SNT 0304 Written to Born-Again Believers
Written to Born-Again Believers
January 30, 1966
Study on the Book of I John.
SNT – 304
Format: audio
Publication Date: 01-30-1966
Victor Paul Wierwille was a Bible scholar and teacher for over four decades.
By means of Dr. Wierwille's dynamic teaching of the accuracy and integrity of God's Word, foundational class and advanced class graduates of Power for Abundant Living have learned that the one great requirement for every student of the Bible is to rightly divide the Word of Truth. Thus, his presentation of the Word of God was designed for students who desire the in-depth-accuracy of God’s Word.
In his many years of research, Dr. Wierwille studied with such men as Karl Barth, E. Stanley Jones, Glenn Clark, Bishop K.C. Pillai, and George M. Lamsa. His formal training included Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Theology degrees from Mission House (Lakeland) College and Seminary. He studied at the University of Chicago and at Princeton Theological Seminary from which he received a Master of Theology degree in Practical Theology. Later he completed his work for the Doctor of Theology degree.
Dr. Wierwille taught the first class on Power for Abundant Living in 1953.
Books by Dr. Wierwille include: Are the Dead Alive Now? published in 1971; Receiving the Holy Spirit Today published in 1972; five volumes of Studies in Abundant Living— The Bible Tells Me So (1971), The New, Dynamic Church (1971), The Word's Way (1971), God's Magnified Word (1977), Order My Steps in Thy Word (1985); Jesus Christ Is Not God (1975); Jesus Christ Our Passover (1980); and Jesus Christ Our Promised Seed (1982).
Dr. Wierwille researched God's Word, taught, wrote, and traveled worldwide, holding forth the accuracy of God's "wonderful, matchless" Word.
1Jo 1:7, 5, 9; 2:6
1Jo 2:6; 3:2, 3, 7
1Jo 3:7; 4:17; 1Co 4:3; Act 4:23-29; 1Co 1:30, 31
Eph 2:6, 10; 1:3; Col 1:13; 2:6, 7, 10; Heb; 10:23; 1Jo 4:17; (Act 1:11)
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DRAFT
SNT-0304-WrittentoBorn-AgainBelievers DRAFT
SUMMARY KEYWORDS: God, Christ, word, righteousness, confess, walk, epistle, son, confession, world, John, lord
Take your Bibles and turn to the thirsty Person A John. Thank you. Thank you, Dorothy. Quite a number of weeks ago, I was working in the first epistle of John. As I have many times read these epistles over and over, I perhaps have read the first epistle of John 1000 times or more. And yet, you keep reading the Word of God from time to time you read it over and over again. And I was reading this wonderful epistle and epistle which is very little read among God's people, and very little understood when it is read. But while I was reading it, words that I had really never noticed before just stuck out, like they were an inch and a half high in letters. And those words were, as he is, the word as in the word he especially, and the verb is as he is. So I looked through the epistle, and checked every place where these words were used. And lo and behold, as I worked, these words, I saw expressed in this epistle of First John, some very precious and wonderful and marvelous truths, trills that just thrilled my heart. And by God's grace, I'd like for that same word, to thrill your heart. Not that I know everything about it, but he has filled my soul with the greatness of these words. And if I teach it to you tonight, you can begin working this word, and maybe we'll have an abundance of the knowledge of God's word regarding this subject. It is a common knowledge among the people where it that the recognition of the first epistle of John must be taken in the context of that, to whom it is written. The first epistle of John is not written to the unbeliever. It is written to the Born Again Christian, the believer, it is written to lon who is a son of God. So if you are born again of God's Spirit, the things in the first epistle of John will be just thrilling to you because it's got your name on it. I have often said that until you understand the first epistle of John, you do not understand your sonship rights. You do not understand the privileges that belong to the Christian who belongs to him. The first epistle of John sets forth some of these tremendous truths. For we are what the Word of God says we are right. And we have what the Word of God says we have. And we will be what the Word of God says we will be. So here in First John, he is dealing with those who are sons and their sonship rights. And we're dealing with words like fellowship, like forgiveness, this all belongs to the field of sons. No son has fellowship in the family until after he is born, or a daughter, a child must be born first before it has fellowship in your earthly family. So people must be born again of God's Spirit, if they are going to have fellowship with God. The sons and daughters BORN AGAIN of God, Spirit must be born before they can have fellowship. And once you have fellowship, once you are born, you have this fellowship and having this fellowship, this is the walk. This is the walk. And our walk is indicative of that which Christ has wrought within us.
