1 John 2:26-28 - The Abiding Spirit
Introduction: Warning Against False Teachers—1 John 2:26
There Were False Teachers Who Were Trying To Seduce Them
a) “seduce” means, “to deceive”; to lead astray
b) The Greek: it is a continuous action; “those who are constantly at work in misleading you”
A False Teacher Attempts To Lead Us Astray from Jesus Christ.
a) They deny that He is the Son of God who came to earth to die for our sins.
b) They teach that man came become acceptable to God by some other way that Jesus Christ.
c) They teach there are other ways, approaches, religions, & truths
Believers Must Be On Constant Guard Against False Teaching-ers
Paul told Timothy to…
a) “Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge – 1 Timothy 6:20
b) “Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you-2 Tim.1:14
1) we have this treasure in earthen vessels—2 Cor. 4:7
Is it possible to be misled? Yes!
a) James 5:20 -- let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
1) We will lose eternal life if we listen to the deception and go astray, not coming back.
b) If God has really sent His only Son into the world to save man, there is not a chance in eternity that He will allow a person to approach Him by any other way!
The Source of the Holy Spirit “Of Him”
Jesus said, “I will pray the Father and He will give you another comforter” John 14:16
1. The Spirit given by the Father as the result of the prayers of Jesus. The Spirit then testifies of the Son.
a. “And I will pray the Father” vs.16
b. “Whom the Father will send in My name.” vs.26
c. "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” John 15:26, Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the promise of the Father.
d. In Acts 1:4 He told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father, for John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
e. In the companion vs in Luke He told His disciples “Behold I send the promise of My Father upon you” (Luke 24:49).
f. Peter in explanation to the wondering crowd in Acts 2:33 said, “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.”
g. In Eph1:13, Paul calls Him the Holy Spirit of promise.
He Will Give You “Another Comforter” to abide with us forever John 14:16
1. The word Comforter is a translation of the Greek word parakletos, which means “one who comes along side to help”.
a. When we are born again, we enter the dimension of the Spirit. In this dimension, we can be taught by Him to understand the things of God that are beyond the reach of our experience or intellect (2Corinthians 4:18).
2. Jesus had been along side of them for the space of three years helping them.
3. They had come to rely upon His help.
a. He helped them to understand the Word of God.
b. He helped them to understand the will of God and the purposes of God.
c. He also helped them in the daily routines, even their fishing as He told them where to cast nets to catch the fish.
d. He helped them to trust the Father.
4. Their hearts are troubled because He has been talking about going away; He is to leave them (14:1).
a. There is the feeling, what will we do without Jesus here to help us?
b. He is here promising them another helper.
c. I am going away, but He will abide with you forever.
The Ministry of the Holy Spirit, “The Same Anointing Teaches You All things” (v.27)
The Holy Spirit is the Only True Guide to the Word.
1. The Spirit of Truth will guide us into all truth (John 16:12-13)
a. He will give us the discernment to judge between true and false teachings.
b. If we will open our hearts and read the Bible with the Spirit as our Guide, we will not stray from the truth and we will have all we need to live the Christian life (2Peter 1:3).
2. The Spirit of Truth will show us things to come (Jn.16:13)
a. The Spirit will help us to understand the prophecies in the books of Daniel and Revelation and Ezekiel. Since we are living in the last days, these prophecies are becoming clearer each day.
3. Jesus calls Him the Spirit of Truth, that the world cannot receive (John 16:13).
a. Have you ever wondered why a worldly person cannot believe the truth of Jesus when it is so plain to you? It is very frustrating.
b. The reason why is in John 14:17, “the world cannot receive Him, because they do not know Him.”
Every Christian has the spiritual capacity to receive & respond to Scripture. Non-Christians lack this receptivity to biblical truth:
4. 1Corinthians 2:14 – “The natural man does not receive”
a. 1Cor.2:9-11 – The Spirit has revealed unto us the things God has prepared for us because we love Him. These are things that God has for His people now, not heavenly things.
b. 1Cor.2:12-14 – Many people try to discover what the Bible is all about by approaching it with their human intellect. They cannot understand spiritual things without the Holy Spirit to open their minds, so it appears foolish to them.
5. You can learn no spiritual truth apart from Him.
a. 1Jn.2:27 – When we sit down to read the Bible, we should always begin by asking the Holy Spirit to open our minds and hearts to receive and understand what we are reading.
b. The Word of God is our spiritual food & we cannot grow without it.
c. We must read the Bible to get the Word of God in us for the Holy Spirit to bring it to remembrance (Jn.14:26; Ps.119:11).
6. If you receive any spiritual truth, it is only because He has taught you – Matthew 16:13-17
You Do Not Need That Anyone Teach You
1. What is meant then by no man teach you?
John is not saying is that we don't need teaching or men to be teaching the Word of God.
a. God has appointed teachers in the church (Eph.4:11-12), God would not have placed them there unless we needed pastors and teachers.
1) Paul’s ministry was that of a teacher 2Tim.2:11
2) John was teaching in this epistle.
3) I am teaching you right now.
You have a built in Bible Teacher! When you read the Bible you have the author of the Bible down in your heart to interpret what it says.
The Holy Spirit of God is ministering & teaching my heart at the same time.
What John is saying is that under the guidance of the Spirit you must test the teaching of men as you search the Bible for yourself, be a Berean (Acts 17:11).
b. You can't really learn the Word of God except:
1) The Holy Spirit bear witness to your own heart of the truth
2) And plants the truth within your heart.
3) So the teaching really comes from the Holy Spirit, that which really sticks in your heart and abides in your heart.
