Guarding and Maintaining Relationships

Eph 5:1-7

5:1 Walk in Love

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. 3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.

NKJV

Relationships hold the greatest value to God and are highest on Satan’s list to target for destruction. In 2 Corinthians 2:10 -11, we see that uncertainties about our forgiveness toward offending brothers can leave a door open for the devil to take advantage and abort the process of restoration.

If we are to be imitators of God, as a child would imitate his father, we must follow the example of God’s son, Jesus Christ. He freely gave himself as an offering, a sacrifice with a sweet smelling aroma. Fornication, uncleanness and covetousness had no part in His life and should not even be considered among those who are His saints. Filthiness, foolish talk and coarse jesting found no place in His vocabulary: it was filled with goodness, thankfulness and encouragement. Let’s not be deceived; not all who claim an inheritance as children of God will receive the kingdom, but only those who are like Him. All those who follow after promiscuous, filthy, and covetous men, who are in fact idolaters, will partake of the reward of the wicked. They will not inherit the kingdom of God; His wrath will come upon them. So, let us flee from all these things lest we be partakers with them.

The bottom line is that God loves the aroma of a sacrifice that is given up to save, restore or protect relationships. But acts of sexual immorality, uncleanness and idolatry, coupled with foolish speech and degrading comments toward others, are destructive to the very relationships that He paid so great a price to redeem. Those who practice these things are offering up relationships as sacrifices, enjoying the aroma of the destructive flame, while sending up a stench into the nostrils of God.

Eph 5:8-14

8 Walk in Light

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9(for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says:

"Awake, you who sleep,

Arise from the dead,

And Christ will give you light."

NKJV

Now that you have stepped out of the darkness and into the light of the Lord, walk in His light. Only in the light will you bear the fruit of the Spirit, goodness, righteousness and truth and be able to discern what is acceptable to the Lord. Walking in the light will remove those who hide in darkness from your fellowship; in fact, it will expose them for who they really are. You will, not only want to avoid their company, but the shameful things they do in secret will not enter into your conversation. The light not only exposes the acts of sin, but evil thoughts and words as well.

We are no longer children of the darkness; we are now of the light. It is time to wake up and arise from the dark grave and come into the light of Christ.

Our relationship with God, and His children, must be in the light. There can be no mixing with darkness because the two have no fellowship, or communion, one with another. (See 2 Corinthians 6: 14-15) Fruitfulness requires light. Darkness only provides a hiding place for evil’s destructive work.

Eph 5:15-21

15 Walk in Wisdom

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

NKJV

Be careful how you walk; spend your valuable time wisely, not allowing evil to claim even one minute. The unwise spend their time foolishly and will not understand what the will of the Lord is. You that are wise know that too much wine will lead to a wasted life of drunkenness and debauchery, under the control of alcohol. Let us rather become regular partakers of the Holy Spirit, filled until we overflow with songs and hymns, even spiritual songs that result in an inner melody from our hearts to the Lord. Overflowing with thankfulness to God the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, results in a holy fear of God and a willingness to submit to one another in love.

We need the infilling of the Holy Spirit, regularly, to walk with wisdom and light. Darkness has the ability to present itself as light by using half truth. We need the Holy Spirit’s guidance into all truth. Remembering that relationships are of utmost value to God, and are Satan’s number one target, makes us aware that he will use what appeals to human flesh in order to lead us astray into darkness. Those who indulge in too much wine are easily led to defile relationships through foolish talk, sexual immorality and covetousness. All the sins listed in the previous verses can more easily manifest in the lives of those who practice drunkenness. The bottom line again is: avoid anything that threatens holy relationships and be willing to sacrifice temporary, earthly pleasures, protecting that which has eternal value.

THE LORD’S SUPPER

1 Corinthians 11:17-22

Conduct at the Lord's Supper

Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. 20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Institution of the Lord's Supper

(Matt 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-23)

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.

1 Corinthians 11:27-34

Examine Yourself

Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

33 Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.

NKJV

The apostle Paul found it necessary to correct the Corinthian church concerning their observance of the Lord’s Supper. Paul heard that there were divisions and factions among them. They managed to segregate God’s family, according to their differences in the natural, disregarding the unity of the Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, those who were baptized in the Spirit became one in heart and mind, counting nothing they possessed as their own, but had all things in common. Just a few years later, the Corinthian church showed no signs of being in one accord, in one place, but had become self centered.

