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First John chapter 2, verse 14.
I have written unto your Father's.
Because you have known him, that is, from the beginning.
I have written unto you, young men, because you are strong.
And the word of God abideth in you, and you 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 same.
And as you have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists?
Whereby we know that it is the last time.
They went out from us, but they were not of us, or 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 ye 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.
Verse 22 who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ.
He is Antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son.
Whosoever denies the Son the same hath not the Father, but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
Let that therefore abide in you, which he have heard from the beginning.
Is that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you. Ye also shall continue in the sun 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 ye need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things and His truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
And now little children abide in Him.
That when he shall appear, we may have confidence.
And not be ashamed before him at his coming, if he know that he is righteous.
You know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of Him.
Here this afternoon who were not here this morning.
This morning we read the 12Th and the 13th verses and spoke about them.
Now we begin with the 14th verse.
In that 13th verse.
The apostle John divides the household of faith.
Into three classes.
Fathers. Young men.
And little children are babes.
Now a man may be 50 or 60 years old.
And justice saved. And in that sense, he's a baby.
It's not the age that counts, but it's the progress in the Christian pathway.
So their fathers, those that have made the most maturity.
And as we were commenting this morning on the expression have known him that is from the beginning.
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That is Christ.
And he has so displaced everything else.
That he is there all their one object.
Other things are eclipsed.
And so.
He doesn't have to add an exhortation.
In the 14th verse he merely repeats it, that they have known him, that is, from the beginning.
Now the young men are those who have gone on.
They may be mature men. They may be elder men.
Just saved a short time but they've gone on in the truth and made some progress.
And making progress in the truth, they have run into conflict where we're not going to get through this world without some conflict.
This is the enemy's world, and he's going to resist every bit of progress that the Christian makes.
Just as he resisted the children of Israel making the advances into the land of Canaan.
Well, the young men have gone on. They have met the enemy, and they're strong.
And what makes them strong is not self-confidence, it's not the energy of flesh or nature. But they're strong because the Word of God abides in them. And that's important for the young people, It's important for all of us that the Word of God may have such a place in our hearts and our minds that there would be strength from it.
And that when we come into the conflict with the enemy, we're we're not defeated.
And then the babes are those newly saved is the third class.
And in the rest of this epistle he addresses except the last two verses.
He accept he addresses these three classes. The 14th verse he addresses the Father's.
And then the young man, and that continues with the young men until you go down to.
The 18th verse and there you get little children addressed.
Or the base, those that are newly converted.
And the danger for the babes is different than the danger for the young men.
We said before, there is no special danger for a Father, one who has gone on and made progress, until Christ is the absorbing object before him.
But the young men have their difficulties, they have their dangers. And this word has given us that we may know what the danger is, and it's also given that the babes may know what they're dangerous. But whatever our danger, the word of God meets.
Then, as we said this morning, the 28th and the 29th verses revert to the whole household of faith without distinguishing different parts. The third, the 12Th verse, was the whole household, and then you come to it again in the 28th verse, 29th.
The whole household of faith, it's addressed.
And we noticed this morning considerable time was spent on the 12Th verse.
The whole household, and we know our sins are forgiven for his namesake.
I just thought I'd pull together what we had this morning.
Some do not make that progress go on to them, but as we said this morning.
There isn't anybody, anybody here that would say I have attained to that state, but others may say it of them.
They say that Christ is the absorbing object of their heart. And so they say well.
I would call that man a father, that brother.
But most here in the room, I suppose, are in the class of young men. They've been saved. They've been brought up in a measure of the truth. They've absorbed it. They know much of the Scriptures they've gone on. They've found a difficult path down here.
Now the difficulty, the danger for the young men is the world.
And the world comes in many and varied forms.
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They all have attractions for someone.
Might be thought that after what is said about the young men here.
I have written unto you, young men, because you're strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and you've overcome the wicked one. Well, humanly speaking at my piece said, well, what else is necessary to add but.
He brings before them how that they have a heart to which this world, or the God of this world seeks to arrange things to attract that heart and get them away from Christ.
And the world has many avenues you find. Some people are carried away with it in education, some in art.
Summon money, making money.
Many, many ways, some even into the religious aspect of the world.
And now we have hearts that these things appeal to.
Right, brother cladding.
There's a hazard to it. There was a young believer.
Even in the overcoming of the wicked one.
I think of Samson.
