We're in 1 John chapter 3, starting in verse 11, going all the way to chapter 4, verse 6.
And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brothers righteous.
Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.
We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers.
Whoever does not love abides in death.
Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
By this we know, love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him,
how does God's love abide in him?
Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.
By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and we assure our heart before him.
For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.
Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God.
And whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another,
just as he has commanded us.
Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him.
And by this we know that he abides in us by the Spirit whom he has given us.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.
For many false prophets have gone out into the world.
By this you know the Spirit of God.
Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.
And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.
This is the Spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them.
For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
They are from the world, therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.
We are from God.
Whoever knows God listens to us.
Whoever is not from God does not listen to us.
By this we know the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of error.
This is the word of the Lord.
In last week's passage, John wrote about how we can distinguish the children of God from the children of the devil.
And the basis for distinguishing that was whether or not we practice righteousness.
And Matt helpfully explained to us last week that insofar as we are abiding in Christ,
remaining in him through faith and obedience, that we can't keep on, we cannot keep on sinning.
For that reason, a person's righteousness or wickedness is evidence of the person's genuine faith or lack thereof.
And so chapter 3 verse 10 concluded the passage by saying this,
Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
So he added at the end there the provision about loving one's Christian brother.
And that's inclusive of the Christian sister as well.
And that's because our love for one another is a defining characteristic of the Christian.
A defining characteristic is something that characterizes all the members of a single group
and is sufficiently distinctive that it can be used to determine a person's membership in that group.
So you might have a lot of characteristics that overlap with other Christians,
but if you don't have this characteristic, this defining characteristic,
you cannot rightly claim to be a Christian.
And in this passage that we just read, John elaborates on two defining characteristics of the Christian.
And that's this, that as followers of Christ who laid down his life for us,
we should be characterized by our faith in Jesus and our love for one another.
That's the two defining characteristics.
So first we're going to talk about our love for one another in verses 11 to 22, chapter 3.
And then we'll talk about faith in Jesus Christ from chapter 3, verse 23 to chapter 4, verse 6.
He first explains that our love for one another is an indispensable mark of the Christian.
He begins in verse 11.
For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
He emphasizes that this is the command that we have heard from the beginning.
So from the beginning of the audience's Christian journey of following Christ,
from the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry,
the disciples who followed him heard this command,
and the command was to love one another.
Jesus' message to us, his command to us, didn't evolve over time.
It didn't vary.
It didn't change.
It was consistent from the beginning, and that is we should love one another.
And this is a key theme in all of Apostles John's writings,
and this is the first of six references to Jesus' command to love one another in this letter alone.
And John explains this further by first giving us a negative example of hating one's brother in verses 12 to 15.
And then he gives us a positive example of loving one's brother in verses 16 to 22.
He says in verse 12,
John's alluding to Genesis chapter 4,
According to the narrative in Genesis,
the Lord did this because Abel, as a shepherd,
offered, it says,
the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.
So Abel brought to God the best, the first of his flock, the best of his flock.
But Cain, as a farmer, did not offer the firstfruits of the produce.
And later in the Old Testament,
this ideal of bringing the firstfruits as an offering to God is codified in the law.
And so to summarize it,
Abel brought his cream of the crop,
and Cain brought his crumbs to God.
Abel brought something that was truly second.
Cain brought what he could sell.
But Cain, whose own,
out of envy and anger,
murdered Abel, his brother,
whose deeds were righteous.
And then John continues in verse 13,
Do not be surprised, brothers,
that the world hates you.
In the same way that Cain hated his brother,
Abel,
were evil and his brother was righteous,
the sinful, unbelieving world will hate us.
Jesus said in John 7, verse 7,
The world hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.
Jesus also said in John 15, verses 18 to 19,
If the world hates you,
know that it has hated me before it hated you.
If you were of the world,
the world would love you as its own.
But because you are not of the world,
but I chose you out of the world,
therefore the world hates you.
The world is in rebellion against God.
They recognize that Christians live by a code of a different kingdom.
And that fuels their hatred because the world hates aliens.
Those were not like them.
By living according to the word of God,
we testify to the world that their works,
which is contrary to the word of God,
are evil.
And the world hates that testimony.
By claiming the exclusivity of Jesus Christ
and saying that salvation is found in Him alone,
we testify to the world that their religions and philosophies
and worldviews,
which contradict the word of God,
are false and inadequate.
