WEBVTT 00:00:06.549 --> 00:00:16.250 Turn to 1 John, chapter 2. Now, we're going to 00:00:16.250 --> 00:00:18.370 be digging into a lot of doctrine today also. 00:00:19.390 --> 00:00:22.210 So we're going to pray, and then we're only going 00:00:22.210 --> 00:00:24.350 to be focusing on the first six verses of chapter 00:00:24.350 --> 00:00:26.989 2. But before we do that, we're going to need 00:00:26.989 --> 00:00:30.510 to read a little bit. um in chapter one so we 00:00:30.510 --> 00:00:33.149 understand the context of what john is saying 00:00:33.149 --> 00:00:36.990 so let us pray uh today's message jesus our advocate 00:00:36.990 --> 00:00:41.130 and propitiation um two very important doctrines 00:00:41.130 --> 00:00:43.750 here but there's there's also several others 00:00:43.750 --> 00:00:46.149 that we will be mentioning as we walk through 00:00:46.149 --> 00:00:48.429 this together father i want to thank you so much 00:00:48.429 --> 00:00:50.210 for your goodness and faithfulness thank you 00:00:50.210 --> 00:00:53.950 lord for your word thank you um just for your 00:00:53.950 --> 00:00:59.740 amazing work of salvation for your people. You 00:00:59.740 --> 00:01:04.159 are our advocate. You are our propitiation. You 00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:10.439 are the perfect sacrifice, the only sacrifice, 00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:15.439 and the one eternal sacrifice that was given 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:19.319 for your people and for the salvation. Not only 00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:22.319 that, to be conformed into the image, into your 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:24.700 image. Father, I pray that you would continue 00:01:24.700 --> 00:01:28.010 to work out all things. for our good as you form 00:01:28.010 --> 00:01:30.829 us into the image of your Son. We do praise you 00:01:30.829 --> 00:01:32.849 and thank you for your goodness and faithfulness 00:01:32.849 --> 00:01:39.329 in Jesus' name. Amen. So, chapter 1, let's start 00:01:39.329 --> 00:01:41.629 off in verse 7, and then we're going to go through 00:01:41.629 --> 00:01:45.189 verse 6 of chapter 2. But if we walk in the light 00:01:45.189 --> 00:01:48.109 as he is in the light, we have fellowship with 00:01:48.109 --> 00:01:50.069 one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, 00:01:50.129 --> 00:01:54.090 cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no 00:01:54.090 --> 00:01:56.290 sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not 00:01:56.290 --> 00:01:59.349 in us. And if we confess our sins, he is faithful 00:01:59.349 --> 00:02:02.650 and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse 00:02:02.650 --> 00:02:04.909 us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have 00:02:04.909 --> 00:02:08.590 not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is 00:02:08.590 --> 00:02:11.930 not in us. My little children, I'm writing these 00:02:11.930 --> 00:02:16.490 things to you so that you may not sin. But if 00:02:16.490 --> 00:02:19.629 anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the 00:02:19.629 --> 00:02:23.780 Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. He is the 00:02:23.780 --> 00:02:27.580 propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, 00:02:27.639 --> 00:02:31.219 but also for the sins of the whole world. And 00:02:31.219 --> 00:02:34.659 by this we know that we have come to know him 00:02:34.659 --> 00:02:38.479 if we keep his commandments. And whoever says, 00:02:38.520 --> 00:02:40.400 I know him, but does not keep his commandments 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:44.099 is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever 00:02:44.099 --> 00:02:46.800 keeps his word, in him truly the love of God 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:51.710 is perfected. By this we... may know that we 00:02:51.710 --> 00:02:55.110 are in him. Whoever says he abides in him ought 00:02:55.110 --> 00:03:00.490 to walk in the same way in which he walked. So 00:03:00.490 --> 00:03:04.129 quite a bit of stuff here. The first is Christ 00:03:04.129 --> 00:03:06.830 is our advocate and propitiation for our sins. 00:03:07.110 --> 00:03:10.770 The advocate is the one who speaks on your behalf 00:03:10.770 --> 00:03:14.669 that you are not guilty. The propitiation is 00:03:14.669 --> 00:03:19.030 the one who has paid the cost of your guilt. 