What they called the Lord’s Supper no longer resembled what Jesus demonstrated and instituted. This was to be a covenant meal, demonstrating the willingness of all participants to lay down their lives for their brothers and sisters. Covenant with God, basically, is an agreement that places everything that each one has at the disposal of the other and is available to defend them against the enemy. God of course has no lack or need of anything, but asks for our participation anyway. When Lot and his family were captured in the attack on the city of Sodom, Abraham used all at his disposal to go after and retrieve everything that was stolen. Lot was not just Abraham’s nephew, but was part of a family covenant with God. Abraham had faith in God’s promise to be involved, with all at His disposal, to defend his family; thereby he was able to defeat armies with only a couple hundred men. They not only brought back Lot and his household, but all the people of the city with their goods. Abraham boldly acted, counting on God’s agreement to be involved in the recovery of Lot and his family, as part of the covenant.

Jesus demonstrated by His broken body and shed blood that He put His all in harm’s way, even to death, to capture and save all that had been stolen by His enemy, Satan. It was the most selfless act ever demonstrated on this earth: one that He now wants us to show forth or portray regularly until He returns. Eating of His body (bread), and drinking of His blood (wine), demonstrates our willingness to become one with Him in heart and mind: valuing what He values, placing all we have, even our very lives, on the line just as He did, that others might have abundant life.

Every time we eat the bread and drink the cup of the Lord, we proclaim, and prophetically display, the Lord’s selfless act of death, in remembrance of Him, until He comes again. Therefore, if we partake in an unworthy manner, we are guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. The word unworthy refers to the actions, not the person; it does not refer to the value or worth of a soul, but the unequal manner in which His death is portrayed. The most selfless act on earth can not be demonstrated through selfishness and division.

The actions of the Corinthians were contrary to those of Christ: they resembled more the mockery of those who put Him to death. Many of the Corinthians were weak and sick, some had even gone to an early grave, because they did not discern or understand the implication of their actions. Jesus’ body received judgment and was condemned in our place: the innocent in stead of the guilty. All selfishness and sin was placed on Jesus, it was judged and condemned on the cross. But, if we are walking in selfishness (sin) and partake of His body in a covenant meal, we will eat and drink of the judgment and condemnation that was placed on Him. Instead of receiving the blessings that belong to the family of God, we partake of the judgment for sin that was placed on Jesus body.

The church is now considered the body of Christ and we are all members of that body. If we consider others as unimportant, or selfishly ignore them, it is a sign that we are not discerning the body of Christ. In the following chapter, I Corinthians 12, Paul speaks of the body having many parts that God has placed in order, as it has pleased Him. He says that we cannot say we have no need of the other parts; just as the hand cannot do without the eye, neither can we function properly without all the members in their place.

God’s judgment is not for the purpose of condemning us with the world but to correct us and get us back on track. We must learn to judge our own actions to determine if we are considering the body of Christ as one, in the unity of the Spirit.

1John 5: 13-21

13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

John did not write just to inform us about God’s love, His Son, or eternal life, but that we might know based on the evidence he has given us. With this hard evidence we will continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. When scripture describes a love relationship that we are already experiencing, it is a confirming witness that we are His children.

14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

Knowing produces confidence. When we know His will, we know what to ask for and that He hears us: then we know that we have the answer to our request. Knowing comes through abiding in Him.

16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

If we know that a fellow believer is lacking complete victory, but is not making a practice of sin, we should intercede for that one, asking God to restore him with overcoming life. The one who has repeatedly hardened his heart to correction, and has made a practice of his sin, is headed for death, so do not pray life for him. Though all sin is punishable by death, some are gaining ground toward the victorious life through repentance, while others’ hearts are being further hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, choosing to continue toward a dead end.

There are some examples in scripture of people who got into a death trap. Sampson played around with sin until he was caught in the trap of the enemy. Though God had mercy on him, empowering him to destroy his enemies, he died along with them. His life was cut short by many years because of his sin. It appears that, once a believer goes so far into practicing sin, God allows him to be trapped in the hope that he will then turn back toward life; yet, God will sometimes let their flesh be destroyed that their soul might be saved.

There was such a man spoken of in 1 Corinthians 5. Paul told them to turn the immoral man over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh that his soul might be saved. God must judge sin beginning, especially, in the house of God. There were those who were evidently partaking of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy, self centered manner which led to sickness, and even death, among them. See 1 Corinthians 11:30. In both of these instances Paul mentions God’s judgment was taking place.

In Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira, his wife, both came under the judgment of God for lying about their financial dealings. This portion of scripture has few details but we must conclude this was not their first lie or deceptive offering but that they had developed a hard heart toward the truth. God is truth, and they did not know or practice Godliness.

Peter did not pray life for them, but judgment. We have to know the mind of the Spirit in order to pray for people in these situations.

