Page 3Page 2
Sessio
n 1:
Intro
& T
hird
Joh
n
(We w
ill build up to 1 John...)
The early C
hurch in the first century was under attack from
both theinside and the outside. S
o what has changed?
It should not surprise us that the Holy S
pirit has anticipated everyconceivable form
of attack and diversion, and these three epistles are fullof insights that are tim
ely for each of us at the personal level as well as
at the corporate.
Backg
rou
nd
Who w
as John? Brother of Jam
es “the Greater” (M
att 4:21, 10:2; Mark
1:19, 3:17, 10:35). He w
as probably the younger of the sons of Zebedee
(Matt 4:21) and S
alome (M
att 27:56; Mark 15:40) and w
as born atB
ethsaida. His father w
as apparently a man of som
e wealth (M
ark 1:20;L
uke 5:3; John 19:27).
He w
as doubtless trained in all that constituted the normal education of
Jewish youth. W
hen he grew up he follow
ed the occupation of afisherm
an with his fam
ily on the Sea of G
alilee.
When John the B
aptist began his ministry in the w
ilderness of Judea,John, w
ith many others, gathered around him
and was deeply influenced
by his teaching. There he heard the announcem
ent, “Behold the L
amb
of God,” and on the invitation of Jesus, becam
e a disciple and rankedam
ong his followers (John 1:36,37) for a tim
e. He and his brother then
returned to their former avocation (it is uncertain for how
long).
Jesus again called them (M
att 4:21; Luke 5:1-11) and now
they left all andperm
anently attached themselves to the com
pany of his disciples.
For their zeal and intensity of character, Jesus named him
and his brother“B
oanerges” (“Sons of Thunder”; cf. M
ark 3:17). This spirit of chutspah
broke out on a number of occasions (M
att 20:20-24; Mark 10:35-41; L
uke9:49, 54).
Au
dio
Listin
g
Sessio
n 1: T
hird
Joh
n
Introduction. John’s background. Contrasts betw
een John’s variousbooks. A
ddenda: the Most P
ainful Sin.
Sessio
n 2: S
econ
d Jo
hn
Gnostic heresies. W
ho is the “Elect L
ady”? What is T
ruth?
Sessio
n 3: F
irst Joh
n 1
Heptadic structure. T
he importance of fellow
ship. Christian’s “bar of
soap.”
Sessio
n 4: F
irst Joh
n 2:1-14
Test of A
ttitude, Actions, A
ffection. Spiritual m
aturity.
Sessio
n 5: F
irst Joh
n 2:15-29
The L
ove that God hates. T
he will of G
od. The S
toics; the Epicureans;
more on the G
nostics.
Sessio
n 6: F
irst Joh
n 3
God the F
ather loves us; God the S
on died for us; God the H
oly Spirit
lives in us.
Sessio
n 7: F
irst Joh
n 4
God is L
ove. God’s dw
elling places. A C
hristian’s confidence.
Sessio
n 8: F
irst Joh
n 5
How
do we know
for sure...? Christians do not practice sin. R
eview of
Christian “birthm
arks.”
Page 5Page 4
Insid
er Statu
s
He becam
e one of the innermost circle, as at:
Jairus’s daughter(M
ark 5:37)T
ransfiguration(M
att 17:1)G
ethsemane
(Matt 26:37)
Olivet D
iscourse(M
ark 13:3)
He w
as “the disciple whom
Jesus loved” (John 19:26; 20:2; 21:7; 21:20).
Cu
stod
iansh
ip o
f Mary
Mary w
as consigned to John’s care at the Cross (rather than to her other
sons!).
[This w
ill be explored in the next session.]
Th
at Fin
al Week
At the betrayal, he and P
eter followed C
hrist afar off, while the others
betook themselves to hasty flight (John 18:15).
At the trial he follow
ed Christ into the council cham
ber, and thence tothe praetorium
(John 18:16,19,28), and to the place of crucifixion (John19:26,27).
To him
and Peter, M
ary first conveyed tidings of the resurrection (John20:2), and they w
ere the first to go and see what her strange w
ords meant.
After the resurrection he and P
eter again returned to the Sea of G
alilee,w
here the Lord revealed him
self to them (John 21:1,7).
We find P
eter and John frequently together (Acts 3:1; 4:13) after this.
Th
e Later Y
ears
John remained, apparently, in Jerusalem
among the leadership (A
cts15:6; G
al 2:9). He apparently w
as not there, however, at the tim
e of Paul’slast visit (A
cts 21:15-40). His subsequent history is unrecorded.
He appears to have retired to E
phesus, but at what tim
e is unknown.
These three epistles w
ere probably written from
Ephesus.
He suffered under persecution, and w
as banished to Patm
os (Rev 1:9)
whence he again returned to E
phesus, where he died. T
his was probably
about A.D
. 98, having outlived all (or nearly all) the friends andcom
panions, even of his maturer years.
There are m
any interesting traditions regarding John during his resi-dence at E
phesus, but these cannot claim the character of historical truth
(their unsuccessful attempts at his being boiled in oil, etc.).
Th
e Writin
gs o
f Joh
n
He w
rote five books of the New
Testam
ent: the Gospel, R
evelation, andthree epistles. M
ost scholars assume that the epistles w
ere written last,
just before the close of the first century.
Distinctives of his G
ospel:H
is purpose declared: John 20:30,31;(A
s does his epistle, 7 times: 1 John 5:13, et al.);
Heptadic structure subtly evident.
Of the B
ook of Revelation:
Heptadic structure dom
inant.
Consistency of D
esignations: “Friend,” “B
eloved.”
Abraham
= “Friend of God” (Jam
es 2:23; 2 Chr 20:7; Isa 41:8) thus, “Shall
I hide from him
the thing which I am
to do?” (Gen 18:17).
Daniel =
“Beloved”; thus, the apocalyptic visions.
Disciples =
“Now
my friends” (John 15:14, 15); thus, the U
pper Room
disclosures.
John “Beloved” =
The A
pocalypse.
Th
e Th
ird E
pistle o
f Joh
n
The third epistle of John is addressed to C
aius, or Gaius, but w
hether tothe C
hristian of that name in M
acedonia (Acts 19:29), in C
orinth (Rom
16:23), or in Derbe (A
cts 20:4) is uncertain.
Page 7Page 6
It is the shortest (in the original Greek) and w
as written for the purpose
of comm
ending to Gaius som
e Christians w
ho were strangers in the place
where he lived, and w
ho had gone thither for the purpose of preachingthe G
ospel (verse 7).
The S
econd and Third E
pistles were probably w
ritten (soon after theF
irst?) from E
phesus.
One of the key w
ords is “witness”:
“Testified” (3 John 3);
“Report, bear record, record” (3 John 6, 12);...not just w
ords, but bythe life w
e lead. Every C
hristian is a witness, either a good one or
a bad one. We are either helping the truth (v. 8) or hindering it.
Three people appear in this brief letter, all C
hristians:G
aius, the Encourager;
Diotrephes, the D
ictator;D
emetrius, the E
xemplar.
Each of us has the opportunity to be part of the solution or part of the
problem.
1]T
he elder unto the well beloved G
aius, whom
I love in the truth.
The E
lder: presbu,teroj presbuteros1) elder, of age; the elder of tw
o people; an elder, a senior;2) a term
of rank or office; am
ong the Jews, m
embers of the great council or S
anhedrin(because in early tim
es the rulers of the people, judges, etc., were
selected from elderly m
en); of those w
ho in separate cities managed public affairs and adm
inis-tered justice;
among the C
hristians, those who presided over the assem
blies (orchurches). T
he NT
uses the terms bishop, elders, and presbyters
interchangeably.[C
f. the twenty-four “elders” seated on thrones around the throne of
God (R
ev 4:4ff).
John loved this man; “beloved” occurs four tim
es (v.1, 2, 5, 11). And he
was sound in doctrine.
2]B
eloved, I wish above all things that thou m
ayest prosper and be in health, evenas thy soul prospereth.
Note the inversion: “m
ay your physical health be as sound as yourspiritual (devotional) health.”
[Cf. P
eter in Acts 15:11.]
Physical health: N
utrition, exercise, cleanliness, proper rest, anddiscipline of a balanced life.
Spiritual health: • Nourishm
ent: Word of G
od: Matt 4:4; w
hat digestionis to the body, m
editation is to the soul. • Godly w
ork-out, exercise: 1T
im 4:6, 7; G
aius read it, meditated on it, delighted in it, and then practiced
it daily. • Keep ourselves clean: 2 C
or 7:1; avoiding the contamination
and pollution of the world: 2 P
et 1:4; James 1:27. • R
est in the Lord,
fellowship w
ith Him
: Matt 11:18-30; R
ev 2:4.
3]F
or I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren cam
e and testified of the truth that isin thee, even as thou w
alkest in the truth.
Would that w
e each would have such a reputation precede us!
“As thou w
alkest in the truth” (Cf. P
salm 1:1-3). “D
oer,” not just hearer.T
rue living comes from
the Living T
ruth.
4]I have no greater joy than to hear that m
y children walk in truth.
He cared for all of them
. “Follow-up” from
the heart! John had a pastor’sheart...
Practical M
inistry
5]B
eloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to
strangers;
Deeds, not just w
ords (James 2:14-16; 1 John 3:16-18).
6]W
hich have borne witness of thy charity before the church: w
hom if thou bring
forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do w
ell:
“After a godly sort” =
worthy of G
od, as befits God. W
e are never more
“God-like” than w
hen we are sacrificing to serve others. (2 John w
arnsagainst show
ing hospitality to false teachers: if you wish them
God-
speed you are a partaker of their deeds. Here, the assum
ption is thatintim
ate hospitality is restricted to believers...)
Page 9Page 8
Know
any like this?
•S
elf-opinionated; self-exalting (rather than self-effacing); self-made;
self-sufficient; self-willed; self-satisfied; self-confident...
•In a w
ord, in the flesh!•
He, ostensibly, w
as the first exalted ruler of the Church. W
hen he dies, w
isdom w
ill die with him
.
Such can w
reck a church. (And don’t overlook the presence of a M
rs.D
iotrephes, too!) Even am
ong the disciples, there were excessive
aspirations (Matt 18:1ff; vs. P
hil 2:1ff).
Preem
inence is reserved for Jesus Christ H
imself (cf. C
ol 1:18; also, cf.John 3:30: “H
e must increase; I m
ust decrease”).
The G
reek verb is in the present tense, active voice: indicates that thisw
as the constant attitude of Diotrephes to prom
ote himself.
[“Tall P
oppy Syndrom
e”: In London they speak of those w
ho attempt
to raise their own profiles by attacking w
hoever is getting the most
attention from the public...]
10]W
herefore, if I come, I w
ill remem
ber his deeds which he doeth, prating against
us with m
alicious words: and not content therew
ith, neither doth he himself
receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that w
ould, and casteth them out of
the church.
“Prating w
ith malicious w
ords”—w
hat a tragedy that there is so much
slander and defamation w
ithin the Body!
Contention is evidence of pride (Prov 13:10). W
e must be cautious about
accepting what w
e hear about God’s servants.
