Posts
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Thinking...
Who am I? Who I was? and who I am... my mind has been wrestling with many things the past few months. from music, to ministry, from sin to salvation, all seems to be a struggle. Lately i have just been thinking about who am i? who am i called to be in Christ? I know i have been redeemed, i know that my sin has been atoned for and in know that i am a new creation... but what does that mean, and what do i do with this truth... also, who was i before Christ? who did the world see on a daily basis, and am i still the same, or has there been a change? lastly, who i am, now? who i am to God... and who i am to the world... from leaving my old job, to working at starbucks, and viewing myself through the mirror of scripture, i have seen both growth and flaws...many things, i can say with only as Christ my victor, i have won the battle over... and it is not a struggle or a temptation, but others, left to my own strength, i daily fail. This has led me to continually see that though many of my friends hear my theological talk,and ramblings, many of them dont hear the moans and tears of my losing the battle to sin. My view of my identity in Christ has increased and my view of my identity in the world has decreased. Though, the life I now live in the flesh i live unto God, and truly it is no longer i who live but Christ who is in me, i still have glimpses of the old adam, and not the New. so, this is just me thinking... hence the name of the post... i dont mean to be expositing on something major or correcting a doctrinal issue, i merely seek to share my heart with ya'll. To encourage the believer that though we fall, God is faithful to pick us up and restore us. allow us to groan with creation for the coming of Christ and the elimination of sin. Let us all pray, Maranatha, O Lord come... grace and peace to all from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. amen.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
we are debtors
As i was thinking today about my life, both pre and post Christ, i realized that the hand of God was always with me. I come from a divorced home, in which brought me many tears and sleepless nights and heartbreak, and i would always blame God. i would ask, why did God allow this, or does God hate me? why am i not like normal families? from 6 years old to 24 years old, divorce has always been on my mind and heart. i remember feeling ashamed when i would tell people i dont have both parents. I remember lying on parent days at school in which only either my mom made, which were few, or my grandparents. No one ever really met my dad, unless we grew up in the same hood. Yet, now, the culture sees divorce as the norm. It is normal to not endure in marriage, its normal to have mistresses or boy toys on the side, cuz, "hey who really takes marriage seriously anymore?" my heart breaks at a culture that has such a low view of marriage and true love. Marriage, which on earth points to the relationship of Christ and the Church. Do we forget that Christ loved His Bride so much that He died for her? do we not take seriously that the Church, the Bride, is called to obey Her husband? i know this world is in sin, but do we forget about our calling. Do we forget that we are called to redeem all that sin has contaminated? every single thing in this world,whatever it is, we are called to bring into the light of Christ into that arena and purify it with the blood of Him who shed His blood. I think to myself that we pray "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done;" and yet we do nothing to bring the kingdom of God to this earth. We are kingdom people, kingdom representatives, ambassadors, do we act like it? Jesus brought the kingdom, and now we are kingdom bearers, we have the kingdom message, we have the Key in which unlocks all things to make them bring glory to God. I beseech you brethren, whatever you do, seek the kingdom of God first! whether you make music, write, draw, sing, blog, speak, anything! we are called to pour the Living Water over those things which are dirty and filthy with sin and redeem them to the glory and honor of our Lord. Now, i am not saying to make Christian things in this world to enjoy this world more, i mean make it, write it, do it, for the fact that it will witness to God in this fallen world. Jesus is worth it. Jesus' death calls for it. I think of paul when he says in romans "i am a debtor to the jew and the greek, to the wise and the unwise."-romans 1:14. who amongst you whom you know is wise without Christ? you owe him the gospel! whom amongst you is foolish without Christ? You owe him the gospel. we are in debt to them. we owe them this gospel. in a world that views divorce, sex, drugs, sex trafficking, murder, lies, etc. as the norm, WE... OWE...THEM...THE...GOSPEL!!! who are we to keep hidden that in which has shone in our hearts by the grace of God alone! none of us were wise enough to choose Christ, none of us were cool enough to choose Christ, none of us merited anything that made Christ save us, this He did by His own free grace, that no man may boast. I call all those who read this to spread this to all. dont hold the gospel in selfishness, or in fear, or in shyness, or in pride, but spread it in love and grace and mercy. Jesus is the answer to a world living in a state of questions. why is the question, and Jesus holds the answer in His death, burial and resurrection and ascension. we must continually glean from the grace that He offers us, and live off of the blood which saves us and keeps us. May we always stay at the foot of the cross, head and hands lifted up in worship. i pray that we all learn our indebtedness to this culture and this age until the sky cracks and the Savior calls us home. grace and peace to all. Amen.
Monday, September 13, 2010
New Song: Christ Exalted
Here are the lyrics to a new song that i wrote, may be recorded in the next couple weeks... but here are the lyrics... tell me what ya'll think.
I shall boast in Christ, my King and Savior,
Everlasting sin stopper, never loses flavor,
Seated in the heavenlies, rules the earth,
But chose to step down and take on a human birth,
Became a bond servant, in the likeness of men,
Yet never did sin, but would be placed on Him,
Perfect from beginning to end, with no lack,
This is a true a fact, chose lashes on His back,
This was Gods task, to remove His wrath,
But Christ never chose equality with Him to be grasped,
Was obedient to the point of death, even to a cross,
With 2 wooden beams we’ll see His blood loss,
Though this was the cost, He bore our blame,
Therefore God exalted Him and gave Him the Name,
In which every knee will bow, and tongue proclaim,
On heaven and earth that Jesus is King,
(He shows us obedience, shows us humility,
Lets have the mind of Christ amongst our assembly,
For the churches main purpose it to make God visible,
And growing holiness, that’s habitual. )
He is the first born over all creation,
Both visible and invisible, He created,
Either on earth or heaven, and all in-between,
Read Colossians chapter 1 verse 16,
Whether thrones, dominions, principalities and powers,
Before Jesus Christ, all of them will cower,
He’s before all things and in Him all consist,
