Lesson 7 continued

Lesson 7 continued

II.  Love Gives Us Assurance  (1 John 4:12-16)

                As we begin to examine this section of scripture, recall that in verse 7 John has told us first that “love is of God” and second “God is love”.  Certainly we find this truth revealed to us in the “Word”, but it was revealed to us as well on the cross.  This idea that “love is of God” and that “God is love” is in fact a biblical doctrine, but is as well an eternal fact as demonstrated by Christ at Calvary.  God has said something to us, and God has done something for us, but now John is telling us that God does something in us.  As a Christian you are not merely spectator of God’s love, but rather a participant.  John tells us in verse 12 how our love fulfills two important functions.  First, our love for others is evidence that God is real and dwells in us.  Second this Christian lifestyle of love is evidence that the goal of God’s love is perfected in us.

                So let’s look at the first doctrine—our love is evidence That God is real and dwells in His believers.  To better understand this lets go back and take a quick look at how God has interacted with mankind as recorded in the Bible.  In the beginning God maintained fellowship with man in a personal and direct way. (Gen. 3:8)  “And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the cool of the day:…”  As we know, sin broke that fellowship and God demonstrated for the first time His plan of substitutionary death by clothing Adam and Eve in coats of skin.  Some animal shed its blood to cover Adam’s sin that fellowship might be restored.  As you look at God’s description throughout Genesis, God is described as walking with mankind. [Enoch (Gen. 5:22), Noah (Gen. 6:9), Abraham (Gen. 17:1 and 24:40)]  As we turn to Exodus a change takes place.  God no longer simply walks with man, but we are introduced to the idea of God living or dwelling among men. (Ex. 25:8).  “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them”.  The first of these sanctuaries was the tabernacle.  As it was completed and dedicated the glory of God came down and resided in the tent. (Ex. 40:33-35)  So we see God dwelt in the camp, but not necessarily in their bodies.  Then we get to 1 Sam. 4:21 and the nation of Israel sins and God’s glory departs.  Of course God loves His people and uses people like Samuel and King David to restore Israel.  By the time David dies and turns the kingdom over to Solomon a magnificent temple is built.  As this temple is dedicated, once again, the glory of God filled the house of God. (1 Kings 8:1-11)  Then, as we know, history repeats itself, Israel disobeyed God, they were taken into captivity, and ultimately the temple is destroyed.  Ezekiel, while in captivity (Ez. 1:1-3), sees through visions the glory of God depart from Israel. (Ez. 8:4, 9:3, 10:4, 11:22-23)  The Bible does tell us that God in His glory did visit Israel again.  John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth”.  The glory of God dwelt on earth in the body of Jesus Christ, for His body was the temple of God. (John 2:18-22)  Wicked, lost, men nailed that body to a cross, crucifying the “Lord of Glory (1 Cor. 2:8) fulfilling Gods plan of sending His Holy Spirit to now dwell or take up residence with and in mankind.  The glory of God now lives in the bodies of His children. (1 Cor. 6:19)  “What?  Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”  The significance of this is that while the Glory of God departed from the tabernacle and the temple when Israel disobeyed, according to John 14:16 the Holy Spirit will “abide with you for ever;”.

                Now with this understanding, I think we can better understand what John is saying here.  “No man hath seen God at any time.”  This is consistent with what God had told Moses when he desired to see God’s glory. (Ex. 33:17-23)  Verse 20 says, “Thou canst not see my face for there shall no man see me and live.”  Paul in writing to Timothy tells us, “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever, Amen.” (1 Tim. 1:17) and according to Col. 1:15, speaking of Jesus, he says “who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:”.  By taking on Himself a human body, Jesus was able to reveal God to us, yet Jesus is no longer walking around here on earth so how does God now reveal Himself to mankind?  The answer is through the lives of His children.  While man cannot physically see God, they certainly can see us.  Thus if we abide in Christ, we will love one another and that love reveals God’s love to a world in great need of that love.  The invisible God becomes visible to the world through you and me. It is only when the world observes Christians loving unconditionally just as Jesus did that they will open up to the message of the gospel.  For most people, the only God and Jesus they will ever see is the one they see in you and me.

                Consider this poem by Edgar Guest entitled, “Sermons We See”.  Here is the first portion.

I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day;

I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.

The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear,

Fine counsel is confusing, but examples always clear;

And the best of all preachers are the men who live their creeds,

For to see good put in action, is what everybody needs.

                The absolute best way for people to see Christ is by means of our love for them.  It is our evidence that God dwells in us.

                Next John says, “His love is perfected in us”.  The idea here is that God desires that we become like Him, and we are never more like Him that when we love others unconditionally.  May I submit to us that biblical love is evidence of spiritual maturity.  Our spiritual maturity is not measured by our age, years of being a “Christian”, how long you’ve been a church member, how much scripture you can quote, or even by your level of service participation.  According to John 13:35 it is by our love one for another that people will truly know us as disciples of Christ.  When John wrote of perfection he was not speaking about moral perfection, sinless perfection nor the sense of “without flaw”, but rather speaking about maturity or completeness.  It seems that John is saying that God’s love reaches its intended goal when those whom God loves, practice God’s perfect love towards others.  Our love for God is only fully complete when we love other people like Christ love’s them.

                So John is telling us that loving one another evidences two realities in our lives.  First, God abides or dwells in us, and second, His love is brought to perfection in us.  John seems to like the concept of dwelling or abiding.  He uses it throughout both his gospel and this epistle.  To dwell or abide speaks to our relationship to God as well as the relationship of God to men, but it also speaks to our conduct.  When we abide in Christ, we behave according to His character, thus John links the concept of dwelling with that of loving for both are characteristics of Christ.

                In verse 13, John points out how we are assured of our salvation (we dwell in Him and He is us) because God has given us His Holy Spirit to indwell our lives.  The Apostle Paul makes much the same claim in Romans 8:16.  “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God”.  The Holy Spirit provides a multifaceted ministry for the believer, with such things as conviction, assurance, directions, instruction, understanding, and intercession among no doubt many more.  At the moment of repentance and faith, the Spirit of God indwells without exception.  This does not necessarily mean we always follow His leading or that a saved person will never have doubts about their salvation, but the Spirit is always there to bear witness and  give assurance.

