The Word of God

Wayne Matthews

October 4, 2015

Feast of Tabernacles – 2015

Welcome to this day of the Feast of Tabernacles in 2015.

The purpose of this sermon is to explore the topic "the Word of God," so the title of the sermon is The Word of God.

When people look at the Word of God they get a little confused about what it actually is, but the reality is the thinking of God is the Word of God. The Word of God is the very revelatory thought, or the thinking of God.

We're going to start today's sermon and explore the Word of God and what it really means, and how the Word of God has been used throughout the time that God has created mankind.

So we're going to start by looking at John 1:1—In the beginning, which is the beginning of the plan of creation. There is no beginning of God. So, really, this word is actually talking about the beginning of the plan of creation, because before then, God existed. Before this revealing of who God really is, God existed. In the beginning was the Word. Now, this word is "Logos." This is the revelatory thought, or the thinking of God. "In the beginning was the thinking of God," this very thought process of God, and the Word was unto God. So this is "God had it." And there was only God in existence so God was the one who had the thinking, and it's all from His thinking. And the Word was God, because it is thinking of God. It makes up God. It is what God is. It is what God is, which is this way of thinking, this way of being.

So, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was unto God, and the Word was God." So we're talking about Yahweh Elohim, the Eternal, the Almighty God. This word here, "unto," is really something about "not side by side." It is God. It is the Word of God. It is God. It is God's thinking. Because when we're talking about the Word, we're really talking about the thinking of God.

Verse 2—The same was in the beginning with God. Or, "The same was in the beginning unto God." Because it was with God. There was no other. It was just God and God's thinking, the Word, the Word of God. So, "the same was in the beginning," it's always been there with God, it was God's thinking, "was unto God." It was God's mind. It was God's Word.

Another thing to remember in all of this is that we only see part of the thinking of God. We do not see all of the Word of God. God has revealed aspects of His Word to us, and that's what we see. We just see part of the very thinking of God. And in the future more of the Word will be revealed to us. It was God. It made up God. It was unto God. This is the thinking of God and there is only one almighty being that has eternally existed.

All things were made by it. The Bible often says, "him." Really, it's the same thing because it's all the thinking of God. All things, everything, everything that has life, all matter, everything in the spirit realm, the spirit realm itself, the angelic realm was created by God. It was created from the thinking of God, and without it, without God Himself, without His thinking, nothing was made that was made. So nothing existed prior to God bringing His thinking into action. Because God had thought it all out prior to Him taking action about what was going to be created.

We can look at this and say the angelic realm, the spirit realm exists because it came from God's thinking. God had a purpose in creating them, and in the beginning, we understand, that He created a spirit realm and then placed spirit beings in it, all for a purpose that hadn't been revealed to the angelic realm at this time. Then He creates the physical universe as it is known today, and man hasn't even seen much of the universe, by any means, and there are billions and trillions of planets and stars. God made it all and it all came from His thinking, all for a purpose. And this is all done from His thinking. And, also some 6,000 years ago God placed man on the earth. And that purpose was to bring man to His Family, to God's family, "to bring many sons to glory."

So nothing was made that was made. It was all from the very thinking of God. That means that everything has a purpose. Every single thing has a purpose. And we understand God's purpose, and that's why we're here celebrating this Feast, because we understand God's purpose for mankind and for the creation.

Verse 4—In it was life, or "in Him was life." Now, that really is saying, well, "In it," in the Word, the Logos, the thinking of God, "was life." We also understand that life is inherent in God. God has it. And only God had it at that point in time. And God has now given life to other creations, other parts of His creation. For example, He gave life to the angelic realm and He has given life to animals, to insects, and He's given mankind life, all for a spiritual purpose. ...and the life, the Word of God, was the light of men, or "light unto men." Because it gave the way to live. It shows the way. Now, something that is light shows the way, so from God's thinking we can see the way to live. Now, this word, "the Word of God," is the very thinking of God. And the light (the truth) shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. It is from this that we can come to see that light reveals things. Because we see a light and it shows the way. We grab a torch; it shows the way. Well, this light from God's thinking shows the way. It reveals the way. What is that way? Truth. In it, there is no darkness. There is no darkness, which we understand symbolically points to sin, so there's no sin in God. There's no sin in God's way. We understand the world is in darkness, and therefore, the darkness cannot comprehend God's thinking. The world cannot comprehend God's thinking.

Mankind cannot understand why we are here for these seven days and then the last day worshipping God in spirit and truth. They can't see it because they don't have the Word of God, they don't have the thinking of God available to them. We, brethren, have the opportunity to take on the Word of God, the thinking of God. We have access to it if we yield to it because it is all about yielding to it. So this revelatory thought, or this very thinking of God, was with God. It has always been with God.

And now we're going to go through scriptures to understand the many times that God has used His thinking with mankind – and He's done that, of course, we understand, through Jesus Christ. So let's continue on in verse 6—There was a man, now, this is referring to John, John the Baptist. There was a man sent from God. In other words, John the Baptist came from the very thinking of God. He wasn't the thinking of God, but it was God that thought about this and developed who John was, all for the purpose of revealing the Word of God, Jesus Christ.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man was a witness, to bear witness, so he was there to reveal, "to bear witness" of the Light, to bear witness of the thinking of God, which we have just seen, the Light to men. The light was referring to the way of living, and of course, the truth, which was all in Jesus Christ. This man John came as a witness to bear witness of the Light, that all through him, through John, might believe, because he was out preaching about the way of God's thinking or the way of life to be lived.

He (John) was not that Light, he was not the thinking of God, he was not "the Word made flesh," he was not the revelatory thought or the thinking of God, but was sent to bear witness of the Light, to give evidence, to provide evidence of the Light. And that Light was Jesus Christ, who was the Word of God, the Word made flesh.

Verse 9—That is the true Light, talking about Jesus Christ here, which gives light to every man who comes into the world. Now, this is all done in a time order. "That this is the true Light." Well, we understand that is Jesus Christ, and it can point to the fact that Jesus Christ had the thinking of God. And we can have access to the thinking of God by the holy spirit. God's spirit, God's holy spirit living and dwelling in us can give us light, can reveal the way of God or the ways of God.

He (Jesus Christ) was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him, referring to Jesus Christ. Now, this is not saying that Jesus Christ created all things, because previously we just saw that it was God that did it, it was the Word, the Logos. It was God's intent, and it was the way that God thought that brought forth all the creation. Now, this is talking about something on a spiritual level, and this is about creating a family. It's about God's purpose. So God's purpose is to have a spirit family, and to share with them forever, forever and ever, which is eternity. That's God's plan and purpose. "Jesus Christ was in the world" – He was in the world because God placed Him here as a physical man, but He had the thinking of God. He had the Word of God in Him. He was the Word made flesh. He had the very mind of God. "And the world was made through Him." Well, this is talking about something spiritual. It's the beginning of a family. It's through Jesus Christ that mankind can enter Elohim, to make another family. And it's all done through Jesus Christ. "And the world did not know Him." They didn't know Jesus Christ.

Verse 11—He came to His own. Who's that? That was the Jews because Jesus Christ was born a Jew, and His own did not receive Him. They rejected Him, they actually challenged Him, and in the end, they actually murdered Him.

Verse 12—But as many as receive Him, to them, those that are called to this, He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. So let's go back over that. "But as many as receive Him." Well, this requires a calling first, because nobody can really receive Jesus Christ on a spiritual level unless they are first called by God the Father and given that opportunity to receive Jesus Christ as the Passover sacrifice for sin. "To them," those that are called, those that are in a state of repentance, those that are baptized and receive the gift of God's holy spirit, they, then, can receive Jesus Christ, because it's all on a spiritual level. "He," Jesus Christ, "gave the right to become children of God," because they have believed and received Jesus Christ. So they have all now become children of God, "even to those who believe in His name," believe Jesus Christ, which is the Word of God. So to believe Jesus Christ we have to believe God because Jesus Christ had the very thinking of God. He was the Logos, the Word made flesh. We have to believe what He said. We have to believe what God says.

