Great Doctrines of Salvation
Mike Doyle · Jul 25, 2010
Great Doctrines of Salvation, No. 30
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926210464005

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

Last week and this week we've been talking about the different Gospels. So it doesn't sound like heresy to start with. We're not talking about a change in the message of salvation. What we're talking about is an expansion of the information that different people in the sequence of the revelation of the glory of Christ who had what information and we talked last week about the gospel that Jesus preached while he was on the earth and it was primarily a kingdom gospel in which the kingdom of heaven is at hand and that it was the benefits derived from it were you must be born again but the born again part was to believe in him as king and messiah and that the result was that you would be saved to the kingdom and then we went from there to the gospel that Peter talked about at Pentecost up until the time that Paul came on the scene now there's an expansion of the gospel there because What Peter and the disciples, or the apostles, had witnessed was the resurrection of Christ.

That changes the equation, or it didn't change it, it expands the doctrine. So Peter, in his discussion, or his preaching at Pentecost, is telling the Jews, because his whole audience was Jewish, he's telling the Jews that they need to repent About what? Repentance means just to change your mind. What do they need to change their mind about?

Who Jesus was. He says, this Jesus of Nazareth is the one that God sent to pay the penalty for your sins. He was crucified. You took him. You crucified him. But God raised him up. And so you need to believe that he is both King and Messiah. Okay? So the focus is on the resurrection of Christ. That's as far as it went. You okay with that? Kingdom resurrection. Now, resurrection is a big advance from what Christ was teaching.

Do you not agree? I think what we have a tendency to do is we read through the Gospels and Acts and some of the Epistles and we kind of lump everything together and we don't pay close attention precisely to what is being taught. Last week we dissected the quote-unquote Lord's Prayer and if you dissect it and look at it very carefully, it is not anything that pertains to you as a believer. And unless you can think of something, can you think of anything in that prayer that has anything to do with you as a Christian?

No? Yes? Afraid to ask? Can I back it up a second? Please. If I'm using the word repent, do you define it in a method? you have to beg God to forgive you. And how is it that they can redefine the word repentance and the change of mind to self-flagellation?

I had a really smart answer, but I won't. I don't know why people don't exegetically study the Bible anymore, but they don't. Most of the contemporary people already have their mind made up of what their doctrine is and then they go into the Bible and try to back up their doctrine based on what they find rather than going in there and letting the word teach them. I can remember the first time I taught the ladies in Parker, when we got to the word repentance, I said to them, which was a trick question, I knew how it was going to... I said, how many of you think that the more sorry you are for your sins, that God is more ready to forgive you if you repent with a lot of sorrow.

And over half the hands went up. Because there wasn't the understanding that repentance only has one meaning, and that's a change of mind. It has nothing to do with emotions. So when Peter says to the Jews at Pentecost, He's not talking emotion, he's talking change your mind about who Jesus is.

And the events that God has raised him from the dead. Now, I've got to say that most believers today, I think, live in the gospel of Pentecost. Most believers believe in the doctrinal message in which we are saved is that Christ died for your sins according to the scriptures, he was buried and he was resurrected, right? Isn't that the information that saves you? Right?

Is there any difference between that and the gospel that Paul was teaching not for salvation, but you look at it this way, if you look at the entire salvation or gospel package, That's where the difference is. So maybe to go at this this way, let's talk about Paul, uniquely Paul for a second, because that's where it starts to change. The first time you see Paul come on the scene, what event is going on? This is the very first time that he's even mentioned. What is the event?

The stoning of Stephen. Now, if you spend some time in Acts 7 and 8, or 6 and 7, wherever it is, and you read what Stephen is saying to the Jews and the Sanhedrin, he's accusing them of killing their Messiah. Now, they didn't take too kindly to that. They got real upset. and they took him outside over to the rock pile and they stoned him to death.

Now right there two things happen that are unique. One is that you know Paul is there. Why? Because he holds the coats for the guys who are firing the rocks. So I think he heard the message but it somehow didn't incense him enough to pick up a rock and fire it himself.

But the most important event that happened there is when, and why don't we look it up and look at it in the Word, because it will help us, I think, understand. I think it's Acts chapter 7. Let's see. Let's go, chapter 7, we're going to go to verse 54.