[The disturbingly frequent occurrence of “gossip” and even public
slander among “C
hristians” is one of the most astonishing paradoxes
I’ve encountered in the decade of “professional Christianity” that
succeeded my three decades of an executive career in the “secular”
world. I have included som
e notes on this most hurtful sin in an
addendum...]
There is a fatal disparity betw
een rejecting doctrine and false teachingand rejection of the brethren w
ith whom
we m
ay have a divergent view.
7]B
ecause that for his name’s sake they w
ent forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.
Never soliciting help from
the unsaved. Abraham
had this same policy
(Gen 14:21-24).
[Donation policy: a “need” is not, in itself, sufficient qualification: be
sure the Lord is in it. B
e wary of those generally soliciting from
all thatcom
e their way. T
here are many “m
inistries” the Lord w
ould probablyshut dow
n if the gullible would let H
im!]
8]W
e therefore ought to receive such, that we m
ight be fellow helpers to the truth.
“We ought to receive such”: H
ospitality is not only an opportunity, butalso an obligation. T
hose who receive spiritual blessings from
them
inistry of the Word ought to share m
aterial blessings (Gal 6:6-10; 1 C
or9:7-11).
“You pay your board w
here you get your food.”
“Fellow
-helper”: we know
not Gaius’s gift(s), but w
e know he w
ascom
mitted to assist...
If John did write these letters after the P
atmos vision that m
akes up theB
ook of Revelation, then these are his “sw
an song.” Were all the
prominent m
en in the early church exemplary? H
ardly. Here’s a negative
example.
Dio
treph
es
9]I w
rote unto the church: but Diotrephes, w
ho loveth to have the preeminence
among them
, receiveth us not.
Hospitality w
as a key comm
itment am
ong the early Church; P
eter alsoem
phasizes it (1 Pet 4:9), as does Paul (1 Tim
5:9-10; Rom
ans 12:13; Titus
1:8).
John will bring five indictm
ents:
1) He m
ust occupy the leading place in the Church;
2) He actually refused to receive the A
postle John;3) H
e made m
alicious statements against the apostles;
4) He refused to extend hospitality to the m
issionaries;5) H
e excomm
unicated those who did receive the m
issionaries!
Page 11Page 10
13]I had m
any things to write, but I w
ill not with ink and pen w
rite unto thee:
Even e-m
ails aren’t the same as a face-to-face visit...
14]B
ut I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. P
eace be tothee. O
ur friends salute thee. Greet the friends by nam
e.
Peace is the possession of adequate resources.
-George M
orrison of Glascow
The believer can enjoy peace because he has adequate resources in
Jesus Christ (P
hil 4:6, 7, 13, 19).
“...The friends send their greetings.” (N
IV) W
hat a blessing it is to haveC
hristian friends! When P
aul arrived near Rom
e, some of the brethren
went to m
eet him, “w
hom w
hen Paul saw
, he thanked God and took
courage” (Acts 28:15).
This letter w
as personal, to the individual, about problems from
insidehis church.
The next letter, 2 John, w
as to “the elect lady” about false teachers fromthe outside, w
ho would appeal to love so that they m
ight deny the truth.
Ad
den
du
m:
Th
e Mo
st Pain
ful S
in
What sin has probably caused m
ore pain than any other? Gossip! It is,
in its most form
al form, a violation of E
xodus 20:16.
How
ever, in its more subtle form
s, gossip is probably accountable form
ore personal pain and suffering than most of us have any appreciation
of. Gossip is a form
of betrayal!
Com
mon, casual, yet hurtful beyond our im
agining. Quietly, behind the
flurry of daily priorities, its venom does its silent w
ork, undermining
confidences, betraying relationships, spreading unseen injustices...
The tongue is a ready and w
illing instrument to talk about our neighbor
behind his back (Cf. R
om 1:30; 2 C
or 12:20; James 4:11).
This indicates:
1)an insecurity; John w
as a threat to his station; he certainly wouldn’t
be looking forward to John’s threatened visit (v.14)!
2)that Jesus w
asn’t preeminent in his life.
We do need to be diligent to have no fellow
ship with apostates (as w
ereview
ed in 2 Peter and Jude studies); and should refrain from entangling
alliances with unbelievers (2 C
or 6:14ff).
11]B
eloved, follow not that w
hich is evil, but that which is good. H
e that doeth goodis of G
od: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
They that do evil can include pulpits, authors, and T
V and radio
comm
entators...
We should also avoid those w
hose doctrinal position is contrary toScripture (R
om 16:17-19).
John’s other two epistles w
ill stress this point.
[This doesn’t m
ean we cooperate only w
ith those who interpret S
crip-ture precisely as w
e do; there are many areas w
here good scholars havedivergent view
s; it’s the fundamentals that count.]
Dem
etrius
12]D
emetrius hath good report of all m
en, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also
bear record; and ye know that our record is true.
Here is an exem
plar: an example w
orthy to be imitated.
One of the tragedies of our present period is the lack of role m
odels. (Cf.
Phil 3:17; 1 Cor 11:11; H
eb 10:24.)
How
ever, “Woe unto you, w
hen all men shall speak w
ell of you! for sodid their fathers to the false prophets” (L
uke 6:26). It may m
ean that we
are comprom
ising and/or masquerading.
Gaius and D
emetrius w
alked in truth and obeyed the Word of G
od. They
certainly weren’t “perfect,” but they had consistent lives, seeking to
honor the Lord.
Page 13Page 12
Our L
ord’s example: “L
et him w
ho is without sin cast the first stone...”
(John 8:7).
Th
e “Ch
ristian” A
pp
roach
?
“I don’t want to gossip. H
owever, in order that you m
ight pray more
specifically for _______, let me tell you the latest...”
Who is a true friend?
One w
ho doesn’t require explanations.O
ne who gives the benefit of the doubt.
One w
ho is loyal and shuns any form of betrayal.
* * *A
Po
em:
“I Hear It S
aid...”
Last night m
y friend—he says he is m
y friend—C
ame in and questioned m
e.“I hear it said you have done this and that.I com
e to ask are these things true?”A
glint was in his eye of sm
all distrust.H
is words w
ere crisp and hot.H
e measured m
e with anger,
and flung down a little heap of facts had com
e to him.
“I hear it said you have done this and that.”
Suppose I have? A
nd are you not my friend?
And are you not m
y friend enough to say,“If it w
ere true, there would be reason in it.
And if I cannot know
the how and w
hy,S
till I can trust you, waiting for a w
ord,O
r for no word, if no w
ord ever come!”
Is friendship just a thing of afternoons,O
f pleasuring one’s friend and one’s dear self—G
reed for sedate approval of his pace,S
uspicion if he take one little turnU
pon the road, one flight into the air,A
nd has not sought you for your Yea or N
ay!
Perso
nal:
Our ow
n personal troubles at the turn of the decade—1988-1991—
included bankruptcy, earthquakes, relocating from our fam
ily roots...B
ut the most pain—
that still endures from the traum
as of those difficultyears—
is from the libel and slander that w
as promoted (or tolerated) by
a few of our “C
hristian” friends.
Most of us can probably relate to sim
ilar experiences. It is disturbing tonote how
many of us have been injured—
deeply—by gossip and by
those who accept, w
ithout checking, negative or derogatory innuendosw
hispered behind our backs.
What an opportunity! ...to display loyalty, love, and, by assum
ing them
ost charitable construction, in advance, demonstrate the foundation
of a relationship! An occasion devoutly to be w
ished.
And there are num
erous allusions to all this in the Scriptures that w
eacknow
ledge as our ultimate guide:
Lev 19:16, T
hou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer am
ong thypeople: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor: I amthe L
ord.
Prov 11:13, A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit
concealeth the matter.
Prov 18:8, T
he words of a talebearer are as w
ounds, and they go down
into the innermost parts of the belly.
Prov 20:19, H
e that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets:therefore m
eddle not with him
that flattereth with his lips.
Prov 26:20, W
here no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so w
here thereis no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
Prov 26:21, A
s coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a
contentious man to kindle strife.
Prov 26:22, T
he words of a talebearer are as w
ounds, and they go down
into the innermost parts of the belly.
Page 15Page 14
waged in our country has deep spiritual significance—
far beyondsim
ply cultural or political philosophies.
As goes the hom
e, so goes the Church and the nation. T
he family is an
important target in S
atan’s war against truth.
The second E
pistle of John may be the m
ost neglected book of the NT
.(A
nd if one of my suspicions proves correct, it m
ay also harbor one ofthe biggest surprises!)
Backg
rou
nd
: Ep
hesu
s
Ephesus w
as the capital of proconsular Asia, w
hich was the w
estern partof A
sia Minor. It w
as colonized principally from A
thens; in the time of
the Rom
ans it bore the title of “the first and greatest metropolis of A
sia.”It w
as distinguished by the Tem
ple of Diana, w
hose chief shrine was
there; and for its open-air theater which w
as the largest in the world,
capable of containing 50,000 spectators.
Many Jew
s took up their residence in this city, and here the seeds of theG
ospel were sow
n imm
ediately after Pentecost (A
cts 2:9; 6:9).
Pau
l’s Min
istry
Paul first visited this city at the close of his second m
issionary journey(about A
.D. 51) w
hen he was returning from
Greece to Syria (A
cts 18:18-21). H
e remained, how
ever, for only a short time, as he w
as hasteningto keep the feast, probably of P
entecost, at Jerusalem; but he left A
quilaand P
riscilla behind him to carry on the w
ork of spreading the Gospel.
During his third m
issionary journey Paul reached E
phesus from the
“upper coasts” (Acts 19:1); i.e., from
the inland parts of Asia M
inor, andtarried here for about three years. S
o successful and abundant were his
labours that “all they which dw
elt in Asia heard the w
ord of the Lord
Jesus, both Jews and G
reeks” (Acts 19:10). O
n his return from his
journey, Paul touched at M
iletus, some 30 m
iles south of Ephesus (A
cts20:15). S
ending for the presbyters of Ephesus to m
eet him there, he
delivered to them that touching farew
ell charge which is recorded (A
cts20:18-35), and in w
hich he warned them
.
For I know
this, that after my departing shall grievous w
olves enter inam
ong you, not sparing the flock. Also of your ow
n selves shall men
No. F
riendship is not so. I am m
y own.
And how
soever near my friend m
ay drawU
nto my soul, there is a legend hung
Above a certain straight and narrow
way
Says “D
ear my friend, ye m
ay not enter here!”
I would the tim
e has come—
as it has not—W
hen men shall rise and say, “H
e is my friend.
He has done this? A
nd what is that to m
e!T
hink you I have a check upon his head,O
r cast a guiding rein across his neck?I am
his friend. And for that cause I w
alkN
ot overclose beside him, leaving still
Space for his silences, and space for m
ine.”
by Barbara Y
oung
Sessio
n 2:T
he S
econ
d E
pistle o
f Joh
n
Intro
du
ction
2 John and 3 John are short, individual, personal letters.
We don’t know
the order that the three were w
ritten; many assum
e theyw
ere written after John’s exile at P
atmos. It w
ould seem that 2 John w
asw
ritten to the same com
munity as 1 John but at an earlier date (since the
false teachers evidently still had access to the church in 2 John, but hadseceded from
it in 1 John (1 John 2:19). Furtherm
ore, by the time of
Patm
os, Ephesus w
as diligent in doctrine, but had “lost their first love”(R
ev 2:1-7). This argues for an earlier publishing of the letters. (T
hereare other indications of an earlier w
riting below.)
