Open up your Bibles, if you would,
to 1 John chapter 4. The name of the message is two
words, of God. Of God. 1 John chapter 4, we'll
read verses 1 to 9. And take note as we read these
scriptures from verses 4 to 9, we're going to read verse 1 to
get the context of what we're going to look at, but take note
of the words of God and also of the world. There's two different,
there's a contrast that's gonna be shown here. Beloved, believe
not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of
God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Hereby know ye the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every
spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of Antichrist,
whereof ye have heard that it should come, and even now already
is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children,
and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you
than he that is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore
speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are
of God. He that knoweth God heareth us.
He that is not of God, heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit
of truth and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God
and knoweth God. He that loveth not God, or he
that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love. In this
was manifest the love of God toward us, because that God sent
his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through
him. The last time we met for our
study, we looked at verses one to three, where we saw John give
us an exhortation. to try the spirits, whether they
be of God. And we know this is talking about
teachers and just professors, because there's many false prophets
who had went out during that time, and there's many false
prophets now in our day. So we're to try the spirits.
We're to try the spirits to see if they're of God. And we also
looked at how John wrote that the spirit of Antichrist was
already in the world when he wrote this letter and how that
same spirit is still in the world today. Still in the world today,
it's still active. It's active in the false religions
and sects of our day just like it was active in the false religions
and sects of John's day. Now we see in verse four that
John brings forth that we who are the beloved of God are the
children of God by the work of God. And he that is in you, is
greater than he that is in the world. Who's in the believer? The Holy Spirit. In contrast
to the spirit of Antichrist. Look at verse four again. Ye
are of God, little children, and have overcome them because
greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
Take note of the words here. Ye are of God. Beloved, you and I are born again
by the power of God. By the power of God. It's all
by his work. We are regenerated by the power
of God, born again. We are granted faith to believe
and repentance before God by the power of God. So John writes
here, you are of God. You're not of your own self.
Because we can't save ourselves, we can't regenerate ourselves,
we can't redeem ourselves. It says you are of God. The new
birth is a miracle of God. We know the scripture declares
as many as received him being Christ, to them gave
he power to become the sons of God. It's a work of God. Even to them that believe on
his name, which were born not of blood, nor the will of flesh,
nor the will of man, but of God. That's John chapter one, verses
12 and 13. Now we who are born again by
the power of God Almighty, now we can discern error being taught. Now we can discern error. Now
we can discern false preachers. Because the spirit of God is
in us. He said, and here guide us into all truth, won't he?
That's what the scripture says. Here guide us into all truth.
And greater is the Holy Spirit in you and in me than the spirit
of Antichrist that's in the world. That's what this scripture is
bringing forth here. Greater is the Holy Spirit in us than
the spirit of Antichrist, the spirit of evil and error in the
false prophets. So the saints that John's writing
to were not to be taken in by the heresies
of the false teachers. Why? Because they are settled
in the gospel. But John's still warning them,
isn't he? He's warning them, saying, be aware. Be aware of
the spirit of Antichrist out there. Don't bury your heads
in the sand. It's out there, right? So we
need to be aware of that. We need to be aware. But the
saints aren't taken in by the false preachers and teachers.
Why? Because we're settled in Christ.
We're settled in the gospel. We're settled in the gospel.
We're secure in Christ. And actually, the believers are
united against the false teachers. United against the false teachers.
Why and how? Because we've had our eyes opened.
We've now had our eyes opened by the Holy Spirit. And he teaches
us and he guides us into all truth. And the error of the false teachers,
they were ruled by the spirit of Antichrist. When they're teaching
their heresies and their errors, they're ruled by the spirit of
Antichrist. but we're ruled by the Spirit of God, by the Holy
Spirit of God. It's He who guides us, it's He
who directs us, it's He who teaches us, it's He who illuminates the
scriptures that we might know more about the things of Christ.
