before, and he saw the problem in Peter and he prayed for him.
But then after his resurrection, there was an encounter with Peter that we know nothing about. And I think it's important in restoration to realize when we do sin, that verse is individual restoration with the Lord. But Peter's sin was public, and so it had to be addressed in a public way too. And that's what we get in John 21.
And after they had eaten breakfast that day, why the Lord says to Peter Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He said he loved the Lord more than any of the rest, and so he addresses it. I think it is so gracious of the Lord when it comes to His public restoration that he doesn't say anything about having denied him.
Nothing. Only this Peter Simon, son of Jonas. Do you love me more than these? And the three times he addresses him, it's the same question. You love me? No, brethren. How that touches the heart and what is it rather than that keeps us going on? It's the enjoyment that his love is towards us. Even when we fail, it's towards us.
And to get back and be restored, it's important to have repentance, but it's the knowledge of his love that gives us to take up what the Lord has given us again. And it's interesting in the book of the Acts, Peter was so restored that and I think it's in the 4th chapter, he could say to the Jews, ye denied the Holy One and the just who you? Who's that talking?
Peter, I thought you denied him, but he was so restored in his soul that God could use him.
By the Spirit of God mightily in laying that sin to the charge of the Jewish people.
That beautiful to see how there can be full restoration and God used that man that's so dishonored. The Lord used him mightily. That should be an encouragement to us all.
I'd like to hear, Brother Bruce, what you have to say about propitiation.
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It's a big word.
Need something more than that?
It's the aspect of Christ's work on the cross that is rendered a full satisfaction to the outbreak of sin.
Yeah, it is.
What Christ has made not only for believers, but for the whole world, that's what he mentions here. It's made the whole world savable. Doesn't mean that the whole world is saved, but now the world can be saved if they come to Christ and faith and personal have a personal dealing with him. But he said that aspect of the death of of the work of Christ on the cross that is rendered a full satisfaction to God over the whole outbreak of sin and the creation.
That's that's part of atonement. The other part is substitution, which is a believers part and he receives the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. He is the one that took in his place under the judgment of God and borne their sins and the judgment of those sins on the tree. Two parts make up atonement, officiation and substitution.
I like the way Brother Chuck Hendricks used to speak about it. It's that which vindicates God's holy character so completely that he is not compromised in His Holiness when he comes out to extend forgiveness of sins to the Sinner. And I think that's very the thought of propitiation, that which vindicates God's holy character. God had been dishonored.
About the question of sin, hear these creatures that he had made fell into that. And so in the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, it was not only what he did for us. We think of that Christ died for our sins. That's like you say, brother Bruce is substitution, but it's what he did for God. My late father-in-law used to say we think of Christ died for us and that's true. That's amazingly, wonderfully true.
But he says, let's not forget that Christ died for God, and that's propitiation and the great day of atonement. There were two goats that were taken. The first was killed and his blood was taken into the holiest of all by the high priest and sprinkled on the mercy seat. That's propitiation. God has been propitiated about the question of sin so that now we can.
Preach the gospel to every creature. We can say God is satisfied with what Jesus has done on the cross. You can come, you can be forgiven your sins if you repent and believe in Him. Oh, it's a wonderful message. We don't just preach to the elect, we preach to every preacher. That was the command of the Lord. Why does this verse about propitiation follow the verse of advocacy? There must be a reason that developed the two.
Someone could explain that?
He's our advocate on the basis of his death. His high priestly work has to do with his life. Now we're saved by his life. He's living for us as our high priest. But as we said earlier, he's paid, made the payment for sin. He satisfied God as to the question of sin. And that's how he can be our advocate. And so we can come with that assurance that it has all been taken care of for the glory of God.
Does it also have the thought of why?
It can say freely, Father instead of God, because appreciation has been made. We have peace. That's very helpful.
So what's? I'm sorry, The words the sins of are in italics, you'll notice that.
And I think we're all cognizant of the fact that when the King James Version puts italics in, it's because they're identifying the fact that it's not in the original text, but they're adding it for clarity as they think it is to be for clarity. But on this case, it made a mistake. And bring in making Christ work, as in propitiation to be for the whole world. That means that the whole world would be saved and God would be unjust to have anybody going to a lost eternity if that would be the case. So.
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The sins of should not be in the translation should just be, but also for the whole world.
