PT-3 "How to Recognize an Overcomer" (1 John 5:1-5)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2-28-2025

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  PT-3 Intro. To “How to Recognize an Overcomer”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                        Reference:  1 John 5:1-5

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

 

            Now as promised I want to continue to look at John MacArthur’s sermon on these verses until I get to the point that goes beyond his introduction to these verses.

 

            “And here, back to 1 John, having touched those other elements of overcoming, we come to verse 4 in chapter 5, “Whatever is born of God overcomes the world.” We overcome Satan; we overcome death, including sin and the law; and here we overcome the world. Three times it says we overcome the world. This is also an echo of what John has said earlier. Back in chapter 2 verse 15, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” If you’re still loving the world, if you’re still attracted to the world, if you have not yet overcome the world, the love of the Father is not in you. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not from the Father but is from the world and the world is passing away and all its lusts, but the one who does the will of God abides forever.” We have overcome the world. It no longer overwhelms us. It no longer is the object of our attraction.

            “In chapter 3, “See how great a love,” verse 1, “the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God, and such we are. For this reason the world doesn’t know us because it did not know Him.” What that means is it has no ongoing relation to us. We’re in the world no longer of the world. Its allurements don’t pull our hearts. We are drawn by the Holy Spirit. We are drawn by the love of Christ. We are drawn by righteousness. We are drawn by the Kingdom of God, not the kingdom of this world. We love not this world, but the kingdom of God. And so in the very real sense, we who are in Christ have overcome the world. Verse 13 adds to our understanding of this. “Do not marvel, brethren, if the world hates you.” You are so much not a part of the world that you have become its enemy. You do not love the world, and it is so evident to the world how alienated you are from it, that you are perceived to be the enemy.

            “Chapter 4 begins by reminding us, as you will remember, that many false prophets have gone out into the world but we don’t listen to them. Verse 4, “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them.” You talk about being an overcomer, you have overcome Satan. You have overcome in defeating, triumphing permanently over Satan the whole of the kingdom of darkness. All the demons and all the demonic lies and falsehoods. You have overcome death and having overcome death also overcome the power of sin and the penalty of the law. You have overcome the world, in the sense that you don’t love it, in the sense that you are so alienated from it that it perceives you as its enemy. You have overcome the world also in the sense that you no longer are deceived by the false prophets who ply their lies and deception in the world. But being from God and having an anointing from God and knowing the truth, you have overcome false teachers.

            “Then this great statement of verse 4 and chapter 4, “Because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” We are from God. And he who knows God listens to us. This is an extensive identification of the believer. And we are not just sort of barely overcomers. We didn’t just barely eke by. It is not a fragile victory that we enjoy. We didn’t win by one point in overtime at the buzzer. We are super-conquerors. And there never will be another game where we lose our victory. We are the reigning champions and the championship which has been won for us in Christ is a forever championship.

            When it says there in chapter 5 verse 4 that we have overcome the world, we’re talking about the world – we’ll go back, we’ve talked about it a lot in John, I’ll just briefly identify it. But what it is really saying is that we have overcome the invisible spiritual system of evil. When we talk about the world in the New Testament, we’re not talking about politics as such, we’re not talking about education as such, we’re not talking about culture as such, civilization, society. We’re not talking about human structures of any kind, formal or informal. What we’re talking about is the spiritual system of evil that exists without God, opposed to God, dominated by Satan, ruled by him as the prince of the power of the air, the ruler of this world. It is the system of Satan but it is also the system of man dominated by carnal ambition, dominated by pride, dominated greed, dominated by self, dominated by pleasure, by lust and desire, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. It is a system by definition that is ignorant of God in open rebellion against God, run by Satan set up on earth.