Now here's the reaction of the Jews And you have almost two pages of this indictment that Stephen lays on them and it's really worth reading. But starting in 54, when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

What does gnash on him with their teeth mean? It means they were chewing on him, they were so incensed. So today when you think those Muslims are kind of out of control. Anybody who's under a huge legal system like the Jews were and like Islam is today, that's what the wall will do for you. It will get you so angry you'll chew on somebody's body.

But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. There is the tip-off. What does he see? And where does he see it? He gazed into heaven and he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand. And he says, look, I see heavens opened and the son of man standing at the right hand of God.

And then he cried out with a loud voice, stop a loud voice, stop their ears and ran at him with one accord. and they cast him out of the city and stoned him and the witness laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. This little verse, two verses 55 and 56 is where the change takes place because up until this time all of the Christians in Jerusalem were going to the temple on Saturday they were meeting and breaking bread in each home and they were sharing everything in common and what was their hope? What were they looking forward to? They were looking forward to the return of the Messiah because they were all standing there when he went up and the angel said, this same Jesus who you see going, he's going to come back.

So where is their focus? Is it on heaven or is it on earth? Who's the they? The disciples, the apostles and what they're teaching the church. It is earthly. They don't know yet that God has another expanded blessing for the church. See that? And it's right there in those two verses. You won't find this information taught anywhere up till now, and the only place you're going to find this viewpoint or frame of reference is in Paul's epistles. You are not going to see this in Peter, James, and John. And that's where the difference is. Basic elements.

Gazed into heaven. The disciples saw Jesus go, but once he was out of visual sight, that was as far as they could see. And saw the glory of God. How much does Peter talk about seeing the glory of God. He doesn't talk about it at all except an amount of transfiguration and even then he didn't understand what was happening and he wanted to build an earthly altar. And Jesus standing at the right hand of God and he yells out, look I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. There is the Messiah and where is he? He's not coming to earth He's standing at the right hand of God.

Okay? Verse 59. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. There is the connection between the believer and the Lord Jesus in heaven, in the heavenly glories. You see that? He was the first one that understood this. He didn't last very long. Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not charge them with this sin. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Isn't that cool? Lord, don't charge them with this sin. Where did that come from? Yeah, that's exactly what Christ said on the cross. So he beholds the glory of the Lord in the heavenlies and he reacts just like Christ did.

And then it's like Paul would say, he didn't die, he fell asleep. Okay? Now, having that set up, when you get to Acts 9, here's Paul, you know, with vengeance coming out of his nostrils, thinking he's doing the right thing, heading up to Damascus, he's going to incarcerate a bunch of those Christians and kill them if he can. And he gets knocked to the ground. Who does he see? He sees who? In what context does he see Christ? Let's look at it. Because again, that's important. Chapter 9, verse 3. And as he journeyed he came near Damascus and suddenly a light shone around him from where? Heaven.

And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goats. So he trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what do you want me to do? And then the Lord said, arise and go to the city and you will be told what you must do.

So he meets Christ. Which Christ does he meet? Does he meet the same Christ that the apostles knew? Same person. But now he meets a glorified man. So Paul starts his ministry. He starts his conversion by being introduced to the glorified Christ in the heavenlies. You see that? That's different than all the other disciples. When Paul begins to preach, he does not talk about Jesus is the Messiah, the King.

Jesus is the Son of God. When Ananias meets with the Lord and he says, Arise and go to the street called Straight and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, For behold, he is praying, and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight. But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen vessel of mine, to bear my name before the Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel, and I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake. Paul goes and spends these three days, Ananias comes and talks to him, he's baptized, and then verse 20. Paul, immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues that he is the Son of God. So he goes to the Jewish synagogue and he says, this Christ is the Son of God. He doesn't mention the fact that he's the Messiah and King. He talks about the Son of God. Glorious God. So now we're looking at a man who has been given a different ministry than the other twelve. And listen, I'm not talking about hyper-dispensationalism. The church began at Acts 2.