He went down and slew a lion, a type of playing Satan, overcoming the wicked one. When he went by again, he turned aside to have a look at his achievement, and it got him into trouble, didn't it? I think we find a principle there of 1 glorying in his.
Victory, and this is the old nature asserting itself even when there's a victory concerning spiritual things we need to be on our guard against.
Pride coming in even when we have through the grace of God had a victory over the evil of the world and over Satan this morning in the third of Philippians about forgetting those things are behind. Well, we're not to be occupied with how much.
Usefulness there's been in our lives for the Lord. We forget that.
Not to depend on that, but to go on in simple dependence upon him day by day.
You'll never get a diploma down here and the conflict isn't all over while we're here.
Sometimes the gospel is put before people as if you just accept Christ. It's all smooth sailing from here.
But that's when the battle begins.
Satan doesn't entice the unbeliever, he belongs to it, but he does try to turn the young believer out of the path.
Recorded in the 13th. The 1St Kings come home with me and I'll give you a present. But it was too early for that, wasn't it? This is not the time for presidency. They'll be rewarded that the judgment seat of Christ if earned.
Like had to go back to kill God, didn't they? Yes, and when they failed to, they had a sad failure. I would like to refer to two hymns in this Little Flock hymn book.
One number 76 in the book.
And I think the language of it breathes the spirit of the young man.
Who has made certain progress?
And he knows he's in conflict.
Rise, my soul, thy God directly strange. Your hands no more impede.
Pass thou on, His hand protects thee strength that has the captive free.
In the wilderness is the wilderness before the desert land where God abides. Heavenly spring shall there restore thee, fresh from God's exhaustless times.
5th verse Art thou weaned from Egypt's pleasures? God in secret thee shall keep their unfold is hidden treasures there His Love's exhaustless deep in the desert. God will teach thee what the God that thou hast found Patient, gracious, powerful, holy. All his grace shall there abound.
Beautiful am certainly if it's the young man who's in conflict and it's making some progress.
Now go to 1881. Now 181 isn't it?
Rise, my God, thy soul directly.
No.
Blessed Father, Infinite and grace.
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78 Thank you, Brother, Blessed Father, Infinite, and grace, source of eternal joy.
Thou leads our hearts to that blessed place where rests without a law.
There will thy love find perfect rest were all around this list.
We are all in these supremely blessed. Thy praise their services.
That hymn raised the atmosphere of the Father.
Now, if you would turn back to the index in the back of the book that indicates who wrote these, you'll find that both of them were written by the same man and about 40 years between them.
One when the man was about 40 and the other one was about 80.
Well, that's the way it should be.
I would feel safe in saying that the man that when he wrote 178 was in the good of being a father.
But energy and strength was that which marked his first hymn, first one of those two.
Yes, yes.
If a young man, a young believer would attempt to assume the attitude of the father.
Without having grown up to it, he would be wrong. He would be making a mistake, wouldn't he?
What I heard old brother Willis Christophers father say the Chicago meeting.
Oh, I don't know, Brother Hearsman maybe can tell me how long ago it is. Long time ago he was delivering an address and he said.
He had a big family, you know, several children, he said. My children all have a better education than I have.
But there's one thing I have they don't have and can't have, and that's my experience.
That is, the point of his getting home was that there's a certain ripening that comes from going on in the Christian life through the years that can't be had any other way.
Are we safe in saying this to Brother Brown that we do not step into a spiritual state instantly?
And they'd not. Sometimes you'll find young people that will assume to a special spiritual attainment.
And in just no time, they seem to have grown up.
We do not come into spiritual maturity instantly, nor do we slip away and get into a failure instantly either. Both are the result of a course.
Wasn't it JND that said the spiritual plant is a slow growing plant? I suppose it's certainly true.
Too much of a place in that way and beyond their maturity, it's bound to lead to a fall sooner or later, one brother I know remarked that said, too much fail.
Will upset any ballastless boat. Too much sale for the ballast that's there.
I'm just saying to the young people and for their.
What are going on in the godly way? And they're they're enjoying this and it just seems national forum to move in. Maybe they're in a small gathering and they take other leading parts out. What do they matter to me about that?
Well, I would say that's all right, So don't go too far.
The question was raised here, something about fathers. I don't know what I got the.
Just exactly what was behind the question, but I was thinking of that in the 13th of Hebrews of verse seven. Remember your leaders who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow.
Well, that evidently refers to departed leaders, those of a past generation.