1 John is more of a serm
on than the typical letter. We are leaving it to
the last as the climax of the series. T
he message of John’s second epistle
is essential to having a proper perspective of what he has said in his first
epistle. It is rather remarkable how
timely these letters are for today.
False teachers not only invaded the churches, they also tried to
influence Christian hom
es. It is significant that the pagan left continuallyem
barks on a militant cam
paign against the family. T
he cultural war being
Page 17Page 16
Docetic G
nostics: (from doke,w
dokeo, to seem) T
hey denied the realityof the physical body of C
hrist; the apostles thought they saw Jesus, but
actually He w
as not a real person, just an appearance or phantom; they
claimed that Jesus m
erely seemed to suffer on the C
ross, etc.; they were
heavily attacked by Ignatius and others of the early Church fathers. 1
These view
s were increasingly prevalent in E
phesus (and elsewhere)
and form the challenges that John w
as dealing with in this letter, and in
his sermon know
n as “1 John.”
Seco
nd
Joh
n
1]T
he elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom
I love in the truth; and notI only, but also all they that have know
n the truth;
Wh
o is th
e “Elect L
ady”?
evklekth/| kuri,a:
kuri,a = F
eminine proper nam
e? evklekth is strange, never assigned toany other individual in the N
T as a single predicate (except in R
om 16:13,
“chosen in the Lord”).
1)S
ince Jerome, et al., it has been assum
ed that she is an idiom of the
Church. M
ost comm
entators still hold this view. A
nd yet, theC
hurch is not pictured as having children; there are no children ofthe C
hurch. As believers, w
e become a child of G
od, not the Church.
The view
of kuri,a taken as a symbolic description of the C
hristianC
hurch has occurred consistently since as early as Jerome. 2
The view
of believers as “children of the Church” m
ay have beencom
fortable for Jerome, et al., for ecclesiastical reasons, but it flies in the
face of scriptural usage: we are “children of G
od,” not “children of theC
hurch.” The C
hurch is presented as a virgin (2 Cor 11:2) and the bride
(John 3:29; Rev 18:23; 21:2, 9; 22:17; cf. E
ph 5:22-27).
It is also significant that this word does not appear elsew
here in thissignification.
The further allusion to the sister (v.13) w
ould seem fatal to this view
, butfor the preponderance of expositional history.
arise, speaking perverse things, to draw aw
ay disciples after them.
Therefore w
atch, and remem
ber, that by the space of three years Iceased not to w
arn every one night and day with tears.- A
cts 20:29-31
Indeed, there was a rise of false teachers (the “G
nostics”) that emerged
subsequently.
Joh
n’s M
inistry
This is the very situation that John is dealing w
ith in his letters. (Ephesus
was also prom
inent as the first of the seven churches in Revelation,
which John had received w
hile in exile on Patm
os. They, by then,
however, w
ere apparently quite diligent regarding doctrine, but had“lost their first love.”) T
he apostle John, according to tradition, spentm
any years in Ephesus, w
here he died and was buried.
Th
e Gn
ostics
There w
ere a number of varied groups that are collectively referred to as
the “Gnostics” (after ginw
,skw ginosko: to learn to know
, come to know
,get a know
ledge of).
The G
nostic thinking was based on a sharp dualism
between spirit and
matter. T
he spiritual was regarded as divine and good; the m
aterial was
created and evil.
It followed that the m
aterial world could not have been created by the
supreme G
od, and different Gnostic system
s of thought devised variousw
ays of explaining how the w
orld had come into existence. It stratified
the pre-created world into em
anations from G
od (“aeons”), and a longand com
plicated series of successive aeons occupy increasingly sepa-rated levels, until one furthest aw
ay from G
od created the material w
orld.It is from
these views that the real incarnation of the S
on of God w
asview
ed as impossible.
There w
ere a variety of views that diverged from
these premises. H
ereare but tw
o of them:
Cerinthian G
nostics: Jesus was the natural son of Joseph and M
ary;Jesus and C
hrist were tw
o different entities altogether; the Divine cam
eupon Jesus at H
is baptism and left H
im at the C
ross.
Page 19Page 18
[Read through the letter again, from
this perspective!]
2]F
or the Truth’s sake, w
hich dwelleth in us, and shall be w
ith us for ever.
Most expositions of this letter highlight the prom
inence of “truth,” inconcert w
ith “love” as the keynote of the letter. John uses the word
“Truth” five tim
es in the first four verses. He uses the w
ord “love” fourtim
es.
[Walking in L
ove and Truth and Intim
ate Know
ledge of God is a
practical guide authored by my ow
n “Elect L
ady” and is a summ
ary ofher trilogy: T
he Way of A
gape, Be Y
e Transform
ed, and Faith in the N
ightSeasons. It is a response to H
osea 4:1...]
Hear the w
ord of the LO
RD
, ye children of Israel: for the LO
RD
hath acontroversy w
ith the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth,nor m
ercy, nor knowledge of G
od in the land.- H
osea 4:1
If you take love away from
truth, you don’t have Christian love. W
e must
never lay aside doctrinal convictions and things we believe in S
cripture.R
eal love always operates w
ithin the sphere of truth.
Bu
t, Wh
at Is Tru
th?
As P
ilate’s cynical question still echoes, “What is T
ruth?”
Jesus’ declaration is conclusive and comprehensive: “I am
the Way, the
Truth, and the L
ife” (John 14:6).
How
ever, here “the Truth” m
ay be intended as a more personal appel-
lation: here we learn that T
ruth “dwells in us” and “shall be w
ith usforever.” It suggests a person, and it w
ould seem that John is using it
as a title of Jesus Christ, just as he so often uses the L
ogos, The W
ord(John 1:1-3, 14; 1 John 5:7; R
ev 19:13).
In any case, Truth is unchangeable. It is astonishing to observe our
institutions now denying the very existence of that w
hich they were
founded to discover. As if 2 +
2 = 4 is subjective and subject to debate.
“What is true is not new
; and what is new
is not true.”
3]G
race be with you, m
ercy, and peace, from G
od the Father, and from
the Lord
Jesus Christ, the S
on of the Father, in truth and love.
[Read through this short letter w
ith this perspective.]
2)A
n individual, probably a prominent lady in the C
hurch. This seem
sclear from
a straight-forward reading. T
he writer know
s her sisterand her sister’s children (v.13). T
his view w
ould make this the only
book in the Bible specifically addressed to a w
oman.
It is true that John uses a plural in vv.6, 8, 10, 12; and an individual in vv.1,4, 5, 13. T
he fact that he embraces others as w
ell in passing doesn’t alterthe intended addressee. T
he family of the “E
lect Lady” is clearly in view
.
A P
rovo
cative Co
njectu
re
3)W
ho would be the m
ost “Elect L
ady” in the entire Bible? T
o me, the
most likely prim
a facie suggestion (which, how
ever, is not even dis-cussed am
ong most com
mentators
3 ) is that the recipient of the intimate
letter is the most “elect” of all w
omen, the very one that Jesus H
imself
entrusted to John’s personal care: Mary, the m
other of Jesus (John 19:26,27; and she did have a sister as alluded to in v.13; John 19:25).
Most B
iblical believers, from their revulsion to the tragic and heretical
deification of Mary by the R
oman C
atholic Church, tend to dism
iss herand ignore her situation and predicam
ent. [We cannot m
iss the dismiss-
ive allusion at her prompting during the w
edding at Cana (John 2:4).]
We know
so little of her subsequent history from the S
criptures: thereare m
inimal allusions in the B
ook of Acts (1:14). She apparently rem
ainedin the care of John in his retirem
ent in Ephesus. (T
his conjecture would
indicate that 2 John would have been w
ritten earlier than AD
90, sinceM
ary would have been over a century old by then.)
[Most of w
hat is comm
only published by the Rom
an Catholic C
hurch hasbeen contrived by subsequent P
opes to promote their doctrinal her-
esies, etc. 4 ]
The “E
lect Lady” is loved “by all they that have know
n the Truth.” W
hoelse could this fit? T
his, too, seems to point to far m
ore than simply a
prominent personage w
ithin the local church!
If this suspicion is correct, it places an entirely unique complexion on the
letter, and also provides a number of significant insights.
Page 21Page 20
It is astonishing that so many are unaw
are of the numerous claim
s ofJesus’ G
odship! (Even the august pseudo-scholars of the Jesus S
eminar
seem w
illing to ignore who they are really dealing w
ith! Perhaps, if they
cast enough votes they hope He’ll resign!)
I and my F
ather are one. - John 10:30
Before A
braham w
as, I AM
. - John 8:58
In each of these instances, the leadership understood what H
e was
claiming: they tried to stone H
im for blasphem
y. Furtherm
ore, this was
the specific indictment for w
hich they crucified Him
(Matt 26:63-66).
(The paternal em
phasis in v.3 would have had very specific im
plicationsfor M
ary. Can you im
agine the burden Mary had to endure throughout
her entire adult life from the cloud of the ostensible illegitim
acy that was
imputed to her first pregnancy? [C
f. The aspersions cast in John 8:41.
Jesus then discusses their parentage in 8:44!!])
4]I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children w
alking in truth, as we have received
a comm
andment from
the Father.
“Thy children”: Jesus w
as raised in a family of (at least) seven: five sons
and two sisters. (T
hey are listed in Matthew
13:55, 56; and Mark 5:3.)
James and Jude becam
e believers after the resurrection; in fact, they eachw
rote books in the NT
that bear their names. Jesus appeared to Jam
esafter H
is resurrection (1 Cor 15:7).
If our surmise is correct—
and it is only a surmise—
the others alsoprobably becam
e believers. (How
ever, the Greek actually indicates
“some of thy children” rather than all of them
.)
The issue here, as in all these three letters, is that love and truth m
ustbe practiced: “w
alked.” “To w
alk in the truth” means to obey it. It is easier
to study the truth, or even argue about the truth, than it is to obey it.
Know
ing the truth is more than giving assent to a series of doctrines;
it means that the believer’s life is controlled by a love for the truth and
a desire to magnify the truth.
5]A
nd now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I w
rote a new com
mandm
ent untothee, but that w
hich we had from
the beginning, that we love one another.
Grace? M
ercy? Love? [C
ould you write a short reflective paper on the
distinctives between them
?]
Ephesians 2:4-5 com
bines all three:
But G
od, who is rich in m
ercy, for his great love wherew
ith he loved us,E
ven when w
e were dead in sins, hath quickened us together w
ithC
hrist, by grace ye are saved...
Grace is getting w
hat we don’t deserve;
Mercy is not getting w
hat we do.
Love is that in G
od which existed before H
e would care to exercise
mercy or grace.
- Lew
is Sperry C
hafer
Love is the nature of G
od.
It is interesting that love never saved a sinner. The love of G
od causedG
od to move in the direction of m
ercy and grace; it caused Him
toexercise m
ercy and grace.- J. V
ernon McG
ee
Salvation is not only an expression of the love of G
od; it is also anexpression of the justice and righteousness of G
od.
