And now if you have your Bibles with you, please turn with me to the book of 1 John chapter 4 today. 1 John chapter 4, when you found your place, let's stand together for the reading of God's word. Let us pray. Lord, as we prepare now to read and to hear your word, and as I prepare, Lord, to attempt to preach, expound, and apply the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, may your spirit bless us all. Be here, Lord God, to work your will in our lives by this great means of grace. In Jesus' name, amen. So our scripture reading today is 1 John chapter 4, verses 12 through 16. 1 John chapter four, verse 12, hear now the word of God. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, then God abides in us. His love has been perfected in us. By this, we know that we abide in him and he in us because he has given us of his spirit. And we have seen and testified that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. This is the word of the Lord. Please be seated. The house where the Morgan family lives is now 24 years old. We bought it new back in 1999. And the house has undergone a lot of change in that time. And the reason I know that is because I'm the one who changed it. I had a new roof, put on it once. I painted the walls many times, many different colors, some better than others. New flooring, new kitchen countertops, new light fixtures have all been brought in and the old hauled away. Most recently I replaced the worn out inner workings of one of the toilets, which was fun. And so it goes. And all in all, as I look back over 24 years of these kind of home improvements, it's a wonder that anything of the original house is left. But one thing that has never changed is the foundation upon which the house sits. I have never changed that. Don't mean to. I wouldn't dare. I don't think the patient would survive the operation, if you understand what I'm saying. Foundations are not meant to change or be changed. That's why they're made of concrete. So what, Christians, is the foundation of the church of Jesus Christ? What does the Apostle Paul say in his letter to the Ephesians? He says that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, Ephesians 2.20. What does that mean? What is Paul saying when he says the church is built upon the foundation of the apostles? Is he saying that there is a Christian cathedral somewhere that is built upon the grave sites of these men? No. Paul means that what Christ's apostles taught Christians to believe and do in the first century is what Christians are to believe and do always. Other things may change in the Church over time. The curtains may change. The customs may change. But the Apostles' teaching here in the New Testament Scriptures remains foundational to all Christian faith and practice, and so it shall to the end of the world. It doesn't move from its place in the life of the Church. It is not meant to. And so anyone who proposed replacing the apostle's doctrine as outdated and bringing in something new in its place is not a welcome renovator of Christ's holy church, but rather more like a fool who threatens to bring the whole house down. Recently in this sermon series, I've been much of the fact that John is sometimes called the apostle of love. Well, that John is the apostle of love is not the most important thing about the man. The most important thing about John is simply that he is an apostle, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. Who were the apostles? 12 men chosen by Jesus to hear all that he said and to see all that he did during the three years of his public ministry. witnessing at last his dying breath on the cross and three days later his resurrection from the grave. These are the men whom Jesus himself in the first century anointed with his spirit and sent into the world to preach his gospel and to baptize believers and then teach them as the members of Christ's church how to be Christians. Other Christian teachers have come and gone over the years, many of them worthy men, respected men, like St. Augustine, John Calvin, and R.C. Sproul. But the reason that these men's works are not in the Bible, but John's epistle is, is that among them only John is an apostle of Jesus Christ. The apostles' teaching is unique in that it is foundational. like the concrete foundation of a house, it never moves from its hallowed place in the church's faith and life, and it isn't meant to. So the question that we asked then of the great apostle John this morning goes like this. What is the experience of God to which a true Christian can testify? And what are the signs that it is genuine. John answers these questions here in 1 John 4, 12 through 16, but I confess following him is challenging. He's handling several ideas in this passage. One follows fast upon another, but I assure you he's really holding them all at once, sort of like a juggler with five balls in the air. So though it's a bit dizzying, I'm gonna try to follow John as we ask again the question, what is the experience of God to which a true Christian can testify? And what are the signs that it is genuine? John begins in verse 12 saying, no one has seen God at any time. In other words, the experience of God to which a true Christian can testify is not the experience of having seen God, as in a vision. Nobody, John assures us, can testify to such a thing. The true God is, as we know, the invisible God, and invisible to us. None of us has seen his form. Interestingly, we hear this same thing several times in John's Gospel. Let me read those instances to you. 1 John 1.18, the Apostle John says, No one has seen God at any time. Exactly the same wording. The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared it. Then later in John chapter 5 verse 37, we hear Jesus say this. He says, And the father himself who sent me has testified of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form. And then finally, Jesus again in John 6 46 says, Not that anyone has seen the father except he who is from God. He has seen the father. So very clearly, according