"But as many as received Him,
to them He gave the right to become
children of God, to those who
believe in His name;
who were born, not of blood, nor
of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God."
John 1:12-13
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Hello ladies! Let's pray....
"Holy Father God, thank You for a blessed Lord's day. Thank You for the giving of Your word where there is hope for those who believe. You alone are worthy of our adoration for You alone are holy and just. Make us holy, Lord, that we may serve You.
I seek the forgiveness of my sins this day, Lord, because I know it is my sin that keeps me from You. I pray that You will wash me clean from my iniquities and make me whole. I pray for a clean pure heart like Yours.
I pray for each lady here today. I pray that she will be blessed with every spiritual blessing for reading and studying Your word today. I pray that she will earnestly seek You every day. May she come to know the fullness of Christ more and more. I pray for her walk with You, Lord, and her time in Your word. May she reap much from Your Scriptures everyday.
In Jesus' name...amen."
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The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error
In today's lesson, we will continue to read about how Christians can know the Spirit of God and the spirit of the Antichrist.
During John's time, the Docetists were spreading a false gospel based on Christ's spirituality and not His humanity. They glanced over the fact that Jesus was indeed come in the flesh. So, John, being the ever faithful Christian, wanted to make sure believers understood that Jesus was in the flesh and that He died a man's death once and for all.
1 John 4:2-3
"By this you know the Spirit of God; Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world."
The denial of Jesus' humanity will resurface time and time again in our lifetime if you haven't already heard it, because to deny Christ's humanity is to deny His death. And to deny His death is to deny His resurrection and the need for His redeeming creation.
Please read:
1 Cor 12:3
Paul tell us that no one can claim Jesus is who He says He is unless it has been allowed by the Holy Spirit. Indeed, no one would claim Jesus as Lord and Savior unless they have been enlightened by the Holy Spirit.
Rom 10:17
Matt 16:17
Gal 1:15-17
Eph 2:8-10
2 Cor 4:5-7
Paul writes that it is the Lord God who gives us the "light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" and not of our own will.
So if we confess Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, it is not by our own power but by the gift of God.
For instance, take Paul's conversion:
Acts 9:1-9
Notice it was not Saul who sought out Christ. No! He was participating in the death's of Christians. It was Jesus who sought out Saul. He blinded spoke to him and blinded him.
Was Saul alone on the road to Damascus?
Acts 9:7
They heard the voice, but they did not see anyone. Jesus did not open their eyes.
What happened to Paul?
Acts 9:10-16
Saul was known for persecuting Christians and Ananias knew this. Yet God spoke and called Saul a "chosen vessel" to bear God's name and that he would suffer for Christ's Name sake.
Who would choose that for themselves???
So Saul became Paul, one of the greatest missionaries who walked the earth, and the gospel message was spread across many nations. And Paul suffered for Jesus' sake. But the other men who journeyed with him....they were not changed, the knowledge of the glory of God was not given to them.
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"And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is already in the world."
The last days, as I have written here in this study before, are upon us. John reminds us that these false gospels and doctrines will not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. You acen read about these many false teachings in books called "The Secret" or "The New Earth" in which sin is not mentioned....therefore no atonement was needed....and therefore Jesus did not die for our sins.
So, we can tell by world events and also by these false teachings that the last days are upon us.
Acts 2:17-21
Joel 2:28-32
Is 13:10-11
Is 44:3
Ezek 11:19
In Nathan's science class, his teacher is a Liberal who stresses the importance of protecting the environment. I wonder if she knows that there is a time soon when the Lord will turn our drinking water bitter and the oceans into blood and that 1/3 of all the sea creatures will perish and 1/3 of all the trees on the earth will die (Rev 8)??
What will she do then? Blame it on Global Warming? In her ignorance, that is all she will be able to do because she does not know God.
That is what the Antichrist will do....mislead everyone into thinking the phenomenom isn't of God but of man.
But those of us who know God and His word know that His time of punishing the world for the evil of man is coming.
2 Thess 2:1-4
Rev 13:11-18
The time is coming, but as Paul wrote in 2 Thess 2, we are not to be shaken in mind or troubled because all these things must come before the Lord comes again. Instead of being scared or concerned, we should rejoice because the Lord is coming soon.
John wants his readers to remember these things so that they are not led astray. We would be wise to heed these things as well so that we will be ready. 1 John was written that we may know.....having that assurance, that comfort in knowing gives us that peace.
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Life Application
There is nothing worse than not knowing something! I often tell students who say they want to be teachers that "you cannot teach what you do not know" and it is so true!
We all find comfort in knowing something. Confusion brings doubt and fear. The Lord made us in His image, so we have that desire to know things. Because the Lord us gracious, He provided a way for us to know Him and to know what will come.
Deut 29:29
But notice that the Lord has not revealed everything to us. I, personally, do not want to know everything that the Lord knows. I trust in Him and His wisdom because it is infinite and limitless.
There is nothing funnier or sweeter than walking into a classroom of kindergartners as their substitute teacher and seeing their little confused and scared faces! You, as their sub, have interrupted their strict schedule, their routine....and so panic ensues! I spend most of the time explaining to them that their teacher will be back soon.
That is how we are as believers. When our routine gets messed up then panic ensues. But if we stay in the Lord's word daily, when that strange blip on our radar screen happens, or that wrench gets dropped into our finely tuned engine, we do not have to panic. We will trust in the Lord that everything will work out in the end for His glory.
Mediate on Deut 29:29 today. Those things which the Lord revealed to you belong to YOU! Take possession of the things of the Lord. Take them with you today and rejoice in all that He has chosen to reaveal to you. Praise Him.
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Until next time,
"Why do we tend to get anxious about food and clothing? Because there are three things that we would lose if we didn't have food or clothing. First, we would lose some pleasures. Afterall, food tastes good. Second, we would lose some human praise and admiring glances if we didn't have nice clothes. Third, we would possibly lose our life if we had no food at all or weren't proteced from the cold. So, the reason we get anxious about food and clothing is because we do not want to lose physical pleasure or human praise or life. To this fear, Jesus responds: If you are gripped by anxiety over these things, you have lost sight of the greatness of life. Life was not given primarily for physical pleasures, but for something greater- the enjoyment of God (Luke 12:21)."
-John Piper (What Jesus Demands from the World, 2006, p115)
Blessings,
Ruth
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