So propitiation has been made for the whole world, but this means the whole world is saved.
It made the world savable. God can now reach out in grace and offer pardon and forgiveness to anyone who'll have faith in the finished work of Christ.
Because the second goat on the Day of Atonement was the goat that the high priest put his hands on its head and confessed the sins of the people. And that substitution, like you say, Bruce, and that is for those who will identify with Christ and their sins then are taking away. That's the scapegoat. Do you have something to say, Dave? So propitiation.
Is what makes the grace of God through Christ's work available to all.
All may come, do all come. No, they don't, but all may come. So in propitiation the door is swung wide open to all who may come. But substitution, the substitutionary death of Christ.
Is known and laid hold of only by those who walk through the door.
Hebrews Chapter 9 verse 26 and verse 28 give you the two parts of atonement, officiation and substitution. So let's read that. Hebrews 9 verse 26 then must be for OFT suffered since the foundation of the world. But now once in the end of the world, or in the consummation of the ages, hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. That's propitiation. That's God's side of the word.
But then moving on to verse 28, it says so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.
Now that's substitution. That's our side of the word.
Two parts go together to make atonement.
But we've been saying that in first John, we have that which characterizes the family of God, those who have divine life, the divine nature. And there are in the verses that follow, there are two more characteristics given to us. One is obedience to God into the word of God, and the other is love for the for the the family of God, love for our brethren. And so these two things again are what characterized.
To those who have divine life. So I think it'd be helpful to make some comments on these two things. We have them.
Uh, inverse, uh, verse 3 hereby do we know that we know him if we keep his commandment. And then further down, he speaks of love for other members of the family of God. And when we think about this, is this really think of your own, of my own life. Think of your life. Is this, what is there a desire in your soul to walk in obedience to the word of God?
Is there a love for the people of God, others of the children of God, the family of God? If there is, then you can be pretty certain that you have divine life, that you are a child of God. I, I, I know I got into trouble one time for saying this, but I do believe it's true that what we have in John's epistle are a little series of tests rather as to whether we really are the children of God. Are you the possessor of divine life?
Here's some little tests you have that is there that desire to keep His word? Is there a love for another child of God you meet? Another child of God you've never met before?
Is there a bond? Is there something that clicks there? Is there a love that's a proof that you are a child of God? Is that right, Bruce? Yeah, that's right. It's in connection with the confusion that had already come into the Christian testimony at that time. As we've been saying, the last meeting yesterday that there were Gnostics, and there was these ones were mere professors that were wildly off. How are we to know a true believer from one who was just a mere professor of these tests that he holds up for us? Give us the characteristics of those who are the children of God.
In connection with light, love, and so on.
One of the reasons that we need that the test for truth and the pictures of what a Christian is that we have in the Word of God is because everything that we have here in the New Testament was written in the midst of a scene of things where these false teachings were coming out. That's you go back to the book of Genesis and the early chapters of Genesis and those two characteristics of evil that we see at the beginning of man's history.
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Our violence and corruption and those always go together and we live, we live in a scene where God calls upon us to believe certain things that He has revealed. So the effort of the enemy is always to get us in one way or another to believe something else or to not believe in one way or another what God has given. And so these things are laid out in such a way to give us a picture of what a Christian is so that we can have discernment.
Between one thing and another.
It's good to learn these doctrines to really, it's good to have what makes us feel good in our souls and to have the comfort, but we want the comfort that we enjoy to be based upon the sound teaching of the Word of God, and that's why we have these.
Objective truths that you might say. God is giving us a picture of what a Christian is and what the basis of our faith is.
So we have commandments and in verse five we have keeping His word. It's interesting, those two things. We now have a nature, a divine nature that wants to do what God asks us to do. It's beautiful to think about it. And really in a certain way, there's more commands in the New Testament than there are in the Old.
And we have a nature that wants to do them. The difference in the Old Testament was that man in his nature did not want to do what God told him to do. And so it was all over the place. They did not keep those commandments. But now we have a life in nature that loves to do His commandments. Like somebody said, if I asked my son to do some chores, he might find it heavy to do. But if I go, ask him to go and buy an ice cream cone.
He has a nature that loves to do that. That's what we have, brethren. We have a nature that loves to do his commands and the New Testament is full of his commands. Thou shalt not, uh, uh, be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. That's a command. It doesn't say if you like to don't do it, but it's a command and we need to recognize that if you are truly a born again Christian.
