We're gonna be in 1 John, pardon me, 2 John. 2 John and I'd like to read the first few verses of 2 John one more time. Okay, 2 John, and I'd like to read the first six verses, actually, of 2 John. It says, the elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I, but also all they that have known the truth.

For the truth's sake which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever. Grace be with you, mercy and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. I rejoice greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth as we have received a commandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. And this is the commandment that, as ye have heard from the beginning, that ye should walk in it.

And we've spent some times on the love of the brethren, love of God as it's presented here in 1st John and now in 2nd John. And we'll be looking at some of the same thoughts in 3rd John that he brings to us. And as John says of the lady and her children, that they were found to be walking in truth and and loved of the brethren, and love of God as his own, we must look back once again to 1 John, to the beloved children, sons of God, in fellowship with God, walking in the light that comes to believers in the new birth.

In 1 John chapter two, turn back just a little bit here, 1 John chapter two, and It speaks to some length here of this, and it says, I'd like to read just the first few verses of chapter two of 1 John. It says, my little children, these things write unto you that you sin not, and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. And he is the propitiation, the satisfaction for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments. He that saith I know him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word in him verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby we know, hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought also so to walk even as he walked.

And we're going to see how that plays up here in 2 John. Also that charity and love towards all that was evident and being testified of Gaius by the brethren here meaning other like-minded ones reporting this love to John. And this, to Gaius, that the letter is written to in 3 John, we'll see the same things testified of him by the brethren. Here meaning other like-minded ones reporting this love to John in the first few verses of 3 John.

Here in these fourth, fifth, and sixth verses of 2 John, we note that John speaks of walking according to and in light of the command and commandments. And we're going to take a look at that a bit. You remember here a while back, Brother Loren brought a message on Law and grace and commandments as far as what a lot of people have in mind of that, and that's the tables of stone type commandments. And what that genders to, and Paul says and others, that genders to death. That's the stark contrast between the holiness of God and what man is like. And that's the purpose and the intent of that. And we're gonna see that the law and commandments it's spoken of is far different than the natural man can see and can consider.

Turn to the book of Romans for just a short passage. On a thought that Paul brings up in Romans chapter 12, speaks to the same things that we've been looking at as far as the love of the brethren and the love toward God. Romans chapter 12, early in the part of this chapter, it speaks about the gifts that God gives as he will to different ones, the different, portions and parts of the building of himself. But in verses 9 and 10, it says, let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affection to one another with brotherly love in honor preferring one another. And we're going to see what that admonition and command what that says about that.

But where it says, let love be without dissimulation, that word means concealment of one's thoughts, feelings, or character, pretense, masked, feigned, or false. And it says, love of the brethren, none of this should be there. It's not a lip service type of thing. The same as our love towards God is not a. a lip service and there was many that were proclaimed that with your lips you honor me but not with your heart. And that speaks to what it's talking about here of love of the brethren and love of others as it's not just the brethren of believers as especially but all to the household of faith but also all men and have this type of love that's speaking of.

In 1st Timothy, in the book of 1st Timothy, and some of these passages are areas we looked at in others in 1st John, but in 2nd Timothy, chapter one, and starting with verse five, In fact, let's start with the first verse, 1 Timothy 1. It says, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God, our Savior, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope, unto Timothy, my own son in the faith, grace, mercy, and peace from God, our Father, and Jesus Christ, our Lord. As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went to Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine. Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions rather than godly edifying, which is in faith, so do.

Now the end of the commandment is charity out of pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith unfeigned. from which some having swerved, having turned aside into vain jangling, desiring to be teachers of law, understanding neither what they say nor whereof they affirm.

" And here speaking about, along the same speaking about the command or the commandment or a law to God's people, verse one where it says, he said, Apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope.

That commandment wasn't, he wasn't given a commandment as the tables of stone of something to fulfill, but that was something that was put in him. The spiritual law, we're going to see a spiritual law that in the new birth, there's a change. It's not just a religious urging to have a religion that we might become closer to God, we see that in judges. We see that in judges.

