Revelation 3:8
8 I know[eido] thy[sou] works:[ergon] behold,[idou] I have set[didomi] before[enopion] thee[sou] an open[anoigo] door,[thura] and[kai] no man[oudeis] can[dunamai] shut[kleio] it:[autos] for[hoti] thou hast[echo] a little[mikros] strength,[dunamis] and[kai] hast kept[tereo] my[mou] word,[logos] and[kai] hast[arneomai] not[ou] denied[arneomai] my[mou] name.[onoma] KJV-Interlinear
8 'I know your
deeds. Behold, I have put before you an
open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept
My word, and have not denied My name. NASB
God, Jesus Christ, knows all things. He is aware of all that we think and do. He knows our thoughts, our motives, our
decisions, and our actions.We cannot
fool Him.He has been aware of our
activities and all that we are made of since eternity past. God knows us even before we think or act.
Therefore, He has placed an open door before all
believers.This letter is addressed to
believers, not to unbelievers.The folks
in the Church of Philadelphia, had already believed in Christ, and were already
saved, so this door does not apply to salvation.
Of the unbeliever, there is but one question in
life, ‘What do you think of Jesus Christ?’
The answer to that question produces either salvation, if they believe,
or continues condemnation if they refuse to believe. The door or opportunity for salvation is
always opened and never closes until the unbeliever dies in unbelief.
As for believers, then the question is, ‘What do
you think of Bible doctrine?’For it is
through Bible doctrine, that we learn, and grow and utilize doctrine in our
daily life, thus producing good deeds, as defined by God. If God looks at you and finds no acceptable
deeds, that that is an indication of no functioning spiritual life.
And again, for believers, the door for spiritual
growth is always open and never closed as long as they are here in this world.
Certainly He has placed an open door before all
unbelievers as well, but that door is for faith in Christ, a single thought,
which gets them into the family and plan of God as believers.
But here believers are addressed. All seven of these addresses are to
believers, and that door is for advancement to spiritual maturity, or perhaps
the alternative of discipline if a person is negative. The door is for fellowship through which we
pass by confessing our sins to God the Father as the mechanics are described in
1 John 1:9.
By confessing our sins we accept responsibility for
our thoughts and actions.By refusing to
confess our sins to God, and in the prescribed manner, we reject Gods plan and
wisdom.Remember that once you were
saved, you still committed sins after that point of salvation. You cannot sit back and say that God has
forgiven you and allows you to justify your sins. There are repercussions for sin. God does not close His eyes to your actions
and thoughts.
But moreover, your sins were not forgiven at the
Cross.They were judged, and that
judgment was taken by Christ onto Himself in our place.
The Cross did not forgive you of your sins, that is the door through which you pass when you confess your
sins to God the Father.Fellowship is
the issue in the Christian life, and as a result of fellowship, there is the
opportunity for spiritual growth through daily study and application of
doctrine to ones life.
At the point of salvation, all your sins which had
been committed prior to your salvation are then forgiven when you believe. But after salvation you as a believer, will
commit sins, and there needs to be a mechanism for straightening them out. So 1 John 1:9 clarifies this process. When you confess, then God is faithful and
just to 'forgive' and 'cleanse' you.
This restores you back into fellowship, through that open door which God
does not close during your life.
As young believers, we are weak. We have a little power through fellowship and
through the indwelling and control that the Holy Spirit has, while we are in
fellowship.That power is increased as
we study and grow up spiritually.By
following the plan God has laid out before us, we accept God and do not deny
Him.
Those who refuse to place their sins in check, who refuse to study their Bible, deny God. And when you deny God, then you follow the
only other philosophy available to mankind, and that philosophy is Satanic propaganda.
So long as there is positive volition in a person,
that door of opportunity is always open.
When the volition goes negative to never revert back to God again, then
God closes that door and the person falls into a nose dive never to recover.
God honors those who honor Him. God dishonors those who reject Him. The end result is that positive believers
will be elevated and held in high esteem.
Negative believers will fall down to their knees and bow to those who
have been promoted.Those who boast that
they are advancing believers, but really are not, will be put to shame.
God loves those that love Him. To us love is an emotional feeling. Here God expresses it as a policy. Those who follow God, who study His word, who
apply His doctrine to their lives, and advance in their spiritual lives, are
loved and blessed by God.Those who
reject Gods plan of spiritual advance are not blessed, not honored, will not
see rewards.Their wages match their
doctrinal content in their souls.No
doctrine, no wage.
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