First born from the dead, shows His preeminence,
I’m not speaking in eloquence,
But teaching He’s heaven sent,
Nor using wise rhetoric, but reading from Holy Script,
He’s the head of the body of His bride, the Church,
Died to reconcile all things on earth, and heaven,
Bring peace, like that triple 7,
Reconciliation came to the alienated,
Feeling so elated, now to Christ we related
Long ago in many ways and many times God spoke,
To the fathers through the prophets, no joke,
But in these last days this speaking is done,
Through Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son,
He’s the heir of all things, so appointed by the Father,
Whom Christ is the radiance of, with full honor,
Upholding all things by the word of His power,
Making purification of sin, Gods wrath was devoured,
Then He sat at the right hand of the Majesty,
To worship angels instead is blasphemy,
For to which of the angels did He ever say,
You are my Son, I’ve begotten you today,
For He has obtained, a more excellent name,
Who makes his angels a ministering flame,
To worship Christ, is the purpose they were made,
And to aid those to whom salvation has been laid
I shall boast in Christ, my King and Savior,
Everlasting sin stopper, never loses flavor,
Seated in the heavenlies, rules the earth,
But chose to step down and take on a human birth,
Became a bond servant, in the likeness of men,
Yet never did sin, but would be placed on Him,
Perfect from beginning to end, with no lack,
This is a true a fact, chose lashes on His back,
This was Gods task, to remove His wrath,
But Christ never chose equality with Him to be grasped,
Was obedient to the point of death, even to a cross,
With 2 wooden beams we’ll see His blood loss,
Though this was the cost, He bore our blame,
Therefore God exalted Him and gave Him the Name,
In which every knee will bow, and tongue proclaim,
On heaven and earth that Jesus is King,
(He shows us obedience, shows us humility,
Lets have the mind of Christ amongst our assembly,
For the churches main purpose it to make God visible,
And growing holiness, that’s habitual. )
He is the first born over all creation,
Both visible and invisible, He created,
Either on earth or heaven, and all in-between,
Read Colossians chapter 1 verse 16,
Whether thrones, dominions, principalities and powers,
Before Jesus Christ, all of them will cower,
He’s before all things and in Him all consist,
First born from the dead, shows His preeminence,
I’m not speaking in eloquence,
But teaching He’s heaven sent,
Nor using wise rhetoric, but reading from Holy Script,
He’s the head of the body of His bride, the Church,
Died to reconcile all things on earth, and heaven,
Bring peace, like that triple 7,
Reconciliation came to the alienated,
Feeling so elated, now to Christ we related
Long ago in many ways and many times God spoke,
To the fathers through the prophets, no joke,
But in these last days this speaking is done,
Through Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son,
He’s the heir of all things, so appointed by the Father,
Whom Christ is the radiance of, with full honor,
Upholding all things by the word of His power,
Making purification of sin, Gods wrath was devoured,
Then He sat at the right hand of the Majesty,
To worship angels instead is blasphemy,
For to which of the angels did He ever say,
You are my Son, I’ve begotten you today,
For He has obtained, a more excellent name,
Who makes his angels a ministering flame,
To worship Christ, is the purpose they were made,
And to aid those to whom salvation has been laid
Monday, August 16, 2010
a song for the single. great song
i may never have a little boy to wrestle on the floor
Or walk the aisle to give away a daughter i adore
i might never cry the tears that fathers cry on special days
i’m a man who’s never married, i have love to give away.
i might never know the promise or the kisses of a bride
But i will not mourn the absence of the bed i’ve been denied
Is it destiny or choice, i’m not quite sure that i can say
i’m a man who’s never married, i have love to give away.
But there are worlds of joy inside this world of tables just for one
Friends and family help me on this journey that i run
i have found that if my eyes and heart are open everyday
i will never be without a place to give my love away
My family name might perish when they put me in the grave
But i’ve learned it’s not the family name that matters anyway
There’s a stronger Name that covers me on every single day
i’m a man who’s never married, i will give that Name away
So don’t worry that i’m lonely, please believe me i am not
i’m thankful for the meaning of the moments that i’ve got
And i will not spend my life afraid of things that people say
i’m a man who’s never married, i will give my love away
Till i’m seated at the table, i will watch and i will pray
i’m a man who’s never married, i will give my love away.
(Copyright Allen C. Levi, 2001)
Or walk the aisle to give away a daughter i adore
i might never cry the tears that fathers cry on special days
i’m a man who’s never married, i have love to give away.
i might never know the promise or the kisses of a bride
But i will not mourn the absence of the bed i’ve been denied
Is it destiny or choice, i’m not quite sure that i can say
i’m a man who’s never married, i have love to give away.
But there are worlds of joy inside this world of tables just for one
Friends and family help me on this journey that i run
i have found that if my eyes and heart are open everyday
i will never be without a place to give my love away
My family name might perish when they put me in the grave
But i’ve learned it’s not the family name that matters anyway
There’s a stronger Name that covers me on every single day
i’m a man who’s never married, i will give that Name away
So don’t worry that i’m lonely, please believe me i am not
i’m thankful for the meaning of the moments that i’ve got
And i will not spend my life afraid of things that people say
i’m a man who’s never married, i will give my love away
Till i’m seated at the table, i will watch and i will pray
i’m a man who’s never married, i will give my love away.
(Copyright Allen C. Levi, 2001)
Friday, July 9, 2010
TEACHING PART II: 2 KINGS 4:38-44
2 KINGS 4 38-44 ELISHA PURIFIES THE POT OF STEW AND FEEDS ONE HUNDRED MEN
I. The situation (the famine) (verse 38)
Elisha arrives to Gilgal and there is a famine in the land. Now this famine may be showing Gods curse on the nation of Israel. As we see in Leviticus 26:18-21 that disobedience to the Lord brings forth curses. Another thing we see is that the people of God are sharing in this famine. Though it may have been the apostate nation that sinned and because of them the famine came, the people of God don’t have a “get outta curse free card.” we see that they shared in the woe just as much as the nation of Israel. We see this today, like when tsunamis happen and hurricanes and deaths in the world, the people of God also share in the pain of those things, but we see it through a different lens than the world does.
Application: we must remember that we live in a fallen world and that we are not promised a greater life than that of fallen men, on the contrary, we may have more things poured upon us than they, but we know that God is the one in control so we do not waver.
