1-3 John - 1st John 2:3-6 His Commandments
1 John 2:3-6 · Bob Eckel · Feb 27, 2011
1, 2 & 3 John, No. 09
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926227114751

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

This is really, really a fun text today. And I think that the reason it's so much fun is because it's so kind of demanding in terms of how you interpret the word of God here. Because if in fact doing his commandments is what brings acceptance before the Lord, we've kind of missed out here, haven't we, in terms of our teaching over the many years in this Sunday School class and in this church.

Well, we'll do this, set the stage, show the text before us now, and I'd like to kind of begin by starting at 1 John 1, verse 8, and we're going to read down through verse 6. Actually, I think we're going to read down through verse 11, although today's text is really verses 3 through 6 in chapter 2. So, may I have a volunteer? 1 John 1, 8 through 1 John 2, 11.

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only. but also for those of the whole world.

By this we know we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. The one who says, I have come to know him, and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word in him, the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in him. The one who says he abides in him ought himself to walk in the same manner as he walks.

Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which we have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you have heard. On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you which is true in him and in you because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. The one who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for in the darkness, and he walks in the darkness. blinded his eyes.

OK, thanks very much, Randy. A lot of text there, a lot of meat. And fortunately, we go slowly in this class. It's because the teacher needs to go slowly to get all this down. I don't know if Randy identifies with that or Roger, but this guy for sure. The steps in faith that we take by grace really are a humbling experience in terms of there's no room for cockiness here. So as we continue to grow, we in fact see his light increasingly reveal.

So let's begin with verse 3 and 1 John 2. Now by this we know that we know him. Lots of knows there, right? And how do we know that? Because we keep his commandments. And you pause there and say, how are you doing here? Everybody doing okay? Tom, how are you doing here? Yes. Donna told me she's got this whip. She's not responding to this.

So boy, you've got to put this into context, don't you? What's this keeping his commandments stuff? Well, this is what we're talking about today and we're going to build the case for this and I think there's really some important things we need to consider in context here. So let's begin by saying perhaps we don't really know him, or in context, know that we know him. Okay, so maybe that's the issue. And why would that be? Because we're not keeping his commandments. Oops. I've got to try a little bit harder. Is that where we're going here? Gnosko, this is to know, to understand, to perceive, have knowledge of, perfect active indicative. So what's perfect active indicative, Randy? Perfect tense.

My brain is not there this morning. Randy's brain is not here this morning. Is anybody's brain here this morning? Roy's brain is here. Perfect tense. Completed action in the past with abiding results. Okay. Active tense? Worthy actors. We're doing it, right? Indicative? Reality. Okay, so we know And by the way, we know that we know him, same Gnosko, present active indicative, meaning we're doing it based on something previously that has action into the future and is factual. Let's pursue this a little bit further.

In terms of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ, how would you describe this knowing the Lord Jesus Christ? Meaning that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death, same Gnosko. experiential.

And I'm going to indicate that my thoughts here is that it can best be exemplified as an act of fellowship. That builds on 1 John 1, doesn't it? The fellowship that we have with Him really is an active experiential relationship. Knowing the Lord Jesus Christ is hanging out with Him. And this is not an act of imitation. We're going to come back to this.

Keep in mind that we know we know Him because we keep His commandments. Actually, it's we know now. that we have come to know him in the past and that knowledge in the past has abiding results up to now. That's why the active and the present is used with the perfect. Present we know now, perfect we have come to know him in the past and we have evidence of having come to know him in the past because we're keeping his commandments.

His life is being lived out through us right now. And that's how we know that in the past when we came to knowing, there was abiding results. Isn't that cool? This is not, I was saved kind of theology here. This is an active relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ by simply hanging out and knowing positionally and having that in accurate condition by his great grace. Now, if is conditional participle, what's that mean? Since or if? If. It's conditional, which means? If. It does mean if.

So now we're back into this mindset if we keep his commandments. Now that's the rest of the lesson today. What is keeping his commandments stuff all about? Well, keeping is, in the Greek sense, literally translated to attend to carefully. Take care of. In other words, mind. make it part of your day-to-day existence. His commandments.

Well, let's think through this a little bit. Is this law or the law? If you know Christ, you know His character. His character supersedes the law which has been abolished. Alright. Other thoughts? I heard Mike use a phrase that In the identification tree, Paul used the phrase, in him, over 130 plus times. In him, like 154 or something like that? And for him, by the way, three times.

