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Stanza, the hymn that we're just saying.
John 17 and verse 11.
Now I am no more in the world but.
These are in the world.
And I come to thee, Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the Son of Perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
Now come I to Thee, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray that Thou shouldst take them out of the world without should keep them from the evil.
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them to thy truth. Thy word is truth.
If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous, and He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
He that said he abideth in him ought also himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
Brother and I write no new commandment unto you, but a old commandment which you have from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you.
Because the darkness is past, and the true light now is shining, He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother is in darkness even unto now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
He that hated his brothers in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whether he goeth, because that darkness has blinded his eyes. I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
I write into you, fathers, because you have known Him, that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I ran unto you, little children, because you have known the Father.
I have written unto you 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 those things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. The world passes away in the lust thereof. He that doeth the will of God abideeth forever.
No, the children, it is the last time, as you have heard, that the 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 of us.
Or if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out, and they they might be made, 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 and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ. He is the Antichrist that denies the Father and the Son.
Whosoever denies the Son the same has not the Father.
But he that acknowledges the Son has the Father also. Let not therefore, abiding you which you have heard from the beginning, if that which you have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, He 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 you have received of Him abided in you, and you did not that any man teach you.
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It has the same anointing that you all think, and is truth, and is no lie. Even as it has caught you, you shall abide in it. Now, little children, abide in Him, that when He shall affair, 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.
And he pointed out in the last meeting. But I think if they're repeating that, it's not so much the thought of little children here.
Mr. Darby leaves the word out and has a footnote regarding it, but it's written to all believers, all the children of God, irregardless of spiritual growth or development. And isn't that wonderful, brethren, to consider?
That every child of God, no matter whether they've just been saved.
No matter whether they have a great understanding of divine things or whether they're young in the faith, whether they've just begun to read the Scriptures, or whether they've studied it for many years, every child of God, every member of the family has this resource, has this the Lord Jesus living for them, interceding for them as their advocate. It's been pointed out too, that in Hebrews where he takes up the high priestly work of the Lord Jesus.
It's to preserve us in the path of faith and service, but when it's his advocacy, it's for restoration.
And you'll notice here in this verse we begin with that it's Jesus Christ the righteous.
Back in the ninth verse of the previous chapter, it says he is faithful and justice. Again, a little contrast with that and what we have in Hebrews when it's his high priestly work. He's a faithful and merciful high priest.
But when it's a question of those things that come into our lives that break communion sin and that which is not according to his holy standard, it it we find he's faithful and just and he's righteous. He's that we have a righteous advocate, not a sympathizing advocate, but a righteous advocate. I'm gonna use a little illustration because restoration is never on the basis of compromise, you know, sometimes in the family circle.
As I look back on raising children, I have to say that there was often compromise. Sometimes I wasn't always righteous in my dealings with my children. Sometimes I wasn't always faithful and and just.
But let's illustrate it this way. Suppose I go against society and I'm brought up to the judge.
And the judge listens to my case, He might let me go. If I'm a fast talker and I have a good lawyer, he might let me off.
But if I'm really guilty, he's not a righteous judge. But we'll suppose the judge listens to my case.
And he says to me now, Jim, I know you're guilty and the penalty is thus and so.
And I'm going to take my robes off and come down and pay the penalty for you. I'm going to meet the claims of society for you. Now he's a righteous judge because the claims of society have been met. And when I sin, it's just as if in the presence of the Father, the Lord Jesus says I've paid for that sin. That's how he can be a he can be faithful and just. That's how he can be a righteous advocate.
Because my sins were all taken care of at the cross, every sin has been paid for, every sin has been forgiven. All I have to come now, do now is come and confess those sins. And I have a righteous advocate. And again, as we said yesterday, it's not an advocate with God, it's an advocate with the Father and showing that in no way is the family relationship severed. But when I sin, I do have to do with God as my Father.
That's why it says in verse 2, officiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. In other words, propitiation is what is towards God. It's that part of the work of Christ that was necessary so that God's holy character would not be compromised when He came out to forgive the guilty Sinner and even us as believers when we sin.
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He's not compromised in this holy character.
