Author: drthomasclothier

Posted on

I John: Obeying and Keeping.

“2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (I John 5:2-3)

Loving God, obeying and keeping His commandments is central to the Apostle’s John’s theology. In fact, John repeats this phrase in these two verses.

To obey (ποιῶμεν; poiomen) means to practice and to perform. Believers are to presently and actively practice and perform God’s commandments in their daily lives.

To keep (τηρῶμεν; teromen) also means to obey. However, to keep carries the idea of guarding. Within this context, the believer in Christ is to presently and actively guard God’s commandments in their life.

To obey God’s commandments is an evidence that we love not only God but also the children of God. Additionally, the love we have from God is further realized when we guard His commandments.

John additionally states that God’s commandments are not burdensome (βαρεῖαι; bareiai). For something to be burdensome means that it is difficult, hard and severe. God’s commandments are not so.

Dr. John Walvoord says, “Thus the apostle, by this series of statements, reduces love for God and one’s fellow Christians to its fundamental character. A person who obeys God’s commands is doing what is right, both toward God and toward his fellow believers and is thus loving both God and them. But it must be remembered that this includes the willingness to sacrifice for one’s brother (cf. 3:16–17).”

John repeats this fundamental truth because it is so often forgotten. Let us resolve to commit to obeying and keeping God’s commandments.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!

Posted on

I John: Faith, Love and Obedience.

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.” (I John 5:1-2)

One of the ways to accurately study, interpret, teach the Bible is by reading observantly. Believers in Christ must observe the genre of literature they are reading, the figures of speech such as similes and metaphors, along with any cause and effect statements.

The Epistle of I John contains many cause and effect statements. Today’s text is one example. I John 5:1-2 contains three cause and effect statements declaring God’s truth.

First, the Apostle John writes that, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.” We know that according to John 3:1-3, the ability to believe originates from a prior work by the Holy Spirit called regeneration. In fact, regeneration precedes faith. This is what John is saying. The person who trusts in, commits to, depends upon and honors and worships Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord has been born of God. The ability to believe is preceded by the new birth.

Second, John says that, “Everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.” The believer’s love for God the Father will have a resulting love for others who also have been born of God. Our love for God results in our love for other believers.

Finally, the apostle writes, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.” Loving God and obeying His commandments results in a knowledge and understanding that we truly love the people of God.

Dr. John MacArthur writes, “The object of the believer’s faith is Jesus, particularly that he is the promised Messiah or “Anointed One” whom God sent to be the Savior from sin. Whoever places faith in Jesus Christ as the only Savior has been born again and, as a result, is an overcomer (v. 5). This is a reference to the new birth and is the same word that Jesus used in John 3:7. The tense of the Greek verb indicates that ongoing faith is the result of the new birth and, therefore, the evidence of the new birth. The sons of God will manifest the reality that they have been born again by continuing to believe in God’s Son, the Savior. The new birth brings us into a permanent faith relationship with God and Christ.”

Faith, love and obedience form a trilogy which describes the believer in Christ as an overcomer. Faith, love and obedience mutually exist. The genuine proof of love is obedience. The genuine proof of faith is love. (cf. John 8:31–32; 14:15, 21; 15:10).

May each of us who are believers in Christ resolve today to be people of faith, love and obedience.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!  

 

 

Posted on

I John: Love’s True Test.

19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (I John 4:19-21)

The Apostle John reminds us of one of the fundamental truths from God’s Word. That truth is that believers in Christ love one another, and even those who do not belong to Christ, because God first loved them (I John 4:7-11).

The apostle’s conclusion should cause believers to pause and give consideration. John says, “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar.” What is this individual in question lying about? The obvious answer is their claim that they love God. A person cannot truly love God in a present and active self-sacrificial way if at the same time they are continually hating and detesting their fellow Christian.

John’s conclusion is that this individual is a liar. They are someone who utters and speaks falsehoods. The falsehood in question is their claim that they love God.

