Certain Eternity Part 15 – Jesus Our Savior and King
1 John 2:3-6 December 22, 2024
Introduction
It’s the last weekend before Christmas. Has everyone finished their shopping? As
kids get older, harder to buy gifts for…usually get clothing. Saw someone
wearing “Fear of God” sweatshirt on the street and thought that would be perfect
for Connor – he lives in sweatshirts and we’re praying for him (and all our kids) to
grow in the fear of God.
So my wife went on the website – found out that the branded hoodies cost
between $600-1500 – led to looking at poshmark & ebay for deals – no luck it’s
one of the hottest consignment brands right now, plus it was difficult to tell if we
were going to get the genuine thing or just a knock off that some kid made in a
sweatshop.
o “U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Homeland Security
Investigations (HIS) seized 20,812 shipments containing goods that
violated intellectual property rights in fiscal year 2022, which equates to
nearly 25 million counterfeit items. The total estimated manufacturer’s
suggested retail price of the seized goods, had they been genuine, was
over $2.98 billion.” HSI Laredo, CBP officials tell Christmas shoppers to
avoid counterfeit goods posing consumer safety, US economic security
risks | ICE
o “Based on data for 2019, [the study] estimates that the volume of
international trade in counterfeit and pirated products amounted to as much
as USD 464 billion in that year, or 2.5% of world trade.” Global Trade in
Fakes | OECD
Counterfeit goods cause all kinds of problems in the world economy…but they’ll
never stop being sold because it is difficult to tell the difference – and people
make a lot of money off of them.
Spiritually, counterfeit faith also causes all kinds of problems, from self-deception
to cheapening or watering down the gospel, to causing followers of Jesus to live
fear-filled lives because they’re afraid they might lose their salvation or believing
they aren’t worthy of forgiveness – and the enemy will never stop spinning these
lies because so many folks are susceptible to them; so many folks want the
watered down or fake gospel, make up their own “truth”, want to feel good about
themselves and not deal with conviction, or believe the lie that they are beyond
saving. The enemy has a ready audience for his counterfeits.
We’re not going to get rid of all of the spiritual counterfeits out there, but we can
learn to spot them.
o John’s readers have been dealing with counterfeits coming from early
gnostic teachers. John is writing to help us understand how to know when
faith is genuine by knowing good theology and knowing our God’s
expectations for His children.
1 John 2:1-6 “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may
not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but
also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to
know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does
not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever
keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know
that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same
way in which he walked.”
The parts: Confidence, Counterfeit, Completion.
Confidence (v3, 5-6)
Note progression of passage:
o liars out there who don’t acknowledge sin, don’t walk in light, are deceived
(chp 1)
o we’re not supposed to sin, but if we do sin, Jesus is our advocate and the
atoning satisfaction for our sin because He is righteous. (chp 2:1-2)
o how do we know that Jesus is our advocate and propitiation? (continues to
give various proofs throughout letter…but 2:3-6 is next proof)
1 John 2:3, 5-6 “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we
keep his commandments….5 By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever
says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”
“we know” (Gk. ginōskō) means to acquire information through experiential
knowledge, not merely the accumulation of known facts.
o Not just an intellectual assent, but a lived out knowing of something
o This could also be rendered “By this we come to experientially know that
we have experientially known him.” The focus is on actual, experiential
knowledge of God, the opposite of the theoretical knowledge espoused by
various Gnostics.
o There’s a massive difference between knowing about someone and
actually knowing someone.
o C H Spurgeon, “ Do distinguish, however, between knowing about Christ
and knowing Christ. We may know very much about many of our great
men, though we do not know them. Now, it will never save a soul to know
about Christ. The only saving knowledge is to know him, his very self, and
to trust him, the living Savior, who is now at the right hand of God.”
to “know” God/Jesus is to believe or put one’s faith in Him, to submit to Him, to
trust in Him, and to live out that submission every day of your life by the power of
Holy Spirit
o John 17:1-3 “When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to
heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son
may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give
eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that
they know [Gk. ginōskō] you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
you have sent.”
o John 6:28-29 “28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing
the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that
you believe in him whom he has sent.””
o John 14:1 ““Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in
me.”
