Latest / Mount Eaton Church / 1 John 2:7-14 - The Old & The New, Love Your Brother As Christ Loves You - 8.9.2026

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1 John 2:7-14 - The Old & The New, Love Your Brother As Christ Loves You - 8.9.2026 · Mount Eaton Church

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  So before we get started, we're going to read
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  and then I'll pray. Let's read the Word of God
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  together. All right, so let us read. I'm going
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  to start off in verse 4 of chapter 2 and then
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  go through 14. We're going to be doing chapter
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  2, verse 7 to 14. Whoever says, I know him, but
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  does not keep his commandments is a liar and
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  the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his
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  word in him, truly the love of God is perfected.
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  By this we may know that we are in him. Whoever
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  says he abides in him ought to walk in the same
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  way in which he walked. Beloved, I am writing
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  to you no new commandment, but an old commandment
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  that you had from the beginning. The old commandment
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  is the word that you have heard. At the same
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  time, it is a new commandment. That I am writing
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  to you which is true in him and in you because
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  the darkness is passing away and the true light
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  is already shining. Whoever says he's in the
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  light and hates his brother is still in darkness.
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  Whoever loves his brother abides in the light
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  and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But
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  whoever hates his brother I'm writing to you,
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  little children, because your sins are forgiven
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  for his namesake. I'm writing to you, fathers,
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  because you know him who is from the beginning.
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  I'm writing to you, young men, because you have
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  overcome the evil one. I'm writing to you, children,
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  because you know the father. I write to you,
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  fathers, because... You know him who was from
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  the beginning. I write to you, young men, because
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  you are strong and the word of God abides in
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  you and you have overcome the evil one. Father,
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  I want to thank you so much for your word. I
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  ask you, Lord, that you would guide us as we
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  go through these seven verses. Help us to understand
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  the importance of your word and help us to understand
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  the reflection of Christ in our lives as we love
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  one another. Lord, we give you honor, glory,
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  and praise in Jesus' name. Amen. So one of the
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  things I want us to understand, there are a few
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  things I need you to pay attention to as we go
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  through this. There are several things you must
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  pay close attention to. First, John states eight
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  times, I am writing to you. Second, four times
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  he mentions commandment, twice a old and twice
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  a new commandment. And third, darkness is mentioned
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  four times. So why is this important? Not only
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  these, he also deals with the word hate. He deals
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  with the word light. He deals with the word love.
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  But these main focuses are extremely present
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  here. And when God mentions things like that,
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  it is for us to pay attention to. And obviously
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  the most glaring is. I'm writing to you. To walk
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  as Christ walked is to love your brother as he
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  loved us. You are your brother's keeper as Christ
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  is to his brothers and sisters. Christ is your
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  keeper. As a matter of fact, the reality of this
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  truth shows that that is where the doctrine of
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  perseverance of the saints comes from. You persevere
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  because Christ is your keeper. understanding
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  that we are responsible to one another. Now,
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  so when he says that there is a commandment,
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  a new one, an old one that was given, and it's
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  also a new one, you're going to see this in a
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  minute. So in John 13, 34 through 35, he says,
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  a new commandment I give to you that you love
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  one another. Just as I have loved you, you also
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  are to love one another. By this, all people
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  will know that you are my disciples if you have
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  love for one another. You see, in the Old Testament,
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  he said, love your neighbor. Jesus summarizes
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  the commandments concerning your neighbor, and
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  he says, love your neighbor as yourself. This
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  new commandment that Christ gives, though it
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  is an old one, is that you should love the family.
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  Do you love each other? That is the question
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  here. Do we love the family? Love for one another.
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  The world will know that we are his disciples
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  when we love one another. Now in first John chapter
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  two, verse seven through 11, kind of clarifies
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  this reality. Beloved, I am writing you. He's
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  not writing to everybody. John is writing to
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  you. He's saying to the believers, That have
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  been dispersed and are scattered. And he's not
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  writing a new commandment. No new commandment.
