God’s Way of Knowing Truth & Error | 1 John 4:5-6

ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church

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Beloved, turn with me in your Bibles to 1

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John 4, and we will begin in verse 4 again as we seek to conclude this passage from 1

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John. 1 John 4, verse 4, God's word says,

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You are from God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.

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They are from the world, therefore they speak as from the world, and the world hears them.

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We are from God. The one who knows God hears us. The one who is not from God does not hear us.

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From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

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Amen. So this passage, which we've been dealing with, has some very important things to teach us and verses 4 through 6, and today we'll be focusing on verses 5 and 6, but it summarizes and capstones for us this subject at discernment that the apostle is addressing here, and I wanted to take note also of the fact that the word spirit is mentioned again, and we need to know in what sense it is being used, because it's used in different senses in this passage.

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But the main idea here is that those who belong to God and are from him, who confess his son and have the spirit of truth, and have overcome those who are not from God, and who do not belong to him and reject him, they are of the

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Antichrist and of the world, and have the spirit of error. That's in essence a summary of what this passage is about.

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They are from the world and we are not, and so I want to focus on verse 5 and begin there, which says, they are from the world, therefore they speak as from the world and the world hears them.

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So, the word world in these verses, once again, has the same meaning as verse 4, of which verse 4, which says, greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.

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They mean the same thing, and it's referring to the unbelieving people constituting the world whose values, beliefs, and morals are in distinction and rebellion to God's law, his ways, his means, all of those things.

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It refers to unregenerate society, unregenerate civilization, which is influenced by the spirit of the

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Antichrist that is already in the world, which verse 3 tells us, and lies under the power of the evil one, right?

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Which first John chapter 5 verse 19 tells us. I appreciate the translation that Gordon Clark offers here for verse 5 regarding the phrase that says, they speak as from the world.

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He renders it, they speak as from a worldly point of view, from a worldly point of view, an unbelieving point of view that denies

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Christ and God and his word. Note this well, note it well, and remember it for verse 6.

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When we get to verse 6, they are of the world. Who are they?

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The Antichrist, right? The false prophets and teachers, they are of the world.

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They are of the world, but Christ taught us that we believers are not of the world.

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We are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world.

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Because of this, the world hates you. The world hates you. That's from the gospel of John chapter 15 verse 19.

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That's the either or that we see very prominently throughout scripture, that excluded middle.

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Now, even though they are of the world, okay, so they all are of the world, all these

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Antichrist, but note how the apostle also distinguishes them at the end of the verse, which says, and the world hears them.

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The world hears them, right? So they are of the world, but the world hears them.

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There's kind of a both and here that we have to pay attention to. There are worldly Antichrist who are followers, in other words.

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They are followers, and there are also worldly Antichrist who are more active deceivers.

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They are active deceivers. They are like the blind who lead the blind into a pit, which

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Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for doing. So there are both kinds there.

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There are those who follow into the worldliness and into death, and there are those who lead others onto worldliness and death.

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And that's the distinction that the apostle is making here, that God's word makes for us here.

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Again, take note of this when we get to verse six, because these concepts are going to carry over.

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So this fallen evil world loves its own, just like Jesus said.

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It loves its own evil followers and its own

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Antichrist influencers. Antichrist influencers, right?

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Note this carefully. You know, that's a popular word these days. You know, there's social media influencers and people who try to have views and try to get clicks and likes and get people to like them and follow them, right?

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And in a sense, that's a very appropriate term for what John is describing here.

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These active Antichrist deceivers who try to lead people into death.

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So, and of course, what this means, consequently, is that because they love the world, they hate

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God. They hate God. It's an either or. These are mutually exclusive conditions to be in.

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Either you love the world or you love God. And you either, like Jesus said, remember that in the

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Gospel of Matthew and in other places where he says, no slave can serve two masters.

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Either you will love the one and hate the other, or you will follow the one and despise the other.

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Something to that effect. We have to recognize the exclusivity of these two positions.

