1 John 4
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na001
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EN
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00:51:17
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1
Bible references
1 John 4
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unknown
Automatic transcript:
…
Jesus ruft zu Gott.
Scheinbar zu Wolkereisen,
Herz so auf Präparation,
Die Fließe gibt es sein.
Ruh' aus der Dunkelnacht,
Bis die Nacht wegfliegt.
Wir singen mit allen Blumen
Die Geschichte des Tages.
Die Welt ist ein Land der Gläubigen,
Wir sind ein glückliches Land,
Und machen die Gläubigen glücklich,
Die Gläubigen jeder Zeit.
Schlaflos sein ist der Menschheit,
Der schloss sich auf uns hat.
Schlaflos sein ist der Menschheit,
Der schloss sich auf uns hat.
Schlaflos sein ist der Menschheit,
Der schloss sich auf uns hat.
Schlaflos sein ist der Menschheit,
Der schloss sich auf uns hat.
Schlaflos sein ist der Menschheit,
Der schloss sich auf uns hat.
Schlaflos sein ist der Menschheit,
Der schloss sich auf uns hat.
Schlaflos sein ist der Menschheit,
Der schloss sich auf uns hat.
Schlaflos sein ist der Menschheit,
Der schloss sich auf uns hat.
And he that keepeth his commandments
dwelleth in him, and he in him.
And hereby we know that he abideth in us
by the spirit which he hath given us.
Beloved, believe not every spirit,
but try the spirits, whether they are of God.
Because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Hereby know ye the spirit of God.
Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh is of God.
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 have heard that it should come,
and even now already is it in the world.
We are of God, little children,
and have overcome them,
because greater is he that is in you
than he that is in the world.
They are of the world,
therefore speak they of the world,
and the world heareth them.
We are of God.
He that knoweth God heareth us.
He that is not of God heareth not us.
Hereby know we the spirit of truth
and the spirit of error.
Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is of God.
And everyone that loveth is born of God
and knoweth God.
He that loveth not knoweth not God,
for God is love.
In this was manifested the love of God toward us,
because God sent his only begotten Son into the world
that we might live through him.
Herein is love,
not that we loved God,
but that he loved us,
and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us,
we ought also to love one another.
No man hath seen God at any time.
If we love one another,
God dwelleth in us,
and his love is perfected in us.
Hereby know we that we dwell in him and he in us,
because he hath given us of his Spirit.
And we have seen and do testify
that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God,
God dwelleth in him and he in God.
And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.
God is love,
and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God,
and God in him.
Herein is our love made perfect,
that we may have boldness in the day of judgment,
because as he is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love,
but perfect love casteth out fear,
because fear hath torment.
He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
We love him because he first loved us. Amen.
Dear brethren,
in turning to this epistle I do so because I am convinced
that the ministry of John is a recovering ministry.
The very last word spoken ecclesiastically to the churches
in the book of Revelation goes like this.
He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear
what a Spirit saith to the assemblies.
That word was written at the behest of our Lord
by the same apostle who penned this epistle.
And if in days of breakdown there is to be any element of recovery,
it must start with affections that are warmed towards the Son of God.
So if the Lord helps me, I would like to speak a little
about these verses that we have read together.
In leading up to them, I would like to draw attention
to the cardinal features of this epistle.
The first chapter, by the way, speaks of fellowship.
It speaks of fellowship with divine presence,
that on behalf of the apostles themselves.
And they write to us, or they tell us in the first chapter,
that we might have fellowship with them.
And truly, says John, our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
Chapter 2, by the way, you can look these things up for yourself,
I'm only touching the pinpoints, that's all.
Chapter 2 speaks so blessedly to us of the helps that are available
in order that we might enjoy that sweet communion.
Also, there is detailed to us a number of possible hindrances
to our enjoying that fellowship.
Chapter 3, praise God, leads on to the blessed ultimate,
when we are going to say face to face,
our blessed Lord, we've sung already tonight,
we go to meet the Savior.