Well, there is a result of a frightening experience.
Well, it's all right to for young people, make progress. I certainly wouldn't want to.
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Say anything about that. I remember I used to be young myself, you know, and I was in the Chicago meeting and we had a couple of older brothers there that they held younger brother in place. Well, I remember.
One brother's son-in-law, our brother Potter's son-in-law, remarked to him one time, he says.
Why don't you?
Give Mr. Arisman more of a place. Remember, he's a young man.
Well, I appreciate those brothers, their attitude now. I didn't always appreciate it then what I do now.
He had a brother eight years ago.
Just a young chap and he got all inflated, got Mr. Darby's synopsis and was reading it, and he quit. He quit coming to the reading meetings because he said he didn't want to go there and waste his time listening to those old brothers stumble around in the scriptures. He'd get far more to stay at home reading the synopsis.
And he was very young, young, unmarried young man.
Well, that young man's course was very, very sad. He drifted and drifted and drifted.
Last I heard he was in unbelief. Open unbelief, just to clear away.
The story is called of a young man who worked with his father and then he had thought that he knew quite a lot and he went away for some 15 years. Money came back, he began working with his father again and his mother.
Surprising what that is learned in the last 15 years.
Good brother, who realized the source of health that we have regarding this question of the world and its enticement in John 1633.
These things have I spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace.
In the world you shall have tribulation, but be a good fear. I have overcome the world and then over in first down five and four.
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world, and this is the victory.
That overcometh the world, even faith or our faith.
So we we are not to be cast down and depressed, but look off unto the Lord, keep your help and continue on. Then shall they know, if they follow on to know the Lord.
When the world is divided up here.
In this address to the young man.
All that is in the world.
That's the whole world system.
It's divided here and our 16th verse.
Into three different appeals on three different levels.
I suppose it's on an ascending scale.
The lust of the flesh would be the gross level.
The lust of the eyes a little more respectable.
But perhaps the most subtle of the three is the pride of life.
And did not our Lord and his temptation in the wilderness?
Pass through.
What answer to those? Not that there was anything, any man responded. I don't mean that, but we're not these 3 levels put before.
Maybe some brother would develop that for us.
Well, look, give us the moral order, and it's the same order that we have here, and it's the same order also that's in the third of Genesis, where Eve looked upon that forbidden fruit she saw that was good for food and was pleasant for the eyes, and a thing desired to make one wise. Well, now.
Satan tried these things out on the Lord.
The first man fell under them, but there was number spring within our blessed Lord and Savior to be tempted by them, so he answered Satan according to scripture.
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Well, I have often thought that the lust of the flesh, perhaps in a way.
Is more the.
Might say that temptations of youth, though it's it's not limited to that. We're never free from it.
The pride of life, perhaps, might be more.
Excuse me, the lust of the eyes is more that where.
One has began to feel the burdens of life and responsibilities.
How to make one's way in this world and provide for their families and so on. The enemy would seek to bring before one that which looks beautiful to them.
Then the latter part, the pride of life, is more.
Going looking back and seeing.
What what we've attained to of the progress we've made and perhaps that pertains more to later life.
Well, the older we get, you know why, the less we like to be told that we're wrong. The pride of life comes in.
Suppose this is the moral order of every child of Adam, Isn't it? The three things we have here, they are manifested even in a child, in a baby. The first thing a baby does is to put everything in its mouth, the lust of the flesh. And then a little later it wants everything it sees. Lust of the eyes. Little ironic says, Look, I have a new dress. That's the pride of life.
We all got the first explanation, that of the, well, I suppose the lust of the flesh.
Is the more natural appetites desires.
The soul is looked upon as the seed of the appetites, and so those things which would perhaps more come to us in youth.
We haven't had the experience as to how it is all vanity and vexation of spirit more than natural things. You know there is a certain.
All thought abroad that people ought to be allowed to do the things that are natural to them.
Well, maybe just the lust of the flesh.
We're told to flee beautiful lust.
And Timothy was told that.
Yes, there's more of that which would pertain to youth.
Also had other scripture in First Peter 2, perhaps 11.
There it's a matter of abstaining from fleshly lusts that war against the soul, which what I think would allow that there are proper desires that God has.
Intended that they be kept under control.
We do have proper hunger and one might add, other proper desires that are really lost.
But they should be held under control. But if we do know that they are really warring against our soul, he says abstain from flesh. Fleshly lusts that war against the soul.