This is an expansion of the information in the gospel that was to be preached by Paul. Now, let's talk about some of the differences. The primary thing you want to be focused on is the fact that his gospel is heavenly. That's the most important aspect of it. It's a transition from what the apostles taught and now what Paul taught.

He, the glorified Lord Jesus Christ, said to him, I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness. Of what? Of both these things which you have seen. What did he see? He saw the glorified Christ and those things which I will appear unto you." So what does he do? He begins to understand that God has an expanded revelation for the church that has yet to be relayed to them. And it's going to be of heavenly character.

You find that it's referred to as the gospel of God, the gospel of the glory of Christ, the gospel of God's glory. It's mentioned in several ways. I don't want to go too far without re-emphasizing the point that the information that a non-believer needs to be saved is the basic gospel information of 2 Corinthians 15. Christ died on the cross for your sins. According to the scriptures, he was buried and he was resurrected. This is not an expansion or an addition to that information.

What this is about is who you and I are as members of the body of Christ. as you grow in the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus, are you going to grow in the fact that Jesus is coming back to the earth, he's going to be the king, the millennial kingdom is going to be set up, the Jews are going to have the law written on their heart, or is your focus going to start to go off of the earth and be in the heavenlies? Which is it going to be?

If it's not in the heavenlies, then you're not going to understand a lot of Paul's unique doctrines. If you took Paul out of the epistles, would you have a complete understanding of the doctrine of justification? Should I ask you what it is since we've covered it in the class? Justification means what? To be declared righteous. Would Peter, James, and John talk about justification the same way Paul does?

Answer, no. Would you have any understanding of the identification truths if you took Paul out of the Bible? Does anybody else talk about death, burial, and resurrection and your inclusion in that? Nobody does. Peter, James, and John don't. John assumes it in his epistles. But nobody defines it like Paul does.

Nobody lays out what Romans 6 is like Paul does or Galatians 2.20. So if you take Paul out of the word, you have no information about your identification with Christ.

That when Christ died, you were with him on that cross. that you were crucified with Christ, that you were buried with Him and you were resurrected into newness of life and now expansion, you're seated with Him in the heavenlies. Okay? That information wouldn't be in the Bible. Would there be any information regarding the body of Christ? Maybe back up one. Would there be any information at all about union with Christ? Oneness with Him? No, there wouldn't be. And having said that, would there be any information about the body of Christ? Nobody else in the epistles mentions the phrase, the body of Christ. They don't talk about it. That's an expansion of the information of the gospel. Peter, James, and John would never write to you about beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord.

They wouldn't know what that meant unless Paul taught them. And by the way, when Paul goes up to Jerusalem to compare doctrines, it wasn't that he was going up there to see if he was lining up with them, he was making sure that they lined up with him. Because he had this unique stewardship of the heavenly gospel. And it was given to him to give to the Gentiles, although he went to the Jews first every time. As you read Paul's epistles, you're going to see information in there that is an expansion of what anybody else talks about. Question, is that important to us? Why would it be so important? That's a great point.

You can't understand grace unless you have Paul in front of you. You see the grace of God in operation, but there's no expansion of... What other apostle or disciple or writer of the New Testament makes this statement? Sin shall not have dominion over you because you're not under law, but you're under grace. Who else would say that? Nobody would. James even said to Paul, hey, we're doing a great job here in Jerusalem. We're all keeping the law and we're going to church on Saturday and everything's wonderful. Like that's the end all of the end all.

And Paul says in Romans 6.14, why is grace given? Why was it given? Why do we live under a grace system? It's right there. so that sin won't have dominion. Grace is the thing that prevents you from sinning, not law. Law is the thing that causes you to sin. I would have not known sin except the law said don't desire. And as soon as it came and said don't desire, I have all manner of desire.

Romans 5.22 says the law came in alongside the sin nature. Why? So that sin would abound.

Could it be said that without Paul, the Christian faith would be merely an expansion of the Jewish faith? It could be that, but I think it would, because of the resurrection, run through the things. But they didn't have a problem with him being reborn with Judaism, they just said that he must be a Jew also. The Christians, before Paul comes on the scene, They received salvation through believing in a resurrected Savior, a death-bearing resurrected Savior, which is an expansion of what Jesus talked about.