II. The wild gourds (verses 38-41)
In this frame we see Elisha and the sons of the prophets sitting before him. We can say that though there was a famine in the land of food for men to eat there was not a famine of the word of God nor of those whom wanted to hear. Elisha, maybe teaching the sons of the prophets, broke open to them the “living Bread” of God, His word and so, as we see Jesus do, those whom he feeds spiritually, he also feeds physically. So he calls to his servant, which the Hebrew word na’ar (nah’ar) means that he was a boy, lad, one in the stage of adolescence, to grab herbs and prepare a stew. Now, the boy unknowingly grabs wild gourds, which may have been like cucumbers and commentators believe it was as a laxative, and taken in a massive amount very deadly. So, he grabs a lapful, the Hebrew word Melo’ means all, or all that there is; so he pretty much grabbed all from the vine and chopped it into the stew. It is evident that He was an obedient boy and one trustworthy for such a task of preparing a common, non lethal, or deadly stew, but truly we can say he would have been a person who watched more “Christian TV or teaching” than “the food network.” The boy had a good intention and was obedient to what his master called for, but with ignorance placed his fellow brothers in danger. One thing this can show us is the curse applied to the earth (thorns and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee.) so in some way we can say that the pot of stew held in it the curse God had declared upon the earth. Once the man of God was told of the danger his people were in he used flour, common flour nothing special, but with God this flour that seemed common and of little use, was used to remove the curse of death that the pot held within it. The flour in and of itself could not heal nor give life, but with the power of God it was able to bring forth life from death. After it was deemed eatable by the man of God, he said to serve it to the people to eat, and it fed the people of God. Now, as you can already make the connection of how Christ came into this world that is cursed, and put on Human flesh, He was a regular/common man, but He was also God in the flesh. He was the common mixed with the divine; So, Christ, as the flour, was put in this world to remove the curse of sin, which brings death. Also, we can see how Elisha didn’t say, “stupid boy, throw the stew away!” no, he did not let the boys labor go in vain, he used a situation that seemed bad and turned to a situation where God could get the honor and glory. When I first came in contact with the doctrines of grace, and the reformed theology, I was one who new of grace yet did not impart grace on others who had another view of theology. Although they were wrong, I could have in a loving and gracious way showed them their faults with scripture, instead, I viciously attacked their ignorance in the scriptures as if I knew it all. Well, in my ignorance instead of imparting life to the conversation with grace and love and correction, I did the opposite. Some who were starting off in the faith saw me as a maniac and didn’t want anything to do with me, the ones who were mature in the faith didn’t want me around because my unedifying talk. I had the right intention, I wanted to do my masters will in teaching them the truth of the scripture, but instead doing it through the True Vine, Christ that tells us to treat others with love, and to uplift those in the faith, I plucked anger and frustration, the “Wild Gourds” of the flesh, and brought separation to my once healthy friendships, as the boy did in ignorance to his fellow brethren. But, glory be to God, who showed me my wrongs, and now has put grace in me and put to death the anger and frustration I once had. Now, when I speak to those who knew me in my mauling, deadly, cage stage, they see how God has took a tongue that brought forth death, to lips that bring for grace and praise. (1 cor 15:58) so, we must see our labor for the Lord as one that is not in vain, though we mess up and at times pluck from the “fleshly gourds” He can pour His mercy and grace upon the situation and bring fourth life. Also, we see that they ate. They trusted in the miracle that was done, if that were I, I would have been cautious in even taking another bite, but they had faith that what was done by God through Elisha was profitable for them in their hunger situation. Again, only through Christ, is our starving, hungry soul pleased and full. Only through Christ can we, in our spiritual famine, be full and partake of such a great meal. Also I like to think that we, the people of God, were once the wild gourds that brought forth death in our own lives to others. I am sure if we look at our past or listen to one another’s testimonies we would see that, but now that God has placed His Spirit into us, as the flour made the stew good for His people, so God makes our once deadly words and deeds to a life giving, body building, God honoring action.
Application: Trust that your labor for the Lord is not in vain, and that He can take a situation that seems to be bad because of our ignorance, and turn it around for His glory. God is not one who lets us do work for Him with no profit to Him. Ultimately God seeks His glory and when He can “show Himself off” through us He will take the chance to do so.
III. The feeding of the hundred
So after the instance with the “Stew of Death” we see that a man from Baal Shalisha came to Elisha, the man of God, and brought him the first fruits. Now the first fruits, as we see in exod. 23:19, lev. 23:20, num. 18:13 and deut. 18:4-5, were meant for the priests, but this man took his first fruits to Elisha. H.L. Ellison wrote:
The man was recognizing Elisha as the one true representative of God in the land; he did not wish to bring the first fruits to the priest who had been contaminated by Baalized worship of Jehovah, or even with Baal worship itself.”
So, we see this man wasn’t just saying “let me go to the priest, I just wanna get my giving of the first fruits over with.” No, he went and gave the first fruits who he knew was the true representative of God in the land. Also, this brings me to 1 Kings 19:18 when God tells Elijah that he has 7,000 people who have not bowed the knee to Baal. This man was not just looking for a religious act in giving the first fruits, but he feared and honored Yahweh so much that he wanted his sacrifice to go to the right person. So, we see that Elisha tells his servant to go feed the people with the 20 barley loaves and the grain he had just received. The servant found it impossible to feed 100 men with such a small meal. Yet, Elisha replies, “for thus says the LORD, they shall eat and have left over.” As many of you may be thinking, this recalls Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 in Mark 6:35-44. Jesus being before the people, teaching seeks to feed them. The disciples see it impossible with only 5 loaves and 2 fish, which compared to Elisha was significantly less food, but “what seems impossible with man, is possible with God.” so as we all know, Jesus feeds the 5,000 and they have left over. From all 3 stories that we read and heard, the main thread is the power, and provision of God to His people which should lead us to our Praise of Him. I am sure the widow praised God for the provision He brought upon her, that she may live off the rest of the profits of the oil and ultimately that her children would not suffer the bondage that they were doomed to receive. And I am sure that the sons of the prophets praised God for providing for them in a famine, and although through one boys ignorance it almost brought death, that with the power of God that which held death now brought forth life. Even with the 20 loaves, How God provided for them in such a way that 20 loaves and some grain fed 100 men. Another thing we need to notice in these historical facts is that the death, the famine, the lack of faith in the servant, are all applied to the people of God. We will have days of unbelief when we see what we have as nothing or not enough, we must remember that we serve a God who likes to work with little so that He may get the glory and abundant praise. Also, we will suffer of days of death or debt, but again even in our pain and in a state of hopelessness we have a God who can revive a situation as bad as death. Also, as the women, she went to her neighbors in her time of need because Elisha told her, and as the body, bride, and people of God, we are called to carry one another’s burdens and to help each other in times of need.
J.D Aguilar
Soli Deo Gloria
I. The situation (the famine) (verse 38)
Elisha arrives to Gilgal and there is a famine in the land. Now this famine may be showing Gods curse on the nation of Israel. As we see in Leviticus 26:18-21 that disobedience to the Lord brings forth curses. Another thing we see is that the people of God are sharing in this famine. Though it may have been the apostate nation that sinned and because of them the famine came, the people of God don’t have a “get outta curse free card.” we see that they shared in the woe just as much as the nation of Israel. We see this today, like when tsunamis happen and hurricanes and deaths in the world, the people of God also share in the pain of those things, but we see it through a different lens than the world does.
Application: we must remember that we live in a fallen world and that we are not promised a greater life than that of fallen men, on the contrary, we may have more things poured upon us than they, but we know that God is the one in control so we do not waver.
