The Chief End of Man

Genesis 14
8/10/25

Part 1:

1 In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 2 these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 
•       We’ve got a 4 on 5 situation. The text tells us they are all fighting in a specific valley somewhere in the middle east. We’re not exactly sure where this valley is.
•       If you read that list of 9 names and you are not sure who to root for, that’s OK. We are about to get some additional backstory in a few verses, however biblical scholars still don’t know much about who all these people were or where all these city-states they ruled were located.

4 Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 and the Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the border of the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling in Hazazon-tamar.
•       We see the reason for this outbreak of war. Years ago, 11 total city-states were subjected and began serving Chedorlaomer, one of the kings from the group of 4.
•       This arrangement went on for 12 years, but recently there has been a rebellion against their ruler. 
•       Scripture tells us that all these people from verses 4-7, have already been defeated. This war has been going on for years, and the group led by Chedorlaomer is very strong. There are only 5 kings left standing from the original rebellion.

8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country. 11 So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.
•       So the 5 kings who are left standing, including the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, go out to join the battle. 
•       We don’t know how long this fighting goes on, how fatal it is, but the text says that the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah retreat in defeat, and all the possessions of their cities get taken captive. 
•       Chedorlaomer accomplishes total victory over his enemies; it says they took the people and the possessions and go their way.
•       Finally, 12 verses in, we see where the story interests Abram. All the possessions and people living in Sodom get taken away as captives. If you remember from last week, the last we heard Abram’s nephew Lot moved his tent toward Sodom.
•       We’re told now that Lot was dwelling in Sodom. Are you surprised? Sin has a tendency to creep

13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.
•       We see the first mention of “Hebrew”. Abram is described that way to distinguish him…
•       So far, this alliance of Kings is undefeated. They haven’t met an adversary they couldn’t square up against.
•       Abram has continued to grow in material possessions. If he has 318 trained men, there must be thousands of people living in his entourage.
•       He goes after these 4 powerful kings, with 318 trained men and their allies, they win.
•       Nothing can be said about this without acknowledging the powerful hand of God. God is working in a decisive way in Abram’s life and to work in the region.
•       God gives him victory against his enemy and makes a redeemer out of Abram. God uses him to save Lot and many others, but it is obvious that he did not win on his own.
•       There are parallels across the Old Testament; think of Joshua around Jericho. Think of Gideon. Think of David. Moses before Pharoah. All are examples where God used weak, underwhelming men and circumstances to demonstrate his power.
•       The other thing this victory shows us is how Abram demonstrates his trust in the Lord. Surely, he knew how powerful and victorious Chedorlaomer was. Yet he pursued them and defeated them, knowing that God was with him and by it, God would be glorified.

Part 2: 

17 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 
•       On their way back home, Abram is visited by two kings, the king of Sodom and the king of Salem. The king of Sodom was involved in the fighting, and lost.
•       The text tells us two things. Melchizedek was a priest, and he brought Abram a peace offering. We will look at both.
•       There is some contention over the name Melchizedek uses to bless Abram. 
•       Scripture says he was a priest of “God Most High”, or in Hebrew “El Elyon”. This name was used to designate Yahweh, but is also used to refer to the Canaanite god. 
•       There is a bit of ambiguity here; it is hard to say for sure either way, but there isn’t definitive evidence in Genesis 14 that Melchizedek served Yahweh, the one true God
•       Whether he did or didn’t, we are about to see a sharp contrast between these two kings.

19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 
•       As Abram the victor returns with his trained men and allies, Melchizedek and the king of Sodom both come to Abram. They each have business with him.
•       The first thing we read is that Melchizedek comes to Abram with a peace offering of bread and wine, and the next thing he does is bless Abram. 
•       Whatever the reason, Melchizedek blesses Abram and acknowledges that it was by the hand of God that he was victorious.
•       Abram’s response is to give a portion of the spoils to Melchizedek. He recognizes the truth in the blessing, that his victory was from the LORD, his God, and that his God is the possessor of heaven and earth. The things said about “God Most High” are true of Yahweh.
•       Abram’s gift to him was a recognition of that. His gift affirms the truth of the blessing.
•       This is freewheeling generosity; Abram was under no command to give. This is not attached to the Mosaic law. 
•       He trusts God to make his name great, not others and gives God the glory for his victory.

