Review 1 John 2:15-29…
      - Believers stood secure against the false teaching of the antichrists because of three sources of strength.
      1) They had the anointing of the Holy Spirit. This provided the capacity to understand spiritual things (v. 20).
      2) They had made a personal commitment to the Christian message (vv. 24–25).
      3) They lived in union with Jesus Christ (v. 28). 
 
- Ayden Fisher – Who is his daddy? Why do you know this? What affirms this? What is Ayden going to be like when he grows up? Do we know fully what his future will be? What two parts do you, as believers, see in Ayden? (Earthsuit & spiritual being). Which one is eternal?
 
1 JOHN 3
1 See (look, pay attention to, concern oneself with, understand, experience) what great love (agape – sacrificial love, fellowship, love feast) the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children—and we are!

• Not only are we “called children of God” but we are! Claim it! Live it!
• John is writing this letter to affirm the identity of Christians as God’s children.
• All who believe in Jesus are actually, truly, children of God.
• John emphasizes our adoption as God’s children multiple times in this passage because it is such a significant reality.
• We are told to see, in faith, this reality of God’s love that has been so freely given to us. 

The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know him. 2 Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure.

• John is talking about behavior.
• People are not purifying themselves in their hearts.
• God has given believers a new heart and nature.
• Instead, John talks about Christians living from their new nature and identity as God’s children.
• Christians have every power to live pure and righteous lives.
• But these righteous lives come not from following rules and regulations but from trusting in the person and character of Jesus Christ.
• Romans 8:23 (NLT) - 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.[1]
• Philippians 3:21 (NLT) - He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.[2]

4 Everyone who commits (practices – NASB) sin practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

• Unbelievers practice sinful behavior.
• This sinful behavior is total and complete chaos when compared to the peaceful fruit of the Spirit.

5 You know that he was revealed so that he might take away sins, and there is no sin in him.

• In contrast to the Old Testament sacrifices which only acted to cover sins, Jesus actually took away all sins by His own death.
• The believer’s sins are completely taken away.
• This means that there is no divine judgment for the believer.
• God will never bring up our sins because He remembers them no more (Hebrews 8:12).
• Therefore, Judgment Day for the Christian is not a reflection on our past sins.

6 Everyone who remains in him does not sin (keep on sinning – NIV); everyone who sins (continues to sin – NIV) has not seen him or known him.

• I John 1:8 - If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.[3]
• The question is not, “Does he sin?” but, “Does he make sin a habit?”

7 Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

• Why is that? It is the new nature of the redeemed.

8 The one who commits sin (practices – NASB) is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s works.

• Even before Genesis 3.

9 Everyone who has been born of God does not (practice – NASB) sin (continue to sin – NIV), because his seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, (he cannot go on sinning – NIV) because he has been born of God.

• Whereas unbelievers practice sinfulness, believers practice righteousness.
• This does not mean that believers never sin.
• It does, however, mean that they are practicing how to live righteously as opposed to practicing how to sin.
• This is because we have been fundamentally changed at the cores of our beings.
• We have been set free from the old sinful nature and enslaved to the new nature of righteousness (see also Romans 6:18).
• This is what it means that God’s seed remains within His children.
• We are born of God and are no longer of the world.
• Therefore, we are not predisposed towards the ways of the world.
• There is a trend within believers that has been reversed.
• If we are in Christ, we will have trouble sinning.
• Christians are no longer good at sinning.
• When we become Christians, the battle with sin begins because of this reality.
• The fact that a battle exists within us is proof of our new natures.
• Romans 6:6 – For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin,[4]
• Ephesians 4:22 - to take off, your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires,[5]

10 This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister.

• All who are in Christ love Christians.
• This does not mean that we like everyone, but it means that we love and affirm the Christian’s identity in Christ.

 
LOVE IN ACTION
11 For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another, 12 unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

• These are choices they made based upon what they believed.
• At this point, Abel was only credited with righteousness… similar to Abraham in Genesis
• - Abram believed the Lord, and He

 credited it to him as righteousness.

• Love does not do harm to its neighbor.
• Christians love fellow believers at the cores of their beings.
• Therefore, we are to express this love in behavior.

