1 John chapter 1, and we'll read
from verse 1. That which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which
we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life,
For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear
witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with
the Father, and was manifested unto us. That which we have seen
and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship
with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with
his Son, Jesus Christ. And these things we write unto
you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which
we have heard of him and declare unto you, that God is light and
in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship
with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light as
he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood
of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that
we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned,
we make him a liar and his word is not in us. Amen, may God bless
to us this reading from his word. When the Lord Jesus Christ came
into the world, he said this, he said, I am come that they
might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. John, writer of the gospel as
well as these epistles, is the one who gives us that verse in
chapter 10, verse 10. I am come that they might have
life and that they might have it more abundantly. And I have a question for you
this morning or this afternoon, depending where you are, and
it's this. How many listening now, right
now, feel that they are presently enjoying life more abundantly? How many of you feel as if you
are enjoying abundant life? I suspect not many. Furthermore,
I suspect that some of you are actually quite perplexed and
fearful because life seems to be so hard, so complicated, so
difficult and challenging. That day by day we feel as if
we're ploughing through hard experiences and we're rarely
finding any true peace and any true pleasure. How is that abundant
life? Perhaps you're not enjoying life
at all. Maybe you think, how is this
abundant life? If I truly had spiritual life,
if I knew the joy of the Lord, I wouldn't feel like this. Well, today I want to do two
things. My purpose is to do two things
with this sermon, with these few words that I have for you.
I want to bring you a word of reassurance from God's Word. You who perhaps feel that you're
not enjoying abundant life. And I also want to make a start,
a beginning, on a series that I hope to preach from 1 John. And I hope to preach that series
in the coming weeks. And I hope that we will be able
to build upon this word of reassurance and reinforce it. from John's epistle, his first
epistle, so that we will get comfort and encouragement and
that we all will be able to see our standing in the Lord Jesus
Christ and that we all will have some solid biblical reason to
praise and thank God. and our Lord Jesus Christ for
the grace and the goodness that he bestows upon us. So to begin with my first objective,
this word of reassurance that I want to leave with you today,
let me return to that question about abundant life and ask another
question. What is the life that the Lord
Jesus Christ came to give? Let me answer that question with
these words. It is not this natural life that
we are living that the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking about. He
is speaking about spiritual life. The Lord Jesus Christ, when he
came to say that he came to give life, that we might have life
and might have it more abundantly, he is speaking about spiritual
life. When we think about abundant
life, we need to detach ourselves from the immediate experiences
of our natural life. The Lord Jesus Christ did not
come to improve our natural life. He did not come even to give
us the highest form of that natural life, that physical life. The
form of that life which was experienced and enjoyed before the fall in
the Garden of Eden with Adam. That must have been an amazing
life. That must have been truly a wonderful experience to have
every provision made for us, to have the beauty of God's handiwork
all around about us and that without sin. To have the company
of God himself there walking with us in the cool of the evening.
Adam must have been indeed a most blessed individual. But when
the Lord Jesus Christ says that he has come to give us life and
that more abundantly, he's not talking about taking us back
even to that Garden of Eden experience. He's not talking about improving
or enhancing our natural physical life. He's speaking about spiritual
life. The Lord Jesus Christ took our
flesh so that we can partake of his Spirit. And we must understand
when we speak about the life which Christ gives, that it is
different in kind from this life which is physical and in this
world. That's why the Apostle Paul,
when he's speaking to the Romans in chapter 8, says in verse 9,
Now, clearly if they were hearing Romans chapter 8 being read to
them, If they were reading it for themselves,
they were alive. They were alive and they were
kicking. They were alive and they were in this world. But
the Apostle Paul is distinguishing between the spiritual life and
the physical life. And he is saying, ye are not
in the flesh, but in the spirit. If so, be that the spirit of
God dwell in you. You're a spiritual creature where
once you were not a spiritual creature, where once that new
life did not exist in you, that new birth had not taken place. He goes on, now if any man have
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. So when we see
the Lord Jesus Christ saying that he has come to give life
and that more abundantly, it is this Spirit of Christ, it
is a spiritual life that is being talked about. And the life that
we have is the Spirit of Christ. It is the Holy Spirit, Christ's
Holy Spirit, that is given to us. Now that abundance, therefore,
is not any enhanced superhuman benefits that we are able to
enjoy in the spiritual realm. Unfortunately, again, in the
confusion of the religious doctrines that are preached today, there
are many people who suggest that Christians ought to be wonderful
specimens of human nature. that they ought to be richer
than ordinary people. They ought to be smarter than
ordinary people. They ought to be faster and more
able than ordinary people because this is the blessings that God
chooses to give. But that's nonsense. This is
a new creation that we're speaking about, something altogether different
that God implants in an individual's life. He quickens, he brings
to life that which previously did not exist in a new birth
and in a new beginning and in a new creation. It is a secret
work of regeneration by which something new is called into
existence. Let us realise that. This is
the point that I want to stress. We're not talking in conversion
about improving something old or fixing something that was
broken. or restoring to factory settings
or rebooting up in order to get rid of the problems that we're
facing. Religion teaches people how to
be better men and women. In fact, religion insists upon
it and religion praises you for it. That's why we see religious
people endeavouring to live good lives and praising one another
for the good lives that they live. or else condemning one another
for falling short of those arbitrary standards of approval that they
set for one another in their churches and in their opinions. The life that we have in the
Lord Jesus Christ is a new life and a spiritual life. It is the
gift of God to us and it is that life which the Lord Jesus Christ
is speaking of when he says that he has come to bring us and give
us life and that more abundantly. But you see, many of us don't
feel and experience that abundant life. People ask me, They say,
if I am one of Christ's little ones, if I am one of the Lord's
sheep, wouldn't I know it? Wouldn't I feel it? Wouldn't
I be aware of a transformation? Wouldn't I be aware of that conversion? Wouldn't I be aware of the difference?