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In the first chapter of the epistles of John, first epistle of John, in the seventh verse, it says, But if we walk in the light as He is, there you are, as he is, light is the text. We walk in the light as He God, our Father is In the light, God is light. in him is no darkness at all right? Now it says, if we walk in the light, as He is light, we, God and I, you and God, we have what fellowship? You say, fellowship cannot come before you have sonship you cannot have fellowship with God until after you are his son. So, if we walk in the life as he is, he is he is what? Boy, doesn't that thrill your soul? It brings to my spiritual consciousness, dozens of things, he is light, he is light. He is light, and my work in him is light. How light will my rock be in him? Who is that light? It will be as light as He is light. For them, if I walk in the light as He is the light, then I speak the words that he speaks. It's the same word, as a God himself is speaking. Understand. When you speak the word, it's the same as God in Christ speaking again. That's right. And the only way you can dispel darkness is by introducing light. Not by introducing more darkness, into people's lives, not more criticism, not more fault finding. You don't push people down. You simply bring them to the light of God's Word. And when this light begins to permeate, the darkness disappears. That's why in the ministry of the word, the greatness of the word, there can never be a casting down, a pushing down a criticism. It has to be a lifting up a building up, because the ministries according to Ephesians, of apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers and pastors have been given to the church, that the church should be edified, built up, made perfect in their walk. Now he is, he is like, he is like this, as he is his use six times in this epistle. This is its first usage, and it refers to God. And I marveled at this, because God always comes first. Right, this as he is, should we refer to God is just something that thrills my spiritual consciousness. Like in Genesis, in the beginning, God, God came first hearing the epistle, when it talks about as he is, it puts God as our Father first. If we walk in the light, as He is, in the light, as He is light, we have fellowship here and I, you're the father, if you're walking the light, you're in the father have fellowship, one with another with him, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanses us who are walking in the light, it cleanses us from all sin, from all what kind of sin broken fellowship, where we are not walking in that. Then what is the father's? Well, he is like, his will is that we be the light shining in the world. One place the Gospels, you know, Jesus said to the disciples, are the apostles, they were the salt of the earth, did he? Not replace he said, your light? Well, we as sons of God, are light, we are light, for He is our Father, he is light, and he dwells within Christ in us, then we are light and a tremendous truth as he is.
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Well, how light is he? How life is he? In Him there is no one. So he is completely like, how that must tell the heart of a person who really loves the word and who believes that greatness of the power gun. You know, you can take this first one in verse seven, as he is and compare it With the one in verse nine If we confess our broken fellowship, our sins, he is he is what? Why? Because he is light. And darkness separates us from him in fellowship. And it is never the will of the Father that we shouldn't be separated in fellowship. So if we confess our sins, he is he is faith. He is faithful, to do us, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us, of all our unrighteousness of every place where we have sinned, because he is righteous. And as we walk in the life, we manifest that righteousness. So if we confess our broken fellowship, He is faithful. And just to forgive us, this is why a son of God or a daughter of God, born again, I thought, spirit should never go around like as if they're defeated and beat all the time. Because why should we be defeated and beat when he is our Father and He is like, therefore, if we sin, have shortcoming where we are out of fellowship, we confess our out of fellowship pneus our sin, and he is He is faithful he is. So it's a tremendous thing to compare this very seven, with verse nine. The second place it is used in the epistle is in the, in the second chapter. And in the sixth most second chapter, verse six, he that says, he abideth in him on himself also so to walk, even as he even as he, well, well, the father, right, that's number one. He said his only begotten son, right? And while his son was here upon earth, Jesus Christ, did he always do the Father's will? Right? He said, I am the father or one. I always do my father's We'll now look at the relationship that the second usage has to the first presentation. He that says he abideth in him, or himself also so to walk, even as he he wrote, Jesus Christ did what? Well, well, how did he walk? Perfect. But he walked according to the revealed word of God. He walked according to the Word of God, what we call the Bible. We didn't have the New Testament. I know that. But the word that he had the Torah, the scrolls, he walked according to that word. He walked that way. Now he is in us, and we are walking in this world. So he said he that abideth in him, if you're running abiding in him, you're going to be walking on the lot. We're duck swatted, says that's what it means. That something ought to So walk, even as he walked, he walked if he would have stopped because a lot of people said he would not have been our Savior Woody. Oh, no, he had he had he's been swayed by what the neighbors said or by what the community said, Man when faced that community said about him in Nazareth, his pen a phone, but they started but it didn't stop him. Because he knew the word he believed God's word was God's will and he walked, he walked.
