MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
The Seven Baptisms
Written by: Max Klein
Baptism means identification or association:
Introduction:
1. This meaning began in Homer's time. Homer wrote of the one-eyed giant, Cyclops who had trapped Ulysses and his men in a cave and was eating them one at a time. The ingenious Ulysses devised a plan. He had his men sharpen a large log and together they rammed this log into the eye of the one-eyed Cyclops rendering him blind. They identified (baptized) the sharpened log with Cyclops’ eye which changed Cyclops from a seeing giant to a blind giant. Having blinded the Cyclops, they were able to maneuver their way out of the cave. Another example by Homer: Homer's Odyssey, book 9, used baptism for hot metal identified (baptized) with water when a smith dipped a piece of hot iron into water. This is how a blacksmith would temper swords in the ancient world. After this identification, the sword was made stronger and so less likely to bend.
2. Xenophon said that the Spartan military recruits after finishing infantry training would identify (baptize) their spears with pig’s blood. They would run by a barrel of pig’s blood and thrust their spears into this blood. This ritual, identified their spears with killing and the soldier’s readiness for combat with the enemy.
3. Euripides used the word for a ship identified with the bottom of the sea when it sank. Before sinking, the ship was valuable; after sinking it had no value at all.
4. So "baptize" in the classical Greek meant to identify one thing with another so that the characteristics of the original thing were altered. Therefore, the interpretation of the word "baptism" is identification with something that brings about a change.
5. There are a number of cognates related to this Greek word such as bapto, baptizo, baptisma, baptismos, baptistes, and embapto. A few examples follow:
6. John 13:26, “Jesus then answered, ‘That is the one for whom, I shall dip [the future of the Greek word bapto] the morsel and give it to him. So, when he had dipped [the aorist participle of bapto; the sop now takes on a new meaning that of honor] the sop [the morsel], He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.”
To give someone a sop [a special bit of food usually a piece of bread or meat with a tasty sauce] was the highest honor of a banquet. At a banquet a special piece of bread or meat was prepared along with a special sauce for the guest of honor who would then honor someone by giving it to that person. Jesus as the guest of honor took this sop and dipped it into a special sauce and gave it to Judas. In this way, the Lord Jesus Christ honored Judas as a member of the family of God, and for his ministry as an apostle to the Lost Sheep of Israel. This honor should have given Judas second thoughts regarding his plan to betray Jesus to the Sanhedrin.
7. Matthew 3:7, “but when he [John the Baptizer] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism [identification: the Greek word baptisma], he said to them, “You brood of vipers [poisonous snakes], who warned you to flee from the wrath to come [Baptism of Fire: identification with the fire of Torments and then the Lake of Fire]?”
8. Hebrews 6:1-2, “Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teaching about Christ, let us advance to maturity, not laying again the foundation [of the basics such as]: a change of thinking about dead works [just as an unbeliever must have a change of mind about Christ to obtain salvation, so the believer must have a change of mind about legalism (dead works) in order to obtain the spiritual life], and of faith toward God [Faith-Rest Drill], (2) doctrine of baptisms [the Greek word baptismos; a reference to the seven types of baptism as found in Scripture] as well as the laying on of hands [ritual rebound in the age of Israel], and of resurrection from the dead, and of eternal judgment [the Great White Throne Judgment].
9. Matthew 3:1, “In those days John the Baptizer [the Greek word baptistes; when John baptized someone into the Jordan River, the converts were identified with the plan of God and his kingdom.] came proclaiming [as a herald] in the desert of Judea.”
There are two categories of identification in Scripture namely an actual identification or a real baptism and a representative identification or a ritual baptism which uses water.
The four real or actual identifications with something that has significance.
1. The Baptism of Moses: 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 presents the baptism of Moses, "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; (2) and all were baptized [the Greek word baptizo] into Moses in the cloud [the Lord] and in the sea." This was a real identification in which Moses was identified with the Lord and the open path through the Red Sea and the Jews were identified with Moses. By the way, none of the Jews got wet, only Egyptian unbelievers who were immersed in the water as a means of death.
2. The Baptism of the Cross is found in Matthew 20:22, “But Jesus answered [Salome by addressing her sons] and said, “You [plural: a reference to James and John] do not know what you [James and John] ask. Are you [James and John] able to drink of the cup [bear the punishment of all the sins of the world] that I am about to drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism [the sins of the world identified with Christ followed by the Father judging them] that I am baptized with [identified with]?” They [James and John] said to Him, “We are able. [the dumbest statement that James and John ever made]” [I selected the longer text as did Jerome.]
3. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Retroactive Positional Truth and Current Positional Truth) occurs at salvation for Church Age believers only.
Colossians 2:12. Having been buried [aorist participle] with Him [Jesus Christ] by means of the baptism [God the Holy Spirit identified us with the burial of Jesus Christ as part of our salvation] by means of which [Baptism] you have been raised up [main verb] with Him [in union with Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of the Father] through faith [at the point of salvation] in the operational power from the source of God who has raised Him [the humanity of Christ was given a resurrection body] out from the dead [physical death].
Romans 6:3-9:
Romans 6:3: Or do you not know that all of us who [a correlative] have been baptized into [identified with] Christ Jesus [Current Positional Sanctification: we are in union with Christ in his life in heaven], have been baptized into His death [Retroactive Positional Truth and so identified with his substitutionary spiritual death on the cross]?
Positionally, (in union with Christ) we share His righteousness, heirship, priesthood, destiny, election, eternal life, royalty, sonship etc. All these making us a new spiritual species in Christ Jesus. The plural correlative hosoi (ὅσοι) means that if we were identified with Christ in heaven and we were, then also we have been identified with Christ in his substitutionary spiritual death in which he removed the power of sin nature. Thus, the sin nature should not have power over our lives.
A few more points will be noted:
1. Note that the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation enters the believer into union with Christ at the right hand of God the Father which union is called current positional truth.
2. This verse also mentions identification with Christ in His spiritual death on the cross which identification theologians call retroactive positional truth. Retroactive positional truth also includes identification with Christ in His physical death and burial as well.
3. Identification with Christ in His death, then, has a two-fold connotation namely all personal sins were judged at the cross and since that is the case, God the Father is free to provide in grace, the Recovery Procedure. The second connotation is that good and evil were rejected by Jesus on the cross since good and evil are a part of Satan’s policy and plan. On the cross, Jesus relied on the proto-type spiritual life which operated under the two power options namely God’s power system.
4. So, the old sin nature’s ruling power over the Christian has been broken since all sins were judged on the cross and the Recovery Procedure has been provided. So, Retroactive Positional Truth has destroyed the sovereignty of the old sin nature over the life of the Christian.
5. Also, since Jesus rejected the good and evil policy of Satan so should the believer reject Satan’s policy of good and evil as the believer applies Retroactive Positional Truth.
Romans 6:4: Therefore, we have been buried together with Him through the identification [Baptism of the Spirit] into His death [physical], in order that just as Christ has been raised up from the dead [on Resurrection Sunday], through the glory of the Father [through the Father’s power], [So also we, the dead in Christ, will be raised from the dead by the power of the Father, and those alive at the Rapture, by the power of the Holy Spirit.] in this manner we also might walk in newness of life [Experiential sanctification should reflect our future ultimate sanctification.].
Christ had to die physically “and Jesus having shouted clearly with a loud voice said, Father, into your hands I deposit my [human] spirit, and having said this, he exhaled” (Luke 23:46). This last exhale caused His soul and spirit to depart from his mortal body resulting in physical death. Just as Christ had to die physically in order to obtain his resurrection body, so we must depart from our body of corruption, or mortality in order to receive our eternal body called our resurrection body.
The Newness of Life:
1. The newness of life provided through the baptism of the Spirit includes positional freedom from producing good and evil. Not only are we free from the tyranny of good and evil but we are also free from having to produce good and evil.
2. The believer has no obligation to improve the devil’s world through social action, socialism, welfare state, communism, environmentalism, or any social gospel, social action, getting involved, etc.
3. The human race is protected from Satan’s policy of good and evil through the laws of divine establishment which promote freedom instead of improvement at the cost of freedom.
4. In addition to the Laws of Divine Establishment the believer is insulated from good and evil positionally through the baptism of the Spirit.
5. Divorced from the Old Sin Nature positionally and its useless activity of human good and the function of evil, the life of the believer can be devoted to glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ through maximum knowledge and application of Bible doctrine.
Romans 6:5: For if we have become united with Him [Christ, the new husband] in the likeness of His death [the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross], and we have, and not only this, but also, we shall be [united in the likeness] of His resurrection [Current Positional Truth: in union with the resurrected Christ].