To declare, I say, at this tim
e his righteousness: that he might be just,
and the justifier of him w
hich believeth in Jesus.- R
omans 3:16
[Grace =
God’s R
ighteousness At C
hrist’s Expense. R
eview our
Expositional C
omm
entary on the Book of R
omans for a deeper study
of this entire area.]
The grace that is in H
im can act freely to save because all the dem
andsof holiness have been satisfied; the debt has been paid.
It is suggestive that in v.3 John emphasizes that Jesus’ paternity—
“Son
of the Father”—
to the recipient. This is another of those passages that
links—and equates—
the Father w
ith the Son.
1 John 2:23: Whosever denieth the Son, the sam
e hath not the Father.
Page 23Page 22
And the W
ord was m
ade flesh, and dw
elt among us, (and w
e beheld hisglory, the glory as of the only begotten of the F
ather,) full of grace andtruth.
- John 1:14
In his sermon w
e call First John, he opens w
ith a similar em
phasis:T
hat which w
as from the beginning, w
hich we have heard, w
hich we
have seen with our eyes, w
hich we have looked upon, and our hands
have handled, of the Word of life...
-John 1:1
“Progressive theology” that denies C
hrist is not progressive at all: it isregressive—
in fact, all the way back to G
enesis 3:1: “Yea, H
ath God
said?”
The P
harisees were the conservatives of Jesus’ day; the S
adducees were
the liberals. Both w
ere in trouble. How
ever, the Sadducees w
ere thegreatest enem
ies that Christ had and w
ere the main instigators of the first
persecution of the Church.
The P
harisees with the S
adducees were the leaders of the persecution
of the Lord Jesus. B
ut after the death of the Lord, m
ost of the Pharisees
dropped the whole affair. T
hey lost interest in persecuting Him
or His
followers; in fact, m
any of them becam
e Christians (A
cts 3 & 4). A
Pharisee nam
ed Nicodem
us was converted, as w
ere many priests
obedient to the faith (Acts 6:7).
There is no account in S
cripture of a Sadducee ever com
ing to Christ for
salvation. The acid test of the Sadducees w
as the resurrection, as it istoday am
ong the “liberals.”
* * *
The prevalent G
nostic teachings would have had a disconcerting
problem for M
ary. (Why w
ould she have been imm
une to doubts andm
isgivings?)
“An antichrist” should be “the”! T
he Greek, o� avnti,cristo,, has a definite
article. The prefix anti- actually m
eans “instead of”; the modern use
emphasizes “against.” B
oth are, of course, true.
Actually, the final clim
actic leadership will be headed up by tw
o men (R
ev13). T
his leadership has 33 titles in the OT
; 13 in the NT
. (It is interestingthat John him
self does not use this term “antichrist” in the B
ook ofR
evelation.)
The recipient w
as not a latecomer: she w
as there “from the beginning”
(cf. vv.5 & 6). T
he “we” carries a provocative joint identity.
Love is a com
mandm
ent. If ye love me, keep m
y comm
andments.
-John 14:15
Real love is a choice, not an em
otion. I choose to love you. When I obey,
I do what G
od tells me to do. [F
or a practical guide, see Nan’s book, T
heW
ay of Agape...]
6]A
nd this is love, that we w
alk after his comm
andments. T
his is the comm
and-m
ent, That, as ye have heard from
the beginning, ye should walk in it.
We should not presum
e that any of us are beyond the need forexhortation or encouragem
ent.
Why w
ould Mary—
a blessed but human believer—
be any exception?M
ary was hum
an, and subject to the same frailties as all of us: pride and
doubts, needed frequent encouragement, counsel, and, perhaps, exhor-
tation.
A tendency tow
ard pride would certainly be her serious challenge: the
most blessed of all w
omen w
ho had ever walked the earth! T
hink aboutit. [W
hat was her “thorn in the flesh”? (2 C
or 12:7-9).]
Both truth and love can be perverted.
[In view of the onslaught of the G
nostic heresies, doubts and defensesm
ay well have brought unique challenges for M
ary, especially!]
7]F
or many deceivers are entered into the w
orld, who confess not that Jesus C
hristis com
e in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an [the] antichrist.
Here is a clear response to the prevalent G
nostic teachings. They w
ereteaching that Jesus C
hrist was not really a person; just a phantom
. When
He w
alked He didn’t leave a footprint!
(This is partially scriptural: M
atthew 14:25ff; M
ark 6:48ff; John 6:19ff!)
It is surprising that the present (continuous) tense is used: Jesus Christ
had come and still exists “in flesh.”
In the first chapter of John’s Gospel, he em
phasizes,
Page 25Page 24
(Rem
ember how
Paul stayed in the home of A
quila and Priscilla when he
was in C
orinth?)
[Fortunately, the situation is quite different today. In fact, most traveling
speakers prefer the privacy of comm
ercial accomm
odations for studyand prayer, w
hich is rarely equivalent when one is being received in a
private residence, however w
ell intended.]
Christians are adm
onished to open their homes to visitors (R
om 12:13;
1 Tim
3:2; 5:3-10; Heb 13:2; 1 P
eter 4:8-10). But the context here can be
considered providing respite to itinerant speakers...
We m
ust not let the poison of false doctrine get into our home.
There is a colorful legend concerning John’s attitude tow
ard a notableheretic in E
phesus: a cultist and false teacher by the name of C
erinthus,w
ho taught that Jesus was the natural son of Joseph and M
ary, not God
come in the flesh. O
ne day at the local bath house, when C
erinthusarrived, John jum
ped out of the water, got his clothes and tow
els, andtook off running, and exclaim
ed, “Let us hurry from
this house, lest it fallon us. C
erinthus, the enemy of truth, is here!”
[Should a C
hristian pick up a hitchhiker?]
11]F
or he that biddeth him G
od speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
This is a disturbing caveat for all of us!
“Goodbye” m
eans “God be w
ith you”; it is a petition for God’s blessing
and sanction.
John did not want any of G
od’s children to:
1)give a false teacher the im
pression that his heretical doctrine was
acceptable;2)
become infected because of association and possible friendship;
and3)
give the false teacher amm
unition to use at the next place hestopped.
John is certainly admonishing us to not receive or encourage false
teachers representing anti-Christian groups.
8]L
ook to yourselves, that we lose not those things w
hich we have w
rought, butthat w
e receive a full reward.
Even M
ary could lose her “reward”! N
one of us should take anythingfor granted. W
e cannot lose that which Jesus com
pleted; but we can fail
to retain that which “w
e have wrought,” those things w
hich derive fromour ow
n faithfulness. 5
Every believer ought to be w
orking for a reward, and be able to hear H
imsay, “
Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” -M
att 25:21
9]W
hosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not
God. H
e that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the F
ather and theSon.
John was not one to suggest that all religious teachings are true in one
way or another, and that w
e should not be critical just as long as peopleare sincere. T
o John, there was a deadly difference. H
e that hath notC
hrist hath not God.
Transgresseth: parabai,nw
, parabaino: to go beyond the limits; to go
past as to turn aside; thus, to extend beyond the pale of orthodoxy.
This is the characteristic of every cult. T
hey always have som
e newinform
ation or insight that goes beyond the clear and express doctrinesof G
od. Every cult finds a new
way to deny the deity of Jesus C
hrist.
Even M
ary, of all people, may have had particular difficulties in this area.
In any case, she certainly would have been draw
n into the ragingcontroversies over the real nature of Jesus.
Incidentally, “abide” means to rem
ain; it is intended to be a permanent
arrangement. It is in this respect, in particular, that I intend to rem
ain “oldfashioned.”
10]If there com
e any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your
house, neither bid him G
od speed:
Let us also rem
ember that hospitality—
especially in those rough times—
was extrem
ely critical to the ministry. T
he “hospitality industry” ofm
otels and related services came later. T
he inns of those early days were
neither safe nor adequate. Traveling pastors or teachers needed hom
esto stay in (3 John 5-8).
Page 27Page 26
hallucinations, hoaxes, or incidents of well-intentioned religious hyste-
ria. While som
e of these incidents may w
ell be, there are a significantnum
ber of them that evidence clear supernatural involvem
ents anddeserve our serious caution!
Our L
ady of Guadalupe, 1531
The vision as reported;
Discoveries on Juan D
iego’s tilma.
The V
isions at Fatim
a, 1917P
ortugal: May 13, O
ctober 13T
hree children70,000 w
itnesses
Notes:
1.Ignatius, L
etter to the Smyrnaeans, 1-3; cf. 5:2, 6:2; L
etter to Magnesians, 11;
Letter to the T
aillians, 9f; et al.2.
Jerome (E
p. Xi. A
d Ageruchiam
); later Calovius, W
histon, Michaelis, A
ugusti,H
ofmann (W
eissagung u. Erfüllung, II. P
.321, and Schriftbew
., I. P.226ff);
Hilgenfeld (1855), E
wald, C
andlish, Barnes, H
uther, etc. Also, m
ore recently,H
arris, Marshall, P
lumm
er, Stedm
an, Vines, M
cGee, W
iersbe, Walvoord, and
other modern com
mentators. (S
ee bibliography.)3.
So far, I haven’t found any that support the idea of M
ary except Knauer (S
tud.U
. Krit., 1833, P
art 2, p.452ff. q.v. J. E. H
uther (cf. bibliography);4.
See D
ave Hunt’s A
Wom
an Rides the B
east for a comprehensive, w
ell-docum
ented and timely review
.5.
See Joseph D
illow’s, T
he Reign of the Servant K
ings, for a thorough discussionof salvation versus rew
ards, etc.
* * *
Sessio
n 3:
First Jo
hn
1
John’s Gospel: O
ur past: Salvation
John’s Letters: O
ur present: Sanctification
John’s Revelation: O
ur future: His G
lorious Appearing
1 John has been called the sanctum sanctorum
of the New
Testam
ent.It takes the child of G
od into the fellowship of the F
ather’s home.
This is another grave reason that you should investigate everything you
give to as a Christian, because if you are giving to the w
rong thing, God
considers you a partner in it.
[Is v.10 a general principle, or was it a particular injunction for M
ary asone w
ho could inadvertently clothe heresy with the m
antle of herapproval?]
12]H
aving many things to w
rite unto you, I would not w
rite with paper and ink:
but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy m
ay be full.
This could be sim
ply an allusion to intimacy and im
minency; or it could
be a precaution to disclosure(s). David said a sim
ilar thing: “my tongue
is the pen of a ready writer” ( P
salm 45:1).
[Note: P
salm 45:1, the H
ebrew, ryhim rpeAs, the “ready w
riter” (KJV
), or“skillful w
riter” (NIV
), is translated in the Greek S
eptuagint, ovxugra,foj,
oxygràphos, a synonym for tachygràphos, or “shorthand w
riter.” The
technical term m
ust have been comm
on enough among G
reek-speakingJew
s in the third century BC
for its use in the Septuagint to have any
purpose. This is one of the reasons w
e believe Matthew
wrote short-
hand: it was required for his profession as a custom
s official.]
13]T
he children of thy elect sister greet thee. Am
en.
This verse also argues for the addressee to be a specific individual.
(And, yes, M
ary did have a sister; cf. John 19:25.)
