Latest / Mount Eaton Church / 1 John 2:1-6 - Jesus our Advocate and Propitiation - 8.2.2026

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1 John 2:1-6 - Jesus our Advocate and Propitiation - 8.2.2026 · Mount Eaton Church

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  Turn to 1 John, chapter 2. Now, we're going to
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  be digging into a lot of doctrine today also.
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  So we're going to pray, and then we're only going
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  to be focusing on the first six verses of chapter
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  2. But before we do that, we're going to need
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  to read a little bit. um in chapter one so we
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  understand the context of what john is saying
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  so let us pray uh today's message jesus our advocate
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  and propitiation um two very important doctrines
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  here but there's there's also several others
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  that we will be mentioning as we walk through
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  this together father i want to thank you so much
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  for your goodness and faithfulness thank you
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  lord for your word thank you um just for your
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  amazing work of salvation for your people. You
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  are our advocate. You are our propitiation. You
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  are the perfect sacrifice, the only sacrifice,
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  and the one eternal sacrifice that was given
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  for your people and for the salvation. Not only
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  that, to be conformed into the image, into your
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  image. Father, I pray that you would continue
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  to work out all things. for our good as you form
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  us into the image of your Son. We do praise you
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  and thank you for your goodness and faithfulness
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  in Jesus' name. Amen. So, chapter 1, let's start
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  off in verse 7, and then we're going to go through
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  verse 6 of chapter 2. But if we walk in the light
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  as he is in the light, we have fellowship with
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  one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son,
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  cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no
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  sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not
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  in us. And if we confess our sins, he is faithful
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  and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse
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  us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have
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  not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is
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  not in us. My little children, I'm writing these
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  things to you so that you may not sin. But if
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  anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the
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  Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. He is the
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  propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours,
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  but also for the sins of the whole world. And
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  by this we know that we have come to know him
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  if we keep his commandments. And whoever says,
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  I know him, but does not keep his commandments
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  is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever
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  keeps his word, in him truly the love of God
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  is perfected. By this we... may know that we
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  are in him. Whoever says he abides in him ought
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  to walk in the same way in which he walked. So
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  quite a bit of stuff here. The first is Christ
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  is our advocate and propitiation for our sins.
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  The advocate is the one who speaks on your behalf
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  that you are not guilty. The propitiation is
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  the one who has paid the cost of your guilt.
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  A lot of times I think when we think about the
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  advocate of Christ, just how important his advocacy
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  is for you and I. And not only that, the reality
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  of the propitiation is the clarifier of that
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  advocate. There had to be something that paid
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  the cost to appease the wrath of God. And so
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  Christ. is that sacrifice by which he now can,
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  through the propitiation, be the advocate of
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  his people. In Hebrews 7 .25, it says, Consequently,
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  he is able to save to the uttermost those who
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  draw near to God through him, since he always
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  lives to make intercession for them. I want you
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  to hear that. He saves to the uttermost. OK,
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  that's in other words, the salvation of Christ
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  is beyond measure, beyond measure. The first
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  John 2, 1 and 1 and 2, my little children, I'm
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  writing these things to you so that you may not
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  sin. What things? Well, the list he previously
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  said in chapter one, which we went through. Right,
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  that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and
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  just to forgive us of our sins, that he. He has
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  cleansed us from sin. And that if we confess
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  that we have sinned, then the truth is in us.
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  But those who do not confess that they're sinners
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  or that they sin, the truth is not in them. And
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  we don't want to make God out to be a liar because
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  God is not. He says we are sinful. We are utterly
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  sinful, as we had talked about last week. In
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  total depravity. Now, when we deal with this
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  issue of advocacy, we see this here in the second
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  part of the verse. But if anyone does sin, it's
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  not that you're not going to sin, you're going
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  to sin. It's when you sin. So when you sin, we
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  have an advocate. Paracletus. One who pleads
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  another's cause. An intercessor. And he specifically
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  pleads the cause with the Father. Now, if Christ
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  was not the propitiation, there would be no cause
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  to plead. You're guilty. But because we have
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  a propitiation, we have one who has dealt with
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  our sin and has appeased the wrath of God, Christ,
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  when we do sin, can go to the Father and say,
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  They're covered, not guilty. I plead on their
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  behalf. And that's the idea of the advocate.