Romans 6:6: Be knowing this [through Retroactive Positional Truth], that our old man [our former husband, the sin nature dates back to the Garden] has been crucified together [with Him], in order that the [human] body, with reference to its sin nature, [the sin nature located in the body] might be rendered powerless [when we use Recovery Procedure and the two power options], that we should no longer be slaves to the sin nature.
“Our old man has been crucified with Him” meaning that the power of the sin nature has been broken on the cross. Since the power of the sin nature was broken by the work of the cross, we as believers have no excuse for not executing the spiritual life. We will not be able to say to Christ at our evaluation that our sin nature was too powerful for us to execute the spiritual life.
A few points for further clarification:
1. Retroactive positional truth is that phase of the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation which identifies the believer with Christ in His spiritual death, physical death and his burial.
2. In the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross all the personal sins in human history were imputed to Christ, but at the same time the other two trends of the old sin nature were not imputed for judgment.
3. Good and evil is the policy of Satan as the ruler of this world and the function of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life. In fact, the sin nature functions as the agent of Satan.
4. Good and evil were not imputed for judgment on the cross. Hence, in the spiritual death of Christ on the cross they were rejected to remain an issue in the angelic conflict, rejected to be perpetuated in human history as an issue every believer must face, and either overcome through the intake of doctrine or be entrapped by ignorance of doctrine and therefore lose out in glorifying God in time.
5. We are identified with Christ in His spiritual death, which means that we must understand that our sins have been judged and that good and evil has been rejected.
6. It all adds up to the fact that the sovereignty of the old sin nature over human life has been made powerless through retroactive positional truth.
7. The imputation of all personal sins of the human race to Christ on the cross means that the believer through the rebound technique is instantly forgiven sins, cleansed from all wrong doing which includes Satanic good and evil, restored to fellowship and filled with the Spirit.
Romans 6:7: For we who have died [the Christian is identified with the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ: theologically called Retroactive Positional Truth] have been acquitted [positional deliverance] from [the power of] the sin nature.
A few points for further clarification:
1. A dead person is discharged from the obligations of his former sphere of life. This is why the word “death” is used in this context. It is not a literal, physical death we are discussing but identification with Christ in His death.
2. As unbelievers we were under the authority of Satan as the ruler of this world, and under the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
3. Both the power of Satan and the old sin nature have been abrogated through the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation.
4. This passage, then, emphasizes the annulling of the power and the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
5. Positionally, the power of the sin nature has been broken. Experientially, the old sin nature controls to the extent that we fail to understand and utilize the provision and support of logistical grace.
Romans 6:8: Now if we have died with Christ, and we have [retroactive positional truth], we also believe that we shall live in association with Him [the instrumental of association; a reference to Current Positional Truth].
In this verse, the 1st Class conditional sentence shows the relationship between Retroactive Positional Truth with Current Positional Truth. The protasis, the ‘if’ clause states the reality of Retroactive Positional Truth and the apodosis, the concluding clause states the doctrinal inference and the reality of Current Positional Truth. While Retroactive Positional Truth presents positional rejection and separation from good and evil as the policy of Satan and the function of the old sin nature, Current Positional Truth relates the believer to the function of the royal family of God. In other words, they have separate functions.
Romans 6:9: Knowing that because Christ has been raised from the dead [He received a resurrection body], no longer can He die; [physical] death is no longer a master over Him.
Analysis:
1. Retroactive positional truth destroys the sovereign authority of the old sin nature over human life. Current positional truth, on the other hand, destroys the limited authority of physical death in human life.
2. Instead of being ruled by the old sin nature located in the cells of the human body and influencing our souls toward sin, good and evil, we now have a new sovereign, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are identified with Him in His deaths, in His burial, resurrection, ascension and session.
3. Before salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit our lives were under the absolute rule of Satan who is the ruler of this world and under the rule of the old sin nature which is the ruler of life, and under the limited rule of physical death. All of that, of course, has been changed since salvation.
4. Now both retroactive and current positional truth have abrogated the authority and power of these former rulers. The power of Satan over our lives has been broken through identification with the rejection of good and evil namely Satan’s policy and plan and through our position in union with Christ. The power of the old sin nature is broken through retroactive positional truth and the power of physical death is broken through current positional truth.
5. Therefore, having studied these things by principle and by implication we are now ready for application, verses 12 & 13 specifically.
6. Having been positionally liberated from the sovereignty of the old sin nature as an absolute ruler, and the authority of physical death, we must recognise and apply doctrine for the experiential victory commanded in verses 11-13.
Galatians 3:25-28, “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under the authority of [have need of] a school bus. (26) For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For all of you who were baptized into Christ [identified with Christ through union with Him] have clothed yourselves with Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek [no racial distinction], there is neither slave nor free man [no social or economic distinction], there is neither male nor female [no gender distinction]; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [All Christians have the same privileges and opportunities to execute the spiritual life.]”
Current Positional Truth, Elaborated:
In the Church Age, Current Positional Truth establishes our relationship with Christ as opposed to religion. It refers to the Church Age believer in union with Christ and is the key to understanding the Church Age and how the royal family came into being. Therefore, it is the basis for distinguishing between Christianity and religion. Christianity is a relationship with God without merit whereas religion is a system of works to gain the approbation of God. Never shall the twain meet!
The mechanics of Current Positional Truth is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, whereby the Spirit enters us into union with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For also by agency of the one Spirit we are all baptized [identification resulting in becoming a new spiritual species] into one body [in union with Christ], whether Jews or Greeks [racial distinctions are removed], whether slave or free [class and economic distinctions are removed], even all were made to drink [the aorist passive, the voice of grace] the one Spirit [The Holy Spirit did not ask us whether we wanted to be put into union with Christ or not.].” Ephesians 4:5, “One Lord [becomes our Lord positionally at Salvation]), one faith [faith alone in Christ alone; Acts 16:31], one baptism [Baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at salvation].”
Current Positional truth guarantees that there will be no judgment for believers in eternity, Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Thus, the condemnation which occurred at the first birth was removed at the 2nd birth. As a result of being born with the sin nature and the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin, we were condemned to the Lake of Fire for all eternity, but now that has been removed. Romans 5:12, “For this reason just as through one man [Adam] the sin [nature] entered into the world [procreation], and so spiritual death through the sin [the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin to the sin nature], and so spiritual death spread to all mankind, because all sinned when Adam sinned [since we were all genetically in Adam when he sinned, we will receive Adam’s Original Sin].” However, at our spiritual birth, the 2nd birth, our pre-salvation sins were all forgiven including Adam’s Original Sin. After which, the Spirit entered us into union with Christ where there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1).
Current Positional truth qualifies the believer to live with God forever. To live with God forever, the believer must have eternal life and God’s perfect righteousness, 1 John 5:11-12, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life, and this life is in his son [Since we are in union with Christ, we share this life.]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].” 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And He [the Father] made Him who knew no sin [perfection] to be a sin offering [imputation of sins on the cross] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [current positional truth].” To live with God forever means you must have His life, and you must be as righteous as He is.
Positional truth guarantees the believer’s eternal security, Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death [nothing in death] nor life [nothing in life] nor angels nor principalities [ruling angels] nor powers [human organizations] nor things present nor things to come (39) nor height [nothing in heaven] nor depth [nothing in Hades] nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal life in Christ is for all eternity!
Positional truth belongs to all categories of believers whether they be apostate, mature, immature, spiritually adult, or carnal. Since Current Positional Truth occurs at the point of salvation before experience in the Christian life begins, it doesn’t depend on that experience. 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus [at salvation], called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.” So, even though you may be carnal or in reversionism, you still have positional truth. Being in union with Christ has nothing to do with what you do [experiential righteousness], or don’t do [failure to execute God’s plan]. Current Positional sanctification is completely the work of God the Holy Spirit and so is not based upon our volition, but on the sovereign decision of God. We make the decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but we don’t make the decision to enter into union with Christ “all were made to drink the one Spirit” as per 1 Corinthians 12:13. God the Holy Spirit graciously did that for us and so it cannot be undone.
Current Positional truth creates a new spiritual species in Christ as per 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power; behold, new things have come to pass.” You become a new spiritual species at salvation by being put into union with Christ. It is what God does for you, and therefore it is grace. It is not what you do after salvation, such as the self-righteous works of legalism. The “old things” have to do with spiritual death and those things related to that death; the “new things” refer to things you receive at salvation such as the 40 assets and the unique spiritual life.
