WEBVTT

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 we've been working our way through John's first letter since January.

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 John's purpose for writing this letter is to assure his readers that they know God and are

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 known by him. John gives us three tests that we can use to determine if we know him. Right love,

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 right obedience, and right belief. If we know God, we will love our brothers and sisters.

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 If we know God, we obey God. And if we know God, we confess the correct beliefs about Jesus.

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 After John states each of these tests, he then begins to restate them and develop them,

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 each time stating them a little bit differently. And in this manner, John's letter reminds me of a

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 piece of classical music where at the beginning of a piece, the themes will be stated. And as the

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 piece develops, the themes develop and change and mingle. And each time the theme sounds new.

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 Mozart has a piece of music, which is a theme in variations based on the melody that we know as

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 Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. And so he states the melody, and then he states it, I think it's 12 more

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 times. And each time you hear it, it's different. And so sometimes it sounds like you're on a playground,

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 or sometimes it sounds like you're in a ballroom, or then you're at a funeral, or then you're at

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 your lover's window. In chapter four of first John, John brings us back to the third of those three tests,

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 the test of belief. And when he states the theme this time, it's epic.

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 Now that's not the kind of soundtrack we'd expect when we talk about doctrine, right? At best, doctrine is

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 dry stuff. But at its worst, doctrine, theology, those are words that many of us are suspicious of.

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 Doctrine is just a power play. Something used by those in power to stay in power. Or it's something

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 to divide over or argue over. Or it distracts from what's really important, like loving each other and

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 serving the needy. Or doctrine can be exclusive. And you have to keep in mind that what I just described

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 there is truth without love. Now John in this letter is like hammering love. You must love your brothers

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 and sisters. Those who know God, those who know the Father, love their brothers and sisters. So we're not

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 talking about that. But what John is saying is that love is not indiscriminate, and belief is not

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 indiscriminate. Truth is important. As a matter of fact, it's of cosmic importance.

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 So we'll make two observations about this passage. First, that there are spiritual realities

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 behind truth and error. And the second is that at the center of truth lies Jesus. Let's pray.

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 God, open our hearts to your word.

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 Open your word to our hearts.

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 That we may believe and understand and worship you.

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 Lead us on by the light of your word, please.

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 We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

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 Amen.

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 Okay, so as we look at this passage and see what John has to say about truth, the first thing that

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 jumps out at us is that there is a whole world of spiritual forces at play. Now this is not news

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 to John's readers that such forces would exist. You see, many of John's readers had come from the occult.

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 And the apostle Paul had previously written to this very church. And in that letter, Paul writes,

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 for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,

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 against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

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 And as we heard throughout all the scripture that was read tonight, this battle of good and evil,

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 this battle that takes place in the spiritual realms, it's all throughout scripture. And Jesus faced it

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 himself. And John would have been at Jesus' side as he confronted demons and the forces of evil.

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 Now in this particular church, there were so many ideas and claims swirling around. And there were

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 many teachers that had come to them as prophets and oracles. And some perhaps probably performed like

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 supernatural acts. So John is giving his readers the permission to be a bit agnostic.

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 Don't believe every spirit, he writes. Test the spirits. There have been false prophets.

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 Now in the previous chapter, which we heard last week, and as Tommy preached, John had already laid

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 out that you could divide up everyone into two families. Those who love each other and keep God's

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 commandments are in God's family, and those who don't aren't. And here John is being very binary

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 again. Every prophet is a mouthpiece or spokesman of some spirit. Behind every prophet is a spirit,

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 and behind every spirit is God or the devil. Now John doesn't write this way to frighten his readers,

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 but rather to encourage them. Do you remember the passage, the first one we read from 2 Kings?

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 The context was one of continual skirmishing, sometimes outright warfare between Israel, which was

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 the northern half of the people of God, and the nation of Syria, which is the country that lay just north of Israel.

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 The Syrian king discovered that all his plans and deliberations were being revealed to the king of

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 Israel, because Elisha, the prophet in Israel, is being granted secret knowledge of them.

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 So the king of Syria sends his army to track down Elisha and take him captive.

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 The next day, Elisha's servant discovers that there, all around the city,

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 are armies. There's an army with horses and chariots. So he runs back to Elisha in a panic.