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So the first usage of as he is, is a God who is light. He sent his son and his son left and made this life known. And when we look at our abiding in him, and we can only abide in him if we walk, then we are as he walks, as he wants. The third usage of these tremendous words are in the third chapter. The third chapter, verse two, Beloved, now are we want the other now. Now right now, when we are born again of God's spirit now, not when you die, not someday maybe somehow somewhere Nope right now. They love it now are we what? The sons of God right now in our walk in our testimony in our day by day living, we are sons of God right now. Well look at what that gives you. God is like God is in Christ, Christ is in you. You see why? We are sons of God now. Tremendous system. But it does not yet appear what we shall be in the future, where sons are gone now that it does not yet appear what we shall be in the future. But we know that when He shall appear, we shall be up like Him, for we shall see him next word, as he is, as he is, we shall see Him as He is. Isn't that tremendous? Well as he is, how is he? You're redirected in the Gospels of the resurrection. You read the record of what he accomplished. In the 40 days after the resurrection, till the day of the ascension. You read the record of what he accomplished, when He ascended up into heaven. He sat down at the right hand of God, you read the record what he gave forth on the day of Pentecost. We see Him in His earthly walked after the resurrection. The Scripture said, Beloved, now are we the sons of God. But then, sometime in the future, when he returns, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is not something as he is, as he is, so are we, even now while we are here upon Earth, because a lot he robbed for us what God wrought for us in Christ. People I don't know if that thrills your heart like money surely must want a tremendous impact on the heart of a believer these tremendous words are as he is, starts with the light, then the walking of that light, and then that, the return of it, where we are as he is, you get the complete cycle. This is what God did. God his life, he made the life known in Christ, Christ died for us, he accomplished all this, and we are in the return as he is, makes a complete circle, first the light, then the rock, then the return to be as he is.
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All he does now, the other four usages in the scriptures here is to simply reiterate what he has just said in these three you say just and handles it from the way it now specifically applies to you. And to me, in chapter three, verse three, you have the first statement of this. Every man, three, three, every man that has this flop, hope, not faith, but a lot, hope. The word faith is used in the Word of God regarding that, which is available at the present time. Hope, hope is used in the Bible regarding that which is available in the future but not now. Why? Well, look, we just read, when he returns, we shall be like Him for we shall see him as his has he returned for His church. Therefore, right now could you have this? Know what you can't have now? It may come two seconds from now I don't know where five minutes from now or tomorrow. But what you can have right now, you must have one for one word. That's right, the word hope and that used all the time like this In the Bible, whenever the word hope is used, it means regarding that sometime in the future, it may be immediate leave future, or it may distant future, but it's hope of something you cannot have right now. And that is why this verse says, Every man who has this hope, the hope of Christ being the light of what he did, of God being the light of what he did in Christ, and what he has done already for us, in his return, which is still future, now every man who has not hope, the hope or the return of Christ, the hope that we will be like, he is, that person does what? purify himself, makes himself pure. Here we are, even as he is not something even as he is, as Christ is pure. So we have the hope, in Christ, of His return. We make ourselves pure, because of his pure rd within us. And people, this is in the renewed mind, it's in the wall. It's in our day by day, living before him. So this can be a wonderful word. This is what Christ is doing in you right now. As you have the hope of Christ's return, your day by day Rob, is being purified, and you are to be pure in your walk, even as he is. The next reference is in chapter three verse seven Little children, let no man deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is what? Amen. Well, how righteous is Christ? Complete, completely righteous. And when Christ is in you, then spiritually how righteous are you? As he is, right? The doing of righteousness. the doing of righteousness is the believing in God's word, and applying it in your day by day. Because Christ is in us, and when you speak the words that Christ speaks, when you speak the words that God has in his word, you are presenting his righteousness to people. Let no man deceive you. Because you know what people are going to tell you. They'll always say to you, why you are not righteous.
