Monthly Archive for June, 2001

1 John 3:24

Published on June 30, 2001 in 1 John. 0 Comments
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“Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”


This last verse of the chapter brings us back to the issue of abiding in Christ, of fellowship with the Lord. 

Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him,

The idea of “abides” here is live in fellowship.  The believer who applies principles of God’s Word to experience lives in fellowship with the Lord (3:22).  The word “keeps” is a synonym for applying truth to experience. 

The believer who is habitually characterized [present tense] by applying the principles of the Word to experience harmoniously abides in fellowship with the Lord.  Abiding is subjective depending on whether we are filled with the Spirit or not. 

and He in him.

Fellowship with God involves mutual reciprocity.  God Himself lives in fellowship with us when we apply truth to experience.  We share the most intimate fellowship with God, a state that God desires.

God inextricably couples together fellowship with Him and application of the principles of His Word to experience (2:5, 24, 27‑29; 3:18‑19). 


PRINCIPLE:  Application of truth to experience characterizes fellowship with God. 


APPLICATION:  The abiding of God in us has the necessary counterpart of our abiding in Him.  There is reciprocity of relationship and fellowship.  The initial cause is always God’s responsibility without Whom we can do nothing.  Our action is simple response to God’s action.  That is why we can do nothing in our own power.  All we do is a product of God’s power except the volition of choosing to do so.  As God’s abiding in us is from His initiative so our abiding is a response to God’s initiative.  This abiding conveys the idea of persistent fellowship. 

Jn 15: 4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

These things abide in the believer:

            1.  The Word of God, 2:14

            2.  The Anointing, 2:27

            3.  The seed, 3:9

            4.  The love of God, 3:17

            5.  God Himself, 3:24; 4:12,13,15

            6.  Christ (implied in 3:24). Cf.. Jn 6:56 and 15:5

The 4th evidence of the new life in the believer is the Spirit filled life.

            1.  Keeping God’s commandments, 2:3,4

            2.  Doing of righteousness, 2:29

            3.  Loving in deeds as well as word, 3:14,18

            4.  Filling of the Spirit, 3:24

1 John 3:23b

Published on June 29, 2001 in 1 John. 0 Comments
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“And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.”


and

The “and” links conduct of love to belief upon which it is founded.  Right living grows out of right belief and right thinking in relation to the Son.  One is impossible without the other. 

love one another,

Love is the necessary effect of dynamic faith (Ja 2:17).  Loving the family of God is important because it is “His commandment”.  A condition for answered prayer (previous verse) depends on loving fellow believers.  We count on the authority of Christ for this.  Faith in Christ is perpendicular whereas love for the saints is horizontal and visible.  We prove our faith by love for the saints. 

Co 3: 14 “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”

as He gave us commandment

Correspondence between Jesus’ command and our love is equivalent to loving in “deed and truth” (3:18).  Jesus linked the ideas of trust in Him and loving each other. 

God gave us “commandment”, not advice, that we combine belief and love.  These two dynamics follow in sequence.  They are no good if detached.  We must take both of them. 


PRINCIPLE:  Belief is not valid if it is detached from love. 


APPLICATION:  Belief and love are equally balanced and essential to a walk with God.  We cannot detach one from the other without violating one or the other.  The filling of the Holy Spirit or fellowship with God depends on both belief and love.  We cannot have fellowship with God without having both.  One depends on the other. 

The irreducible minimum of the Christian walk is belief and love.  This is the fulcrum of our faith.  These two dynamics reflect the essence of the Christian faith.  Belief is the apparatus by which we respond to God.  Love is the means by which we relate to believers.  We cannot separate the two.  We need both the vertical and the horizontal. 

The onus for making the decision to believe and love is on us. God will never jump through our will to make a decision for us.  When we decide to do His will, He then moves in the power of the Holy Spirit through us. 

1 John 3:23

Published on June 28, 2001 in 1 John. 0 Comments
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“And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.”


This verse begins the transition into the subject of belief in 1 John and also explains verse 22.  It is the climax to the section beginning at 3:18. 

And this is His commandment:

John distills Jesus’ ideas as represented in the gospel of John in this verse.  The word “commandment” is singular for God does not separate belief and love.  They operate under one commandment because they are indissolubly united.  It is impossible to have belief in Jesus Christ without love for His family. 