And the saints maintained their anonymity through the Holy Spirit on the earth. He blessed them on the earth, didn't he? And they were of one mind and one soul. They hung out together, they had communal property, but it was all earthly. They got together every week and had a Lord's table, a breaking of the bread. But they were still linked to the earth and to the temple services. And their hope was entirely connected with the earthly waiting for the Lord's return to establish his kingdom.

Now, at the stoning of Stephen, the Jewish nation turned against this information. the Sanhedrin turned against it. They stoned Stephen and they started to persecute the Jews. This was their information. So I don't think these guys would have gone back into Judaism.

They thought that they were a step ahead, but they did not know the heavenly character of the church. Paul says in Ephesians 3, Unto me who am less than, at least of all saints, Is this grace given? Here's what the grace was. That I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. The unsearchable riches of Christ is not something that Peter, James, and John were talking about. They were talking about Christ as Messiah and King and going to return. but unsearchable riches, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery."

What's the mystery? The word mystery means, you know, this isn't something you watch from nine to ten on TV. The mystery is just something that hadn't been revealed yet. Paul says that he was given this stewardship to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God. He's specifically saying that the information that I have, they don't have. Who created all things by Jesus Christ. What's the mystery? What's the mystery? What do you think the mystery is?

Christ is in us. Christ in us? Us in Christ? Identification, position in the heavenly glorified Christ. Members of his body. That's the mystery. Jesus never talked about this mystery when he was on the earth. He just at a couple of points referred to something coming which would be his church. But not on this union with Christ. None of that information. Even in John 17 when he prays for it, Unless you've read Paul, you don't understand what John 17 is about. Do you agree with me? Or not? Did you put those two together? Okay. Let's see.

So, the nature and the scope of the Gospel that Paul taught is really fundamental for us to understand. And I think, you know, in contemporary Christianity, that's where the flaws come. If you don't have or haven't been taught the heavenly character of the Church, then you're wide open for Reformed theology, because Reformed theology puts you back under the law. puts you back under the umbrella of an extension of Israel and keeps you on the earth. You see that? And you can't go to a person who is a covenant person and start arguing law, no law. The way to go at them is through Paul's epistles and the heavenly character of the gospel. laugh when I say, well if you want to be a reform, if you want to live under reform theology, what you've done is you've qualified yourself for spiritual handicap parking. Because you're going to get stuck in the law. And the law forces a man to focus on himself to see how he's doing. The glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, the heavenly gospel, presents a man who is free from having to look at himself and can now behold the glory of the Lord in the heavenlies.

You see that? That's strange information. What do you think? Is that really good news or not? It certainly takes me out of the equation. Well it takes you out of the equation in the sense of your production. Maybe to ask a few questions. What does it mean that Christ lives in me? Come on, it's not that hard a question. What does it mean that Christ lives in me? Here I am, sitting at the table and Christ is living in me right now. What does that mean? What's that? He has influence over me? Is that the force? What does it mean that Christ is living in me?

You have his life. How about this? You have him, personally. He didn't cut off a piece of his life and implant it into you. You have him. He lives in you. So what does it mean that you're in Christ? We live in him. Our very existence, our very life is in him. What it means is the very life that you have is the same life as the Resurrected Christ who is now glorified.

So if he's in you and you're in him, oh I have to ask this question, which one's more important? Christ in you or you in Christ? He says him and Christ, what do you say? Or is one more important than the other? Christ in you, the hope of glory. What were you going to say?

We have both. The great thing about, I like me and Christ better than Christ and me. And the reason I do, both are true and both are equally important. But I think the fact that you realize and recognize that you're in Christ brings up a whole set of more questions. The first one is, where is he? Where is he? Well, I can say, well, he's in me. No, I'm in him, so where's he? So where am I? Yeah. Well, I am. I think I'm in Holly Hills on Sunday, right?

But the Word of God from Paul says that I'm there. in Christ in the heavenlies. That's why he can say of Stephen, when they stoned him, he didn't die, he just transferred. He went to sleep and was where his home was anyway. So, here you have a circumstance where I'm in Christ.

