Behold! Sons of God!

In the first verse of chapter 2, John begins, “My little children.” When you understand this book, you know this is God the Father speaking! John is trying to get all of God’s people to understand their Father!

John’s goal was to bring all of God’s people into the bosom of the Father. He, like Christ, was declaring the Father. His focus was on the message, not Christ the messenger. John had a deep understanding of God’s Family and the Father who is the Head of that Family.

The gospel is the good news about the coming Kingdom, or Family, of God. This is the message that Satan is trying to blur and destroy.

We are little children! We know nothing apart from God. What is it worth for God to call us “my little children”? God is a Father to all those called today. We must respond by acting like God’s little children. That is the whole message of this book. The rebels must get back to understanding and obeying the Father.

John later referred to these same people not as “my little children,” but as “little children” (see verses 12, 18). Perhaps they were no longer acting like God’s children—they were rebelling and getting away from God. These are times of grave danger, which is why John refers to the last hour in this chapter. He is using this affectionate term, “little children,” yet at the same time he is calling them liars! John is trying to get God’s Family to see how they are loved and how they are rebelling! They are wandering off, not looking to their Father.

Satan is always trying to blot out and destroy the Father. If you lose the Father, you lose the Family, the gospel—everything!

How can you make a physical family strong? Only by structuring it the way God designed it, with a father at the head. If the father does his job and the mother fulfills her godly role, that family will be happy and stable. When ministers leave the pcg, in most cases they simply were not the head of their physical families as they should have been. They lost sight of God the Father. Upside-down families will not work! Family will only work if the father leads. The world does not like this message because it has too many weak and upside-down families today.

Love the Brethren

“But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him” (1 John 2:5). To have the love that surpasses all understanding, we must let God’s Word abide in us. As we keep His Word, the love of God is perfected.

“He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked” (verse 6). John keeps getting personal. “He that saith” refers to an individual saying that God abides in him. If you say this, you had better be living it! God is judging His firstfruits today (1 Peter 4:17). We will be born into God’s Family only if God’s Word abides in us.

Think about this. Ought means bound by duty. We are indebted to walk as Christ walked. If you say Christ abides in you, you are bound to live as Christ lived! That is a phenomenal standard. If you say you obey God’s law, Christ must live in you, or you are a liar!

We are to “walk, even as he walked.” You need to ponder that statement until it is indelibly etched into your mind. And so do I. It is not good enough to keep nine out of the Ten Commandments. That will put us into the lake of fire. James said if we break one commandment, we are guilty of breaking them all (James 2:10). Christ kept all of the commandments perfectly. That must be our goal—perfection.

Christ continues to live today in His very elect. He is coming in the flesh. The true light now shines (1 John 2:7-8).

“He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes” (verses 9-11). John is talking about our relationships inside God’s Church. We are God’s Family. We must love God and His Family above all else. That all falls in the category of love toward God (Matthew 22:37).

How do we show God that we love Him? It has a lot to do with human relations. Christ said, “… Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). We must love Christ’s Church—God’s Family! The way you love them is the way you love Christ and the Father. Words mean nothing if they are not followed by deeds—if you say you’re in the light, that must be reflected in your love for the brethren.

If we don’t work out our problems with each other, we are not abiding in light! There is something wrong if we can’t get along! We must get to the cause to solve our human problems. If we love Christ, we will love each other. If we don’t love each other, we don’t love Christ!

“He that saith he is in the light.” Again God inspires us to make all this personal and individual. Our words are worthless if our deeds don’t unify us. It’s not what we say that counts, but what we do.

The Westcott Commentary states, “There is, as far as it appears, no case where a fellow man, as man [in the world], is called ‘a brother …’” (emphasis mine). That means we are God’s Family and must live as God and the Son have lived for all eternity—in loving unity.

This goes far beyond physical family in this world. In the Church family, we can measure our love for God by our fruits.