13 Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life

• 2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come![6]

because we love our brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death.

• Loving Christians is a sign that we have been truly saved.
• Not only are we completely forgiven but we have been given new life.
• This new life manifests in love for fellow believers.
• Whoever does not love Christians abides in spiritual death and needs eternal life in Christ.
• This is the core issue with humanity: People need eternal life, not perfected moral living.

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

• This is an identity issue – identified with sin, Cain, Adam, death, etc.
• John is speaking of those who are inherently murderers, or those who are still enslaved to sin.
• Paul had a history of murdering Christians.
• Likewise, the thief on the cross had a rather difficult past.
•  But both experienced a nature change through the grace of Christ.

16 This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

• There is no atoning value in this like Christ’s death for us, but it is the supreme proof of who we have become in Christ.
• Christians are to receive the servant love of Jesus and transmit it to fellow believers.
• This does not mean having poor relational boundaries where we never say “No.”
• But it does mean that we have the chance to love one another as Christ loves us.
• If this love is absent, then we have not crossed from death to life.

17 If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him—how does God’s love reside in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.

• Agape love
•       The Message – 17 If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.[7] (ZING)
• Love is to be tangible.
• Love is not simply words but actions.
• This loving action assures our hearts that we are God’s children and are in Christ.
• When we see love coming from us, we can know that we have passed from death to life.
• Our hearts, or consciences, can condemn us even if God does not condemn us.
• This is why John affirms that God is greater than our hearts.
• His realities transcend any negative emotion or flavor of shame that we experience.

19 This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and will reassure our hearts before him

• NIV – 19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence:[8]

20 whenever our hearts condemn us (pass judgment); for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows all things.
21 Dear friends, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have confidence before God

• The Message – 21 And friends, once that’s taken care of and we’re no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we’re bold and free before God![9]

22 and receive whatever we ask from him because we keep his commands and do what is pleasing in his sight.

• This is not naming and claiming certain things in life.
• God is answering our prayers based on His New Covenant commands: believe in Jesus and love one another (1 John 3:23).
• He wants us to believe more fully and to love relentlessly.
• He will always help us to grow and mature in our faith in these ways. This is God’s will for us in Christ.

23 Now this is his command: that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps his commands remains in him, and he in him. And the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he has given us. [10]

• If we have believed in Christ, we are one with the Holy Spirit.
• He has poured His love into our hearts (see Romans 5:5) and has therefore made us to keep His commandments perpetually within our new natures.[11]​

[1] Tyndale House Publishers. 2015. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers. 2015. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[3] Tyndale House Publishers. 2015. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Peterson, Eugene H. 2005. The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.
[8] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[9] Peterson, Eugene H. 2005. The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.
[10] Christian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[11] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. 1 John 3.

What do you need to know? – You will not avoid temptation… Jesus said, “Satan comes to kill, steal, and destroy… I came that you might have life.”
         - Even Jesus was tempted.
         - He understands our temptation.
Temptation – Brain – stores behavior patterns that were established before you were redeemed and even after you have been redeemed.
 - The power of sin sends thoughts to your mind based upon stimulus and behavior patterns that have been stored in your brain.
 - Then the battle takes place in your mind. These thoughts versus the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). The good news is that you do not generate these thoughts… you can’t.
Romans 6:12-14 - Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. 13 And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. 14 For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.[1]
The church in Philippi is being tempted on losing their unity.
Philippians 4:2-3 - I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I also ask you, true partner, to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the book of life.[2]
​
LIGHTS IN THE WORLD
PHILIPPIANS 2
12 Therefore, my dear friends (?... tough guy turned tender), just as you have always obeyed, (we live in a culture that it is cool to be disobedient… to be different… Greek: shut up and do what you are told… Obey them…. Requires humility) so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence (been gone about 4 years), work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God who is working in you (Sabbath rest) both to will and to work according to his good purpose.
 - Paul is writing to people who are already “saints” (Phil. 1:1), which means they have trusted Christ and have been set apart for Him.
 - The verb “work out” carries the meaning of “work to full completion,” such as working out a problem in mathematics.
 - In Paul’s day it was also used for “working a mine,” that is, getting out of the mine all the valuable ore possible; or “working a field” so as to get the greatest harvest possible.[3]

