MOVING TOWARD SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT--5
—1John 3:10--4:21
Attention:
Remember that I gave you an example of putting on my glasses, so that I can be more discerning, & thus more effective in my ministry.
If you are a Christian, you are equipped to be, & are expected to be, ‘spiritually discerning’ in all your endeavors.
God’s people are always in training toward being spiritual discerning. Some of us have a ‘good way to go’ in that regard, others are miles ahead of the curve, & still others are somewhere in between the two extremes.
It is imperative that God’s people see the importance, the seriousness & the security that comes with their Moving Toward Spiritual Discernment.
One of the outcomes of the Church gathering together, is for the purpose of being encouraged & strengthened in it’s Movement Toward Spiritual Discernment.
The apostle John sheds light on this need for Spiritual Discernment in the Church.
Spiritual Discernment is a necessity in the Church.
•How is Spiritual Discernment in the Church achieved/accomplished?
--OR--
•What must be recognized in moving ourselves & the church & toward spiritual discernment.
At least 15 things we must recognize when moving toward spiritual discernment.
I’ve chosen the word, ‘recognition’ here, because it goes beyond mere ‘acknowledgment’ or mental agreement. ‘Recognition’ of the things we’ll examine implies not only head knowledge, but heart knowledge which then drives a person to performance or action.
In the past few weeks we’ve found that:
Moving(yourself, the Church, & others) toward spiritual discernment recognizes...
1. OPPOSING SIDES(3:10)
•Children of God & Children of the Devil.
2. The FOUNDATIONAL MESSAGE(3:11)
•Love One Another.
3. IMPASSIONED BELIEF(3:12-13)
•The world hates you.
4. DECISIVE MOVEMENT(A)(3:14)
•Passed from death to life.
Today, we’ll continue in our discovery that...
5.—Moving(yourself, the Church, & others) toward spiritual discernment recognizes...
DECISIVE MOVEMENT(B)(3:15)
3:15—“Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, & you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
“Whoever hates his brother is a murderer,”...
“Whoever”—
No one is excused from the concern of these directives.
“Whoever”—pav—Adj.—1) individually—1a) Each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything; 2) collectively—2a) Some of all types. Strong—apparently a primary word; All, any, every, the whole.
“Hates”—
To “hate” is to ‘detest’ a person, or to ‘pursue them with hatred.’ A ‘hater’ extends no mercy or grace to the one they hate. !Do not soften this word! And do not excuse yourself from it’s application either!
Just so this is brought home, one author has written that “Hatred is the desire to get rid of someone, whether or not one has the nerve or the occasion to perform the act.”—D. Burdick in DLANAC
“Hates”(See 3:13; 4:20)—misew—Present Active Subjunctive 3rd Sing.—1) To hate, pursue with hatred, detest; 2) To be hated, detested. Strong—To detest(especially--To persecute); by extension--To love less; from a primary misov(hatred). Used 42X.
“His Brother”—
This is particularly for those who should be side-by-side serving God together.
“His”—autov—Personal Pronoun Genitive Sing. Masc.—1) Himself, herself, themselves, itself; 2) He, she, it; 3) The same. Strong—from the particle au[perhaps akin to the base of ahr[air] through the idea of a baffling wind]--Backward; the reflexive pronoun--Self, used(alone or in the comparative eautou) of the third person , & (with the proper personal pronoun)of the other persons.
“Brother”(See 3:13, 14, 16, 17; 4:20, 21)—adelfov—Lit.-=-‘Together in the womb.’—Noun Masc.—1) A brother, whether born of the same two parents or only of the same father or mother; 2) Having the same national ancestor, belonging to the same people, or countryman; 3) Any fellow or man; 4) A fellow believer, united to another by the bond of affection; 5) An associate in employment or office; 6) Brethren in Christ—6a) His brothers by blood, 6b) All men, 6c) Apostles, 6d) Christians, as those who are exalted to the same heavenly place. Strong—A brother(literally or figuratively) near or remote.?From—A(as a connective particle).—&—delfuv—The womb.
