I John, 3:1-3
Bradley W. Maston · Jan 29, 2006
1 John, No. 17
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/48262342546460

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Maybe reading all the verses together in one voice. See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God, and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, Because we see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself just as He is pure. So, a couple of big and pretty exciting verses today. I was going to, or planning to, take the next month off, starting with this week, but then as I looked at these verses, I said, no, I can't, I can't miss, I can't, um, not study these verses. They're just too good. They're too rich. They're too full. So, uh, uh, yeah, as usual, we're around the table. If you have anything to add, I know that y'all know more than I do about this stuff.

About this book and about walking with the Lord. So I'm more excited to hear what y'all have to say, but this will give us a good jumping off point, I hope. So I started with verse 1. See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us. that we would be called children of God, and such we are.

For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know him." I don't know if this is terribly clear, but I don't want to just point out the obvious. Nevertheless, the highlighted portions are the portions that are being dealt with. So, if you want to know what word we're highlighting, or what word we're talking about in these sections here, that's how it's set up.

So, just so we all know. All right. For the word see, The King James Version, as well as others, have BEHOLD in this place. However, the word is Edo, which is a word that we've seen before. It means to see a beholder, to take in by perception. In this case, it is plural, as what Weiss says. I didn't parse it myself, because I don't know how. So, John is kind of saying, you all see, you all see, or even more so, I think, you all have seen. So, you all see, here John is inviting the reader to take a long, close look at the love the Father has given to us.

Which moves on to that, how great a love. This translation grasps the main idea of the passage, however it's not terribly literal. This word is often translated, what manner of, however in the original language it could also mean, from what country, race, or tribe. And there's a couple concordances that confirm that, or a couple different sources.

So, it could be translated, you all see what type, what foreign type of love that the Father has for us. John is surely telling us how great the Father's love for us is, but he's also referring to it as something completely foreign to this world. We cannot compare God's love to any love we know on earth. Even the wonderful love of a mother, or the love that is shared by the closest of friends, is nothing compared to the love the Father has for us. So, I just love that image of another, a foreign love, something that we don't have any perception of. All the other loves that we know are completely just shadows, or allusions to what God's great and perfect love is. So, that's kind of more the idea of what he's getting at, this foreign love.

Alright, and then we move on to, has bestowed. The Greek word John uses is didokon, which is the perfect tense form of didomai. This then carries the idea of something that is given permanently and is now the possession of the recipient. So here we see we are permanently, forever, the object of the Lord's perfect love. He's bestowed his love upon us in the perfect tense. It's done, it's finished, it's forever. We will forever be the object of his love, and that's not going to change. That's not going anywhere. So, I just love the permanence of Scripture. I think, I don't know how you could be a student of Greek, or even just a serious student of Scripture, and not grasp the permanence of our salvation.

I mean... Well, it's interesting. Some people kind of miss all the positional truths a believer has. Amazingly enough in Christianity, there are people that don't see that permanence, and they feel they have to keep working and keep striving to gain the Lord's favor.

So that's important. 1 John is great about that. All of John's writings are very great, very forceful about the position a believer has and the permanence they have of what he's given us. And that's something that we can't change. Conditionally, we can do things, but positionally, they're untouchable.

That's the old thing. We have some friends that come and visit occasionally and they ask us one day, they've been here maybe two or three times over the years and they said, you believe in once saved always saved? Like it was sort of a foreign thing. Yeah, but that's what scripture says and it's like, well, I don't know about that. So I mean it's not you can't you know you just cannot assume that and unfortunately they miss so much because when you when you feel like you're on this racetrack you're never you're never going to get there you're always going to fall short.

It's true. I have an interesting I have a Bible study that this new lady came in she's very charismatic goes to a gospel type church and Are you a Calvinist? I said, I'm not a 5.0. And she said, well, you believe in one saint you always say? Well, I don't. About three or four months later, after verses that I'd used, I go to town with the other ladies, you know, once you're saved, you're always saved. Fantastic. Well, absolutely so. Does anyone else have anything else to add? Any other questions?

I think eternal security is one of the great lost doctrines of our culture. I mean, I've been to, and granted I haven't been alive for too long just yet, but all my youth groups, all my college groups, every, you know, even things like, good things like Young Life and Navigators and things, never, never was given with any assurance the doctrine of eternal security.