When the Lord Jesus acts as a faithful or is a righteous advocate to restore us to God, and I think that's so important to see God, the work of Christ.
Has vindicated God's holy character in such a way that he is not compromised when he.
Forgives and when he acts to restore and it's it's wonderful to see that but I don't wanna pass over the first statement of the chapter says these things right we unto you that ye sin not.
Is there ever any excuse for sin?
But I, I'm feeble. I'm I'm, I've got a lot of flesh in me.
Isn't there any excuse on that basis?
I think that's so precious to see, brethren. He doesn't want sin in the picture because it breaks fellowship within. He feels it, and we ought to feel it too. And so the statement is, I write these things to you, the children, that ye sin not. And so Peter and his second epistle says he's given unto us all things.
That pertain to life and godliness.
Brethren, let's remember that there's never any excuse for sin. We all confess that we sin, brethren.
It's there, but there's never a valid excuse for sin.
Brother Bob, because the Lord said to Peter, he said, Satan hath desired to have thee, that he might sift the his weight.
But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. And if Peter had only availed himself of that resource.
He never would have denied the Lord three times with oath and curses. And why is it that so often I allow sin in my life? It's because I am not availing myself of the resource that I have in Christ. And as we said, the resource is available to every believer. The resource you have in Christ is the same resource that I have. And so that's why, as you say, there's no excuse for it, but there is provision. Thank God.
Much more effective it is when we're communicating the mind of God that we do it in the spirit of of a father. John was truly as we see as we go through his ministry and he he was the one who had spent time enjoying fellowship with the Lord and that time of enjoying fellowship with the Lord had.
Uh, communicated to his soul a spirit of affection and desire for the blessing of those that he was seeking. And so we can't pass over the, the way in which he addresses the Saints, the children of God.
Emphasize.
The diminutive and when do we use the diminutive When we express affection. So perhaps we could say my dear children, and that that really confirms that you say so it it gives the character of this ministry. He was concerned for those that were seducing them. But he writes as a father, it's really God the Father who has an interest in his children. The apostle John the Elder 90 AD has an interest in the children. He writes my dear.
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The very same thing when he was talking to to Timothy, he said my my beloved son in the faith and how effective our help will be to those that were seeking to be a blessing too, if we have that affection for them.
Hereby we do know that it is you children and I and as a spiritual father, we and very often when we're trying to communicate something, the extent to which we can include one another commonly and that which of which we speak. It's good and what he's saying in that verse. We know if we that we know him if we keep his commandments, he's including himself. He's he's addressing them as real.
There's not a question. I don't believe in John's heart in this epistle that the ones he addresses are not. They are the family and they're addressed as the family and it's dear children in the family that are addressed. But then he says something that says we know him if we keep his commandments because.
In the flesh, in man, he doesn't keep God's commandments.
OK, the natural man is lost and he he has no real true interest in keeping the commandments or the words of God. They are something that's contrary to his wish and will. But when we have received the life about which this epistle is speaking, that eternal life.
The very characteristic of that life is the desire to be dependent.
And obedient, that's the characteristic of it, the life in US. And so when we keep his commandments, we're giving evidence to the very life that we have. And, uh, not, uh, it's not for the one who has eternal life to do the will of God is a pleasure, not a restriction. Very often, like under the law, under the first man, the law was something that was a restriction on him that he didn't want.
If he wanted to steal, he wanted to steal, and if he wanted to covet, you want to covet. That's what man is in nature.
But it's wonderful that we have a life now that truly desires to do the will of God. It's the very character of our life. And it's not onerous to us. It's not a conflict to that life. And it's, it's expressed here in this verse. Uh, we have the conscious sense that we're his as those who want to do his will and are obedient in keeping his commandments.
A bit more about the advocacy and, uh, I think it's been explained probably sufficiently that the Lord Jesus.
Intercedes for us.
In two ways. One, as our great High Priest that we had read to us this morning in Hebrews Chapter 7, he ever liveth to make intercession for us.
As our great High Priest is for our weakness, weakness in itself is not sin.
Sometimes we.
I'll allow our weakness to be an excuse to sin.
