Christ Was Born in the Flesh, the Son of God

It's so good to be with you again.

Um, just a little opening comments. This is the sermon message I've spent the most time preparing in all of my time of giving sermons. I started the preparation for this before Passover uh this spring. began an in-depth study uh comparing the account of the Passover and the subsequent events in the Gospel of John. And that would be in chapters 13- 21.

I'm comparing those with the things that were inspired in the first epistle of John uh in later in the the scriptural writings. But I never in all my years studied it from this point of view. What did John say and write in the Gospel of John and how did it compare with his understanding of those things related to Passover in later when he wrote the first epistle? In my mind, and I think from some I've talked with, it might have been this way for you too.

In my mind, I thought that the Gospel of John was written some years before the first epistle of John and that in fact decades may have passed before the writing of First John. I I just assume that because in the writing of the book of John, it was almost the first person right here, right now reporting of what happened in a a very timely manner. And then later it was presented differently.

And so I just focused on the timing as I begin this study, the timing of when these books in the Bible were written. And I have a handout that will help focus our attention and it'll save me and you a little bit of time today, maybe a few hours uh because I've spent a lot of time with this and I prepared a handout. And for those of you who are online, welcome by the way.

Those of you online, I've asked our team to put this up so that maybe it can be full screen. Not right now, but in a little bit when I get to this point, I'll ask to be full screen so you at home could read it because I know that the print is uh too small to be easily read here on the screen, but everyone in the audience should have a handout.

There are plenty for everybody. And so this handout focuses on the timing of when God inspired the writing of the New Testament books of the Bible, not just the books of John, but all of them. And also the timing of other events that are recorded in the scriptures. And the focus here being on those things that give witness that Jesus is the son of God. It's just a visual aid.

The handout is just a visual aid to help us understand not only the timing but some of the important things that God inspired John to write. Truth that leads to eternal life. I want you to notice on the handout first the witness of the angels. Uh these things I'm not going to turn to today but in your study of this if you're interested you could look these things yourself.

the study of the witness of the angels uh to Mary to Joseph and to the shepherds that it was in fact the son of God who was to be born and then was born and then at age 12 Jesus acknowledged this himself saying I must be about my father's business and so all of these things today that I'm focusing on are leading to this Jesus is the son of God. Years later, this testimony would be recorded in the four gospels.

And you can see on the chart that the writers of the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, uh wrote between the years of 50 and 70 AD. It was quite uh a long time really after the time that was there. Um you're pointing at something, Nance. Nancy's reminding me that we need the the screen up for those at home. Uh if you would please so that you can so they can see this as well.

And it won't take long and then we'll take the screen down so you could uh watch my face instead. So So we see on the chart here this this uh this this passage of time. We h we have the ministry of Christ in those years when he was here on earth. That ministry was experienced, witnessed, heard, seen, but not yet written. There were many such witnesses of his ministry.

And years later, this testimony was to be recorded. And the early years of the church of God had already gone by before the book of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, book of Acts was written. And then years later, God inspired the testimony, the witness to be written from those who were the the apostles and the disciples of Jesus Christ at the time.

But I want you to notice and the focus then turns to this. When I've been mentoring speakers in the past, I would always say, "Let's focus." And so I want to focus now on that gap that's in that chart. The gap between 70 AD and 80 AD. From that point forward is where we'll be speaking today.

This is something that uh as I was studying this, I began to understand more deeply the things that were written about Jesus Christ even in the gospel accounts. See, especially in the Gospel of John. Once I had a better understanding of his timing, I began to look more deeply at what was inspired and what was happening when John was inspired to write these books.

I began by looking first at the Gospel of John. And near the end of that book of the scriptures, we read this in John chap 20 verse 30 and 31. And this gives us the focus and the title for the message today. And it's something that I hope is very encouraging to you. I found this study and it's been uh very intensive study for me for a few weeks and months now. I found it to be very encouraging and I've learned a lot. I want to share a little bit of that with you today.

