{"id":13804,"date":"2023-03-30T14:50:57","date_gmt":"2023-03-30T14:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pjhmail.wordpress.com\/?p=13804"},"modified":"2023-03-30T14:50:57","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T14:50:57","slug":"by-this-comment-gary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/13804\/by-this-comment-gary\/","title":{"rendered":"“By This” Comment: Gary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi John,<\/span><\/p>\n

I love these kinds of studies, when you find a phrase or a topic and you follow the path through… there is always more light on something when you’re done.\u00a0 The phrase, “by this” seems to have a lot to do with obedience.\u00a0 Thanks for sharing this.<\/span><\/p>\n

I used to sit with my coffee in the morning and work bible things out like this.\u00a0 One morning in particular, I remember reading the Old Testament prophets like Habakkuk and Hosea, etc., and I saw the similarity among what the Old Testament prophets were condemning, and what the current generation of Christianity’s ministers were preaching.\u00a0 Something inside rang a bell – and I saw that Christianity’s ministers (and God’s people under them) were so confused. We were doing just what the prophets said NOT to do.\u00a0 What hope was there?\u00a0 I cocked my head back, and looked up at the ceiling, and with all my heart I said, “Oh God, there has to be truth out there somewhere.\u00a0 Jesus, send me truth!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A few weeks later I had your tracts in my hand.*\u00a0 Who knew?!\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n

Praise the Lord!<\/span><\/p>\n

Gary<\/span><\/p>\n

*\u00a0 https:\/\/goingtojesus.com\/gtj_tracts.html<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

================================<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBy This\u201d<\/strong> in 1John<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

When reading through John\u2019s first epistle, I was intrigued by a phrase repeatedly used by John.\u00a0\u00a0It was, \u201cby this<\/strong>, we know\u201d, or \u201cby this<\/strong>,\u201d such-and-such is known.\u00a0\u00a0So, I made a list of the twelve times John said we know something \u201cby this<\/strong>\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Here they are:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Who Knows God?<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    1John 2:3.\u00a0By this,<\/strong>\u00a0we know that we have come to know him: if we keep his commandments.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

    1John 2:4\u20135. He who says, \u201cI know him,\u201d and does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,\u00a0but whoever keeps his word, the love of God truly is perfected in him.\u00a0\u00a0By this,<\/strong>\u00a0we know that we are in him.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

    Lesson:\u00a0Every person who knows God obeys Him.<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    =======<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Who Loves God and His Children?<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      1John 5:2.\u00a0By this,<\/strong>\u00a0we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

      1John 3:10.\u00a0By this,<\/strong>\u00a0the children of God and the children of the Accuser are distinguished: everyone who is not doing righteousness is not of God, as well as the one who does not love his brother.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

      Lesson:\u00a0Every person who loves God and His children obeys Him<\/em>.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

      =======<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Who Showed Us What Love Is?<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        1John 4:9.\u00a0By this<\/strong>\u00a0was the love of God made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, that we might live through him.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

        1John 3:16.\u00a0By this,<\/strong>\u00a0we have come to know love, in that he laid down his life for us; and so, we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

        Lesson:\u00a0Jesus showed us what love is by suffering and dying for us.<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

        Paul explained this when he wrote, \u201cRarely will someone die for a righteous man, though for a good man, one might possibly bring himself to die, but God commends to us His kind of love, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us\u201d (Rom. 5:7\u20138).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

        =======<\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. How Do We know We Love People as Christ Loved Us?<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          1John 3:18\u201319. My children, let us not love in word or with the tongue, but in deed and in truth.\u00a0\u00a0And\u00a0by this,<\/strong>\u00a0we know that we are of the truth, and we will assure our hearts before Him.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

          1John 4:16b\u201317a. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.\u00a0\u00a0By this,<\/strong>\u00a0love has been perfected among us.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

          Lesson:\u00a0We love as Christ loves when we put love into practice.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

          Jesus told his disciples, \u201cI am giving\u00a0you a new commandment, that\u00a0you love one another; just as I have loved\u00a0you, so\u00a0you also must love one another\u201d (Jn. 13:34\u201335).\u00a0\u00a0But they could not obey that commandment until the kind of love Jesus was given to them at Pentecost, as Paul said, \u201cThe love of God is poured out within our hearts by the holy Spirit which is given to us\u201d (Rom. 5:5).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

          =======<\/span><\/p>\n

            \n
          1. How Are We Perfected in the Love of God?<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            1John 4:16b\u201317a. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.\u00a0\u00a0By this,<\/strong>\u00a0love has been perfected among us.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

            Lesson:\u00a0We are perfected in God\u2019s love by abiding in it.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

            =======<\/span><\/p>\n

              \n
            1. How Do We know that Christ Is Still Living in Us, and We in Him?<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              1John 4:12b\u201313. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u00a0By this,<\/strong><\/em><\/span>\u00a0we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

              1John 3:24b.<\/em><\/span>\u00a0By this,<\/strong><\/em><\/span>\u00a0we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit that He gave us.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

              Lesson:\u00a0The Spirit tells us if we are walking in love and if God is living in us.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

              Paul told the saints at Philippi that if they were in any way failing to walk in the perfect way of Christ, then God (through the Spirit) would let them know (Phil. 3:15).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

              =======<\/span><\/p>\n

                \n
              1. How Do We know That We Have Received the Spirit of God?<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                1John 4:2.<\/em><\/span>\u00a0By this,<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>the Spirit of God is known: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ when he has come into a person is of God.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                Lesson:\u00a0The Spirit of God confesses Christ every time he enters into someone\u2019s heart.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

                Jesus described this experience to Nicodemus when he said that the Spirit of God would always make a sound when someone receives it (Jn. 3:1\u20138).\u00a0\u00a0The disciples experienced this on the day of Pentecost, when they received the Spirit and it spoke in tongues through them (Acts 2:1\u20134).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

                =======<\/span><\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. How Do We know Who Is of God and Who Is Not?<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  1John 4:6. We are of God.\u00a0\u00a0He who knows God listens to us; he who is not of God does not listen to us.\u00a0<\/em><\/span>\u00a0By this,<\/strong><\/em><\/span>\u00a0we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

                  Lesson:\u00a0Those who are of God believe and obey what John and the other apostles taught.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

                  The children of God who have gone astray may still be God\u2019s children, but they are no longer \u201cof God\u201d if they no longer will listen to what the apostles taught.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  Hi John, I love these kinds of studies, when you find a phrase or a topic and you follow the path through… there is always more light on something when you’re done.\u00a0 The phrase, “by this” seems to have a lot to do with obedience.\u00a0 Thanks for sharing this. I used to sit with my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-netmail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13804"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13804\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}