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 What are we going to do? And Elisha's answer is brilliant and memorable. He says,

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 don't be afraid. There are more with us than there are with them. Well, what does he mean?

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 And Elisha prays that God would open the young man's eyes. He does so, and the servant sees the

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 reality. The veil has been lifted, and the mountain is full of horses and chariots of fire, all around

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 Elisha. And John says something very similar to his readers in chapter 4. You are from God and have

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 overcome them, for he who is greater, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

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 What can we take away from all of this, from knowing about the spiritual forces at play behind

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 truth and error? Well, first, it keeps us both humble and confident. If we know God, it's because

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 God is in us. We are united to Christ. If we know anything about him, it's not because of our superior

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 intellect or some superior goodness. It's only because God has revealed himself to us and has revealed

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 these things to us. As a matter of fact, Paul writes that we know these things because

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 God has chosen them, chosen to reveal them to the weak and the foolish and the despised. So this keeps us

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 humble. But it keeps us confident because despite our constant doubting and faltering, our fear and our

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 wandering, God has kept us for himself. Second, we must realize that there are spiritual forces at play when it

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 comes to our beliefs and doubts. Now, faith is much more than an ascent to intellectual proposition.

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 Faith comes from having been made alive by God's Spirit, and understanding comes from being illuminated

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 by God's Spirit. So when you doubt, the solution is probably not to acquire more and more information.

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 Spiritual practices must be considered. Are you regularly worshiping with God's people?

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 Is there any sin you've remained unrepentant of? Are you in a regular rhythm of prayer and study?

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 Do you regularly seek silence so as to hush the noises raging around you so that you're open to hearing

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 the Spirit of God? Now, if right there you're feeling guilty because you fail at a lot of those things,

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 don't? The Father still loves you and is drawing himself to you. And I struggle with these things too.

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 It is Washington, D.C., after all. But the best help I've received on this, this thing about, like,

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 finding silence and listening to God is a wonderfully creative work by the Irish Jesuits.

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 They've produced a website and a book called Sacred Space, and you can access it at a website,

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 sacredspace.ie. Basically, they present a way of doing an ancient practice called Lectio Divina.

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 It's a disciplined entry into listening, fruitful silence. I highly recommend it as a way to disengage

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 from the mental and emotional noise raging in your heart and mind in order to hear more clearly

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 the Spirit speaking through the Word.

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 So a third thing we take away from understanding the spiritual forces at play behind truth and error

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 is to remain vigilant. From cover to cover of the Bible, God warns his people against false beliefs.

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 If you have a Bible or smartphone, turn to Deuteronomy 13.

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 And if you don't own a Bible, would you tell me or one of us in leadership and we'll get you a Bible.

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 And if English isn't your native language, we'll track down one that's in your mother tongue.

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 Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, chapter 13, verse 1.

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 If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder,

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 and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass,

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 and if he says, let us go after other gods which you have not known, let us serve them,

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 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams.

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 For the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God

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 with all your heart and with all your soul.

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 So from the beginning of Scripture, God is warning his people,

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 be vigilant, look out for false prophets.

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 They are everywhere and they're throughout all time.

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 Throughout the Old Testament, God's prophets are at constant odds with false prophets.

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 In the Gospels, Jesus warns us many times about false prophets.

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 John here warns us.

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 Peter in his second letter warns us.

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 You can't really throw a rock into the writings of Paul without hitting something about false teachers.

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 So if it's so pervasive throughout the Bible, we must assume it to be true in our day as well.

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 Why is this so pervasive?

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 John is showing us the truth that lies behind the veil.

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 There are certain teachings that aren't just wrong, they're evil.

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 They're evil and they're pervasive because they are lies perpetrated by the biggest liar who's been lying from the beginning, the devil.

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 The devil hates the church.

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 He hates you.

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 And the way to strike at your heart,

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 and the way to strike at the heart of the church,

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 the way to decimate her is to obfuscate the truth about who Jesus is.

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 And this truth we must guard vigilantly.

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 And this brings us to our second observation about this passage.

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 That it's all about Jesus.

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 At the center of truth lies the person of Jesus Christ.

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 So what are these false prophets teaching in 1 John 4?

