Friday, November 15, 2024

PT-1 "Because of Where the World is Going" (1 John 2:17)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/15/2024 10:40 PM

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus: PT-1 “Because of where the World is Going”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                         Reference:  1 John 2:17

 

            Message of the verse:  “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

 

            As I begin this new section I have to say that my practice is usually to listen to the sermons by John MacArthur in order to help me out to understand what is going on, but I have to say that I really believe that Satan or one of his demons had something to do with my phone to get messed up a while ago, which caused me to have to go out and buy another phone which was much more expensive than the other.  I also had to change the place where I get my internet service on my phone which is also a bit more expensive.  I really missed listening to those sermons and a couple of days ago I began to listen to the sermons on 1 John from MacArthur’s website.  However I am still a bit behind, not caught up with where I am in writing these Spiritual Diaries, but it is my desire to get caught up in order to be helped in understanding more from this wonderful letter of 1 John.  In my other blog I just spent almost five years in my study of the gospel of Matthew and have now just begun looking at 2 Timothy, so that will mean I have more sermons to listen to.  I have been in the practice of walking at least five miles per day since March 20, 2020 and that is when I usually listen to these sermons.

 

            In this evening’s SD we begin to look at the third reason believers are not to love the world, and that is because it is passing away as seen in our verse for this evening.  MacArthur adds that “The principle of spiritual death that permeates the world is the exact opposite of the principle of spiritual life, which operates in God’s kingdom.  Thus, the living dead in the world are destined for eternal death in hell, but Christians are destined for eternal life in heaven (Matt. 13:37-50; 25:31; cf. Matt. 5:12a; Luke 10:20; Heb. 12:22-23; 1 Pete r 1:3-5).”

 

            Now I want to look briefly at the verb that is translated is passing away, as it is a present tense form of parago which means “to disappear.”  So because it is in the present tense that means that it has already happening, already in the process of self-destruction.  for the form of this world is passing away” (1 Cor. 7:31b).  There are a few more verses for us to look at but I will just mention them at this time:  (1 Peter. 4:7a; cf. James 1:10; 4:14; 1 Peter 1:24).  We can thus conclude that the entire system contains the seeds of its own dissolution.  “21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Romans 8:21-22).  We can be sure that God will indeed destroy the physical universe at the end of the millennium.  Once the millennium is over then the Lord will destroy the entire universe, but that actually is not what John is referring to here.  MacArthur adds “John looked ahead to the destruction of the satanic world system and all those who cling to its lusts—its ideologies that oppose God and Christ (2 Cor. 10:3-5; 2 Peter 2:1-17; Jude 12-15; Rev. 18:21-24; cf. 19:11-21; 20:7-10).  They are all hurtling rapidly toward eternal damnation, as Paul wrote concerning the ungodly who persecuted the Thessalonian believers.”

“6 For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed — for our testimony to you was believed” (2 Thess. 1:6-10).

 

11/15/2024 11:18 PM

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