And again, we can never brag about what we know, never. Because everything we know we've
been taught, everything, everything. And that's why we give Him all
the glory. That's why we give our great
God all the glory. And the saints actually have
victory over the false teachers and their heresies because greater
is he that's in them, the Holy Spirit, right, than the spirit
of Antichrist and the false teachers. And this is clearly bought forth
in verse four. Let's read that again. Ye are of God. And remember,
John's writing to born-again, blood-washed believers. He says,
you're of God. It's God who's done this, not
ourselves, because we never would have sought Him. All right, we
know that. Left in our natural state, there's none that seek
it after God. There's none that understand it. But this scripture
says, you're of God. That's a miracle of grace. That's
a miracle of grace, you're of God. Little children, that's
a term of endearment. We'll look at that at the latter
part of the message. That's a term of endearment. Little children
is a term of endearment. And have overcome them because
greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
Now next we'll see that John brings a contrast before us in
scriptures of those who are in the world and have the spirit
of Antichrist in verse four. and those who are born again
by the Holy Spirit of God and know the difference between the
spirit of truth and the spirit of error, which we see in verse
six. So let's read verses five and six together and take note
of the contrasting words of the world in verse five and of God
in verse six. We see the same phrase in verse
four in speaking of the children of God, that they were of God,
remember? Ye are of God. So let's read
verses five and six now. They are of the world, therefore
speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. Now again,
this is talking about false teachers, right? We are of God. Look at the contrast, see? He
that knoweth God heareth us. John's talking about God-sent
preachers. He that is not of God, heareth
not us. Hereby know we the spirit of
truth and the spirit of error. Again, we'll read it again. They
are of the world, therefore speak they of the world, and the world
heareth them. Think of the health, wealth,
prosperity preachers. Bunch of folks follow them. We are of God. He that knoweth
God, heareth us. And he that is not of God, heareth
not us. They won't have nothing to do
with the gospel. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the
spirit of error. So we see a contrast spot before
us, starting in verse five. Again, they are of the world,
therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. So we see in this verse, this
gives us a description of those who are of the world. Now remember,
this is being written about trying the spirits again. Okay, this
is being written about trying the spirits to see if they are
of God. Are they preaching and teaching according to the word
of God? Always gotta keep context. Always gotta keep the context.
And we'll see why, because we're gonna hit a verse tonight that
people will tear right out of context. and say, well, this
teaches the universal love of God. It doesn't. Contextually,
it doesn't say anything about that. And we'll see that. We'll
see that tonight. So we're to try the Spirit, to
test the Spirit to see if they are of God. Are they preaching
and teaching what the scriptures proclaim? And we see this brought
forth again in verse five. That those in verse five have
the spirit of Antichrist. They are of the world and the
world hears them. They are of the world, therefore
speak they of the world and the world heareth them. They're not
merely of the world as to a standing or place. No, they have the same
mind as the world. They have the same mind, the
same spirit. And they operate by the flesh,
they don't operate by the Holy Spirit of God. Listen to what
the scriptures say. Because they, remember, these
folks that are being mentioned here, again, they're of the flesh. They do the things of the flesh.
And the scriptures declare that that was our state before the
Lord saved us. Listen to this. We are now quickened. who were
dead in trespasses and sins. That was our state. Where in
times past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience. That was our
state. Among whom ye also among whom
also we all had our conversations in times past in the lust of
the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." Ephesians
2, verses 2 and 3. So we were in that state. And did you want to hear the
gospel when you were in that state? I didn't want to hear
it. Why? That's scriptural. So what
John's bringing forth here is they are of the world. Therefore
speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. But God's
people, we're gonna see, can discern the error of their ways. So verse five. These false prophets
speak of the world, and the world hears them, and their understanding
is restricted. Always remember, too, that these
false teachers' understanding is restricted to natural things.
Just like ours was. Just like our understanding was
before the Lord saved us. And they operate and they speak
in the language of the world. That's what John's bringing forth
here. They operate and they speak in the language of the world.
