Would you turn back to 1 John
2. And I've entitled this message,
Two Must Knows. And let's read this text again
and you'll see what they are as I read this. Two must knows. Verse 3. And hereby we do know that we
know Him. That's the first must know. I
need to know that I know Him. That's a must. And hereby do we know that we
know Him if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, And
keepeth not his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not
in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in
him verily is the love of God perfected. And here's the second
must know. Hereby know we that we are in
him. Now there's the two must knows.
I must know Him, and I must know that I am in Him. And these go together. If you
know Him, you know you're in Him. And if you're in Him, you
know Him. Look in 1 John 5, verse 20, the
way he concludes this book. And we know that the Son of God
has come and has given us an understanding that we may know
Him that's true and we are in Him that's true. There's those
two things, knowing Him and being in Him. That we may know Him
that's true and we're in Him that's true, even in His Son,
Jesus Christ. Now, this is the true God. eternal
life, knowing Him and knowing that I am in Him. Now the gospel we believe is
something we know. We know. I know or we know is used frequently
in the New Testament, and John uses some form of this word 37
times in this one epistle. We know, we know, knowing, knoweth. Not we think, not we suspect,
not we hope that there's a good chance that this is so, but he
speaks with this positive declaration, we know. We know. We, it's a collective we, when
he speaks of we know, he's speaking for every believer. We know. Every believer, we know we can
speak with this confidence. We know. Like the Lord said to Nicodemus,
we speak that we know and testify that which we have seen. How can a Christian speak like
this? We know. You know, that's very powerful,
isn't it? We know. How can a Christian speak like
this? How can I speak like this? Because the knowledge every believer
has has come from revelation. If God reveals something to you,
you know it, don't you? No questions. Knowing, brethren, beloved, your
election of God, Paul said to the Thessalonians, because our
gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and
in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. And that much assurance
is not talking about much assurance of personal salvation. That's
talking about much assurance that this is the gospel. When
somebody hears the gospel, they know this is the gospel. We know. The Lord said to Simon,
flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my father,
which is in heaven. The Lord rejoiced in spirit and
said, I thank thee, O father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
you have hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed
them. There it is. Reveal them unto
babes. Any true spiritual knowledge
that you have is what God has been pleased to reveal to you,
to make known to you, to uncover to you. And that's why you know
it. For instance, here's a real simple
statement. You know you're a sinner, don't
you? You know that. You don't have any question about
that. You know that if you're a believer. How do you know that?
God's made it known to you. He's revealed it to you. There
are many people who don't see themselves in that light. You
do. Why? Because He revealed Himself to you. That's why you
know what you know. It's given to you, the Lord said
to His disciples. It's given to you to know mysteries
of the kingdom. This is the gift of his grace. You wouldn't know these unless
he was pleased to make himself known. Now this knowledge that
I'm speaking of that we know that we that we might know that
we know him and that we might know that we're in him. This
knowledge I'm speaking of is more than A knowledge of accurate
biblical doctrine and facts. You can believe all the right
stuff. But this knowledge is infinitely more than giving assent
to, yes, I see the Bible teaches that. I see that that is in the
Bible. I agree. I agree with that. This knowledge
is more than giving assent You know, Paul said regarding this
kind of knowledge in 1 Corinthians 8, he said, we know that we all
have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up. Makes you proud. I know something
you don't know. I've got an advantage over you.
I can use this to my advantage. I know something that you don't
know. puffeth up with pride and arrogance. And he went on to
say in that passage of scripture, charity builds up. Not with hot air. Charity builds
up. And he that thinketh he knoweth
anything, he knoweth nothing yet, as he ought to know. Now,
Paul said that. So the knowledge I'm talking
about is not just giving assent to true propositions from the
scripture. You can do that all day long
and miss Christ altogether. It's knowing Him. That's the knowledge we're speaking
of. It's knowing Him. You see, what we believe is completely
determined by who we are. It's the knowledge of Him. In 1 John, or John chapter 7,
verse 17, turn with me there. I want you to see this. John chapter 7, verse 15, and
the Jews marveled saying, how knoweth this man letters, having
never learned? He never had any education. He didn't go to seminary.
How does he know this stuff? How does he even know how to
read? Jesus answered them and said, my doctrine is not mine,
but his that sent me. If any man will do his will,
he shall know of the doctrine. whether it be of God or whether
I speak of myself. Now, do you hear what the Lord
just said? If I, by the grace of God, am willing, willing to do His will, and every
believer is, This is the will of him that sent me, that of
all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but raise it up
again at the last day. This is the will of him that
sent me, that everyone that seeth the Son and believeth on him
might have everlasting life. What must we do that we might
work the works of God? This is the work of God, that
you believe on him whom he hath sent. Now, every believer is
willing to be saved on God's terms. Now, if you're willing to do
His will, you're going to know the doctrine. You're not going
to be deceived. You're going to know the truth.
