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 ¹⁸ "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor [in Spirit]; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted [who mourn due to their slavery to sin], to preach release to the captives [of sin], and recovery of sight to the [spiritually] blind, to deliver [free] those who are oppressed [in slavery to sin],² [The gospel is the ministry of the Spirit to totally free you from sin, as you repent from your old ways of selfishness on the inward cross of self-denial; to be washed, cleansed, and purified; to then be translated into kingdom of Christ; and then to live in union with Christ and God, on earth and forever.]

 ¹⁹ To preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

 ²⁰ And he closed the book and he gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all those who were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

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 ¹³ I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, young children, because you have known the Father. [In this verse the Greek for young men that have overcome the devil is neaniskoi <3495>, and the Greek for young children that know the Father is paidia <3813>; these are not the little children disciples who still sin. The young children of this verse know the Father; to know the Father is to be a son freed from all sin, in union with God, and in the kingdom.]

 ¹⁴ I have written to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.² [The Greek for the young men in this verse is again neaniskoi <3495>; and they are strong. In this chapter John addresses disciples who still sin, without salvation; plus John addresses three groups of sons of God with salvation, freed from sin: 1) young children of God who know God, 2) young men of God that have overcome the devil and grown strong in the measure of the Word of God (Jesus) living in them, 3) stronger still, fathers capable of developing other children.]

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 ¹ [In this chapter John carefully defines what are the qualifying experiences of a believer who is born of God, which are summarized here:

1. a believer born of God keeps the commands of God, and they are not a burden; verses 2,3
2. the believer born of God has overcome the world by crucifying his sinful nature, (the forbidden cravings, the passionate desires, and the lusts of it), verses 4,5
3. the believer born of God has seen in his heart by the light that manifests all things the three witnesses in the earth: (See Verse 8 and its Footnote 3 below for more description of the three witnesses that are to be experienced before one is born again.)
• first, the spirit that bears witness in the earth, which mortifies them, which circumcises them, which leads them into all truth;
• secondly, they come to know the water that is a witness in the earth; by which they are washed, their minds, their souls, their spirits, and in their bodies, with this pure water;
• and the third witness is his blood, which blood of Jesus is sprinkled in their hearts and consciences; by which blood they are sanctified, and they are cleansed from all their dead works, to serve the living God.
From the Word of the Lord within: "The three witnesses: these three clearly must be manifest."
4. the born again believer has eternal life in him, which is to be restored to the spiritual image of God in true righteousness and holiness. verse12
5. the born again believer does not sin and cannot sin because he is protected by his Father from falling to any temptation. verse 18
6. Jesus is present within the believer, and the believer is in Christ; the believer is in union with Christ and the Father. verse 20

Those who say they are born-again Christians still living in the fleshly lusts and pleasures of the world, and so still slaves to sin, are maligning the truth and create confusion.

From the Word of the Lord within:

• "By their evident display of sin, Christians cause my name to be blasphemed among the people.
• Salvation occurs when you are one with Christ and God.
• Once you are in union, it is permanent.
• You are a son when Jesus appears in your heart to guide you.
• You are raised to a new life, not just an imitation; He is one with us and ever-present.
• To know you are born again is to see your salvation appear in your heart."]

 ¹ Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God, and everyone who loves the father also loves him who is begotten of him.¹

 ⁴ For whoever is born of God overcomes [has conquered] the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. [John tells us what it means to overcome the world in 1 John 2:17: the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it. Paul confirms: they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world have (past tense) come; the world has been crucified to me, and me to it, Gal 6:14. To overcome the world is to be crucified from the lusts of the world: to have mortified the lusts and desires for things, wealth, bodies, sex; that is the victory that overcomes. But the only victory the believers of Christendom have experienced, is victory over their conscience and guilt for committing sin .]