Love Series

Love of God # 7

“Your Second Calling”

Fred Coulter - May 26, 1995

Many have asked, is there such a thing as a second calling? And the reason that they ask it is because many people, and especially the letters I get, and talking to all of you – one of the themes that comes through is that, “I feel like I am now converted. I feel like that I’m beginning to understand the Word of God as never before.” Well, here’s a letter sent from Australia that I think is a very touching letter, and I’m very happy to have it. And it reads, “As you know, I’m a member of the CBCG here in Melbourne. We have spoken several times over the phone. John Morgan [who is the office manager there] passed on your letter of May 3rd to me last night along with the three new booklets [or books]. I would like to pass on my personal heartfelt thanks to you. I became a baptized member of the Church in 1970…” So he’s been in 23 years. Talking to different ones here, we’re 23, 25, 27, 30 years – so a similar situation. “Then towards the end of 1993 I disassociated myself from the Worldwide Church of God and began fellowshipping with a Global video group…” And this is also something that has happened to a lot of people. That’s why we nickname ourselves the “No-hassle, Recycle, Last Resort Church of God.” And while it may be a little humorous, it is nevertheless very true. And in it I think God is doing something with all of the church members, and all of the brethren, and all of the ministers. And we’ll find out what that is.

“During that time you sent me a care package...” And I think this month we’ve sent out pretty close to fifty or sixty of them so far this month. We’ve just been sending them out just as fast as we can get them made up. “During that time you sent me a care package. Then in November of last year, 1994, I became a member of the Christian Biblical Church of God. In studying your material, both tapes and booklets, my eyes have been truly opened. I want to thank you and your wife for allowing yourselves to be used by God in this way. Having been in God’s church for twenty-five years, I would have to say that I’ve learned and understood more in the past two years than in all the previous twenty-three combined.” And I’ve heard that over, and over, and over again. And sometimes it makes me wonder, well, what has happened to the church? And in particularly, what has happened to the ministry that they’re not teaching them?

“I was asleep at the switch, as they say, and now I’m beginning to see the enormity of Satan’s con, and it is truly diabolical in the full sense of the word. I’m beginning to understand what real repentance is all about…” And we’re going to see the more you love God, the more you’re going to understand what real repentance is all about because you see the greatness of God. “I’m beginning to understand what a relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father is all about...” And that’s why They are persons, so we can have relationship with Them. “…And it is a deeply humbling experience. Any understanding of my calling in the past was at best vague, and at worst misunderstood. It’s like coming out of the fog into brilliant sunlight, if I can use that analogy. In a sense, it is a renewing, or reawakening of that first love.” Well I’m going to tell you, it is greater than a reawakening of the first love, it is a mature full-blown love coming to perfection.

“And I’m deeply grateful to God for it, and to you for your help that you have given. When we meet on the Sabbath, six of us [so just a few here and there], and more when my children come with me, there’s a sense of unity and peace which I haven’t experienced for a long, long time. What a singular pleasure it is to sit and to listen to the Word of God, real meat, without the politics, ignorance, and downright lies. Then to sit around later over a cupa…” That’s what they call it down there, a cupa tea, or a cupa coffee, so they just call it a cupa. Now we just got done with a cupa and a supa, I guess, if you could put it that way.

“…As we say down under, and actually talk freely about God. Heaven forbid that was the last thing you would talk about in Worldwide. Talk about God, and they thought you were nuts. It was much more interesting to talking in generalities about your job, and the trials of daily life. And oh, how I realize how spiritually malnourished I had become.” Quite frightening, actually. “Anyway, having read your letter to the brethren, I just wanted to put some of my thoughts on paper to send to you to thank you for all you are doing. You know, it is so frustrating to see people in the WCG, and indeed, Global as well, who you know and care for, for so many years, that they are so totally oblivious to what’s happening around them. Or if they see anything at all, and some do, they seem to feel powerless to act. It’s as if they are in a spiritual stupor or coma. May God be merciful to them as He has been to us. I hope you don’t mind putting my thoughts on paper to you like this.”

And I hope you don’t mind me sharing it with the rest of the brethren, because I think it’s most important. Because I have letters like this over and over again. And so it gives us an idea of perhaps what God is doing. He is doing something. We don’t understand it yet, but we all have to walk by faith. And I think that what we are going to see is that God truly is helping us, not just in recapturing our first love, but going beyond, because there is a second calling.