18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

Everyone who is born of God has been given the authority of His family name to keep himself from the trap of the wicked one and to defeat habitual sin by that authority. This powerful name is not available to those who are of the world because the wicked one still has them under his authority. Those who choose to habitually sin do not to stand in the authority given them; they have allowed sin to, again, be their master.

20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

The Son of God has come and has opened our understanding to know Him as truth. Abiding in Him, and in the truth, assures us of eternal life. In John 8: 31-32, Jesus said

"If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

John’s closing comment is to keep away from idols. We usually think of an idol as a statue or graven image but it can also apply to mental images. Envisioning something in a covetous manner is a form of idolatry. Anything that takes our eyes and our affection away from the one true God is an idol. Colossians 3:5

1John 5: 1-12

1John 5: 1-12

Obedience by Faith

1Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 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.

Coming into God’s family requires faith, believing and trusting that Jesus is the Christ, is our entrance. God’s family love naturally causes us to love the children of God and keeping His commandments are joyous, not burdensome. Love for God’s family is a sort of birthmark, as evidence, upon all who are begotten of Him.

4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Our birth into God’s Family means we have an advantage over all those on the outside.

The power of the world’s influence to form thought patterns and actions has been broken for those who submit to Christ. Those who are born of God overcome the influence of this world through Christ by faith. We are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Romans 12:2. We have the mind of Christ Jesus, the one who overcame the world. John 16:33

The Certainty of God's Witness

6This is He who came by water and blood — Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.

7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

The Father sent His Son Jesus, the Word, to take upon Himself flesh and blood submitting to both life and death in human form being anointed with the Holy Spirit of truth. All three; the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit had a part in this incarnation of the Christ. These three in heaven agreed and conceived salvations plan that has been revealed on earth.

Earth must come into agreement with heaven and every truth must be confirmed by the word of two or three witnesses. 1 Corinthians 13:1. The truth of heaven is confirmed on earth by the Spirit, the water and the blood, all three agree as one. Each of these three play a vital part in our salvation. The Spirit draws men to Christ, the blood of Christ cleanses and saves us and baptism in water speaks of burying our old man of sin to then rise up and walk in newness of life.

9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.

We might believe what men say but believing what God says is much more important. God’s testimony is that He sent His Son and all who believe in Him shall have life. Those who have believed and received the Son of God will have an inner witness to know what is from God. Those who do not believe God’s testimony concerning His Son Jesus have counted Him as a liar, thus excluding themselves from life.

11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Our testimony is that God has given us eternal life through receiving His Son. When we invited Him in eternal life entered, but those who would not receive Him do not have eternal life.

1 John 4:7-21

Knowing God Through Love

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

These statements concerning love must be understood from the context of God’s (agape, in the Greek) love. I am sure the vast majority of unbelievers and those who would not claim to be born of God would argue that they love others, especially their own families. God’s love is God Himself and those who live, or abide, in God will live and walk in His love. Those who do not know God cannot live and walk in His love because they have not yet made access to Him.

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.

God put His great love on display by sending His Son to restore our access to His love and life through His Son Jesus.

10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

It was not our love for God that motivated Him to send His Son to die and pay the price for our sins, but it was His love for us. This is how God’s love is distinguished from human love: while we were in rebellion, our backs turned to Him, He pursued us.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Are we loving those who do not love us? Jesus said that it is easy to love and do good to those who love us and could return the favor, but even sinners do that. To stand out as God’s children, we must love and do good to the ungrateful, expecting nothing in return. Our thanks and reward will be stored up for us in heaven. See Luke 6:30-36.

Seeing God Through Love

12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

Though we are not able to look upon God with our natural eyes, He is revealed to us by His creation. How could anyone say that they love God, yet despise a brother who has been made in the very image of God? If we love one another like He loves us, it proves that God lives in us and that His love is in complete control of us.

13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

God sent His Spirit to live in our spirits so that we could live in His Spirit, thus making us one with Him. When we invited Him to sit on the throne of our lives, He also invited us to sit with Him in His.

14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

God sent His Holy Spirit to reveal His Son, Jesus, to us, in us, and through us. Our confession of Jesus as the Son of God must be more than words, it must be a lifestyle of doing the works of Jesus. Confession must have corresponding action to be true. In the mouth of two or more witnesses every truth must be confirmed. Our words are one and our actions are the second witness.

16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Our spiritual life is inseparable from God. As earth’s atmosphere provides everything necessary to sustain life in the natural, God’s love and presence create the necessary atmosphere to sustain us spiritually. Our spirit man must breathe in, as it were, the Spirit of God, then eat and drink the word and the living water.