And in context, all of them could maybe be interpreted differently. That would be the positional part of it. This would be the conditional, but in him, what is true of Christ is true of us. If it's true of us, then understanding the conditional should make more sense. Let's look at a few more verses to see how this theme of keeping his commandments plays out.

So, Wendy, John 14, 15. Amy, John 14, 21-24. Randy, John 15, 10. Donna, 15, 14. And Winnie, 1 John 3, 22. And Tom, 1 John 5, 3. So those are the assignments. And as soon as you get the verse, let's hear John 14, 15. John 14, 15. If you love me, you will obey what I command. Okay, that sounds kind of similar, doesn't it? It does. Okay. John 14, 21-24.

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. Then Judas, not Judas Iscariot, said, But Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world? Jesus replied, If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own. They belong to the Father who sent me.

John 15.10. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

John 15.14. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

John 3.22. because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

And finally, Psalm 53. For this is the love of God that keeps His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome. First of all, what do we notice about all of these verses I shared with you here? There are a couple of things. Keeping His commandments. Alright, keeping His commandments. It's a theme that runs through all these verses. What else do we notice about it?

What's particular about these verses? Very important. It's inconditional, if. Okay bud, it's if. Right on. There's fellowship. There's a relationship and fellowship that's part of it. I think John bases a lot of his writing on fellowship for the Lord Jesus Christ. No question about that. I just said what else I'm thinking about. Just guess what I'm thinking kind of thing. This is all John. There's no Mark, Matthew, Luke about keeping his commandments. There's nothing in Paul's writings about keeping his commandments. This is all John.

We're going to set the stage for what this really means in terms of how to interpret it. And then there's 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 and 2. Bud, you get your Bible. Gary, can you do that one for us? 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 and 2. The theme here is keeping his commandments.

Remember, our job is to rightly divide the Word of truth. Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that as you receive from us instruction as to how you ought to walk, and please God, just as you actually do walk, that you excel still more. For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

Okay, so Paul rarely uses the term commandments and in context I think really takes us down a path that is a little different than a legal curtain that surrounds us. Let's think about that as we move forward. Now another interpretation of commandments is an order, a charge, a preset, or an injunction. Let's play that out a little bit.

So if this, by the way, if we're going to interpret this as commandments, i.e. the Mosaic Law or some sort of a law system, then we've lost entirely this grace message. So if this is law or the law, what's happened to all this grace that we've learned about up until now? It really does, doesn't it? So to be consistent in interpreting the word of God, either we're under law or we're not under law, and keeping his commandments is very, very legal. Let's think about this going forward.

This is so important now, I think, and I think Chafer really, I think, is helpful here, is that my or his commandments are not mentioned until the Gospel of John, chapter 13 to 17. And this leads to kind of this upper room discourse where the message is not to Israel, but to those who were clean through the words spoken to them. So my commandments is taking on a whole different purview and interpretation than it ever has before. Again, not Matthew, Mark, or Luke. This is all John. And so when we interpret what keeping his commandments means in the epistle of John, we have to take into consideration the fact that in the Gospel of John, this is really not mentioned there, we start getting into the whole Holy Spirit teaching, the abiding, and all the things that Christ has for the body of Christ to follow.

So, with his commandments, the principle of grace was introduced and identification becomes essential. Any thoughts about that statement? This is my statement. One of those statements he said in the Upper Room was, this is my commandment that you love one another.

Okay, John. Tom, you're looking at the notes, but that's fine. I didn't. Okay, so along this line, his commandments, love one another as I have loved you. Another one is, this is the love of God that you keep his commandments and his commandments are not grievous or burdensome.

Okay, so this is kind of keeping his commandments now is on a whole different plateau than it once was in terms of the Mosaic law or law system. Yes, Roy? Is this a place maybe to mention that in John's gospel we only have this, the two commands that are mentioned like the royal law? And one was when he healed or he fed the 5,000, right?

Right, okay. And then they came across the lake and they approached him when they found him. They said, what must we do to do the works of God? And he said, believe on Him whom He has sent. Right. And then, like you mentioned already, John 12, he says, while you have the light, believe in the light that you may be children of the light. These things said Jesus when he departed and hid himself.