The Lord is there to help us in our weakness and He sees when we're getting into difficult circumstances and He's pleading for us, just like he pled for Peter. He realized Peter was going in a direction that was going to end up serious, and so he gave him quite a few words of caution and Peter didn't have the ear to hear it.
But when we fail, the Lord Jesus acts as our advocate. You remember when Israel came out of Egypt and the first enemy they met was Amalek, which is the figure of Satan's efforts on the flesh in US. And Moses tells Joshua to go down and fight Amalek in the plains below, and he stands on the mount above.
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And his hands were heavy, but on one side Aaron and then the other side her held up his hands. And as they were held up, Joshua won the battle down below.
Aaron is figure of the Lord Jesus is our great high priest and her was of the legal side or the I think he was of the tribe of Judah. He was the advocate a figure of the advocacy of Christ and it was because of Moses hands being up that Joshua won the battle below. You know sometimes we think it's maybe our strategies that.
We are prospered and go forward. Brethren, if there is any measure that I go forward in the things of God, it's because of that man and the glory.
I'm weak, so it wasn't for him. I wouldn't make it. None of us would. And we fail. And then he comes into his advocacy. It should encourage his brother to go on in spite of the fact we're living in days of weakness and failure. We can go on because of that man at God's right hand. Wonderful, wonderful truth to to enjoy our soul spread.
It's a good thing also to recognize that the love of the Father, the Son, is what the world would call proactive. It's not passive. It's not after the fact.
Uh, a lot of times in human relationships when something is done wrong and there's a break in the human fellowship as a result of it.
One side of it, if you will, will sometimes say, well, I'm just going to wait and see if they.
Straighten out, repent and change and get the thought right and come back and say they're sorry and so on. And so we're passive in that sense. Uh, it's their, they've got to make the first step and so on with God, with the Lord Jesus work. It's not so, uh, the Lord Jesus sees where we're headed and our weakness, even if we're not conscious of it.
He's at the right hand of God, interceding to undertake for us in a weakness that perhaps we're not even aware of. Our place is to recognize it and seek His help, if you will, His intercession in that way. But in advocacy it's the same. Uh, God works to restore our souls. He doesn't just wait and say, well, I'll wait and see till they wake up and realize what they've done and they're wrong and so on.
God works.
Actively to bring us to recognize if necessary to judge as needed that there might be the restoration of our fellowship and if there's long it's not a it's it's a major thing then often true restoration is more than a momentary I'm sorry in what I did go out. It's a process that God goes through with us to bring us back to where we need to be, but he's active in it.
And we thank God for that. That's a ought to be a real comfort to our souls that the love of God and the.
The purpose of God to get us to the goal line safely is such that.
He doesn't wait, but He works, and He works whatever the condition and need is, whether it's to sustain us in fellowship or if the fellowship is broken, to do the work to restore us to it that we might enjoy now, not just in heaven. His a walk with God.
And again, we see that with Peter, don't we? Because we find with Peter that after he had denied the Lord, the Lord looked on Peter. But it didn't end there. There was a real work that went on a private interview later on a public interview and God completed the Lord completed the work of restoration that had that needed to be done. So he prayed for Peter that his faith failed. Not Peter didn't avail himself of that resource.
He failed, but the Lord didn't leave Peter out in the cold, so to speak.
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And so David, when he sinned, we find he confessed his sin. As we mentioned yesterday, we have it in the 51St Psalm.
But then we find that there was a work with David of full restoration. There were consequences, but there was full restoration. And David could pen the words. He restoreth my soul.
Israel had is looked at as having departed and gone to.
Idols and so forth. But it's interesting in versus 14.
Through.
The end of the chapter how many times you get.
I will.
The uh.
14 Verse Therefore behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. I will give her her vineyard from fence in the valley of Acor. 4 Door of Hope, and she shall sing there as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
And so forth. But how many times you get I will God acting from his side?
Even with Israel.
You were speaking, Don and verse three about keeping his commandments and that is what is characteristic of that eternal life that we have in Christ, that we it is the joy, it is the delight of our hearts to do it, to keep his commandments. And verse four goes on with that. He says he that saith I know him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him.
Again, I say John speaks in black and white, no shades of Gray.
You can't.