And then, if your mind thinks like mine thinks, I begin to ask myself the question, well, how did I get there? How did I get there? That's true. That's true. How did I get there? Through his death, burial and resurrection. How did I get there? I believe, but how did I get there?

Romans 8 or Romans 6. Three, don't you realize that when you were baptized, you were baptized into Christ's death. So when you believe, what does the Holy Spirit do? He grabs you up around the neck and puts you into Christ, but you don't go directly in, you go through the cross to get in there. So the Holy Spirit takes you and I and identifies us with Christ at the point in which he dies. Why then? Why is that the most important point? What's that? It takes care of our sins. And what else does it take care of?

My whole identity with Adam. And Adam is an earthly man. Right? Paul says that the first man is from the earth. He's earthy. Adam. Where's the second man from? Oh, he's from heaven. That's right. That's exactly right. So here the Holy Spirit puts you into Christ at the time he dies. When he goes into the grave, so do you. And when he's raised, you're raised to newness. And newness isn't, you know, I switch from unleaded to super unleaded. That's not what it means. It means this is an entirely new life in kind and quality. Never been this kind of life before, ever.

So now I'm in Christ. Place there, how did I get there? The Holy Spirit put me there. So now I'm in Christ. So I have to start thinking about, well, if I'm in Christ, where is He? Well, He's in the heavenlies. Well, how do I find out about that stuff? How do I find out what's going on in my home town? And what's his testimony? Right here. This is the newspaper from home. This is the thing that begins to tell us who we are. where we are and what we have.

And oh, by the way, who was the only guy that knew? Who was the correspondent that God sent to write the information about me being there? It's Paul. He's the only one that knew. The other guys didn't know because it wasn't their function. You see that?

So, that's why the Gospels are different. Because Paul has come directly from God to teach us who we are. of where we are and what we have. And he tells us not only that, God has given you his spirit to do what? To make all this real to us. So you study the book of Colossians, the first two chapters. It's really exciting. We're studying it on Tuesday.

But when you get to chapter 3, here comes the command. What's the command? 3, 1 and 2 and 3. What does he say? Nobody has it memorized? Since you be risen with Christ. Fact. What are you supposed to do about that? Seek those things which are above. Did Paul or Peter ever talk about that? No. How about John or James? No. Seek those things which are above. What are the things? Seek those things which are above.

Are they classified? What are they? It's Christ himself. It's who he is. Seek those things which are above. What's the next part of this? Where Christ is seated at the right hand. So here's this command, which is a logical imperative. It's a logical imperative that tells me to do something Seek those things which are above where Christ sits at the right hand of God. You don't understand Paul.

You think he is smoking something. What does he mean I'm supposed to? I'm resurrected and I'm supposed to seek those things which are above? Doesn't he know that the Bronco season is about to start? What is his problem? Where Christ sits at the right hand. Oh, sitting. Sitting is important because the job is done. Then he says, set your mind, your heart, your affection, your whole person on things above, and not on things of the earth. Oh no. No more Rockies games. No more movies. No more hikes in the forest. No more Huambo. Oh no. So he's telling me, that I'm, you know, to set my whole person on things above and not on things of the earth.

So far it sounds pretty legal to me. Right? But then he gives the reason why you can do it. What's the next verse? I think the next verse is for you died and your life is hid with Christ and God. How about them apples? Anybody else tell you that kind of information? No, they don't. Because they don't have it. They don't know it. You see that?

So, that's what I mean, and I think that's what the authors of this paper means, that the gospel of Paul is distinctive. It's different. It's not different in terms of how you get saved, but it's totally different in what it contains, the information that it contains. So once you know your heavenly position and citizenship and what God has commanded you to do, why would you, even now, would you like to spend time I think I'll go to Israel and I'm going to go wait in a garden in Gethsemane and I'm waiting for the Lord to come back. Why is that kind of not a cool exercise? It's not where I am. It's not what I'm about. Now, here's the next part.

If you are, as Colossians says, your life is hid with Christ and God, then your identity with Him, how far does that go in terms of who you are going to be in the future? How far does that go? It goes forever. How about... That's right. Are you going to be around during the millennial kingdom? Answer, yeah, you are. What are you going to be doing?