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  But an old commandment. This is a commandment
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  that's been from the beginning. That you had
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  from the beginning. But what is that? We know
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  what that is. We know because Cain had just killed
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  his brother. And Jesus goes to him and says,
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  Cain, where's your brother? And Cain says, am
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  I my brother's keeper? Yes, you are. This is
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  nothing new. As a matter of fact, we know because
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  Christ loved us. The reality of love is from
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  the beginning. And we know that he loves us because
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  he has loved us before he created anything. So
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  the old commandment is the word that you have
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  heard. What old commandment? To love one another.
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  This idea that God loves us and has sent propitiation
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  for us, which we've read previously. This old
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  commandment that the word that you have heard.
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  We also know that because in John 1, 1, 1, John
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  1, 1, it says that which was from the beginning,
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  which. We have heard, which we have seen with
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  our own eyes, which we've looked upon and have
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  touched with our hands concerning the word of
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  life. In the beginning was the word and the word
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  was with God and the word was God. The Logos,
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  the word became flesh. It is an old commandment
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  from the ancient of days. So this word that we
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  have heard to love one another. At the same time,
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  and this term at the same time means again or
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  on the other hand. On the other hand, it is a
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  new commandment. We know what that is because
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  Jesus gives it. Love one another, not just the
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  neighbor. We know that the Jews were commanded
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  to love their neighbors because when a sojourner
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  would come into the country and into the city,
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  they as Jews were to host them. and take them
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  in and feed them and house them. And then eventually,
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  when they leave, to send them off with food.
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  They were to be good neighbors to the sojourner.
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  And so what we see here is this new commandment
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  is, are you loving towards one another? With
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  that, I'm writing to you, he continues in 1 John
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  2, which is true in him and in you. What's true
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  in Christ? Love. He is the word. He is love.
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  And if he is love and he is in you, then you
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  are to love. You are to walk as he walked. And
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  that's what he means here. Which is true in him,
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  in Christ. And is also in you because love lives
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  in you. Because the darkness is passing away.
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  I love this statement. in a state of transition.
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  Now I know, I think we can all agree, that if
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  we were looking to hope or looking to win on
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  this battlefield, it's not going to happen. The
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  reality is we've already won in Christ. But this
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  idea where we know that the world will get darker,
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  But here John states something that's quite remarkable.
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  Darkness is in a state of transition. There's
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  something we know concerning the reality of darkness.
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  And that is what? The darker the darkness, the
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  brighter the light. As dark gets darker, light
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  gets brighter. And there's one thing that we
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  know. Darkness cannot and will not. ever have
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  victory over light because light chases away
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  the darkness so the reality is is that darkness
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  is passing away darkness is in a state of transition
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  because we see that in creation in genesis 1
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  in the beginning god created the heavens and
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  the earth and the earth was void and without
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  form and and there was darkness over the face
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  of the deep and the spirit of god was hovering
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  over the God said, let there be light. And what
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  happens to the darkness? Whoosh, it's gone. You
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  turn off all the lights in this room. If there
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  is one light, it will start to eat away the darkness.
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  And that's what he means here. Just because we
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  live in a dark world and the darkness seems to
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  get darker, we should not fear that the darkness
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  will overtake us. Because where darkness is,
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  Light is brighter. And that's what he means here.
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  And, he says, continues, and the true, the real,
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  the genuine light. And we know what this word
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  is in the original because it's dealing with
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  the issue of the light of Christ, the phos. The
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  light of Christ is already shining. What a victory
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  statement. What a confidence we have as believers.
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  That even in the midst of the darkest darkness
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  you can imagine, the brightest light of Christ
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  is already shining. And this word already shining
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  means even now and before now continues to give
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  light. In other words, he was giving light before
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  creation and he's even now giving light and that
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  light will continue to give light. Wow. We will
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  never. be in darkness again. Whoever says he
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  is, or he exists in the light, the light of Christ,
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  and hates, detests, has ill will, or abhors his
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  brother, who is a fellow believer and a family
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  member, united by our common bond, is still in
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  darkness. You cannot say that you exist in the
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  light of Christ and still hate. Or have ill will
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  against your brother. Who is a believer. One
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  who is supposed to be in common union with you.