Not keep his commandments and say that you know him.
It's not what's characteristic of that new life, but we come down to verse five and we have something further.
Whoso keepeth his word.
In Him, verily, is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in Him.
And there's a difference, I believe, between His commandments and His Word. We have commandments of the Lord Jesus in the New Testament.
Sometimes people talk about things that we're talking about. The 10 commandments, no.
10 Commandments were given to man in the flesh in the Old Testament. But when the Lord Jesus speaks about his commandments, he's talking about what is directed to the new man, the man in Christ, the man that has eternal life. And we as the children of God have that eternal life, so keeping his commandments.
Is doing those things he tells us to do. There's things he tells us to do. There's things he tells us not to do.
Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. That's a commandment very clearly stated, and the New Testament is full of the commandments.
Young people, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, you have a nature that wants to do those things.
Yes, you might be tempted to listen a little bit to your old nature that has something else to say, but remember, if you've really been born of God, you have a nature that wants to do His commandments. But when we speak about during His Word, it is to me a fuller thing. His Word is the complete revelation of His thoughts and minds.
And I often give the illustration supposing someone has two sons and.
One is obedient. Whenever his father gives him a command, he always does it, but he now doesn't really stick around his father that much to understand and to converse with his father, to understand his father's thoughts about things. Second one he is obedient to, but he is one that likes to be in his father's company, listening to his father's conversation, understanding his father's thoughts.
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In him is the love of God perfected.
And so, brother. And it's not only keeping his commandments, it's keeping his word.
If you go back to John chapter 14, you'll notice the same distinction made and I think it is wonderful to enjoy it. Brethren, the Lord help us. One thing is to be obedient to the commandments we have, but it's another thing to keep His word. In John chapter 14, He says in verse.
21.
He that hath my commandments and keepeth them.
It is that loveth me. He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him.
Judas death unto him not as scary yet, 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, he will keep my words.
And my father will love him, and we will come unto him.
And make our abode with Him. So there it is, something beyond commandments. May the Lord give us the desire, brethren, to not only be obedient, but to enjoy His thoughts about everything. In that way the love of God is perfected in.
US.
Said he was writing to a part of There wasn't a accurate reflection of what was found in the word of God. You couldn't base what you see, what Christianity was by your experience.
And the same is true of the day in which we live. And we're going to look around us and decide that's how we're going to determine what Christianity really is. We're going to be misguided. We need absolute truth. You know, a common statement I hear is, well, others have the truth as well. And my response is in my heart is to that statement always is what truth, their truth, our truth. No truth is an absolute thing we don't have.
The truth is not our truth, but truth is an absolute thing. And that's what the apostle John is doing here. He takes them back to the beginning as we've enjoyed. He presents these truths in absolute ways, not based on experience, not based on what we see around us. And if you're going to to to try to understand things, whether it be the love of God, whether it be what the truth is, whether what it is the ground of gathering by looking at things around you, you're going to be misguided. We always must go back to the absolute truth is found in the word of God and let our reasoning come from there, even if it condemns us.
You know, we need to go back to the beginning. That's right. Or we might say we need to go back to the source.
It's very significant, really. We all have individual lives in this room.
But when it comes to eternal life, there's really only one life.
The life of Christ, that is the one and only eternal life. We participate in it and so it says we have it in Colossians, it says Christ, who is our life.
These are life. He's the source, and there is no other.
Same is true of love. The love that is being described to us in John is the love of God, and it has only one source, God himself. And if I see the love of God in your life, I see it because it's a reflection of what is in you, placed there by God as a vessel that flows out from you. But it's one and only sources, God himself. God is the one and only source of good.
And he, we, by the sovereign will of God, have been brought into a relationship with God. We've been brought to be his children, as we said. We have been brought to share in that which is divine and eternal in the life that we have. We have been made vessels in which the love of God can flow. And if we keep His word, it's perfected in US.
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That is, there's nothing in us that hinders the flow of it from its true source, which is God himself. And I'll make one other comment. It's not the subject of John, but in my own soul, it's perhaps the very highest character of what we share with God.
That and that is the glory. The glory if you go to Revelation just to have a verse to think about later maybe.