And what? The world hears them. Why do
you think so many people follow those false preachers? Because
they're of the world. They're not saved. They're not
born again. They're lost. And this is the primary reason
for the spread of religion in this world. The world loves its own, beloved. The world hates grace. It wants
nothing to do with it. And just ask some religious folks.
Tell them that you believe that salvation is by grace alone plus
nothing. All Christ. Nothing that they
do at all. And watch what happens. People hate that. Because they
want something to do. Well, we preach done. The work
is finished. It's accomplished. All we do
is look and live. And we're given the ability to
look and live. Because that's what that scripture brought forth
there in verse 4, isn't it? Year of God. Well, we're of God,
so we look to Christ. We didn't look to Him before
we were born again. But we sure do now. We sure do now. So the world loves its own. But
these false religions, these false teachings, are nothing
but the spirit of Antichrist, beloved. Nothing but the spirit
of Antichrist. And the spirit of Antichrist
always tells you what you have to do. And sometimes it's real
subtle. Sometimes it's just so subtle.
Oh, just walk an aisle and pray this prayer. Just bow your head
and repeat this prayer. Like the Holy Spirit can't do
a heart work unless you pray that prayer. That's called decisional
regeneration. We believe in Holy Spirit regeneration.
God must do a work. Ye are of God, beloved. You're
of God. Rejoice if you're born again.
This is wonderful news. Wonderful news. So religion, the spirit of Antioch,
always tells you what you have to do instead of saying what
Christ has done, because they don't want to claim what Christ
has done, because they don't even know what he's done. They
want you to do something. And they make you two-fold the
child of hell, whoever follows them. But the Bible preacher, the gospel
preacher, gets up and proclaims a work that's finished. Look
what Christ has done. Look what he's done. He cried,
it is finished. And finished means finished.
The work's accomplished. Praise be to God. He saved his
people from their sins. And we see as we read these texts
that God's people who have the Spirit of God receive these truths. Receive these truths. Joyously.
Joyously we receive these truths. Now with that fresh in our mind,
And with knowing that salvation is of the Lord, in the Lord alone,
let's read verse six. We are of God. There's that phrase
again. He that knoweth God, heareth
us. So this is John saying, we're of God. He's a sent man by God
to preach and proclaim Christ. And he says, he that knoweth
God, heareth us. And he that is not of God, heareth
not us. There's the contrast again, right
before us. Hereby know we the spirit of
truth and the spirit of error. Very plainly stated, isn't it?
Very clear, right before us. And remember, John is penning
these words by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. These
words are, and they're very plain for us to read, aren't they?
They're penned by the Holy Spirit of God for us to read. John pens
these by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, and he brings
us back, notice this too, he brings us back to the source
of our regeneration. The source of our salvation,
which is God. It's he who has all power, and
we are the people of God, the children of God, by his exercise
of divine power. by his exercise of divine power.
He makes us will in the day of his power. He purposed and will
to save us. And we're saved. Notice the text
here. We again, we are of God. That
plainly proclaims again. John's bringing us right to the
source, isn't he? Who's the source of our salvation? Who's the source
of our regeneration? Who's the source of our salvation?
We are of God. God's the source. He's the source. He that knoweth God, heareth
us. He that is not of God, heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit
of truth and the spirit of error. Again, the distinction is being
brought forth here. Look at the distinction being
brought forth here. He that knoweth God, heareth us. Here's the gospel
preacher. Rejoices in the gospel, proclaim. Rejoices in Christ, who is the
object of the gospel. But look at this. He that is
not of God, heareth not us. Contrast put right before us.
Very plainly, again, in scripture. So John brings forth a distinction
about the preaching of the gospel, saying that the saints of God,
the born again believers, will make a distinction concerning
the preaching of the gospel because the true believer heareth us.
