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So 1 John chapter 4, you may wonder why are we singing all these songs about love? Because this chapter is all about the love of God and so we're going to be getting into this and the beginning of the chapter really isn't touching that until you get a little further into the chapter, but the beginning we really see where the Bible is teaching us that we need to try the spirits, we need to see, and when it's talking about spirits it's more so talking about the prophets, you know, as far as who's preachers, like preachers and stuff like that. We need to try them whether they're of God and that's what we're going to get into here is verse 1 of 1 John chapter 4, it says, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. So what are we talking here when it's talking about trying the spirits? Is there like some mystical spirits out there that we're talking about? No, we're talking about prophets. Now a true prophet has what spirit? The spirit of God. And what we're going to see here is that a false prophet has what spirit? The spirit of antichrist. And it's basically telling us, hey, we need to try these spirits whether they're of God. So just because you see a preacher preaching something about Jesus does not mean that they're a true prophet of God or that they have the Holy Spirit inside of them. And so it's giving us one way here in verse 2 of how we know, verse 2 and 3, on how we know whether they're of God. It says, Hereby know ye the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. And this is that spirit of antichrist wherever you have heard that it's come and even now already is it in the world. So what's it saying? It's basically saying those that believe that the Christ or Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, these are of God. The ones that don't confess that, they're not of God. Now who would that be? Well, you think of like the Jehovah Witnesses or the Mormons and stuff like that. They don't believe that God came in the flesh. They don't believe, and you think of the Jews. The Jews don't believe that Christ came in the flesh. Sam Gipp doesn't believe that, by the way. If you want to just name one that's out there, you know, that's supposedly a Baptist. And you say, well, he said he doesn't believe that Jesus is Messiah. It's one and the same thing. You don't believe me, you know, go to John chapter 1, verse 41. John chapter 1, verse 41 clearly states that Christ is Messiah. It's just an interpretation of it. And if you want to, there's only one place in the Bible where Messiah is used besides the New Testament where it's talking about this, where it's interpreted into Christ, and that's Daniel. Daniel chapter 9. And so it's an Aramaic term, and when you see it in the New Testament, it's transliterated into English, okay? And then when you see, but Christ is, you know, where it's coming as far as another, there's, what you see here is three different languages saying the same thing, okay? Because in the Old Testament, in Hebrew, you're going to see anointed, and the Aramaic form in Daniel, you're going to see Messiah, and then in the New Testament in Greek, what are you going to see? Christ. It's all the same thing. It's just like when you see spirit and ghost, guess what, they're the same thing. It's just one came from German, one came from Latin, okay? And so that's what we see here is Christ, Messiah, anointed, they're all one and the same. It all means the same exact thing. It's just that they came from different languages, and it all means the same thing. But if you don't believe me, you know, John chapter 1 verse 41, it says, he first findeth his own brother Simon and saith unto him, we have found the Messiahs, which is being interpreted the Christ. So is that verse saying that, hey, you know, there's a Messiah, you know, for the Jews is the Messiah, for the Gentiles it's Christ. Is that what it says? Or does it say that Messiah means Christ? So Sam Gipp, you know, when you say, you know, he's not my Messiah, you're saying that Jesus Christ didn't come in the flesh. You're denying the Son, and you're denying whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. You know what that says to me is that Sam Gipp is not born of God, Sam Gipp is a false prophet. So how, what's one way that you can see someone's a false prophet? When they say that Jesus isn't Christ, how about the Jews, you know, and all these other false religions, and then people within even the Christian realm that are going to say, you know, stuff like he's not my Messiah, well, then you're not saved, okay? But anointed, you know, if you want to see how that parallels, if you want to see how you can cross reference that, if you cross reference Acts chapter 4 and verse 26 with Psalm 2 and verse 2, that's where you'll see that parallel. So, you know, knowing that Christ equals Messiah, you can either go to John 1 or John 4, because in John 4, the woman at the well says we know that Messiah's cometh, which is called Christ, and so even the Samaritan woman knew that Messiah meant Christ, you know, it's not like she was disputing that, she's just saying, you know, we know that Messiah's cometh which is called Christ, so she knew that that's the same thing. They're just calling him Christ now because the languages have changed. And so, but in Acts chapter 4 and verse 26, it says the kings of the earth stood up and the rollers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ. Well when you go to Psalm chapter 2, Psalm 2 and verse 2, it says the kings of the earth set themselves and the rollers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed. So the anointed, Messiah, Christ, so one of those words you're going to understand, okay? Most people understand the word anointed, I would say. Like if you were to look at like those words and say, well, what does that mean? We anoint things, you know, you think of anointing something, that's pretty common to understand, but you think of christening something, that's the same thing as anointing, but it's a word that we don't use normally, but if you're anointing, you know, that's a word that's even used today, you know, that's pretty common. And so obviously we saw the parallel to the anointing with the Spirit of God, right? And we saw that Jesus Christ was anointed with the Spirit of God, he was christened with the Spirit of God, he's the Christ. And how that also links to being the king, you know, touch not mine anointed and do my problems no harm, you know, even just physically speaking dealing with like King David and King Saul, you know, David said I will not stretch forth my hand against God's anointed. What was that talking about? It's the fact that he was anointed to be king and that's why he didn't kill him. So, but the Spirit of Antichrist, that's what we see here. What I want you to see is in 1 John chapter 4 and verse 3, is it's talking about something here, it says, this is that Spirit of Antichrist, and you can, it says, wherever you have heard that it should come and even now already is it in the world. Now this is interesting because this is something that's said about the Antichrist in chapter 2. In chapter 2, it says, little children, chapter 2 and verse 18, chapter 2 and verse 18, it says, little children, it is the last time and as you have heard that Antichrist shall come even now are there many Antichrists whereby we know it is the last time. So we see that the same thing applies with the Spirit of Antichrist, wherever you have heard that it should come and even now already is it in the world. Go to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 because what I'm going to show you, and this is just my theory, is that the beast, the dragon, the beast and the false prophet are an unholy Trinity and the beast is the Antichrist and I believe the false prophet would represent, so the Antichrist would obviously represent Christ, right, that would be like the false Christ, right, the one that's, you know, and that's where Jesus, if you remember in Matthew 24, which I'm not going over there for the sake of time, remember false Christs and false prophets shall come, many, it's like plural, and that's what it's saying here, as we see in chapter 2 we're dealing with false Christs, but then we're dealing in chapter 4 with false prophets, right, and so when you think of the prophet you're thinking of the Spirit, when you're thinking of the Antichrist you're thinking of Christ, okay, and so, but in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 I want you to see this because I just want to kind of, this is obviously dealing with the second coming of Christ, it's dealing with the rapture but it's dealing with the Antichrist as well, it says in verse 3 there, so 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 3 it says, let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come except there come a falling way first and that man of sin be revealed the son of perdition, now who is that? It's the Antichrist, right, that's the beast, and it says in verse 4, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God showing himself that he is God, so this is obviously the abomination of desolation, he's going in and speaking blasphemies against God, verse 5 it says, remember ye not that when I was yet with you I told you these things, now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time, now notice what it says in verse 7, for the mystery of iniquity doth already work, only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way, now I'm not getting into the letting and let and all that stuff, it's not the Holy Spirit of God, but I'm not getting into that right now, but notice what it says, the mystery of iniquity