3 LETTERS of JOHN

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] Principles 1. The Old Sin Nature is the source of temptation, but human volition is the source of sin. 2. The OSN can tempt in three areas – sin, human good and evil – but the OSN cannot succeed apart from the volition of the soul. 3. The volition of the soul guards the gate of the soul from the OSN’s temptation. LESSON 78 (1-14-26) 4. Therefore no one ever sins apart from his own consent or function of his own volition. 5. Whether sins of ignorance or sins of cognizance, the volition is involved in every sin. Therefore ignorance is no excuse. 6. While the OSN is located in the body it must penetrate the soul for sin to be produced. This cannot be done apart from human volition. 7. The OSN cannot penetrate the soul apart from human consent/ volition. 8. When the OSN’s temptations become sin through human consent, the OSN not only controls the soul but the believer comes under the control of the Cosmic System. 9. The OSN, therefore, is Satan’s inside agent recruiting for the Cosmic System. Every sin, act of human good, and function of evil puts the believer in the Cosmic System. 10. Therefore the believer is only pure and free from sin when he is inside the Divine Dynasphere. The status can only be changed by the free will function of the individual believer. 11. No one becomes involved in the Cosmic System apart from his own personal sin, which means apart from his own free will volition. 12. Man’s positive volition is the guardian of the human soul, protecting it from the influence, solicitation and function of the Old Sin Nature. 13. First, the Old Sin Nature can only tempt, and it tempts from its base of operation, which is the human body. 14. The key to failure or success with regard to temptation, is the volitional will of the believer’s soul. 15. If the volition of the soul passes the Old Sin Nature’s solicitation through the gate, the believer has sinned by his own decision, and he has departed from the Divine Dynasphere and enters the Cosmic System simultaneously. 16. The status quo in the Cosmic System is called (ἀνομία – lawlessness). 17. It should be noted in passing, because of the KJV, that this verse is not discussing the Mosaic law (1 John 3:4). This verse is discussing involvement in the Cosmic System through personal sin. So in a roundabout way, this verse emphasizes the importance of Rebound as the only grace recovery system and the only way to re-enter the Divine Dynasphere. (See 1 John 1:9) 1 John 3:5 And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. Extended verse: 1 John 3:5 - Indeed you know that He (Christ) was revealed (1st Advent) . . . in order that He might carry our sins . . .and, in fact, sin is not in Him. (He remained in the Divine Dynasphere). 1 John 1:2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- 1 John 3:8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil. John 1:29 The next day he (John the Babtist) saw Jesus coming to him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 2 Corinthians 5:21 He (G.F.) made Him (J.C) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf (as a substitute for us), that we might become the righteousness of God (G.F.) in Him (J.C). This, again, was to offset the Gnostic teaching at the time that John wrote that our Lord was an optical illusion and that He did not exist in true humanity.

----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] Continued from 12/23/25 --- 6. But our Lord Jesus Christ responded to parental authority. He functioned under His parents training inside the Divine Dynasphere. Luke 2:51-52 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth; and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52) And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. Our Lord’s subordination to the Father’s plan. He was not only subordinate to the authority of His parents but also subordinate to the sovereignty of God the Father. 7. The Father’s plan = organized humility. That means to us: God the Father has a plan for our lives, and we have to be teachable for that plan to be fulfilled and for us to execute the plan. There is no way that you can fulfill the plan of God for your life without enforced and genuine humility. That means recognizing legitimate spiritual authority, i.e. the authority of whoever is your right pastor. The sovereignty of God the Father = enforced humility. Our Lord’s positive volition [+V] to the Father’s plan = genuine humility. 8. The Father’s plan = organized humility. That means to us: God the Father has a plan for our lives, and we have to be teachable for that plan to be fulfilled and for us to execute the plan. There is no way that you can fulfill the plan of God for your life without enforced and genuine humility. That means recognizing legitimate spiritual authority, i.e. the authority of whoever is your right pastor. The sovereignty of God the Father = enforced humility. Our Lord’s positive volition [+V] to the Father’s plan = genuine humility. 