Latest / Reformed Thinking / Present Sonship, Future Christlikeness, and Present Purity (1 John 3:2–3)

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Present Sonship, Future Christlikeness, and Present Purity (1 John 3:2–3) · Reformed Thinking

• 0:00
  Welcome to reform Thinking. You know, I was thinking about
• 0:03
  this the other day. When you go to the doctor for a
• 0:07
  medical diagnosis, there is a very specific expectation of
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  precision. Oh.
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  Absolutely, yeah. You expect it to function?
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  I mean almost like engineering. If you take a bad fall and hurt
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  your arm, you go get an X-ray, right?
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  The doctor puts that image up on the screen, points to a jagged
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  white line on the bone and says there is the fracture.
• 0:25
  Yeah, it is entirely binary. I mean, the bone is broken or it
• 0:28
  is intact, it is clean, it is observable and honestly it is
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  comforting in a way. Yeah, definitely.
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  We naturally prefer things to be visible and easily categorized.
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  We like knowing the precise status of a situation.
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  But then you step into the world of theology, specifically the
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  tension between the grace you receive right now and the glory
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  you were promised in the future. Right, the already but not yet.
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  Exactly. And suddenly that theological
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  X-ray machine just seems broken. I mean, we look at the landscape
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  of our own human experience alongside these divine promises,
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  and the picture is just murky. Very murky.
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  We feel the heavyweight of our daily failures.
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  You know our sins are shortcomings, yet the biblical
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  text declares us entirely righteous is the absolute
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  definition of diagnostic Muddy Waters.
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  When we look at our own lives, it.
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  Really is. So that is why today we're doing
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  a deep dive into two verses that carry massive theological
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  weight. I'm talking about first John 3
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  .23. A fantastic text.
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  These two sentences define who you are right now, what you are
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  guaranteed to become, and how that specific knowledge demands
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  a specific reaction from you today.
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  Right. And we have a very clear mission
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  for this session. We are investigating the
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  grammatical structure of the original Greek text, the
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  systematic theology that undergirds it, and the pastoral
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  application for your daily life. We will rely heavily on the
• 1:51
  Westminster Confession of Faith as our analytical framework
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  here. The goal is to see how the
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  indicative of the gospel, you know what God has already done
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  drives the imperative of the law, meaning what we are
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  commanded to do. We want to understand the
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  mechanics of how grace fuels obedience.
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  OK, let's unpack this because before looking at the future we
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  have to establish the present. We cannot understand where we
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  are going if we do not know where we stand right now.
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  Very true. So the text begins with a
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  declaration of the believers current status.
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  John writes. Beloved, we are God's children
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  now. That first word, beloved.
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  It translates the Greek word agapa toy, and John is not using
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  an ornamental greeting here. Like a throwaway line.
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  Right, he's not just being polite or starting a letter the
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  way we might write, Dear Sir or Madam.
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  In the Greek New Testament, this term denotes the special objects
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  of divine covenantal affection. So it's very specific.
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  Highly specific, it points to a relational origin.
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  God's sovereign love is the initiator here.
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  Then John uses the phrase technotheo, which translates to
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  children of God, and it really helps to contrast tecna with
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  another Greek word for son, which is who else?
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  OK, so how do those two terms differ in the original language?
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  Because in English, child and son kind of blend together.
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  Yeah, they do, but in Greek, Well, who else often highlights
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  legal standing and privileges? So think of an heir receiving in
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  a state. Right, like a legal inheritor.
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  Yes, exactly, but Tecna highlights the relationship of
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  origin and the new birth. It means you share a nature with
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  a father because you have literally been born of him.
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  It is an organic life giving connection.
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  Wow, OK, And the timing of this status is huge, isn't it?
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  I mean, he adds the word now. Very much so.
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  John uses the present active indicative verb essman, meaning
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  we are, and he pairs it with the temporal adverb none, meaning
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  now. We are now.
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  Right. This establishes an objective,
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  legally binding, present tense reality.
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  You are not waiting to become a child of God if you, you know,
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  perform well enough over the next decade.
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  Yeah, it is not a probation period.
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  No, not at all. You were a child of God right
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  now, and the Westminster Confession of Faith chapter 12
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  deals specifically with the Doctorate of Adoption.
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  The divines who wrote that document wanted to be abundantly
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  clear on this point. All those who are justified are
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  granted this status by grace alone.
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  Through union with Christ, you're brought into the family,
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  you have His name put upon you, and you receive the spirit of
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  adoption. You know, I think of it like a
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  finalized legal adoption in our modern court system, that is.