And the world hates that testimony.
So we should not be surprised when the world hates us.
I think often we can be surprised by the vitriol
or the persecution we receive from the world.
And I think too many Christians try to fit in and please the world
and in doing so,
water down the message of Jesus Christ
and trying to kind of bend you over backwards
and trying to make it seem like
we don't have anything unique and different to offer to the world.
As if we are just like them.
We fit in.
Nothing different about us.
That's not true.
The message we offer is necessarily different.
It necessarily contrasts us from the world.
And when that's the case,
it's not a surprise when the world hates us.
If we live faithfully and righteously,
the world will hate us
for the same reason Cain hated Abel.
In contrast,
here's what assures us of our eternal life.
Not the world's love for us,
but this,
verse 14,
we know that we have passed out of death into life
because we love the brothers.
Whoever does not love abides in death.
Christians are here described as
those who have passed out of death into life.
This is a reference to eternal life,
not coming into ultimate judgment.
And so we have assurance of salvation,
eternal life through our faith in the word of Christ,
the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And the basis for our confidence in this status
as those who possess eternal life
is our love for the brothers and sisters in Christ.
Whoever does not love, however,
it says they abide in death.
Since this is contrasted with eternal life,
it likely refers to eternal spiritual death.
And we know from the context of this letter
that there were those who had denied Jesus
and separated themselves from the church
that John is addressing here in this letter.
So he likely has those people in view
when he says this.
They, in contrast to you who love one another,
they may have no confidence
that they have eternal life.
In fact, they may rest assured
that they abide in death
because by seceding from the body of Christ,
they give evidence
that they do not love the brothers.
How can you, basically, John is saying,
how can you claim to love the brothers and sisters
whom you have forsaken?
That's evidence not of love but hatred.
And so John argues in verse 15,
everyone who hates his brother is a murderer.
And you know that no murderer
has eternal life abiding in him.
Generally, people like to think
that they are pretty good people.
And they say something when you ask them,
how good do you think you are?
Do you think you should get into heaven?
They say something along the lines of,
well, you know, I've done some bad things,
but I mean, I haven't killed anyone.
You know, I'm not a murderer, right?
I mean, that's kind of like the bottom, right?
That's like the pit.
It's just the worst thing
that people can imagine you can do.
And that's the same in John's time.
So he says,
you know that no murderer
has eternal life abiding in him.
We know this.
No murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
But the surprising thing here
is that John associates hatred with murder.
And he learned this lesson from Jesus.
Jesus taught in Matthew 5, 21 to 22,
you have heard that it was said to those of old,
you shall not murder
and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you
that everyone who is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment.
In the same way,
a murderer is liable to judgment.
A person who is sinfully angry
and hates his brother
will be liable to judgment.
Jesus taught that murder
is the blossom that grows
on the bud of hatred,
on the bud of anger.
Cain envied and hated his brother Abel
and that produced murder.
Do you envy
your brother or sister in Christ?
Do you wish you had the favor
or blessing that they enjoy
or do you begrudge
their happiness?
Are you harboring anger
or resentment toward anyone
of your brother or sister in Christ?
If that's the case,
that's not something to take lightly
but something to deal with
urgently and immediately
because harboring hatred,
festering anger
is the root of murder.
Of course,
the fear of the consequences
and the societal pressures
might keep us
from the physical act
but we may commit
many murders in our hearts
and God sees it all.
And if hatred of one's brother
leads to killing him,
love of one's brother
leads to dying for him.
That's what John now turns to,
the positive example in verse 16.
By this we know love
that he laid down his life for us
and we are to lay down our lives
for the brothers.
We like to use a lot of kind of vague slogans
about that include the word,
the idea of love
but we rarely define love.
We rarely can precisely express
what it looks like
but John tells us
exactly what love looks like,
what the definite standard of love is
and he says this,
that Jesus laid down his life for us
and we are to lay down our lives
for the brothers.
Jesus, the eternal son of God,
took on a human nature
and became a son of man
so that he could share in our infirmities
so that he might bear our sins on the cross.
Jesus, the eternal word of life
took on our mortal nature
and experienced death in our place.
Many of us have heard this gospel message many times
and it's easy to just let it slip through our ears
but think about that
and let that sink in for a moment.