John was prophesying that we would have rebels in God’s Church continually talking about love in this last hour. And at the same time there would be different “branches,” rebelling against God’s Family unity. They are not in God’s light.

It’s about how you walk, not talk. The Laodiceans talk about love as they rebel. They have lost their vision of God’s Family, which must produce the strongest kind of unity and love. It is God’s love that binds us together as it does the Father and Son.

We must show the world an example of how to walk in the light—something this world has never seen, except in God’s very elect. Our words will have little or no effect if we fail to teach by example.

“I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake” (1 John 2:12). “For His name’s sake” means that without Christ’s sacrifice, none of this is possible. Again, “little children” indicates John was talking to those who were falling away, in most cases. He no longer calls them “my little children.” He says that those who walk in the light and love their brethren have their sins forgiven. That is how they can get back to being called “my little children.”

In verse 13, John talks to those who “have known the Father.” They no longer know Him! What have you lost if you have known the Father? These people are losing their eternal lives! Verse 14 discusses people who have God’s truth abiding in them, and “have overcome [conquered] the wicked one.” There are many Laodiceans who have God’s truth to some degree but are no longer conquering the devil!

A battle is raging between God’s people and the devil—and we have to conquer! If you know God, you will conquer. If you don’t know God, you will be conquered. Families will fall apart. Problems will fester between people. John is talking about human relations in the Church!

If we keep God’s law of love, we will solve those problems.

Realize, God must give us His love, or we won’t have it. We can’t just talk about love and think somehow we will have it. God must give it, and He will only do so if we are obedient to Him.

How often John kept driving home the law of love. The world is passing away forever. Don’t become tempted by the evil world in this last hour (verses 17-18).

Sons of God

1 John 3 is one of the most profound chapters in the Bible. You cannot understand it without deeply studying it! That really applies to all of John’s epistles. A routine study will never enable you to comprehend his immeasurable depth! You must have a plan and strategy to truly master these profound epistles.

“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” (1 John 3:1). Behold! Take note! John says. What manner of love is it, that human beings—who are nothing but clay, who are even called worms in the Bible—would be called sons by God the Father? Behold, this is the love of all loves! What kind of love does it take for the great God to want to give us eternal life in His Family? Why would this magnificent Being allow you to talk with Him every day and call Him Father? This is something to behold! What a Father we have! We did nothing to deserve that.

The great sadness is, when you say, Behold! Look at this vision, it means nothing to most of God’s people today! Even God’s very elect don’t comprehend this deeply enough! This is the truth of all truths! Behold—understand! John was pleading for their submissive attention.

What love the Father has—the ultimate love. It is exceedingly difficult to comprehend, even with tremendous effort! We must reach, grasp and dig, and ask God for all He will give to help us understand!

John loved God’s people, calling them “beloved.” “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” (verse 2). We are not only sons of God in embryo. When Christ returns, we will be Gods—born into the Family of God—with godly brilliance! This is difficult to grasp. In fact, this truth is so awesome, the world will not believe it and labels it blasphemy! What about us? Do we believe with all our hearts that we really will be Gods in a few years—born into the Family of God?

Behold! The omnipotent, supreme God of the universe makes it possible for us to call Him Father! Because we are now His sons. This truth transcends all others. It should leave us thunderstruck!

If we get ho-hum about this truth, we are becoming spiritually brain-dead. This is our greatest challenge—to understand how indescribably wonderful our calling is. How deep and unparalleled God’s love is.

This world is so deceived that it didn’t even recognize God in the flesh, Christ, when He came to this Earth. Then it killed Him. And now, when our potential is explained to them, many people call it blasphemy!

Vision, Then Law

What does it mean to deeply understand our God Family future? How does that affect us today? “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he [God the Father] is pure” (1 John 3:3). Think about that! If you truly have the hope of what John discussed in the first two verses, you will busy yourself in seeking Father-level purity!

