Seven Comforting Portraits of Christ Our Savior-2
A Study of 1 John 2
Pastor David L. Brown, Ph.D.
Sermon Delivered 5/17/04
Outline
7 Comforting Portraits of Christ Our Savior. We
will see…
- Jesus As Our Advocate With The Father (2:1-2)
- Jesus As Our Propitiation (2:2)
- Jesus As Our Abiding Place
- Jesus As Our Anointer
- Jesus As Our Christ and The Son of God
- Jesus as Our Great Promiser
- Jesus As The Coming One
Review
The last time we studied 1 John 2, we saw that Jesus
Christ is our advocate with God the Father. We saw that the word
advocate is paraklhton (parakleton)
which means one who pleads another’s cause before a judge. Jesus Christ is
our advocate. He stands at the right hand of God pleading with Him to
forgive our sins. We also saw that Jesus Christ is the propitiation for
our sins. Propitiation means satisfaction or covering; the
fulfillment of a demand. Jesus Christ took the punishment for the
believer’s sin. God is fully satisfied by what Jesus Christ did on the
Cross.
Focus
The next comforting portrait we see of Christ our Savior in chapter 2
is…
- Jesus As Our Abiding Place
(2:6)
"He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so
to walk, even as he walked." 1 John 2:6
Consider for a moment the word abide. It
is the translation of the Greek word menein
menein, which means to continue permanently or without intermission,
to remain in the same state.
Stop and ponder the blessing and privilege
abiding in Christ. Our sins have been forgiven, we have access to
God, and we have an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, which will not
fade away, that is reserved in Heaven for us (1 Peter 1:3-5)! Those
who are not in Christ are yet in their sins, they have no access to God,
and their inheritance outer darkness and the Lake of Fire.
You can see it is important to abide in Christ. In fact
the life’s blood of the Christian life is Christ! If you do not abide in
Christ you cannot produce Christian fruit. For a better understanding of
what the Apostle means by abiding we need to look at John
15:1-8.
A good illustration of the importance of abiding
in Christ is what we heard on the radio while we were driving through the
mountains coming home from South Carolina. A zoo was looking for the owner
of a finger that they found in the Jaguar cage. I can tell you this, that
finger will not accomplish anything. Why? Because it was not attached to
the body. So it is with the believer. If he will accomplish anything, he
must be drawing his life from Christ, "For in him we live, and move, and
have our being…" Acts 17:28. That’s why we read in 1 John 2:6
"himself also to walk, even as he walked." The phrase "himself
also to walk" (kai autov peripatein) is in the
present active infinitive mode. The literal translation would be "himself
also to keep on walking." This indicates a continuous performance, not a
spasmodic spurt of walking with Christ. THE POWER FOR CHRISTIAN LIVING
COMES FROM WALKING WITH CHRIST. Colossians 2:6 "As ye have
therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:"
Look at the last phrase in verse 6 -- "He that
saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he
walked." As Christ walked, lived, and acted, so ought we. We are to
imitate him and follow him. Christ is the believer’s abiding place.
The next portrait we have of Jesus Christ is…
- Jesus As Our Anointer (20 &
27)
"But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and
ye know all things. 27 But the anointing which ye have received of
him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the
same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie,
and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." 1 John
2:20 & 27
The first thing you should know is that the word
unction and anointing in verses 20 & 27 is the same
Greek word. It means, "something smeared on." The Hebrews prepared
anointing oil from oil and aromatic herbs. It was then used in the
inaugural ceremony for priests. However, the word anoint is
also used figuratively of the special endowment or gift of the Holy
Spirit. When a person believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, He immediately
anoints that person with the Holy Spirit. That is, Christ sends the Holy
Spirit to indwell the believer. Turn to Galatians 4:6 "And because
ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts,
crying, Abba, Father." Why does Christ do that? There are many reasons.
But this passage says that the anointing (the Holy Spirit) teaches the
believer. The believer who diligently studies the Word of God can discover
the truth of God’s word without the aid of theological professors,
teachers or preachers. There are many places that tell believers they are
to study the Word (2 Timothy 2:15; Acts 17:11).
During the Dark Ages the Roman Catholic Church told
people, "you cannot understand the Bible, you must come to the priests and
scholars to explain the Bible to you." The penalty for reading the Bible
on your own was imprisonment, torture and even death. Foxe’s Book of
Martyrs records how many people were burned at the stake for reading the
Bible in their own language. I recall one story here a mother was burned
for teaching her children the Lord’s Prayer and the 10 Commandments in
English. The truth is that the papal establishment did not want people to
know what the Bible really had to say. Why? Because the coffers of the
church were filled lying to the people about how sins if forgiven. When I
was in Rome last year I was distress as I looked at the opulence of St.
Peters when I recalled it was indulgences that were sold to build it. If
the people had been born again, and if they had been able to read the
Bible, they would not have been deceived into believing that they could
buy permission to sin and forgiveness.
When a person is saved, Jesus Christ anoints him/her
with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the believer’s resident teacher
and he will guide you into the truths of God’s word (John 16:13).
That is not to say that you should not sit under the teaching of true
Bible teachers and preachers because you should. However, you should test
what they say by the Bible under the direction of the Holy Spirit. And,
don’t forget. Once the Holy Spirit indwells you, you are a priest (see 1
Peter 2:9).
Praise the Lord! Jesus Christ is the believer’s abiding
place. Jesus Christ is the believer’s anointer. Are you a believer.
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