They had a real desire to have a God that they could see, that they could handle, that they could feel that they were doing religious duty to and time and time again, and as we just have seen recently, they not only took that, they've had their own priests and idols and worship services and stuff and thought, this is what we need to have. And that is not what God had commanded, they were just, as it says, they were doing what was right in their own eyes.

And that's the bottom line of what sinful man is like, and what by nature we are like, is we do whatever is right in our own eyes. And that is not the case. And here when Paul said he was, by the command of God, was made an apostle, That was, we know the story of God working with Paul, and that was a change in Paul, not just a, well, I found something now that I have to obey or to do. It was a change in nature that he could do nothing but that.

And he said in one spot, woe is me if I don't preach the gospel of the Lord, of Christ. And so that was a command that was given to him It's not on the tables as the law, so often the commandments people think of, but that it was given to him.

But here it says that in verse five, as you look to it, the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith unfeigned. And it says the cocks not just of love unfeigned, but here, or with dissimulation, but here a faith unfeigned, not a obedience after something that's required, but after faith that's given to God's people. It's a change. A new birth is the only way this comes about, by the working of the Spirit.

Turn to Romans one more time, and Romans, chapter 13, just beyond where we were, Romans chapter 13. And there's several parts through here that people would put down as Christian conduct, I guess, or Christian walk that were admonished to be like and to have the same mind, it says, and walk as the Lord walked, and it doesn't mean that we we walk perfectly as he could and only he could, but that we have that desire, that mind that has been placed in God's people.

But in chapter 14, or chapter 13 of Romans, starting with verse seven and reading down a bit, it says, rendered therefore, to all their due, tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom is, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. O no man anything but to love one another, for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet, and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying. Namely, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor, Therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. And that, knowing the time, that now is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envy, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof.

And here, again, it defines and speaks to love. It speaks to that and why that is. And it's down here are two parts of it that it says the briefly comprehended, the commandment briefly comprehended this, namely, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. And that's the, as it says, the boiling down of what that law, that the commandments, that law, it says, is this. And God's people find this no easier to do than those tables of stone of themselves. It's pretty hard to, it says, love thy neighbor as thyself.

And in 1 John, it showed how God's love was manifested to us and that he came to take care of sin for his people, that he died for his people. And he said that God's love manifested to us, pretty tough for us to live up to that. If he has, if he does not done that for us and kept all the law of all kinds, even this one, we're still in a poor spot.

These desires are put in God's people. As Paul says that passage that we've referred to a lot of times, the things we desire to do, we can't seem to do those. The things we are not gonna do, those are the things we tend to by nature. And it says, what's the answer? Who can save us from this? He says, I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord, that has done these things. And whether it is whatever we wanna look at that we view or the scripture appears to say we need to have, he has fulfilled those things. He has done those things. And he is the author and finisher of our faith. And I think that phrase not only speaks about how in the eternity past the everlasting covenant was set down, but he's the finisher and the one that carries out and sees that that is taken care of and is done and has been done.

And so this here speaking, and people put into I guess categories, and we're going to look at some thoughts by William Huntington. And he says, practical Christianity, he says, I can't comprehend that term as far as what is meant by that. And we're going to look at him in just a bit. But it says here, put on the armor of light, walking honestly, and in verse 14, particularly, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the luster of. And that is the, in verse 14, that is like the commandment that says, be holy, or the commandment that says, you must have faith and believe, but it's something that is given to God's people and cannot be acquired of our own doing. It's just, the requirement is there, the requirement of there, it says, be holy as I am holy, but we, in the flesh, we can't accomplish that. And if we look anywhere else than to the Lord Jesus Christ, as it says here, we're just, It's just not going to work. We just can't get there from here. There's no way to acquire holiness other than that that is given of himself to his people.

And this speaks here in Romans and in 1 Timothy. This law existed long before the Ten Commandments were given. All of the saints from Adam down to our time were and are under the same in working of the Spirit of God. That's the answer to it and that's the only way it can come about is that the spirit works in his people and he will work in his people.