Heareth us. And you know what? The reason
you hear the preacher and rejoice in what's being preached is because
you're of God. Because you're of God. He's done
a mighty work. He's done a mighty work. And
the believer is set apart from the false teachers and those
who hear them. We see the distinction right
here, isn't it? There's a distinction being brought forth right before
us. So the true believer in Christ
will not be carried away by the false teachers. Won't be carried
away by the false teachers. Not be led away and lured by
their false teaching of health, wealth, prosperity. All kinds
of stuff they tell us. But the true believer will not
be led away by anyone adding to the perfect, perfect, perfect
finished work of Christ. And that's what these people
are doing. They mix grace with works and
there's no more grace. Always remember, beloved, we
stand in Christ. And He accomplished
the perfect redeeming work to redeem our eternal souls. And
that's who we stand in. That's who we rest in. No one
else. No one else. No confidence in
this flesh, none at all. Our confidence is in Christ,
in him alone. And God's people, it says here,
he that knoweth God heareth us. God's people love to hear the
gospel. They love to hear the gospel. Tell me about Christ. Tell me about my Redeemer. Tell
me about the finished work of Christ. Tell me that He died
for me on Calvary's cross. Tell me that He paid for all
my sins. Tell me, and just keep telling me. Just keep telling
me. Tell me that His precious blood
has redeemed my soul, purchased my soul. Oh, we love to hear it. Tell
me about how now, even though I'm a sinner, I'm clothed in
the perfect spotless righteousness of Christ. My. I don't understand it, but I
marvel in it. Right? To be a sinner on this
earth, and yet to have a standing before God, blameless. Oh my. My. It's a miracle of God. It's a miracle of God, isn't
it? Beloved, you are of God. So am I. We're of God. It's God
who's done this mighty work. Praise his mighty name. Praise
his mighty name for what he's done. And God's people, we just,
we rejoice when we hear the gospel preached and reclaimed. Preach
to me Christ. Tell me. Just tell me about him. And look at that verse six again.
We are of God and he that knoweth God heareth us. He that is not
of God, heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of
truth and the spirit of error. Let us also take note what is
declared in this verse, that God's elect will hear the gospel. Don't let these little things
escape you. It plainly says that. God's people hear the gospel.
There was a time when we didn't hear the gospel. Praise God,
now we hear it, don't we? Because you're of God. We rejoice in it. So this talks
about the certainty that God's people will be given ears to
hear. And eyes to see Christ, eh? Yeah. He that knoweth God
heareth us. And again, this is a work, turn
if you would to Matthew chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10. It says
that the Lord's elect will hear, his people will hear the gospel,
and they'll receive it, and they'll receive those who preach it.
Just as our Lord proclaimed in Matthew chapter 10, look at this,
Matthew chapter 10. He sent out his disciples, and
let's look at verses 5 to 15. Look at this. These 12 sent Jesus forth,
verse 5, and commanded them, saying, go not into the way of
the Gentiles and into any city of the Samaritans, enter ye not.
but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as
you go, preach." Well, who did they preach? We know they preached
Christ. And look, they're preaching from the Old Testament too, aren't
they? Saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick,
cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils freely. You have received freely. Provide
neither gold nor silver nor brass in your purses. nor script for
your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves,
for the workman is worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever
city or town you shall enter and inquire who in it is worthy,
and there abide till you go thence, and when you come into a house,
salute it. And if the house be worthy, now look at this, we
know that we're only worthy in Christ, aren't we? We're only
worthy. Now, the Lord said He sent them
out to the lost sheep of Israel, didn't He? Well, look at this. Let your peace come upon it,
but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. So
if they receive you, let your peace be upon them. If they don't
receive you, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall,
look at this, verse 14. And whosoever shall not receive
you, nor hear your words, there it is, nor hear your words, When
you depart out of that house or city, shake off dust of your
feet. Verily I say unto you, it shall
be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the
day of judgment than for that city." And then we know that our Lord
proclaimed these words in John chapter 10. He said, my sheep,
what? Hear my voice. Hear my voice, and I know them,
and they follow me. So let's read verse six again
here. We are of God, he that knoweth God, heareth us. My sheep
hear my voice, and they follow me. We've been given ears to
hear. We are of God, he that knoweth
God, heareth us. He that is not of God, heareth
not us. Hereby know we the spirit of
truth and the spirit of error. So again, we see the contrast
between those who are of the world and those who are of God,
put very clearly and plainly before us. The believer in Christ
hears the voice of the shepherd through the preaching of the
Word of God and through the reading of the Word of God. And this
is now we know the truth from a lie, because the Spirit of
God teaches us the truth. guides us and directs us into
all truth. And we rejoice to hear the gospel
of God's free grace in Christ alone. So the chosen of God,
the children of God, the regenerated ones born again by the Holy Spirit
of God, they believe and they receive the preachers of God
because God's preachers are chosen and sent too. sent by God. So God's people receive the words
that they proclaim. That's what John's bringing forth
here. And the preacher's commission
is to go preach Christ. To preach Christ and him crucified.
