Spiritual Growth and Assurance
Book of 1 John
Chapter 2:1-14
Have you noticed how
many lessons we see about spiritual growth? If we are not growing
spiritually every day, we are not just at a standstill, we are
actually going backwards.
Last week our lesson
was about being cleansed from sin and once we are cleansed from sin,
then we need to grow spiritually in our relationship with the Lord
Jesus Christ!
Remember because of
Adam and Eve we had lost fellowship with God! That fellowship can be
restored because of the work of Christ Jesus!
As long as we are in
these bodies of flesh made from the dust of this sinful world, we
will remain sinners. God knows this and through the Cross, when Jesus
died the veil of the Temple was rent in to and Jesus made a way for
us to enter into the throne room of God, where we can humbly go
before the Lord and ask Him to forgive us of our daily sins.
We are to do our
best to refrain from sin, but this is impossible while we are in this
sinful flesh!
What else has the
Lord done for us? He went back to Heaven to be our advocate!
*****1Jn 2:1 My
little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And
if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous:
We know that the
Holy Spirit is our Comforter while we live on this earth, but in
Heaven while we are still alive, we have an Advocate and this
Advocate is the Lord Jesus Christ!
The Holy Spirit is
here pleading our case to God while we are still in these bodies of
flesh and in Heaven's courtroom the Lord Jesus Christ is doing the
exact same thing!
As an Advocate, the
Lord Jesus pleads our cause to God the Father, defending us when we
do things out of ignorance to God's Laws.
Sometimes we may
intentionally do foolish things and we can be forgiven of those also,
but we will still suffer for those sins!
Jesus is our Owner
and He stands in our place before God the Father when we fail Him!
Remember God is not
a mean and hateful God, His name is Love.
Jesus is not guilty
of anything, yet He stands in our place because when we are washed in
His blood then we are also innocent of sin and pardoned of our past
life and Born Again into new Life!
Jesus is the only
person who can represent us before God the Father, there is no other
in Heaven and certainly no one upon this earth!
For whom does Jesus
plead? He pleads for His children. All those who have accepted Him as
their personal Savior.
We are the little
children because compared to all the people in the world, the true
Christian is among the smaller group!
Jesus does not plead
our innocence.
Jesus does not plead
our good works.
Jesus does not plead
our goodness.
Jesus does not plead
our righteousness.
Jesus pleads His own
righteousness as our Owner!
Rom 8:34 Who is he
that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen
again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us.
Rom 8:38 For I am
persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
How is this
possible?
*****1Jn 2:2 And he
is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for
the sins of the whole world.
It is because of the
shed blood of Jesus that we are at peace with God, and that peace can
never be changed to wrath because of the sacrifice of God's Dear Son!
Heb 2:17 Wherefore
in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that
he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining
to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
Heb 2:18 For in
that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour
them that are tempted.
Propitiation means
the death of the Lord Jesus Christ was the payment that satisfied God
the Father and made appeasement for all our sins. Not just those who
accept this truth but the sin of this entire world past, present, and
future!
It is the "Blood
of Jesus that has reconciled us to our Holy God!
The Lord Jesus
Christ has removed every barrier that was once between us and God the
Father!
The Lord Jesus
Christ is the beginning of every promise of God!
God the Father
required blood to be sacrificed for all our sin!
Heb 9:22 And almost
all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of
blood is no remission.
Not just any blood
would do! It took the pure, undefiled, sinless, blood of the Lamb of
God to wash away our sins!
Gen 22:8 And
Abraham said, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb" for
a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
God provided Himself
to be the Lamb that was to wash us from all our sin!
By the sin of Adam,
we were cut off from God!
God sacrificed
Himself so that we could be saved!
This is the meaning
of propitiation. A debt that none of us had the ability to pay, had
to be paid by God Himself!
It was God the
Father who had to be appeased.
It was God the Son
who provided that appeasement.
Jesus Christ covered
our sins with His own blood so our sin would be forever out of sight
of God the Father.
The only "type"
of propitiation in the Bible is the "Mercy Seat of God.
Heb 9:8 The Holy
Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not
yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
Heb 9:9 Which was a
figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts
and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect,
as pertaining to the conscience;
Because of the work
of Jesus Christ, we can now go before the Lord and claim that
"Mercy"!
Luk 18:13 And the
publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes
unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me
a sinner.
If we know all these
things, we should be keeping the commandments of God!
*****1Jn 2:3 And
hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
1Jn 2:4 He that
saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and
the truth is not in him.