                Verse 14 says, “And we have seen and do testify…”.  This is a reference to their apostolic ministry with Christ.  Look back to 1 John 1:1.  “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life.”  So John is saying that he along with the other apostles were eyewitnesses to Christ and His teachings that He was sent from the Father.  The word “testify” is also sometimes translated as bear witness, thus John is saying that what he is bearing witness to is first hand information, not hearsay.  Also important here is that Jesus was “sent”.  Jesus being God, co-equal with His Father, submitted Himself to the will of the Father to fulfill the plan of salvation as “savior of the world”.  “Savior” means deliverer or rescuer and “world” means all sinful people estranged from God under the dominion of the evil one.  So Jesus was sent to rescue men from sin and deliver them from eternal condemnation regardless of race, face, or place.  Whether big sinners or little sinners, rich or poor, open or secret, Jesus came to save who-so-ever-will, nobody excluded if only they believe.

                In verse 15, to “confess” is to agree fully with what God has said about His Son.  A right belief about who Jesus is and what He has done is essential to salvation.  Realize also that Rome was an empire dedicated to emperor worship as a state religion.  To recognize our Lord as savior of the world in place of the emperor was a capital offense.  When someone publicly confessed Jesus as the Son of God, Savior of the world, Rome took offense and responded with bloody persecutions, thus it was a sign that they meant real business.  No one would do so flippantly or insincerely.  So what John is saying is that for someone to publicly and openly confess Christ as the Son of God is great evidence that they are truly saved.

                In verse 16 John points out two things about dwelling in God’s love.  First, that person grows in knowledge and second that person grows in faith. (“And we have known and believed the love God hath to us.”)  The more we love God, the more we understand the love of God and the more we understand the love of God, the easier it is for us to trust Him.  The idea is that the more intimately you know someone the more confidence you have in that person.

                So when John tells us that “God is Love”, It is so much more than just a statement of fact.  As John has pointed out, it is the basis for a believer’s relationship with both God and mankind.  Because “God is Love”, we can love also.  God’s love is not just past history (sending His son), it s a present reality that assures us of His future faithfulness love.  God, because of the great love He has for us, is with us moment by moment here in our present.  Christ died to save us from the penalty of sin, from the power of sin, even the pollution of sin, but ultimately, He is taking us to heaven away from the very presence of sin.

                The bottom line here is that the better we know and experience God’s love, the easier it will become to live this Christian life,  Bible knowledge is good and needed, but can never take the place of our personal experience of God’s love.  The Bible is the revelation of God’s love and the better we understand His love, the easier it should be for us to obey Him and to love others.

III.  The Benefits of Perfect Love  (1 John 4:17-21)

                Here John is now looking to the time when one’s love is made perfect or reaches it’s intended goal.  He has in mind the contrast of the judgments of believers and unbelievers.  A day of judgment awaits us all.  For the unsaved, the Great White Throne Judgment, will be a time of great fear and ultimately indescribable torments.  This judgment is reserved for those who never accepted “God is love” in its full context, thus never experienced the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  These people never experienced the saving grace of God.  But John has a different judgment in mind, that of the Judgment Seat of Christ.  John’s point is that for those who are saved, those who have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God, can have great confidence as we look forward to our future meeting with God.  Why boldness?  As John puts it “because as He is, so are we in this world”.  It seems that John has in mind the idea of sanctification.  A big word to describe our day by day process of being made into the image of Jesus by the inter working of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Sanctification is not just the absence of certain sins, but is the overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit bringing about things like right thinking, speaking, living, and loving.  As John puts it (vs. 18), “There is no fear in love”.  As we talked about at the close of the last section, love is the basis for our relationship with both God and Men, thus there is fear in judgment without Christ, but there is no fear in love or in relationship with Christ.  Fear means dread or terror.  There is a healthy kind of fear, fear the Lord, but that’s not what John is referring to.  Here is the fear of judgment that brings about torment or punishment.  Consider you family, (we are family in God’s kingdom), the child who loves their parents, and who’s parents love him, is never terrified of his parents.  Likewise the child of God who is dwelling in the love of God will joyfully anticipate being in His presence.  Love casteth out fear.  Consider Jesus’ teaching in Matt. 10:28, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

                If someone professes to know Christ, but has a dread and a fear of judgment, something is amiss.  That’s evidence that person has never grown spiritually or they have never been saved in the first place.  The only reason you or I have the capacity to love is because we have been the recipient of God’s love, having been born again.  We can never love (agape) apart from God’s first having loved us.

                Ted Peters, in his book Sin:  Radical Evil in Soul and Society, says it pretty good.  “The promise of eternal life has the power to disarm anxiety for those who believe, for those who trust God to deliver on His promises.  God’s eternal being sustains our threatened being.  God’s faithfulness makes our faith possible, and our faith makes it possible to love others.”

                John just simply said “We love Him because He first loved us.”  Consider what we know.  Jesus was the lamb slain from before the foundation of the world.  The very reason the Father sent His Son into this world was because of His great love.  Eph. 2:4, “But God who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us,” and 1 John 3:16, “Hereby perceive we the love of God because He laid down His life for us…”  God has always been first to act, when Adam and Eve sinned, they hid while God came looking for them.  We love Him, not because of some special goodness within us, but only because He first loved us.

                In verse 20 John now begins to explore the absence of love and its consequences.  The presence of love demonstrates that a person has been saved, while the absence of loves tells us a person has not been saved.  This is a very hard hitting verse.  If you say you love God yet hate your brother you’re lying about your claim to love God. (1 John 3:14).  John’s logic is simple.  What’s easier? To love what you can see or to love something you can’t.  Please understand there are times we become agitated and impatient with people, but we will not hate them.  Perhaps we might even no like somebody, but we will still love them because God loves them.  When we become a child of God we get a changed nature, the nature of our heavenly Father, therefore what our Father loves, we love.  If a professed Christian hates, that person is lying.  Jesus takes this even further.  Not just love your brethren, but love also your enemies.  Matt. 5:44 says, “But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you”.  I promise you that if you can practice Christ’s teaching you will have no problem loving your brother.  John closes this chapter with the remembrance of that very commandment of Jesus.  Remember when the scribe asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was (Mark 12:30), Jesus answered to love God supremely yet He did not stop there.  Jesus taught that there was a second that was just as important.  “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”.  It seems to me that in Christ’s mind, loving God and loving your brother were and are inseparable.