Positional truth should motivate the production of divine good and a pattern of life compatible with royalty as per Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his creation, having been created in Christ Jesus [a new spiritual species with many assets] for the purpose of divine good production [via experiential sanctification] which the God [the Father] has prepared in advance [in eternity past, God the Father provided election and predestination as part of our Portfolio of Invisible Assets], that we in the sphere of them [election and predestination] may pattern our lives.”
Even though a Christian may die the Sin on to Death, he will not lose his position in union with Christ (1 John 5:18-20), and so cannot lose his salvation. In order for a believer to lose his position in Christ, he would have to sin in that status, but since the believer cannot sin in union with Christ, he cannot lose his position in Christ and so cannot lose his salvation. Thus, it is comforting and reassuring to a believer to know that even though a loved one may have died the ‘sin on to death’, he has not lost his salvation.
Because we are in union with Christ, we share His:
1. Eternal life, 1 John 5:11, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life [At salvation, God the Father imputes this life to the human spirit], and this life is in his son [The Christian also shares the life of Christ through union with Him]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].”
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth and the life [eternal life]; no person [in human history] comes face to face with the Father [having an eternal relationship with the Father] except through Me.’”
2. Perfect righteousness, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And he (God the Father) made him [Jesus] who knew no sin (perfection) to be a sin offering as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him [positional truth]. Sharing the righteousness of Christ, we become the objects of God the Father’s love as per Romans 8:39.
3. Election, Ephesians 1:4, “just as He [the Father] has elected us for Himself in Him [Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world [in eternity past], that we may be set apart [experiential sanctification] and blameless [ultimate sanctification] in the presence of Him [Father].”
4. Destiny, Ephesians 1:5, “By means of love, He has predestined us for the purpose of adoption as adult sons to Himself through Christ Jesus our Lord according to the grace purpose of His will.”
5. Sonship, Galatians 3:26, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
6. Heirship, Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit Himself testifies together [bears witness] with our [human] spirit, that we are the children of God. (17) Now, if we are children and we are, also heirs, on the one hand heirs of God [the Father], and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed [if it is true that], we suffer with Him [pass all three stages of undeserved suffering], that also we might be glorified with Christ.”
7. Sanctification, 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.”
8. Priesthood, Hebrews 7:12-19, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change in the Law also. (13) For the One [the Lord Jesus Christ] concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe [the tribe of Judah] from which no one has officiated at the altar. (14) For it is evident that our Lord has descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests, (15) and this is clearer still, if another priest arises similar to Melchizedek, and there has, (16) who has become a priest not on the basis of physical requirement [a reference to the Levitical Priesthood] but on the basis of indestructible life [the Lord’s priesthood is forever]. (17) For this reason, it is witnessed, ‘You are a priest forever similar to the order of Melchizedek.’” [We are in union with Christ. Therefore, we are royalty and priests forever. We represent ourselves before God as royal priests.] (18) For, on the one hand, there is a rescinding of the former commandment [the Mosaic Law that authorized the Levitical priesthood] because of its weakness and uselessness (19) (for the Law brought nothing to completion), but on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope [the second door of hope for the Church Age believer—a personal sense of destiny—by which we enter the adult spiritual life] through which we draw near to God.”
Hebrews 7:26-28, “For it is fitting that we should have such a high priest, impeccable integrity, the One who cannot do evil, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; (27) Who does not need daily, like those Levitical priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He [Jesus] offered up Himself. (28) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of His [God the Father’s] oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has become perfect forever [Jesus Christ is a perfect high priest].”
9. Royalty, 1 Peter 2:9, “ But you and only you are an elect [elect by God the Father] race [as a new spiritual species], a royal priesthood [since Jesus is a king-priest], a holy nation [God’s entity: a nation of priests: every Christian is a priest], a people for God’s own possession [a protected people], so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him [Christ] who has called [in eternity past] you out of darkness [spiritual death and the Cosmic Systems] into His amazing light [his plan];”
10. New Spiritual Species, 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power [Old Covenant]; behold, new things have come to pass [This would include the New Covenant to the Church.].”
Current Positional Truth changes our relationship with Angels.
1. Through current positional truth the believer is higher than angels positionally.
2. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, and so superior to all angels. By virtue of being in union with Christ, every believer is now positionally superior to angels.
3. Positional truth has fulfilled the believer’s triumph with Christ in the angelic conflict. We are victorious with Him already.
4. Furthermore, positional truth demands compatibility with experiential righteousness. Therefore, the believer’s walk on this earth must be compatible with positional truth since we have perfect security in Christ, we have the freedom to choose for Jesus Christ, to love Jesus Christ, to respond to His love, and to fulfill our purpose on this earth.
What positional truth is not?
1. It is not an experience, emotions or ecstasies.
2. It is not progressive; it cannot be improved in time or eternity.
3. It is not related to human merit or ability.
4. It cannot be changed by God, man or angels. It is eternal in nature.
5. It is not obtained gradually as you grow in grace, but in toto at salvation.
6. It is not known apart from the metabolization of doctrine.
7. From understanding the doctrine of positional truth, we progress in our spiritual life, but we cannot improve it since it is perfect at salvation.
8. We are not in Christ because of what we do (execution of the spiritual life) or fail to do (fail to execute the spiritual life), but because of what God has done.
A few points of explanation:
1. The conclusion from positional truth, whether retroactive or current, is that the Christian must apply these doctrines to his spiritual life.
2. In Romans 7:1-4 where we have an illustration of a woman whose first husband has died freeing her to marry another. This is what actually happens to us as believers at salvation. The old sin nature is the husband up to the point of salvation, but at the moment we believe in Jesus Christ positionally the sin nature is dead, as it were, the first husband has died and we have a new husband through union with Christ. Retroactive Positional Truth removes our first husband, the sin nature whereas Current Positional Truth enters us into union with Christ, our new husband.
3. The old sin nature-husband is still around, still seeking to regain his control over his former wife, the believer. But union with the second husband, the Lord Jesus Christ, has broken the first husband’s authority over the former wife.
4. The Baptism of Fire:
Matthew 3:11, “On the one hand I [John the Baptizer] baptize you [believers] by means of water because of a change of thinking [about Christ], but the one coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals I am not worthy to lace [loosen, remove]. He himself will baptize by means of the Holy Spirit [a reference to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Church Age] and by means of fire [a reference to the Baptism of Fire at the 2nd Advent].”
Baptism of Fire: The baptism of fire (identification with fire) is defined as the judgment of unbelievers both Jew and gentile at the Second Advent. They will be removed from the earth and placed in fire for 1000 years until the Last Judgment, Luke 3:16-17; Mathew 25:31, 33. The analogy to the Baptism of Fire is found in Matthew 24:36-41. The one left in the field is the mature believer; the one taken is the unbeliever.
Parables of the Baptism of Fire:
1. The wheat and the tares (the unbelievers), Matthew 13:24-30, 36-40.
2. The good and bad fish (unbelievers), Matthew 13:47-50.
3. The ten virgins: five wise, five foolish (the unbelievers), Matthew 25:1-13.
4. The sheep and the goats (the unbelievers), Mathew 25:31-46.
5. The talent test, Matthew 25:14-30. The one talent man represents the unbeliever.
If Jesus Christ had not been rejected by the Jewish people, then the age of Israel would have continued until its completion (the Tribulation completes the age of Israel). (However, they did reject Jesus Christ as Savior and Messiah and so the client nation was destroyed, and the Church age was intercalated that is inserted before the age of Israel was complete.) After the completion of the age of Israel at the end of the Tribulation, comes the wrath of God namely the Baptism of Fire when the Lord removes both Jewish and gentile unbelievers from the earth and identifies them with fire forever. After which, the Millennial reign begins.
The Three Ritual Baptisms. None are extant at the present time. They are representative identifications in which water is used as a training aid to represent some principle of doctrine.
1. The Baptism of John is found in Matthew 3:2-6, “Saying, ‘Change your thinking [regarding Christ] for the kingdom of heaven is near.’ [The future king was already on the earth] (3) For this is what was communicated through Isaiah, the prophet saying, ‘The voice of one [John the Baptizer] proclaiming loudly in the desert [of Judea]. Prepare [the aorist tense is a one time-decision] the way of the Lord [an idiomatic expression for salvation]. Keep on making upright [the use of the Recovery Procedure followed by the development of experiential righteousness] His paths!’ (Isaiah 40:3) (4) Now, John himself kept on having a garment of camel’s hair [very uncomfortable] and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. (5) Then [after John went where God wanted him to be] Jerusalem kept on going out to him [face to face] and all Judea and all the districts around the Jordan. (6) and they were being baptized [identified with the kingdom] by him [under John’s authority] in the Jordan River [where Israel crossed when they entered the land], and they kept on confessing their sins [post-salvation confession of sins].”
MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
First John: Chapter Five
A verse-by-verse commentary by Max Klein
2 Chronicles 7:14, “And if my people [a client nation] who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven; will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” We need to pray for our president, our military and civilian leaders every day.
First the politicians and the mainstream media in the U.S. did everything they could to fan hysteria over a virus not as deadly as the flu. Now, they are encouraging anger and hatred and justifying looting and the destruction of private property. This is a sad time in the United States when police officers are called pigs when the majority of them should be respected and honored. Furthermore, many times police officers are not allowed to protect private property. When property is not held sacred, we are in tragic times. Dare not anyone should shoot a looter or a person setting a building on fire!
Violence is from criminality not anger. We all in the past at some time have been angry, but we didn’t burn down the neighbor’s house or business. Anger, hatred and bitterness are irrational sins related to arrogance, and these sins should not be used to justify criminality. Violent mobs which burn down buildings and steal (loot) should be stopped with greater violence for it is a principle that violence can only be stopped by a greater, lawful violence i.e. the police officer or the military.
The mainstream news media wants us to believe that the police officer is the one who commits all the crimes against the black people. Is this true? Are all the murders committed against the black people done by white police officers? It is a fact that approximately 93% of black people murdered are murdered by other black people. So, why don’t the black people and others get angry over those murders? Anger, hatred and bitterness are irrational sins which sins remove all rational thought.
It is impossible to make America great again when there is hardly any truth among the American people. Where is the virtuous individual? Where is the leadership of the husband and beautiful responses of the woman in marriage? Where are happy families in which the children are taught principles, norms and standards, proper understanding of authority, work ethics, manners, patriotism et cetera? If this trend of rejecting truth continues, the United States will self-destruct. Change must begin at the individual level, not at the governmental level!
1 John 5:1
Anyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ [the God-Man who went to the cross etc.] has been born out from God [the Father], furthermore, everyone who [personally] loves the one [God the Father] who has provided [the spiritual] birth, loves even [impersonally] the one [the believer] having been born out from him [God the Father].
Πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν ὁ Χριστὸς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται, καὶ πᾶς ὁ ἀγαπῶν τὸν γεννήσαντα ἀγαπᾷ [καὶ] τὸν γεγεννηµένον ἐξ αὐτοῦ.
Both God the Father (1 Peter 1:3-5) and God the Holy Spirit (John 3:5, 6; Titus 3:5) are involved in the regeneration of the believer. God the Holy Spirit provides a human spirit for the person at salvation; simultaneously, God the Father imputed his life, eternal life to that person’s human spirit at salvation.
1 Peter 1:3-5, “Worthy of praise and glorification [is] the God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who on the basis of his great mercy has caused us to be born again [through the imputation of eternal life to the human spirit] to a living confidence [a reference to our spiritual life: the same power that raised Jesus from the dead was given to us (our spiritual life) namely the power of the Holy Spirit and of God the Father : Philippians 3:10] through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead [from his physical death], to obtain an inheritance [after death] which is incorruptible and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you who are guarded by the power of God through faith with reference to salvation [The believer is guarded by the power of God from salvation to the end of his life.] [An inheritance] ready to be revealed in the last time [at the Rapture].”
Εὐλογητὸς ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ τοῦ κυρίου ἡµῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ κατὰ τὸ πολὺ αὐτοῦ ἔλεος ἀναγεννήσας ἡµᾶς εἰς ἐλπίδα ζῶσαν δι’ ἀναστάσεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐκ νεκρῶν, 4 εἰς κληρονοµίαν ἄφθαρτον καὶ ἀµίαντον καὶ ἀµάραντον, τετηρηµένην ἐν οὐρανοῖς εἰς ὑµᾶς 5 τοὺς ἐν δυνάµει θεοῦ φρουρουµένους διὰ πίστεως εἰς σωτηρίαν ἑτοίµην ἀποκαλυφθῆναι ἐν καιρῷ ἐσχάτῳ.
John 3:5-6, “Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born out from water [At birth, the fetus emerges out from the embryonic fluid after the membrane breaks] and from the Spirit [The Holy Spirit provides a human spirit for the person at the 2nd birth and the Father imputes eternal life to that newly created human spirit], he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born out from flesh [parents] is flesh [a person with human life], and that which is born from the Spirit [the Holy Spirit provides a human spirit for the person at salvation] is spirit [a believer with a human spirit].’”
ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς, Ἀµὴν ἀµὴν λέγω σοι, ἐὰν µή τις γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύµατος, οὐ δύναται εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ. 6 τὸ γεγεννηµένον ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς σάρξ ἐστιν, καὶ τὸ γεγεννηµένον ἐκ τοῦ πνεύµατος πνεῦµά ἐστιν.
Titus 3:5, “Not by works which we ourselves have done in righteousness [human righteousness], but according to His mercy He saved us through the bath [to lutron: pre-salvation sins forgiven] that brings about [with reference to] regeneration even renewal [of our trichotomous status] of the Holy Spirit [the provision of a human spirit],”
οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων τῶν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ ἃ ἐποιήσαµεν ἡµεῖς ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ αὐτοῦ ἔλεος ἔσωσεν ἡµᾶς διὰ λουτροῦ παλιγγενεσίας καὶ ἀνακαινώσεως πνεύµατος ἁγίου,
1 John 5:2
By this we know that we love [impersonally] the children of God whenever we love [personal] God [the Father] and execute his commandments.
ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκοµεν ὅτι ἀγαπῶµεν τὰ τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ, ὅταν τὸν θεὸν ἀγαπῶµεν καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ ποιῶµεν.
If the Christian executes the mandates of the Father, he will have impersonal love (unconditional love) toward all Christians. So, personal love for God precedes impersonal love toward people.
Personal love for someone in authority is always demonstrated through obedience. For example, a wife demonstrates her love for her husband through obedience (Ephesians 5:22-24). A Christian demonstrates his personal love for the Lord Jesus Christ in the same way, “If you love [3rd class] me you will keep my mandates [all of them] (John 14:15).
1 John 5:3
For [explanatory] this is the love for God that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome.
αὕτη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ, ἵνα τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ τηρῶµεν· καὶ αἱ ἐντολαὶ αὐτοῦ βαρεῖαι οὐκ εἰσίν,
If the Christian will learn and apply the Word of God step by step, the responsibility of the Christian way of life is not a burden. God has designed a system of power which is infinitely more powerful than the requirements of the spiritual life. God in his infinite knowledge will never place more of a load on the growing Christian than he can handle, than the believers' level of spiritual growth and capacity.
1 Corinthians 10:13, “No testing has overtaken you except the human kind [not the type God would give an angel], and God is faithful who will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able, but with the testing he will provide even the way of escape [the Problem Solving Devices] that you might be able to bear-up under the pressure [carry the burden of testing].”
πειρασµὸς ὑµᾶς οὐκ εἴληφεν εἰ µὴ ἀνθρώπινος· πιστὸς δὲ ὁ θεός, ὃς οὐκ ἐάσει ὑµᾶς πειρασθῆναι ὑπὲρ ὃ δύνασθε, ἀλλὰ ποιήσει σὺν τῷ πειρασµῷ καὶ τὴν ἔκβασιν τοῦ δύνασθαι ὑπενεγκεῖν.
1 John 5:4
Because everyone who has been born out from God [the Father] overcomes the world [the system of Satan], and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith [in Christ Jesus].
ὅτι πᾶν τὸ γεγεννηµένον ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ νικᾷ τὸν κόσµον· καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ νίκη ἡ νικήσασα τὸν κόσµον, ἡ πίστις ἡµῶν.
All unbelievers live in the sphere of real spiritual death and are influenced, to some degree, by the cosmic system (Satan’s system of motivation, thinking, decision and action). This varies greatly among unbelievers. To the extent the unbeliever adheres to the divine laws of establishment as found in the Mosaic Law, to that extend, he has some protected from Satan’s cosmic (organized) system. This protection starts with his volition, and how he uses it in relation to the only system of truth which an unbeliever can understand, i.e., the laws of divine establishment. However, these laws of God can be rejected. So, one of the easiest ways for the unbeliever to live in Satan’s cosmic system is to reject legitimate authorities in life as found in the Mosaic Law.
