1 John 5:13, The Certainty of Salvation

The Certainty of Salvation
1 John 5:13

Introductory Thoughts

· John likes to give his purpose—John 20:30-31
· The purpose-see also 1 John 2:12-14
· John’s gospel—to lead you to Christ
· This letter—to assure true believers
· Our day—a time that denies the existence of absolutes
· Five certainties—this is the first

1) Certain of Salvation—5:13
2) Certain of answered prayer—5:14-17
3) Certain of victory—5:18
4) Certain of whose we are—5:19
5) Certain that Jesus is God—5:20

1. Overview of 5:13—

a. These things = the whole book of 1 John

(1) The central doctrines of the Faith once delivered
(2) Principles for Christian living
(3) Tests for True Faith


b. Those written to—the ones believing (participle, continuous) in the name of the Son of God

(1) The continuous nature of faith—not just a one-time shot

(2) The object of Faith—the Name (the entire person and work) of the Son of God

(a) His Godhood—John 1:1-2
(b) His pre-existence—Micah 5:2
(c) His Virgin Birth—Luke 1:34-35
(d) His manhoood—Heb 2:17
(e) His perfect life—Heb 4:14-15
(f) His death as a substitute and sacrifice—2 Cor 5:21
(g) His bodily resurrection—1 Cor 15:1-4
(h) His ascension—Acts 1:9-10
(i) His intercession—Rom 8:17
(j) His Return, personally, visibly, bodily—Acts 1:11


2. The First reason for writing: assurance of salvation—“…that you may know…”

a. In order that you may know…

(1) Innate knowledge—GK “oida”, not learned knowledge
(2) Settled knowledge—GK Perfect tense
(3) Not “come to know,” but “Know!”
(4) Not “hold out hope,” but KNOW
(5) 2 Tim 1:8-12!

b. Encouragement for true believers about one problem—others had left the faith—why not us?—1 John 2:18-19

(1) The ones who left were never true believers—example: Judas—John 6:64, John 6:69-71

(2) The false believers would not have passed the tests!

(3) Fruit inspection—Mat 7:15-20

(4) Self examination—2 Cor 13:5

c. Knowing we are saved—Six Landmarks of salvation found in 1 John


(1) Believing the Truth about Christ—5:10—God is the witness of Who Jesus Is. If we do not believe, we accuse God of perjury.

(a) 1:1-5
(b) 2:20-23
(c) John 8:24!

(2) Conviction of sin that leads to repentance—from sin to God: a turn, a change of heart and mind—1:6-9—not being caught and regretting it, but being convicted and repenting!

(a) Acts 2:37, 16:30
(b) 2 Cor 7:9-10

(3) Confession of Christ as Savior and LORD—4:1-3, Rom 10:9-10

(4) Possession of Christ—5:12—see Col 1:27

(5) A changed life—1 John 3:1-10, 1 Thes 1:4-10

(a) Not perfection, but real progression
(b) Not living according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

(6) Agape Love—3:11ff

(a) Not gushy emotion
(b) Not civility
(c) But a life lived in true love, loving enough to tell the Truth

(7) Holy Spirit Power—1 John 4:13-15


Question—Do you pass the test? If you do not, you were never really saved!





3. The Second reason for writing: encouragement to persevere

a. We are eternally secure—John 10:28—IF we have anything to be secured!

b. But the Christian life is a walk—he that endureth to the end…Mat 24:13
Not the modern perversion of eternal security—‘once saved always saved…” which includes a presumption that every person who says so is so!

The Bible doctrine is perseverance! A truly saved person will show evidence of Christ in them!

c. Continuing in the Christian life

(1) John 8:31
(2) John 15:1-6
(3) Acts 11:23
(4) Acts 13:43
(5) Acts 14:22

(6) Rom 11:22
(7) Col 1:21-23
(8) 1 Tim 4:16
(9) 2 Tim 3:14
(10) Heb 10:38-39

Applications—What is true in YOUR life?

1. The one who confessed Christ as a young person, then totally abandoned the Lord and has remained that way—lost, according to The Holy Spirit!

2. The one who professes Christ and lives a life totally in opposition to that profession—lost, according to the Holy Spirit!

3. The Struggler (if there is a struggle)—be encouraged

4. The overcomer—be encouraged.

The Circle of Faith 1 Jn 5:1-5

The Circle of Faith
1 John 5:1-5

Introductory Thoughts

· John combines the three tests (correct doctrine, correct actions, correct love)
· What we see here is a circle of Truth, tied together with the New Birth, the action of God in salvation.

1. Faith: The Cause and the Effect—1 John 5:1a “…Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God,…”

a. Language notes
(1) “…believes…” is a present participle—“…the one believing…”
(2) “…is…” is present tense
(3) “…born of God…” is perfect passive

b. Faith—of the strongest kind (ATR). This term indicates a person sold out to the Truth—they are characterized as “…one who is believing…”

c. The Faith—the doctrine of Who Jesus Is

(1) The Gospel is about the life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, intercession, and return of Christ.
(2) As John has emphasized again and again, that is the heart and soul of Christian teaching.

d. The cause—the New Birth

(1) The perfect tense identifies the new birth as happening in the past, being a culminating event, the effects of which have lasted until the present.

(2) The passive indicates that the action comes from outside—we do not beget ourselves into the Christian life. “You had nothing more to do with your second birth than you did with your first…” (Rev. Ronnie Stinson).

James 1:18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.


John 3:3 "Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again (passive), he cannot see the kingdom of God.""

(3) Since faith is in the present tense, that makes the cause of believing to be the New Birth, not the other way around.
(4) “…The Divine Begetting is the antecedent, not the consequent of the believing…” (A.T. Robertson)

e. The Effect—the continuing and strong faith of the true believer.

2. The Test of Love— “…and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him…”

a. A new way of stating the test—you love your family!

(1) We have been adopted into the family of God—Gal 4, Rom 8
(2) All believers are our brothers
(3) We should love our family!

1 Th 4:9 "But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;"

1 Pet 1:22 "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,"

John 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:"

Rom 8:15 "For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father.""

2 Cor 6:18 ""I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.""

Gal 3:26 "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."

Gal 4:5-6 "to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!""

Eph 2:19 "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,"

Eph 3:15 "from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,"

Heb 2:11 "For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,"

3. The Test of Conduct—1 John 5:2 “…By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

a. Language

(1) “…we know…” è ginwskomen , experiential knowledge, present tense
(2) “…we love God and keep His commandments…” “love” and “keep” are present tense

b. Exposition: è1 John 5:2 “…By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments

(1) First, this is a great corrective to those who misconstrue what love is.
(2) Love is not being friendly
(3) Love is not being affirming and accepting, no matter what
(4) Love is not avoiding all offense
(5) Love is not soft-pedaling the truth
(6) We only love the brethren in truth when we love God and keep His commandments

c. Exposition è“… 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments…”

(1) This IS the love of God, love for God, love with God as the object of the love—Love for God is seen in action, in deeds, particularly in self-sacrificing deeds—Jn 3:16-18
(2) If we love God, then we will live a life consistent with that possession.
(3) We do not have the quantity, the amount of love that God has, and we will not be 100% consistent in our love, but if we are His, the tenor of our life will be that we demonstrate our love for God by being obedient to Him.

d. The Commandments of God are Good—“…And His commandments are not burdensome…”

(1) Language—“burdensome” means “heavy and oppressive…”


(2) The OT Law was good, and the moral and ethical requirements of the Law have been reiterated in the New Testament—but the Law was never a way of salvation, and the commandments of the New Covenant are also not a way of salvation!