doth already work, now when you look at that and then you look back at chapter 4, 1st John chapter 4 and verse 3, it says wherever ye have heard that is ye common, even now already is it in the world, so that spirit of antichrist is already working in the world, and I think that mystery of iniquity is talking about that, so and actually this chapter in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, if I can get that out of my mouth, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, when you go down where it says he's going to show signs and wonders, that's what the false prophet does in chapter 13 of Revelation, so you can see how it's talking about the antichrist, but it's also giving you some more information about the false prophet, because the false prophet is going to cause fire to come down from heaven, he's going to do great signs and wonders so that you'll worship the beast, and so when it says this mystery of iniquity doth already work, he's saying like right now the mystery of iniquity is working, but it's not until only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way, and then shall he be revealed, talking about the son of perdition, talking about the antichrist, so the spirit of antichrist is already working, and that's what it's saying in 1 John chapter 4, is that it's already in the world, and it's already working, the mystery of iniquity is already working, but we also know that it's going to come, meaning that right now we have false christs that are abounding, and they've been abounding, and false prophets have been abounding, but one day there's going to be the antichrist and the false prophet, and that's what it's saying, chapter 2 is kind of covering the antichrist part, chapter 4 is covering the false prophet part, and that's why I see this false trinity, so to speak, the dragon would obviously represent the father, the antichrist would represent Christ, or Jesus, or the son, and then you'd have, because he's ascending from the bottomless pit, I think that's pretty obvious that that would represent, you know, Jesus, and then the false prophet, why would it represent the spirit, because what was talked about in these verses? Hereby know ye the spirit of God, and he's contrasting the spirit of God with the spirit of antichrist, and he's saying that because many false prophets are gone out into the world, so you see how he's linking the spirits that were supposed to try the spirits, and he's referencing that to false prophets, okay? So that's just my, you know, if you go to Revelation chapter 6, you know, Revelation chapter 6, now some people believe that the false prophet is John the Baptist, and I'm not against people that believe that, but to me, if you think about it, the dragon was first in chapter 12, right? The dragon's doing his thing, he tries to take out the woman with the flood coming out of his mouth, doesn't work, then the beast comes on the scene, which is the antichrist, then the false prophet comes on the scene after him, he's the second beast, and if you think about it, how does it work with Jesus? Jesus came, and then when he was glorified, then the Holy Ghost came, but John the Baptist came before Jesus, if you think about it, and so that's why I personally believe that the false prophet would be likened more unto the Holy Ghost, okay? But I can understand because it's a prophet, right? You know, obviously it's a man, and he's, you know, John the Baptist was a prophet, so I can understand how you would link those and try to say, it's kind of like a, you know, a John the Baptist, so to speak, a bad John the Baptist, right? But a John the Baptist, so to speak. But I personally believe it's dealing with the father, son, holy ghost, the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. It's kind of like this unholy trinity. But Revelation 16 verse 13 says, and I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. So notice how there are three in one verse, you know, I'm not saying these three are one, but what I'm saying here is that what you do is have this kind of unholy trinity, so to speak, because the devil's always trying to copy God. He's always trying to be a counterfeit, and we're not ignorant of God's, of the devil's devices or Satan's devices, is that right? Satan's devices, yeah, not God's devices, right? We're not ignorant of Satan's devices, and so he's always trying to copy God. He's trying to be like the most high. Remember, that's why, you know, he fell from heaven and why he's going to be cast into hell. He said, I will be like the most high, so he wanted to be like God, and so he kind of has his own little false trinity in the end times, but to us, you know, if we're not here at the end times, or we're not here when Jesus comes back, we still have to think about the antichrists in plural form there, and the false prophets in plural form, so we're still dealing with that, but knowing that there is the antichrist that's to come, and there is the false prophet that's to come, okay? Now, verse four, so first John chapter four and verse four, it says, year of God, little children, and have overcome them. Now, it's going to answer that, you know, why are we of God, and why have we overcome them, and who's them? The false prophets or these spirits of antichrist. Why? Because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world, so who's that talking about? The spirit of God, obviously, and, you know, think about this, in first John chapter five, it says, he that believeth on the son of God hath the witness in himself. So how do you get the witness in yourself? Believing on the son of God, and so believing is in, you know, that's how we saw that, we already went through that with the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, it's by believing. He gives the Holy Ghost unto those that believe, you know, and we've already covered that, so that's how we get the Holy Ghost, and so that Holy Spirit is in us, and it says, greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world, and what are we talking about? We're talking about devils here, we're talking about spirits of antichrist, and so that's what it's talking about when it's talking about overcoming. Think about what it said in first John chapter two, so first John chapter two, so we see a lot of parallels with first John two and first John four, and when he's writing to the father and to the children and to the young men, what was the thing that they kept saying with the young men? It says he's written unto, I write unto you young men because what? You have overcome the wicked one, and he says that again when he says I've written unto young men because you have overcome the wicked one, right? And so you see this overcoming the wicked one or overcoming them which is the spirits of, the spirit of antichrist or these spirits, you know, that are in the world, so to speak, the devils, right? And so we've overcome Satan, but we've also overcome all his devils, and so greater is he that is in you than he is in the world, and what I believe, if you're going to look at this as far as just an aspect of how does this apply to us, this means that a Christian can never be possessed with a devil or any devil. It's impossible because greater is he that is in you than he is in the world. Go to Luke chapter 11, Luke chapter 11, with that in mind, knowing that, you know, if we believe, he that believeth on the son of God hath the witness in himself, and he hath given us of his spirit, we have the Holy Spirit inside of us, knowing that the Bible's saying we've overcome them and greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. And what does it mean to be greater? Well, in this context, I believe it's saying that the spirit of God is stronger than any of those other spirits, and you'll see that to be true when we're dealing with this passage in Luke chapter 11. Luke chapter 11 and verse 14, it says, And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. So Jesus is casting out this devil. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils, and others tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against the house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? Because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore shall they be your judges. But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God has come upon you. Now notice this. Verse 21, When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and what? Overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor, wherein he trusted and divided his spoils. So obviously he's giving this physical example to represent the spiritual. He's saying, and here's the thing. This is where they said he had a devil. What was this? What did these people do when they said that he had a devil and that by Beelzebub he was casting out devils? They blasphemed the Holy Ghost because they were saying that it was the devil, not the Holy Ghost. So you see this issue here where it's the Holy Ghost that was casting out these devils. Does that make sense? And they're saying he did it by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. And so obviously they blasphemed the Holy Ghost because of that and they were of their father the devil after that point. But in this we see that when it's talking about coming in and someone stronger than him, that means the Holy Ghost is stronger than the devil and the Holy Ghost came in and cast out these devils. So he did it by the Spirit of God. And so we see that that fits perfectly because it says that one that is stronger than he shall come upon him and overcome him. That's talking about the Spirit of God coming upon the devil and overcoming him and casting him out. Now what's interesting about