4) We need the Holy Spirit to teach us all things, our hearts need to be open to the Spirit of God, we cannot learn the things of the Spirit, apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in teaching us.
c. At salvation every believer has been made wise
1) Paul wrote to Timothy (2Tim.3:15), by God’s grace, the saved “are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption” (1Cor.1:30).
2) Because we are in Christ, “the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” that are hidden in Him (Col.2:3) are also hidden in us.
3) John wrote of the Holy Spirit, the resident truth teacher in the life of every saint (1Jn.2:20-21, 27
d. Paul prays for the minds of the Ephesian church to be enlightened (Eph.1:18).
1) Emotions have a significant place in the Christian life, but they are reliable only as they are guided and controlled by God’s truth—which we come to know and understand through our minds. That is why we are to “let the words of Christ richly dwell in [us]” (Col.3:16).
2) While Jesus talked with the two disciples on the Emmaus road, their hearts (that is, their minds) burned within them, but it was not until “their eyes were opened [that] they recognized Him” (Lk.24:31-32). Before the Spirit enlightened them they had the information but not the understanding; what they knew was true, but they could not in the power of their own minds grasp the meaning and significance of it.
Possessing knowledge by the Holy Spirit’s direct illumination, you do not need that anyone teach you (1Thess.1:9) for “you are taught by God.”
e. The Spirit teaches us “all things” 1Jn.2:27
1) False teachers have a way of “riding a hobby”—prophecy-neglecting the whole message of the Bible.
2) False teachers, pick (out of context) only what they want you to hear.
Here is a further warning about false teachers (2Jn.7-11).
3) Jesus implies that we are to live by “every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
4) Paul did not shun to declare the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27).
5) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God & is profitable (2Tim.3:16)
This is why at Calvary we teach from Genesis to Revelation, the whole counsel of God.
Illustration:Matt.4:5-7, Satan took scripture out of its context, not giving the whole counsel of God.
2. Man’s teaching that departs from the Word
a. The Colossian church.
1) Christ plus human philosophy (Col.2:8)
2) Christ plus legalism (Col.2:16-17)
They advocated observance of special days, feasts, and various rituals in order to attain higher spiritual standing & favor with God.
3) Sin of pride & the seeking of mystical experiences & visions to supplement the finished work of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross (Col.2:18-19).
4) Ascetism (Col.2:21, 23)
One can gain special favor & reward from God through extreme self-denial, forsaking of physical pleasure & comfort, and avoiding contact with the “common” people by living in isolated and austere situations.
Paul’s counsel to the Colossian believers in response to those serious threats to the faith is introduced in 1:12 & is summarized in 12:9-10. John gives a warning about the same problem in his first letter (1Jn.2:27).
b. Book of Mormon
1) GOSPEL
LDS—Mormon Church system and doctrines.
Bible—Message of Christ's death and resurrection as atonement for our sins (I Cor. 15:1, 4; Gal. 1:8)
2) HEAVEN
LDS--Divided into three kingdoms--Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial-place for almost everyone (misuse 1 Cor. 15:40-41).
Bible--Only mentions two conditions--everlasting punishment or life eternal (Mat. 25:31-46).
3) HELL
LDS--Hell as an institution is eternal--inmates come and go as in jail--don't spend eternity there--stay until one has paid debt to God.
Bible--no mention of people getting out of Hell (Rev. 21:8, Mat. 13:24-43, 47-50; Luke 16:26).
c. Jehovah’s Witnesses
". . . Furthermore, not only do we find that people cannot see the divine plan in studying the Bible by itself, but we see, also, that if anyone lays the "Scripture Studies" aside, even after he has used them, after he has become familiar with them, after he has read them for ten years -- if he then lays them aside and ignores them and goes to the Bible alone, though he has understood his Bible for ten years, our experience is that within two years he goes into darkness. On the other hand, if he had merely read the "Scripture Studies" with their references and had not read a page of the Bible as such, he would be in the light at the end of two years, because he would have the light of the Scriptures."
Charles Taze Russell, The Watchtower, p. 298, Sept. 15, 1910.
d. Man’s teaching apart from the Spirit.
1) What I say is worthless. What the Spirit has to say is invaluable.
2) It is essential that I stand here & minister to you with the Holy Spirit inspiring my thoughts.
The Essential Message of the Spirit – “You Will Abide in Christ”
Purpose of the Spirit is to Exalt Christ (John 16:14)
1. People who seek to draw attention to themselves.
a. What are your motives?
b. Matthew 5:16 cf. John 15:8
c. He must increase but I must decrease (Jn.3:30).
2. The true test of the Spirit is the honoring and exalting of Christ.
a. This is done by following & serving the Lord Jesus Christ (Jn12:26)
3. The true teaching of the Spirit witnesses to Christ.
a. The Scriptures testify of Jesus Christ (Jn.5:39)
b. Jesus said, "He will testify of Me" (Jn.15:26)
1) When He reproves the world of sin, it is the sin of not believing on Jesus.
2) When He testifies of righteousness, it is pointing to the righteousness of Jesus that is the necessary requirement to entering the kingdom of heaven.
3) His testimony of judgment is that the prince of this world has been judged by Jesus at the cross.
4) When we are told to test the spirits to see if they are from God, we are told that every Spirit that testifies that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God."
5) The Holy Spirit is not here to exalt Himself, or to testify of Himself, but of Jesus.
The Abiding Word “which testifies of Christ”
The Abiding Spirit “which testifies of Christ”
The Abiding Christ Who Manifests Himself through our lives.