And that's his other command. Which you've repeated, what is it, 15 there? 15, 12 is love one another as I have loved you. And the point I wanted to make to follow these two commandments, this love of God that you keep his commands, his commandments are not grievous.

How can we accomplish this without a new nature? I mean, how are you doing with this loving one another as I have loved you? Are you doing okay with this? Is this working out here? You know, I used to have a member of the Bible say he was very critical of this statement, but I think it's really true. You don't have to like everybody. You just have to love them. And that's a different nature, isn't it?

That's not the power of the flesh. So if you're going to put yourself under some sort of a legal system, we're all not saved people, because we're not keeping His commandments. There's no way you can interpret these verses by a legal type of interpretation. No way.

And His commandments now are really identification personified, positionally in the Lord Jesus Christ, and conditionally being led by the Spirit, by our faith in that truth. Tom? And that key point you mentioned last, that His commandments are not burdensome. Why would Paul say, how can we keep the law if it's been something that's burdening the Gentiles? It's a burden to us too, isn't it? It would be worse for us. Absolutely. Somebody read 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 and 2.

When he continues on through the rest of that passage from Paul, he lists off what those commands are, and they're for a very small subset, if you could call it that, of the law. And the purpose is just that we're set aside under the Lord to be growing in Him.

So it's not the commands, at least in the context of Paul, You know, we all love Galatians 2.20, crucified with Christ nevertheless, I live but it's Christ, we love that verse, but I love 21 which follows 2.20, what's it say there?

I don't want to make void the grace of God, for righteousness was by the law, then Christ died in vain. It makes it plain. It really does. Any legal system that compels the Christian to obey His commandments, in fact, misses the truth of the Word of God and misses the grace message entirely. This has to be interpreted based on His commandments. It's His life within each one of us. And I think when you put this in context in John 13-17, boy, that's church-driven. There's nothing about the Mosaic Law system that comes up there. This deals now with the law of Christ. We think a law of legal systems, but the law of Christ is mentioned scripturally. It reflects the law of love and the perfect law of liberty.

It's a whole different principle, but it's all about Him. This is knowing Him, this fellowship, this experiential act of hanging out with the Lord Jesus positionally and by faith conditionally. And it's our condition that's modified by our position to bring glory to God. And we're going to come back to this in terms of how these metrics are applied in terms of keeping his commandments. He who says, I know him and does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him.

And that's why we began with 1 John 1.8 and 1 John 1.10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. And if we continue that theme, now we're the liars. Right? Go back to the verse again. What's it say? It says, he who says I know him experientially by fellowship and does not keep his commandments is a liar.

Can we think of a day-to-day example of this? If we think of the two natures and how by faith the Christian life is lived by, in fact, the Lord Jesus Christ increasingly performing his will in us. Ultimately, think of an example. He who says, I know him and does not keep his commandments. Are we thinking of some list here? Anybody think of examples? No examples. When do we lie when we say we know him, but yet we claim we're keeping his commandments? I mean, can you think of examples of that? all the time? Well, I don't know.

I mean, if we say we know him and our life reflects that there's problems there. I always think of the bumper stickers, the Christian bumper stickers. What would Jesus do? And then they cut you off. And then they cut you off. What do you think about that one? I don't understand the question. Do we ever find ourselves in saying we know him, but yet we're not keeping him?

I thought you were asking for examples of public figures. I think ultimately we become liars when our lifestyle is, we claim to be believers, but we're reflecting a lifestyle that's very much of the world system. And, you know, we're not in a position to maybe keeping lists of things we get done and not get done, but I think a believer who, in fact, his life is not reflecting God's personage, that walk in the new man, in terms of the spirit, is kind of in a sense, a liar. I mean, the Christian life is a life. It's not a set of deeds and acts, right?

I mean, I'm not going to put a metric scale on somebody's walk, but the Spirit kind of, I think, senses what the walk should be and looks like. Only the Lord in each one of us knows when, in fact, we claim to know him, but our walk is not to his glory. And the spirit, we have to count on the spirit ultimately in convicting us when we in fact lie by our lies. So the point I want to leave here, who's keeping track here anyway? And what are the metrics?

I mean, there's no way that we can be put in a position other to respond to the Lord directly in terms of our own lives. The Spirit is convicting. And at times, I mean, in terms of church-based theology, there are times when a brother might go to a sister or something and say, you know, can I be of help to you? There seems to be something going on here. But we're not police people for one another. We're here to encourage and lift each other up. But nobody's, you know, keeping a list here. It's just between you and the Lord in terms of your walk. But keeping his commandments is not a list. It's a lie. So, no list being kept.