            And as a Christian we have overcome that. Literally the text says in verse 4, “Whatever is born of God overcomes the world” – is continually overcoming the world. Present tense, is continually overcoming the world. Very important that the Greek uses that tense. It is habitual; it is permanent; it is ongoing. We are permanently triumphant, permanently the conquerors. We can never lose. The victory can never be taken from us. We may fail along the way. We may fall victim to the enticements of the world here and there. We may lose some skirmishes but the great war has been won. The victory is ours. That is a settled fact forever, never to be altered. “We have been forever delivered,” Colossians 1:13, “from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son.” We are no longer of the world, though we are still in it. We do not love the world. The truest and purest part of us, the new nature, the expression of the power of the Spirit of God in us drives us toward God and toward the Kingdom of God and the love of God and the love of His Word and obedience. The world still assaults our fallen flesh and that’s why we long for the day of resurrection. Philippians 3:20 puts it this way. “Our citizenship is in heaven.” That’s where our hearts are. That’s where our Father is. That’s where our Savior is. That’s where our name is written. That’s where our room is being prepared. That’s where we’re headed.”

            So it looks like I will continue to quote from this sermon by John MacArthur as there are so many truths in it that will help us live a life for Christ.

2/28/2025 7:00 PM

 

 

PT-3 "The Illustration" (2 Timothy 2:20)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/28/2025 10:17 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus:  PT-3 “The Illustration”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                   Reference:  2 Timothy 2:20

 

            Message of the verse:  “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.”

 

            I want to begin this last section from 2 Timothy 2:20 by writing about the fact that there were some Ephesian leaders, and this included Timothy who were becoming discouraged and apathetic.  Now part of the problem was their apparent intimidation by false teachers and one could say that Alexander, Hymenaeus and also Philetus, men that Paul mentioned in 1 Timothy 1:20 and also 2 Timothy 2:17.  Now because Paul repeats many of his strong admonitions to Timothy and the other leaders in Ephesus, the serious problems he sought to correct must have been ongoing or perhaps recurring.

 

            MacArthur writes “And because this letter is addressed to Timothy, the foremost overseer, or elder, and apostolic legate in the church at Ephesus, Paul’s admonitions in 2:20-26 seem directed first of all to leaders in that church.  That interpretation is supported by the reference to ‘the Lord’s bond-servant’ (v. 24), which, in this context, probably is used as an official term referring to overseers.  In addition, the characteristics mentioned in verses 24-25 correspond to several qualifications for that office listed in 1 Timothy 3:2-3 and Titus 1:5-9.

 

            “In verses 21-27, Paul sets forth nine characteristics that mark the faithful, godly believer who is the vessel of honor.  He will have a cleansed life (v. 21a), a sanctified soul (v. 21b), be useful to God (v. 21c), be prepared for service (v. 21d), have a pure heart (v. 22), and have a discerning mind (v. 23), a gentle manner (v. 24), a humble spirit (v. 25a) and a compassionate attitude (vv. 25b-26).”

 

            Looks like as we continue looking at these verses and go over these nine characteristics that we will have some challenges in our walk with the Lord, but I know that the Holy Spirit and the Word will certainly aid us in living the Christian life as we go over these characteristics.

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today: I look forward to look at these nine characteristics that mark the faithful, godly believer who is the vessel of honor.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to be with me as I serve Him today, that my life will bring honor and glory to the Lord.

 

2/28/2025 10:37 AM

 

PT-2 "How to Recognize an Overcomer" (1 John 5:1-5)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2-27-2025

 

My Worship Time                             Focus:  PT-2 Intro. To “How to Recognize an Overcomer”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                   Reference:  1 John 5:1-5

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

 

            Now as promised I want to continue to look at John MacArthur’s sermon on these verses until I get to the point that goes beyond his introduction to these verses.

 

            “The word is used by our Lord Jesus Himself in John 16:33 He uses the verb form when He says, “In this world you shall have tribulation, be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” I have won out in conflict with the world. I have defeated the world. I have conquered the world. I am the victor over the world. And of course, there is a form of that word used in one of our most favorite portions of Scripture, Romans chapter 8. At the close of that great eighth chapter where Paul is speaking about the unconquerable position of Christians in Christ, he says, verse 37, “In all these things we are more than conquerors.” That’s the Authorized. The NAS says, “We overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” Paul says we’re not just overcomers; we’re not just nikē; we are huper nikē and he compounds the word and adds huper, which would be in English saying, “We’re super-conquerors. We are the ultimate conquerors.” We have through faith in Christ entered the condition of being unconquerable. We are super conquerors. We are, to put it another way, invincible, unconquerable. So much that, “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, or any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” There is nothing that can conquer us, not tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword. We are super-conquerors. We are the unconquerable. We are the overcomers.