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 So if you look at verse 2, it says,

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 By this you know the Spirit of God.

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 Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.

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 And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.

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 I've read numerous commentaries,

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 and they all agree that this key construction is this phrase,

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 has come in the flesh.

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 We need to pay attention to this to see what's going on.

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 In essence, it's a test formula.

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 This confession is that the man Jesus himself is none other than the incarnate Son of God,

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 which is the doctrine that the Gnostics denied.

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 Gnosticism was a new pagan Hellenistic religion

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 that often sounded a lot like Christianity.

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 But in reality, it was antithetical to the teachings of Jesus.

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 And it had drawn a lot of people away from this church.

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 Many had left the church John was writing to because of it.

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 One of the chief proponents of early Gnosticism

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 was a man named Serenthus.

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 And he taught that the divine Christ

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 came upon the man Jesus at his baptism

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 and left him before the cross.

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 Because in Hellenistic and Greek religions,

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 the divine must never suffer.

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 But the central doctrine of Christ,

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 as both divine and human,

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 can never be compromised.

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 Earlier in this letter,

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 John stressed the importance of confessing Christ.

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 Now if we compare that passage from chapter 2 with this one,

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 we'll find something very helpful.

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 We should observe the difference.

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 In chapter 2, our confession or denial of the Son

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 determines or signals

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 whether we possess the Father or not.

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 In chapter 4, our confession or denial of the Son

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 indicates whether we are inspired by the Spirit or not.

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 The person of Christ is central.

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 No system can be tolerated,

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 however loud its claims or clever its followers,

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 which denies that Jesus is the Christ

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 come in the flesh.

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 It must affirm his eternal deity

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 and his historical humanity.

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 Those who deny the Son

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 have neither the Father nor the Spirit.

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 That's why it's so important.

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 Not only is John telling us

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 what is true about a person,

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 a person he knew personally,

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 he's also talking about an event.

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 The gospel is news about an event.

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 The gospel isn't a list of platitudes

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 that determines truth versus error.

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 The gospel is news

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 that Jesus,

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 who claimed to be the Christ,

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 the Son of God,

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 came in the flesh.

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 And how do we know

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 that Jesus' claims about himself are true?

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 Well, he vindicated those claims

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 by rising from the dead.

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 Now, heresy

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 cuts the heart out of the gospel.

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 Through the gospel,

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 we understand our need to be rescued.

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 Because Christ is fully man,

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 he can be our mediator.

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 And he can represent us.

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 And he takes on himself

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 the punishment that we deserve.

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 And he bestows on us

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 his perfect record of righteousness

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 and obedience.

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 And he gives us his sonship

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 with the Father.

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 So now we are the sons

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 and daughters of the Father.

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 And Jesus is our brother.

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 Now, if Christ had not assumed

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 a genuine human nature

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 with a genuine human body,

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 then he couldn't represent us.

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 Man would have had no true mediator.

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 No atonement would have been made for us

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 and we would still be in our sins.

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 For this reason,

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 John says that the denial of Christ's

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 having come in the flesh

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 is the spirit of Antichrist.

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 So how can we help ourselves

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 remain clear about who Jesus is?

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 How can we keep him the hub

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 from which radiates

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 and around which revolves

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 our theology,

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 our morals,

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 our ethics,

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 our worldview,

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 so to speak?

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 How can we have confidence

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 that we know God

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 by listening to the apostles?

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 That's in verse 6.

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 Look at there.

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 Verse 6 is about the apostles.

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 It says,

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 We, the apostles,

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 are from God.

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 Whoever knows God

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 listens to us.

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 Whoever is not from God

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 does not listen to us.

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 By this we know

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 the spirit of truth

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 and the spirit of error.

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 We listen to the apostles

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 whenever we read

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 the New Testament

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 in its entirety,

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 not just sticking with

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 the words of Jesus

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 and ignoring everything else.

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 We listen to the apostles

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 whenever we hear the Bible

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 being preached faithfully.

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 We listen to the apostles

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 whenever we confess together

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 the creed.

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 And in a moment,

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 we'll do that together.

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 We've talked a lot

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 about listening.

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 Listening to the apostles,

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 hearing the spirit,

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 discerning truth.