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  A great way to picture it the. Judge's gavel has dropped.
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  The ink on the certificate is completely dry now.
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  The child might feel out of place for a while, right?
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  Oh sure, they might struggle to adjust to the new home or have a
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  bad day where they break a rule and throw a massive tantrum, but
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  their legal status is absolutely locked in.
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  The parents do not tear up the adoption papers because the
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  child had a meltdown. The status is totally secure
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  that. Is precisely what John is
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  getting at. But I have to ask, if God is the
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  creator of every single human being on earth, why does
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  Reformed theology reject the idea of the universal fatherhood
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  of God? I mean, how does this specific
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  text limit that status? Well.
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  The idea of the universal fatherhood of God is a liberal
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  theological concept. It suggests that all human
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  beings, simply by virtue of creation, are naturally children
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  of God in a saving sense, right? That everyone is just naturally
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  in the family. Yeah, it sounds very inclusive
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  and warm. But Orthodox Christian theology,
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  which is grounded in the text, rejects this entirely.
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  Why is that? Because by nature, fallen humans
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  are described in Scripture as children of wrath.
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  They're alienated from the Creator.
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  The status of Technitheo is limited strictly to those who
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  have experienced the new birth through faith in Christ.
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  Oh, oh, I see it. Is a covenantal reality.
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  We're not a biological 1 so. It requires an active
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  intervention by God, not just the fact that you were born
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  human. Precisely.
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  You have to be born again. Furthermore, this Orthodox view
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  completely rejects Armenianism as well.
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  OK. Unpack that for us.
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  Armenian theology suggests you're standing with God is
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  conditional upon foreseen merit, or maybe your ongoing ability to
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  maintain your own salvation through good choices.
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  Right, like you keep yourself in the family by behaving.
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  Yeah. But John is telling you that the
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  great sovereign, the decree is unchanging.
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  You did not initiate the adoption and you certainly do
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  not sustain the adoption by your own strength.
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  So. What does this all mean for the
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  listener today? I mean, if you are agonizing
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  over indwelling sin or your emotions are shifting wildly
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  from day-to-day, your assurance does not rest on your daily
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  success rate. No, it doesn't it.
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  Rests on God's unchanging decree.
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  You are defined by divine grace, not by your inconsistencies.
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  That is the comfort of the reformed view.
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  But, and here's the issue that introduces a massive tension
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  into our daily lives. I mean, if this incredible
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  status is a locked in reality today, why do believers still
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  feel so broken? Why are we still weighed down by
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  the world? Why do we still sin?
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  This brings us to the second-half of verse 2, where
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  John addresses the tension of what remains hidden from our
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  view. Yes.
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  So John writes, and what we will be has not yet appeared.
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  The Greek verb used here is efanori.
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  Got it. It is an Aoris passive, and what
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  it indicates is that the full realization of the believer
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  state is currently veiled. It resides entirely in the
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  secret counsel of God. So.
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  We cannot see the final result yet, right?
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  This introduces the theological framework we often call the
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  already but not yet I. Want to make sure we explain
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  that framework clearly, because it comes up constantly in
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  Reformed circles. But what does already, but not
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  yet actually mean for the person sitting in the Pew on a Sunday
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  morning? Well, it means you already
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  possess the full legal rights of a child of God.
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  OK, but you do not yet possess the glorified body or the
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  perfect sinlessness that comes with the consummation of your
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  salvation. So there is a gap.
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  Yes, you are living in the overlap of two ages.
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  The Kingdom of God is broken into the world through Christ,
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  but the old world of sin and death has not yet been fully
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  eradicated that. Feels like a massive paradox.
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  I mean you are righteous, but you still struggle with terrible
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  thoughts. You are victorious, but you
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  still get sick, you still age, and you still die.
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  It is a deliberate divine tension, and this specific
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  phrase, what we will be has not yet appeared, acts as a
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  doctrinal shield. It protects the church against
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  several really dangerous errors. What is the first one the?
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  1st is triumphalism. Which is what, practically
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  speaking. Triumphalism is the false idea
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  that Christians should experience complete victory over
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  every physical, financial and spiritual ailment in this life.
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  Like the prosperity gospel? Exactly.
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  You see this in health and wealth circles all the time.
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  If you are sick, they say, you just lack faith.
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  Or if you are poor, you haven't prayed hard enough.
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  John's words shield against that.
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  He says no, what we will be has not yet appeared.
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  We. Are still waiting for the final
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  reveal, right? Secondly, it Shields against
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  mysticism. How so?