Ruling and reigning. How come I can rule and reign? What is that all about? Because Christ is ruling and reigning. That's right. See, if you're identified with Christ, you're going to be doing what He's doing. Do you see that? I know in our minds we think, I'm still going to be subject to the king. Well, my best explanation of that, if you happen to live in England and your last name is Windsor, who's the queen? Mom. Is she my queen? Yeah. But who is she to me? She's mom. If I'm a member of the body of Christ and I'm in heaven, is the Lord Jesus king? Who is he to me? No, that's my Father. Who's the Lord Jesus? He's my very life. I will be His bride at some point. So there isn't anything that God isn't going to do through His whole creation that He's not going to include me in the royalty part. Do you see that? In the royalty part. And that's a really important thing.

If you just take in What Peter was saying is going to happen and what to look forward to, you never make it to there. You okay with that? You just never get there. So how would you rather live? I think that we as believers should seek those things which are above. We should enter into all that God has for us.

When Paul writes the book of Ephesians, I mean, if you can read the first chapter of Ephesians, or the first two chapters of Ephesians, and somehow ratchet it down to fit what Peter was saying, they're so different, it's like reading a different book altogether. Peter would never say you've been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. Would he ever say that? No, because his focus would be God is going to bless us in the future on the earth. And as you go along and we live as members of his church, we'll be blessed. Earthly. But Paul says we've already been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. It's already done.

And so when Paul begins to pray, like he prays for the Colossians and the Ephesians, what's the content of his prayer? What's he asking God to do? He's not asking for any increased blessing, because why would you? If you had all the money in the world, you wouldn't ask for more, because there isn't any more. What's the content of what he prays for, for believers?

Sure. He asked God to open up the believer's understanding so that they would know who they are, so that they would know what they have, and they'd know where they are. You see that? So that's a really important point that that's why the Gospels are different, or the expansion of the doctrine is so different. So not to the exclusion of anybody else in the Bible, but Paul's letters are the information that God has written specifically and directly to us as believers. The whole Word of God is really important for us to know. But if you live by the Kingdom Gospel in the Gospels, you're reading somebody else's mail.

You are. And you're reducing yourself down below the vaulted status that God has placed you in. It's the same thing with Peter. There's nothing wrong with the gospel of Peter, but it doesn't go far enough in terms of who we are. You see that? And you will find that with lots of the discussions you get into today with other believers, their ignorance of Paul's gospel is where the problem is. If they knew, it would change their understanding. Why is it that Paul is the one that wrote the New Testament? What player does the other apostles have? Why is it that way? I think because, probably the best answer is that God specifically called Paul for this task. That was his job.

We have other books. Oh they play, well like should you read the gospels? Absolutely. Because you can really study who the Lord Jesus is and his character with his glory hidden but living on the earth. There's a lot to be learned there. You read John 17, it's wonderful. Read the Old Testament, read about how God's grace and his forgiveness dealt with people who wanted nothing to do with him. Oh yeah. First, second, and third John are wonderful because I think John, being a Jew, doesn't write logically like Paul does, but he says some incredible things in terms of restoration to fellowship, intimacy with Christ, fellowship with one another.

But John, you've got to understand, John is ninety-some years old at that point, and all the other apostles and writers of the New Testament have been dead for thirty years. So he has thirty years beyond Paul of living in an environment of Christianity with the Spirit teaching them, but John doesn't explain identification or position. He doesn't, but he understands it by what he says, you can tell. He says that, you know, there are babes and young men and fathers. It's interesting, what's the definition of a father according to John?

It's one who knows Christ. Boy, that's right out of Paul's Gospel, isn't it? It's one who has a personal, intimate, walking, breathing fellowship with the glorified Christ in the heavenlies. And he says, we have fellowship with the Father through his Son, and you have fellowship with us. That's Pauline information.

But John never explains how you got it. I have, next week we're going to do the last chapter which is salvation itself and there's, I'll pass them out when we get done praying there. I put them up here. Let's close. Dear Father, how we thank you for your word and how we thank you that you have been so patient to teach us our exalted position in your son. Father, that we may continue to grow in the knowledge and grace of the glorified Lord Jesus and we pray in his name. Amen.