At salvation, the believer is taken out of Satan’s system and entered into fellowship with the Holy Spirit at which time, the new believer is completely out of Satan’s system called the cosmos. He remains in God’s system until he commits his first sin. At which time, this decision to sin puts him back into Satan’s system from which he can only depart through the use of God’s Recovery Procedure (The naming of his sins to the Father.). Upon using the recovery procedure, he is back in fellowship with God the Holy Spirit until the next time he sins.
1 John 5:5
Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
τίς [δέ] ἐστιν ὁ νικῶν τὸν κόσµον εἰ µὴ ὁ πιστεύων ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ;
There is no salvation if the unbeliever rejects Jesus Christ as the God-Man. Unless Jesus Christ is the God-Man, there is no mediator. If Jesus Christ is not a mediator between man and God, there is no reconciliation. Without reconciliation, there is no salvation. There are many people who believe that Jesus was a great prophet or great man, but deny his deity. Obviously, these people are not saved for there is no salvation without a mediator.
At salvation, the person overcomes completely Satan’s cosmic system for at salvation, the new believer is entered into God’s system of power namely walking in the light in contrast to Satan’s system of walking in darkness. Unfortunately, as soon as the new believer decides to sin, he leaves God’s system of power and enters again into Satan’s system of evil.
“Jesus is the Son of God” In the person of the incarnate Christ are two natures, divine and human, inseparably united without mixture or loss of separate identity, without loss or transfer of properties or attributes, the union being both personal and eternal. The two natures of Christ maintain their complete identity though being joined in personal union forever. The attributes of His human and divine nature belong to their corresponding natures though the attributes of both natures belong to the one person of Christ. There is no mixture of the two natures to form a third substance or hypostasis. The human nature always remains the human nature and the divine nature always remains the divine nature. Again, these two natures are eternally united which inseparable union is called in theology the Hypostatic Union namely the God-Man. Yet the two natures remain distinct, whole, unchanged, without mixture or confusion, so that Jesus Christ is true humanity and undiminished deity in one person forever. Since the incarnation, Jesus Christ is true humanity and undiminished deity in one unique person forever. John 1:1, "In eternity past, there always existed the Word [deity of Christ], and the Word was face-to-face with God, and the Word was God." John 1:14, "And the Word [the deity of Christ] became flesh [true humanity] and tabernacled among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the unique one from the Father, full of grace and doctrine."
The word "nature" comes from the Greek word ousia, the present participle of eimi, which means being or essence and comes to mean nature. Therefore, the union of divine essence and the human nature of the incarnate Christ must be considered hypostatic and personal. The Greek word Hupostasis means: actual being, essence, placing under that which has actual existence, taking a thing on oneself. The deity of Christ took upon Himself true humanity. Hypostatic refers to the whole person of Christ. "Personal" refers to the emergence of one unique person. He is different from God and the Holy Spirit in that He is man. He is different from true humanity in that He is God. As man He is superior to man because He was perfect and impeccable. No essence of deity is changed in the hypostatic union. No characteristic of humanity is changed by being in union with deity. Therefore, He is unique.
1 John 5:6
This is the one who came [the 1st Advent with emphasis on his saving work on the cross] by water [serum] and blood [blood clots]; this one, Jesus Christ; not by serum alone, but by serum and blood clots. [Not only does this prove that Jesus was true humanity, but also that he did not bleed to death.] Therefore, it is the Spirit who testifies [concerning this matter] because the Spirit is truth [and so his testimony is true].
Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐλθὼν δι’ ὕδατος καὶ αἵµατος, Ἰησοῦς Χριστός· οὐκ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι µόνον ἀλλ’ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι καὶ ἐν τῷ αἵµατι· καὶ τὸ πνεῦµά ἐστιν τὸ µαρτυροῦν, ὅτι τὸ πνεῦµά ἐστιν ἡ ἀλήθεια.
Serum and plasma both are clear light yellow and come from the liquid portion of the blood that remains once the cells are removed, but that's where the similarities end. Serum is the liquid that remains after the blood has clotted. Plasma is the liquid that remains when clotting is prevented with the addition of an anticoagulant.
Serum is the fluid and solute component of blood which does not play a role in clotting. It may be defined as blood plasma without fibrinogens. Serum includes all proteins not used in blood clotting; all electrolytes, antibodies, antigens, hormones; and any exogenous substances (e.g., drugs or microorganisms). Serum does not contain white blood cells (leukocytes), red blood cells (erythrocytes), platelets, or clotting factors.
Plasma is the liquid component of blood, in which the red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are suspended. It constitutes more than half of the blood's volume and consists mostly of water that contains dissolved salts (electrolytes) and proteins. The major protein in plasma is albumin.
White blood cells are part of the body's immune system. They help the body fight infection and other diseases. Types of white blood cells are granulocytes (neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils), monocytes, and lymphocytes.
Platelets are responsible for blood clotting. White blood cells are part of the immune system and function in immune response.
Red blood cells: Red cells contain hemoglobin and it is the hemoglobin which permits them to transport oxygen (and carbon dioxide).
John 19:33, 34 states, “But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his chest cavity with a spear and immediately there gushed-out blot clots and serum.”
ἐπὶ δὲ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐλθόντες, ὡς εἶδον ἤδη αὐτὸν τεθνηκότα, οὐ κατέαξαν αὐτοῦ τὰ σκέλη, 34 ἀλλ’ εἷς τῶν στρατιωτῶν λόγχῃ αὐτοῦ τὴν πλευρὰν ἔνυξεν, καὶ ἐξῆλθεν εὐθὺς αἷµα καὶ ὕδωρ.
This was witnessed by John who stated in John 19:35, “And he [John] who has seen [the serum and the blood] has testified, and his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth [about what he saw which infers that Jesus did not bleed to death] that you also may believe.”
καὶ ὁ ἑωρακὼς µεµαρτύρηκεν, καὶ ἀληθινὴ αὐτοῦ ἐστιν ἡ µαρτυρία, καὶ ἐκεῖνος οἶδεν ὅτι ἀληθῆ λέγει, ἵνα καὶ ὑµεῖς πιστεύσητε.
After death, the body cools and rigor mortis (muscular rigidity) sets in. (Just before Jesus died physically, he pushed his head forward as per John 19:30 so that his blood would flow into his left and right ventricles.) Then, there follows autolysis when most of the blood is still in the corpse. (Autolysis is the breakdown of the cells and layering out of the blood based on the weight of its component parts and the gravitational pull upon those component parts.) Thus, when the soldier plunged his spear into the ventricles of Jesus’s heart, blood clots (being in the bottom of the chambers came out first) and then serum being lighter.
The Holy Spirit testifies as follows:
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Jesus Christ was a true human with literal blood.
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Jesus did not bleed to death which was demonstrated by the autolyzing of his blood. If one bleeds to death, autolysis does not take place.
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The gushing out of his blood clots and serum also presented testimony that Jesus did not bleed to death.
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The physical death had to occur in order for Jesus to receive a resurrection-body. Once he had a resurrection body, he would ascend and be seated at the right hand of the Father.
1 John 5:7
Because there are three who testify: [that Jesus was true humanity, and that his humanity did not die by bleeding to death;]
ὅτι τρεῖς εἰσιν οἱ µαρτυροῦντες,
1 John 5:8
The Spirit [1 John 5:7; 2 Timothy 3:16] and the water [serum as per 1 John 5:6] and the blood [red blood clots as per 1 John 5:6]; Furthermore, these three [witnesses] are in agreement.
τὸ πνεῦµα καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ τὸ αἷµα, καὶ οἱ τρεῖς εἰς τὸ ἕν εἰσιν.
All the witnesses agreed that Jesus was true humanity; furthermore, that his humanity did not bleed to death on the cross. Proving that the literal blood of Jesus was not an issue in salvation.
If the Christian has a little common sense and is willing to read what the Bible says about the death of Christ, he will know that Christ did not bleed to death. How can one bleed to death by scourging, crown of thorns and four nails pinning his body to the cross? Hundreds of thousands of non-Romans had their backs scourged by the Romans and none of them died by bleeding. Maybe Christ lost 5 drops of blood from the scourging, and another two drops from the crown of thorns and a final 20 drops from the nails piercing his feet and hands. Furthermore, all of the gospel writers tell us that He died by exhale. John 19:30, "Therefore, when he had received the [G.I.] wine, Jesus said, `It is finished [His substitutionary payment for our sins]. Then, He pushed His head forward and exhaled His breath." Matthew 27:50, “And Jesus again shouted with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit.” Mark 15:37, “And Jesus uttered a loud shout and exhaled his last.” Luke 23:46, “And Jesus shouting out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father into your hands I commit my spirit. And having said this He breathed His last.” Even David prophesied this last statement of Jesus, “Into your hands I commit My spirit; You have delivered me, O Lord, God of Truth” (Psalm 31:5).
