The principle of presenting a true Jesus is essential to the testing of spirits. i. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year. iv. Again, the true measure of maturity is not the image of power, or popularity, or passionate feelings but the abiding presence of Gods love in our lives, given out to others. In Johns day, the issue was about if Jesus had truly come in a real body of flesh and blood. Sometimes Jesus didnt inspire passionate feelings in people at all, but He was always full of love. 3. But Jesus is the only begotten Son, meaning His Sonship is different than ours; He was and is of the same essential nature and being as God the Father. 2. Charles Spurgeon was a man who preached the whole counsel of Gods Word, and was careful to not excessively repeat himself in any one area. ii. God gave His Son to die, and to die for sinners. I pray that I may decrease and that You may increase in every area of my life, until I become a transparent conduit through whom Your divine love flows to others, to Your praise and glory. NIV You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. Major Prophets Instead, we have to place complete trust in the work and grace of God, believing that He will certainly conform us to the image of His Son, Jesus. She ultimately collapsed on the floor of the store, and when she woke up, she found out that she was in the emergency room of the hospital. Here, he shows why it is so important. Some respond with wickedness (God loves me, so I can do what I want). You can also change some of your preferences. But He loved us before that, and even before the worlds were created, when our only existence was in the mind and heart of God, Jesus loved us. Our love for God is always in response to His love for us; He initiates, and we respond. It is the spirit which both opposes the true Jesus and offers a substitute Jesus. We should consider what would it take to make us stop believing God loves us. 12. Yet, if we abide in Him, and He in us (1 John 4:13), then our identity is bound up in Jesus: as He is, so are we in the world. Verse- by-Verse Bible Commentary1 John 4. i. As Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 9:15, Jesus was the Fathers indescribable gift. Weir is still on his phone, dialing the numbers, while Ben and Hailey are with Homm, tending to his wound. God made love real and present by sending Jesus to live among us and to die for us. God is more pleased when you get it right with your brother, than if you bring Him a sacrifice of praise or resources. Here, John suggests that there are forces of spiritual darkness that guide and influence the world. We love Him: In this great statement, John begins by declaring the heart of every true follower of Jesus Christ. Charles Spurgeon was a man who preached the whole counsel of Gods word, andwas careful to not excessively repeat himself in any one area. It is up to us to respond to His command with our will and whole being. But He loved us before that, and even before the worlds were created, when our only existence was in the mind and heart of God, Jesus loved us. i. Phil curiously picks it up and carries it with him to his house. The only way to have boldness in the day of judgment is to receive, and walk in, the transforming love of God today. The devil doesnt care at all if you know Jesus or love Jesus or pray to Jesus as long as it is a false Jesus, a make-believe Jesus, a Jesus who is not there, and who therefore cannot save. He is glorified, justified, forever righteous and bold, sitting at the right hand of God the Father. i. When {1} therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (1) This balance is to be kept in doing our duty, that neither by fear are we terrified from going forward, and neither by rashness procure or bring dangers upon ourselves. Luke-Acts i. So Rev. General Epistles iii. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: The child of God need not fear the spirit of Antichrist, even though they should be warned of it, because they have the indwelling Spirit of God (1 John 3:24). The day of judgment is as fixed in Gods eternal timetable as any other day in world history. (Boice). We can imagine Jesus being bold before the throne of God, but us? The proper way to love God in response to His love for us is to go out and love one another. One may be a spiritual dwarf because one lacks love. We have many spiritual enemies, but not one of them is greater than Jesus who lives in us. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. (1 John 4:12) Seeing God through the evidence of love. And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. Scripture: 1 John 4:20-5:5. ii. John Piper Jun 2, 1985. c. He has given us of His Spirit: John brings up the work of the Holy Spirit in us at this point for two important connections. b. Never let it be thought that any sinner is beyond the reach of divine mercy so long as he is in the land of the living. Verses 1-26: The story of the Samaritan woman reinforces John's main theme that Jesus is the Messiah and son of God. He has given the fullest proof of his love to the whole human race by the incarnation of his Son, who tasted death for every man. A worldly attitude listens to unbelievers and ungodly spirits, and ignores God. f. