Sunday - 07/03/22 Series “Fellowship Divine: God’s Blueprint for Otherworldly Joy” Pt. 5

The Fellowship's Hope of Holiness (1 John 3:1-10)

I. Our hope has been spiritually realized ____________ (1:1)

• We are called "sons" presently. We do not have to wait in suspense until Judgement to discover our sonship. Understanding our identity is key to delivering us from fear and pride. Fear immobilizes us and pride deceives us. Both take our eyes off God and, thus, are of no benefit to those around us.
• When we are manifesting our sonship to the world, we will become foreigners to the unsaved. This of course, pertains to the less palatable teachings of Scripture, but also the basic message of grace. 

II. Our hope guarantees ______________ joy in the future (1:2).

• The life invested in the believer when he first believes will eventually spread beyond the spirit to encompass the body.
• "Seeing" Jesus is the catalyst to spiritual change. All believers see Him with the eye of faith at conversion and we will see Him with the eye of actual sight when he returns. 

III. Our hope is ______________ beneficial in keeping us clean (1:3-4) 

• Jesus is free from all sin. As we dwell on Him, on what we are in Him of what we will be through Him, and what we can be for Him, we will transform our thinking and, by extension, our conduct. 

IV. Our hope logically ____________ us through sacred and personal history (1:5-8).

• As we move onward to the end set before us, we must remind ourselves constantly of where our journey began. If we fail to do this, we will fail to grasp the significance of our journey and become sidetracked alongside the world. Our story is both subjective and objective.

V. Our hope is a ________________ of the new creation in us (1:9).

• The fact that we hope in Christ, and struggle against the temptation to disregard it, is proof that we have residing in us the down payment of the coming new creation. The process has already begun and cannot be undone (2 Cor. 5:17; Heb. 1:10-12)!

VI. Our hope battles with the world polluted _____________ in us (1:10)

• A battle wages because the war has not been resolved. Though we are no longer a part of the world (spirit), a part of the world is in us (flesh).