The Consummation of Love

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. 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.

In previous verses, John spoke of the boldness and assurance that those who walk in love would have to enter His presence and to receive the requests that they ask of Him. Now he speaks of the judgment day in a similar way. Love has been perfected, or made complete, in us when love’s desire and mission have been accomplished. God’s love judged and punished His innocent Son in our place and provided innocence for us, equal standing with the risen Christ at the right hand of the Father even while we are yet in this world. Jesus’ love for His bride fully consumed Him and love’s mission was accomplished. When love has fully consumed us, there is no room left for tormenting fear. The process of maturing in love includes self examination: judging ourselves here, in this life, that we will not fear that final judgment day.

19 We love Him because He first loved us.

We can only love God and others the way that He does as we receive His love. Without His love, we are an empty vacuum desiring to be filled. By nature, we usually seek fulfillment with the things offered by this world. His love has already been poured out. It endlessly flows toward us all: we only have to open up and receive it.

Obedience by Faith

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.

Jesus summed up the whole law and the prophets in these two commandments. Love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind and, love your neighbor as yourself. The two go together; we cannot truly love God if we do not love our neighbor. Some of us may have a problem loving self which will keep us from rightfully loving anyone else. We must loose our old identity, as a child of Adam, and grasp our new identity, as a child of God. It requires faith to see that which does not readily appear. Though my Adamic nature may rear its ugly head now and then, I must believe, by faith, that I am a new creation in Christ and focus on what God is making new in me.

1John 3:21— 4:6

Love Builds Confidence

21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in the presence of God.

This verse is a continuation of the thought in the previous verses. If we love one another not only in word but actively, if we have shared of this world’s goods with those in need then we can confidently stand in God’s presence and our hearts will not condemn us. Those who only hear without doing the word have deceived themselves, see James 1:22.

22 Whatever we request we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

Doing all the things God has commanded us to do not only allows us to stand before

Him confidently, but we can be sure that we will have the request we ask of Him.

When our heart’s desire is the same as His, we will love one another and we will

have what we ask for because we do not ask to consume it selfishly. See James 4:3.

23 And this is his commandment: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.

Believing is just as important as doing. All is done in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and for His glory. We must always remember that without Him we can do nothing: we have no righteousness of our own. He always empowers the believer to do, or keep, His commandments; loving God and one another are at the top of the list.

24 The person who keeps his commandments abides in God, and God abides in him. This is how we can be sure that he remains in us: he has given us his Spirit.

Those who abide in, or are vitally connected to, God, through the Holy Spirit, have tapped into His power, which enables us to keep the commandments. This is the evidence that God lives and remains in us because we know that, without His Holy Spirit remaining in us, we could not keep His commandments. Love for one another

identifies us as Jesus’ disciples. See John 13:35.

Testing the Spirits

4:1 Dear friends, stop believing every spirit. Instead, test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Many false teachers and prophets are in the world, so we must be able to discern the true from the false. John says: test the spirits to prove if they are from God. The one from God will speak by the authority of the Holy Spirit but false teachers speak from a counterfeit spirit.

1Co 12:3 Therefore, I want you to know that no one who is speaking by God's Spirit

can say, "Jesus is cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy

Spirit.

4:2 This is how you can recognize God's Spirit: Every spirit who acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.

Those who speak on behalf of God will testify to the fact that Jesus Christ was, and is, God and that He came in the flesh. Jesus, the Word, became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory.

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. We gazed on his glory, the kind of glory that belongs to the Father's unique Son, full of grace and truth.

4:3 But every spirit who does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist. You have heard that he is coming, and now he is already in the world.

Jesus Christ: God taking on human flesh, living a sinless life then dying for the sins of all mankind, stripped the kingdom of darkness of its power and authority. Jesus disarmed principalities and powers, revealing their true identity. All who believe and confess Jesus as Lord and Christ will be removed from the power of the kingdom of darkness and positioned into the Kingdom of God’s Son. The kingdom of darkness and the spirit of antichrist only have power in darkness. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. The spirit of antichrist can not acknowledge Jesus as Lord, and God manifested in the flesh, because darkness cannot shine forth true light. The spirit of antichrist will only acknowledge Jesus as equal with other men, not God in human flesh.

4:4 Little children, you belong to God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

The Greater One, the Holy Spirit, resides in everyone who believes in, acknowledges, and confesses Jesus Christ as Lord. The believer has been placed on higher ground and has the overcoming advantage of that position. Our enemy is under our feet because of our position not because of our own crafty efforts in battle.