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  And we see that in Exodus. We're going to see
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  that in a minute. So the first thing I want you
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  to understand is when we're dealing with the
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  doctrine of the advocate of Christ, to be an
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  advocate requires a propitiation. There has to
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  be a... something provided that the advocate
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  can come before the judge and plead the case
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  of not guilty. Okay? He is the propitiation,
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  the means of appeasing. Now, what's interesting
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  is when you look at the issue of propitiation,
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  you also have to look at the reality of the atonement,
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  the atonement of Christ. The innocent being sacrificed
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  for the guilty. The blood being spilled for the
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  cleansing and the removal of the sin. By which
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  the advocate then can go before the father and
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  say, not guilty. Now this is important because
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  you cannot have one without the other. And we
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  see that in Exodus 32. So he is the propitiation
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  for our sins. And not for ours only, but also
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  the sins of the whole world. Now, to explain
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  this a little bit, I want you to understand when
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  we're looking at the effectual work of the sacrifice
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  of Christ, that the power of the sacrifice and
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  the shedding of his blood is more than enough
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  to deal with the sins of the whole world. It's
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  not just a little bit. His blood has power and
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  effectualness to take care of all sin. And that's
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  important because we see the work of Christ down
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  to the smallest minute detail of our lives. Many
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  would argue the point that the reality of atonement
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  or propitiation means if it's for the whole world,
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  then the whole world's sins are covered. There
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  is clear teaching throughout the Old Testament
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  and the New Testament that the application of
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  the propitiation is applied to those who believe.
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  And applied to those... whom God has appointed.
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  And what you see that, is you see that not only
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  in the establishment of the Passover meal, that
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  the family would take in the lamb on the 10th
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  of the month into their home, and the lamb would
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  stay in the home until the day of sacrifice,
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  which implies that the lamb is part of the family.
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  And that lamb would only cover or work, be applied
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  to the sin of the family, not sin of the nation.
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  That was a different sacrifice. So there was
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  the sacrifices that were given daily, and then
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  there was the sacrifice for the entire nation.
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  And we can see that also in Exodus. But we're
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  not going to get into the deepness of that right
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  now, because I want to focus on... the person
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  of Christ, the advocate and the propitiation.
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  Moses as advocate and to make propitiation in
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  Exodus 32. Now, I want you to hear that. Moses
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  is an advocate here. He makes propitiation. He
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  is not the propitiation, which is the difference
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  between him and Christ. Now, in Exodus 32, 30
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  through 33. The next day Moses said to the people,
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  you have sinned a great sin. So we have the declaration
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  of guilt here. And now I will go up to the Lord,
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  perhaps I, perhaps I can make atonement for your
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  sins. So he says, I'm going to go up and I'm
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  going to advocate for you, perhaps by appeasing
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  his anger towards you. And the word they use
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  there is atonement. Now, verse 31. So Moses returned
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  to the Lord and said, Alas, this people has sinned
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  a great sin. They have made for themselves gods
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  of gold. But now, if you will, forgive their
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  sin. But if not, please blot me out of your book
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  that you have written. Now, I want you to get
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  this. Very important. What do you notice about
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  the advocate here? He confesses the reality of
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  their guilt. He then says, listen, I am coming
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  on their behalf, and I am offering myself as
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  a means to appeal for your forgiveness. And what
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  you see here, he says, please blot me out of
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  your book that you have written. If you're not
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  going to forgive them, then I don't want to be
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  associated without them. That's an advocate.
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  And that's exactly what Jesus says. To some degree,
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  isn't it? What's he say? No one takes my life
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  from me. I give it of my own accord. I lay down
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  my life for my sheep. And Moses is doing something
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  very similar here. Take me out of your book.
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  I'm with them. Because the reality is, they've
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  sinned, and if you eliminate them, you eliminate
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  all of us, and I'm a part of them. That's my
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  family. Those are my people. It's very interesting.
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  And it's interesting because Jesus does the same
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  thing. Jesus dies for his people once for all,
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  the scripture says. Verse 33, but the Lord says
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  to Moses, whoever has sinned against me, I will
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  blot out of my book. Not you. Notice he doesn't
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  say, and you. He says, no, those who have sinned
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  against me, I'll blot out. But now go, lead the
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  people to the place. which I have spoken to you,
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  behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless,
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  in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin
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  upon them. Upon them. And you read the rest of
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  the story, and the reality is what happens is,
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  Moses pleads on behalf of the people, and he
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  goes down, and he tells the people to pick a
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  side. And the Levites, who were the ones, which
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  Aaron is the one who made the golden calf, they
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  all move over to Moses' side. But everybody else
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  who didn't, the scripture says that the Levites
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  killed them all. But Moses was the advocate because
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  the reality is the wrath of God was going to
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  be placed upon the entire nation. But because
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  of Moses, God said, I will only visit those who
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  have sinned against me. Now, Jesus the advocate,
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  Luke 23 -34. And Jesus said, Father, forgive
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  them, for they know not what they do. And they
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  cast lots to divide his garments. Do you hear
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  that? Sounds similar to Moses. Moses says, they've
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  sinned against you. They don't get it, really.