How do we know we
love God? We keep His commandments without questioning them!
How do we show God
that we love Him, by being obedient to the things He has said!
We must walk in this
world as true believers, being obedient to the Word of God.
We must go before
the Lord everyday as sinners, to be washed from the sin and filth of
this world that we are in contact with every day.
We are justified
when we truthfully ask Jesus to come into our heart, but we are still
sinners saved only by His "Grace" until He comes to take us
home!
Our lives must be
centered around the fact that we know the Lord Jesus Christ as our
personal Savior.
God lives in the
Spiritual world that surrounds us.
We live in the
physical world separated from our Holy God.
God the Father sent
God the Son into this physical world, so that we to can one day be a
part of that Spiritual world with Him!
There is no one upon
this earth that has ever crossed over into the world of God except
the Lord Jesus Christ!
Joh 3:13 And no man
hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even
the Son of man which is in heaven.
To know the Lord in
truth is to have fellowship with Him and His Father!
To not keep His
commandments is to still walk in the darkness of this world!
Joh 8:42 Jesus said
unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded
forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43 Why do ye
not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44 Ye are of
your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He
was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh
of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Joh 8:45 And
because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
In order to know God
we must accept His Son and keep His commandments!
We must believe what
Jesus says!
As far as God the
Father is concerned, if we reject His Son then we have rejected Him
and continue to hold onto the lies of the Devil who has lied from the
beginning of his existence!
So how do we know if
we love the Lord? We keep His commandments. It's just that simple!
The more we walk
with the Lord the more we show God that we love Him!
It is impossible to
say we love God and then reject His commandments.
America is full of
those people today reject the truth of God, but say they are one of
His children.
The Holy Spirit says
they are all liars!
Mar 7:6 He answered
and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as
it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their
heart is far from me.
Mar 7:7 Howbeit in
vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of
men.
We must be obedient
to "all" the Word of God if we say we love Him!
*****1Jn 2:5 But
whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected:
hereby know we that we are in him.
1Jn 2:6 He that
saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he
walked.
Some would say from
the last passage that all we need do is just keep the 10 commandments
and that would be a great start, but the Holy Ghost says, do not be
mistaken we must keep all the Word of God!
Without this
obedience then the act of love is not in us.
Most people always
get the word love wrong. Love is an action word!
The only way to love
God is to get nearer to Him!
We must study Him.
We must learn all
about Him.
We must know His
will for us.
We must know His
nature.
We must know His
desires.
We must know His
wants.
We must know His
thoughts.
We must know how He
behaves.
These things should
be the same for anyone who says they love someone!
God shows us all
these things about Him, just so we can get up close and personal with
Him!
In the end this is
the most important decision we will ever make!
Rev 22:14 Blessed
are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the
tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
When we declare that
we are a child of God, then we need to be measured by God's
standards! That standard is Jesus Christ!
That word "ought"
says, every child of God is obligated to live according to the
written Word of God!
That word "ought"
says, we will willingly live as God says to live.
Rom 6:4 Therefore
we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was
raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we
have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be
also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6 Knowing
this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin
might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
These are things
that we know and accept because we love the Lord!
God has had this
same message since the time of Adam and Eve!
*****1Jn 2:7
Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment
which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word
which ye have heard from the beginning.
As the church, our
salvation is not bound up in the laws of Moses or we would say the
613 commandments given to the Jews.
The Word of God does
teach us that all the Word of God is to be used for our instructions
on living, rightly divided!
2Ti 3:16 All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the
man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
What we should know
is that all the Word of God is our love letter, and this is where the
Apostle John is leading us.
There are some Old
Testament laws that that never change even in the New Testament and
this what John is talking about.
Lev 19:17 Thou
shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise
rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
Lev 19:18 Thou
shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy
people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
The Lord Jesus
Christ simplified all those old laws and any new law!
Mat 22:37 Jesus
said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is
the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the
second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these
two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
It is this love that
will allow us to grow in "Grace" and "Knowledge"
of our God!
*****1Jn 2:8 Again,
a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in
you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
What we need to
understand is that, Jesus gave that word "love" a new
meaning:
Jesus said not only
love your brothers and sisters in Christ and in family, but also love
your enemies!
Jesus said to not
only love good people, but also bad people!
Jesus said not just
love the righteous, but also to love the sinner!
Jesus said not only
love those you accept, but also those you reject!
Jesus said if we are
striving for perfection then this is the meaning of love we should
understand!
Mat 5:43 Ye have
heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate
thine enemy.