* * *
Ad
den
du
m:
Th
e Marian
Ap
paritio
ns
The deification of M
ary by the Rom
an Catholic C
hurch represents farm
ore than simply a heterodox departure from
the Biblical faith. In
addition to be a blasphemy on the deity, role, and person of Jesus C
hrist,this pagan contrivance appears to be the continuing vehicle for theexecution of strategic dem
onic activities of the most sinister sort.
Most P
rotestant observers tend to dismiss the sequence of sightings
and encounters with w
hat purports to be the Virgin M
ary as simply
Page 29Page 28
Six L
iars
If we say that w
e have fellowship w
ith Him
, and walk in darkness, w
elie and do not practice the truth.
-1 John 1:6
If we say that w
e have not sinned, we m
ake Him
a liar and His truth is
not in us.-1 John 1:10
He that saith, I know
Him
, and keepeth not His com
mandm
ents, is a liar,and the truth is not in him
.-1 John 2:4
Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the C
hrist? He is antichrist,
that denieth the Father and the Son.
-1 John 2:22
If a man say, I love G
od, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he thatloveth not his brother w
hom he hath seen, how
can he love God w
homhe hath not seen?
-1 John 4:20
He that believeth on the Son of G
od hath the witness in him
self; he thatbelieveth not G
od hath made G
od a liar; because he believeth not therecord that G
od gave of his Son.-1 John 5:10
John always includes a “key” to his w
ritings, which w
ill “unlock” theirm
eaning: Revelation 1:19 is its outline; John 20:31 is the specific purpose
of his Gospel; and, 1 John has 4 (tim
es 7?) keys, all identified by thephrase, “T
hese things I write...”
“1 John” is more like a w
ritten sermon, a further developm
ent of thethem
es in 2 John. W
e have left it to the last as the climax of the series.
1 Joh
n 1
No “G
reeting”: it is for all of God’s people everyw
here.
1]T
hat which w
as from the beginning, w
hich we have heard, w
hich we have seen
with our eyes, w
hich we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the
Word of life;
John opens with a strong declaration of the reality of C
hrist, which w
asheard, seen, gazed upon, and handled.
(Paul’s epistles, and all the other epistles, are C
hurch epistles; but thisis a fam
ily epistle. It may prove m
ore important to the individual believer
than all the Church epistles!)
Life is real. It is a battleground, not a playground.
If a person is wrong about Jesus C
hrist, he is wrong about G
od; if he isw
rong about God, he is w
rong about everything else.
Seven
Co
ntrasts
The L
ight vs. The D
arkness 1:5-2:11
The F
ather vs. The W
orld 2:12-2:17
Christ vs. T
he Antichrist
2:18-2:28G
ood Works vs. E
vil Works
2:29-3:24H
oly Spirit vs. E
rror 4:1-4:6
Love vs. P
ious Pretence
4:7-4:21T
he God-B
orn vs. Others
5:1-5:21
Th
e Seven
Tests
Of P
rofession 1:5-2:11
Of D
esire 2:12-2:17
Of D
octrine 2:18-2:28
Of C
onduct 2:29-3:24
Of D
iscernment
4:1-4:6O
f Motive
4:7-4:21O
f New
Birth
5:1-5:21
Hep
tadic S
tructu
re
Seven traits of the born again:
(2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1 (twice), 4, 18).
Seven reasons w
hy this epistle written:
(1:3, 4; 2:1, 13-17, 21-24, 26; 5:13).
Seven tests of C
hristian genuineness:(1:6, 8, 10; 2:4, 6, 9; 4:20).
Seven tests of honesty and reality:
(1:6, 8, 10; 2:4, 6, 9; 4:20).
Page 31Page 30
The C
hrist of reality is also real experientially. Real C
hristianity is apersonal experience w
ith the Lord Jesus C
hrist.
There is a deadly difference betw
een church mem
bership and salvation.K
nowing about Jesus and know
ing Him
are not the same.
3]T
hat which w
e have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also m
ay havefellow
ship with us: and truly our fellow
ship is with the F
ather, and with his
Son Jesus C
hrist.
Here w
e encounter one of the greatest words in the B
ible: koinwni,a,
koinonia, fellowship; a close m
utual relationship; participation; part-nership; com
munion. S
haring something together.
It is two-dim
ensional:horizontal: fellow
ship with one another; and
vertical: with G
od the Father.
There are tw
o families in this w
orld. Jesus said, “Ye are of your father
the devil” (John 8:44).
You can’t “join” the fam
ily of God: you m
ust be born into it (John 3:3ff).
When you are born into the fam
ily of God, you becom
e part of thegreatest fellow
ship in the world. C
f. Philippians 1:5; 2:1; Acts 2:42, after
the Day of P
entecost.
Caution: “B
e ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (2 C
or6:14). F
riendship, yes. Fellow
ship, no. [To m
arry someone w
ho is lostis to com
mit to a lifetim
e of grief...]
But the astonishing aspect of our fellow
ship is vertical: with G
od. He
talks to you (through His W
ord); you talk to Him
(through prayer).
[Is your comm
unication with G
od half-duplex or full-duplex?]
4]A
nd these things write w
e unto you, that your joy may be full.
[This is one of the seven reasons w
hy this epistle was w
ritten (see“H
eptadic Structure” sum
mary).]
Do you have joy today? M
ost people have just enough religion to make
them m
iserable.
“Heard” is in the present tense: began in the past, and still continues!
“Seen” w
ith physical eyes;
“Looked”: gazed upon, view
ed attentively, intensely studied, contem-
plated; (qea,omai theaom
ai, the word from
which w
e get the word
theater). [Just as Israel gazed upon the Brazen S
erpent (Num
bers 21:8;John 3:14).]
“Handled,” C
f. Luke 24:39.
All this is a firm
rebuttal to the myths of the G
nostics, who, in various
styles, denied the tangible existence of the Christ.
Only John uses, as a title, “the W
ord” (John 1:1-3, 14; 1 John 5:7; Rev
19:13); here, the Word of L
ife.
Jesus is the noun of God; the verb of G
od; and adjective of God. W
henyou look at Jesus you see the L
ove of God; and the holiness of G
od.
Th
ree “Beg
inn
ing
s” in S
criptu
re
Gen 1:1: “In the beginning G
od created the heaven and the earth.”
[Nachm
onides & M
aimondes: m
atter, energy, time and space, all had a
“beginning.” The great discovery of 20
th century science is the acknowl-
edgment that the universe did, indeed, have a beginning!]
John 1:1-3: “In the beginning was the W
ord, and the Word w
as with G
od,and the W
ord was G
od. The sam
e was in the beginning w
ith God. A
llthings w
ere made by him
; and without him
was not any thing m
ade thatw
as made.”
Jesus Christ is coexistent, coeternal, and coequal w
ith God. C
f. John12:45; H
eb 13:8. The Pre-existent C
hrist: “that which w
as [already] fromthe beginning...” [“T
ruth = w
hen the word and the deed becom
e one.”]
2](F
or the life was m
anifested, and we have seen it, and bear w
itness, and shewunto you that eternal life, w
hich was w
ith the Father, and w
as manifested unto
us;)
Christ is also real historically: “m
anifested” — to appear, m
ade visible.C
f. 1 Tim
3:16; John 1:14.
Page 33Page 32
Morally, light represents H
is holiness. Light reveals.
“There is not no darkness in G
od.” ( In Greek, the double negative is an
emphatic.)
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from
above, and cometh dow
nfrom
the Father of lights, w
ith whom
is no variableness, neither shadowof turning.
- James 1:17
[“Variableness” is the translation of parallagh, parallage, or parallax:
parallel rays from light, w
hich is, mathem
atically, at infinity.]
In him w
as life; and the life was the light of m
en. And the light shineth
in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. - John 1:4, 5
And this is the condem
nation, that light is come into the w
orld, and men
loved [agapao!] darkness rather than light, because their deeds were
evil. - John 3:19
Man, how
ever, is unholy. That’s the problem
(cf. Rom
7:18; 3:10; Job9:33; Isa 55:8).
“Secret sin dow
n here is open scandal in heaven.” - L
ewis S
perry Chafer
Then spake Jesus again unto them
, saying, I am the light of the w
orld:he that follow
eth me shall not w
alk in darkness, but shall have the lightof life. - John 8:12
Our concept of G
od will ultim
ately determine the kind of life w
e live. Ifw
e have a low concept of G
od, then we w
ill live a low life. If w
e have ahigh concept of G
od, we w
ill be challenged to live a high and noble life.[L
ook at the kind of leadership of our founding fathers of this country,and contrast it w
ith the more recent tim
es...]
The unspoken criticism
s:
•W
hy is it that most C
hristians are not alert, well inform
ed, stable,dependable, alive, etc.?
•W
hy are so many untrustw
orthy, critical, harsh, repelling andnegative?
•If G
od is light, and He can do all this, w
hy does it seem to happen
to only a few?
John wants your joy to be full, not half-full ( P
salm 16:11). T
he most
joyous truth in our hearts is to know that Jesus C
hrist is our personalS
avior, that our home is in heaven, and that w
e have a special reason forliving.
One of the reasons m
any Christians have such little joy is that they don’t
study their Bible! Jer 15:16 can start your pilgrim
age to joy. The m
oreyou digest, the m
ore you understand. The m
ore you understand, them
ore you can digest... It’s the ultimate gourm
et meal!
[One of the greatest tragedies in our culture is that our youth has been
denied this reality by the theories and conjectures that it is bombarded
with in our schools and entertainm
ents, etc.]
Som
e manuscripts translate “our joy” instead of “your joy.” E
ither way,
it’s a wonderful truth. S
oul winning is, too, a fulfilling joy.
“Ye are our glory and joy” (1 T
hess 2:20).
5]T
his then is the message w
hich we have heard of him
, and declare unto you, thatG
od is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
God is light. T
his is the basis of our fellowship. W
e need to understandH
is terms for fellow
ship. [Later, w
e’ll also note that God is love (1 John
4:8). This is the basis of our sonship.]
“The L
ord is my light and m
y salvation” (Ps 27:1).
God dw
ells in unapproachable light (1 Tim
6:16).
“Let light be” is G
od’s first quote in the Torah.
The shekinah glory w
as a cloud of light.
Light also represents know
ledge. And the inform
ation sciences, we
have recently discovered, are the fundamental behind everything: from
particle physics (and DN
A) to the cosm
os.
Through faith w
e understand that the worlds w
ere framed by the W
ordof G
od, so that things which are seen w
ere not made of things w
hich doappear. C
f. Heb 11:3; cf. Psalm
19:1-4.
Page 35Page 34
John is saying that if we claim
we are w
alking in fellowship w
hile walking
in darkness, we are living a lie.
Am
ong other things, we m
isrepresent our Lord; and w
e also misdirect
the lost.
Darkness: M
ost of us assume that darkness is sim
ply the absence oflight. T
hat is not quite a complete picture. [“G
od divided the light fromthe darkness” (G
en 1:4).]
There are such things as “black holes”: dense concentrations from
which no light can escape!
“Darkness” attracts darkness; and w
allowing in it long enough can m
akeescape virtually im
possible.
How
do you “turn off the light”? By skipping church; “neglecting to
meet together” (H
eb 10:24, 25); by stopping daily Scripture reading;
failing to spend time w
ith Him
(we learn of H
im through the W
ord; we
gain our relationship with H
im in our devotional life; failing to take
frequent personal spiritual bearings; failing to correct “dead reckoning”w
ith periodic reliable bearings to account for drift...).