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They'll always say this to you. Because this is the census reaction to a man to anybody who would dare to say that he is what the Word of God says He is. When the word says you're born and get a god spread, you have God's righteousness. People will say, Oh, don't you act so hearty are so proud? Well, if you say you're not righteous, and you're born again, or God's Spirit, then somebody's lying. Either God's word, are you, right? So why not say what God's Word says? You cannot go by what people say, you have to go find the revealed word of God. And you have to So renew your mind that no matter whether you got the tummy ache, or the toe ache, or the headache, you still are what the Word of God says you are, and you have what the Word of God says you have. And it says, He that doeth righteousness is righteous, and the doing of the righteousness is to accept the purity of which Christ Rob, when you get saved, to do this righteousness is to confess with your mouth, the Lord Jesus and to believe God raised him from the day. That's it. That's the day we got. And then you are righteous, even as he is righteous. The tremendous truth isn't it? That righteousness has nothing to do with how you feel, has everything to do with what God was in Christ in Christ paid for
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And as teaching, you know, you're here all the time. And people talk about so many times that you have to bear, you're the cross, that you have to do this, and you have to do that. That's not the word of God. The scripture says, He bore the cross for us. The Scripture says, He, there was no sin or knew no sin, they came up sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. April, there is nothing you can do except believe. That's all. It is not a work set up grace. And all we can do is to believe God's work. It cannot be on our works. They cause no man by his works, could ever make himself even one iota good enough to have the righteousness of God. People it's a gift beyond the human comprehension of the the feeble minds that we have to think of the righteousness of God, because he was pure. When I confess with my mouth, the Lord Jesus, He who was pillar came in, and it's this righteousness of God, which is given to me in love, with grace, by His mercy and by his pump. So we are right to, even as he is right to the sixth record and the final one that's given this tremendous truth, in this epistle is in the 17th verse. In chapter four, I tell you the chapter, sorry, chapter four, verse 17. harrion is our love, made what? Perfect, that we may have won, in the Day of Judgment, In the day of judgment, and the day of judgment is the day in which you and I are living now. Remember that scripture in Corinthians I give many times in the foundational class, when I talk about the difference between the Lord's Day and man's day. Is that where is that in Corinthians? We just looked that up tonight. Do any of you people remember exactly right? First Corinthians, Thank you, Catherine, chapter four, verse three, with me as a small thing that I should be judged a view on of man's judgment. man's judgment is man's day. The reason they translated a judgment is because in this day, which is man's day, who does the judging man does? That's why it's translated that way. Back in the first epistle of John, in the 17th verse, here in is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness, in the Day of Judgment, In the day of man's judgment, In the day of man's judgment, right now, right in this world and with Twitter, because as he is, as he is, so are we in the swamp? Oh boy, isn't that something as he is. And here it is, all love made perfect. That we may have boldness, not to be reluctant, not to be hesitant, not to be fearful. Not to be always covering up hiding our light under a bushel. But to take the greatness of God's Word and be rock with it. Remember in Acts chapter for take a look at it.