9. Our Lord’s function inside the Divine Dynasphere. The purity of motivation, the perspective, the modus operandi is phenomenal, as stated in Philippians 2:5-11 from authority in the cradle to freedom as an adult. Read: Philippians 2:5-11 1 John 3:4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. John now wrote about sin which stands in opposition to what he referred to in verse 3. Rather than merely referring back to lack of love, lawlessness denotes a complete rejection of God’s moral standards. Sin represents humanity’s refusal to submit to God’s law- God’s Word – constituting insubordination against the Creator. This wasn’t merely abstract theology for John’s original audience. False teachers disrupting the church had aberrant views about and denied their own sinful nature, aligning themselves with the Devil. At the heart of Satan’s original deception was the temptation toward self-centered moral autonomy – the lie that humans could determine good and evil apart from God. Among New Testament passages offering definitions of sin, 1 John 3:4 stands as the clearest and most revealing. Expanded verse: 1 John 3:4 – Everyone (believers) who commits sin, also produces lawlessness. (steps out of the Divine Dynasphere (DD), into the Cosmic System). In fact, sin IS lawlessness. Volition is the guardian of the soul against reverse *psychosomatics. Every temptation is the influence of the OSN I the body on the soul. Temptation is the OSN knocking on the door of the soul, and if positive volition opens the door, the old sin nature takes control. *psychosomatics – a branch of medical science dealing with interrelationships between the mind or emotions and the body. Inc Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1996). Note that every believer must commit sin for himself, and when we sin, it is our fault. We cannot blame anyone else and therefore sins of ignorance are not excusable any more than sins of cognizance. Sin has no excuse. No one ever sins apart from the function of his own volition. --Lawlessness is use here to show that the area where there is no law against, and there is no law against sin if you are outside the D D. There is if you are inside. So here, it demonstrates being outside the lawful boundaries of the Divine Dynasphere, the plan of God for your life. And simultaneously with every act of sin is removal from the D D. Removal from the DD becomes lawlessness or involvement in the Cosmic System. “Every believer who commits sin also does lawlessness,” meaning a departure from the DD and involvement in the Cosmic System. After salvation the OSN continues to function, but with this exception: God has provided the DD to completely neutralize the function of the OSN in sin, human good and evil. Principles: 1. The sin nature is the source of temptation, but human volition is the source of sin. 2. The OSN can tempt in three areas – sin, human good and evil – but the OSN nature cannot succeed apart from (neg) volition in the soul. The volition of the soul guards the gate of the soul from the OSN’s temptation.

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] CHRISTMAS MESSAGE (continued from 12-21-25) 12-23-25 Two other biblical visitors deserve mention: Simeon, a righteous man at the temple, held the infant Jesus and praised God, recognizing him as the Savior. These two people, including Anna, who recognized Jesus as the Messiah, can be found in (Luke 2:25-39). Luke 2:25-35 Anna, a prophetess who lived at the temple, also saw baby Jesus and proclaimed to all present that he was “God’s Son, the Savior of the world!” Anna was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. An elderly widow who had remained unmarried after her husband’s death, she devoted herself to temple life, spending her days in fasting and prayer. Her age is uncertain—the Greek text allows for either 84 or 105 years old. As a prophetess in the Jerusalem Temple, Anna recognized the infant Jesus as Israel’s promised Messiah alongside Simeon. When she encountered the baby in the temple, she recognized Him as the fulfillment of God’s promises. She responded by giving thanks to God and speaking about Him to all who anticipated Israel’s redemption. Anna represents a particular type of Jewish piety—a widow whose devotion was expressed through consistent temple presence and spiritual disciplines of fasting and prayer. Her role in Luke’s narrative parallels Simeon’s, as both elderly, faithful believers serve as witnesses to Jesus’s identity and significance. Through their recognition of the child, Luke emphasizes that Jesus’s coming fulfilled the hopes and expectations embedded in Israel’s religious tradition. Luke 2:36-39 Earthly gatherings after all have something about them that is sad and sorrowful. The happiest parties sometimes contain uncongenial members; the merriest meetings are only for a very short time. Moreover, as years roll on, the hand of death makes painful gaps in the family circle. Even in the midst of Christmas merriment we cannot help remembering those who have passed away.