            “Reading history many, many years ago when I was a student, Lord Nelson came back and reported to the British Admiralty, the great victory over the French in the Battle of the Nile. And he said this – this is a great quote – “Victory is not a large enough word to describe what took place.” And I would venture to say that that is true of our salvation, victory is not a large enough word to describe what took place. And so, when Paul spoke of the victory, it wasn’t just victory; it was super victory. It was huper nikē. As we think about that, as we think about that concept in relationship to our Christian blessing, we can kind of break it down a little bit and let’s look at what that actually meant.

            “First of all, at the point of our salvation and from then on we have become super conquerors of Satan – super conquerors of Satan. We have overcome the evil one. As it says in Revelation 12:11, “They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb.” They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. And that’s not only true of Tribulation saints, that’s true of all of us. In the fifteenth chapter of the book of Revelation, John sees a sign in heaven and in verse 2 he sees a sea of glass mixed with fire. He looks into heaven and he sees those who had come off victorious from the beast and from his image and from the number of his name standing on the sea of glass holding harps of God and singing the song of the Lamb. As John gets a glimpse of heaven, he sees the redeemed there who are super-conquerors who have triumphed over the worst that Satan could possibly bring and they stand on the sea of glass in the presence of God. In the view of heaven that comes in Revelation 21, verse 7 says, “He that overcomes shall inherit these things.” Overcomes get not only triumph over Satan, but a triumph over Satan that results in an eternal heaven. And all that heaven is becomes ours. We are the true victors.

            “John certainly affirmed this idea earlier in his epistle if you go back to chapter 2, for a moment. And verse 13, “I’m writing to you young men” – and he’s not talking about chronological age, but those who spiritually are growing up – “because you have overcome the evil one.” How so? Verse 14, end of the verse, “The Word of God abides in you and you have overcome the evil one.” As soon as you believe the truth, you defeat his lies. As soon as you embrace the power of God, his power is neutralized. And so, we are overcomers because we have overcome the evil one. He is, as Paul says to the Romans, under our feet. He is a defeated foe. The Scripture says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” He is vanquished.

            “Not only have we become overcomers of Satan as powerful as he is, but we have become overcomers in the realm of life as well. That is, we have overcome death. I think the most notable portion of Scripture that speaks to that is 1 Corinthians 15, and just a reminder, it says at the end of verse 54 in this great fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting.” The sting of death is sin, the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God that gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Victory over death because victory over sin, victory over law. That is to say we triumph over what sin wants to do to us. We triumph over what the law wants to do, the perfect, holy, righteous law of God crushes us because we break it. It sentences us to damnation for our sins. But in Christ we triumph over the law, over sin, over death, which is the penalty the law imposes.”

            Lord willing more tomorrow of these quotes.

2/27/2025 11:00 PM

 

 

PT-2 "The Illustration" (2 Timothy 2:20)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/27/2025 10:32 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus:  PT-2 “The Illustration”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                   Reference:  2 Timothy 2:20

 

            Message of the verse:  “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.”

 

            I want to begin this SD by writing about the words honor and dishonor as they do not refer to true and false Christians, respectively.  Now Jesus makes it clear in the parable of the wheat and tares seen in Matthew 13:24-30 and also in His teaching about the sheep and goats judgments of the nations seen in Matthew 25:31-46 that the visible church on earth will contain both unbelievers and believers until He returns and orders the final separation.  However Paul is not speaking about that distinction.