Lesson 7, part 1

Lesson #7  Love in Word and Deed  pp. 47-53

Text:  1 John 4:7-21

Introduction

1 Corinthians is well known as the “love” chapter of the Bible, yet here in 1 John we learn much about love as well.  The word love is used in its verb and noun forms some forty-three times in this small epistle.  Here in 1 John 4:7-5:3 it is used thirty-two times.  Without love, all that we do is empty.  Without love, a Christian is just going through the motions.  It is love that makes our service to God and others alive and real.  It is our love that gives purpose to our sacrifices, as well as power to our speech.  Bottom line is that it is love that makes what you and I believe believable to others.  Without love, Christianity is just another empty religion.

                As John writes to us we are to remember three loves:  God’s love for us, our love for God, and our love for one another.  This is actually the third time John has addressed the subject of love in this letter.  First in 1 John 2:7-11, it was presented as our test of proof of fellowship with God.  Second, in 1 John 3:10-14 it is presented as our test of proof of sonship with God.  Now we come to chapter 4 and John gets to the very foundation of love, “love is of God …for God is love.”  Love is a portion of the very being and nature of who God is.  Thus, since His nature is love, love is the test of the reality of our spiritual life.

I.  Love Originates with God  (1 John 4:7-11)  pp.48-49

(Verses 7-8)

 First we must understand this word “love” (agape) that John uses.  This is not a sentimental, emotional feeling type of word.  This is not an Oprah group hug that solves all the worlds ills type of word.  It is so much more than a description of how you feel.  Yes love is a word that involves emotions, but the biblical concept of love is such that it is unconditional, not dependent upon circumstances.  It is a love that seeks the higher good for the one to whom it is applied.  This love is one of complete, total, all-in commitment regardless of outcome.  In Bible study there is a thing called the Law of First Mention.  What that means is that the first time a word is found in the Bible, the context in which it occurs sets the pattern for its primary usage and development throughout the rest of scripture.  The first actual use of love is found in Gen. 22:2, “Take now thine son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest…”

                With the law of first mention in mind, let’s think about what godly biblical love is.  For most of us, this is very strange to find love first mentioned not in connection with a man’s love for his wife, or even a man’s love for God.  Not a mother’s love for her children, not a brotherly love or even a love of country, but rather a love of a father for his son.  Not just a father’s love for his son, but in connection with the sacrificial offering of that only beloved son.  Thus we are to understand throughout the rest of the Bible, the idea of true Biblical love as being represented by the deep love of a father for his only son, demonstrated through his willingness to slay him.  This is to be the most comprehensive and meaningful understanding of what it means to love.  When John writes in his gospel (3:16), “For God (the Father) so loved the world (all humanity) that He gave His only begotten Son (Jesus), that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  We see the absolute fullness of what it means to love,  to give of the very best you have to offer regardless of consequences, even to ungrateful, unappreciative people that will not reciprocate that love back.  True biblical love is never “I love you if, or I love you because”.  Quite frankly, there in nothing in any of us that would cause God to love us.  God’s love for us in motivated by who He is, not by who we are.  So when John tells us in verse 7 “let us love one another:  for love is of God” we now should have a better understanding of what he means.  Just as our heavenly Father showed us His love through the sacrifice of Jesus, we too will not demonstrate true love without personal cost involved.  So we are first commanded to love one another because love is of God or love finds its source in God.  In other words, love radiates from God’s very nature. (Vs. 8 “God is love”)  Do not misunderstand this.  God is love, but love is not God.  Love is not the totality of who or what God is.  John also says God is spirit. (John 4:24) as well God is light (1 John 1:5).  These are descriptive attributes of God’s nature.  None of them express a complete revelation of God.  So to better understand this let’s just say love doesn’t define God, God defines love.  Think about this.  God cannot fall in love, He is love.  God cannot fall in love for the same reason that water cannot get wet; water by nature is what wet is.  God is love in never ending action so God, by His own nature, is loving.

                Now the second reason we are commanded to love one another is because we are born of God, and therefore, knoweth God.  The presence of love in your life is an evidence of your being born of God.  John is not saying that anybody who has ever had a feeling of love is therefore a Christian, but he is talking about the relationship between God and believers.  Just as when you have children, they automatically possess your DNA.  They have your nature, certain traits, and characteristics which have been genetically passed on to them.  So too, a similar thing happens to those who have been “born again”.  If God as to His nature is love, then everybody who is a partaker of His nature is love also.  If you are truly saved, love should become second nature to you.  Not only have we been “born of God”, but we also know God.  This word “know” conveys the meaning of having an intimate relationship with God.  It is the biblical word used to express the most intimate part of a husband’s and wife’s relationship.  To “know” is much more than just the facts about God or to understand the truth about God.  To “know” really means to be rightly related to Him.  God’s love has to produce genuine change in us.  By responding to God’s love towards us, we then are able to become loving people.  As we look at what John says about love and it’s being perfected in us (verses 5, 12, 17), the idea is that of love reaching its aim or purpose in us.  That as we mature spiritually, being a loving person is one of God’s goals for our lives.

So in verse 7, John emphasized our knowing by our actions.  In verse 8 he says the exact same thing, but in the negative.  As much as godly love is evidence that you know God, the lack of godly love is evidence that you don’t know God.