Verse 13—who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. We're begotten sons of God. So once we are called and once we have repented, and once we've been baptized and we receive God's holy spirit, we are then begotten of God, and we're not now working with the flesh, in the sense of thinking fleshly, we're now thinking spiritually. And we don't do things according to our own desires (the will of man) but of God. We do the thinking of God, the Logos of God living and dwelling in us, the Word, the mind of God in us.

Verse 14—And the Word (the Logos)... The Word became flesh. Now, this is Jesus Christ is born a natural man, but He has the very mind of God. He has the thinking of God. Now, this thinking is all about God's plan and purpose (God's plan and purpose), God's will. Jesus Christ lived God's will. He lived it. God decided, God made a decision that He would have a family. Well, part of that process was that Jesus Christ would come (in the flesh) as a man but have the very thinking of God. Now, that thinking of God was the same as God being on this earth, really, because it's God's will and purpose that would be done in and through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ would not sin. Jesus Christ would fulfill His purpose because it was God's purpose, it was God in Him that was doing the works.

The Word (the Logos) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Now, when it's talking about "the only begotten of the Father," this is because Jesus Christ had God's thinking without measure. He had the holy spirit without measure. In other words, He had it all. It was available to Him. He could think like God. He didn't have a natural carnal mind. He didn't think selfishly at any point of His life. He thought differently than mankind does. He is the only begotten because He has all of God's spirit. He has God's thinking without measure. It's filled up. In other words, it's all there. It was the mind of God, the Word of God. The Logos of God, the revelatory thought of God was actually in Him, therefore, everything that He did, everything that He thought was all in unity with God the Father. It was total unity with Yahweh Elohim – total unity – there is no deviation, there is no possibility of a deviation because He didn't think like mankind. Now, the difference is so far apart. We have seen in other sermons that the difference is just poles apart, as it says, or, "as far as the earth is from the furthest planets." They cannot be compared.

Jesus Christ's thinking was the Logos of God, or the thinking of God, the Word of God in Him, and there is no comparison. And we could never begin to even imagine the difference between the thinking of Jesus Christ and the thinking of mankind. Now, the biggest difference is, firstly, mankind's thinking is all physical. He is natural. He has various lusts and desires in his flesh. He's carnal. He is selfish. Jesus Christ never had that thinking. Jesus Christ had the thinking of God, which is all spiritual in nature, and therefore, there is no desire to sin, there is no desire to fulfill the lusts of a flesh, which we have, because He didn't have those desires, because He had the thinking of God about all matters. So He had clear thinking, and it was all on a spiritual level. He was the thinking of God and He would fulfill the role that He had been appointed to because He thought like God. He had total unity with God. He was at-one with God. He had the same will and purpose of God because He had the very mind of God dwelling in Him, the Word made flesh.

When we look at the word, "the only begotten of the Father," it is important to come to understand what that's really saying. "The only begotten of the Father," is referring to the fact that God the Father is the father of Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ had a human mother, Mary, but His father was Yahweh Elohim. Now, we are begotten sons of God, but we have parents. We have two human parents. We have a human father and a human mother, therefore, we're begotten of God's holy spirit, where Jesus Christ is the only begotten of the Father, because God the Father was His father.

Verse 15—John bore witness of Him, of Jesus Christ, and cried out, saying, This was He of whom I said, so he had been preaching in the wilderness, talking about one to come. And now Jesus Christ had arrived and he was now saying this was the one whom I had said, He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me. He was the Word made flesh because He was before John the Baptist. He was in God's plan before John the Baptist. Because from the foundation of all things Jesus Christ was going to be placed on this earth to fulfill a role, to cover sin for mankind. That was in God's will that was in God's thinking. And John the Baptist came after that. So it is that "He," Jesus Christ, "who comes after me," after John, "was preferred, was before me." It's an order in God's plan. It was in God's plan that Jesus Christ would be first. "Because He (Jesus Christ) was before me." It was the Word made flesh! Jesus Christ was always going to come and fulfill the role that God the Father had appointed Him to fulfill.

Verse 16—And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace, which is forgiveness, and truth came through/by Jesus Christ. So this is the mind of God. It all came through Jesus Christ because grace, favor all comes from God, forgiveness comes from God. And this forgiveness of sin came from God the Father first, but it was fulfilled through Jesus Christ. "And truth," God's way of thinking is truth. It is pure, and therefore, it came through/by Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ was a man with the thinking of God, therefore, truth came by Jesus Christ, came from the mind of God where truth exists, or where truth generates from.

Verse 18—No one has seen God (God the Father) on a spiritual level, at any time. The only begotten Son, whom is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. In other words, He has now prophesied about Him. Because physical man cannot see spirit, only spirit can see spirit. Well, Jesus Christ is now declaring about God the Father. He declares God the Father because who He is. He reveals things by His words and by His actions because He has the thinking (or the Word) of God in Him. He was the Word made flesh. Therefore, He can reveal or declare who the Father really was by His words, His thoughts, and His actions.

Verse 19—This is the testimony (the record) of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you? They wanted to know who John the Baptist was.

Verse 20—He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ. "I am not the Messiah." Then they asked him, What then? Which is the question. Are you Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the Prophet? He answered, No. John is clearly outlining here who he really was. He was John. He was a man. He was from the flesh and he was there for the purpose of revealing or declaring Jesus Christ. He was going to witness (provide evidence) that there was one to come that was greater than him, that Jesus Christ was going to be a Savior of all mankind.

Verse 22—Then they said to him, Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? In other words, they had authority over them, that had sent, and said, "Go and find out what John's talking about and go and find out who he really is, this man that's out in the wilderness preaching and saying these thing and now baptizing people." What do you say about yourself? He said: I am, 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the LORD.' "Make straight the way of the Eternal, Yahweh Elohim, the Self-existing One. Now, this "make straight the way," which is about changing the direction a person is walking in. "Make straight the way." In other words, prepare, prepare the mind to receive something.

Continuing on in verse 23...as the prophet Isaiah said. Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees, which is the religious leaders at that time. And they asked him, saying, Why then do you baptize? "Why do you then immerse?" Because this is something different. This is something completely different than what had happened before. Because prior to John the Baptist people were not being immersed in water. So, "Why do you now baptize? Why do you now immerse people into water," if you are not the Messiah, "if you're not the Christ," nor Elijah, nor the Prophet? "So why are you doing this independent? You don't have any authority!"

John answered them, saying, I baptize with water, which is the immersion, complete immersion under the water, but there stands One, referring to Jesus Christ, among you whom you do not know. It is He (Jesus Christ) who, coming after me, is preferred before me. So He was predetermined first in God's plan. This is in relation to "ranked higher" or "being preferred," which is an authority over John, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loosen. So John understood his role and his purpose. Well, how did he understand it, considering he was born a man and he went out into the wilderness and he lived a particular lifestyle? Well, it was the power of God, the thinking of God that gave him the thinking to be able to say these words, to come to know that there was a Messiah that was preferred before him, that was in God's plan before John the Baptist. It all had to come from Yahweh Elohim. It had to come from God. It had to come from the very thinking of God. God had to have thought it out and planned it out for this to take place.

Verse 28—These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Verse 29—The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is referring to Jesus Christ was going to be the Lamb of God, which is going back to the Passover. Because we understand that there was a lamb that was selected and it was killed for the purpose of Passover. It was something physical that was pointing to something spiritual. Now we see the real meaning of Passover – something physical pointing to something spiritual. And this was going to be fulfilled through Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. It was a sacrifice from the thinking of God to cover sin for mankind, and Jesus Christ had been appointed to this role by God the Father, by Yahweh Elohim. "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," by being our Passover sacrifice for sin, that was Jesus Christ's purpose. Now, this is all about the thinking of God, the Word of God, the Logos of God. This is all about the revealing thinking of God. Now, God is revealing here His thinking, because what it is about, it's about "bringing many sons to glory." That's God's purpose for the creation. That's God's purpose for mankind.