 (The doctrine of regeneration… New Covenant is where God took out your heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh… Changed from the inside out… new creation… new nature… new desires
Ezekiel 36:26 - I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.[4]
God does a good work in you… it is the indwelling Spirit that is working within you…
It is a joyous life… not you having to do something that you don’t want to do.
We don’t do anything… God makes a Christian… Jesus did that by being a sinless person who died for our sins… I didn’t do anything but trust… A gift of grace…
Sanctification…
God gives you a new nature so live according
God gives you new desires so feed them
God gives you new gifts so serve in ministry
God gives you the power of the Holy Spirit so live in accordance… not of your own strength
Colossians 1:10 (The Message) - We pray that you'll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work.
In humbleness I recognize my limitation and danger in knowing anything of Greek, but in looking at the text I think it is a far misrepresentation in this passage for one to interpret that God is proud of us.
It is amazing to see the liberty of the paraphrase here in Colossians 1:10. He is pleased in us...as we are in Christ.  And it pleases Him when His children walk worthy of the family name in the Savior, yet there is no commendation to us!  And in that good pleasure He has called us to 'walk worthy' and to prove His good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12: 2).  
The emphasis here is certainly on us to walk, bear fruit and grow - thereby pleasing God as we live by faith.
 - And the means by which we do that is completely impossible if it is not for the Spirit He placed in us.
 - How marvelous are His works and His plan and the gift of His Spirit.
Pride/proud – 2 Corinthians 5:12 - We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may have a reply for those who take pride in outward appearance rather than in the heart.[5]
Christian life is not we need to stop doing certain things but we need to start learning what it means to be.
Because God is at work in us… it changes our will… which works its way out in our lives.
 - Too many Christians obey God only because of pressure on the outside, and not power on the inside.[6]
14 Do everything without grumbling and arguing,
 - Israelites… walking around the woods for 40 years… God is trying to teach them to quit grumbling… but they don’t ever get it.
 - Questions… having questions is OK… questioning is doubting and not trusting… it is a heart issue… and sometimes we even do this with God.
15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world,
 - People are watching your behavior
 - and honestly, they are judging you… even on social networking
16 by holding firm to the word of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run or labor for nothing. 17 But even if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrificial service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 In the same way you should also be glad and rejoice with me.
  - Tell others… notice it… encourage them… send notes… call them… be pleased about others
Give a chance for people to do encourage others right now.
Paul gives a great example of encouragement… this ministry was not in vain…
TIMOTHY AND EPAPHRODITUS
19 Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon so that I too may be encouraged by news about you. 20 For I have no one else like-minded who will genuinely care about your interests; 21 all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know his proven character, because he has served with me in the gospel ministry like a son with a father. 23 Therefore, I hope to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. 24 I am confident in the Lord that I myself will also come soon.
 - Paul was mentor to Timothy (father and son like relationship).
 - Timothy got saved under Paul’s ministry.
25 But I considered it necessary to send you Epaphroditus—my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier, as well as your messenger and minister to my need--26 since he has been longing for all of you and was distressed because you heard that he was sick. 27 Indeed, he was so sick that he nearly died. However, God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 For this reason, I am very eager to send him so that you may rejoice again when you see him and I may be less anxious. 29 Therefore, welcome him in the Lord with great joy and hold people like him in honor, 30 because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up what was lacking in your ministry to me.[7]
 - Epaphroditus returned Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi.
“What is Jesus doing in you?” Stop trying to fix your life… and for that fact… other’s lives
“How is God working in you?”
“What grumbling and questioning do you need to repent of?  What is the root of your bitterness?” Stop the questioning disposition.
“Who needs you to be like Paul?”
“Who needs you to be like Timothy or Epaphroditus?”

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Ro 6:12–14). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Php 4:2–3). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 77). Victor Books.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Eze 36:26). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (2 Co 5:12). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 78). Victor Books.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Php 2:12–30). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• Let’s get a running start and backup a few verses.

2 CORINTHIANS 5
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!

• A transformation has taken place.
• Do you recognize it?
• Do you turn back to your flesh for a season?