“Is a murderer,”—
“A murderer,” is someone who for their own selfish reasons, kills other people. Murder begins in the heart, prior to the fulfillment of any act that might bring about the taking of another’s life(Mat. 5:20-22).
Mat. 5:20—“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes & Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Lk. 11:37-39—“And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in & sat down to eat. When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup & dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed & wickedness.”
Mk. 7:11-16—“But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”--’(that is, a gift to God), “then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.” When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, & understand: “There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!””
*So, a personal “hatred”, particularly of those of the gathered Church—brothers & sisters in Christ—makes you an intensely insidious kind of “murderer”—one who is a slayer of their own loving family. Such slayers are ‘cut from the same cloth’ as Cain(:12).
“Is”—esti—Present -X- Indicative 3rd Sing.—1) third person singular of “To be.” Strong—He(she or it) is; also(with neuter plural)--They are; third person singular present indicative of eimi.
“Murderer”2X—anyrwpoktonov—Adj.—1) A manslayer, murderer. Both in derivation & usage, foneuv & anyrwpoktonov are distinguished from each other just as the English murderer is from manslayer or homicide. sikariov, used only in Ac 21:38, means an assassin, usually hired for the work, who furtively stabbed his enemy with a short sword. foneuv is a generic word & may denote a murderer of any kind, sikariov being one of the specific varieties which it includes. Strong—A manslayer. Used 3X--Jn. 8:44; 1Jn. 3:15.?From—anyrwpov—1) A human being, whether male or female; To distinguish man from beings of a different order, 1b2) Of God & Christ, 1b3) Of the angels, 1c) With the added notion of weakness, by which man is led into a mistake or prompted to sin, 1d) With the adjunct notion of contempt or disdainful pity, 1e) With reference to two fold nature of man, body & soul, or the corrupt & the truly Christian man, conformed to the nature of God, 1g) With reference to sex, a male; 2) indefinitely--Someone, a man, one; People; Joined with other words for example--merchantman. Strong—Man-faced, i.e. A human being.—&—kteinw—To kill.
“And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
Lit.—“And you know that any murderer does not have life eternal in him abiding.”
“And you know”
“You”—
The verb “know” is plural calling attention to All of you; Y’all; You all; Ye. He is including the church from the time John penned this, until our time right now, & on to those future Christians.
“Know that”—
All of you who belong to the Lord Christ, are well aware of something. You all have a personal knowledge of something that should sway your heart & actions!
“Know”—eidw OR--oida—Perfect Active Indicative 2nd Plural—1) To see—1a) To perceive with the eyes, 1b) To perceive by any of the senses, 1c) To perceive, notice, discern, discover, 1d) To see—1d1) i.e. To turn the eyes, the mind, the attention to anything, 1d2) To pay attention, observe, 1d3) To see about something 1d31) i.e. To ascertain what must be done about it, 1d4) To inspect, examine, 1d5) To look at, behold, 1e) To experience any state or condition, 1f) To see i.e. Have an interview with, to visit; 2) To know—2a) To know of anything, 2b) To know, i.e. Get knowledge of, understand, perceive—2b1) of any fact, 2b2) the force & meaning of something which has definite meaning, 2b3) To know how, to be skilled in, 2c) To have regard for one, cherish, pay attention to(1Th 5:12). Eidw/oida denotes to see with the mind's eye, signifies a clear & purely mental perception. Strong—a primary verb; used only in certain past tenses, the others being borrowed from the equivalent optanomai & oraw; properly--To see(literally or figuratively); by implication(in the perfect only)--To know.
“That”—oti—Conjunction—1) That, because, since. Strong—neuter of ostiv[Which some, i.e. Any that; also(definitive)--Which same] as conjunction; demonstrative--That(sometimes redundant); causative--Because.
“No murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
A “murderer” is someone who maintains a ‘character’ of “hatred.” Murder is a personal “hatred” that pivots on an entirely subjective(self-centered) self-determined means of satisfaction.
“Even the best of people, in their hearts, are sinful & so are in the same boat with the worst of people.”—MNTC
Guilt that condemns OR is forgiven, is determined by the status of a person’s heart in relation to God.