We are going to see him, brethren,
and when we see him, we are going to be like him.
He goes on to say in chapter 3, verse 3,
He that hath his hope in him purifieth himself,
even as he is pure.
Chapter 5, skipping over chapter 4 for the moment,
chapter 5 outlines to us the blessed threefold witness of the Spirit,
the water and the blood.
I wonder what they draw attention to,
the sure and certain knowledge as of certain possession of eternal life.
The water and the blood flowed from the side of our crucified Lord
when the spear pierced his side.
I wonder why the Spirit of God is introduced in chapter 5,
because these three we read are agreed in one.
The Spirit has come down from our blessed Lord where he now is.
He's not on the cross today,
nor is he in the tomb.
When those women came early on the first day of the week to the tomb,
they were wondering,
who would roll us away the stone?
When they got there, they found the stone already rolled away.
The tomb was open.
Not only so, blessed be God, the tomb was empty.
And there were those who said to them,
why seek ye the living one among the dead?
He is not here.
He is risen. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
And entering in, they found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
They couldn't find him there,
because not only was he risen, brethren,
he had ascended and he's gone to glory.
That's where he is tonight.
And from himself, in his present place,
with the Father's right hand,
has come down from there the Holy Spirit
to add his testimony
to the witness of the water and the blood,
to intimate to us so distinctly,
so decisively, so clearly,
that we have eternal life and this life is in God's hands.
Well, having said that much,
I think I can take up chapter 4,
just before doing it.
I would just simply say
that the burden of the Gospel of John
is the expression of God,
the bringing to light of the heart of God.
The burden of this epistle
is the manifestation of eternal life.
So it starts,
just harking back for a moment,
chapter 1,
it starts with that which was from the outset.
So here, in the end of chapter 3,
I'll re-read that last verse.
He that keepeth his commandments
dwelleth in him,
and he in him.
The obedient one
knows the blessedness of communion.
I wonder how this hymn refers to.
It's so difficult to distinguish at times
in John's first epistle
whether he's speaking of our Lord
or whether he's speaking of the Father.
I believe here, of course,
that he that keepeth his commandments
dwelleth in him
may be a reference to the Father,
and he in him
a reference to the believer.
Dwelling in him spells out to us
in blessed sweet terms
the blessedness of communion.
He in him,
that is, God dwelling in the believer
spells out unmistakably
the blessedness of testimony.
So on the one hand
the path of communion is open to us.
On the other, the path of testimony,
both of them flow
in blessed practical possibility
from the very element of obedience.
He that keepeth his commandments,
obedience,
the verse in the Old Testament,
to obey is better than sacrifice.
And to hearken,
the nephat of Rams,
brethren,
the way to the enjoyment
of this sweet communion
is the path of obedience.
The way to power
in testimony
is the way of obedience.
I was thankful to hear our brother
in his opening prayer
praying along that line.
The necessity
of giving evidence
of our blessed affection
for divine persons by obedience,
for obedience
is the proof of love.
So here,
hereby we know
that he abideth in us
by the Spirit
which he hath given us.
The divine gift, dear brethren,
is the gift of the Holy Spirit.
And there are certain things flowing out
from his activity
as given to believers.
And I wish to just draw attention to them.
Beloved,
believe not every spirit,
but try the spirits,
whether they are of God,
because many false prophets
have gone out into the world.
Believe not every spirit.
If you want to get the bearing of this spirit,
I would turn your attention to the beginning
of the twelfth chapter of 1 Corinthians,
concerning manifestations of the Spirit.
Not the Holy Spirit exactly,
but the gifts of the Spirit.
So here, in this chapter,
there was the possibility
that evil spirits
were endeavoring
to delude the saints of God.
So we are exhorted here,
try the spirits,
whether they are of God.
On this account, many false prophets
have gone out into the world.
Hereby know ye
the Spirit of God.