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  And still be in darkness. And expect to be in
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  the light. Because you won't be. The reality
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  is you are still in darkness. You remain in the
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  ignorant. You remain ignorant of divine things.
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  And you remain in wickedness and misery. To not
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  love your brother is to not exist in the light.
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  But you still remain in your wickedness, in your
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  misery, in your sin. Whoever loves his brother
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  abides, means to be held or kept continually.
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  This is again proof that we persevere. That Christ
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  holds us and keeps us continually. Because he
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  is our keeper. This understanding of abiding.
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  Do you abide in Christ? Are you being held and
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  kept continually in the light? And in him there
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  is no cause for stumbling. In a brother or sister
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  who is held and kept continually in the light
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  of Christ. Will not stumble. He doesn't walk
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  in the dark. Even the darkest of paths are his
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  light to us. We never really walk stumbling.
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  And that's what he means here. There is no cause
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  for us to stumble. But whoever hates his brother.
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  This word hate is a very clear term which we've
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  just read previously. Is in the darkness and
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  walks in the darkness. Continues to live in wickedness
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  and misery. And does not know where he is going.
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  He is walking and leading away in his life in
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  the blindness of his sin. Because the darkness
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  has blinded his eyes. Wow. So why so clearly
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  stated, John? Why is he clearly stating this?
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  Because there was a continual problem among those
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  who say they believe. They did not love one another.
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  It's a demand to be right. It's a demand to be
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  in control. It's a demand and all these other
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  things. And they weren't loving. And Jesus says
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  it this way in John 11, 10. He says, Jesus said,
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  if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because
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  the light is not in him. So you can't say you
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  are in Christ and walk as if you're not in him.
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  That's hypocrisy, obviously. I love in Pilgrim's
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  Progress what John Bunyan states here. Christian
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  states concerning talkative, quote unquote. This
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  is in play one. If you ever read it, it's a play.
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  And he gets together with, he's talking, I believe
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  he's talking to Pliable at this point. I can't
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  remember if it's Pliable or, I can't remember
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  who it is. And Christian had just got done talking
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  to talkative. Talkative is a terrible dude. Talkative
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  is just that dude that just talks but doesn't
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  live. He just blabs. And that's the point here.
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  As a matter of fact, Christian states it this
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  way, quote unquote, for my part, I am of opinion
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  that he, talkative, has by his wicked life caused
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  many to stumble and fall and will be if God prevents
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  not. the ruin of many more. Quote, unquote, John
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  Bunyan. Wow. This type of quote, unquote, believer
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  is really the ruin of many people. And this is
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  what John was stating concerning the reality
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  of, am I walking as Christ walked? And if I am
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  walking as Christ walked, I will not be a stumbling
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  block. Nor will I stumble in the dark as if I
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  can't see. Second, have you ever asked why did
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  God give us his word and why Jesus is the Logos?
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  Why is Jesus the word? Why did God give us the
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  Bible? What's the purpose? In 2 Peter chapter
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  1, 3 through 4, his divine power has granted
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  to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.
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  Through the knowledge of him who called us to
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  his own glory and excellence. By which he has
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  granted to us his precious and very great promises.
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  So that through them you may become partakers
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  of the divine nature. Having escaped from the
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  corruption that is in the world because of sinful
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  desire. Why has God given us his word? That we
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  may know him. The one place you can come to know
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  Jesus. This is important. Because far too often,
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  we have this statement. You are the only Bible
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  anybody will ever read. If you're the only Bible
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  anybody will ever read, you're a terrible Bible.
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  Because there's one thing I know about my Bible.