You didn't do that in Navigators? I just, you know, I wasn't as consistent with Navigators as I was with Young Life. So I assume if I would have stayed around longer in Navigators. You mention that because I know some Navigators and I was involved with them down Colorado Springs for a while and they seemed to be pretty much... Yeah.

What did I know? In fact, they're still in the field and teaching navigators. That's my understanding, too. Actually, I came to find out just last year, because I've been taking courses and studying at Holly Hills, and this whole world of life has opened up to me. And I went to my old navigator leader, and he said, that's what I was trying to show you all through college. That's what I wanted you to see. So it's like, oh.

So anyway, the Navigators definitely keep really pretty fine doctrine, which I love. It's so sad that so few people in the mission field or in the specialty ministries field don't feel like they're qualified to speak about doctrine like this. This isn't a really complex doctrine. This isn't a doctrine that you can't, that is difficult to dig up.

I mean, it's so apparent. Some people feel it's presumptuous. I mean, you're going to presume that you have eternal life and it's a permanent possession. You can't be that presumptuous. Or you can't know that, you know. So it's a pretty important thing to move beyond that point and to see, I can count upon that and it is done and I can't mess it up.

Yet you look at the other side of it. People who don't believe that. Walking on eggs all the time. Absolutely, absolutely. Maybe I shouldn't do that. Well, I did something. Well, I'm going to lose my salvation. It's terrible. Yeah, it's terrifying. So, at the risk of cutting a good discussion short, maybe we should move forward.

Absolutely. So, that is hena in the Greek. I think it is pretty well translated. That, so that, in order that, which I view as being perfectly appropriate here, or a perfectly appropriate translation. that we would be called children of God. I just wanted to draw your attention to the fact that John doesn't use any impersonal terms. He's talking about the great news of what God has done, and he's not about to be objective or impersonal. He includes himself and all who believe openly here. We're all individually called children of God by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I mean, it's just, it's such great news.

He can't just say, you guys, you know, it's everybody, it's us, it's we, we all have, we are all called. And now we'll talk a little bit about this word called. The word called here is a translation of Kaleo. The brevity of translation may lead us to think that called here means recognize. However, it's deeper than that. This is a word that means to call in the sense of giving a name to someone.

In other words, it is not to say this love of God was bestowed on us that we would be recognized as children of God, but rather this great love made us children of God in a very real and intrinsic sense. This is about our eternal position. God's love, God's actions have made us children of God, regardless of how the world responds, regardless of who recognizes it. So, it is God's great love that has called us, that has named us.

And I think you could do a very interesting and very long study on the idea of naming in the Bible. What it means to name something. What it means that Adam named all the creatures. and what it means that God named Adam. So anyway, that we are now named, we are now called, we are now because we are, not just because we're recognized as, but we are called, we are God's children, children of God.

Moving on for this reason, John is about to tell us what one of the results of this is. This is a logical argument that is intimately connected to the love that was spoken of in the first part of the verse. is the other side of the coin. As we saw, God bestowed love on us so that we would be called children of God. And one of the results of this relationship with God affects our relationship with the world.

We've dealt with the concept of the world before. I just wanted to briefly go over it. I know it's not new news for most of us, or all of us. But anyway, the world takes on a few different meanings in Scripture, three that I found. I'll make sure they're consistent with what everyone else knows. It can mean the physical world or all the people in the world.

This is the usage we see in John 3.16. That is all the people in the world. For God so loved the world. He didn't love the systems, the evil systems. He didn't love the things that were satanic in origin or satanic in value, but he loved the people. He loved all the people in the world. This word can also mean the systems and principalities that are at odds with the will of God. This is an important distinction to make because one of these things is simply the physical world. Something that God cares deeply about, the people.

And the final one is part of the unholy trinity that compromises the enemy, the believer. This passage is undoubtedly talking about the third usage of the concept of the world. The believer faces three enemies at any given time. Firstly, Satan and his minions are constantly working to steal, kill and destroy. Secondly, the flesh is a constant badgering force in the life of the believer. Romans 7 and other passages clearly indicate that this enemy is still present in the life of the believer, though it no longer has any logical basis to call the shots. The final enemy here is the world. The world here is made up of many things about this world that disgusts, injures, or repels us.

It is a system where dishonest people and the evil people take advantage of the weaker. It is a system that makes people feel like they must look a certain way and act a certain way in order that we have value. When I was involved in youth ministry, I felt like this is the biggest concept that people need to understand. Go to work every day and see all these people who are completely conformed to the world.