Psa 19:7 "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;"

Rom 7:12-14 "Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. 13 Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin."

1 Tim 1:8-11 "But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust."

(3) The problem was that the Pharisees, scribes, and Saducees added even more burdens with their man-made interpretations and man-made laws.

Mat 23:1-4 "Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3 "Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 "For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers."

(4) The Commandments of Christ are not burdensome—

Mat 11:28-30 ""Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.""

4. Victory in Jesus—1 John 5:4 “…For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world; our faith…”

a. Language

(1) Born of God—perfect passive participle
(2) Overcomes— “…to conquer, to gain a victory…” Rogers and Rogers. It is present tense.
(3) Victory, and overcome are from the same root.
(4) “Has overcome…” èOvercame—aorist participle

b. Exposition—Faith IS the victory

(1) Whatever—this applies to every believer, so this is not something that depends on maturity or discipleship—it is the possession of all the saved
(2) Born of God—those who have been called to salvation, who have experienced the New Birth, these are the ones who experience victory.
(3) Overcomes—we are more than conquerors (Rom 8:37) through Christ
(4) The World—the temptations, beliefs, and ways of the lost world—all under the “god of this world,” the “ruler of this world.” Satan.
(5) Overcame è At a point in time
(6) Our faith—
(a) In the sense of history—victory came at a point in time, with the person and work of Christ
(b) In the sense of personal victory, victory came at the time we believed.


5. The Test of Doctrine—1 John 5:5 “…Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?…”

a. The most important victory is the victory of salvation
b. And, what a claim—“…the daring of this first-century claim that the victory belongs not to Rome, then reigning supreme, but to Christ and to the humble believer in Christ…” (Stott)
c. Look at the forces arrayed against the faithful
(1) The World, with its riches, seductions, and power.
(2) Satan, with his wiles
(3) The believer’s own remaining sin, subject to temptation and sifting.
(4) These seem to be such powerful forces.
d. But these powers are overcome with the most simple and humble of divine-human transactions—faith in the risen Son of God!

Abiding in Christ, 2, 1 Jn 4:17-21

Abiding in Christ, 2
1 John 4:17-21

Introductory Thoughts

1. Ultimate Confidence—1 John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

a. Us, we, we—this is something that applies to all believers

b. Perfected love—in the beloved, by the beloved—

(1) the word is a perfect passive—
(2) It is an accomplished fact
(3) We are not the actors, God is.

c. “…in this, that we may have

(1) Have—present tense
(2) May—subjunctive, conditional—why wouldn’t a professing believer have boldness in the day of judgment? If they were not for real!—Mat 7:21-23

d. Boldness—a commonly used word in the New Testament

(1) Used of people of God speaking boldly


Acts 2:29 ""Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day."

Acts 4:13 "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus."

Acts 4:29 ""Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,"

Acts 4:31 "And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness."

2 Cor 3:12 "Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech;"

2 Cor 7:4 "Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation."

Eph 6:19 "and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,"



(2) Boldness in Christ

Eph 3:12 "in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him."

Heb 3:6 "but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end."

1 John 3:21 "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God."

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

e. In the day of judgment

(1) This is the bottom line
(2) We can go to the throne room anytime now and we can stand boldly before the throne, because of the blood of Jesus!

Heb 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."

Heb 10:19 "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,"

1 John 2:28 "And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming."


f. Identification and justification in the beloved.

John 1:4 "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men."

Eph 1:4 "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,"

Eph 1:6-7 "to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace"

Eph 1:10-11 "that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth; in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,"

Phil 3:9 "and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;"

Col 2:6-7 "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving."

Col 2:9-11 "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. 11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,"

1 John 3:24 "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."


2. No Fear—1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

a. There is fear, and then there is fear.

(1) Reverent, Respectful fear—as a son for a father

Acts 2:43 "Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles."

Acts 9:31 "Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied."

Rom 11:20 "Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear."

2 Cor 7:1 "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

Eph 5:21 "submitting to one another in the fear of God."

Phil 2:12 "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;"

Heb 4:1 "Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it."

Heb 11:7 "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith."

Heb 12:28 "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear."

Heb 13:6 "So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?""

1 Pet 1:17 "And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;"

1 Pet 2:17 "Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king."

1 Pet 3:2 "when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear."

1 Pet 3:15 "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;"

Jude 1:23 "but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh."

Rev 11:18 "The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth.""

Rev 15:4 "Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.""

Rev 19:5 "Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!""


(2) Craven fear, fear of judgment—the fear of the criminal for a judge or of a slave for a master.

Psa 14:5 "There they are in great fear, For God is with the generation of the righteous."

Psa 73:19 "Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors."

Isa 2:19 "They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And into the caves of the earth, From the terror of the LORD And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily."

Isa 24:17 "Fear and the pit and the snare Are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth."

Isa 33:14 "The sinners in Zion are afraid; Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites: "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?""

Dan 5:6 "Then the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other."

John 8:9 "Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst."

Acts 2:37 "Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?""

Acts 9:6 "So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.""

Acts 16:29 "Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas."

Acts 24:25 "Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, "Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.""

Heb 10:27 "but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries."

Rev 6:12-17 "I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?""

b. For the mature believer, there is no craven fear, because love has cast it out. Rom 8:14-15

Rom 8:14-15 "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father.""

(1) The lost should fear future punishment, but they do not
(2) Some saved people have a craven fear—they should not—but the reasons
(a) Poor teaching
(b) Inconsistent lifestyle
(c) Satanic attack
(3) We received the Spirit of adoption

3. The One Who Invented Love—1 John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.

a. The basic truth of redemption—God is the initiator in salvation—The shepherd seeks the sheep

b. People do not seek God—Rom 3:10-11, Is 64:7

c. God initiates salvation, in spite of our sin
(1) Eph 2:1-5
(2) Rom 5:8-11
(3) 1 John 3:1
(4) Jer 31:3

d. We love God because He loved us first—one of the great Truths of the universe!


4. The Test of Love, again—1 John 4:20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

a. Love—action
b. Brother—any fellow Christian
c. Must—there is no choice, we are commanded to love the brethren.

Abiding in Christ 1 Jn 4:13-16

Abiding in Christ
1 John 4:13-16

Introductory Thoughts

· John now poses a series of tests that combine the features of the tests of love, life, and doctrine.
· These are ways that a believer can be fully assured of his/her salvation—from here on out through the rest of the letter, John continually repeats ways of assurance.

