It was late on my heart to just
keep going through 2nd John and 3rd John when we finished 1st
John. And so last week we finished 1st John and tonight we're going
to start 2nd John. So I'll turn, if you would, to
the small epistle of 2nd John. Tonight we'll begin a study of
this personal letter written to a saint of God, and she's
called in scripture, the elect lady. This letter is also written
to her children, we will see, who also love the truth. And
they are professing believers in Christ. Later on, I'll bring
forth that John Gill does not believe that these were children,
in the sense of young, they were her children, but they were adults.
We know that every true born-again child of God has a love for the One called the Truth.
And we know that the One called the Truth in the Holy Scriptures
is the Lord Jesus Christ. They also have a love for the
Truth contained in these Scriptures right here. And we believe the record that
God has given of His Son, just as we learned in 1 John. They love those also we studied
in 1 John who have been saved and born again. They're blood-washed
children of God. God's people love God's people. Because we've all been born again
by the same almighty power, which is the Holy Spirit of God. And
we have the same Savior and the same Father and the same Spirit. So let's read this letter from
John to the elect lady. It's broken up into three sections. First, the greeting and love
to the elect lady and her children, which we see in verses one to
three. Then we have an exhortation from John for them to walk in
truth and love. We also have a warning to watch
for deceivers, and we'll see why later on in our study, who
are in the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh. We see that in verses 4 to 11. Those who do not confess that
Jesus Christ is coming to flesh are deceivers and antichrists.
And we know that he is, again, speaking of false teachers. Quickly
turn over, if you would, to 1 John, 1 John, chapter 2. We know that he's speaking of false teachers
when he brings forth Antichrist, and those who deny that Jesus
has come in the flesh, because over there in 1 John 2, verses
18 to 22, he gives a warning. Little children, it is the last
time, and as ye have heard, that Antichrist shall come, even now
there are many Antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they
were not of us. For if they had been of us, they
would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that
they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But
ye have an unction from the Holy One, which is the Holy Spirit
of God. And ye know all things were taught by the Holy Spirit
of God, the truths contained in the scripture. And again,
he always points us to Christ Jesus, our Lord. I have not written
unto you because you know not the truth, but because you know
it, and that no lies of the truth. Who is a liar, but he, here we
see it again, we'll see it as we read the whole epistle of
2 John. is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ
he is Antichrist denieth the father and the son now let's
go back to to second John and then the final breakup in in
the in the text of of 2 John is found in verses 12 and 13,
where we will see the final greeting. So the first is the greeting,
verses 1 to 3. The second is the exhortation,
verses 4 to 11, and the exhortation to walk in the truth and to watch
for false teachers. And then the last portion of
the letter is verses 12 and 13, which is the final greeting.
the final greeting, or the farewell of the Apostle John. And he also
in that section brings forth that he desires to see the elect
sister face to face, that their joy may be full, because they're
dear brothers and sisters in Christ, and that they may be
fellowshiped fully face to face. Let's read the whole letter here,
2 John, chapter 1, or 2 John, verse 1 to 13. the elder unto
the elect lady and her children whom I love in the truth. And
not I only, 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 to you, mercy and peace
from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son
of the Father in truth and love. So there's the opening greeting
right there. And then now we see an exhortation
to walk in truth and love in verses four to 11, and also a
warning about false teachers. I rejoiced greatly that I have
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
have heard from the beginning that we love one another." Same
theme as he was bringing forth we saw in the first epistle. And this is love that we walk
after his commandments. This is the commandment that
as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. For many
deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. And remember, Antichrist is anything
against Christ. Against Christ. So just from
this little portion here, we can deduce that Jehovah Witnesses,
or the Watchtower people, who deny Christ has come in the flesh,
or deny that He's the Son of God, that He's God incarnated
in the flesh, they deny that, then they're Antichrist. Also
Mormons, Antichrist. Anything that comes before Christ
or in the place of Christ is Antichrist. So you can easily
distinguish a false religion this way. Whenever somebody puts
Christ plus something, It's Antichrist, very clear. And Paul and the
apostles are constantly battling works-based salvation, which
is Antichrist. It says, look to yourselves that
we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we
receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine,
receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed. Now
take note of that little section there, in your house. We'll look
at that later on tonight. For he that biddeth him Godspeed