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 Is there something

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 that can help us

00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:25.059
 better understand

00:18:25.059 --> 00:18:25.819
 that activity?

00:18:27.099 --> 00:18:28.480
 What helps me understand

00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:29.039
 that activity

00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:30.259
 is on the cover

00:18:30.259 --> 00:18:31.180
 of your bulletin.

00:18:32.019 --> 00:18:33.539
 It's a sketch.

00:18:34.019 --> 00:18:34.960
 It's an engraving

00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:35.240
 by Rembrandt.

00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:38.700
 You can look at it now.

00:18:38.700 --> 00:18:45.140
 This isn't any particular

00:18:45.140 --> 00:18:46.500
 scene from the Bible.

00:18:46.620 --> 00:18:47.940
 This is a general scene

00:18:47.940 --> 00:18:49.759
 of Christ preaching.

00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:52.840
 The first thing to observe

00:18:52.840 --> 00:18:55.480
 is a profound silence.

00:18:59.620 --> 00:19:00.960
 You can see the bodies.

00:19:01.160 --> 00:19:02.480
 They're somewhat hunched over

00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:04.160
 because they've been there a while.

00:19:05.080 --> 00:19:06.240
 Listening intently.

00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:08.640
 And the only thing

00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:09.660
 that you can really hear

00:19:09.660 --> 00:19:11.559
 is the voice of Jesus.

00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:14.099
 Or perhaps from time to time,

00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:15.980
 the sound of the little boy

00:19:15.980 --> 00:19:16.559
 in front

00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:18.740
 who's tracing in the sand.

00:19:19.339 --> 00:19:21.059
 The only person in the scene

00:19:21.059 --> 00:19:23.059
 who is hearing

00:19:23.059 --> 00:19:24.839
 but not listening.

00:19:27.220 --> 00:19:29.220
 If you look at the left,

00:19:29.319 --> 00:19:31.019
 you'll see a man in a beret.

00:19:31.120 --> 00:19:33.240
 There's two things occurring

00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:34.940
 occurring simultaneously

00:19:34.940 --> 00:19:35.920
 at this moment.

00:19:37.500 --> 00:19:38.440
 The first is the man

00:19:38.440 --> 00:19:38.839
 on the left.

00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:40.859
 He's kind of leaning in

00:19:40.859 --> 00:19:41.920
 and he's got his hand

00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:42.420
 in front of him

00:19:42.420 --> 00:19:43.140
 and his thumb

00:19:43.140 --> 00:19:44.500
 like right on his chin.

00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:45.180
 He's the one wearing

00:19:45.180 --> 00:19:45.640
 like the thing

00:19:45.640 --> 00:19:46.579
 looks like a beret, right?

00:19:47.980 --> 00:19:48.779
 It's as if he's like

00:19:48.779 --> 00:19:50.920
 pondering every word

00:19:50.920 --> 00:19:51.859
 that's being said,

00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:52.539
 thinking,

00:19:53.700 --> 00:19:54.460
 chewing on it.

00:19:55.799 --> 00:19:56.519
 The other thing

00:19:56.519 --> 00:19:57.059
 that's happening

00:19:57.059 --> 00:19:59.000
 is on the right.

00:19:59.099 --> 00:20:00.259
 There's an old man

00:20:00.259 --> 00:20:02.420
 and he's like leaning in.

00:20:03.079 --> 00:20:04.559
 He doesn't want to miss

00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:06.819
 a single word

00:20:06.819 --> 00:20:08.500
 that's being spoken

00:20:08.500 --> 00:20:09.379
 by the master.

00:20:13.259 --> 00:20:14.480
 Now you heard me say

00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:17.339
 that the little boy

00:20:17.339 --> 00:20:17.759
 in the front

00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:18.420
 is the only one

00:20:18.420 --> 00:20:19.400
 who's hearing

00:20:19.400 --> 00:20:20.379
 and not listening.

00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:22.759
 Even Jesus is listening.

00:20:24.940 --> 00:20:26.099
 That's why Rembrandt

00:20:26.099 --> 00:20:27.720
 has Jesus' hands

00:20:27.720 --> 00:20:29.720
 the way they are

00:20:29.720 --> 00:20:30.839
 to accent

00:20:30.839 --> 00:20:32.620
 the angle of the head

00:20:32.620 --> 00:20:34.059
 of Jesus.