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  It's the inerrant, infallible word of God. And
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  I am not. And I'm a very inconsistent example
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  sometimes of this word. So don't be the only
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  Bible that someone will read. Be the one who
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  will quote the Bible. Because man does not live
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  by every example you show or that comes out of
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  your mouth. Man lives by every word that comes
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  out of the mouth of God. Think about that. You
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  aren't. sharper than a two -edged sword, dividing
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  soul and spirit, bone and marrow, judging the
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  thoughts and intentions of the heart. The word
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  is. And so when we look at this, we know why
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  the word is important. We know why he's given
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  it to us. As a matter of fact, in 1 John chapter
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  12, verse 14, 12 and 4, chapter 2, sorry. 1 John
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  chapter 2, verse 12 through 14. Listen to what
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  John states here. I am writing to you, little
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  children, because your sins are forgiven. I want
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  you to get this term. What happens here is many
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  pastors will go, oh, do a little, they'll do
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  a children's, little children's corner thing
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  and they'll go, listen, little children. This
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  isn't John writing to little kids. This is John
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  writing to you. Because Jesus calls you children.
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  He calls me child. He calls you child. Those
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  who believe in his name have been given the right
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  to become a child of God. We are children. And
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  he's implying here the issue of immaturity. Little
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  children. Little children don't know much. So
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  he's implying that for those who are just starting
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  off in their Christian walk, who are immature
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  in the faith, The one thing that is the reminder
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  for you is that you are forgiven. That's the
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  simplest thing, right? For a child, they want
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  to know that mom and dad aren't upset. That's
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  what he's implying here. I'm writing to you,
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  little children, to you. And I'm a little child,
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  to be honest with you. You're like, you're a
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  pastor. You shouldn't be looking. There's a lot
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  of things I'm immature in, a lot of things I'm
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  mature in. How about the things I'm not maturing?
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  I got some work to do. So he says, I'm writing
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  to you little children because your sins are
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  forgiven. This word sins is harmatia. And the
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  reason why this word is important is because
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  it's where we get the word harmatology from,
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  which is the study of sin. It's the doctrine
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  of sin. And this word is important because we
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  need to know why we're forgiven or what we're
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  forgiven from, which is our sins. And the word
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  forgiven here means to send away. As far as the
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  east is from the west. The deepest part of the
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  ocean. Christ has sent away your sin. He has
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  removed it. And when he has removed it, for your
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  sake? No. For his name's sake. For his name's
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  sake, you are forgiven. It's his name is on this
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  work. And what's interesting, he says, this word
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  sake means on account of his name, we have obtained
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  something. It's the name of Christ that you have
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  obtained forgiveness. It's on account of his
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  name. It's on account of his name that you are
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  considered the righteousness of God. It's on
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  the count of his name that you are. are delivered.
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  It's on account of his name that you are redeemed.
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  It's on account of his name that you are regenerated,
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  justified, sanctified. His name, it's on account
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  of his name that you are all these things. And
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  in John 1, 12, but to all who did receive him,
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  who believe in his name. He gave the right to
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  become children of God. On account of his name,
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  you're a child of the living God. It's his name.
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  And there is power in the name. In Acts 10 .43,
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  to him all the prophets bear witness that everyone
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  who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins
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  through his name. You have been forgiven. Why?
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  Because his name is God saves. That's his name.
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  His name is God forgives. That's his name. His
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  name is the righteous one. God the righteous
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  one. That's his name. His name is God heals.
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  That's his name. I am the bread. I am the everlasting
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  water. That's his name. What a wonderful name.
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  In 1 John 1 .1. Well, let me just do this. Verse
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  13, I'm sorry. I'm writing to you fathers because
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  you know him. Now, I shared this earlier. When
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  we lived in Delaware and my kids first learned
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  father and mother in Greek, they'd never stopped
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  saying it to me. So they wouldn't call me dad
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  or pops or they'd call me pater. Because that's
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  what father is in Greek. And they do it with
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  the typical real bad English. It's not like they're
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  Hispanic. They should know how to roll the R's.
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  Pater. But they don't do that. They go, hey,
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  pater. Pater. It's true. But it's good. What's
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  implied here is that he's implying maturity.
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  So you see the extreme. You see little children
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  immature. Here, a father is seen as mature. The
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  one who is the caregiver, the mature. And a father
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  implies that we know things. What do we know
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  as fathers? You know him who was from the beginning.