Jn 13: 34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jn 15: 12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you… 17 “These things I command you, that you love one another.”

that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ

This is the first direct reference to belief in 1 John.  This reference is to belief after becoming Christians.  The Greek tense indicates decisive action [aorist tense].  John blends the ideas of decisive belief as a Christian and decisive love as a Christian together.  We count on Christ’s authority for this. 

The “name” of Jesus represents all that He is, His person and work.  It is in the significance of the name of Jesus that we believe.  We believe all that the name of “His Son, Jesus Christ” stands for.  “His Son” stands for His majesty, His unique deity.  “Jesus” represents his redemptive humanity.  “Christ” represents His Messianic office.  Just as our name represents us so Jesus’ names represent the essence of who He is.  He stands behind His signature. 

Note the full title given to Jesus Christ.  The idea is that we should believe in the message that the name conveys.  We believed on the name of Jesus at the point of salvation but now we are to believe the name of Jesus Christ, that is, all that this wonderful person represents.  We trust in the authority that His name signifies. 

John refers to prayer in verses 21 and 22.  We always come “in Jesus’ name” in prayer, that is, in His authority.  Our authority for prayer is our status quo in Christ.  God does not hear us because of us but because of Him. 


PRINCIPLE:  Our authority with God orbits around Jesus’ name. 


APPLICATION:  The Christian life revolves around the person of Christ.  Christianity is Christo-centric.  We worship both the person and work of Christ.  His name represents His glory.

Is 9: 6     For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Mt 1: 21 “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Mt 18: 20 “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Jn 1: 12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name…”

Jn 3: 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

We come to God in prayer in the authority of Jesus name.

John 14: 13 “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

Jn 16: 23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 24 “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Jn 15: 16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”

Salvation is by Jesus name.

Ac 4: 12 “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Ro 10: 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

1 John 3:22c

Published on June 27, 2001 in 1 John. 0 Comments
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“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”


and do those things that are pleasing in His sight

The petitioner in his prayer desires nothing but to follow God’s principles and to please Him.  Doing what is “pleasing in His sight” goes beyond applying the specific principles of the Word [previous phrase].  These are spontaneous acts and service born out of a spirit of regard or desire to please God.  This goes way beyond a mere sense of duty or responsibility. 

The words “in His sight” are different than the words “before Him” of verse 19.  “Before Him” emphasizes the pleased interest of Christ in His obedient and loving servants as He looks upon us.  Whereas the phrase “in His sight” emphasizes our confident attitude as we look to Him. 


PRINCIPLE:  The spiritual Christian lives to make the Lord smile.   


APPLICATION:  The spiritual Christian lives to make the Lord smile.  Many of us make Him frown.  Our ambition is to please the Lord.  Our passion is to please Him because He took the initiative with us.  All prayer should come from the motivation of pleasing the Lord, not acquiring selfish things for ourselves. 

Ro 12: 1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable [pleasing] and perfect will of God.”

2 Co 5: 9 “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.”

Co 1: 10 “…that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…”

1 John 3:22b

Published on June 26, 2001 in 1 John. 0 Comments
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“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”


because we keep His commandments

The word “because” gives the reasons God answers prayer.  We can have confidence that God answers prayer according to two conditions.  The two qualifications for God answering our prayer in this verse are these: 1) we “keep His commandments”. and 2) we “do those things that are pleasing in His sight”.  God’s commandments are His precepts or principles for living the Christian life. 

The believer who lives in the habitual condition of applying the principles of God’s Word to experience receives answers to his prayers.  Does this mean that God answers prayers for a quid pro quo?  That is, does God give us according to how much we give Him?  God does not grant answered prayer and give us certain benefits because we measure up to His expectations but because we meet His conditions for prayer. 


PRINCIPLE:  What we do off our knees is important to what we say on our knees.   


APPLICATION:  Some people pray regularly but they do not receive answer to prayer because they do not know the principles of the Word.  We cannot pray effectively without knowing the Word.  We cannot pray effectively without walking in the Spirit.  We need to “pray in the Spirit” (Ep 6:18).  God does not answer the prayer of a carnal Christian (Ps 66:18; Ja 4:2,3; 1 Pe 3:7). 