The apostle’s reasoning is given in the latter portion of I John 4:20 which says, “For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”

As one commentator writes, “Anyone who claims to love God, yet hates his brother makes a false claim: he is a liar. John often pointed up false claims by using the word “liar”: 1:10; 2:4, 22; 4:20; 5:10 (cf. “lie” in 1:6). Love for the unseen God (cf. 4:12) can only be concretely expressed by love for one’s visible Christian brother. Furthermore, God’s command (v. 21; cf. 2:3; 3:23–24; 5:3) has joined together the two kinds of love—love for God and love for one’s brother.”

John’s conclusion is clear: “And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” This command to love is from God. It is not human in origin. Therefore, it must be obeyed. A true believer in Christ will do so.

Dr. John MacArthur writes, “This verse summarizes Ch. 4. One cannot love God without first loving one’s fellow believer. A claim to love God is a delusion if not accompanied by unselfish love for other Christians.”

While no one of us can love God, or our fellow man, perfectly, we are to strive to obey God’s command to self-sacrificially love. Make this a priority today as you encounter the people in your life.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!    

 

Posted on

I John: Fearless Love.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” (I John 4:18)

What does it mean to be fearless? Definitions include such additional words as courageous, bold, daring, valiant, brave and confident. Within the context of I John 4:18, the best definition for fearless would be unafraid.

The Apostle John says that “There is no fear in love.” This would be about not only God’s love for us but also our love for God.

The word John uses for fear is φόβος from which we derive our English word phobia. It can, and does mean in many contexts, a reverence for God. However, within today’s text it means a state of sever distress. John is not stating that believers should not have reverence for God in their love for Him, but rather that they do not have to be in a severe condition of distress in their relationship with Him.

This is a wonderful truth. Why? It is because God’s love for the believer casts out this condition of distress. To cast out (βάλλει; ballei) means to drive out or to do away with. God’s love for the believer in Christ drives away any feeling or emotion of distress.

Distress has to do with punishment. Do you remember when you knew you were going to be punished by your parents? Perhaps it was the period of time waiting for your father to come home from work. Frankly, the waiting part for the punishment was often worse than the punishment itself. Well, sometimes.

The Apostle John explains that fearful distress has to do with punishment. While the word κόλασιν (kolasin) may refer to God pruning the believer from ongoing sin (John 15), within this context in today’s text it refers to chastisement, a reprimand or a rebuke. Remember, Jesus Christ has received our punishment, reprimand and rebuke (I John 4:7-11).

One commentator explains that, “The fear spoken of here is not a godly fear or filial reverence, a holy fear of displeasing the Father through sin (I Peter 1:17, Heb. 12:28), but as the context indicates (“fear hath torment”), a slavish fear of a slave for a master, or of a criminal before a judge. The divine love produced in the heart of the yielded saint includes the former but not the latter. “Torment” is kolasis (κολασις), “correction, punishment, penalty,’ and brings with it or has connected with it the thought of punishment.” Thus, the saint who has experienced the fullness of this divine love in his earthly life, will have no fear of correction or penalty (loss of reward) at the Judgment Seat of Christ.”

John completes his thought by saying that whoever continues to have this fear of distress does not truly possess the love of God. They continue to battle besetting sin within their lives, therefore leading to a fear of distress. They are lacking a completeness or perfectness.

The word John uses for perfected (τετελείωται; teteleiotai) means to bring to its fullness. The believer in Christ who approaches the impending Judgment Seat of Christ in a spirit of distress is the saint who has not experienced the fullness of God’s love, and because they did not maintain a Spirit-filled life during their earthly life.

Dr. John Walvoord concludes that, “If a believer looks forward with trepidation to the judgment seat of Christ, it is because God’s love has not yet reached completeness in Him. The words here rendered perfect are no different in force from the idea of “completeness” expressed in 2:5 and 4:12. The matured experience of God’s love (reached in the act of loving one another) is incompatible with fear and expels fear from the heart.”

Thank you Lord for working within each believer so that they will possess a fearless love.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!

 

Posted on

I John: Confident Love.