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  Jesus says, Forgive them for they know not what
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  they do. He advocates for us on the cross. Jesus,
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  the propitiation. Romans 3, 21 through 26. But
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  now the righteousness of God has been manifest
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  apart from the law. Although the law and the
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  prophets bear witness to it, meaning Christ,
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  the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus
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  Christ for all believe. Do you hear that? That's
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  important. For there is no distinction. For all
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  have sinned and fallen short of the glory of
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  God. There is the declaration of guilt. And are
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  justified by his grace as a gift. There is the
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  work of Christ in soteriology as a propitiation
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  for our sins. Through the redemption that is
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  in Jesus Christ. Whom God has put forward as
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  a propitiation by his blood. So the issue of
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  God's appeasing is by the blood of Christ. Without
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  the shedding of blood, there is no remission
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  or forgiveness of sins. And this reality of the
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  propitiation by his blood, as Paul continues
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  in Romans, it says to be received by faith. How
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  is the propitiation to be received, applied by
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  faith? There it is. The application of the atonement.
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  Not the effectual offer of the atonement. It's
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  the application of atonement received by faith
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  that's important. This was to show God's righteousness
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  because in his divine forbearance he has passed
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  over former sins. And we know that. Another reality
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  of the... of the effectualness of God and the
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  application of the atonement was only those who
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  had the blood on the doorpost did not die. Now,
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  let's keep reading. Verse 26, it was to show
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  his righteousness at the present time. In the
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  same way he showed his righteousness and his
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  forbearance to the sins of the forefathers before
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  at the Exodus, we see Christ again in the present
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  time. God has been patient, not wanting any to
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  perish, but all to come to repentance. It was
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  to show his righteousness at the present time
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  so that he might be just and the justifier. What's
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  this mean? That he will show his justice? on
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  the punishment upon his son, and he will show
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  the reality that we are justified in Christ by
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  faith in Jesus. And not only that, he is also
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  just in the condemnation of those who don't believe
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  God is just either way or either way. It continues,
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  not only that he might be just and the justifier
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  of the one who has faith, In Jesus. There it
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  is again. Second principle. You know that you
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  know Christ. You know that you know Christ. Not
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  by a prayer spoken, but by your life being changed.
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  How can you know? How can you know for sure that
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  you are eternally secure in Christ? that you
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  are truly his. How do you know? All of us doubt.
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  All of us go through the questions. But the reality
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  is you know that you know Christ, not by a prayer
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  spoken, but by your life being changed. To know
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  him is to love his word, and to love his word
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  is to do his word. How do you know who is and
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  who's not? How do you know you know? Because
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  you desire his word and want to obey. Please
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  him and do his word because that is your heartbeat
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  for him. That is the reality of a really, truly
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  changed life. There are many who sit in the pews
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  in churches throughout the country and throughout
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  the world who say they know, but they really
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  don't know. Why? Because you'll know them by
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  their fruit. What is the fruit? The fruit is
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  a life of obedience. It's not a prayer. What
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  someone says isn't the guarantee. The work of
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  Christ is the guarantee. What is the result of
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  the guarantee? Change. Because that's what repentance
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  means. It's the idea that I've turned toward
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  God, away from my sin, that I want him more than
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  anything else. In John 14, 15 through 17. Jesus
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  says, if you love me, you will keep my commandments.
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  And I will ask the Father and he will give you
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  another helper to be with you forever. Do you
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  hear that? In other words, you can't do this
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  life on your own. You can't live this way on
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  your own without the helper to help you. And
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  the reality of our desire to be obedient to the
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  word of God is the actual... effectual work of
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  the Spirit of God in you. I want to please him.
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  Verse 17, even the Spirit of truth whom the world
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  cannot receive because it never sees him nor
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  knows him. You know him for he dwells with you
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  and will be in you. How do you know? The Spirit
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  of God is present in your life. What is the work
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  of the Spirit of God present in your life? Sanctification.
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  What is sanctification? God changing you and
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  making you like Him. Taking out the bad and putting
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  in the holy. And your desire to be obedient in
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  all things is the reality of the proof of that
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  work of the Spirit in you. In 1 John 2, 3 -4.
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  Now one of the other things I want you to understand
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  is very important. If the Word of God is the
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  very thing that continues to work effectually
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  in us to form us and conform us into the image
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  of His Son because it's living and active, how
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  much time do you spend in it? Is it important
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  to you? Do you study it? Do you soak your life
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  daily in it? Do you eat the manna every day?
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  Do you drink the everlasting water of the Word?