(Verses 9-10)

                As we have seen, love is a very powerful emotion, yet it is so much more that just emotion.  True biblical love is action.  Our words and our actions need to align.  God is like that.  His actions never contradict His word.  God has proven His expressed love through His action of sending His only begotten Son.  The word manifested means to make visible or to make known, to reveal.  God proved His love through the gift of Jesus “that we might live through Him.”  Spiritual and eternal life is found only in Jesus Christ.  He is the only way.  In Acts 4:12, Peter says “Neither is there salvation in any other:  for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.”  Jesus Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life:  no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

                In verse 10 John says “Here in is love”.  In other words, if you want to know what love is, consider this.  God the Father did not send Jesus because we loved Him so, so , so very much, but rather because He loved us so, so, so very much.  Natural unregenerated man has no love for God, and is by nature alienated from God and antagonistic towards God. (Col. 1:21)  God loved us even when we had no love for Him and demonstrated that love by sending Jesus to be our “propitiation”.  That is to say Jesus makes provision for our salvation.  Here and in chapter 2 verse 2 are the only times this Greek word is used in the New Testament.  Twice more, a closely related word is used and translated once as “propitiation” (Romans 3:25) and once as “mercy seat” (Hebrews 9:5).  The idea here is that of the Day of Atonement, when the high priest sprinkled the blood from the brazen altar onto the mercy seat, the lid to the Ark of the Covenant.  The Ark contained the stone tablets (the Law), which demanded death for the law breaker.  The blood upon the lid turned it from a seat of judgment into a seat of mercy.  Atonement was made for the sins of Israel for another year (Lev. 16).  Likewise, it is the blood of Jesus which satisfies the righteous demands of the Father, making it possible for reconciliation with God.

                Verse 11 is self explanatory.  Because God went to such lengths to show us His love toward us, we ought (implies a moral obligation combined with an inner motivation) also to love one another.  Our motivation or obligation to love others has nothing to do with what they have or have not done for us, but rather because of what God has already done for us.  God did not love us because we deserved to be loved, nor do we love based upon what someone deserves.  God loves because it’s His nature, and if we are truly His children, we now share in His nature, thus we ought to love one another naturally just like our Father.

Lesson 6

Lesson #6:  Identification of False Spirits, pp. 40-46

Text:  1 John 4:1-6

Introduction

The context of 1 John 4:1-6 centers on the source of true and false teaching.  Notice the phrase “of God” is used by John six times in these verses.  The source of true Christian teaching/preaching is God working through the Holy Spirit.  Please note, as well, John’s use of the word “Spirit”/”spirit”.  When capitalized it is in reference to the Holy Spirit, while in the lowercase use is referring to demonic spirits.  This perhaps brings up something we don’t like to acknowledge.  The supernatural is real, but not always sent from God.  Satan and his demons are just as real as God, and they are the source of all false teaching/preaching.  The Bible is the absolute final authority on what is truth and what is not.  When read, studied, meditated upon and interpreted correctly, a Christian can know and understand the truth of God.  This is absolutely critical because it is the truth that shall make you free.  (John 8:32)

I.  Try the Spirits (1 John 4:1)

As we examine this section of scripture, I would encourage you, if you missed Bro. Holland’s Wednesday night lesson, to go back and watch it.  He, while teaching on Romans 16:17 (mark them which cause division and offences), covers some ground that is very applicable to his lesson.

                John begins with the word “Beloved”.  This is the adjective form of loved.  John truly “loved” those to which he was addressing, and this is why he warns them so strictly.  John was concerned.  He did not want to see these people get hurt or to be lead astray by false teachings.  When any pastor loves the flock they are shepherding, he will always sound the alarm to warn of impending dangers.  No doubt there will always be some who think it unloving if a pastor is critical of their teaching error.  However, I would submit to us that such thinking fits right into Satan’s plan.  Satan would love to have free reign, convincing people that pointing out error is unkind, unloving, and unchristian.  The exact opposite is true.  Giving warning is in fact a sign of love.  It would be unloving for any pastor to fail to warn the flock of dangerous untruthful doctrines and allow the wolves in sheep’s clothing to devour the sheep.

                Next John writes “believe not”.  This is an injunction against an ongoing action.  In other words, if anyone was listening to these false teachers, or being tempted to do so, John writes for them, as well as us, to stop that action immediately.  We as Christians are not to be moved or persuaded by every passing teaching of the day.  Only teachings confirmed by and through the Word of God are to be believed.

 So we are to believe not “every spirit”.  This phrase translated as “every spirit” refers to the spirit behind the person or persons who are espousing false doctrine.  Before the Bible was completed, God communicated His word at times through prophetic utterances. (Hebrews 1:1, 1 Cor. 12:28)  Even then Paul says, “Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge”. (1 Cor. 14:29)  It looks to me as if when a prophet did speak, there were others who would confirm or deny their validity.  We find this same type of problem within the church at Thessalonica.  “Be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us.” (1 Thess. 2:2)  Apparently there have always been those who claim to be lead by the Holy Spirit who are actually being lead by demonic spirits.  This is why John writes expressly “but try the spirits whether they are of God:”.  The word “try” means to put to the test.  The idea here is as in the use of testing metals for purity to see if they are alloyed or genuine.

So what does it look like for a Christian to “try the spirits”?  When we hear a sermon, read an article or book, or go to a seminar, we are not to automatically believe everything that person says just because he/she has preacher, pastor or Christian attached to their name.  What John is warning us about here are those counterfeit/false teachers that appear as angels of light or as ministers of righteousness. (2 Cor. 11:13-15)  Either a preacher/teacher is operating from the Holy Spirit of God or from some demonic spirit.  Trying or testing is how we go about determining if something is genuine or counterfeit.  The idea is to determine if God is the source of this teaching or is it a demon spirit behind it.  Why?  Because many false prophets are gone out into the world.  Throughout the Bible as well as church history, there have always been false prophets.  God gives us very specific and strict standard for dealing with false prophets in the Old Testament. (Reference Bro. Holland’s Wednesday night study in Romans)  Bottom line is that Israel was to stone to death such prophets.  Today, however, false prophets are to be discerned, their teaching condemned, the individuals marked, and we are to avoid them.  The purpose of trying or testing is not even to discern whether their motivation is from God, but rather is the message they speak from God.  Is it true based upon the written Word of God, or is it false.  This is one of the reasons Bro. Blake always encourages us to follow him in the scriptures.  We need to test what he’s saying against the Word of God and see if the message he is teaching is according to God’s truth.