Maybe it would be helpful to think about it this way.
When we hear in the news that a baby,
a baby which is in life and innocence
is brutally and violently murdered
or when you hear in the news
that a nun,
which is a symbol of chastity,
is raped,
it repulses us, doesn't it?
It makes us sick to our stomach.
That kind of same reaction
should be present when we hear
that Jesus Christ died on the cross for us
because the word of life
was subjected to death.
The righteous one,
the one who always spoke truly
and always acted righteously,
was killed as a criminal
and as a sinner.
That should have never happened.
That should have never been.
Our Lord should have never
been subjected to such humiliation
but He endured it for our sake.
He endured it so that we might trust in Him
for salvation and live
and that's how we know what love is.
That God became a Son of Man.
The Son of God became a Son of Man
and died for us
and nobody forced Him to do this.
Jesus said this in John 10
verses 7 and 18,
I lay down my life
that I might take it up again.
No one takes it from me
but I lay it down of my own accord.
I have authority to lay it down
and I have authority to take it up again.
This charge I have received
from my Father.
Pilate did not force Jesus to die.
Caesar didn't force Jesus to die.
Even God the Father
did not force Jesus to die.
Jesus died
out of His willing obedience
to His Father.
He voluntarily laid down His life
that He might save us.
And it's in that sacrifice
that we know
what love is.
And since Jesus,
our elder brother
in the family of God,
laid down His life for us,
it follows that
we ought to
lay down our lives
for the brothers.
Unless we get lost
in these kind of
high, noble,
abstract ideals
but fail to grasp
the concrete
and tangible
ramifications of this command,
John continues
with the more specific
implication of this
in verses 17 to 18.
But if anyone
has the world's goods
and sees his brother
in need,
yet closes his heart
against him,
how does God's love
abide in him?
Little children,
let us not love
in word or talk
but in deed
and in truth.
A brother in need
calls for a love
in deed,
not just word.
How can you say
that God's love
resides in you
when you don't have
love for your brothers
and sisters
who are the object
of God's special affection?
People that God
purchased
with the precious blood
of His own Son.
How can you say
God's love abides in you
when you don't love
your brothers
and sisters?
And how can you claim
to love your brother
or sister
when despite seeing
their need,
you close your heart
against him or her?
We cannot claim
to be ready
to lay down our lives
for our brothers
and sisters
when we don't even
share the world's goods,
material goods,
physical goods
with one another.
James chapter 2
verses 15 to 16
offers a close parallel.
It says,
If a brother or sister
is poorly clothed
and lacking
in daily food
and one of you
says to them,
go in peace,
be warmed
and filled
without giving them
the things
needed for the body,
what good is that?
When we refuse
to feed a hungry
brother or sister,
when we refuse
to nurse
a sick brother
or sister,
when we refuse
to clothe
a poorly clothed
brother or sister,
and we don't do it,
our religion
is useless.
We demonstrate
by our actions
that our words
mean nothing to us.
We prove
that God's love
does not abide in us.
I was just reading
in the news yesterday
about Don Giussupi
Berardelli.
I don't know if you guys
saw this story.
He was a 72-year-old
Christian priest
in Lombardi, Italy
and one of the areas
hardest hit by COVID-19.
He caught COVID-19
and he was in the hospital
on a ventilator.
He actually owned
this ventilator.
It was his personal ventilator
that his church members
had purchased for him
because he already had
a respiratory illness
and needed one.
And so even though
hospitals didn't have enough,
he had one.
but he recognized
that there were others
in the room
and especially
there was a younger person
who desperately needed
a ventilator
and was about to die
and so he gave up
his own ventilator,
one that he owns,
so that this person
might live
and then he died
shortly thereafter.
There is no greater love
than this
than the friend
lays down his life
as Jesus did.
He was following
in the footsteps
of the Savior
that he served
for 70 or so years
of his life.
And right now
is a great opportunity
for us
as a church
to demonstrate
our love
for one another.
It's possible
that some of us
will get sick
with COVID-19
in the coming days
and weeks.
It's possible
that some of us
will get very sick.
Some of us
might even lose
loved ones.
In the last two weeks alone,
not only health-wise,
but 10 million people
in the U.S.
have filed
for unemployment.
Just a staggering number.
One of our own members
is also recently unemployed
due to COVID-19.