Let’s go to Ephesians 4, and let’s see about this second calling. I know I was talking to a lady the other night and she was telling me about her church experience. And she said, “Well I just seem as though I wasted all those years.” And I said, “Well it’s time to get out of sandbox.” And she said, “Well I’m sorry I was in sandbox for so long.” “Yeah, but at least you’re out.” Here’s what God wants. This is what He’s doing now because there comes a time when God is preparing us for the future. And we’re going to see that the way that God prepares us for the future is that He wants us to grow up in Christ, and this is the second calling. And that’s why you see so many people who are with us that have been in the church for years, and years, and years, and years, and they aren’t going to settle for fiddle-faddle and sandbox any longer. They want to know the truth, they want to know the love of God, they want to know the depths of the Scriptures, and God is doing something with the brethren that’s going to surprise all of these ministers that think they have them all cornered in their little pocket. Because God is moving in their minds, because they belong to Him.

So He’s going to do something, and here’s what it is. Here’s what God wants. Here is the goal. Let’s come here, Ephesians 4:1. Paul says: “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called…” Now here is the whole process that we are going to come to. And this is what everyone who’s been the church for years, and years, and years is longing for. “…With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-3). And that peace comes from God. That’s why every epistle opens up: the apostle’s name, like the apostle Paul; “Grace and peace be multiplied to you from God the Father and Jesus Christ.” And lots of time we just read over that, and, “Well, that’s just the introduction. I’m going to get on to important things.” You just left the important thing.

“There is one body [which we’re all finding out], and one Spirit…” And I just might mention here, if you leave a church, you’re not leaving the truth. “…Even as ye are called [and God the Father does the calling] in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ” (verses 4-7). So Christ is giving a gift through His grace to every one of us, and God wants us to know that. And God wants us to exercise that, and we’ll see what it is.

Then he shows the reason why. Verse 11; “…He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers…” I’ve already commented on that, so I won’t dwell any time on that here. “…For the perfecting of the saints…” This is what God wants – that the saints be perfected. How are they to be perfected? Well, we read earlier today, Matthew 5:48, that you are to become as perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect. And that is through Jesus Christ. And that is through the righteousness of Christ, and Christ in you with the Holy Spirit. “…For the work of the ministry [that means for the work of the service, serving the brethren], for the edifying [which is the up-building, the putting together with love] of the body of Christ: till we all…” All of us. Paul included himself. I include myself. And the more I learn, and the more I teach…and here’s a principal that is true: we all receive from the fullness of Christ, grace upon grace, upon grace. Which means, Christ is never going to run dry, and we just have to drink in of it and learn of it. So the more I learn and teach, the more you learn, which means the more I learn. Because as I teach it God will give me more. And so that’s how this happens. It doesn’t happen any other way.

“…For the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith [that’s with God’s Spirit], and of the knowledge of the Son of [Man] God…” And we’re going to see that part of loving God is knowing God. You are to know Him. He wants you to know Him. He’s revealed Himself through His Spirit and His Word. “…Unto a perfect man, unto the measure [now notice this] of the stature of the fulness of Christ:...” Now that’s what God wants. That is your second calling, right there. “…That we henceforth be no more children [we get out of sandbox], tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine…” (verses 12-14). Isn’t that what has happened? Just like the wind – whoosh – here comes another change – whoosh – here comes another change –whoosh – here comes another change. “What do I believe? I don’t know.” How does that come? By the sleight of men. “Why, who says I’m doing away with the Sabbath?” Ten days later, “It’s alright to work on the Sabbath. Why, who says I’m doing away with the holy days?” Ten days later, “It’s not required. Who says I’m doing away with clean and unclean meats? It’s all right to eat them.”