They don't see anything wrong with it. The values of the world. the thoughts of the world, the logic of the world. I mean, I see, I have a friend at work, well, where I used to work, and he would just steal, take, hurt other people, just as long as it put him up, brought him up. And he saw nothing wrong with it.

And I'd tell him, why would you do that to someone else? Why would you want to hurt someone else? And he looked at me like I was absolutely nuts and said, well, either he'd get hurt or I'd get hurt. I want him to get hurt, and I don't want to get hurt.

So it's completely backwards, you know, to what we know as Christians to be the case. Anybody have any more comments on the world, especially in this context, observations? Before we move on. So, I assume that's Cosmos. Did you look at the word? It's Cosmos. Yeah, okay, that's fine with me. That's fine. Brilliant. Good, good, good. Okay, now we get into the fun stuff. That goes back to the point of who's in charge. Satan. Absolutely. Prince of Power of the Earth. Absolutely. Right now. Right now. Limited time only. And the good guys don't win in this world. Is that right? You know, wrong is not rectified. Wrong continues on until somebody, you know, that's why we have police and military.

I mean, people will just look at this world today and it's just kind of incredible. There's all these people that want power. They all want power to be in control. You look at, you know, I haven't spent a lot of time like South America. There's this who's a dictator. I don't know. But anyway, all over the world, there's all these guys that want to have power. They want to... Challenge? Yeah, I think that's right. I don't know. I mean, it's just incredible.

The more you look, the more there are, and they all have their ideas of what they're going to do. And, you know, you wonder, you know, it's pretty incredible when you see, you know, like the... People voting for the terrorists to take over the country. That's the world system, you know, and it kind of shocks you. I mean, it shocks the unbelievers in order to survive. They think you have to do.

I know. Just like what he was saying, you know, even a small level in the personal. Well, I got to get ahead. I'll do this and I'll take that. I'll do whatever it takes to get where I want to go. Well, and to quote the great theologian Billy Joel, only the good die young.

His conclusion in that song wasn't the best, but the idea, I think, is strong. Alright, it does not know us. Just as is portrayed here in English, we find that this is the present active, in the present active indicative. That's, is it the present tense, active voice, and the indicative mood, is that? Okay, just want to make sure I got all those categorized properly.

So it can also be translated, the world is constantly not knowing us, or consistently or continually not knowing us. The world, which is the systems and principalities, as well as those who are controlled by it, are continuously unfamiliar with us and what controls us. It is not like two strangers passing by each other in the street, but rather like a person who stares continuously at the one that they do not know, completely baffled by how this person can be so strange and incomprehensible. This is how the world looks at you every day as you walk through it. This is how people who unquestioningly accept the system and dictates that the world of the world see us as a complete mystery.

To know here is Gnosko, which means to know from or to know from or through experience. Wyss notes, from an experience with us, the people of the world, while recognizing us as Christians, do not come to an understanding and appreciation of the nature of the person we are. Intimate understanding and knowledge of another person is based on fellowship with him. Since the people of the world have nothing in common with the children of God, they have no fellowship with them.

Yeah, I just, I love that image of, you know, if you ever, I guess anyone who's been to a foreign country probably knows what it's like, or even just situations in America, to sit in a room with someone who doesn't speak any English, and you don't speak any of their language, and you just stare at each other. Like you try to find anything you can to communicate and it's just so difficult because you're so foreign to one another especially if your cultures are also very far separated and that's how the world looks at us. Our cultures are just so far separated. They say, wait a minute, you're willing to be hurt so that this person can be helped? You're willing to, you know, love that person and forgive them even though they hurt you? They hurt you. You should hurt them back.

And they look at us like we're a complete enigma, a complete mystery in the world. Man, I don't know whether it's just my generation or what, but it's just, it's amazing. No one understands. No one understands believers. It's magnificent. And the system doesn't know what to do with us. I remember in Korea, I won't say everyone cheats on their taxes. Our boss cheated on his taxes and there were many other people. And they just don't know what to do when someone's honest. They just don't know exactly how to deal with it.

Like you say, well, wait a minute. Sir, I'd like you to... I have to claim on my taxes, you know, in America, because we claim all our earnings back in the States. Why would you do that? Because we earned it, and we have to claim it. That's the way it works.