00:03:20.009 --> 00:03:22.990 A lot of times I think when we think about the 00:03:22.990 --> 00:03:30.289 advocate of Christ, just how important his advocacy 00:03:30.289 --> 00:03:34.889 is for you and I. And not only that, the reality 00:03:34.889 --> 00:03:39.930 of the propitiation is the clarifier of that 00:03:39.930 --> 00:03:43.569 advocate. There had to be something that paid 00:03:43.569 --> 00:03:47.949 the cost to appease the wrath of God. And so 00:03:47.949 --> 00:03:52.280 Christ. is that sacrifice by which he now can, 00:03:52.500 --> 00:03:56.080 through the propitiation, be the advocate of 00:03:56.080 --> 00:04:00.360 his people. In Hebrews 7 .25, it says, Consequently, 00:04:00.500 --> 00:04:05.240 he is able to save to the uttermost those who 00:04:05.240 --> 00:04:08.319 draw near to God through him, since he always 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:12.219 lives to make intercession for them. I want you 00:04:12.219 --> 00:04:17.870 to hear that. He saves to the uttermost. OK, 00:04:18.069 --> 00:04:20.310 that's in other words, the salvation of Christ 00:04:20.310 --> 00:04:25.449 is beyond measure, beyond measure. The first 00:04:25.449 --> 00:04:29.230 John 2, 1 and 1 and 2, my little children, I'm 00:04:29.230 --> 00:04:33.310 writing these things to you so that you may not 00:04:33.310 --> 00:04:35.949 sin. What things? Well, the list he previously 00:04:35.949 --> 00:04:41.389 said in chapter one, which we went through. Right, 00:04:41.490 --> 00:04:43.430 that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and 00:04:43.430 --> 00:04:49.069 just to forgive us of our sins, that he. He has 00:04:49.069 --> 00:04:53.990 cleansed us from sin. And that if we confess 00:04:53.990 --> 00:04:57.569 that we have sinned, then the truth is in us. 00:04:58.470 --> 00:05:01.269 But those who do not confess that they're sinners 00:05:01.269 --> 00:05:04.930 or that they sin, the truth is not in them. And 00:05:04.930 --> 00:05:08.589 we don't want to make God out to be a liar because 00:05:08.589 --> 00:05:12.850 God is not. He says we are sinful. We are utterly 00:05:12.850 --> 00:05:16.379 sinful, as we had talked about last week. In 00:05:16.379 --> 00:05:20.019 total depravity. Now, when we deal with this 00:05:20.019 --> 00:05:24.680 issue of advocacy, we see this here in the second 00:05:24.680 --> 00:05:28.939 part of the verse. But if anyone does sin, it's 00:05:28.939 --> 00:05:30.720 not that you're not going to sin, you're going 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:37.220 to sin. It's when you sin. So when you sin, we 00:05:37.220 --> 00:05:40.959 have an advocate. Paracletus. One who pleads 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:46.399 another's cause. An intercessor. And he specifically 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:52.300 pleads the cause with the Father. Now, if Christ 00:05:52.300 --> 00:05:56.800 was not the propitiation, there would be no cause 00:05:56.800 --> 00:06:02.959 to plead. You're guilty. But because we have 00:06:02.959 --> 00:06:06.720 a propitiation, we have one who has dealt with 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:10.199 our sin and has appeased the wrath of God, Christ, 00:06:10.360 --> 00:06:13.500 when we do sin, can go to the Father and say, 00:06:14.540 --> 00:06:18.600 They're covered, not guilty. I plead on their 00:06:18.600 --> 00:06:21.720 behalf. And that's the idea of the advocate. 00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:26.240 And we see that in Exodus. We're going to see 00:06:26.240 --> 00:06:28.720 that in a minute. So the first thing I want you 00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:30.160 to understand is when we're dealing with the 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:35.480 doctrine of the advocate of Christ, to be an 00:06:35.480 --> 00:06:40.740 advocate requires a propitiation. There has to 00:06:40.740 --> 00:06:46.899 be a... something provided that the advocate 00:06:46.899 --> 00:06:50.600 can come before the judge and plead the case 00:06:50.600 --> 00:06:57.000 of not guilty. Okay? He is the propitiation, 00:06:57.259 --> 