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  Mysticism seeks unmediated, perfect, ecstatic experiences
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  with God outside of His ordained means.
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  It demands a piece of heaven right now.
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  Bypassing the normal means of grace, yes.
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  And finally, this text absolutely destroys
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  perfectionism. Perfectionism being the idea
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  that you can stop sinning completely before you die.
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  Yes, the false notion that a Christian can attain sinless
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  perfection in this earthly life. There are groups that teach
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  this, but John is forcing us to maintain a necessary
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  distinction. Between what and what between?
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  Progressive sanctification, which is happening right now and
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  is fraught with failure, struggle and stumbling.
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  Yeah, a lot of stumbling and future glorification which will
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  be instantaneous and absolute when Christ returns.
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  You know this reminds me of a master artist painting.
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  Imagine a masterpiece covered by a heavy canvas tarp in a studio.
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  Oh, I like that. You know the artist personally,
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  right? So you know the final product is
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  going to be amazing. The artist has guaranteed it.
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  But the final brush strokes are totally hidden from view.
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  You can see the rough outline of the frame under the canvas.
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  Maybe you can guess the dimensions of the piece, but the
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  brilliant colors are not visible yet that.
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  Is a great analogy. But how does this concept of
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  hiddenness actually bring comfort to a Christian who is
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  just exhausted? You know, someone who is tired
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  from constantly failing in their battle against sin?
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  It. Brings intense comfort because
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  it validates the structural. Validates yes.
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  When you look inward and see weakness, you might be tempted
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  to despair. You might think, if I were
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  really a Christian, I would not be struggling with this
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  addiction or this anger or this awful pride.
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  A. Lot of believers feel that way.
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  They do, but John is telling you that your current flawed
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  condition is not the final measure of God's purpose for
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  you. The hiddenness explains the
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  friction you feel. The friction between the new
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  heart and the old habits spot. On you have a new nature, but
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  you still reside in unredeemed flesh, living in a fallen,
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  broken world. The friction is actual proof of
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  life. That is a huge statement.
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  Friction is proof of life. Think about it.
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  Dead things do not struggle. A dead body does not fight off a
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  virus, it just rots. Wow, OK, the.
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  Fact that you are burdened by your sin, the fact that you hate
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  your own failures is evidence that the new birth has occurred.
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  Your sanctification is incomplete, but your sonship is
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  completely intact. That is a massive relief for
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  anyone listening who feels the daily friction of trying to live
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  faithfully. I mean the struggle means you
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  are alive, yes. It does, but.
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  If the final picture is entirely covered by a tarp, how can a
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  Christian possess any absolute certainty about the outcome?
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  We cannot just hope for the best, right?
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  We need something solid to hold onto.
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  Absolutely. And John anticipates this.
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  And he immediately counters the mystery with an ironclad
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  guarantee in the very next breath.
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  The text continues, But we know that when he appears we shall be
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  like him, because we shall see him as he is.
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  John uses the Greek word odeman, which translates to We know.
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  Not we guess, or we hope. Right, we know this is a crucial
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  word choice. He contrasts this confident
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  knowledge with subjective intuition, or the speculative
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  philosophy of the Gnostics in his day who claimed to have
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  these secret mystical insights. This is a settled covenantal
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  assurance based purely on divine revelation.
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  The eschaological framework here centers on a definite fixed
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  event in history. The text points to the imminent
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  personal, physical return of Jesus Christ.
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  You know, I noticed the sources mentioned specific theological
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  categories regarding his return. They bring up the
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  dispensational, pre tribulational and premillennial
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  expectation where the risen Lord splits the heavens for his
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  bride, right? Can we define those terms just
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  so the listener understands the framework the authors are using
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  here? I just want to report what the
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  sources are saying impartially. Certainly those terms describe a
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  specific view of end times prophecy.
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  Dispensationalism generally teaches that God works with
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  humanity in different distinct periods where dispensations OK,
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  and it often makes a sharp distinction between Israel and
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  the Church. Got it.
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  And the pre tribulational and premillennial aspects those.
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  Refer to the timing of Christ's return.
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  Pre tribulational means Christ will return to rapture the
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  Church before a period of global tribulation before.
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  The seven years of trouble. Exactly, and premillennial means
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  he will return before establishing A literal thousand
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  year reign on earth. So the source material roots
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  this expectation in a very specific timeline where Christ's
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  bodily return is the catalyst for the believers final change.
