Second John, and we'll read together a few verses of this epistle. Second John. Let's hear the word of God. The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I, but also they that have known the truth. For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever. Grace be to you, mercy and peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father in truth and love. I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after his commandment. This is the commandment that, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought. but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed. For he that biddeth him God's speed is partaker of his evil deeds. Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink, but I trust to come unto you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen. May the Lord bless his word to our hearts for his name's sake. This morning I want us to think most particularly on what is said to us in verse two. For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever. I want us to think briefly this morning on the abiding Christ and his abiding truth. the abiding Christ and his abiding truth. Before we go any further though, let's just ask the Lord to meet with us. Father in heaven, now we would pray that as we look into the word of God, that thou will send the spirit of God to be our helper. Lord, that he would help our understanding, that he would open our hearts, that he would overrule our unbelief, that we might know the fullness of his comforts, but also of his convincing us of the truth of God and our need as sinful men of that truth working in us, making us like the Savior. Lord, I pray then to that end that you will help me as thy servant. Bless each heart here. Let none not hear the voice of Christ. through the word of God today. Bless us then, meet with us, we would ask. In Jesus' name, amen. The Apostle John in this epistle shows great concern that the people of God were being attacked by false teachers. These wolves in sheep's clothing insisted that Christ had not actually come in the flesh. This group of troublers with whom John contends were known as Gnostics. Now that is a label that is based on a Greek word that means to know. If you were to go to Dr. Alan Cairns dictionary of theological terms, he would make the statement, and I paraphrase him, these people, the Gnostics, claim that they had a secret knowledge to which only a small segment of humanity could attain. If you were of that group, of that small segment of humanity, you were of a higher order than ordinary people and could discern the truths of the Supreme God. Using their assumed knowledge, these heretics set forth the false doctrine that the Lord Jesus was either an apparition of a phantom being, or that he was a mere man named Jesus, upon whom the Spirit of the heavenly Christ came at his baptism. Christ was not in the flesh. He was only seeming to be in the flesh. Therefore, Both the absolute surety of Christ's presence and the truth of his message could never be certain to the hearts of believers, and this concern John speaks to in verses 7 to 9 of 2 John. The agnostic contention that Christ was only a temporary manifestation also seems to have been the heavy burden on John's heart. Indeed, this falsehood is an attack that is at the very presence, or the very core, of our hope and our peace. If Christ is not with us, then His words are not true. For the Lord said that He would ever be with us. Well, the force of John's words in our text, verse two, is that the Lord Jesus did not come just to appear before us, but he has come to dwell in us. Christ came to dwell in us. His words, his truth, his doctrine abides as he abides. Therefore, John confirms that for those that belong to Christ, both the Lord and His truth will never depart from us. John also shows a burden that those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus and known Him as the truth will see that Christ's abiding is the reason for the continuing graces of God. John says in verse three, after he just makes this comment about the Lord Jesus being in us, that he says, grace be with you. Not only is the Lord with you, but on a basis of the Lord's presence, let grace be with you. And then in verse four, John says that he rejoices that it can be seen that the children of this godly woman have the evidences of the abiding Christ in them. That is, that they are walking in the truth. When Jesus abides within, there is the effect of continuous abiding in truth, and walking in truth, and knowing the benefit of truth. So the theme that John sets forth here in this short epistle, and one that we should take as our thoughts today, is simply this, that the abiding presence of Christ, the abiding presence of Christ in the hearts of the believer is the cause and hope for the abiding grace of God. God will be gracious to me. In fact, we might even say it this way, for Jesus' sake, because Jesus is within, the Lord must be gracious to me as part of his fulfilling what he has promised to Christ. So I want us to think on that this morning. The abiding presence of Christ is the cause and hope for the abiding grace of God. Now John points out, as I see it, five things and we're going to comment to those briefly this morning. Five things on this theme. The first and probably the foundation for everything else that we say is simply this, Christ is with us. That's the first point, Christ is with us. Now we are considering today who and what is truly abiding with us. And we will have to begin our thinking with what it is to us a very common plague. That is, we are often overrun in our hearts and minds with abiding doubt. It's not the abiding Christ that we sense within us, it's the abiding doubts about the Lord, about