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In chapter four, life after Peter and John had been severely persecuted for preaching and teaching the Word of God and The man being healed. It says in verse 23, and being let go, they went to their own company, they went back among the believers. And they reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them, and when they, the people of the company of believers heard that report, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, Lord, our God was made heaven and earth in the sea, and all that in them is who by the mouth and by servant David as said, why did the heathen rage and the people imagine these things? The kings of the earth stood up. And the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ, forever truth against thy holy child, Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were gathered together, for to do whatsoever with I handed my console determined before to be done. And now, Lord, behold are up, threatening. This is the first prayer that's recorded in the Christian church. The first prayer, Lord, behold, they're threatening, and grant unto thy servants that with all up, not hesitancy, not reluctance, not with fear, by with all boldness, they may speak dialogue. And that's the very thing that got them into trouble. They had been speaking the Word of God, and the Word of God got them in trouble. So when they come back for the prayer meeting, instead of praying, Lord, take the pressure off, you know what they're praying, that we may have more bones? Isn't that some, that we may have more bone? Go speak, die word. And back to first job in the light of that. Because as he is, as he is, so are we and this rock. That's what it says. That's what it means. That we may have in this day, in which man does the judge, that we may have boldness to speak the word, that we may have boldness to share the word that we may have boldness to present the greatness that Christ really is. For it says, that as he is as he is, as he is people, have you even begun to pattern this at all, as he is? So are you in this world right now? Isn't that something? You see why you can go out this week? And walk with an effervescence and go? Why you can witness to people why you can help them why you men can expect to succeed in the business and shops and factories and farms, real women in the offices, the kitchens wherever you are with your family. Because as he is so are you in this world? Isn't that tremendous? Remember the scripture we are more than what conquered he came that we might have life and have it more abundance. As he is so are we in this world? What a tremendous truth in these words as he is. Well as he is so are we Well, is he perfect? Is he loving? Is he peace? He is all that the word says he is as he is so are we people are all the time praying to hope to be some time and say they're saying well I have some time. I can be solid so the word says as he is so you are now you've got it now. You are that right now. You don't wait to get a position in the future with him. As he is you are now you've got it and it's because that we are as he is that we do what another scripture says these are in Corinthians or Ephesians. Four we labor that whether we are present or absent And within, we may be wrong. Well pleasing unto him. Right? Why? Because the Scripture says He made us acceptable in the blog. He made us accepted. He made us righteousness. He made us justification he made us sanctification, he made us wisdom redemption, remember that in First Corinthians?
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chapter one verse 30, hymn of God, are ye in Christ, Jesus? God, Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us, not something we work for, but he is made unto us, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and what? That according as it is written, he's our glorious. Let Him glory in Ross, in what the Lord accomplished for us. If we're gonna brag about something, let's brag about what the Lord did. Not about ourselves, by the water heater companies for us. What he did for us, because as he is, so are we in this room, because a lot he did. And remember the scripture that says, Christ is all and end all. And we are as he is, now. Not as he was. While he was here upon Earth, they spit in his face, they beat him, they crucified him, you are not as he was, in defeat. And frustration? No, no, you are as he is. It all victory and glory and power and majesty. This is why it says in the book of Ephesians I guess, or is it Colossians where it says receipted in the heavenly seasons? One, three, or some? Chapter one? Okay, seasons two, six. That's the one I'm looking for Thank you. has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places, and hope crises. Verse 10, says, For we are His workmanship. That's tremendous. Back in the first chapter, in verse three, it says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who have past tense, blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in who? Right? You see, blessed with our spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ. And not only is this true, but we have this exactly what it says in verse six, he has already raised us up in the eyes of God in the mind of God in the will of God. Every believer, has already been raised up and is already seated right now in the heavenly places with him while we're down here upon Earth, why because of what he wrote for us, and when we believe it