… People do not talk much of such things, but there are few that do not feel them. We need not intrude our innermost thoughts on others, and especially when all around us are bright and happy. But there are not many, I suspect, who reach middle age, who would not admit, if they spoke the truth, that there are sorrowful things inseparably mixed up with a Christmas party. In short, there is no unmixed pleasure about any earthly gathering. But is there no better gathering yet to come? Is there no bright prospect on our horizon of an assembly which shall far outshine the assemblies of Christmas and New Year—an assembly in which there shall be joy without sorrow, and mirth without tears? Elliot Ritzema, ed., 300 Quotations and Prayers for Christmas, (Lexham Press, 2013). There would be no salvation without the virgin birth. LESSON # 76 1 JOHN - (12-23-25) 2.Our Lord’s function inside of the Divine Dynasphere. a) Of special interest is our Lord’s function by genuine humility. Every other person must be trained by enforced humility which hopefully will turn into genuine utility. (The greatest virtue in life is the greatest human virtue which is genuine humility.) b) 1 Peter 5:5-6 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 6) Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, c) James 4:6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore, it says, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Principles: 1. Our Lord's humility as a child in the home. The home = organized humility. Organized humility means there must be teachability as far as the child is concerned. The child who is not teachable will never orient to life; he cannot live a normal life. The purpose is to prepare the child for life; the policy is the teaching and inculcation function of the parents. Authority becomes the great issue, that of one or two parents = enforced humility. When the child responds to the authority of the parent, whether fair or unfair, this is the development of genuine humility which is the first characteristic of maturity as well as the most basic human virtue in life. Our Lord attained easily by age 12 all of these factors – total teachability inside of the Divine Dynasphere. 2. The home or Divine institution #3 is provided by God for the human race to make the most difficult transition in life – from authority in the home as a child to freedom in life as an adult.

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] 1 John 3:3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Extended verse: 1 John 3:3 And, everyone (mature believers) who keeps on having this hope in him . . . purifies himself just as He (that Unique Person of the Universe – the Humanity of Jesus Christ is pure. Note: This verse is indicating that just as Jesus did NOT sin in the Prototype Divine Dynasphere, no one can sin while residing IN the Divine Dynasphere. The mature believer or the believer approaching maturity, has this hope in him. HOPE: ELPIS, - Gr. ἐλπίς, 1. Hope or elpis is absolute confidence regarding something in the future, something that hasn’t occurred but something that is guaranteed by the Word of God. 2. Hope is confident anticipation of reality before that reality occurs, therefore linked to assurance and confidence about the future. In this verse assurance and confidence about the future, the Rapture of the Church. 3. Bible doctrine resident in the soul from the function of the Divine Dynasphere is the basis for this hope or confidence about the future. We have fulfilled the principle, the mandates regarding residence in the Divine Dynasphere; we have fulfilled the mandates regarding these functions which takes us to maturity and gives us hope and confidence. 4. Therefore, hope is a doctrinal motivator for self-determination inside the Divine Dynasphere. Those who possess hope have self-motivation to advance to spiritual maturity. They not only have self-motivation but at the same time, they have the necessary ability to recognize the plan of God and not be deterred by people, a bad system, or thought distraction. 5. Divine blessing is anticipated through hope and administered through imputation. 6. The imputation is made from the justice of God to the indwelling righteousness of God which was imputed at salvation. 7. Hope can become an absolute confidence with assurance that when we stand at the judgement seat of Christ as mature believers -- those who have advanced spiritually will receive a superior resurrection body and the imputation of eternal blessing and reward which glorifies God forever. This fulfils the principle of: 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (worthless). 1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead… “purifies himself” – AGNIZO, ἁγνίζ, (v.pai); ② to cause to be morally pure, purify Principles 1. The advance to spiritual maturity, the ultimate objective, creates a purity or virtue in one’s life – purity of motivation inside the Divine Dynasphere. 2. The only purity in life, then, is located inside the Divine Dynasphere. 3. Outside the Divine Dynasphere there is no genuine purity or virtue of life. 4. Purity or virtue, therefore, is a status inside the DIvine Dynasphere only. 5. Outside the DIvine Dynasphere the believer resides in the Cosmic System where he is hypocritical and double dealing, even when practicing the virtues of life – such as love and generosity. 6. There is no doctrine found in the soul apart from the daily function of the Grace System of Perception, inside the Divine Dynasphere. Simultaneously, the believer is purifying himself, so that Bible doctrine learned inside of the Divine Dynasphere is taking the virtue of the Divine Dynasphere and transferring it to his soul – another reason for learning Bible doctrine: there is no virtue apart from doctrine resident in the soul. There is no doctrine found in the soul apart from the daily function of the Grace System of Perception inside the Divine Dynasphere.