is a partaker of his evil deeds. Next we have the final, Paul's
final farewell to them, or John's final farewell to them. to the
elect lady in verses 12 and 13. Having many things to write unto
you, I write not with paper and ink, but I trust to come unto
you and speak face to face that a joy may be full. Thy children
of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen. Now the first epistle of
John, which we just finished studying, was what was called
a general epistle, a general epistle. which is written to the whole
church universal and is applicable to the saints throughout all
the ages. The second and third epistles of John are not general
epistles directed to the church as a whole, although they are
applicable to the church universal through the ages, they are personal
letters written to individual saints, just as the letter of
Philemon is. The letter of Philemon is. Paul
writes Philemon, who was in the church at Colossus. Again, though,
the general application is to the entire blood-bought church
of God throughout all the ages. Because of its content, there
are admonitions, warnings, and assertions of truth, and defining
of error are similar to that which is found all through the
Scriptures. Now John is writing to one of
the members of the body of Christ, this lady. The elect lady that
he's writing to is one of the members of the body of Christ,
and he admonishes in love to hold fast to the truth. And we
know who the truth is, that's Christ Jesus. And we saw, as
we read the whole epistle, he's also talking about the doctrine
of Christ. True doctrine focuses all around Christ, all around
Christ, his death, his burial, and his resurrection. What he
came here to do, who he was, all centers around him. And he admonishes her in love
to hold fast to the truth and the doctrine of Christ, in contrast
to Antichrist, which we will see later in our study. We know
from our study in 1 John, again, those who were called Antichrist
were false teachers who had crept into the church. They were teaching
works-based salvation. Some of them had left the church.
And in doing so, they exposed themselves in the process as
false converts and not lovers of the truth. They were not lovers of the truth
of salvation in and through Christ alone. No, they proved to be
themselves false professors. False professors because they
added to the finished work of Christ. And take note here that we're
not told when the letter was written or where John was when
he wrote it. The Holy Spirit, who is the true
author of the scriptures, did not feel that this was important.
Otherwise, we would know. Otherwise, we would know. But
this is God's word for us today. It is God's word for us today,
and we pray that the Holy Spirit of God will teach us and illuminate
the scriptures for us and teach us the things of Christ, teach
us the message of this book, and make it sweet to our souls,
beloved. As we study this wonderful letter
to one of God's elect, a personal letter written by John the Apostle
to one of God's elect. Now, John again was moved by
the Holy Spirit of God to pen these words, and we have seen
in our text that John's purpose in writing this brief epistle,
this brief letter, is to exhort and encourage this elect lady
and her children, and also to all of God's saints, but it's
written specifically to the elect lady and her children, and to
all who are born again, for us to continue in the truth, beloved.
We're to continue steadfast in the truth and in the faith of
the gospel. We're to walk in love. We're
to walk in love to God and to his people. And we're to avoid
false religion and false prophets and their doctrines. So let's
read verse one. We are not gonna move past verse
one tonight. As I was studying this, there is so much in this
first verse. There is, there literally is
so much in this verse. It's incredible, look at this.
The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love
in the truth, and not I only, but also all they that have known
the truth. So we see clearly in this text
that John, when writing to this elect lady, is not saying, I,
John, the beloved apostle. He's not saying that, is he?
He's not even using his title. He just says the elder. The elder. He's not saying John the Apostle.
He's not drawing attention to himself, beloved. He simply calls
himself the elder, as we see in this verse. Some commentators
believe that John was nearly a hundred years old when he wrote
this epistle. He had outlived all the other
apostles. So he may be referring to his
office as an elder. or his age, we know that both
of those fit in the text. But note he doesn't draw attention
to himself. He simply says, the elder unto the elect lady and
her children. And now our dear brother in Christ,
he addresses this letter to the elect lady and her children. Now we should not think this
unusual. For in Christ there is neither
male nor female, bond nor free, but we're one in Christ. Think
also of our Lord's special attention to the care of certain woman,
the Samaritan woman, Mary and Martha, the woman with the issue
of blood. And after his resurrection, he appeared to Mary Magdalene
and sent her to tell the disciples that he was alive. So think also
of the other women mentioned in the Old Testament, Merriman,
Ruth, Deborah, Esther. Think of some of those other
ladies mentioned in the New Testament, Dorcas, Lydia, Priscilla, Lois,
Eunice. So it's no wonder then that our
Lord was pleased to honor and distinguish by divine grace a
certain woman by addressing to her an apostolic epistle. And she's simply, we don't know
her name, she's simply called the elect lady. The elect lady. So let's read verse one again.
