The May 24, 2024 FROM GOD
1 John 3:7-9 “Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous just as He is righteous; 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. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him, and he cannot sin, because He is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious; anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”
I am taking a bit of a risk in this blog. This passage of scripture is one that we may tend to read really fast and go on the next chapter because there are a couple of things said that may cause us to scratch our heads. You probably have not heard many sermons on this passage. I want to zero in on just a couple points. The word ‘practice’ has the idea of being continual-i think we understand that. Some truths to consider; God’s seed abides in us-that’s big! God cannot co-habit with sin-we know that. This passage boldly proclaims that because His seed abides in us, we cannot sin! That is a head-scratcher for sure. We all have sinned, right? So, what do we do with “he cannot sin?” Just two days ago, as I was reading this passage and thinking about “he cannot sin,” a sentence came to mind that I think was form the Lord; this sentence just seemed to drop in-I did not think it up-if you know what I mean. This sentence cleared everything up for me-now this passage makes sense. Here is the sentence: “The flesh is not in Christ.” The flesh refers to that part of us that resist or opposes God. The flesh battles against the Spirit, but we have the power to say no to sin-and we have the power to walk according to the Spirt and not yield to sin. Here’s the main point; the flesh is the old us AND it is not in Christ. We are a new species of humans, a new creation and in this new creation we have the seed of God abiding in us-this new creation has been born of God! This new creation that we are is much greater than we realize. This is so important because this truth is the basis of our true identity. Here it is: when we are walking in our new creation, when walking according to the Spirit-we cannot sin!! We sin when we choose to revert back to or yield to the flesh. This is not just a play on words! We must not underestimate what it means to have God’s seed abiding in us. God came to destroy the works of the devil-and He has done just that. This is not about sinless perfection; there are times when we yield to the flesh and sin-BUT it is our choice to do so! When we yield to the Spirit-to who we are in Christ-we do not sin. Think about it.
Galatians 5:16 “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.”
Blessings, Buddy
PS: I would love to hear your feedback.
[email protected]
1 John 3:7-9 “Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous just as He is righteous; 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. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him, and he cannot sin, because He is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious; anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”
I am taking a bit of a risk in this blog. This passage of scripture is one that we may tend to read really fast and go on the next chapter because there are a couple of things said that may cause us to scratch our heads. You probably have not heard many sermons on this passage. I want to zero in on just a couple points. The word ‘practice’ has the idea of being continual-i think we understand that. Some truths to consider; God’s seed abides in us-that’s big! God cannot co-habit with sin-we know that. This passage boldly proclaims that because His seed abides in us, we cannot sin! That is a head-scratcher for sure. We all have sinned, right? So, what do we do with “he cannot sin?” Just two days ago, as I was reading this passage and thinking about “he cannot sin,” a sentence came to mind that I think was form the Lord; this sentence just seemed to drop in-I did not think it up-if you know what I mean. This sentence cleared everything up for me-now this passage makes sense. Here is the sentence: “The flesh is not in Christ.” The flesh refers to that part of us that resist or opposes God. The flesh battles against the Spirit, but we have the power to say no to sin-and we have the power to walk according to the Spirt and not yield to sin. Here’s the main point; the flesh is the old us AND it is not in Christ. We are a new species of humans, a new creation and in this new creation we have the seed of God abiding in us-this new creation has been born of God! This new creation that we are is much greater than we realize. This is so important because this truth is the basis of our true identity. Here it is: when we are walking in our new creation, when walking according to the Spirit-we cannot sin!! We sin when we choose to revert back to or yield to the flesh. This is not just a play on words! We must not underestimate what it means to have God’s seed abiding in us. God came to destroy the works of the devil-and He has done just that. This is not about sinless perfection; there are times when we yield to the flesh and sin-BUT it is our choice to do so! When we yield to the Spirit-to who we are in Christ-we do not sin. Think about it.
Galatians 5:16 “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.”
Blessings, Buddy
PS: I would love to hear your feedback.
[email protected]
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