00:07:00.740 the means of appeasing. Now, what's interesting 00:07:00.740 --> 00:07:03.379 is when you look at the issue of propitiation, 00:07:03.620 --> 00:07:06.740 you also have to look at the reality of the atonement, 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:13.689 the atonement of Christ. The innocent being sacrificed 00:07:13.689 --> 00:07:17.810 for the guilty. The blood being spilled for the 00:07:17.810 --> 00:07:21.589 cleansing and the removal of the sin. By which 00:07:21.589 --> 00:07:25.269 the advocate then can go before the father and 00:07:25.269 --> 00:07:29.149 say, not guilty. Now this is important because 00:07:29.149 --> 00:07:32.449 you cannot have one without the other. And we 00:07:32.449 --> 00:07:38.850 see that in Exodus 32. So he is the propitiation 00:07:38.850 --> 00:07:44.259 for our sins. And not for ours only, but also 00:07:44.259 --> 00:07:47.300 the sins of the whole world. Now, to explain 00:07:47.300 --> 00:07:50.060 this a little bit, I want you to understand when 00:07:50.060 --> 00:07:58.879 we're looking at the effectual work of the sacrifice 00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:03.779 of Christ, that the power of the sacrifice and 00:08:03.779 --> 00:08:07.439 the shedding of his blood is more than enough 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:11.069 to deal with the sins of the whole world. It's 00:08:11.069 --> 00:08:18.009 not just a little bit. His blood has power and 00:08:18.009 --> 00:08:22.529 effectualness to take care of all sin. And that's 00:08:22.529 --> 00:08:26.790 important because we see the work of Christ down 00:08:26.790 --> 00:08:32.970 to the smallest minute detail of our lives. Many 00:08:32.970 --> 00:08:36.669 would argue the point that the reality of atonement 00:08:36.669 --> 00:08:40.009 or propitiation means if it's for the whole world, 00:08:40.029 --> 00:08:45.230 then the whole world's sins are covered. There 00:08:45.230 --> 00:08:48.230 is clear teaching throughout the Old Testament 00:08:48.230 --> 00:08:53.110 and the New Testament that the application of 00:08:53.110 --> 00:08:57.990 the propitiation is applied to those who believe. 00:08:58.610 --> 00:09:01.899 And applied to those... whom God has appointed. 00:09:02.279 --> 00:09:05.500 And what you see that, is you see that not only 00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:10.679 in the establishment of the Passover meal, that 00:09:10.679 --> 00:09:14.539 the family would take in the lamb on the 10th 00:09:14.539 --> 00:09:17.679 of the month into their home, and the lamb would 00:09:17.679 --> 00:09:21.259 stay in the home until the day of sacrifice, 00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:27.559 which implies that the lamb is part of the family. 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:33.519 And that lamb would only cover or work, be applied 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:37.320 to the sin of the family, not sin of the nation. 00:09:37.419 --> 00:09:40.879 That was a different sacrifice. So there was 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:43.220 the sacrifices that were given daily, and then 00:09:43.220 --> 00:09:46.740 there was the sacrifice for the entire nation. 00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:52.720 And we can see that also in Exodus. But we're 00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:55.080 not going to get into the deepness of that right 00:09:55.080 --> 00:09:58.320 now, because I want to focus on... the person 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:01.919 of Christ, the advocate and the propitiation. 00:10:02.740 --> 00:10:07.799 Moses as advocate and to make propitiation in 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:10.519 Exodus 32. Now, I want you to hear that. Moses 00:10:10.519 --> 00:10:14.480 is an advocate here. He makes propitiation. He 00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:17.419 is not the propitiation, which is the difference 00:10:17.419 --> 00:10:21.659 between him and Christ. Now, in Exodus 32, 30 00:10:21.659 --> 00:10:25.789 through 33. The next day Moses said to the people, 00:10:25.909 --> 00:10:31.389 you have sinned a great sin. So we have the declaration 00:10:31.389 --> 00:10:36.549 of guilt here. And now I will go