“…The sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive…” It’s almost as if they can’t wait to hatch up another diabolical lie. But we, on the other hand, that’s why you have to get away from them. You want to stay where there are lies? You want to stay where they’re preaching the doctrine of Balaam, that it’s ok to sin in the name of God? Do you want to go in the way of Cain, to force God to accept your sin as truth? No. “…But speaking the truth in love, may grow up [that’s the second calling] grow up into Him in all [everything, everything in your life] things, which is the head, even Christ: from Whom the whole body fitly joined together…” And this is how Christ looks at the church, not how we do. Most men don’t even see Christ. Most men only see an organization. You’ve got to see Christ, not the organization. “…The whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth…” That means every one of us. We all have something we can supply and give, because God has given gifts to us, hasn’t He? Yes. “…According to the effectual working in the measure of every part, [which] maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (verses 14-16). Now that’s a brief description of the second calling.

Now let’s go to I John 4 and let’s review, because this becomes very important. And this is why we need to understand the love of God even more. And I don’t think that we can preach long enough, or loud enough, or understand enough about the love of God, because we know that the love of God is greatest, and we know the love of God never fails. So if we preach that, we know we’re not going to fail. Right? And we know we are preaching the greatest thing we can preach. Correct?

Now, the love of God does not come because we all get together and we generate our own love for each other, and then say, “Hey, world, look at us! We’re loving each other. Therefore, we love God.” No, the love of God doesn’t come that way. The love God comes from the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit. The love of God comes from God to you, because you fellowship with Him. The love of God comes because you go to God and ask Him for His love. And when you do you’re going to see you need far more of His love then you have ever had. And it’s going to be an overwhelming experience when you really come to understand that.

Now let’s pick it up here in verse 6: “We are of God…” You go back to verse 5 and it says: “…They are of the world…” Who are of the world? The anti-Christ’s who deny Jesus. “…Therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.” “Oh my, it isn’t that wonderful? This church is not a cult anymore. They believe in the Trinity. And you can even eat unclean meats. And, why, you can keep Christmas and Easter, and even go to church on Sunday.” “…And the world hears them.” Right? Because they are of the world. “We are of God: he that knoweth [is knowing] God…” Now remember what we’ve learned with -eth going through here, it means -ing. So you have to be knowing, a present tense, on-going relationship with God. “…Heareth [is hearing] us; [and] he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby [in this manner, this method] know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error” (I John 4:5).

Now when we grow up from being children we put away the childish things. And isn’t that what Paul said concerning love? That, “when I became a man and put away childish things” (I Cor. 13:11, paraphrased). When we grow up into Christ and we put away childish things, then we know. God expects us to use our minds. He gave us a mind very much like His. He expects us to exercise judgment, and discernment, and understanding. We are to know the difference between truth and error.

“Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.” We’re to understand it; we are to see it; we are to examine it; we are to prove it. That’s what we’re all going through. And that’s what every minister is going to find out. No more little fairy tales from the pulpit, and no more little lies for control, because they’re going to come up and confront you with the truth. And you’ll be able to understand the spirit of error.

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is [from or] of God…” Now the Greek word for “of” is ek. And ek means “out from” and “into.” Comes from God. That’s the greatest characteristic that God has is His love, and He wants us to have it. He doesn’t want us to be any thing less than He is. And that’s how we’re going to exist in the family of God, is by love. That’s why the church is not to be like a corporate organization of the world. Is there any love in a corporate organization of the world? No. What happens? Corruption, lies, cheating, bankruptcy. Do we see the same thing spiritually with the churches we’ve been associated with? Absolutely. It’s based on love, because love comes from God. “….Every one that loveth [who is loving] is born [has been begotten] of God…” And that’s the correct way it should read, because you have the seed of the begettal of God the Father. “…[And] loveth [is loving]…and knoweth [is knowing] God” (verses 6-7).

Now there are several ways we know God. Chapter 2 – turn there. God doesn’t want us to just say, “Well, I know; I think I know; I hope I know.” He wants it to be far different. Verse 3: “And hereby we do know that we know Him…” So we know that we know. And that’s all a part of growing up in the maturity of Christ that you know that you know. Now you see, a lot of churches of God like to condemn other churches of God and say, “Well, they’re Laodiceans, and they’re going into the Tribulation.” Well we don’t know whether they are or not. But I know one thing: if you’re going to go into Tribulation, if you don’t know God and if you don’t love Him, you’re going to fail, because you’re going to figure out a way out of it. Isn’t that true? Yes, it is.

