Oct. 12, 2024

1 John: Know Pt 2

1 John: Know Pt 2

We continue our look at the use of the word Know in 1 John

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We continue our look at the use of the word Know in 1 John

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

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the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good afternoon, everyone.

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It is Saturday, October twelfth, twenty twenty four. It is

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currently twelve sixteen pm Central Time, and I am coming

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to you live from the Theology Central studio located right

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here in Abilene, Texas. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I have

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done it once again. I had no intention of starting

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a series, but here we are now in kind of

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a mini series. I'm hoping it will be a mini series.

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I'm hoping this doesn't go too far. We kind of

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have a little series kind of going on with the

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Six Secrets of the Christian Life, and that's kind of

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involved a lot of different things. So I think we're

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doing pretty good with that. We still we are way, way,

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way way behind on working on all of the therefours in

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the Book of Romans. I wanted to get to Romans

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chapter four and look at the next therefore tomorrow at

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Victory Baptist Church, but at the same time, I can't

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really do that because we're also working on well, we've

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been kind of working on this idea of how Christians

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handle the subject of sin, which kind of fits in

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with our Six Secrets of the Christian Life for six Secrets,

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so we've been there's just a lot of different things

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out there that are kind of all falling together. We

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still have the ongoing series on eschatology that we need

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to finish that as well. There's always so much. I

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guess probably the main thing I'm really struggling managing right

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now is, you know, for basically twenty three twenty four years,

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it was Sunday School, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night

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at Victory Baptist Church, right, and as things are kind

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of wrapping up and the church has basically come to

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an end, you now we basically just have two hours

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on Sunday, and I'm not used to doing that. So

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then it's like, well, if I'm doing those things at

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the church, do I finish them on the podcast or

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do I finish them at Like You're still trying to

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how to navigate all of that, and so we have

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all of these things going on, and then in the

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midst of all of that, what happens, Well, don't forget

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we also have our ongoing series for the sermons two

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point oh app Sermon Challenge, right, So that challenge has

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led to really a lot of other series because I'm

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following the challenge listening to random sermons, and when I

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listen to a random sermon, almost inevitably it turns into something.

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So the last few days I started kind of changing

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things up a little bit because typically for the Sermon's

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two point oh app Sermon Challenge, I was randomly choosing

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a sermon, which we're supposed to do, not listening to it,

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because that's what I typically do for a review, and

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then just do a review not really knowing where it's

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going to go, not knowing what's going to happen, and

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then after maybe you know, two hours of broadcasting, three

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hours of broadcasting to finish the review. Then sometimes it

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would then turn into a series addressing what either the

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interpretation the sermon gave or actually dealing with the text,

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because we didn't feel like the sermon actually handled the text.

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So that's how we've been doing it. But I changed

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it up a little bit. Instead of going in completely blind,

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what I started doing over the last few days is

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listening to the beginning of the sermon, getting their basic hypotheses,

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the finding out the scripture, then doing my own work

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on the scripture, then just do the review to get

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to the basic idea, and then immediately go into my teaching,

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so that we're not spending three hours doing a review

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to only come to the conclusion that the sermon's hypotheses

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as crazy or they didn't even deal with the text.

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It's better try to get the basic understanding the sermon

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is giving, try to get the basic scripture, and then

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we can just go and do our own thing. So

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I have found that a little bit more satisfying, at

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least to some level, right. I mean, there's nothing worse

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than when you're done basically three hours of reviewing, critiquing,

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and analyzing a sermon that when you're done, you basically

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feel like, I don't know if the people got anything

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from this. I don't know if I got anything from this.

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This was an absolute, a complete and total train wreck.

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At least this way, I can guarantee, no matter what

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happens in the sermon, we're gonna be able to spend

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some time actually in the text, because I've already done

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the preliminary work. So I'm ready to go. And I

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know this is kind of bad, but I'm kind of

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going in with the assumption that the sermon's gonna not

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the sermon is not going to really deal with it,

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and ladies and Jai, that's kind of what just happened.

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I came across a sermon again randomly choosing sermons entitled

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five Critical Things you need to Know. Five critical Things

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you need to know? All right. Now, that's an interesting title,

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and to be fair, the sermon does provide five critical

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things you need to know, and they find all of

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them in First John chapter three. All right. But the

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problem is is in his preliminary comments, like he said,

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he was laying down some just like fundamental information. In

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that fundamental information, he gave some, but then it just

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kind of left us not really dealing with the bigger issue.

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So his argument was that in First John, you have

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at least twenty five times I think later he said

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more than twenty five times the use of the word

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no as of knowing something, know no, right, And I

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was like, ooh, that that's an interesting that's interesting. And

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if First John uses the word no and talking about

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knowing something that many times, oh, I think I know

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the reason why, because what First John is really about?

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Because everyone says First John is some test book to

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test one salvation. And we've talked about all of the

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problems with that hermoneutical approach. I've said over and over

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and over that First John is a polemic against gnosticism.

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Gnosticism is the key. If you understand gnosticism, you have

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a better way of understanding First John. So I'm like, okay, well, gnosticism, gnosis, knowledge,

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secret knowledge, okay. Oh, and the word no is used

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like twenty five times, maybe even if you take all

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the different no knowing all the different variations, and it's

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actually over thirty times. I'm like, we're onto something here.

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So because this sermon mentioned how many times it was used,

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I thought they were going to do something with it.

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I thought they were going to explain why is it

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used this much, what does it mean, what is the

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historical context, what is the textual But the sermon just

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abandoned that completely then just basically goes to First John

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chapter three. It says you need to know this, you

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need to know this now. The things they say you

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need to know are important and are critical. But if

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no is really connected to gnosticism, then the critical things

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this sermon says we need to know, we need to

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know them. In relation to how they address gnosticism. But

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the sermon completely ignored all of that, and it was

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like it was maddening. So I gave you. So we

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did a little bit of work. We've done a little

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bit of preliminary work, and now we're going to try

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to just see if we can take this a little further.

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It's gonna take a while. It's gonna take a couple

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of parts to get through everything I have. But I

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think by the time we're done, hopefully we're going to know,

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oh get it. We're going to know more about First

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John than we knew before we started. As we start

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lert listening figuring this out so that we can know

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even more, you're getting the idea. So we're not going

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to go back and review any more of the sermon.

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I did listen to a little bit more, and yeah,

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I mean, it's not going to get into gnosticism, it's

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not going to get into historical it's not going to

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do any of that, right, It's just they had no intention.

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So it was a little it was a little frustrating

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to me. But you know what, we can forget the sermon.

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We can work on it. So are you ready to

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put this all together, all right. First John uses the

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word no know well over twenty well over twenty five times.

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I don't know if I can say well over. Probably

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if you take no knowing and all that over thirty times,

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I challenge you to take your Bible. Don't just look

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it up like online, don't use like a Bible app.

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Just give him through First John, and find every use

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of the word no right down the reference, maybe even

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right to out the verse. Because now you're getting you're

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going through the book. That's good. You're skimming it. That's good.

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You're finding specific verses and writing them down, and that

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will help you know the contents of the book better

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than you knew them before you do this exercise. So

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I told everyone to do that. I don't know if

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anyone's participating, but okay, I told everyone to do that.

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That's great, right, So I have them all written down here.

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First John two to three. By this, we know that

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we have come to know him if we keep his commandments. Oh,

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so many issues with that verse. First John twoy four.

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The one who says I have come to know him

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and does not keep his commandments is a liar, and

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the truth is not in him. First John two five.

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But whoever keeps his word in him, the love of

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God has truly been perfected. By this. We know that

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we are in him. A WEE could spin, Oh, there's

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so much we need to work on in first John

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two but okay, so, but I can go through all

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of the verses. I could just sit here. We could

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take an entire episode to go to every verse that

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uses the word no and then try to figure it out.

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We could do that, and maybe one day somewhere, maybe

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we will. But we're gonna try to, in a sense,

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work on all of this by well, I think looking

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at the bigger issue here, and here's where I know

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we really need to go. And we talked about this

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in the last episode. All right, The first use of

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no is in first John two three, right k N

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O W. And if you go to a the intilinear

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and you look up the Greek word that is translated no,

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or actually it's translated from a phrase. Let me go

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back to it two three. Let me go back to

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the antilinear. The phrase is we do know comes from

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one Greek word, and then we know comes from the

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same Greek word. All of that is in first John

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two three, Greek word. Everyone should remember. This is this

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Greek word. Strong's g one ninety seven. Ganosko, ganosko, genosco, genosco.