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  Yes, that is how the sources frame it, but we should note
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  that regardless of whether a Reformed believer holds that
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  specific millennial view or an amillennial or post millennial
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  view, the core truth remains perfectly aligned with the
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  Westminster Confession of Faith. Chapter 32.
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  What? Does chapter 32 say?
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  It says that at the last day, the bodies of the just shall be
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  raised in glory and made conformable to Christ's own
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  glorious body. The timing might be debated
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  among faithful Christians, but the event itself is certain.
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  The promise we shall be like Him is the absolute pinnacle of our
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  hope. OK, we definitely need to
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  clarify what like him means, because throughout church
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  history people have taken that phrase in some very strange and
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  frankly heretical directions. Oh.
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  Yes, they have. We must be highly precise here.
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  This is not deification. We.
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  Don't become little gods. No, we absolutely reject the
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  doctrines of groups like Mormonism that suggest human
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  beings will eventually become their own gods, ruling over
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  their own planets. We also reject the pantheistic
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  absorption found in many Eastern religions where the individual
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  just dissolves into a cosmic oneness like.
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  Losing all personal identity like a drop of water falling
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  into the ocean? Yes.
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  Exactly. That is not biblical
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  glorification. So.
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  What does it mean to be like him?
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  To be like him means perfect, creaturely holiness.
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  Creaturely, Holiness. Yes, you will remain a creature
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  forever. You will never become the
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  creator. You will always be wholly
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  dependent on God, but you will be completely free from sin.
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  Your intellect, your will, and your affections will be
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  perfectly Florida State aligned with God's that.
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  Sounds incredible and John gives us the mechanism for this
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  instantaneous change, doesn't he?
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  Yes he does. It is the beatific vision seeing
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  Christ Kathis Estin, which means as he is the.
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  Concept of the Beatific vision is rooted throughout the
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  entirety of Scripture. Psalm 17.4 Fees says, As for me,
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  I shall behold your face in righteousness when I awake, I
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  shall be satisfied with your likeness.
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  Beautiful verse and. The apostle Paul writes in first
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  Corinthians 13.12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly but then face
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  to face, the unfiltered sight of the glorified Christ instantly
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  eradicates the remnants of the fall it.
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  Just wipes it out, yes. The sheer weight of His Holiness
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  burns away the corruption of the flesh in a fraction of a second.
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  I. Picture the beatific vision,
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  like stepping out of a pitch black cave into the blinding
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  midday sun. Oh, that is a vivid image,
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  right? Imagine for your entire life,
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  your eyes have adjusted to the shadows inside this cave.
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  You think the shadows are reality.
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  You think the dim light is normal Because it is.
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  All you have ever known. Exactly.
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  But the second you step out into the blazing sunlight, the sheer
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  force of the sun instantly burns away all the darkness.
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  There is no shadow left anywhere on you.
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  That is a very accurate way to think about it.
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  I am. Curious though, is this future
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  change a physical alteration of our bodies, or is it a total
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  moral and spiritual realignment of our desires?
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  It is a comprehensive renewal encompassing both body and soul.
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  Both. Yes, both.
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  The body will be physically raised, incorruptible and
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  glorious. It will be entirely free from
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  disease, decay, fatigue and death.
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  You will have a physical body, just as Christ has a physical
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  resurrected body. OK.
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  So a real body A. Real, tangible body.
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  But simultaneously the soul achieves absolute moral
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  perfection. You will never again have a
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  sinful thought, a selfish motive, a moment of anxiety or a
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  prideful reaction. Your whole person, body and soul
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  will be glorified. I want to speak directly to you,
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  the listener, for a second. Confront your personal view of
• 17:08
  eternity right now. When you think about heaven,
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  what are you actually looking forward to?
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  Are you looking forward to heaven simply for the golden
• 17:16
  streets and the mansions? Are you just waiting for the
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  reunion with your family members who have passed away?
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  Which are good things, but not the main thing, right?
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  Or are you longing for the wounded hands of the Savior?
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  True Christian hope is irreducibly Christ centered.
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  The sources we are studying make this very clear.
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  If your version of heaven does not have Jesus Christ at the
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  absolute blazing center, you are hoping for a counterfeit
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  paradise that. Brings us to the most practical
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  boots on the ground aspect of this text.
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  Yeah. Let's get into Tuesday morning,
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  right? If this breathtaking face to
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  face encounter is guaranteed for the child of God, how does that
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  guarantee dictate the habits of a Christian on a mundane Tuesday
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  morning when the alarm goes off and you have to go to work?
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  John refuses to leave this as abstract academic theology.