Uh, Revelation chapter one.
And, uh, or sorry, Revelation chapter 21.
Revelation chapter 21 and uh.
Verse 10 and 11 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God.
God has chosen something that I think is beyond human comprehension and beyond any thought that man would ever have, that God has a glory that's not shared.
The Lord Jesus has many glories that are not shareable. They're intrinsic to his own being and character. But there are things of God that God can and does share.
And He has chosen to make us not only have the life, not only to have the love as in us, but also to participate in that glory. And so we, as the Church of God, are the greatest participants in the glory of God.
This Revelation 21 is the manifestation of the Holy Jerusalem, which is the bride of Christ.
And she's a participant. She's a display of the glory of God, but she displays it as participating in it. And I don't believe rather, and there is a higher privilege of a creature than that. It's the ultimate.
Choice of God that we actually would participate as being the display and the manifestation of the fullness of Him that filleth All in all, and it's connected with His glory.
Well, that we don't have an independently, that's what you're trying to say it's.
Not in US, independently of its source, nor is the love of God, nor is that in which we participate in the glory. They are not ever, ever separated from their source. And so the God abides in US. We abide in God. We participate in some of these things Where?
We have the divine nature in us, but it's never separated from its source. It is the extent to which God has chosen to go to bring us near to Himself, to have fellowship with himself forever.
But we only have it communicated, never independently.
So what we have in these verses are what is characteristic of that life. I think we mentioned yesterday or the day before and verse seven and eight when it speaks about the old commandment and then the new commandment in verse eight. That is what we're talking about. If you go back to John's Gospel chapter 12, I'd just like to read a verse there.
It's right at the end of the Lord's public ministry he makes this.
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Statement.
Verse.
50 of Chapter 12.
I know.
That His commandment is life, everlasting, eternal life, whatsoever I speak. Therefore, even as the Father hath said unto me, so I speak.
His commandment is eternal life. Now if you look at verses 7 and eight, it helps you to understand that.
Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. You'll notice that expression a number of times, especially in this chapter, and every time you see that from the beginning, it takes you back to the very first verse of this epistle.
That which was from the beginning, the Lord Jesus was that eternal life that was with the Father.
And was manifested to us, and so the old commandment is eternal life.
In the manifested in the person of the Lord Jesus and here in this world.
When we have the new commandment in verse eight, that is the that same eternal life now manifested in the believers in the Lord Jesus, and that's why it says at the end of verse 8 which thing is true in him and in you.
Because the true darkness is passing, and the true light now shineth.
So he goes on and he's like to kind of move on here, brother. And if we can to certain extent, but giving characteristics of that eternal life. Verse 9 says he that it saith he is in the light and hateth his brother is in darkness. Even until now there's another abstract statement.
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
Isn't that beautiful verse?
That's the love of God, and if that's the love that you are enjoying because you are in the family of God and share that eternal life, you have a life that loves your brother.
Despite what he might be towards you and and there's no occasion of stumbling in him. I think that's so beautiful brother. And sometimes we stumble each other.
Brethren, think about that. There is none occasion of stumbling in him. If there is that true love operative in US, it's so beautiful. I remember sister in South America that there was a problem in a certain assembly and she made the statement. I just hate that sister.
And it's kind of a shocking statement to hear from a sister, but I guess she was saying it like she felt it. But her brother I felt properly said sister, if you are truly.
A child in God's family, you have the capacity to love that sister.
And that's the truth of the matter, brethren. That's the characteristic of that eternal life.
That we have of God.
Absolute sometimes, uh, we wonder what you're really saying by that, but because we all know that we've had bad feelings against our brother, but that's the modify it what John is saying. He's saying cork floats. Well, you can tie a sinker on it and you can modify it so it doesn't float. But that's not what John is talking about. You cut the sinker off. He's telling you this is the characteristic of this life.
Now we do fail, but that doesn't change the life. So it's good that because otherwise you might think, well, I, I don't like that brother. I might not even be saved. I don't have this life. That's not the that's not the point. The point is that this life causes you to love your brother.
And those who don't have this life don't love the brethren.