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Just remember that ganosco. Now, as soon as I saw

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the Greek word was ganosco, I was like, ganosco. I

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know why ganosco is being used. I know, I like

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I that that Greek word just has to like, I

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know why no is being referred to because if you

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think about genosco, well you think about gnosis, and you

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think about ah, gnosticism. All right, So here is a

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little bit of I'm just gonna this is all review.

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I'm gonna go through this relatively quick. All right. You

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can go listen to part one for the review and

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a little bit more discussion on this. There is a

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connection between the Greek word ganosco and gnosticism, but it's

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important to distinguish between the common linguistic use of ganosco

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and the philological or fill a philosophical system of gnosticism.

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The Greek word gnosco the Greek verb ganosko simply means

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to know or to come to know, and it is

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used frequently in the New Testament, including First John, to

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describe knowledge and it is to describe, and it's used

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to describe knowledge in a relational, experiential and intellectual sense. Relational, experiential, intellectual.

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Keep that in mind. It is a common Greek verb ganosco.

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It's not inherently tied to any particular philosophical or thiological system.

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For example, it is used in many context to refer

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to knowing God, people, or facts. In these biblical contexts,

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ganosco refers to knowing God, knowing the truth, or knowing

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facts through experience, relationship, or understanding. It is not inherently

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tied to any special or secret knowledge. Now that's key.

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Gnosko is not tied to any secret knowledge, where nosis

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or gnosticism is all about secret knowledge. So already I know.

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I think we're onto something here. Now when we turn

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to gnosticism, it is derived from the Greek noun gnosis,

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meaning knowledge. Gnosticism refers to a diverse set of religious

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and philosophical movements in the early centuries of Christianity that

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emphasizes esoteric hidden knowledge gnoses as the key to salvation.

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Gnosticism taught that this special knowledge was accessible only to

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a select few, and that it allowed them to transcend

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the corrupt material world and reconnect with the divine, and

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gnosticism knowing was not simple about factual or relational knowledge,

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but about an elite, mystical understanding of spiritual realities that

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we're hidden from the masses. Now, while the word ganoskco

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to know a gnosticism rooted in nosis share the same

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Greek root, the connection between them is more about the Gnostics,

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how the Gnostics appropriated the concept of knowledge, rather than

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any intrinsic connection between the words themselves. So there's not

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an intrinsic connection between the words, but the words bring

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this idea of knowledge and to know, which is very

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much the hallmark of noss you know, the secret knowledge

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and gnosticism. So I believe First John by using no

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no no no genoskoven and there's another Greek word, But

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just utilizing the word no over and over and over

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and over tells you that there that knowing is key

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to First John, because First John is a polemic against

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Gnostics who are all about secret knowledge. But the knowing

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and First John is different than the knowing of gnosticism,

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and that's really how you understand First John. Right A

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gnosticism gnosis refers to special hidden knowledge that supposedly unlocks

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spiritual realities and it is necessary for salvation. Gnostics viewed

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this knowledge as superior to faith, ethical living and reserved

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it for an elite, enlightened few. This contrast with the

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New Testament's more common in open use of ginosko, which

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emphasizes relational, moral, and experiential knowledge of God accessible to

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all believers. So it's very different. It's a different kind

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of knowledge. So when John is saying no, no, no,

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we can know no, no, no, at know, it is

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like this knowledge, this noing. It's different than all that

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big group or that group that teaching that is circulating

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and that is impacting the life of believers. Don't be

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seduced by it. John's use of genosco is a response

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to Gnosticism. In letters like First John, the repeated use

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of the word genosco can be understood as John's polemic

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against Gnostic ideas. John's emphasis that true knowledge of God

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is relational, It is not hidden or esoteric, but experienced

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through faith, obedience, and love. It accessible to all believers,

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and it is tied to moral living very different than

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the gnostics idea. The Gnostic idea was completely separate from this.

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So the Greek verb genosco is a common term in

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the New Testament and does not inherently carry I'm hitting

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the microphone, I apologize does not inherently carry the same

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connotations as gnosticism, even though they share the same Greek root.

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The connection between the two is primarily in how Gnosticism

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appropriated the concept of knowledge and turned it into a specialized,

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esoteric form of knowledge that was central to its teachings.

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In contrast, John and other New Testament writers use genosco

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to describe a relational, experiential, and widely accessible knowledge of God,

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often countering the Gnostic idea that only a spiritual elite

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could attain true knowledge. So when you go through first

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John and you see no, no, no, no know it

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is saying, here is the knowing, Here is the knowledge,

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and it is and it's maybe somewhat unspoken, but I

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think as you go through there, it's pretty explicit that, hey,

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this knowing is different than that other secret knowledge, that

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gnosis that is out there and it's infiltrating the church

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and corrupting and people are being seduced by it. It's

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two different ways of understanding it. Now to really grasp this.

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That was just us scratching the surface, that was just

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us introducing this. For us to really get into this,

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we need to kind of do a summary of gnosticism

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and its origins, and then maybe some of this will

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make a little bit more sense. So that's what we're

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going to do, at least here. I don't know. I

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want to go through First John and show you how

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everything there is is a direct response to gnosticism. But

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to do that, we've got to build the framework, which is, well,

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what was gnosticism, What was the gnosticism at that time?

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What was its origins? Now, Gnosticism is a diverse that's

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very important. It's diverse and a complex religious movement that

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emerged in the early centuries of Christianchristianity. So as Christianity

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was emerging, growing, building, Gnosticism was emerging, growing and building.

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In fact, you could argue, I think this is historically

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accurate that Christianity and Gnosticism were competing concepts, competing ideas,

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competing ideologies, competing philosophies, competing truth claims. But what but this,

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this is why it's so important. Gnosticism was basically a

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combination of Greek philosophy, Jewish mysticism, and early Christian ideas.

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So see, it's going to have certain elements of Christianity.

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So you've got Christians learning Christianity and it's kind of

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its infancy, right, being developed, right growing. And then you

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have Gnosticism, which in many cases would try in certain

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ways sound like Christianity at least to maybe a surface level.

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And so now this is going to be a problem.

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This is going to be a problem. The Church is

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going to have to address this. It became more fully

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developed in the second century AD, though many scholars believe

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now I believe this is more factual than maybe some scholars.

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But I am convinced that early Gnostic ideas were already

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clearly circulating in the first century. I think they were

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already there already. They may not have had the name

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gnosticism yet, but the ideas were there. And this would

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place this directly in the background of the writing of

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the New Testament, including First John. So much of the

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New Testament you have to understand gnosticism because in many

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cases it's addressing and compete eating those ideas a lot

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of times when it's talking about now in some cases,

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obviously the letter is identifies who they're trying to address, who,

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what what the issue was? Right, So in some churches

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gnosticism wasn't the issue, but in other letters, other epistles,

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clearly they're addressing Gnostic ideas and they're combating it. Now.

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I think, first John, it's obvious because of no, no, no,

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no ganosco ganasco ganasco over and over and over and

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over and over and over and over. No, no, no,

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why because there's a it's a it's idea of knowledge

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is different than the Gnostic idea of knowledge. Now, at

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its core, at its basic core, gnosticism can be characterized

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by basically a couple of key beliefs. Now, please remember

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gnosticism was how one one's source says, was dive, verse

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and complex. Well, if it's diverse and complex, please note

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I'm simplifying it. Don't think this makes you an expert

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in every era or someone's gonna say, well, Gnostics believe this,

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and they believe I know. We could probably spend a

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year trying to figure out all the early Gnostic beliefs, okay,

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but having a basic idea that we can see how

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maybe first Sean was addressing it. Now, one thing that

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was very I think I think almost everyone agrees with this,

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is that Gnosticism taught a form of dualism. Gnosticism typically

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presents a dualistic world view in which there is a

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sharp distinction between the spiritual good and the material evil.