Is it strange that God wants us to be as pure as He is? Don’t parents want their children to follow their righteous example?

The first verses of this chapter are so inspiring! And then John comes right back to the law. “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” (verse 4). If we are going to be born into God’s Family, we must structure our lives according to God’s law. Just like children, we need direction.

This vision is what the Laodiceans lost first of all. If you don’t have this hope, you won’t purify yourself. “[E]very man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself ….” Again, we see how John individualizes this hope—each person must have this vital hope, or he will not conquer the devil, the world and himself. Without this hope, he will fall away from God.

Our goal is to be pure “even as he is pure.” We are to become pure as our Father is pure—perfectly pure. This must be our most exalted goal.

You can’t go to a Bible commentary to get the meaning of these verses. You can’t even go to most of God’s people to get this understanding! God is revealing His hope only to His very elect today. You must go to God with intensive prayer to comprehend where God is working now. We must use the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Then we can live with this stupendous hope, and no obstacle or trial will deter us.

This terrifying world is falling apart. Chaos reigns. It’s about to explode into a nuclear holocaust. But in the midst of this extreme turmoil and mass confusion, God’s little flock lives in peace and harmony. How? By keeping God’s law.

Notice the way this truth is presented in these few verses. First God gives us this transcendent goal. Then He shows us how to achieve it. We must keep God’s law and follow the government that implements it.

Carnally, we have a negative view of God’s law of love. Our perception of this concept is flawed when we emphasize the law above the hope and fail to grasp the awesome vision!

We must be like Jeremiah and say, O how I love God’s law (Psalm 119:97). We can say that only after we see the hope-filled vision and then lawfully strive to achieve it.

The world and God’s own Laodiceans have a false love. John was describing God’s love in the first century because God’s own Church was being deceived into a false love! They talked of love continually, as they rebelled against God’s law of love. The Laodiceans have the same problem today, which involves far more people.

The universe functions properly because it is subject to law. And so must mankind be. But the carnal mind hates God’s law (Romans 8:7). Through God’s Holy Spirit, we capture this vision and then want desperately to keep God’s law. That is how we build God’s character.

The vision must come first. Often parents try to hammer home God’s law and fail to teach this vision (remember that God’s Holy Spirit does work with our youth). Then young people get discouraged and want to quit. Or if they see their parents lead a life with little or no hope, they get depressed. The parents must set them an example of a hope-filled life. That means putting God’s Family ahead of the physical family. The physical family was designed as a God-plane relationship to help us qualify for God’s Family.

How profound this subject is!

We are God’s “beloved.” John worked so hard to help us all see the depth of God’s love for us. You are greatly loved by God. We are called sons of God today and “we shall be like Him.” We are about to become like the God of Revelation 1!

What love! What hope! What joy!

God is re-creating Himself. The law is the way He thinks. Therefore, we must keep that law. So in the midst of all the craziness in the world, there is a law-keeping little flock that believes in God’s law and government—people who are thrilled to be called the sons of God.

If you see a church or a family bogging down, this is where to look for the source of the problem. But you can’t hammer at the law with people who lack vision. John taught the God family vision first! Behold! What manner of love! he said. He inspired people with the vision, and then said, If this is what you want, you must keep the law!

Joe Tkach Jr. wrote a book called Transformed by Truth. He wrote about how he rejected Herbert W. Armstrong’s writings. He stated that under Mr. Armstrong he was living in darkness, as if in a cave, but that he is now in the light. Like a dog returning to its vomit, he has gone back into the blackest kind of darkness and calls it light. And that blackness is far worse than what he knew before God called him. He has totally lost this vision about being born into God’s Family.

Early in this rebellion, Mr. Tkach rejected God’s law of love. Many of these so-called scholars have reasoned themselves into the “blackness of darkness forever”—eternal death—unless they repent! They had this God-level hope; now they have no light—only a black, black ending. No tragedy is even close to being so ghastly!