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God: It isnt enough to know the facts about who Jesus is; we must confess the truth. This land in our Saviour's time was divided into three parts: Judea in the south, Galilee in the north, and Samaria lying between them. This means that there will be agreement and confirmation from the body of Christ, though perhaps (or probably) not everyone will agree or confirm. It is the seed whence our love springs. (Clarke), ii. We might be satisfied to merely survive the day of judgment, but God wants to so fill our lives with His love and His truth that we have boldness in the day of judgment. The Gospels Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God: Some think that this is the only test of false doctrine. Spiritually, we can have that same standing now, while we are in the world, because as He is, so are we in the world. Former NFL player Terrell Davis, center, poses with a bust of himself and form Denver Bronco teammates: from left, John Elway, Willie Brown, Shannon Sharpe, Gary Zimmerman, during an induction ceremony at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday . Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. When Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, and showed such great love and servanthood to them, we might have expected Him to conclude by gesturing to His own feet and asking who among them was going to do to Him what He had just done for them. Links 1 John 4:20 Interlinear 1 John 4:20 Parallel Texts Are you embarrassed to say it? John 3:16, Jesus faith love), The Whole Bible 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. Love describes the character and heart of God. Pentateuch We are called to take the love and grace God gives, to know it by experience and to believe it. Prophets This is unfortunate, since his works contain priceless gems of information that are found nowhere except in the ancient writings of the Jews. The two people in the relationship are at the base of the triangle, and God is at the top. conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy And it is by faith that we overcome. Email / username or password was incorrect! 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye . Our website uses cookies to store user preferences. It was a sacrifice for the Father to send the Second Person of the Trinity, and a sacrifice to pour out the judgment we deserved upon God the Son. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We keep in the spirit of truth by clinging to Jesus, the One who said I am the truth (John 14:6). Luke-Acts We know all the judgment we ever deserved past, present, and future was poured out on Jesus Christ on the cross. ii. His is the fountain love, ours but the stream: his love the inducement, the pattern, and the effective cause of ours. a. i. "The world" refers to godless humanity. Now remember, we never make ourselves love Christ more by flogging ourselves for not loving him more. Although Fuches was ready to frame Barry for all the crimes that he had committed in the past because that would have allowed him to walk out under FBI protection, he walked back on that . By proceeding, you consent to our cookie usage. Wisdom Literature (1 John 4:13-15) Assurance of the work of the Triune God in us. The Old Testament Hereby know ye the Spirit of God We know that the man who teaches that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah, and that he is come in the flesh, is of God-is inspired by the Divine Spirit; for no man can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost. He loved us when we were still sinners: Every man that ever was saved had to come to God not as a lover of God, but as a sinner, and then believe in Gods love to him as a sinner. (Spurgeon), ii. Johannine Writings The New Testament By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. Click to enable/disable _gat_* - Google Analytics Cookie. John 4 - Vision for Harvest A. No man could do it. (Spurgeon). Check to enable permanent hiding of message bar and refuse all cookies if you do not opt in. iii. These verses are the equivalent of saying that a person cannot practice agape-love unless he can first practice philia-love. (Boice). Look through all the pages of history, and put to the noblest men and women, who seem to still live, this question, Who loves Christ? and, at once, up from dark dungeons and cruel racks there rises the confessors cry, We love him; and from the fiery stake, where they clapped their hands as they were being burned to death, the same answer comes, We love him. If you could walk through the miles of catacombs at Rome, and if the holy dead, whose dust lies there, could suddenly wake up, they would all shout, We love him. The best and the bravest of men, the noblest and purest of women, have all been in this glorious company; so, surely, you are not ashamed to come forward and say, Put my name down among them. (Spurgeon), v. 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