But in John 20 verse 30 and 31 it says this and you can take down the the chart from the screen for those online. Now John 20:30 says and truly Jesus did many other signs of the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book. He says this, and this is like a key verse for the whole sermon.

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. What a very positive thing. And and John in his book toward the end of that gospel, he writes this. The whole purpose for what he's written is that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. You see how very encouraging, how positive that is.

And it sets this book apart from the other gospels in this way, in a very special way. And so this gave me the focus that I needed for the study and for this sermon message. And so the title then is taken from that verse. Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. One of the most important truths in all the Bible for us to believe. And I know that you believe this.

I have no doubt of that because scripture tells us that those who believe are those who have the spirit of God and understand these things. I know you believe this and this has always been an essential and foundational fundamental doctrine of the church of God through all the centuries from the time of Christ to the apostles to us today.

And what a blessing it is brethren to be able to believe this truth. In 1 John chapter 5 and verse one we read this and it's about the blessing that we have for understanding this for believing it. 1 John 5:1 says whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. What a wonderful thing. This whole book of first John is also meant to be an encouragement to the believers in Jesus Christ and in God our father.

It's one of the most important spiritual truths in the Bible. Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. I was studying and I I I looked up every verse I I could found the the the reference to this truth in the New Testament scriptures. And there are 19 of the 27 books of the New Testament that include very clear statements affirming that Jesus Christ is the son of God. 19 of the books of the New Testament.

Now, the others allude to it or uh uh express concepts that are related to that fact. But it's one of the most often repeated truths in the New Testament. And these are cited in scripture as being I'm quoting now is it says this in 1 John 5 verse 10 and 11. And I'm going to open my Bible. I'm saving time because I printed these words in my notes, but there are some that I really want to turn to and encourage you as well.

In 1 John 5 and verse 10 and 11, it says, "He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself. He who does not believe God has made him a liar." Now, we're beginning to see a contrast. We're seeing something that is different on the outside of the church than it is on the inside of the church among God's people because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of his son.

And verse 11 says, "And this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life and this life is in his son." Again, the encouragement there, the blessing, the result of believing this is that God gives to us eternal life and this life is in his son. It's one of the most important spiritual truths in the Bible.

Here are some statements from the fundamental beliefs of the United Church of God. We we look at the scriptures and say, "How does our belief match up with the scriptures?" I just want to read to you some of the phrases that we have in our fundamental beliefs because these will help us to focus on the message in the book of John and First John and what is being taught to us.

We believe, it says in our fundamental beliefs, in one Lord, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who is the word and has eternally existed. We believe that he is the Messiah, the Christ. We've read this in the scripture already. We need to believe that the divine son of the living God conceived of the Holy Spirit born in the human flesh of the Virgin Mary.

And it goes on in our fundamental beliefs, we believe that it is by him that God created all things and that without him was not anything made that was made. He is the creator of everything. And we believe that God so loved the world. Now I'm paraphrasing from other scriptures that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son and we believe that in him we shall have eternal life to our ears to you to me to our hearts and minds all of this is something that we believe and we are sure is true and so what I'm speaking today is not to be taken in a in a corrective way at all. It's only in

a way to inspire and encourage because that is the way it's presented in the scripture. We see this as we read. But I want to say this, we've already seen a hint of it there in 1 John 5. Not everyone believes this or believes a distorted version of who Christ is or what he has done and what he will do.

And in the latter part of the first century, not everyone believed this either. And so we have the books that Jesus Christ uh that God the Father inspired and that the words of Christ himself in in those books. So for the rest of this message, we'll focus on these three main points.

And if you see the chart and maybe for those at home, put it up one more time briefly. I want to look at that that part of the chart that shows from 70 AD to the end of the chart on the right. There's a gap from 70 to 80 AD. None of the books of the Bible were written during those 10 years. And then we have the writings of John and beginning about 80 AD 80 to 85.