Denial also w
orks. Pretending everything is okay is presum
ptuous andself-deceiving.
7]B
ut if we w
alk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellow
ship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his S
on cleanseth us from all sin.
If I am going to w
alk in the light, it means to hide nothing. If I am
goingto w
alk with G
od, I am going to have to know
His likes and dislikes. It’s
His call! [Just like any good servant, w
e need to know H
is preferencesand “buying habits.”]
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a
peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him
who hath
called you out of darkness into his marvellous light...
- 1 Peter 2:9
For ye w
ere sometim
es darkness, but now are ye light in the L
ord: walk
as children of light... - Eph 5:8
There is a difference betw
een profession and practice. We need to “w
alkthe talk.” (C
f. Matt 7:21, 22.)
Th
e Secret: F
ellow
ship
6]If w
e say that we have fellow
ship with him
, and walk in darkness, w
e lie, anddo not the truth:
Relationship puts us into the fam
ily of God. F
ellowship is experiencing
Christ; it perm
its the life of the family to shine out through us.
This is the first of three professions that are betrayed by our actions:
“If we say w
e have fellowship...”
(v.6)“If w
e say we have no sin...”
(v.8)“If w
e say have not sinned...”(v.10)
What does it m
ean, “to walk in darkness”? It m
eans to walk in sin and
disobedience; it means to practice things that are contrary to the
holiness and light of God.
God is holy. H
e cannot, and will not, tolerate sin. If you are living in sin,
God w
ill not have fellowship w
ith you.
Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on
iniquity...- H
ab 1:13
A condition of our fellow
ship is that it must stand in the light of H
im: H
isw
ays; His term
s. When you say you are in fellow
ship with G
od, you aresaying, “I have stepped out of darkness and into the light.”
Who hath delivered us from
the power of darkness, and hath translated
us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
- Col 1:13
John is attacking a heresy that was ram
pant in his day—as w
ell as ours!
People w
ere saying that it was possible to be in fellow
ship with G
od andto be in sin at the sam
e time.
Can tw
o walk together, except they be agreed? - A
mos 3:3
[At A
braham’s offering of Isaac, that precursor on the very spot of the
ultimate offering of the F
ather’s Son at G
olgatha, the Hebrew
textindicates that “both of them
went together in agreem
ent.” (Cf. G
en 22:6,8.)]
Page 37Page 36
But let’s not be general, or include “conditionals” like “If w
e have ....”etc. L
et’s be specific, and admit ow
nership to the entire list. And let’s
include “forsaking” in our prognosis and comm
itment.
Repentance involves m
ore than regret: it includes a comm
itment to
turning from our sin.
Yet, it’s H
is faithfulness that is the key!
Forgiveness (that’s judicial); A
nd cleansing (that’s hygienic).
10]If w
e say that we have not sinned, w
e make him
a liar, and his word is not in
us.
It is remarkable to discover how
many false cults deny the reality of the
existence of sin: Christian S
cience, Unity S
chool of Christianity, R
eli-gious S
cience, et al. Also it is a prom
inent feature of non-Christian
religions such as Theosophy, H
induism, and B
uddhism. T
hey all teachthat sin does not really exist.
Even the field of psychology, w
hile acknowledging that guilt is at the
core of most “m
ental illness,” can only treat the symptom
, not the cause.S
in is the cause; guilt is but a symptom
.
There hath no tem
ptation taken you but such as is comm
on to man: but
God is faithful, w
ho will not suffer you to be tem
pted above that ye areable; but w
ill with the tem
ptation also make a w
ay to escape, that yem
ay be able to bear it. - 1 Cor 10:13
Are you m
aking God a liar? B
e careful about that!
The practical application of all this is sim
ple and direct: go to Him
andtalk w
ith Him
as you do to no one else. Tell H
im your problem
s. Tell H
imyour sins (be specific). T
ell Him
your weakness(es); lay it all out on the
line.
Ask H
im to forgive, cleanse, strengthen...and be serious about it.
Whenever w
e sin, we have an accuser, a prosecuting attorney w
hodem
ands the death penalty because of our sin (Cf. R
ev 12:10).
But 1 John 2 says w
e have an advocate to plead our case. This w
ill bereview
ed next.
The cleansing blood: ...w
ithout shedding of blood is no remission. (C
f.H
eb 9:22; Lev 17:11.)
Cf. T
his was taught very early: G
en 3:21.C
f. Acts 20:28; 1 P
eter 1:18-19.
The blood is
peace-giving: Col 1:20;
conscience purging: Heb 9:14;
prevailing: Rev 12:11;
cleansing (1 John v.7, here)[present tense: it goes on cleansing!].
(In addition to the once-and-for-all redemptive act for all tim
e andeternity at the C
ross.)
8]If w
e say that we have no sin, w
e deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
It is essential to note the difference between “sin” and “sins.” H
ere, inv.8 it is singular, the genetic defect that is the root of our problem
. Sin
is that in man w
hich makes him
want to play G
od on every occasion; we
want the w
orld to revolve around us; it is our innate self-centeredness,called pride, selfishness, self-w
ill.
In v.9 it is in the plural: the specific fruits of this root problem.
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper. - P
roverbs 28:13
Let’s not quibble about w
hat is a sin. God has m
ade it clear; our re-interpretations notw
ithstanding. So w
hat should we do w
ith them?
Ch
ristian’s B
ar of S
oap
9]If w
e confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanseus from
all unrighteousness.
“Confess”: o�mologe,w
, homologeo, to say the sam
e thing. (Logeo, “to
say”; homo, “the sam
e.”) We are to say the sam
e thing that God says.
That is, from
His point of view
.
We need to acknow
ledge our ownership of our sin. W
e need to comm
itto forsake our sin.
Page 39Page 38
1 Joh
n 2
Sin
Need
No
t Reig
n in
Us
1]M
y little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. A
nd if any man
sin, we have an advocate w
ith the Father, Jesus C
hrist the righteous:
Reason #3 (of 7) of w
hy this epistle was w
ritten. (Seven R
easons: 1:3,4; 2:1, 13-17, 21-24, 26; 5:13.) F
ellowship; joy; now
: to prevent sin.
The B
ible nowhere says that a C
hristian is sinless, but it does teach thata child of G
od ought to sin less. Less today than yesterday...
We can never lose our sin nature that w
e were born w
ith (1 John 1:8) butw
e need not obey its desires.
John here gives us a key title of the Lord Jesus C
hrist: our Advocate. H
eis our defense attorney.
We have an aggressive adversary against us, “the accuser of our
brethren” (Rev 12:10).
We actually have tw
o! Jesus finished His w
ork on earth (John 17:4), andis presently interceding for us before the Father’s throne (H
ebrews 7:25).
[Illustration in Zechariah 3:1-7: Joshua (the priest) had his filthy gar-
ments changed and his accuser silenced.]
The term
“advocate” para,klhtoj parakletos, is the same w
ord John usedfor the H
oly Spirit (John 14:16, 26; 15:26;16:7), our P
araclete, ourC
omforter, “the one called alongside.”
We have an advocate in our hearts, as w
ell as one at the Throne of G
oditself. N
ote: Our advocate—
our defense counsel—is of no avail to us
as long as we are still trying to defend ourselves!
2]A
nd he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for thesins of the w
hole world.
Propitiation =
the satisfying of God’s holy law
.In R
omans: i�lasth,rion hilasterion, m
ercy seat.H
ere, i�lasmo,j hilasmos, a m
eans of appeasing, a propitiation.
Sessio
n 4:
First Jo
hn
2:1-14
Intro
du
ction
John was w
riting during a time w
hen the very deity of Christ w
as a major
issue within the C
hurch. As it is today! It is interesting to see how
timely
the Scriptures are for us in our ow
n times.
Yet John’s w
ords are intimate and personal; he is w
riting to the individualbeliever, and w
ith some very specific purposes in m
ind.
Are you really saved? H
ow do you know
? Are you sure? It is not enough
to claim that you are saved.
Not every one that saith unto m
e, Lord, L
ord, shall enter into thekingdom
of heaven; but he that doeth the will of m
y Father w
hich is inheaven. M
any will say to m
e in that day, Lord, L
ord, have we not
prophesied in thy name? and in thy nam
e have cast out devils? and inthy nam
e done many w
onderful works? A
nd then will I profess unto
them, I never knew
you: depart from m
e, ye that work iniquity.
- Matt 7:21-23.
Am
ong the many purposes (seven listed) of the book of 1 John, the m
ainone is that you and I m
ay KN
OW
that we are truly children of G
od. The
Bible teaches that C
hristians can know that they are saved.
For I know
whom
I have believed, and am persuaded that H
e is able tokeep that w
hich I have comm
itted unto Him
against that day.- 2 T
imothy 1:12
These things have I w
ritten unto you that believe on the name of the Son
of God; that ye m
ay know that ye have eternal life...
- 1 John 5:13
The w
ord “know” is used 39 tim
es in this book: it refers to experientialknow
ledge.
Chapter 2 opens w
ith this same em
phasis.
Page 41Page 40
We can obey...
because we have to (as a slave),
because we need to (an em
ployee), orbecause w
e want to (a love com
mitm
ent).
If one is really saved, it is not simply a claim
: it will result in an attitude
of obedience in his/her heart. Obedience is the very basis of our
assurance.
This chapter includes the first of a series of tests.
His phrase “he that saith” introduces a series of tests by w
hich we can
know beyond a doubt that w
e are a child of God. T
his occurs in v.4, v.6,v.9.
4]H
e that saith, I know him
, and keepeth not his comm
andments, is a liar, and the
truth is not in him.
The third of six “liars.” (O
thers: 1:6; 1:10; 2:4; 2:22; 4:20; 5:10.)
Oh, w
hat a tangled web w
e weave
When first w
e practice to deceive!- S
ir Walter S
cott
The life that is real cannot be built on things that are deceptive. B
eforew
e can walk in the light, w
e must know
ourselves, accept ourselves, andyield ourselves to G
od.
5]B
ut whoso keepeth his w
ord, in him verily is the love of G
od perfected: herebyknow
we that w
e are in him.
In v.1 he speaks of His com
mandm
ents, in general; here, His W
ord. His
Word is m
ore than just comm
andments.
An unchanged life is the sign of an unchanged heart.
- Charles S
purgeon
Our “keeping” is an attitude of the heart, not a score card or checklist.
In this is the love of God perfected, com
pleted in its goal.
Have you taken the m
easure of your own spiritual inventory? W
hat isyour attitude tow
ard sin? Are you in com
plete harmony w
ith yourF
ather’s attitude toward sin?
God is light; H
e cannot close His eyes to sin. B
ut God is love, and w
antsto save sinners.
Perhaps D
eity can forgive sinners, but I do not see how.
- Socrates, 500 B
.C.
How
can God uphold H
is own justice and still forgive sinners? T
heansw
er is through the sacrifice of Christ. G
od Him
self paid the penalty.[T
he Book of R
omans is the definitive study on sin, its penalty, and its
remedy.]