II. The wild gourds (verses 38-41)
In this frame we see Elisha and the sons of the prophets sitting before him. We can say that though there was a famine in the land of food for men to eat there was not a famine of the word of God nor of those whom wanted to hear. Elisha, maybe teaching the sons of the prophets, broke open to them the “living Bread” of God, His word and so, as we see Jesus do, those whom he feeds spiritually, he also feeds physically. So he calls to his servant, which the Hebrew word na’ar (nah’ar) means that he was a boy, lad, one in the stage of adolescence, to grab herbs and prepare a stew. Now, the boy unknowingly grabs wild gourds, which may have been like cucumbers and commentators believe it was as a laxative, and taken in a massive amount very deadly. So, he grabs a lapful, the Hebrew word Melo’ means all, or all that there is; so he pretty much grabbed all from the vine and chopped it into the stew. It is evident that He was an obedient boy and one trustworthy for such a task of preparing a common, non lethal, or deadly stew, but truly we can say he would have been a person who watched more “Christian TV or teaching” than “the food network.” The boy had a good intention and was obedient to what his master called for, but with ignorance placed his fellow brothers in danger. One thing this can show us is the curse applied to the earth (thorns and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee.) so in some way we can say that the pot of stew held in it the curse God had declared upon the earth. Once the man of God was told of the danger his people were in he used flour, common flour nothing special, but with God this flour that seemed common and of little use, was used to remove the curse of death that the pot held within it. The flour in and of itself could not heal nor give life, but with the power of God it was able to bring forth life from death. After it was deemed eatable by the man of God, he said to serve it to the people to eat, and it fed the people of God. Now, as you can already make the connection of how Christ came into this world that is cursed, and put on Human flesh, He was a regular/common man, but He was also God in the flesh. He was the common mixed with the divine; So, Christ, as the flour, was put in this world to remove the curse of sin, which brings death. Also, we can see how Elisha didn’t say, “stupid boy, throw the stew away!” no, he did not let the boys labor go in vain, he used a situation that seemed bad and turned to a situation where God could get the honor and glory. When I first came in contact with the doctrines of grace, and the reformed theology, I was one who new of grace yet did not impart grace on others who had another view of theology. Although they were wrong, I could have in a loving and gracious way showed them their faults with scripture, instead, I viciously attacked their ignorance in the scriptures as if I knew it all. Well, in my ignorance instead of imparting life to the conversation with grace and love and correction, I did the opposite. Some who were starting off in the faith saw me as a maniac and didn’t want anything to do with me, the ones who were mature in the faith didn’t want me around because my unedifying talk. I had the right intention, I wanted to do my masters will in teaching them the truth of the scripture, but instead doing it through the True Vine, Christ that tells us to treat others with love, and to uplift those in the faith, I plucked anger and frustration, the “Wild Gourds” of the flesh, and brought separation to my once healthy friendships, as the boy did in ignorance to his fellow brethren. But, glory be to God, who showed me my wrongs, and now has put grace in me and put to death the anger and frustration I once had. Now, when I speak to those who knew me in my mauling, deadly, cage stage, they see how God has took a tongue that brought forth death, to lips that bring for grace and praise. (1 cor 15:58) so, we must see our labor for the Lord as one that is not in vain, though we mess up and at times pluck from the “fleshly gourds” He can pour His mercy and grace upon the situation and bring fourth life. Also, we see that they ate. They trusted in the miracle that was done, if that were I, I would have been cautious in even taking another bite, but they had faith that what was done by God through Elisha was profitable for them in their hunger situation. Again, only through Christ, is our starving, hungry soul pleased and full. Only through Christ can we, in our spiritual famine, be full and partake of such a great meal. Also I like to think that we, the people of God, were once the wild gourds that brought forth death in our own lives to others. I am sure if we look at our past or listen to one another’s testimonies we would see that, but now that God has placed His Spirit into us, as the flour made the stew good for His people, so God makes our once deadly words and deeds to a life giving, body building, God honoring action.
Application: Trust that your labor for the Lord is not in vain, and that He can take a situation that seems to be bad because of our ignorance, and turn it around for His glory. God is not one who lets us do work for Him with no profit to Him. Ultimately God seeks His glory and when He can “show Himself off” through us He will take the chance to do so.
III. The feeding of the hundred
So after the instance with the “Stew of Death” we see that a man from Baal Shalisha came to Elisha, the man of God, and brought him the first fruits. Now the first fruits, as we see in exod. 23:19, lev. 23:20, num. 18:13 and deut. 18:4-5, were meant for the priests, but this man took his first fruits to Elisha. H.L. Ellison wrote:
The man was recognizing Elisha as the one true representative of God in the land; he did not wish to bring the first fruits to the priest who had been contaminated by Baalized worship of Jehovah, or even with Baal worship itself.”
So, we see this man wasn’t just saying “let me go to the priest, I just wanna get my giving of the first fruits over with.” No, he went and gave the first fruits who he knew was the true representative of God in the land. Also, this brings me to 1 Kings 19:18 when God tells Elijah that he has 7,000 people who have not bowed the knee to Baal. This man was not just looking for a religious act in giving the first fruits, but he feared and honored Yahweh so much that he wanted his sacrifice to go to the right person. So, we see that Elisha tells his servant to go feed the people with the 20 barley loaves and the grain he had just received. The servant found it impossible to feed 100 men with such a small meal. Yet, Elisha replies, “for thus says the LORD, they shall eat and have left over.” As many of you may be thinking, this recalls Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 in Mark 6:35-44. Jesus being before the people, teaching seeks to feed them. The disciples see it impossible with only 5 loaves and 2 fish, which compared to Elisha was significantly less food, but “what seems impossible with man, is possible with God.” so as we all know, Jesus feeds the 5,000 and they have left over. From all 3 stories that we read and heard, the main thread is the power, and provision of God to His people which should lead us to our Praise of Him. I am sure the widow praised God for the provision He brought upon her, that she may live off the rest of the profits of the oil and ultimately that her children would not suffer the bondage that they were doomed to receive. And I am sure that the sons of the prophets praised God for providing for them in a famine, and although through one boys ignorance it almost brought death, that with the power of God that which held death now brought forth life. Even with the 20 loaves, How God provided for them in such a way that 20 loaves and some grain fed 100 men. Another thing we need to notice in these historical facts is that the death, the famine, the lack of faith in the servant, are all applied to the people of God. We will have days of unbelief when we see what we have as nothing or not enough, we must remember that we serve a God who likes to work with little so that He may get the glory and abundant praise. Also, we will suffer of days of death or debt, but again even in our pain and in a state of hopelessness we have a God who can revive a situation as bad as death. Also, as the women, she went to her neighbors in her time of need because Elisha told her, and as the body, bride, and people of God, we are called to carry one another’s burdens and to help each other in times of need.