Look with me at 1 Tim. 4:1.  This passage makes a very important statement about the source of all false doctrine.  Examine the last part of this verse—“giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;”.  The source of truth is God, and the source of false doctrine is Satan and his demons.  Satan’s plan is to distort true doctrine by way of false teachers.  We need to consider this source, Satan, but also consider the danger.  The real problem is the souls of men and women.  False doctrines ultimately deny truth, distort truth, and eventually deceive.  Jesus warns us in Matt. 24:4-5, “Take heed that no man deceive you.  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”  Eternity in hell and a lake of fire is what is at stake.  We, the church, must discern both the false teachers and their false doctrines.  We must try the spirits from which they come.  This is not optional.  It is a command to the church.

                As we continue in the rest of this passage, John gives us three tests to help us know truth from error.  He uses a question form to convey his thought.

·         Do they confess Jesus as the divine Lord?

·         Do they possess divine life?

·         Do they profess divine truth?

II.  How to Identify False Spirits  (1 John 4:2-3) [Do they confess Jesus as Lord?]

                “Hereby” means in this or this is how.  What follows is the test whereby we are to determine whether a teacher is of the spirit of devils or of the Holy Spirit of God.  “Know” is to gain knowledge through intelligent comprehension and deliberate understanding.  We are to give careful consideration to what the Bible says as compared to what the teacher says.  So, it is by intelligent comprehension that we are to make our determination concerning the individual teacher, but a genuine knowledge of God’s saving grace does not come from within (our own knowledge), but is rather a gift from God to the believer.  This off-sets the Gnostics false teaching that they had a secret, superior knowledge as a way of salvation.

                When John says that “every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:” he is emphasizing the idea of source and origin.  This phrase “Jesus Christ is come” is speaking to another realm completely (heavenly).  By putting it that way, John is emphasizing the truth of Christ’s unique deity and eternal sonship, both of which were largely denied by the populous of his day.  “Confesseth” basically means to agree with or consent to.  This is more than mere mental acknowledgment of the birth of Jesus.  To confess is to agree with every aspect of Jesus as the Bible reveals.  To biblically confess Jesus is to acknowledge and accept His being eternal, the second person of the God head who came by way of the miraculous virgin birth.  It is to believe and accept Jesus as creator God and sustainer of this present world (John 1:1-3, Col. 1:16-17), to believe in the sinless humanity of His life, His substitutionary supreme death as sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.  That no man killed Him, but rather He gave of Himself.  That he was buried and rose again on the third day.  That He is alive and sitting at the right hand of God the Father fulfilling His role as advocate and mediator.  To profess this complete truth concerning the man Jesus is the proof that the prophet, preacher, teacher, is truly of God. 

Conversely, to deny any part is to be of that spirit of anti-Christ.  Consider for a moment some of our modern teaching about who Jesus is by some who many believe to be “Christian”.  The Jehovah Witnesses acknowledge Jesus to be A god not THE God.  Their official doctrine teaches that Jesus was the first creation of God.  Their founder described Jesus as having been Michael the Archangel prior to His divesting Himself of His angelic nature.  They are explicit in their denial of the deity of Jesus.

The Mormons teach that there is a pantheon of gods and that God was once a man.  Jesus, before His incarnation, was a created being and the brother of Lucifer.  They teach Jesus to have been born of Mary but not conceived by either Joseph or the Holy Spirit, but rather that a “heavenly father”, a god of flesh and bones, had relations with Mary and Jesus was conceived.  They teach Jesus to be the husband of both Mary and Martha and have fathered children by all His many wives.  He was thus rewarded for his faithfulness by becoming ruler of this current earth.

Consider Islam.  No Muslim considers Jesus to be divine and certainly not the Son of God.  Literally written on the side of the Dome of the Rock, the mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, are the words in Arabic, “God has no son”.

The veneration of the Virgin Mary in Roman Catholicism is an example of how false doctrine detracts from the all-sufficiency of Jesus. Inside the famous cathedral in Mexico City (Basilica de Guadalupe) held by many to be the holiest place in the Americas, paintings and statuary of Mary permeate the building. Many of these depictions include Mary holding the dead body of Jesus. Even their Crucifixion shows Jesus still on the cross. Their message seems to be that of a living Mary with a dead Jesus, rather than a Risen Lord with a dead Mary.  

Let me wrap up this section by saying there is a big difference between criticizing an individual and criticizing the doctrinal position of their false religion.  We live in a current world that wants tolerance (P.C.).  They don’t want anybody to criticize anyone.  When a Christian takes a stand on the principles found in the Word of God, they are characterized as bigoted and intolerant.  Let me remind you of Jude 3.  “Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” We, as children of God, have an obligation to the lost of this world to preach/teach the Truth in it’s integrity without fear of what man might say or do.

False Christ’s and false doctrines concerning Christ are prevalent throughout the world today.  Even Judaism denies the person and work of Jesus.  These teachings are entrenched in today’s world and stand ready to fight against any attempt to bring the light of the glorious gospel into their lives.  The sad part is that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.  No man comes to the Father but through Him.  (John 14:6) yet the overwhelming majority fail to realize this and will find their solace in these false religions that lead to destruction.

III.  Overcoming the Sinful World (1 John 4:4-6)  [Do they possess divine life?]

Please do not underestimate your foe Satan, his deceptions, advanced by his demonically controlled fallen angels are hard to resist.  Jesus, speaking about false Christ’s and false prophets warns us in Mark 13:22 that if it were possible they would seduce even the elect.  However, John tells us that as children of God we have overcome them.  That word “overcome” speaks to victory or superiority.  John has written it in the perfect tense which emphasizes the ongoing, continuing result of a past completed action.  In other words, because you are a child of God, and Jesus has already overcome the world (John 16:33), through the Holy Spirit of God we too are overcomers, thus we are resting secure in that victory.  Be very careful here as we did not overcome because of anything about ourselves, but rather because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.  The overall war has already been won by Jesus, but the individual conflicts remain as long as we are in this flesh. John’s point is that we as believers, because of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, when yielded, will overcome false teachers and false doctrines.  In chapter 5 verses 4-5, John tells us “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world:  and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”  The indwelling Holy Spirit is far greater than the spirit of anti-Christ which permeates this present world.  This spiritual battle is real between the forces off Satan and the Holy Spirit.  John later writes in The Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ about the source of our victory over Satan. (Rev. 12:11) “And they overcome him by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

                While John does not specifically say this here, the Bible makes clear that we must be students of God’s word to learn to discern false teaching.  There is no substitute for a working knowledge of God’s word to combat Satan’s tactics. 