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  He. Doesn't let us just sit in the
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  clouds. We move to the immediate
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  consequence in verse 3, the active mortification of sin, the
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  text says. And everyone who thus hopes in
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  him purifies himself as he is pure.
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  The Greek verb here is hagnisi. It is translated as purifies and
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  it is a present active indicative verb mean.
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  What practically this? Grammatical construction means
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  it is a continuous, habitual, lifelong practice.
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  It is not a one time event at an altar call.
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  It is a daily grinding reality. You.
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  Don't just do it once and you're done, no.
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  Not at all, and we must draw a sharp distinction between two
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  chapters in the Westminster Confession of Faith right here.
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  Chapter 1 deals with justification, and justification
• 18:47
  is monarchistic. Let's define monarchistic for
• 18:49
  the audience. Monarchistic means one worker.
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  God alone works in justification.
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  He declares you righteous based solely on the imputed obedience
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  of Christ you. Do nothing you.
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  Do nothing to earn it. You do not cooperate to achieve
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  it. You receive it entirely by faith
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  alone. However, Chapter 13 deals with
• 19:06
  sanctification, which is synergistic.
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  Meaning working together, yes. The Christian is called to
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  active duty in sanctification. You are commanded to mortify
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  sin, which means to put it to death and to vivify the new man,
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  bringing your daily actions into alignment with your new nature.
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  So. God gives the strength, but we
• 19:26
  do the fighting exactly. God provides the grace, the
• 19:29
  Spirit provides the power, but you must actually wield the
• 19:33
  sword against your own flesh. You must make the active choice
• 19:37
  to flee temptation. This.
• 19:38
  Sounds like we are touching on the third use of the law.
• 19:40
  John Calvin wrote extensively about the three uses of the
• 19:43
  moral law, didn't he? He.
• 19:44
  Certainly did. Remind us what those are Well.
• 19:46
  The first use is to restrain evil in society, like civil laws
• 19:49
  against murder, right? The second use is to act as a
• 19:52
  mirror showing us our sin and driving us to Christ for
• 19:55
  salvation because we see we cannot keep the law perfectly
• 19:58
  it. Condemns us, yes.
• 20:00
  But the third use is the principal one for the believer.
• 20:03
  The moral law functions as a rule of life to guide the
• 20:06
  regenerate believers. Grateful.
• 20:08
  Obedience. Grateful.
• 20:09
  Obedience. I like that.
• 20:10
  You are not obeying the law to get saved.
• 20:12
  You are obeying the law because you are already saved and you
• 20:15
  want to please the Father who adopted you that.
• 20:18
  Makes perfect sense. Furthermore, John gives us the
• 20:21
  absolute standard for this purity.
• 20:23
  Christ Himself, the Greek word is hagnos.
• 20:26
  Our standard is not the shifting cultural morality of our current
• 20:30
  decade. Or even what the church down the
• 20:32
  street is doing. Exactly.
• 20:33
  It is not church growth pragmatism where leaders say,
• 20:37
  well, we will lower our moral standards to get more people in
• 20:40
  the door. The standard is the spotless,
• 20:43
  flawless purity of Jesus Christ. OK.
• 20:45
  I have to push back here because this is where a lot of people
• 20:48
  get tangled up. Telling people to purify
• 20:51
  themselves sounds perilously close to legalism.
• 20:54
  I. Can see why people think that
• 20:55
  we. Just spent 20 minutes
• 20:57
  establishing that grace is sovereign and we are adopted
• 21:00
  purely by God's will, not our merit.
• 21:02
  How do we engage in this aggressive daily pursuit of
• 21:05
  holiness without turning it into a ladder we climb to earn God's
• 21:09
  favor? I mean, how do we avoid becoming
• 21:11
  Pharisees it? Is a vital question.
• 21:13
  The difference lies entirely in the motivation in the sequence.
• 21:16
  The yes. A legalist obeys in order to
• 21:20
  earn an identity. A Christian obeys because they
• 21:24
  already possessed the identity. Look at the structural sequence
• 21:27
  of the text we just walked through, OK?
• 21:29
  Laid out first. Grace establishes identity verse
• 21:33
  2 says you are a child of God right now second, that
• 21:36
  established identity fuels hope you will see Christ and be made
• 21:41
  like him the. Future reality, yes.
• 21:43
  And 3rd, that hope produces holiness.
• 21:47
  Verse 3 says you purify yourself.
• 21:49
  You are not scrubbing yourself clean hoping to get an
• 21:51
  invitation to the wedding feast. You.