 

            MacArthur writes: “Nor is he speaking here of the God-given differences among believers.  In his letter to Rome, he says that ‘God has allotted to each a measure of faith.  For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.  And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly’ (Rom. 12:3-6).  He emphasizes the same truth in his first letter to the Corinthians, saying, ‘If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?  If the whole were hearing where would the sense of smell be?  But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired’ (1 Cor. 12:17-18).

 

            “The honorable vessels represent believers who are faithful and useful to the Lord.  They are the good soldiers, the competitive athletes, the hardworking farmers mentioned in verses 3-6.  By contrast, the dishonorable vessels are the cowardly soldiers, the lazy athletes, and the slothful farmers, defiled people fit only for the most menial, undistinguished purposes.  Honor and dishonor therefore refer to the ways in which genuine believers are found useful to the Lord in fulfilling the work to which He has called them.  In this sense, all believers should be but are not always, vessels of honor.”

 

            This last paragraph goes along with something that I have written about in different SD’s that I have written over the years. It comes from Ephesians 2:8-10, and most believers can quote verses 8-9, but perhaps not verse 10.  “8 For by grace you have been saved

through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  The highlighted portion of verse 10 has always spoken to me by saying that in eternity past the Lord not only chose those who will come to Christ for salvation, but also gave them gifts for them to do.  I give an example of John MacArthur because I quote from his commentaries and sermons a lot, and so I believe that God, in eternity past gave the gift of preaching and teaching to him.  Now just as we looked at the last paragraph it can be seen that even though a person has been given a gift to fulfill in the church age, does not mean that that person will continue to use that gift so in looking at our verse from 2 Timothy and the last thing that I wrote from MacArthur’s quote “In this sense, all believers should be but are not always, vessels of honor.”  I hope all of this makes sense, and also it is my prayer that those who read the Spiritual Diaries that I write each day will be vessels of honor doing the things that the Lord has called you to do for His glory.

 

            2/27/2025 10:58 AM

 

PT-1 Intro to "How to Recognize an Overcomer" (1 John 5:1-5)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2-26-2025

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  PT-1 Intro. To “How to Recognize an Overcomer”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                        Reference:  1 John 5:1-5

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

 

            As I look at the first paragraph of the commentary that John MacArthur writes in his commentary it is a very long paragraph and in that paragraph he describes the different ways that believers are identified in the Scriptures.  I thought that I would go to the sermon that he preached on this subject and look to see how he dealt with it there.  I would like to quote from his sermon where he writes about how believers are identified in the Scriptures, but in that section he does not name the chapters and verses where he gets that information.  What I will do is quote a number of paragraphs from that sermon as he begins to talk about how important the word “Overcomer” is.

 

            “There are so many wonderful titles in the New Testament by which we describe ourselves. We are called Christians which originally a term used to describe believers in Jesus Christ in a somewhat derisive way. They were really called Christians by pagans, little Christs. But it’s become perhaps the most familiar of all terms to describe us. We are also in the Scripture called children, children of God, children of light, children of the day, and children of obedience. We are called believers or the faithful. We are called friends of Jesus Christ. We are called brothers and sisters. We are called sheep. We’re called saints, holy ones. We are called soldiers. We are called witnesses. We are called stewards. We are called fellow-citizens. We are called lights in the world. We’re called the elect of God. We’re called the chosen. We’re called ambassadors of Christ. We’re called ministers. We’re called servants. We’re called disciples. We’re called heirs. We’re called joint-heirs. We’re called branches in the vine. We’re called members of the body of Christ. We’re called living stones by which the temple of God is built. We are called epistles, living letters. We’re called temples. We’re called beloved. We’re called followers. And there are more.

            “And all of those terms and each of those terms give us the definition of who we are. And in a sense it takes all of those terms to express the fullness of what it means to belong to God through faith in Christ. I suppose we could say that the composite of the significance of all those terms sums up the total description and definition of those who are Christ’s. But there’s one other title that isn’t generally a part of the short list that most of us would refer to, and that is this term that is used a number of times in the text I just read. We are overcomers. Twice in verse 4 it identifies us as those who have overcome the world and then once again in verse 5. We are overcomers. This is a descriptive term. If you would like another term you could use the term victors. If you want yet another term that may be a little more contemporary, you could use the term winners. We are the winners – very descriptive.