Here we see part of the thinking of God being revealed because Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Now, it can only be taken away based on repentance, based on baptism, based on the receiving of God's holy spirit. Because although a person can be baptized and if their sins are forgiven, if they do not receive the gift of God's holy spirit which empowers us to be able to think differently, to think like God, to think like the Word of God, the Logos of God, to have that dwelling in us, well, we would soon sin and we'll be back to square one. We would be under the penalty of sin, which is death. Well, it's through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that sin is forgiven, but the ongoing process of forgiveness requires the gift of God's holy spirit living and dwelling in a person, which is the Logos of God, which is the Word of God, which is the thinking of God in us. We have to have the thinking of God in us, which is powered from God by the power of God's holy spirit. God's holy spirit living and dwelling in us enables us to repent.

Verse 30—This is He (Jesus Christ) whom I said, After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for He was before me. He was before John in God's plan of salvation for mankind. I did not know Him, so he did not understand His full purpose in coming to the earth as the Logos of God. And John wouldn't have fully understood the depth of what God was really doing through Jesus Christ. "I did not know Him," but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore, I came baptizing with water. This is the beginning process that was going to have to take place where sin would now be working towards being forgiven, this baptizing, the remission of sins. Now, this baptizing using water is the outward sign of something that is spiritual. Other than that, people are just getting wet.

Verse 32—And John bore witness (record), saying, I saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained upon Him, referring to Jesus Christ. So we now see this physical manifestation of God's holy spirit. So this has to be some sort of sign, and it says, "like a dove," but it's not a dove and it's God's spirit. It's just an outward sign of something that is spiritual. So it's a physical manifestation so that it could give evidence of something spiritual that is taking place. "And it remained upon Him."  I did not know Him, but He (God) who sent me to baptize with water said to me, Upon whom you see the spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the holy spirit. This is a beautiful scripture. What John is saying is that God the Father had to reveal to him who Jesus Christ was. Other than that, he wouldn't know Him, because He was just a man, because He was looking like any other Jew of His day. So the only way that John the Baptist could identify Jesus Christ was a sign from God. Now, God the Father said that He would provide a sign that would prove where He was working, where the Logos was, where the Word of God was. "Upon Him whom you see the spirit descending and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the holy spirit," so this is not baptism in water, this is the baptism of the holy spirit. Because the death of Jesus Christ would make way for the receipt of the holy spirit. God's spirit available to mankind, we understand, came on Pentecost 31 AD. And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God. "This is the Word made flesh," is really what he's saying. Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God!

Proverbs 30:2—Surely I am more stupid than any man, and do not have the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom, nor have knowledge of the Holy One.

Verse 4—Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Well, at this point of time, nobody, only God. Man can't. Only God could ascend into heaven or descend on to the earth. No matter what happened, it was God could do it all. Man could not do it. Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who's that? Only Yahweh Elohim could do it. No man could do it. Who has bound the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? God did it all. We've read that before. What is His name, and what is His Son's name, if you know? That's the question. Who is it? "So who is God? What is His name?" It's Yahweh Elohim, the Eternal, the Almighty God. And "What is His Son's name?" Well, at this point of time, Jesus Christ was in God's plan. His name was Jesus Christ, the Anointed Messiah.

Every word of God is pure, so every word of God, everything that comes from God's thinking is pure. Now, that is "to be found pure." It is pure because it is truth. He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him, those that put their trust in God. God's Word is true. God's Word, God's thinking is pure. It's completely different to the way humans think.

Verse 6—Do not add to His words, so don't add to His thinking, don't add to His words, things that He said, lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar. Because that's what would happen, brethren. We are warned often in scripture not to add to or take away, because God's thinking is pure. It is righteous. So why would we, with this natural carnal mind, add to what God says or take away from it? We should just stick to God's Word. Because God's thinking is perfect. God's thinking is pure. It is righteous. Therefore, who are we, as natural carnal people, to add to or take away. Well, we would be surely very stupid, because we have no power...we have no power. We can't change anything! We can't ascend or descend, like God can. We cannot gather the wind in our hands and hold it. We can't gather the waters and change the ocean. We can't make anything physical as far as the creation. We can't give life. God can and God has. And every word that He has spoken, everything that comes from God, the Word, the Logos, is pure. It is perfect. It is found to be pure. Now, when something is pure, it has no fault or has no impurities in it. Well, God's Word, God's thinking's that way. It has no impurities in it. Everything that God thinks, everything that God does is righteous. It is pure. It is perfect.

Luke 4:1. This is referring to Satan and now he is testing Jesus Christ. Now, this is a futile exercise, because Jesus Christ has the thinking of God. He doesn't think like a natural man and He won't react like a natural man would. Because a natural man would respond totally differently than the way Jesus Christ has responded to Him.

Verse 1—Then Jesus, being filled with the holy spirit, because He had it without measure, He was the Logos, the Word made flesh, returned from the Jordan and was led by the spirit into the wilderness, and being tested for forty days by the devil (Satan). And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

Verse 3—And the devil said to Him, Satan has said to Jesus Christ, If You are the Son of God, which He was, command this stone to become bread. Because He's now appealing to something on a physical level, because it's natural to desire something physical because one is hungry. So this, really, is a challenge to pride, and Jesus Christ never had it. Jesus Christ had no pride. He was the thinking of God in the flesh.

Verse 4—But Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, Man (mankind) shall not live by bread alone, so this is the important part, but by every word of God. Now, this goes back to a spiritual focus and about living the right intent... living the right intent. We should be living by every word of God, which is the thinking of God. We should be living according to the thinking of God, the way God sees things, the way God has stated things should be done. That's how we should live our life. Which is about putting God first. God is first at all times. We refer to God's Word, which is we're referring to God's thinking about a matter. Why? Because we understand that God is almighty, that He can do all those things we read before. He can change the ocean. He can grasp the wind. He can change the wind. He can raise up and He can pull down. He can give life and He can take life. God can do all those things. He is almighty. He is the Eternal Self-existing One. Therefore, we should live by His word, what He says to do and how He says to do it. It's all about a spiritual focus that we should have.

So mankind can live physically from bread, but we, brethren, have to live spiritually by the bread of life, which is the Word of God. We can live spiritually if we consume the Word of God. Every word, every thought of God, God's intent behind everything that is done – which is pure, which is righteous – that's what we should be consuming in our life. That's how we can have life. That's how we can have spirit life, by having this spiritual focus, by having God's holy spirit living and dwelling in us so that we're examining our intent. Is our intent in line with God's intent? Which is one of love and righteousness? Or is it one of selfishness? Is it physical? Is it carnal? Is it just looking after self? So we need to be examining our intent, our intent in life. So we, brethren, should not live and focus on the physical things. We have to have physical things in our life – because this scripture says, "Man shall not live by bread alone," we are alive physically because of "bread," because of physical things. But the more important part is to focus on the very Word of God, the Logos of God, the thinking of God, what Jesus Christ has revealed to us, the way we should live our life, which is in spirit and truth, which is all about looking at the intent of our thoughts... the intent of our thoughts, the intent of our words, the intent of our actions, why are we doing what we're doing.

So the Word of God is what we have to base our life on, which is we have to base our life on the thinking of God, which is the holy spirit, which is God's spirit living and dwelling in us. Therefore, that becomes our priority in life.

Now, during this Feast we have this opportunity to live by the very Word of God, every word of God...every word of God. We have the opportunity now to work harder during this particular Feast so that we can implement the change of thinking into our life. Because as we change our thinking, as we examine our intent and we realize where we're wrong, well, we can implement this change. And after the Feast, when we go home, we can implement all the things that we have learned about the way we have to change our thinking and we can start to live by every word of God. We can start to think like God, powered by God's holy spirit. We can be of the Word. Now, this is be of the Word, because we can have part of the Word of God living and dwelling in us. Jesus Christ was the Word made flesh. Well, we have access to the Logos of God, the thinking of God in our life, which is the right way to think, the right intent to have towards mankind, and the right way to think towards God, to live by every Word of God.