21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ 24 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”
•       We see a spectacular contrast from Melchizedek. The chapter concludes with the King of Sodom making a request of Abram. 
•       He wants his people back but tells Abram to keep the spoils. 
•       Abram tells us of a vow he made to God that he would not keep any of the treasure won in combat. Abram keeps his promise and refuses to take any of it.
•       It’s an interesting and diabolical request. “Give me the people, you can have the stuff.” This sure sounds like the enemy. Remember Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness. He had a similar request of Jesus. Here is the world, say the word and it’s yours. But the people in it? Leave them to me.
•       Put yourself in Abram’s shoes for a moment. You’ve been promised to be a great nation, and that your children will inhabit all of the land you can see in every direction. 
•        You would be forgiven for thinking that this is how God is going to give it to you. The conquering starts now!
•       But that’s not how Abram saw it. He did not see the spoils of war to be his. He gave a tenth to Melchizedek, and now refuses to be indebted to an earthly king. He renounces his claim on the possessions.
•       Abram trusts in the Lord, he trusts that through HIM, and no one else, will he fulfil his promises. Abram will be made great and when he is, it will be to the glory of God.

This is the common theme of each segment of our text this morning. Every one of them is how Abram can bring God glory. 

the Westminster Catechism starts: 

“What is the chief end of man?
Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.”

It is to bring glory to God! That was true of Abram’s life, that was the point of his life. It is the point of our lives; we are to bring glory and honor to God! 

Key teaching:
Sin doesn’t stop with the first compromise.
•       Lot moves toward Sodom, then in Sodom. We’ll see in a few weeks just how deep and bad it gets.
•       Sin has a tendency to creep. Cut it out. Don’t give it an inch. 
•       Don’t trick yourself by thinking, “a little bit isn’t gonna hurt me”. Our sinful hearts don’t stop where we think they will, so cut it out. 
•       We are called to flee temptation, not tip toe the lie. We overestimate our self-control.

There are no shortcuts.
•       Abram had a few opportunities in our text today to take things in to his own hands.
•       God wants us to lean on Him, trust His timing and live a life submitted to Him. Believe me, there are plenty of things in my life that I try to take control of.
•       In writing this, I asked “what is God doing here, at this church?” God has a plan for Midtown church. And it’s easy for me to want to speed things up, hit the fast forward button and get to whatever cool stuff God is gonna do.
•       Not how it works. God is going to be glorified in his timing, how he does it.
•       This won’t be Abram’s only opportunity to screw it up. He’ll take the reins again. Don’t be disheartened when you and I screw it up too.

Our lives are for one purpose: to glorify God. 
•       1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
•       what are you doing to live that way, to give God glory? 
•       What can we change about our lives to give God more glory? 
•       How can my relationships, the way we gather as believers and all that we do with our lives be better oriented to give God glory?

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Continual Transformation

Genesis 13 (ESV)
8/3/25

1 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb.
– An important lesson is that partial obedience is disobedience. Abram will learn this and Lot will learn this.

2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord.
– He “calls upon the name of the LORD”. This is the same phrased used in Chapter 12 when Abram first built the altar. Abram is getting back on track, going to God instead of his own ideas.

5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6 so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, 7 and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.
– God has promised Abram’s family the land, and to cohabitate is causing problems. We see the consequences of sin and disobedience. Freedom to choose; not of consequence.

8 Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.”
– Abram gives Lot the choice of which direction he’ll go
– we are looking at an example of a man who just tried to do it on his own, and it didn’t go well for him down in Egypt. He’s trusting God
– Abram rights some wrongs. He doesn’t shrug it off and let it slide. He fixes his mistake.