The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love,
in the truth. And not I only, but also all
they that have known the truth. Now have you ever paused and
considered the names of God's people? Which they're called
in the New Testament, Pull up Esau this morning and
went through some of these names. Here's a little sampling. God's people are called saints
61 times from Matthew to Revelation. 61 times were called saints. They're called sons of God seven
times. from Genesis to Revelation, or
from Matthew to Revelation. There are called strangers six
times from Matthew to Revelation. There are called Christians once,
and Christians one time, and Christian twice. And the term
used more often than any other except for saints to describe
the people of God in the New Testament is the elect, the elect. Now the Greek word translated
here in the New Testament, this Greek word is translated, the
same Greek word for the word elect there, elect lady, but
elect, the same Greek word is translated in the New Testament
13 times as elect, just as our text proclaims. Here's
an example of this word used in speaking of Christ. 1 Peter
2, verse 6, Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture,
Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone elect, same Greek
word, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Here are some examples where
this word speaks of God's children, His people. Matthew 24, 24, probably
heard this verse many times. For there shall arise false Christs
and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders,
and so much that it were possible they should deceive the very
elect. Same Greek word, same Greek word. Then in Luke 18,
7, it says, and shall not God avenge his own elect, same word,
which cry day and night unto him, though he bear along with
them? Then in Romans 8.33, a verse I absolutely love, same Greek
word. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. And
then, here's an example of the same word used. Now we saw it
used for speaking of Christ over there. in 1st Peter 2.6, then
in Matthew 24.24, Luke 18.7, in Romans 8.33, I brought forth
there for you that it's used for God's people. Now listen,
now this verse, it's used for the angels who did not fall.
Same Greek word, same Greek word. We'll see the definition of this
word too in a little bit. Same Greek word, 1st Timothy
5.21, I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and
the elect angels, same word. elect angels, that thou shalt
reserve these things without preferring one before another,
doing nothing by partiality. The same Greek word is also translated
chosen seven times in the New Testament. Seven times, same
Greek word, so it's translated elect 13 times, it's translated
chosen seven times. Luke 23.35, and the people stood
beholding, and the rulers also with them derided him, saying,
he saved others, let him save himself, if he be the chosen
of God. Same Greek word, chosen of God.
That's speaking of Christ on the cross. Luke chapter 23.35. And then, here's another example spoken of Christ's born-again,
blood-washed people. 1 Peter 2.9, it says this, but
ye are a chosen generation. Same Greek word as elect in our
text. Isn't that wonderful? So again,
it's translated chosen. But ye are a chosen generation.
This is speaking to God's people. We know from our study in 1 Peter
2. But ye are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should
show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness
into his marvelous light. Now then, the same Greek word
is also translated as elex. Elect with an S, elex. Listen
to this. It's translated three times,
and here's one example of it in 2 Timothy 2.10. Therefore
I endure all things for the elex sake. that they may also obtain the
salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. So
it's translated alex, it's translated chosen, and it's translated elect. My, and it's the same Greek word. And we know from our studies
in scripture that the saints of God are those separated from
others, separated from eternity by God. We know that, it's God
who's made us to differ. We know that. So this epistle
is written to this dear sister who was chosen by God in Christ
in eternity. Just as every single child of
God was chosen by God in Christ in eternity. Now election was
part of the common speech in biblical times, beloved, among
the children of God. In John's day it was common speech. It was common speech to speak
of the elect of God. But today, well today it's still
common among those who have tasted of the grace of God, isn't it?