From a natural desire becomes a lust. You say that?
Yes, it may develop into something that's I'll.
That would have made the strawberry and says even the given to appetizers let them for the night to his throat.
I read a verse from James one.
14.
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his lust, of his own lust, and entice it.
But our brother Airsman told us.
Moment ago.
He didn't call our attention.
This 4th of Luke, he didn't follow it out for us. I think it'd be nice if he would showing how these temptations are in their moral order here in Luke and how they fit in with the with what we have here in first John.
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Well, Luke gives to us a moral order, not the historical order. We find that the order is different in Matthew than it is here in Luke.
But it seems that there is the immoral ascendancy to these.
Temptations.
And as I said before, it's the same order that Satan brought before the 1St man in the Garden of Eden, and it's the same order that we have here in first John Two. Well.
The first thing that.
Satan brings before him in the fourth of Luke is in the third verse. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone, and be made bread.
And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Well now there the Lord had been without food for 40 days, it told us, and he was hungry.
Well, under ordinary circumstances, why it wouldn't have been.
Sin to have satisfied his hunger, but here it was at the devil's suggestion. Now you prove that you're the Son of God by doing that. Well, that would have been taking his instructions from Satan rather from the Father, and so his answer there.
Is it is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God? That is, his whole life should not be spent in satisfying these natural desires, but he should be waiting upon the Lord and His Word to form his pathway.
Well then the second there is in the fifth verse.
And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them, for it is delivered unto me, and whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore will worship me, all shall be thine.
Well, there he takes him up and he shows him the all the.
Kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. He didn't show him the misery of them. Because Satan never gives you the whole story. He only gives you that part which he feels your heart would cater to. And so he shows him these kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. Well, that's the way man likes to present things in this world.
So here he is showing him all those things.
And what a marvelous.
Moving picture that must have been to have shown him all of that in a moment of time.
The glory of all the kingdoms of the world.
Must have been a marvelous picture.
Oh, it would have been to the ordinary person, beyond what they could stand.
Well, I've often thought, you know, that Satan doesn't show us all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. He doesn't need to. All he shows us is just a little part of it.
Well, the Lord answers him. He said he'd give him this if you will worship me.
Well, that is making compromises with this world for a position in life. If you'll worship me, if you'll acknowledge my place.
I sometimes have thought that in the Revelation, where?
We have there the false church. I believe the devil shows her some sort of picture like this. I'll give you this, but you have to acknowledge me. Well then the Lord answered him.
Get thee behind me, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. No, he says. I am not going to acknowledge you. I am not going to worship you.
I shall worship the Lord, thy God, and him only shalt thou serve well. It's noticeable that the Lord quotes from Deuteronomy the path of the St. In this world, His people, that was their path.
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Well, we go on.
Yes, yes, that was all that wonderful glory. The lust of the eye. That's our second. Yes, the lust of the eyes. Oh, how beautiful it must have looked. I don't think the lust of the eyes means looking at created beauties. I don't think that's it. I think the lust of the eyes of more is what man's made out of it.
Man's achievements in this world, that's what attracts the lust of the eyes and.
Would lead us to make compromises with this world.
Well then, the next he takes him, and he brought him to Jerusalem and set him on a pinnacle of the temple.
And said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence.
For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up blessed at any time thou dice thy foot against the stone.
Well, now here he takes him up to the pinnacle of the temple.
Oh, he really gives him, he might say, a religious viewpoint here, The pinnacle of the temple.
And he brings before him. He quotes scripture to him.
The Lord had been answering by scripture, so now Satan quote scripture toy.
Well, here I believe it's the pride of life. What he's putting before him was show us who you are, cast yourself down, show us who you are. That's what he was trying to do.
Well, he quotes scripture to him, but when the devil quotes scripture, he doesn't quote all the scripture.
He lives our son, part of it.
And.
The Lord answered him.
It is said, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
If he had cast himself down, he would have been tempting God to see if God was as good as his word.
But the part that I believe that Satan left out was that should keep thee in all thy ways, the path of obedience here in the scene. Satan left that part out, and he'll always leave out some part. He'll never give you the whole truth. He only gives you half truth or even partial truth.
Well, I like what is said in Matthew in this connection.
I think it is very.
Very important.
In the fourth of Matthew and these same parables or same temptations.
The seventh verse when the Lord answers Satan.
He says it is written again.
That is, Satan brought one scripture before him.