His truth, about our place in the Lord, about the Lord's intent, His promises, and His purposes to us, we are filled with doubt and it seems to me that which is the abiding power within our minds and hearts. I will say it is not only the contention of false religion and of the devil that is that the Lord Jesus is not with us. How many times does the devil come and tell us, the Lord's not with you. but it is so much the time. The sensible conclusion, and I underline those words, the sensible conclusion of our guilty hearts as well. We conclude by our sensible conclusions that the Lord really isn't with us. Now by sensible conclusion I mean that we interpret what we discern by what is in us and around us, that the Lord is not close. What I see in me, what I see in the world, what I'm experiencing, boy, these things tell me that the Lord has just left me to myself. He is not close to me. He's up far away. And we conclude by all that we can think and see that he is not dwelling in us, and he is not careful to stay at hand to help me. Now, I'm gonna step back and ask a question on what I just said. Is this plight, is the doubt that the Lord Jesus is really with you, is this something that you know? Is this something that you know? Am I describing a condition, though, that you know nothing about? If I am describing a condition that you know nothing about, then I doubt you. Because I think that this is something that we wrestle with as believers, perhaps stronger than any other thing that causes us doubts and fears. Is the Lord really with me? You might even ask the question, why would John comment so specially at the beginning of a letter to those that he holds so dear, if this matter was not a matter of danger to all in Christ. Oh, he speaks of it because this issue, this doubt, this lingering plague is a matter of great harm to the church, to the people of God, to you! Now John here is marking what we would have to say is the very core of what makes a Christian different from the world. The true believer has not just a hope, but a truth that he can lean upon with all his soul. You have a truth. The truth abides in you. Not just some hope, but the truth abides in you, and the truth is what? That Christ is with me. That Christ is in me. That He will never leave me nor forsake me. As He is a promise, I will be with you even unto the ends of the world. That that promise of Christ is not just a promise of something that may happen, but is actually happening. He is in us. We might use Paul as an example. of one who leaned on that truth in a time of dire need. You know perhaps even what I'm gonna refer to from the book of Acts in chapter 26. Paul and the others are on the ship and they're in the midst of that great storm and it says there in the description of that storm and what they were going through that at one point all hope of survival was taken away. But Paul finds himself being able to stand up and before the whole group, 276 I believe was the number that were on that ship, before the whole group and says, now I want you to be of good cheer. Wait a minute, just a minute ago we all concluded that all hope of survival was taken away and now you're telling us to be of good cheer and what was Paul's statement? What was Paul's that he was leaning upon that he could make such a statement, which not only affected him, but it did affect the whole of the rest of the group there on the ship. He says, for there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve. Christ was with him. He knew Christ was with him. And on the basis of the knowledge of Christ with him, he could tell everyone else there, be of good cheer, because the Lord has told me, none of you are going to perish. We're gonna lose the ship, but none of you are gonna perish. Again, what was the knowledge that kept Paul? It was the knowledge of Christ with him. And I say this morning, that this is a foundational truth. Here's a point that we must see as the bedrock foundation of our hope and of our walk. Or as Psalm 23 verse 4 says, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. What's the reason? For thou art with me. The fact of the Lord with us and in us is that which can cause us to fear no evil. It is an abiding work. Why do we not believe that the Lord is with us? Because we can't see him? Well, yes, partly. But I think this is our problem to the largest extent. We have hearts that are so filled with looking for what we want to happen, in this life that we miss the Lord. And I mean by that, we want and do not get. And then we hold up that failure to get what we desire as evidence that He is not with us. In other words, very frankly, the Lord's not giving me what I want, therefore He's not with me. Now, you say on the surface, well, if you say it that way, that sounds pretty foolish. Yes, it is. We say it to ourselves in other ways and convince ourselves of this silly truth. But it is for us a very great plague. I don't get what I want. I don't get what I think I need. I don't get what I suppose is the best answer to the things that I am seeking the face of God for. Therefore, the Lord must not be with me. I would ask you, especially at this time of year, to think, what perhaps is one of the greater messages in the coming of the Lord, the Lord Jesus? When the heavens were opened, the angels sing, the star appears. What was one of the great messages that we have? You say, well, there was a Savior which was born, Christ the Lord. Absolutely, a Savior of sinners. chiefest of messages. But I think along with it, the Lord gives us not only the hope of salvation, but the hope of an abiding presence of God. For is this one who comes not called Immanuel, God with us? Do we not sing hymns to that effect? O come, O come, Immanuel. The