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They are completely incompatible. And, you know, there's countless other scriptures that I've covered before in the previous sermons as well.

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Now, what's one of the morals, at least of the story here?

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A very important one that we need to recognize is that we cannot simply take people at their word.

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We cannot just simply take people at their words. We have to test their words, right?

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We must test and discern the spirits. Especially people who claim to come from God.

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Especially those. Because they may actually come from the spirit of the

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Antichrist. That's the whole purpose of John's warning here. And these are the ones that have a worldly point of view, often disguised in religious veneer.

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But they are pushing or advocating for the spirit of the age. You know, much like the feminism that we see running rampant everywhere, even in the church.

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It's referring to this mindset that is of the Antichrist. And demonstrating allegiance to the spirit of the

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Antichrist. Remember also that many false prophets have gone out into the world.

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They've gone out into the world. But the most dangerous

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Antichrists are the ones with the best disguise. With pious sounding language and appearances.

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They look holy and sound holy. Just like scripture warns us.

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Well, we shouldn't be surprised that the devil disguises himself as an angel of light. And that's why his ministers disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness.

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So, we must test every spirit.

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Every spirit. No matter how good it may sound. Amen? And so, especially when they claim to believe the same things that we do.

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When they claim to believe the same things. That's where we have to be careful as well.

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And I'm not talking about having a paranoid suspicion here. I'm talking about testing, proving what people say to be true.

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Is what you are telling me true based on scripture? And does it reflect what you are actually promoting?

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Because you can say one thing and do another. You can claim one thing and really teach another.

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By redefining terms. Like heretics love to do. And cults and false religions that call themselves

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Christian. Right? This is textbook heretic tactics.

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Antichrist tactics. That's what they do. Especially also when people claim that God speaks to them.

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Right? So many a false religion has been started because somebody claims that God revealed themselves to them directly.

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They had a vision from God. And things like that. Or that God simply just talks to them.

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And it's sad, but we've had visitors come to our church. Saying and claiming these very things.

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Claiming these exact things. They claim to be spiritual. And they come off as pretty boastful and arrogant.

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Like, yeah, I'm spiritual. You know, God speaks to me and he gives me visions. And one man, I remember, said he had taken a vow of poverty.

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And is a prophet king. Who has like regular visions from God. But one of the questions

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I asked him. In order to test his spirit. Was, how do you know that these things that God is supposedly telling you is actually from God?

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How do you know it's from God and not from the devil? Right? How do you know it's from God and not from the devil?

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Or how do you know it's not indigestion? Something you ate gave you an upset stomach and made you hallucinate.

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Right? This is stuff that even Jeffrey Chaucer warns about.

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The old medieval scholar. But this is something that.

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This is precisely what John is warning us to do. Because people will claim many things.

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And that doesn't necessarily make it so. Just because you claim it does not mean it's true.

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And this is the lie that society has embraced. That the world has embraced. Where, oh well, if you think yourself to be a man.

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You're a man. Even though you're actually a woman. Or vice versa. Right?

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It's a complete distortion of reality. You don't know what's real. If you do not belong to God.

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And believe and follow him. You don't know what's real. You will be deceived.

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You will be deceived. So. You know this prophet king.

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Supposedly had a big huge bag. Of an idol image of Mary.

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You know that Roman Catholic picture. Where there's 12 stars surrounding her. And all this stuff. And it's an idol.

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It's an idol. And simply testing it with scripture.

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Would prove that to be false. That image to be false. Because in scripture. This is taken from the book of Revelation.

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And in Revelation it says. The woman is a sign. It's a sign that's pointing to something else.

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Therefore it can't be a woman. Right? That's why we must know scripture. So that we can test these claims.

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And refute them biblically. Kind of like I mentioned last time. Of the Roman Catholic claims.

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That Peter was the first Pope. But if you look at scripture. Scripture completely contradicts.

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Every point that they make about the papacy. Completely. So. We.

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And that's what I asked him. How do you know? And he's like. Oh well. I just know.

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God just shows me. And he just tells me. And he showed me. And he told me. And he told me. And he showed me.