What we do off our knees is important to what we say on our knees.  How we live has direct bearing on answered prayer.  This is not to say that God’s answer to our prayer is conditional on obedience.  God answers prayer because we fashion our asking according to His will.  God always answers prayer according to His will.  We know His will by what is revealed in the Word. 

Jn 14: 15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

Jn 15: 7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

1 Jn 5: 14 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

God never promises that we will receive anything we ask.  That would put us in the place of God.  God would have to rearrange the universe to answer a finite prayer. 

God does not answer prayer according to quid pro quo, “If I give something to God, He will give something to me.”  He does not give as an exchange of favors.  We can make no religious bargains with God.  No, God answers prayer because our prayers are fashioned according to His will.  The more we fellowship with Him, the more we know His will. 

1 John 3:22

Published on June 25, 2001 in 1 John. 0 Comments
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“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”


We come to the second benefit of a confident heart.  We have the confidence to ask things from God in prayer.

And whatever we ask

The idea here is continual asking day after day.  John qualifies this phrase by the two following conditions in this verse. 

we receive from Him,

There are two stipulations to answered prayer that follow in this verse.  God grants answer to prayer based on the prayer meeting His will. Firstly, the prayer must follow the principles of the Word and secondly, the prayer must seek to please Him.  The believer in fellowship wants to please the Lord.  He does not demand from the Lord.  His prayers are in the will of God so God answers him according to his biblical prayers. 


PRINCIPLE:  Obedience to God’s will and desire to please Him are the conditions but not the merit for answered prayer. 


APPLICATION:  The conditions for answered prayer rests on six principles:

1.      The prayer must be offered in Christ’s name (Jn 16:23-24).

2.      The prayer must be for God’s glory (Ja 4:2-3).

3.      The prayer must not be for sinful purposes (Ps 66:18).

4.      The prayer must be from a forgiven soul (Mk 11:25).

5.      The prayer must be asked by faith (Mt 21:22).

6.      The prayer must result in doing God’s will (our verse).

There are some things that we do not give our children because it might spoil them.  That is the prerogative of the parent.  It is for their good that we do not give them everything they ask for.  God cannot afford to give some of us success because it might ruin our Christian lives.  God answers every prayer that has to do with Christian development or spirituality that is prayed in His will. 

1 John 3:21

Published on June 24, 2001 in 1 John. 0 Comments
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“Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.”


John follows the problem of an accusing conscience with the issue of confidence before God.  This is the flip side of verses 19 and 20.

Beloved,

John clearly addresses this section to Christians. 

if our heart does not condemn us,

John now takes up the believer with a clear conscience.  His conscience does not condemn him for hypocritical love exhibited only with word and tongue (3:18). 

The opposite of a feeling of condemnation is “confidence.”  The believer in fellowship has the confidence to meet the Lord face to face in personal communion because he genuinely loves fellow Christians.  He takes no glee in undermining fellow believers in Christ. 

we have confidence toward God

“Confidence” is openness, candor, plainness of speech, unreserved utterance.  In the political sphere, the word “confidence” carries the idea of the right to speak in a democracy.  This implies openness to truth and candor.  Here the idea is openness toward God (5:14-15).  Openness toward God assumes a good conscience with Him (3:22-24).  The believer with “confidence toward God” is free and unrestricted in his fellowship with God.  His conscience is free because he understands and applies his acquittal in God’s court. 

The presence of sin in the believer’s life does not prove that he is not a Christian or that God’s grace is unavailable to him.  The verdict always revolves around the principles of God’s Word. 

The word “toward” means face to face.  This is a word of relationship or fellowship.  The believer in fellowship always speaks freely with God.  He has confidence in prayer knowing that God hears him.  His conscience does not trouble him. 


PRINCIPLE:  When a Christian gains assurance that God accepts him on the work of Christ, he possesses confidence toward God. 


APPLICATION:  The Christian can have confidence before God in time on earth and not simply at the Judgment Seat of Christ.  We have confidence in prayer.  We can rest assured that God accepts us with all our warts and blemishes. 

Confidence does not come by feelings.  Emotions are slippery and hard to nail down.  Feelings are as erratic as the wind because they depend on circumstances.  They operate more like a barometer than a thermostat.  The barometer changes with weather conditions but the thermostat sets the temperature.  The Christian who operates by faith in the Word of God is like the thermostat.  He has confidence before God by faith. 