up to the Lord, 00:10:36.649 --> 00:10:41.169 perhaps I, perhaps I can make atonement for your 00:10:41.169 --> 00:10:44.889 sins. So he says, I'm going to go up and I'm 00:10:44.889 --> 00:10:50.149 going to advocate for you, perhaps by appeasing 00:10:50.149 --> 00:10:55.090 his anger towards you. And the word they use 00:10:55.090 --> 00:10:59.289 there is atonement. Now, verse 31. So Moses returned 00:10:59.289 --> 00:11:02.769 to the Lord and said, Alas, this people has sinned 00:11:02.769 --> 00:11:06.470 a great sin. They have made for themselves gods 00:11:06.470 --> 00:11:10.350 of gold. But now, if you will, forgive their 00:11:10.350 --> 00:11:16.250 sin. But if not, please blot me out of your book 00:11:16.250 --> 00:11:18.549 that you have written. Now, I want you to get 00:11:18.549 --> 00:11:22.539 this. Very important. What do you notice about 00:11:22.539 --> 00:11:26.320 the advocate here? He confesses the reality of 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:33.039 their guilt. He then says, listen, I am coming 00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:41.659 on their behalf, and I am offering myself as 00:11:41.659 --> 00:11:50.009 a means to appeal for your forgiveness. And what 00:11:50.009 --> 00:11:53.330 you see here, he says, please blot me out of 00:11:53.330 --> 00:11:56.490 your book that you have written. If you're not 00:11:56.490 --> 00:11:59.350 going to forgive them, then I don't want to be 00:11:59.350 --> 00:12:03.370 associated without them. That's an advocate. 00:12:04.970 --> 00:12:08.149 And that's exactly what Jesus says. To some degree, 00:12:08.250 --> 00:12:12.190 isn't it? What's he say? No one takes my life 00:12:12.190 --> 00:12:18.309 from me. I give it of my own accord. I lay down 00:12:18.309 --> 00:12:23.090 my life for my sheep. And Moses is doing something 00:12:23.090 --> 00:12:26.909 very similar here. Take me out of your book. 00:12:28.190 --> 00:12:35.049 I'm with them. Because the reality is, they've 00:12:35.049 --> 00:12:38.250 sinned, and if you eliminate them, you eliminate 00:12:38.250 --> 00:12:41.850 all of us, and I'm a part of them. That's my 00:12:41.850 --> 00:12:46.009 family. Those are my people. It's very interesting. 00:12:46.679 --> 00:12:48.980 And it's interesting because Jesus does the same 00:12:48.980 --> 00:12:54.299 thing. Jesus dies for his people once for all, 00:12:54.399 --> 00:12:57.379 the scripture says. Verse 33, but the Lord says 00:12:57.379 --> 00:13:00.539 to Moses, whoever has sinned against me, I will 00:13:00.539 --> 00:13:05.379 blot out of my book. Not you. Notice he doesn't 00:13:05.379 --> 00:13:08.620 say, and you. He says, no, those who have sinned 00:13:08.620 --> 00:13:12.659 against me, I'll blot out. But now go, lead the 00:13:12.659 --> 00:13:15.299 people to the place. which I have spoken to you, 00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:18.559 behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, 00:13:18.740 --> 00:13:22.320 in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:28.320 upon them. Upon them. And you read the rest of 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:31.919 the story, and the reality is what happens is, 00:13:32.120 --> 00:13:36.039 Moses pleads on behalf of the people, and he 00:13:36.039 --> 00:13:38.779 goes down, and he tells the people to pick a 00:13:38.779 --> 00:13:44.450 side. And the Levites, who were the ones, which 00:13:44.450 --> 00:13:49.570 Aaron is the one who made the golden calf, they 00:13:49.570 --> 00:13:53.470 all move over to Moses' side. But everybody else 00:13:53.470 --> 00:13:57.769 who didn't, the scripture says that the Levites 00:13:57.769 --> 00:14:03.690 killed them all. But Moses was the advocate because 00:14:03.690 --> 00:14:06.909 the reality is the wrath of God was going to 00:14:06.909 --> 00:14:10.809 be placed upon the entire nation. But because 00:14:10.809 --> 00:14:14.769 of Moses, God said, I will only visit those who 00:14:14.769 --> 00:14:19.090 have sinned against me. Now, Jesus the advocate, 00:14:19.289 --> 00:14:23.370 Luke 23 -34. And Jesus said, Father, forgive 00:14:23.370 --> 00:14:27.470 them, for they know not what they do. And they 00:14:27.470 --> 00:14:30.009 cast lots to divide his garments. Do you hear 00:14:30.009 --> 00:14:33.929 that? Sounds similar to Moses. Moses says, they've 00:14:33.929 --> 00:14:38.230 sinned against you. They don't get it, really. 