            “Let me give you a definition of this concept to start with, and then we’ll look at some of the characteristics of it. The word here for overcomes, nikaō in the Greek, it means to conquer. It means to win; it means to defeat; it means to gain victory. The noun from nikaō is nikē from which we get the word Nike. The Greeks loved the word nikē. They actually had a goddess by the name of Nikē, and this was the goddess of victory, the goddess of triumph. And the Greeks actually believed that victory could not be achieved by mortals, but only by the gods. Only the gods were ultimately unconquerable. I mean, true and ultimate and final and permanent and lasting and sort of eternal victory only belonged to the gods. They were the only ones who could conquer and become unconquerable. For men, there might be a triumph here and a triumph there, but there would also be mingled in between defeat and failure. Only the gods could reach the level of being unconquerable.

            “Playing against the background of that kind of thinking in the ancient times, it was a pretty stunning thing to assign to Christians the kind of unconquerability that belonged only to the gods in that culture. We like that word even in English. The United States military forces have for many, many years called their missiles Nike missiles. And then of course we have Nike shoes that are supposed to lead you to triumph in whatever athletic endeavor you’re engaged in.”

            Now before I get too far into this sermon I will stop here and then pick up some more in our SD for tomorrow, Lord willing.

2/26/2025 8:12 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

PT-1 "The Illustration" (2 Timothy 2:20)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/26/2025 9:01 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus:  PT-1 “The Illustration”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                   Reference:  2 Timothy 2:20

 

            Message of the verse:  “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.”

 

            First thing this morning is that my wife did well with her surgery yesterday.  It was a long day but well worth it.  Thanks for those who prayed for her, it was greatly appreciated.

 

            Yesterday I began a new section from following John MacArthur’s commentary as he entitled this 6^th chapter in his commentary “An Honorable Vessel” and it covers verses 20-26 of 2 Timothy chapter two.  I did get to listen to his sermon on this subject and it brought new meaning to me which I hope to be able to write about as I go through these verses, but today I just begin with the first SD on “The Illustration.”

 

            I looked up the words vessel and vessels on my Online Bible to see how many times Paul used those terms in his writings and found vessel was used in three verses, and vessels was used in four verses, so we can see that Paul used these word a fairly amount of times in his writings, and John MacArthur states “Paul uses the figure of vessel to describe Christians.  He goes on to make the point:  “For example, in defending God’s sovereign right to save and to condemn according to His own divine and perfect will, the apostle asks rhetorically, ‘Does not the potter have a right over the clay to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use, and another for common use?’ (Rom. 9:21).  Pointing up our utter dependence on God’s enabling grace and power in order to minister, the reminded Corinthian believers that ‘we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves’ (2 Cor. 4:7).”

 

            So his main point in talking about vessels are that they describe believers as they do in the section we are looking at today, and to know that makes it easier for me to understand this passage. 

 

            “Using the illustration of a large house whose owners were affluent and which would have many occupants, many rooms, and many furnishings, he says there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.

 

            “As mentioned in the previous commentary chapter, the context strongly suggests that ‘the firm foundation of God’ (v. 19) refers to the church, the earthly custodian of God’s truth (v. 18).  God’s ownership of, or ‘seal’ on, the church is in two parts.  From the divine perspective, it is His sovereign election of ‘those who are His’ and from the human perspective it is the righteousness of the faithful believer, the one ‘who names the name of the Lord’ and abstains ‘from wickedness.’”

            So as we look at this verse it can be seen that the large house would therefore represent the entire church of God, the body of Christ, which is composed of all true believers, then the vessels in which represent individual believers—the honorable gold and silver vessels and the dishonorable vessels of wood and of earthenware.

 

            I will quote two more paragraphs from MacArthur’s commentary and then Lord willing, will leave the rest for tomorrows SD.

