MOVING TOWARD SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT-VIII
—1John 3:19-20(3:10--4:21)
Attention:
Unintended Consequences:
On Oct. 15, 2020, 51 year-old Salvatore “Sam” Anello—of Valparaiso, Indiana—plead guilty to the negligent homicide of his 18-month-old granddaughter Chloe Wiegand. On July 7, 2019, Mr. Anello’s granddaughter fell about 150 feet from an open window on the 11th-story of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines’ ‘Freedom of the Seas’ cruise ship, which was docked in Puerto Rico at the time. She died instantly upon contact with the concrete dock below.?The family has sued Royal Caribbean, blaming them for not having a safer situation on public areas of the ship. Royal Caribbean has denied any legal culpability, saying the blame lies with Mr Anello. The charge of negligent homicide will net the grandfather up to three years in prison. To which he responded, “They can't do anything worse to me than has already happened.” "Chloe being gone is the worst thing ever.” Chloe’s parents said that they are “utterly crushed” by the charges against her grandfather.
18-month-old Chloe Wiegand was the victim of a lack of discernment on at least two levels...?•IF the cruise line had been MORE DISCERNING about the potential danger of glassed-in areas.?AND?•IF Chloe’s granddaddy had only been MORE DISCERNING about his circumstances, then he & her parents would both have been able to hold Chloe in their arms again.
God’s people must see the importance, the seriousness, & the security of their Moving Toward Spiritual Discernment.
The apostle John shed light on a need for Spiritual Discernment in the Church.
Spiritual discernment is a necessity for the Church.
•How is Spiritual Discernment in the Church achieved/accomplished?
--OR--
•What must be recognized in moving ourselves, the church, & others toward spiritual discernment.
Some things we must recognize when moving toward spiritual discernment.
These past 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(A-&-B). DECISIVE MOVEMENT(3:14-15)
•Passed from death to life.
5. FREEING EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE(3:16a)?•Knowing Jesus Laid Down His Life For Us.
6. FREEDOM’s(Unhesitating) RESPONSE(3:16b-19)?•Laying Down Our Lives For The Benefit of Our Brothers & Sisters In Christ.
Today we’ll look at the fact that...
7—Moving toward spiritual discernment also recognizes...
A FREEING CONFIDENCE Of The HEART-A(3:19-20)(3:19-24)
Explanation/Argumentation:(3:20-24)
3:19—“And by this we know that we are of the truth, & shall assure our hearts before Him.”
We looked at this verse the last time we met. And we found that by trusting Christ Jesus, we are expected to unhesitatingly lay down our own lives for the sake of our brothers & sisters in Christ...And that we do so in practical ways rather than merely mentally(:17-18).
•We also found that to ‘unhesitatingly lay down our own lives for the sake of our brothers & sisters in Christ’, brings the Christian to a ‘firm, confident assurance’ before the Almighty Creator God.
“And by this we know that we are of the truth,”...
God’s people have a personal ability & desire—thru Christ(:16)— to love both inwardly—by the “heart”— & outwardly—by “deed” & “truth”(:18). And thru that relationship to God in Christ, & the extension of that relationship to their brothers & sisters in Christ, & also to their fellow man, God’s people have a confirming “assurance” that though they are undeserving(Eph. 2:8), they are in fact “of the truth.”
?What does it mean to be “of the truth”?
•To be “of the truth” recognizes that everything driving our thoughts & actions is our relationship with God Himself. WHEN God thru Christ is allowed to ‘directly’ compel the thoughts & actions of His people, then “we are” characterized as being, “of the truth.”
•And in Him, “there is no variation or shadow of turning” so that He cannot lie!(Js. 1:17; Titus 1:2; Heb. 6:18).
Titus 1:1-2—“Paul, a bondservant of God & an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect & the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,”
Heb. 6:18—“that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
...That is, God’s people become an integral part of, & associated with, the fulfillment of God’s “truth” thruout the world. Being “of the truth”, God’s people become answerable for the proper/correct application of God’s truth.
“Know”[BYZ/TR] OR--“Will Know”[MajT](See 3:16, 20, 24; 4:2, 7, 8, 13)—ginwskw—[TR]Present Active Indicative 1st Plural--OR--[MajT]Future Deponent(middle) Indicative 1st Plural—1) To learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel—1a) To become known; 2) To know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of—2a) To understand, 2b) To know; 3) Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man & a woman; 4) To become acquainted with, to know. Ginwskw denotes a knowledge grounded on personal experience. Strong—a prolonged form of a primary verb; To "know"(absolutely) in a great variety of applications & with many implications.