Look at Eph. 6:10-17.  First let it be made perfectly clear, our enemy is not fellow people, but rather the dominion of darkness.  Verse 12 says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, and against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  In this passage Paul gives us several defensive weapons to use (truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, and salvation) and then he gives us an offensive weapon, the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  Our Bible is jam packed full of swords.  Recall how Jesus wielded them in His stand.  His reply was always “It is written”.  If we have no idea what is written, there is no way we can ever do battle and be victorious.  We must know what God has spoken to us that we too might say in our day of battle, “It is written”.

In verse 5-6 we now get to John’s third test.  Do they profess the divine truth.  The “they” of this passage refers to the false teachers, and the “world” refers to the world system as organized under Satan which stands in opposition to God.  Therefore they speak as those who are from this world, and the world hears or listens to them.  As a Christian we should always scrutinize the message of all who claim to speak on behalf of God.  We need to look at things like:

• Do they declare the Bible and it alone as the final authoritative Word of God?
• Do they interpret it within the framework of orthodox Christianity?
• Is their message skewed, twisted and distorted?

                As John says here in verses 5-6, those who know God will hear and adhere to the message of the truth, while those who know not God will not hear and adhere to the truth but rather as Paul wrote, they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from truth and shall be turned to fables:”. (2 Tim. 4:3-4)

                John says for us to test the teaching that is before us.  Does the message align with God’s revealed will through His word, or does it follow the way of the world through cunningly devised fables.  It is our personal responsibility to hold ourselves accountable to God to hear only good reliable teachers/preachers who hold fast to the Word of God as divine truth.

Lesson 5 continued

Lesson #5 Cont. Assurance of Our Salvation (Pages 35-37A)

Lesson Text: 1 John 3: 11-24 [Love through Actions “Charity” Actions speak louder than Words]

2: Loving in Deed (Verses 11-15)

            Here once again John writes in the present active participle in the word “hateth”.  I.E. 1John 3:6 “sinneth”. He is describing someone who is continually  hating, thus John is equating someone with an ongoing, continual, day to day hatred with a murder. To this, most people think wait a minute, I’ve never killed anyone but I have hated a few; I’m not a murder! That is the exact mindset to which Jesus taught on in Matt. Chapter 5. So lets take a few moments to explore His teachings there. (Please read Matthew Chapter 5 before proceeding.)

            Early in the chapter Jesus teaches the Beatitudes or the identification of the things that will really make someone happy and then in verse 17 He tells then that it is He who is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets.  That is to say (to carry into effect, bring to realization, to realize).  Strongs G4737

·         1^st of matters of duty: to perform, execute

·         2^nd of sayings, promises, prophecies, to bring to pass, ratify, accomplish

·         3^rd to fulfill, i.e. to cause God’s will (as made known in the Law) to be obeyed as it should be, and God’s promise (given through the prophets) to receive fulfillment

            Christ did not come to change (not to add to or take away from, either one)  what God had given His people through the writings of the law or the prophets.  Christ came so that we might better understand not just the letter of the law, but the Spirit of the law as well.

            After confirming that His intent was not to change or destroy their God given scriptures, but rather to live them out before them, He now begins to expose the unlawfulness of the scribes and Pharisees interpretation of the Law.  Look carefully at verses 21-22, 27-28, 31-32, 33-34, 38-39, and 43-44.  Six times Jesus repeats “Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old—But I say unto you!  Notice how He is addressing a Old Testament command each time yet He does not say “It is written” or “thus saith the Lord”.  Here the emphasis is not one reading what is written, but rather on hearing what has been said.  Why?  Because Jesus is addressing their oral traditions, the man-made additions to or subtractions from the written word.

            We will not take the time to flesh out these six commandments, but rather only examine verse 21-22, teachings about murder/judgment.  Here the sixth commandment is in view.  “Thou shalt not kill.” (Ex. 20:13, Deut. 5:17) and to this tradition has added “whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment”.  So what’s the problem?  This addition sounds very much like what is written in Numbers 35:30, “Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses:  but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.”  The problem is that the Jewish tradition of judgment had in view only the civil courts, not the judgment of God.  This is based only upon what man can see. 

So let’s look at Christ’s response. (vs. 22)  First He says “I say” “unto you”.  “I say” reflects His divine authority, His being the living word (John 1:1-14) (Matt. 7:29), and “unto you” being that of kingdom ethics to subjects.  If Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, then what He says is to be our kingdom behavior as His subjects.  So as we look at Christ’s correction of the scribes and Pharisees’ understanding (vs. 22) we find that there are more fitting implications to this sixth commandment.  Yes, we should consider the consequences of civil law and their verdict, but we had better concern ourselves with God’s view as well.  (“in danger of Hell fire”)

According to Romans 2:16, we serve a God who looks deep into the heart and sees all its secret intentions.  The root of the crime of murder is the human heart, but physical murder is not the only bad fruit that the human heart produces.  The words that proceed out of our mouth can kill just as well as our hands.  James 3:8, “But the tongue can no man tame:  it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”

Saying what we ought not to say and doing what we ought not to do are both damnable offenses, maybe not in the worlds’ courts, but certainly in the final judgment before Jesus Christ.  (Matt. 12:36-37 “But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”)

Next Jesus takes the negative command, “Thou shalt not kill” and gives it a positive twist. (verses 23-26)  The idea is how dare on come to a loving, merciful, forgiving God in an act of worship and yet know that there is hate in your heart towards a brother.  If you can’t forgive a brother, don’t think God will forgive you. (Matt. 6:14-15).  “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

The problem with most of us is rather than ask how far I can extend the reach of the commandments of God into my life, we ask what can I get away with, what’s the absolute minimum requirement of the command.  Just how close can I get to sin without actually sinning.