J.D Aguilar
Soli Deo Gloria
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Part I: My teaching on 2 kings 4:1-7
2 KINGS 4:1-7
ELISHA AND THE WIDOWS OIL
I. A cry of despair (verse 1)
This widow has lost her husband which back in that era meant loss of property, or home, or fields, or slavery, for this women, her children. The debt that was acquired whether from her husband or whomever it was, has placed her 2 children in the state of bondage, their freedom has been taken from them and she knows this. She knows that if she does not find a way to pay the debtors then her children will be taken from her till the debt is paid. Now, she has noticed that she is incapable of paying the debt in her own power, she realizes her hopeless state and goes to the Prophet of God, Elisha and mainly shows faith in God. How is faith shown? As a wife of the prophet she may have known God’s promise to her in the state she has found herself in; Deuteronomy 10:17 and 18 give her assurance in the condition she finds herself in, and it is also reiterated in psalm 146:9. Her faith is seen in her dependence and trust in that promise, and acted out by her going to Elisha and telling him her dilemma. One thing we see is that she doesn’t tell Elisha what to do, or how to act upon her troubled state. She merely trust that God would work through Elisha to meet her need. We see this in John 11:3: Mary and Martha tell Jesus that “the one you love” or in the language of 2 kings, “Your servant,” “is sick.” now they didn’t tell Jesus, “hey, lazarus is sick, go heal him,” No, they casted their problem to the feet of Christ and had faith that He would act in the way God led Him. Again we see this when we studied 2 Chronicles 20 in verse 12 all that Jehoshaphat said was “our eyes are on You.” that’s it, not we trust you now kill’em and lets get this over with. Just faith that God could rescue them because they could not rescue themselves. That’s faith.
Just as this widow, we are found in a state of despair and hopelessness when brought before the gospel. We see that on account of Adam and Eve we have been brought into slavery or bondage, and can not escape by the strength of our own hands. We also owe a debt that can not be paid by us, but only by Christ, The Man/ Prophet, of God. We hear the promise that He sets free those who are under the creditor, satan, sin or death, and as the women, we must run to the Man of God and confess the state we have found ourselves in, and in hope, faith, and trust, cast ourselves upon Him and that He has the answer for us in the time of darkness.
Application: In time of despair, turmoil, or pain, run to Christ. Don’t tell Him what to do in your life, as if He doesn’t know your desires, but cast your cares and worries upon Him with the faith and hope that He knows what to do. As the covenant people of God, we have promises like Matthew 6:25-33.
II. God’s response/ obedience to the Word of God (verses 2-5)
Now that she has pleaded her case to Elisha he speaks and we see the word of God go forth and the women’s faith acted upon the word that was declared. “what shall I do for you? Tell me, What do you have in your house?” Elisha wanted to help this women, in being a man of God, and one who brings forth His words, He wants to reflect the attitude of God in helping the widow. Also, He doesn’t give her money or calls forth a collection, no, he asks her, what do you have in your house? With this request, if I were the women, I would have been like “what? in my house? if I had anything good there I would have paid the debt and not come to you.” She says, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” Nothing… she has Nothing… she has a jar! To her that seemed of no benefit or profit, but Elisha, knowing the power of God, saw that jar of oil as a means to build faith in this women, provide for the woman’s need, free the children from bondage, and ultimately glorify God. So Elisha tells her to go borrow vessels-empty vessels- not a few, and when you have some “shut the door behind you and your sons,” now why is this a secret miracle? Lets go to Matthew 6:16-18, now although this hits on the point of hypocrisy it also hit’s the point of God being in the “secret place.” Although God does do miracles openly, he also does them and then tells the people not to tell anyone, we see this in Matthew 8:4 when Jesus heals the leper and says “tell no one..” God’s first goal in blessing us or providing for us is not necessarily to meet our needs, but to build our faith in Him; and not for us to say “hey everyone look how God has blessed me, but humble us before His throne and be thankful to serve a loving Father.” At times when God blesses us publicly we can take pride and say “see how God blessed ME!” and instead of glorying God we uplift ourselves. Also, another reason in may have been done in secret was because the widows need was a private need, and so the blessing was a private blessing. Third, I would say that it shows the absence of Elisha. That it was the power of God doing the miracle and not Elisha. Now we see the miracle. The miracle shows Gods power to make what seems little to be much, or that what seems to be inefficient to me sufficient. He supplied her need by using something she already had, oil, and with the generosity of the community with the giving of the jars, God used the common vessels that to fulfill His purpose.
Application: we all have something(s) that God can use for His glory. Though we may see them as nothing, with the power of God He can multiply that which seems little to much. Also, God is ultimately the God above all, and we must put our trust in Him and not man. Though Elisha did tell the widow what to do it was God who provided for her.
III. God’s overflowing kindness and the widows rest (verse 6-7)
The widow was obedient to the word declared by the “man of God.” He told her 3 things to do, sell, pay, and live. Sell the oil, pay your debt, live off the rest. God knew the needs of this widow, He had His eyes fixed on both her temporal/immediate need: that of paying off the debt so that her sons wouldn’t be put into slavery; and also Her future/ongoing need: that of living, and providing for her kids until they were capable of working and providing for the family. The state the women was in seemed dead. There was no way out, there was no way to find the light at the end of the tunnel, there was no way to find life. The Hebrew word at the end of verse 7 “and live on the rest…” is chayah (khaw-yaw’) it means, whether literally or figuratively, to revive, to make or keep alive, to give life, nourish up, preserve, recover, repair, restore, to save, or to be whole. Now, these are gospel words. Like I said the state that the women was in was dead, she was in bondage to the creditor, the legacy of her family was dead, the children would be slaves and so will the generations, BONDAGE! But, God provided life in this dead grave. He tells the widow what to do, He gives her a life giving command, to grab the oil that seemed worthless and unprofitable, and by His power that which seemed “not beautiful” or “not esteemed” was what brought her life. Not only did it bring her life, but it gave her rest. Their was no beauty in Jesus that we would esteem Him, but He poured His life out on the cross for common vessels. The sacrifice of Christ also gives us rest, in that we don’t have to earn or work for our salvation but that one moment on the cross brought us everlasting rest.
Application: we must live on the gospel of Christ. We have been freed from our debt, it has been fully paid, now we must “live on the rest” of His grace, and mercy, which is seen in the gospel; and as we know the gospel is eternal, so for us it is an eternal life and rest.
ELISHA AND THE WIDOWS OIL
I. A cry of despair (verse 1)
This widow has lost her husband which back in that era meant loss of property, or home, or fields, or slavery, for this women, her children. The debt that was acquired whether from her husband or whomever it was, has placed her 2 children in the state of bondage, their freedom has been taken from them and she knows this. She knows that if she does not find a way to pay the debtors then her children will be taken from her till the debt is paid. Now, she has noticed that she is incapable of paying the debt in her own power, she realizes her hopeless state and goes to the Prophet of God, Elisha and mainly shows faith in God. How is faith shown? As a wife of the prophet she may have known God’s promise to her in the state she has found herself in; Deuteronomy 10:17 and 18 give her assurance in the condition she finds herself in, and it is also reiterated in psalm 146:9. Her faith is seen in her dependence and trust in that promise, and acted out by her going to Elisha and telling him her dilemma. One thing we see is that she doesn’t tell Elisha what to do, or how to act upon her troubled state. She merely trust that God would work through Elisha to meet her need. We see this in John 11:3: Mary and Martha tell Jesus that “the one you love” or in the language of 2 kings, “Your servant,” “is sick.” now they didn’t tell Jesus, “hey, lazarus is sick, go heal him,” No, they casted their problem to the feet of Christ and had faith that He would act in the way God led Him. Again we see this when we studied 2 Chronicles 20 in verse 12 all that Jehoshaphat said was “our eyes are on You.” that’s it, not we trust you now kill’em and lets get this over with. Just faith that God could rescue them because they could not rescue themselves. That’s faith.