We want to look at what he wrote in the Gospel of John relating to this concept, this truth that Jesus Christ is the son of God. And then we'll see some in first John as well because there were things happening that were very very important that affected the church. The things that God inspired John to write in the Gospel of John proclaim this truth that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. We're going to look at that in some detail.

The Apostle John wrote more extensively about this truth than any of the other disciples or apostles or the writers of scripture. We'll be focusing on his testimony, the eyewitness account of the Apostle John and we'll look a little beyond that into what he was inspired to write in the first epistle that he wrote as well.

A brief history then you can take this down for take the chart down for those at home. The gap between 70 and 80 AD that is shown in that handout. I know we're talking about the Apostle John today, but we can pick up something important that Paul wrote about 55 AD. uh quite some time before John wrote he wrote this and it's in 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

1 Corinthians 15 and I think it's verse 26. No, it's verse 6. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 6. It says, "After this, he was seen by over 500 brethren at once." He's speaking of the time after the resurrection of Christ. He was seen. There was witness of him over 500 brethren at once. And he says, "Of whom the greater part remained to the present, but some have fallen asleep.

" And so those eyewitnesses by the time Paul wrote his epistles were already beginning to die off, if you will. there were fewer of them each year. And then John wrote his epis his his uh gospel and his epistle a generation after Paul wrote that. As time went on, there were fewer and fewer eyewitnesses of the ministry of Jesus Christ.

And there was a greater need than for the written word to be there. Sometime between 80 and 85 AD after Paul wrote what he did 25 to 30 years later many of the other disciples had died as well. In fact, many of the apostles had died. Some had been martyed. And by the end of the first century when John was writing his works, he may have been one of the very few eyewitnesses who were still there. In 70 AD, the temple was destroyed.

Jews and Christians were scattered and there was a lot of disruption in the religious societies of Judaism as well as the Christian church that had been growing in those early years and there was intense persecution among both sets of people of God. During this time in that gap that we see there was also something else happening and it started long before Actually it started centuries before with some of the philosophers but it was intensifying in this time period. In that gap between the time of the fall of the temple and

the writing of John there were many versions ofnosticism that were spreading through the regions and encroaching into the membership of the church. There were things coming toward God's people, not from within so much, but toward God's people of things that were different than what the witness of Jesus Christ had been.

Two of the most virulent branches ofnosticism. And there were there were at least 80 major versions ofnosticism that were rampant at that time. And two of the most virulent versions were really ramping up during that time period. One is called dosetism, dosetics, if you will, and that's a group of heresies that claims that Jesus Christ's body was an illusion.

I want I want to help us focus here because it'll see what God inspired John to write when he was countering these things. When John was writing to the believers, he's saying there's something else out there to be on guard about and he was telling them about it. This is what was ramping up.

One of those things was doetic thought that claims that Jesus Christ's body was an illusion, not a real human form. They claimed that he was just a hypostasis, if you will. And some of you might have memory of that word in our past that he didn't come in the flesh. This was a a very very sinister kind of heresy that was becoming more and more rampant and therefore his sufferings and death were not real.

See those who were bringing such ideas were gathering disciples after themselves, gathering people to come to be with them and their their little groups and big groups began to grow. This heresy called dosatism stresses the divinity of Christ but in a very odd way. It claims that nothing divine can enter into the physical realm of time and space.

And so the claim was he did not come in the flesh. It was just an illusion. That kind of heresy undermines the life and the ministry of Jesus Christ. It undermines his atoning sacrifice because there would have been no body that would be able to be sacrificed and his resurrection and the gospel of the kingdom.

There was another virulent form of heresy that was also rampant during those years before the writing of the book of John. It's a heresy called Corinthianism after a man named Serenthus who may have had some contact with the Apostle John. And there's some of the research I've been looking at that said maybe there was someone that uh connected with him or maybe with Paul. It's a heresy that is opposite almost of dosetism.