10 And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.
– So far in Genesis, every movement away from God has been described as moving east.
– We don’t have any other details on why Lot choses, except it was well-watered and the men who lived there were wicked.
– So Lot makes a decision based on worldly values. He is not one of God’s people and he goes on his way. He’ll come back up in our narrative

14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. 17 Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” 18 So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.
– Promises of God may seem laughable. What God says might fly in the face of our predictions, logic and feelings
– God has a plan, for you and me, for our children, for our city like he did for Abram.
– Galatians 3:14 “in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.”
– God has given his walking a direction; Abram is on a mission to see the spoils of his future offspring.
– When God did things in his life, Abram’s response was to worship God

God is not content with our mistakes, and we shouldn’t be either. We see that He is not content with disobedience or even partial obedience. Making a mistake in the past does not give permission to keep living in that mistake.

Asking God once isn’t enough. God wants a relationship, not a one-time check in. You and I have got to keep waiting on the Lord, going to the Lord. God’s call is not one and done.

A life of repentance is marked by worship. Abram lives in fear in Egypt but then repents and calls on the name of the LORD.

The world will never understand our decisions as we place our trust in God. Look no further than Lot’s decision making. Take God out of the equation and you make the same decisions. Abram had confidence in God’s promises.
– When our minds are set above, we act differently.

God shows us the model of continued transformation. He works in Abram’s life for decades, shaping him more and more like himself.

Communion
1 John 4:10
“10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Exodus 12:13
“And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.”
Deuteronomy 8:3
“that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
John 7:37
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
John 6:53
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.”

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Abram’s Struggle For Faith

Genesis 12:6-20 (ESV)

Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb. Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land.

Key Takeaways

– This is a familiar place for all of us. We know it well.

– It takes as much grace to stay in the Promised Land as it took to get there.

– When the thrill of adventure wanes, that’s when faith gets most difficult.

– Don’t undercut God by being impulsive or deceptive.

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Abram’s Walk of Faith

Genesis 11:31 – 12:5 (ESV)

Hebrews 11:8-10: By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.  For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

Genesis 11:31-32: Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.

Genesis 12:1-3: Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 12:4-5: So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan.

Key Takeaways:

– We are called to be a blessing. What hinders you?

– What do you value? This world or the world to come?

– Are you concerned about your name and reputation? Leave it to the Lord to do what He wills.

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1 John Pt. 12: So, What Do You Know?

1 John 5:13-21 (ESV)
7/13/2025

He uses the phrase “we know” several times. He is describing things we Christians know. John summarizes things he’s told us already, things that we as Christians should know. The knowledge that binds us together. And now that we’re all on the same page, there are certain things we can move on to. We’ve got the foundation, now John begins to move to some nuanced theology.

John’s writing style is cyclical and meant to build on itself. But he’s been spiraling toward something, toward some themes he wants to leave us with and we’ll read that today.

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
•       Our text last week told us the letter is written to “those who believe”, and here we see the reason this whole thing is written is “so you may know that you have eternal life”.
•       God gives us this letter for the assurance of our salvation, so we can know for certain of our salvation.
•       That knowledge by itself is yet another gift from God. It’s one thing to have it, it’s another for God to mercifully put us at ease, for us to know that we are saved from our old selves and our sin nature.

14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
•       John continues on his theme of confidence; we have confidence in our prayers.
•       John tells us about the power and purpose of prayer. This is a theme we haven’t seen much of. Ch 3:22 we get a small reference to it “whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him”
•       A non-believer would be inclined to think this feels awful cheap. Cool so if I ask God for what He wants, I’ll get it? Sure… sounds pretty rigged to me.
•       It’s only cheap if you’ve been told prayer is like a genie in a bottle. If that’s your expectation you’ll be disappointed. God is not merely a wish granter.
•       Prayer is an alignment, not a wish list. Look at the Lord’s prayer as the model. Give me the food I need. Forgive me my sins, and give me the capacity to forgive others. Help keep me away from sin, and help me lean on you for everything I need.
•       Sometime we get what we ask for, but the greater gift is to have your mind transformed to be more Christlike. To think more like God, what better gift is there??
•       How much better are our lives when we are made more in to the image of God, compared to just getting what we think we want and need.