this is that right after this he talks about the other end of the spectrum. The other end of the spectrum, we're talking about a saved person, right? A saved person, the Holy Ghost comes in, no devil could come in. He's stronger than anybody, any spirit that would ever come in. So greater is he that is in you than he is in the world. So you don't have anything to worry about when it comes to the spirits coming and trying to possess you. But notice in Luke chapter 11 verse 24. Now this is what happens when someone becomes a reprobate. Because instead of the Holy Spirit overcoming, the devil's overcome that person. In Luke chapter 11 verse 24 it says, When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest and finding none. He saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he and takeeth to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first. Now what this is talking about, and obviously he's giving an example of a house. Now when you see in the Bible, a house is dealing with the body. I don't have time to go into that, 2 Corinthians chapter 5, talking about our bodies. And so this spirit basically left this person, he came back with seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and he came in and he's basically saying this man is worse now than he was before. So we're not dealing with a saved person, we're dealing with what we're going to call a reprobate. Because if you link this passage right here, this little parable that he's showing with 2 Peter chapter 2, we're going to see what does that mean when it says the last state of that man is worse than the first. It's basically the fact that it was bad enough that they were possessed with the devil, now they're reprobate. And that's what it's getting into, and these spirits are overcoming him. Instead of the Holy Spirit overcoming those spirits, these spirits are overcoming that person. And so you have this extreme, right? The extreme as far as a saved person gets saved, that Holy Spirit comes inside of him and he overcomes any of those spirits. He's stronger than any of the spirits, he overcomes them, and therefore those spirits can never overcome you. Does that make sense? You can never be overcome with them. You've overcome them because greater is he that is in you than he is in the world. But for a reprobate, it's the complete opposite. Those spirits will overcome that person, and there's no going back. Now 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 18, this is obviously a whole chapter about false prophets and dealing with reprobates. No marvel that that's what 1 John chapter 4, that's what it started talking about was false prophets and these spirits that are basically out in the world now. But in 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 18 it says, for when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escape from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption, for of whom a man is overcome, of the same as he brought in bondage. For, now here's the key, for if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. Sound familiar? The last state of that man is worse than the first. Notice what it says, because what is this talking about? It says in verse 21, for it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than after they have known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it has happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog has turned his own vomit again in the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. This is talking about someone that holds the truth in unrighteousness, they knew the truth of God, but glorified him not as God, right? Neither were thankful, but came vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. The last state of that man is worse than the first. And so this is talking about basically the decline into being a reprobate, right? Where they knew that commandment. It says that they escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. They knew how to be saved. They knew how to be saved, but they were entangled again and overcome by what? The spirits of antichrist, the devil. And it says the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. And isn't that the case with these reprobates, is that it's just a spiral down into this pit of disgusting, vile filthiness? And it clarifies that, it's saying, for it had been better. He's basically saying to these people, when you think about Judas, didn't Jesus say it had been better for him not to be born? And he was the son of perdition, right? He was definitely, you know, a child of the devil. And he's saying it would have been better for them not to know the way of righteousness than to have known it and turned from the Holy Commandment. That's exactly what the reprobates do, right? They know what it takes to be saved and they choose to reject it. And it would have been better for them not to have known it than to turn from it. You know what that tells me is that their damnation is greater than anybody. Because obviously for someone to say that, right, it would have been better for you not to even know how to be saved. Right? That's what he's basically saying. It would have been better for you not to even know what it took to get to heaven because now it's going to be worse for you than for the old lady down the street that never heard a clear presentation of the gospel. Does that make sense? It's going to be a lot worse for that person. So these reprobates, these homos, these sodomites, these queers, and you know what, maybe I'll just park it there for a second because we're in Pride Month right now when a bunch of these faggots are just parading around, you know, and all throughout the department stores is just these stupid flags. And you know what, it's funny because it's very ironic that they have all these rainbow flags and all that rainbow flag is a token of the righteous judgment of God. And these people, the last state of them is worse than the first. And it had been better for them not to know the way of righteousness and not to have known the term from the holy commandment. And you know what, that's why I call them dogs and swine. And they are going to have the greater damnation, these pedophiles, these homos, these bunch of rapists, and every single one of them is a filthy animal. The Bible said they should be put to death, but the Bible says that their last end is going to be worse than the first and their condemnation in hell is going to be a lot worse than the other people. So that's for your Pride Month, okay. I didn't really, I didn't have that in my notes. But you know, we're dealing with people that are either possessed with devils and here's the thing, just because someone's possessed with a devil doesn't mean that they couldn't get saved. And obviously there's all those examples in the Bible as far as these people that had devils and Jesus, you know, freed them from that, they got saved. But what it's basically saying is that what if Jesus freed a devil, they were free from a devil and then they didn't get saved. That's the example he's showing right after that. It's like this devil left him, this unclean spirit left him, and he didn't do anything with it. You know, it's kind of like you knew that the commandment, the holy commandment, you know, you knew, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and you turn from that and seven other devils more wicked than the one that came in before is now coming in the last state is worse than the first. That's a picture of a reprobate right there. But thanks be to God, greater is he that is in you than he is in the world. We don't have to worry about that. Safe person doesn't have to worry about the devil at all. Doesn't have to worry, I mean, as far as being, you know, possessed with the devil, and there's still, you know, demon possessions today. I believe that with all my heart that that hasn't changed. You say, well, you know, when Jesus rose from the dead, what about the fact of Sceva, you know, in Acts, where they said we, you know, in the name of Paul's, you know, Christ, you know, and they were trying to like preach in name of Jesus. And the unclean spirit says, Paul, we know Jesus, we know who are you? And they tore, they answered into him and tore him and they like went out like ripping their clothes off. So I mean, there's the demon possession still there. So when did that stop? It didn't stop after the resurrection. And so that's what it's talking about here. Go back to 1 John chapter four, 1 John chapter four. Notice what it says in verse five, it says, they are of the world, therefore speak they of the world and the world here at them. So think about this, we're talking about false prophets compared to good prophets, you know, try the spirits whether they are of God. So he's basically saying, and you can think about trying the prophets whether they're of God, you know, you think about in the Old Testament says, if a prophet says something is going to come to pass and comes to pass, then they're of God. If they say something's going to come past and doesn't come to pass, then they're not of God, right? And so it's giving you a way to understand that, right? And that's obviously a simple way that you should be able to understand that if it comes true, then, you know, they spoke the truth. But in this case, he's saying if they're saying he's the Christ, Jesus is the Christ, then they're of God. If they say he's not the Christ, they're not of God. But notice what it says in verse six. Verse six says, we are of God, he that knoweth God heareth us, he that is not of God heareth not us, hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Now what you got to understand is that the Apostle John is who wrote this