“The Spirit of God”
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 3 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Speaking to a large audience, D.L. Moody held up a glass and asked, "How can I get the air out of this glass?" One man shouted, "Suck it out with a pump!" Moody replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass." After numerous other suggestions Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed." He then went on to explain that victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by "sucking out a sin here and there," but by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit is an important piece of our christian journey. A vital piece in our understanding and knowledge. However, over the years we find either lots of ignorance when it comes to the Spirit or lots of fanaticism with the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The unusual thing about this, is that it is the Holy Spirit who is our resource to identifying false teaching and keeping us from falling into the deception. He ensures that we know the truth. He ensures that we know the difference between truth and lies. He ensures that we remain faithful to the teachings of the Apostles. He ensures that we remain in Christ. He ensures that we receive the promise of eternal life. Lets learn something about the Spirit today.
But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth. So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies. And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.
1 John 2:
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.
The Anointing
The Liar
Eternal Life
The first thing we will look at today is how we Christians have all been anointed with the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit who is the source of the truth. The second thing we will uncover is the identity of the Liar, the one who denies Christ. Finally, we will see the beauty of being faithful to what we have been taught.
Thesis: Though the sinful desires of the flesh and the deceptions of the pattern of this world continue to distort and deceive with popular false teaching and the diminishing of its gravity, it is the faithfulness of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit that will keep us in fellowship with the Father and Son and the promise of eternal life.
I. The Anointing
- The content of the anointing: The Holy Spirit.
A. We saw last week the first indicator of an antichrist or a false teacher. They will depart from the faith. The second mark of false teachers and antichrists is that they deny the faith. But what a resource we have.
But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
The second mark of false teachers and antichrists is that they deny the faith.
Allen, D. L. (2013). 1–3 John: Fellowship in God’s Family. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 113). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
B. First of all today… what is an anointing? Just a quick peek at the Greek Chrisma, the act of applying oil in order to dedicate a person or object to a particular service or function.
C. In Old Testament times, priests, kings, and even prophets were anointed with oil to mark the beginning of their respective duties. The oil symbolized consecration.
Then anoint him by pouring the anointing oil over his head.
Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of James and the Epistles of John (Vol. 14, p. 279). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
Exodus
D. The word anointing in this text refers not to oil but to the content of the anointing, which is the Holy Spirit. Christians receive the gift of the Holy Spirit from the Holy One to accomplish a special service to the Lord. We are all prophets, priests, and kings in the kingdom of heaven. We are called and anointed to be transformed and to evangelize for the kingdom of God.
The word anointing in this text refers not to oil but to the content of the anointing, which appears to be the Holy Spirit. The Spirit testifies to the lasting significance of the act of anointing. Christians receive the gift of the Holy Spirit from the Holy One.
E. So again, this act as described by John signified Christians being endued with the Holy Spirit in order to succeed in their calling. Just before he went to the cross, Jesus promised the disciples that the Comforter would come and indwell them.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.
Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of James and the Epistles of John (Vol. 14, p. 279). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
So again, this act as described by John signified Christians being endued with the Holy Spirit in order to succeed in their calling. Just before he went to the cross, Jesus promised the disciples that the Comforter would come and indwell them (, ). This anointing is the gift of the Holy Spirit who indwells all believers. You don’t have to seek an anointing; you already have it! You don’t have to get some second portion of the Holy Spirit or second blessing from the Holy Spirit. If you are a Christian you have all the Holy Spirit that you are ever going to have in terms of his indwelling your life ().
(, ). This anointing is the gift of the Holy Spirit who indwells all believers. You don’t have to seek an anointing; you already have it! You don’t have to get some second portion of the Holy Spirit or second blessing from the Holy Spirit. If you are a Christian you have all the Holy Spirit that you are ever going to have in terms of his indwelling your life ().
F. This anointing is the gift of the Holy Spirit who indwells all believers. You don’t have to seek an anointing; you already have it! You don’t have to get some second portion of the Holy Spirit or second blessing from the Holy Spirit. If you are a Christian you have all the Holy Spirit that you are ever going to have in terms of his indwelling your life.
Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
().
G. What is clear in the scriptures is that the evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not tongues, but power. How could I be baptized into one body by the Spirit and show evidence of the fruits of the Spirit, love joy peace patience kindness… boldness to evangelize, life be completely changed, fruitful ministry, don’t speak in tongues and say that I don’t have the Spirit?
H. We all who are in Christ have the Spirit. And John makes it clear. And making it also clear in our fight against the antichrists...The result of this anointing is that all Christians have knowledge of the truth. And that is why he is writing to his readers. They know the truth. v.21 What John means is, you know the truth because the Holy Spirit, who is truth, indwells you and you know the truth because you have been taught the truth.
I. And here he writes not because he is telling them something new, but something that they already know. He is reminding them of what they already know. But why is John saying it this way?
The result of this anointing is that all Christians have knowledge of the truth.
What John means is, you know the truth because the Holy Spirit, who is truth, indwells you. In other words, you know the truth because you have been taught the truth. Christians
J. Christians need not feel deprived or insignificant because the Gnostic false teachers appealed to “special knowledge.” The gnostics expressed the need to tap into a special kind of knowledge to develop and to mature in spirituality. These antichrists were infecting the community and minimizing the amazing truths that they already know.
is reminding them of what they already know.
Christians need not feel deprived because the Gnostic false teachers appealed to “special knowledge.”
K. It is the false teachers way to make us feel like all that we have is not enough. The church is not enough. Our worship is not enough. The Bible is not enough. They will even assert that Christ is not enough. But this is sooo far from the truth.
Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of James and the Epistles of John (Vol. 14, p. 279). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
L. Christians know God, Christians know Jesus, Christians know the Word, Christians know the truth. We have all we need to distinguish truth from error and false teachers from true.
Allen, D. L. (2013). 1–3 John: Fellowship in God’s Family. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 114). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.
Allen, D. L. (2013). 1–3 John: Fellowship in God’s Family. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 114). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
M. And we know the difference between truth and lies? But who is the liar?
II. The Liar
- Who is the liar par excellence?
A. The Greek rendering here give this picture. All lies are lies, but then again, there are lies and there are lies! There are liars and there are liars!
And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist.
All lies are lies, but then again, there are lies and there are lies!
B. Their lie strikes at the very heart of the gospel in that it denies Jesus is the Christ, the “anointed one” of God, the second member of the Trinity, God in human flesh, whose purpose is to provide salvation through his death on the cross. Think through those people, movements, and religions that deny this truth. They are legion. They are not those who occasionally say things that are untrue or lies, but that they are liars.
Allen, D. L. (2013). 1–3 John: Fellowship in God’s Family. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 115). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
C. John is opposing Gnostic teachers who taught that Jesus was a man who lived and died. During Jesus’ public ministry, the Gnostics said, the Christ descended upon him and gave him divine power from the time of his baptism to the time of his suffering. At the conclusion of Jesus’ suffering, Christ departed. To the Gnostics, then, Jesus was not the Christ. And John says that the person who proclaims this teaching is a liar. More than that, says John, he is the antichrist.
John is opposing Gnostic teachers who taught that Jesus was a man who lived and died. During Jesus’ public ministry, the Gnostics said, the Christ descended upon him and gave him divine power from the time of his baptism to the time of his suffering. At the conclusion of Jesus’ suffering, Christ departed. To the Gnostics, then, Jesus was not the Christ.61 And John says that the person who proclaims this teaching is a liar. More than that, says John, he is the antichrist.
D. I cannot believe that I am hearing this stuff taught from pulpits today. A very popular preachers wife was quoted from the pulpit saying...“Jesus was man until God touched him and put the Spirit of the living God on the inside of him. Now that’s encouraging today.” People laugh about this today.
Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of James and the Epistles of John (Vol. 14, p. 281). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
E. I know a person who loves and supports the ministry of a man who is a modalist/sabbalenism. Clear heresy. I told them that he is a heretic why do you buy his books and listen to his resources? Yeah we know he is a heretic, but we like the way he teaches. We get alot from it. They just kinda srug it off… Wrong teaching about Christ is a serious thing… they are called liars. The liars.