Just as this widow, we are found in a state of despair and hopelessness when brought before the gospel. We see that on account of Adam and Eve we have been brought into slavery or bondage, and can not escape by the strength of our own hands. We also owe a debt that can not be paid by us, but only by Christ, The Man/ Prophet, of God. We hear the promise that He sets free those who are under the creditor, satan, sin or death, and as the women, we must run to the Man of God and confess the state we have found ourselves in, and in hope, faith, and trust, cast ourselves upon Him and that He has the answer for us in the time of darkness.
Application: In time of despair, turmoil, or pain, run to Christ. Don’t tell Him what to do in your life, as if He doesn’t know your desires, but cast your cares and worries upon Him with the faith and hope that He knows what to do. As the covenant people of God, we have promises like Matthew 6:25-33.
II. God’s response/ obedience to the Word of God (verses 2-5)
Now that she has pleaded her case to Elisha he speaks and we see the word of God go forth and the women’s faith acted upon the word that was declared. “what shall I do for you? Tell me, What do you have in your house?” Elisha wanted to help this women, in being a man of God, and one who brings forth His words, He wants to reflect the attitude of God in helping the widow. Also, He doesn’t give her money or calls forth a collection, no, he asks her, what do you have in your house? With this request, if I were the women, I would have been like “what? in my house? if I had anything good there I would have paid the debt and not come to you.” She says, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” Nothing… she has Nothing… she has a jar! To her that seemed of no benefit or profit, but Elisha, knowing the power of God, saw that jar of oil as a means to build faith in this women, provide for the woman’s need, free the children from bondage, and ultimately glorify God. So Elisha tells her to go borrow vessels-empty vessels- not a few, and when you have some “shut the door behind you and your sons,” now why is this a secret miracle? Lets go to Matthew 6:16-18, now although this hits on the point of hypocrisy it also hit’s the point of God being in the “secret place.” Although God does do miracles openly, he also does them and then tells the people not to tell anyone, we see this in Matthew 8:4 when Jesus heals the leper and says “tell no one..” God’s first goal in blessing us or providing for us is not necessarily to meet our needs, but to build our faith in Him; and not for us to say “hey everyone look how God has blessed me, but humble us before His throne and be thankful to serve a loving Father.” At times when God blesses us publicly we can take pride and say “see how God blessed ME!” and instead of glorying God we uplift ourselves. Also, another reason in may have been done in secret was because the widows need was a private need, and so the blessing was a private blessing. Third, I would say that it shows the absence of Elisha. That it was the power of God doing the miracle and not Elisha. Now we see the miracle. The miracle shows Gods power to make what seems little to be much, or that what seems to be inefficient to me sufficient. He supplied her need by using something she already had, oil, and with the generosity of the community with the giving of the jars, God used the common vessels that to fulfill His purpose.
Application: we all have something(s) that God can use for His glory. Though we may see them as nothing, with the power of God He can multiply that which seems little to much. Also, God is ultimately the God above all, and we must put our trust in Him and not man. Though Elisha did tell the widow what to do it was God who provided for her.
III. God’s overflowing kindness and the widows rest (verse 6-7)
The widow was obedient to the word declared by the “man of God.” He told her 3 things to do, sell, pay, and live. Sell the oil, pay your debt, live off the rest. God knew the needs of this widow, He had His eyes fixed on both her temporal/immediate need: that of paying off the debt so that her sons wouldn’t be put into slavery; and also Her future/ongoing need: that of living, and providing for her kids until they were capable of working and providing for the family. The state the women was in seemed dead. There was no way out, there was no way to find the light at the end of the tunnel, there was no way to find life. The Hebrew word at the end of verse 7 “and live on the rest…” is chayah (khaw-yaw’) it means, whether literally or figuratively, to revive, to make or keep alive, to give life, nourish up, preserve, recover, repair, restore, to save, or to be whole. Now, these are gospel words. Like I said the state that the women was in was dead, she was in bondage to the creditor, the legacy of her family was dead, the children would be slaves and so will the generations, BONDAGE! But, God provided life in this dead grave. He tells the widow what to do, He gives her a life giving command, to grab the oil that seemed worthless and unprofitable, and by His power that which seemed “not beautiful” or “not esteemed” was what brought her life. Not only did it bring her life, but it gave her rest. Their was no beauty in Jesus that we would esteem Him, but He poured His life out on the cross for common vessels. The sacrifice of Christ also gives us rest, in that we don’t have to earn or work for our salvation but that one moment on the cross brought us everlasting rest.
Application: we must live on the gospel of Christ. We have been freed from our debt, it has been fully paid, now we must “live on the rest” of His grace, and mercy, which is seen in the gospel; and as we know the gospel is eternal, so for us it is an eternal life and rest.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Light and Darkess
1 John 1:6-10
John stresses the importance of sin to refute what the false teachers were teaching. Either they denied the existence of sin or the importance of sin, john is stressing the seriousness of sin. Also, John speaks of the fellowship that we have with Him, being God, and with each other. This fellowship isn’t a social gathering that he is speaking of but more like “partakers” of salvation.
The “we”: John speaks of we in 2 ways in verses 6-10.
1) The first “we” is not to general Christians, but it is to those who claim to have fellowship, or are partakers, of Christ yet deny sin or the seriousness of sin in the life of a believer. To those people or false teachers, which we find in verses 6,8,10, John calls them liars, deceivers of self. They claim to have something they truly do not.
6= If we say that we have fellowship with Him (God), and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. Three things we are going to look at.
A.) we make the claim: To all those who claim to be Christian and yet do not walk in the light you are liars. You lie because you refute the very statement you claim. John in verse 5 speaks of the Light, which is God. God is light, which signifies purity, holiness, transparentness, God’s nature is light. He is the light that shines in the dark hearts of men, He is the light that illuminates our dark minds, He is the light that has come into the world in which the darkness tries to snuff out. But, if He is light, and we claim fellowship with this light then we will have the same attributes as He does. Now, I am not speaking of sinlessness, because as a Christian we still battle with the flesh, but in your life there will not be a habitual, continuous, periodic walking of sin. So those who are saying, “we are followers of Christ” and yet not teaching the severity of sin are not followers of Christ.
B.) Walking in darkness: Darkness is not an attribute of God, it is not in line with His character. As we just spoke of, God is light. Darkness here is spoken of as sin, evil, or ungodliness. Since the false teachers dumbed down sin and its severity, those who were claiming to have fellowship with God were living in utter darkness. They knew nothing of the truth and lived a life still captive, enslaved, and under bondage to the flesh. They did not know true joy (vs. 4) which only comes from the knowledge of the truth of the Gospel. Also, the act of walking in darkness can speak of the place in which they are living in or having their being. We walk in the room we are in, they very place that is our context, and John is saying here that you are walking, living, or in the context of darkness (sin) as the realm of your existence.