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Spiritual good material evil. The material world included human bodies

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it considered corrupt or even inherently The human body is

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considered corrupt or even inherently evil, while the spiritual realm

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is seen as pure and good. The belief led many

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gnostics to reject the idea that God would take on

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the flesh the incarnation, as they believe the divine would

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not interact with the material world in such a direct way,

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so they would go after the incarnation. Well why is

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this important? Well, because when you start reading First John,

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I think this immediately shows you the key to understanding

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First John is not we go to First John and

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want to make it about us, and want to make

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it about a test about your salvation or my salvation.

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This was trying to help the church get away from gnosticism,

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and again hear that they taught a dualistic understanding. The

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spirit was good, the material is evil, and as a result,

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they did not. They led Gnostics to reject the idea

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that God would take on the flesh, take on flesh,

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or the incarnation of Christ, as they believed the divine

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would not enter with the material world in such a

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direct way. Now, why is that important? We'll go to

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First John, chapter one, verse one, that which from the beginning,

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which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,

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which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled,

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of the Word of life, for the life was manifested,

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and we have seen it and bear witness, and showing

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to you that eternal life which was with the Father

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and was manifested unto us, that which we have seen

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and heard, declaring to you that you may also have

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fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the

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Father and with his son Jesus Christ. So the idea

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is that they saw that they touched, that Christ came

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in the flesh. Now this is First John. We know

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the same concept is really emphasized even more emphatically. In

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the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

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and the Word was God. And then the look, this

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is very import all right, verse fourteen. And the Word

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was made flesh and dwelt among us. This is this

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is a direct going after the Gnostic idea that that

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Christ became flesh. They rejected that that would be like, no,

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they're going after it and what they're in Just please

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note then it immediately discusses the idea of fellowship of

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fellowship right here in First John chapter one, it says

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verse three, First John one to three that that which

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we have seen heard, declare we under you that yay

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ye also may have fellowship with us. And truly our

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fellowship is with the Father and with the Son Jesus Christ.

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Now that we'll get into this in a greater detail,

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but this is about fellowship. Fellowship. Fellowship is a relational right.

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It's a relational right. This idea of having having something

395
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in common relational now, and so I would throw I'm

396
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just going ahead and throw this out there now. Salvation

397
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and fellowship are they separate? Can you be saved but

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not be in proper fellowship or right fellowship or weak fellowship?

399
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In other words, you can be saved, So there is

400
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a positional relationship salvation. You're an adopted child of God.

401
00:26:28.200 --> 00:26:31.319
You are a child of God. That is that is sure,

402
00:26:31.559 --> 00:26:34.759
that will never change. It does not. It has not moved,

403
00:26:34.799 --> 00:26:36.720
It does not fluctuate in any way, shape or form.

404
00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:39.119
Because you are a child of God by faith, and

405
00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:42.039
because of the imputed righteousness of Christ, you stand in

406
00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:44.720
perfect relationship with God, the Father, God, the Son, God,

407
00:26:44.759 --> 00:26:48.839
the Holy Spirit because of your position. But your fellowship,

408
00:26:49.359 --> 00:26:53.920
practically speaking, is relational, and it fluctuates, and there's good

409
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and there's bad. So at first John is more about

410
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our fellowship. Then our fellowship our relationship is very much

411
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about a knowing, which is relational. The way the Greek

412
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word that John uses for knowing is about a relational knowledge.

413
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So this would mean can we not draw a distinction

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between our salvation and our relational fellowship with Him and

415
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God in a practical way? And I think, I think

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that that becomes a key to unlocking the book and

417
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so much of this relational knowledge. Well, that is also

418
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going after the Gnostic idea of knowledge. But just note

419
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they teach dualism and immediately John I think, goes after

420
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this idea of well, no Christ became flesh, so that

421
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gnosticism teaches dualism. Number two secret knowledge nosis. The word

422
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gnosticism comes from the Greek word nosis, meaning knowledge, Gnostics

423
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believe that salvation was attained through special, hidden or esoteric

424
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knowledgeis rather rather than faith in Christ's atoning work or

425
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through living a moral, upright life. This knowledge was believed

426
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to reveal the true nature of the divine and the

427
00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:15.480
spiritual realm, and it was usually only accessible to an

428
00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:20.200
elite few. So nosis or gnosticism was like you're say

429
00:28:20.319 --> 00:28:24.640
by knowing, You're say by knowing, and the Christian ideas

430
00:28:24.680 --> 00:28:29.359
you're saved by faith alone, But there is a knowing

431
00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:34.759
which is relational. So I am saved by faith. My

432
00:28:35.160 --> 00:28:40.559
knowing deals with my fellowship. I'm saved by faith alone.

433
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But knowing, as John is going to use it, is

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dealing with my relationship, my fellowship with God. And this

435
00:28:49.640 --> 00:28:54.319
knowing is different than the knowing of gnosticism. I think

436
00:28:54.319 --> 00:28:57.119
that's where you start, how you can start understanding the book.

437
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So gnosticism teaches dualism, teaches secret knowledge, teaches what they

438
00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:07.160
would refer sometimes refer to as the divine spark a.

439
00:29:07.160 --> 00:29:11.000
Gnosticism often taught that human beings possess a divine spark

440
00:29:11.680 --> 00:29:14.039
or fragment of the divine that is trapped in the

441
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physical body. Through gnosis, the divine spark can be awakened,

442
00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:21.720
allowing the individual to escape the confines of the material

443
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world and reunite with the divine. Hey, you just got

444
00:29:26.680 --> 00:29:28.920
to You've got the divine spark. You just got to

445
00:29:29.119 --> 00:29:33.720
wake it up, and then well you can escape the

446
00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:40.240
confines of the material world. Now, okay, I could get

447
00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:44.920
into I think sometimes some of these gnostic ideas has

448
00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:50.000
influenced Christianity more than Christianity wants to acknowledge, right, because

449
00:29:50.079 --> 00:29:53.079
Christianity kind of teaches the same thing. Hey, now we

450
00:29:53.200 --> 00:29:56.480
have God living inside of us, and we just got

451
00:29:56.519 --> 00:29:59.000
to tap into that power and then we can escape

452
00:29:59.119 --> 00:30:03.240
and we can overcome. Even though yeah, we've talked about

453
00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:06.119
that whole issue and some of the problems with it.

454
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But so they believed everyone had a divine spark. You

455
00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:10.839
just had to wake up the divine spark and then

456
00:30:10.880 --> 00:30:16.279
you could escape. Escape at all. Right, just keep that

457
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in mind. Next, So we have the basic teachings of gnosticism, dualism,

458
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secret knowledge, the divine spark, and has one source refers

459
00:30:28.079 --> 00:30:32.079
to it cosm cosmic cosmology, if I can speak correctly.

460
00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:37.440
Many gnostic systems proposed a complex cosmology, often involving multiple

461
00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:41.519
divine beings or or are known as well. Yep, I

462
00:30:41.519 --> 00:30:44.400
can get into a less thing. So multiple divine beings

463
00:30:44.599 --> 00:30:47.400
sometimes refer to different things, but you get the idea.

464
00:30:47.640 --> 00:30:51.640
And a lesser ignorant deity often identified with the God

465
00:30:51.640 --> 00:30:54.920
of the Old Testament who created the material world. This

466
00:30:55.039 --> 00:30:58.799
creator God was typically viewed as inferior or even but

467
00:30:58.880 --> 00:31:03.599
possibly evil, while the true unknowable God existed in a higher,

468
00:31:03.799 --> 00:31:07.759
purely spiritual realm. So basically, and I'm going to try

469
00:31:07.799 --> 00:31:09.720
to simplify all of that, and I didn't go through

470
00:31:09.720 --> 00:31:12.480
all the terms because if I get into the terms,

471
00:31:12.519 --> 00:31:14.160
then we just kind of lose everything. Just get this

472
00:31:14.200 --> 00:31:20.319
basic idea. Within Gnosticism, their cosmology basically has more than

473
00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:23.599
one divine being if we can. I'm going to just

474
00:31:23.759 --> 00:31:28.680
really simplify this. The Old the Creator God is not

475
00:31:29.079 --> 00:31:34.960
really good, right, It's he's inferior, He's maybe malevolent. He

476
00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:39.680
may even be evil because he created the material, the material,

477
00:31:39.720 --> 00:31:46.960
which is ultimately bad, ultimately not good. But are you ready?