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And. I told him. You know how I know? And I picked up the

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Bible. And I pointed straight to it. And I showed him. This is how we know. And he said. Oh yeah.

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That too. Yeah. That too. That's. Yeah. That's right. It's like. Yeah. That was. You didn't even.

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That was not even on your mind. And that's why.

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That's why. These. These visions. Or these dreams. Whatever these people get. It may very well be real.

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But the source. Is. Not God. It's probably. The devil.

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Some demonic foul spirit. That's inspiring them to. Lead others unto death.

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And themselves unto death. Eternal death. This is.

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We. This has become. Very prominent. These days. But.

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Again. It manifests itself. In different ways. Because this tends to happen. With people that are more charismatic.

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Or they tend to be more. Quote unquote spiritual. But it also comes from. People who claim to be reformed. Like we do.

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In Protestants. And they will claim to. Believe the same things. That we do. And subscribe to the same confession.

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That we do. But it may not. Be the case. At all. Because once you start to test.

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What they say. And what they teach. And how they explain things. And how they define things. You. You may find that.

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The exact opposite. Is the case. So. This is.

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Precisely. What the apostle. Wants us to. Receive. And apply. And understand. These people.

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These antichrists. Sadly. Have. Neglected.

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And in many cases. Completely. Rejected. The means.

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And ways. That God. Gives us. Gives to us. Whereby.

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We can. Know him. Truly. And. Reject. Antichrist. Identify.

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And reject. Antichrist. And his teachings. To know. Truth. And reject.

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Error. And that's why. I called. Today's sermon. God's.

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Way. Of knowing. Truth. And error. Because we have to know. Both. We have to know.

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Both. So what then. Are. These means.

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And ways. Of God. Whereby. We can know. Both. Truth. And error. That's where.

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Verse. Six comes in. Join me. In first. John. Chapter. Four. Verse. Six.

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Where. The apostle. Gives us. A clear. Answer. In this verse.

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God's word. Says. We. Are from God. The one. Who knows. God. Here's us.

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Here's us. The one. Who is not. From God. Does not. Hear. Us. From this.

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We know. The spirit. Of truth. And the spirit. Of error. There.

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It is. There. It is. And this. Is where. People. Who. Start.

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Getting into. These wild. Visions. And. Imbalances. They start.

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To deny. The fact. That God. Uses. Means. And one. Of the means.

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That he uses. Is. Us. Got. The ones. Who. The one.

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Who knows. God. Here's. Us. They hear. What we say. They hear. What we teach.

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And they believe it. And they follow it. Because God. Uses. People. He uses.

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People. He uses. His church. To teach. The truth. And. To fulfill.

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That great commission. That Christ. Commanded. His. His. His church. To fulfill. To. Go into all the world.

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And preach the gospel. Unto every nation. And creature. And. Baptizing.

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Them. And. In the name of the father. Son. And the Holy Spirit. Teaching. Them. To observe.

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Everything. That he has. Commanded us. Right. This. Is. What.

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God's. Ways. And means. Are. God. Has. Checks and balances. He has.

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Means. And ways. So. Somebody can't just come up and say. Oh. Yeah. God told me. To burn a church down.

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And. That's a true story. I know. Individuals. Who told me that.

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That God. Told them. To burn a church down. Completely. Disconnected from reality.

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Because they don't have. The word. And the teaching. Of God. From God's people. That's what happens.

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And so. This is.

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This is. So important. To understand. God. Most certainly.

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Uses his word. That is. Obviously. The foundation. For everything. That we are.

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That we. That we. Believe. That we do. That we follow. But. But. This is.

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The. This is. However. That we have. To all. Recognize. God.

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Also calls. Men. To teach. Us. His word. So that we can.

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Understand it. Rightly. And not twisted. And make a mess of it. Like. Peter.

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Warns about. Unstable. Men. Antichrist. Men. Who twist. The scriptures.

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To their own. Destruction. And to the. Destruction of others. Right. They twist.