Now, if you're not willing to do His will, you're not going
to know. You can't say we know. Any not
understanding of the doctrine is not because of the intellectual
problem. It's not because one fellow is smarter and he can
figure it out better and he can understand it. It has nothing
to do with that. An unwillingness to do his will is what causes
someone to not be able to know the doctrine. If you're willing
to do his will, you will know. Now listen to these scriptures.
I'm going to give you a whole volley of scriptures with regard
to we know. Peter said, we believe and are
sure. That word, are sure, is the same
word translated, we know. We believe and we know. You know something? You don't
know and believe. You believe and you know. We believe and
are sure we know that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living
God. Now listen to me. I know that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Now I know
that. I know that. Well, do you know you're saved?
Well, it depends on when you ask me. But I know He's the Savior. I know He's the Son of God. The Lord said, you shall know
the truth. And the truth shall make you
free. Now, the truth is a person. It's not your knowledge of the
truth and your understanding that sets you free. It's the
Lord Jesus Christ himself who said, I am the way, the truth,
and the life. The truth is a person. You shall
know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. This is life
eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God. as opposed to the many false
gods and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. When the Lord was
praying for his disciples, he said concerning them, they have
known surely that I came out for me. You know, I know that
surely. I know he is not of this world. He came from God. He proceeded
forth from God. We know that, don't we? He said,
they have known that thou hast sent
me. Do you know that? What must we do to work the works
of God? What must we do to do the works
of God? This is the work of God that
you believe on Him whom He hath sent. Do you believe He's the
sent One? Ananias came to Paul and said,
The God of our fathers hath chosen thee that thou mightest know
His will. Know His will. Now that's not talking about
I know what God's will for my life is. I know what He wants
me to do tomorrow. I know what I need to do for a living. I
know who I need to marry or I know none of that. I'm not talking
about that. I don't know anything about tomorrow. I know His will though. This
is the will of Him that sent me that of all which He has given
me I should lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last
day. I know it's God's will for all the elect to be saved. Paul said, I know that in me,
that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. I know that. We know Whatsoever
things the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world stand guilty
before God. We know that. We know what the
law says. Paul said, we know that the law
is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. I know that. I know that with
regard to myself. Paul said that we might know
the things that are freely given to us of God. Now I know what
God has given to me. He gave it to me freely. It wasn't
in response to anything in me. He did it for Christ's sake.
I know that. You know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ. I'd say that to every believer.
You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. that though he
was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through
his poverty might be rich. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called
according to his purpose. We know that, don't we? I don't
know how it all, I don't know how he does it, but I believe
it. We know it. And somebody says, well, I don't
know it. Well, I do. We know. They may not, but we
do. Every believer. All shall know
me from the least to the greatest. For I will be propitious to their
unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities. I will
remember no more. Knowing, Paul said in Galatians
2.16, knowing. that a man is not justified by
the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. I know I'm justified by His faith,
not mine. By His, I know that. We know that the law is good,
if a man use it lawfully. Knowing this, that the law was
not made for a righteous man, but for sinners and profane.
for the unholy, the ungodly. It's that man who needs law.
You know, a believer is not under law because he doesn't need it.
He doesn't need it. An unbeliever does, but a believer
doesn't need it. Paul said, I know whom I have
believed. Peter said, you know You were
not redeemed with corruptible things, but with the precious
blood of Christ. Now these, I knows and we knows,
every believer that hears us say, I know that too. I know
that. This is not something that I
struggle with. I know those things. And the
reason is because Christ has revealed this to you. That's
why you know. Now look in verse three of our
text, 1 John 2. Verse three, and hereby we do know that we
know him. How? If we keep his commandments. You see, he that saith I know
him, verse four, and keepeth not his commandments is a liar. and the truth is not in him. That same thing he said about
that person, if we say we have fellowship with him and walk
in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. Same thing, if we
say we know him and we don't keep his commandments, we're
liars and the truth is not in us. Now, we're to keep commandments
or we don't know it. To keep, what do you mean to
keep the commandments? It means to obey them. If I obey the commandment, thou
shalt not lie. You know what that means? I always
tell the truth. I never exaggerate. I always
tell the truth if I obey that commandment. If I obey the commandment
of thou shalt not commit adultery, that means I have sexual purity
in my mind, in my heart. I never think an unclean thought
if I obey that commandment. That's what obedience means.