We still. We still talk about being elect, the elect of God. And we know there's nothing in
us that caused God to elect us. But we are the elect, we're chosen
to God. But you know what? This wonderful
doctrine of election is the most despised doctrine in religion. They hate it. They hate it. In the religion of our day, oh,
they hate the doctrine of election. because it's counted to them
as something confusing or controversial. But we see here that it's a common
salutation. It's a common salutation. John's
writing a letter to one of God's chosen people and he calls her
right here, the elder unto the elect lady and her children. It's a common salutation. And think of this, too. Think
of this. This wonderful doctrine of God's electing grace assures
the believer that we had nothing to do with our salvation. And it assures us that our salvation
is of the Lord. And it assures us that we're
secure in Christ. Because we know that those who
are chosen of God in Christ are redeemed by Christ and by His
almighty power, and are born again by the Holy Spirit of God
by His almighty power, and are kept by God by His almighty power. So what assurance the believer
can glean from this? And the truth of the Scripture
is brought forth right here that salvation is of the Lord from
beginning to end. Greeting each other in this way
would be a... Think of this too. I thought about this today. Greeting
each other in this way would be a constant reminder for believers. A constant reminder to the saints
of God that they are saved by the grace and mercy of God in
Christ alone. It would be a constant reminder
for them, beloved. We know we didn't choose Christ.
He says, you've not chosen me, I've chosen you. So this greeting would be a constant
reminder of the grace of God in Christ to them. A testimony
each time. This is a testimony for this
lady and for John and for those who read it. A testimony of the
power of God. That this lady is one of God's
elect. Because she would know who and
what she is by nature and birth, just as we know who and what
we are by nature and birth, don't we? We know that we're depraved,
bankrupt sinners in our natural state. And then we know that
after the Lord saves us, after we're born again by the Holy
Spirit of God and we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we
know that we are but recipients of God's grace and mercy. And
so this kind of salutation would be a constant reminder to them
of the grace of God. It's wonderful. It's absolutely
wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. And every
saint can testify of this truth. We are the elect of God. Not
by anything that we've done, but by the grace and mercy of
our great God. So we see that this lady was
elect. She was chosen out of the profane world into the sanctified
company of the Church of God. One commentator brings forth
that she had received Christian teachers into her home. Look
at verse 10. And this is part of the warning
about Antichrist, because she had been receiving Christian
teachers into her home. Obviously, she had opened up
her home for Christian teachers to come. and to preach the gospel. Look, if there come any unto
you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house,
neither bid him God's speed. And the commentator continues,
it seems her temptation was to be indiscriminate in her receiving
the elder. John, with paper and ink, puts
her on guard against false teachers. because she had been receiving
Christian teachers into her home to preach the gospel, but she
was being indiscriminate with that. So John is putting her
on guard right now, saying if anyone denies that Jesus is the
Christ and He's come in the flesh, do not receive Him and do not
have Him in your house. Do not allow Him to teach. He's
an antichrist. He's a false prophet and deceiver. He comes as a sheep, but inward
he's raving a wolf. And he adds man's works to the
finished work of Christ. John Gill brings forth that since
John calls her here Lady, that she was probably a woman of wealth
and dignity. Which shows that God sometimes
calls by His grace the rich and noble. The Greek word here for
Lady is Kyra, which is the feminine of Kyros, which means Lord. And take note also that she was
a lady of high standing. John addresses her in a manner
that's common, though, to all believers. He doesn't address
her as the rich lady. He addresses her as the elect
lady. Even though she's of high standing,
she's just one of the elect. Isn't that wonderful? That's
absolutely wonderful, beloved. So whether people are rich or
poor in this world, they are one in Christ if they're believers.
They're one in Christ. And we see then that her standing
in society and her wealth did not distinguish her from anyone
else in the economy of grace, beloved. One's standing and one's
wealth does not distinguish anyone from the economy of grace. We
are all saved sinners, saved by the precious blood of Christ.
I like what Scott Richardson said, and I'm going to keep saying
it, the ground is level at the foot of the cross. And that's
where we stand as God's people. Oh my. Look into Christ, eh? Our sacrifice. And when we get
the glory, there ain't no one vaulting over anyone else. We're
all looking at Christ. We're all looking at Him, and
we're all singing, worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb. The only one who makes us to
differ from one to another in this world is God. And it's He
who chose us in eternity. And that Greek word means to
choose. He chose us. We're the chosen
out ones. The chosen out ones. That means the chosen out ones.