*‘Hatred’ & ‘destruction’ of another person is NEVER maintained while “eternal life” is ‘actively’ “abiding in” a person.
Mat. 5:20-22—“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes & Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, & whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”
Here, Jesus compares the attitude of the heart(“angry”)—answered by heaven—to that which is fulfilled by law(“murders”/“says”) of rabbinic tradition meted out thru civil court.?•In Israel, besides the national Council of the Seventy(Sanhedrin), there were also separate bodies/colleges of judges making official judgments at the regional & local levels. “The judgment” here represents REGIONAL & LOCAL determinations; “The council” represents NATIONAL determinations; & “hell fire” represents God’s DIVINE determinations.
*IMPORTANT—One must keep in mind that even for the one who is a practicing “hater”/“murderer”, FORGIVENESS IS EVER AVAILABLE, should they shun their hate & choose instead to turn back to God by accepting Christ & embrace the love that attends His Good News!
“No/Not”—ou, OR before a vowel--ouk, OR before an aspirate--ouc—Particle—1) No, not; in direct questions expecting an affirmative answer. Strong—a primary word; the absolute negative[compare mh] adverb; No or not.
“A/Any”—pav—Adj.—1) individually—1a) Each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything; 2) collectively—2a) Some of all types. Strong—apparently a primary word; All, any, every, the whole.
“Has”(See 4:17, 20; 4:18—“Involves/Has to do with”)—ecw OR--scew—Present Active Indicative 1st Plural—1) To have, i.e. To hold—1a) To have(hold) in the hand, in the sense of wearing, to have(hold) possession of the mind (refers to alarm, agitating emotions, etc.), to hold fast keep, to have or comprise or involve, to regard or consider or hold as; 2) To have i.e. Own, possess—2a) External things such as pertain to property or riches or furniture or utensils or goods or food etc., 2b) Used of those joined to any one by the bonds of natural blood or marriage or friendship or duty or law etc, of attendance or companionship; 3) To hold one's self or find one's self so & so, to be in such or such a condition; 4) To hold one's self to a thing, to lay hold of a thing, to adhere or cling to—4a) To be closely joined to a person or a thing. Strong—including an alternate form scew; (used in certain tenses only); a primary verb; To hold(used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remote; such as possessions; ability, continuity, relation, or condition).
“Eternal”—aiwniov—Adj.—1) Without beginning & end, that which always has been & always will be; 2) Without beginning; 3) Without end, never to cease, everlasting. Aiwniov gives prominence to the immeasurableness of eternity. Strong—Perpetual(also used of past time, or past & future as well).
“Life”(See 3:14; 3:16—quch)—zwh—Noun Fem.—1) Life—1a) The state of one who is possessed of vitality or is animate, 1b) Every living soul; 2) Life—2a) Of the absolute fulness of life, both essential & ethical, which belongs to God, & through him both to the hypostatic "logos" & to Christ in whom the "logos" put on human nature, 2b) Life real & genuine, a life active & vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions(among them a more perfect body), & to last for ever. Strong—Life(literally or figuratively).?Zwh corresponds to Hebrew—yx. A)quch—Breath, i.e. by implication--Spirit, abstractly or concretely--The animal sentient(perceptive) principle only, which is distinguished from, B) pneuma—The rational & immortal soul, & C)zwh—Mere vitality, even of plants. These terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew...A)vpn, B)xwr & C)yx.
“Abiding”(See 3:14, 17; 4:12, 13, 15, 16)—menw—Present Active Participle Accusative Sing. Fem.—1) To remain, abide—1a) in reference to place—1a1) To sojourn, tarry, 1a2) Not to depart—1a2a) To continue to be present, 1a2b) To be held, kept, continually, 1b) in reference to time—1b1) To continue to be, not to perish, to last, endure—1b1a) of persons--To survive, live, 1c) in reference to state or condition—1c1) To remain as one, not to become another or different; 2) To wait for, await one. Strong—a primary verb; To stay(in a given place, state, relation or expectancy).