And we expect
that there will be
more needs
in the coming weeks
and months
in our church.
But if anyone
hath the world's goods
and sees his brother
in need,
yet closes his heart
against him,
how does God's love
abide in him?
This is not the time
for us to close
our hearts
to one another.
describing the early church,
it says in Acts
chapter 4
verses 34 to 35,
there was not
a needy person
among them.
For as many
as were owners
of lands
or houses
sold them
and brought
the proceeds
of what was sold
and laid it
at the apostles' feet
and it was
distributed
to each
as any
had need.
So long as
any of us
has a roof
over our head,
our brothers and sisters
in Christ
should not be homeless.
So long as
any of us
has food
on our tables,
our brothers and sisters
should not be
going hungry.
so long as
any of us
have money
to spend,
our brothers and sisters
should not
be begging.
Because this is
our family,
this is God's
family.
Thank you.
To this end,
we created a fund
this week
called the
COVID-19 Relief Fund.
In addition
to our
general church fund,
we're going
to use this fund
to provide
urgent
temporary aid
to church members
who have lost
income
due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
And we're
asking you
to give to that
over and above
your normal
tithes and offerings.
And you can
do that on our
website.
Go to
bit.do
trinitygive
and choose
the COVID-19
Relief Fund.
We can
kind of
tell you
on the
chat
after how
to do
that.
And please
let us
know of
any needs
that arise.
Don't keep
it to yourself.
If you
feel badly
about
telling us
in person
about the
needs that
you have,
just fill out
that online
survey.
Tell us
what you're
going through
so that we
can walk
through this
time with
you.
This is
when the
body of
Christ must
bond
together
and care
for one
another.
Any
surplus
money that
we might
have from
that fund
will be
used to
aid other
gospel-centered
churches in
the area
that are
experiencing
critical
financial
hardship
if there
is any
surplus.
I was
speaking with
a pastor
friend of
mine in
New Jersey
and he
shared with
me that
his church
this past
week cut
five staff
members,
including
one of
the pastors
because their
regular tithes
and offerings
have taken
such a hit
from not
gathering
week to
week.
I think
our love
for one
another should
extend an
overflow out
of our
own local
church as
well when
we are
able.
In the
same way
in Acts
11 when
prophet Agabus
prophesied of
a great
famine that
was coming
over the
whole region,
it says
that the
disciples
determined
everyone
according to
his ability
to send
relief to
the brothers
living in
Judea.
on a
couple
different
occasions
recorded in
the New
Testament,
believers
from other
regions
gathered funds
to send
to the
churches
in Jerusalem
because it
seems that
they were
particularly
impoverished.
And when
we love
one another
in this
way,
when our
love is
demonstrated
in deed,
that gives
us assurance
before God,
this passage
teaches us.
John writes
in verses
19 to 22,
These verses
are difficult
to interpret.
It's yielded
many different
interpretations.
In order to
understand it
rightly,
we have to
pay close
attention to
its immediate
context.
First,
note the
repetition of
the word
heart in
this passage.
First,
in verse 17,
John told us
that God's
love does
not abide
in anyone
who has
the world's
goods and
sees his
brother in
need,
yet closes
his heart
against him.
That's the
first instance
of the word
heart there.
So we
shouldn't
close our
heart against
our brothers
and sisters
in Christ.
Then verse
19 tells us
how we can
reassure our
heart before
God.
How we
might have
confidence in
our heart
before God,
in his
presence,
that we are
of the truth,
that we belong
to him.
So this is
the thesis of
verses 19 to
22.
And then in
verses 20
and verse 21,
John gives us
two kind of
opposing scenarios
that are
parallel to
each other.
It's an
antithetical
parallel.
They oppose
each other,
but they
match each
other in
structure.
So this
gets a
little bit
lost in
translation,
but both
verse 20
and verse
21 begin
with if
in the
original
language.
It says,
if our
heart
condemns us,
God is
greater than
our heart,
and he
knows
everything.
Beloved,
if our
heart does
not condemn
us,
we have
confidence
before God.
So you
notice the
parallel
structure
there.
Remember
what John
told us
in verse 19.
He's trying
to teach
us how
we can
reassure
our heart
before God,
how we
can have
confidence
before God.
Verse 20
is a
negative
scenario,
a situation
in which
one cannot
reassure
one's heart
before God.
