0805 – As He Is So Are We in This World 我们在这世上, 正如祂一样

1 John 4:17-18 (NKJV) Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.The perfect love of God did not wait for us to be perfect before He loved us. Perfect love is Agape love which is an unconditional love. God already sees us as righteous, holy, blameless and accepted in the beloved IN CHRIST while we are still imperfect in this world. We will never be perfect while we are on Earth since we have to deal with the flesh daily but God in His grace, mercy and compassion has chosen to see us as Christ is in this world. As long as we are on Earth, we will have to die to ourselves and carry the cross to deny our fleshly desires which is contrary to the godly values, principles and what the Spirit of God prompts us to do. Sanctification is a lifelong process. We will continuously work on dealing with our flesh, denying ourselves and carrying the cross of abstaining from what our flesh wants us to do by walking in the Spirit.

When we understand God’s perfect love and how He looks at us then all kinds of fear should disappear from us. The scripture above reveals to us, “because as HE IS, so are We in THIS world” that we are viewed as holy, righteous and blameless in this world. It is referring to the present time of our lives. We are hidden in Christ which means God looks at us IN CHRIST. We will never feel the love of God if we continue to use our self-effort to earn God’s acceptance because we are imperfect! We will only be perfect when we go to heaven where the mortal puts on immortality and the corruptible puts on incorruption (1 Corinthians 15:53). God is gracious enough to see us in Christ now so that we will have confidence now and when we meet Him face to face.

Matthew3:17 (NKJV) And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Jesus is the highly favored Son of God and God is well pleased with Him. Because of our position in Christ we are holy and righteous in God’s sight. It is wonderful to know and experience God’s perfect love which casts out all fear and torment, because the Father loves us unconditionally. Fear does not belong to us. The perfect love of God brings peace and joy into our lives.

Sermon Series – Job and I (Part 4)

我们在这世上, 正如祂一样

约翰一书4：17-18（NKJV)4:17 这样、爱在我们里面得以完全、我们就可以在审判的日子、坦然无惧．因为他如何、我们在这世上也如何。爱里没有惧怕．爱既完全、就把惧怕除去．因为惧怕里含着刑罚．惧怕的人在爱里未得完全

上帝那完美的爱，是在没有等我们变得完美之前祂就爱我们。完美的爱是Agape的爱（圣爱），是无条件的爱。当我们在这个世界上还不完美时，上帝已经将我们视为正义，圣洁，无罪并在爱子基督里被接纳。只要我们在世一日，我们就不得完美，因为我们必须每天与肉欲打交道，但是上帝以祂的恩典，慈爱和怜悯选择了将我们视为在这个世界上的基督。只要我们在世上，我们就必须把自己当作已死，背起十字架来抵挡这与敬虔的价值观，原则和上帝之灵要我们去做的事情背道而驰的肉欲。成圣的过程持续一生。我们要与我们的肉欲打持久战，拒绝血气，背起十字架，就是靠着圣灵而行，弃绝血气要我们行的。

当我们了解神的完美之爱，知道了神如何看待我们，我们的各种恐惧就会烟消云散。上面的经文向我们启示：“因为祂是这样的，所以我们在这个世界上也是如此”，我们在这个世界上被视为圣洁，公义和无罪的。这指的是我们生命的现在时。我们隐藏在基督里，这意味着上帝把我们看作在基督里。如果我们继续试图以自身的努力赚取神的接纳，我们将永远不会感受到上帝的爱，因为我们不完美！只有当我们去天堂时我们才会完美，在那里，“这必死的、总要变成不死的；这必朽坏的、总要变成不朽坏的．”（哥林多前书15:53）。上帝足够仁慈，现在就把我们看作是在基督里的，好叫我们现在就有信心，并且将来与祂面对面的时候也同样有信心。

马太福音3:17（NKJV）”从天上有声音说、这是我的爱子、我所喜悦的“

耶稣是上帝的宠儿，上帝对祂很是喜爱。由于我们在基督里的地位，我们在上帝眼中也是圣洁和公义的。认识并经历到上帝那完美的爱是何等的美妙！这爱能驱散所有的恐惧和折磨，因为上帝爱我们是无条件的。上帝完美的爱为我们的生命带来平安与喜乐。

讲章系列–约伯与我（第四部分）