00:14:38.789 --> 00:14:41.909 Jesus says, Forgive them for they know not what 00:14:41.909 --> 00:14:47.889 they do. He advocates for us on the cross. Jesus, 00:14:47.909 --> 00:14:52.470 the propitiation. Romans 3, 21 through 26. But 00:14:52.470 --> 00:14:55.570 now the righteousness of God has been manifest 00:14:55.570 --> 00:14:59.669 apart from the law. Although the law and the 00:14:59.669 --> 00:15:02.730 prophets bear witness to it, meaning Christ, 00:15:03.009 --> 00:15:05.990 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus 00:15:05.990 --> 00:15:09.629 Christ for all believe. Do you hear that? That's 00:15:09.629 --> 00:15:13.590 important. For there is no distinction. For all 00:15:13.590 --> 00:15:15.450 have sinned and fallen short of the glory of 00:15:15.450 --> 00:15:20.370 God. There is the declaration of guilt. And are 00:15:20.370 --> 00:15:24.330 justified by his grace as a gift. There is the 00:15:24.330 --> 00:15:26.769 work of Christ in soteriology as a propitiation 00:15:26.769 --> 00:15:30.029 for our sins. Through the redemption that is 00:15:30.029 --> 00:15:34.950 in Jesus Christ. Whom God has put forward as 00:15:34.950 --> 00:15:40.649 a propitiation by his blood. So the issue of 00:15:40.649 --> 00:15:44.309 God's appeasing is by the blood of Christ. Without 00:15:44.309 --> 00:15:46.950 the shedding of blood, there is no remission 00:15:46.950 --> 00:15:50.649 or forgiveness of sins. And this reality of the 00:15:50.649 --> 00:15:53.889 propitiation by his blood, as Paul continues 00:15:53.889 --> 00:15:59.169 in Romans, it says to be received by faith. How 00:15:59.169 --> 00:16:02.710 is the propitiation to be received, applied by 00:16:02.710 --> 00:16:07.070 faith? There it is. The application of the atonement. 00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:12.419 Not the effectual offer of the atonement. It's 00:16:12.419 --> 00:16:15.899 the application of atonement received by faith 00:16:15.899 --> 00:16:19.639 that's important. This was to show God's righteousness 00:16:19.639 --> 00:16:25.100 because in his divine forbearance he has passed 00:16:25.100 --> 00:16:29.759 over former sins. And we know that. Another reality 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:33.659 of the... of the effectualness of God and the 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:37.899 application of the atonement was only those who 00:16:37.899 --> 00:16:45.740 had the blood on the doorpost did not die. Now, 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:49.840 let's keep reading. Verse 26, it was to show 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:52.399 his righteousness at the present time. In the 00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:55.600 same way he showed his righteousness and his 00:16:55.600 --> 00:17:00.179 forbearance to the sins of the forefathers before 00:17:00.179 --> 00:17:05.380 at the Exodus, we see Christ again in the present 00:17:05.380 --> 00:17:09.759 time. God has been patient, not wanting any to 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:15.099 perish, but all to come to repentance. It was 00:17:15.099 --> 00:17:17.579 to show his righteousness at the present time 00:17:17.579 --> 00:17:23.339 so that he might be just and the justifier. What's 00:17:23.339 --> 00:17:27.359 this mean? That he will show his justice? on 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:31.019 the punishment upon his son, and he will show 00:17:31.019 --> 00:17:35.619 the reality that we are justified in Christ by 00:17:35.619 --> 00:17:39.000 faith in Jesus. And not only that, he is also 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:43.759 just in the condemnation of those who don't believe 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:49.799 God is just either way or either way. It continues, 00:17:49.960 --> 00:17:53.799 not only that he might be just and the justifier 00:17:53.799 --> 00:17:58.660 of the one who has faith, In Jesus. There it 00:17:58.660 --> 00:18:03.619 is again. Second principle. You know that you 00:18:03.619 --> 00:18:10.839 know Christ. You know that you know Christ. Not 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:16.039 by a prayer spoken, but by your life being changed. 