17 “By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the Day of Judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.” (I John 4:17)

Philippians 1:6 says, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

The Greek verb translated “began” is used only here and in Galatians 3:3. In both instances it refers to salvation. When God begins a work of salvation in an individual, He finishes and perfects the work that He started. Additionally, the verb “bring it to completion” (ἐπιτελέσει; epitelesei) points to the eternal security of the Christian (John 6:40, 44; Rom. 5:10; 8:29–39; Eph. 1:13–14; Heb.7:25l 12:1-2). With respect to the phrase “the day of Jesus Christ,” this refers to the final salvation, reward and glorification of the believer (1 Cor. 3:10–15; 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:9–10).

Philippians 1:6 parallels today’s text from I John 4:17. The Apostle John, much like the Apostle Paul, addresses the subject of God’s perfecting work in the believer. The word perfected (τετελείωται; teteleiotai) means to complete. It is a work of God upon the believer. It is a past completed action with ongoing results. Our salvation in Christ, while a past event, has a continuing impact in our daily lives.

The purpose of such a work of God is so that the believer in Christ may have confidence for the Day of Judgment. The confidence (παρρησίαν; parresian) means boldness while in the midst of intimidating situations. Imagine how intimidating it will be to face the Lord on the Day of Judgment. This is the Bema Seat Judgment the Apostle Paul spoke of in I Corinthians 3:10-15 and 2 Corinthians 5:9-10. It is also what he made reference to in Philippians 1:6.

This Day of Judgment will be when God evaluates the believer’s life. Dr. John MacArthur writes, “He (the Apostle John) is not suggesting sinless perfection, but rather mature love marked by confidence in the face of judgment. Confidence is a sign that love is mature.”

The reason why we may have confidence in facing God’s judgment is because each believer is clothed, so to speak, with the righteousness of Christ. This is vividly portrayed in Zechariah 3 and clearly explained in Romans 4.

The Apostle Paul also personally testified of it in Philippians 3:3-9 which says, “3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”

Is your confidence in facing God in eternity based upon the righteousness of Christ? If so, you possess a confident love when considering the Day of Judgment.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!  

Posted on

LORD’S DAY 35, 2019.

On each Lord’s Day this year, we will display the 52 devotionals taken from the Heidelberg Catechism which are structured in the form of questions posed and answers given.

The Heidelberg Catechism was originally written in 1563. It originated in one of the few pockets of Calvinistic faith in the Lutheran and Catholic territories of Germany. Conceived originally as a teaching instrument to promote religious unity, the catechism soon became a guide for preaching as well.

Along with the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dordt, it forms what is collectively referred to as the Three Forms of Unity.

The devotional for LORD’S DAY 35 is as follows. Please take note of the biblical references given in each answer. This morning’s devotional addresses The Ten Commandments.

Q. What is God’s will for us in the second commandment?

A. That we in no way make any image of God1 nor worship him in any other way than has been commanded in God’s Word.2

1 Deut. 4:15-19; Isa. 40:18-25; Acts 17:29; Rom. 1:22-23
2 Lev. 10:1-7; 1 Sam. 15:22-23; John 4:23-24

Q. May we then not make any image at all?

A. God cannot and may not be visibly portrayed in any way. Although creatures may be portrayed, yet God forbids making or having such images if one’s intention is to worship them or to serve God through them.1

1 Ex. 34:13-14, 17; 2 Kings 18:4-5.

Q. But may not images be permitted in churches in place of books for the unlearned?

A. No, we should not try to be wiser than God. God wants the Christian community instructed by the living preaching of his Word—1 not by idols that cannot even talk.2

1 Rom. 10:14-15, 17; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:19.
2 Jer. 10:8; Hab. 2:18-20.

May God’s truth and grace reside here.

Soli deo Gloria!  

 

Posted on

I John: The Good Confession.

15 “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (I John 4:15-16)

Agape love, which is a self-sacrificial love of the will, is one of many evidences that believers in Christ are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. In fact, it may be the greatest evidence believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures indicate that this type of love supersedes all other activities of the believer (I Corinthians 13:1-8).

The apostle John sets forth the principle that whoever declares as truth that Jesus is the Son of God, this evidences that God abides in him and that he abides in God. Remember, we cannot truthfully confess that Jesus is the Son of God unless the Holy Spirit indwells us (Romans 10:1-9; I John 4:1-3).