 

            “Skeuos (vessel) was used of a wide variety of domestic implements, utensils, and furnishings, including furniture and tools.  Because of the materials mentioned here of which these items are made, it seems likely that Paul had in mind serving vessels and perhaps utensils.  But whatever the articles might be, his point is the same.  Articles made of gold or silver are more valuable and presentable than those of wood or earthenware.  The former would be prominently displayed as decorations or used for serving important guests as a gesture of honor.  The inferior articles, on the other hand, were strictly utilitarian. They were common, plain, replaceable, unattractive, and often dirty and vile, because some were used for the garbage and human waste of the house.  They were used for those duties that were never seen and were kept out of sight as much as possible.  To display them before guests would be an act of unspeakable   dishonor.

 

            “(It should be noted that in this context the wood and clay vessels are despised from the Lord’s perspective, whereas in 2 Corinthians 4:7 Paul is glad to be an ‘earthen vessel,’ because he is there using the analogy to express his personal self-evaluation and humility.)”

 

Spiritual Meaning for my Life Today:  It is my desire to live like Paul is explaining here to honor God as Paul describes believers as honorable using terms like gold and silver.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust the Lord to continue to give me His grace and mercy in order to do the things that He has called me to do for the cause of Christ.

 

2/26/2025 9:50 AM

PT-3 "Perfect Love and the Christian's Confidence in Judgment" (1 John 4:17-21)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/24/2025 6:29 PM

 

My Worship Time        Focus: PT-3 “Perfect Love And The Christian’s Confidence in Judgment”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  1 John 4:17-21

 

            Message of the verses:  “17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one 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, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”

 

            The first thing that I want to say is Praise the Lord for my wife’s successful procedure that she had done this afternoon (Ohio Time), and I truly am thankful for how this worked out.  I am thankful for people around the world who prayed for her, it means so much to us.

 

            I have decided to complete this section by quoting from John MacArthur’s commentary.

           

            “The apostle repeats his warning (cf. 2:4, 9; 3:10, 17; 4:8) that anyone who claims to love God but does not love others is a deceiver: If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.  It is absurd to claim to love the invisible God but at the same time not show love to His people.  John counters that hypocritical notion with a closing command: And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.  Brotherly love seeks nothing in return; instead it unconditionally forgives (cf. Matt. 18:21-22), bears others’ burdens (Gal. 6:2), and sacrifices to meet their needs (Acts 20:35; Phil. 2:3-4).  Yet it is also a righteous love that tolerates neither false doctrine nor habitual sin (1 Tom. 5:20; cf. 2 Thess. 3:15).

 

            “God’s perfect love is a blessing for believers to know and a joy for them to manifest to others.  Although it enhances and enriches the emotional love they have for other people, perfect love far transcends any kind of feeling the world might experience.  It is a complete, mature love that reflects the essence of God and the work of Christ and flows through believers to anybody with a need (3:17; Matt. 25:34-40; 2 Cor. 8:1-7; 9:7-15; James 1:27; cf. Matt. 5:16; Acts 9:36; Titus 3:8), especially others in the family of God (Gal. 6:2, 10; cf. 1 Tim 5:8; Heb. 6:9-10).  This love, which has characterized the triune God from eternity past, is also the mark of His children (John 13:35).  Because this love so clearly comes from Him, those who love like Him can be assured that He is their Father.  As the hymn ‘I Am His, and He Is Mine’ so aptly expresses:

 

  Loved with everlasting love, let by grace that love to know;

Gracious Spirit from above, Thou has taught me it is so!

O, this full and perfect pace! O, this transport all divine!

In a love which cannot cease, I am His, and He is mine.

2/25/2025 6:45 PM

 

 

"Intro to 'An Honorable Vessel'" (2 Timothy 2:20-26)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/25/2025 7:57 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                           Focus:  “Intro to ‘An Honorable Vessel’”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  2 Timothy 2:20-26

 

            Message of the verses:  “20 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.  22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. 24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, 25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, 26  and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

 

            This is going to be a very short introduction to these verses as I will just follow what John MacArthur wrote in his commentary on these verses.