So we go back to John’s writings. (vs. 15) “whoso hateth his brother is a murderer:”  Hatred is an intense emotion from the heart.  This person who hates is no different than the murderer in attitude.  The example of Cain shows us how hatred leads to the potential of murder given opportunity.  John continues this logic—hatred is attitudinally the same as murder and no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.  So this leads us to this conclusion—it is not so much what we did, but rather what did we want to do and why.  What would you have done if you had been at liberty to do as you pleased without consequences?  That’s what James is talking about in 2:12.  He’s speaking of being judged by the Law of liberty.  This why Jesus and John equate hatred with murder and lust with adultery.  Motive is a very important issue.  When Jesus judges our actions, rest assured the motive (both good and bad) are considered at great length.  If our heart is right, He is long-suffering and merciful even when our deeds and actions are flawed.  If our heart is wrong, even the best of deeds and actions can never be pleasing to Him.

After equating hate to murder, John reminds us that “no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him”.  Once again, John is not speaking about the occasional thought of hate, but rather is concerned about those with hate as a settle habit of life.  Remember an assurance of being a believer is the practice of loving not hating.

 Now just as a side note, we are not told that a murderer cannot be saved.  Certainly there are plenty of people in the Biblical accounts that acted out in murder yet believed God and were used of Him.  So the issue here is not whether a murderer can become a Christian, but whether a murderer can continually be a murderer or hater and still be a Christian.  John emphatically says No!  That individual who lives a life of hate and murder didn’t once have eternal life and then give it up.  He never had it at all.

In verse 16 the word “hereby” is to be understood as in this or by this while the word “perceive” means to have an intelligent comprehension, a knowledge gained from experience.  Thus by Jesus’ crucifixion we personally comprehend the love of God, and based on this knowledge, we should be willing to do the same.  Make no mistake about it, no man killed Jesus.  He willingly gave His life as a substitute for mine. (John 10:11-18)  Verse 18 of that passage says “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again.  This commandment have I received of my Father.”

What a contradiction to how we live.  Self preservation is the first law of physical life, but self sacrifice is the first law of spiritual life.  We do everything we can to make sure we live as long as we can, but if we are not doing it to be a sacrifice, what’s the point?  (Romans 12:2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”  John’s use of the word “ought” implies that there is a moral obligation for us to be that living sacrifice.  John shows us in the following verses that there is much more involved than dying in mind when he says we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Consider what Jesus taught in Luke 10:25-37 (the Good Samaritan).  The question was asked “Who is my neighbor?  Jesus showed us this principle when he placed the focus on the one in need and changed the question to “To whom can I be a neighbor?”  Certainly it is possible and does happen all too often that Christians will be called upon to give their physical lives for others.  But more often we are called to demonstrate love in less drastic ways.  Take note how John goes from plural “the brethren” in verse 16 to the singular “Brother” in verse 17.  It can be easy for us to talk about loving the brethren, yet neglect to help a single other believer.  Perhaps too many of us are like a little boy in a crowded elevator that was overheard to say, “Mommy, I love mankind, it’s the people I can’t stand.”  Christian love is to be personal and active.  Charity is love in action.

Here’s kind of what I think John is saying.  One doesn’t have to murder in order to sin; hatred is equal to murder in their heart.  A man doesn’t have to hate his brother to be guilty of sin.  All they have to do is have means and opportunity to help but rather they feel indifferent towards that need and ignore them, thus closing the door of their heart.  Perhaps this too is a kind of murder.

So John’s instruction to us is simple.  We know we are of the truth (Jesus speaks “I am the way, the truth, and the life” in John 14:6) [assurance of our salvation] if:

·         we have the means necessary to meet the need

·         we have a knowledge of that need

·         be loving enough to meet the actual need

            In verse 18, John says it’s not okay to just talk about a need (love in word, neither in tongue).  That is to say when we just discuss the problem, even pray about it but never act on the problem, our love is insincere.  Genuine Biblical love does what it can.  It moves people into action. (James 2:14-16.  Here John is encouraging us to walk the walk and stop just talking the talk.  Bottom line—empty words reveal an empty heart.

On to verses 19-20.  A condemning heart is one that robs a believer of their peace.  This is equivalent to an accusing conscience.  The prophet Jeremiah makes an insightful observation concerning the human heart and then asks a riveting question.  (Jer. 17:19 “The heart is deceitful above all thins, and desperately wicked:  who can know it?”).  The Lord answered that question in verse 10, “I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings”.  Aren’t you glad God knows us better than we know ourselves.

            The word “hereby” that John uses is to be understood in the light of what he just taught (lay down your life for a brother, living in truth and deed not just empty platitudes).  Because of these actions w know we are of the “truth”.  When we truly love our brothers in Christ, we know the “truth” is in us.  The only reason we can love is because Christ first loved us.  It is only by these means that we assure our hearts before Him.  The word “assure” means to persuade or convince.  Whenever we put the love of God into action and demonstrate His love towards our brothers, we have the evidence we need to assure or persuade ourselves of God’s salvation.  These good deeds and generosity provide evidence of the love of God dwelling within us.  So then is our heart or conscience condemns us (that is to say to blame or find fault), God is greater than our heart.  He truly knows the truth.  Rest assured there will be time in which we find fault with what or how we did something.  There will be times when the Holy Spirit will correct the believer for things like quenching or grieving Him.  There will also be times when the accuser of the brethren will make an attempt to rob you of your assurance.  Whatever or whenever any of these arise, don’t worry.  God is greater than our hearts.  He absolutely knows the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  He knows who belongs to Him and who doesn’t and He assures us that when we demonstrate love through actions, it is strong evidence that you belong to God.  Even if you have judged yourself harder than necessary, thank God that He will never make that mistake.  God never judges wrongly because He and He alone knows all things.

            Never allow Satan to rob you.  Once you have confessed your sin, God is faithful and just to forgive.  Don’t allow that to accuse you any longer.  The Holy Spirit of God will lead us unto the right paths, but we must remain in fellowship and allow Him His rightful place in our hearts.