I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son.
If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.
I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son.
If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement.
John
F. If you support these ministries and support these teachers… you are partners (koinonia) in their evil work. If people are teaching false things about Jesus this is serious. The Apostle John takes it serious.
G. John, the Apostle of love, was inside a Roman bath house getting cleansed, as was the custom of his day. However, through the hot steam he suddenly realized that the heretic Cerinthus was sitting just across the room. John immediately jumped up and fled the bathhouse, explaining that Cerinthus was inside and he didn’t want to be killed when the building collapsed under the righteous judgment of God!
H. One day, John went inside a public bathhouse, but quickly spotted Cerinthus inside. John immediately ran out of the building, exclaiming to those with him, “Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within!” (Against Heresies, 3.3.4)
I. One thing that’s obvious from this story is how seriously John took the truth of the Gospel. Do we take it that serious today? Whether or not you think this type of reaction is advisable today, Christians can still be challenged by John’s zeal for the truth. Are we as zealous for the truth? Are we defenders of the Gospel like John was? Like Paul was...
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
J. Another thing we see… have you ever heard someone say, “Hey bro, we all worship the same God we just disagree about Christ.” Its the same God so back off. John does not allow this. He quickly puts that error to rest. To deny the Son is to deny also the Father. No matter what your religion, if you deny the deity of Christ, you cannot tell me you worship the true God because John says you don’t. You cannot, I repeat, you cannot choose God and reject Jesus. Since God has revealed himself through his Son, Jesus, it is obvious that if you deny the Son, you are denying the Father as well. There is only one way to God, and that way is through Jesus Christ. There is no other way. This is antichrist beliefs.
There is only one way to God, and that way is through Jesus Christ.
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
Allen, D. L. (2013). 1–3 John: Fellowship in God’s Family. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 116). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
John speedily puts that error to rest. To deny the Son is ipso facto to deny the Father. No matter what your religion, if you deny the deity of Christ, don’t tell me you worship the true God because John says you don’t. You can’t choose God and reject Jesus. Since God has revealed himself through his Son, Jesus, it is obvious that if you deny the Son, you are denying the Father as well.
III. Eternal Life
Allen, D. L. (2013). 1–3 John: Fellowship in God’s Family. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 116). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
- The eternal life He promised.
A. Man at the time it was popular to follow gnostic teaching. When the readers hear all the Christ-denying noise all around them, how do they defend themselves against their opponents? John tells them exactly what to do. In a sense, he repeats what he already has told them in the first part of his epistle. “What you have heard from the beginning,” that is, the gospel, let that Word remain in you. As Jesus says to the believers in the church of Philadelphia, “Hold on to what you have” (), so John exhorts the readers of his epistle to treasure the biblical message they have heard all along. That Word must reside in their souls, so that in every decision they make they are guided by the Word of God.
When the readers hear the Christ-denying clamor all around them, how do they defend themselves against their opponents? John tells them exactly what to do. In a sense, he repeats what he already has told them in the first part of his epistle. “What you have heard from the beginning,” that is, the gospel (see 1:1, 3, 5; 2:7), let that Word remain in you. As Jesus says to the believers in the church of Philadelphia, “Hold on to what you have” (), so John exhorts the readers of his epistle to treasure the biblical message they have heard all along. That Word must reside in their souls, so that in every decision they make they are guided by the Word of God.
B. Those who believe in the Son have eternal life (5:13). Those who acknowledge Jesus Christ have the Son (and the Father) (2:23), and those who have the Son have eternal life (5:12). To have the Son, to believe in his name, is to have eternal life in the here and now. But, in line with primitive Christian belief, the author can also speak of eternal life as something ‘promised’ to believers, something they will experience in the future (2:25). In one place in the Fourth Gospel Jesus says both that believers have already passed from death to life, and that they will hear his voice on the last day and rise out of their graves and live ().
Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of James and the Epistles of John (Vol. 14, p. 283). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
Kruse, C. G. (2000). The letters of John (p. 107). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.
Allen, D. L. (2013). 1–3 John: Fellowship in God’s Family. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (p. 114). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.