MODULE 18 THE NEW TESTAMENT WAY TO DEAL WITH YOUR HUMAN ENEMIES BY EVANGELIST OGHOGHOR IKPONMWOSA (PHD)

In this module we shall continue looking at scriptures where Apostle John re-echoed what Jesus said about love.

1 John 3:1-4

3 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Apostle John in this scripture draws our attention to behold or look intently at the kind of love that the father has bestowed upon us. This love was expressed in what God did to ensure that we legally became His sons.

This is indeed the purest form of love in expression. We were sinners and did not desire Him but while we were sinners Jesus died and paid for our sins so that we can have the opportunity to be reconciled to God.

However the world (those who have not yet received God’s offer of redemption) does not know us that that is who we are because it did not also recognize Jesus when He came. Apostle John gives us an assurance that we are now the sons of God even though it does not look like it on the outside. We are not trying to become sons of God we already are if we have accepted God’s love offered to us in Christ Jesus.

He said we have this assurance that when Jesus appears we are going to be like Him because we shall see Him as He is. However so that we are not carried away by the joy of this hope such that we do not live in accordance with this new life we have received, He tells us that anyone who has this hope of seeing Jesus when He appears must purify himself just as Jesus is pure.

In other words only those who submit themselves to be purified by the blood of Jesus and continue to live the sanctified life will be qualified to see Jesus and be like Him when He returns. He proceeded to make a profound statement that anyone who commits sin transgresses the law because sin is the transgression of the law.

Why will Apostle John be referring to a law? Are we not under grace? The simple truth is that he was not referring to the Old Testament law but the New Testament law of LOVE which we are empowered by grace to fulfil. We have talked about this extensively in previous modules in this teaching series.

We commit sin or break the law of the New Testament each time we choose not to walk in love. We can walk in love because love has been shed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). We must learn to allow the Holy Spirit live the love life through us (Philippians 2:13).

Everything we do (how we pray, give, talk, relate with people, etc.) must be done in love for God and men as we allow the love of God dominate and control us.

Both in our thoughts and before we take any action we should ask ourselves some of these questions: How will love respond in this situation? How will love treat this person? What will love do? What will love say? How will love give? How will love pray? etc.

Once we have the answers we must then choose to act or do what we have found to be the right answers that love would do. It is not about how we feel but what we choose to do.

Jesus did not feel like dying but because He knew that dying was the right thing to do He chose to do it. Love is a choice we choose not a feeling we have.

We can choose to love the “unloveable” and the wicked. Doing so is living out the new nature we have received. It is the purest form of expression of our God like nature.

To be continued…

EVANGELIST OGHOGHO IKPONMWOSA (PHD)
PRESIDENT: SAVE THE LOST GOSPEL EVANGEVANGELISTIC MINISTRY
EMAIL: oghoghoik@gmail.com

TEL: +2348060676748