1 John 5:7-8 New International Version (NIV)
7 For there are three that testify: 8 the[a] Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.
Footnotes:
a. 1 John 5:8 Late manuscripts of the Vulgate testify in heaven: the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. 8 And there are three that testify on earth: the (not found in any Greek manuscript before the fourteenth century)
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
1 John 5:9
If [1st class conditional sentence] we receive the testimony of men [of honorable men], and we do. The testimony of God [the Father] is greater because this is the testimony from God [the Father] that He has testified concerning His son.
εἰ τὴν µαρτυρίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαµβάνοµεν, ἡ µαρτυρία τοῦ θεοῦ µείζων ἐστίν, ὅτι αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ µαρτυρία τοῦ θεοῦ, ὅτι µεµαρτύρηκεν περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ.
Since the Bible is the Word of God [1 Peter 1:23], the testimony of the three witnesses is part of the testimony of God the Father namely that the true humanity of Jesus did not bleed to death. The Father further testifies that Jesus Christ during his last three hours on the cross bore the sins of the world and that the work of salvation has been accomplished on the cross. (1 Peter 2:24; John 3:16, 18, 36; Acts 16:31).
1 John 5:10
The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself [He is a child of God]; the one who does not believe in God [the Son] has made Him [God the Father] a liar because he has not believed in the testimony which the God [Father] has testified concerning His Son.
ὁ πιστεύων εἰς τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ἔχει τὴν µαρτυρίαν ἐν αὑτῷ· ὁ µὴ πιστεύων τῷ θεῷ ψεύστην πεποίηκεν αὐτόν, ὅτι οὐ πεπίστευκεν εἰς τὴν µαρτυρίαν ἣν µεµαρτύρηκεν ὁ θεὸς περὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ.
Romans 8:16 states, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit [human spirit] that we are children of God.”
1 John 5:11
And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life, and this life is by agency of his son [Through his person and work on the cross].
καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ µαρτυρία ὅτι ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἔδωκεν ἡµῖν ὁ θεός, καὶ αὕτη ἡ ζωὴ ἐν τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ ἐστιν.
Ephesians 2:8, 9 states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this [salvation] is not out from you, the gift from God [the Father], not out from works, lest anyone [that no one] should boast.”
1 John 5:12
And he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].
ὁ ἔχων τὸν υἱὸν ἔχει τὴν ζωήν· ὁ µὴ ἔχων τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν ζωὴν οὐκ ἔχει.
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth and the life [eternal life]; no person [in human history] comes face to face with the Father [having an eternal relationship with the Father] except through Me.’”
In all of past, present and future history, there is only one way of salvation. So, salvation in the Old Testament is the same as salvation is today. In the past, they looked forward to the cross; today in the Church Age, we look back at the cross. Also, in the Tribulation and in the Millennium, they will look back to the cross. There is only one way of salvation because there is only one Mediator and Savior!
1 John 5:13
I have written these things to you [believers], to those who have believed in the person of the Son of God in order that you may know that you have eternal life.
Ταῦτα ἔγραψα ὑµῖν ἵνα εἰδῆτε ὅτι ζωὴν ἔχετε αἰώνιον, τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς τὸ ὄνοµα τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ.
John 1:12 states, “But as many as received Him [a concept], He gave to them, the authority to become the children of God, to those who are believing-in [the mechanics of salvation] His person.” In other words, one receives Christ by believing in the person and work of Jesus Christ on the cross. No one is saved by saying, “I receive Christ.” Christ is not going to come to you. That would not only be stupid, but a form of works.
1 John 5:14
In fact, this is the confidence [begins with eternal security as per the previous verse] which we have toward him [God] that if [3rd class condition] we ask [indirect middle: the subjects participates in the answer of that prayer] anything according to his will, he [God the Father] hears us [confidence increases as we increase in truth and virtue].
καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ παρρησία ἣν ἔχοµεν πρὸς αὐτόν, ὅτι ἐάν τι αἰτώµεθα κατὰ τὸ θέληµα αὐτοῦ ἀκούει ἡµῶν.
Prayer is virtue dependent. It is dependent upon confidence toward God and courage toward man. Most prayers offered by Christians are not according to the will of God because believers are so ignorant of God’s Word and so lacking in confidence. In order for prayer to have merit, there must be the motivational virtue of confidence in God, and functional virtue of courage toward man and circumstances. This confidence only comes through knowledge of God’s Word. When the believer has no knowledge of God and his plan, he may do just the opposite that is he may direct courage toward God and confidence toward people. Courage directed toward God is presumption, and blasphemy. Confidence in people is naïve and idiotic. In conclusion, the Christian must have virtue in order to pray effectively.
“Beloved, if our heart [stream of consciousness] does not condemn us, we keep on having confidence toward God, furthermore, whatever we have asked, we receive from him because we keep his mandates and keep on doing the things that are pleasing in his sight.” (1 John 3:21, 22)
The believer must know the will of God before he can enter into an effective prayer life, and the only way the Christian will ever understand the will of God is through much study under the authority of his right pastor.
1 John 5:15
In fact, when we know [Ean is used here as a temporal pronoun] that he hears us in whatever we may ask, we know that we obtain the request which we have asked from him.
καὶ ἐὰν οἴδαµεν ὅτι ἀκούει ἡµῶν ὃ ἐὰν αἰτώµεθα, οἴδαµεν ὅτι ἔχοµεν τὰ αἰτήµατα ἃ ᾐτήκαµεν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ.
The believer’s confidence is based on knowledge “when we know.” The Christian knows that when he prays according to God’s will, the omniscience of God hears him and the integrity of God answers him. Confidence in prayer starts at the point of spiritual self-esteem, and continues with maximum effectiveness in spiritual autonomy and reaches its peak in spiritual maturity. Hebrews 4:16, "Therefore, let us be approaching the throne of grace with confidence, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
1 John 5:16-21
The Sin unto Death and Eternal Security
There are three stages of discipline for believers who are not executing the plan of God. These are: (1) Warning discipline; if warning discipline is not heeded this leads to (2) Intensive discipline, which unheeded leads to (3) Dying discipline, referred to also as the “sin unto death.”
“For this reason many among you [Corinthian believers participating in the Communion Service while out of fellowship] are weak [warning discipline], sick [intensive discipline] and a number of you sleep [body sleep represents death.” (1 Corinthians 11:30)
If a believer does not grow spiritually, but rather goes through all 8 stages of Reversionism, he will be executed by the Lord. This is what happened to 99 % of believers in the Exodus generation (Hebrews 3:15-19).
Galatians 5:16, “But Walk by means of the Holy Spirit, and you will never ever fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
Reversionism:
1. Reaction and Distraction
Distraction from the spiritual life can be caused by apathy, indifference and or wrong priorities etc. If one does establish correct priorities, he must organize his life around those priorities otherwise he will be distracted.
If a Christian does not have metabolized doctrine in his soul, he will react emotionally to difficulties, problems, pressures, calamities, disasters and catastrophes.
2. Frantic Search for Happiness
In this state of stress, the believer is unhappy. The unhappy believer will try to compensate for his unhappiness by pursuing some form of pseudo happiness. This pseudo happiness promised by the sin nature whether it be something innocuous like traveling or something more sinister like sin cannot make the believer happy since the believer can only be happy in fellowship functioning under the authority of God, the Holy Spirit.
3. Operation Boomerang
If the believer out of fellowship with God gets what he thinks will make him happy, he will become disillusioned because it cannot make him happy. On the other hand, if he does not get what he thinks will make him happy, he will become frustrated.
4. Emotional Revolt of the Soul
Emotional revolt means that emotion replaces thought as the criterion by which one makes judgments and decisions. The believer becomes irrational, egocentric and unstable through emotion for emotion in itself is an empty physiological response; it contains no doctrinal content, no mental function, no norms and standards, and no common sense.