The believer operating with confidence toward God approaches Him with boldness. 

Ep 3: 12 “…in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.”

Ph 1: 19 “For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.”

He 4: 16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

He 10: 19 “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water… 35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.”

The believer in fellowship does not put confidence in the flesh.  He puts his confidence in the Son of God.  He glories in Christ Jesus. 

Ph 3: 3 “For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh…”

1 John 3:20c

Published on June 23, 2001 in 1 John. 0 Comments
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“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.”


and knows all things

We do not know “all things” but God does.  We often unjustly judge ourselves.  God knows our motives perfectly.  He is the perfect judge.  There is a great difference between conscience and omniscience.  God is the greatest witness to our soul’s activities.  If we condemn ourselves, we must remember that there is a greater Judge of our souls and He will always be fair with us. 


PRINCIPLE:  The believer must accept God’s perfect judgment on him rather than exclusively his own imperfect judgment. 


APPLICATION:  God knows self-sacrificing love is not a normal thing.  It is not normal for us to respond to undermining of our reputation with love.  To return good for evil is a dynamic of spirituality.  A spiritual person can forgive and move on.  He does this because of his new life in Christ.  It is contrary to his fallen nature. 

Since God knows everything about us and loves us anyway, why cannot we accept ourselves like God accepts us?  This does not mean that we rationalize our sin away but it means that after dealing with our sin, we accept ourselves like God accepts us.  We cannot base fellowship with God on our feelings; we must base it on objective revelation in God’s Word.  God offers forgiveness if we confess and deal with our sins (1 Jn 1:9).  God links His omniscience with His mercy.  Although He knows every secret of our hearts, He still extends His mercy. 

It is the work of our enemy to accuse us (Re 12:10).  Satan will take our sensitive conscience and use it against us.  Our confidence comes from the promises of God, not from our overt behavior patterns.  It is not God’s will that we constantly live in a state of condemning ourselves.  He does not want us to wallow in guilt. 

For example, we put an airplane in an air tunnel to determine whether it is worthy to fly.  However, we do not leave the plane in the air tunnel.  At some point we test it in the skies.  After the test in the sky, we do not continue to test the airplane.  We get on with the business of transporting people to their destinations.  Christians who live in constant self-examination do not live dynamic spiritual lives. 

Some people constantly raise the question as to whether they are genuine Christians.  Other Christians never arrive at the point of confidence with God.  They live in a state of self condemnation, “Have I served the Lord enough; am I spiritual enough; have I given what God expects of me?” 

There is a point where we must face ourselves and deal with our objective guilt but there is also a point where we move on.  My heart is not the Supreme Court; God sits in the seat of the single Supreme Court Judge.  I must accept His judgments on things.  His verdict is final.  My judgment is not final but God’s judgment is ultimate.  My subjective guilt is not God’s norm for fellowship. 

It is also a warp in our soul if we wallow in subjective guilt.  Objective guilt is one thing but subjective guilt is another.  Constantly looking within produces spiritual naval gazing.  It puts the Christian into a spiritual self-centeredness. 

Objective guilt is a norm for Christian living.  How do we reassure our hearts if we find something truly amiss in our souls?  It is distortion of immense proportion if we cannot face our own souls.  We do not want to deceive ourselves or live under a deception that we are in fellowship with God when we are not.

The Christian who wants to walk with God desires the evidence against him.  He wants to know what breaks fellowship with God.  He knows that he has the tendency to sweet-talk his own spirituality and thus fool himself.  This is spiritual self-delusion.  He does not want to wait for others to tell him.  His friends may not have the courage to tell him what he needs to know about himself. 

1 John 3:20b

Published on June 22, 2001 in 1 John. 0 Comments
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“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.”


God is greater than our heart,

It is possible to be too easy or too hard on ourselves.  God is the ultimate judge of our hearts.  We can overcome feelings of subjective guilt by remembering the nature of God.  God’s knowledge is omniscient.  He knows our true motives. 

Our “heart” is a vice-regent to God’s ultimate regency over our souls so His judgment surpasses our judgment.  His judgment is more accurate and absolute than ours.  He knows the true nature of our sin; therefore, we can have assurance that God deals with us in accuracy and compassion.