18 Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” 21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. [1]
 
2 CORINTHIANS 6
1 Working together with him, we also appeal to you, “Don’t receive the grace of God in vain.”

• Can you abuse grace? No
• Can you misunderstand grace? Yes
• I’m begging you… pleading with you.

2 For he says:
At an acceptable time, I listened to you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.
See, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation!

• All over Corinth the believers were spread out in the region.
• False teachers were numerous.
• Sexual sin was active.
• Paul’s followers have one foot in and one foot out.

 
THE CHARACTER OF PAUL’S MINISTRY
3 We are not giving anyone an occasion for offense, so that the ministry will not be blamed.

• The purpose of this list that we find in this passage is they are marking his ministry as uniquely authentic because he is following along in the suffering of Christ.[2]

4 Instead, as God’s ministers, we commend ourselves in everything: by great endurance, by afflictions, by hardships, by difficulties,

• You think ministry is stressful?
• People ask me all the time, “What do you do with everyone’s ‘stuff’?” – It’s not my “stuff”.
• Good people around me.
• But I truly believe what I teach.

5 by beatings, by imprisonments, by riots, by labors, by sleepless nights, by times of hunger,

• As Paul traveled around the Mediterranean area.

6 by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, 7 by the word of truth, by the power of God;

• This is how we deal with all the “stuff”
• We can have all kinds of support ministry and tactics to deal with issues… but this, my friends, is where it is at… the power of God.
• Do not substitute programs, accountability and self-discipline for the power of God.

through weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, 8 through glory and dishonor, through slander and good report; regarded as deceivers, yet true; 9 as unknown, yet recognized; as dying, yet see—we live; as being disciplined, yet not killed; 10 as grieving, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet enriching many; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

• Compare this list of suffering by Paul and his disciples to today’s understanding of a “successful church”.
• Today’s church only reports the good.
• So Paul is saying that, really, the mark of authentic ministry are hardships.[3]
• I’m OK with being labeled “the little church that meets in the bar”, “the place that harbors sinners”, “the place that only teaches grace”, “the place that has no ministry programs”.
• Because I know the Truth and I know what I have in this little room and I am so thankful for you.

11 We have spoken openly to you, Corinthians; our heart has been opened wide. 12 We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us.

• Reciprocation was a huge understanding in the Corinth society.

13 I speak as to my children; as a proper response, open your heart to us.

• Today, we want to do a quick survey.
• Give away videos
• Share stories in the room.

 
SEPARATION TO GOD
14 Do not be yoked together with those who do not believe. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? 15 What agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement does the temple of God have with idols?

• Paul is pretty straightforward here.
• This passage has always been interpreted as don’t marry an unbeliever.
• It is in reference to intimate/close relationships.
• Relationships that impact both parties.
• I encourage relationships with unbelievers as long as the believer is having impact on the unbeliever.
• I discourage relationships with unbelievers if the believer is being impacted by the unbeliever.

For we are the temple of the living God, as God said:
I will dwell
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
17 Therefore, come out from among them
and be separate, says the Lord;
do not touch any unclean thing,
and I will welcome you.
18 And I will be a Father to you,
and you will be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.[4]

• Paul uses several passages here from the Old Testament because God told the Israelites to remain clean and separated.
• You have been made holy!
• Holy – sanctified – set apart
• We are not like the world… we are aliens.
• We will be made fun of… we will be challenged… we will be called out.
• But remember who you are in Christ.
• You are the redeemed. You are the holy.
• The Lord God dwells inside of you.
• When you acknowledge your true identity… it causes you to desire different things than the world desires.
• It causes you to be focused on Jesus rather than yourself or the world.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (2 Co 5:17–21). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Guthrie, G. H. (2018). NT337 Book Study: Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. Lexham Press.
[3] Guthrie, G. H. (2018). NT337 Book Study: Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. Lexham Press.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (2 Co 6). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• Paul has spent the last couple of chapters explaining what authentic ministry is.

OUR FUTURE AFTER DEATH
2 CORINTHIANS 5
1 For we know that if our earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens, not made with hands. 2 Indeed, we groan in this tent, desiring to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 since, when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life.