To preach a perfect, atoning work of salvation accomplished
by the Lord Jesus Christ, period. He did it all, and then He rose
from the grave, and He rose for our justification. He's God incarnate in the flesh,
and He's right now seated at the right hand of glory. He's
ruling and reigning as a sovereign king. Now think of what is set
here before us, and may we examine our hearts. Do we receive the
Word of God when it's preached, no matter which preacher of God
is preaching it? Do we receive it? God's people do. And God's preachers,
again, were sent to proclaim the word of God. That's what
we're sent to do, to proclaim the word of God. And those who
are of God, receive it. Receive it and rejoice. Rejoice
in the word. The gospel preacher does not
need an invitation system. Don't need nothing like that.
Don't need an altar call or some man-invented means of persuasion
such as soul winning. Don't need that stuff. No, they
preach and they proclaim the word of God and they that are
of God will hear us. And the lost sheep of God will
be given ears to hear and eyes to see, born again by the Holy
Spirit of God. Then they'll receive the word
too. And the scripture says if they
will not hear what we preach, it's because they're not a God.
They're not a God. Look at it. Hereby know we the
spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Now let's look at verse seven
and see what John and John again is. Now he comes back to the
theme which he's bought forth through this book, which is the
love for the brethren, which the believer in Christ has. And
this love that we have for the brethren comes from God. Comes
from God. Verse seven, beloved, dearly
or divinely loved ones, beloved, let us love one another for love
is of God and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.
So we see in the text that knowing the truth and being of God, as
John writes, is virtually connected to loving the brethren. Loving
the brethren is a fruit of being born again, beloved. And we see that, as Brother Tim
James says, where there's one, there's also the other. Where there's one, there's also
the other. And we know who the source of
this love is. We know who the source of this
love for the brethren is. It's God, beloved. It's God. John's very clearly bought the
fourth when he said, you are of God. It's God, so the source
of this love that we have for the brethren is the Lord. And the scriptures declare it
to be so. But remember, we're sinners, right? We're sinners,
and we need to be reminded. We need to be reminded, beloved.
We need to be reminded to love the brethren. And we see here
in verse seven, in an exhortation by the Apostle Paul, that we
who are the people of God are to love the brethren. It's an
exhortation for us. And once again, John, just like
Paul, brings the believer right, right to Christ. Right to Christ. Back to the source of our salvation,
beloved. Back to the source of our salvation.
The source of our love for Christ, the source of our love for the
brethren, the source of our love for the gospel, and the source,
the source of all that we know and have had revealed to us is
God. He's the source. Ye are of God. You're of God. And take notice
in this verse, too. Take notice of this. How this
verse, verse 7, right? We're retrieved. Beloved, let
us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone that
loveth is born of God and knoweth God. Take note how this verse
gives all the glory to God. Look at this. This is the love
of God. We love God's people. Why? Because
we're born again. Who are we born again by? The
Holy Spirit of God. Look at this. Beloved, let us
love one another, for love is of God. There's the source. He's
given glory to God. It's of God. And everyone that
loveth is born of God. There's the work. The Holy Spirit
does the work. And those who are, note too,
those who are born again, they love the brethren. And they know God. They know
God. Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God. And
remember the context, he's talking now about brotherly love. And knoweth God, we know him.