And verse
21 is a
positive
scenario,
a situation
where one
can reassure
one's heart
before God.
And so with
that overall
structure in
mind,
we can
better
understand
the meaning
of
verses.
Let's
look at
verse 20.
It says,
for whenever
our heart
condemns
us,
God is
greater than
our heart
and he
knows
everything.
So this
is a
negative
scenario
where our
heart
condemns
us.
We have
closed our
heart against
our brother
or sister.
And because
of that,
our heart,
our own
hearts
condemn us.
And as a
result,
we can't
convince our
own hearts
that we
have done
what is
right in
withholding
material support
from our
Christian
brothers and
sisters.
And when we
have done
that,
how can we
reassure our
heart before
God?
Since God's
greater than
even our
heart.
And he
knows
everything.
We might
try to
rationalize our
lack of love
for our
brothers and
sisters and
try to
convince
ourselves,
convince our
own hearts
by saying,
well, I
need this
food just
as much
as he
does.
I need
this money
just as
much as
she does.
Giving
stuff to
him is
not the
best thing.
It might
make him
dependent and
complacent.
You know,
she should
have worked
harder and
prepared better
for these
kinds of
emergencies.
We might
say all
kinds of
things trying
to persuade
our hearts,
to convince
our hearts,
reassure our
hearts in
light of having
closed our
hearts against
our brothers.
But our
hearts won't
let us off
the hook
that easily
and our
heart condemns
us.
And what
John is
saying is
when even
our own
sinful
heart
condemns
us,
there is
no chance
that we
can reassure
our heart
before God.
Because God
is greater
than our
heart and
he knows
everything.
We might
fool ourselves
but we can
never fool
God because
he sees
the hidden
motivations and
murmurs of
our heart
that we
ourselves are
not even
aware of.
16th century
pastor and
Protestant
reformer John
Calvin concurs
with our
interpretation.
He says
this,
For if
anyone is
conscious of
guilt and
is condemned
by his own
heart, much
less can he
escape the
judgment of
God.
It hence
follows that
faith is
subverted by
the disquiet of
an evil
conscience.
God is
greater than
our heart
with reference
to judgment
that is
because God
sees much
more keenly
than we
do and
searches more
minutely and
judges more
severely.
To the same
purpose is what
immediately follows
that God
knoweth or
sees all
things.
For how can
those things
be hid from
him which
we who in
comparison with
him are dull
and blind are
constrained to
see?
The meaning
is now clear
that since the
knowledge of God
penetrates deeper
than the
perceptions of
our conscience,
no one can
stand before
God except
the integrity
of his
conscience
sustains him.
In
contrast,
verses 21
to 22
say,
if our
heart does
not condemn
us,
if we have
opened up
our hearts
toward our
brothers and
sisters in
need,
we have
confidence
before God
and whatever
we ask,
we receive
from him.
because we
keep his
commandments
and do
what pleases
him.
If we
share the
world's
goods with
our brothers
and sisters
when we
see them
in need,
our heart
does not
condemn us
and as a
result,
because of
our integrity,
we have
confidence
before God
and when we
have confidence
before God,
our hearts
are reassured
before him
and we
can ask
for him
and we
receive from
him our
prayer,
answers to
our prayers
because it
says we
keep his
commandments
and do
what pleases
him.
A clear
conscience
before God
this means
produces
confidence
before God
in prayer.
Conversely,
there's ample
evidence in
scripture that
sin separates
us from God
so that it
says in
Isaiah 59
verse 2,
he does
not hear.
Psalm 66
18 says,
if I had
cherished
iniquity in
my heart,
the Lord
would not
have listened.
God
delights
to answer
those who
obey him
because
obedience
is the
evidence
of faith
and God
answers
prayers
of faith.
So when
we obey
God in
loving one
another,
it says
we have
confidence
before God
and whatever
we ask
we receive
from him
because we
keep his
commandments
and do
what pleases
him.
And then
in verses
23-24,
John reiterates
exactly what
this commandment
of God
is that we
are to
obey.
He says,
and this
is his
commandment
that we
believe in
the name
of his
son Jesus
Christ
and love
one another
just as
he has
commanded
us.
Whoever
keeps his
commandments
abides in
God and
God in
him.
And by
this we
know that
he abides
in us
by the
spirit whom
he has
given us.