• Can we talk about this life here on earth?
• I am physically limited by my flesh suit.
• Gravity… as the Holidays go on… so do the pounds.
• Think about life 3-4 years ago vs today.
• Pandemic came – quarantine came.
• Seclusion came – isolation came.
• Things changed
• We were at home in our comfy pants, Traegers, Netflix and devices.
• We got out for a season…
• But now we are crawling back into our holes again because it is easy.
• GMA Report
• Our bodies are groaning for something greater than all this!

5 Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.
6 So we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 In fact, we are confident, and we would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

• Difference between Judgment Seat and Great White Throne Judgment.
• Judgment Seat is for believers… based upon works. Those things we have done in the flesh vs the things we have done in the Spirit.

11 Therefore, since we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your consciences.

• I’m telling you… you can’t be lulled into the ways of this world… devices… isolation… expectations.
• It is killing your kids… it is killing you.
• You aren’t even aware of what is happening but the alarms are going off all around you.

12 We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to be proud of us (boast), so that you may have a reply for those who take pride (boast) in outward appearance rather than in the heart.

• The world is more focused on appearance and doing than they are spiritual side of themselves.
• You have to stop what the majority is doing and focus on the Spirit that lives inside of you.

13 For if we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.

• Yes! The world is going to think you are stupid.
• Yes! You will be criticized.
• I’m going to choose to do things differently… even from those who are doing church!
• Spoke to a church staff about sabbath rest.
• Paul is appealing with believers to not listen to the false teachers.
• He wants them to live a life of authentic ministry.
• You fix dinner for your family and you are pleading with them to come to the table.
• “I only have 10 more minutes of this movie.”
• I’m begging you… quit playing games… quit chasing things that are irrelevant to what is happening around you.
• There are people who are spiritually and physically dying.

14 For the love of Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion, that one died for all (John 3:16), and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.

• It is not about us.
• We focus on us… which is what the world points us to… then it brings anxiety, depression and disappointment.
• If we focus on Jesus… He is going to point you to others because that is authentic ministry.
• Doing things for others allows joy to rise to the top.

 
THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION
16 From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way.

• Worldly perspective… acts done in the flesh.

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!

• What passed away? Something died! It is gone!
• Your sinful nature… what was once natural to you.
• Now you have been made new.
• A transformation has occurred and most believers never realize it.
• Yes, they know they have salvation… but do they know this tent has a living God inside of them?

18 Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us.

• Crisis intervention… the ministry of sitting down across from someone and saying, “Jesus has already dealt with that.
• It has been reconciled.
• Let’s move forward.

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.”

• We sit down with people and remind them of their identity.
• Police Chief walks in dressed in total uniform and everyone sees him for the police chief.
• The Police Chief is not his badge.
• I see you in a whole different perspective.
• Received and welcomed.

21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.[1]

• This is past tense.
• It is already a done deal.
• You have been made righteous.
• You are reconciled.
• This is what we have to constantly remind ourselves and our families.

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (2 Co 5:1–21). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

CONCLUDING EXHORTATION
Galatians 6:11-18
11 Look at what large letters I use as I write to you in my own handwriting.

• Amanuensis – Paid scribe or secretary
• The large letters were either because
• 1) Paul had issue with his eyes and it was easier for him to see himself or
• 2) Paul was making an emphasis on his final statement.
• DON’T MISS THIS
• It’s not a matter of 2 different doctrines… It’s a matter of 2 different “ways of life.”
• Bondage or Liberty
• Legalism or Freedom
• Walking by the Flesh or Walking by the Spirit
• Living for self or Living for others
• Now Paul adds to this list:
• Receiving praise from men or giving glory to God
• He is dealing with motive, and there is no greater need in our churches today than for an examination of the motives for our ministries.
• We know what we are doing, but do we know why we are doing it?
• A good work is spoiled by a bad motive.[1]
• In this paragraph Paul presents three “marked men”
  1) The legalist (Gal. 6:12–13)
  2) The Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:14–16), and
  3) The Apostle Paul himself (Gal. 6:17–18).[2]

12 Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh are the ones who would compel you to be circumcised—but only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

• Salesman vs Ambassador
• Politicians vs Sincerity
• Campaign vs Missions
• What were the tactics of the salesmen (Judaizers)?
• Their argument might have run something like this: “Yes, of course, Jesus died on the cross, and that is a great example of God’s love.
• But if you want to be saved and really belong to the true Israel, then you must do something more than merely rely on that past event.
• Yes, Jesus was the Messiah, and he did a lot for us.
• But now it is up to you to complete what he began.”[3]

13 For even the circumcised don’t keep the law themselves, and yet they want you to be circumcised in order to boast about your flesh.