It denies the divinity of Jesus Christ. Denies his virgin birth. Serenthus taught that Jesus was a human man, the natural son of Joseph and Mary. and that the Christ, so you have Jesus and then you have the Christ, a different entity, that the Christ came upon him at his baptism and departed before his crucifixion.

It's a very tangled kind of understanding of Jesus Christ. It further claims that the universe, this is an important aspect of that. It further claims that the universe was created by a lesser God. And then there was the supreme God who was now interacting with mankind. And this is a lie that undermines the prophecies of the prophets. And it contradicts the entire testimony of who Jesus Christ is and who the father is.

And it does not allow for humans to be born into the God family. And those of you who know me understand something. I don't r I I rarely speak in this way. I rarely give light to the heresies. I like to simply preach the truth, what we believe, and let the other be left aside.

Today I wanted to bring this because we find it in the scripture and it helps us understand the truth even so much better that both of those kinds of heresies are mentioned in the writings of the apostle John and implied in the gospel of John and directly confronted in the epistles and so that Christians would be able to be on guard. He wants us to be aware so that we can be on guard against these kinds of things and not be deceived and continue to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God.

God knew the time had come to inspire John to write these words and place them in scripture. the epis the the the the gospel of John and then the epistles in the book of revelation. The witness would then be in written word of God for every generation to follow with the those who had seen seen and been the eyewitnesses dying off.

Now we would have the written word of God as the witness of these things. Scott Ashley wrote, and I was unaware of this until yesterday, and and I was looking up online and some of our United Church of God uh resources, and I found a whole it's a wonderful series by Scott Ashley. It's called Know Your Sword.

And this one is this is a segment called the Gospels. If you want to look it up, it's really interesting. on your handout. I put a link to that resource there so you could look it up. It's uh very good. It's meant for young adults to teach and mentor young adults about the truth of God and it's quite interesting and well written and and so I was reading from some of his writings just to give attribution there and Scott Ashley said this.

It appears that John wrote his gospel, his three letters, and the book of Revelation in the late 80s to mid 90s AD. And when I was doing my chart, I wanted then to make sure it was compatible uh with what we find in published United Church of God literature. I wanted to make sure that my research wasn't leading anyone astray.

And so I was really encouraged when I found this because it just matched it right up. And I just made one small adjustment uh to to what I had uh learned from other sources. Scott Ashley continues, "His gospel counters Gnostic beliefs that had gained a heavy foothold by that time.

" And then John's letters reflect a church that by then were increasingly affected by false teachers and heretical ideas. And so we see that these things that I'm speaking of were addressed in scripture by the Apostle John. And he continues, Scott Ashley continues, John's audience was likely a mix of Jewish and Gentile Christians, possibly living in Asia Minor, modernday Turkey.

They were likely facing questions about Jesus' identity, the nature of faith, and their place within the broader Jewish and Greco Roman world. The Gospels emphasis on belief, spiritual transformation, and eternal life reflects the needs of a church grappling with growing opposition on all sides from surrounding cultures.

See, these are kind of things that helped me to begin to say, what is there in these gospels? What have I been missing now for these many years of learning and growing? What am I able to learn and continue to learn here about God's revelation of his son? So, we see that history in that gap.

Let's move then to the next part on the chart, which is the writing of the gospel. and see the timing there on your handout. John was inspired to give the purpose for the writing of this book. And when we've read this already, I want to just read it again in John 20 verse 30 and 31. This is so important that I'm going to repeat it now and again later. And truly Jesus did many other things in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book.

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. Now, if you'll remember what I've said about the different beliefs that were encroaching upon the church, you'll begin to pick up some of this. John was directly addressing those heresies in his writing.

God inspired the writing of this gospel to give witness to this truth to counter the heresy. And in the book of John, he does it without even mentioning heresy. I when I began to see this, I I said that's kind of how I speak. You just speak the truth and let the the false things have their own space somewhere else. That's what John does in his book of first of of the gospel of John.