• 21:52
  Already have the invitation you. Are already the bride, The
• 21:54
  invitation is secure and you are keeping your white garments
• 21:57
  clean because you're eagerly anticipating the arrival of the
• 21:59
  groom. That structural sequence makes
• 22:01
  so much sense. Grace establishes identity.
• 22:04
  Identity fuels hope, and hope produces holiness.
• 22:07
  If we mess up that order, if we try to use holiness to produce
• 22:10
  identity, we ruin the gospel. We.
• 22:12
  Completely destroy it so. For you, listening right now,
• 22:15
  examine your specific habits today.
• 22:17
  This text demands radical, immediate action in your life.
• 22:21
  How are you handling sexual ethics in a digital age where
• 22:24
  impurity is quite literally one click away on the phone in your
• 22:28
  pocket? It.
• 22:28
  Is a massive battle. It is.
• 22:30
  Parents, are you prioritizing moral purity and theological
• 22:34
  instruction over athletic achievements or academic success
• 22:37
  for your children? Are you raising them to be
• 22:39
  successful in the corporate world, or are you raising them
• 22:41
  to be pure as Christ is pure? This active, strenuous pursuit
• 22:46
  of purity functions as a divine filtering mechanism within the
• 22:49
  Church. It strips away the counterfeit
• 22:52
  versions of Christianity that flood the modern world.
• 22:54
  John's argument systematically dismantles false professions and
• 22:58
  cultural idols. What are some of those false
• 23:01
  professions? Let's look at how these
• 23:02
  historical ideas show up in modern church settings.
• 23:05
  The text destroys the carnal Christian myth, doesn't it?
• 23:08
  Oh, absolutely. The carnal Christian myth is the
• 23:10
  idea that you can accept Jesus as your savior, get your ticket
• 23:14
  punched for heaven, avoid hell, but completely reject him as the
• 23:18
  Lord of your daily life just. Live however you want.
• 23:20
  Yes, it is antinomianism, the claim that you can have grace
• 23:24
  without obedience. But John says everyone who thus
• 23:28
  hopes in him purifies himself. There are no exceptions listed.
• 23:32
  If you are not actively purifying yourself, you have no
• 23:35
  desire for holiness. You do not possess the hope
• 23:38
  period. The text also destroys legalism,
• 23:41
  which we just discussed, which is obedience without resting in
• 23:44
  grace, and it crushes speculative eschatology.
• 23:47
  Yes. It does.
• 23:48
  What does speculative eschatology look like in
• 23:50
  practice for the average churchgoer?
• 23:53
  It looks like treating biblical prophecy is a fascinating
• 23:55
  intellectual curiosity. It is treating the Book of
• 23:59
  Revelation like a puzzle to be solved with elaborate charts,
• 24:02
  timelines and YouTube videos, rather than treating it as a
• 24:05
  moral imperative. Treating it like a sci-fi novel,
• 24:07
  right? If your study of the end times
• 24:09
  fills your head with data and theories about the Antichrist,
• 24:12
  but does not drive you to your knees and repentance and a
• 24:14
  desire for personal purity, you've entirely missed the point
• 24:17
  of biblical eschatology. Prophecy is meant to produce
• 24:20
  purity, not pride. The sources we are utilizing
• 24:24
  identify several modern idols that this text confronts
• 24:27
  directly. One is secular pragmatism.
• 24:30
  How does pragmatism infiltrate the church?
• 24:33
  Secular pragmatism judges truth by what works to achieve earthly
• 24:37
  success numbers or comfort a pragmatic church leader might
• 24:42
  say preaching on sin offends people, so we will stop doing it
• 24:45
  to grow our numbers fill the seats at.
• 24:47
  Any cost, right? But the text demands purity,
• 24:50
  regardless of whether it cost you your congregation, your job,
• 24:53
  your reputation, or your comfort.
• 24:55
  The prosperity gospel is another massive idol here.
• 24:58
  It promises earthly wealth and perfect physical health right
• 25:01
  now, completely bypassing the already but not yet tension we
• 25:04
  discussed earlier. And it ignores the biblical call
• 25:07
  to mortify the flesh. We mentioned mysticism briefly
• 25:10
  earlier. How does that act as an idol
• 25:12
  today? Mysticism seeks emotional,
• 25:14
  ecstatic experiences apart from the objective word of God it
• 25:17
  looks for subjective feelings, a shiver down the spine, a tearful
• 25:20
  moment during worship music, rather than resting on the
• 25:23
  settled, objective written declaration that we are God's
• 25:25
  children now our. Source material makes an
• 25:27
  interesting argument here regarding modern sociological
• 25:31
  frameworks as well. Yes it does.