00:18:16.380 --> 00:18:22.539 How can you know? How can you know for sure that 00:18:22.539 --> 00:18:26.869 you are eternally secure in Christ? that you 00:18:26.869 --> 00:18:30.829 are truly his. How do you know? All of us doubt. 00:18:31.009 --> 00:18:34.529 All of us go through the questions. But the reality 00:18:34.529 --> 00:18:38.970 is you know that you know Christ, not by a prayer 00:18:38.970 --> 00:18:41.769 spoken, but by your life being changed. To know 00:18:41.769 --> 00:18:44.450 him is to love his word, and to love his word 00:18:44.450 --> 00:18:47.809 is to do his word. How do you know who is and 00:18:47.809 --> 00:18:50.529 who's not? How do you know you know? Because 00:18:50.529 --> 00:18:54.680 you desire his word and want to obey. Please 00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:58.500 him and do his word because that is your heartbeat 00:18:58.500 --> 00:19:03.380 for him. That is the reality of a really, truly 00:19:03.380 --> 00:19:08.380 changed life. There are many who sit in the pews 00:19:08.380 --> 00:19:14.460 in churches throughout the country and throughout 00:19:14.460 --> 00:19:16.960 the world who say they know, but they really 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:21.220 don't know. Why? Because you'll know them by 00:19:21.220 --> 00:19:23.990 their fruit. What is the fruit? The fruit is 00:19:23.990 --> 00:19:28.829 a life of obedience. It's not a prayer. What 00:19:28.829 --> 00:19:32.230 someone says isn't the guarantee. The work of 00:19:32.230 --> 00:19:35.190 Christ is the guarantee. What is the result of 00:19:35.190 --> 00:19:38.750 the guarantee? Change. Because that's what repentance 00:19:38.750 --> 00:19:42.450 means. It's the idea that I've turned toward 00:19:42.450 --> 00:19:46.690 God, away from my sin, that I want him more than 00:19:46.690 --> 00:19:50.779 anything else. In John 14, 15 through 17. Jesus 00:19:50.779 --> 00:19:53.779 says, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. 00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:57.079 And I will ask the Father and he will give you 00:19:57.079 --> 00:20:00.579 another helper to be with you forever. Do you 00:20:00.579 --> 00:20:03.059 hear that? In other words, you can't do this 00:20:03.059 --> 00:20:06.039 life on your own. You can't live this way on 00:20:06.039 --> 00:20:11.099 your own without the helper to help you. And 00:20:11.099 --> 00:20:14.039 the reality of our desire to be obedient to the 00:20:14.039 --> 00:20:18.430 word of God is the actual... effectual work of 00:20:18.430 --> 00:20:22.950 the Spirit of God in you. I want to please him. 00:20:24.450 --> 00:20:28.170 Verse 17, even the Spirit of truth whom the world 00:20:28.170 --> 00:20:32.430 cannot receive because it never sees him nor 00:20:32.430 --> 00:20:37.569 knows him. You know him for he dwells with you 00:20:37.569 --> 00:20:41.690 and will be in you. How do you know? The Spirit 00:20:41.690 --> 00:20:45.480 of God is present in your life. What is the work 00:20:45.480 --> 00:20:48.079 of the Spirit of God present in your life? Sanctification. 00:20:49.059 --> 00:20:53.180 What is sanctification? God changing you and 00:20:53.180 --> 00:20:57.859 making you like Him. Taking out the bad and putting 00:20:57.859 --> 00:21:02.579 in the holy. And your desire to be obedient in 00:21:02.579 --> 00:21:06.059 all things is the reality of the proof of that 00:21:06.059 --> 00:21:11.140 work of the Spirit in you. In 1 John 2, 3 -4. 00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:13.980 Now one of the other things I want you to understand 00:21:13.980 --> 00:21:18.720 is very important. If the Word of God is the 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:23.480 very thing that continues to work effectually 00:21:23.480 --> 00:21:27.380 in us to form us and conform us into the image 00:21:27.380 --> 00:21:31.740 of His Son because it's living and active, how 00:21:31.740 --> 00:21:35.299 much time do you spend in it? Is it important 00:21:35.299 --> 00:21:41.650 to you? Do you study it? Do you soak your life 00:21:41.650 --> 00:21:48.009 daily in it? Do you eat the manna every day? 00:21:48.069 --> 00:21:50.650 Do you drink the everlasting water of the Word? 00:21:51.890 --> 00:21:54.369 Are you being cleansed by the water of the Word? 00:21:55.349 --> 00:22:00.369 How much time do you really spend in it? How 00:22:00.369 --> 00:22:04.829 important is the Word to you? Because you cannot 00:22:04.829 --> 00:22:08.009 know the God of all creation without knowing 00:22:08.970 --> 00:22:13.970 What he's giving you to know. This is what it 00:22:13.970 --> 00:22:18.910 says in verse 3 and 4. And by this we know, gnosko, 00:22:19.130 --> 00:22:25.250 to know God expressed in action. It implies a 00:22:25.250 --> 00:22:30.369 deep intimacy, a relational deepness of knowing. 