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An Exposition of the First Epistle of John (1865)
An Exposition of the First Epistle of John - 1865 Author:James Morgan Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: LECTURE VII. " And hereby uc do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He ihat sailh, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, an... more »d the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby knmo we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." — 1 John ii. 3-6. to his purpose, the apostle agiiin engages his readers -- in the duty of self-examination. He is not satisfied with the most full and repeated statements of the way of salvation, but labours continually to impress the necessity of a personal interest in it. He goes farther, and urges the importance of our knowing that we possess a saving interest in Christ . ' In the text he teaches believers to say, " we do know that we know him." And this is his habitual style. The same expression is repeated many times in the course of the Epistle. And it is usually found in connection with some fresh evidence of a personal interest in salvation. It is observable that in the text it is used twice. Not only does he say, " we do know that we know him," but he repeats " we know that we are in him." It is surely then both a duty and a privilege to seek this gracious attainment. And the text is designed to instruct us how we may gain it. It does so in two ways — 1. By describing the blessed change which passes on the sinner when he becomes a partaker of salvation ; and,2. By reciting various evidences of that change. Let us consider the subject under these two aspects. And may God grant that we shall all be found the subjects of this change, and possess a happy assurance of it! I. The great change is described. For this purpose three phrases are used by the apostle in the verses that are before us. The...« less