In verses
22-24,
John uses
the plural
commandments,
but in
verse 23,
he uses
the singular
commandment,
and by
doing that,
John tells
us that
while these
two commandments
are distinguishable,
they are
inseparable.
Because our
fellowship with
our brothers and
sisters in
Christ depends
on and slows
from our
fellowship with
God through
Jesus Christ.
God
because receiving
the love
of Christ
who laid
down his
life for us
is the
foundation,
the basis
for our
love for
one another
and laying
down our
lives for
one another.
And so we
believe in
the name of
his son Jesus
Christ and
love one
another.
These are
the two
distinguishing
marks of
the Christian
that John
emphasizes over
and over
again.
And that's
where I get
the main
point that
as followers
of Christ
who laid
down his
life for
us,
we should
be
characterized
by our
faith in
Jesus and
our love
for one
another.
Faith and
love.
If we have
these two
things,
we know that
God abides
in us by
the Spirit
whom he
has given
us,
it says.
I should
note here
that to
believe in
the name
of his
son Jesus
Christ is
not merely
to assent
mentally to
the fact that
Jesus is
God's son
and the
Christ,
the promised
Messiah.
It doesn't
mean merely
to confess
his name
verbally.
It means
pledging
allegiance
to him.
It means
to align
yourself,
to come
under the
authority and
the power and
the purposes and
the priorities of
his name.
And so when we
believe in the
name of his
son Jesus Christ
in this way,
the Bible
promises that we
receive the
Holy Spirit
from God the
Father so that
God himself,
the triune
God,
through his
spirit abides
in us and
dwells in
us.
We abide in
God by
believing in
Jesus and
loving one
another and
God abides in
us through his
Holy Spirit.
Brothers and
sisters,
that's the
unspeakable
honor and
privilege of
being a
Christian.
Think about
it.
Though we
are weak
and frail,
God Almighty
dwells in
us.
Though we
are sinful,
the Holy
One dwells
in us.
The King
deigns to
dwell among
his subjects.
The Creator
makes his
home within
his creatures.
That's the
unfathomable
reality that
he's speaking
of.
I have been
crucified with
Christ, Paul
said in
Galatians 2.20.
It is no
longer I who
live but Christ
who lives in
me and the
life I now
live in the
flesh.
I live by
faith in the
Son of God
who loved me
and gave
himself for me.
That's what
it means to
live as a
Christian.
Abide in
God, to
let him
abide in
us, to
keep in
step with
the Spirit,
to live
every waking
moment with
the understanding,
with the
awareness that
the Lord God
himself indwells
us and
lives in
and through
us.
And then
having taught
us that when
we believe in
the name of
his Son
Jesus Christ,
God himself
abides in
us through
the Spirit,
John proceeds
to explain
what it's
like to
receive the
true Spirit
of God
in chapter
4, verses
1-6.
He says
in chapter
4, verse
1,
Beloved,
do not
believe every
spirit, but
test the
spirits to
see whether
they are
from God,
for many
false prophets
have gone
out into
the world.
Not
everyone who
claims to
have received
the Spirit
of God
actually has
the Spirit
of God.
They need
to be tested
because many
false prophets
have gone out
into the world.
There are
people in
the world
who claim
to speak
for God,
but in
fact,
do not.
This is a
needful warning
because false
prophets,
the Bible
describes them
as being
insidious,
subtle.
They are
stealthy and
deceptive.
Matthew
chapter 7,
verse 15,
Jesus warns us
that false
prophets come to
us in sheep's
clothing, but
inwardly they are
ferocious,
ravenous wolves.
Similarly,
2 Peter 2,
verse 1 warns
us that false
prophets and
false teachers
will secretly
bring in
destructive
heresies,
even denying
the Master
who bought
them.
False teachers
don't come to
us announcing
themselves just
as wolves
don't enter
the sheepfold
announcing their
presence.
They are
rather secretive,
they are
stealthy,
they are
insidious,
they introduce
their false
teachings secretly,
imperceptibly
even,
gradually.
They dress
themselves up
as one of
God's own,
one of God's
sheep,
when in fact
they are there
only to pray
on the
sheep of
God.
And here's
the test
that we are
to use to
see whether
the spirits
that are
inspiring these
people to
speak are
from God
or not.