478
00:31:47.799 --> 00:31:52.559
While the true God is somewhat unknowable and exists as

479
00:31:52.880 --> 00:31:56.799
existed higher pure and a spiritual realm and would never

480
00:31:56.880 --> 00:32:04.799
become flesh, so they would try to separate almost the

481
00:32:04.839 --> 00:32:07.279
Old Testament God from the New Testament God, and the

482
00:32:07.319 --> 00:32:11.200
Old Testament God would be somewhat seen as almost evil

483
00:32:11.720 --> 00:32:16.039
or at least inferior because he created things. Right now,

484
00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:18.599
it's a little it's more complex than this, but I'm

485
00:32:18.640 --> 00:32:24.640
simplifying it, all right. So everything material bad, everything spiritual good.

486
00:32:24.880 --> 00:32:28.079
That's very much a part of the Gnostic idea. All right,

487
00:32:28.359 --> 00:32:32.400
very much part of the Gnostic idea. Right now, those

488
00:32:32.400 --> 00:32:35.000
are the core beliefs. Those are the core beliefs. Now

489
00:32:35.039 --> 00:32:39.200
here's the here. I went through those quickly. So number one, dualism,

490
00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:43.559
number two, secret knowledge, number three, divine spark, Number four cosmology,

491
00:32:43.599 --> 00:32:46.400
and I yeah, I kind of debated with myself how

492
00:32:46.480 --> 00:32:49.000
much to get into the cosmology. But I'm just gonna

493
00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:53.160
simplify it in their minds. Just think of it. Possible

494
00:32:53.240 --> 00:32:57.960
multiple divine beings will go with that phrase. They use

495
00:32:58.000 --> 00:33:01.200
different phrases, but we'll go with that phrase beings. But

496
00:33:01.759 --> 00:33:05.400
for our purpose and their minds. Because the Old Testament

497
00:33:05.440 --> 00:33:08.680
God was creator, he's inferior, if not downright and malevolent

498
00:33:08.799 --> 00:33:12.200
or evil because well, he's creating material, which the whole

499
00:33:12.200 --> 00:33:16.279
material world is evil, and the other God is the

500
00:33:16.400 --> 00:33:20.720
higher God. He exists only in the spiritual realm, and

501
00:33:20.759 --> 00:33:24.599
he is pure, and therefore this would deny the incarnation completely.

502
00:33:25.759 --> 00:33:29.799
All right, you kind of got that idea. Now, how

503
00:33:29.839 --> 00:33:32.359
do we see all of these ideas, or at least

504
00:33:32.359 --> 00:33:38.519
some of these ideas addressed in First John. That's what

505
00:33:38.599 --> 00:33:42.839
I'm hoping to accomplish here, all right, and light of

506
00:33:42.920 --> 00:33:46.720
those beliefs, those at least four. I mean, obviously it's

507
00:33:46.759 --> 00:33:49.680
a complex system, so we're reducing it down to four.

508
00:33:49.799 --> 00:33:51.920
We could go a little bit further, but you get

509
00:33:51.920 --> 00:33:58.480
the basic idea when you see those beliefs. The emphasis

510
00:33:58.680 --> 00:34:09.039
in knowing and First John becomes especially significant when you

511
00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:14.119
see the Gnostic beliefs. And then you go through First John,

512
00:34:14.199 --> 00:34:17.679
you see knowing, knowing, knowing, knowing knowing. Then you kind

513
00:34:17.679 --> 00:34:22.000
of like, wait a minute here, this is significant. This

514
00:34:22.280 --> 00:34:30.000
is the key. The repeated use of the word no godnosco.

515
00:34:30.559 --> 00:34:32.079
That's the Greek word I'm going to focus on. I

516
00:34:32.079 --> 00:34:33.800
know there's another Greek word, but that's what I'm going

517
00:34:33.840 --> 00:34:38.880
to focus on. Throughout the letter can be seen as

518
00:34:38.920 --> 00:34:48.639
a part of John's polemic against early Gnostic ideas. So

519
00:34:48.800 --> 00:34:52.239
let's go through this, all right. So it's a polemic.

520
00:34:52.639 --> 00:34:55.679
That's you've got to understand. First John. Look, I've said

521
00:34:55.760 --> 00:34:58.159
in church after church after church, listen to sermon after

522
00:34:58.199 --> 00:35:02.559
sermon after sermon, and they will mention gnosticism. This is

523
00:35:02.599 --> 00:35:05.960
what always drives me crazy about it. They will say, well,

524
00:35:05.960 --> 00:35:09.679
First John addresses gnostic ideas, and we see that in

525
00:35:09.679 --> 00:35:13.960
First John chapter one, verses one through say three, and

526
00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:18.639
then almost inevitably, they abandon the gnostic connection and then

527
00:35:18.679 --> 00:35:20.840
turn it into hey, this is going to prove if

528
00:35:20.840 --> 00:35:23.119
you're saved or not saved, and then in many cases,

529
00:35:23.199 --> 00:35:26.880
undermine the entire Gospel by doing that, and not only that,

530
00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:31.199
they abandon what the entire epistle is about. You can't

531
00:35:31.239 --> 00:35:34.000
just say, well, he's addressing gnosticism here and then he

532
00:35:34.079 --> 00:35:40.480
just forgets gnosticism makes no sense. So let's go with

533
00:35:40.519 --> 00:35:46.719
the secret knowledge idea. Gnosticism's focus on secret knowledge versus

534
00:35:47.559 --> 00:35:55.360
John's view of knowing. Gnostics believe that salvation came through

535
00:35:55.440 --> 00:36:00.000
acquiring special, secret knowledge that was only available to us

536
00:36:00.039 --> 00:36:04.840
select few who had been enlightened. This knowledge was seen

537
00:36:04.840 --> 00:36:09.760
as the key to transcending the physical world and reuniting

538
00:36:09.800 --> 00:36:16.880
with the divine. And contrast to that, John in a sense,

539
00:36:17.519 --> 00:36:20.280
he takes knowledge and says, no, this is not only

540
00:36:20.320 --> 00:36:23.679
for the elite, the elite, not only for the select few,

541
00:36:24.199 --> 00:36:28.960
he insists. John insists that all believers can know God,

542
00:36:29.360 --> 00:36:33.199
and his knowledge is not esoteric or hidden. It is

543
00:36:33.280 --> 00:36:39.800
available to anyone who believes in Jesus Christ. That's the concept.

544
00:36:40.119 --> 00:36:41.960
John is like, no, no, no, this is not only

545
00:36:41.960 --> 00:36:44.960
for a special few. That this is not. In fact,

546
00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:48.119
I can argue that the knowledge is found in Jesus Christ.

547
00:36:48.199 --> 00:36:50.840
When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, then in

548
00:36:50.840 --> 00:36:54.800
a sense we know what do we know? While we

549
00:36:54.800 --> 00:36:58.840
we know who Christ is, there's something we know that's

550
00:36:58.880 --> 00:37:02.920
a knowing that's available to all believers. In fact, looked

551
00:37:02.920 --> 00:37:09.119
at first John chapter two, verse twenty. First John chapter two,

552
00:37:10.559 --> 00:37:15.280
verse twenty, we read, but you have an unction from

553
00:37:15.320 --> 00:37:18.280
the Holy One and you know all things. Now, some

554
00:37:18.320 --> 00:37:20.079
people will get into a lot of things here, But

555
00:37:20.119 --> 00:37:24.880
the point is is and some would say says unction.

556
00:37:25.039 --> 00:37:27.280
Some would say you have been anointed by the Holy

557
00:37:27.639 --> 00:37:31.280
Holy One and you have all knowledge? Or are all

558
00:37:31.679 --> 00:37:34.880
and you all have knowledge is another way of translating it.

559
00:37:35.320 --> 00:37:37.519
John teaches that the knowledge of God is not reserved

560
00:37:37.519 --> 00:37:39.559
for an elite group, but is given to all believers

561
00:37:39.599 --> 00:37:43.320
through the Holy Spirit. This directly counters the gnostic I

562
00:37:43.480 --> 00:37:45.960
did that only a special class of people can attain

563
00:37:46.079 --> 00:37:50.159
true knowledge. If you are a Christian, you have knowledge.