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Scripture. They are. Unstable. Unbalanced. Untaught. Men. They are not taught.

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By faithful. Men. Who have. Passed on. The torch of truth.

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By means of. The true church. This.

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Also. Is what. God's. Means. And ways. To help. Us to grow.

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In our. Discernment. Of good. And evil. Of truth. And error.

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In order to. Also. Of. To recognize. The truth. Yes. And sound. Doctrine. Biblical.

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Teaching. But also. To avoid. These pitfalls. Extremes. Imbalances.

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False. Teaching. And lies. Of antichrist. And deceptions. Of the devil. Right. This is.

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What. We must. Understand. God. Uses. Means.

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And he. Uses. People. And if you. Contradict. God's. People. You are. Contradicting. God. If you are.

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Contradicting. God's. Called. And ordained. Ministers. Who have. Been called. And ordained. By God. And recognized.

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By the church. As ministers. Who preach. And teach. The truth. Faithfully. If you.

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Contradict. Them. You are. Contradicting. God. That's. What. The apostle. Teaches.

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Us. Here. These. Are all. Including discernment.

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Discernment. Is. Also. Means. That God. Gives. To us. And commands. Us. To do. And practice.

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As well. But. These. Are part. Of God's. Ordained. Means. Of grace.

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The word. The word. But. It's not just. The word. Read.

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And the word. Studied. Which are. Important. But. Especially. Like our. Catechisms.

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And confessions. Say. Especially. The preaching. Of God's. Word. From God's.

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Ordained. Ministers. Who have been called. To do that work. Who have been taught. Faithfully.

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Like. Titus 1. 9. Says. So that they can instruct. Others. In sound. Doctrine. That they receive.

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From faithful men. And also. Refute those. Who contradict. Sound. Doctrine.

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And safeguard it from. Antichrist. And from the. Savage wolves. Taking over their. Church. And leading.

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People. Astray. And also.

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The sacraments. Right. That's the other. Aspect of God's. Means of grace. Baptism.

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The Lord's. Supper. And. Prayer. Prayer. So. God's.

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Word. Is very clear. About. The means. And ways. That God gives us.

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To know. Truth. And error. The one.

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Who knows. God. Hears. Us. Listens. To us.

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And. Receives. Our. Teaching. By. Faith. Alone. By.

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Believing. It. By. Agreeing. With it. This. Is. Who. We. And.

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Us. Refers. To. Here. In. This. Verse. We. Are. From. God. The. Knows.

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God. Hears. Us. That. Is. Referring. To. The. Men.

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That. God. Called. To. Teach. His. Word. To. The. Apostles. Right.

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In. This. Immediate. Context. Is. Referring. Apostles. Like. Apostle. John. Himself. And. The.

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Apostolic. Associates. Associates. Who. Preached. Alongside. The. Apostles. And. Doing.

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That. Work. Of. Spreading. The. Great. Commission. It. Refers. To. God's. Apostles.

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And. Prophets. And. Teachers. Pastors. By. Extension. As. Well. In. Contrast.

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To. The. Antichrist. False. Prophets. And. Teachers. That. John. Earlier. Warned. Us.

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About. You.

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They. God's. Teachers. God's. True. Teachers. Who. Also.

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Equips. God's. People. To. Identify. Antichrist. And. Reject. Them. That's. Exactly. What. The. Apostle.

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Does. Here. Now. Another. Thing.

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We. Need. Understand. Carefully. Here. What. Does. What.

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Does. The. Word. Spirit. Mean. In. This. Verse. In. Verse.

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Six. It. Says. At. The. End. Of.

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Verse. Six. Which. Says. From. This. We. Know. The. Spirit. Of. Truth.

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And. The. Spirit. Of. Error. Right. From. This.

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We. Know. Both. The. Spirit. Of. Truth. And. The. Spirit. Of. Error. What. Is. Referring. To. This. Referring.

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Somehow. To. The. Spirit. Of. Truth. As. The. Holy. Spirit. And. The. Spirit. Of. Error.