"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual persons [believers filled with the Spirit], but as unto carnal [fleshly, belonging to the sin nature], as childish ones in Christ. I gave you milk [basic doctrine] to drink, not solid food [protocol plan], for you were not yet able [to receive it], moreover even now, you are still not able [to receive solid food]. For you are still carnal, for while [there is] jealousy and strife among you, are you not carnal and keep walking in conformity with men [unbelievers]?"[Expects a yes for an answer] (1 Corinthians 3:1-3)
1 Corinthians 3:1-3. Κἀγώ, ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἠδυνήθην λαλῆσαι ὑµῖν ὡς πνευµατικοῖς ἀλλ’ ὡς σαρκίνοις, ὡς νηπίοις ἐν Χριστῷ. 2 γάλα ὑµᾶς ἐπότισα, οὐ βρῶµα, οὔπω γὰρ ἐδύνασθε. ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ ἔτι νῦν δύνασθε, 3 ἔτι γὰρ σαρκικοί ἐστε. ὅπου γὰρ ἐν ὑµῖν ζῆλος καὶ ἔρις, οὐχὶ σαρκικοί ἐστε καὶ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον περιπατεῖτε;
"O, you Corinthians, our mouths [means of communication by Paul, Apollos, and Timothy] have been opened face to face with you; our right lobes have been enlarged [we were prepared]. Therefore, you have not been hindered by us [Paul, Apollos, Timothy], but you have been hindered by your emotions." (2 Corinthians 6:11-12).
Τὸ στόµα ἡµῶν ἀνέῳγεν πρὸς ὑµᾶς, Κορίνθιοι, ἡ καρδία ἡµῶν πεπλάτυνται· (12) οὐ στενοχωρεῖσθε ἐν ἡµῖν, στενοχωρεῖσθε δὲ ἐν τοῖς σπλάγχνοις ὑµῶν·
“For many keep on walking [living out of fellowship] whom many times I kept on telling you and now even weeping I say [that they are] the enemies of the cross of Christ whose end is destruction [die the sin unto death] whose god is their emotions and whose glory is in their shame. They who keep on concentrating on earthly things.” (Philippians 3:18, 19)
πολλοὶ γὰρ περιπατοῦσιν οὓς πολλάκις ἔλεγον ὑµῖν, νῦν δὲ καὶ κλαίων λέγω, τοὺς ἐχθροὺς τοῦ σταυροῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, (19) ὧν τὸ τέλος ἀπώλεια, ὧν ὁ θεὸς ἡ κοιλία καὶ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ αἰσχύνῃ αὐτῶν, οἱ τὰ ἐπίγεια φρονοῦντες.
5. Locked-in Negative Volition
Once emotion becomes the criterion for one’s life, he is no longer interested in learning God’s word. So, he begins to live his life by emotion, not thought. In effect, he locks himself into the closet of negative volition.
6. Black-out of the Soul
In demon influence, the soul of the unbeliever or reversionistic believer is infiltrated by false doctrine, called the "doctrine of demons" in 1 Timothy 4:1 which comes through the vacuum of the mind.
1 Timothy 4:1 But the Spirit [the Holy Spirit is the teacher of Bible doctrine] explicitly teaches that in latter periods of time [between the 1st and 2nd Advents] some [believers] will withdraw from doctrine, concentrating on deceitful personalities [demon evangelism through false teachers] and doctrines from demons.
1 Timothy 4:1 ὸ δὲ πνεῦµα ῥητῶς λέγει ὅτι ἐν ὑστέροις καιροῖς ἀποστήσονταί τινες τῆς πίστεως, προσέχοντες πνεύµασιν πλάνοις καὶ διδασκαλίαις δαιµονίων,
Ephesians 4:17, "Therefore, I communicate this, and because of the Lord, I insist that you no longer walk as the Gentiles [unbelievers] walk in the vacuum of their mind [faculty of thinking]."
Ephesians 4:17 Τοῦτο οὖν λέγω καὶ µαρτύροµαι ἐν κυρίῳ, µηκέτι ὑµᾶς περιπατεῖν καθὼς καὶ τὰ ἔθνη περιπατεῖ ἐν µαταιότητι τοῦ νοὸς αὐτῶν,
7. Scar Tissue of the Stream of Consciousness
Ephesians 4:18, "They are darkened in their way of thinking; they have been alienated from the life of God because of ignorance which is in them, because of the scar tissue of their right lobes."
Ephesians 4:18 ἐσκοτωµένοι τῇ διανοίᾳ ὄντες, ἀπηλλοτριωµένοι τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ θεοῦ, διὰ τὴν ἄγνοιαν τὴν οὖσαν ἐν αὐτοῖς, διὰ τὴν πώρωσιν τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν,
The believer is alienated from the spiritual life that is ‘from the life of God’ for two reasons namely ignorance of God’s plan and hardness of the mentality of the soul. Ignorance begins the process; scar tissue or hardness of the mentality finishes the job. Blackout of the soul merely explains the mechanics of how the believer accumulates false ideas, concepts and doctrine when there is ignorance of God’s plan.
8. Reverse Process Reversionism
This is the final stage of reversionism, a combination of the sixth and seventh stages. It is the antithesis of being an invisible hero. Everything that is worthwhile and valuable in life is rejected; everything that is useless and nonsense is accepted. Prolonged residence out of fellowship causes a complete reversal of all mandates, all priorities, and all norms and standards related to the protocol plan of God.
2 Timothy 3:2-5 states, “For persons will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful ones and anti-establishment [totally irresponsible]. (3) Unloving [no capacity for love], implacable, malicious gossips, without self-control, violent and brutal [unreasonable in thinking and action], not lovers of intrinsic good [no spiritual values and skills]. (4) Treacherous [disloyal], thoughtless types [insensitive], having become pumped up with arrogance [manifests itself in legalism, socialism, crusader arrogance, activism, and civil disobedience], lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God [false priorities]. (5) Holding to a superficial form [outward appearance] of the spiritual life, but they themselves have disregarded its power; avoid such ones as these.”
2 Timothy 3:2-5 ἔσονται γὰρ οἱ ἄνθρωποι φίλαυτοι, φιλάργυροι, ἀλαζόνες, ὑπερήφανοι, βλάσφηµοι, γονεῦσιν ἀπειθεῖς, ἀχάριστοι, ἀνόσιοι, 3ἄστοργοι, ἄσπονδοι, διάβολοι, ἀκρατεῖς, ἀνήµεροι, ἀφιλάγαθοι, 4 προδόται, προπετεῖς, τετυφωµένοι, φιλήδονοι µᾶλλον ἢ φιλόθεοι, 5 ἔχοντες µόρφωσιν εὐσεβείας τὴν δὲ δύναµιν αὐτῆς ἠρνηµένοι· καὶ τούτους ἀποτρέπου
1 John 5:16
"If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to [physical] death [the believer is not dying the sin unto death], he may ask [pray for him] and he [the Father] will give life [restore his physical well-being] to him, to the ones committing sins not leading to [physical] death [Job 42:7-9]. There is a sin [missing the mark, failure] unto [leading to] death [physical death, the believer being executed by the Lord], and I do not say that you should pray concerning this one [1 Chronicles 10:13, 14]."
Ἐάν τις ἴδῃ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἁµαρτάνοντα ἁµαρτίαν µὴ πρὸς θάνατον, αἰτήσει, καὶ δώσει αὐτῷ ζωήν, τοῖς ἁµαρτάνουσιν µὴ πρὸς θάνατον. ἔστιν ἁµαρτία πρὸς θάνατον· οὐ περὶ ἐκείνης λέγω ἵνα ἐρωτήσῃ.
If you know doctrine well enough to discern whether a fellow Christian is “growing in grace and knowledge” (2 Peter 3:18), and you discover that he is very sick and dying, you may pray for his recovery. However, if a Christian is dying from ‘the sin unto death’, you may not pray for him.
How do you know if a Christian is dying the ‘sin unto death?’ If a Christian knows nothing about the spiritual life because he has failed for 40 years to learn the Word of God and is dying, or if a Christian full of fear comes to you screaming “Help, help, I am dying – pray for me please!” then he is obviously dying ‘the sin unto death’.
1 John 5:17
All wrong doing [ἀδικία: unrighteousness] is failure [The Greek word, hamartia in the general sense means to miss the mark, failure]. And there is a sin [failure] not leading to death [If the believer gets out of fellowship through sin, but recovers quickly through the use of 1 John 1:9, and continues his spiritual advance, he will not die the sin unto death].
πᾶσα ἀδικία ἁµαρτία ἐστίν, καὶ ἔστιν ἁµαρτία οὐ πρὸς θάνατον.