“Not for ours only, but for the sins of the w
hole world.” T
his is arefutation of the concept of “lim
ited atonement” (C
alvinism). C
f. John3:16.
All H
e asks is that when w
e have failed we confess our sins (1 John 1:9).
We need to m
anifest a serious and comm
itted attitude that is consistentw
ith God’s view
of sin.
Th
e Test o
f Attitu
de
3]A
nd hereby we do know
that we know
him, if w
e keep his comm
andments.
This verse has nothing to do w
ith the security of the believer. John istalking about assurance.
“Keep”: thre,w
tereo: to guard something carefully, as one w
ould guarda treasure.
The “com
mandm
ents” do not refer to the Ten C
omm
andments. (T
heyare for the unsaved!)
God has special com
mandm
ents for His fam
ily:
For ye know
what com
mandm
ents we gave you by the L
ord Jesus. - 1 T
hess 4:2B
ear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of C
hrist. - G
al 6:2
Over 22 in 1 T
hessalonians 5: Rejoice everm
ore; Pray w
ithout ceasing;Q
uench not the Spirit; et al.
Page 43Page 42
(Even the G
reeks clearly understood that it was essential that eros be
bridled or restrained.)
Joh
n’s T
hree C
on
trasts
As John describes a life that is real, he uses three w
ords repeatedly: life,love, and light.
Read three sections separately: 1 John 2:7-11; 3:10-24; 4:7-21; it w
illbecom
e clear that love, life, and light cannot be separated:C
hristian love is affected by light and darkness (1 John 2:7-11). AC
hristian who is w
alking in the light (obeying God) is going to love his
Christian brother.
Christian love is a m
atter of life or death (1John 3:10-24). To live in hatred
is to live in spiritual death.
Christian love is a m
atter of truth or error (1 John 4:7-21), because if we
know G
od’s love toward us, w
e show G
od’s love toward others.
In these three sections we have three good reasons w
hy Christians
should love one another:
1) God has com
manded us to love (1 John 2:7-11);
2) We have been born of G
od and God’s love lives in us (1 John 3:10-24);
3) God first revealed H
is love to us (1 John 4:7-21).
A N
ew E
mp
hasis
7]B
rethren, I write no new
comm
andment unto you, but an old com
mandm
entw
hich ye had from the beginning. T
he old comm
andment is the w
ord which ye
have heard from the beginning.
When Jesus w
as asked which is the first com
mandm
ent, He quoted the
Sh’m
a (Deut 6:4, 5, and L
ev 19:18 as an addition):
And Jesus answ
ered him, T
he first of all the comm
andments is, H
ear, OIsrael; T
he Lord our G
od is one Lord: A
nd thou shalt love the Lord thy
God w
ith all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and w
ith all thy mind, and
with all thy strength: this is the first com
mandm
ent. And the second is
like, namely this, T
hou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none
other comm
andment greater than these. - M
ark 12:29-31
Can tw
o walk together, except they be agreed?
- Am
os 3:3
Test o
f Actio
ns
6]H
e that saith he abideth in him ought him
self also so to walk, even as he w
alked.
Talk and w
alk should coincide. (Even as he w
alked:)
For even hereunto w
ere ye called: because Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example, that ye should follow
his steps:- 1 P
eter 2:21
Be ye therefore follow
ers of God, as dear children;
- Ephesians 5:1
followers: mimhth,j m
imetes, m
imm
ic, imitator. W
e don’t become C
hris-tians by follow
ing Christ’s exam
ple; but after being born into His fam
ily,w
e aspire to follow H
is example as our perfect pattern by abiding—
staying connected as a branch does to the vine— in fellow
ship with our
source.
John walked the talk. A
nd it was not alw
ays thus. Jesus had nicknamed
the two brothers, B
oanerges, “Sons of T
hunder” (Mark 3:17).
On one occasion, these tw
o brothers wanted to call dow
n fire fromheaven to destroy a village (L
uke 9:51-56)!
Test o
f Affectio
n
“I love peanut butter.” “I love my w
ife.”
Words, like coins, can be in circulation for such a long tim
e that they startw
earing out. The w
ord “Love” has lost its precision—
and its depth—in our culture; it does, indeed, “cover a m
ultitude of sins”!
The G
reek has four words for “love”:
Storge: Affection love, as a parent tow
ard a child;P
hileo: Friendship love; having things in com
mon;
Agape (noun): G
od’s unconditional love;[vs. A
gapao, the verb: totally given over to];E
ros: Sensual, sexual, love (not in N
T).
Page 45Page 44
Consider the “one another” statem
ents in the New
Testam
ent:W
ash one another’s feet (John 13:14);P
refer one another (Rom
12:10);B
e of the same m
ind one to another (Rom
12:16);D
o not judge one another (Rom
14:13);R
eceive one another (Rom
15:7);A
dmonish one another (R
om 15:14);
Edify [build up] one another (1 T
hess 5:11);B
ear one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2);
Confess your faults to one another (Jam
es 5:16);U
se hospitality one to another (1 Peter 4:9);
...and a dozen others.
What happens to a believer w
ho does not love the brethren?H
e lives in darkness (though he may think he is living in the light)
(1 John 2:9).H
e is living a lie.H
e becomes a cause of stum
bling (1 John 2:10).It retards a believer’s spiritual progress (1 John 2:11).
12]I w
rite unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s
sake.
“Little children” tekni,on teknion, little child; Scottish, bairn ones. From
a verb: to bring into existence.
Ye m
ust be born again. - John 3:7
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the
word of G
od, which liveth and abideth for ever. - 1 P
eter 1:23
Of his ow
n will begat he us w
ith the word of truth, that w
e should bea kind of firstfruits of his creatures. - Jam
es 1:18
The basis: because of w
hat Jesus has done. That is the basis of our
forgiveness. But birth is only the beginning of life:
But grow
in grace, and in the knowledge of our L
ord and Saviour JesusC
hrist.- 2 P
eter 3:18
But speaking the truth in love, m
ay grow up into him
in all things, which
is the head, even Christ...
- Ephesians 4:15
8]A
gain, a new com
mandm
ent I write unto you, w
hich thing is true in him and in
you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
A new
comm
andment I give unto you, T
hat ye love one another; as I haveloved you, that ye also love one another. B
y this shall all men know
thatye are m
y disciples, if ye have love one to another.- John 13:34, 35
In what sense, then, is “love one another” a new
comm
andment?
The G
reeks had two different w
ords for “new”:
ne,oj neos, “new in tim
e”; latest model;
kaino,j kainos, “new in quality”; radically different;
(Our E
nglish “recent” and “fresh” are rough equivalents.)
The com
mandm
ent to “love one another” is not new in tim
e, but it is newin character. In C
hrist it now takes on a new
meaning as w
e learn in thissection of five brief verses, 7 - 11:
New
in Em
phasis, v.7;N
ew in E
xample, v.8;
New
in Experience, vv.9-11.
Christ w
as the perfect example. H
e never showed hatred or m
alice. He
hated sin and disobedience, but He never hated the people w
hocom
mitted such sins. H
e was patient w
ith Peter’s im
pulsiveness;T
homas’s unbelief, and even Judas’s treachery. E
ven at the Cross, H
eprayed for those that crucified H
im: “F
ather forgive them for they know
not what they do.”
9]H
e that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even untilnow
.10]
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of
stumbling in him
.11]
But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and w
alketh in darkness, andknow
eth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
Put a flow
er in darkness and it will shrivel.
We becom
e like the gods we w
orship: Psalm
115:8; 135:18.
Christian love is not an appendage: it is the very essence of the C
hristianexperience. W
ithout love, the Christian life is nothing.
Page 47Page 46
Sp
iritual M
aturity
“Fathers” (vv. 13 & 14) refers to spiritual m
aturity. They have know
n Him
from the beginning.
A father is capable of procreation: he can reproduce him
self. [Are you
a spiritual parent?] A father is capable of confrontation.
I write not these things to sham
e you, but as my beloved sons I w
arn you.- 1 C
orinthians 4:14
“warn”: nouqete,w
noutheteo, means “to speak to the heart of”; “adm
on-ish.” (A
father is an example.)
Wherefore I beseech you, be ye follow
ers of me.
- 1 Corinthians 4:16
There is mimhth,j m
imetes; again: im
itators. [What is the G
ospel accordingto you?]
* * *
Sessio
n 5:
First Jo
hn
2:15-29
Th
e Wo
rld
God m
ade the world and all the things therein. - A
cts 17:24
God so loved the w
orld...- John 3:16
Yet, w
e are cautioned to “love not the world”! (1 John 2:15)
Which is it?
15]L
ove not the world, neither the things that are in the w
orld. If any man love the
world, the love of the F
ather is not in him.
The W
orld = ?ko,smoj kosm
os[“to bring order out of chaos”; ...cosm
etics!]
[You say you’re born again? W
hat have you done with it?]
13]I w
rite unto you, fathers, because ye have known him
that is from the beginning.
I write unto you, young m
en, because ye have overcome the w
icked one. I write
unto you, little children, because ye have known the F
ather.
Reason #4: T
o overcome the W
icked One (because ye have know
n Him
).
“Little children” (different w
ord than v.13): paidi,on paidion, infants inthe L
ord; imm
ature little ones.
Spiritual pediatrics:
Norm
al babies: self-centered; need nurturing;L
ack of normal grow
th = retarded.
Maternity w
ings are not intended to be rest homes.
[1 Cor 3: they claim
ed to be spiritual; were actually retarded; their grow
thw
as abnormal.]
14]I have w
ritten unto you, fathers, because ye have known him
[that is is not inthe original text] from
the beginning. I have written unto you, young m
en,because ye are strong, and the w
ord of God abideth in you, and ye have overcom
ethe w
icked one.
“Young m
en”: neani,skoj neaniskos, adolescent. They w
ere strong(com
manded in E
ph 6:10).
[Are you in a soul-building program
? Who is your trainer?]
“The W
ord of God abideth in them
.” All m
ature Christians are “B
ibleC
hristians.”
Tw
o words of “w
icked” in NT
:
here, ponhro,j poneros, from w
hich we get pornography. It m
eans peril,pain, trouble; in the physical sense, diseased or blind; in the ethicalsense, evil, w
icked, or bad.
Here it refers to those w
ho are not content to go down the drain by
themselves, but w
ant to pull someone else dow
n with them
.
Page 49Page 48
Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20). [C
f. Scuba diver: the Holy Spirit
is our special equipment for survival in a hostile environm
ent...]
Review
: 1 John 12-14
Four form
s of address:L
ittle children: “bairn ones” (v.12)F
athersY
oung men
Little children
v.12] “bairn ones” tekni,on teknion
All C
hristians have been born into God’s fam
ily through faith in Christ,
and are “bairn ones.”
Friendship w
ith the world is enm
ity with G
od. - James 4:4
(How
ever, only as a Christian grow
s spiritually does he overcome the
world.)
v.13] “Fathers” path,r pater
Mature believers w
ith an intimate personal know
ledge of God—
they know the dangers of the w
orld.v.14] “Y
oung men” neani,skoj neaniskos
Adolescents; here, conquerors: they have overcom
e the evil one.H
ow? through the W
ord of God. v.14. E
ph 6:17 (Not yet fully m
ature;but on their w
ay).
v.13, “Little C
hildren,” not those in v.12; a different Greek w
ord is used:paidi,on paidion, carries the idea of im
mature ones, still under
authority of teachers and tutors...eg. all are “bairn”ones, but some
have grown out of infancy into m
anhood and adulthood.