God inspired the writing of this book in John 1 and what verse one. Let's turn there and I'm just going to read what is called the prologue, the opening verses here of this book. It kind of sets the tone and I hope you find in it some really strong encouragement about what is God is teaching us and that we can believe these things no matter what the heresies are around in the world around what we who are called by God can believe. Look how it starts out.

In John 1 and verse one, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. He just lays it right out. That's the truth. In the beginning, the preexistence before any creation, in the beginning was the word. He existed. He didn't come into existence at a later time. He was in the beginning.

He was denotes absolute existence. He did not come into being. He wasn't a created being as we've heard recently. and sermon series that we're currently going through in the local area. And the beginning was the word he was a person. He was an entity.

He was not impersonal as used by many of the philosophers from which those gnostic beliefs began to develop. He was a person who was with God in living active relation with God and the word was God. John was not trying to show who God is but who the word is. His focus here is on the word Jesus Christ. Verse two shows there's a personal relationship in the be he was in the beginning with God.

They were together the word and God had active communion between themselves and this has always been in the beginning it was this way. In verse three, he is the creator of all things. It says all things were made through him. The heresy was that he did not create all things. That was an inferior God who came randomly through and created all this universe and then left and then the one that they say is God stepped in and there it goes.

No, John is saying this. All things were made through him and without him nothing was made that was made. This statement sets aside the heresy of eternal matter and inherent evil in matter. Those heresies said matter is evil and something divine can never enter into that. It was the word who created all things and not even one thing was created without him. And what he created was good.

He said so in the book of Genesis verse four. In him was life and the life was the light of men. He is the source of life, physical, moral and spiritual eternal life. And the life was the light of men. He begins to show there's a connection between the word and mankind.

And he begins to show this communion that could be and would be in him. He was the life was the light of men. He would show us the truth. He would lead us by his words and by the light that he is by inspiration. John shows the progression of thought from creation in general to now mankind and brings us into this picture for whom God and the word had a great purpose.

He is the light of men in all his works since the creation of the first man. We'll skip down to verse 9 through s 13 because here we see John alludes to something but doesn't directly define what it is. He says this in verse 9 that was the true light which gives light to every man who comes into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him.

He came to his own and his own did not receive him. So there were some who saw what he did. They saw him. They heard they they they may have seen the witness of the shepherds. They heard the witness in the temple from those who saw him when he was very young. all of these things during his entire ministry because remember John is writing this two generations later and he's re he's referring to these things now he was the witness of them but he's referring to them now two two generations later he came to his own and his own did not receive them the encouragement is this the next verse

but as many as received him to them he gave the right to become children of God, to be born into his family, even to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but of the will, nor of the will of man, but of God. There's a connection that brings us to the being born into God's own family.

He had always existed as the eternal word. In verse 14, we say, "And the word became flesh." We're talking about the one who was with God and was God. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. The heresy is that he did not come into the world, that he was not flesh, that he was just an illusion. But John is writing directly.

He became flesh. He did not cease to be the eternal word. He was the same being as always, but now in the mode of human flesh, was begotten of the father, born into the human family with a real body, with all the attributes that make us human. He was born to be human. He was John states this truth without alluding to the he the heresy he was confronting.

The heresy was that Jose that Jesus was the natural son of Joseph and Mary and that the Christ came upon him at baptism. It may seem strange to your ear to hear those things, but brethren, these things are still out there. These things are still there and affecting many people. Sometimes we hear of them ourselves.

In John 3:16, there's something so encouraging. You know these verses, but I want to show you the emphasis and show you what John was doing with the writing of this book. He's encouraging believers. He's telling us that God has a special purpose for every one of us. In John 3, I'm just going to read verse 16-19.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. How many times we see that reference, his son here in other places, his only begotten son. Jesus is the Christ. He is the son of God. And when we read it this way, we see this value of it and what it does for us and what it opens up for us as far as the promises of God.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He who believes in him is not condemned. You stop and say, "I am so grateful, Father, that I believe in your son Jesus Christ.

