Spiritual Gifts part 275: An overcomer is victorious after a struggle.
Pastor-Teacher
John Farley Sunday, June 10, 2012 Spiritual Gifts Part 275: The overcomer achieves a victory after a struggle.
3. Reward:
With the Philadelphia church, “what you have” is the truth in your souls, the word of God. The Book of Revelation is the textbook of world history from the time of John A.D. 96 to the end of time.
Psa 110:1 In Rev 2 and 3, we have letters written for the dispensation of the Church-age. The Church-age is located between the two greatest prophecies in history, the first and second Advents of Christ. For our purposes, we take the view that the seven churches portray seven different types of individual believers that live in every generation.
1. The Ephesus type believer who has some divine good production but has left their first love, Rev 2:1-7. 2. The Smyrna type believer who is willing to accept suffering for blessing, Rev 2:8-11. 3. The Pergamum believer is warned about compromising and becoming a stumbling block to others, Rev 2:12-17. 4. The Thyatira type of believers tolerate false doctrine and false teaching even though in they have love and faith and service and perseverance, Rev 2:18-29. 5. The Sardis types need to "Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain," Rev 3:1-6. 6. The Philadelphia type who have kept with doctrine and have not denied the Lord's name, Rev 3:7-13. 7. The lukewarm Laodicean believer, Rev 3:14-22.
With the Philadelphia church, “what you have” is the truth in your souls, the word of God.
“hold fast” =
krateo = The difficulties are related to the angelic conflict, and our enemies in that struggle: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Each church is coming up against a different tactic of satan to halt the progress of God’s children in winning tactical victories in the angelic conflict.
Wearing down the saints, false apostles (Ephesus)
False teaching (Thyatira) to hold fast, i. e. not to discard or let go; to keep carefully and faithfully
The head, the Lord Jesus Christ (Col 2:19)
The name of the Lord = His person and identity (Rev 2:13 – Pergamum) krateo means to exert all of the strength that you have been provided in the effort to retain something.
|