to the Apostle John, it is proper to Jesus to claim to have seen God the Father, but not for us to make such claims as Christ's followers. No one has seen God at any time. Now I wonder why John says that here in verse 12, that no one has seen God at any time. Why is that the first ball in the air here? Suggested perhaps this is one of the claims, one of the more outrageous claims being made by the leaders of the Gnostic movement at the time. So it was a claim that was meant to impress people, that they should look to these prophets of Gnosticism now. for a word from God rather than from John and Christ's apostles. After all, these men had seen God. So how do you answer a claim like that? When somebody claims to have had an extraordinary experience of God in their lives, to have seen Him in a vision, let's say, you may not believe them, but how do you say to them, no, that didn't happen? Well, in this case, John just says, no, that didn't happen. Doesn't he? You didn't see God. You're either nuts or you're lying. No one has seen God at any time. Jesus himself told us that. That is not how God reveals himself to people, even you. All right, so that's clear. That's helpful. But back to our question. What then is? The experience of God to which a true Christian can testify, if it is not seeing God, say, in a vision. As you follow the flying balls here, you get this answer. The experience of God among those who truly know him is the experience of God's entering in to live in their hearts. The experience of God among those who truly know Him is the experience of God's entering in to live in their hearts. That's what John says. The word abide that occurs throughout this passage means to enter in, be present, and remain. Thus, to dwell, to live in a place. So notice how John uses it. Verse 12, God abides in us. Verse 13, we abide in him and he in us. Verse 15, God abides in the one confessing that Jesus is the Son of God. And verse 16, he who abides in love abides in God and God in him. So as Christians, we understand that the abiding God here is particularly God the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. And he's mentioned in verse 13. John says, by this we know that we abide in God and he in us because he has given us his Holy Spirit. Given us his Holy Spirit, where, in what way? Placed it in our hands? No, in our hearts is what we're to understand. This is God's way of claiming a person's heart and his life as his own. And what is it that we come to understand when God enters in to live in our hearts? He gives us his spirit in this way. John says we understand that God loves us, that we are among his children. So verse 16, John says, and we have known and believed the love that God has for us. All right, so now you tell me, which is more wonderful, to have seen God in a vision once, if such a thing were possible, or for God and his love to enter in to live in your heart now and forevermore. It's not even close. To us as Christians, this is a familiar way of talking, to say that we have God's Holy Spirit, to be full of God's Holy Spirit, that he lives in our hearts. What I'm saying is don't let the familiarity make you insensible of just how wonderful this is that John is talking about here. And wonderful without anything else added to it. God the Father, having sent his Son, the Savior, and the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son, in whom we believe, having cleansed us of our sin, God's Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son, has entered into our hearts now, in our lives on earth, as into his Holy Temple, that we should be, as we know we are, his beloved people, and he our great God. Do you need to improve on that? All right, so the answer to our question is emerging. The experience to which a true Christian can testify is not the experience of having seen God, that's nonsense, but the experience of having been indwelt by the Holy Spirit of the invisible God who loves us as his elect children. I think again here, but isn't that the sort of thing that anyone could claim? Oh yes, God lives in my heart too. Unlike a claim to have seen God, which is easily dismissed, this does actually happen to some people. God enters in to live in their hearts. So, now we ask, are there any signs? trustworthy signs to look for in a person's life that would indicate that this is actually true, a genuine experience of the Spirit's indwelling. And John says, yes, there are signs. And his answer gives us, that he gives us here, I think you'll find this consistent throughout this epistle. Two things to look for, whether in yourself or in someone else, to authenticate this claim. When a person truly experiences the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God, first, He will see something, something particular, and secondly, he would feel something, also something particular. What will he see? First, being indwelt by the Holy Spirit, he will see truly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. That's what he'll see. Verse 14, we have seen and testified that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. I want you to compare verses 12 and verse 14. The Greek word for see in verse 14 is the same word that John uses for see in verse 12. So put them together, it sounds like this. No one has seen God at any time, but we have seen. and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior in the world. So this is what Christians claim to have seen, by faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and it is the Holy Spirit that has given us the eyes to see this gospel truth, even while the rest of the unbelieving world remains blind to it and its sin. And what does a true believer do with this knowledge of the gospel truth about Jesus, that he is the Christ, the Son of God? Does he keep it quiet? Does he keep it to himself? Not at all. Verse 14, God says, we have seen and testified. And verse 14, especially, he who confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God. The word confesses there signifies agreement