The love of God is love that loves because of the source and not because of the object. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. Was there anything lovable in this world? No. Characteristic of that love is love that loves because of what the source is. And if you ever find it difficult to love someone?
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Go back to the cross and look at the Lord Jesus. There you have the display of it as in no other place.
That's the love that you and I now have because we have been born into God's family.
That's not dependent on it. And sometimes we say, well, it's hard to love that brother or sister, or I can't love that brother or sister because they don't respond to my love. I've tried to do something to things towards them, but there's just no response. But again, when did the Lord Jesus love us? When did God love us? When there was a response in our hearts? Not only were we sinners, not only was there nothing lovable, as Bob has said.
But there was no response. We were at enmity with God, and there would have been no response to that love apart from a work of God in our, in our, in our souls.
And so that helps us again in our interactions with one another. Maybe it's not just that you don't see something lovable in that brother or sister, But you say, I've tried, but there's just no response. Now again, divine Love delights in a response. We had the verse before us yesterday. My son, give me thine heart. That's what he wants. He wants our hearts. He wants the response of our hearts. But does he love us any less when there isn't the response of our hearts?
No, He loves us consistently with that divine, eternal love. And so if we can enter more into that love, enjoy more that of that love in our soul, our own souls, then that love will be shed abroad in our hearts to others.
One more comment yet, but I guess it's probably because many of us have struggled with it in our lives. In this word, absolute and characteristic and so on.
The life we have never fails.
It never fails and what John brings out is that which is that life.
When we have trouble and loving and things like that, it's not that life that's at work. That life never fails. It is perfect, it is eternally perfect. Its source is God himself, and God in his love never fails under any circumstance at any time. What Weeks would say modifies it is not a modification of the life or the activity of the life. It's some other source.
That is at work. And so the difficulty in us is because we have two lives. We have that divine life at work in US, but we also have our natural lives that we were born with, which are sinful in character. And sometimes the source of what's coming out of us is the display of the divine life, which never fails. It's cork floats.
But on the other hand, what we would say modifies it sometimes is not a modification of the life itself, it's the modification is the fact that something is coming out of us from a different source, and that source is the flesh.
Of the fact that we have sin in our body and it is still at work and it's allowed to work. So you see in, for example, in the case of Peter in Matthew 16.
Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? He asked the disciples the question, and Peter responds, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And the Lord says flesh and blood didn't say that to you. The source of what he said came from God.
But a few verses later, he makes another statement, Oh, Lord, you're not gonna go no far be it from you to go to the cross. And, uh, what does the Lord say to him in that case? Saint Peter? Same dialogue, few minutes or few seconds, I don't know, later. And the Lord says to Peter, get thee behind me, Satan.
Where did that come from?
He just said one of a tremendous statement that came from life, that came from God. The next statement came from Peter and Peter as.
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A sinful man in which the work of Satan had a chance to put thoughts in his mind that were against the purpose and character of God. And so it is with us sometimes.
We're we do the same and sometimes we're confused because of that.
But John's epistle is that which gives us that which is perfect and pure, and then gives us evidence of whether it's at work or not, whether it's being seen, or whether something else is going on which is not that, but it is something of the flesh of the old man.
A good scripture probably is.
5th chapter and the third verse which explains from the word of God what's being said. The third verse. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and his commandments are not grievous, are not grievous to the new man. They're grievous to the old man. They're really grievous the old man, but they're not grievous to the new man. He delights.
To walk in verse 11 or that other influence like Don was mentioning, he that hated his brother is in darkness. This is what's characteristic if you're going to allow the old nature to act. He walks in darkness and knows not whither he goeth because the darkness is blinded his eyes.
That doesn't sound like a Christian at all.
It isn't characteristic of a Christian.
Not at all.
But if we allow these our old nature to act, brethren, that's why it's important to, as we have another scriptures to reckon it dead. It's not only dead, but it's buried. It's gone from sight. Don't give it a place.
But this is what happens, this is what's characteristic if we do.
Pretty serious.
This is no middle ground. You're either got the light or you don't. You got the light or you don't. And that's what this is saying. This is absolute.
Young man that I knew quite well, and he had professed for some time to be a believer, but I saw no fruit in his life. I saw no desire to please the Lord. I saw really no response to others of the church, to the family of God.