Well, now says it's written again. There's another scripture that bears on this point, and that I believe is very important to remember that.
How much difficulty there has been?
In Christendom, in the church, by people taking a certain passage, maybe taking it out of its connection and basing all on that without it seeing that it's written again somewhere else to modify that.
In Matthew.
That is the climax. And so he says, get the hence Satan, get the hence Satan.
He rebukes him and terminates the interview. But in Luke, where we get the moral orders brother's been bringing before us.
While you find that in the King James Bible, here in the eighth verse it's omitted, it is not in the better text.
Because the point here is the moral order, and so there's not determination of the interview here. So that gets thee behind me. Satan is omitted.
But we're not omitted. It would mean that Satan could linger, yes, after he was turned away, yes, in the second temptation in Luke, Paul, it's striking to notice that the devil does not use that phrase if thou be the Son of God the second time. Because if Christ were the Son of God, it's the very last thing he would do to fall down and worship the devil. So he leaves those words out there.
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Striking too, when it comes to the Lord the first time, He says, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
Now man was seeking to be as gods Adam and Eve.
And then when Satan comes to the Lord now, he says, if you're the Son of God.
Make these stones into bread. The Lord's answer was, Man shall not live by bread alone. He had taken the place as a man and as a man. Obedience was here.
And we need to remember that. Or is that that becomes us as men.
Obedience.
Here were the climax of all the temptations that.
Brought before him when he was in the wilderness.
He was tempted. The full 40 days, I thought So. Yes, Hampton, 40 days of the devil.
Last Temptation.
And the neighbors of different elders. Death.
Adam was tempted in the Garden of Eden, surrounded by all the delights that God had created, and he fell. I think it's Mark that says the Lord was in the wilderness with the wild beasts. He was there with what sin had brought in.
But there we find perfect obedience, routing the folk. It's there that he bound the strongman, and he bound the strong man with it is written.
Is it in Mark where it says the Spirit drive him into the wilderness?
A reluctance to meet that awful being.
Spirit of some.
Young Christians we've met through the years that are just asking the Lord to give them a trial.
Isn't it happy for us to stay too? And Hebrews the 4th chapter.
Where we have Christ as our High Priest.
The reference to this temptation that he endured as a man.
The 4th chapter and verse 15.
For we have not in High Priest, which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are.
Sent apart.
And as we come back to our chapter in the Epistle of John.
The warning is given to the young men concerning these three.
Things that characterize the world.
And that we should abstain from them.
But we can't fight this battle alone, can we? And one who seeks to win it in his own strength is going to fail miserably. Where do we turn? Oh, there's that one up on high who is man endured these temptations and has set forth the pathway and were to follow in his step.
Maybe I'd say a little more about that expression yet without sin or apart from sin. Well, I think her brother Harrison, there was something of that, didn't we? We, we have the temptations in.
Inherently in us due to the nature that.
Has been handed down to us from Adam.
And we find that we.
We have an appetite for this, but the Blessed One who was here had no such character. And one thinks how gracious it was of him that he submitted to that testing when it was absolutely abhorrent to him so to do. But it was that he might be the true witness, the true servant.
And showing himself qualified, he didn't enter into his ministry until he had.
And during that testing, did he so apart from sin would signify that?
There was nothing in him that responded to any of it. But if those things were put before us, there would be something in us that would respond to them. So we must always distinguish between our temptations and those that were put before the Lord.
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The Prince of this world cometh and findeth nothing in me, actually.
His very nature was that holy one.
And that nature had no possibility of ever.
Sinning or having a sinful thought or exercising his own will.
Morally impossible for the Son of God to sin.
He was tempted with from without, yes.
These were real temptations, but there was nothing in him that responded as you said.
Nor could respond.
Nor could respond because.
I talked to a Bible teacher.
Have been teaching for years and this one insisted that he had to have a nature capable of sinning.
Just like ourselves and that we were dishonoring the Lord when we robbed him of having such a nature and capability. Well, that was satanic reasoning.
Really blast them.
Romans to clarify a point because it it might confuse some.
8th of Romans and the third verse.
For what the law could not do in that is weak through the flesh.
God sending his own son.
I'll read that the way a lot of people think about it.
God sending his own Son in sinful flesh, Is that what it says?
Well, that's blasphemy, isn't it?
God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flight, not in sinful flight.
That is, if anyone had looked at the Lord Jesus as He worked up there in the Carpenter shop at Nazareth, I suppose He worked at his trade. One says this reverently. Is not this the Carpenter?