Well, let me ask you a question on that precise point. How would
you know it? You say to me, if I was one of
the Lord's little ones, wouldn't I be different? Well, how would
you be different? Would you be happier? Well, I say no, that's not a
good test of spiritual life. because in fact the reality that
I encounter in my own life and in the lives of many of the Lord's
little ones is that there is a greater grieving in their life
because they realise the kind of people that they actually
are. They have been given eyes to
see things about their own life which causes them to grieve.
that they are not the people that they want to be. And so
happiness is not a good standard of whether we have spiritual
life or not. Happiness is not a good standard
about whether or not we're one of the Lord's people. Because
the Lord's people know what it is to grieve and they know what
it is to weep. That was what Asaph was doing
in the psalm that we read today. He was lamenting all the trouble
that he could see around about him. Okay, well what about peace? Wouldn't we feel more peaceful
if we were the Lord's people? Wouldn't we have more peace in
our lives? Well again, I have to say no. What you've got in
your life as one of the Lord's people is a whole new warfare
that you never experienced before. You have to fight battles that
you didn't even know existed. Well, what about my passions?
Wouldn't I have different passions if I was one of the Lord's people?
I say, ah, if only that were the case. But the reality is
that spiritual new life seems also to invigorate the flesh. and cause us to have passions
stirred up that we long not to be there anymore. You ask any
old believer and they will tell you that they're still fighting
battles with their passions that they had hoped long ago would
be dead. Now don't get me wrong, I am
not saying that there are no effects of grace in a believer's
life. There is a fruitfulness that
is spawned by the Holy Spirit's indwelling, the fruit of the
Spirit. And we read about that in Scripture. We will come to that. That's
not for today. But I do tell you this, that
We will most likely not recognize the effects of the Spirit of
God in our life, especially if we look to natural, physical,
fleshly manifestations to give us some degree of comfort that
we are indeed born again. In fact, It is generally contrary
to what we would expect. Let me just read you a few verses
from Matthew chapter 10. Turn with me in your Bibles,
please, to Matthew chapter 10, and I want to use these verses
just to reinforce this point that we've been making here. Matthew chapter 10, and go to
verse 23, please. Right, that's not the right reference. I'm sorry, I'm just going to
have to leave that, I think. Made a little mistake there with
my reference. Right, we'll move on. That's
not the right passage. When we think about these changes,
these alterations that we have in our experience, we are not
going to see them as physically having manifestations. The passage
that I was looking for was where the Lord speaks about he didn't
bring peace but he brought a sword. He didn't bring benefits which
would be tangible and physical, rather he brought disruption
into the experience of the Lord's people. We'll find that reference
and I'll mark it up at the bottom of the video if you want to pick
it up later. But when the Lord spoke to Nicodemus
in John chapter three, there we find the Lord making this
distinction much clearer. In John chapter three and verse
six, we read that, that which is born of the flesh is flesh,
and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. And then a
little bit later, he says in six verse 63, it is the spirit
that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak
unto you, they are spirit and they are life. So when we look at these things,
when we look at the way in which the Lord is teaching us here
to distinguish between the two different ways, of perceiving
the spiritual and the natural, we can see that
there is indeed this distinction. Look at Matthew chapter 10, verse
34. That was the passage that I was
trying to find. Matthew chapter 10, verse 34. Made a mistake there and I was
too early in the chapter. But here the Lord says in Matthew
10, verse 34, For I am come to set a man at
variance against his father, and the daughter against her
mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and
a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father and mother
more than me is not worthy of me, and he that loveth son or
daughter more than me is not worthy of me, and he that taketh
not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me. He that
findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for
my sake shall find it. Thank you for pointing that passage
out to me. I apologise for getting it wrong
first time through. But the point there that I'm
endeavouring to make is the fact that happiness in this life is
not going to be paralleled with the experience of grace. When
the Lord Jesus Christ spoke about abundant life, he wasn't talking
about ease, comfort, peace in this life. Indeed, he says, I'm
bringing a sword as far as your relationship with this world
is concerned. Spiritual life and reality, cannot
be measured by physical feelings or by using fleshy criteria. They are different in nature. That's why we're told that the
flesh profiteth nothing. That's why the Lord Jesus Christ
emphasises that. The flesh profiteth nothing.