• He is condemning them for their dishonesty.
• They had no intention of keeping the Law, even if they could.
• Their reverence for the Law was only a mask to cover their real goal: winning more converts to their cause.
• They wanted to report more statistics and get more glory.[4]
• 1 Samuel – David wanted to marry Saul’s daughter Michael. The price was 100 Philistine (gentile) foreskins. (1 Samuel 18:27)
• David brought 200 foreskins to Saul.
• Paul’s opponents were doing the same thing David and his soldiers had done of old: presenting Gentile “foreskins” as a mark of their own success and ingenuity as representatives of the Jewish Christian establishment.[5]
• Paul describes the Judaizers as:
• 1) Braggarts
• 2) Compromisers
• 3) Persuaders
• 4) Hypocrites

14 But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world.

• I “hate” the question, “How many people attend your church?”
• Jesus mentioned 45 times in Galatians.
• That is 1/3 of the passages in Galatians contain a reference to Jesus.
• Wounds of circumcision vs wounds of the cross.
• Cross as a symbol of Paul’s faith.
• We wear crosses and collect crosses.
• It was a way of death.
• Actually the Latin word crux was regarded as an expression so crude no polite Roman would utter it in public.
• In order to get around this difficulty, the Romans devised another expression, “Hang him on the unlucky tree” (arbori infelici suspendito).[6]
• But what the world regards as too shameful to whisper in polite company, a detestable object used for the brutal execution of the bottom of society, Paul declared to be the proper basis for exultation.[7]
• Why would Paul put glory in the cross?
• Because the cross is empty…
• Christ defeated the cross.
• Not only was Jesus crucified… but the world was crucified…
• The earth groaned… the god of this cosmos is the evil one… notice had been served.
• We have been crucified… even we are aliens to this world system.
• It’s not supposed to make sense to us.
• Don’t get so worked up… stay focused on your calling.

15 For both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing; what matters instead is a new creation.

• If you are going to be a marked man… be marked as a new creation!
• “The new creation implies a new nature with a new system of desires, affections, and habits, all wrought through the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.
• No spiritual gymnastics, no twelve-step program on the deeper life, no quick-fix “How-to-Be-a-Better-Christian” seminar can produce this kind of transformation.
• Paul’s emphasis was on the act of God in effecting a new thing.
• This is the result of faith working by love leading to holiness culminating in a life filled with the Spirit.”[8]
• You take circumcision… Paul took the cross.
• I prefer the empty tomb… Leavener Logo

16 May peace come to all those who follow this standard, and mercy even to the Israel of God!

• Paul: “I know I get a little worked up talking about this stuff… but really… I only am passionate about you and Christ in you. I want you to have peace.”
• Paul knew the Church stood in great conflict with society.
• Not much has changed today.
• We will always be in conflict.

17 From now on, let no one cause me trouble, because I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

• Ricky Gervais – Golden Globes (1/5/20) – “So if you do win an award tonight, don't use it as a platform to make a political speech. You're in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg.

So if you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent, and your God and take (f*%#) off, OK? It's already three hours long. Right, let's do the first award.”

• “If your religious celebrities have any scars to show for the glory of Christ, then let them be shown. Otherwise—stop bothering me!”[9]

18 Brothers and sisters, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.[10]

• Band of Brothers
• GRACE! Not “the Law of Moses,” but THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST!