But I don't think you have to. Well, we have to. We could get away with not doing it, but we have to. So, anyway. The world, just as Christians, the world has no idea what to do with us. You can get away with something and you didn't? Why not? So, anyway. Let's see. I want to make sure we don't go over time. I think we're doing okay. So, did anyone have any other comments? I had something to add along that line. I had the experience. When I first became a believer, I was very sensitive to doing things that are right.

And we would go to restaurants, and I'd look at the bill, and if the waitress made a mistake, and many times it was in my favor, I would say, we made a mistake and let's correct it. Well, I tried that, and I got in so many situations where the waitress got mad at me because I told her that she charged me too little and she charged me more.

So over time, I've given up. I mean, only because it causes more conflict than, and I said, I don't think this is glorifying the Lord for me to enforce. You've got to make this bill correct. So I just let it go. I used to, okay, this bill is wrong. You made a mistake. You should have charged me more for that.

There was a coffee or an iced tea or whatever you didn't charge me for. Don't bother me. Don't bother me. No, I wasn't criticized. I was saying in her eye, I was criticizing her making a big deal about something that she doesn't care about. So there's an extra coffee or tea. Who cares? You know, the employer's not paid for it. I don't care about it. Why are you bothering me with that?

So I just after a while, you know, I just I can't do this. I just backed off. So now I look at the bill because they were closing. OK, it's. I got by that or I didn't benefit. Sit here and micromanage that bill. I was very sensitive. I said, this has got to be right. Every check, every restaurant, correct. I wasn't too popular after all, for exactly that reason. That's brilliant.

Does anyone else have any other stories, thoughts, comments to share about that? I mean, for me, it's about perspective. Because I don't realize, when I walk around my life and my job, It's easy for me to lose perspective and say, the world knows him, the system recognizes him, and he cheats and steals and lies. But the world doesn't recognize me. That's not fair. I deserve da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. And that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says the world does not know you. You're going to get ripped off. You're going to get not recognized.

You're going to get maybe walked on or stepped over. Not that we need to just become Christian doormats, but even still, for me it has everything to do with perspective as I go through my day-to-day life and face these issues that we've been warned No other thoughts on that? Okay. We'll move ahead then.

Because it did not know Him. Obviously, it here refers to the world, and Him refers to Christ. We know that our eternal position is in Christ. How could the world logically know us, who are in Christ, if it does not know He, know He in whom we are? It would be an impossibility. This principle also makes sense on a personal level. No one can truly know and understand us deeply unless they first know Jesus Christ, because our old history has been replaced with His.

We have been given a mind of Christ and we are being constantly conformed into His image. So I think a way to put it is if you put your name on a slip of paper and slid it into this Bible, If no one ever opened this Bible, they would never know what was on that piece of paper. We're in Christ. Someone doesn't know Christ, they can't possibly know what we're caught up in, I guess you'd say, what we're all a part of.

So, very much powerful. Yeah, so the world obviously did not know who Christ was or recognize who he was, and hey, one day soon they will. So, alright, moving on to verse 2. Josiah, could you read verse 2 for us? Sure. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when he appears, we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is. Great. Awesome. So, beloved... Now, I'm going to need a judge's ruling on this one, so don't take it to heart right away.

John does not want his readers to forget for a second who they are. The word Agapito could well be translated, you that I love, or God's beloved ones. It seems to be that the two possibilities were most likely both meant by John. It would be in keeping with John to be constantly reminding his readers that they are loved by both God and him, and also, you know, as a result by each other. I'm kind of reading that into the text. I wanted to just get the thoughts, since we've seen this word so many times before, I couldn't exactly remember exactly how he addressed it.

I mean, literally it's just loved ones, but in verse 1 it said what manner of love. So, I mean, contextually, maybe. It's not in the Greek word, so. Right, right. You know, I think you're right, contextually it does point towards God-loved ones, love of God.

So, it is not yet appeared, or sorry, it's not appeared as yet what we will be. This word appeared is the same word that Josiah dealt with last week in talking about the rapture and the coming of Christ. Was it, how do you pronounce it? So you get that same word as we head into this. This sounds a little complicated when it's taken out of context, just as this little phrase. However, essentially what this passage is saying is that what we will be has never been made manifest before, at any time.