In the book of Galatians, in Galatians chapter five, chapter 5 of Galatians, beginning with verse 13. He starts out this chapter by saying, stand fast in the liberty where Christ hath made us free and not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage, with the legalist or the law or those type of things looking for deliverance. But starting in verse 13, it says, for brethren ye have been called unto liberty, only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, walk in the spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary one to the other, so that you cannot do the things that you would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are manifested, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such of the like. and such like, of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law. And they that are Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another."

And here, again, this is speaking of those things that the Spirit does in his people. It's not something that he's saying you have to go get this. But this is the evidence or the outcoming or the outworking of the Spirit.

And do we love our neighbor as ourself or even other believers as ourself? Not very often. It's just, that's the standard as the Lord has revealed his love to us, but that is what our heart and our mind desires of, and only in him can we say that we stand uncondemned by what the law or what other restrictions can put on us, we are not condemned by them.

It is him that has justified his own and does put these, as we read through the scripture and these things, we do desire that we walk in these ways and we, as he gives us ability and Grace to be like this, we are as he allows it and brings that about.

Live and love, as it says here, by the indwelling of the spirit, led by the spirit, not under the law, but grace is our law. And it's not, there are those that say, well, That's, you know, you have no law, but we have that law, the same law that at least Abel walked under without the written law, Abraham, Noah, Enoch.

There's all those that came before in Exodus 20 that we have it written on those tables. They had a law, the Spirit was the law to them and still is, and not the, they never looked to that, to those tables of stone as a standard that they were to live up to. that was ever given as it says.

We're not come to Mount Sinai that is a sentence of death, but we're come to Mount Zion and under those things that the Lord has accomplished for his people. And so it's, these things are things that we are to be like, and we desire to be like as he allows and as he brings it, to be in ourselves.

In the book of Hebrews, in chapter 12, just reading that one that I read, It says up here in the preceding chapter, chapter 12, it speaks about Mount Sinai and those things. And in verse 28 it says, wherefore are we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved? Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for God is a consuming fire.

And these things that it says, have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. And this can only come about by the working of the spirit. There are those that have thought they served God by what they did, and what they could do outwardly and show outwardly, but that is, if it's not of his grace it put in us, it's with dissimulation or feigned or false.

It's not true serving the Lord our God if he doesn't put that in us. And then in chapter 13, The first couple of verses, and this speaks down here on those things that God works in his people to be like and to emulate him in these things as he gives us ability.

Hebrews 13, verse one and two says, let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. And then also in that in chapter 13, down to verse 20. It says, now the God of peace that brought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

And here this is not just putting your hands on somebody and a nice benediction to say, but this here is the truth of the sheep, of God's people, that perfect in every good will to do His work, work in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight. through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

So that working of these things is his working of those things in his people and he is He's the great shepherd of the sheep. He will and does bring all the sheep in. There's none going to be lost or left to their own devices, that this is all of him, that it is just how it is. It's all of him, his working and his people.

In 1 John we looked at in the second chapter that this brother loves talking about is not of law but of grace, walking in truth of the gospel. And that again applies to here. In chapter two, let's go to chapter two of 1 John for just a moment. for just a little bit here.

In 1 John chapter 2, first few verses that say, My little children, these things I write unto you that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. For he is the propitiation of our sins and not for ours only, but for the whole world.

Hereby, we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments. And we read that and looked at that previously, but here again, that anything that we have need of and when we see the problems that we are by nature, we have an advocate with the Father, Him.

It's not just when we have done something that we would category as a terrible sin. But just in our daily lives, we have that advocate with him that he does, that is that other verse we read, he does finish the job. He causes us to walk in those ways that he would desire and to do those things that he would have. He is the one that causes that to come about.

And then I'm gonna read one more spot in, 1 John 3, go to 1 John 3, starting with verse 16.

1 John 3, starting with 16, it says, hereby perceive we the love of God. because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso has this world's goods, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things.

Beloved, if our heart condemneth us not, then we have confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us by the spirit which he giveth to us.