There is an asset test, dear brethren,
as to ministry.
If perchance we have gathered to the Lord's name,
in what we call the open character of fellowship,
and someone gets up amongst us
and begins to denigrate the Son of God,
you can be assured
that he is not carrying out
the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
But here, every spirit
that confesseth that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh,
is of God.
One of the functions
of the Holy Spirit, dear brethren,
is to draw attention to this,
the pre-incarnate deity
of the Son of God.
Jesus Christ is come.
There'd be no point
in drawing attention to that expression
if not,
if there were not in it
implicitly the testimony
to his pre-incarnate Godhead.
Jesus Christ come.
Thank God,
our minds revert immediately
to John's Gospel, chapter 1.
In the beginning was the Word.
The Word was with God.
The Word was God.
Verse 14,
And the Word became flesh and tabernacled amongst us.
The pre-incarnate glory of Jesus Christ
is implicit in this expression.
Jesus Christ is come.
But that's not the end of the statement, is it?
Is come in the flesh.
In other words,
there's a two-fold declaration here.
The pre-incarnate glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the grace and charm
of his incarnation.
Had he never taken upon himself
flesh and blood conditions,
you and I would never have known
anything at all about God the Father.
We would never have known anything
about the blessedness
of that eternal life
which was with the Father
being manifested to us.
So here,
this is one of the evidences
of the Spirit of God's ministry.
Every spirit.
Verse 2,
That confesseth that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh
is of God.
Our brother in his prayer today,
this evening,
he made a remark to the effect
that our Lord Jesus Christ
has gone back to where he came from.
But he hasn't gone back to where he came from
as he came.
He's gone back there
in abiding manhood.
He cited a verse in John's Gospel.
I'm going to cite another verse.
John chapter 6,
the Lord Jesus speaking to his disciples
and those who were remurring
against him speaking about giving his flesh and so on.
He said, what?
And if he shall save
the Son of Man,
ascend up where he was before.
He's carried manhood
into glory.
But in so doing, dear brethren,
he's opened heaven to men.
You and I
have a blessed hope for eternity
as based upon the fact
that he's gone back where he came from.
But he's gone back there
in abiding manhood.
And in doing so,
he's opened that blessed sphere
to men such as you and me
through infinite grace
on the basis, of course,
of an accomplished redemption.
So here the Spirit of God
lays emphasis on the fact
Jesus Christ
come in flesh.
And if that's the testimony
of any brother who acts in the power
but not his own,
in the midst of the saints of God,
you can take it for granted
he's energized
by the Spirit of God.
Every spirit that confesseth not
that Jesus Christ has come in flesh
is not of God.
And this is the Spirit of Antichrist,
and so on.
Verse 4.
Ye are of God,
little children,
and have overcome them,
because greater is he that is in you
than he that is in the world.
The first feature of the Spirit of God
in these verses, dear brethren,
is to draw attention
to the blessed fact
that he's got the power
and he administers the power
in order that there might be a discernment
on the part of the saints of God
of the exercise of any spirits
amongst the saints of God.
So here he says,
ye are of God.
Could you appreciate, dear brethren,
ye are of God?
If you do,
you're on the very threshold
of an eternity of blessing,
because to be of God
is indicative of the fact
that you belong to the family of God.
Ye are of God, little children.
Not only so,
you've overcome them,
because greater is he that is in you
than he that is in the world.
In reference, of course,
to the Spirit of God.
Greater is he that is in you
than he that is in the world.
The world system is dominated
by Satan and his minions.
But he who dwells in the saints of God
is greater than he that is in the world.
They are of the world.
Therefore speak they of the world
and the world heareth them.
Now we come to the apostles in verse 6.
He's been addressing up to this point
the children of God.
He speaks now and says,
we, the apostolic we,
we are of God.
He that knoweth God
heareth us.
He that is not of God
heareth not us.
Hereby know we the spirit of truth
and the spirit of error.