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] The Divine Dynasphere is opportunity for the dispensation of the Church only. Principles: 1. The relationship between Phase Two of God’s plan and Phase Three – the Rapture of the Church. 2. The Rapture is immanent and could occur at any time. 3. However, the immanency of the Rapture does not change our modus operandi, for even if you knew that the Rapture would occur tomorrow you should carry on as usual inside the divine dynasphere. The key is to live the plan of God, to continue your momentum right up until the day you die or the Rapture occurs, whichever comes first. 4. Therefore our responsibility is not to do something stupid like stop paying our bills because the Rapture appears to be near, but to continue to reside and function inside of the Divine Dynasphere.. it has not appeared as yet what we shall be We shall not all look the same, but we will have the same nature, similar, of the same kind. In Attic Greek, “appeared” Gr. faneroo (φανερόω) is used for men of the same mind or party, but each person looked different, had a different personality, and had a different status in life. we shall be like Him, We shall be like Him, but we certainly will not be equal to Him. Christ has furnished the means of having association with Him by the Rapture or resurrection. He has provided us a resurrection body similar to His own. Principle: We as believers of the Church Age, royal family of God, will be similar to Christ in His resurrection body because we have the ability to see Him and be with Him. This apparently explains that difference in resurrection body. Those who log maximum time in the divine dynasphere are going to have a superior resurrection body. because we shall see Him just as He is. But even for Christians, the perception of seeing Christ now is a spiritual one. Though now we are children of God, there is no physical evidence of this that an eye can see. The physical changes in Christians await the coming of Christ. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him (cf. 1 Cor. 15:52–54; Phil. 3:21). Such a transformation will result from seeing Him as He is. But pending that event it is already true that everyone who has this hope in Him, (the pronoun probably refers to Christ, the Object of this hope) purifies himself, just as He is pure. Here the writer probably continued to refer to the new birth. One who sets his hope by faith on the Son of God experiences an inward purification that is as complete as Christ’s own purity (“just as He is pure”).

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] The Church Age believer, therefore, lives at the time of greatest opportunity in all of human history. The great issue here is the word “teknon”. It is important to understand that it refers to a child under discipline. We have the key in the word “student.” We are students of God. That means learning. If you are a student, two things are there: Authority and Information. We only grow spiritually through learning Bible doctrine. Our spiritual growth and our momentum depends upon our perception of Bible doctrine. The thing that challenges the Cosmic System in this dispensation is the greatest challenge that has ever come to Satan as the ruler of this world, and that is “thought” . In all other dispensations God provided support for believers through performance of miracles and supernatural phenomena. God would speak directly to people like Isaiah or Daniel. Angels came and taught the Jews even in the time of Moses, the greatest of all teachers in the Old Testament. There was always some form of supernatural phenomena to encourage people. But all of that is gone, along with any spiritual gifts which are related to miracles or tongues or healing, and the challenge to this dispensation (the Church Age), and the challenge to the Cosmic System, is “thought” – thought is found in the believer’s soul. Thought that has been preserved in writing for the entire course of human history since the time of Moses. The Bible is a file of all the principles, all of the information that God wants us to know and which is necessary to challenge the whole force and system of Satan and his Cosmic System. We live, therefore, in the greatest time of opportunity but we are required to use the greatest possible weapon, and the greatest weapon that has ever existed is a weapon which can only be loaded in the soul, and that is “thought”, truth, truth in three categories: 1. establishment (an established order of society) for the entire human race, 2. the gospel for the unbeliever, 3. and Bible doctrine for those who are born again. Just as the child in the home is under the authority and training of the parent, so believers in the Church Age are under the authority and the training of God. This is the dispensation when the class- room has been called into session; the Divine Dynasphere is that classroom. There is no virtue, integrity, honor, or anything that glorifies God outside of the Divine Dynasphere. Every time we decide to sin, we are outside of the Divine Dynasphere, and not only outside of the Divine Dynasphere but we come under the control of Cosmic One and Cosmic Two. So we have a power system, but a power system that has been rejected by the majority of believers in the time in which we live. 