And I finally said to him, I said, George, if there's no desire in your heart to please the Lord, then I question whether you were ever saved or not, because there will be to some degree at least, these characteristics come out. It cannot, it cannot help but come out. We see a child and they may not be, as we say, the spitting image of their parents, but there's going to be some characteristics come out and there's going to be some response at least.
To a father or a mother, maybe not what it should be, perhaps, but there will be something that will indicate that they are the family. But in Christianity, as the children of God, these things ought to be right there on the surface. These things ought to be a reality in our lives. Do we love other believers? We know we've passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. Is there a desire to walk in obedience to the Word of God to please the Lord?
And as you say, if the motive is really love, then.
I would say that a command, a request, has the power of a command when there's love.
You know, you don't have to plead with somebody to do something for you if there's a real response of love, if they know you love them and there's a response in their hearts. Why, I was thinking of David when you were speaking earlier, Brother Bob. He was the commander of his mighty men. And there were, I know, I have no doubt there were commands that were given and there was no question as to their obedience to those commands. But then one time he just breathed the word, all that one would give me to drink.
Of the water of the well of Bethlehem. That was not a command, that was just the breathing of the desire.
Of his heart and three of his men took up that such was their response for their commander in chief.
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That they risked their lives and how David valued it and how our God values. How the Lord values.
When there's a response, maybe it isn't a direct command, but something that we know is the desire of his heart, and there's that response of love. And so his commandments are not grievous. His word is easily kept when there is that response. And not only is there the capacity, the life now, but there's the motive. There's the motive. We have in John's ministry here three things. We've already mentioned that we have life.
We have light and we have love, and love is the motive for that life, isn't it?
Verse 12, we have the statement again, children, and like brother Nick explained, it's really the diminutive, but it's what embraces the whole family of God and what is characteristic is our sins are forgiveness for His name's sake.
That's why we don't have to ask for the forgiveness of sins, because they are forgiven.
But then he goes on in the next verses to address the three different groups in the family of God, fathers, young men and children. He does it once in verse 13, and then he addresses the fathers again in verse 14. At the beginning and at the middle of the verse he starts with the young men and that goes down through.
Uh, uh, verse uh.
17 And then he addresses the little children again. Now that's not the same word. It's the one that addresses the, or is the group that is the, the one that we all fit into brethren, the child, uh, little children, those that know the father, they have known the father. And it's beautiful to see a little child even in its youth.
Knows the Father.
But then there is growth and.
Trust that there is growth to those that are young men who are strong.
And then there are the fathers, the ones that are of full growth, and what is characteristic of them is simply repeated. Notice in the verse 13 I write unto you, Fathers, because you have known him, that is from the beginning.
And then at the beginning of verse 14, he addresses them again. I have written unto you, Fathers, because you have known him, that is, from the beginning.
The very same.
Because there is, brethren, no development beyond knowing Him. That is from the beginning that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us. In fact, in Second John he warns the elect Lady and her children of those who would go beyond that.
That is serious. So to know Him, that is from the beginning. Isn't it wonderful, brethren, to know Him, that is from the beginning? But the fathers are those that that is everything to them.
Still remember a story that was told about some. I don't know where this took place, but there was a problem in a certain meeting.
And the one of the brothers seemed to be the object of a lot of criticism.
And what was said? Things were directed directly at him, but he did not respond.
He only listened and at the end, uh, a brother said to him, Don't you have anything to say, brother, about all this?
His response was They haven't said anything about my Lord. No, I really don't have anything to say.
That's having him, that is from the beginning. That's the only thing that's important. Brethren, do I need to vindicate myself?
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Oh, brother. And that shows lack of spiritual growth if that's the case.
That's right. As we talked about at the beginning, you know, we're, we're just like the Athenians. We like to hear some new things. And it's going on today, the day in which we live. And it never ceased to go on where there's always some novelty, some new thing that's come out and it catches the attention of people. Just beware. I mean, the apostle John is writing, as we have said to the children, the family of God.