But whosoever keeps his word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we're in him. Interesting. Whosoever keeps. Again, to attend to, carefully take care of. Acknowledge. Perfect active subjective. Now what are we talking about? Perfect tense. something in the past that has ongoing manifestations in the present. Active were the participants. Now subjunctive. Interesting. What's the subjunctive tense? I might eat. What's that? Potential but not quite reality. Okay. Satan of uncertainty. Okay. His word.

The question to the class is, is His word beyond His commandments? Is this a different principle? What do we think about when we keep His Word or acknowledge or attend to carefully His Word? If we equate it to Christ's life working in us, that's where it counts. If it's going back to a list, it ain't going to work, folks. Alright, what else about attending His Word? Let's just tie into John 1.

John 1.1 where OK. Identification. Fellowship. OK.

And what about something I mentioned a little earlier about rightly dividing the word of truth. I mean, I think, again, his word is ultimately what is the truth of his word, then his commandments are not legal. So his word ultimately is manifested by a new life, or new creations in Christ Jesus, and the legal system has been effectively done away with. So I think it's just an extension of his commandments, it identifies us with him. What does truly having the love of God perfected in us mean?

Does that mean we're perfect? Perfect, passive, indicative. Perfect, tense, something done in the past. Passive, now not active. We're the recipients. Good, Peggy. Indicative. As we live by faith, ultimately that completeness that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ is manifested. We don't get cocky, but we get There's a rest and a peace and ultimately a relationship that's played out in our day-to-day existence. Could it be said that it means that we have been, to whatever degree, conformed to the image of Christ?

Right. I think that, in fact, Ephesians, let's look at Ephesians 4, 12 through 13. Gail, it's good that you brought that up. In fact, why don't you read that as you get there? That's perfect, I think, what you just said. Now remember, the condition here is keeping his word.

And if we keep his word, truly the love of God is perfected in us. 12 and 13. For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. So does that suggest that something is immediate and final in terms of keeping his word and being perfected by this act of faith?

It's a process. Positionally, we're complete. Conditionally, we're not. But it's a process of continued growth and development. And that goal, of course, is the stature of our Lord Jesus Christ, His character. It really is. And this is not trying harder. This is an act of faith, by grace. And here's the question to the class.

Is this a series of good acts and deeds, or is it a life? Well, remember, we're positioned about fully accepted in the Beloved. So this can't just be a bunch of good acts and deeds. This is an act of faith that we're being transformed into His image. on a day-to-day basis. And I think that's what it means to be perfected.

Thus, what does that life of His look like in us? I mean, I've said many times in this class, Galatians 2nd Corinthians, all the classes we've been involved with here together, that I think the Christian life that shows up is not one that we're taking any credit for ourselves for. It's a life that continues to be built by God's great grace, by our faith, and is reflected in our walk. Each one of us can look at everybody else and be judgmental about this, but our relationship is a heavenly one. Ultimately, if we start accounting our good deeds and works, that's not what God's all about in our lives.

All right, and notice that we know to recognize this. So that means, so you're going to challenge us a little bit in thinking, now if we're recognizing this, that's kind of contrary to what I just said in that we're paying attention to how well we're doing living by faith.

Well, let's look at this. How do we do this. We're keeping a list and checking it twice. Is that kind of the concept here? John 8, 28, 36 gives us some hints about this. You got your Bible open for us there? You didn't, but I challenged you to do so. Okay. I'm getting there. I'm getting there. Okay.

Jesus said, when you have lifted up the Son of Man, you will know that I am the One that claimed to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The One who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases Him, even as He spoke. Many put their faith in him. To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, You are whole to my teaching. You are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. They answered him, We are Abraham's descendants, and we have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free? Jesus replied, I will tell you the truth.

Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. And now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. Okay, so in a sense, if we take that section of John, and by the way, John so much builds on this truth in various aspects of the Gospel of John, but My interpretation of how this section of John relates to this is the fact that when we're not burdened by sin, we're free indeed. And we now have a freedom to live a life without sin knowing we're fully accounted for before the heavenly throne and positioned there. So, the sin burden, in fact, in 1 John chapter 1 we saw this, if we confess our sins, by the way, remember what it means to confess our sins, just acknowledging that this is not the life of Christ in me, Lord, this is me, thank you, move on, our fellowship is restored. So when in fact we're not burdened by sin and we have an opportunity to live a life that's Spirit-led and free of sin, we are free indeed.