The result of this confession is a life set apart to reflect the holiness of God. This reflection is best seen by agape love. When sinners are converted and become believers in Christ, the Holy Spirit, through the Word of God, gives them an understanding and knowledge about God’s love. Not only that, but they also trust in, commit to, depend upon and honor and worship the God of love and the love God has for believers.

John again makes the definitive statement, as in I John 4:7-11, that God continually exists as the source of and the originator of agape love. Who remains and continues in this type of love remains in God and God in them.

Dr. John Walvoord writes, “Under the circumstances just described, confession (cf. 1:9; 2:23; 4:3) that Jesus is the Son of God is a sign that the confessor enjoys a mutual abiding relationship with God. The section is rounded off by the assertion, We know and rely on (lit., “have come to believe”) the love God has for us. Living in the atmosphere of mutual Christian love produces a personal knowledge of God’s love and fresh experience of faith in that love. Since God is love (cf. v. 8), one who lives in love lives (menei, “abides”) in God and has God abiding with him. The last part of verse 16 ought to be taken as the conclusion of the paragraph, rather than the start of a new one. John again affirmed the reality of the abiding experience enjoyed by all Christians who love”

How may you display the Love of God today? Ask God to give you insight in how you may love others today with a self-sacrificial love of the will.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria

Posted on

I John: The Spirit’s Work in the Believer’s Life.

13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.” (I John 4:13-14)

One of the ways believers in Christ know that they are believers in Christ and that their faith is genuine is the Holy Spirit’s work in and through their lives. For example, loving a fellow believer self-sacrificially does not come naturally for anyone, including a Christian. Rather, it is the Spirit’s work in and through the believer wherein self-sacrificial love is displayed.

Since God has given us His Spirit to indwell us (Romans 8:9), it is a foregone conclusion that the Spirit is going to display His holy character through us. The result is that God receives all the glory.

I Peter 4:10-11 says, 10 “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

 Dr. Roy Zuck comments that, “The statement in verse 13 is intimately related to the ideas just expressed (See I John 4:7-12). We know that we live (menomen, “we abide”) in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. The mutual abiding of a believer in God and God in that believer (cf. John 15:4–7) is indicated by that believer’s experience of the Spirit. The Greek for “of His Spirit” (ek tou pneumatos) suggests participation in the Spirit of God, literally, “He has given us out of His Spirit.” The same construction occurs in 1 John 3:24. When a believer loves, he is drawing that love from God’s Spirit (cf. Rom. 5:5).”

One of the most significant ways God communicates through us by the Holy Spirit is through the preaching, teaching and living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ. John again directs the church to the exclusive person and work of Jesus Christ, as he has throughout this epistle. In Jesus Christ, God the Father…

  • Revealed the Word of Life (1:1).
  • Brought eternal life (1:2).
  • Cleansed us from all sin (1:7).
  • Gave believers an Advocate (2:1).
  • Expiates and Propitiates our sin (2:2; 4:10).
  • Gives us an example to follow (2:6).
  • Sen the Messiah (2:22-23).
  • Makes the new birth possible (2:29).
  • Sent the righteous and sinless One (2″29; 3:4).
  • Took away our sin (3:5).
  •  Destroys the work of the devil (3:8).
  • Sacrificed His son (3:16).
  • Gave us life (4:9).

Always remember that God is working through you by the Holy Spirit who is within you (Philippians 2:13). Ultimately, God is to receive all the glory for what we do in His name.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!

Posted on

I John: We Ought to Love One Another.

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” (I John 4:11-12)

The Apostle John continues to display the heart of a pastor. He once again refers to his readers as “beloved.” He conveys a tenderness, but also a firmness to being committed to right teaching and also right living.

In reference to what the apostle previously said in I John 4:7-10, since God has loved the church with a self-sacrificial love of the will, believers ought to show the same love towards fellow believers.

John then declares that no one has ever seen God. This must be the apostle’s reference to God the Father because John certainly saw God in the person of Jesus Christ: the God/Man or Emmanuel.