1 John 1:1. Now, when we're looking at this particular scripture we can use two components to it, because it's referring to the Word of God, which is the way of life, and it can be referring to Jesus Christ who was the Word of God. So when we read these scriptures we can look at it as being the Word, and we can look at it as being Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ was the Word of God. Now, this reveals a way of life. It's about a way of life that people can implement into their life, which is the Word of God, which is the thinking of God, which is the thinking of Jesus Christ into a person's life. Now, this is what we've been encouraged to do. We've been encouraged to take on this Word, which is the thinking of God, the way that Jesus Christ lived His life. A way of life that God has outlined should be lived.

1 John 1:1—That which was from the beginning, which was the Word, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, well, they had heard the word of God, and they've seen the Word of God because they have seen Jesus Christ, which we have looked upon, they'd looked upon Jesus Christ and they'd look at Jesus Christ, the way He had lived, and our hands have handled, well, they have seen Jesus Christ, they've handled Jesus Christ, but they've also lived this way of life. They've handled it. Which we can do, brethren. We can handle the way of life. We can handle the Word by implementing it into our life, concerning the Word of life, referring to Jesus Christ, referring to the Logos of Life, which is the Word made flesh, or the way of life, or the Word of Life, which was Jesus Christ, or the Word, the Logos, the thinking of God, which was life...which is the Word of life. ...the life was manifest, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you, which is to show it. So the life which was in Jesus Christ, which was the Word, was manifest. It was made flesh in Jesus Christ, "and we have seen," they  have seen it. They have seen Jesus Christ and what He had done, "and bear witness," they're going to provide evidence, "and declare it now to you," to us, brethren. It's being declared to us that eternal life which was with the Father, because the Word provides life. Well, the thinking of God is eternal. The thinking of God is eternal; it is eternal life because it has existed forever. It has never had a beginning... never had a beginning. The Word has never had a beginning because the Word was God, it is God, it's God's thinking, it's the revelatory thought.

Now, when we say that God has revealed much of Himself, but He hasn't revealed Himself in the full. We see aspects of God, but we don't see all of God. So we see aspects of the Word. Well, the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, He revealed God, and they knew it. John knew it and the other disciples knew it. They became apostles. They knew it. They had seen it. They had physically witnessed it, but they'd also seen it on a spiritual level. Here we're seeing that John is now outlining the Word, the way of life, the Word of life which was in Jesus Christ.

...we declare to you that eternal life, which is the Word of God, which was with the Father, which we've read in John 1, and was manifest to us. It was Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. ...that which we have seen and heard declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us, which is about this sharing. So it's referring to the plan of God, the Word of God, all of that, the thinking of God, righteousness, unity; all of those things are what God is. It's all in God's plan. It's all what God does and it is about the Word made flesh, which is the thinking of God. Now, if we have that thinking of God, which is being declared to us, and we have God's holy spirit, well, we will have fellowship with one another. We'll be at-one. We'll be in unity with God. If we have God's Word living and dwelling in us, we will have the same mind as Jesus Christ, and we'll have the mind or the thinking of God, in part. "In part" because we still are natural. Now, this is really referring to relationships. Because we can only have a true relationship with one another, we can only have true fellowship with one another if we have God's holy spirit living and dwelling in us. Now, this Feast is a great opportunity for us to have true fellowship with God and true fellowship with one another, because we have access to the Word, the Logos of God. And it's God's Word, God's Logos that is being expounded at this Feast. The thinking of God is being expounded to us. This is an amazing thing that is happening to us, brethren, and others in the world cannot have access to it because they haven't been called to it. So we can have a spiritual relationship. We can have true fellowship with one another here at this Feast because of the Logos, because of the Word of God that lives and dwells in us, which is the thinking of God, which is the holy spirit of God that lives and dwells within us.

Continuing on in verse 3... and truly our fellowship is with the Father, so this relationship that we have with God the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ, because we are of one mind, because we have the Logos of God living and dwelling in us, this thinking of God, the Word of God in us. Now, we only have it in part. We only have it in part. And we have access to it in part. We don't have access to it in full. Because spiritual growth, the thinking of God, is a revelatory. It's a revealing, it's a revealing process. It's the thinking of God that has been revealed to us at this point of time. Now, we're all at different levels with regards to the thinking of God and where God has placed us in the Body. But, brethren, we are here at this Feast so that we can have fellowship, that we can be at-one with one another, at-one with God and at-one with one another in true fellowship, having a spiritual relationship because we have access to this one way of thinking. We have access to the very Word of God, and God's word can live and dwell in us.

Verse 4—And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. So that we can be at-one with God, we can have this one way of thinking. This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light, now, the Word of God is light because it's from the thinking of God. It's the truth. God is righteous and God reveals the light, which is He reveals the truth. ...and in Him (in God the Father) is no darkness at all, which we have read before. There is no darkness in God. God is pure. There is no small bits of defect in God. He is pure. And the light is pure, therefore, God is pure. What has happened is the message that was through Jesus Christ was from God the Father. "This is the message we have heard from Him," from God the Father, because they'd heard it through Jesus Christ, "and declare to you, that God is light," that God is pure, that God is truth, "and in Him," in God the Father, in Yahweh Elohim, there is no falsehood. There is no darkness. He is pure.

If we say that we have fellowship with Him, with God the Father, and walk in darkness, any aspect of impurity, which is referring to sin, and in the main, any aspect of pride. If we say we have fellowship, if we have a relationship with God (with God the Father) and we're walking in love and we're walking in unity and we're sharing on a spiritual level, and yet we walk in sin, we're walking or doing anything in pride, we lie. We don't have a relationship with God, we are acting in pride, we are acting in selfishness. We lie because of our actions. We're actually being false, and do not practice the truth, we're not implementing the truth into our life, we're not living it. We have to be living the truth. We have to be striving to overcome the darkness that is in the natural carnal mind by nature, this selfishness in us. So we can't act out a role. We cannot have any falsehood in our thinking. We can have no falsehood in our intent, because that's a lie. If we start to say something that could be accurate and right, but our intent is to maybe get a following or to have people like us – in other words, it's motivated by pride – well, that is sin and we're not practicing the truth, we're not living the truth, really, we're hypocrites and we're living a lie.

Verse 7—But if we walk in the light, if we walk in the truth, if we walk according to the Word of God, as He is in the light, as God is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son is cleansing us from all sin, because it's based on ongoing repentance. We're being atoned because of repentance. Now, we have been atoned because of baptism because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Because of His shed blood, well, sin could be forgiven. But this is an ongoing process. So it is about repentance. We are to walk in the truth. We are to walk in the light. We're to walk in righteousness. We're to walk in the Word of God. We're to live by every Word of God. We're to look at our intent of why we do what we do. And God is in the light, God is pure. Well, we can have fellowship with one another at this Feast, and outside of the Feast when we get together we can have this relationship with one another. Because fellowship is about having a relationship. It's about being together in unity... being together in unity, being in fellowship with one another. And it is all based on God's holy spirit. True fellowship is having God's holy spirit.

And "the shed blood of Jesus Christ is cleansing us from sin," based on our repentance. We can have a relationship with one another if we are in a state of repentance. If we're not in a state of repentance we cannot have true fellowship. Absolutely impossible! If we're not in a state of repentance we cannot have fellowship or a relationship with God. We're not atoned to God. We're not at-one with God because we're walking in pride. Pride stops us from repenting. Pride stops us from repenting. Repentance is humility. Repentance is humility. Therefore, we can walk in the truth, we can walk in a relationship with God and with one another based on repentance.