You have a nature that wants to do exactly what he asked you to do, but the word goes further and I understand my own.
That this word is his complete revealed mind that we have in scriptures sometimes give this illustration the buzzing. I have two sons and supposing that one.
Is close to me and He not only is obedient to me, but He is close to me and He listens to what I am thinking about and projects that I might have in mind.
The second one, he is obedient to my commands, but he's not close to me and he doesn't really understand my way of thinking. I think this shows the difference between.
Uh, those that are obedient to His command and those that, uh, are keeping his word. Go back to John's Gospel, chapter 14. You have the same distinction. And it's interesting the way it gives it.
John 1421 Ye that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, it is that loveth me, and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him not Iscariot Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man loved me.
You will keep my words and the father and my father will love him and will we will come to him and make our abode with him. So one thing is to keep his commandments. It's another thing I think is a, a fuller thing to keep his word. If we can have some more thoughts on that. Well, and that says you'll notice in the new translation that says if anyone loved me, he will keep my word.
00:50:29
In the singular, you know, Vern used an expression yesterday about the all embracing. There are places in Scripture where we see that it's the whole thing that he's given and that's what he wants us to be taken up with. It's not just this saying of the Lord and this saying, you know, First Timothy 6 Paul talks about wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus, and we would agree with that. But here it's the thought, it's the whole thing that he came to reveal that he is the center of.
And that's what he wants us to keep. And what is the result of that? When you were speaking, I was thinking a result of that is communion. He wants us to be in communion with him. And to be in communion with him. We need to have a pure conscience and we need to be taken up with his things.
And I remember hearing when I first came among the Saints about the expression occupied with Christ. We need to be occupied with Christ. And if we're occupied with Christ, then everything will be in its right place in our lives. Well, that sounds kind of simple. What does it mean to be occupied with Christ? It means to be taken up with his things on a daily basis, on an hourly basis.
To be occupied with Christ's things is to be occupied with Christ.
And we have no excuse because we have all the resources that are needed to carry out what we've been saying. When Adam disobeyed in the garden, he received the knowledge of good and evil, but he also quickly realized he didn't have the power to do good or the power to refrain from evil. And in the Old Testament, we find that the the Israelites were given religion for the flesh.
And at the beginning they said all the Lord our God has said that what we do, there's going to be complete obedience on our part. Well, we find out from their sad history that they didn't and couldn't really after the flesh, keep His commandments and His Word and so on. But in Christianity, brethren, we have everything that's needed. We have all things that pertain unto life and godliness. So as Brother Bob has said, we have the divine nature. You realize we have a nature that cannot sin.
I.
That that'd be presumptuous if it wasn't the truth of the Word of God. We have a nature that cannot sin and a nature that delights in nothing else but to please God and to keep his commandments and to keep his word. And so sometimes I've heard people say, well, I can't do that or I didn't do that because I'm what I am and I have this characteristic. And people will often blame things on either racial traits or family traits. Scripture recognizes there are both of those.
Why the Christians were always slow, bellied and liars. There's family characteristics and traits.
But we cannot blame anything in our Christian life on either of those.
I, I, I'm, I'm English by, by nationality, but I can't say I'm just a stubborn Englishman and that's why I can't do that. There are highland characteristics, but I can't say, well, that's just the Highlands for you. No, I have divine life. I have the spirit of God as the power for that life. I have Christ living for me as my advocate and my high priest. I have the word of God as food and instruction for my soul. And brethren, if someone comes along and says I could as a believer and says, I couldn't help it, don't say, well, I, I, I don't blame you. I you're just feeding the flesh. You're just encouraging them.
To to live for themselves, to live in the flesh. No bring before them that they have every resource that's necessary. God hasn't set a standard before us that is unattainable. None of us have attained. Of course, we all have to have. At least I have to hang my head and say these things, smite my own soul. But nevertheless, I say again, God hasn't set a standard before us that is unattainable with the resources and the position that he has brought us into even now while we're here in this world.
Prophetically, the Lord Jesus says in Psalm 40.
00:55:01
I'd like to do thy will. Oh my God, Yeah. Thy law is within my heart. That was the Lord Jesus.
And now verse six says He that abideth in him ought himself.