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As. The. Antichrist. Spirit. Or. The. Devil. As. The.

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Devil. The. Devil.

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Of. Error. It.

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By. The. that I consulted, it's the

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Lexham Research Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, said that the word spirit here means the spirit or animating force of a person or deity.

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The spirit or animating force of a person or deity. And so I was a little disappointed by that because while lexicons are often helpful, they may not always be correct.

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Okay, so we have to just, again, we have to test these things. We have to examine all things carefully.

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Carefully, including, you know, Bible study helps and lexicons and dictionaries because they may not always be right.

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They are, they are, they are fallible. They are not the words of God himself.

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And so verse 6 is not referring directly to a person or deity.

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That's the issue there. It's not referring to a specific person or deity as it was in verses 1 through 3, right?

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Test every spirit. The spirit who confesses Christ belongs to God.

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The spirit who does not confess Christ does not belong to God. That's referring to specific people.

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But the word spirit here is once again referring to a mindset, a mentality, an allegiance even, just as in the end of verse 3, as in the spirit of the

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Antichrist. It's a mindset. It's a zeitgeist, a spirit of the age, so to speak, in the negative sense, but also in the positive sense.

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The mentality of those who follow the spirit of truth as opposed to those who follow the spirit of error.

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The spirit of truth, okay? The spirit of truth is the mindset that agrees with God's Word and with those whom he has called to teach it to us, right?

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Like the Apostles themselves. There is a correlation there.

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So you cannot claim to hold to one and deny the other. You cannot claim to believe the

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Bible and reject what God's people has taught concerning Scripture.

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They are part of God's way of building up the church.

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God doesn't just reveal stuff to you by osmosis. He uses other people.

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Amen? So that's what that's referring to, the spirit of truth.

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And similarly, the spirit of error is the mindset that rejects

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God's Word and his teachers, even though they may profess to hold to it.

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And instead, they follow the world and its Antichrist teachers in actuality.

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This is very important that we understand. If you turn with me to Titus chapter 1, verse 10, we find an extremely important passage here that helps give fuller light to the context of what

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John is, the Apostle, is teaching us as we exercise the analogies of Scripture and of faith.

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Let's compare Scripture with Scripture, continue to do so, and draw out the doctrines that God's Word is teaching us here.

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Titus chapter 1, verse 10, God's Word speaks, for there are many rebellious men, many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers.

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I wonder what that's all about. This is referring to Antichrist, the same type of men that the

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Apostle John warns us about and that the rest of the Apostles warned us against, the savage wolves and so on, and that Christ warned us against, especially those of the circumcision, the

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Judaizers, the people who claim that you needed to become a Jew in order to be saved and be circumcised in order to be saved.

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These must be silenced. They must be silenced. Why? Because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of dishonest gain.

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One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.

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This testimony is true. For this reason, reprove them severely, reprove them severely, openly, so that they may be sound in the faith, not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth, like these

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Antichrists. To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure.

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But both their mind and their conscience are defiled. Their mind and their conscience are defiled.

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They profess, note that word, they profess to know God, but by their works they deny him, being detestable, and disobedient, and unfit for any good work.

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They are completely disqualified, because they are not from God. They were not called from God.

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And this, this beloved, is so important.

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And note that word profess, homologousing.

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This is the same word that 1st John, verse, chapter 4, verse 2 uses.

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Every spirit that confesses that homologue, that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, or rather that confesses

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Jesus and his doctrine, in addition to his incarnation, is from God, confesses, professes, truly, sincerely, without reservation.

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And every and any spirit, without exception, that does not confess Jesus himself, denies him, and is not from God.

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Amen? This is what the whole counsel of God teaches us, beloved.

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So this, this is so important for us to understand.

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And I want to, I want to take us to another passage now, in 1st Corinthians, chapter 14, verse 36.

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1st Corinthians, chapter 14, verse 36. Note here, the context, this is very interesting, because the context of what the

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Apostle is, the Apostle Paul is teaching us here, is in the context of the, that he is commanding women to remain silent in churches.