Verse 8—If we say that we have no sin, which is an attitude of being non-repentant, in other words, being in pride, we deceive ourselves, and the truth, the Word of God, the Logos of God, is not in us. God's holy spirit is not in us. We're denying our nature. "If we say we have no sin," if we say we have no sin we cannot see ourselves. We're denying who we really are – carnal and selfish! And if we are denying this and if we're not in a state of repentance, if we say we have no sin, well, we're not going to be repenting, therefore, if we're not repenting we can't have this fellowship with one another and we can't have this true fellowship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. Absolutely impossible. And if we are saying we don't have sin, and we are in a state of non-repentance, we deceive ourselves. We're deceiving ourselves. We are deceived. We're living a life as a hypocrite, as a liar, and we don't have God's holy spirit living and dwelling in us. We're not examining our thoughts. We're not examining our words. And we're not examining our motives and our intents. We're not. We're deceived. We're deceiving ourselves. We're living a carnal way of thinking. "And the truth," now the truth is the light, is the Word of God, the Logos of God, "is not in us." The Word of God is not in us. We're not thinking like God because we don't have God's holy spirit because we're not in a state of repentance.

Verse 9—Now, if we are in a state of repentance: If we confess our sins, if we're in this state of repentance, which is this ongoing process, He (God the Father) is faithful, He cannot lie, and just, because He is righteous and just, to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, all sin. Now, this is the new agreement of the New Testament. When you look at the Old Testament, which is based on physical things for the majority of people, bar a few that God was working with for a spiritual purpose for the future, well, if we look at this new agreement which is through Jesus Christ because of "the Word made flesh" died for us, because it was all from the thinking of God, it was the way God was going to cover sin through Jesus Christ. Well, we now see that we can now have our sins forgiven. We understand that. Now, if we confess, if we are in a state of repentance, if we confess who we really are and that our motives and intents aren't always right, "He," God the Father, "is faithful." That's His purpose of all the creation. That's His purpose for all creation that He will forgive us because He desire a family. He desires to bring many sons to glory. Our sins will be forgiven. Our sins will be forgiven based on our repentance. Well, that is the new agreement. Sins can now be forgiven based on our repentance.

Verse 10—If we say we have not sinned, we make Him (Yahweh Elohim) a liar, because God says we do sin. God says we're natural, we're selfish, we sin by nature. Well, if we say we don't have sin and we're not sinning and we don't sin any given day and that we have all pure right motives and intents, we're just simply a liar and we're deceived.

Continuing on, verse 10... and His Word, the Logos, is not in us. The Logos, God's thinking, the Word of God is not in us because we're deceived. We're deceiving ourselves. We're actually cut off from the thinking of God. We're cut off from the very Word of God, the Logos of God. We're cut off because we can't see ourselves! Now, it's only through the power of God's holy spirit that we can see ourselves, and it is God's gift to us to have repentance. It is God's gift to us to have the Word, His thinking, in us, the Logos, His very thinking in us. It's an incredible thing that God is doing, and we have this opportunity now at this Feast to take on the very Word of God into our life, the holy spirit, to have God's holy spirit living and dwelling in us. Because the purpose of life is to have our thinking transformed, to take on a new mind, the mind of Christ. "Let this mind be in you which was in Jesus Christ." Well, what was the mind that was in Jesus Christ? He was the Word made flesh. It was the thinking of God in Jesus Christ, without measure! Without measure. Well, we have access to part of the thinking of God. We have access to the Logos of God. Incredible thing of what is happening to us in God's Church. We've been called to it.

So reading verse 10 again, If we say we have not sinned, we make Him (God the Father) a liar. Because God makes it very clear that we're natural and we are sinners, and His Word, His Logos, is not in us. The flow of God's holy spirit has stopped and we're cut off from God's thinking. We cannot think like God in its spiritual intent. Absolutely impossible.

1 John 2:1—My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. John's desire is that we don't sin, but that we yield to the Logos of God or to the Word of God. And if anyone sins, which we do and which we will, we have an Advocate with the Father, and who's that? Jesus Christ the righteous. So we have a counsellor or a guide, and that is Jesus Christ the righteous, or the just. He is the one who intercedes for us. How's that done? Well, He has already done it. He's done it through a Passover sacrifice, an atoning sacrifice. The word "advocate" here really is referring to the holy spirit, the "paracletes," the thinking of God or the power of God, which is referring to the holy spirit, the very thinking of God, God's holy spirit that was in Jesus Christ. And He Himself, referring to Jesus Christ, is the propitiation for our sins. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins so our sins can be forgiven based on our repentance, and not for ours only but also for the world, in the future based on their repentance. Jesus Christ has made it possible so that God the Father can dwell in us because of this repentance and forgiveness of sins. And it's all done through Jesus Christ.

Verse 3— Now, by this we know (we understand) that we know Him (God the Father), if we keep His (God the Father's) Commandments. Now, we know God because we have God's holy spirit, we have the Word of God, the Logos of God living and dwelling in us, in part, and therefore, we keep His Commandments because the Commandments of God, His Commandments are from His thinking. They're from His Word. And we're to live by every word of God, and the 10 Commandments and other instructions, the statutes, and all of those things that God has said and told us that we should do, which involves His Commandments – they are from His thinking, they are from His Word. "Now, by this we know," we have this understanding on a spiritual level, "that we know Him," that we have a relationship with Him. Because to know somebody is to have a relationship with them. We cannot know somebody if we haven't got a relationship with them. We might think we know them, but to have a relationship with somebody is to know them, to have fellowship with them, to understand them. We understand God's intent. We understand God from His Word.

Now, what is the evidence of that? What is the evidence we know God or we understand God? "If we keep His Commandments in spirit and truth," in their intent, not just the physical law as outlined in Matthew, which was when Christ said, "Thou shalt not kill." Well, it's much greater than that. It's the intent. It's the thinking process. We know God because we keep His Commandments in spirit and truth, exactly as God has said or God has outlined in His word, because it's from His thinking.

He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His Commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. The Logos, the Word of God, God's thinking is not in him. We're not at-one with Him. We're not in fellowship with Him. We don't have a relationship with Him. We don't understand Him. Because the evidence is we are not keeping His instructions, we're not keeping His Commandments. And therefore, we are hypocrites, we are liars, we don't know ourselves. Anybody who says they know God and does not keep His Commandments, does not yield to God's Word in spirit and truth, they are simply deceived and they're living a lie. They don't have God's thinking at all. They're not examining their true intent on a spiritual level.

Verse 5— But whoever keeps, or whoever obeys, His (God's) Word, God's Logos, the revelatory thinking of God. Ever who keeps, who obeys this thinking of God, the Word, the Logos, the very mind of God, the way God has established things, God's Word, truly the love (the mind) of God is perfected, or is being made perfect, in him. By this we know we are in Him. So we know we have a relationship with God because of obedience... because of obedience. We know we have a relationship with God, we have fellowship with God, because we obey Him and we are repentant. Because the two go together. We cannot separate true repentance and obedience.

Now, people can obey the physical component of the law, but they're not in a state of repentance, therefore, it's all irrelevant. So that physical obedience, it has a reward, but it doesn't have a spiritual reward. Because to have a spiritual reward requires the gift of God's thinking in a person. It requires God's holy spirit. If anybody keeps or obeys God's Word, the Logos, the thinking of God, which includes the 10 Commandments and all other things, the truth, the Word of God, truly, it's true that we have a relationship with God, the love of God, which is the thinking of God, the agape of God, the mind of God is being perfected, is being developed, it's being matured in us because we're exercised by this. Because we're exercising our natural carnal mind so that we can make decisions to choose to yield to God's holy spirit, to yield to God's thinking, to yield to the very Word of God. And it's only by this we know we are in Him, this obedience, this thinking like God, this being made perfect, this obedience to God's Word in spirit and truth, well, that's how we know we have God living and dwelling in us.

If we are here at the Feast in spirit and truth, and we're taking on the instructions and the teachings of God, well, we know we have a relationship with God and that we are in Him and He is in us, which we will get to, hopefully, in this sermon.