express statement of God for the coming of Christ is to redeem, but also to reside with his people. And that's why the Lord Jesus says, as he would extend his comfort to some doubting and distressed disciples, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. I have come to redeem, but I have come also to reside in and with my people." I say, let your mind settle on this. If that is understood in mind and believed, it will also settle the heart. The Lord is with me. The Lord is in me. And he brings to my heart by the power of the Spirit of God his truth. And that abides in me as the Spirit continues to preach to me the truth, so that I am, as Paul says, of the children of this elect lady. I am able to walk in the truth. I was struck this morning as I was reading from 3 John, the comment that he makes to Gaius. In verse four, he says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth or walk in truth. Yes, you and I are able to walk in truth because of who is in us and who does not leave us. John is battling a group of people that says Christ is not with you. Christ only seemed to come for some reason that really doesn't have to do with redemption at all, and certainly has nothing to do with a residing permanently of this one who came in the hearts of his people. John says this is absolute falsehood. It is devilish. It is destructive. It is of death. and it is to be repudiated, but not just repudiated, it is also to be that which is replaced in mind and heart with truth that Christ is with us. So that's the first thing that John is pointing out here. Christ is with us. He's with us not just outside of ourselves. No, no. Most particularly, He is with us in our hearts, which then leads to the second point, which naturally flows from this thought, and that is, secondly, the primary place to look for His presence is within. Christ is with us, and the primary place to look for His presence is within. Now, this too seems strange to us. I'm to look within? I would think that the greater proofs of God with us would be some outward miracle. What if something stupendous happened? Wouldn't that prove that God is with us? No. Well, I mean, it may, but it's not the primary way in which God proves that he's with us. He proves it by what we see within us. Paul gives a testimony about the focus of his calling. that is around this very truth. In Colossians chapter 1, verse 25, 26, 27, Paul offers this word of testimony to the Colossians. He says, talking of the gospel, whereof I am made a minister. According to this dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Paul says, I am here as a minister, and it all revolves around this one central truth. God has concealed this. But now it is made manifest. The great hope of the Church of Jesus Christ is that Christ is in you, and that redounds to the hope of glory. You know, we sing, probably more at Easter time than any other time, the hymn, I serve a risen Savior. He's in the world today, and so forth. And at the end of that, chorus, we sing these words, you ask me how I know he lives? He lives within my heart. Now, those words seem to be anything but a proof to the outward man. You sing, he lives within my heart, what does that prove? Well, I will say this, if the idea is that I just hold to the concept of a risen Savior, therefore He lives, then it is certainly limited proof. It is not proving much if it's just a concept that I'm referring to. But that is not what we are saying. When you and I would sing those words and actually say, I'm going to tell you how I know Christ lives, because He lives within my heart, what are we saying? Three things. First, we are saying, I see Him at work in my heart to make me a different man than I would ever be able to be by my own efforts. How is it that I'm made to be a different man? How is it that I can see these life changes, these heart changes, these mind changes? How can I see these things in me? The answer is Jesus lives. He lives within my heart. You will not see changes of that sort. The world likes to call it reform. No, you don't see true heart reform. You might see reform of action, but not of heart without Christ. You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart. I'm not what I used to be. And I would still be what I used to be if it hadn't been for the Lord Jesus coming into my heart. That's number one. Number two, I see the power of God at work in me to enable me to do what I could not do otherwise. There are things that I am called on to do, the things that I will do, the things that I am finding myself doing, that if it wasn't that the Lord was in me, helping me, enabling me, moving in my heart, giving me the wisdom of God, giving me the grace of God, giving me the rebuke of my old flesh, I would never do these things. You ask me how I know He lives? He's working in my heart that I would do things I never would be doing otherwise. Why is that true? Because Jesus lives. Third thing, I know he lives and he lives within my heart because I have a peace and a comfort that is there. Although everything in the world would say to me, things are not well. You know, the natural man, the man that does not have Christ in the heart when he comes to those times, when it seems like the world is falling apart. That man will not know peace and comfort. But the fact that you can have peace and comfort, that we can say, as Paul said, that we can be careful for nothing, but with everything by prayer and supplication, making a request known to God, that the peace of God that passes understanding will keep my heart and mind. How does that happen if Christ is not in me? There's no explanation. There is no reason why you could ever have peace and comfort in your heart amid the trials that