It doesn't mean knowing the commandment or admiring the commandment or
being able to quote the commandment. Obeying the commandment. Now,
turn to 1 John chapter 3, and let's see what he's talking about. Because if, you know, I've heard
people say, you know, if you love me, keep my commandments,
and they quote all those scriptures, and they say he's talking about
the law and his precepts and so on. Well, if that's what he's
talking about, ain't nobody in here that loves him. Is that
true? And one person in here loves
him, if that's what he's talking about. But let's see what he
is talking about. 1 John 3, verse 23. And this is his commandment,
that we should believe on the name of his son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another as he gave us commandment. Now here are
two commandments that if I don't keep, I don't know him. And the only evidence that I
really know him is the keeping of these commandments. And this
is his commandment that we should believe on the name of his son,
Jesus Christ. Now, the name is the person behind
the name. Turn with me to John chapter
8. The Lord said to the Pharisees
in verse 23, and he said unto them, you are from beneath. I
am from above. You are of this world, and I
am not of this world. I said therefore unto you that
you shall die in your sins. What a horrible thing to think
about, to die in your sins. For if you believe not that I
am..." Notice he is in italics. It was supplied by the translators
and really shouldn't be there. He's saying, if you believe not
that I am the I am of Exodus chapter 3, when Moses said, what's
your name, what am I going to tell them? I am that I am. Tell them that I am hath sent
thee. Now that's God, the eternal self-existent
one, the one who has no needs, the one who is independent, the
one who's absolutely sovereign. That's who he is. I am. And if
you believe not that I am, the Lord says, you'll die in your
sins. Do you believe he is I am? I do. I really do. I believe he is the great eternal,
I am God, the son. I turn back to John, first John
chapter three. And this is his commandment that
we should believe on the name of his son. Jesus Christ is the
son of God. Jesus Christ. Jesus, Matthew 121, thou shalt
call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. I say this a lot, and I reckon
I'm going to continue saying it a lot as long as I have a
need to say it. I need to be safe from my sins. That's what
I need. I need to be saved from my sins.
He shall, because His name is Jesus, that name means Savior,
because He's Jesus, He shall save His people from their sins.
Not He'll try to save, not He'll make salvation available for
them, not He'll open up the door if they just take the first step.
He shall save. Who? His people. The elect of
God. Those the Father gave Him before
time began. Those are His people. He shall save His people from
their sins. Oh, that's what I need saved
from my sins. I need to be saved from the penalty of sin. I can't
pay the debt. I need to be saved from the power
of sin because I can't believe in and of myself. I can't repent.
I can't love. I need to be saved from the pleasure
of sin where I don't want sin. I need to be saved from the presence
of sin glorified in His sight. And here we have this promise,
He shall save His people from their sins. Do you believe that?
That's believing on His name, Jesus. His name is Jesus Christ. Christ. The Messiah. God's prophet. Do you believe
He is the Word of God? That when God speaks, Christ
is what comes out of His mouth? He's the very Word of God. He's
God's priest. He's the priest. He's the sacrifice. He's the altar. He's all those
things. And if He represents you before God, you must be saved. You believe that. He's God's
king. Yet have I set my king on my
holy hill of Zion. And oh, how I need him as my
king. I need him as my prophet to bring
God's word to me. I need him as my priest to represent
me before God and to bring me into God's presence and save
me. I need him as my king to cause me to do his will. You
know, kings reign, don't they? I mean, if you're a king, that
means your will's done. You know, I love that passage of scripture
in Proverbs 21 when it says, the king's heart is in the hand
of the Lord. As the rivers of water, he turneth
it whithersoever he will. You know what? Todd's heart is
in the hand of the Lord. as the rivers of water, he turneth
it whithersoever he will. And I need to be turned to Christ.