We didn't know him before, but praise be to God, we know him
now. We know him now. Because he's revealed himself
to us. So this small little verse glorifies God, beloved. It glorifies
our great God. It glorifies God for his mighty
work, because if you look, it's God doing all the work. It's
God who's doing all the work, look at this. Beloved, let us
love one another, for love is of God, there's the source, it's
given to us. It's given to us, the love that
we have for the brethren is given to us by God, right? For love is of God, and everyone
that loveth is born of God. That means you're born again,
right? And you know God. He's the one who regenerated
us. He's the one who gave us this love, and now we know him.
Glory be to God. The verse exalts our king. It
gives him all the glory, beloved. It gives him all the glory and
honor and praise. So contemplate the love of God
for the church, for the blood-washed saint. In this wondrous love, included
in this wondrous love is the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit, the whole Godhead, beloved. When we say God has loved us
from eternity, God the Father has loved us from eternity, God
the Son has loved us from eternity, and God the Holy Spirit has loved
us from eternity. The whole Godhead. The whole Godhead. And oh, wonder of wonders, our
great and glorious God, the three in one, the Father, Son, and
the Holy Spirit, they are the source of this wondrous love
that the believer has. This wondrous love that the believer
has for the brethren that we didn't have before the Lord saved
us, now we do. This wondrous love that we now
have for the gospel is wholly resulting from our great God. Glory to his name. That's all
we can say. Glory to his name. Now let's
look at verse 8. He that loveth not knoweth not
God, for God is love. Now here we see the explanation
of why those who are of the world do not love the brethren. Those
who are of God love the brethren. And note the text clearly brings
forth that those who are of the world do not love the brethren. He that loveth not knoweth not
God. Again, we gotta remember the
context of the verse. For God is love. So the text
is clearly bringing forth that they who are of the world do
not love the brethren, they do not love the gospel of God's
free and sovereign grace because they're not of God. They're not
of God. Now this verse here is often
pulled out of context. It's often pulled out of context
to express the false notion of the universal love of God for
all humanity. But we see, we have seen, looking
at the context of this verse, that it has nothing to do with
that, does it? It doesn't. The context is talking about
loving the brethren, trying the spirits and loving the brethren,
the spirit of Antichrist, and being of God or of the world.
That's the context of this verse. Context is so key, beloved. So
key. So key. Let's read that again
in context with verse, from four to nine. Let's read that in context.
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because
greater is he that is in you, the Holy Spirit, than he that
is in the world, the Spirit of Antichrist. They are of the world,
therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We
are of God, the children of God, the born again saint, the little
children. He that knoweth God heareth us. He that is not of God, heareth
not us. Hereby know we the spirit of
truth and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God and
knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not
God, for God is love. In this was manifest the love
of God toward us, towards his people, right? Towards his elect,
because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that
we might live through him. So contextually, we see that
this is speaking about love in the brethren and the difference
between, we know from verses one to nine, the difference of
the spirit of Antichrist and the spirit of God. So we see again within this context
that it's a reiteration of the reason why believers love one
another. And this has been a theme, this has been a theme through
this book. And remember it's the Holy Spirit
having John pen these words. This is a continuous theme which
the Holy Spirit of God is reiterating again in this verse right here,
right? He that loveth God, Or he that
loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. This is a theme
that he's reiterating that's been mentioned before in previous
chapters. Go, if you would, to 1 John 2,
verse 5. And the love of the brethren
is a distinguishing mark of grace, a work of grace having been done,
beloved. Again, it's all of God. It's all of God. Let's look at
some passages on this, starting in, again, 1 John 2, verse 5. But whosoever keepeth his word,
in him verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we
that we are in him. Now go to 1 John 3 and look at
verses 14 to 18. We know that we have passed from
death unto life because we love the brethren. Again, we know
who the source of that love is, don't we? It's God. It's God. He that loveth not his brother
abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother
is a murderer, and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life
abiding in him. 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 whosoever hath this world's
good, 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. Now let's go to our verse in
verse seven. After reading that and seeing
that's a theme that's been presented in this book, look at verse seven
again. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God,
and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. Now look
at verse one of chapter five. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. And everyone that loveth him
that begot, that beg, everyone that loveth him that begot loveth
him also that is begotten of him. He's saying those who are
born again by the Holy Spirit of God love those whom God has
regenerated. They love the brethren. Let's go back to chapter four
now. Look at verse nine. In this was
manifest the love of God toward us because that God sent his
only begotten son into the world that we might live through him.
