The Word and the Spirit for Holy Communion I John 2:24-27

 I John 2: 24-27  The Word and the Spirit of God

    Today because we will spend time in a visible Sacrament of the Wine & the Bread , as the faithful in Christ receive the spiritual food of His Body and Blood to their soul's strengthening we will only give the main or salient points of the Scriptures through the Epistle of I John.

     Remember John tells the people to let what they heard from the beginning to remain in them, and then they will continue in the Son and the Father. 2:24 What was that really? It was the Gospel of God, the truth of Jesus, eternal and human saving us from our sin.

1. We hear the Gospel from the Holy Word of God, the Scriptures inspired and eternal as well as the Lord we worship.

I Peter 1:23-24 say it well for us: "  being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away"

John says in v. 25 the kernal of the truth we need to have again and again and remember it: " And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life."

We are not to be running after new doctrine that is not found in the Holy Scriptures as did the people in Acts 17:21 " (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing."

We are too woke and too bright if the truth be told.  We are allowing the world to be our Scripture instead of the  Word being our Scripture.  We need the comforts of eternal life and the Word of God.

John tells them to not follow the seducers in v. 26  They are not helpful.

---in this I think we too have to listen to where people are.  Some are earnestly searching , and some are little devils and seducers, liars and believe not God.  They find  a way to circumvent the Gospel, the Church and the Truth that is in Jesus.  

2. We are to let the Holy Ghost inspire our lives through the Scriptures.  2:27 talks about the Anointing , the Holy Spirit which they and we receive at our conversion to Christ.

Dr. Stott says it well , " Both the Apostolic teaching, and the Heavenly Teacher are necessary for continuance in the truth.  And both are to be personally and inwardly grasped.  This is the Biblical balance too seldom preserved by men. Some honor the Word, and neglect the Spirit who alone can interpret it; others honor the Spirit but neglect the Word out of which He teaches." 

Jn. 7:38 says " He who believes in Me, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water...this He spoke of the Spirit"

In Conclusion today, I ask what practical ways can we maintain this balance which the Word so clearly teaches?  

We are not to depend on ourselves in the spiritual realm.  Read I John 2:27 for John's apostolic word to our hearts in conclusion"

27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."