And the only one who makes us to differ in this world is God.
And He chose us in Christ in eternity, beloved. So we say
that in the sin of God, through the sin of God, the wealthy and
worldly riches, she doesn't differ in Christ from the poorest of
the flock, beloved. No, no, we're all the same. We're
one in Christ. Think of this, too. The electing
grace of God is the great equalizer. It's the great equalizer. It
is. And it provides the sweetest
of results in the recipients, because it is the great equalizer.
We all are needy. And there's nothing we can bring
to gain us merit and favor with God. We must come empty, bankrupt
sinners. And who's our reward? We know
who our reward is. Christ is our reward. Abraham
said that. Christ told Abraham, I'm your
exceeding reward. My, oh my. Yeah, the grace of
God is the great equalizer, beloved. And again, it produces the sweetest
of results in the heart of the recipients. The rich, the poor,
the educated, the illiterate, the weak, the strong, all have
the same perfect standing before God in Christ. Everyone who's in Christ, born
again, blood-washed believer, think of that, rich or poor,
educated or illiterate, weak or strong, all have the same
perfect standing before God in Christ. And what do we say? Praise
His mighty name. Praises my name. What a great
God. What a great God. Let's read
verse 1 again. The elder unto the elect lady
and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not I only,
but also all they that have known the truth. So we see clearly
again that this letter is written to the elect lady. Definition being one picked out
or chosen. Can't get around that, can you?
Oh, it's wonderful. It's absolutely wonderful for
us as believers, isn't it? Because we know we'd never choose
God. Picked out. Oh, chosen ones. And this is
referring to the fact that the lady was one of the elect of
God. She's one of the chosen ones of God. Chosen out from
among mankind by the sovereign grace of God for salvation. And
that's true of every single believer. And note, this letter's not just
written to the elect lady, but it's also written to her children.
John Gill brings forth that these are not infants. These are not
infants. They're growing up. They've made
a profession of the truth, and they walked in it. Look at verse
four. We see that in verse four. Look, I rejoice greatly that
I have found of thy children walking in the truth. They've
made professions, and they're walking in the truth, as we have
received commandment from the Father. So we see here, Both
mother and children, the apostle brings forth are objects of divine
love. Just as every believer is an object of God's divine
love, beloved. His eternal love. And they're
receivers of divine mercy and grace, aren't they? Just like
every one of God's people are. It's wonderful. Note also in this verse, in verse
one here, the elder unto the elect lady and her children whom
I love in the truth and not I only, but also all they that have known
the truth." Note also in this verse that John brings forth
his love in Christ for the elect lady and for her children. He brings forth that they are
also loved by all who have known the truth. So we see here then
that John brings forth His love for the brethren, remember the
theme in the first epistle, the general theme, too, of love and
the brethren, also the contrast that we saw, but one of them
was that the true believer loves the brethren, and the false believer
does not love the brethren, right? Now look what John does here.
Not only he brings forth his love for the brethren, not only
has he exhorted us in the first epistle to love the brethren,
but we see here that he practiced what he preaches. He does. Look at verse one again.
The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love
in the truth. He loves her. He loves her with God's love.
Remember, that's the love that's not natural to us. It's not natural
to us. And not I only, but also all
they that have known the truth. God's people love one another.
That's what he's bringing forth there. God's people love one
another. So take note how the aged apostle writes that he loves
the select lady and her children, and the particular word he chooses
for love is agapio and not filio. Weiss brings forth that John
used the word, or had John used the word filio, he would have
been expressing a human fondness for her, which would have been
a grave mistake in a man of John's position in the church. No, he
uses the word agapio, He's telling her that he loves her and her
children with Christian love. With Christian love. And this is a love produced in
the heart by the Holy Spirit of God. Again, it's not natural
to us. It's not natural to us. One commentator said, it's as
if he said, I love you in the Lord. Which we do. We love each other
in the Lord, don't we? It's wonderful. It's absolutely
wonderful. Listen to the same word used
over in the first epistle. In 1 John 3, 14, he says, we
know that we have passed from death into life because we love
the brethren. Same word. He that loveth not
his brother abideth in death. And notice in our verse, not
only does he love her with the love of God and Christ, but he
also connects his love for her with their love for the truth.