He's concerned for them. He's concerned that they're going to be seduced by false spirits, but he keeps telling us we have all the resources we need. There isn't an advancement of the truth and anything that's new is going to be dangerous. And then just in connection with what you said, when we talk about the one that's from the beginning, the Lord Jesus Christ, just keep in mind as as, as I tried to bring out the meeting, that we can't separate his doctrine from his person. We can't separate the person from the doctrine and we talk about.
For me to live is Christ includes everything we have in the New Testament. It's not as if we can just isolate the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and show love and affection to him. And we don't need the rest of Paul's doctrine. We don't need the rest of Scripture and so on. It's it's all one, isn't it? We can't separate them. But that's again a tendency we've seen christen them today. All all this doctrine is is just too divisive. It's we just need Jesus. Beware.
Beware.
I'm, I'm not suggesting in any way that you're buying that Bob. I just wanted to to bring out the fullness of.
Are attracted to charismatic movements, are young Christians who've been tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine because they do not know the Scripture. And there's a danger. Even the Thessalonians, they were going on very well. You read it in the first chapter.
They were giving out witness of the Lord. Their witness went everywhere, but they were in danger, they were young. So in the second uh, epistle you get them deceived because they think the day of the Lord is upon them. And so.
It dresses the young man and their strength and stability and overcoming the wicked one and those things that are propagated that are not according to the truth that has been revealed. And why are they strong here? Because they went and worked out at the gym twice a week. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but it's not physical strength he's talking about here. It's spiritual strength and an inner energy.
Because they have the Word of God, and not only did they have the word of God, but it was abiding in them. They had taken in the Word of God. They had digested it not to full growth. They weren't the fathers, but there was that reading and taking in of the Word of God and that was their strength. You know, it says in the end of Isaiah 40, even the youth shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall. As you say, there's a lot of young men, a lot of young people giving up today, a lot of young people.
Being deceived today and turning to things that are propagated as new revelation and enlightenment, well, be careful.
But where is our strength going to be? What's going to keep us from every wind of doctrine?
Going and delving into those things, looking things up as to the teachings of those doctrines.
I'm not saying there isn't times we need to have some awareness of what is out there and so on, but what preserve the young men that John was writing to was that they had, they were reading the word of God, they were taking in the word of God. We often use the illustration of the teller at the bank. How does the teller at the bank detect that which is false or counterfeit? By handling counterfeit money. Why no, they lose their job if they did.
But they handle that real money from day-to-day and when something that's counterfeit is passed to them, hopefully they immediately detect it because it doesn't have the feel of the real money. Tell you just I know our times gone a little story that you know our brethren in the West Indies. Sometimes they very simple and and con concerning the truth of God and so on. And there were some things that were letters that were written to them and I saw some of those letters.
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Back a few years ago, and there were many things in those letters that were not true. They were not right and they were not according to the word of God.
And those brethren perhaps couldn't have turned you to chapter and verse and said, well, This is why we reject this, and so on.
But they brought those letters to me and they said, Jim, this doesn't sound like the Lord.
This doesn't sound like God, I thought. Amen. There. There were brethren who were preserved, not because they knew all all the false doctrine about something, not even because they knew their Bibles, perhaps from cover to cover, but because they were those who knew the Father. And that's the children, isn't it? They know the Father. You know, when my children were little, they didn't know a lot about me and what, what, what I was doing and my purposes and plans when I was in business.
My children were little. I didn't tell them all the insurance and outs of running my business and so on, but they knew me. When I came home from work, they ran toward me and threw their arms around me. I was content with that. When they got older, I wasn't content with just that. I wanted other things. I wanted there to be a development and I could sit down and discuss other things with them. But so he's got these three groups, the father we've had.
That that ministered on the on their them the full maturity, that which understanding that which was from the beginning.
We have the young men preserved because of the Word of God. That's their strength. We have the children preserved not because they know a lot of things, but they know the person. And that really brings us back to the beginning again, doesn't it? That's where we started, brethren. We started with the beginning, God the Father, the source. And if we go back to the beginning, we can't lose there. We won't go wrong there if we know not just about the Father, but if we know the Father personally.
And there's been a.
Possible.
Gravity and when I saw you turn around.
Nsnoise.