 

            “A chorus by Audrey Mieir beautifully expresses the spirit of dedication of which Paul speaks in this passage.

 

To be used of God

To sing, to speak, to pray

To be used of God

To show someone the way.

I long so much to feel

The touch of His consuming fire,

To be used of God is my desire.

 

            “Every believer should have that compelling desire to be used of God in whatever way He chooses.  The flow of 2 Timothy 2 moves from the call to ‘be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus’ (2:1) to being ‘a workman who does not need to be ashamed’ (v. 15) in order to be ‘useful to the Master, prepared for every good work’ (v. 21).”

 

Spiritual Meaning for My Life Today:  To follow the quotation from Audrey Mieir with my whole heart.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord as He cares for my wife with her surgery this afternoon, that it will be good for her and bring glory to the Lord.

 

2/25/2025 8:13 AM

PT-3 "Perfect Love and the Christian's Confidence in Judgment" (1 John 4:17-21)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/24/2025 9:21 PM

 

My Worship Time        Focus: PT-2 “Perfect Love And The Christian’s Confidence in Judgment”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  1 John 4:17-21

 

            Message of the verses:  “17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one 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, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”

 

            Now I want to begin this SD from where I left off yesterday and that means I will continue to talk about love.  We see the word perfect in verse 18 and this means to be complete, mature as love demonstrates the reality of their salvation need have no fear of the return of Christ or God’s judgment, and the reason is because perfect love casts out fear.  So that kind of love dispels fear and the reason is  because fear involves punishment, and believers perfected in love do not face final punishment.  “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Rom. 5:9).  MacArthur writes “However, anyone who fears God’s judgment is not perfected in love.  Someone who professes Christ but fears His return evidences that something is seriously amiss, because all true saints love His appearing (2 Tim. 4:8; cf. James 1:12).”  I am very happy to have this important verse (18) more thoroughly explained from MacArthur’s commentary.  This way of understanding it is different than the way that I was understanding it, as I was thinking about any reason to fear different events and not thinking about not fearing judgment, something that ever since I became a believer, as I first learned about the rapture, did not have fear of judgment, something that I certainly did before I became a believer.  I have mentioned that my wife is to have a kind of surgery tomorrow and I have to admit that there has been some fear in me as to the outcome of it, but I truly realize that the Lord is in control and I believe that this kind of fear that I am experiencing may be coming from the evil one or some of his cohorts. 

 

            MacArthur then goes on to write “The motive for those who have such confident assurance regarding the future is obvious we [Christians] love, because He first loved us.  It was God’s perfect and eternal love that first sovereignly drew believers to Him (4:10; John 15:9, 16, 19; Acts 13:48; Rom. 5:8; Eph. 1:4), thus enabling them to reflect His love to others.”

 

            One of the things that I have learned from my study of 1 John is that he repeats things, but the reason that he does this is because he continues to add things to what he has already wrote, as he does not give it all at once, but he continues to build.  So I want to talk more about this in my next SD as this one will be a shorter one, but an important one, so think over what we have learned from 1 John 4:18 as you meditate on this great verse and Lord willing I will try and finish this section in tomorrow’s SD.  Please if you are reading this I would appreciate your prayers for my wife who is to have surgery tomorrow afternoon.  2/24/2025 9:48 PM

PT-2 "False Teaching Characterizes Those Who Do Not belong to the Lord" (2 Tim. 2:19)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/24/2025 9:49 AM

 

My Worship Time      Focus: PT-2“False Teaching Characterizes Those Who Do Not Belong to the Lord”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference: 2 Timothy 2:19

 

            Message of the verse:  “19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness."

 

            I wish to pick up in quoting from John MacArthur’s commentary from where I left of yesterday:  “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me,’ Jesus assures us; ‘and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand’’ (John 10:27-28).  Like Satan, false teachers can cause great confusion and apprehension among God’s people, but they cannot corrupt or destroy His people, because ‘God has chosen [us] from the beginning for salvation’ (2 Thess. 2:13a).”