Verse 6—He who says he abides (dwells) in Him, in unity with Him, at-one with Him, ought himself also to walk just as He walked. So how is it that He walked? Well, the Word of God was in Jesus Christ. He, Jesus Christ, walked a particular way. He had the same mind. "He," anybody, any of us, brethren, "who say we abide in God the Father," by saying that we abide in Jesus Christ as well, because they are the same, it's the Word of God made flesh, it's the same mind. So "He who say he abides in God the Father," or in Jesus Christ, "he himself," we, brethren, "ought to walk, we ought to live our life, we ought to have the same motives and intents just as He, Jesus Christ, walked, just as God walked in Jesus Christ, because He had the same mind. They had the same mind. God the Father and Jesus Christ had the Logos, had the Word. The Word made flesh was Jesus Christ.

Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. God doesn't change. God's thinking doesn't change. It's God's way of life. It's a way of living love to others, and we are to walk in this intent. The intent is to love God and to love one another, but it has to be powered by God's holy spirit because it's the only way we can truly love God – through this obedience and repentance – and the only way we can love one another is if we have God's holy spirit, the Word of God dwelling in us, God's thinking dwelling in us. "Let this mind be in you which was in Jesus Christ," which was the Word of God.

Continuing on in verse 7... The old commandment is the word which you have heard from the beginning. It's the Logos, it's the thinking of God. So the "old commandments" the commandments that we have heard from the very beginning, when we were first called and brought into the Body of Christ, the Church of God, through the power of God's holy spirit, well, this same "old commandment," which is the same one, it's God's word, "is the Word," it's the Logos, "which you heard from the beginning." It's the way God thinks. Now, when we come into the Body of Christ we hear the thinking of God, we have access to God's holy spirit so that we can hear God, because it's all based on a spiritual level. We can have these relationships with one another, brethren, if we have the Word living and dwelling in us. And it hasn't changed. The Word of God has not changed, because in the beginning was God's thinking, and God's thinking hasn't changed. God's thinking is the same.

Verse 8—Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, because of repentance, because what is happening with darkness, which is sin, it is passing away. Those that have God's holy spirit, sin, the darkness, is passing away. It's moving towards the light because we're moving towards the thinking of God, we're moving towards the truth, and the true light, which is the truth, which is the thinking of God, is already shining. It's being reflected in us, brethren. It reflects God in us. It reflects Jesus Christ. It reflects the Word. The Logos in us is being shown because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining in us because of God's holy spirit, (verse 9) he who says he is in the light, he is in the truth, he has God's holy spirit, and hates his brother, he is not desiring good for his brother, is in darkness until now.

So this is the demonstration, brethren, because it's about a way of thinking. It's a change of thinking. Anybody who says they're moving from darkness to the light, and yet says that he hates or despises or has ill will towards his brother, well, that person is still in darkness. They're still with the natural carnal mind and God the Father's spirit, God the Father's Word, the Logos, is not in him. They are not living by every Word of God. Now, this is a spiritual matter. This is not a physical matter, this is spiritual.

We, brethren, have to change the way we think. We have to move from the darkness, the natural carnal mind, to righteousness, to God's way of thinking. And we are in the light if we think like God, if God is living and dwelling in us. If we have the truth, the Word of God in us, well, we, brethren, will not be hating or having ill will towards our brother. And if we do, well, we're still in the darkness and we're not having our thinking transformed. We are not having our thinking transformed. We shouldn't speak against anybody, because that is pride. We shouldn't have ill will or hate or murder towards anybody. We should reflect God in our life. We should reflect this new way of thinking in our life, which is the thinking of God, because we're living by every word of God, we're living by the Logos of God, which means we're living by the thinking of God. The thinking of God is in us.

God does not hate. God loves. God loves. And in His mercy He will destroy because He loves, not because He hates. God hates sin. God hates sin because of what it does. It's a sign of rebellion. Sin is a sign of rebellion against God, and God hates rebellion. God desires not to have rebellion. And in His mercy, in His love He will get rid of hate. He will get rid of rebellion.

Verse 10—He who loves, who agapes, his brother abides in the light, abides in the truth, and God's Word is truth. If we love, we're dwelling in God, we have God's holy spirit, and there is no cause of stumbling, which is about sin, in him. Our motives and intent are correct. They are based on love. They are God's motives and intent. But he who hates his brother, in other words, refuses to love his brother, is in darkness, they're still in sin, and walk in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. He can't see where he's going because of the natural carnal mind because of sin. He is not thinking like God. He cannot "see" the spiritual intent of the law. So we, brethren, have to walk in the light. We have to walk in the Word of God because we have to live by every word of God.

Verse 12—I write to you, little children, which is a term that is used about people that are new to the Body that are coming into a relationship with God, but basically new in the faith and they are considered "little children." It's a loving term that is used here by John. I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake (Jesus Christ's). This is talking about something that is spiritual. They have now been baptized and their sins have been forgiven for His (Jesus Christ's) names sake.

I write to you, fathers, which is someone that is more spiritually mature, have been around longer, therefore, they should be spiritually mature, because you have known, which is this progressive understanding or this ongoing understanding we have about God, because you have known Him (God the Father) from the beginning. From the beginning of their calling they have known God the Father. They have understood about the spirit of the law. They've understood they need to live by every word of God.

I write to you, young men, which is somebody that is spiritually younger in the Church, because you have overcome the wicked one, which, they've overcome evil. Because this is about evil, about overcoming, about the transformation of the mind.

I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father. They're starting to begin to understand God and God's way of life, about having this true fellowship, about having this relationship with God.

I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God, the Logos of God, abides in you, which is the truth dwells in you, God's thinking dwells in you, and it's all powered by God's holy spirit. "The Word of God abides in you." Well, we, brethren, can say the same thing. We can be strong. We can be strong in the faith. We can be strong in our relationships with God and with one another. And, "The Word of God lives and dwells in us." That's what makes us strong. So we can be strong in fellowship, we can be strong in relationships with God and one another because the Logos, the Word of God, the thinking of God, the way God thinks about matters dwells in us. We have God's holy spirit which empowers us to have true fellowship with God and true fellowship with one another.

And you have overcome the wicked one, or overcome evil, which is this progression or this progressive way of thinking, which is all based on repentance. We can only overcome evil. We can only overcome Satan and his temptations by repentance, by the power of God's holy spirit. So it requires repentance and obedience. It requires God's holy spirit. It requires the Word of God (the Logos of God) living and dwelling in us.

Verse 15—Do not love, do not desire, the world, the thinking of the world, or the things in the world, the things of the world, which is referring to the darkness and the sin. So we shouldn't have this leaning to want these things, to walk in the pride of life and those types of things. We shouldn't love it. We shouldn't desire it. We shouldn't be seeking those things first. We should be seeking God first. If anyone loves (desires) the world, and the ways of the world, the love, the agape, the Word, the Logos of God does not dwell in Him, is not in him. The Logos of God, which is the thinking of God, is not in him, because we have a wrong motive, we've got wrong desires.

Verse 16—For all, that is everything, that is in the world, it's the way they think, it's the natural carnal mind, it's the way it thinks, so everything that is in the world, everything natural—the lust (the desires) of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, because it's all in the thinking, and the pride of life, this pride is just in all humans. Pride is in all humans. There is not a human that does not have pride. ...the pride of life—is not of the Father, but is of the world. Because it's all coming from the natural carnal mind and Satan is there. His way of get is there. It's all about physical things. It's all about physical focus. It's about a way of thinking. And the Word of God separates us from this natural mind. It's the Word of God that separates us from the world. For all that is in the world, it's not God's thinking, it's not the Word, it's not love, it's not the thinking of God, it's not the mind of God, it's not the Logos of God, it doesn't generate from Him. And the world is passing away, so all of that natural way of thinking is destroying itself and its passing away, and it won't endure to the end. It can't. It's going to be put away. It's physical. It's natural, and the lusts of it. All the desires of mankind, all the desires of the natural mind are going to be destroyed. They're all going; it's temporary. ...but he who does the will of God, that's us, brethren, we do the will of God, abides forever. It's going to be giving age-lasting life or everlasting life. So we have this potential, brethren, to take on the mind of God, the Word of God, the Logos of God, and we have it in part (we have access to it) all powered by God's holy spirit. So we have to learn to live by every Word of God and not fall into the trap of giving into our natural desires, these lusts that we have. We have to fight these lusts. We fight them by using the Word of God in our life, which is spiritual in nature.