16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
•       This is a little complicated and nuanced, we’ll take it slow. My biggest takeaway from this section of text is that we have a responsibility to our brothers.
•       Next, this passage brings up a new idea: not all sin is the same.
•       All sin has a common thread: it separates us from God, it is a crime against his law. All sin makes us imperfect but it is not all equal. Some sin is sticky, habit forming.
•       But the biggest distinction I think John is making is some sin is repented of, some is not.
•       I think that’s what he means by sin that leads to death.
•       Death is separation from God, so this must mean unrepentant, habitual sin.
•       1 John 3:10 “whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God”.

18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
•       We’ve arrived at the conclusion, the reason for my message title and what I hope we can all take away from our teaching of 1 John. Let’s examine some things we know…
•       The very end, “keep yourself from idols”, can feel out of left field, abrupt and disjointed from the sum of it all, but I don’t think so. I don’t think John is accidental with any of his words. It’s the last thing he says, gotta be important. Don’t settle for the cheap stuff.
•       We are left with a warning that to live with anything else as lord over our lives is to reject the understanding Jesus gives us. To idolize anything else is to deny God his rightful throne in our hearts, and turn away from understanding. Don’t give an inch.
summary

some reminders of themes throughout the letter:
•       Ch 3:28 commands us to believe in Jesus and love our brothers and sisters
•       Ch 5:3 tells us His commands are easy
•       And our key verse from today, 5:13, the purpose of this letter is to assure us of our faith

Application:

We are assured of our salvation
–       What does the life of a believer who is certain of their faith look like?
–       Are they afraid of what their coworkers think of them? Their parents?
Prayer posture is important
–       Do I have the right view of prayer? Do my prayers reflect what God wants or what I want
We petition for our brothers and sisters
–       Do I love my brothers and sisters so much that I spend my coveted time with God interceding on their behalf?
We are not under the control of the enemy
–       When we know that, how can I still make excuses for my sin? When we know the enemy has been defeated, you and I boldly reject the chains of sin that have been broken by the blood of Jesus!
Jesus came so that we might know him
–       We can know all these things by knowing Him. Are we making it a priority?
–       There are a lot of “we know” statements. There are too many to put on the screen. But I want to draw your attention to them. If you’ve got the notebook, go through and circle all of them. It is a great thing to use as a prayer and meditation guide.

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1 John Pt. 11

1 John 5:1-12 (ESV)

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

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1 John Pt. 10: A Great Revelation & A Great Confession

1 John 4:7-21

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Takeaways

– A Great Revelation: God is love!

– A Great Confession: Jesus is the Son of God!

– A Great Demonstration: John insists that we prove our faith!

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1 John Pt. 9: We Are Not Alone

1 John 4:1-6 (ESV)

4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.
•       How do we tell the truth from the lie? John keeps it simple. He gives us the test of the Spirits. Those that confess Jesus as Lord, the savior and Christ, speaks with a godly spirit.

3b This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

•       The truth has overcome the lie. Even though we are not alone in the world, we share it with an enemy who hates us and wants to see the kingdom of God defeated. The good news is that God has overcome the enemy. WE have overcome the enemy. Jesus is greater than he who is in the world.
•       The word of God is has overcome the enemy; look how strong it is:
o       12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
•       The truth cuts through the lies. The truth does not have to keep its story straight. The world does not stand a chance against the truth. God is that truth. 
•       John 8:32 “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
•       When we abide in God’s word, when we sit under his teaching, when we soak in the word of God and let it permeate our lives, our actions, our thoughts, that is when we know the truth. This is our strength, confidence and our foundation

5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

•       We, as those who follow God, will never belong. We are not of the world and the world knows it. It can sniff us out a mile away. John has described at great length in this letter all the ways that Christians are to be recognized.
•       Do you remember what they are? What does it mean to be from God?
•       We practice righteousness. We love one another, we abide in his word. We walk in the light. We confess our sins. We share the good news with others. We do not love the things of this world.
•       Here John adds those who know God listen to us. Listen to his teaching.
•       There will be people who do not understand what you say. Who will twist your words and distort your views and convictions. They are of the world and they do not understand the way of God.