564
00:37:50.280 --> 00:37:53.920
Now we could argue how to define that knowledge, but

565
00:37:54.639 --> 00:37:57.960
don't do that. The point is you have knowledge. If

566
00:37:58.000 --> 00:38:00.199
you are a Christian, you have a knowledge because believe

567
00:38:00.199 --> 00:38:02.920
in Jesus Christ. And to believe in Jesus Christ, you've

568
00:38:02.920 --> 00:38:05.800
come to know him. And by knowing Him, well you

569
00:38:05.920 --> 00:38:08.599
know God because he is the manifestation of God in

570
00:38:08.639 --> 00:38:11.800
the flesh. Right, You to know Christ is to know

571
00:38:11.880 --> 00:38:14.119
that God has come into flesh. You know that He

572
00:38:14.239 --> 00:38:16.679
died for your sins. You know that he rose again,

573
00:38:16.880 --> 00:38:19.639
ascended to the right hand of the Father. There is

574
00:38:19.719 --> 00:38:22.880
a knowledge you now possess that is available to all.

575
00:38:23.039 --> 00:38:26.880
It doesn't mean we know every interpretation of every scripture,

576
00:38:27.079 --> 00:38:30.639
we know all theology. Obviously that would not work in

577
00:38:30.679 --> 00:38:33.559
any way, shape or form. But there is something we know.

578
00:38:34.079 --> 00:38:42.480
There is a knowledge that we have that comes by faith. Right.

579
00:38:42.719 --> 00:38:46.400
I think that's an example. I think we can understand that.

580
00:38:47.000 --> 00:38:51.519
All Right, look at the so there is if we

581
00:38:51.559 --> 00:38:55.639
look at it. John emphasizes, I'll state it this way,

582
00:38:55.800 --> 00:38:59.760
Gnosticism the knowledge is esoteric, hidden and only a few

583
00:38:59.760 --> 00:39:03.719
can have it. John is more like, if you believe

584
00:39:03.760 --> 00:39:10.039
in Christ, then we have knowledge. We have knowledge right now.

585
00:39:10.480 --> 00:39:14.280
Gnosticism would say, would focus on the idea that the

586
00:39:14.400 --> 00:39:17.599
knowledg or how let me change it this way, John

587
00:39:17.639 --> 00:39:21.760
would argue that knowledge is relational, where the Gnostics would

588
00:39:21.800 --> 00:39:28.760
say it's esoteric. Gnostics viewed knowledge as something abstract, intellectual,

589
00:39:28.840 --> 00:39:32.159
and mystical, a way to unlock divine secrets and escape

590
00:39:32.159 --> 00:39:35.440
the material world. The knowledge was often disconnected from moral

591
00:39:35.519 --> 00:39:39.280
or ethical living in the present world. John's use of

592
00:39:39.400 --> 00:39:43.559
no emphasizes a relational, experiential knowledge of God, which is

593
00:39:43.559 --> 00:39:47.000
shown through obedience, love, and fellowship. And first John knowing

594
00:39:47.000 --> 00:39:49.719
God is not just intellectual, but it is proven by

595
00:39:49.840 --> 00:39:53.239
how one lives. So John makes an argument that as

596
00:39:53.239 --> 00:39:57.239
we know God in a relational way, then this should

597
00:39:57.320 --> 00:40:00.199
impact our relational living. And I think we can all

598
00:40:00.239 --> 00:40:02.159
agree to that to some level. It's not gonna make

599
00:40:02.239 --> 00:40:04.880
us perfect. We all obviously know that, it's not gonna

600
00:40:04.880 --> 00:40:09.800
make us sinless. We obviously know that. But knowledge and

601
00:40:09.960 --> 00:40:15.360
relationship always impacts something. Right, It's not gonna change our nature,

602
00:40:15.760 --> 00:40:19.559
but it impacts something. Correct if you if you know

603
00:40:19.880 --> 00:40:24.320
someone in a relational way, then you that's going to

604
00:40:24.360 --> 00:40:30.039
have some impact. And we see this in say, first

605
00:40:30.119 --> 00:40:34.639
John two three through four, First John two three through four.

606
00:40:34.960 --> 00:40:38.400
And hereby we do know that we know him if

607
00:40:38.440 --> 00:40:41.800
we keep his commandments, he that saith I know him

608
00:40:41.840 --> 00:40:44.239
and keepeth not his commandments as a liar, and the

609
00:40:44.280 --> 00:40:48.719
truth is not in him. Now again this versus used

610
00:40:48.760 --> 00:40:51.159
to try to prove someone's salvation. I think what it's

611
00:40:51.159 --> 00:40:56.039
trying to argue is that the gnostic idea is that

612
00:40:56.280 --> 00:41:00.639
knowing has no impact on moral living. It's just the knowing,

613
00:41:00.960 --> 00:41:05.039
you just know. Knowing is the key, and the knowing

614
00:41:05.079 --> 00:41:08.320
doesn't have any impact on ethical living because ethical living

615
00:41:08.400 --> 00:41:11.000
involves the body, and the body is already evil. So

616
00:41:11.039 --> 00:41:13.559
we don't care. John's just trying to make it not.

617
00:41:13.800 --> 00:41:17.039
I know we've taken these words and created entire theological

618
00:41:17.079 --> 00:41:19.639
systems off this, But I think what John is simply

619
00:41:19.639 --> 00:41:22.639
trying to say is, look, if we know God in

620
00:41:22.719 --> 00:41:27.559
a relational way, then it should lead to some impact

621
00:41:27.679 --> 00:41:30.199
in what we do right now. If you want to

622
00:41:30.239 --> 00:41:31.880
try to turn this into a test to prove that

623
00:41:31.920 --> 00:41:34.679
someone is saved, you do realize if you say no,

624
00:41:34.960 --> 00:41:38.280
there means know him in salvation. And the way you

625
00:41:38.400 --> 00:41:43.840
know that you're saved if you keep his commandments, Well,

626
00:41:43.880 --> 00:41:47.880
then you would have to look at how what happens

627
00:41:47.880 --> 00:41:49.960
if you don't keep Can you keep his commandments? Well,

628
00:41:49.960 --> 00:41:52.320
we've already established no one can keep his commandments. I

629
00:41:52.320 --> 00:41:54.519
can prove that in five point two seconds. So that

630
00:41:54.559 --> 00:41:58.079
means you're in a perpetual state of disobedience to his commandments, right,

631
00:41:58.280 --> 00:42:00.920
because if you violate one of the law, you're guilty

632
00:42:00.960 --> 00:42:03.400
of all of it. So if you say that the

633
00:42:03.440 --> 00:42:06.960
way you know you're saved, the way you know you're saved,

634
00:42:07.199 --> 00:42:10.000
is that you keep his commandments, then it would demand

635
00:42:10.039 --> 00:42:12.519
perfection or you wouldn't be able to know you're saved.

636
00:42:12.719 --> 00:42:14.639
And considering if you violate one point of the law,

637
00:42:14.639 --> 00:42:16.719
you're guilty of all of it, you're always in guilty

638
00:42:16.719 --> 00:42:18.800
of all of it because no one keeps the law perfectly.

639
00:42:19.000 --> 00:42:21.199
So then that trying to prove salvation. I think what

640
00:42:21.679 --> 00:42:25.320
John is simply trying to say. The knowledge that I'm

641
00:42:25.400 --> 00:42:30.079
talking about is a knowledge, a relational knowledge that should

642
00:42:30.199 --> 00:42:35.599
impact something. It should impact something now I know, and

643
00:42:35.760 --> 00:42:38.440
either way we have to kind of water this down

644
00:42:38.480 --> 00:42:41.199
a little bit, but there's just no way to. In

645
00:42:41.239 --> 00:42:45.159
the context of gnosticism, it makes sense. Hey, they say

646
00:42:45.199 --> 00:42:48.000
you know and it doesn't matter what you do. I'm saying,

647
00:42:48.039 --> 00:42:53.159
if you know, it will impact what you do. It

648
00:42:53.199 --> 00:42:56.320
will impact to some level, because you know what, as

649
00:42:56.320 --> 00:42:58.760
a Christian, what do we know? We know there's a God,

650
00:42:59.000 --> 00:43:01.800
we know that he's holy, we know that he hates sin.

651
00:43:02.039 --> 00:43:06.119
We now know what sin is right, we know what

652
00:43:06.199 --> 00:43:08.440
do we know? Well? We know from the word that

653
00:43:08.480 --> 00:43:11.639
we know. There's things we know which should impact to

654
00:43:11.800 --> 00:43:17.679
some level. I think that's I think that's the issue here.