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. Expanded verse: 1 John 3:2 Beloved (Royal Family) we are now students/ children of God, and what we will be (in phase III - Eternity Future) has not yet been revealed. We know, however, that if He should appear - maybe He will, maybe He will not (in our lifetime) - we shall be like Him (not equal, but similar) because we shall see Him (resurrected Christ) just as He is. Beloved – AGAPETOS, ἀγαπητός, ② pertinent to one who is dearly loved, dear, beloved, prized, valued now we are children of God, We don’t have to wait for anything to happen before we become children of God, we Are Already Now Children of God! Nothing in this world or in the universe can change that fact. We are now students\children of God, but we are not certain what we will be in phase Three - Eternity. No one knows the day or the hour and, furthermore, there is no unfulfilled prophecy. The Rapture of the Church in its entirety is used here for a momentary action of the resurrection of the Church, the royal family of God, which terminates the Church Age. At the same time that this occurs, the Divine Dynaspheres is removed from history. The Divine Dynasphere is opportunity for the dispensation of the Church only. Principles: 1. The relationship between Phase Two of God’s plan and Phase Three – the Rapture of the Church. 2. The Rapture is immanent and could occur at any time. 3. However, the immanency of the Rapture does not change our modus operandi, for even if you knew that the Rapture would occur tomorrow you should carry on as usual inside the divine dynasphere. The key is to live the plan of God, to continue your momentum right up until the day you die or the Rapture occurs, whichever comes first. 4. Therefore our responsibility is not to do something stupid like stop paying our bills because the Rapture appears to be near, but to continue to reside and function inside of the Divine Dynasphere..

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] Theme: How the dear children may know each other and live together; the Father’s love for his children; the two natures of the believer in action. “This is a very wonderful statement that John makes here. Let me give you my very literal translation of this verse: “Behold ye, of what sort of love the Father hath bestowed upon (given to) us, that we should be named children of God, and we are: and because of this the world does not know (begin to understand) us, because it did not know (begin to understand) Him.” John is saying that we do not expect to be the sons of God, we are the sons of God. A better translation includes the words “and we are.” The child of God can say emphatically, “I am a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” We don’t hope to be, we don’t expect to be, but the thrilling fact is that every believer can exult and rejoice and constantly thank Him that he is God’s child. We are boasters not in ourselves, but we are boasting of the wonderful Shepherd that we have. John makes it perfectly clear that if you are a born again child of God, you are going to exhibit a life that conforms to the Father. A child of God need not be in the false position of saying as an old hymn says: J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary, electronic ed., vol. 5 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), 786. Tis a point I long to know, Oft it causes anxious thought, Do I love my Lord or no? Am I His, or am I not? —Author unknown It would be understandable if an unbeliever didn’t know if he was a child of God or not, but believers should know that they are a child of God, but many do not. There will be some who think they are an unbeliever because they thought they weren’t good enough to go to heaven. But they will be surprised when they wind up in heaven because someone gave them the gospel. Then on the other hand, there will be some who think that they are going to heaven because they did so many good deeds to get there. But they will be surprised when they find themselves in torments (Luke 16:28), waiting to be judged at the Great White Throne. The child of God can say emphatically, “I am a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” Every believer can exult and rejoice and constantly thank Him that he is God’s child. God’s love for us is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Many people declare that all people are children of God, but that is not true, no one is a child of God unless they have put their faith alone in Christ alone when they believed the gospel. God has demonstrated His love by giving His Son to die for us. How many of us have someone who would die for us? How many folk would you be willing to die for? God loves you, and He has proven His love—He gave His Son to die for you. The greatest motivating force in the world is God’s love. Love is the greatest drive in the human family. A man falls in love with a woman, a woman falls in love with a man, and some make such tremendous sacrifices for each other. When human love is genuine love, it is a beautiful thing, it is a noble thing, it is a wonderful thing, and it is a tremendous drive. But God’s love for His children far exceeds anything we can experience on the human plane. J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary, electronic ed., vol. 5 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), 786. God’s love is foreign to humankind in that we cannot understand the magnitude of such love. It astonishes, amazes, and creates wonder within those who properly reflect upon it. Daniel L. Akin, 1, 2, 3 John, vol. 38, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001), 133.