Turning Many From Lawlessness

“And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 2:4). Mr. Armstrong was a type of Levi (for an explanation, request our free book Malachi’s Message). God made a covenant with Levi, charging him to preach the gospel to the world in this end time. The rest of us were called to support Levi.

“My covenant was with him of life and peace …” (verse 5). There is the vision. Mr. Armstrong didn’t have a discouraging message. He had the message of 1 John 3:1-3! He offered real, abundant living and peace in his teaching.

Malachi 2:5 continues, “… and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.” Fear is mentioned three times, right after that colossal vision. Mr. Armstrong had a living fear of violating God’s law and government. And because of that fear, God poured the deepest vision into his mind! That is the only way to receive life and peace from God. We must be “little children”—childlike and submissive to God.

“The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity [lawfulness], and did turn many away from iniquity [lawlessness]” (verse 6). God had a high opinion of this man! Why? Because he led a life of righteousness—of keeping God’s law—and he turned many away from breaking His law.

The bottom line of why God was so pleased with him gets down to law. That is at the root of what it means to do God’s Work: It means turning people from lawlessness. But it can’t be done without God’s majestic Family vision. How many are you turning to righteousness? How much are you supporting God’s Work, which turns people to righteousness? God is judging us by these fruits.

Why would the translators use words like equity and iniquity in this verse—obscuring the meaning of law? Because of their bias against and hostility toward God’s law! They have no vision. The creation was made subject to vanity. Human nature hates God’s law because it lacks God’s Holy Spirit and John’s vision of hope. Our work must warn this world and also turn people away from lawlessness.

There was a man in this end time who turned many people away from “iniquity,” or lawlessness. Evil teaching against God’s law was not found in his mouth. “He walked with me [God] in peace and equity”—lawfulness. He kept God’s law of love and taught it to many.

When Theodore Roosevelt led his Rough Riders up San Juan Hill in Cuba, he didn’t say “Charge” and then follow his men. He said, Follow me. This is how they drove the Spaniards out. Likewise, Mr. Armstrong “walked with God” and set the example. He led the charge for all of us and lived what he taught. He set us the best example in this end time. He said, Follow me as I follow Christ.

The Father commissioned Christ to lead His Family of spiritual soldiers. Jesus was tried and tested as no man ever was. Still, He lived a perfect, sinless life. Christ set the example for all of us. He led the charge and said, Follow me.

Levi was judged righteous because he “turned many” away from lawlessness. This is the standard by which God judges us. Levi filled them with God’s hope. This happened in the context of proclaiming the gospel around the world.

We must know who this man was! This is end-time prophecy. I know Mr. Armstrong was the man who turned many from lawlessness. That is what God says, regardless of what evil men say.

Today, the Laodiceans have lost God’s vision, which brings peace. “But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts” (verse 8). God identifies the root of the Laodicean problem: They are rejecting the law that God used Levi to establish. Rather than turning people from lawlessness, they cause them to stumble at that law.

If we don’t understand that law—if we don’t seek it at Levi’s mouth (verse 7)—then we don’t have the vision of 1 John 3! We all must be subject to that law. Some criticize the pcg for referring to Mr. Armstrong too much. But he restored all things! God instructs us to seek the law at his mouth! That means we must heed Mr. Armstrong’s writings. We are only trying to put him on the level that God does.

Righteous As He Is Righteous

“And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin” (1 John 3:5). Christ was born as a child, and grew, and then died for our sins—the most transcendent sacrifice ever made. And think: The crucifixion wasn’t the only difficult part; consider the suffering He endured throughout His sinless life. “In him is no sin.” That is eternal character—He has never sinned! That is the example we are to follow. We need to get used to that way of life because that is how we will be living throughout eternity! We are not being asked to do anything God has not already done.

“He [Christ] was manifested.” What does that mean? It means that God became flesh to take away our sins. It takes the sacrifice of God in the flesh to pay for our transgression of the law.

“Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him” (verse 6). Where do you abide, or live? God wants us to live in Him! Of course, we stumble from time to time, but this is where we should live. Sin is foreign to God. If we live in sin, we don’t know God.

“Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he [Christ] is righteous” (verse 7). Merely talking about righteousness is worth nothing. It’s not an occasional righteous act—it’s our way of life. Not self-righteousness but being righteous even as God is righteous! God’s righteousness in us! What a standard to live up to! That is our calling! I guarantee, we do not fully understand the depth of that statement in verse 7!

You can read John’s writings about law, love and righteousness and believe you understand them. But if we aren’t bursting with excitement over this truth, we just don’t get it!

How can God’s people ever be divided if we are righteous as Christ is? Or if we abide in Christ? God and the Word were never divided throughout eternity. If we are righteous “even as he is righteous,” we will be unified!

This is how the whole world will be united in peace and joy. What a vision for this dangerously divided world!

We must become righteous “even as he is righteous” and “pure as he is pure.” We must keep the law to achieve such deep righteousness.

The expression “deceive you” is better translated “lead you astray.” That means you are in dreadful danger of losing what is discussed in the first three verses of 1 John 3!

“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (verse 8). This is what we should be doing in our lives and in our work today—helping Christ destroy the works of the devil. That is what Christ did through us in the court case.

Sin is the way of the devil. John often mentions the devil, who should be vividly real to all of us. Christ came to destroy the devil’s works.

Notice how John traces righteousness and sin to their origins. Then we can see the whole picture. We are a reflection of our father—either God or the devil. God makes us understand who our real Father is!

The Sin of Cain

“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother” (1 John 3:9‑10). Our lives reveal whether we are sons of God or sons of the devil. “[B]y their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). If we love our brother as God loves him, we are of God. We must work to unify the God Family. For example, we should practice godly hospitality. If we don’t love our brother according to God’s law, we are reflecting Satan’s evil.

We must love being with God’s people, whom Christ died for. And we must love our worldly neighbors by proclaiming this message of love to them through God’s mighty Work.

“For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous” (1 John 3:11-12). Why would John discuss one of the most violent crimes in the Bible—Cain killing Abel? Because God is trying to give us a picture of what it is like when we don’t love our spiritual brethren! Do you realize how God sees it when we don’t love each other? Think about the heinous murder of Abel! This is directed to God’s own people! This is the language of the last hour! Look at your sin spiritually, as God sees it! We must grow in this precious love of God!

Human relations must always be rooted in the law of love. Spiritually, are you acting like Christ, or are you acting like Cain?

Consider how God’s Laodicean churches treated God’s very elect in the court case. Spiritually, if you hate your brother, you are guilty of murder. Most of God’s own people are committing odious murder. They are helping to destroy the faith of God’s people. And it’s a lot worse than what Cain did. He only committed physical murder. But John is discussing eternal life and eternal death!

This is last hour language. We must label murder what it is. What we are discussing has eternal consequences.

Cain “slew his brother.” That is what Laodiceans are in the process of doing—slaying spiritual brothers.

How do we hate our brethren? By not expressing God’s love! If we have God’s love, we lay down our lives for them as Christ did for us. That means a lot of hard, sacrificing work.

We can also be guilty of blood on another level. “So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand” (Ezekiel 33:7-8). If we don’t proclaim God’s warning message of love, we are guilty of the blood of Israel and the world! And most of God’s own people are not supporting the Ezekiel watchman message.

Love That Will Change the World

God reveals His message today for a vital purpose. He wants that message “to reach the largest audience possible.” If we fail, we are guilty of Cain’s murderous sin.

We were called today to do God’s Work. If we fail, we will lose our eternal headquarters position. And those who repent in the Great Tribulation will be in God’s Kingdom, but not working at God’s headquarters for all eternity. (For a biblical explanation of this truth, be sure to read Malachi’s Message.) We must do God’s Work or pay an eternal penalty.

“Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death” (1 John 3:13-14). This is the difference between life and death. When we have God’s love in us, we experience real life—just the way it will be in the World Tomorrow. Loving our brothers and sisters is a sign of eternal life! It shows that we have life and that we love God.

John is discussing life and death. Referring to the phrase “from death unto life,” the Westcott Commentary states, “The depth of the expression is lost both in Latin and English.” It should read, “The death which is truly death” and “the life which is truly life.” God’s love flowing into our minds through the Holy Spirit is truly life—the sign of eternal life! Anything else is “truly death.” Without God’s love, we are dead and will die for all eternity unless we change that condition.

The majority of God’s own people are dying spiritually (2 Thessalonians 2:10). How terribly painful that is to God.

There are times when I see wonderful examples of love demonstrated in God’s people. They will go to amazing lengths in sacrifice for God’s Work and for others. Those examples move me deeply. And I’m sure even God the Father sheds a few tears of joy when He sees those examples. To see people changing from evil, sinning human beings—who drink iniquity like water—into beautiful beings of godly love and character is profoundly inspiring to God!

Empty words of love are so cheap. Abundant deeds of love are so precious.

“Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:15-16). If we have the Holy Spirit and don’t use it, then God takes that talent and gives it to another. The Holy Spirit in us is eternal. If we use it, we become eternal. We have eternal life residing in us. “[T]his is life eternal …” (John 17:3).

When I understand the depth of what John is talking about, I feel rather naked, spiritually. It should affect all of us that way. We don’t measure up. We should be inspired to grow more, and, at the same time, we can see how to solve the problems of this world. There is nothing more beautiful than the love of God! When people take on the attitude John is discussing, this world will become more beautiful and inspiring than we can even imagine.

Bold Toward God

“Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God” (1 John 3:21). If our heart isn’t condemning us because of sin, we will be bold toward God—we will have unwavering, fearless and unhesitating confidence, or faith, in Him. We must avoid sin to have that kind of boldness.

Someone who is bold toward God will have a tremendous impact on this world! Just look at Christ. If our people can develop boldness toward God, we will have no trouble getting this Work done. Boldness is the key to empowering this Work. How bold are you?

Paul wrote his most inspiring letter from prison at the end of his life (2 Timothy). John wrote the greatest book of prophecy in the Bible—Revelation—while imprisoned on Patmos. These men were bold. How do you respond to trials? Do you use them to become more bold toward God? Does your example in trial and testing inspire others?

“And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight” (1 John 3:22). Imagine receiving anything you asked of God! That requires more than just obeying God out of duty. John is talking about an attitude of wanting to do anything possible to please your Father! That attitude gets your prayers answered! That makes you bold. Of course, you’ll be asking for the things that please God.

How many of God’s people fail to comprehend this? Of course God is only going to give us what is good for us. But still, we urgently need to understand what God is promising His obedient people. God does say, “[W]hatsoever we ask we receive of him”!

We should not put limits on what we could be given if we are obedient and ask God in a right attitude. This is an earthshaking promise from God, and we should not take it lightly. This is a statement from the Creator of everything!

That is the formula for success that Christ followed. Jesus said, “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29). Would a father leave a child alone who had such an attitude? No—he would smash a battalion of soldiers to save that son! Take on that attitude, and your heavenly Father will intervene in your life and make things happen for you! With that attitude, we become bold toward God, and the doors begin to swing open.

“And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us” (1 John 3:23-24). If we keep the spiritual law, God lives in us. It takes the Spirit of God to keep the Ten Commandments. Then we know God is backing and supporting us. Then our boldness and success grow mightily. By overcoming the sinful way of life, we become more than conquerors. We are getting ready to be born into the very Family of God!

Continue Reading: Chapter 8: The Elder