1. We Know We Are Saved Because of the Indwelling Spirit of God—1 John 4:13 "By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit."

a. Language

(1) “we know…” ginwskw in the present tense—we know continually, and by experience.
(2) Abide—present tense
(3) “…Spirit…has given…” perfect tense

b. Exposition

(1) By this—the often-repeated phrase which introduces new sets of tests in 1 John.
(2) Our knowledge is continual, and it is experiential—this is not theory; the true believer can have assurance
(3) Abide—we in Him and He in us…The God of Relationship relates to His people individually and corporately
(4) Spirit—It is the Holy Spirit Who is the only one who may give assurance of salvation—Rom 5:5

“…The Christian’s consciousness of the fact of God dwelling in him is due to the Spirit of God whom God has given (dedoôken, perfect active indicative here, though the aorist edoôken in 3:24). This gift of God is proof of our fellowship with God…” ATR

2. The Testimony of the Apostles—1 John 4:14 "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world."

a. This is talking about a literal seeing—this is talking about the apostles—They were the witnesses

Luke 24:48 ""And you are witnesses of these things."

Acts 1:8 ""But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.""

Acts 2:32 ""This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses."

Acts 3:15 ""and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses."

Acts 5:32 ""And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.""

Acts 1:21-22 ""Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 "beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.""

Acts 10:39 ""And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree."

Acts 10:41 ""not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead."

b. The apostolic message

(1) We have seen—same word as 4:12—no one has seen God with their eyes, but the apostles have seen Jesus, and their eyes beheld Him crucified, dead, buried, risen, and ascended.
(2) It is also perfect tense—what they have seen is an accomplished fact.
(3) And testify…present tense—continual testimony
(4) The Father sent the Son—perfect tense—it is a done deal
(5) The Savior of the world

3. The Doctrinal Test, Again—1 John 4:15 "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God."

a. The proper response to the apostolic witness—faith in Christ

b. Language—Whoever confesses (aorist)

c. Light From Romans—The First condition of salvation—Confess the Lordship of Christ— Rom 10:9 “…if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,…”

(1) Confession is listed first. Why? Because it is the first thing we see outwardly—

(2) Certainly, faith must come before confession. Real faith and true confession happen at about the same time! When a person really believes, confession will inevitably follow.

(3) Confess—light from the Greek: (Aorist, active, 2nd, sing, )

(a) It is something that happens at a point in time

(b) It is “active voice,” it is something that you do

(c) It is something that you, individually, personally, do

(4) Confess—what the word means! The word in the original language is homologeo: to say the same thing as, or to agree with totally. It also means to make a commitment. Here is a use of the word in that way:

(i) Mat 14:7 "Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask."

(ii) “…This agreement expresses itself in an act of commitment, promise, or confession in a court or legal contract.”[1]

(iii) “…To confess the Lord Jesus means therefore to be in agreement with all that these two names imply…”[2]

(iv) You confessed your spouse when you said “I do.”

(5) Biblical examples:

(a) Mat 10:32 "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven."

(b) John 12:42 "Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:"

(c) Heb 11:13 "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."

(6) So, to confess means to agree totally with what the Bible says about Christ and about us, but that isn’t all.

(7) To confess also means that with the agreement there is a commitment to a covenant—if we confess Christ, we identify with Him, and pledge that He will be our Lord.

“…This confession of the deity of Jesus Christ implies surrender and obedience also, not mere lip service (cf. 1 Cor 12:3; Rom 10:6-12). This confession is proof (if genuine) of the fellowship with God (1:3f.; 3:24)….” ATR

d. What to confess? That Jesus is the Son of God.
(1) Deity
(2) Sonship
(3) Person and Work—virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, bodily ascension, present intercession, literal, bodily return

e. What is the result of this confession? “…God abides in him, and he in God."


4. God’s Love and our experience—1 John 4:16 “…And we have known and believed the love that God has for us…”

a. Language

(1) Two equal things—“have known and believed…”
(a) Known—ginosko, to know by experience
(b) Perfect tense
(c) ATR—“…we have come to know and still know…”, we have come to believe and still believe.
(2) “…The Love that God has for us…” “…has…” is present tense.

b. Exposition

(1) First of all, what does it mean when it says “…the love that God has for us…” ? This has been missed!
(2) The love that God has for us is everything He has done for us! What believers know and believe is the whole plan of redemption!
(3) And, love is present tense—God is still doing things for us!
(4) And this is what we have come to know by experience (and still know), and what we have come to believe (and still believe)—this is the heart of our faith.



[1] NIDNTT, Volume 1, page 344.
[2] Kenneth Wuest, Romans In The Greek New Testament, page 177-178.

We Would See Jesus--1 John 4:12

We Would See Jesus
1 John 4:12

Introductory Thoughts

· Remember the Biblical definition of Love—Action—1 Cor 13:4-7

John 12:20-21 "Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. 21 Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus.""

1. God, in His Fullness, has never been seen by man.—1 John 4:12 "No one has seen God at any time….”

a. Greek—“God no one at any time has seen (perfect tense)…”—almost the same words as John 1:18

b. Biblical Issue

(1) God is Spirit—John 4:24
(2) God is invisible—1 Tim 1:17, 6:16
(3) If we could see God, it would kill us—Ex 33:20
(4) God has been seen indirectly

(a) In disguise—The Angel of the LORD, the three men who came to see Abraham, the Man who wrestled with Jacob, as a burning bush, as a disembodied hand, as a dove, as a man walking in the fire with the three Hebrew Children, as the Captain of the LORD’s host

(b) By Reflection—Ex 33-34

Exo 33:21-23 "And the LORD said, "Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 "So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 "Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.""

Exo 34:4-8 "So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone. 5 Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 "keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation." 8 So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped."

(c) In Christ—Jn 1:18, Jn 14:9
(d) In God’s people

2. God is seen today through His people—“…If we love one another,."

a. Language notes

(1) 3rd class condition—an honest “if, then” statement
(2) IF
(a) Love—present tense, the habit, continual love
(b) One another—the heart of the Christian life
(3) God Abides—also present tense. If we love one another as a way of life, that is evidence that God abides in us—as a church, and as people.
(4) Perfected—in the perfect tense

b. Here is how God is seen—the one another dynamic. “One anothering” –“…speaking to one another… submitting to one another…”

(1) If your family means more to you than the faith and the faithful, you are wrong
(2) If your friends mean more to you than the faith and the faithful, you are wrong
(3) There should be no brotherhood closer than the brotherhood of believers

c. The One Another Dynamic—Time and time again, we are told to minister to one another

(1) It is not the job of the pastor and staff of this church to do all the “one-anothering” for the body—that ministry is YOURS and MINE
John 13:34 ""A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another…”
Rom 12:10 "Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;"
Rom 15:14 "…admonish one another."
1 Cor 12:25 "…have the same care for one another."
Eph 4:32 "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another…"
1 Th 5:11 "comfort each other and edify one another…”
Heb 3:13 "…exhort one another daily…”

Heb 10:24 "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,"

James 5:16 "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another…”

(2) And, if we do love one another, fully, habitually, Christ is seen through us!

3. God Indwells us—“…God abides in us, …”

a. We know that the Holy Sprit indwells every believer, but that is going to be address a verse or two later—this is talking about God dwelling in the corporate body of Christ—the local church

b. The Relationship between Christ and the church

(1) Is a marriage—Eph 5:22-33
(2) Is Eternal
(3) We are a building, a spiritual home for God to live in—Eph 2:20-22, 1 Pet 2:5

4. The Current Earthly Expression of God’s Love is Through the Church— “…and His love has been perfected in us…”

a. His Love

(1) Originated in Him—“God is Love…”
(2) Manifested in the Son—‘…1 John 4:9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him….”
(3) Shed abroad by the Spirit— Rom 5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

b. “…Has been perfected…” is in the perfect tense, it is an accomplished fact. The problem is that so many believers and so many churches never walk in it.