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Very revealing. Now, verse 36 says, Was it from you that the

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Word of God first went forth? Or has it arrived to you only? If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize first that the things which

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I write to you are the Lord's commandment. But if anyone remains ignorant about this, he is ignored by God.

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He is ignored by God. Therefore, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues.

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But all these things must be done properly, and in an orderly manner, according to God's Word, according to God's means, according to God's ways of how he calls and ordains men to teach us these things, who show us and, and, and, and teach us to discern these things, and to be careful with people who claim that they may be spiritual, or that they are a prophet, by testing him and them.

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Do they recognize what God's Word teaches? Like when I showed that gentleman who called himself a prophet king,

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I showed him in Scripture where the Bible condemned his, his bag as idolatry, and, and many of the other things, the, the foolishness that he was, was saying to us.

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God uses checks and balances, His Word, and His people to show us these things.

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So that's how, in large part, the test. Are you truly spiritual and prophetic only if you agree with God's Word, and you have been rightly called and ordained by God, and by the church to do these things?

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That's how we know. I appreciate very much what

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Gordon Clark says in his commentary on this, these verses.

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He says, man's only way of knowing God is by the reception of theological information verbally revealed to him.

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In words, that is, the words of God. The reception, that is, the assent to, or belief in, or agreement with, the doctrines revealed is the work of God alone.

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For faith or belief is a divinely given gift. It is a gift of God.

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Those to whom God has not given this gift do not hear us.

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They do not hear us. Of course, they hear the words we speak.

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They may, with some attention, understand what we say, but they believe it to be false.

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They believe it to be false. We have the spirit of truth.

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They have the spirit of error. Either or.

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Either or. Amen? This is, beloved, what we must know and understand.

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And this is so important, that we bear in mind these things, and always bear them in mind, and never forget them.

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How they are of the world, and we are not. Why is that?

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Because we have the spirit of truth, and they have the spirit of error, because they contradict

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God's Word, God's means, and God's ways. Those who are of God, and belong to Him, are in agreement with all of these things.

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It's not just one thing. It's all of them, because it's all part of God's system of doctrine, that He has taught us, and revealed to us in His Word.

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It's all part of the same thing. So you cannot take and choose only the parts that you like, and only focus on the things that you like.

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We have to receive, and God's teachers, and pastors have to teach the whole counsel of God, properly.

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And you have to be called, and qualified to do those things, beloved. In light of all of these things, let us now bow our heads, to close with a word of supplication, and prayer to God.

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Our dear, precious Heavenly Father, we thank You so much, Lord, for giving us this mindset, this spirit and mindset of truth,

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Lord. It's a gift of Your grace, that You have given us by faith, because nothing that we do, or say, or could ever, could ever put us in good terms with You, and in the truth of Your Word.

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You had to reveal it to us, just like Christ Himself told Peter, that flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my

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Father, who is in heaven. Lord, we thank You for giving us this spirit of truth, and of discernment, that we all need to practice,

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Father, to receive it by faith, and to practice, to grow in, Lord. Help us, and guide us by Your Word, and by Your Word, and Your means, and Your ways,

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Father, of the divinely appointed men that You have called for the work of ministry, to teach us these things,

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Father. Help us to recognize those men, those faithful men of old, and faithful men today, who accurately teach these things, and set an example to the rest of the church,

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Father. We thank You, Lord, for these things, and we ask these, ask

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You, in Jesus' precious, almighty name, the great Teacher, who teaches us, and reveals to us these things.

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In Jesus' name, Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermons of Thorne Crown Covenant Baptist Church, where the

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Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is applied to all of faith and life. We strive to be biblical, reformed, historic, confessional, loving, discerning

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Christians, who evangelize, stand firm in, and earnestly contend for the Christian faith.

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If you're looking for a church in the El Paso, Texas area, or for more information about our church, sermons, and ministries, such as Semper Reformanda Radio, and Thorne Crown Network Podcasts, please contact us at thornecrownministries .com,