He had no Halo about his head.
There was nothing that marked him as out of heaven. He was a man among men, as far as that went the likeness of sinful faith, but he was not in sinful flesh. There was no trace of sin in it.
The expression he flesh cannot be used in connection with. Yes, certainly.
That's the flesh uses synonymous with that old nature that we have is descendants of Adam.
That holy thing which will be born of these shall be called the Son of God, that holy thing.
Absolutely holy.
References made to the importance of those I wonder whether.
That 12Th verse might be in line with what we're considering.
For the Word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even the dividing asunder, the soul and the spirit, the joints, the Mara and the Zerner, the thoughts and the intents of the heart.
One has often thought in connection to this verse I submitted.
That here the dividing asunder the soul and the spirit.
The soul being looked upon as the seat of the appetite.
And the Spirit having more to do with that higher part of our being that has to do with God. Well, now in our journey through this life, our walk.
We may not be able to discern ourselves. Something may appear very commendable to us.
But we may find out later. Perhaps it wasn't the thing to do.
Well, here the word of God would be that which would divide between the soul and the spirit. It would show us, if there was dependence on Him and waiting on Him, what was really according to his mind, and what was according to our natural thought.
00:50:17
I thought of that. That we, in other words.
We do not know really our own motives at times, would you think Silver around?
Do we not sometimes find ourselves in a position where we have to say to the Lord? I simply don't know my own thoughts.
I don't know what's moving and ask the Lord to make it plain.
And one has to be careful about saying, Well, the Lord said unto me to do this.
Or do that.
I knew one case where one said that.
And afterwards, the way things turned out, he ruled the day that he did it. And yet it was a commendable thing to do, humanly speaking. You mean the act that came about from it? Yes.
Word flesh, Brother Petrin raised it while ago and the fourth of first Peter.
The fourth of first Peter and the first verse.
For as much then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, that is, as the Incarnate Christ the man, he became flesh.
Arm yourselves likewise with the same mind. Now the rest of the verse is talking about us.
We're to arm ourselves of the same mind for He that has suffered in the flesh.
Now I just submit this, He that has suffered in the flesh, that is, I've got an old nature in me.
If I gratify that whole nature, why it'll it'll go on in sin. But he that has suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin. I say no to it, I don't gratify it, and I cease from sin. Then in the second verse, that he should no longer live the rest of his time in the flesh, that's his.
His human life down here, that that's talking about ourselves, that he should no longer live the rest of his life down here.
In the flesh to the lust of man, but to the will of God.
So that we get Christ the holy flesh in the first part of the first verse.
We get the evil principle of the flesh in ourselves in the end of the verse, and then we get ourselves looked at in our humanity in the second verse.
So we have to distinguish.
Where we find these terms as to what is signified by them. In other words, you know there's a man that wrote a Bible.
I don't believe I can give you the name of it now, but. But he had the strange delusion that.
That every Greek word could always be translated by the same English word.
And he made a translation of the kind. Well, it's just absolutely absurd and ridiculous.
And he taught a lot of evil, wicked doctrine in that, in that translation, you cannot do that. You one has to discern where a word is used. What does it mean in that particular passage? Is that right? Brother Potter used to tell us that the context should show us the meaning.
And also pill of English.
Why? Certainly it's true of English. Certainly it is.
Spiritual man of God.
To make decisions. Spiritual judgment in the selecting of the right word in the right place.
And verse 2.
Know ye the Spirit of God? Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in flesh is of God, and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in flesh is not of God. The article V is out, isn't it? Yes, would would make a difference to that which my brother Brown has called our attention to.
In the scripture he just referred to as something else omitted there too Brother growth there is is omitted.
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It should read every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ come in flesh. It's confessed not the fact that he came, but confessed the person who came.
And it's the same in the next part. Every spirit that confesses not Jesus Christ come in place the confession of the person, not the fact that he came.
The natural things for our natural body from God and Thanksgiving there is blessing, but if we take things from the devil, the enemy, through temptation, it is a disorderly.
This hour and it becomes lust. For instance, I was thinking that we eat to live. Live to eat is disorderly, becomes lost. Marriage is honorable, but if lasciviousness is practiced, it is lost. Well, Satan really controls the world.
By his stock and trade, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
If a man is in the advertising business, he needs to know not much else.
But the people are swayed by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life.
We were speaking the other evening in a Bible reading Wednesday evening.