(1) The word means “made complete.” This is a heavy concept, to think that the Love which originated in the Father, which was manifested in the Son, and which is spread abroad by the Spirit, should now be completed in us—but that is God’s Word to us.
(2) How is it made complete? When God’s people fulfill the great commission and live for Him.

John 13:35 ""By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.""

John 17:20-23 ""I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 "I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me."

The Test of Love, 1 John 4:7-11

The Test Of Love
1 John 4:7-11

Introductory Thoughts

· The Love of God: a misunderstood concept—"There are many today who talk about the love of God, who are total strangers to the God of love. The Divine love is commonly regarded as a species of amiable weakness, a sort of good-natured indulgence; it is reduced to a mere sickly sentiment, patterned after human emotion. Now the truth is, that on this, as on everything else, our thoughts need to be formed and regulated by what is revealed thereon in Holy Scripture." (A.W Pink, The Attributes of God)



1. The Command To Love—1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

a. Language

(1) “…let us love…” Subjunctive, present tense—we are being told that we should practice habitual love.
(2) “…love…” a verb! Love is Action—1 Cor 13:4-7 "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
(3) “…love is of God…” “is” è present tense.
(4) “…everyone who loves…” è present active participle è “…the one loving…”
(5) Two things true of every true believer—joined by “kai”
(a) “…is born…” perfect passive—an accomplished fact, we have been born again.
(b) “…knows…”
(i) ginwskei—present tense
(ii) experiential knowledge

b. Exposition
(1) We should actively, habitually love believers
(2) Because
(a) Love is of God
(b) The people who love habitually are born again people who have an experiential knowledge of God.

(3) Correct doctrine is the proof that our love might be real love, but love in action is the proof that our doctrine is more than mere words. Love is the proof that our doctrine is genuine, and here is the example we are to follow.............

(a) God did not "feel our pain," and sympathize with us....
(b) God did not express pity for our problems and send us a card of condolences.
(c) God so loved that He gave His Son--that He sacrificed the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners......
(4) The reality of our faith is tested practically by our love.

2. The Test of Love—“…4:8 He who does not love does not know God,…”

a. Language—mirrors the language in verse 7

(1) “…He who does not love…” the same participle as in verse 7, negated by mh,
(2) “…Does not know God…”—ïšê hãíù ô’í èåüí—
(a) “…know…” is experiential knowledge
(b) “…know…” is aorist tense—
(3) “…God is love…” present tense—God is always love!

b. Exposition
(1) The aorist tense is the key here
(2) The person who does love has been born of God, it is an accomplished fact—but the person who does not love has never, at any point in time, had an experiential knowledge of God.

3. The Character of God—“…for God is love….”

a. The Pagan Concept of God's Love—

(1) The pagan world cannot deal with the Biblical concept of God's love—they cannot fathom it, at least in part because they do not understand the greatness of His wrath against sin.....
(2) The pagan concept of God's love is Patterned after human love—Psa 50:21 "… thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes."

(a) Based on emotion--God's love is not emotion—God's love is action (more on that later).

(b) Beyond control—human love, in the myths of our times, is something we can’t help. We fall in love, we fall out of love, it just happens, there is nothing we can do about it.

(3) The pagan concept of God’s love is based on the idea that humans are somehow worthy of love.

(a) We are not worthy of anything but judgment.

(b) We do not deserve love, mercy, compassion, or kindness from God.

(c) This is vital to understand: the Biblical teaching on the love of God is only properly taught when and where we understand that mankind does not deserve even one whit of love from God—Rom 1:18 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;"

(d) Rom 5:6-8 "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

(4) The Pagan concept of God’s love is divorced from any concept of holiness, righteousness, or justice.
(5) The pagan concept of God’s love is based on false mental images of God.
(a) The granddad "god"
(b) The George Burns "god"
(c) The "good ole boy god"

b. God IS Love— 1 John 4:8 "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." Love Defines God!

c. What, Then, IS the Love of God?

(1) The love of God is really more than just an attribute; it is part of His essence—
(2) Just as Holiness is the central attribute of God, Love is His defining attribute.....The Bible says "Holy is the Lord...." and the Bible says "God is Love....."
(3) It is NOT possible to turn this around and say “love is God…” the construction in the Greek does not allow this.

4. The Supreme example of Agape—The Person and Work of Christ—1 John 4:9-10 "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. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

a. Language

(1) “…in this was manifested…”—aorist tense
(2) “…only begotten Son…”—ìïíïãåíy
(3) “…sent…” perfect tense—PðÝóôáëêåí
(4) “…that we might live through Him…”
(a) subjunctive—a choice involved, a possibility
(b) aorist active
(c) “…that life begins here and now…” AT Robertson

(5) “…in this is love…” present tense
(6) “…not that we loved God…” perfect tense—not that, at any time in past we loved God as an accomplished fact
(7) “…but that he loved us and sent his Son …” aorist tense
(8) “…propitiation for our sins …”

b. Exposition—doctrinal

(1) First, the aorist tense words and what they tell us.

(a) God’s Actions in salvation

(i) Christ was manifested at a point in time, sent at a point in time…
(ii) He died at a point in time
(iii) God’s continual love toward us was manifested at a point in time.

(b) Our actions—“that we might live…”—a point in time—coming to faith in Christ is an aorist event—Rom 10:9-10

(2) Only-begotten—the word ìïíïãåíy

(a) The root word, monoj, is used in the New Testament to describe God as the only God (NIDNTT)

John 5:44 ""How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?"

John 17:3 ""And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

Rom 16:25-27 "Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began 26 but now has been made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures has been made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith; 27 to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen."

1 Tim 1:17 "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."

1 Tim 6:15-16 "which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen."

(b) For ìïíïãåíy, the word’s meaning is related to our salvation, not to the origin of the Son of God, because He had no origin, He is eternal

John 1:14 "And the Word became 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."

John 1:18 "No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him."

John 3:16 ""For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

John 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."

(c) The best understanding of the meaning is “one and only Son,” stressing the uniqueness of Jesus.

(3) Not that we loved God, but that He loved us.
(a) Rom 5:6-8 "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

(b) God had nothing to gain, We had nothing to offer. We did not deserve God’s love, rather, we deserved the opposite.

(c) God’s love toward us, based on the sacrifice of His Son, based on His own character, based on His own choice—God’s free will—this is the most amazing example of Agape ever given. God does not have to love anyone outside the Trinity—God loves voluntarily, because it is His nature to be loving and merciful.

(d) No human being deserves the love of God—it is unmerited and "uninfluenced"(Pink)—we cannot earn it.

(4) Propitiation—The Cross was a propitiation—Rom 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood

(a) Propitiation—the answer to divine wrath—Heb 2:17 "Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people."

(b) Propitiation—a turning aside of the wrath of God—1 John 2:1-2 "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."

(c) Propitiation—turning wrath aside and taking care of sin**Rom 5:6-11

(d) through faith in his blood—Only through faith—there is no propitiation for unbelievers. Lost people die in their sins

John 8:24 ""Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."

Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

Rev 21:7 "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."


Rev 22:14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie…

(e) Only through faith in His blood sacrifice are our sins paid for.

* You must believe
* There is no inherited salvation

(f) You must believe in His blood sacrifice—there is no salvation in bloodless “Christianity…”

5. SO Ought WE to love one another—1 John 4:11 "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."
a. This is the practical test....
b. No matter how correct a person's doctrine appears to be, if they do not have the capacity to love the brethren, they are of the spirit of Antichrist...
c. We are not talking perfection here, but the guidelines are here and elsewhere in the New Testament—
d. We are to be a people of Love--not the sickly-sweet gushy stuff and fine-sounding words of liberalism.
e. But our love for one another is to be the gut-wrenching, life-changing love needed in times of turmoil. We need to be able to love as Christ did.....
f. The Christ kind of Love—
g. He always told us the Truth, even when it hurt.
h. He looked after our needs
i. He prayed for us
j. He lived for us
k. He died for us
l. You must love me, and I must love you

The Doctrinal Test (2)

The Doctrinal Test (2)
1 John 4:4-6

Introductory Thoughts

· The Doctrinal Test—the Test Most Neglected—the second part of the test deals with those who teach false doctrine, rather than the doctrine itself, and it also deals with the relationship and interchange with True Believers
· Political correctness tells us that to identify false believers and make a distinction between them and true believers is to miss the mark and be unChristlike.
· The Truth is, that nothing could be more Christlike than to speak the Truth in Love, and right here, John most certainly does so. This is one of the strongest “us” vs. “them” passages in the Bible.

1. Us—1 John 4:4 "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

a. Language—“In the Greek text, each of the three verses (4-6) begins with an emphatic personal pronoun (4, hymeis) referring to his Christian readers in general, they (5, autoi), referring to the false teachers, and we (6, hemeis) referring to himself as representative of the authoritative apostles…” Stott, 160

(1) Language—“…have overcome…” –perfect tense

b. To Whom We Belong—“you are of God…”

(1) You are—they are not
(2) Part of the identification (not all), is true doctrine.
(3) Other Examples—1 Cor 15:1-4, Gal 1:6-9, Titus 1:9-11, Mat 24:14
(4) “…protection against falsehood and victory over it are ascribed both to an objective standard of doctrine and to the indwelling Spirit who illumines our minds to grasp and apply it, for ‘unless the Spirit of wisdom is present, there is little or no profit in having God’s Word in our hands’ (Calvin)…”

c. What we have done (through Christ) “…and have overcome them…”
(1) Accomplished fact
(2) How did we overcome?
(a) By not being deceived—Eph 4:14-16, Acts 20:27-31
(b) By Refuting falsehood—Tit 1:10-11
(3) Two overcomings have been mentioned
(a) Morally—2:13-14 (same word)
(b) Intellectually (here)
(4) In general, overcoming is what the Christian life is all about.
Rev 12:10-11 "Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."

(5) The battlefield—in the mind—2 Cor 10:4-6
(6) The enemy—the devil and his minions—Eph 6:10-12

d. The Reason We Won—“greater is He…”
(1) Often misquoted and misapplied
(2) In context of doctrinal conflict

2. Them— They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them

a. Who are “they?”
(1) The False teachers
(2) Their followers
(3) The world in general

b. What does “…of the world…” mean?—Rom 8:5-7—according to

(1) A Lost Person “Minds” the Flesh—"For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh… The Greek means, “to set the mind,” and this refers to the way the mind of a lost person naturally works. Their mind is on the flesh. The Mind of the Flesh dominates the lost person—
(2) “The first thing about the non-Christian, therefore, is that because he is dominated by his fallen human nature, he is a man who is deliberately interested in, and concerned about ‘the things of the flesh.’” (Lloyd-Jones, page 5)

To mind the things of the flesh includes political interests without God, social interests without God, cultural interests without God. That is what the expression means. Paul has in mind man’s highest pursuits, his philosophy, his art, his culture, his music, that never get beyond the flesh. God is outside it all, He is excluded from it; there is nothing spiritual about it. Men may write very cleverly, and in a very learned and interesting and entertaining manner about social conditions they can tell us how to ameliorate bad conditions, how to improve them; they can write eloquently about forming some sort of Utopia, they can produce masterpieces of art and of literature and of music; but there is no soul there, there is no God there, there is no Spirit there. It is all ‘after the flesh.’ (Lloyd-Jones, 6)

(3) It is universal among the lost—The banker, the artist, the teacher, the scholar, the doctor, the government official, the great writer, etc., if they are without Christ in their life, their mind is dominated by the flesh as well. Their sin and rebellion may be more intellectual and less obvious to the common observer, but they are every bit the rebel and sinner that the lowest man on earth is—they are just neater about it.
(4) The Mind dominated by the flesh is dead. Rom 8:6 "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Relate the story of Pitt and Wilberforce, given in Lloyd-Jones, page 9-10
(5) The Mind of Flesh Hates God—Rom 8:7 "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."
(a) Total Alienation to God—Col 1:21 "And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled"
(b) Lost people hate God—the World system hates God—John 15:18-19 ""If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."
(c) Religious Lost people hate the real God.

(6) The Mind of Flesh is not subject to the Law of God. Rom 8:7 "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."
The Mind of Flesh cannot be subject to the Law of God— Rom 8:7 "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."

(1) The world (lost people) will hear them—not all the world, but some—
(2) Their mental orientation is to the world
(3) Our allies are not world religions in the battle against atheists and secularists. The world religions are really on their side
(4) World religions—liberal Christians, pagans, cults, etc.—these all belong to the world.
(5) The world’s ruler—the Prince of the power of the air

John 12:31 ""Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out."

John 14:30 ""I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me."

2 Cor 4:4 "whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."

Eph 2:2 "in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,"

Rev 11:15 "Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!""

c. Why they say what they say—they speak as the world. Their doctrine tends to adhere to the world’s creed.
(1) “Un-god’s” God
(2) Dethrones and humanizes Christ
(3) Removes faith from the public square
(4) Salvation is by human effort
(5) Everyone is included—inclusiveness, no Hell, no retribution. All heroes go to Heaven, all little old ladies are OK with God, etc.
(6) Their teaching rewards human pride.

d. The final evidence—the world speaks well of them!

Luke 6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.


3. Us vs. Them—The Test of Right Doctrinal Fellowship—6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."

a. Remember, “We” is emphatic in the original language—“…WE are of God…”
b. The standard—the apostles’ doctrine—“…we are of God…”
(1) Here we go with doctrine again.
(2) This is, plainly and simply, the standard
(3) A church will do nothing for God unless it is operating off the only standard—the Bible
(4) Look at the early church—Acts 2:42 "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."

c. The Test—“…He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us….”
(1) This is the evidence of true salvation
(2) This is the evidence of a true teacher
(3) This is the essence of the doctrinal test.

d. The Result—“…By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."