God is not sympathetic toward us because He sees mitigating circumstances, right motives and conscientious efforts.  This verse does not say,  “God does not excuse us even if our conscience condemns us because of these things”.  No, the issue is either God will confirm the accusation of our heart or He will exonerate us according to the standards of His omniscience.  He knows whether genuine love dwells in our heart or not.  That is why we must love in “deed and truth.” 

In the final analysis, if our conscience condemns us, it does not necessarily mean that we are non-Christians or that we are out of fellowship.  Neither does it necessarily mean that we are Christians or Christians in fellowship. 


PRINCIPLE:  God has the capacity to distinguish between objective and subjective guilt. 


APPLICATION:  If our conscience is correct in judging us, then God will execute discipline on us if we do not confess our sin in due time.  If our verdict is incorrect, then He will overrule our verdict in favor of His omniscient justice.  Ultimately, we cannot put final trust in our conscience.  We cannot trust these things to our feelings.  Our primary assurance lies in the written Word of God. 

If our heart condemns and criticizes us because we know that we have not loved like we should, it is the Word of God that forms a true conscience in us.  This objective and genuine conscience comes from the Word.  Our conscience then can consist of one of two opposing dimensions: 1) our own norms formed from human values, and 2) God’s values formed from the Word.  The believer in fellowship forms his standards from divine viewpoint, not human viewpoint. 

We may pursue a course of action but that action is contrary to the Word of God.  Our hearts judicially condemn us for this.  This is a violation of a norm of God.  God will not bless us when we knowingly rebel against one of His standards.  God’s standard is greater than our standard.  His value is greater than our value.

Once the believer accepts the fact that he violated God’s value and confesses his sin, then God accepts him back into fellowship.  Love for other Christians assures us of our fellowship with God.  Jesus manifested His love to us.  Sometimes we do not love like He loved.  There are times when we do not come close to His kind of love and that may cause doubt about our fellowship with God.  We cannot gage our relationship by subjective experience.  If this were the case, we would never know for sure whether we are acceptable to God.  Our fellowship with God is determined by faith derived from the Word. 

God always bases His judgment on us by looking at our faith.  Confidence by faith is the basis for moving forward in the Christian life.  If we did not have confidence that God hears our prayers, we would not pray. 

God accepts us with all our failures.  He will not justify our failures but He loves us through Jesus Christ.  Jesus paid for our sins so God extends forgiveness to us because of Him.  Our authority for continued fellowship rests on Jesus, not on our overt moral behavior.  We can approach God without apprehension that He will reject our prayers.  We can pray with confidence because we come “in Jesus name.” 

1 John 3:20

Published on June 21, 2001 in 1 John. 0 Comments
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“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.”


For if our heart condemns us,

The word “condemns” portrays the idea of accusation and blame.  No one knows us like we do.  Our “heart” is a self-reflecting court over our lives.  This court can be fair or unfair. It can excuse or accuse.  It depends on the standard we use. 


PRINCIPLE:  God wants us to operate on objective guilt, not subjective guilt. 


APPLICATION:  Self-examination may cause us to be alarmed about the condition of our souls.  We may see ourselves falling desperately short of God’s standard for living.  This is especially true in the sphere of loving fellow Christians. 

Our conscience is not infallible and neither is the judgment of other Christians against us infallible.  We are often unjust with ourselves and excuse our sin.  Other Christians also can be unfair with us and judge us unjustly for vested interest reasons.

1 Co. 4: 3 “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.”

There is a delicate balance between justifying sin and an overly sensitive conscience.  God never overlooks or minimizes our sin so neither should we.  Conviction of sin is a result of genuine belief in God and His Word.  This is objective guilt.  Objective guilt is good but subjective guilt is bad in God’s economy. 

We cannot determine truth by experience.  Our only basis for assessing our relationship to God always rests on the objective and eternal Word of God.  The believer should not be harder on himself than God is.  Feelings of self-condemnation and inadequacy are enemies of the Christian life.  Subjective guilt is not a norm or standard of God. 

Our hearts can take a low view of ourselves when we think that we do not measure up to a set of subjective standards.  In this case, we are our own accuser.  We hold a trial in the inner court of our being and then develop a feeling of false guilt.  This is a distortion of soul.  This is especially true in the sphere of loving fellow Christians.  It is subjectively difficult to measure love so it is hard to determine whether we love enough.