epistle. Okay. And so, and you think about the apostles that are the ones that wrote these epistles. That's what I personally believe is that all the New Testament was written by apostles. So you basically have the Old Testament was prophets, the New Testament apostles, and obviously the apostles would be prophets, you know, because that's the prophet just means a preacher of some sort, right? But what I mean by that is that they were moved by the Holy Spirit of God to pen down these words. And you don't believe that. Go to Second Peter chapter three. Second Peter chapter three, I'm not going to show you the end of the chapter, but it talks about how these people rest the scriptures, you know, what Paul's letters as they do also the other scriptures. And so they're linking Paul's writings with the scriptures. If you say other scriptures in that sentence, that means that Paul's writings are scriptures as well. Okay. And so but in first or Second Peter chapter three, and verse one, it says, this second epistle beloved, I now write unto you, and both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance, that you may be mindful of the words which are spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles, the Lord and Savior. So notice how he links those two together. You have the prophets, you think about how they'd always say the law and the prophets, law and the prophets. And then now he's linking in the commandments of us, the apostles. Okay. So when you're, when you're looking at this passage, I believe he's talking about the apostles, what the apostles wrote. Okay. And so the whole New Testament is the way I would look at this, right? Is that we are of God, he that knoweth God heareth us, heareth what? The New Testament, what we've wrote, what we've said, right? He that is not of God, heareth not us, hereby know you the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of error. This is a doctrine and people just, I don't know, they don't get this or they don't want to, they don't want to think this is true. Those that are saved are going to understand the word of God. Those that are unsaved are not going to understand the word of God. That doesn't mean that you're going to understand everything about the word of God. It just means that you're able to. Does that make sense? A saved person is able to understand the word of God. An unsafe person is not able to understand the word of God. And that's why when you run into somebody, you're just like, they can't understand it. That's why you're gonna say, are you even saved? Right? Go to John chapter 8. John chapter 8. And obviously when I talk to somebody, usually it's about their testimony. When I'm wanting to see, you know, is this person saved, I ask them, what do you believe? What does it take to go to heaven? But if someone can, you know, false prophets can give you the wrong answer. I mean, they give you the right answer, right? They can give you the right answers and then say it's eternal security, you can't lose your salvation. I mean, we run out to people at the door that'll say that just to get you out off their, off their porch, you know? And you can tell, like, they don't believe that. They're just saying that because they don't want to talk to you, right? And they know what you believe. And so people can say that. That doesn't mean they really believe it. But if they don't believe the word of God, then they're not saved. If they just, I mean, if I show them Genesis, and I say God created the heaven and the earth in six days and seven nights, and they say, I don't believe that, I believe that's false. They're not saved. Now, people can get off into weird doctrines on that and trying to explain it away, okay? So if someone believes in the gap theory, they believe in this, I'm not saying they're not saved. I'm just saying that they're really straining it in a net and they're really trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, right? But if someone just flat out says, nope, that's a fairy tale, right? Or Noah and the ark, that's a fairy tale, that didn't really happen. Or you show them some passage in the Bible and they're like, nope, don't believe that. They're not saved, okay? If they're just blatantly saying they don't believe it. I don't, I'm not saying they have to understand it, right? They don't have to understand it, but they, you know, to the point where they understand all the doctrines in the Bible, but for them to just say, I don't believe that, that's not true, then they're not saved. John chapter 8 and verse 47, notice what Jesus said. He's saying this to the Pharisees. He's saying this to people that are children of the devil. He just, you know, he's calling them, you know, a year of your father the devil. And verse 47 says, he that is of God heareth God's words. Ye therefore hear them not because you're not of God. So this is linked. If you look at John 8 47 and 1st John 4 6, I believe those are talking about the same issue. He that knoweth God heareth us. He that is not of God heareth not us. He that is of God heareth God's words. Ye therefore hear them not because you're not of God. That's what that's talking about. And so he's giving you another way. How do you know whether this person is the spirit of antichrist, if this is a good preacher or not? By the word of God. That's how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. This is how you know, right here. This is how you just judge every preacher out there and say, is that person of God or not? And if it doesn't line up with what the Bible says, then it's not, then they're not a true prophet of God. And, and I'm talking about major issues here, okay? Because obviously people have different beliefs on different things. If someone believes in the pre-trib or whatever, it's not, I'm not saying, obviously I think it's a dumb doctrine, but I'm not saying they're unsaved. But when you're talking about like the Trinity, salvation, you know, fundamental doctrines as far as when it deals with salvation, those are issues that if they, if they're balking at the Bible on that, or they're saying something different, then they're not of God. Go to John chapter 10, John chapter 10, John chapter 10. John chapter 10, in verse one there, it says, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that enterth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber. But he that enterth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice. And he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him for they know not the voice of strangers. So I believe that when you're a child of God, you're going to know the shepherd's voice. I'm not the same as some mystical weird feeling, okay? There's just an idea, you just know that's the truth. That's the Word of God. When you read the King James Bible, and you're reading it like this is powerful. This is quick and powerful. This is the Word of God. When you read those other versions, there's just something missing. And you're going to know the shepherd's voice. You're going to know a stranger's voice. And people can balk at that all they want and say, Oh, no, that's because you grew up with the King James, or you did this or that. Listen, I didn't grow up with the King James. I grew up Catholic. And you know what, the first Bible after I got saved, and obviously I got saved off of King James Bible and off King James Bible preaching. The first Bible, someone let me borrow because I wanted to start reading the Bible, and they gave me some NASB Bible. And I remember reading it, and there was just something off about it. There was something that just didn't seem like it had power. It didn't seem right. And I was reading it, and I was like, I need to go get a Bible. And Mike's like, you need to get a King James Bible. And we not picked up the King James Bible. There was, it was just, I mean, you know the diamond from the cubic, the fake, okay? And you know the difference between those two. Very stark difference. And so that's what you're going to see. You're going to know the voice of the shepherd, and you're going to know the voice of a stranger. And most people that I run into, that I give them this King James Bible issue, I mean, it's not hard to convince somebody. It's like, boom, yes, you're right. You know, and it's not that hard. The people that struggle with it I worry about. You know, I think some people are hard-headed, you know, about it. And they just want to, you know, kind of dig deep and all that stuff. But you know, I've run into people that weren't King James only, but they still liked memorizing the King James Bible. It's like they just couldn't get away from the fact that they just liked the way that that flowed, the way it sounded. And I knew people, even the church, that was this liberal church, used every version of the Bible except for the King James when they were preaching. They would quote King James Bible verses because it just was easier to memorize. It was easier to, it just fit. Okay, and so there's something about that. Now go to 1st Corinthians chapter 2. 1st Corinthians chapter 2, and this is a very clear passage on the fact that, hey, if you're saved, then you're going to understand the Word of God. If you're unsaved, you're not going to understand it. And that's what this is talking about. 