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  Are you being cleansed by the water of the Word?
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  How much time do you really spend in it? How
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  important is the Word to you? Because you cannot
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  know the God of all creation without knowing
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  What he's giving you to know. This is what it
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  says in verse 3 and 4. And by this we know, gnosko,
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  to know God expressed in action. It implies a
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  deep intimacy, a relational deepness of knowing.
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  And that knowing is seen in my action toward
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  him. That is what gnosko means. And you'll notice
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  that just in these two verses, gnosko is used
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  three times. In the six verses, gnosko is used,
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  as a matter of fact, let me pull it up. I think
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  it's four times in six verses. Here is the first
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  one. And by this we gnosko. We know that we have
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  come to gnosko him. We know that we know if we
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  keep his commandments. Very important. A lot
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  of people say they know. A lot of people think
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  they know. But the reality is to know. And to
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  come to know is I keep his word. Do you see that?
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  By this we know that we have come to know him
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  if we keep his commandments. What's the proof
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  of my conversion? Obedience. People don't like
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  that. It's okay. Whoever says I know him, Gnosko,
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  but does not keep his commandments is a liar.
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  and the truth is not in him. You cannot say I
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  know him and you're not being obedient. This
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  is not an issue of legalism. It's an issue of
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  my greatest desire is to love him. And loving
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  him is to do what he tells me to do. What happens
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  to those who do not know or who do not keep his
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  commandments? They're liars. They're just, they're
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  liars. He just straight says it. And the truth
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  is not present. Now what's interesting is Jesus
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  says, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
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  And if we are not keeping his commandments, that
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  means Jesus is not in you. Third principle. You
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  know that you are eternally his. He lives in
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  you, and you in him. If you abide in him, you
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  will and must live as he lived. This is John's
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  clear declaration in John 14, 23 through 24.
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  Jesus answered him. If anyone loves me, he will
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  keep my word and my father will love him. And
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  we will come to him and make our home with him.
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  There it is. If we are in Christ, the truth is
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  in us. But if we are not, and we are not being
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  obedient to the word, then the truth is not in
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  us. And he tells us that he will come and live
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  with him. He and the Father. We will come to
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  him and make our home with him. Whoever does
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  not love me does not keep my words. And the word
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  that you hear is not mine, but the Father's who
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  sent me. It's interesting that Jesus clarifies
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  that all that the Father has spoken, Jesus speaks.
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  1 John 2, 5 and 6. But whoever keeps his word,
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  in him truly the love of God is perfected. How
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  do we know that the love of God is perfected?
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  Because of the effectual work of Christ through
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  his sanctification in us and his conformity of
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  us, because he has imputed to us his righteousness,
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  he will not leave us to our own demise. And plus,
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  if he is in us, then the truth is actively working
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  in us because the Spirit of God is present. guiding
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  us in all truth. He has not left us as orphans.
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  He has given us a helper that we would rightfully
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  and righteously be obedient in all things. But,
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  as a reminder, if we confess our sins, He is
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  faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and
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  cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Why? Because
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  If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves,
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  and the truth is not in us. So the reality of
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  God's perfect work in us is that truth is present,
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  and we are being obedient to it. That shows that
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  I know that I know him. By this, we may gnosko.
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  We may know that we are in him. How can you know
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  that you are in him? Because you keep his word.
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  How can you know that you are in him? The truth
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  is in you. How can we know? Because whoever says
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  he abides in him ought to walk in the same way
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  in which he walked. What is the proof? The seen
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  fruit. Obedience. We walk like Jesus walked.
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  And the reason why John is doing this, because
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  as we learned last week, when we deal with the
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  reality of light, we receive the light, we proclaim
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  the light, we walk in the light. The proof that
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  we are walking in the light, that we have proclaimed
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  the light, and that we receive the light, is
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  that we want to obey him because we love him.
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  We want to obey him because we know him. We want
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  to obey him because we want to please him. We
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  want to obey him because we love his word and
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  we want to be fed and heard and hear him. How
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  important is the word of God to you? And the
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  reality is, because he has done this great work,
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  we can know for sure that he is our advocate.
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  Jesus Christ the righteous and the propitiation
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  of our sins because we obey his word. That's
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  how you know that you have an advocate. Jesus
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  speaks on your behalf because you're being obedient.
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  You see the effectual work of Christ's salvation
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  in your life. So next week we'll pick up on verses
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  7 through. Father, I want to thank you so much
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  for this message. Thank you, Lord, for this time.
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  Lord, as we spend time to do your supper, I pray
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  that you're honored and glorified that we would
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  reflect deeply on our lives as we partake of
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  this bread and this juice.