Mat 5:44 But I say
unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to
them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you;
Mat 5:45 That ye
may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh
his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the
just and on the unjust.
Mat 5:46 For if ye
love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the
publicans the same?
Mat 5:47 And if ye
salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even
the publicans so?
Mat 5:48 Be ye
therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
It is hatred that
will lead us back into darkness!
*****1Jn 2:9 He
that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness
even until now.
1Jn 2:10 He that
loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion
of stumbling in him.
1Jn 2:11 But he
that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and
knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his
eyes.
How do we grow in
Christ?
It takes faith, so
we must believe in His works for our salvation!
We follow Christ in
believer's baptism.
We join a Bible
believing Church.
We join Christ in
the Lord's Supper.
We study the Words
of Christ.
We pray with Christ.
We live for Christ.
We tell others about
Christ.
But then, if for
some reason we allow hate to reenter into our heart for someone then
once again we are walking in darkness!
We must not allow
this to happen!
We must walk in the
love of God every day!
God is love, the
more we interact with God, the more our love will grow.
The more our love
grows, the more we will object to hatred.
1Th 3:12 And the
Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and
toward all men, even as we do toward you:
1Th 3:13 To the end
he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even
our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his
saints.
So if we want to be
unblameable when the Lord returns, then we need to be walking in the
love of Jesus Christ!
When we walk in
hatred we are walking in blindness, and in reality, we do not know
where we are going.
Whenever we walk
into a group of people, that hatred will walk in front of us and
immediately cause division. This walk is not of God!
Eph 4:17 This I say
therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as
other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
Eph 4:18 Having the
understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through
the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their
heart:
We must never walk
like the world walks, in blind hatred!
*****1Jn 2:12 I
write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you
for his name's sake.
1Jn 2:13 I write
unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the
beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the
wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known
the Father.
The Holy Ghost
begins His caution by writing to everyone in the Church.
These little
children are all the Saints of God, but here John means the Babes in
Christ.
The first thing we
realize upon our salvation our sins have been forgiven!
Rom 5:9 Much more
then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through him.
Rom 5:10 For if,
when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his
Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
In the Church there
should also be Spiritual Fathers not just the old saints of God, who
are mature in the things of God. These are those who have known God
and have been faithful to the Word of God since their salvation day.
In the Church we
always have a need for the young men who will be the Church, when the
old Saints have passed on to glory and they need to grow in the "Meat
of the Word" because they have overcome that wicked Satan!
In the Church there
are the little children and even they must be taught the truth of the
Scriptures.
Do not ever be
fooled, a small child can understand the truth of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the truth of Creation!
Spiritual growth is
required for all age groups and though these things mention males
they are also writing for Spiritual mothers and the young ladies in
the Church.
Not many Churches
would survive without Christian ladies!
The intent is that
we must all become rich in the knowledge of God!
2Pe_3:18 But grow
in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
*****1Jn 2:14 I
have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is
from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye
are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome
the wicked one.
Joh 4:24 God is a
Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in
truth.
God is a Spirit and
if we are created in God's image, then we must be a spirit also!
If this were not so,
we could have no communication with Him!
It is in our
spiritual strength that we must grow!
Our flesh is only a
tabernacle we will discard one day!
This is the
difference between mankind and the animal world!
We must grow
spiritually to get closer to God!
John is now reaching
out to those who have grown in the Lord.
These fathers are
those who have deep and rich knowledge of and have grown daily from
the day of their salvation.
It is these who know
that the best they can do to avoid sin and they will sometimes fail,
but the Lord Jesus will still defend us before God, but they cannot
use this as an excuse to sin more!
There is at no point
in our lives that we can let our guard down!
We must know for
sure where our strength comes from!
Php 4:13 I can do
all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Our young men must
become strong in the Lord and they must hold God's Word above the
things in the world!
Joh 8:31 Then said
Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word,
then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye
shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
We must not only
overcome the wicked one (the Devil), we must live as overcomers!
We must listen to
the Holy Spirit who is the power behind the Church!
Rev 2:7 He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To
him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is
in the midst of the paradise of God.
Rev 2:17 He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To
him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will
give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no
man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
Rev 3:6 He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Rev 3:13 He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Rev 3:22 He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Mat 13:43 Then
shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their
Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
If we are to grow in
the "Grace" and "Knowledge" of the Lord, we must
listen to what the Holy Spirit is teaching us, and use His
information to grow in Christ!
We must love the
Lord far above any love we have for this world!
Amen
Let's Pray!