1st John chapter 4 and verse 6 is what it's talking about. You're going to understand it. And here's the thing, I do believe people get saved and then they get off on these false versions. But what I believe is they don't grow. You can't grow without the Word of God. And they get stumped and they're just basically stuck at salvation. And everything else is a mystery to them. Everything else is just like foggy. And they struggle with everything else because they don't have the true Word of God and they're not putting their faith in it. And so they struggle with it. But 1st Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 10, it says, But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the Spirit of man, which is in him? Even so, the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God. Now isn't it interesting that we started this chapter off 1st John chapter 4 talking about the Spirit of God and it's the anointing which you have received with him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things and his truth and his no lie. This is exactly what this is talking about. The Spirit of God is what's going to teach us to know God. And it says in verse 12, Now we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit of God, that we may know the things that are freely given to us of God. 1st John chapter 4 again, They are of the world, therefore speak they of the world. That's something that's said over and over again. That's the Spirit of the world. We're talking about the Spirit of God. Verse 13 of 1st Corinthians chapter 2, it says, Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. The Bible, right? The word of God, comparing scripture with scripture, right? And verse 14, But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. That's what it's talking about. He didn't knoweth God, heareth us, he does not of God, heareth not us. Hereby know ye the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of error. And so it's just talking about the fact that, you know, those that are saved have the Spirit of God inside of them, they can understand the word of God. They hear the prophets, they hear the apostles, they understand. And hearing is not just hearing them like you can hear someone talk. When it says they hear, but they don't understand, right? And sometimes people can hear, but they don't understand. He that hath ears, let him hear, right? It's not saying like, if you have a physical ear, you know what I mean? It's basically saying, if you can understand it, then hear what I have to say, right? And that's what it's saying is that if you're saved, you can understand it, you can hear it. And you can hear the word of God, you can understand it. Now the gospel, the natural man can understand that, but only if he's guided by a preacher. Does that make sense? That's the only exception there. The preacher's guiding him into understanding it. So even that, it's not like someone can pick up the Bible, read the gospel, and get saved, right? How shall I hear without a preacher, and how can I accept some man should guide me? Because it's a spiritual book, it's a spiritual application, and the natural man's not going to receive it without help. But going back to 1 John chapter 4, so we saw, you know, we're talking about the Spirit of Antichrist compared to the Spirit of God. We see the fact that the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, so we know that, you know, he that is of God heareth God's words, but he that, you know, he that is not of God heareth not God's words, right? That's basically the dichotomy you're dealing with. Those that are saved hear God's words, those that are not saved don't hear. They don't understand them. And 1 John chapter 4 and verse 7, notice what it says here. It says, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God. And everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God, he that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. Now this is a famous God is love, and it's actually mentioned twice in this chapter that God is love. And so, now what does this mean? Does this mean that if you don't love, you're not saved? Now, notice what it says there in verse 4, or verse 7, I'm sorry. It says, and everyone that loveth is what? Born of God and knoweth God. Do you see that? Born of God and knoweth God. That means there's two elements there. To love, you know, to love like God, right? To love like Jesus, you need to be born of God and you need to know God. Remember, knowing God is what? Keeping his commandments. Being born of God is what? Whosoever believeth that Jesus is Christ is born of God. That's what the Bible teaches. So, you know what this shows me? Because you notice in verse 8, does it say that he that loveth not is not born of God? Does it say that? It doesn't say that. It doesn't say that he that loveth not is not born of God. Now that's what people want you to think, and they want you to say, well, if you're not loving your brother, then you're not born of God. You're not saved. But it doesn't say that. It says he that knoweth not or loveth not knoweth not God. Knowing God is a process. It's keeping the commandments. It's dwelling in this love. It's loving your neighbor. It's abiding in him, right? So, what it's saying here is that, you know, in order to know God, you know, to do all that, to know God, you need to be born of him first, right? That's the prerequisite. Now, this actually lines up perfectly with when you're dealing with James 2 and Abraham. Go to James chapter 2, dealing with Abraham, because this is another thing they mess up in James chapter 2, is that first it talks about the fact that you need to be saved. So, when it's saying here, it's saying he that loveth is first of all saved, and on top of that, he knows God, meaning he's keeping his commandments, right? So, the prerequisite is that you're saved. You're born of God, and he's saying that if you don't love, then you don't know God. It doesn't mean you're not saved. It didn't say you weren't born of God. It just says you don't know God, and that is something we hear about. We do know that we know him if we keep his commandments. He that saith he know him, I know him, and he keepeth not his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, okay? It's not talking about salvation. The knowing of God is the abiding, the walking, you know, being the friend of God, as we see here in James chapter 2 and verse 23. Remember, he offered his son Isaac upon the altar, and verse 23, it says, and the scripture was fulfilled, which said, Abraham believed God and was imputed unto him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. Now, how do you become the friend of God? You're my friends if you do whatsoever I command you. Isn't that the same? Because believing God and being imputed unto you for righteousness is what? Being born of God. Same prerequisite. Being born of God or being saved, right? That righteousness is being imputed unto you, and being the friend of God is what? Keeping the commandments. What's knowing God? Keeping the commandments. Do you see how it's the same exact thing? And that's what you see in first John is you're dealing with the fact that, hey, you're saved, but there's the thing you need to add on top of this. Knowing God, keeping his commandments, abiding in him, walking in the light. If you've received Christ, Jesus is so walk ye in him. If we live in the spirit, let us walk in the spirit. That's something that's going on and on and on and on all throughout this chapter. But keeping that in mind, what's interesting is 1 John 3. Go back to 1 John 3, and we didn't really talk about this because we talked about other things in 1 John 3, and I'm kind of going back to that as we're going through 1 John chapter 5. When we get into prayer more so, I'm going to hit the end of 1 John chapter 3 that we kind of skipped over. But in 1 John chapter 3 and verse 17, think about this when you're thinking of James chapter 2 now. It says, But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his vows of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Faith without works is dead. He that seeth brother or sister, naked and destitute of daily food, and it says, you give not those things which are needful for the body, you know, and it talks about, and I'm going to misquote it now, but this is exactly what James chapter 2 is talking about. And isn't it interesting that 1 John kind of says it the same way? He that loveth is born of God and knoweth God, and you know, with Abraham, he was justified by his works, it says that he believed God in his computer and for Christ, and he was called the friend of God. And that's where all that comes into place. Now, James chapter 2, I'm misquoting it as far as what's said there. It says, If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, The part and peace be ye warm and filled, notwithstanding you give not those things which are needful for the body, what doth it profit? What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and hath not works? Can faith save him? And that's exactly what we're dealing with in 1 John. Isn't 1 John chapter 3 verse 17 exactly what we're talking about in James chapter 2? And the fact that they're saying be ye warm and filled, but they're not giving them anything, they're not doing any works to give them what they need. And it's saying in 1 John chapter 3 and verse 18, My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, what is that, what you're saying, but in deed and in truth, so in your actions. Another word for deed is what? Work. And so when you get into 1 John chapter 4, and it says this stuff about loving, how, you know, it says in verse, John chapter 3, verse 17, How dwelleth the love of God in you? He's saying that the love of God is not dwelling in you. If you see your brother have need, and you shut up your vows of compassion from him. And that's exactly what he's saying in James chapter two is that you see your brother or sister naked and destitute of daily food, notwithstanding you give not those things which are needed for the body, what that the profit. And so he's basically saying, you know, you're not supposed