Brethren,
we ought to be thankful indeed
that we have the apostolic word before us.
The apostles have long since gone off the scene.
They were foundational gifts.
The apostles and prophets of the New Testament
are in the foundation of the structure
that's being reared up to the glory of God.
But they, while they have disappeared from the scene,
Hebrews 13 says,
remember your leaders
who have spoken unto you the word of God
and imitate their faith.
Leaders come and leaders go.
But if they've fulfilled their divinely endowed ministry
they'll have led your heart
to one who abides forever,
Jesus Christ the same,
yesterday and today and forever.
We are of God.
He that knoweth God
heareth us.
This is another test, dear brethren,
as to whether or no
you and I
are really what we profess to be.
So we read here,
He that knoweth God.
One of the evidences of my knowing God is
that I pay heed to the apostolic word.
We don't need to go outside the Bible, dear brethren.
We've got the apostolic testimony before us here.
And the apostolic ministry
furnishes the sense of God
in regard to the present place
in the testimony of God.
We are of God.
He that knoweth God
heareth us.
Do you hearken
to the apostolic word?
Very early in the history of the assembly
we read this.
Speaking of those 3,000
who were added on the day of Pentecost,
when the Spirit historically first came down
from a blessed man at God's right hand,
they persevered
in the apostles' teaching
and fellowship,
in breaking of bread
and of prayers.
If you were to hark back to the tabernacle system
in the book of Exodus,
you'd find that that structure
was held upright
by four bars.
There was a central bar
running through the entire structure.
The central bar, doubtless,
is the type of the Spirit of God.
And the four bars, I doubt not, dear brethren,
are the four things I've just cited
from Acts chapter 2.
The apostles' teaching
and fellowship,
breaking of bread
and prayers.
He that is of God
heareth us.
And if you hearken to the apostles, dear brethren,
you'll identify yourselves
with that with which they were glad to be identified.
The assembly of God
in testimony here.
The apostles' teaching
formed a fellowship here.
I'm not suggesting that's the fellowship of this epistle.
It's in that fellowship, of course,
that this fellowship can be enjoyed.
But in that fellowship
there was the ministry
of the truth of the assembly
gathering to Christ's name alone.
Do you know anything about that, dear brethren?
Do you know the value
of gathering to Christ's name alone?
If you do,
your doing that
is fruit of the apostolic testimony,
the apostles' teaching
and fellowship.
The breaking of bread
which gives expression to the fellowship
and prayers
that would sustain that fellowship.
So he says here,
we are of God.
He that knoweth God
heareth us.
He that is not of God
heareth not us.
Hereby know we
the spirit of truth
and the spirit of error.
So the Holy Spirit of God
arms us, dear brethren,
to test every attempt
to delude us.
And how many there are,
tells us in these earlier verses as we've read,
many false prophets
have gone out into the world.
How many there are
denying Jesus Christ
come in flesh.
They are not of God at all.
They might call themselves
Jehovah's Witnesses.
They might call themselves
Latter Day Saints.
They might call themselves
a thousand and one things.
But we are not dependent upon them
for one iota of evidence
as to who they might be
because here
we've got the acid test
to test them all.
The spirit of God
in his blessed ministry
makes much of Christ.
So when we come into verse 7
chapter 4
Beloved
let us love one another
for love is of God.
Truth is of God
we've been saying in these earlier six verses.
Now we learn
love is of God.
And everyone that loveth
is born of God
and knoweth God.
So the spirit of God
is the power
for discipleship.
And if you want to be
a true disciple
of the Son of God
you will hearken
to the teaching of the spirit of God.
And one of the first things
that he teaches us
in the path of discipleship
is to exercise
the divine nature
one to another.
Let us love one another
for love is of God.
And everyone that loveth
is born of God
and knoweth God.
It's a matter of interest
for Bible students.