00:22:31.670 --> 00:22:35.529 And that knowing is seen in my action toward 00:22:35.529 --> 00:22:39.920 him. That is what gnosko means. And you'll notice 00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:44.740 that just in these two verses, gnosko is used 00:22:44.740 --> 00:22:54.440 three times. In the six verses, gnosko is used, 00:22:54.519 --> 00:23:00.720 as a matter of fact, let me pull it up. I think 00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:06.720 it's four times in six verses. Here is the first 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:12.339 one. And by this we gnosko. We know that we have 00:23:12.339 --> 00:23:19.259 come to gnosko him. We know that we know if we 00:23:19.259 --> 00:23:25.359 keep his commandments. Very important. A lot 00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:30.099 of people say they know. A lot of people think 00:23:30.099 --> 00:23:36.980 they know. But the reality is to know. And to 00:23:36.980 --> 00:23:41.240 come to know is I keep his word. Do you see that? 00:23:42.059 --> 00:23:45.920 By this we know that we have come to know him 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:49.980 if we keep his commandments. What's the proof 00:23:49.980 --> 00:23:54.299 of my conversion? Obedience. People don't like 00:23:54.299 --> 00:24:01.160 that. It's okay. Whoever says I know him, Gnosko, 00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:04.240 but does not keep his commandments is a liar. 00:24:04.670 --> 00:24:08.109 and the truth is not in him. You cannot say I 00:24:08.109 --> 00:24:12.710 know him and you're not being obedient. This 00:24:12.710 --> 00:24:15.329 is not an issue of legalism. It's an issue of 00:24:15.329 --> 00:24:21.410 my greatest desire is to love him. And loving 00:24:21.410 --> 00:24:28.529 him is to do what he tells me to do. What happens 00:24:28.529 --> 00:24:31.269 to those who do not know or who do not keep his 00:24:31.269 --> 00:24:35.640 commandments? They're liars. They're just, they're 00:24:35.640 --> 00:24:41.619 liars. He just straight says it. And the truth 00:24:41.619 --> 00:24:47.000 is not present. Now what's interesting is Jesus 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:48.779 says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. 00:24:49.720 --> 00:24:52.099 And if we are not keeping his commandments, that 00:24:52.099 --> 00:24:57.619 means Jesus is not in you. Third principle. You 00:24:57.619 --> 00:25:02.680 know that you are eternally his. He lives in 00:25:02.680 --> 00:25:07.150 you, and you in him. If you abide in him, you 00:25:07.150 --> 00:25:12.009 will and must live as he lived. This is John's 00:25:12.009 --> 00:25:17.549 clear declaration in John 14, 23 through 24. 00:25:17.670 --> 00:25:21.730 Jesus answered him. If anyone loves me, he will 00:25:21.730 --> 00:25:24.609 keep my word and my father will love him. And 00:25:24.609 --> 00:25:29.089 we will come to him and make our home with him. 00:25:29.910 --> 00:25:33.839 There it is. If we are in Christ, the truth is 00:25:33.839 --> 00:25:37.140 in us. But if we are not, and we are not being 00:25:37.140 --> 00:25:39.900 obedient to the word, then the truth is not in 00:25:39.900 --> 00:25:48.079 us. And he tells us that he will come and live 00:25:48.079 --> 00:25:51.460 with him. He and the Father. We will come to 00:25:51.460 --> 00:25:55.380 him and make our home with him. Whoever does 00:25:55.380 --> 00:26:00.359 not love me does not keep my words. And the word 00:26:00.359 --> 00:26:04.039 that you hear is not mine, but the Father's who 00:26:04.039 --> 00:26:08.819 sent me. It's interesting that Jesus clarifies 00:26:08.819 --> 00:26:13.160 that all that the Father has spoken, Jesus speaks. 