And ultimately it's not us keeping the list, it's the lack of the burden of the sin nature and the acts of sin that ultimately allow us or prevent us from being perfected in Him as we walk day by day. Kind of with me on that a little bit? It's the sin nature that ultimately keeps us from this ongoing act of perfection or our sensing that our condition is consistent with our position. And that's a freedom. It's a freedom to live a life without sin, both positionally and conditionally. Tom? So it's kind of like a sin nature is a whole bunch of bunny trails Right, and we all fall back into this old way of doing things, don't we?

But yet God has declared that he will make us free indeed, if in fact we believe his word. John 8. Now, the Son will make us free and we will be free indeed. So that's the freedom to know that we know who we are in Christ. It's not knowing we're doing well. It's the knowledge of the experience of fellowshipping with the Lord Jesus based on His Word that we're to be living a life that's free of sin.

And we have the capacity to do that by our faith. Matthew 11, 28-29. Somebody want to take a look at that? Donna, would you read that for us please? Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Okay, maybe taking that a little bit out of context and applying it here, but it's certainly the Lord Jesus Christ and all that he is in terms of how we might identify with that rest and peace that he gives us.

All right, James 2.22 reminds us that we have works that are about us, but yet Do you see that faith was working together with his works and by works faith was made perfect? So this concept of being made complete, our works reflect who we are by God's great grace and by acts of faith our life ultimately, by our faith relates to works that we're about.

Right. That phrase that you're working on there in the inner linear, in this we are knowing that in him we are existing would be a literal translation. So it's kind of an ongoing relationship. It's an active indicative in both cases. That we are existing in him. Isn't that neat? It is, and I think verse 6 now, just to follow, takes on that same theme. He who says he abides in him ought himself also to walk just as he walked. Notice now the term is abiding. Interesting.

Why didn't John tell us about this a little bit earlier? Perfect active infinitive. This infinitive kind of means we ought to be walking or abiding. I mean everything's been set. The stage is set to walk and abide. So why aren't we? So this implies, he who says he abides in him, implies a condition that is lasting without intermission and without end, this process of abiding. Do you, like me, find this is an interesting transition now to the term abide? Are you keeping his commandments? Are you having your walk made perfect by this abiding? I think could be really taken back to the previous verses.

So John 15, 4-6, let's look at what abiding is all about. Elizabeth, by the way Elizabeth and Henry, my daughter and her husband are with us in the back there. Abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine. Neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. You who abide in me and I in him.

Okay, thank you. So the question now to the class is what's this just-as-he-walks stuff? Well, here are the options. First of all, the tents. We've been playing around with tents today. We're the participants. It's right now. And again, we ought to be walking.

If you're not, why aren't you? This is kind of what the Lord has for us. Well, is this trying harder to be like him? Is that what we're talking about here? Again, back to keeping his commandments. How are you doing here? Can't be that candid. Is it walking in his footsteps? How many times have you heard, you know, you see his footsteps in the sand and we need somebody walking in his footsteps?

I think that relates very much to the one before that. Is it an act of imitation? I want to try to be more like Christ. Not to branch growing out of the vine. The abiding concept is not that. Abiding is not trying harder or imitating. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11.1, Be an imitator of me as I am of Christ. But that's steep in identification truth. We don't pick that one verse out of all of Paul's teachings and say, gee, I'm an imitator of Christ, so be like me. You have to really base that on the identification truths Paul's already established.

The Lord was telling his followers in Matthew, consider the lilies of the field, they neither toil nor spin. How can this whole principle of keeping his commandments that we've tried to reflect on, hopefully as truth today, as to what it is and what it's not, how could this be criticized by others in the faith or outside the faith?

By not doing, they always want us to do something. So is this kind of a let go, let guide kind of concept that might be used as a criticism against this interpretation? Your head's in the game but it's being illuminated by the Holy Spirit. He is the umpire and the guide and what happens next is up to the Lord.