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  We know him. And that's why in 1 John 1, which
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  I read earlier, that which was from the beginning,
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  which you have heard. which we have seen with
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  our own eyes, which we have looked upon and have
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  touched with our own hands concerning life. We
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  know him. And we know we know them. It's sort
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  of like when you come home and your kids are
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  like really little. I used to go through this.
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  Now my kids never rush the door. I walk in, Mocha
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  shows up. My dog. She's like. You know, she's
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  wiggling and, but she knows me. I wish my kids
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  knew me like that. Right? But what happens is
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  they hear the voice of the father and they come
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  running in. Dad's home. Pater. And they get excited.
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  And that's the implication here. That little
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  children know him. My sheep know me and they
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  know my voice. And he even says to Philip, Philip
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  goes, show us the father. And he says, Philip,
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  have you, have I been with you so long that you
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  still don't know me? You should know me. And
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  we know because he also then says to Philip,
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  you know him and have seen him. And then he writes
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  to the young people, the young adults. Not really
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  to the young adults, it's to us. We are fathers
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  and mothers. We are mature and we are also little
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  children. And there are times when we are also
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  young adults. Young men and young women. I'm
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  writing to you, young men, because you have overcome
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  the evil one. Interesting that they put the word
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  one in there. Because I really don't want to
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  just overcome the devil. Like, what is that?
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  How about if I overcome the evil that's in me?
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  To overcome sin. I want to know that I have overcome
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  evil. And that's what John is implying here.
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  This is not particularly talking about the devil,
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  though we have overcome the devil. The question
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  is, have you overcome the evil that is present
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  there? And the way we overcome is that we are
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  strong in the Lord. In Ephesians 6 .10, finally
• 27:05
  be strong in the Lord and in the strength of
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  his might. I don't want to just be strong in
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  the Lord and in the strength of his might when
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  I have to deal with the devil, which barely ever
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  happens. How about being strong in the Lord and
• 27:20
  in the strength of his might when I look at myself
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  in the mirror and I have to deal with my junk?
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  And I go, why do I keep doing the things I don't
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  want to do, but the things I hate I keep on doing?
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  Because I have not, because I haven't realized
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  that I have overcome the evil already. And that's
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  why Paul states in Ephesians 6 .10, finally be
• 27:45
  strong in the Lord and in strength of his might.
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  So this implication of being a young man and
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  a young woman is also implying this understanding
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  of what it means to overcome. If you want to
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  overcome, you must be self -controlled. Older
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  men teach the younger men to be self -controlled.
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  We know what the fruit of the Spirit is. The
• 28:08
  fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
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  kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
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  and self -control. Self -control. Is the strength
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  of the Lord and his might on display. I have
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  truly overcome evil. And then he says again,
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  I write to you children. Because you know the
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  father. Yes, we do know him. Which I had said
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  earlier. As a child, as a father walks in the
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  door from a hard day at work. And they hear dad's
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  voice. They come running. Because they know him.
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  Now, for those of us who are fathers of girls,
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  they know exactly what to do. Being jerks. They're
• 28:58
  being jerks. Because they know. They take advantage
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  of dad. Because we just, that's my baby girl.
• 29:08
  Boys, we just like toughen up and suck it up.
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  Let's go. Be a man. Girls are like, we melt.
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  It's not fair. But that's the implication here.
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  We know the father. We know we can go to him
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  and sit before him and ask of him and he will
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  give and seek and we will find because the father
• 29:29
  wants to give good gifts. So as children, we
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  know the father. Verse 14, I write to you fathers
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  because you know him. who was from the beginning.
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  And again, he brings us back to the same understanding.
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  Not only do the children know the heavenly father,
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  but the fathers know the heavenly father because
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  he's from the beginning. And I love this statement
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  here. It's the reminder when Jesus says, I am
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  the alpha and omega. He is the everlasting father.
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  We know him. He is in you. He is light present
• 30:12
  in you. We know him. I write to you, young men,
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  because you are strong. I kind of like that.
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  As children, we depend on the father to be our
• 30:29
  strength. As fathers, we know him and we've learned
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  to grow and know that he is all he says he is.