sometimes are overwhelming, seemingly, to the flesh. It won't happen, but Christ is in the heart. You ask me how I know He lives? I see what He's doing in me. I see what He has done to change me. I see what He is doing to help me to do for His namesake. I see what He is bringing to me, even in the times when things are very, very tough indeed. And I say, well, that can be explained away. You know, all these things you're talking about can be explained away. You know, Martin Lloyd-Jones made a statement, and I paraphrase him, seeking not to put words in his mouth, but I paraphrase what he said, commenting about people who say, oh, this is just some psychological thing that's going on. You think this is happening. This is just, you just got some crutch you're leaning on, and there's some psychological good you're doing by manipulating your mind. Lloyd-Jones says, there are certainly many in this world who would explain some supernatural occurrence in them as God's hand when it is nothing other than a psychological issue being outworked. Though this may be the case at times, This possibility must not be allowed to say or to prove in any way that the people of God do not experience the power of God, for they do. And though there'll be some places you can say, well, this person is just reacting some way, and it's just nothing more than a condition psychologically, okay? Lloyd-Jones, as a medical doctor, said, well, you know, that does happen. And sometimes people even say that something spiritual is happening when it really isn't. But don't ever let that be something that suggests to you that this power of God is not within the hearts of His people, for it certainly is. I say that it is unfortunate that we are accustomed to and sad to say, maybe even prefer to look outwardly to spot that which we can gather up and bring to our hearts as proof of the Lord's presence. We want to see outwardly. And you and I, we are prone to that. And we over time have become accustomed to that. And you and I would actually even prefer if God would just prove that He's with us only by the outward means, rather than what He does in our hearts. Well, John contends with that. And the truth then is this, you will find Christ inwardly, but you find Him only by faith. And by faith, you will find Him at work in you, speaking to you, And then when you lift your eyes, you will notice that he is at work outwardly too. You know, sometimes the Lord is working outwardly and we just don't have the wit to be able to discern it because our hearts are not right within. Child of God, set your mind upon the Lord. Look to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. Set your mind upon Christ. Look to him with what he's doing in your heart, rejoice at what he's doing within your heart, and you might be able to even discern then with clearer eye what he's doing in your life in an outward sense that proves he's with you as well. Point number three. John says this, or is proving this, the proofs of Christ's indwelling are His graces produced within us. That's Christ's proof. The place of it is in our heart. Let's look at the evidences themselves. I'm going to change books here. I'm going to also go back to John's writing, but I'm just going to go to the Gospel of John chapter 14. The Lord Jesus says in verse 18, I will not leave you Comfortless. I will come to you. The Lord Jesus says that he will come to us. But what is the purpose for his coming? And this is the point. The Lord Jesus says he will come to us, but what is the purpose for his coming? He says that his coming is not mainly for our outward good, but inward comfort. Isn't that so? Isn't that what he's saying? I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. The point here is short and simple. That which will bring the greatest joy to us as believers is what we see the Lord Jesus doing in our hearts. Your joy is not the Lord has just furnished you with some outward token of his love. Whether it's giving you something, supplying something for you, preventing something, making something happen, whatever it is, those are not the key points of your joy. For us, Our joy is what we are seeing the Lord Jesus do in our hearts. Let me explain to you or offer to you an effect of the fall. Man, by his fall, now, by his fallen nature, is one that is an outward looking creature. That he has his mind completely absorbed by what he sees in the world. as a result of the fall, now our hearts die, our understandings become darkened, and how we perceive and what we look at is completely geared to the outward. Whereas when we were in the place where man walked with God, what we held to, what we longed for, what we loved, what we cherished, was all the inward. What I find between myself and God, that is paradise to me. That is lost by the fall. But I can hear the struggling child of God say, well, it's good what you say, that the work of God is in, and my joys are in His graces. but I don't discern any work within now stop right here I'm gonna ask you this morning to do with me something I'm gonna ask you for just a moment just a second or two I'm gonna ask you this Can you turn your heart toward the Lord for just a moment? So there's my point. I'm not asking you to listen to me for a second. I want you to just think within your own mind. As we pause, can you turn your heart toward the Lord? Think about the Lord for just a second. I'm gonna ask another question. Could you turn your heart to the Lord, though it may not be full of faith? Were you able to do that for just a second? Were you able to think something about the Lord? Could you, for just even the slightest second, could you put your mind upon the Lord Jesus? How did you do that? If you did. You may not have been trying to