“believe” (Gk. pisteuō) verb form of faith (Gk. pistis)….place faith
within…submit to, live out what you say you know/assent to
3 lines of thought to knowing God:
o In classical Greek, sixth/fifth centuries BC, could arrive at god through
process of intellectual speculation/questioning, rational reasoning, and
acquisition of knowledge – often through rigorous discipline and study – call
back to ascetic, flesh fasting of gnostics
Socrates, Plato and the like were all about intellectual pursuit (though
not ascetics themselves)
o Greco-Roman culture, 1st century AD, sought to find god in emotional
experience…many mystery religions cropped up which were precursors to
what came to be known as Gnosticism. They wanted to be united in the
divine and wanted to experience godhood within the divine. Could emerge
out of either asceticism or indulgence (flesh feasting) to work oneself into a
heightened emotional state so as to be ready to receive the knowledge and
experience of the divine. Religious services often included beautiful
lighting, emotional music, incense and fragrance, intricate liturgical rituals,
and sometimes drug use so that the individual could feel god’s presence
and become one with him – to be “in him”.
o Jews/Christians recognized that knowledge of God comes through God
revealing Himself to us. God reveals Himself primarily through His word
(Scripture), His Son, who is the Word, and His Spirit, who testifies to the
Son. God reveals Himself to be holy and if one wants to have fellowship
with God he too must be holy, first in position (through Jesus) and second
in obedient, practice (proving the position).
William Barclay, “Here was John’s problem. In the Greek world he was faced
with people who saw God as an intellectual exercise and who could say, “I know
God” without being conscious of any ethical obligation whatever. In the Greek
world he was faced with people who had had an emotional experience and who
could say, “I am in God and God is in me,” and who yet did not see God in terms
of commandments at all. John is determined to lay it down quite unmistakably
and without compromise that the only way in which we can show that we know
God is by obedience to him, and the only way we can show that we have union
with Christ is by imitation of him. Christianity is the religion which offers the
greatest privilege and brings with it the greatest obligation. Intellectual effort and
emotional experience are not neglected–far from it but they must combine to
issue in moral action.”
So how do we “know” we “know”: we obey (keep his commandments) and imitate
Jesus (walk as he walked).
o Note that “keep his commandments”, “keeps his word” in present
continuous tense – ongoing obedience
“Keep” (gk. tēreō) (from root word teros, meaning guard or warden) – means to
keep an eye on or keep firmly in view so that you can obey, watch closely so as
not to lose sight of something that is precious to you so that you may properly act
upon it
o Steven Cole, “The word keep was used of a sentry walking his post. It
implies that the enemy is attempting to invade and dominate your life with
temptations that will destroy you. To resist him, you must be vigilant so as
to obey the commandments that Jesus has given. A faithful sentry is not
laid back. He is alert and diligent.”
Important to note that John is not speaking of legalistic perfectionism and
flawlessly keeping the law – Jesus was our perfect propitiation – John already
recognized we will fail (“but if anyone does sin”). Our spirit enabled desire should
be to serve and honor our God out of commitment and devotion to Him –
because of our love of Him.
Warren Wiersbe “Obedience to God’s Word is proof of our love for Him. There
are three motives for obedience. We can obey because we have to, because we
need to, or because we want to. A slave obeys because he has to. If he doesn’t
obey he will be punished. An employee obeys because he needs to. He may not
enjoy his work, but he does enjoy getting his paycheck! He needs to obey
because he has a family to feed and clothe. But a Christian is to obey his
Heavenly Father because he wants to—for the relationship between him and
God is one of love. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).”
The problem is that we can fool ourselves or be fooled into thinking that we
“know” God/Jesus and yet live however we want in our selfishness and prideful
choices that give evidence that we have not submitted to Jesus as King.