Isn't it kind of the principle of a grace that saves, that brings each one of us to a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, then ends in some way, and that grace principle doesn't extend into the walk? I mean, the first and third aspects of the verb tense of being saved, I was saved, I'm being saved, and I will be saved, everybody's really comfortable that I was saved and I will be saved, at least most people are. There are a few people that doubt the permanence of their salvation, but one in three are relatively easy by faith. But this concept of God's great grace enacting Himself by faith in our lives by the power of the Spirit in terms of the walk being conformed to his image is a tough one, isn't it? The grace principle kind of ends there.

I have a responsibility. What's our responsibility by grace to keep his commandments? What is our responsibility? Knowing him. Okay, knowing him, but it's an act of faith, isn't it, Gary? The principle is the same. God's great table of grace and faith is actually the meal that we partake. Our faith really allows the grace to personify itself.

I'm struck by the verses where our Lord talks about Himself saying, the works of my Father I am doing. Not His own works, but the works of the Father. That was His walk, total dependence upon the Father. And we touched on that in the John 8 passage. It was the Father working out His works in our Lord Jesus.

In the same way, it's the Holy Spirit showing us Christ, and Christ living His life in us. It's the same walk that we're talking about. Being at home in that is what meno means here. This abiding is, I'm at home with that. Letting the Lord live His life.

Back in verse 3 where we looked at to know Gnosko, it's being confident of this fact that we in fact are keeping His commandments based on our knowing Him. It's really a reflection again of an experiential fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Knowing Him can't simply be by looking at the Word of God and intellectually trying to interpret it. It's really the person of the Lord Jesus Christ becoming alive and us seeing us in Him and Him in us. I mean, that's what His commandments are all about.

Again, keep in mind loving one another as God loved us is a task that's an impossibility. in any other setting other than the new life and the new nature. Just impossible. So I don't know how anybody can think by doing good and keeping a list is ultimately going to be pleasing to God. So no, my answer to this is, is walking as he walks tough? Is it any of these other three? And I said no. Christianity is not anything other than a life. It's a transforming light in each one of us, and it's nothing other than that. And by the way, when the light becomes manifested, ultimately the walk is apparent.

Keep in mind that Paul, in all of his epistles, the first half of the epistles is really establishing us in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The second part, like Ephesians 4-6 for instance, is what that walk looks like. We don't have Ephesians 4-6 before we have Ephesians 1-3. And the same thing is true of many of other epistles of Paul. And in support of what you're saying, the Greek is very clear here. This is an infinitive of present active.

To be, he ought to be walking. That just ought to be true. It isn't that he's to do something. This ought to be true. He who is saying, I'm walking, as he walked, ought to be walking as he walked. And I think this ability, this is nice Roy, because I think the ability for us to recognize this walk, and that's what it says by the way in verse 5 I think, is that our ability to recognize this is ultimately that fellowship manifested itself in our minds and souls. I mean, it's not that we're accounting ourselves as doing good things, it's just that it's that relationship we have that allows us to occur in a way that we recognize that there's something different. And it's not that we see it even. No. That's my point. That's the existence. That's clearly my point. If we're keeping track of how good we're doing, we're on the wrong plateau here. We're not really on the plateau of grace. We're on the plateau of law and works.

Okay, so if it's a life, then we can reflect on one of many, many verses. For to me to live is Christ and die is gain. What I like to conclude from that verse is either way you win. Either way you win. And I think kind of the bottom line here is keep looking down.

From our heavenly perspective is when the principle of grace really manifests itself. When we keep looking up, asking God to help us, it's a matter of us getting in God's camp and viewing things from His eyes rather than viewing things from ours in our self-serving manner. And that reflects back on the Ephesians 4, 12-13 thing. This completing in us is an active process, it's an ongoing process. Again, before God we are perfect and complete. But in terms of our human existence, this is an ongoing growth in grace to be increasingly conformed.

What's the will of God for our lives? We could simplify it in one phrase or sentence. When you say the will of God, it's not whether you buy a black Chevy or a white Ford. I mean, God could ultimately accomplish His purpose either way. But the will of God for our lives is being conformed to the image of His Son, is it not? Everything about us is ultimately a process of confirmation.

If they look at this in a legal context, the process doesn't fit into it. And so then you have a really massive conflict with Paul saying, especially in Romans 8, that there's this process of being conformed to the image of Christ. You cannot have that if you are You know, in a sense, if I can take what you just said and build on it a little bit, this idea that it's a process really makes me think that God understands what our human nature is all about.