655
00:43:18.239 --> 00:43:23.039
John ties knowledge directly to obedience, not secret insight. True

656
00:43:23.039 --> 00:43:25.760
knowledge of God is not something hidden, It is demonstrated

657
00:43:25.760 --> 00:43:28.199
in the life of a believer through love and moral behavior.

658
00:43:28.440 --> 00:43:31.599
This counters the gnostic idea that the knowledge alone, which

659
00:43:31.599 --> 00:43:37.159
corresponding ethical action, could bring salvation. Right the gnostic guye

660
00:43:37.199 --> 00:43:41.440
is just no, just know, you don't need to do anything. Now,

661
00:43:41.639 --> 00:43:46.519
I think johnsing know the knowing is relational, and relational

662
00:43:46.639 --> 00:43:50.559
knowledge impacts behavior to some level, and to some level

663
00:43:50.599 --> 00:43:54.760
it always impacts. Look, we know it at least impacts

664
00:43:54.800 --> 00:43:57.920
this because we see this in Paul's writing, the things

665
00:43:57.960 --> 00:44:01.239
I want to do I don't do, but the things

666
00:44:01.280 --> 00:44:03.360
that don't want to do I do, and he feels

667
00:44:03.360 --> 00:44:06.440
guilty about it. So our knowing gives us the idea,

668
00:44:06.639 --> 00:44:10.119
now we know what we should do, right, we know

669
00:44:10.239 --> 00:44:13.559
what we should do, We should hopefully at some point

670
00:44:13.760 --> 00:44:16.239
desire it because we have relational knowledge with God. We

671
00:44:16.679 --> 00:44:20.079
want to somehow please God. We can at least state that,

672
00:44:20.639 --> 00:44:23.239
and there is a desire, and we feel guilty when

673
00:44:23.280 --> 00:44:28.920
we don't. I think it's just trying to say this

674
00:44:29.079 --> 00:44:38.599
knowledge will have some moral implication some all right, So

675
00:44:39.800 --> 00:44:44.079
gnosticism focuses on secret knowledge. John's view of his knowledge

676
00:44:44.119 --> 00:44:53.000
is available to all believers. Knowledge is relational, not esoteric.

677
00:44:53.119 --> 00:44:55.199
John wants to make an argument that this knowledge is

678
00:44:55.320 --> 00:44:59.840
relational knowledge, therefore it impacts the Gnostics wanted to make

679
00:44:59.880 --> 00:45:02.199
it escoteric, and it's just like knowledge for the sake

680
00:45:02.239 --> 00:45:05.079
of knowledge, and it doesn't have any impact on what

681
00:45:05.119 --> 00:45:09.880
we do. How about the incarnation and the knowledge of God.

682
00:45:09.920 --> 00:45:13.320
Gnosticism rejected the idea that the divine could truly inhabit

683
00:45:13.360 --> 00:45:16.079
the material world, leading some Gnostics to deny the full

684
00:45:16.119 --> 00:45:19.280
humanity of Jesus or claim that he only appeared to

685
00:45:19.360 --> 00:45:23.800
be human with his dociitism. John, however, stresses the importance

686
00:45:23.800 --> 00:45:27.760
of acknowledging that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Knowing

687
00:45:27.800 --> 00:45:31.880
God is inherently tied to recognizing the incarnation. Look at first,

688
00:45:31.960 --> 00:45:39.559
John four to two. Hereby know ye the spirit of God.

689
00:45:40.079 --> 00:45:43.039
Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in

690
00:45:43.079 --> 00:45:49.719
the flesh is of God. Right to know him relationally

691
00:45:50.079 --> 00:45:53.480
is to know that he came in the flesh. It's

692
00:45:53.559 --> 00:45:56.519
to know that it To truly know him relationally is

693
00:45:56.559 --> 00:45:59.280
to know that he came in the flesh. Where the

694
00:45:59.599 --> 00:46:04.840
nost knowledge that the knowledge of gnosticism, the g nosis

695
00:46:04.880 --> 00:46:07.880
of gnosticism, would be like he did not come in

696
00:46:07.920 --> 00:46:13.760
the flesh? All right? Does that make sense? I think

697
00:46:13.760 --> 00:46:16.880
it does. The affirmation of the incarnation stands in direct

698
00:46:16.880 --> 00:46:21.519
opposition to gnostic dualism. For John, knowing God is inseparable

699
00:46:21.639 --> 00:46:24.800
from confessing that Jesus is the Son of God took

700
00:46:24.880 --> 00:46:27.519
on real human flesh. This was a direct challenge to

701
00:46:27.559 --> 00:46:31.800
gnostic beliefs that undermined or denied the material reality of

702
00:46:31.920 --> 00:46:38.440
Jesus' life on earth. Right next, love as evidence of

703
00:46:38.519 --> 00:46:43.519
knowing God Gnosticism tended to be highly individualistic, focusing on

704
00:46:43.559 --> 00:46:46.239
the personal attainment of knowledge. This often led to a

705
00:46:46.280 --> 00:46:50.599
neglect of communal love and ethical responsibility towards others, because well,

706
00:46:50.920 --> 00:46:54.239
the body is just sinful anyway, the material world is

707
00:46:54.280 --> 00:46:57.360
just sinful. We don't care about We just care about knowledge,

708
00:46:57.440 --> 00:47:00.800
not about people, not about the material world. We want

709
00:47:00.800 --> 00:47:03.000
to just in a sense, ignore the material world and

710
00:47:03.039 --> 00:47:09.880
get back to the divine. But John, over and over

711
00:47:09.920 --> 00:47:13.039
and over ties knowing God to the to the commandment

712
00:47:13.079 --> 00:47:16.480
to love one another. Knowing the knowledge of God is

713
00:47:16.519 --> 00:47:19.440
not merely intellectual or mystical, but it is shown through love.

714
00:47:19.480 --> 00:47:23.079
Look at first John chapter four, verse seven. The love

715
00:47:23.199 --> 00:47:25.880
Let us love one another, for love is of God.

716
00:47:25.920 --> 00:47:28.840
And everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God,

717
00:47:28.880 --> 00:47:32.400
please don't knoweth. And he that loveth not knoweth not God.

718
00:47:32.480 --> 00:47:36.320
For God is love. This is a direct attack upon gnosticism.

719
00:47:36.480 --> 00:47:39.960
Gnosticism says, you know, but you don't love. John is

720
00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.719
like no, No is relational. It's relational. And so if

721
00:47:44.760 --> 00:47:48.599
I know God relationally, then there's going to be an

722
00:47:48.679 --> 00:47:51.960
understanding of love. For God is love. So if I

723
00:47:52.039 --> 00:47:55.480
know God, I know I'm confronted with love. I'm confronted

724
00:47:55.559 --> 00:47:59.039
with love is, and so therefore we are called to

725
00:47:59.119 --> 00:48:02.920
love other Again, if you make this a proof of salvation,

726
00:48:03.960 --> 00:48:09.760
you're going to it's going to become almost this very

727
00:48:09.800 --> 00:48:13.599
subjective thing. It's already subjective to some level, but it's

728
00:48:13.639 --> 00:48:16.840
at least black and white. Their knowledge says who cares

729
00:48:16.840 --> 00:48:20.599
about love? And John is saying our knowledge says, you

730
00:48:20.679 --> 00:48:23.800
care about love because if you know God, you know

731
00:48:23.880 --> 00:48:26.320
the creator, and you know people are created in the

732
00:48:26.360 --> 00:48:28.920
image of God, so you should love those created in

733
00:48:28.960 --> 00:48:31.079
his image. You know that God has loved, so now

734
00:48:31.079 --> 00:48:41.199
you know what love is. This teaching in First John

735
00:48:41.239 --> 00:48:45.320
four runs directly counter to the Gnostic elitism and their

736
00:48:45.400 --> 00:48:48.039
lack of focus on love. John insists that true knowledge

737
00:48:48.079 --> 00:48:51.119
of God manifested itself and love for others, especially for

738
00:48:51.199 --> 00:48:54.639
fellow believers, demonstrating that knowledge is not an abstract possession

739
00:48:54.920 --> 00:49:02.920
but a lived reality. So what summary Gnosticism's emphasis on

740
00:49:03.159 --> 00:49:07.440
secret elitist knowledge is a directly was directly challenged by

741
00:49:07.440 --> 00:49:11.880
First John's focus on relational, accessible knowledge available to all

742
00:49:11.880 --> 00:49:14.320
who believe in Jesus Christ. The repeated use of the

743
00:49:14.360 --> 00:49:18.400
word know in what and First John serves as a

744
00:49:18.480 --> 00:49:22.000
counter to gnostic ideas. And let's try to summarize this.