to just do it in word, but in deed and in truth. And that's what it says in James chapter one as well, is not to be, not be hearers of the word, but doers also. Right. And so that's what it's talking about here. So don't get hung up on that. No one was probably hung up on that. But what I'm saying is that people will come to you and say, Well, see here, it says that if you love, if you don't love, then, you know, he that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love, therefore, you're not saved unless you love. Right. But it didn't say they weren't born of God. It's just the fact that being born of God, that's where they're going back to verse seven there and saying, everyone that loveth is born of God. And they stopped there. Right. But notice there's an addition on there, right? Abraham was justified by works. Why? Because he was saved. And he also was a friend of God. Right. The friend of God is dealing with the works, and just as much and knowing with God is dealing with the love. Okay. But in order to you have to have that prerequisite of being saved. That's what it's saying. And so hopefully, that makes sense. Now going on with First John chapter four, First John chapter four and verse nine. That sun's coming in, I'm telling you, it's hot right on my legs right here. Sun's just like sweeping in right at the legs. But First John chapter four and verse nine. And that's what it says. It says in this was manifest the love of God toward us because that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him here in his love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Now, in both these verses is saying that the love is that God sent his son. Now what the modalist and the one this heretics want you to think is that that's not really love to send your son. How many times does it say, you know, and I'm going to show you some verses here, you know, you don't have to turn there with me. But what you're going to see is that sometimes it's talking about the love of God dealing with the Father sending the son. And then there's going to be other times talking about the love of God, where Jesus gave up himself, where he laid down his life. And I'm going to explain to you, you know, how both those work. And there's nothing wrong with that. And that they're both applicable and they both take place at the same time. Okay. And verse first john chapter three and verse 16, hereby perceived we the love of God because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. So here we have God laying down his life. And first john chapter four, we're talking about the Father sending his son to die for us and that that's how we how the love of God was manifested. But we also perceive the love of God because he laid down his life for us. In john 316, most famous verse in the Bible, probably, for God so loved the world that what he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but everlasting life. Most famous verse in the Bible was that God gave his only begotten son. And you know, it's like, these oneness people, they just put the Bible on its head that they'll even take the most famous verse in the Bible that everybody knows and try to make it just say something completely different. And in john chapter 15, verse 12, this is where they'll go to, you know, they'll say, you know, this is, you know, the greatest love or whatever it says, and I agree for Jesus, it is. And in john 15, verse 12, it says, This is my commandment that you love one another, as I have loved you, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. And those that it says man, it doesn't say father. And does a God the Father at that too. And so going on Romans chapter five, you know, we use this out so many all the time. Romans chapter five, verse six, it says, For when we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly, for scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet for venture for a good man, someone even dare to die. But God commended his love towards now, while we're yet sinners, Christ died for us. So how was the love of God commended that Christ died for us? So you see this application, you know, the Rome, Galatians chapter two, verse 20, it says, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live, yet not I but Christ live within me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. So how do you reconcile that? In one place, it says the Father, the man, the love of God is manifested that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. And another place that the love of God is shown, because he laid down his lone life for us. Well, it's just it's simple, really. The most love that God the Father could give and show the world is to give his son. Anybody that has kids knows this, that I would rather me die than to see my child die. It would take a lot more love for me to let my child die than for me to die for that same cause. Does that make sense? It's a lot harder. I'd rather die myself than my child die. But Jesus, he doesn't have a son. The most love that he could show. So you think about this, if you're single, or you don't have children, the most love that you could show is for you to die. Right? Having children will give you that perspective. And you'll understand that. Before I had children, yeah, the most love I could show, I could just lay down my life. But it'd be way harder for me to let my child die. I mean, extremely harder for me to let my child die. So you say, well, which one's greater? You can't compare those two. Does that make sense? You can't compare the Father's love for the Son to let him die and his own love that he would give up himself because they're both the most love that each one could do. Does that make sense? The most that the Father could do to show to the world that he loved us was to give his son. The most that the Son could do was that he give his own life. So they're both true. And I don't see any contradiction. And the fact that these people have children that are saying this is ridiculous. And it just shows that they're devils. And that they, I mean, they don't even understand. I mean, can you tell me that Tyler Baker would rather that, that it would be easier for him to let his son die than himself? I mean, I'm sure he would say no. I mean, come on. And so that's what it's saying. You have to reconcile. You can't just say, well, this one's wrong. And that's what dispensationalists do. That's what false prophets do. They find something that fits their doctrine. They say nuts to the rest of the scriptures. Now, you know what a Bible believing Christian does? He takes every single scripture and has to reconcile them all. They all have to fit or it doesn't work. This is a complex puzzle. The Bible is a complex puzzle. But if you have a doctrine and you have pieces that don't fit, then you need to fix your doctrine. And this, you know, the way that we'd understand it, even in the human aspect, fits perfectly with the Bible says the father manifested his love towards by giving his son. He so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. That's the most love that he could show. And Jesus loved the world that he died for us and lay down his life for us. That's the most love he could show. That's what the Bible teaches on that. So I don't see any contradiction. It makes perfect sense. And that's why in first John chapter four and verse 19, it says, we love him because he first loved us. We were sinners yet while we were sinners, right? And that's what it says in Romans chapter five. You know, we were, he died for the ungodly. Okay. We love him because he first loved us and died for us. First John chapter four and verse 11 says, Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. Hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. And so as God loved us, we ought to love one another. And that's something that's throughout this chapter talking about the love of God, loving one another. Now go in the first John chapter four and verse 12. It says, no man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwell within us and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him and he in us because he had given us of his spirit. Now, this goes back actually to chapter two. There's a lot of links, as we could tell, you know, when we're going through this, of chapter two and chapter four, of calling back to chapter two. But you know, it says, if we love one another, God dwells in us and his love is perfected in us. You know, that love being perfected in us is mentioned in John chapter two. So it gives us a little more information as far as what it's talking about there. And it says in verse four, so first John chapter two and verse four. So verse three, it says, hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments. Verse four says, he that saith he, I know him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. Whoso what keepeth his word in him verily is the love of God perfected. So we see, okay, well, how do you, how do you perfect the love of God? Well, you love one another. How do you perfect the word of God? You, you, you keep his word. Whoso keepeth his word in him is the very love of God perfected. And hereby we do know that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him on himself also so to walk even as he walks. And notice what are we talking about here? We're talking about abiding in Christ. And when it says God here, we're dwelling in God. This is what we're talking about the fact that God the Father, okay, and the Son abiding in us, okay. Right now we have the Holy Ghost that's always with us. That's why I'm saying grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, right, whereby you're sealed on the day of redemption. You are the