Counterfeit (v4)
1 John 2:4 “Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is
a liar, and the truth is not in him”
Our western culture constantly entices us to be our own master. To prioritize
independent, self-governance, self-indulgence, self-expression, self-esteem –
pretty much making the world revolve around me – through empty promises of
satisfaction in the things of this world (the same temptations he placed before
Christ in the wilderness see. Matthew 4).
o In fact, Satan loves to allow people to intellectually assent to Jesus or to
constantly seek a new emotional experience where they feel close to god –
without the cost of actual submission to His rule and reign in your life.
This is why obedience to God is the evidence of truly knowing, believing, trusting,
and submitting to Him. It doesn’t so much matter what you know or how you
feel…though those things are meaningful. What truly matters is who you serve as
evidenced by how you live your life. Many New Testament writers express this
same message. This is not something unique to John.
Ephesians 2:8-10 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this
is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not 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, that we should walk in them.”
James 2:18, 26 “18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.”
Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my
works…. 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from
works is dead.”
1 Peter 1:14-15, 2:16 “14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the
passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also
be holy in all your conduct…2:16 Live as people who are free, not using your
freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”
Luke 11:28 “But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God
and keep it!””
Matthew 7:21-23 “21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your
name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your
name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me,
you workers of lawlessness.’” See also Matthew 25:31-46
Jesus does not want us to have a counterfeit faith…and the test that we are
given is whether our lives reflect obedience to Jesus as king or whether we
remain king of our lives.
o Critical note: obedience is Holy Spirit empowered
John 14:15-17 “15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to
be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world
cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know
him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
See also, Romans 8:26, John 14:26, Gal. 5:22-23, Ezekiel
36:26-27, Zechariah 4:6
Ligon Duncan, “My friends, one of the great struggles we wrestle with in this
congregation and community is a desire to follow Christ while at the same time
following this world. And it’s a strange encouragement to me that John’s having
to deal with the same problem right here in 1 John 2, 2,000 years ago, with a
congregation that lived less than 50 years after Christ walked this earth. You see,
they want to abide in Christ; they want to love Christ; they want to be Christians;
and yet, they’re struggling to be faithful to living in accordance with God’s will.
And what does John do? Well, John, like his Master, says to them, “You cannot
serve two masters. You must either serve God, or you must serve this world. If
you serve God,” he says, “this is how you know that you’re serving God: you
know that you’re serving God because you want to do what He says in His word.
And in some measure, by His grace, you do just that.”
Completion (v5)
Bottom line question: Who do we love the most? Ourselves or God?
o John is going to talk a lot about this throughout the rest of this letter, so not
going to dive in today.
1 John 2:5 “but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is
perfected”
“love of God” = love for God, or, our love of God – my devotion and commitment
to God
“perfected” (Gk. teleioō) – reached maturity, completion, fullness
o Barker explains love of God is perfected this way – “The true knowledge of
God does not end with speculative ideas, as for the Gnostics, but with
obedience to the moral law and with the presence of God’s love in the
believer. The term “made complete” (teleioō) carries with it the idea of
continuous growth and development. It describes both state and process.
As obedience is practiced, so also God’s love matures in us.”
o Interestingly the Gnostics used this word group (teleios) of one fully
initiated into their mysteries.
For the Christian, secret knowledge is not the end – love of God (and
love of others) is the end, which comes through knowing God. Our
faith is brought to maturity the more we know our God, know His
truth, know His expectations, know His love for us, and return that
love to Him as evidenced by our faithful, humble, obedience.
Conclusion
Needless to say Connor will not be getting Fear of God clothing, he didn’t want it
anyway – but we are praying that he does want to continue to grow in the fear of
the Lord which is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7)
We all need true knowledge of God which is revealed by God Himself as we
seek, submit, and obey Him
o The real deal, “knowing” God, not just knowing about him, is costly – it will
demand a lifestyle of continual sentry-like obedience, empowered by the
Holy Spirit as we abide in Christ and the Spirit works in us and through us
to bring us to maturity in Christ (Philippians 1:6), loving God and others, to
the glory of His name.
Amen. Amen.