Thessalonians part 83

The next perversion is in 1John 2 beginning at verse 1 through 11 where this statement is found, “These things write I to you, that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate (intercesser, consoler, comforter, in our case the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, Who leds us and them to a deeper knowledge of this Gospel Truths) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandment.

He that says, I know Him, and keeps not His commandment, is a liar, and the Truth is not in him. But whoso keeps His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. He that says that he is abiding in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked. I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shines. He that says he is in the Light, and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loves his brother abides in the Light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and knows not where he goes, because that darkness has blinded his eyes.”

 
For the next ones I'll turn first to Isaiah and chapter 42 under the heading of being a remedy, beginning at verse 5 through 9 and then verse 14 through 17 where the LORD is speaking to the Lord or Jesus, we find this, “Thus says God the LORD, He that created the heavens, and stretched them out; He that spread forth the earth, and that which comes out of it; He that gives breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the LORD have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand, and will keep You, and give You for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the LORD: that is My name: and My Glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell You of them.......I have long time held My peace; I have been still, and refrained Myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once. I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools. And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in path that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do to them, and not forsake them. They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, you are our gods.”


The next remedy is in Luke chapter 4 where Jesus quotes from Isaiah 61 but stops short of the judgement day where we find this beginning at verse 16 through 30, “He(Jesus) came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And they delivered the scroll to Him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

He closed the book, and gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him. And He began to say to them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all beared Him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son? He said them, You will surely say to Me this proverb, Physician, heal yourself: whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country. To this He said, Verily I say to you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; But to none of them was Elias sent, save to Sarepta, a city of Sidon, to a woman a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up, and thrust Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast Him down headlong. But He passing through the middle of them went His way.”


The next remedy will be from Paul's own words found in Acts 26 where he is rehersing his witness of his encounter on the Damascus road before king Agrippa, beginning at verse 12 through 18 and 19 through 23, where we find this statement, “Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, at midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking to me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest you Me? Is it not hard for you to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who are You, LORD? And He said, I am Jesus Whom you persecut. But rise, and stand upon your feet: for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of these things which you have seen, and of those things in the which I will appear to you again; Delivering you from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom now I send you, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to Light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among them which are sanctified by (belief and trust which is) faith that is in Me.

Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision: But showed first to them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and wonted to kill me. Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue to this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: That Christ should suffer, and that He should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should show Light to the people, and to the Gentiles.”

How is all of this perfected? for our answer turn with me to to John's synoptic gospel.