“We Are”—esmen—Verb—1) first person plural of “To be.” Strong—first person plural indicative of eimi[I exist(used only when emphatic)]; We are.
“Of/Belong To”(See 3:10, 14; 4:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13)—ek OR--ex—Prep.—1) Out of, from, by, away from. Strong—a primary preposition denoting origin(the point whence action or motion proceeds), From, out(of place, time, or cause; literal or figurative; direct or remote).
“The”—o,—OR—feminine--h, —OR—neuter--to—Definite Article Genitive Sing. Fem.—1) This, that, these, etc. Strong—the definite article; The(sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom).
“Truth”—alhyeia—Noun Fem.—1) objectively—1a) What is true in any matter under consideration—1a1) Truly, in truth, according to truth, 1a2) Of a truth, in reality, in fact, certainly, 1b) What is true in things appertaining to God & the duties of man, moral & religious truth—1b1) In the greatest latitude, 1b2) The true notions of God which are open to human reason without his supernatural intervention, 1c) The truth as taught in the Christian religion, respecting God & the execution of his purposes through Christ, & respecting the duties of man, opposing alike to the superstitions of the Gentiles & the inventions of the Jews, & the corrupt opinions & precepts of false teachers even among Christians; 2) subjectively—2a) Truth as a personal excellence—2a1) That candor of mind which is free from affection, pretense, simulation, falsehood, deceit. Strong—Truth; from alhyhv.
“And shall assure our hearts before Him.”
And WHEN “we know that we are of the truth”...then we also “shall assure our hearts before Him.”
“Assure”—To persuade or Be persuaded.
•Consider the significance of knowing, with certainty(“assure”), ‘beyond the shadow of any doubt’, that you are “of the truth”!...That is, that you are within God’s will!
Rom. 12:1-2—“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good & acceptable & perfect will of God.”
“Before Him.”—‘In His presence.’
•NOT making God follow in your footsteps, but being unafraid to stand under God’s perfect scrutiny of yourself!
•YOU CAN APPROACH Almighty Creator God BOLDLY... AND BE APPROACHED by Him without fear.(Heb. 4:16)!
•Heb. 4:16—“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy & find grace to help in time of need.”
“Assure/Set At Rest/Persuade”—peiyw—Future Active Indicative 1st Plural—1) Persuade—1a) To persuade, i.e. To induce one by words to believe, 1b) To make friends of, to win one's favor, gain one's good will, or to seek to win one, strive to please one, 1c) To tranquillize, 1d) To persuade unto i.e. move or induce one to persuasion to do something; 2) Be persuaded—2a) To be persuaded, to suffer one's self to be persuaded; to be induced to believe: to have faith: in a thing—2a1) To believe, 2a2) To be persuaded of a thing concerning a person, 2b) To listen to, obey, yield to, comply with; 3) To trust, have confidence, be confident. Strong—To convince(by argument, true or false); by analogy--To pacify or conciliate(by other fair means); reflexively or passively--To assent(to evidence or authority), to rely(by inward certainty); a primary verb.
“Our”—hmwn—Personal Pronoun 1st Genitive Plural—1) Our, we, us. Strong—Of(or from) us; genitive case plural of—egw[first person pronoun “I”].
“Hearts”—kardia—Noun Fem.—1) The heart—1a) That organ in the animal body which is the centre of the circulation of the blood, & hence was regarded as the seat of physical life, 1b) Denotes the center of all physical & spiritual life—1b1) The vigor & sense of physical life, 1b2) The centre & seat of spiritual life—1b2a) The soul or mind, as it is the fountain & seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors, 1b2b) Of the understanding, the faculty & seat of the intelligence, 1b2c) Of the will & character, 1b2d) Of the soul so far as it is affected & stirred in a bad way or good, or of the soul as the seat of the sensibilities, affections, emotions, desires, appetites, passions, 1c) Of the middle or central or inmost part of anything, even though inanimate. Strong—prolonged from a primary kar(Latin, cor, "heart"); The heart, i.e. figuratively--The thoughts or feelings(mind); also by analogy--The middle.?English=‘Cardiac/Cardio-‘.
“Before”—emprosyen—Adverb—1) In front, before—1a) Before, i.e. In that local region which is in front of a person or thing, 1b) Before--In the presence of, i.e. Opposite to, over against one, 1c) Before--In the sight of, 1d) before--Denoting rank. Strong—In front of(in place [literally or figuratively] or time).?From—en—1) In, by, with etc.. Strong—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]).—&—prov—1) To the advantage of; 2) At, near, by; 3) To, towards, with, with regard to. Strong—Forward to, i.e. Toward; By the side of, i.e. Near to.
“Him”—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.
3:20—“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, & knows all things.”