1 John 2:24—Therefore, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. What is that that abides in you? The Word, the Word of God, the truth. "Therefore, let that," the Word of truth, the Word, the Logos "abide in you," dwell in you, "which you heard from the beginning." What have we heard from the beginning? We've heard the truth. We've heard the truth from ministers of God, from a teacher. We hear the truth through God's true Church. That's the only place truth can come from because it's powered by God's holy spirit. "Therefore, let that (God's holy spirit, let the Word of God, let the Truth of God) dwell in you, which you heard from the beginning. Because it's requires God's holy spirit to hear it from the beginning, from the beginning of our calling. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, which is the truth. It can only be heard and understood if we have God's holy spirit in us, therefore, what it's really saying is a combination of things. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, which we have God's holy spirit, we've heard the truth, we've heard the Word of God, and if it lives in us, and if it dwells in us, you also will abide (you will dwell) in the Son and in the Father. We will continue in a relationship with God the Father and with Jesus Christ. Why? Because it's the same Word, it's the same truth, it's the holy spirit of God. If we have the thinking of God we have the thinking of Jesus Christ, and if we have the thinking of Jesus Christ and God the Father we have God's holy spirit, we have the Word of truth, we have the Word of God.

Verse 25—And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life. So this is what God has promised us. From the beginning, from the foundation of all things, from the foundation of God's thinking it was purposed that Jesus Christ would be the Savior of mankind all for the purpose of giving us eternal life, or life-everlasting in the God Family. Incredible plan that God has!

Well, we're here celebrating this Feast because it pictures something. It pictures the return of the thinking of God, the Word of God coming to this earth once again. Because it came to this earth through Jesus Christ the first time. Well, the second time Jesus Christ is returning to this earth, as a spirit being, the Word of God is going to be revealed to this earth through Jesus Christ, who is the thinking of God, who is the Word made flesh, who is the Word of God now in spirit. Also, the 144,000 are going to be revealing the thinking of God. The Word of God is going to be revealed to mankind. They're going to have access to it through the power of God's holy spirit.

These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. These are people that have been in God's Church – which the previous scripture was talking about anti-Christ, those that are now against Christ, have turned against Christ. Well, we, brethren, should know that there are people in the world that try to deceive, and there have been people that have left a relationship with God, they've left true fellowship with God, and are now in a state of rebellion against God and they were writing false things and they still write false things about God's people, and about God, for that matter.

But the anointing which you have received from Him, from God the Father, abides in you. Now, what is that anointing? Well, it's the holy spirit. But the anointing, the receiving of God's holy spirit, which you have received from Him, from God the Father, abides (dwells) in us that you do not need anyone to teach you. Now, this is not referring about not having teachers within God's Church. This is about knowing the truth, having God's holy spirit, and being able to discern the spirit of a matter. We should not be deceived by things of the world, by the natural carnal mind, for example. We shouldn't be deceived by things that come out from the natural carnal mind, that come out from the world, from man's thinking, because we have God's thinking. We have God's Logos. We have God's thinking in us powered by God's holy spirit, therefore, we don't have to be taught about whether or not we should keep the Commandments. We don't have to be taught whether or not we should keep God's word. We wouldn't need to be taught about the fact that we need to keep the 10 Commandments. We don't have to be taught about true fellowship or about relationships. So, no one should be able to teach us those things because we've already had that teaching within God's Church. So this is not about someone not teaching us, this is about not being deceived by people that have a natural carnal mind. Because we have God's holy spirit that abides and dwells in us, therefore, we don't need t be taught the things of God from other people with natural carnal minds. We don't have to be taught about things that are different than what God's spirit is teaching. ...but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, about the truth, about the Word of God, about righteousness, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, which is powered by God's holy spirit, you will abide in Him (in God).

Now, we have been taught about God's way of life. God's holy spirit teaches us by His ministry from Sabbath to Sabbath and Holy Days and through posts. God is the one that teaches. So we abide in God if we believe God and are repentant.

Verse 28—And now, little children, abide (dwell) in Him, that when He appears, Jesus Christ appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming, at His appearance. Now, we, brethren, should not be ashamed because we have God's holy spirit. He was the Logos, the Word of God. He had God's mind. Well, we have access to that. We have access to that same Logos, that same Word, that same thinking.

Verse 29—If you know that He is righteous, that Jesus Christ is righteous (well, He is because He was the Word of God), you know that everyone who practices righteousness, practices the thinking of God, practices the Word of God, is born (begotten) of Him, is begotten of God the Father. So we, brethren, have been begotten. We are begotten sons of God and we practice righteousness. We practice the thinking of God. We practice the Word of God. We practice the Logos of God in our life. And we are begotten of God's holy spirit which enables or gives us the power to practice righteousness.

John 14:10. We're cutting into the story here where see that Philip has asked the question and Jesus Christ has answered him. Verse 10—Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? Because it's the Word of God. It's the Word made flesh. "Do you not believe that I (Jesus Christ) am in the Father?" It's the same mind; it's the mind of God. "And the Father," God the Father's thinking, "in Me?" It's the Word made flesh. The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority, or "I do not speak on my own," but the Father who dwells in Me does the works, because it's from the thinking of God. It's from the Word of God. It's from the Logos. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God," or "was unto God." It was God's thinking. It's all about Yahweh Elohim. It's the Father that dwelt in Jesus Christ that did the work. It was the thinking of God being revealed to mankind. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves, or the physical actions, or the miracles, or the evidence that had been provided. It's God that did it all. Jesus Christ couldn't do it, it was God the Father. So the evidence was, that had been revealed, that only God could do these miracles. Only God could do all these things because He is the Almighty God. "I do not speak on My own, but the Father who dwells in Me does the works."

Now, this spiritual principle applies to us, brethren. We, of and by ourselves, can do nothing... nothing. It's all done by God the Father. Any righteousness that may come out from us is God the Father doing it. It's Yahweh Elohim. It's the Almighty God. It's His righteousness. Because of and by ourselves there is no righteousness in us. We can believe, brethren, that we are in the Father, we're in unity with Him. So to be "in the Father," means we're at-one with God, we're in unity with His way of thinking, we're taking on righteousness. "And the Father is in us," by the power of God's holy spirit. And it's God's spirit that does righteousness. We can yield to it so that righteousness, God, can live His life in us, Jesus Christ can live His life in us, the Word in us out to the benefit of others. Of and by ourselves we are what we had read before, natural, carnal, we're filled with pride, with all these desires of the flesh. Well, Jesus Christ was different. He was the Word made flesh.

Revelation 1:1—The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants. So this is about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Word of God made flesh, that God has given to Him to show His servants. We are, brethren, servants of God. We are servants of Jesus Christ. We are the called-out ones. So this revealing, this disclosure of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants, which is us, to show us, brethren—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness, talking about John, who bore witness (or record or gave evidence) to the word of God, which is to provide evidence or proof. Now, this "word of God," which is the truth, which is the thinking of God. ...and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is the evidence of Jesus Christ, and to all things that he saw. He's going to write down all the things that have been provided to him to write down, which are spiritual in nature. Now, he would have known certain things, but a lot of this was written in a code (which is spiritual), that could not be "seen" unless God reveals it.

Blessed is he who reads, "Blessed is he who 'sees,'" and those who hear, "those who understand," the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near, the time of Jesus Christ's return. So this was going to be revealed on a spiritual level as we drew closer to the very return of Jesus Christ. Now, prior to that it would be hidden because it needed God's holy spirit to see it and only God could reveal its meaning.  So although people since 31 AD have had God's holy spirit, it does not mean that they "saw" or understood the book of Revelation. Because it was only going to be revealed according to God's will in a time, which is a time is near, which is the return of Jesus Christ. Now, we have been given the opportunity to "see" these things because we are near the return of Jesus Christ.