temple, the Holy Ghost. But if you're walking in the Spirit and walking in a new man, God the Father and the Son will come unto you and make his abode with you. Okay, so when it says that if we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and you see this, what we're going to see here is we go down to the rest of the chapter, you're gonna see God dwelleth in us, his love dwelleth in us, all this stuff. It's talking about if you're walking in the Spirit. So what this means is that God the Father and God the Son isn't all, they're not always dwelling inside of us as we live through our lives, but we always have the Holy Ghost. God's always in us, and God's always dwell, he's always abiding in us, but we have the Trinity that we have to think about here. So what we see here in John chapter, 1 John chapter 4 and verse 13, hereby know we that we dwell in him and he in us because he had given us of his Spirit. That sounds familiar because in 1 John chapter 3 at the very end of the chapter it says, and he that keepeth his commandments dwells in him and he in him, and hereby know we that he abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath given us. So we see here that we're talking about the same thing, but notice that the Spirit's there, and the Spirit is telling us whether we're abiding in Christ or abiding in the Father or not, right? Go to John chapter 14, we already read this before, but I just want you to see this again. And we went to Revelation chapter 3 where we're dealing with, you know, those who I love or rebuke and chasten, and I'll stand at the door and knock, and basically it's talking about having fellowship with God and I'll come in to him and sup with him, right? But in John chapter 14, again this is dealing with the abiding of Christ. Christ isn't always abiding in us. If we're sinning, he's not abiding in us. That's what the Bible teaches. And so if we love our brethren and we're keeping his word and we're keeping his commandments, then yes, God is abiding in us. He's, you know, God the Father. And a lot of times God, when you just see the term God, it's referring to God the Father, right? Because a lot of times the Bible says God, even our Father, okay? So this is where the Trinity is very important because the Spirit's always with us. The Holy Ghost is always with us, but, you know, Jesus is not always abiding in us. That's what John 15 says. It's what this other, you know, 1 John chapter 3, that's how you'd reconcile that because the Bible says that whosoever abideth in him sinneth not. So unless you're sinless today and never sin, then Christ isn't always abiding in you, and that's why he's commanding you to abide in him and him to abide in you. And if you don't, then you can do nothing without him. You can't be fruitful unless he is. But in John chapter 14 and verse 23 and verse 24, so John chapter 14 verse 23 says, Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my word. Sound familiar? And my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings, and the word which he hears is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. So notice the Father and the Son, he's saying, if you keep my word and you love me, remember, if you love me, keep my commandments, all that, you love the brethren, my Father and I will come and make our abode with you. What is the abode? It's just the past tense of abide. And it says in 1 John 3 verse 24, Hereby we know that he abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath given us. So it's basically saying, if you keep his commandments, you love your brethren, then the Father and the Son are going to abide in you and you're going to be fruitful if you do that. That's the only way to be fruitful is if Christ is abiding in you and you're abiding in the vine. And so hopefully all that makes sense, but I'm just trying to show you how you make sense of this chapter and where it's talking about God dwelling in you and stuff like that, right? Because if you go into it thinking, well, God dwelling in you is being saved, right? If you go into it like that, then you're going to be looking at this and be like, well, what if I don't love? What if I'm not dwelling in love? You know, because we're not always loving our brother, we're not always loving our neighbor, we're not always, for someone to say that is ludicrous, okay? So you got to go into it knowing that we're not always doing that, therefore is God, are we not always saved then? No, it's talking about abiding in Christ. It's talking about abiding in the Father and in the Son. But the Holy Ghost is always with us. Does that make sense? If I can get anything clear is that the Holy Ghost never leaves us. It's not like we're trying to make the Holy Ghost abide in us. Then the moment we got saved, we're indwelled with the Holy Ghost and the Holy Ghost is always there. Nothing can change that. Even the Holy Ghost doesn't want to be there. He's just grieved. So if you're sinning, you know, if we sin, then we're not abiding in Christ. But if we sin, we're grieving the Holy Ghost because the Holy Ghost is there. And He's always with us. He's always abiding with us forever, right? And so as we go down in 1 John chapter 4, that's what it means when we're going through here, we see, you know, dwelling in the love of God, all this stuff. It's talking about abiding in Him, keeping His commandments. And the Spirit is what's telling us, you know, hey, you're abiding in Him. You're doing what you should be doing. And I'm not saying audibly, okay? We're not Pentecostals. He's not speaking to you audibly here. But obviously with the Spirit and the Word of God, it's going to show you, right? Because the Spirit of God is going to show you what the Bible says and you're going to see, yeah, that's right, I'm doing the commandments. I'm keeping the commandments. I'm loving my neighbor. I'm loving my brother. Therefore, that means I'm abiding in Christ. Because you're not going to have this, like, epiphany where you're like, I feel like I'm abiding, right? I just think it feels like I'm abiding in Him. You know, it's not this, it's not, He's giving you concrete evidence like, hey, if you're keeping His commandments and you're loving your brother or sister in Christ, you're abiding in Him. That's just what it's saying. And it's saying if you don't do these certain things, then you're not abiding in Him. And you need to get that right, pretty much, is what He's saying. And so, but in 1 John chapter 4 and verse 14, it says, And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. So this is obviously, you know, you think about confessing, you know, if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God is raised and from the dead thou shalt be saved. But you could also think about this, you know, in John chapter 12, I don't have it written down. In John chapter 12, there are certain people that believed on Christ, but they wouldn't confess them openly. They're saved, right? Because believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. But was God dwelling in them? No, they loved the pleasures of men more than the pleasures of God, right? That's what it's talking about. It's basically saying they love the praises of men more than the praises of God. So they obviously weren't right with God, right? When they did that, but they didn't want to be kicked out of the synagogue. So when you're seeing this, obviously, yes, you know, when you're dealing with salvation, when you're confessed to your mouth, the Lord Jesus, and you know, we're talking about calling upon the Lord, dealing with salvation, obviously, that has its place. But I think more so here, is dealing with the fact that you're not hiding it, right? You're not, you would openly confess that Jesus is the Son of God, right? You're not trying to hide that from somebody because you're wanting to stay in the synagogue, or, or whatever, right? And so that's why saying God dwells in him, and he and God is talking about abiding in him. And obviously, those Pharisees were not right with God. They were rebuked in Scripture for that saying they love the praises of men more than the praises of God. But first Corinthians chapter 12, I think about this passage. And I'm not saying I completely understand you, because you say, well, this is it, I'm just, I'm just gonna be like, just off the cuff here, just thinking about this. What about all the people that say Jesus is the Son of God? They just say it. They don't believe it. But they say it. You know, I mean, like, because there's a lot of people that aren't saved, that would say, Yes, Jesus is the Son of God. Are they saved? No, we're talking about believers here. Okay. So we're not just talking about people that are just confessing that aren't saved. The prerequisite in this chapter is that you're already saved. Does that make sense? That's how this would make sense. Okay, because if it was just said, you know, whosoever confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you know, there's a lot of people that say that and confess that out loud. That doesn't mean they're saved, because they don't believe it. Okay. But if you're looking at this as far as a saved person and saying, hey, if you confess that Jesus is the Son of God, then you're abiding in him, you're walking in him, you're doing what you should be doing. Well, think about this with first Corinthians chapter 12, verse three, first Corinthians chapter 12, verse three says, Wherefore I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God call it Jesus accursed, and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now, this reminds me of a passage. And, you know, again, this is a passage, I think you're dealing with Christians here. And you're either dealing