No more need be said, because that says it all.[11]

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 725). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 725). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3] George, T. (1994). Galatians (Vol. 30, pp. 436–437). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[4] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 726). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[5] George, T. (1994). Galatians (Vol. 30, p. 434). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[6] George, T. (1994). Galatians (Vol. 30, p. 436). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[7] George, T. (1994). Galatians (Vol. 30, p. 436). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[8] George, T. (1994). Galatians (Vol. 30, p. 438). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[9] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 727). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[10] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ga 6:11–18). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[11] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 728). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

1 John 2:12-13
12 I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins have been forgiven
because of Jesus’ name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you have come to know
the One who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have had victory over the evil one.[1]
----------------------------
One Thing…

• I want to teach you one thing today.
• Don’t believe a word I say.
• This is something that I was not taught at OBU.
• I never heard in seminary.
• I did not learn this until I was 35 years old.

 
What percentage of the church understands forgiveness? Hold your responses.

1 John 2:12
12 I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins have been forgiven
because of Jesus’ name.

• To begin with, “little children” refers to all believers.
• John is not talking about age here.
• John is referring to spiritual maturity.
• Literally, this word means “born ones.”
• All Christians have been born into God’s family through faith in Jesus Christ, and their sins have been forgiven.[2]
• “Have been forgiven” is in the perfect tense (John will use a perfect tense form six times in these verses).
• This forgiveness occurs because the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ made the mercy and grace of God available to those who repent of their sins and believe in the name of Jesus.[3]
• “Forgiven” – the forgiveness of sins is mentioned as a completed fact, which, as a ground whereon they stand, as a sphere wherein they move, as a benefit they have received, has and is to have on them and the rest of their life a lasting effect and an efficient power.[4]
• The first and most fundamental word of encouragement that John can give to all members of the church is that in the past they were forgiven of their sins and that this forgiveness remains effective in their lives.[5]

 

• Many will teach that forgiveness is a gift that we can’t take for granted. (I agree) Therefore in an act of humbleness and pure desire to not abuse this gift of God they have been given, they accept it as they need it.
• It’s like an endless water fountain to them.
• At one point in my life I began to see God’s forgiveness differently.
• I saw God’s forgiveness like an ocean… and I was swimming in it.
• I couldn’t escape it.
• It is inevitable that I was and am going to sin. (1 John 1:10 - 10 If we say, “We don’t have any sin,” we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”) [6]
• I can see forgiveness as my nightly medicine I am expected to take to get better.
• OR… I see forgiveness as my remedy and I am already healed.

 

• How many times did Jesus die on the cross?
• One time...
• How does Jesus forgive sins?
• He's not getting back up there.
• He said, "It is finished"
• Everything you've done in the past,
• Everything you are currently doing, and everything you are going to do... Jesus has taken care of on the cross... one time.
• It was good enough for even your worst day.
• Every night I was taught I need to put Jesus back up on the cross.

 

• Oh… I get it… I know what you are thinking.
• How can you dare teach that because people will interpret what you are saying as “they are free to do whatever they want to.”
• The truth is… I am!
• But I also want to teach you about who you truly are as “a little child that calls on the name Jesus.”

 

• This is the way it works.
• God created a perfect world and a perfect couple.
• Genesis 3 happened and sin entered into the world.
• Everything began to die and it never was the way God intended eternity to be.
• Genesis 3:15 is our first understanding in the Scripture that a Messiah will come to save us.
• Throughout the whole Old Covenant it is proven that we cannot save ourselves.
• God gave us the Law and we could not fulfill it.
• He went to great lengths to show us. He even used the actual law to prove His love for us.
• Romans 5:20 - 20 “The law came along to multiply the trespass.”[7]
  • One rule
  • Ten Commandments
  • 613 Laws
  • Sermon on the Mount
  • Everything
  • Cross
• It all changed at the cross.
• Hebrews 10:
• 10 By this will of God, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.
• 11 Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins. 12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. 13 He is now waiting until His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified.[8]

- Now let’s break this down…
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23 - 23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. And may your spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.[9]

• Paul indicates that we are 3 parts: spirit, soul and body.
• “Body” obviously describes the physical being of a person.
• “Soul” (psychē) is the life force that all living things (including animals) possess and that distinguishes them from the inanimate or the dead.
• The word is used of life itself, as the seat of internal thoughts, desires, and emotions, or of that aspect of life that survives physical death.
• “Spirit” (pneuma) refers to the “breath” characteristic of life.
• It is roughly synonymous with “soul,” and like soul it sometimes is paired with “flesh” or “body” to sum up the entirety of a living being.
• In one Pauline context, (1 Cor 2:14–15). The “spiritual” (pneumatikos) person is one enabled to commune with the divine. The “natural” (psuchikos) person lives apart from the knowledge and power of God (cf. 1 Cor 15:42–46).
• The key distinction here is relational.
• Paul was not describing the human person as a three-part conglomerate but as a being with material and nonmaterial existence who may or may not be spiritually enlivened in relation to God.[10]
  