00:20:35.180 --> 00:20:36.160
 What is he doing?

00:20:36.200 --> 00:20:37.400
 He's listening to his father.

00:20:39.259 --> 00:20:40.360
 He communicates

00:20:40.360 --> 00:20:41.460
 only what he's received

00:20:41.460 --> 00:20:42.200
 from the father.

00:20:44.779 --> 00:20:45.960
 And this sketch

00:20:45.960 --> 00:20:46.960
 accomplishes

00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:48.259
 what one art historian

00:20:48.259 --> 00:20:50.019
 says

00:20:50.019 --> 00:20:51.860
 could never be done.

00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:52.539
 Rembrandt

00:20:52.539 --> 00:20:53.339
 accomplished

00:20:53.339 --> 00:20:54.360
 the impossible.

00:20:54.960 --> 00:20:55.720
 He sketched

00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:56.360
 the portrait

00:20:56.360 --> 00:20:57.880
 of a voice.

00:20:59.319 --> 00:21:00.200
 The portrait

00:21:00.200 --> 00:21:00.860
 of a voice

00:21:00.860 --> 00:21:03.100
 in the midst

00:21:03.100 --> 00:21:04.180
 of profound silence.

00:21:05.579 --> 00:21:06.680
 God speaks.

00:21:07.299 --> 00:21:08.220
 And that voice

00:21:08.220 --> 00:21:09.640
 we lean

00:21:09.640 --> 00:21:10.319
 into

00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:11.440
 as God's people

00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:13.579
 desiring

00:21:13.579 --> 00:21:14.000
 to hear

00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:15.079
 every word

00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:17.360
 not missing one.

00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:20.720
 It's the voice

00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:21.440
 of the spirit

00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:22.960
 that tells us

00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:23.839
 Jesus Christ

00:21:23.839 --> 00:21:24.339
 has come

00:21:24.339 --> 00:21:24.960
 in the flesh.

00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:28.059
 And in just

00:21:28.059 --> 00:21:28.880
 a few minutes

00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:29.380
 we'll eat

00:21:29.380 --> 00:21:30.039
 of his flesh

00:21:30.039 --> 00:21:30.960
 and drink

00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:31.579
 of his blood

00:21:31.579 --> 00:21:34.299
 and celebrate

00:21:34.299 --> 00:21:35.579
 Christ's victory

00:21:35.579 --> 00:21:36.440
 over his enemies

00:21:36.440 --> 00:21:39.200
 and be reminded

00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:39.819
 that we

00:21:39.819 --> 00:21:40.819
 are the father's

00:21:40.819 --> 00:21:41.380
 little children.

00:21:42.140 --> 00:21:42.819
 Let's pray.

00:21:42.819 --> 00:21:42.900
 Amen.

00:21:42.900 --> 00:21:43.000
 Amen.

00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:43.180
 Amen.

00:21:43.180 --> 00:21:43.500
 Amen.

00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:44.980
 Amen.

00:21:44.980 --> 00:21:45.319
 Amen.

00:21:45.319 --> 00:21:45.539
 Amen.

00:21:45.539 --> 00:21:46.299
 Amen.

00:21:46.299 --> 00:21:46.960
 Amen.

00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:47.460
 Amen.

00:21:47.460 --> 00:21:47.920
 Amen.

00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:48.860
 Amen.

00:21:48.860 --> 00:21:50.000
 Amen.

00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:50.860
 Amen.

00:21:50.860 --> 00:21:50.920
 Amen.

00:21:50.920 --> 00:21:51.339
 Amen.

00:21:51.339 --> 00:21:51.880
 Amen.

00:21:51.880 --> 00:21:51.920
 Amen.

00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:51.980
 Amen.

00:21:51.980 --> 00:21:52.640
 Amen.

00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:52.940
 Amen.

00:21:52.940 --> 00:21:53.980
 Amen.

00:21:53.980 --> 00:21:54.860
 Amen.

00:21:54.860 --> 00:21:54.980
 Amen.

00:21:54.980 --> 00:21:55.700
 Amen.