            One last thought, back in Matt. 5 and the six lessons based on commandments.  We already talked somewhat about Christ exposing the unlawfulness of the scribes and Pharisees interpretation of the Law.  I would like for us to consider one last aspect of these teachings.  In verse 3, Jesus says “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  What exactly that means is hard to find words to explain, but the best way I understand this is to allow the school master of the Law, the weight and magnitude of my sinfulness to make me realize how holy God is and to completely and wholly humble me in light of the extent He went to, and continues to go to express His undying love for me.  In His teachings on these six commandments, Christ is bringing too light that the law truly guides us to a deep understanding of ourselves so that we might actually recognize the extreme depth of our sins and then contrast that with the depth of God’s love that He offers to sinners through Jesus despite our natural hate for all that He stands for.  This idea of the complete holiness of God and His perfect law ought to make us completely humbled and dependent upon God for every single second of every single day.

Lesson #5 cont. Assurance of Our Salvation (Page 37-39)

3.  Confidence in Prayer         1 John 3:21-29

Verses 21-22

            As we’ve already discussed, the heart (conscience) is deceitful and desperately wicked.  It can and will lie to us, yet the same passage reassures us that the Lord searches the heart.  He knows the truth about all of us.  After John confirms for us in verse 20 that God is greater than our heart, he now reminds us how a clear conscience provides confidence to approach God at any time in prayer and worship.  This word “heart” refers to mind and conscience, the seat of our affections as well as our emotions and will.  Part of being a new creation upon salvation is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit which often times works in us through our heart.  In light of this our conscience must be properly schooled in the truth of God’s word in order to function as God has intended.  As Christians, our conscience now has a new set of standards as to right and wrong, acceptable or rejectable.  We should now have a greater sense of sin, seeing wrong in things that were once alright.  In all this, conscience, left to itself is not an adequate guide.  We must turn to God and His word, for He knows everything.  He is omniscient.  Since God is greater than our accusing conscience in the sense that He has greater knowledge of it than we do, we can have confidence that He understands our weaknesses and loves us in spite of them.  Our conscience is not the last word on the subject, God is.  He is the final judge.

            Scripture gives us a glimpse of this in John chapter 21 beginning in verse 14-18.  After Peter’s denial of Christ, Jesus asks Peter the third time “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?”  Look at Peter’s response.  There is no doubt that Peter had regrets about his denial.  No doubt his conscience bothered him, yet with great confidence, Peter says, “Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.”  We can rest in God’s love and forgiveness for the worst of our actions.  Our conscience can be at ease.  We have “confidence towards God”.  We can speak freely, open up to God about anything, and ask Him for whatever it is we stand in need of.

            Next John tells us that we have confidence that we will receive what we ask for based on two things.  First, keep His commandments.  In vs. 23 John describes for us what He is talking about.  First one must be born again to expect God to honor their requests.  But being saved is not all God requires.  John also says to love one another as He gave us commandment.  When the commandments of God are mentioned most of us automatically go in our minds to the Ten Commandments, however, there are numerous commandments found throughout both the Old and New Testaments in addition to the Ten Commandments.  In fact there are so many commandments within the books of the law that the Rabbis had divided them into classifications and argued as to which were the greatest.  When asked, Jesus gives us the answer to this dilemma.  In Matt. 22:37-40 Jesus answers “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all they soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”  So to fulfill the requirements as John gives pertaining to confidence in answered prayer, we must conclude that one must first be saved (John 6:40) and second we must be that loving people John has been encouraging us to be.  This makes me think about something.  When I examine who I am and who God is, what I’ve done to Him and what He’s done for me, I can’t help but have a sense of duty towards God.  The idea is that I must obey, but here John reaffirms what the word of God teaches throughout, that love rather than duty is our real motivation to obey Gods commands.

            Faith toward God and love toward man is a good summary of a Christian’s obligation.  According to Gal. 5:6, Christianity is faith which worketh by love.  Faith towards God and love towards men are the two sides of the same coin.  We can’t be guilty of emphasizing faith yet neglecting love.  Nor can we love but be doctrinally incorrect.  There must be a proper balance.  Both are of the utmost importance for the Christian to maintain proper fellowship between both God and man.

            As we look at this statement from John, “Whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him”, it, like all scripture must be understood in light of its context.  This is not saying we have carte blanche to get anything we want, just simply by making requests through prayer.  James rebuked his readers for this type of mindset in James 4:3.  “Ye ask, and receive not because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”  John’s point is that as we live in obedience to the will and word of God, our prayers will be reflections of His will from His Word and this will be readily answered.  This same truth is found in Psalm 37:4.  “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

            In verse 24, the last verse of chapter 3, we find two means by which we can be assured of God’s salvation.  First John reminds us that our obedience is proof of our being saved.  (And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him).  In John 14:23, Jesus speaking says “If a man love me, he will keep my words: (commandments) and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

Second, only the saved have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. (Hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us.) “Abiding” in Christ is key for any believer who wants confidence or assurance toward God. 

            Romans 8:9b says “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he in none of His.”  Christ in the upper room (John 15:1-14) illustrates for us what it is to abide in Christ.  In that teaching Jesus compares the believers to branches on a vine.  As long as the branches are attached to the vine, they draw life from that vine and the vine produces fruit which the branches bear.  But if and when the branch is separated, it withers and dies.  Don’t miss Christ’s point.  He is not talking about your salvation, but rather fellowship and fruit bearing.  The very moment a sinner trusts Christ, that person enters into communion with Christ, but maintaining that communion is a moment-to-moment responsibility.  Our abiding depends on our obeying His word.

The benefits of a clear conscience are confidence before God and confidence that our prayers will be answered.  Every one of us faces the challenge of a condemning conscience from time to time as well as the challenge of imperfect obedience.  We also are aware that our love for the brethern at times is far from perfect.  Bottom line is that without the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit, this Christian life is impossible.  It is the Holy Spirit of God indwelling every believer that turns the impossible into the dream come true.  Remember, your conscience knows things about you that others don’t’, but none of those are unknown to your heavenly Father.  Let John’s words be a comfort to you.  God knows the depth and sincerity of our love and obedience we have for Him and others, even imperfect as it is, God still welcomes us to fellowship with Him, which is evidence of His saving grace giving us eternal life.