  
• Body – Physical being here on earth… originally came from dust and will return to dust.
• Your body is not going into eternity.
• This includes your brain (hard drive…memories)

 

• Soul – Mind, will, emotions (personality). It makes each individual unique.
• The soul is eternal. (Luke 16 – Abraham & Lazarus on one side and the rich man on the other side)
• If the soul is eternal (out lasts the body) it has to be redeemed. When is it redeemed?
• I have been given the mind of Christ. (1 Cor 2:16)

 

• Spirit – It is our connection to God. We are born with a dead spirit… (from the seed of Adam).
• Galatians 2:19-20 – 19 For through the law I have died to the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ 20 and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. [11]
• 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 - 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. 18 Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” 21 He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. [12]
• John 1:12 - I am a child of God (Romans 8:16).
• John 15:15 - I am Christ's friend.
• John 15:16 - I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit.
• Romans 3:24 - I have been justified and redeemed.
• Romans 6:7 - I have been freed from sin's power over me.
• Romans 8:1 - I am forever free from condemnation.
• Romans 8:17 - I am an heir of God and fellow heir with Christ.
• Romans 11:16 - I am holy.
• Romans 15:7 - Christ has accepted me.
• 1 Corinthians 1:2 - I have been sanctified.
• 1 Corinthians 2:12 - I have received the Spirit of God into my life that I might know the things freely given to me by God.
• 1 Corinthians 6:17 - I am joined to the Lord and am one spirit with Him.
• 2 Corinthians 1:21 - I have been established in Christ and anointed by God.
• Galatians 2:4 - I have liberty in Christ Jesus.
• Ephesians 1:1 - I am a saint (1 Corinthians 1:2; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2).
• Ephesians 1:3 - I am blessed with every spiritual blessing.
• Ephesians 2:5 - I have been made alive together with Christ.
• Ephesians 2:10 - I am God's workmanship, created in Christ to do His work that He planned beforehand that I should do.
• Ephesians 2:18 - I have direct access to God through the Spirit.
• Ephesians 3:12 - I may approach God with boldness and confidence.
• Philippians 4:7 - His peace guards my heart and my mind.
• Philippians 4:19 - God will supply all my needs.
• Colossians 1:27 - Christ Himself is in me.
• Colossians 2:10 - I have been made complete in Christ.
• Colossians 3:4 - Christ is now my life.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:5 - I am a child of light and not of darkness.
• 2 Timothy 1:7 - I have been given a spirit of power, love, and discipline.
• Hebrews 2:11 - Because I am sanctified and am one with Christ, He is not ashamed to call me His.
• Hebrews 4:16 - I may come boldly before the throne of God to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
• Hebrews 10:14 – I have been perfected by His one offering.
• 1 John 3:1 - God has bestowed a great love on me and called me His child.
• 1 John 4:15 - God is in me and I am in God.

 
What percentage of the church understands forgiveness based upon what we just discussed? 

1 John 2:12
12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven because of Jesus’ name.

It is the simplest of things of our faith that are necessary to understand so we can mature into sound and blameless followers of Jesus.

[1] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (1 Jn 2:12–13). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 495). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3] Akin, D. L. (2001). 1, 2, 3 John (Vol. 38, p. 104). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[4] Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Brain, K., & Mombert, J. I. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: 1, 2, 3 John (p. 61). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[5] Akin, D. L. (2001). 1, 2, 3 John (Vol. 38, p. 104). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[6] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (1 Jn 1:10). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ro 5:20). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[8] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Heb 10:10–14). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[9] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (1 Th 5:23). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[10] Martin, D. M. (1995). 1, 2 Thessalonians (Vol. 33, p. 189). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[11] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ga 2:19–20). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[12] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (2 Co 5:16–21). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.