• 25:33
  The authors point out that things like critical race theory
• 25:36
  function as modern idols according to the rate analysis,
• 25:39
  and we are just reporting their argument here.
• 25:41
  These frameworks divide the body of Christ based on secular
• 25:45
  categories, ethnic lines, and historical grievances, rather
• 25:48
  than recognizing the common unifying bond believers have in
• 25:52
  the second atom. The argument and the source is
• 25:56
  that if our core identity is rooted in being technotheo
• 25:59
  children of God, then any secular philosophy attempting to
• 26:03
  fracture that unified body along earthly lines is an idol that
• 26:06
  must be rejected. That is the argument presented
• 26:09
  in the text. Yes, it highlights how quickly
• 26:11
  the modern church can adopt the analytical tools of the secular
• 26:14
  world rather than relying on the theological definitions provided
• 26:17
  by Scripture. Right when we lose sight of our
• 26:20
  primary identity as adopted children, we easily fall prey to
• 26:23
  dividing ourselves by lesser worldly categories.
• 26:26
  You. Know, it makes me think of
• 26:27
  counterfeit currency. To the naked eye, a counterfeit
• 26:30
  $100 bill looks pretty good. Oh, they look very convincing.
• 26:34
  Externalism, going to church every Sunday, using the right
• 26:37
  religious language, volunteering for the charity drive.
• 26:40
  It all looks like genuine faith to the people around you.
• 26:43
  But under the UV light of first John 3.3, the fake is exposed.
• 26:48
  Because the inner drive is missing exactly.
• 26:51
  If there is no intense inner drive for purity, the currency
• 26:55
  is counterfeit. But why is the modern church so
• 26:59
  susceptible to adding these secular philosophies to its
• 27:02
  theology? I mean, why do we constantly
• 27:04
  reach for these idols? And how does this specific text
• 27:07
  act as an antidote? Well, the modern church often
• 27:10
  desires the comfort of the Gospel without the conviction of
• 27:12
  the law. Oh, that is a good way to put
• 27:14
  it. We.
• 27:14
  Want the crown of glory without having to carry the cross of
• 27:17
  self denial? Secular philosophies offer ways
• 27:20
  to feel righteous, whether through social activism,
• 27:22
  financial success, or emotional highs, without actually having
• 27:25
  to put our own private sins to death.
• 27:27
  They. Offer social respectability,
• 27:29
  yes, but this text acts as an antidote because it reorients
• 27:33
  our entire existence around the person of Jesus Christ.
• 27:37
  You cannot add worldly pragmatism to a life that is
• 27:40
  consumed with preparing to see the glorified Son of God face to
• 27:44
  face. The two visions are totally
• 27:46
  incompatible. I.
• 27:47
  Want to challenge you, the listener, to test your own faith
• 27:50
  right now? Are you resting in outward
• 27:53
  respectability while secretly cultivating impurity in your
• 27:56
  thought life or your private habits?
• 27:58
  Are you putting on a good show on Sunday but living like the
• 28:01
  rest of the world from Monday to Saturday?
• 28:02
  It is. A sobering question.
• 28:04
  It is because this text leaves absolutely zero room for divided
• 28:07
  loyalties. You cannot love the world and
• 28:09
  eagerly await the return of Christ.
• 28:11
  But with all these false idols stripped away and the intense,
• 28:14
  relentless demand for purity established, we have to ask a
• 28:17
  very practical question. OK, what is that?
• 28:19
  How? Does the weary believer actually
• 28:21
  sustain this rigorous hope week after week?
• 28:24
  The flesh is weak, We get tired, we fail.
• 28:26
  That is reality of the Christian life.
• 28:28
  But we sustain this hope through the ordinary means of grace.
• 28:32
  God does not leave us to fight this battle empty handed.
• 28:35
  He. Gives us tools he.
• 28:36
  Does we apply the theological reality to the gathered Church,
• 28:40
  specifically through the preaching of the word prayer in
• 28:43
  the sacraments, particularly the Lord's Supper?
• 28:45
  OK. Let's talk about that.
• 28:46
  The Westminster standards teach that the sacraments are vital
• 28:49
  means of grace. The Lord's Supper is often
• 28:52
  called the visible Word. How exactly does taking
• 28:56
  communion connect to the demand for purity we see in verse
• 28:59
  three? Well.