“In”—en—Preposition—1) In, by, with etc.. Strong—“In, “At”, (Up-)On, By, etc.; a primary preposition denoting(fixed)position(in place, time or state), & by implication--Instrumentality(medially or constructively), i.e. A relation of rest(intermediate between eiv[into, unto, to, towards, for, among] & ek/ex[out of, from, by, away from]).
“Him”—autov—Personal Pronoun Dative Sing. Masc.—1) Himself, herself, themselves, itself; 2) He, she, it; 3) The same. Strong—from the particle au[perhaps akin to the base of ahr[air] through the idea of a baffling wind]--Backward; the reflexive pronoun--Self, used(alone or in the comparative eautou) of the third person , & (with the proper personal pronoun)of the other persons.
Argumentation:
Prov. 26:23-26—“Fervent lips with a wicked heart Are like earthenware covered with silver dross. He who hates, disguises it with his lips, And lays up deceit within himself; When he speaks kindly, do not believe him, For there are seven abominations in his heart; Though his hatred is covered by deceit, His wickedness will be revealed before the assembly.”
Again—Mat. 15:1-20—“Then the scribes & Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” He answered & said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father & your mother’; &, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ “But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”--‘then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear & understand: “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” Then His disciples came & said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” But He answered & said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. “Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” Then Peter answered & said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.” So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding? “Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach & is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, & they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
Illustration:
*My wife was about to embark on her way overseas the week when category 3 Hurricane Michael was moving across the Gulf of Mexico/It was heading directly for our area/Before my wife had left for her trip, she & I had packed a couple of bags(for me) just in case the hurricane came my way/We were situated on a rather large hill so I wasn’t particularly concerned about flooding, but I thought I would ‘ride out’ the category 3 storm & then went to bed/Later that night my wife calls & informs me that the Hurricane had become a category 4!/That was all I needed to hear/I immediately grabbed the bags & our pets & headed out of harms way!/The morning of Oct. 10th ~ 11:30am, the category 5 Hurricane Michael wiped most of Mexico Beach, FL off the map!/A DECISIVE MOVEMENT
In late 2019 & into 2020 we saw the devastating results of an unseen enemy—Corona Virus-2 which in turn produces Corona Virus Disease(AKA—COVID-19), the immediate & lasting results of which disease are not fully known/Large cities & close social gatherings are centers for spreading the virus/Avoiding crowds by quarantining, social distancing, & face-masks has become the rule of the day in many parts of the world/People with no symptoms whatsoever may be sources for the spread of the disease/No one knows who has the virus & who does not/Those who were wise, distanced themselves from the potential for contracting &/or spreading the virus, thru the means previously mentioned/Those who take the threat seriously, reveal a DECISIVE MOVEMENT to protect themselves & their families.
A citizen of the Kingdom of God, Decisively Moves their family & those they come in contact with, toward true spiritual discernment.
Application:
?Does Your Recognition of DECISIVE MOVEMENT, move yourself, the Church, & others toward greater Spiritual Discernment?
?Does what YOU ‘Recognize’ move yourself, the Church, & others toward greater Spiritual Discernment?
If you do not choose to make a Decisive Movement toward the Lord, then you are choosing to remain/be/abide as a “murderer”, because you disdain God & His people—your potential brothers & sisters.
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Putting on my glasses so that I can be more discerning.
Action:
Moving yourself, the Church, & others toward spiritual discernment recognizes...
5. DECISIVE MOVEMENT(B)(3:15)
•Passed from death to life.
1. OPPOSING SIDES(3:10)
•Children of God & Children of the Devil.
2. The FOUNDATIONAL MESSAGE(3:11)
•Love One Another.
3. IMPASSIONED BELIEF(3:12-13)
•The world hates you.
4. DECISIVE MOVEMENT(A)(3:14)
•Passed from death to life.
Presented 09/20/2020am to:
Video presentation thru YouTube, Shared to Facebook @ ‘Byron Sherman’ & ’First Baptist Church Carrabelle’
206 SE Ave A(Storrs Ave.)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