There's no picture that is offered that will help us to understand what we will be when we are raptured, except the cryptic clues given in scripture that will be beyond our wildest imagination. I think the reason why there's a bit of silence on scripture, and silence here specifically, I mean, he doesn't exactly give us a whole lot of details, he just says, noticing what we will be, and when he appears we will be like him, is the next thing he says. It's just so great, it's so beyond our comprehension, that this is all that really can be said of it. I mean, there's other things told to us in scripture about it, such as, no sickness, We can run all day and not get tired, all that business.

So, there's other little clues and other little hints, but I just think that this is so far beyond our wildest imaginations. It's kind of what John is getting at, and that's the hope that we're looking for, looking towards. When he appears, given the context provided by the previous verses, And the argument that John puts forth in this verse, there seems to be little question that John is talking about the rapture here, not the second coming of Christ after the seven-year tribulation. The context as given by the previous verses was well covered last week. However, this verse alone makes it fairly clear what John is talking about. The reason being that at the end of this verse, John says that this will happen because we will see him as he is. Obviously, the first time that we, as believers, will see Jesus physically will be at the time of the rapture.

So, I mean, I'd love to get your thoughts on that, but I think it's a fairly sound argument as to what this is in reference to. So do you have alternate thoughts on that, or curiosities, questions, complaints? Alright, we'll drive ahead then. We will be like him.

The transformation described here seems to be simply a physical one. And I got this from Wyss, and I wasn't completely sure. Actually, eschatology is an area of my theology that's a little bit weaker than it should be. So I really come to this with question as much as with I just tried to include what I think was definitely true, and then what I had questions about I'd love to just discuss. The transformation described here seems to be simply a physical one. This is less a reference to what will happen spiritually as what will happen physically at the time of the rapture, when we will be given bodies like his.

Implicit in this seems to be the idea that the sin nature will be removed from us completely and our enemies. As Christians, we will no longer have... Oh, I'm missing a comma. I apologize. Implicit in this seems to be the idea that our sin nature will be removed from us completely. and thought, new thought, and our enemies, as Christians, will no longer have any voice in our lives. Our enemies will no longer have any voice in our lives.

Whereas now in the flesh, whereas now the flesh The world and the devil can scream and holler at us, and we cannot help but hear them. H-E-A-R, hear them. It was late. I typed poorly. Though we are no longer obligated to obey since we are in Christ, But at that time, we'll not even hear them anymore. What a glorious day that will be.

So we gave this impression that we will not be catapulted into instant Christian maturity. So in other words, someone who's an immature Christian when the rapture comes, will not become a mature Christian just like that. In fact, he gave the example of God, or put forth the idea of God using eternity to bring us closer and closer in likeness to God. Almost like, and he didn't use this illusion, but almost like as you approach the speed of light, as you go higher and higher and higher and you can't ever actually reach it, but you just come closer and closer and closer onto infinity. It seems almost like that, because we'll never equal Christ, because we're finite beings. And yet, at the same time, we'll be spending all of eternity to become more like Him.

Well, you know, one thing to add, going back to my favorite picture that Hal puts up all the time, we have a new nature which is perfect, and we have our nature from Adam. If that nature from Adam is gone, it seems to me that we have, and if that speaks of the rapture, then we have his very life.

So there's really not a question about us being like him. We are identical. We'll be with him 24-7. The question might be of knowing him better or understanding him better. But as far as we'll be a one-nature person again, we'll have his nature. So I don't know. You have to be a little bit careful about saying that in eternity we'll have his nature 24-7. Now, we certainly will not be God, and it seems we'll spend eternity learning about him. But as far as a nature, we'll have his nature all the time. Whereas now we have two natures, and we're in this struggle between the two natures. That struggle will be gone. So I guess I'd look at it like, so wonderful, we'll have one nature and that's it. And we'll learn more and more about our Savior. So there won't be a question about am I abiding with Him or not. I'll always be. I don't know. I just was trying to, and I read what we used to do and I thought, I don't know.

Something tastes funny about it, doesn't it? Well, I had a hard time with us, you know, Spiritually speaking, we're there. I mean, that's it. I mean, so I had a hard time with saying that's going to increase. I don't know. So I think more can be done with that. I really think it's more to be mined out. I think so.

And then you've got something to say about, you know, I was just going to ask. We used to really say that. It sounds sounds strange. And, you know, as I actually read it over three or four times, and I think towards the beginning I thought more of the first way, and then after I kept reading it, I think what he was getting at was saying that positionally, as we pointed out, positionally, we're perfect.