• 29:00
  The call for personal purity necessitates rigorous self
• 29:03
  examination before taking communion.
• 29:05
  The apostle Paul warns the Corinthian church not to partake
• 29:09
  of the bread and the cup in an unworthy manner.
• 29:11
  We. Have to examine ourselves,
• 29:13
  right? We are called to examine our
• 29:14
  lives, confess our sins, and renew our repentance.
• 29:18
  However, we must clarify A crucial point here or we will
• 29:22
  fall right back into legalism. What?
• 29:24
  Is the clarification. Believers do not come to the
• 29:27
  communion table because they have achieved sinless perfection
• 29:30
  that week if. They did.
• 29:31
  Nobody would take it. Exactly.
• 29:34
  If perfection were the requirement for taking the
• 29:36
  Lord's Supper, the table would remain empty.
• 29:38
  Every single Sunday we come to the table because we are
• 29:42
  actively being purified by the One who is pure.
• 29:45
  The bread and the wine signify our union with Christ, and that
• 29:49
  ongoing union is the sole strength enabling our grateful
• 29:52
  obedience. We feed on Him by faith.
• 29:55
  Think of it like a family dinner.
• 29:57
  A child does not sit at the dinner table to prove they
• 29:59
  belong in the family. They do not have to present a
• 30:02
  resume of good behavior to their parents to earn a plate of food.
• 30:05
  No. Of course not They.
• 30:06
  Sit at the table because they are in the family, the adoption
• 30:08
  is secure and they desperately need the nourishment of the meal
• 30:12
  to grow. They need the food to have the
• 30:14
  energy to do their chores, to fight off illness and to live
• 30:18
  their life. That is a very helpful analogy.
• 30:20
  The grace communicated through the visible word of the
• 30:23
  sacrament strengthens the soul for the ongoing, exhausting
• 30:26
  battle of sanctification. It is spiritual fuel for the
• 30:30
  fight. This offers intense comfort to
• 30:32
  the weary listener. I mean the same sovereign grace
• 30:35
  that declared you a child of God in verse 2, pulling you out of
• 30:38
  the Kingdom of darkness is the exact same grace that sustains
• 30:42
  your daily battle against sin through the ordinary means of
• 30:45
  grace today. You are not left to fight the
• 30:48
  flesh under your own power. God sustains the children, He
• 30:51
  adopts the. Theological structure John
• 30:53
  presents here is just brilliant and incredibly practical.
• 30:57
  He does not allow us to separate our systematic theology from our
• 31:00
  daily ethics. They are tied together
• 31:02
  permanently. Your legal standing before God,
• 31:05
  your guaranteed future and glory, and your present behavior
• 31:08
  in the workplace or at home are prominently linked together.
• 31:11
  Let's. Briefly recap the logical flow
• 31:13
  of this entire session because it is a master class and
• 31:16
  Reformed thought. We start with the unshakable
• 31:19
  sovereign decree of adoption. You are a child of God right
• 31:23
  now, not based on your merit, but based on His love.
• 31:26
  From there we look forward to the certain return of Christ and
• 31:30
  the beatific vision, the ironclad guarantee that we will
• 31:32
  see Him as He is and be made completely like Him, free from
• 31:35
  sin forever. Finally, we allow that
• 31:39
  guaranteed future reality to dictate a vigorous, aggressive,
• 31:43
  present day mortification of sin.
• 31:46
  We purify ourselves because we are preparing to meet the King.
• 31:50
  The indicative of what God has done always empowers the
• 31:53
  imperative of what we are called to do.
• 31:56
  You cannot have one without the other.
• 31:57
  As we wrap up this deep dive, I want to leave you with a final
• 32:01
  searching thought that builds on the Christ centered nature of
• 32:04
  heaven we discussed from the sources.
• 32:05
  This is a heavy one. It is.
• 32:07
  Consider this carefully as you go about your week.
• 32:10
  If you were offered a version of heaven that included perfect
• 32:13
  physical health, eternal peace, joyous reunions with all your
• 32:17
  loved ones who have passed away, and the complete absence of all
• 32:20
  earthly suffering, which sounds. Great to the flesh.
• 32:22
  Right, but Jesus Christ was not there.
• 32:25
  Would you still want to go? Your honest answer to that
• 32:27
  question reveals the true object of your hope.
• 32:30
  A very solid test of the heart for all of us.
• 32:32
  Thank you for joining us for this session of reformed
• 32:34
  thinking. Keep your eyes fixed on the
• 32:36
  horizon and we will see you next time.