I have a confession to make.

Pastor-Teacher
John Farley
Sunday,
March 3, 2013

I have a confession to make.

I cannot find in the Bible where it tells Church Age believers, who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, that confessing our sins results in the filling of the Holy Spirit.

I cannot see how the Bible makes our confessing our sins in 1 John 1:9 the determining factor in our being filled with the Spirit  in EPH 5:18.

ECC 3:6
A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.

The Bible does not say that confessing my sins results in the filling of the Spirit.

If I can’t find it…

How can I teach it??

I commit personal sins.

His Son is the Lamb of God
Who TAKES AWAY the sins of the world!!!!

These are all facts, and I am simply “homologeo-ing” them this morning.

ROM 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill [pleroo] you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The word “confess” in 1 JOH 1:9 is the Greek word homologeo.

“to declare openly by way of speaking out freely, such confession being the effect of deep conviction of facts” [Vine]

“to make an emphatic declaration, often public, and at times in response to pressure or an accusation - ‘to declare, to assert.’ ” [Louw & Nida]

“to express openly one's allegiance to a proposition or person - 'to profess, to confess, confession.’ ” [Louw & Nida]

“to acknowledge a fact publicly, often in reference to previous bad behavior - ‘to admit, to confess.’ ” [Louw & Nida]

"to make a statement" or "bear witness" in a legal sense. [Kittel]

"to make solemn statements of faith," "to confess something in faith." [Kittel]

“to acknowledge something, ordinarily in public”
[BDAG]

The homework assignment was to read 1 John, find the passages that mention the Holy Spirit, and see what the letter says about the Holy Spirit.

Without the indwelling presence, and subsequent activity and enablement, of the Holy Spirit, there is no unique Christian spiritual life.

Did you find a statement in 1 John that says that you lose the filling of the Holy Spirit when you sin?

Does the letter of 1 John say anything about losing the filling of the Spirit?

Did you find a statement saying that confessing your sins results in the filling of the Holy Spirit?

Throughout the letter, is there anything at all about the Holy Spirit that is conditioned in any way by whether or not we confess our sins?

The answer to each one of these questions is NO. Not in 1 John.

If we are going to make the case that 1 John 1:9 is how you are filled by the Spirit, we are not going to be able to make that case from 1 John.

1 John 2:20-27 says that you have an anointing from the Holy One. It states the fact of the indwelling Holy Spirit for believers in the church age.

There is homologeo, confess, here - confess the Son.

The command is to let the teaching you heard from the beginning abide in you, dwell richly in you.

This teaching we have heard from the beginning, from the time we first heard the words from the apostles, ends up with the promise of eternal life.

This anointing, this indwelling Holy Spirit, teaches you.

Believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ.

Love one another.

1 John teaches us about the indwelling Spirit, though it does not teach us about the filling by the Spirit.

How do you know the Holy Spirit? He is there whenever somebody from the depths of their human spirit declares that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.

We learn once again that He is in us , the Royal Family, and that is why we have already overcome the false prophets who are in the world.

The Holy Spirit is simply providing this protection.

This protection is not said to be conditional on ANYTHING.

PHI 1:6
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Here again we have the command to love one another.

Once again a statement of fact concerning the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church.

Another homologeo , where the confession is that Jesus is the Son of God.

We cooperate with the Spirit in His testimony - how?
When we BELIEVE it!!!

What is the testimony of the Spirit leading to? The fact that God has given us ETERNAL LIFE. This life is in the Son.

It sure seems from the letter of 1 John that the confession that the Holy Spirit is very interested in having us confess -homologeo - is Christ!