1 Jn 4:1-3--The Doctrine Test

The Doctrinal Test (2)
1 John 4:1-3

Introductory Thoughts

· The Doctrinal Test—the Test Most Neglected
· The mindset of the times—lack of appreciation for the Biblical requirement for doctrinal precision
· Culprits: political correctness, doctrinal ignorance, laziness, lack of discipleship.
· Examples of false doctrines

o “God MANIFESTS Himself as a Trinity…”
o “…Jesus gave up His divine powers to come to live among us…”
o “The Holy Spirit is the divine force of God in the universe, it flows over us, and it operates in us…”
o “God makes us righteous so that we will please Him…”
o Jesus was fully God, but only appeared to be human.
o Jesus was created by God before all things.
o Jesus was part man and part God.
o In the Old Testament, God was known as the Father, in the New Testament as the Son, and after Pentecost as the Holy Spirit.
o Jesus only died spiritually on the cross.
o Our salvation is based upon perfect obedience to the Ten Commandments.
o We are saved by grace after all that we can do.
o People who have never heard the gospel are innocent and go the heaven.
o If I die with unconfessed sin, I will go to hell.
o There are certain sins that I can commit which will cause me to lose my salvation.
o The Holy Spirit living inside me enables me to live a victorious life so that I am acceptable to God.

· Common thread—heresy! These statements are all seriously wrong!

1. The Command For Believers—"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world…”

a. Language

(1) “…do not believe…” present imperative—a continuing command
(2) “every spirit…”—that is, the source of every prophecy or teaching
(3) “test…”—a word used by assayers to describe testing precious metal for genuineness.
(4) “…many false prophets have gone out…”—perfect tense—their departure is a completed and accomplished fact.

b. Exposition—the implications are:

(1) The Christians were being subjected to false teaching from the false prophets who had left the church—see also 2:18-19.

(2) Believers were responsible to test doctrines for Truth and falsehood.

(a) It is a task given to the eldership in a special way, but each believer is also responsible for testing teachers.

(b) False teaching was a major problem even in the days of the apostles.

Mat 7:15 ""Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves."

Mark 13:22-23 ""For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 "But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand."

2 Pet 2:1 "But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction."

Acts 20:29-30 ""For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 "Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves."


Eph 4:14 "that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,"

Col 2:8 "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ."

1 Tim 1:7 "desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm."

1 Tim 4:1-3 "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth."

1 Tim 6:3 "If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness,"

1 Tim 6:20 "O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge;"

Titus 1:9-11 "holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. 10 For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 "whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain."

Heb 13:9 "Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them."

c. The Doctrine of Doctrine—

(1) Doctrine was the distinctive thing about Jesus’ earthly ministry of preaching and teaching

Mat 7:28 "And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:"

Mat 22:33 "And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine."

Mark 1:22 "And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes."

(2) Doctrine was central to New Testament church life

Acts 2:42 "And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."

(3) One of the chief goals of the ministry is for every believer to be mature in doctrine:

Eph 4:14 "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;"

(4) Being wrong on vital doctrine is a matter of life and death, spiritually

2 John 1:9-10 "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:"

(5) It is a basic qualification for an elder that he be skilled in doctrine, both offensively and defensively.

1 Tim 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

2 Tim 4:2 "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine."

Titus 1:9 "Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers."

(6) It is the basic task of the eldership to teach doctrine

1 Tim 4:6 "If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained."

1 Tim 4:13 "Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine."

1 Tim 4:16 "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee."

1 Tim 5:17 "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine."

Titus 2:1 "But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:"

Titus 2:7 "In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,"


2. The Test—“…2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God…”

a. Language

(1) “…by this you know…” present tense of ginosko—to know by experience
(2) “…Confesses…” present tense
(3) “…Jesus Christ…” All He Is
(4) “…has come in the flesh…” perfect participle—He is the one who has come in the flesh, an accomplished fact.

b. Principles

(1) The test is strictly doctrinal in nature.

(2) Confession—to say the same thing as…

Rom 10:9-10 "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

(3) The specific nature of the confession—that The Christ, The Savior, came in the flesh—it is an accomplished fact.

(4) The basis for the test given here in 1 John is the doctrine about the Person and Work of Christ, but the Bible gives us other doctrinal tests in other areas—Gal 1:6-9, 1 Cor 15:1-4

(5) The absolute character of the confession—it is “go, no-go,” or a matter of absolute black and white.

(6) Compare to the absolute character of the OT tests

Deu 13:1-3 ""If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 "and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods'; which you have not known; 'and let us serve them,' 3 "you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul."




3. The Identification of the Enemy—“…And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world…”

a. Antichrist—the only places found in the Bible—here, Chapter 2, and in 2 John.

(1) Not the same as “false Christs” (pseudochristoi) in Mat 24, but the concepts are related.

(2) Can antichrist be identified with “the man of sin” of 2 Thessalonians and “The Beast” of Rev. 13? Yes!

(3) Man of sin—2 Thes 2:1-12

(4) The beast—Rev 13:1-8

b. The “spirit of the Antichrist” is already at work—just as the mystery of iniquity in 2 Thes!

Bible Assurance 1 Jn 3:23-24

1 John 3:23-24
Biblical Assurance of Salvation

Introductory Thoughts

· The state of morals in the professing church is abysmal
· Millions imagine that they are on their way to Heaven, yet there is no evidence of salvation in their lives.
· Discipleship is taken to be an option at best.
· Many professing believers desire to be like the world—they want to walk, talk, act, and smell like the world, yet they speak confidently of their salvation—does this bear any resemblance at all to Biblical Salvation?


1. The One Command of the Christian Faith—23 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.

a. Language notes

(1) This is His command…
(a) “This” is emphatic
(b) “is”—present tense—it is always and continually His command
(c) One command, two parts

(i) Faith in Christ
(ii) Love for the brothers and sisters in Christ

(2) That we should believe—Aorist—saving faith, through which we are justified
(3) (that) we shall love—present tense, the ongoing love for the brethren.
(4) Just as He gave commandment to us—repeated for emphasis

b. To believe and to live for Christ is one unified command—it is not separable. Jesus is your Lord and Savior; He must be both, or He is neither.
c. This is a major problem area for today’s professing Christians, because there is so much said which is wrong about salvation.

d. The Carnal Christian Theory

(1) It is a theory invented in the late 19th century by C. I. Scofield, based on a misinterpretation of one and only one passage: 1 Cor 3:1-4 "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal?"

(2) I want to hasten to add that I have the utmost of respect for Scofield in some areas, when he is good, he is very good. However, when Scofield is bad, he is very, very, bad, and this is one instance.

(3) The Theory Stated:

(a) There are two levels of Christians, carnal and spiritual
(b) Carnal Christians are saved, but show little or no evidence of that salvation. They have accepted Christ as Savior, but not as Lord, and they walk totally and completely as unsaved men and women.
(c) Spiritual Christians have accepted Christ as the Lord of their life, and show evidence of conversion in their life.
(d) If true, this theory denies everything that the Lord and His apostles taught about discipleship!
(e) The most modern version of this heresy is that a truly saved person, even a “spiritual Christian,” can fall to the extent that they totally deny the faith, and still be considered saved.

(4) Is this what Paul was saying in 1 Cor 3:1-4?

e. The Carnal Christian Theory refuted: First, what was Paul talking about in 1 Cor 3?

(1) Context—the Church in Corinth had a lot of major problems. The one Paul deals with first is the problem of contentiousness, division, and strife.
(2) However, before dealing with that problem, Paul said some other things about the Corinthians.

