Title: To Do God's Will
Contents
Why did God send Jesus, the only begotten Son, to be sinned in the likeness of the flesh?
It is to fulfill the requirements of the law for those who want to live after the Spirit, not after the lusts of the flesh.
▣ The law requires that all human beings are sinners and must be judged by God.
However, God, who is rich in mercy, has given life to mankind, who were waiting for the judgment of death under the law, because through His Son, he was punished for sin, which is the requirement of the law.
Therefore, God not only gives the right to become children of God to those who have received the Son, but He is not stingy with those who call on His name.
Jesus is the unchanging truth and promise of God to the world, and He is the God who came into the world.
▣ Therefore, the words that Jesus spoke in the world while he was alive are the words and commands of God unto eternal life
The grace that Jesus bestowed on the world was eternal life, the life of God.
So, all people can not only approach God through Jesus, but also meet God through worship and possess the blessings God has given to the world through prayer.
▣ In Matthew 13:47, Jesus said, “He is like a net that a fisherman casts in the sea to catch fish, like a net in heaven that he casts into the world.” “Jesus who came into the world” obeyed God’s will He said it is the “way” of those who want to go.
Before God sent His Son into the world, He was looking for people who would discover their sins and repent through the Law. Now, He is looking for those who want to know God's love and live according to God's will through His Son.
In the world, the devil who opposes God has the power of death and is prowling around like a roaring lion, hunting those who want to obey God in gratitude for the grace of Jesus’ redemption.
The world is like a hunting ground for the devil.
The world that coexists with the devil is always turbid, insecure, and full of spiritual thirst and thirst, preventing people from enjoying true peace.
▣ How to accomplish God's will in this world and to win spiritually and physically?
There is no other way but to strengthen your faith in the Lord and trust in God without being double-minded.
The word “world” appears twenty-three times in 1 John, which we have adopted as our text today.
▣ Not only is the world always standing in opposition to God,
It is expressed as an antagonistic relationship with us Christians.
The world always hates the saints and says that the saints must fight and overcome this world.
} Then, we need to properly understand the exact meaning of the word “world” in 1 John so that we can properly understand the text we read today.
The word “world” here does not mean only the visible world, such as mountains or seas.
Nor does it mean money or other wealth, and it is not a word that only refers to what we see and the material world we possess.
} Also, what does “the world” refer to in the text?
We are not talking about the physical life we eat, drink, and wear in this world.
In Matthew 19:29, Jesus said, “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive many times more, and will inherit eternal life.” However, in this verse, the word world is sometimes interpreted to mean a relationship with family members. So, if you do not want to love the world, you must abandon your parents, your wife, and your children.
There are those who argue that we shouldn't even get married at all.
} However, what the Bible calls “the world” is not just about physical life,
It means living according to one's own will without acknowledging God, ignoring God, and leaving God. A life where you do what you want in the world according to your own instincts and desires without thinking that there is a God at all is the "world". ” is the meaning of the word.
▶ If you encounter something and handle it according to my desires without thinking of God's will, then you are people who love the “world”.
▶ If you are saying and thinking about something, it is not the thoughts and words that follow God's will, but the words that follow my feelings and thoughts, then you are people who love the “world”.
} Verse 16 of the main text explains the characteristics of this “world” well.
The world- They say that the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, that is, departing from God and fulfilling the lust of the flesh, are we to do God's will without following the world?
1. We must overcome the lusts of the flesh.
▣ What is the lust of the flesh? It means "strong desire, desperately longing".
It is natural for us to dream, want and wish for something in life.
Rather, if you do not have such a heart, that is, hope, you are the same as living but dead.
That is why God also says in Proverbs 29:18, “A people without a vision walks in vain.” That's what you said.
The problem, however, is that if your desires become greed, your dreams become greed, and you become too engrossed in and obsessive about your dreams to make them come true, it becomes “lust”.
Rather than fulfilling the duty of a child of God to achieve one's own purpose, one's own desires come first, and not prioritizing the kingdom of God and its righteousness for one's own purpose is the body trying to fulfill its lusts. .
For example, in Mark 10:37, the mother of James and John asks Jesus for two sons.
▣ The lusts of the flesh are sensual lust and greed, which means appetite, greed (water, volume), sexual desire, etc.
It is natural for a person to eat when he is hungry, but the problem is that if he is too obsessed with eating, it becomes lust.
▣ These days, there are experts in eating, too. Wine tasters (aka wine sommeliers) who taste the wine and guess the production region and year of production If they match the characteristics of the wine, many people say that it is great, but why? There is a label on the bottle, but I don't know.
When the devil tempts people to fulfill the lusts of the flesh, and the Spirit of God tempts us to fulfill the lusts of the soul, I hope that all of us will focus our hearts on the desires of the soul.
In Romans 7:24, Paul says, “O wretched man I am.” While confessing that the lusts of the body and the lusts of the soul are fighting, how do you live by chasing after the lusts of the soul?
This is what it means to give thanks to God in Christ Jesus (a life of contentment).
2. How to do God's will? You must overcome the lust of the eyes.
What is the lust of the eyes? Literally, it means being greedy for what you see.
One of the trickiest things about human eyes is that we used to watch a 24-inch TV in our house and changed it to a 32-inch a few years ago. I started to feel that the TV was too small.
Sometimes when I go to a place that sells electronics, I watch a big TV and I'm not satisfied with what I have.
However, if this lust is excessive, it becomes the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes.
▣ One should live according to one's own fraction, and if you are greedy for everything you like, that is the lust of the eyes.
Humans are environmental animals, so even saints cannot ignore culture and environment at all.
A big house, a nice car, good clothes, good food, etc. are visible, but in order to fulfill God's will, above all, we need to have faith to be grateful for what we have and be self-sufficient to follow God's will as a saint Believe that you can live a full life.
▣ It is also the lust of the eyes when we look at someone and have a heart of contempt and disrespect in our hearts.
To have a subtly superior feeling while looking at someone who is inferior to me, to have a subtly proud heart saying, “Are you wearing Namdaemun clothes again?” Remembering that all these are the lusts of the eyes, and thanking God for what you have. I hope you live a life that fulfills your purpose.
3. How to do God's will? You shouldn't be proud of your life.
The pride of this life is, in a word, boasting of oneself, of one's household, of one's children, and of one's possessions.
If you look at the things that people often boast about, we Koreans have been proud of our family since ancient times.
When we see each other, we see that when we meet, we dig up genealogies and then exalt each other as great. There were many hardships as a result of their accidents.
Even now, how many people who have gained political power dedicate themselves and sacrifice themselves for the real people, and how many people think about the interests of the people rather than their own?
Rather than boasting about our ancestors and boasting about our families, we should brag about this, saying, “I am a child of God, God is our Father, and Jesus is our Savior.”
2 Corinthians 10:17- “He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.”
Psalm 105:3- “Be proud of his name; let the heart of everyone who seeks the Lord rejoice.”
▣ It is said that the things that Koreans are proud of, academic background, house size, the car they drive, the work husband and wife do, and the pride of their children come first.
▣ In particular, it is said that the pride that Korean mothers give priority to is boasting about their children.
No one knows how God will run our children, because children go on with their lives even after we die, but what is certain is that God does not let our children beg and be the head and not the tail, that they are above and not like this, Please be proud that you give and give grace. (1 Corinthians 10:12- He who thinks he is standing be careful lest he fall.)
What are we living for now, and what are our priorities?
If you are living for the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, I pray that you will receive and enjoy the various blessings that the Triune God gives you by changing the direction of your life right now and living according to God's will.