If you read from the end of chapter 2
to the end of chapter 5
of this epistle
you'll find there's a statement
there about the definite
marks of new birth.
Nine features
in all are given us
in this epistle to identify
to us
those who are born of God.
This is one of them.
This is the fourth one.
Everyone that loveth
is born
of God and
knoweth God.
He that loveth not
God, for God
is love.
God is love.
Chapter 1 of this epistle says
God is light
and in him is
no darkness at all.
If that statement
stood alone in this epistle
there'd be no meetings
here tonight.
Because God is light
and in him is no darkness
at all.
He's like terror
in every human breast.
I'm thankful to say
that if you travel down another verse
or two in chapter 1 of this
first epistle you'll read
this expression.
If we walk in the light
as God is
in the light. God is not only
light dear brethren.
Dispelling all the darkness
but he's in the light.
And if that means anything
it means this dear brethren
that God is revealed
and he has been revealed
and he's pleased to reveal himself
as he has done in the
person of Jesus
Christ come in flesh.
God is revealed
in the blessedness of his
relationship as father
by that blessed
person who subsists
eternally in the relationship
of son
in the Godhead.
Coming into manhood
he never relinquished that which was
always true of him in
pre-incarnate days.
He carried it here in his
incarnation the grace
and the blessedness
of his sonship.
There is a teaching abroad
sadly
that sonship
is by incarnation.
The spirit
stamps that as error.
There is no such
teaching in scripture
as sonship
by incarnation.
On the contrary
the apostolic doctrine teaches
us decisively
this blessed fact
of the incarnation
of the son.
Dear brethren
to touch
the relationships
of the Godhead
is not a matter
of optional acceptance.
It's not optional
whether we believe
or we don't believe
that relations in the Godhead
are eternal.
It's absolutely
imperative and vital
to us that we hold
what is the heart
of the faith system
and that is
the revelation of
relationships with the affections
proper to them in the
bosom of the Godhead
father and son.
The consciousness of that
knowledge brought home to our
hearts in the power
of the spirit of God.
Beloved
let us love
one another.
We learn in verse
9 then, that's verse 7
and verse 8 says he that loveth not
knoweth not God for God is
love. Thank God
he's not only in the light
but in the light he's revealed
as love in his nature.
Verse 9 says
in this was manifested
the love of
God toward us
because that God
sent his only begotten
son into the
world that we might live
through him.
I believe dear brethren
implicit in this
verse is the story
of Bethlehem.
The grace of our blessed
Lord, the son of the Father's love
came here into
this world.
It's cradled in a manger
in order that you and I
through infinite love and grace
brought to God
might know the blessedness
of a life that
neither sin nor
death can touch.
God sent
his only begotten
son into the world
that we
might live through
him.
I believe dear brethren
that this verse coalesces
at the beginning of
Ephesians chapter 2
where we get this blessed statement
dead
in trespasses
and in
sins. What a dead
soul needs is life.
Where will we find it?
We can only find
it in the life giver
and the power of God
that reached down
to the tomb and
took our Lord out of the
grip of death
transferred him from
earth to glory
as likewise spoken to you and to
me and he spoke in
life to dead souls.
In this was manifested
the love of God
toward us
because that God
sent his only begotten
son into the world
that we
might live
through him.
Herein is
love,
not that we loved God
but that he loved us
and sent his
son to be the
propitiation for our
sins. Not
only were we in a state of death
dear brethren
without one spark of life
toward God
we were guilty sinners
in our sins
and the son
of the father's love
has been down into the
depths of death at Calvary
in order
that a satisfactory
answer to God
might be given in
regard to the whole matter
of your sins and mine.
Herein is love,
not that
we loved God
but that he loved us.
Isn't that charming?
Not that we
loved God but that he
loved us. Just
think of God loving you and
loving me.
He loved
the unlovable
and
sent his son
to be the propitiation
for our sins.
God
never looks for a reason
in you or me.
He cannot find one.