 

            These are not the only verses in the New Testament with such guarantees, and so we will look at some of them at this time:

 

John 6:37-40 “37 "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38  "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39  "This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."

 

Now God chose us for salvation in Christ “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4), and those “whom He [God] foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Rom. 8:29-30).

 

            MacArthur goes on to write “The second way in which God has placed His seal on the church is through personal sanctification, personal holiness.  Paul therefore says, ‘Let everyone who names the name of the Lord abstain from wickedness.’  The quotation may be adapted from the same passage in the book of Numbers, in which Moses later warned the godly: ‘Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to the, lest you be swept away in all their sin’ (Num. 16:26).  Those who did not separate themselves from the wicked rebels were destroyed with them when ‘the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up’ (v. 32).

 

            “The second aspect of sanctification is both an exhortation and an affirmation.  The exhortation is:  ‘Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?  For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body’ (1 Cor. 6:19-20).  Peter likewise admonishes, ‘Like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior’ (1 Peter 1:15).

 

            “But our sanctification is also divinely affirmed.  In the verses in 2 Thessalonians cited above, in which Paul assures believers that God has chosen them for salvation, he adds, ‘through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth’ (2:13b).  Despite our many failures and our frequent unfaithfulness, God will graciously complete our sanctification.  ‘For I am confident of this very thing,’ Paul testified, ‘that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus’ (Phil. 1:6).” 

 

Spiritual Meaning for my Life Today:  Philippians 1:6 truly spoke to my heart this morning as I am having some difficulties in my life and this verse has given me great encouragement.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to continue to do the good work in my life, and will continue to perfect it until the day when the Lord Jesus Christ comes from heaven to take me to be with Him forever.

 

I continue to pray much for the procedure that my wife will have done tomorrow, trusting the Lord to work it out for her good and His glory.

 

2/24/2025 10:21 AM  

PT-1 "Perfect Love and the Christian's Confidence in Judgment" (1 John 4:17-21)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/23/2025 10:25 PM

 

My Worship Time              Focus:  “Perfect Love And The Christian’s Confidence in Judgment”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  1 John 4:17-21

 

            Message of the verses:  “17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one 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, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”

 

            Just to let all of you know that this section is the last section in the 4^th chapter of 1 John and it has one of my favorite verses in it, the one that is highlighted.

 

            Let us begin with what is stated in verse 17b we may have confidence in the day of judgment, and this is the experience of believers who not only know when they have an accurate grasp of the gospel and other biblical doctrines, but also when love is perfected within them. 

 

            MacArthur explains that “The day of judgment refers in the broadest sense to the final time of reckoning before God (cf. 2:28).  John says believers can live their lives with confidence (literally, ‘boldness’) as they look to the day when Christ returns and they stand before God (1 Cor. 3:9-15; 2 Cor. 5:10; cf. James 1:12; Rev. 2:10).  In 3:21 John used the same word (parresia) to refer to the confidence believers can have that God will grant their prayer requests.  In the present verse the apostle declares that boldness and lack of fear should characterize believers (cf. Rom. 5:2; Heb. 6:19) whenever they think ahead of God’s time of judgment (cf. Titus 2:13).”

 

            Now one may ask why can believers have such confidence?  Because as He is, so also are we in this world.  Now this is a stunning statement which means that the Father treats the saints the same way He does His Son Jesus Christ.  Now think about that statement for a moment.  God clothes believers with the righteousness of Christ (Rom. 3:21-22; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:9), and grants the Son’s perfect love (Matt. 9:36; John 10:11, 14-16; 13:1; 14:21) and obedience (cf. John 4:34; 5:30; 18:37).  The truth is that someday believers will stand before God’s throne as confidently as their Lord and Savior does.  (Think about that statement).  When they reach that final accounting, they will see the fulfillment of 1 John 3:2b, “We [believers] know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”

 

            Ok it is Sunday evening and my Spiritual Diaries are shorter than on the week days, and so it is my desire to be able to finish looking at the great and wonderful verses in tomorrow’s evening SD. 

 

2/23/2025 10:49 PM