00:26:15.420 --> 00:26:21.299 1 John 2, 5 and 6. But whoever keeps his word, 00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:27.220 in him truly the love of God is perfected. How 00:26:27.220 --> 00:26:29.400 do we know that the love of God is perfected? 00:26:29.640 --> 00:26:34.160 Because of the effectual work of Christ through 00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:38.019 his sanctification in us and his conformity of 00:26:38.019 --> 00:26:42.119 us, because he has imputed to us his righteousness, 00:26:42.259 --> 00:26:47.160 he will not leave us to our own demise. And plus, 00:26:47.200 --> 00:26:51.539 if he is in us, then the truth is actively working 00:26:51.539 --> 00:26:55.819 in us because the Spirit of God is present. guiding 00:26:55.819 --> 00:27:00.920 us in all truth. He has not left us as orphans. 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:04.519 He has given us a helper that we would rightfully 00:27:04.519 --> 00:27:13.299 and righteously be obedient in all things. But, 00:27:13.299 --> 00:27:18.240 as a reminder, if we confess our sins, He is 00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:20.720 faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and 00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:24.359 cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Why? Because 00:27:25.130 --> 00:27:27.549 If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, 00:27:27.670 --> 00:27:31.789 and the truth is not in us. So the reality of 00:27:31.789 --> 00:27:36.289 God's perfect work in us is that truth is present, 00:27:36.329 --> 00:27:41.390 and we are being obedient to it. That shows that 00:27:41.390 --> 00:27:48.710 I know that I know him. By this, we may gnosko. 00:27:49.410 --> 00:27:53.009 We may know that we are in him. How can you know 00:27:53.009 --> 00:27:57.390 that you are in him? Because you keep his word. 00:27:57.549 --> 00:28:01.430 How can you know that you are in him? The truth 00:28:01.430 --> 00:28:08.269 is in you. How can we know? Because whoever says 00:28:08.269 --> 00:28:11.630 he abides in him ought to walk in the same way 00:28:11.630 --> 00:28:16.329 in which he walked. What is the proof? The seen 00:28:16.329 --> 00:28:21.269 fruit. Obedience. We walk like Jesus walked. 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:26.220 And the reason why John is doing this, because 00:28:26.220 --> 00:28:31.680 as we learned last week, when we deal with the 00:28:31.680 --> 00:28:36.460 reality of light, we receive the light, we proclaim 00:28:36.460 --> 00:28:40.299 the light, we walk in the light. The proof that 00:28:40.299 --> 00:28:42.240 we are walking in the light, that we have proclaimed 00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:44.539 the light, and that we receive the light, is 00:28:44.539 --> 00:28:48.000 that we want to obey him because we love him. 00:28:48.839 --> 00:28:53.849 We want to obey him because we know him. We want 00:28:53.849 --> 00:28:57.930 to obey him because we want to please him. We 00:28:57.930 --> 00:29:01.009 want to obey him because we love his word and 00:29:01.009 --> 00:29:06.569 we want to be fed and heard and hear him. How 00:29:06.569 --> 00:29:11.210 important is the word of God to you? And the 00:29:11.210 --> 00:29:16.690 reality is, because he has done this great work, 00:29:16.869 --> 00:29:21.329 we can know for sure that he is our advocate. 00:29:22.220 --> 00:29:25.160 Jesus Christ the righteous and the propitiation 00:29:25.160 --> 00:29:29.940 of our sins because we obey his word. That's 00:29:29.940 --> 00:29:35.059 how you know that you have an advocate. Jesus 00:29:35.059 --> 00:29:37.720 speaks on your behalf because you're being obedient. 00:29:37.799 --> 00:29:41.559 You see the effectual work of Christ's salvation 00:29:41.559 --> 00:29:46.859 in your life. So next week we'll pick up on verses 00:29:46.859 --> 00:29:50.150 7 through. Father, I want to thank you so much 00:29:50.150 --> 00:29:51.829 for this message. Thank you, Lord, for this time. 00:29:52.009 --> 00:29:57.910 Lord, as we spend time to do your supper, I pray 00:29:57.910 --> 00:29:59.750 that you're honored and glorified that we would 00:29:59.750 --> 00:30:06.250 reflect deeply on our lives as we partake of 00:30:06.250 --> 00:30:09.730 this bread and this juice.