with others and usually a public statement of that agreement. So, that's what you look for when you're looking for signs of a genuine experience of God in a person or a spirit-filled person in this world. Ask yourself, where is he on Sunday morning? He should be found in a Christian church and he should be found there throughout his life, confessing his faith in Jesus Christ, along with other believers who have also seen what by God's grace he has seen. There's the first sign. Secondly, then, what will he also feel? Again, being indwelt by the Holy Spirit, John says a true believer in Jesus Christ will feel brotherly love especially toward all those other spirit-filled Christian people who confess the same gospel truth with him in church. Verse 12, if we love one another, God abides in us. So there is faith and there is love in John's teaching. Love, as we've seen in this epistle, loving one another, John means a desire to fellowship with one another, and a willingness to take care of one another, like families do. That's what John means here by love. So put it all together, what do you get? What is the experience of God to which a true Christian can testify, and what are the signs that it is genuine? John says, in effect, behold the Christian church. And I'm talking about plain church, plain Christian people. Behold them confessing the historic Orthodox Christian faith together before the world every Sunday morning, in perfect agreement with the Lord's apostles, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and the world's Savior. And behold them, watch them, loving one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, according to Christ's command. And so in regular fellowship together, building one another up and sharing in one another's burdens. Gospel faith, basic gospel faith, and brotherly love. Sincere, visible, brotherly love. That's what you'll find among the genuinely spirit-filled, and you don't find it among any other people in the world. This may strike you as Basic Christianity, right? And that's exactly what it is, but no less wonderful for its being basic. This is the answer of the Apostle John. It's still right there in John's first epistle, but God himself poured it like concrete in the pages of Holy Scripture for its preservation. This is part of the foundational teaching of Christian faith and life. The session at Haines Creek Church is a PCA church. It's charged with, among other things, interviewing people for communing membership in the church. And one of the things that we are, according to our Book of Church Order, to ask of them in that interview is to give us their testimony of their Christian experience. That is, their experience of God as Christians and of His saving work in their lives. They say, tell us about that. And what are the elders looking for in that testimony? We're looking for the understanding and confession of a basic Christian faith according to the gospel of Jesus Christ, along with an evident desire to be in fellowship with other believers as an active member of Christ's church. Because that is the testimony of a Christian who has had a genuine experience of God. There's faith in it, basic gospel faith, And there's love in it, brotherly love for other believers. And that is all that we require. And I would ask you, based on your reading of this epistle, do you think that the Apostle John would have us ask and require anything more? This is a practical standard. to use in recognizing one another as Christians in this world. We're not expected to see into people's hearts. We can't do that. We're just reading the outward signs, which is a thing that can be done. It's a definite stand. The questions are simple and straightforward. What is it that you confess about Jesus? Either you confess that he is the Christ, the Son of God, and the Savior of the world, or you don't. What is your desire with respect to these other Orthodox believers? Either you love them and seek fellowship with them as a member of a Christian church, or you don't. Certainly, I understand, and you do too, the final separation of the wheat and the tares, that's the work of Christ himself. And that awaits the harvest of the last day. Jesus taught us that in the kingdom parables. But for now, with John's straightforward standard here in this epistle, the elders can actually do some fairly decisive separating of people into Christian and definitely not Christian. John's standard, I think you'll find, is consistent with the teaching of the other apostles. Paul, for instance, as one born out of time, as he said, taught much the same. He assured the Romans in Romans 10, 9, quote, that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. That's pretty basic. And when Paul heard of the faith and the love of the Christians at Thessalonica, he was ready to embrace them as brothers and even God's elect. seeing that the gospel had come to them as he said, quote, not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance. 1 Thessalonians 1 5. So John's standard for church membership, recognizing the other Christians in this world, extending to them the right hand of fellowship. It's practical, it's definite, it's consistent with the other apostles. And yet for some people, it's not enough. Even when the elders of the church have approved a person for communing membership, some people, well, they just require more. To be assured that this person in the pew with them has had a genuine experience of God and is truly converted. What is it that they want? What are they looking for? Maybe they want to hear this person testify to something more dramatic, a more dramatic conversion experience in their lives, such as they themselves perhaps once had and can tell you all about. What about that? Maybe they'll want to test and see if this person has mastered all the finer Protestant theological subtleties of soteriology. I'm sure they have a perfect grasp of justification that they know, you know, truly understand grace. Maybe they'll want to hear this person testify to some more