Every legalist, every religionist in the religions of this life,
whether it's Christian or whether it's other religions, they miss
that. That it's not what we do in the
flesh that makes any difference. Let me just make another point
about that. That is the very reason why so many free will
believers have no problem with their spiritual assurance. That
is why so many free will believers don't know what a true believer's
doubts and fears over their personal assurance is all about. They cannot understand that believers
have any doubts about their spiritual well-being because as far as
they are concerned, all is well with their soul. They've done
everything that was needful. They've exercised their free
will. They've made their decision.
They've accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. They've got that sorted. That's a closed book. That's
a locked door. It's done and dusted. They can
bank that and now get on with their life because they've done
everything that was necessary to obtain the life that they
desire. But the Lord's people who understand
sovereign grace, the Lord's people who have God the Holy Spirit
creating a spiritual life within them, who are partakers of that
abundant life which is spiritual, they know the war that goes on
They know the trouble that they face, they experience that sword
in their family lives and they know the difficulties and the
challenges that are part and parcel of being one of the Lord's
little ones. John, the Apostle John, the writer
of the gospel and the writer of the epistle that we read,
he speaks of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He speaks
of the one who is the living word. He speaks of the one who
is the essential life. And the Lord Jesus Christ came
as the light of the world and as the light in a dark place. So John chapter one, verse four
and five says, in him was life, and the life was the light of
men, and the light shineth in darkness. Listen, listen to this. And the darkness comprehended
it not. This dark world did not comprehend
Christ the light. And this dark society around
about us does not comprehend the church, which is the light
of the world. The Lord Jesus Christ says, ye
are the light of the world. But because this world is in
darkness, it cannot comprehend that light, just as the world
could not comprehend the light that shone in the darkness at
the coming of Jesus Christ. Now let me personalize that for
you. This dark nature, this fleshy
nature, which is me, does not comprehend the spiritual light
which has been imparted and implanted in my heart. My flesh doesn't
comprehend that. There's the battle, there's the
rub, there's the contradiction that exists in the breast of
every believer. Galatians 5.17, the Apostle Paul
says, speaking of this flesh and spirit, they are contrary,
the one to the other. They cannot comprehend each other. Contrary, the one to the other.
So feelings are always going to be an inadequate test of spiritual
life. You tell me I shouldn't feel
like this if I'm a believer. Feelings are always going to
be an inadequate test of spiritual life. An inadequate measuring
rod. of whether we have grace and
whether we have any spiritual experience. It is faith alone which assures
us of our standing with God. Faith is spiritual. Faith is
a gift. It's not going to be discernible
from any of our physical or fleshy or natural characteristics. Why would it be? Why would our
flesh give our spirit any reassurance of our union with Christ when
the whole purpose of the flesh is to extinguish that light as
best it can? That is why the word of God tells
us that the just or the justified or those that are made righteous
in Christ with the righteousness of God. They live, they have
life, spiritual life by faith. And it is only by faith that
we will understand this union that we have with Christ and
this spiritual experience that is ours. Our bodies, our minds,
our understanding, our will, our flesh, our desires, our passions
are never going to be a measuring rod as to whether or not we have
spiritual life. You might say to me, where is
the reassurance in that? Why is that a word of reassurance
to me? Well, it's to this extent that
your doubts and your fears, your lack of assurance is not unusual
in a believer. That's what I want to show you.
In fact, It's the one who never doubts. The one who has full
assurance. The one who never has any questions
about their spiritual well-being or their union with Christ or
their home in heaven or eternal life. That's the exception. The devil and the world and our
own flesh and our natural feelings, they incline us to doubt. and to mistrust and to unbelief
the old man and the new man at war. Well, you might say, is
that reassuring to me? Is that helpful to me? Well,
I hope so. I think it should be. John's epistle, which is the
other point that I want to lead us into today, John's epistle
speaks a lot about Christian experience. And it speaks about
the outworking of grace in the life of a believer. It speaks
about fellowship with God. fellowship with the divine persons,
fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. It speaks about a bond
of fellowship that exists in the church between believers,
born again people. It speaks about walking in light. John's epistle speaks about obeying
the word of God, obeying the commandments of God. doing righteousness,
loving one another. These are all practical aspects
about John's epistle that we're going to be reading together
in the coming weeks, the coming Lord's days as the Lord enables. And there are so many practical
evidences in John's epistles that they may actually become
a burden for the sensitive Christian. The sensitive soul will say,
I can't live up to that. Indeed, John's epistle has even
been used as a weapon in the hand of an enemy to say to the
sensitive soul, you don't live up to that. How can you call
yourself a believer? How can you call yourself a Christian?