“For if our heart condemns us,”...
Though God’s people ultimately have assurance, confiding(:19) in their relationship with God thru Christ, still that ‘assurance’ can be fleeting. That is, “our heart” may even “condemn us.”.
“God understands us better than our own hearts know us” & “that our” “weak attempts to obey His command spring from a true allegiance to Him.”—I. Howard Marshall in NICNT[IHMNICNT]
•That is, ..You & I may think/reason that we have so failed God that He has every reason to abandon us, so that we sense & deserve His perfect condemnation. And it’s true...We do actually technically ‘DESERVE’ God’s condemnation!...BUT those who trust God thru Christ Jesus, God Himself has ‘DECLARED’ them to be UN-condemned!(Eph. 2:8; Rom. 4:13-16)
Eph. 2:8-9—“For by grace you have been saved through faith, & that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Rom. 4:13-16—“For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void & the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.”
By virtue of God’s people having a “heart” that is confident in Christ alone(:18-19), there will still come times when we are rightly convicted that our ‘Christian walk’ does not match up with it’s expectation from God. We might not be so characteristic or representative of God & His Kingdom after all.
God’s people strive in the Holy Spirit, for God’s ideal for man. They strive for that ideal knowing all the while, that God’s ideal for us will not be fully realized, until we inhabit our resurrected & redeemed bodies in heaven.
“Heart”See below—kardia—Noun Nominative Sing. Fem.—1) The heart—1a) That organ in the animal body which is the centre of the circulation of the blood, & hence was regarded as the seat of physical life, 1b) Denotes the center of all physical & spiritual life—1b1) The vigor & sense of physical life, 1b2) The centre & seat of spiritual life—1b2a) The soul or mind, as it is the fountain & seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors, 1b2b) Of the understanding, the faculty & seat of the intelligence, 1b2c) Of the will & character, 1b2d) Of the soul so far as it is affected & stirred in a bad way or good, or of the soul as the seat of the sensibilities, affections, emotions, desires, appetites, passions, 1c) Of the middle or central or inmost part of anything, even though inanimate. Strong—prolonged from a primary kar(Latin, cor, "heart"); The heart, i.e. figuratively--The thoughts or feelings(mind); also by analogy--The middle.?English=‘Cardiac/Cardio-‘.
“Condemns”(See :21)—kataginwskw—Present Active Subjunctive 3rd Sing.—1) To find fault with, blame; 2) To accuse, condemn. Strong—To note against, i.e. Find fault with. Used 3X--Gal. 2:11; 1Jn. 3:20, 21.?From—kata—1) Down from, through out; 2) According to, toward, along. Strong—a primary particle; prepositionally--Down(in place or time), in varied relations(according to the case [genitive case, dative case or accusative case] with which it is joined).—&—ginwskw—To “know”(absolutely); A knowledge grounded on personal experience. Used in a great variety of applications & with many implications; a prolonged form of a primary verb.
“God is greater than our heart, & knows all things.”
Despite such a situation John brings us to a point of encouragement. He reminds us that “God” Himself is far “greater” than even our own “heart.” “God” is the One who “knows all things”—even our thoughts(Jer. 17:9-10).
Jesus said, in Lk. 18:27—“The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
•IF God is NOT omniscient(“knows all things”), we could effectively ‘slip into heaven’ unnoticed & without having received His forgiveness!
Mat. 22:1-14—“And Jesus answered & spoke to them again by parables & said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, “& sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; & they were not willing to come. Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen & fatted cattle are killed, & all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’ “But they made light of it & went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, & killed them. But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, & burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, & as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ “So those servants went out into the highways & gathered together all whom they found, both bad & good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand & foot, take him away, & cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping & gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
•God knows not only my/your failure to depend upon Him, as well as your/my moment by moment dependence upon Him even in those times of failure....
•The eternal God knows the TRUE status of your “heart”! He knows intimately your HEART’s TRUE DEPENDENCE upon Him, OR the lack thereof. He knows if you’ve built the temple to Him out of flammable wood, hay, & stubble, or whether you have built it out of the precious things that will readily pass thru the fire of His judgment.
Mat 6:19-24—“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth & rust destroy & where thieves break in & steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys & where thieves do not break in & steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one & love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one & despise the other. You cannot serve God & mammon.”
John 9:39-41—“And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, & that those who see may be made blind.” Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, & said to Him, “Are we blind also?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.”
Ps. 103:10-14—“He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.”
Jer. 17:9, 10—“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.”
That is, God is able to overwhelm even our own sin-prone “hearts” thru His graciousness.
His grace overwhelms & supplants ‘your’ failure/inability to be His....to belong to Him fully. That’s what God’s grace is all about!