745
00:49:22.119 --> 00:49:25.079
You're ready. True knowledge of God is revealed through faith

746
00:49:25.079 --> 00:49:30.480
in Jesus Christ, not through secret or esoteric teachings. Knowledge

747
00:49:30.519 --> 00:49:34.719
of God is relational and experiential, demonstrated by obedience to

748
00:49:34.760 --> 00:49:39.039
His commands and love for others, not detached intellectual insight.

749
00:49:40.679 --> 00:49:44.280
The incarnation of Christ is central to knowing God, directly

750
00:49:44.400 --> 00:49:47.480
challenging gnostic views that denied the full humanity of Jesus.

751
00:49:48.199 --> 00:49:51.199
All believers are giving knowledge of the truth through the spirit,

752
00:49:51.280 --> 00:49:57.519
making knowledge of God a communal reality, not an elite privilege.

753
00:49:58.360 --> 00:50:01.840
John is like, hey, knowledge is different than that knowledge.

754
00:50:01.920 --> 00:50:06.920
And this knowledge is available to all Christians through faith.

755
00:50:07.360 --> 00:50:10.159
In other words, and when we say knowledge, we're not

756
00:50:10.199 --> 00:50:13.760
saying can understand everything, right, We're not saying can understand

757
00:50:13.760 --> 00:50:16.039
every scripture because if you can, well, then well we

758
00:50:16.360 --> 00:50:18.559
know all the problems with that, all right. It's saying

759
00:50:18.559 --> 00:50:20.960
that there is when you become a Christian, there is

760
00:50:21.000 --> 00:50:25.400
a knowledge that you begin to immediately have. Jesus is

761
00:50:25.440 --> 00:50:28.199
the eternal son of God. He took on human flesh,

762
00:50:28.280 --> 00:50:32.559
he died, he suffered, buried, rose the third Day ascended

763
00:50:32.599 --> 00:50:34.639
to the right hand of the Father coming to judge

764
00:50:34.679 --> 00:50:38.280
the living and the dead. These are basic concepts that

765
00:50:38.320 --> 00:50:41.840
are just like like Christianity one oh one, Right, this

766
00:50:41.920 --> 00:50:43.519
is what we come to know when we put our

767
00:50:43.559 --> 00:50:46.239
faith in Christ. This is what we come to understand

768
00:50:46.519 --> 00:50:52.159
and that this knowledge right, So my salvation, my salvation

769
00:50:52.320 --> 00:50:55.039
is based off my faith in Jesus Christ. There's obviously

770
00:50:55.239 --> 00:50:58.119
a change of mind and knowledge involved in that. But

771
00:50:58.239 --> 00:51:01.039
once I put my faith in Christ, salvation is based

772
00:51:01.039 --> 00:51:03.599
off my faith in Christ and off his finished work.

773
00:51:04.199 --> 00:51:12.440
Now I knowledge is now my relationship with God, my fellowship, right,

774
00:51:12.800 --> 00:51:16.719
and that relationship with God, that fellowship with God. Knowledge,

775
00:51:17.119 --> 00:51:22.239
that knowing is a very relational knowledge that should impact

776
00:51:22.639 --> 00:51:28.039
real things to some level. Now, if that knowledge is

777
00:51:28.159 --> 00:51:31.559
missing and we're not doing those things that would impact,

778
00:51:31.760 --> 00:51:36.440
that would question our knowing and question our fellowship, not

779
00:51:36.679 --> 00:51:40.719
question our salvation, which is through faith based off the

780
00:51:40.760 --> 00:51:44.920
finished work of Christ. I think that's the distinction we

781
00:51:45.079 --> 00:51:49.960
have to make. So true knowledge is through faith in Christ,

782
00:51:50.119 --> 00:51:53.880
not through secret or esoteric teachings. Knowledge of God is

783
00:51:53.920 --> 00:51:57.679
relational and experiential, demonstrated by obedience to His commandments and love.

784
00:51:57.920 --> 00:52:00.800
The incarnation of Christ is central to know God, and

785
00:52:00.880 --> 00:52:04.280
all believers are giving knowledge of truth through the Holy Spirit. Thus,

786
00:52:04.400 --> 00:52:08.960
rather than seeing setting impossible standards for proving someone's salvation,

787
00:52:09.559 --> 00:52:12.239
the Test and First John function more as a challenge

788
00:52:12.440 --> 00:52:16.880
to the core tenets of gnosticism, affirming orthodox Christian beliefs

789
00:52:16.880 --> 00:52:20.119
about Jesus, the incarnation, and the practical outworking of faith

790
00:52:20.159 --> 00:52:23.360
through love and obedience. Let me read that paragraph again.

791
00:52:24.760 --> 00:52:30.880
Rather then setting impossible standards to prove someone's salvation, that's

792
00:52:30.880 --> 00:52:34.000
not what First John is about. The so called test

793
00:52:34.960 --> 00:52:41.320
function as challenges to the core tenets of gnosticism, affirming

794
00:52:41.559 --> 00:52:46.400
orthodox Christian beliefs about Jesus, the incarnation, and the practical

795
00:52:46.480 --> 00:52:51.159
outward working of faith through love and obedience. It is

796
00:52:51.199 --> 00:52:54.360
trying to say our system is different than their system.

797
00:52:54.599 --> 00:52:57.400
Their system is only for the elite. You find a

798
00:52:57.480 --> 00:53:01.360
secret knowledge that's salvation, and it doesn't matter what you do.

799
00:53:03.639 --> 00:53:05.719
John comes along and says, no, no, no, no, no, no,

800
00:53:05.719 --> 00:53:10.320
no no no. Salvation is obviously our faith in Christ.

801
00:53:10.760 --> 00:53:14.840
But then we know, and this knowing is not for

802
00:53:14.880 --> 00:53:19.719
the elite, not for a secret group. This knowing is relational,

803
00:53:20.039 --> 00:53:25.400
it's experiential. This knowing impacts to some level what we do,

804
00:53:25.639 --> 00:53:30.000
and to draw direct correlation against the Gnostics, it involves

805
00:53:30.480 --> 00:53:33.400
obeying and doing. In other words, you care about morality

806
00:53:33.920 --> 00:53:38.079
and you care about love because you now know about

807
00:53:38.079 --> 00:53:41.039
morality and you now know about love. So then that

808
00:53:41.199 --> 00:53:45.559
has a practical impact. Now I understand the way it's written.

809
00:53:45.559 --> 00:53:47.719
You would think, well, this knowing means I have to

810
00:53:47.719 --> 00:53:50.000
do it perfectly. But it's not about proving that you

811
00:53:50.079 --> 00:53:52.519
do it perfectly, because we already know from the rest

812
00:53:52.519 --> 00:53:55.639
of the Bible that we cannot. We know that we're

813
00:53:55.679 --> 00:53:58.840
going to fall short in all of this. But from

814
00:53:58.880 --> 00:54:02.639
a Gnostic idea, it's radically Gnostics would be like, I

815
00:54:02.639 --> 00:54:05.000
don't care about doing any of that. That's all the

816
00:54:05.079 --> 00:54:09.199
material world. And John is like, no, knowing God in

817
00:54:09.239 --> 00:54:14.039
a relational way, you care about how we live here.

818
00:54:14.079 --> 00:54:17.320
The more we know, the more we understand. Now again,

819
00:54:17.320 --> 00:54:20.280
we're still going to be sinners. We're not excusing sin.

820
00:54:20.360 --> 00:54:23.079
That's the whole point. We can't excuse sin. John is like,

821
00:54:23.119 --> 00:54:27.079
you can't excuse sin because knowing God would directly impact

822
00:54:27.599 --> 00:54:33.800
these areas. Now I'm not saying it's perfect. Listen, I'm

823
00:54:33.800 --> 00:54:38.559
not saying it's perfect. I'm not saying it's perfect. I

824
00:54:38.639 --> 00:54:43.000
think though the test first is against gnosticism, and if

825
00:54:43.000 --> 00:54:44.800
you want to add some other you could do it.