He who believes in him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already. There were those in the time of Christ's own ministry, and John is then writing of it all those years later, those who did not receive him. But we do and we do understand what he's saying. And so we read this again. Why did John write this book? Brethren, there are many more such beautiful and encouraging things and direct statements of Jesus Christ and of John the Baptist and of others that he is the son of God in this book of John.

And just one more time I want to read why did John write these words. He tells us he encourages this way again. John 20 and verse 31. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. He did come.

All these things that we read of him, the things we read in the other gospels too and the other books of the scriptures, old and new testament, they are true. Let's move to part three. advance a few years and now to the writing of the epistles of John. And we're going to just focus on some of the things that we find in the first epistle of John.

The handout begins to point these things out. And I really appreciate the the positive, the encouraging way John opens this letter to the church. Though in this writing he's so different in his approach than in the book of John. In the book of John here's the truth. We believe it. In first John he's contrasting the truth and the error and he describes some of it very graphically in po.

We're going to see a couple of those. But look how he opens this book and the encouragement he gives to us. says in verse one of John 1 John 1 verse one that which was from the beginning see again he's just point blank confronting that heresy that which was from the beginning which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes this is the eyewitness account of someone who was there with him which we have looked upon and our hands hands have handled concerning the word of life.

The life was manifested and we have seen and bear witness and declare to you that eternal life which was which with the father and was manifested to us. That's what this book is about Jesus Christ the son of God that we that which we have seen and heard we declare to you. This is why it can be believed.

Now, this 2,000 years almost afterwards, we can see and understand and believe the written word of God through these eyewitnesses that you also may have fellowship with us. And truly, our fellowship is with the Father and with his son Jesus Christ. And those things we write to you that your joy may be full. When I started this study, I was looking at Passover.

I was comparing the things of Passover in John 13 through1 17 with what I see in 1 John. And there we find in John 15 where it says these things Christ speaking on the night of Passover where he says these things I have spoken to you that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full. These are meant to be encouraging to us joyful words for us. And John opens his first epistle with this.

These things I write to you that your joy may be full. And so, brethren, I hope what you're hearing, though maybe a little heavier than sometimes when I speak, it's in the scripture and is there to bring encouragement and comfort and joy and understanding and knowledge of God and of his son.

There's an approach that John took and I'm taking it with you today. Look in John 1 John 2 and verse 21. In 1 John 2 and verse 21, I I want this to help stress the point that this encouragement that comes to all of us. John wrote, "I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

" You know these things. I know and believe as John knew and believe that those who were reading this, those to whom he wrote, believe these things. And he wanted them to be comforted, encouraged, and have that joy that comes from that. And he says that no lie is of the truth. And he begins then to come to that contrast and show and warn us and share with us the the things that we should be careful about.

John was writing to believers. He called them beloved. He confronted heresy head on. And it was the heresy from outside the church that he was warning them to avoid. I'm speaking to believers today to encourage us to continue believing. Then John steps and directly confronts some of the heretical influences that he was inspired to withstand. He gets point blank in that way too.

He was the apostle who Jesus loved. He was there. He described some of those connections. He described his closeness with Christ. He was also one of the th sons of thunder. And he could get really direct and he did because God inspired him to do that here in this book. Look in 1 John 2 now beginning in verse 22.

who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ. You see, he begins to focus then on those forces from outside that were trying to bring harm to God's people. They deny that Jesus is the Christ. Notice how he puts it. Jesus is the Christ. We speak of him as Jesus Christ, one being who is the son of God and the Messiah. It's all together.

It's not that the heresy was that that uh he was not the Christ. And again that that the point of view was that this man was born of Joseph and Mary and then the Christ came on him. That's Paul. John is just refuting that. He says those are liars who say that he is antichrist who denies the father and the son. Because in denying that you're denying the father as well.

Whoever denies the son does not have the father either. He acknowledges the son has the father also. So he encouraged the members uh to hold fast to the truth and to be aware that there were some of the things that were trying to deceive them. Look in verse 24. Therefore, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning.