So we see once again that John, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit
of God, brings us again back to the first cause of the love
which we have for God. The love which we have for his
people, the love which we have for his word, and again, the
first cause of this love is the Lord Jesus Christ. We love him
because he first loved us. It's wonderful. Even when we
were dead in sin, even when we were, my goodness, it's amazing. It's absolutely amazing. And we perceive the love of God
for us because Christ, who is God incarnate in the flesh, laid
down his life for us. We perceive that love, don't
we? By looking to Christ and seeing that he died for me. My
sins. My sins. And if you're a believer,
your sins. And that's how we perceive the
love of God. Christ died for me. The sinless one died for
me. Who all I am is sin? Oh, what
love. Oh, what wondrous love is this,
oh my soul, oh my soul. It's wondrous. And He laid down His life for
us. The Father gave His Son that we might live through Him. Oh, beloved, let us love the
blood-bought children of God in the same manner with interest
in their life as opposed to our own. So we've clearly seen brought
forth tonight the distinguishing grace of God, haven't we? In
these verses, the distinguishing grace of God has been brought
forth right before us. One group of people are of the
world, and the saints of God are of God. And the only one
who made us to differ is God. The only one who made us differ
is God. And those who are of God overcome the world, but we
know that's only in and through Christ. We can't do it on our
own. And those who are of God love
the brethren, love the gospel, love Christ. And those who are
of God love to hear the word of God proclaimed. Oh, we love
to hear the word of God proclaimed. And they who are of the world
have no desire to hear it. have no desire to hear it. The
things of God, they don't want to speak of the things of God,
they do not love the brethren, and they have no care. So tonight again we've seen a
distinction, a clear distinction brought forth between the believer
who is of God and the false teachers who have the spirit of antichrist,
but the believer For the believer, greater is he that is in you
than he that is in the world. And we have the Holy Spirit indwelling
us. It's wondrous, wondrous. Also quickly note the term of
endearment. I said I was gonna bring that up. Note the term
of endearment. John calls the believers in Christ
in verse four. He says, ye are of God little
children. That's a term of endearment.
That's a term of endearment, beloved. This is a title that
our Lord called his people, not speaking of immaturity, but humility.
As opposed to arrogance. Our brother John describes the
people of God in a simple way. They are of God. Of God. If you're a believer, you're
a believer of God. He's the one who made you to
differ. Praise his name. Oh, may we think on these wondrous
truths this week and just rejoice in this wondrous salvation that
we have in Christ. Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to
gather together and look in thy word. Oh, it's wondrous, Lord.
Wondrous that we who are sinners by birth, nature, and choice,
yet we're saved, born again by the Holy Spirit of God. Oh, what
hope you've given us, Lord Jesus, and our hope is in you and you
alone. May we think upon these truths that we looked at tonight,
and may we rejoice that you've given us ears to hear and eyes
to see you, Lord Jesus, but ears to hear the gospel preached and
proclaiming, and a heart that rejoices over the gospel. Oh, Lord, we pray that you gather
in your lost sheep with the preaching of your word, that you might
receive all the glory, honor, and praise. Oh, that those lost
sheep may look to thee like we who are your born-again people
have looked to you now. And we know it's all by thy power,
thy almighty power. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.