So we have to know: “…that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He [the one] that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected…” And that means being perfected. And that’s what we need to be doing, brethren. And that is the reason for our second calling – that the love of God is being perfected in each one of us. We don’t have time for power struggles; we don’t have time for fairy tales; we don’t have time for carnality and vanity. We’ve all been through that, haven’t we? Now is the time to grow up in love. Now is the time to grow up in Christ. Now is the time to be perfected in the love of God; now is the time to grab hold of the second calling. And “…hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked…” (I John 2:3-6). Now that is the high standard, isn’t it? That is the second calling, yes.

Now let’s come back to I John 4 again here. Let’s see what else it says. Now this… I’m accused (and I’ll say it here) of minister bashing. Well I tell you what, every minister, I am tired of “brethren-bashing.” That every time something’s wrong with you, the brethren are at fault. Let’s read this. Verse 8: “He that loveth not [is not loving God] knoweth not [does not know] God…” (I John 4:8). So if you’re not teaching it, I don’t care if you use the Bible, I don’t care if you use the name of Jesus Christ, you don’t know God. Do you know the love of God? Have you gone on your knees and just said, “Oh God, I just don’t, really don’t have a clue as to what love is. Please help me. Please teach me. Please give me Your Spirit. Please grant me understanding.” And you stay there, and you keep at it, and there’s going to come a time when in praying, and understanding about the love of God, and Jesus Christ, and God the Father, that God’s Spirit is going to convict you in heart and mind and emotion, that you are going to experience the love of God. And when you do it will be an overwhelming experience of real truth and cleansing that you have never, ever, ever experienced in your life. And about the only thing you can do is just sort of bawl and blubber, and run through the Kleenex box about as fast as you can go, and thanking God and just praising Him for the love that He’s given you. Now that’s not something that you do in public. That’s between you and God, because Christ is in you through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now the reason they don’t know God is because: “…God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us…” (verses 8-9). Now this is the whole thing that’s so important. We need to understand. And even in the Old Testament, or the covenant with Israel, in Deuteronomy 6 it says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your mind, all your soul, and all your being” (Deut. 6:5, paraphrased). Isn’t that in the Old Testament too? Yes. It’s also in the New Testament and Jesus quoted it. But the New Testament love of God, God wants us to know something greater than that. He wants us to know that He loved us first. Think on that.

“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love [this is how you know real true love], not that we loved God…” (verses 9-10). Not that we can go around and play silly emotional games, and then tell the world, “Look - we love God. Aren’t we great? Aren’t we marvelous? Aren’t we just wonderful? Come and join us.” No, but He loved us first. Christ came when no one on earth loved God…no one. So the next time you go through a trial or you think that things are bad for you, remember – outside of Mary loving Him, motherly love, no one truly loved Him, except God the Father. That’s why He said, “I always do the things that please Him. I love the Father and the Father loves Me.” And we are to grow up into Christ and in that relationship.

“…He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (verse 10). Tremendous thing, brethren. Ongoing source of mercy and forgiveness – that’s what a propitiation is. God knows you’re weak, God knows your sinful. God knows that you have the law of sin and death in you. God knows that you have carnal nature; and even the apostle Paul said, he said, “Oh, who is going to deliver me from this body of death? I do the things I don’t want to, and the things I want to I don’t do. And when I find out that I haven’t done what I want to, and what I really want to do is do the things that please God, I find that I’m just battling and warring and that it’s just such a horrible thing…” He said, “Oh wretched man! Who’s going to save me from the body of this death?” And he said the next breath, “I thank God through our Lord Jesus Christ, that He is going to save me from the body of this death. So with my mind I serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin and death” (Rom. 7:19-25, paraphrased). Because you still have it in you. God’s perfection is going to be in love with you. God’s perfection is not going to make you perfect in the flesh. That is not God’s desire. That’s why He gave you the flesh so you understand you are not perfect. But you can be perfect in love. You can be perfect in serving God in faithfulness. Yes, you can.