Few years ago.
The advertising for automobiles went like this.
See its beauty.
I buy it one mate, another one says try it and see the lux, the luxury of it, the one appealing to the lust of the eye, the other to the lust of the flesh. And still another said buy a new Ford and watch your neighbors perk up.
Well, if you're going to buy a new Ford in order that you'll be looked up to by your neighbors, it's the lust of the flesh. I mean, the pride of life. Excuse me.
But the world moves on that whole principle.
The great theme I believe in advertising is that people take in more by what they see.
Rather than what they read for here.
Like a sorry or yeah, we're still in school.
Bear went over the mountains to see what he could see, and all that he could see was the other side of the mountain.
We would comment one other comment about the advertising of the day.
That the character that it is assumed today that.
Has a very strong inclination toward immorality.
Marks what is about us and we need to be more than ever on our guard against this particular lust, don't we? Yes.
When the remedy be there in Colossians 3.
Would this be that which would help us?
Regarding this very solemn and subtle situation which we find ourselves we wanting to read the verses in the first part of how that third chapter setting our affection on things about being occupied with Christ and verse 5 mortify there for your members which upon the earth list them. How do we go about to do that getting it down to practical work.
To mortify, put them in death row. Romans 6 recommended.
Roman Six, we reckon ourselves, if I gotta talk about that.
These old make this old nature doesn't die very much alive.
All it needs is a provocation. You find out.
I do believe that we are living in a day and in a country.
Where big business is?
Building greater, more modern, more attractive buildings and fixtures, and all the interior decorations, and all their counters and their signs and their attractive clerks, and everything is on the increase of glamour and attraction which the flesh is liable to be occupied with.
Well, I think of Mrs. Lemel's little chorus that is so often quoted.
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Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Look full into His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace if I am walking with Him.
I will if I have to go to the store. I'll be in communion with him and I'll seek to get what I need. And I'll see an awful lot that my new nature will abhor instead of admire. And when it comes to my home, this principle enters very readily. We see this, we see that we want this little better than that.
And we keep on until our mind is occupied with colors and combinations and contrasts.
And.
We relegate the other thing to the basement or the goodwill or send it down to Mexico sometimes and we we just have that tendency to want something more. But when we get home to glory, the Lord is not going to reward us for that sort of a program.
There is another danger in it too. I believe young people are particularly in danger of it and that's being enticed to buy these things on payments.
The other young people have what they say and so they want to keep up with the Jones and each one striving to have what the other has. I think it's too bad when the Christian gets into that attitude and pretty soon where we've mortgaged the future, which we're not at all sure of, and then the next thing after that we have to pay off in the future.
And really, we haven't anything left for the Lord because we've mortgaged it all beforehand.
Never used a crime like y'all placements. You know you don't need no money. Well, it's not enticing and tempting.
What we need is sales resistance.
There are all manner of modern things.
Like we've been Speaking of even their very catalogues and what they send in the mail continually, why they become robbers, robbers of our time and occupation, robbers of what's good for our soul. So we're deprived of our time spent in what would be for Christ. The apostle Paul says for for me to live.
Is Christ here in the third of Colossians? Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth. Well, isn't the simple meaning of that. Just set your heel on the neck of these things, put them to death, give them no consideration whatsoever. Mortify them, put them in the place of death. That's what it gives us in Galatians 524 And they that are Christ have crucified the flesh with.
The affections and lusts verse is true of every Christian on earth.
But our verse in Colossians 35 is really.
Gilgal.
We need to go back into the Lord's presence and be there.
In a low, low place in reality, and there is a place to stop the progress of lusts farther on. We have let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, and so on. Well in mortifying the members.
Is it not allowing the sword of the spirit, so to speak, cut them off, mortified in the Colossians you have there you were alienated by wicked works of your mind, enemies in your mind by wicked works. The mind has a lot to do there in Colossians and I believe the 2nd chapter it's.
Largely the devil working on the mind.
It's rationalism and ritualism and mysticism.
The mind at work. Well then, when you come to the beginning of the third chapter, it's instead of affections.
It's to set your mind on the things above and not on the things of the earth.
Well then, so you get what is Christ towards their life will then mortify. Then you have the members in the fifth verse and in the eighth verse you have put off all these. Well, that's not the members there, that's the product I believe of the mind put them off.
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While it's by the Word of God, let the word of God dwell in you richly in all wisdom, and it's the word of God in prayer.