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. Some believers are going to be embarrassed at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and that is what John refers to in: 1 John 2:28 …so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. There will be shame because they have wasted their lives, their time, and the opportunities that God gave them to advance to spiritual maturity. After the Rapture of the Church, there is going to be an assembly of thousands and thousands and thousands of born-again believers who are going to be ashamed during the evaluation period of the Judgment Seat of Christ. It will be too late to do anything about what was done in the past. It means that many will be faced with the real and genuine standards of Bible doctrine and truth, which they didn’t care about when they were on earth. Principle: When they are standing at the Judgement Seat of Christ and they have no rewards, then, they will have a complete understanding of what was required of them to follow God’s plan and to live the Christian way of life. Sadly, there is nothing they can do to about it. They probably will remember how magnificently God supported them and graciously gave them every opportunity to make right decisions that would open even greater options. The key to life is making good decisions. Good decisions open the door for more options, or you can make bad decisions that destroy future options. Learning Bible doctrine is the best way to make good decisions. 1 John 2:29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. Righteousness is going to be developed consistently throughout the next ten verses. Down through 3:10 we have the importance of righteousness contrasted with continuous sin. For example, 1 John 3:6 “No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.” This is not saying that Christians don’t sin but that if we are in fellowship we are not sinning. So v.6 is going to tie us back to the main commandment which is to abide in Him. What John is saying is that if we continue in a lifestyle of carnality, then obviously we haven’t come to the point where we really know God. That comes through doctrinal orientation and grace orientation. Then in v. 7 he says: “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” What he is saying here is that we are Gods children, part of the Royal Family and we need to grow up and act like it. He is teaching us that there are certain things that should never characterize the life of a mature believer nor an advancing believer who is growing spiritually. Because of his position In Christ and because of his position in the Royal Family, We should not be deceived by false doctrines and lies. Bible doctrine teaches us to practice righteousness which shields us being duped by anything that is false. The righteousness in v.7 is not imputed righteousness; it has to do with the right application of Bible doctrine. John says we are to practice righteousness. We are not to practice self-righteousness, nor arrogance, nor legalism, which are the opposite of practicing righteousness. Then in 3:9, he contrasts this and says: “No one who is born of God practices sin…” 2:29 says the one who is born of God practices righteousness. The theme here is that the believer who is abiding in Christ, develops righteousness. Extended verse 1 John 3:9 And at the moment when anyone is born from God (at salvation), he is not sinning (at the point of entering the Divine Dynasphere (DD) because His seed (God the Holy Spirit) keeps residing in it (the DD). Furthermore, he is not able to sin (inside the DD), because he has been born from God. Note: At the moment of salvation you are not able to sin because you are in the Divine Dynasphere. When from your own volition you decide to sin, you immediately are in the Cosmic System.}

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] Review of lesson 69 and continue to Lesson 70 2 Corinthians 5:8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. We know where we are headed. We know that our citizen- ship is in heaven, we know that we have an eternal destiny, that our destiny is to rule and reign with Jesus Christ, and therefore, because our focus is on heaven we want to be there. We understand that there is a purpose for our life and time here on earth, it is a training ground and where we are developing our spiritual maturity so that we will have the capacity and the ability to rule and reign with Him during the Millennial kingdom. There is a purpose to this; it is like boot camp in the military. How well we do is going to determine what our position will be after the Judgment Seat of Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:9 Therefore also we have as our ambi- tion, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. Only God determines when we will leave planet earth and go home to heaven. That is His decision and His alone! There is no reason for us to fret about it. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2) A time to be born, and a time to die; We should focus on growing in grace and knowledge, serving Him and pleasing Him, learning to trust Him and to grow spiritually through consistently learning (B.D.). …and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. Why would we shrink away from Him in shame? The reason is that the event that immediately follows the Rapture of the church age believer is the Judgment Seat of Christ. This does not refer to our eternal destiny, that is already settled; this has to do with those who will experience shame at the J.S.C. because they wasted their time and opportunities that God offered them. Their shame will be temporary. Deponent verb (active voice) shame – AISCHUNO, αἰσχύνω, (v.aps) ① to have a sense of shame, be ashamed ② to experience shame, be put to shame, having shame, guilt, embarrassment, or remorse. P- Normally this is a passive voice or a middle voice, but this is a deponent verb. Deponent — A verb that is middle or passive in form because there exists no active form for a particular principle part in Hellenistic Greek, but whose meaning is active (i.e., there is no middle or passive force to the verb’s meaning). Deponent verbs usually have lexical forms ending in -μαι. Deciding when a verb is deponent is a historical difficulty in Greek grammar. Michael S. Heiser and Vincent M. Setterholm, Glossary of Morpho-Syntactic Database Terminology (Lexham Press, 2013; 2013). We know where we are headed. We know that our citizen- ship is in heaven, we know that we have an eternal destiny, and our destiny is to rule and reign with Jesus Christ, and therefore, because our focus is on heaven, we want to be there.