Also, so do walk even as he walked. So that is our example now.
Is his word a treasure in our souls? O brethren, it should be. May the Lord help it that we would be into it. I like the word ye that abideth in him.
What is abiding in Christ? What does that mean?
It's the thought of remaining, isn't it? It's a constancy.
A consistency.
Isn't that something to see that, uh, you know, you, the years go by and you get older and what an encouragement. I think it's one of the most encouraging things is that there are people in this room that I knew years ago, 3035 years ago. And as to that going on with the Lord still today having an interest in the Lord's things, it hasn't changed And you see, you see growth.
I think that's one of the most encouraging things to see in the Christian community.
Someone who has been abiding in Christ.
On a practical note, in that regard, just turn to the 27th Psalm. I think you see something very beautiful with David.
This is the Psalm of David, of course, and just let me read the fourth verse. He says one thing have I desired of the Lord that will I seek after, and I want you to notice this expression that I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. This expression, the House of the Lord used by David is very unique because usually when we think of the House of the Lord in the Old Testament.
We naturally think of the temple that was built under the direction of Solomon.
But that can't be what David is referring to, because the temple at Jerusalem under Solomon hadn't been built yet.
It was given to his son later on to build it. David had passed off the scene. And so we might well ask ourselves, what does the expression the House of the Lord mean? When David uses it now in the 23rd Psalm, he uses it in a future tense. I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever, but this is in a present tense, that I may dwell in the House of the Lord, not forever, but all the days of my life. I suggest that when David uses this expression.
It is a scent walking with a sense of the Lord's presence with us. Its dwelling in his presence. And David said here I know I'm going on to something better. There's a future when I'll dwell in the House of the Lord. We know it as the Father's house. But David said there's a day coming. I'm going to dwell in the House of the Lord forever. But I don't want to have to wait for that day. I want to buy in the language of the New Testament. I want to abide in Him every day of my life.
And brethren, I don't believe we need to get up in the morning and pray and ask the Lord to be with us as much as we need to get up and pray in the morning and ask that we would walk in the, uh, in a way that we would enjoy a conscious sense of the Lord's presence with us. He'll never leave us. Lo, I'm with you always. He's always with us. He's always there. But to abide in him is a very practical thing. We are in him positionally.
But to abide in him in the context in which we're taking it up is, I say, like David that wants to have a desire to dwell in his presence with a conscious sense of his company every moment, every day of our life. And I believe when we do that, brother, what's going to happen? Our response and love is going to grow and there will be a discernment of his will and a desire to do his will.
01:00:08
When I was younger, I was like, how can that person? I really looked up to him. They they went off into sin, they had an affair. It's totally threw their whole life away. How could they do that? That my flesh is no different than anybody else's flesh.
All of our flesh is the same. Any sin that anybody can commit is inside of each one of us. We have to abide with Christ, as our brother was saying just now in first Peter. Umm.
Chapter 2 it says wherefore. So he's given us all these things that our brothers shared yesterday.
Malice is evil thoughts. Man. I wish you were dead. I wish you weren't here. I wish whatever evil thought all guile that's umm, hiding what we really are and hypocrisy friendly, pretending to be something we're not. These are believers.
This is real. This is not what as we've talked about, this is not what characterizing Christians.
But this is real. And so the Lord allows us this test to say to our own self, look, this is not right.
In my own heart. And he said, any envy is an evil speech, evil speaking. And as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may be able to grow thereby. And I'll just use this very practical thing for myself.
When you have a difficulty with a brother, there are people that we have a hard time with just because of their personality or they shared something or whatever. God wants us to be one with each other and in a practical way for us to overcome that feeling is to pray for blessing.
We come down to verses 7 and eight in our chapter and.
Before commenting on that, I'd like to read a verse in chapter 12 of John. Actually, it's the last word that the Lord speaks in His public ministry. And then chapter 13 we have his upper Room ministry.
Last verse of chapter 12 of John. I know that His commandment is life everlasting whatsoever I speak. Therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
When we come to this verse seven and eight, it helps to keep that in mind. His commandment is life eternal. Here it says in verse seven, brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment, that which he had from the beginning. That's a key verse. That's a key expression in this epistle from the beginning.