Verses 2 to
3,
If one truly
has the
spirit of
God,
that person
will confess
the incarnate
word,
Jesus Christ,
son of God
who took on
human flesh.
But anyone
who refuses
to confess
Jesus Christ
is animated
not by the
spirit of
God but by
the spirit
of the
Antichrist.
Please heed
this lesson
brothers and
sisters.
It doesn't
matter how
eloquent the
person is,
how learned
the person
is,
how respectable
the person
is,
it doesn't
matter how
many true
and good
things that
person has
taught and
done,
it doesn't
matter how
nice that
person seems,
if he denies
Jesus Christ,
he's a
false teacher,
a false
prophet.
Deuteronomy
chapter 13
is a helpful
illustration of
this,
verses 1-4,
if a prophet
or a dreamer
of dreams
arises among
you and
gives you a
sign or a
wonder,
and the sign
or a wonder
that he tells
you comes to
pass,
and if he
says,
let us go
after other
gods which
you have not
known and
let us serve
them,
you shall not
listen to the
words of that
prophet or that
dreamer of
dreams.
For the
Lord your
God is
testing you
to know
whether you
love the
Lord your
God with
all your
heart and
with all
your soul.
You shall
walk after
the Lord your
God and
fear him and
keep his
commandments and
obey his
voice and
you shall
serve him and
hold fast to
him.
Jesus is
our Lord.
Jesus is
our King.
He is our
Savior.
He is our
Master.
He is our
God.
God and
you
shouldn't
let anyone
not your
parents,
not your
pastors,
not your
teachers,
not your
presidents,
you should
not let
anyone lead
you away
from him,
Jesus Christ.
Don't let
anyone tell
you that as
long as we
try to love
people and
try to live a
good life,
we don't need
to make a
total commitment
to Jesus.
Every spirit
that does not
confess Jesus
is not from
God.
It is instead
the spirit of
the Antichrist.
But John
doesn't stop
with the
warning.
He concludes
the section
with a
follow-up
encouragement,
once again
addressing
God's people
affectionately as
little children.
He says in
verse 4,
you are
from God
and have
overcome
them.
For he
who is in
you is
greater than
he who is
in the
world.
Your faith
in Jesus
Christ and
your love
for one
another,
they attest
to the
reality,
the spiritual
reality,
that God
abides in
you.
And so
remember then
that he
who is in
you is
greater than
he who is
in the
world.
This is
similar to
what Jesus
said in
John 16
verse 33,
in the
world you
will have
tribulation,
but take
heart,
I have
overcome
the world.
Because the
one who has
overcome the
world dwells
in us.
You,
we have
already overcome
those who
are in
the world.
And so
it shouldn't
surprise us
when people
reject the
message of
Jesus Christ
when we
share it
with them.
It says
in verse 5,
they are
from the
world.
Therefore,
they speak
from the
world and
the world
listens to
them.
These people,
the world,
people of
the world,
they belong
to the
world.
They speak
from the
viewpoint,
the perspective
of the
world.
And so
it's no
surprise
that they
listen to
the world.
The world
listens to
them,
they listen
to the
false
prophets.
They find
the false
teaching
acceptable.
In
contrast,
verse 6
says,
We are
from God.
Whoever
knows God
listens to
us.
Whoever
is not
from God
does not
listen to
us.
By this
we know
the spirit
of truth
and the
spirit
of error.
We should
not be
surprised that
some people
reject the
message of
Jesus because
Jesus himself
was rejected
many times
during his
lifetime.
And it's
only those
who are
guided by
the spirit
of truth
that will
believe in
Jesus.
The gospel
is music
that only
those who
are guided
by the
spirit of
God can
hear and
respond to
and dance
to in
this life.
And as
long as
we are
abiding in
God through
faith in
Jesus and
love for
one another,
we can rest
assured no
matter what
might come,
no matter how
reviled we
are by the
world, no
matter what
persecutions
come, no
matter how
hated,
despised we
are, no
matter how
no matter
what happens
to us
in this
world, that
ultimate
victory is
ours in
Jesus.
We have
already overcome
the world
and eternal
life will be
soon our
full possession.
And so
please hope in
that brothers and
sisters as you
go.
Take a moment
to reflect on
what I've been
sharing about
what happened
what I've been
going on to
explore the
karat is
2
isso
whatever
time
to
live
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