exciting, impressive works of the Holy Spirit in his life. Experience of astonishing miracles, maybe, or glossolalia, speaking in tongues. Maybe they'll want to see this person demonstrating greater emotion concerning the things of God, shed real tears for their sins or raise their hands to heaven and just beam with delight in this worship. Or maybe they'll want to confirm You know, to be able to see a more thorough reformation in this person's life, see that he has, in fact, purged his speech and his manners of all things on the coming of a Christian, hear that he now holds all the right opinions about things like politics and music. Some people will not be satisfied. The person in the pew with them is truly converted. until they have heard and seen these things. The elders of Hainsbrick Church require none of this. Ask why, why? Are we not zealous for the purity of Christ's church? Certainly. But only such purity as has been required by Christ's apostles from the beginning. What authority do you think that we have to raise the bar? Believe the essential truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Be ready to confess those truths openly and unashamedly, and seek to be in fellowship with others in this world who do the same. Give us that in an interview, and our session is ready to say, along with the Apostle John, that makes you one of us. A Christian, and as a Christian, a brother. in whom the Spirit of God dwells. You belong here, you have a welcome place in this place, you have an honored seat at this table of the Lord, where we as Christians break bread together in faith. So yes, brand new believers belong here. Those who have received Christian baptism, but still have a lot to learn about being a Christian, and it shows. 3,000 baptized by the apostles in a single day. That's chapter 2. Yes, covenant children belong here. Not master theologians who have memorized the Shorter Catechism and passed that test. Covenant children belong here. Even the little ones who believe in Jesus with all the simplicity of a childlike faith and love the members of their home church. And yes, Elderly Christians belong here, even those who have never, you know, shown, who have never particularly distinguished themselves by their spirituality, their gifts, but they just keep on believing in the Savior, and they just keep on showing up at church on Sunday to honor Him, and keep on desiring the fellowship with others who do too. That alone is wonderful. And wonderful is wonderful enough. The Apostle John's business in this epistle, you can see it for yourself, is what? Distinguishing between those who are true Christians and those who are not. And teaching others in the church how to do the same. And John says nothing about the experience of miracles, quasi-lalia, or dramatic conversion. Rather, John just teaches that among the true children of God, who are loved by him and indwelled by his Holy Spirit, we may expect an orthodox Christian confession and love for the brethren. And that's it. The point is that plain Christianity is genuine Christianity. As genuine as it gets. And so that's the bar, to raise it higher, it's not biblical, it's not charitable, it's not helpful. So it ought not to be done. And again, among the reasons it ought not to be done is that it treats the wonderful work of God and the lives of his people as if it were somehow not wonderful enough. So what do you see? when you see a plain Christian in a plain church, like Haines Creek Church, a boring Presbyterian church, as we heard in Sunday school this morning. What do you hear when you hear the simple testimony of her Christian faith as she recites the Apostles' Creed? What do you make of her desire to be at church with other Christians and her humble efforts to serve them as she may? Is this as wonderful to you as it is to John? Do you see the Holy Spirit in this sister? Do you see that God loves her? Do you see that this is heaven's child for whom Jesus died? I'm saying don't miss it. Don't miss it when you look at these people here, and don't miss it when you look in the mirror either. Say, wouldn't I be more assured of my salvation if I experienced something more? If I witnessed a miracle, or I suddenly spoke in tongues, or I had a more dramatic conversion experience, such as would impress the elders? Not according to John. According to John, if you confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, your eyes being open to the truth of the gospel, and you want to be with other believers in this world in loving fellowship with them as members together of Christ's church, you are even then having the genuine experience of God that is the experience of every child of God. Do you hear that? And when you hear that, you feel the rock beneath your feet this morning. There's a rock of assurance. See, that's what it is. What John has taught us this morning is part of the foundation of Christ's church, which the apostles laid long ago. And it is still there beneath our feet today, having not moved an inch since that time. Shall we pray? a most glorious, invisible God who dwells in us. In this Christmas season, when we celebrate the birth of your Son as our Savior, let us marvel that Jesus Christ was a true man, and so a plain man as we are. Of lowly birth, a carpenter's son, subject to hunger, to thirst, to weariness, feeling human emotion, shedding physical tears, suffering on the cross. To despise what is plain in the gospel of God is to miss the wonder of it all, surely. So grant us, Lord, that true spirituality that is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. that doesn't come at Mary's child at Christmas with an airbrush to paint a halo on his brow, and doesn't demand of Christian brethren anything more than the simple beauty of their Christianity. O God, give us your Holy Spirit and work in us faith and love. And in this, your wonderful grace, O God, may we rejoice today and be as secure in our fellowship as God's beloved children, as the church should be. All this we pray in Jesus' name, amen.