1 Cor 1:1-7 "Paul,… 2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, …4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

(3) These are the same people Paul refers to as “carnal” and “babes” in 1 Cor 3! Paul is not, therefore, speaking of people who “walk as men” in every area of their life and who show no evidence of salvation in their life! Paul is speaking of those who have a good testimony of faith, and who live the faith in many, perhaps most, areas of their life. They have particular areas of carnality, as do all Christians, and the one which Paul is speaking of in Chapter 3 is their contentiousness, and their party spirit, their tendency to follow men instead of Christ. The Christians at Corinth have a lot of things to fix, but they are NOT “carnal Christians” in the “Scofield” sense of the word.

f. Basic observations:

Our text in Romans says that you must confess with your mouth the LORD Jesus—if He is not your Lord, He is not your Savior.

True salvation involves commitment, discipleship, and a changed life!

Mat 16:24 "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

John 10:27 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:"

Jesus never told the church to make converts—He told us to make disciples—Mat 28:18-20

g. True Salvation involves Fruit

(a) The Fruit of the Spirit and the works of the flesh are opposites! Gal 5:19-24—which one describes your life?
(b) False believers will be seen by their fruit—Mat 7:15-20
Christians are not to walk as the world walks—

(i) Eph 5:1-8

(ii) 1 Cor 6:9-11

Faith without works is dead—that is, it is not real saving faith— James 2:17-20 "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"

This does not mean that we earn salvation by our works, but Biblically, true salvation is always accompanied by the evidence of a changed life.

(i) Gal 2:20,
(ii) 2 Cor 5:17
(iii) Eph 2:10

h. How does the Bible address professing Christians who show bad fruit or no fruit?

2 Cor 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

Gal 4:9-11 "But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? 10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. 11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain."

1 Tim 1:18-20 "This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; 19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: 20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme."

2. The Relationship Aspect of Christianity—24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him.

a. Language Notes

(1) “…He who keeps…” is a present active participle—“…the one who is in the habit of keeping…”
(2) “…abides…” is present active—the mutual relationship of our abiding in Christ and Him abiding in us through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

b. Keeps His commandments—

(1) Again, not salvation by works, but a salvation that works—Eph 2:10

(2) The evidence of our salvation is our walk. If we have a relationship with Christ, there will be evidence of that relationship. These words seem revolutionary, but that is only because the state of Biblical ignorance in our time is so acute! People are given every excuse, and they will grasp at any straw, to maintain the fiction that they can consistently live like the Devil and still belong to the Lord. However, the consistent teaching of the Bible is that we will serve in eternity the one we serve in this life!

(3) The one who is in the habit of living for Christ is the one who is abiding in Christ.

c. Relationship—

(1) John 10:27
(2) John 15

3. The Indwelling Holy Spirit— And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us."

a. Language notes

(1) “…by this we know…” or “…this is how we know…” “Know…” is ginosko, and it is present active—by this we know continually and by experience…”
(2) “…That He abides in us…”—abides is also present tense…
(3) “…By the Spirit whom He has given us…”—“…has given…” is aorist, looking to a point in time.

b. I know continually and by experience that Jesus lives in my heart through the Holy Spirit whom He has given me, because the evidence is in my life. This is the only way I or anyone else can have any degree of assurance.

c. Romans 8:1-17!

The Key to Answered Prayer, 1 Jn 3:22

The Root of Answered Prayer
1 John 3:22

Introductory Thoughts

· There are few questions in the Christian life more confusing than the question of “Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?”
· Of course, if stated honestly, the question would be “Why doesn’t God answer my prayers in the way I want them answered?”
· There are several roots for this attitude.

* First, deep down, all human beings have a dangerous tendency to want to be God!
* Second, our tendency is also that we want our circumstances to be agreeable to us. We don’t know what is the best for us, but we often decide that what is best for us is what feels the best and hurts the least.
* Third, there is much ignorance of the Bible’s teaching on this, as in most other things, and there is actually a lot of false teaching available on the subject
· The Truth is, of course, that the Bible has a definitive answer for this question, and the passage before us is part of that answer.

1. The Desire of all mankind, saved or lost—answered prayer. 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight...”

a. How glibly and frequently we hear the first part of this verse, and how seldom the entire quotation!

(1) The so-called “Name it and claim it” theology loves the sound of the words in the first part of this verse—these words sound like they back up “Name it, claim it.”
(2) Is “whatever we ask” a blank check from God? Yes, but only under the conditions the Bible sets!
(3) The key to understanding answered prayer is to understand the Bible’s conditions for answered prayer! This verse helps establish those conditions.

b. Language—22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him,

(1) “whatever” means just what it says! “In form, no limitations are placed here save that of complete fellowship with God, which means complete surrender of our will to that of God our Father…” A. T. Robertson


(2) “ask” and “receive” are present active verbs—continually asking, continually receiving—there is a continuity, a continuum of asking in accordance with God’s will, and receiving from God’s hand.

(3) The Bible has much to say about this, though it is often misunderstood. When studied in isolation from the rest of the Bible, the following verses can seem like they go along with the NICI doctrine.

Mark 11:24 ""Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask (present tense) when you pray, believe (present imperative) that you receive (aorist—have already received) them, and you will have (future) them."

Luke 11:9 ""So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." (present tense verbs)

John 14:12-14 ""Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 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."

John 16:22-26 ""… whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. ..”

d. But, there is more to be said—we must ask in accordance with God’s will, and God is Sovereign, we cannot tell Him what to do (Ps 115:3, 135:6).

(1) This was the attitude of Jesus!

Luke 22:42 "saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.""

(2) In our day, so many believers rebel at the idea that they will have tribulations and sacrifices in their life. “Surely God would not let this happen…:--the problem is that to many professing believers do not have the attitude of Job:

Job 13:15 "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.

(3) Often, people approach prayer as a kind of cosmic lottery—we want what we want in spite of anything else, and we don’t really care deep down inside what God’s will is—we want our will. We want to please ourselves, not the Lord.
(4) That attitude will never result in answered prayer—what then is the key?

2. The Root of Answered Prayer—Holiness—“22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight...”

a. Language for the second part of the verse— because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight...” similar to the first half of the verse, “keep” and “do” are also in the present, speaking of a life lived in fellowship and follower-ship—it is only a believer with a life like this who is going to possess the key to the blank check.

Phil 4:9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

b. Wait a minute, are we talking about salvation by works? NO, we are not talking about salvation at all—we are talking about the benefits of close fellowship with God!

(1) John 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."
(2) Context—the parable of the vine and the branches, the quintessential “fellowship with the Father” passage.
(3) Language: third class condition—a true “if, then” statement: The two conditions: if you (plural) abide and you (plural) ask—the result if the conditions are fulfilled, “it shall be done…”.

(4) The conditions are joined by “kai” and are therefore equal in importance

(5) The verbal forms for “abide” are also in the present tense, indicating continuity

(6) “ask” is in the aorist tense—whatever single thing you ask at a point in time…

c. We can tie this all together by looking at Mat 6:5-15.