with someone that's walking in the Spirit or someone that's in the flesh. Because you can think about it, think about it, an extreme example. You're about to be beheaded for the cause of Christ unless you recant your faith. Now, obviously, you should not recant your faith. But let's say you did. Let's say you were afraid of dying and they say, listen, we won't kill you if you just deny Christ. What if you did? Well, it obviously wasn't the Spirit that did that, right? Does that make sense? It's not the Holy Ghost that's doing that. It's your flesh that's doing that. And as a Christian, it's the Holy Ghost that's saying that Jesus is the Lord. Go to Matthew chapter 16. I'm just giving you my understanding of this, okay? And I'm not saying that you may, there may be a better way to explain this. But throughout the whole book of 1 John, we're not dealing with someone getting saved. You know, we're dealing with someone. Until you get to 1 John chapter 5, it's explaining that who's ever believed that Jesus the Christ is born of God. Besides that, we've been dealing with, hey, you know the truth. You're already saved. It's just the fact that we're dealing with stuff that's after salvation. And so I don't believe 1 John 4 is any different. It's dealing with people that are already saved and we're dealing with, okay, how does this apply to me? How do you turn to Matthew 16, right? Matthew 16 verse 16, it says, And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven. Now, if you know the story, Peter was already saved before this happened. John chapter 2, it talks about his disciples believed on him after the marriage, you know, the supper where he turned the water and the wine. And so I believe he's already saved and it's the Father that's kind of, you know, revealing this to him. And so I believe you're dealing with a saved person and it just kind of fit. You know, obviously we're dealing with the Spirit in one place and we're dealing with the Father revealing something in another place, but it kind of seems like it fits there. But so when you're dealing with that where you're dwelling in God and God in him, in this passage, I believe you're dealing with people that are already saved and abiding in him or not abiding in him. Okay. That's what I personally believe that this is dealing with. And I'm just kind of giving you some aspects of how that would fit. Okay. Recanting your faith, right? Or you're not confessing him for some reason, you know, because you're afraid. You think about if you got like, you're around friends and you're like, and you're like, are you a Christian? You're like, you know, I don't want to really say, you know what I mean? And it doesn't mean you're not saved. It just means that you're not dwelling in God and God in you, if you're afraid to confess that you're a Christian or that Jesus is the son of God. Think about people that go into Hollywood and all this stuff, and, you know, they have to like suppress the fact that they believe in Christ. Now I'm speaking, you know, about in generalities, I think there are probably some Christians that have tried to jump into that, but they have to suppress that and not confess that openly. Right. So I'm just giving you some avenues of how that would apply to a Christian. Now, 1st John chapter four, and this is the last place we're going to here. In the end of this chapter, 1st John chapter four, I'm going to cover in chapter five, because 1st John chapter four kind of goes into chapter five. Okay. Actually all the chapters go into each other, but 1st John chapter four, I'm going to more so answer when we get into the beginning of 1st John chapter five, dealing with loving your brother and loving God. But this is the last place we're going to go to. It says in 1st John chapter four and verse 16, it says, and we have known and believed the love that God had to us. God is love. He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him. So again, we're not dealing with salvation. We're just dealing with the fact, are you dwelling in the love of God? You know, he that has this world's good and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from how dwelleth the love of God in him. So if you don't help your brother out, then the love of God is not dwelling in you. Therefore, you're not dwelling in God and God in him. Right. But it's talking about a believer. Okay. We're not talking about losing your salvation or losing the spirit of God because the spirit's always there. But notice it goes on here. Verse 17, herein is our love made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. Sound familiar? And 1st John chapter two and verse 28, it says, and now those children abide in him that when he shall appear, we may have confidence to not be ashamed before him at his coming. So it's the same thing that's being said here, only in this chapter is more so dealing with love. Right. Chapter two is more so dealing with abiding or keeping the commandments. This chapter is more so loving, loving, you know, the brethren, loving God dwelling in his love. It's just kind of giving you a different avenue of the same thing that's being taught throughout the whole book. And notice in verse eight, it says there is no fear in love, but perfect love cast without fear because fear had torment. He that fearth is not made perfect in love. Now think about this. This is the last thing I'm going to cover. What is the beginning of knowledge? The fear of God, right? The fear of the Lord. And you think about the fact that fear of God and keep his commandments is the whole duty of man. Now, what is the fulfilling of the law though? Like when you think about keeping the commandments, why do you do it? Because you fear God, right? You fear, you know, your heavenly father, that you fear the chastening of God. Well, love, it says the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love is the fulfilling of the law. And what we need to get to as Christians is not to keep the commandments because we fear God, but keep the commandments because we love God. And this happens with your children, right? Your children at the beginning are going to do what you tell them to do because they don't want a spanking. They fear you, right? But as they get older and they get more mature, they get off the sincere miracle of the word and you get into the strong meat of the word and you mature as a Christian, you should be moving further and further away from the fear into the love. That doesn't mean that the fear would always, you know, but what it's saying here is that there is no fear in love, but perfect love cast out fear, meaning that you get to a point where you're doing things for God because you love them to where you're not doing it because you fear them. Does that make sense? And that's what God wants, right? And when we're in heaven, do you understand that that's the way it's going to be? There's no fear in love, but perfect love cast out fear because feareth torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love, but we will be one day. And so, you know, there's that spectrum, right? You may be in the middle right now where you're like, I'm fearing on certain things and I'm loving and doing these because I love them on these things, right? And we may always have something there that you're like, I'm not doing that because I fear them, right? Because I just don't want to be punished for that. But you really should be trying to get all the way over to where it's all about love and it's not because you fear what he's going to do to it. It should be like, I want to do this and I'm going to do this because I love you, right? And so that's 1 John chapter 4. It's all about the love of God. There's definitely some difficult passages and difficult things to understand, but if there's anything to understand out of this, know that the Spirit of God is given to us and that never changes. God is always in us. God is with us forever. He'll neither leave us nor forsake us, but the abiding of the Father and the Son is something that, you know, is not all the time automatic. Just as much as being filled with the Spirit isn't automatic in all the time either. So that's what 1 John, when I think of 1 John, I think of that. I think about the fact of how do we abide in the Son and in the Father, right? And obviously we're dealing with the Trinity in this whole book and that's how it ends, is dealing with the Trinity. And so that's why it's so important that the Trinity, I mean, is defended because, you know, how would you answer these passages if you didn't have the fact that the Holy Ghost is always with you and then the Son and the Father are coming and aboding with them, right? You know, in 1 John chapter 2, it also says that too about if that therefore which you have received of Him abideth in you, it says, it talks about you shall continue in the Father and in the Son. And so it keeps talking about this, like you have the Spirit, you have the unction, you have the anointing, but if you do this, you're going to abide in the Father and the Son, okay? And it's throughout the whole book, it keeps touching on that. So I know it's a deep book. We've got one more chapter to go. And so, but let's end with the Word of the Father. We thank you today and thank you for your Word. And Lord, yes, there are some complex and deep things in the Bible and in this passage, but Lord, we love you and thank you that it all fits together and that you loved us, that you first loved us, and Lord, we ought to love you for the end of time. And Lord, help us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, and Lord, to love them as you loved us. And Lord, we love you and pray all this in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.