follow me. I'm just gonna sit here and listen. Well, that's up to you. But I think if you did turn your heart to the Lord for just a second, if you thought about the Lord Jesus, I'm asking you plainly, how did you do that? I'm saying to you, it was not you that would turn your heart to the Lord. You didn't do that. It was the Spirit of the Lord that would have worked in you. Paul, in his benediction that he presents to the Hebrews in chapter 13, verse 20, he says these words, now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight. Through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever, amen. I'm just supporting what I was just asking you. If you have something within you that turns your mind and your heart toward the Lord, that is a grace, that is an extension of the Lord himself working in you, that which is well-pleasing and what is well-pleasing to God, that you would seek his face. We don't have within us as fallen men that desire apart from the grace of God and the mercies of God and the spirit of God to seek the face of God. And I would suggest this to you, that the heart of the saint is the arena of the working of God. Our hearts are God-owned and God-possessed. He dwells in the hearts of His people. And any response of your heart, though it be small indeed, though you would have to say it is weak, though you may say, I don't even discern it, Any turning of your heart toward the Lord your God is a work of the Lord your God in you. Well, fourth, the effects of Christ's presence will be seen outwardly. You see that in verse four. I rejoice greatly that I found of thy children walking in the truth. When the truth is in you, you'll see it outwardly. The comment of John is that the effect of Christ in the heart is seen by the elect children's lady walking in the Lord. Oh may we understand the fleshly heart is consumed with the desire to find some way in which we can convince the outward world that we are something. What a foolish thing, what a prideful thing that is. I want the outward evidences of my walk to be seen so that the world We'll see, I'm something. Pride. I'm saying that that kind of mindset is all pride and will quickly prove itself ugly. Or as Proverbs 13, verse 10 says, only by pride cometh contention. Now this is not only saying that pride is the underlying cause for contention, It is saying that pride will always result in that which proves contentious and therefore shameful. With pride comes shame. It's gonna happen. So if we want the outward evidences of God in us so that people can see what we are and say, oh, he's something, well, then you're gonna find that sooner or later it's gonna be turned to shame. The truth is the man who is concerned with knowing Christ and loving him will be unable to hide what's going on within. You might take Stephen as an example of that one. His love for Christ, his walk with Christ was so vibrant within him that when they were stoning him, they looked at him and said, he's got the face of an angel. even in the midst of the greatest moment of trial of faith. His face is like an angel. If you're walking with Christ, it will show itself outwardly. If all you're looking for is the outward without Christ, it'll prove to be shameful. Well, quickly I'll move to my last thought. The effect of an indwelling Christ is that we come to know the love of the Father and the Son. The abiding of Christ and His abiding truth within us will produce not just things that are seen outwardly and comforts that are within, but it will also bring us to that place where we can enjoy the love of the Father and the Son. Jesus loves me. And this is the treasure of our hearts and there's no way to esteem its worth. There's nothing in this mind that will settle the mind and encourage the heart like this. As Paul says, Ephesians chapter 3, he prays for them that Christ may dwell in their hearts by faith that being rooted and ground in the love They may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye may be able to, might be filled with all the fullness of God. Indeed, we might even say it this way, a taste of the love of Christ will leave you desiring more, and you'll not be able to get enough of the love of Christ. So. What's the point? What's the admonition? What's the challenge? So what? I think this. Since it is true that Christ is in you and his truth, then it is our place to feed the soul and feed it first, above all things. Feed it? Feed it with what? Truth. Truth. Walking in truth. What is true about Christ? In this instance, John was battling with people who said that Christ wasn't coming to flesh. The truth was He was coming to flesh and that He dwells in the heart. dwell on, think on, love on the truth. For doing so will have its effect. You will see an effect in you. You will see an effect coming from you. You will see the enjoyment of that which God has given as the reason for the giving of truth. That is the love of God. or as we read in 1 John chapter 4 today, of the love of God and what it does. The abiding Christ and His abiding truth is ours, given of God. May the Lord bless His word to us for Jesus' sake. Father in heaven, now we would pray that Thou would bless the word. We pray that Thou would let it be that which is used in the Spirit to be a comfort but also that it would be that which allows us to enjoy the things of your heart and in so be able to show that outwardly. Let's now we pray for the sake of the Lord Jesus. We pray in his name. Amen. Well, let's all stand together and sing, glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. And we'll be dismissed. We be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Amen. Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all. And while God's people say, Amen.