“Beloved [brethren], if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” Now you see why we love each other, because of the love of God first. “No man hath seen God at any time.” That we could even say, “You know, well, I saw God. I got the inside track on love here.” Boy, I know what that’s all about – no way. “If we love one another, God dwelleth [is dwelling] in us…” That’s what it is – Christ is living in us. That’s what’s so profound and important. That’s what the perfection is that He wants. “…And His love is perfected in us.” That’s what God wants. That is the second calling. That’s why we’re doing what we are doing, brethren. That’s something. And God wants you to feel it, God wants you to experience it, God wants it to be an emotion, God wants it so that it is in your mind. Not only is it an emotion, but you understand it intellectually, and powerfully with His Spirit. It’s perfected in us. “[And] Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit” (verses 11-13). And this is what is so important… God has given us of His Spirit. You see, it’s not just membership in a corporate body. You belong to God the Father; you belong to Christ. We have His Spirit.

Now let’s come over here to Chapter 3 just a minute. Let’s review this and see. Let’s come to verse 19: “And hereby we know that we are of the truth…” We know. You have to know the truth. You have to know the error. You have to know you are of the truth. And with God’s love you can have that with conviction, and you can have that with strength, and you can have that with hope. “…And shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemn us…” because we’ve sinned or done something we shouldn’t. And does that happen when you sin, your heart condemns you? You feel, “Oh my, oh I hate to go to God and pray.” Well go to God and pray. When you say, “Oh my, I’ve done this and I shouldn’t,” you know you shouldn’t. You don’t feel like going to God to pray, that’s when to go pray, right there. Why? Because: “…God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things” If you know you’ve sinned, with God’s Spirit in you does He know you’ve sinned? Sure He does, and He’s provided Christ for you. “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not…” (I John 3:19-21). When there are times when we know we haven’t sinned, we have been doing what is right, then we have confidence towards God, don’t we? Much more at that time. I’ve experienced it, you’ve experienced it. That’s all part of growing up into Christ.

Now notice verse 22: “And whatsoever we ask…” Now it won’t be in the time that we think necessarily, but it will happen. “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” That’s what God wants, that’s what you want. That’s what your second calling is all about: that you are doing the things that please God. You’re out of “sandbox.” You’re out of third grade, and hopefully you’re way beyond, you’re in college. “And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment. And he [the one] that keepeth [is keeping] His commandments dwelleth in Him…” So we have loving God, and you’re dwelling in Him. You’re keeping His commandments and you are dwelling in Him and Christ. “…And He in [the one] him [who’s keeping the commandments]. And hereby we know that He abideth in us [that is, living and dwelling in us], by the Spirit which He hath given us” (verses 19-24). That’s what’s missing with the brethren. That’s what’s missing, brethren: that they haven’t been shown the love of God to let the Spirit of God dwell in them in strength, and dwell in them in power, and dwell in them in love, and faith. But God is going to draw them so they will. I think there’s going to be a lot of surprises for a lot of people, because God is going to do what He’s going to do, and it ain’t going to be according to any of their plans. You can guarantee that. “…By the Spirit which He hath given us.”

Now let’s come back to chapter 4 and verse 13 again: “[And] Hereby [by this, by the love] know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of is Spirit. And we have seen [that is, the apostles] and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world” (verses 13-14). And He’s including us in that, in saving the world. Did you know that? That’s why we’re the firstfruits. He’s including us in that salvation for the world. We’ve got to be first. You can’t feed the world, you can’t save the world, unless you have a means of doing it. Christ is the one Who is going to provide the way. Here, hold your place and go to Romans 8. You look out there at that sin-sick world. Yes, we can all get mad, and yes, we can point fingers, and yes, we can say this and that and the other thing, and understand all the corruption that’s going on. Yes we can do that, that’s fine. We understand that. But don’t just dwell on that, because there’s another reason for it all. God is going to turn it all around. Can you imagine what’s going to happen when God opens the minds of the Jews? Think on that. Just as they’ve tried to force their way down everyone else, guess what’s going to happen? They’re going to let it be known about Jesus Christ in a way that is going to be pretty powerful – now the whole world here.

Let’s come to Romans 8 and let’s pick it up here in verse 16. This is important, because we’re talking about the Spirit of God. Let’s go back to verse 14: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God…” God’s Spirit has to lead you. It’s not going force you, it will lead you. “… They are the sons [children] of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption [sonship – not adoption, because we have the Spirit of God in us], whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ…” And that will come when we are born from the dead at the Resurrection. “…If so be that we suffer with Him…” (Rom. 8:14-17). People want to try and go through this Christian life without suffering. Well, Jesus suffered; Paul suffered. Paul even came to the point that he suffered so much he said, “Oh if I can just be partakers of the suffering of Christ to obtain the resurrection!” Now I haven’t come to that point yet. That’s a hard point to come to. But he understood the suffering of Christ.