Summary

Victory in Jesus
–       God is greater than he who is in the world. What an incredible fact!
–       Are you living like a winner? Are you celebrating? Are you thankful? The victory in Jesus should inspire confidence and action.

Do not be ignorant of opposition
–       You and I have an enemy that is looking for ways to weaken us spiritually, are you aware of that, and what are you doing to protect yourself against it?

Do not neglect the support we have
–       What does your spiritual support system look like? Christian community. Are you spending time with other believers on a regular basis, or is it really just here on Sunday?
–       Who are you calling when you are struggling with sin? Who is keeping you accountable?
–       With the spirit living in us, are you attuned to it? Are you listening to the movement of the spirit in you?

Isaiah 61:1
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;”

The spirit of truth sets us free. We have a spirit of victory living in us. That is what we celebrate at the table each week.

Acts 1:8
“you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

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1 John Pt. 8: We Know!

I John 3:11-24 (ESV)

11For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

So what do “we know”?

– We have passed from death to life

– Love, because He laid down His life for us

– We are of the truth and He knows everything

– He abides in us

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1 John Pt. 7: A Procession of Righteousness

1 John 3:4-10 (ESV)

4 Themes:

1. Our allegiance is evident by what we practice

2. God is without sin and is our righteousness

3. Jesus manifested to defeat sin

4. Our life in Him is not characterized by sin

a. When we abide in God we do not live in sin

b. When we are born of God we cannot keep sinning

4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 

• John’s first point is that “sin is lawlessness”. It is to disobey God and his laws. It is rebellion, obstruction and disobedience. Sin is the ugly, smug dismissal of God’s desire for how we are to live and to act as if we know better.

•Romans 3:10 is quoting the Psalms when it says that “none is righteous, no, not one”. 

•To see Jesus is supposed to change our life. If we keep on sinning, if we continue to cling to our old lives of rebellion and lawlessness, John says we certainly haven’t seen or experienced the real Jesus. The Jesus who has no sin who came to the world to take away our sins wants you to know him. Jesus wants us to abide in Him, he wants to be our shepherd and comfort. 

7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 

• The Greek word teknon or teknion is a good literal translation, but some versions that are more “idea for idea” might say “dear children”

• Imagine the affection he has for all these believers as he looks around as an old man in the faith and sees the great work God is doing in the world.

• We can practice righteousness. We ourselves are not good, but we are seen as righteous because of the spirit that lives in us. His advocate that lives in us IS righteous. 

• John gives us another variation, v8 combines themes 1 and 2. Where previously sin is called lawlessness, here it is called the work of the devil.

• Being a Christian involves rebirth, dying to our old self and being raised to life with Jesus.

10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

• With all that in mind, everything he’s told us twice in the last 6 verses, he gets to his conclusion. We are to be known as Children of the perfect God by the outpouring of righteousness in our own lives.

• John writes that the same is true for us; we can recognize the children of God by the way they live, how they practice righteousness.

• We are identified by our actions. If we are full of righteousness, it is because we have been given the righteousness of Jesus. If we are still making a practice of sin, we have not been born of Him.

• Regardless of what people tell you, they reveal their beliefs by how they act. If they do not love their brother, how on earth could they be of God? If God is love, and love is not found in that person, then certainly God’s seed does not abide and is not growing in Him.

Application:

What is my practice?

24 Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.   Amos 5:24 (NLT)

– Am I practicing evil or practicing righteousness? 

What makes you right before God?

– Are you holding on to something that you do that makes you better than the rest of us sinners? 

What sin has Jesus defeated in my life?

– What victories are you celebrating right now? How can we celebrate with you? How can you encourage those around you of the victory you’ve seen in their life?

2 Corinthians 5:21

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

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