I need to be turned away from myself and for the Lord Jesus
Christ. And I need him to cause me to
do that. Now, do you believe on the name
of his son, Jesus Christ? Now, I keep that command. His
name, this is the name on which we call. Whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That doesn't just mean
audibly articulating His name, Jesus or Jehovah. His name is
His attributes. When I call on His name to save
me, I say, Lord, save me by an act of Your sovereign will. Give
commandment regarding my salvation. Say, deliver Him from going down
to the pit. I found a ransom. Save me by
Your justice in a way that honors Your justice. Save me by Your
grace. Save me by your mercy. Save me
by your power. Give commandment. That's what
it is to call on His name. I'm calling on every one of His
attributes. Lord, save me. I'm doing it right now. I'm keeping
His commandment. I'm believing on His name. His
name is the only thing that will bring me into glory. He saved
them for His namesake. Psalm 106 verse 8. Nevertheless,
even though they were such rats and abominable, He saved them
for His namesake. that he might make his mighty
power known. And this is his commandment,
that we believe on the name of his son, Jesus Christ. God's prophet, God's priest,
God's king, the one who cannot be controlled, Don't you love
thinking of Christ? He can't be controlled. He's
king. He's good. But his will is always
done. He's king. What a glorious king. And then the next commandment
he gives in our text, and this is his commandment, that we should
believe on the name of his son, Jesus Christ, and love one another. Love one another. as He gave us commandment. Now would you turn back to John
chapter 15. Verse 9. As the Father hath loved me So have I loved you. Well, it's hard to get a hold
of, isn't it? As the father has loved me, how
has the father loved his son? That is how I love you. Look in verse 12. This is my commandment, that
you love one another as I have loved you. Now, he's loved us
with an unquenchable love. Having loved his own which were
in the world, he loved them to the end. He's loved us with a
self-sacrificing love. Greater love hath no man than
this that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15, 13.
A love that forgives. A love that covers. A love that bears all things. Believes all things. hopes all
things, endures all things. A love that is long-suffering
and is kind. A love that never fails. A love
that's never reduced to inactivity. A love that doesn't envy. A love that doesn't vaunt itself.
It's not puffed up. It doesn't behave itself unseemly
in a rude and heartless manner. It seeks not her own. It's not
easily provoked, touchy. It thinks no evil, keeps no record
of wrongs, rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. I'm
talking about 1 Corinthians 13. That's the love I'm speaking
of. This is the commandment I'm giving you. That you love one
another as I have loved you. By this shall all men know you're
my disciples, by your love one to another. Now turn to 1 John
chapter 5. Verse 1, whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. Do you believe
that Jesus is the Christ? You know what that means? You're born of God. But no buts. Let's just keep it right there.
If you believe that Jesus is God's Christ, you're born of
God. And everyone without exception that loveth him that begat, loveth
him also that's begotten of him. If you love God, you're gonna
love me. If I love God, I'm gonna love
you. If you're begotten of God, everyone
that loveth him that begat, loveth him that's begotten of him. By
this we know that we love the children of God, when we love
God and keep His commandments, believe the gospel. For this
is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. We believe
on His name and we love one another as He gave His commandment. And
His commandments are not grievous, they're not irksome, they're
not troubling, they're joyous. They're joyful. You see, it's
a wonderful thing to be enabled to keep His commandments, isn't
it? To believe the gospel and to love His people. Now those
are the commandments that every believer keeps. Now, this, let's
go back to our text in 1 John chapter 3, or 2, I'm sorry. Now he that saith, verse 4, he
that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, he's a
liar. And the truth is not in him.
No matter what kind of big religious profession he makes, it's not
real. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of
God perfected. Turn to John chapter 15. Hold
your finger there. I want you to look at this with me. John
chapter 15. I'm sorry, chapter 14. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot,
Lord, how is it that thou will manifest thyself unto us and
not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto
him, if a man love me, he'll keep my words. He won't let any of them fall
to the ground. It's all important. Everything he says, he won't
leave out anything. He will keep my words and my
father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode
with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings. He doesn't
watch over them, he doesn't guard over them, he doesn't care if
they fall through the cracks. And the word which you hear is
not mine, but the Father's which hath sent me. Now that person
who loves God keeps his word. It really is that simple. What
makes a man to keep the very words of Christ and can't bear
that anything be changed? Because he loves him. Because he loves him. You find
me someone that can let him go. He doesn't love Christ. That's why. But whoso keepeth his word in
him verily is the love of God perfected, brought to maturity.
And look at this next statement. Hereby know we that we are in
him. Now this is the second must know
and don't worry, I'm not gonna spend as much time on this one
as I did the first must know. Just gonna spend a few minutes
on this. But hereby do we, hereby know we that we are in him. Now
this is the second thing I need to know. I need to know him. But not only do I need to know
Him, I need to know that I'm in Him. Because all my hope of
salvation is being in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, what does
that mean? Well, let me ask you a question. How much of God's salvation is
in Christ? Can you answer that question?