-----Complete notes can be downloaded from our website - www.countrybiblechurch.us -----You may contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] Originally, “anointing,” meant what was rubbed in or spread on in anointing. Eventually it even meant to be commissioned. God the Holy Spirit was never given until the Church Age. Cf. John 14:16-17,& 26. It is the anointing or unction (healing ritual) of 1 John 2:20 & 27 that refers to God the Holy Spirit. At that same time, the Holy Spirit indwelt our body, gave us the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, gave us a human spirit, and gave us the Filling of the Holy Spirit. LESSON 69 (11-13-25) Every believer receives all this and more from our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, there is around 40 different free gifts that are given to every believer by “Him” Jesus our Lord. The instant a believer is saved, he also constitutes the ordination of the royal priesthood. When the believer enters the Divine Dynasphere, it is the royal priest entering the temple of God, the temple which God has provided for him. 1 John 2:28 And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. Extended verse: 1 John 2:28 And now, dear children, keep residing in It (the Divine Dynasphere) that if He should appear - maybe He will, maybe He will not – (in their lifetime - imminence of the rapture of the Church) we might have confidence and might not be put to shame by Him (at the Judgement Seat of Christ) 'at His coming'/'in His presence'. We now get into the main body of the epistle which extends to 1 John 4:19 and the main message is that the believer must mature to the level of loving God as loving one another if he is going to be bold before the judgment seat of Christ. little children - John is expressing himself and his love for the congregation: by teaching them what is necessary to advance to spiritual maturity. The term does not refer to them as spiritual infants but simply as those who are under his pastoral care. abide in Him - “meno” – to remain, to stay. This word relates to fellowship, ongoing, continued intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ based on the Word of God, application of His Word, being in fellowship. Why is it important to abide in Him? We don’t just abide in Him simply to grow, to glorify God; there is more to it than that. Whenever John refers to “abiding”, he is referring to persevering in the faith of salvation. There are many dimensions to that and the one that John is emphasizing here is for the purpose that “when He appears, we may have confidence.” so that when He appears - Jesus Christ ascended to heaven around 2,000 years ago and no one knows exactly when He will return to earth, which is called the Rapture. Every Church Age believer will meet Him in the clouds and will be taken to heaven. we may have confidence - Our goal should be that we will have confidence in the way we receive the ongoing grace of God, consistently learn Bible doctrine, learn to trust and love God, and grow to spiritual maturity. 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad worthless (phaulos).” This is not referring to our eternal destiny, that is already settled; this has to do with our roles and responsibilities in the Millennial kingdom, with rewards for spiritual growth, not for spiritual service. As we advance to Spiritual Maturity that (spiritual growth) is going to impact and affect the function of our priesthood—witnessing, giving, and all of the other things that relate to our priesthood—but our rewards at the judgment seat of Christ are not based on that, they are based on our spiritual growth! 2 Corinthians 5:6-7 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord-- 7) for we walk by faith, not by sight— That is the principle for the spiritual life; we are to walk by faith and not by sight. This is trust in the Word of God. Faith means that the Word of God is more real to us than our experience, our feelings, than our circumstances; and if the Word of God is more real to us than the events of our lives then we are walking by faith and not by sight.