Look at this. The elder unto the elect lady
and her children whom I love in the truth. And not I only,
but also all they that have known the truth. So he brings forth
that all they who have known the truth love her and her children
in the same way. You ever notice when you meet
God's people who you haven't met, and then there's that instant
connection? And then as you get to know them
more, you just love them more. That's the love of God in Christ,
beloved. And that's what John's writing
about here. This is speaking of the love
of God which is shed abroad in the believer's heart. shed a
broadened believer's heart. Who? By who? By the Holy Spirit
of God. And not only do God's born-again blood-washed people,
those who have been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's
cross, have a love for Christ, but they also have a love for
each other. And they have a love for the truth, don't they? The
truth being Christ and the truth in the scriptures. They love
both. They love both. So John brings forth here the
theme of love and truth before us, even in this first verse.
Right away, right away he sets it forth before us. And remember,
it's all by the Holy Spirit of God. He's the true author of
the scriptures. He's the true author of the scriptures. And
again, I love the fact that John practices what he preaches. He
really does love God's people. It's wonderful, it's wonderful.
John has fought forth with these words the precedent of the truth
that believers love one another. He set it forth right away, right
away. And he's explained how believers
love one another, because they love one another in truth. They
love one another in Christ, who is the truth. And they all love
to hear the truth that the gospel proclaimed in the scriptures. Who is the object of our faith? The one who is the truth, Christ. Who do the scriptures proclaim?
The one who is the truth, the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Old
Testament, they say someone's coming. He's coming. Types and shadows and pictures.
And then the New Testament says, he's coming. And he's coming
again. And it's the truth. The one who's
called the way, the truth, and the life, the Lord Jesus Christ,
the only way to the Father. Our Lord himself said, I'm the
way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me, from his own mouth. Beloved, the law was given by
Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. He's God manifest
in the flesh, come to redeem his people from their sins, and
praise God he did it. The third day he rose again and
ascended up into heaven. And now he rules and reigns forever. So truly then we see that we
are one in Christ. And if the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts, then we're love the brethren. We're love
the brethren. Because you know what? We have
the very best thing in common, the Lord Jesus Christ, the truth. And it's Christ who is our elder
brother, our friend that sticketh closer than a brother, our savior,
our substitute in our life. We all have that in common, we
who are the elect of God. We all have that in common. And
He alone is the believer's all in all, isn't He? Just as Paul
wrote. He's our all in all. And when
two brethren meet, even though they may come from two completely
different cultures or backgrounds or even social standing and status,
the name of Christ is sufficient to generate true and lasting
love. All those things that the world
holds high are absolutely moved away in
Christ. We don't care if our brothers
are rich and poor. If they're struggling, we want to help them.
But in the sense that we don't hold it as a status thing where
we go, well, you're not quite allowed to hang out with me.
No, no. We accept one another where we're
at in Christ, in Christ. And John brings forth the commonality
of the elect, when he calls her the elect lady. Sure, she has
a standing, but she's just one of the elect, saved by the amazing
power and mercy and grace of God in Christ. And that's what
levels us all, isn't it? It brings the ground level, is
the Lord Jesus Christ. So the elect of God, again, have
the same Father, the same Savior, the same Spirit within them.
They have the same Redeemer, the same Lord, And Christ is
the one who binds us all together, beloved. He is the one who binds
us all together. And you know what? We sing the
same song, don't we? Whether we're here on earth,
and we're all singing the same song in glory. Worthy is the
lamb. Worthy is the lamb that was slain
to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor
and glory and blessing. And the believer in Christ says,
amen and amen. Praise be to God. Heavenly Father,
we thank you for allowing us to gather together. Oh, you who
are king over all, all the universe, Lord, we are such needy people,
and we need to be comforted, and we need to be built up in
thee, oh Lord, and I pray that this message and the messages
that go forth from this church, oh, that they will comfort your
people, be a great comfort to your people while we travel through
this world. May you receive all the glory,
honor, and praise, tonight and always, in Jesus' name, amen.