Positionally, we already are in Christ. Positionally, we have every spiritual blessing. So, the change that happens to us will be not so much spiritual as physical, because spiritually, we already are. But physically, we will be changed. So I think that was the essence of it. But I say there's also a conditional aspect. The conditional aspect will no longer be there. I mean, it won't be gone.

Where's he coming from here? How did he get to that conclusion? I always want to say, show me the verses you got. Of course, he can't do it. He's only writing a paragraph. Where are the verses that back this up? Well, and especially when you get men of God like that are so steeped in scripture, they could have five verse references in mind, but they just didn't take the time to write them out for us.

So, oh, that's also a challenge. Are we clear as mud on this? Do you have any other comments? All right. Verse three. Doris, would you please read? Okay, I actually got a little bit out of order and I was going to go back and change it, but the time didn't come. Yeah, we'll just redo the first one, basically. Shouldn't be too confusing. If it is, raise a hand.

John is getting personal here. Everyone. John is getting personal here. He is saying that everyone who has this hope purifies himself. Not just some, not just the best, but everyone. This was obviously in conflict with those Gnostics of the day who were teaching that works done in the flesh were of no matter whatsoever. So, remember we talked about some of the Gnostic teachings that said anything you do in the flesh doesn't matter. The flesh is bad anyway. It's corrupt. It's broken. It's sinful, it's evil. It doesn't matter. You can drink all day, drink all night. It doesn't make a difference. You can throw your sister out a window. It just doesn't matter.

And John is saying... Yes, absolutely. What we do in our physical realm is of no consequence, spiritually. And then, actually, this is just some extra information that Vern gave me, and I think it's very important in understanding John. John is a Hebrew and writes as a Hebrew.

Question on that. Everyone purifies himself. Could that be past tense? Actually, that's what makes this verse tough. Yeah, that it's present. You know what I'm saying, past tense? No, it's not actually. Purifies himself. When? When he has this hope. That's not something you have to be doing.

And that's the problem, actually. Some people will render this verse, you got to be doing something. And that's what makes it tough. If you take it that you have to be working, then you've got a problem. That's my point. It happened. It's past tense. But unfortunately, this verse is not saying that. It's saying this is talking about, I believe it's present tense. Is it present tense? Yeah, it is. So it says that there's... a purifying aspect that's going on in the life of a believer, but not to be confused with saving yourself or getting better in your position. You're not improving your position. This is fixed now. Absolutely.

This has got to be conditional. Why would he use the word hope if it's a present tense? Who has this hope fixed on him? Hope is more of a... It's a present thing. Hope is a present issue, right? That's based on future, something that's going to come, right? future expectations. Perfect. Absolutely. See, you have better words than I have. My words are off.

Would it be too much trouble to just run through it and then try to readdress it to see if things don't get addressed as far as the hope issue? Because I really want to hit the Semitic Totality Principle. I think it makes a huge difference in the interpretation of the verse and interpretation of the book of John. So anyway, picking up there is a thing.

There is a thing called the Semitic Totality Principle that teaches about the Hebrew thought process. The Hebrew thought process says that if something is true, if this is true, of course I'm going to live my life as if it were true. Whereas the Greek mind allows for more separation. So, in other words, if you explain to a Hebrew who was living under this system of thought, which John certainly was, they would say, oh, okay, my position in Christ, in Christ, in the heavenlies, perfect, with every spiritual blessing, of course my condition is going to reflect that. Of course I'm going to live that out every day. Perfectly? No, not perfectly. But of course I'm going to live that out.

So, for the Hebrew mind, position and condition were so closely tied, because they had the belief that you could believe something, and know something, and it would immediately run through you, run through your life, affect your walk, if you will. Now, let's just maybe keep reading. It might be more concise this way.

In the Greek world, the gods had nothing to do with morality. So you could believe that this was true in your mind, and then turn around and live totally differently. Paul spoke to the Greek mind when he explains position and condition in Ephesians and Romans and other books. Paul had to draw every connection, first explaining our eternal position, and then explaining the importance of living that position out in our daily walk. John, however, speaking from the Hebrew mindset, simply bashes the two together with a very earthly, rubber-meets-the-road style. So, Paul, speaking to Greeks, because he knows the Greek mind intimately, says, and we can believe something is true and then not do it.