How much of God's salvation is in Christ? Well, turn with me
to Ephesians chapter 1. This concept of being in Christ,
the Bible gives us some pretty simple illustrations as to what
it means. When the flood came, there's one place of safety,
in the ark. Outside of the ark, what was
there? Nothing but judgment, death, and destruction. But in
the ark, you were completely saved. When God passed through
Israel, If you're in a house with the blood over the door,
what does God say? I'll pass over you. But if you
are outside of a house with the blood over the door, you are
judged in Christ or out of Christ. Now, how much of God's salvation
is in Christ? Ephesians chapter one, beginning
in verse three. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Now, how many spiritual
blessings do we have in Christ? All. All. Do you know there's nothing that
I don't have? Somebody says, I'm moving on
to higher ground. Not me, I'm already on the highest
ground. And I don't need anything else. I have everything God has
to give I possess in the Lord Jesus Christ. All of God's blessings
are in Christ. And he enumerates some of them.
Look in verse four. According as he has chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world. Now, it doesn't
simply say he chose us before the foundation of the world.
He chose us in him. before the foundation of the
world. That's election. That's election. God choosing
us in the beloved before time began. Why? That we should be holy and without
blame before him. What a blessing to be holy. This
is in Christ. If I'm in Christ, that means
I'm holy. And it means I'm without blame. There's nothing to blame
me for. There's nothing for God to get
mad at. I'm perfect in Christ Jesus. In Him, I am holy and
without blame. In love, all of God's love is
in Christ Jesus. In love, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself. In
Christ, I'm predestined to be just like Christ. That's my destination. to be perfectly conformed to
His image, to be sinless. According to the good pleasure
of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein
He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. In Christ I'm accepted.
in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness
of sins according to the riches of his grace. In Christ, I have
redemption. In Christ, I have the complete
forgiveness of sins. In Christ, I have all the riches
of his grace. Now, is there any wonder that
we want to know that we're in him? I love what Paul said in
Philippians chapter three. He said, oh, that I may win Christ
and be found in Him. So that when God comes looking
for me, and He's going to come looking for me in judgment, when
God comes looking for me, all He's going to see is the perfection
of Jesus Christ. And it's real, it really is mine.
It's not a cover-up, but I'll be no different. I'll be perfectly
conformed to his image on judgment day. And he's going to say, well
done, thou good and faithful servant. Because, well, do you
think you did well? I think he did well. And whatever
he did, I did because I'm in him. That's the believer's hope. And that's why we want to know
that we are in him. Look in 1 John 2, verse 28. And now little children, 1 John
2, verse 28, and now little children abide in him. You know what that
means? You don't want to be anywhere
but in him. You don't want God to have anything to do with you
apart from you simply being found in him so that all God sees is
Jesus Christ. You don't want to get out of
that. I don't believe anybody wanted to jump out of the ark
while the rain was coming down, do you? I don't believe anybody
thought, I'm not going to stay in this house anymore, and they
just ran. No, when you were in the house, you stayed there.
You didn't want to be anywhere else. This is a conscious desire
to not be found anywhere but in Jesus Christ. Somebody says,
well, I want my works to be rewarded. I want to be found in Christ.
That's all I want. Don't you want your preaching?
No, no, no. What about your prayer? No, I
don't want anything but to be found in Him. not having my own
righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through
the faithfulness of Christ, the righteousness, which is of God
by faith. Don't you want to know you're
in him? And that's the only place you
want to be. You don't want to be anywhere else. First John chapter two. And hereby, verse 3, we do know
that we know him if we keep his commandments. We believe on his
name and love one another as he gave his commandment. He that
saith, I know him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar.
He's a hypocrite. Don't listen to what he says.
The truth is not even in him. His profession is false. But
whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we're in
him. And he that saith he abideth
in him, what ought he to do? He ought himself also to walk
even as he walked. Now that word ought is this,
we're debtors. Debtors for grace. And if I know
him, if I'm in him, I ought to walk in meekness, in humility,
like him, in graciousness, in holiness, however he walked. That's how I ought to walk. That's how you ought to walk. We're debtors, aren't we? Debtors
to his grace. He that saith he abideth in him,
he ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked in joy and
peace that comes from knowing God is pleased with me in Christ. I think of the peace Christ had.
He said, my peace I give to you, not as the world give I to you. The peace of knowing the Father
was perfectly pleased with him. In Christ, the Father is perfectly
pleased with me. What peace there comes from that,
what joy. We ought to walk even as he walked. To must knows. I need to know
him. I need to know that I'm in him. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for your
word. And Lord, our greatest desire
is to know Thee. Not simply to know about Thee,
but to know Thee. And our greatest desire is to
simply be in Thy Son, so that all you see is the Lord Jesus
Christ. Lord, put this in the heart of
each person here where we can know that we know Him and know
that we're in Him. In His blessed name we pray.
Amen.