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  As young men, We need to be reminded. Why? Because
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  young people think they are invincible, but they're
• 30:48
  not. So again, John is reminding them. I'm writing
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  to you, young men, young women, young people,
• 30:57
  because you are strong in Christ. Why are you
• 31:02
  strong in Christ? Because the word of God abides
• 31:05
  in you. Christ lives in you. His word is present
• 31:10
  in you and he is present in you. And you have
• 31:15
  overcome evil. It's more than just the evil one.
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  And this is important because we have settled
• 31:23
  that our battle is with a fallen angel. That's
• 31:32
  bad theology. We get to blame. The creature.
• 31:40
  It's the devil's fault. The devil made me do
• 31:43
  it. And here the reality is, if we overcome,
• 31:49
  we have overcome evil. How have we overcome evil?
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  I asked the question earlier. Why did God give
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  us his word? Because it requires that I read
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  it. What good is the word? If it's closed, it's
• 32:08
  sitting on your end table. What good is the word
• 32:12
  if I don't have a Bible app on my phone or it's
• 32:18
  off? What good is the word? What good is the
• 32:21
  word if you don't read it? Why is John saying
• 32:27
  I'm writing to you? Because he's telling them
• 32:30
  you have to read. I'm writing to you that you
• 32:35
  may read it so that you will know. The question
• 32:41
  is, do you know? Do you read it? Or do you just
• 32:47
  come on Sunday because you think Sunday's enough?
• 32:50
  It's enough word for me. I get my word on Sunday
• 32:54
  morning and I go home and I'm good for the rest
• 32:56
  of the week. Because such and such gave a good
• 33:00
  message or I learned this. No, man does not live
• 33:06
  by bread alone, but by every word that comes
• 33:07
  from the mouth of God. And you have heard from
• 33:10
  many pastors. I'm sure even I've said it, right?
• 33:14
  If you feed your physical body, you got to feed
• 33:17
  your spiritual body. I mean, after all, we don't
• 33:21
  want to be spiritually initiated. It's more than
• 33:24
  that. The very life of being comes from God's
• 33:28
  mouth. And he, in his wisdom and kindness and
• 33:33
  goodness, has given us his word, which he has
• 33:36
  written through men for you to read. Spend time
• 33:41
  in it. If you read one chapter, it'll take you
• 33:45
  less than five minutes. Even if you listen to
• 33:48
  it. And my challenge to you is if you are going
• 33:51
  to read it, read it out loud so you hear yourself.
• 33:54
  Because faith comes from a hearing and hearing
• 33:56
  that of the word of Christ. How important is
• 34:00
  the word to you? Or as I said to the young ones,
• 34:05
  is it boring? Granted, the begats are hard to
• 34:13
  get through. But there's a reason why it's there.
• 34:16
  And all the begats give you life. So enjoy reading
• 34:21
  the begats. As you get through the begats, you
• 34:24
  move on to another thing. But all of it's important.
• 34:29
  All of it's important. All of it is life -giving.
• 34:35
  How important is the Word to you? We are a Word
• 34:40
  -centered church because we are Christ -centered
• 34:44
  people. Be in the Word. Read it. Because He gave
• 34:50
  it to you. Father, I want to thank you so much
• 34:54
  for your goodness and faithfulness. Thank you
• 34:56
  for your word. Thank you for what you're doing
• 34:59
  in our lives. Lord, I do pray that you would
• 35:02
  give us a hunger and thirst for your word, but
• 35:04
  that we, when we are initiated and we are not
• 35:07
  hungry because we have gone beyond the spiritual
• 35:11
  pain of hunger, where we have just surrendered
• 35:16
  to a life of lifelessness. I pray that you would
• 35:24
  wake us up through your word. I have hidden your
• 35:32
  word in my heart that I might not sin against
• 35:34
  you. How can a young man keep his way pure by
• 35:38
  living according to your word? Lord, I thank
• 35:42
  you and praise you for your word. And I most
• 35:45
  of all thank you and praise you for you, the
• 35:49
  living and true God, the one whom we worship.
• 35:53
  And thank you that you have given us an opportunity
• 35:55
  to know you, not only in spirit, but also in
• 35:59
  truth.