So, I can believe that it's good for me to take vitamins, but I might not take vitamins. Whereas in the Semitic Totality Principle, in the Hebrew mindset at the time, I believe that vitamins are good for me, of course I'm going to take vitamins. But most everyone will say, oh yeah, you should take a multivitamin. Most people don't, right? I mean, maybe not most people, but many people don't, even though they believe. Similarly with, say, smoking or tobacco habits. Everyone knows tobacco habits are unhealthy for you. But that doesn't mean that everyone doesn't do it.

It's like we know that somehow we've inherited the Greek mind that says, I can know this, I can believe this, and yet have a complete separation between what I know and what I do. We can say, I love my brother, my sister, my mother, oh, I love them so much, and then treat them worse than we would treat a complete stranger. the nature of our Greek mind. So, having inherited that Greek mind, Paul had to explain it over here, in our position, then explain it over here, in our condition, and then draw all the little lines. And that's what Paul does.

John just says, you know what you are, you know what you do. And he doesn't, and what makes this book so difficult for us to read sometimes is that we want to separate it out, you know, okay, position, condition, it's like, you know, cutting a really good fish fillet. You just got to get it just right. I mean, if you don't get it just right, it doesn't, you get bones and everything. So I've blustered about this a lot. Does anyone, would anyone like to make it more clear? Any other thoughts on that?

Well, some things we know for certain is that No Christian is able to purify himself. You can rule some stuff out. A Christian is not going to be able to purify himself. Only the Lord, only by faith in Him are we made pure. It has to mean something else. It seems like it's referring to our condition. It can't refer to our position.

By knowing other parts of scripture well, you can rule some stuff out. But it can be very puzzling if you think, wow, I'm going to get more pure. I don't think so. But it makes it a tough... Yeah. Any other comments before we read on? And then we'll finish this and we can... I was just thinking, just to hit my mind, hope has to be conditional because we don't need hope later. Right? Thanks for with them. We're not hoping anymore. It's there.

If you have this hope you're talking about right now on this earth. It gives us confidence he's going to do what he said so our condition won't have been worse. The hope here is spoken of as the hope of being conformed to the likeness of Christ. This is the blessed hope of the coming rapture. This also tells us about the practical aspect of recognizing the rapture. There are many out there who will refuse to see the rapture in scripture. However, scripture is quite clear that it is an essential part of Christian growth and development. It is the hope that inspires us to strive towards purity. And once again, that striving is not in your position, it's in our condition, it has nothing to do with our salvation, just to reinforce slowly all those little things. And then we'll finish this last paragraph and then we'll have three to four minutes, maybe two to three minutes to wrap up.

Purifies himself. Wow, what a tricky statement. John is speaking from the Hebrew frame of mind again. This closed gap between position and condition is hard for us who have inherited the Greek mind to fully grasp. The first thing to note is this. We have already been judicially declared pure and holy by God through the blood of Christ. This is no work of our own and nothing that we did can or can do. Here John is talking about our condition. It is of primary importance to realize that this does not mean we will take credit for our purity or our holiness, for it is a work of Christ in us.

However, there is an element of will involved. in our Christian walk, things slowly not becoming temptations that were once temptations. We see Christ working in us to purify us conditionally and conform us to our position in Him. However, there's an element at which a believer is able to walk in the flesh. There's a mystical connection between God conforming our will to His will and us still having, in some sense, a will of our own. We know from Scripture that Christians can walk in the flesh. We know from scripture that Christians can live completely apart from their position. And I think that is what John is trying to say when he says we purify ourselves, or he purifies himself. It's about essentially surrendering to Christ and letting our condition be conformed to our position.

Sorry, I miss so much of John. Where is Rapture? It's just, I actually covered it. Now little children abide in him so that when he appears, we may have... Appears. Appears. It's fenerao. Which, did you say that that was, did you find out if that was ever used for the second coming? Never. But the other one for Roussia is, excuse me, it says means appear funeral. Yeah. And is that rapture? Well, rapture means. technically happy. Rapture doesn't appear in John. Not that word. Not the word rapture. Doesn't rapture appear in anywhere in the Bible?

No. No. No. Caught up. Caught up. The catching away. Caught up. So I was just wondering how you drew this conclusion that it was rapture. I think in this verse, contextually, when he appears we'll be like him because we'll see him just as he is. Okay. Josiah, would you close us in prayer please? Thanks for letting us get together and study the word and thanks to what Brad can teach us this morning and thanks to y'all for that job and we pray that we would glorify you in our condition as we look forward to your coming and all by your grace.