Verse 4—John, to the seven Churches which are in Asia: Grace (favor) to you and peace from Him (God the Father, Yahweh Elohim) who is and who was, He's always existed, and who is to come, through Jesus Christ, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne, before God the Father, and from Jesus Christ, the Anointed Messiah, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead. Now, these statements here should be encouraging to us, brethren. "Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead." He's the first to enter Elohim. Now, this is an amazing opportunity for us! He is "the firstborn from the dead." We have the same potential to be "born from the dead," from mankind! ...the ruler over the kings of the earth, because He is the Prince of the earth. He's going to be King of kings. To Him (Jesus Christ) who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, because He was the Passover sacrifice, and has made us, or is making us (which is about rulership and teachers), and is making us kings and priests to His God, to Jesus Christ's God, and Father, which is Yahweh Elohim, to Him (God the Father) be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Which is referring here (about kings and priests), is referring to the 144,000 who will be teachers and rulers in the Millennium, which is what we're celebrating here at this Feast.

Behold, He (Jesus Christ) is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, and they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. Now, we understand, brethren, that this is covering a time order, that in time every eye will see Jesus Christ. And it's talking about on a spiritual level. It's symbolic and it's talking about everyone who has sinned will "see" Jesus Christ on a spiritual level. It's not about seeing Jesus Christ return, it's about "seeing" Jesus Christ spiritually. That requires the power of God's holy spirit. Because we understand that to see spiritually requires the power of God's holy spirit living and dwelling in us so that God's Word is revealed to us. We can see God's Word on a spiritual level, and therefore, we can live by every word of God. We can fight against sin by using the Word of God, the thinking of God.

Verse 8—I am, talking about God the Father, the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, says the Eternal, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. So the Word of God is coming to this earth. The Word of God is coming to this earth through Jesus Christ, who was the Word made flesh.

Verse 9—I, John, both your brother and companion in tribulation, which is about spiritual battles, or, we're in tribulation, brethren, we're fighting against ourselves. We're always in battle, we're in tribulation because we battle against our pride and selfishness, our desires of the flesh, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island which is called Patmos for the Word of God, for the Logos of God, and for the witness (testimony) of Jesus Christ. Now we see John has been placed on the Isle of Patmos because of the Word of God, because of the thinking of God, because of the Logos, because of the truth. John was here because it was God's will and purpose for Him to be there. And He was there for the purpose of revealing more of the thinking of God, the Logos of God. He was going to be shown things which are from the thinking of God the Father, and Jesus Christ was going to reveal this thinking. And it's all on a spiritual level.

Verse 10—I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day, now, this is talking about in the future he's seeing something in a vision that has taken him to the very return of the Word of God, the return of Jesus Christ. ...and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a Trumpet, saying, I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, and, What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven Churches which are in Asia. ...Then I turned to see the voice that spoke to me. And having turned I saw seven golden lamp stands, and in the midst of the seven lamp stands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters. This is referring to the spiritual appearance of Jesus Christ. Christ is alive and walking in the Churches for the last 2,000-years. Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church. He is alive. He is in the Church, which means He is in us, brethren, His dwelling place. He lives in us because the Word of God lives and dwells in us and Jesus Christ is the Word of God. It's the same spirit. It's the spirit of Yahweh Elohim. Jesus Christ had the spirit of Yahweh Elohim. He had the thinking of God. Well, that same thinking, the Word of God, lives and dwells in His Church. Well, Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church and He has been in His Church. God's thinking is in His Church. Jesus Christ is in His Church.

Verse 16—He had in His right hand seven stars, which is talking about, as we have covered in previous sermon, it's talking about authority, it's talking about power. It's not as if the seven stars or the seven angels are actually in His right hand physically as far as we look at it on a physical level. It's talking about the authority He has over the angelic realm. He (Jesus Christ) had in His right hand, He had this authority and power, seven stars, which are seven angels, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. Now, let's look at verse 16 again. "He had in His right hand," which is all this authority, "seven stars," which is the seven angels. "Out of His mouth," the words that He spoke, "went a sharp two-edged sword."

Hold your place there, brethren, and turn to Hebrews 4:12—For the Word of God, which is talking about the Logos of God, the truth of God, is living, it's alive, it's powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of the life and spirit, and the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The Word of God, the Logos of God is alive! It is powerful, brethren! It's talking about God's holy spirit! "Is powerful!" It is powerful because it comes from God. It's active and effective, "and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of the life," because it's going into the thinking. God's spirit cuts into the thinking and it reveals something. It reveals the spirit of a matter. It reveals the intent of why we do what we do. It penetrates “to the division of the life and spirit." Now it's talking about the spirit of the law. We can understand the spirit of the law because of God's holy spirit, because of the Word of God, the Logos of God, and without it, without the Word of God, without the Logos of God, without God's holy spirit we cannot see spiritual intent. Absolutely impossible! Because it's the Word of God that does this! It's the Word of God that cuts into the spirit in man to reveal spiritual matters. It's God's holy spirit that does it. Well, God's Word, the Logos of God, the Word of God, the holy spirit cuts into man's thinking and it reveals our intent, the spirit of a matter, "into the joints and marrow, and is the discerner," it is the judge, it judges, we're able to judge ourselves because of this, "it's a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the inner thinking," intents of the heart. So it's God's holy spirit that does it. God's spirit reveals our selfishness. God's spirit reveals our attitudes. God's spirit reveals our nature to us. So it is all about God's holy spirit.

Verse 13—And there is no creature, there is no part of the creation, hidden from God's sight, but all things, that is everything, every thought, every word, everything is naked, in other words, it's bare, it's open to the eyes, to what God sees and understands, He knows, to Him, so "it's open to the eyes of Him," to whom we must give an account. Well, who is it we're going to give an account to? We're going to give an account to the Word of God. We're going to give an account to the Logos of God, to the thinking of God through Jesus Christ. We cannot hide anything from God the Father. We cannot hide anything from Jesus Christ.

Back to Revelation 1:16—He had in His right hand seven stars, which is talking about the authority He has over the angelic realm, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, which is the Word of God, the Logos of God, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him (Jesus Christ), I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. He represents God. He is the beginning and the end of God's plan. He is the beginning and the end of God's plan. Now, when it's talking about, "and He (Jesus Christ) laid His right hand on me," because He has this authority. He has this power. He has been given all authority and all power from God the Father. "Do not be afraid; I am the beginning," I'm the beginning of God's thinking. I am the plan of God. I am the Word of God, "and the last." "God's plan finishes with Me." Because God the Father has given all authority and power to Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ will hand back all of the creation that is in Elohim when it is all complete, when God's plan is complete (to the plan we know today, as much as we do know), it says in scripture that all things will be handed back to Him who had created it. The Word of God. The thinking of God. The Logos of God. It all came from God's mind. Well, at some point in time it will all be passed back to God the Father and we enter a new phase of God's plan... a new phase of God's plan. And that will be enormously exciting because we will be spirit in Elohim.

Verse 18— I am He who lives, "I am He who was made alive spiritually," and was dead, "I was dead physically. I died." Christ was resurrected by God the Father, and behold, I am alive forevermore. This is what we seek, brethren. We seek life everlasting in Elohim. Amen. I have the keys of the grave and death. Write these things which you have seen, and things which are, and things which will take place after this. Now, this is referring to what is to come in the future, which is about prophecy. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, "which I have authority and power over," and the seven golden lamp stands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven Churches, and the seven lamp stands which you saw are the seven Churches. We understand, brethren, that Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, that Jesus Christ represents God the Father. We understand that Jesus Christ was the Word made flesh. We know that, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was unto God," it was God's thinking. Everything, everything spiritual, everything physical has come from the Word of God, from the thinking of God.

We'll end this sermon here, brethren, and we hope that you enjoy the rest of the Feast.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1