The Greek word, ‘adikia’ includes all failure which occurs out of fellowship including sin, good and evil that is manufactured by human power outside of God’s plan (out of fellowship with the Holy Spirit). Every time a Christian sins, he loses fellowship with the Spirit and begins the stages of Reversionism. However, as long as he recovers fellowship before getting locked into negative volition through the stages of Emotional Revolt of the Soul and Locked in Negative Volition, he will be able to continue his spiritual advance. However, if the believer doesn’t recover fellowship through naming his sins to the Father, he is in deep trouble. Keep in mind that everything the believer does out of fellowship with God is wrong doing, adikia (sin, good and evil). Thus, the believer who spends his entire life out of fellowship with God, will die the sin unto death.
In summary, all Christians sin; none of us are perfect in our experience and never will be (1 John 1:8, 10). So, just because you sin, doesn’t mean that you will die ‘the sin unto death.’ In order for the believer to die ‘the sin unto death’ he must reject learning and applying the Word of God and proceed through the 8 Stages of Reversionism.
Even though a Christian may die the Sin on to Death, he will not lose his position in union with Christ (1 John 5:18-20), and so cannot lose his salvation. In order for a believer to lose his position in Christ, he would have to sin in that status, but since the believer cannot sin in union with Christ, he cannot lose his position in Christ and so cannot lose his salvation. Thus, it is comforting and reassuring to a believer to know that even though a loved one may have died the ‘sin on to death’, he has not lost his salvation.
To understand this passage (verses 18-20), you will need to understand something about ‘sanctification.’ Sanctification means to be set apart to God for a special purpose. There are three sanctifications: Experiential, Positional and Ultimate.
Experiential Sanctification is a part of the Christian’s experience while living in his mortal body on this earth. Experiential Sanctification is the function of the spiritual life after salvation. This spiritual life depends upon three spiritual skills: the Filling of the Holy Spirit, the metabolization of Bible doctrine, and the utilization of the Ten Problem Solving Devices. Through the application of the Ten Problem Solving Devices, the believer develops spiritual righteousness, in effect he becomes set apart (experientially sanctified) to God.
One of the key points differentiating Experiential Sanctification from Positional and Ultimate Sanctification is that Positional and Ultimate Sanctification do not depend upon human volition whereas experiential Sanctification does. Regarding experiential sanctification, while on this earth, you are free to succeed or free to fail, depending on the decisions you make from your volition. The Christian can only succeed in the spiritual life if he is in fellowship with God the Holy Spirit; that is functioning under the power and authority of the Spirit and learning and executing the spiritual life. The Christian is failing when he is out of fellowship which means that he is grieving (Ephesians 4:30), and quenching (1 Thessalonians 5:19) the Spirit and even lying to the Spirit as did Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10).)
Therefore, since the believer’s volition only functions in the matter of Experiential Sanctification, only in his experience on this earth can he fail and sin. The Christian cannot sin or fail in any way in Positional Sanctification (in union with Christ) or in Ultimate Sanctification (in his resurrection body).
Positional Sanctification:
1 Corinthians 1:2 states, “To the Church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus [hagiazo: set apart to God in Christ] called saints [hagios: set apart ones, consecrated unto God] together with all who in every place call on the name of [metaphor for believing in] our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.”
τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ τῇ οὔσῃ ἐν Κορίνθῳ, ἡγιασµένοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, κλητοῖς ἁγίοις, σὺν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐπικαλουµένοις τὸ ὄνοµα τοῦ κυρίου ἡµῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ, αὐτῶν καὶ ἡµῶν·
1 John 5:11, “And this is the deposition that God has given to each one of us eternal life, and this [eternal] life is in His Son [since the believer cannot fail in union with Christ, he cannot lose his eternal life].”
καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ µαρτυρία, ὅτι ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἔδωκεν ἡµῖν ὁ θεός, καὶ αὕτη ἡ ζωὴ ἐν τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ ἐστιν.
Experiential Sanctification:
“Sanctify [the aorist imperative of hagiazo] them by means of truth” as per John 17:17a [developing experiential righteousness by metabolizing and applying the Word via the Filling of the Spirit].
ἁγίασον αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ·
“But sanctify [set apart as more important than anything else] the Lord Christ in your hearts” [set Christ apart as special through your spiritual advance which takes place in your soul] . . . (1 Peter 3:15a)
κύριον δὲ τὸν Χριστὸν ἁγιάσατε ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑµῶν,
“That having purified her [the church: pre-salvation sins forgiven at the point each person believes], He [Christ] might sanctify her [Church age believers] by means of the washing of the water [metaphor: the Word washes or changes the believer] in association with the spoken word [the means of washing].” (Ephesians 5:26)
ἵνα αὐτὴν ἁγιάσῃ καθαρίσας τῷ λουτρῷ τοῦ ὕδατος ἐν ῥήµατι,
Ultimate Sanctification:
“Just as He [the Father] has elected us in Him [election is based upon Positional Sanctification] before the foundation of the world that we would be set apart [sanctified in resurrection bodies] and blameless [the sin nature will be left behind with our mortal body; the production of one’s wood, hay and stubble will be burned shortly after the Rapture; and there is no failure, no sin and no dead works which can be produced in resurrection bodies] before Him.” (Ephesians 1:4)
καθὼς ἐξελέξατο ἡµᾶς ἐν αὐτῷ πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσµου, εἶναι ἡµᾶς ἁγίους καὶ ἀµώµους κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ [ἐν ἀγάπῃ]: belongs in the next verse],
There is perfection in both Positional Sanctification (in Christ) and in Ultimate Sanctification (the believer in resurrection body) because these two depend upon the sovereignty of God, not man’s volition. While on this earth in your mortal body you can fail and sin, but in Positional Union with Christ and in your resurrection body, there cannot be failure or sin.
1 John 5:18
We [those who understand that the Christian cannot fail in union with Christ] know that everyone who has been born [regeneration at salvation] from God does not sin [in union with Christ], but He [Jesus] who has been born from God [the Holy Spirit provided the 23 chromosomes at the point of Mary’s conception], keeps watch over him [the believer] and the evil one [Satan] does not snatch him away [Cannot remove his salvation].
Οἴδαµεν ὅτι πᾶς ὁ γεγεννηµένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐχ ἁµαρτάνει, ἀλλ’ ὁ γεννηθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ τηρεῖ αὐτόν, καὶ ὁ πονηρὸς οὐχ ἅπτεται αὐτοῦ.
In order to understand a passage like this, one must understand certain things about hermeneutics. Usually, one can determine the meaning from exegesis, but other times one must look for an interpretive word, phrase or doctrine in the context in order to properly interpret the passage. In this passage the phrase “in Him” found in verse 20 tells us that we are dealing with the doctrine of ‘Positional Sanctification.’
1 John 5:19
We know that we are of God, and that the whole world [the unbelievers] lies in the [power] of the evil one [through demon influence].
οἴδαµεν ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐσµεν, καὶ ὁ κόσµος ὅλος ἐν τῷ πονηρῷ κεῖται.
1 John 5:20
And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us [spiritual] understanding [a spiritual I.Q.: human I.Q. plus the Filling of the Holy Spirit equals spiritual I.Q.] in order that we might know the true one [the Lord] and we are in the true one, in his son Jesus Christ [positionally]. This one is the true God and eternal life.
οἴδαµεν δὲ ὅτι ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἥκει, καὶ δέδωκεν ἡµῖν διάνοιαν ἵνα γινώσκοµεν τὸν ἀληθινόν· καὶ ἐσµὲν ἐν τῷ ἀληθινῷ, ἐν τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ. οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀληθινὸς θεὸς καὶ ζωὴ αἰώνιος.
Only in this mortal body can you use your volition to sin. In union with Christ there is no volitional function; and in the resurrection body you will not be able to use your volition to sin. Therefore, since there is no failure or sin in either Positional Sanctification or Ultimate Sanctification, the believer cannot lose his salvation. That is the point that John is making here. So, even though the believer may die the sin unto death for his colossal failure, he cannot lose his salvation.
1 John 5:21
Children, guard yourselves from idols.
Τεκνία, φυλάξατε ἑαυτὰ ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων.
An idol is an image or a false god. To worship idols is to worship demonism. In John’s day there was a lot of demonism. By way of application, anything that distracts the believer from the true God and the spiritual life is an idol such as emotion, legalism, activism, socialism etc. Paul identifies a false god in Philippians 3:19 when he states, “whose end is destruction [the sin unto death], whose god is their emotion . . .” Again, anything that distracts the believer from growing in grace and knowledge is a false god (2 Peter 3:18). If the Christian pursues idols during his experience on this earth, he will die the Sin Leading to Death, and this is why John gave this command to guard yourselves from idols.
