Beloved radio friends, we greet you once again in the precious and worthy name of our beloved and blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We welcome you heartily to the continued study of one of the great subjects in the New Testament, God the Father and his family. We continue our study in relation to the children of God who were in his family from the first epistle of John. Once again we would read from that family letter in chapter two, verses twelve and thirteen, where John by the Holy Spirit writes, declaring, I write unto you children, because your sins are forgiven you, for his name's sake. I write unto you fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you little children, because ye have known the Father. These are the words that declare to us the threefold division within the family of the Father. The family is not divided as many times we see the divisions of God's people upon the earth below. The family of God is only divided in the Scripture in relation to their spiritual development and the grades of spiritual growth. There are those whom we have stated have matured and are called by the Spirit of God because of their spiritual maturity fathers in the family. There are others that are coming along well, not completely and fully matured in that spiritual character. but known as young men, and going on well with the Lord. There are others who are yet in their infancy, little children, and these are the three grades or the three divisions God reveals in the Word of God in relation to his family. We lay aside and turn away from all other man-made divisions. This is the only scriptural manner in which God recognizes divisions in relation to his family. This brings us to the thought we must also emphasize the unity of the family. The family is one. The family is one. Every member of the family possess the life of God, and this oneness The Lord prayed when he was upon the earth in John seventeen, verse twenty and twenty one. The Lord prayed that the oneness in the family should be manifested and expressed. It certainly was manifested in the days of the early church, as we may well know from the history of the book of the Acts. But it has unfortunately faded away in its manifestation as we look around today. What difficulty we have to recognize the unity of the family. Someday the unity of that family will be manifested, but may I state again and carefully, may I be warning my hearers that unity will not be manifested until the Lord comes and gathers his own together. For the true ecumenical movement that will bring the family to be made manifested as one in Christ will be when the Lord comes. May I quote the words of First Thessalonians for, for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together. with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. May I state, in that wonderful moment when the Savior calls His own, He will gather them together, and they will be manifested as one. And may I state very, very empathically, there will be no false professor within that company when the Lord gathers his redeemed and born-again ones to meet him in the air. So we would indeed emphasize the family is one. With every blood-bought child of God, with every born-again believer, I am with them in that eternal relationship, the family in relation to the Father above. And we must ever remember that every one of us who belong to the children of God and in the family of God should never move out of the circle of the Father's heart when we know that every child of God belongs to him. Now we would like to touch upon a fact that we have read in verse twelve of our chapter in the first epistle of John chapter two that is a mutual characteristic of every member of the family. Here we may realize, as well as recognize, why the family can be called and should be manifested as one. Note these words as I read them. I'm going to omit one word that you find in your authorized version. It is the word little. The word is not found in the Greek text. For John is not writing in these words of verse twelve to the infants in the family. John is writing to every member of the family. He is writing to the fathers. He is writing to the young men. He is writing to the little children. He embraces them all in the statement of verse twelve. And listen to what he says. I write unto you children, because your sins are forgiven you, For His name's sake. Now, beloved, here is one indication how we may know that we're in the family of God. Here is one indication that reveals to us what every member of the family possesses in a mutual way. And that is the forgiveness of sins. I write unto you children because your sins are forgiven you. For His name's sake. Oh, beloved, may I say very carefully, clearly, the way to know that you're a child of God is to know, to have the joy, to have the assurance, your sins have been forgiven. For me, I state there's not one child who is in the family of God the Father without the forgiveness of sins. You can never get into his family without your sins being forgiven. It is a present possession for everyone. Now please, may I state it and emphasize it clearly. The forgiveness of sins is a mutual characteristic of every member in the family of God. You look at me. May I look at you. We may confess together. We believe and confess that we are the children of God. On what ground can I say to you? On what ground can you say to me? I am a child of God. Here is a mutual ground. We each must be able to say to the other, My sins have been forgiven. Oh, my radio listener, may I make it very clear? Never can you say you're in God's family. Never can you call God Father until your sins have been forgiven. In Matthew chapter nine and verse two, a lovely incident is recorded in that particular scripture portion, where four men carry a diseased and sickly man, one of their friends, to the Lord Jesus, unable to reach the Savior because of the crowd that was around the house in which he was, They go to the rooftop. They pull the rooftop apart. They lower their friend upon the pallet of bed upon which he was laying before the Savior below. And when Jesus saw the faith of these men, so determined and persevering to bring their friend to him for healing, he honored that faith. But he honored that faith in the most remarkable way before he ever healed a man. looking at the man who was sick upon the bed, sick with palsy, the Savior said these words, Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee. Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee. And the Savior spoke the words of eternal pardon when he forgave him his sins. Oh, my beloved, may I ask again, are you in the family? Are your sins forgiven? Are your sins forgiven as a present possession for the joy of your soul? And then may I remind you those sins that are forgiven, they are forgiven forever. Listen very carefully. When God forgives sins, may I quote the words of Hebrews chapter ten in verse seventeen? God says, their sins and iniquities will I remember? No more. For when God forgives sins, He takes them away forever. My beloved, don't you ever doubt the Savior's promise, the Word of God, that the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanseth us from all sin. And may I state, the forgiveness of your sins, my fellow believer, that forgiveness is righteously maintained before God on your behalf and upon my behalf. For we read in first John chapter two, the very chapter we are in in verses one and two. John says, my little children, these things right, I unto you, that you sin not. But if any man, if any, believe a sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins. And not for us only, but for the whole world. May I repeat this truth that we have just covered? The forgiveness of sins is a present possession. The forgiveness of sins is of eternal duration. He takes them away. He forgives them forever. And then He righteously maintains that forgiveness. When you and I may fail, the Savior is the advocate that pleads before the Father. his ever-cleansing blood as a righteous basis to sustain us in relationship with the Father. So may we not conclude this precious truth as John begins writing to the family, ere he begins speaking of the divisions and of the varied grades of growth. There's one mutual characteristic. Every member of the family as his and her sins forgiven. Now we ask again, Radio friend, are your sins forgiven? If not, come to the one who only can and will forgive them as you come in faith believing. Father, bless thy truth in the Saviour's name for his glory. Amen.