And that other passage that I don't, didn't write it down, but where it says, His spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are sons of God. He bears the witness to us of that. And here where it says here, and especially, this is his commandment that we should believe on the name of his son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as he gave his commandment. That is the, the sum and substance of looking at the Old Testament commandments in the Exodus 20, is because of that, and because of what that shows there, this here, it says the commandment is, believe on the name of his son Jesus Christ, and that is the supreme commandment, I guess, is the supreme admonition that we have,

and then, I would like to read, I've got a little pamphlet here that I would encourage people to get a hold of and take a look and read it. It's called The Believer's Rule of Life by William Huntington. And it's put together in answer to some correspondence with one that thought we were under law and would put that yoke back again on us. with the scripture, not just his thoughts on it, but through the scripture, that we are truly under grace and not under law in that regard.

And I'd like to just read a couple of thoughts of his, I wrote the page numbers down so I wouldn't forget it. A couple of thoughts towards this, under law and under grace, and as it applies to the love of the brethren and love of God, we are under that law of the Spirit. He says, but perhaps my unknown friend may ask why this dispensation of the Spirit is called a law. To which I answer, first, because of its binding power, the cords of everlasting love, the bond of peace and the girdle of truth will hold the soul faster than all the lifeless commandments in the world, whether they be from heaven or men.

Secondly, it is called the law because of its constraining power. The love of Christ constrains me, says Paul, it is a powerful constraint from evil and mighty influences to mind. influences the mind to that which is good. Thirdly, because of the obedience it produces, the blessed giver of this law circumcises our hearts, that we may love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul, that we may live, according to Deuteronomy 30.

But that's what, they call the law of the spirit because that, as he said, Paul says, it constrains us to do those things and not to do those things. And it says here that, a thought that I like, it says, it's called the law because the constraining power that it has a mighty influence constraining us from evil, and that it says, it will hold the soul faster than all the lifeless commandments in the world, whether they be from heaven or of men. So that's what brings us about and not the letter of the law as far as you must do this, because he has done that.

And then two other short ones. And here, learning from what we've seen in 1 John and 2 John and other parts that we've looked at, here, the spirit and grace of God that teaches His people. He says, with respect to its usefulness to instruct the children of God, speaking of law of the spirit, it may be answered, believers are not without teachers. The Lord their God teaches them to profit, to love him. Yea, they are taught of God to love one another. First Thessalonians, we've read that before. Christ, the great prophet of the church, teaches them also. It is not now remember the law of Moses, my servant, but it is, this is my beloved son, hear ye him. All thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children. The Spirit of God, the anointing which ye have received of him, abideth in you. And it need not that any man teach you, if he be a minister of the letter, or one that brings rules of life from the snares of death, he calls the commandments, the snares of death. But as the same anointing teaching you of all things, and is true, and is no lie, even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

The grace of God that bringeth salvation teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lust, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.

From Titus, the believer's own reigns, when God tries him, instruct him in the night season. It's of God that teaches and with that spirit teaches and keeps us.

And then one more spot I'd like to read, and I would admonish you to get a hold of this and take a look at it. And he says here of that, The saints all sufficient rule, he says, has a statement on it. If the covenant of grace does not afford the believer a rule of life, it must be very deficient. However, Paul could bring a rule from that sufficient for believers to live by, walk by, worship by, and converse by.

God's sovereign will is man's rule. And to the saints God makes known the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which runs thus. This is the will of him that sent me that everyone which seeth the sun and believeth on him may have everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day.

This mystery is called by way of distinction from the law, God's goodwill towards men, which brings peace upon earth and glory to God in the highest. And it is the goodwill of him that dwelt in the bush. When this is revealed to men's hearts by the Holy Ghost, it is called the mystery of faith and a pure conscience. And this is the saint's all-sufficient rule.

By faith, the just man is to live. By faith and not by sight is the just man to walk. In the spirit, not in the letter, is the just man to serve. In spirit and in truth to worship. He that is faithful unto death shall have a crown of life.

The end of faith is salvation of the soul. Let the law be what it may, and aim at what it please. The end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, out of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned. And these, as he says, these are workings of God and his people, and that's what we pray to, and that's what we desire to be is when it says to conform to those things.

And as we see and as Huntington reinforced in his thoughts there, it's a spiritual law that causes these things to come about and not by a letter of a law.

And so for the next little bit in the second John, we'll be moving on to a couple of different thoughts and different direction a bit. Thank you for your attention. Be free and stay tuned for next time.