C.) Liars without practice of truth: As we stated before, those who claim light and live darkness lie. They are like a man who claims to be an Olympian yet he lives eating junk food all day, watching TV, and adding to his 300 lb stature, but never practicing for that which he claims, as so, those who make a false claim of being a Christian. They do not practice truth. Either they are comfortable living a lie or they have no knowledge of the truth, in which both instances hinders their ability to practice that which they do not know. They are either liars who love their lie better than the truth, which the false teachers did, or they are people who were told a lie and have no knowledge of the truth, in which those who were taught by the false teachers were. Practicing truth is only a trait of a Christian. I say this with this in mind; the carnal man practices that which he either thinks is true, or practices a form of truth for his own gain. The Christian practices truth, in which is light, for two reasons.
1.) they want to glorify the God of their salvation
2.) that is what they know and what has been revealed to them, so because they are part of the True Vine then truth is something they begin to do because it is apart of their nature.
Also the practice of truth shows that it is not our natural nature. My natural self is to lay in bed, be lazy, and watch TV, but I practice, daily may I add, to get off my bed and workout, or to turn the tv off and read. That which we practice is not our natural ability, but the more we do it, the more it becomes apart of us. As so it is with truth. Truth is not in our nature, after the fall all we know is a life. Our natural inclination is to sin, and live a lie. So to those who are making such a claim of knowing Christ, which is truth, and do not practice truth but live a lie, they are not truly in fellowship with Him. But, those who claim to fellowship with Him, will do the practice of truth, because we fellowship with Him who is truth.
8= If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
John in verse 7 ends with something beautiful, he writes “..and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” now I verse 8 he attacks, again, the false teachers or the unlearned believer. He starts, “IF we say we have no sin.” John is now refuting the argument of sinlessness, as antinomians believe, If we say “we have no sin” we deceive ourselves. The Christian knows of his sin, he as come in contact with the Light and has seen his sin. When living in darkness, we do not know the sin we are in, we do not know the filth we are in, nor can we know. It is like a man in a room with snakes, and is paralyzed from the waste down and all the lights are off. He does not know the doom he is in, nor does he care, he can not see what is around him. But once someone were to turn the light on and he sees the vipers crawling on his ankles, legs, and thighs, he begins to scream for help because he has come to the knowledge that he is in utter danger. So it is with the Christian. In the darkness of our sin, we do not know the death we are in, we do know care about the death we are in, we enjoy it; But once Christ has came in our lives and truly shined His light in our darkness, we have no choice but to yell and for help. Like the man in the room of snakes, if they were to turn the light on and he were to lay there and tell himself “there is no such things as snakes, I am in no danger. I will just lay here,” he does not have truth in him, any sane person would call him a fool for such a claim. And so it is with these false teachers and all those who claim to have the light of Christ shine in them and live in utter darkness claiming that they have no sin but the truth tells other wise. The truth of the Gospel brings forth our sin, it turns the light on shows us death pulling at our bodies, but if we confess our need of a Savior and cry out to Christ in repentance and faith, as we read in verse 9, “He is faithful and just to forgive us.”
10= If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Now we see who the claim of sinlessness ultimately is against, it is against God. God and the Word of God do not bicker when it comes to sin, both state the same thing, man is a sinner. If you claim that you have not sinned, as many do, if you claim to be a believer, but do not claim your sin, you do not have the Word of God in you. Over and over again the word of God calls us sinners, transgressors, and if we do not claim that which God has called us Himself, we are calling God a liar. Now, we are beginning to see the true terror of the claim of not having sin. God is the epitome of truth, He does not submit to the standard but is the standard of truth, and when we say “God I don’t have any sin,” we are not only disregarding our need for a Savior, we calling God a liar and making Him a sinner. In John 3:33 he writes “he who receives His testimony has certified that God is true.” When we are told the testimony of Christ, that He became a man and lived a perfect and sinless life; that He died on the cross to save sinners and rose on the third day and is not seated at the right hand of the Father to make everlasting intercession for the saints; when we are confronted with that, we can do one of 2 things. Say, yes, that is true, I believe, and certify that God is true. OR we can say, that’s a bunch of garbage, I have no sin, and in doing so, make God a liar.
The Next 2 “we’s” is a specific reference to the genuine, repentant, godly believer.
7= But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Again, we come back to the state that we are in. Walking. In verse 6, as we stated, those who walk in darkness do not fellowship or partake with those who walk in light, because light does not abide in darkness and once light shines in darkness then the darkness is no longer dark but now light. So if one has truly come into contact with light then he is no longer dark. Now, it seems a little weird that John writes “…and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin,” at the end of this passage, but I think it is perfect for the argument that he just ended and will begin in verse 8. Now, How are we light? Remember, light signifies the purity, and holiness of God, and how do we become pure and strive for holiness? Only through the cleansing of the blood of Jesus. As the gospel shows us our filthiness, vileness and darkness it also gives us the cure for it. The only way to become light is through the cleansing blood of Christ.
9=If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we confess… If we are on the same page with God. If we deny that we sin we call God a liar, because He has said all through out His word that man is a sinner. So, our confession is us acknowledging our utter dependence on God, and admitting that He is right in making such a claim to call us sinners. Now, His faithfulness and justice comes from the cross. God is only faithful to save us from our sin because He is faithful to the Son who bought our redemption. The faithfulness of God never fails. God promised us a Son who would die on the cross and atone for the sin of man, and in His faithfulness He has provided for us, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So the faithfulness of God forgiving our sins is found in the cross. Not only that, His justice also finds itself in the cross. Because, If Christ paid once for all our sin, it would be unjust for God to have us pay for the sin that which was already paid for. So, the justice of God also finds itself in the cross of Christ.
John stresses the importance of sin to refute what the false teachers were teaching. Either they denied the existence of sin or the importance of sin, john is stressing the seriousness of sin. Also, John speaks of the fellowship that we have with Him, being God, and with each other. This fellowship isn’t a social gathering that he is speaking of but more like “partakers” of salvation.
The “we”: John speaks of we in 2 ways in verses 6-10.
1) The first “we” is not to general Christians, but it is to those who claim to have fellowship, or are partakers, of Christ yet deny sin or the seriousness of sin in the life of a believer. To those people or false teachers, which we find in verses 6,8,10, John calls them liars, deceivers of self. They claim to have something they truly do not.
6= If we say that we have fellowship with Him (God), and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. Three things we are going to look at.