Every time it's mentioned in this epistle, go back to the very first verse of the epistle, that which was from the beginning, there it is. It relates to that. It's eternal life manifested in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ when He was down here in this world. It's not an old, a new commandment, it's an old commandment. So in verse seven we have the old commandment. The old commandment is the word which you have heard from the beginning. There it is again, that expression.
So its eternal life has manifested in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now we come to verse 8 and he says again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you? In other words, that same eternal life that the Lord Jesus was from all eternity is now manifested in the children of God. That's the new commandment. Which thing is true in him and in you? So that which was manifested in him is now to be manifested in the children of God.
Because the darkness is passing, it says in the new translation, and the true light now shining beautiful, the old commandment and the new commandment.
So yesterday you mentioned the difference between.
01:05:02
John's Gospel and John's epistle. And that's what you're talking about, right? In the Gospel we see these things manifested in him. He is here below. He's companying with his disciples in his ministry and the things he did. We see that eternal life manifested in the person of the Lord Jesus.
But now that is to be found in him and in you.
He's not here anymore.
But he prepared his disciples for the time when he was not going to be here and in that Upper Room ministry.
He lays out those things that we were going to have through the apostles that would carry us through as witnesses of his.
So what's the thought when, when you said Bob, it means passing away, but, uh.
Not is passed.
Not sure I have a thought on that, maybe somebody else does.
But we're not in glory, are we? So we're going through a process. These things that we've read about are being produced in us. We have a nature that can do these things to walk in fellowship and to keep his word and abide in him. And these things are being developed. But Christ is in glory. But we're still on the earth. And I believe that's the thought of it passing away. And we're there with him. It will be passed away. Every time a new believer, uh, there's a new believer, somebody else gets saved more. The darkness passes, doesn't it?
Yes.
Verse 9 is a very searching verse. He that saith is in the light.
And Hateth, his brother, is in darkness even until now.
The real position of a believer is to be his in the light.
And so like you brother Jim said earlier, these are tests to test is are we real with God?
And if you are real, this will be the case that you will not hate your brother.
Remember, a sister down in South America is a problem between sisters and the meeting and she made the statement. I hate that sister.
And there was a brother standing there and I thought his comment was very good. He said, sister, if you have not been born into the family of God, it is true, you will hate that person. But if you have been born into God's family, you have a life and nature that can love that sister. And that's the truth of the matter rather. Because the love that is in us now is the same love that God loved us with.
Why did he love us? Were there something good in us that he loved us? He loved us because God is love. It has nothing to do with what we are in ourselves. It has everything to do with what He is in himself. And that's such a marvelous thing to think about. Now. If you're born into God's family, you have a life in nature that is like the Lord Jesus, and you can love like He loves.
Says Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone that loveth him, that begot loveth also him, that he has begotten of him.
That is normal to the family of God.
In verse 10 before we finish it says he that loveth his brother abideth in the light and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. I love that.
In the Psalms it says Great peace have those that love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. Brethren, this is beautiful to think about. We see offenses amongst brethren and how they are nurtured at times and we have something inside that's bitterness and we cling to it. Let it go. It's gonna hinder you more than anybody else.
01:10:21
But think of this verse, he that loveth his brother abideth in the light.
And there is none occasion of stumbling with him. We cannot blame somebody else that that brother has been a stumbling block. To me that isn't valid.
I'm sorry to say our time has gone out.
Nsnoise.
Sunshine blows, are you? There we live and I will grind the bed.
Oh so I'll change your life real way with friends. They blew the fire and prayer due to praise.
Thank you so much for the things that we had before us and marvelous thing to think.
A very eternal life that was manifested until its perfection, the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's now in our garden.
01:15:04
Thank you for that. And, uh.
Thank you to that. We were able to talk a little bit about what characterized that life.
Her grandfather. We have the polite help too.
Allow that light to shine forth in our light. We pray that we would.
He found in communion the father and the son.
The only basis for that is that eternal life that we possess.
Friday.
Umm, well, we know.
It will be light who made thy word, and.
Love for the breadwinner. Full forth in the life so.
We thank you that we could think on these things. Lord, we pray to that as we, uh, move through the day and the days ahead that we would meditate on these things.
That we would realize that we have the lights the Lord Jesus had.
Gone honoring. Thank you so much for what NOW has done, Tina.
Just thank you for calling for this hour right helping the remainder of the day after the Thy worthy name, Lord, Amen.