•Remember Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteousness(Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:3).
He allows you to draw near to Himself—by means of HIS FORGIVENESS of your inability, COUPLED WITH YOUR RESPONSE to Him in faith.
*IF you DO NOT RESPOND to God’s forgiveness by your personal faith, THEN the FORGIVENESS that is ever available to you from God, BECOMES IRRELEVANT for you! So your lack of response to God’s forgiveness makes it UTTERLY IMPOSSIBLE for God’s forgiveness TO BE APPLICABLE to you as an individual! You do it to yourself ...you cut your own spiritual legs out from under you...you cut your own spiritual throat as it were.
*This verse(:20) ALSO bolsters the truth that once a person is truly saved, then that person can never become lost.—As the saying goes, ‘Once you’re saved, you’re always saved!’
It is bad enough to witness someone who ‘claims’ to be saved, yet continually struggles living up to the empowerment granted thru Christ’s equipping...What we’ve been discussing in verse :20.
•What is far worse is that there are some who see their spiritual failures as a sign that they have ‘lost’ their salvation! Their lives become an endless cycle of ‘being saved’, & then ‘lost’...’saved’ & ‘lost’ again, etc., etc.
•To live in such a manner is to live out a pitiful & ungodly cycle that God never intended. Such people live without the power of God’s Salvation in Christ, as well as without the power of God’s Lordship in Christ! Such people have chosen at best, to build upon the foundation of Christ with temporal things that cannot possibly survive the ‘fire’ of God’s judgment(1Cor. 3:11-15).
•Such a fragile, always tentative ‘salvation’, takes the power of Christ to save, away from Christ Jesus, & places it instead upon your own shoulders! In living that cycle of ‘lost’--‘saved’, you make it YOUR ABILITY to be Savior & Lord, INSTEAD of JESUS’ ABILITY to be Savior & Lord!
*Such people NEITHER recognize NOR experience A FREEING CONFIDENCE Of The HEART!
“God”—yeov—Noun Masc.—1) A god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities; 2) The Godhead, trinity; 3) Spoken of the only & true God—3a) Refers to the things of God, 3b) His counsels, interests, things due to him; 4) Whatever can in any respect be likened unto God, or resemble him in any way—4a) God's representative or vice-regent—4a1) Of magistrates & judges. Strong—of uncertain affinity; A deity, especially(with o, h, to)--The supreme Divinity; figuratively--A magistrate; by Hebraism--Very.
“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.
“Greater...Than”(See 4:4)—meizwn—Adj. comparative—1) Greater, larger, elder, stronger. Strong—Larger (literally or figuratively, specifically in age).
“Hearts”See above—kardia—Noun Genitive Sing. Fem.—
“And”—kai—
“Knows”(See 3:16, 19, 24; 4:2, 7, 8, 13)—ginwskw—1) To learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel—1a) To become known; 2) To know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of—2a) To understand, 2b) To know; 3) Jewish idiom for sexual intercourse between a man & a woman; 4) To become acquainted with, to know. Ginwskw denotes a knowledge grounded on personal experience. Strong—a prolonged form of a primary verb; To "know"(absolutely) in a great variety of applications & with many implications.
“All Things”—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.
Illustration:
A wealthy woman was instructing her new maid on the great care required in handling certain valuable household objects. She pointed to the dining room & said with great satisfaction, “That table goes back to Louis the Fourteenth.”?•The maid replied, “Oh, that's nothing.” “My whole living-room set goes back to ‘Rooms To Go’ on the fifteenth.”
Application:
?Your Recognition of A FREEING CONFIDENCE Of The HEART move(yourself, the Church, & others) toward greater Spiritual Discernment?
?Does what YOU ‘Recognize’ move(yourself, the Church, & others) toward greater Spiritual Discernment?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
18-month-old Chloe Wiegand was the victim of a ‘Lack Of Discernment’ on at least two levels, 1)the Cruise Line, & 2)her granddaddy.?
Action:
Moving(yourself, the Church, & others) toward spiritual discernment recognizes...
7. Moving toward spiritual discernment recognizes...
A FREEING CONFIDENCE Of The HEART-A(3:19-20)(3:19-24)?
•Knowing & abiding in God & His abiding in us.
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(3:14-15)
•Passed from death to life.
5. FREEING EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE(3:16a)?
•Knowing Jesus Laid Down His Life For Us.
6. FREEDOM’s(Unhesitating) RESPONSE(3:16b-19)?
•Laying Down Our Lives For The Benefit of Our Brothers & Sisters In Christ.
Presented 10/18/2020am to:
1BCCbelle
206 SE Ave A(Storrs Ave.)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