(1) Mat 6:5-8—the proper attitude of prayer

(a) Key phrases— “you shall not be like the hypocrites…” “…do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words…” “do not be like them…”
(b) They pray for public effect, to satisfy their own egos
(c) They pray for earthly reward—the esteem of other men
(d) The pagans in particular chant phrases over and over, as if to inform their “god,” or impress him
(e) The pagans do not pray with a knowledge that God is omniscient! “…Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him….”
(f) How are we to be—exactly the opposite: We don’t pray for the benefit of the watchers, we pray as an act of faith and obedience.
(g) We don’t pray to inform or to impress God, we pray knowing that He knows already.
(h) We don’t bore God with meaningless repitition, we pray specifically and directly.
(2) Mat 6:9-13—the proper format for prayer

(a) Acknowledge God’s Person, Sovereignty, Holiness, and rule over all realms, including this rebellious earth.
(b) Acknowledge total dependence upon God for everything, and acknowledge the fact that all we really need is our needs met, not our wants.
(c) Ask for God’s forgiveness and commit to forgive others.
(d) Ask for God’s protection in Spiritual Warfare
(e) Again acknowledge and confess God’s Person, glory, power, and sovereignty.

(3) Mat 6:14-15—the lifestyle of the one who is a true pray-er is one of Holiness and of following Christ. John expands on that in the next two verses, and we will look at them next time:

23 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. 24 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."

1 jn 3:19-21

Reassuring the True Believer
1 John 3:19-21

Introductory Thoughts

· Example #1

· A man sits under the preaching of God’s Word. He is emotionally distraught and seeking comfort, and something in the evangelist’s message creates within him a powerful emotional reaction.

· The evangelist gives the altar call, and a man goes forward. A counselor has him read a few verses, and leads the man in “the sinner’s prayer.” The evangelist talks to the man and others who have come forward, and says, “You have been saved today, you now have eternal life. Don’t ever doubt this for a minute, and don’t let anyone tell you that you are not saved.” Not knowing what real salvation is, the man takes this word from the evangelist as true.

· As time goes along, the man does not stick with the Gospel, he goes back to his old ways; or, maybe he continues to outwardly identify with the church, and he does clean up his life a bit, but never grows in grace—there is never any positive evidence of a changed life.

· However, whatever the case, he never loses one thing—his assurance of salvation, duly given to him by the evangelist. The man dies, and wakes up in Hell—and he wonders, “What’s the deal?”

· Second Example

· A man is sitting under the preaching of God’s Word, and comes under powerful conviction. He goes forward and pours his heart out before the Lord.

· A counselor well trained in God’s Word sits with the man and explains carefully to him the way of salvation. The man sees his only hope to be Christ, and openly confesses Christ as Savior.

· The evangelist speaks to this man and to others who have responded, and tells them: “You have this day professed Christ as Savior. If this experience and confession is the real thing, the Holy Spirit lives in you, and through Him, God will change your life. Follow your Lord in Baptism, seek His word daily, become identified with a New Testament church, and grow in Grace.

· This man does all the above, and God changes his life. As he grows in grace, he becomes assured in his heart and soul that his salvation experience was the real thing.



1. Assurance

a. First, a few comments about assurance

(1) We are NEVER to give anyone absolute assurance. We can encourage, teach, and re-assure in the sense of helping a believer who is needlessly depressed, but we are NEVER to give absolute assurance of salvation. Assurance of salvation is a work of God wrought in the heart of a believer over a `period of growth in grace. Rom 5:1-5

1 Th 1:4-5 "knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God. 5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake."

2 Pet 1:1-12***

(2) There is never any Biblical assurance except through God’s grace, and through the Holy Spirit working holiness and perseverance in our lives—Rom 8:13-17

b. The Way to Assurance—19 "And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.

(1) What is “this?”—by the evidence of the test of love, which John has just taught us about.

(2) We know—ginosko, know by experience—“It is the mind’s knowledge by which the heart’s doubts may be silenced...” Stott

(3) Verb tense—future tense—we shall know

(4) Of the Truth—John will expand on this in 4:1-6, but if we are a believer, we are of the Truth

(a) Truth is of supreme importance in the Faith,
(b) This idea flies in the face of modern “Christianity,” but it is vital

· Contrary to the teachings and beliefs of human philosophers and occult religionists, Ultimate Truth exists.
· Truth is propositional, that means it is something we can put into words, phrases, and sentences that make sense.
· Biblical Truth is objective "TRUE" Truth.
· Truth is recorded in God's Word, which IS Truth.
· If you are a Christian, Truth is meant to be the focal point of your life .
· Truth is personified in Jesus Christ (Jn 14:6).



(5) Shall Assure—future tense, to make confident
(6) Hearts--consciences
(7) Before Him—in His presence (emphatic)
(8) Bottom line—we receive the blessing of assurance by our changed life—the marks of a believer, in this case the mark of love, are positive evidence of the reality of our salvation.

2 Pet 1:10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;

2. The Problem of Guilt and Conscience—

b. The Condemning Heart—20 For if our heart condemns us...”
(1) “If” here is better translated “whenever” (A.T. Robertson); the problems of guilt and doubt do occur from time to time.
(2) “Heart” here most likely refers to conscience. Conscience is that faculty that every human being has as a gift from God,; it is the tables of God’s law written on our heart, on our inner man.

Rom 2:14-15 "for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)"
(3) Conscience is one of our best friends—it is not infallible, and our conscience can lie to us, but you must always take the pangs of conscience seriously.

(4) “Condemn” means to hold something against someone (in your mind), it is literally “knowledge against.” Every believer doubts, every believer has guilt from time to time, and when that happens, it is because our heart, our conscience, is holding something against us.
(a) This can be a sin problem, that is, the guilt can be real and the heart’s condemnation can be beneficial to us.
(b) But, this can be a doctrinal problem—either ignorance of the Doctrine of justification by faith, or failure to apply the doctrine of justification in our life.
(c) If we are saved, and if the guilt is over past sins that have long ago been dealt with, or more recent sins that have likewise been put under the blood, we are surely facing false self-condemnation
(d) Or, it can be a false accusation from the enemy—it could be that the “Accuser of the brethren” is accusing us—Rev 12:10

c. The Source of the Solution—“... God is greater than our heart, and knows all things...”
(1) First, what a statement: God is greater than our heart…if that is not a real put-down, I don’t know what is! It reminds me of what God said to Job when God got tired of Job’s philosophical speculations: see Job 38:1 ff
(2) Second put-down, but gentler—God knows all things! The point? We are not God, and we don’t know what is going on most of the time, but God does.
(3) God provides assurance!

3. The Reassured Believer—“...21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God...”

a. “If” a third-class condition, an honest “if, then” statement.
b. The result of the assurance wrought in our lives by God is peace.

(1) When we are saved, we immediately have peace with God—Rom 5:1
(2) But the Peace of God is the result growth in discipleship and personal holiness—Phil 4:4-7

(a) Attitude—"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
(b) Lifestyle (remember, Jesus is our leader, we are the followers)—5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
(c) Trust—in the Lord—6 Be anxious for nothing,
(d) Seek God for your help—but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
(e) The results of this kind of lifestyle—7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

c. The Confidence that comes from Assurance.

(1) Heb 9:14 "how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

(2) Heb 10:19-22 "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."