A.) we make the claim: To all those who claim to be Christian and yet do not walk in the light you are liars. You lie because you refute the very statement you claim. John in verse 5 speaks of the Light, which is God. God is light, which signifies purity, holiness, transparentness, God’s nature is light. He is the light that shines in the dark hearts of men, He is the light that illuminates our dark minds, He is the light that has come into the world in which the darkness tries to snuff out. But, if He is light, and we claim fellowship with this light then we will have the same attributes as He does. Now, I am not speaking of sinlessness, because as a Christian we still battle with the flesh, but in your life there will not be a habitual, continuous, periodic walking of sin. So those who are saying, “we are followers of Christ” and yet not teaching the severity of sin are not followers of Christ.
B.) Walking in darkness: Darkness is not an attribute of God, it is not in line with His character. As we just spoke of, God is light. Darkness here is spoken of as sin, evil, or ungodliness. Since the false teachers dumbed down sin and its severity, those who were claiming to have fellowship with God were living in utter darkness. They knew nothing of the truth and lived a life still captive, enslaved, and under bondage to the flesh. They did not know true joy (vs. 4) which only comes from the knowledge of the truth of the Gospel. Also, the act of walking in darkness can speak of the place in which they are living in or having their being. We walk in the room we are in, they very place that is our context, and John is saying here that you are walking, living, or in the context of darkness (sin) as the realm of your existence.
C.) Liars without practice of truth: As we stated before, those who claim light and live darkness lie. They are like a man who claims to be an Olympian yet he lives eating junk food all day, watching TV, and adding to his 300 lb stature, but never practicing for that which he claims, as so, those who make a false claim of being a Christian. They do not practice truth. Either they are comfortable living a lie or they have no knowledge of the truth, in which both instances hinders their ability to practice that which they do not know. They are either liars who love their lie better than the truth, which the false teachers did, or they are people who were told a lie and have no knowledge of the truth, in which those who were taught by the false teachers were. Practicing truth is only a trait of a Christian. I say this with this in mind; the carnal man practices that which he either thinks is true, or practices a form of truth for his own gain. The Christian practices truth, in which is light, for two reasons.
1.) they want to glorify the God of their salvation
2.) that is what they know and what has been revealed to them, so because they are part of the True Vine then truth is something they begin to do because it is apart of their nature.
Also the practice of truth shows that it is not our natural nature. My natural self is to lay in bed, be lazy, and watch TV, but I practice, daily may I add, to get off my bed and workout, or to turn the tv off and read. That which we practice is not our natural ability, but the more we do it, the more it becomes apart of us. As so it is with truth. Truth is not in our nature, after the fall all we know is a life. Our natural inclination is to sin, and live a lie. So to those who are making such a claim of knowing Christ, which is truth, and do not practice truth but live a lie, they are not truly in fellowship with Him. But, those who claim to fellowship with Him, will do the practice of truth, because we fellowship with Him who is truth.
8= If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
John in verse 7 ends with something beautiful, he writes “..and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” now I verse 8 he attacks, again, the false teachers or the unlearned believer. He starts, “IF we say we have no sin.” John is now refuting the argument of sinlessness, as antinomians believe, If we say “we have no sin” we deceive ourselves. The Christian knows of his sin, he as come in contact with the Light and has seen his sin. When living in darkness, we do not know the sin we are in, we do not know the filth we are in, nor can we know. It is like a man in a room with snakes, and is paralyzed from the waste down and all the lights are off. He does not know the doom he is in, nor does he care, he can not see what is around him. But once someone were to turn the light on and he sees the vipers crawling on his ankles, legs, and thighs, he begins to scream for help because he has come to the knowledge that he is in utter danger. So it is with the Christian. In the darkness of our sin, we do not know the death we are in, we do know care about the death we are in, we enjoy it; But once Christ has came in our lives and truly shined His light in our darkness, we have no choice but to yell and for help. Like the man in the room of snakes, if they were to turn the light on and he were to lay there and tell himself “there is no such things as snakes, I am in no danger. I will just lay here,” he does not have truth in him, any sane person would call him a fool for such a claim. And so it is with these false teachers and all those who claim to have the light of Christ shine in them and live in utter darkness claiming that they have no sin but the truth tells other wise. The truth of the Gospel brings forth our sin, it turns the light on shows us death pulling at our bodies, but if we confess our need of a Savior and cry out to Christ in repentance and faith, as we read in verse 9, “He is faithful and just to forgive us.”
10= If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Now we see who the claim of sinlessness ultimately is against, it is against God. God and the Word of God do not bicker when it comes to sin, both state the same thing, man is a sinner. If you claim that you have not sinned, as many do, if you claim to be a believer, but do not claim your sin, you do not have the Word of God in you. Over and over again the word of God calls us sinners, transgressors, and if we do not claim that which God has called us Himself, we are calling God a liar. Now, we are beginning to see the true terror of the claim of not having sin. God is the epitome of truth, He does not submit to the standard but is the standard of truth, and when we say “God I don’t have any sin,” we are not only disregarding our need for a Savior, we calling God a liar and making Him a sinner. In John 3:33 he writes “he who receives His testimony has certified that God is true.” When we are told the testimony of Christ, that He became a man and lived a perfect and sinless life; that He died on the cross to save sinners and rose on the third day and is not seated at the right hand of the Father to make everlasting intercession for the saints; when we are confronted with that, we can do one of 2 things. Say, yes, that is true, I believe, and certify that God is true. OR we can say, that’s a bunch of garbage, I have no sin, and in doing so, make God a liar.
The Next 2 “we’s” is a specific reference to the genuine, repentant, godly believer.
7= But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Again, we come back to the state that we are in. Walking. In verse 6, as we stated, those who walk in darkness do not fellowship or partake with those who walk in light, because light does not abide in darkness and once light shines in darkness then the darkness is no longer dark but now light. So if one has truly come into contact with light then he is no longer dark. Now, it seems a little weird that John writes “…and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin,” at the end of this passage, but I think it is perfect for the argument that he just ended and will begin in verse 8. Now, How are we light? Remember, light signifies the purity, and holiness of God, and how do we become pure and strive for holiness? Only through the cleansing of the blood of Jesus. As the gospel shows us our filthiness, vileness and darkness it also gives us the cure for it. The only way to become light is through the cleansing blood of Christ.
9=If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we confess… If we are on the same page with God. If we deny that we sin we call God a liar, because He has said all through out His word that man is a sinner. So, our confession is us acknowledging our utter dependence on God, and admitting that He is right in making such a claim to call us sinners. Now, His faithfulness and justice comes from the cross. God is only faithful to save us from our sin because He is faithful to the Son who bought our redemption. The faithfulness of God never fails. God promised us a Son who would die on the cross and atone for the sin of man, and in His faithfulness He has provided for us, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So the faithfulness of God forgiving our sins is found in the cross. Not only that, His justice also finds itself in the cross. Because, If Christ paid once for all our sin, it would be unjust for God to have us pay for the sin that which was already paid for. So, the justice of God also finds itself in the cross of Christ.
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