When John says that, you don't live like that. You're not one
of the Lord's people. But that is to misunderstand
the Apostle. And the Apostle John comfortingly
writes, 1 John 2, verse 12, I write unto you, little children, because
your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. And that's what
I'm going to do in the next couple of weeks. I plan to preach through
1 John with the objective of comforting the little children
of Christ, that their sins are forgiven. and doing so by highlighting
these two things. Very quickly. First, I want to
highlight that our salvation has nothing to do with our fleshy,
natural abilities, either in getting it or in keeping it. And that includes our works,
our will, our understanding, and our feelings. You see, this
is our feelings. Salvation is a free gift which
has been won for God's elect at the cross. It's the product
of blood redemption and divine grace. It is unconditional, it
is unmerited, and it is unlosable. And the second point I will be
stressing in the coming weeks is this. that none of the natural
abilities of our flesh, the natural abilities of our flesh, whether
that's our memory, whether that's our intuition, whether that's
our ability to study, whether it's our will, whether it's our
works, whether it's our feelings, None of these things, being in
darkness, can truly, properly, or usefully comprehend the light
that has been established in us. And all spiritual confirmations,
all spiritual assurance, comes by faith. and no other confirmation
is dependable. Listen, you can have a minister
that tells you I'm absolutely sure that you're going to heaven.
There are hundreds and thousands of people go to their grave And
at their funeral, the minister stands up and says, well, he
was a fine man and we're so grateful that he's in heaven today. And
they reassure one another. There's no value in that reassurance. There's no usefulness in a man
telling you that you're one of the Lord's people. The essence
has to be spiritual. It has to be by faith. You can't
tell yourself that you're one of the Lord's people, and no
one can tell you for it. It is only God the Holy Spirit
that witnesseth with our spirits that we are the children of God. And for you who struggle with
assurance, I want, referring to John and his epistle, to strip
away any false notion that you might have about what God requires
of you and I want to refocus your attention back on the only
ground and the only foundation upon which any soul stands before
God. John begins his epistle with
blood and he ends it with blood. with the blood that cleanses
from sin, with the blood of Jesus Christ. Chapter one, verse seven,
chapter five, verse six. He begins and he ends with the
cleansing blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's where we must
always begin and end with our desire for assurance. Christ's
cleansing blood is the sole and only ground of our hope. When
the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, a price was paid,
a debt was lifted and removed, and a redemption, a purchase,
was secured. That price was paid for all the
elect that were given to the Lord Jesus Christ, given to him
to save. Listen, salvation is not a surprise
that we will discover when we die. I don't want anybody to be surprised
if they have or haven't got salvation when they die. It is a lively
hope that we can have now. It's blessings, the blessings
of salvation, they flow to us in time from the Holy Spirit. They come to our spirit, but
they must be received by faith. The benefits are possessed. They are seen. They are witnessed. They are enjoyed. Abundant life
is enjoyed by faith. There is election. There is redemption. There is regeneration. We preach
these things. We preach the new birth. But
these things are all the secret purpose of God. We cannot know
these things except by faith. It's a spiritual work of the
divine persons. And there is a preached gospel
that declares that work of God in his three persons. And there
is a faith that is gifted from God by which that work is believed
and our trust is founded on it. Can I be sure I'm one of the
elect? Let me ask you a question. Do
you believe the gospel? Can I be sure that I'm one of
the redeemed ones? Do you believe the gospel? Can
I be sure I'm born again? Do you believe the gospel? By grace, if we can but say,
I believe, help thou mine unbelief. then that is all that we have
and that is enough. In the coming weeks, we'll follow
John's direction under the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we are
enabled to build and culminate in that comforting truth. John
says, this is the end of what he is aiming at. 1 John 5, verse
4, whatsoever is born of God over cometh the
world. You see that? See that overcoming
in there? That is abundant life. Whatsoever
or whosoever is born of God over cometh the world. That's the
world of sin. It's the world of flesh. It's
the world of doubt. It's the world of unbelief. It's
the world that cannot comprehend the spiritual life that has been
implanted. And this is the victory that
overcometh the world, says John, even our faith. Who is he that
overcometh the world? But he that believeth that Jesus
is the Son of God. May God grant us grace to believe
this gospel. May he grant us faith to lay
hold on the Lord Jesus Christ and mercy to feed upon and enjoy
the sweet communion of the Lord Jesus Christ in our souls. Amen.