The things that you have heard and learned through your time as uh coming to understand these truths and living this way and being called by God. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, which is the truth of God revealed to us in his word by his spirit, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he has promised us eternal life.

This is why it's so important to believe these things. These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. He's saying to the members, to the ones he loved, there are people around you, people out there who believe differently. And some of them are trying to deceive you. I might just make a comment that some of us who have been faithful members of the body of Christ, the church of God, uh for many years, we went through some of the time periods when these things directly came into that thing we called the church. And some began to bring these kind of things

in and tried to deceive us. And God was there to help us with his spirit to guide us through those things. These things were in force and in play in in in the first century too. But the anointing which you have received from him, if if the anointing which you have received from him abides in you, what is that anointing? That Holy Spirit that he gives to us when we're baptized.

the understanding of his word, the opening of the scriptures to our minds and in our hearts, and you do not need that anyone teach you. Someone comes around saying, "He's not really the Christ. This and that and that and this." We said, "No, that's not what I believe because I open my Bible and I see this. This truth is what I believe." But as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things and is true.

Remember what Christ said the night of Passover, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. He sets us free from these things. And we have that understanding that comes from from God through Christ by his spirit in his word. And it's not a lie. And it's just as he has taught you. You have that. you hold on to that you will abide in him. It confronts another heresy.

There are several more. I'm going to just speak of one more because sake of time today. He confronts another heresy in chapter 4 of First John. And he does it this way beginning in verse one. Beloved, he loves them. He's he's encouraging. He's not correcting. He's telling them just be careful. There's stuff out there. Be be aware, beloved.

Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God because many false prophets have gone out into the world. You look back at that gap and you think he's describing what was going on during that time and continuing then into the time of his writing of these books. Many false prophets have gone out into the world.

By this you know the spirit of God. This is where we focus. This is how we know. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. There we are. That's us. That's what we believe. We're not the spirit, but the spirit of God that is read to us that we read, we see his word in the scripture.

That spirit that writes his word on our heart and mind. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. We anchor our belief right there. And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. Look how direct he becomes. And this is the spirit of the antichrist which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world.

What was developing in that first century toward the end of it especially began to flourish more and more and in the second third fourth centuries developed into a major religion that still is widely followed in the world. And these are the things that were taught that Jesus Christ did not come in the flesh. John saw these things coming. He was warning his people. And verse four, it says, "And you are of God, little children, have become and have overcome them because he who is in you is greater than he is in the world.

" Those things can become rampant around us and they have been for hundreds of years now. So they are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world and the world hears them. And so the world has adopted as orthodox doctrine things that are held to be sacred to the point of if you don't believe this, you're not of us.

The world has adopted things that are as John is describing here and among them is one of the biggest things is that the denial of Jesus Christ is coming in the flesh. Verse six says, "We are of God. He who knows God hears us. He who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. And so, brethren, I wanted to just point out and there's more.

Paul is direct in other ways as well. He speaks of these things as warnings to the people of God. But he's also saying to us, you do believe that Jesus is the Christ. You do believe that he came in the flesh. You do believe that he is the creator of all things. You do believe that God the father is his father and he is the son of God.

There are many other verses here in these books of John. I want to end with these encouraging words in John 1 John 1 5 and verse 13. 1 John 5 verse 13 says, "But these things I have written to you who believe in the name of the son of God." He started his book this way.

He's ending it this way, praising them for this belief, encouraging them to stay fast in this belief and in this faith. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the son of God that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the son of God. What encouraging words.

These are things that changed our own lives in this life, but also for the life to come, eternal life. And he said in verse 20, "And we know that the son of God has come and given us an understanding." How encouraging that is to know, brethren. Hold to that. Believe it. Understand it. Search it out. Read what's written in the books that God inspired. And understand this that we may know him who is true.

And we are in him who is true in his son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. This is the true God and eternal life. Jesus is the Christ, the son of God.