826
00:54:44.880 --> 00:54:47.159
You could do it really three ways. First and foremost,

827
00:54:47.159 --> 00:54:50.960
these tests are primarily drawing a distinction between gnosticism and

828
00:54:51.280 --> 00:54:54.480
John's understanding of knowledge, which is different than the Gnostic

829
00:54:54.519 --> 00:54:57.800
idea of knowledge. Okay, Number two, if you want to

830
00:54:57.800 --> 00:55:01.239
see this as a test, this is a test about fellowship,

831
00:55:01.960 --> 00:55:05.320
not about salvation, because my salvation is by faith alone

832
00:55:05.559 --> 00:55:09.840
and imputed righteousness, so therefore I'm saved no matter what

833
00:55:09.960 --> 00:55:12.679
I do. But this is about my relational knowledge, and

834
00:55:13.519 --> 00:55:17.079
my fellowship is impact by this knowledge, and what I

835
00:55:17.119 --> 00:55:20.280
do and don't do, fellowship is impacted by that. All right?

836
00:55:20.719 --> 00:55:23.960
Or number three, you can take all of these tests.

837
00:55:25.079 --> 00:55:26.480
I say, this is what you have to do to

838
00:55:26.559 --> 00:55:30.559
be saved. And then I can say, okay, in Christ Jesus,

839
00:55:31.039 --> 00:55:35.159
I fulfill everyone of these tests that you would understand.

840
00:55:35.159 --> 00:55:39.360
This is all law and it condemns you, and your

841
00:55:39.400 --> 00:55:41.840
only hope is in Christ. And then in Christ I

842
00:55:41.840 --> 00:55:45.119
can say I obey, I keep his commandments. I love

843
00:55:46.039 --> 00:55:49.519
not practically but positionally. So if you want to make

844
00:55:49.519 --> 00:55:53.280
it a test and any other way, everyone would have

845
00:55:53.320 --> 00:55:56.320
to admit they fell the test unless you then modify

846
00:55:56.360 --> 00:55:58.400
the test to such a level that you somehow feel

847
00:55:58.519 --> 00:56:01.159
that you're obeying it. It's not really a test if

848
00:56:01.159 --> 00:56:05.000
you're testing salvation off this. Well, if this is the

849
00:56:05.079 --> 00:56:08.480
standard for salvation, the standard for salvation would be perfection.

850
00:56:08.639 --> 00:56:10.840
That's why you would have to then find the only

851
00:56:10.920 --> 00:56:17.760
hope is in the imputed righteousness of Christ. But considering

852
00:56:17.920 --> 00:56:21.119
all of the clues that this is about gnosticism, I

853
00:56:21.119 --> 00:56:23.719
think this is simply saying, hey, guys, there's this sect

854
00:56:23.719 --> 00:56:27.280
out there, this group that is seducing people. You've got

855
00:56:27.280 --> 00:56:30.320
to beware of them. And they're coming in and they're saying,

856
00:56:30.599 --> 00:56:35.119
just get knowledge and then do whatever you want, and

857
00:56:35.880 --> 00:56:41.039
they're denying the incarnation. They are Antichrist. The knowledge I'm

858
00:56:41.039 --> 00:56:43.519
talking about is you're going to know God by faith,

859
00:56:44.440 --> 00:56:47.639
and this knowing is relational and this should impact how

860
00:56:47.679 --> 00:56:51.079
we think, feel and live. To some of He's not.

861
00:56:51.079 --> 00:56:52.880
I don't think he's trying to make a determination of

862
00:56:53.119 --> 00:56:58.039
to what level. But and forget Christianity, forget God. You

863
00:56:58.239 --> 00:57:02.440
enter into any relationship, you begin to know something, and

864
00:57:02.480 --> 00:57:06.000
not knowing is going to impact some level. You're living

865
00:57:06.039 --> 00:57:21.039
because you're now in a relationship. Now I want to

866
00:57:21.079 --> 00:57:28.440
go further. Yeah, I want to go a little bit.

867
00:57:28.519 --> 00:57:30.280
We may kind of go back and do a little

868
00:57:30.280 --> 00:57:32.920
bit more on this. We'll do more, and we'll work

869
00:57:32.920 --> 00:57:34.840
through this, probably in a kind of a separate way

870
00:57:35.199 --> 00:57:38.719
from a different maybe just adding a little more to it,

871
00:57:38.840 --> 00:57:41.920
repeating it. We'll do it the next time. But I

872
00:57:42.000 --> 00:57:46.679
just want you to see gnosticism and its core beliefs,

873
00:57:47.440 --> 00:57:51.440
to some level is being addressed in First John, over

874
00:57:51.480 --> 00:57:56.079
and over and over. I remember those core beliefs of Gnosticism.

875
00:57:56.239 --> 00:58:02.079
Remember those core beliefs, dualism, secret knowledge, the divine spark,

876
00:58:02.559 --> 00:58:05.559
and cosmology to some level. Now, we didn't get through

877
00:58:05.599 --> 00:58:08.760
all of them, but I think to some level we've

878
00:58:08.760 --> 00:58:18.719
got an idea of those things are being addressed. Now

879
00:58:18.760 --> 00:58:22.119
that's a different approach, but I think that gets us somewhere.

880
00:58:22.199 --> 00:58:24.199
I'm not saying it's perfect. Okay, let me make it

881
00:58:24.320 --> 00:58:27.559
very clear. When we are doing theology, all we can

882
00:58:27.599 --> 00:58:33.000
do is challenge, create hypotheses, suggest them. I am not

883
00:58:33.079 --> 00:58:37.760
making a dogmatic assertion that everything about Gnosticism and these

884
00:58:37.920 --> 00:58:41.199
verses and First John has baffled Christians for two thousand

885
00:58:41.239 --> 00:58:43.519
years and I know pastors love to act like it's simple.

886
00:58:43.599 --> 00:58:45.320
If it was simple, there would not be so many

887
00:58:45.360 --> 00:58:49.840
different interpretations of First John. There are so many because

888
00:58:49.840 --> 00:58:52.000
everybody's like, well, wait a minute, this seems to basically

889
00:58:52.000 --> 00:58:54.199
say I'm perfect, so that some make sense. Well, then

890
00:58:54.239 --> 00:58:56.239
salvation is by work, so I say, no, this is

891
00:58:56.320 --> 00:58:59.079
proof of salvation. Well this is proof of salvation. Then

892
00:58:59.559 --> 00:59:02.320
well then it seems to say I have to be perfect. Well, no,

893
00:59:02.320 --> 00:59:04.599
no one's going to be perfect, so my imperfection can

894
00:59:04.639 --> 00:59:08.280
prove I have salvation. That's kind of subjective, I think though.

895
00:59:08.440 --> 00:59:12.079
Historically and textually the use of the word no, the

896
00:59:12.159 --> 00:59:16.360
Greek word, it's connection with gnosticism, gnostics being present at

897
00:59:16.360 --> 00:59:20.280
this time, John clearly addressing gnostics. This is a fight

898
00:59:20.400 --> 00:59:36.280
against gnosticism. Now, I'll stop there. That's fifty nine minutes

899
00:59:36.320 --> 00:59:39.199
going through a lot of content. This is the kind

900
00:59:39.239 --> 00:59:41.000
of teaching I don't necessarily like to do in the

901
00:59:41.039 --> 00:59:44.360
podcast because if I'm in front of people, I can

902
00:59:44.360 --> 00:59:47.199
see their expressions, I can see them raising their hands.

903
00:59:47.639 --> 00:59:51.159
I can kind of backtrack repeat here. I just have

904
00:59:51.239 --> 00:59:53.559
to kind of kind of go through it. All I

905
00:59:53.559 --> 00:59:55.320
can do now is wait and see what you think so.

906
00:59:55.559 --> 00:59:57.360
I'd love to get your feedback. You can let me know,

907
00:59:58.159 --> 01:00:01.079
but I guess we will stop there because it's now

908
01:00:01.400 --> 01:00:07.039
sixty minutes. Hopefully that was beneficial. Thanks for listening everyone,

909
01:00:07.079 --> 01:00:12.239
have a great day. God bless