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” There is no comparison. Think of this the next time you get down, miserable, and depressed, and just feeling bad: just take and turn it all away the other way around, and just think what God is going to do when we’re in His kingdom – completely the other way around. “For the earnest expectation of the creature [that means the creation] waiteth for [awaits] the manifestation of the sons of God.” We’re going to help save the world, that’s what he’s saying. Christ is the Savior, but we’re going to help Him. “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly… That’s why they don’t know what they’re doing. That’s why God has to call them. “…But by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” We need to grow up to understand how to do that. “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (verses 18-22). That is, waiting for the manifestation of it.

Now let’s go back here to I John 4. He sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. And as I said earlier, He came and everyone hated Him. He came and no one wanted Him, even His brothers mocked Him and said, “Well you know, no man does these things in the corner. Why don’t You go up to Jerusalem and show off a little bit?” (John 7:3-4, paraphrased). So He stayed back and waited till they were gone, then He went up. Now let’s come to verse 15: “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth [is dwelling] in him, and he in God.” And this is a true confession of the truth with the Spirit of God. “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love…” This is what we are to grow up into. “God is love; and he that dwelleth [is dwelling] in love dwelleth [is dwelling] in God, and God in him” (I John 4:15-16).

Now we are going to see in just a bit how we’re going to have that love grow, because there are some ways we can. “Herein is our love made perfect…” It is a process. Love is a growth; love is what you grow up into to be perfected. “…That we may have boldness in the day of judgment…” We don’t have to worry. Our names are written in the Book of Life. Christ has paid for our sins. He is the propitiation to cover for us. He is the one Who imputes to us His righteousness to overcome our mistakes. And if we’re having the love of God perfected in us we have boldness in the day of judgment, we don’t have to worry. Because when we come up before the judgment seat of God the Father and Jesus Christ, your name is going to be there, and Christ is going to say, “Father, I covered that.” You think on that. Next time you think you’ve sinned that you can’t repent, remember Manasseh. You go back and read II Chronicles 35 about Manasseh. God forgave him. He can forgive you.

Now here’s why: “… because as He is, so are we in this world.” Now that’s really a tall order to grow up to, isn’t it? “…As He is so are we in the world. There is no fear in love…” So that’s why it’s so damnable to try and run a church on fear. There is no fear. “….Perfect love casteth [is casting out]…” Notice the –eth – casting. It is a process – casting out. You have fears? Cast all your fears upon Christ, for He cares for you. It’s casting out fear: “…because fear hath torment.” And you know, and I know when we’ve been fearful we’ve had nothing but torment, and grief, and wonder, and sleepless nights, and upset stomachs, and migraine headaches. Right? Yes. “He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” And that’s what God wants us to be, is perfected in love. So we need to work at that. When we grow in faith, when we grow in hope, when we grow in love, that is being perfected and it’s casting out fear. “We love Him, because He first loved us” (verses. 17-19).

Now here the test: “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God Whom he hath not seen?” (verse 20). That’s why Jesus said, “You’ve heard it said in the past, love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies, pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecutes you” (Matt. 5:43-44 paraphrased). And when you do there will be a blessing. You can be guaranteed. That is hard to do. But when you do there is a blessing, and you will understand this.

Now if you pray and ask God to help you overcome and grow in love, don’t be surprised if a little trial comes toodleing down the road. That is an answer to prayer. An answer to prayer is not a removal of a trial. An answer to prayer is overcoming a trial. And you can’t accomplish spiritual things by physical means. It has to be by spiritual things, by spiritual love, by spiritual faith, by spiritual hope. “And this commandment have we from Him, That he who loveth God love his brother also” (verse 21).

Now if you have an Interlinear you can read the first part of I John 5, which we’ll do here. I will read it the way that it is in the Greek. “Whosoever is believing that Jesus is the Christ, has been begotten of God; and everyone that is loving Him that begat, [you’re loving the Father] is also loving him that has been begotten of Him.” Now see, even the King James translators that to do it right there, didn’t they? The last part. Now notice this: “By this…”