However, as believers in Christ love one another with a self-sacrificial love of the will, God divine nature is seen in their behavior. The word “perfected” means complete or genuine.

Dr. John Walvoord writes that, “In His divine nature and essence, God has never been seen by any living man (cf. John’s similar statement, John 1:18). Yet in the experience of mutual love among believers, this invisible God actually lives in us and His love is made complete in us. The term “lives” once again renders John’s characteristic word (menō) for the abiding life. As in 1 John 2:5, the idea of God’s love reaching completeness in a believer may suggest a deep and full experience of that love (cf. 4:17).”

Dr. John MacArthur writes, “Love is the heart of Christian witness. Nobody can see God loving since his love is invisible. Jesus no longer is in the world to manifest the love of God. The only demonstration of God’s love in this age is the church. That testimony is critical (John 13:35; 2 Cor. 5:18–20). John’s argument in 1 John 4:7–12can be summed up as: love originated in God, was manifested in his Son, and demonstrated in his people.”

How may you self-sacrificially love someone today? By phoning them to wish them well and to pray for them during the call. By helping someone who is in need. By wishing someone you know a Happy Birthday when they might not expect hearing from you.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be seen here.

Soli deo Gloria!

  

 

Posted on

I John: Expiation and Propitiation.

“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (I John 4:10)

The Apostle John uses another example for God’s love. With the phase “in this is love” John is saying that here is another way in which we may understand God’s self-sacrificial love of the will.

John says that God’s love is not based on our love of God. God’s love is not His response due to our love for Him. Rather, God loved us even when we did not love Him (Romans 5:8-10). With His love in view, He sent His Son, with a particular purpose and a particular message. That message and purpose was that Jesus Christ would be the propitiation for our sins.

As with I John 2:1-2, which we examined in June of this year, the Apostle John reminds his readers of God’s ministry of propitiation. This is my favorite word in the Scriptures. It is often joined with another word: expiation. What do these two words mean and what do they have to do with us and our relationship with God and with the person and work of Jesus Christ?

Dr. R. C. Sproul explains that, “Let’s think about what these words mean, beginning with the word expiation. The prefix ex means “out of” or “from,” so expiation has to do with removing something or taking something away. In biblical terms, it has to do with taking away guilt through the payment of a penalty or the offering of an atonement. By contrast, propitiation has to do with the object of the expiation. The prefix pro means “for,” so propitiation brings about a change in God’s attitude, so that He moves from being at enmity with us to being for us. Through the process of propitiation, we are restored into fellowship and favor with Him.”

We observe that the same Greek word (ἱλασμὸν; hilasmon) is often translated by both the English words: expiation and propitiation. However, there is a slight distinction in the words. Expiation is the “act” that results in the change of God’s disposition toward sinners. Expiation is what Christ did on the cross, and the “result” of Christ’s work of expiation is propitiation—God’s anger is turned away. The distinction is the same as that between the ransom that is paid and the attitude of the one who receives the ransom.

Dr. Sproul states that, “When we talk about salvation biblically, we have to be careful to state that from which we ultimately are saved. The apostle Paul does just that for us in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, where he says Jesus “delivers us from the wrath to come.” Ultimately, Jesus died to save us from the wrath of God. We simply cannot understand the teaching and the preaching of Jesus of Nazareth apart from this, for He constantly warned people that the whole world someday would come under divine judgment.”

In speaking of Jesus Christ’s ministry of expiation and propitiation, the writer of Hebrews explains it this way. “14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:14-18)

Dr. Sproul concludes by saying, “Therefore, Christ’s supreme achievement on the cross is that He placated the wrath of God, which would burn against us were we not covered by the sacrifice of Christ. So if somebody argues against placation or the idea of Christ satisfying the wrath of God, be alert, because the gospel is at stake. This is about the essence of salvation—that as people who are covered by the atonement, we are redeemed from the supreme danger to which any person is exposed. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of a holy God who’s wrathful. But there is no wrath for those whose sins have been paid. That is what salvation is all about.”

Thank you Lord that through the person and work of Jesus Christ, I am no longer under your righteous wrath. Rather, I am now your adopted child. Hallelujah! \

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!