He knows how flawed and worthless we are. And he's asked us now to take a step again onto this new plateau of grace. And he's saying, gee Randy, I know you got this other nature down there. So it's going to take a little time for you to kind of experience this fellowship and enactment of his life in him. I'm going to perfect you over time. But that nevertheless doesn't, you know, refute our positional truth. I mean, position never changes, no matter how far our condition may fall astray. Boy, isn't that grace right?

Plenty of time where I didn't know we'd finish early for a church. It's interesting in those same verses in Ephesians 4 about being brought up to the maturity of Christ, a little bit further on, you didn't learn Christ this way. That takes me back many years when I was at another church, a fairly legal church. And we were studying Ephesians 4. Let's turn to Ephesians 4 a second because this brings back memories. They're wonderful memories.

So in Ephesians 4 verses 17 down to, let's see, down through 20 and through 19 it talks about being alienated from the life of God through your ignorance and kind of dealing, has dealt with all these kind of negative deeds and thoughts and all that kind of stuff. And he's addressing the Ephesian church, and you know what his conclusion was as to why they're going down this wrong path and their works really don't reflect who they are in Christ?

Because they haven't learned Christ. In verse 20, it's beautiful. Verse 19, who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness, but ye have not learned Christ. And that was the entire explanation for their behavior, that they hadn't learned Christ. And that's not learning that Christ was crucified and their sins were forgiven. Ephesians 1-3 is a foundation of who we are in Christ. blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.

In the very next verses he explains what he means. If so be that you have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is, that's reality, the truth is in Jesus. And then he gives these infinitives here which are the indirect discourse. This is what you learn.

That you have put off concerning the former manner of life. The old man which is corrupt. And you are, it's passive, and you are being renewed in the spirit of your mind. You're thinking differently, but passively. God's helping you to think correctly by the Holy Spirit showing us Christ. And that you have put on, again, past tense, it happened in the past, that the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, that's, you know, totally new. Isn't that wonderful that right here in a nutshell is this positional truth from the past, but also the, like you mentioned, the present ongoing, our minds are being renewed by the Holy Spirit, showing us Christ over and over. And of course when we believe that, I think we all know this.

The act of Calvary was not only our sins being forgiven, but our sin nature crucified. So before God were made righteous, he hath made him to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. So the sin nature has been crucified. Experientially, that sin nature shows up all the time.

Now we're back in the kind of Romans 6 and 7, 8 kind of stuff. Ultimately, this ability to be free indeed from the power of sin is as much of an act of our present being conformed and ultimately being saved as it will be our future salvation in being certain of that. And it's not easy. And I sense as the light gets brighter, as his face and our fellowship with him becomes more robust and secure, That ugliness of who the old man is shows up even more. It's a process and that's really what this process of perfecting is all about. We see our worthlessness as he becomes brighter and our fellowship with him extends.

So keeping his commandments, don't go back to the law here. This is not what we're talking about. We're talking about a higher order that is called the law of liberty or the law of Christ. And the law of Christ is himself and nothing any different than that. Any other final thoughts or comments?

So what do you think the key is to remembering that you're free from Well, the key is believing it. Fighting the sin nature is not it, it's seeing us risen. That's why I think keep looking down. We got a tremendous opportunity to have fellowship with him on an ongoing basis. When we get preoccupied with the things of self and flesh, we ultimately get separated from that. There's nothing like being in the world or being in fellowship with another that encourages this process.

Maybe we're challenged to respond by faith. Do we believe God for what he revealed? Again, the best definition of faith is what Schofield says. It's believing what God has revealed. And he's revealed nothing about legal systems being the power of the Christian life.

It's all about grace. So, I mean, Elizabeth, great question. I mean, we all fall back into self-serving ways, but yet Remember, his yoke is easy, right? His burden light. And that's really the soft pillow for a tired head we all need day in and day out. Randy, close this one for us, please.

Heavenly Father, we come before you and we're grateful for the opportunities that you've given us to gather together. We just pray for The time that we have left here before hopefully your return soon, we ask that you would draw our hearts and minds to things above and Lord, we pray that this principle of abiding would just be manifest in our lives. Not so that we could just know these things as a group collectively, but instead that we would be just walking in deeper and deeper fellowship with you as we're conformed to the image of your son. We praise you and thank you in Jesus name. Amen.