is Christ in us, which is eternal life, so he's already seated us. This is why in Colossians.... It says in chapter one, we're still talking about that we are as he is In this world, who have past tense, verse 13, delivered us from the power of darkness, and half past tense, translated us into the kingdom of his what? Dear son, then as far as God is concerned, the believer is already what? Translated because its eternal life has translated us already into the kingdom of his dear son. And in chapter two verse six, as you have therefore received Christ Jesus, the Lord, the Lord, so do not rock ye in him, as he is in the world, so are we. And since we have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so we are a lot locked in him. Rocky in him, rooted, rooted, you know what rooted means? Get your roots down. And when you get your roots down, you're not blown over easily. You're not tossed around all the time. You're not uprooted. You're not running from this dinner table to that dinner table. You're just sitting at one table and that's a table of God's Word and eating it. You're not listening to different man's opinions and different ideas. You're listening to one thing only and that's God's word, rooted, rooted and built up in him as a established in the faith, that family phase as you have been taught, a bounding Varian, with what Thanksgiving, verse 10. He are complete, and him and gr complete in Him. If we lacked anything, would we be complete? No, indeed, not. Class, how little we have majored the Word of God in our life. Even the best of us, how much we have to go, how far we have to go. You see why, just a few weeks ago, in this class, one night i i said, we live way below par and that sort of thrilled you to live below par. You know what that means? Does he's a golf pro he knows, to live below par. You see, we are really living below par in our privileges. For as he is so old. And hardly anybody is willing to confess that He is in the world what the Word says. Because the world will always come at you and want to make you confess less than what the Word says you are. So you make up your mind to simply stand on God's word and confess what the Word says. You are just confessing. It says you're completing him. Whatever, complete them we're lucky enough. If we're lucky, even one iota, we would not be one. That's right. We are complete in him, was the head of all principality and power. He is the analog devil spirits. He is the head of all negatives. That doesn't mean he has had negative. That means he's over the top of it. He is above it. He is a head of all principality and power. He's above Satan. And we are completing him. Therefore we have to start confessing to say what the Word says. As it says in Hebrews. That we are what we confess. No matter arises beyond his confession. If we confess that we are not, we will begin to manifest manifest. The negative side that we are not no person rises above is confession. Remember the word that is in Hebrews about can mount this confession that you are like you confess hold fast to confession. Hebrews 1023 1023 of Hebrews Let us hold fast the profession of our faith. The word profession is confession When you confess, if you process let us hold fast the confession of faith without wavering, without lots wavering, the moment we wave on it at all, the moment we flipped even one iota, we're not heralding fast block, confession, to home faster confession is to say, This is what the Lord says, This is what it is. And I say that's what it is, and you stay put on it. Fast to confession without wavering. someplace in the gospels, you will remember Jesus said that if a man said his hand to the plow or something, he doesn't turn around and looks backwards. When you start moving with the things of the kingdom of God, you don't look at your background. You don't look as to what people learn in their background, what they did back here, how negative or how little they do, you only press forward toward the mark of a high calling in Christ Jesus. You're just keep looking forward. You keep loving for and you keep confessing for what we confess we are, we must ultimately become. So if you're if you're moving among people always confessing negatives. What will you become? Negative? Right? If we confess that which is contrary to God's Word, we will be manifesting that which is contrary to God's Word. In First John, it says that we are in this world as he thought, oh, isn't that something as he is, so are we in this world, and we have both boldness in the Day of Judgment of man, which is right now. Because we have the love of Christ, and in that love, there is absolutely no fear. And where there is no fear, there can be nothing but boldness on the greatness of God's Word. You see how perfectly these words set as he is? As he is the first usages of God, then how God was in Christ IN CHRIST wall. And that when He ascended and sat down, he's coming back, as it says in Acts chapter one, and that when he comes back, we, the believers are BORN AGAIN sons of God, we'll see Him as He is, and be, as he is. Tremendous true. And then, in the other four usages as it applies to people here upon Earth. To us, He is pure, and dwelling within us. His purity gives us that righteousness of God. And this is why we are as he is in this world so tremendously because of what God wrought in Christ, and gave to us. So we walk forward, and we manifest the greatness of the power God. Why I think these are tremendous things.