4:5 These people belong to the world. That is why they speak from the world's perspective, and the world listens to them.

4:6 We belong to God. The person who knows God listens to us. Whoever does not belong to God does not listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.

Previously, John spoke of identifying a spirit of error but now he brings it down to a

personal level. People of the world are tuned in, so to speak, to the spirit of the world

which is of antichrist. God’s people are tuned into the Holy Spirit’s broadcast on

the frequency of heaven. We can tell those who are listening to the spirit of error

because they are consumed with the cares of life and the things of this world. Those

who are tuned into God’s Spirit will agree with Him and with us. Their focus is on

eternal things above, using the resources of this temporary life to lay up treasures in

heaven, where the natural corruption of this world cannot devalue and the thief cannot

break in and steal.

1John 3:11-20

11 This is the message that you have heard from the beginning: We should

love one another.

The gospel message that was preached from the beginning was: God so loved that He gave His only Son, that all should come into His family as sons, children of God, that love one another with the love of God.

12 Do not be like Cain, who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's were righteous.

Cain’s hatred for his brother was over the issue of righteousness. Cain’s attitude and actions were of the evil one. Genesis 4 tells the story of the two brothers presenting their offerings to the Lord. Abel’s offering, most likely a lamb, was received and respected by God but Cain’s offering, from the fruit of his garden, was rejected.

I believe this offering to the Lord was to speak as a prophetic drama of the offering of Christ the Lamb of God for the sin of mankind. Cain presented fruit from cursed ground that required much toil and the sweat of the brow. Abel brought the first born of his flock as an offering, which spoke of Christ, the first born Son, who shed His blood for the sins of many. Cain’s offering declared that, by toil and sweat, man could pay for his own sin. In other words, Cain was saying that he did not need a savior but that enough hard work would make up for the failure in man. Abel’s offering spoke of trusting in the work of Christ to save man from sin.

Abel was righteous because he trusted in the offering of Christ, while Cain remained unrighteous because he trusted in his own efforts to conquer sin. Cain became very depressed and angry at being rejected, but the Lord told Cain that he must learn to master sin or it would be his master.

13 So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you.

Brothers, sisters, family of God, do not be surprised by the opposition and hatred from that same spirit that was in Cain which remains in the whole world today. We who are righteous by trusting in the work of Christ on the cross will cause an anger to rise up those of the world and the evil one. Those, especially, who have a form of godliness but lack the fruit of righteousness, which is love, a holy life and a willingness to die for a brother or sister, not to murder them.

14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love one another. The person who does not love remains in death.

It takes God’s love to love others. The children of the world are under the curse of sin and death and do not have God’s love at work in, and through, them. They remain in death because sin continues to work death in them. The evidence that proves we have passed from death unto life is that we love one another.

15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him.

Those who have eternal life want everyone to live; to end a life would be contrary to the eternal life that is within us. A murderer does not have the life and love of God

controlling them, so they do the works of their evil father.

16 This is how we have come to know love: Christ gave his life for us. We, too, ought to give our lives for our brothers.

God’s love in us is evidenced by our willingness to give up our own life for others, just as Jesus Christ did for us. There is a special bond of love through unity in the body of

Christ, but there is also a love for the lost.

Rom 5:7-8 For it is rare for anyone to die for a righteous person, though somebody might be brave enough to die for a good person. But God demonstrates his love for us by the fact that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.

17 Whoever has earthly possessions and notices a brother in need and yet

withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God remain in

him?

God’s love, at work in us, motivates us to lay down our lives for our brothers and

sisters. That includes giving of our earthly possessions to meet a need if it is in our

power to do so. God’s love will remain in those who give it away because we will reap

what we sow.

18 Little children, we must stop loving in word and in tongue, but instead love in action and in truth.

Our faith must be more than a confession; it must have action as well. James 2:20

says: faith without works is dead. Faith believes that God is our source: we need not

look upon what we have as if it were given us totally for our own consumption

because every part or member of the body of Christ is part of us; we are one.

19 And this is how we will know that we belong to the truth and how we

will be able to establish our hearts in his presence.

Our acts of love, meeting the needs of others, is the evidence that we are walking in

the truth and, therefore, we will have boldness to stand in His presence.

20 If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows

everything.

If we have somehow failed to love the way God loves, our heart may condemn us or

we might feel guilty when we read this portion of scripture, but God is greater than

out guilty heart. He knows us better than we know ourselves and doesn’t give up on

us. Therefore we should not allow condemnation to remain but remember that God is merciful, giving us another opportunity to get it right.