So
here we read
Beloved
if God so
loved us
we ought also
to love one another.
No man
hath seen God at any
time.
Reminds us of that statement, doesn't it,
in chapter one of the gospel.
No man hath seen God at any
time. The only begotten
who is in the bosom of the father
he hath declared him.
If we love
one another
God dwelleth
in us
and his love is
perfected in us.
If we've
read already in verse nine about
his love being to us
here we are reading
of his love
being active through
us. If we love
one another God
dwelleth in
us.
God dwelleth in us.
Testimonially, dear brethren,
if God dwells in us
it's in order
that a witness be born
to him. And so we read here
if we love
one another
God
who otherwise is unseen
will be brought to light
in you and me.
If we love one another
God dwelleth in us
and his love
is perfected
in us. Hereby
know we that we dwell in him
and he in us
because he has
given us of his spirit.
So the spirit
who is the power
for discerning
good and evil,
the power for treading
the path of true discipleship
is equally the power
for the energizing
of our souls in the
exercise of
this blessed love of God
one toward another.
Verse 14
And we have seen
and do testify
that the Father
sent the Son
to be the Saviour
of the world.
So the Spirit of God
indwelling us
is the power
for our sharing in this
blessed witness. God
bringing himself
to light in testimony here
as a Saviour God
the Father
sent the Son
the Saviour
of the world. What a wonderful
privilege dear brethren
that you and I have this
blessed opportunity
of sharing
in this divine testimony.
The way we
get into it of course is described
to us in verse 15.
Whosoever
shall confess
that Jesus is Son of God
God
dwelleth in him
and he in God.
And we have known
and believed the love
that God hath to us.
God is love
and he that dwelleth
in love dwelleth
in God
and God in
him.
God is love.
You and I have the privilege
of knowing that
enjoying that
and responding to that.
He that dwelleth
in love
dwelleth in God
and God
in him.
Herein
I'll read this a little differently.
Herein is love with us made perfect
that we may have
boldness in the day
of judgment.
That's a forward look, isn't it?
It's the day of judgment lying ahead.
Just think of it.
Love has been so
exercised to us
that it's been
made complete with us
and in
the fruit of that
we have boldness
in the day of judgment.
And as
we read in the latter clause
of that verse, because
as he is
so are we
in this world.
Our Lord,
dear brethren, having
accomplished redemption
is beyond judgment
and you and I
are as he is even now
beyond judgment.
If you were reading the Ephesian
epistle, I would draw
attention to the fact that we
are accepted in the
beloved. All that's
true of him
in his accepted manhood
in the Father's presence
is true of you and me
who've trusted him
as our Savior. Because
as he is
so are we
in this world.
We're not waiting till we get to heaven
to know this. We know it now.
Divine light is shed on the
page of scripture for us.
Because as he is
so are we
in this world. There is
no fear in love,
but perfect love
casteth out fear
because fear hath torment.
He that feareth
is not made
perfect in love.
We love because
he first
loved us.
Amen.
I'm going to give a hymn out and then
perhaps some brother might
read it.
Number 52.
Lord,
we are thine.
Bought
by thy blood,
once the poor
guilty slaves of sin,
but thou
redeemest us to God
and mayst
thy spirit dwell
within.
Thou hast our sinful
wanderings borne with love and
patience all divine
as brands then
from the burning torn
we all
that we are holy
thine. Number 52.
And then some brother
will pray.
Thou hast
our sinful
wanderings
borne with love
and patience
all divine
as brands
then from
the burning
torn
we all
that we
are holy
thine.
Lord,
we are thine.
Thine
as we are all.
Thou
hast our sinful
wanderings
borne with love
and patience
all divine
as brands
then from
the burning
torn
we all
that we are holy
thine.
Lord,
we are
thine.
Thine
as we
are all.
Thine
all
divine
as brands
then from
the burning
torn
we all
that we
are holy
divine.
Thou
hast
our sinful …