It is the growing, m
aturing Christian to w
hom the w
orld does not appeal;the things of the w
orld are but toys: “...when I becam
e a man, I put aw
aychildish things...” (1 C
or 13:11).
Worldliness is m
ore of an attitude than activity; it is a matter of the heart.
To the extent that a C
hristian loves the world system
and the things init, he does not love the F
ather.
16]F
or all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the w
orld.
= system
: “the world of sports, finance,” et al
Physical w
orld, earth:A
cts 17:24H
uman w
orld, mankind:
John 3:16B
oth together:John 1:10
Spiritual system
opposed to God.
...Satan’s system
of opposition to Christ... the very opposite of w
hat isgodly: 1 John 2:16. (“T
he whole w
orld lies in the power of the evil one”:
1 John 5:19 NA
S.)
Satan is the “P
rince of this world...” (cf. John 12:31)
...an organization (cf. Eph 6:11-12).
The L
ove God H
ates:
Four reasons w
hy Christians should not love “the w
orld”:
1)because of w
hat the world is;
2)because of w
hat the world does to us (1 John 2:15-16);
3)because of w
hat a Christian is (1 John 2:12-14–review
);4)
because of where the w
orld is going (1 John 2:17).
Unsaved people, w
hether they believe it or not, are energized by “theprince of the pow
er of the air, the spirit that now w
orketh in the childrenof disobedience” (E
ph 2:1-2).
Unsaved belong to “this w
orld” (Luke 16:8).
When Jesus w
as here on earth, the people of “this world” did not
understand Him
, nor do they now understand those of us w
ho trust Him
(1 John 3:1).
A C
hristian is a mem
ber of the human w
orld; he lives in the the physicalw
orld, but he does not belong to the spiritual world that is Satan’s system
for opposing God (cf. John 15:18).
Saints: A group of displaced persons, uprooted from
their naturalhom
e, and on their way to an extraterrestrial destination; not of this
planet, neither in its roots nor in its ideals.- Donald G
rey Barnhouse
Page 51Page 50
Third device: “pride of life.” M
adison Avenue m
akes this a major
weapon.
17]A
nd the world passeth aw
ay, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of
God abideth for ever.
The w
orld is passing away. It is not perm
anent. Be loosely attached (cf.
Heb 11:13; 13:14). L
ive for the unseen realities (cf. 2 Cor 4:8-18).
Every nation becam
e decadent and was finally conquered by another
nation. (There is no reason w
hy ours should be an exception.)
He is no fool w
ho gives what he cannot keep to gain w
hat he cannotlose. - Jim
Elliot (m
issionary martyr)
Responding to the F
ather’s love (our devotional life)—and the F
ather’sw
ill (our daily conduct)—are the tests of w
orldliness. No C
hristianbecom
es worldly all of a sudden.
First com
es friendship with the w
orld (James 3:4). T
he world and the
Christian are enem
ies (cf. 1 John 3:13).
Next, the C
hristian becomes “spotted by the w
orld”; cf. James 1:27.
Friendship leads to love; as a result, the C
hristian becomes conform
edto the w
orld(cf. R
om 2:2).
Being conform
ed can also lead to being condemned w
ith the world
(cf. 1 Cor 11:32).
In extreme cases, C
hristians have even lost their lives (cf. 1 Cor 11:29-30).
These dow
nward steps are illustrated in the life of L
ot: Gen 13:5-13;
14:8-14; 19.
First, L
ot looked toward S
odom; then he pitched his tent tow
ard Sodom
in the well-w
atered plains of Jordan. Then he m
oved into Sodom
. (Itseem
s to suggest he became an alderm
an or leader: “He sat in the gate”;
cf. Gen 19:1.) W
hen Sodom w
as captured by an enemy, L
ot was captured
too. He w
as a believer (2 Pet 2:6-8), but he had to suffer w
ith theunbelieving sinners of the w
icked city. When G
od destroyed Sodom
,everything L
ot lived for went up in sm
oke! Lot w
as saved so as by fireand lost his eternal rew
ard (cf. 1 Cor 3:12-15).
The w
orld system has three devices to trap C
hristians:lust (desire) of the flesh;lust of the eyes;pride of life...as it w
as in Eden (cf. G
en 3:6).
“Lust of the flesh” includes anything that appeals to m
an’s fallen nature;it refers to the basic nature of unregenerate m
an that makes him
blind tospiritual truth (1 C
or 2:14).
“Flesh” is the nature w
e receive in our natural birth as children of Adam
;“spirit” is the nature that w
e receive in the second birth–when w
ebecom
e the “sons of God” (John 1:11,12; 3:5,6), “...partakers of the divine
nature” (2 Pet 1:4).
These tw
o natures are in active, continual opposition. (Desires are
fundamentally good: hunger, thirst, sex, et al; but it is w
hen the fleshnature controls them
that they become sinful lusts.)
Everything that G
od says about the flesh is negative:
For I know
that in me (that is, in m
y flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for
to will is present w
ith me; but how
to perform that w
hich is good I findnot. - R
om 7:18
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words
that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.- John 6:63
For w
e are the circumcision, w
hich worship G
od in the spirit, andrejoice in C
hrist Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. - Phil 3:3
But put ye on the L
ord Jesus Christ, and m
ake not provision for the flesh,to fulfil the lusts thereof.
- Rom
13:14
Second device: “lust of the eyes.” F
east your eyes on this...
Turn aw
ay mine eyes from
beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in
thy way.
- Psalm 119:37
Achan, a soldier, brought defeat because of the lust of his eyes (cf.
Joshua 7:21). The eyes are a gatew
ay to the mind.
Page 53Page 52
“It makes no difference w
hat you believe, just as long as you are sincere.”(A
comm
on rationale for today.)
Is sincerity the magic ingredient that m
akes something true? (If you drink
poison sincerely, will it m
ake a medical difference?)
Faith in a lie w
ill always have serious consequences.
John has warned the C
hurch family—
the “bairn ones”—about the
conflict between light and darkness (1 John 1:1-2:6); then he w
arned usabout love and hatred (1 John 2:7-17). N
ow he w
arns us about the conflictbetw
een truth and error (John 2:18-29).
It is not enough for a believer to walk in the light and to w
alk in love: hem
ust also walk in truth.
18]L
ittle children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall com
e,even now
are there many antichrists; w
hereby we know
that it is the last time.
We are in an hour of crisis and m
ust be on our guard against the errorsof the enem
y. Since the death and resurrection of C
hrist, God is doing
a new thing in this w
orld. All O
ld Testam
ent history prepared the way
for that profound event and its climax is com
ing!
And the enem
y knows it and w
ill do everything in his power in his attem
ptto thw
art it.
Antichrist: used only by John in his epistles four tim
es: 1 John 2:18, 22;4:3; 2 John 7. It is interesting that he doesn’t use this term
in theR
evelation.
1)a spirit that is in the w
orld that opposes or denies Christ;
2)the false teachers w
ho embody this spirit;
3)a specific leader–a satanic superm
an–who w
ill head up the finalw
orld rebellion against Christ.
The prefix anti:
a) against; and/orb) instead of.
The spirit of antichrist has been in the w
orld since Genesis 3, and is
presently behind every false doctrine and every “religious” substitutefor the realities C
hristians have in Christ.
Th
e Will o
f Go
d
He w
ants us to understand His w
ill:
Wherefore be ye not unw
ise, but understanding what the w
ill of the Lord
is. - Eph 5:17
A benefit of salvation is know
ing God’s w
ill (cf. Acts 22:14).
God w
ants us to be filled with know
ledge of His w
ill:
For this cause w
e also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray
for you, and to desire that ye might be filled w
ith the knowledge of his
will in all w
isdom and spiritual understanding... - C
ol 1:9
The key issue about a thing isn’t w
hether “it” is right or wrong, good or
bad: but rather, is it the will of G
od for me? H
ow does one discover the
will of G
od?
The process begins w
ith surrender!
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of G
od, that ye presentyour bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto G
od, which is your
reasonable service. And be not conform
ed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renew
ing of your mind, that ye m
ay prove what is
that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of G
od.- R
om 12:1,2
The F
ather shares His secrets w
ith those who obey H
im:
If any man w
ill do his will, he shall know
of the doctrine, whether it be
of God, or w
hether I speak of myself.
- John 7:17
Su
mm
ary:
The C
hristian is in the world physically (cf. John 17:11); but not of the
world spiritually (cf. John 17:14). C
hrist has sent us into the world to bear
witness of H
im (cf. John 17:18).
Like a scuba diver, w
e must live in an alien environm
ent, and if we are
not careful, that environment can drow
n us. The w
orld gets into aC
hristian through his heart: “Love not the w
orld.”
Are w
e going to build on sand or rock? (Cf. M
att 7:24-27.)
Page 55Page 54
Our great advantage is that Jesus C
hrist is God com
e in the flesh! (Cf.
1 John 4:2.)
[Not all pulpits so declare: 1 John 4:1-6.] If they deny this, they belong
to Antichrist.
21]I have not w
ritten unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know
it, and that no lie is of the truth.
[Reason #5: B
ecause no lie is of the truth.]
22]W
ho is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? H
e is antichrist, thatdenieth the F
ather and the Son.
23]W
hosoever denieth the Son, the sam
e hath not the Father: (but) he that
acknowledgeth the S
on hath the Father also.
You cannot separate the F
ather and the Son (cf. John 10:30).
24]L
et that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from
the beginning. If thatw
hich ye have heard from the beginning shall rem
ain in you, ye also shallcontinue in the S
on, and in the Father.
The unsaved w
orld can never understand a true Christian.
To confess that “Jesus C
hrist is God com
e in the flesh” involves much
more than sim
ply to identify Christ; the dem
ons did this (Mark 1:24) and
it did not save them.
True faith is a com
mitted reliance on w
ho He is and w
hat he has done,not m
ere intellectual assent.
25]A
nd this is the promise that he hath prom
ised us, even eternal life.
He T
ries to D
eceive the F
aithfu
l(vv.26-29)
26]T
hese things have I written unto you concerning them
that seduce you.
[Reason #6: P
rotection against seducers.]
John’s purpose was to protect the saints against those w
ho would lead
them astray. H
ere’s a specific book of the Bible w
ritten to protect youfrom
error.
Their evil w
ork is being hindered by the presence of the Holy S
piritindw
elling the Church; but w
hen the Church is rem
oved in the Harpazo
(“the rapture,” cf. 1 Thess 4:13-18), then Satan w
ill complete a tem
poraryvictory, w
hich John details in Rev 13; 16:13; 19:20.
There are three outstanding characteristics of these false teachers:
He D
eparts fro
m th
e Fello
wsh
ip(vv.18, 19)
19]T
hey went out from
us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they
would no doubt have continued w
ith us: but they went out, that they m
ight bem
ade manifest that they w
ere not all of us.
“Us” =
the fellowship of believers, the C
hurch; they have koinonia.
We are som
etimes presented as a body;1 C
or 12, and sometim
es as abuilding, E
ph 2:19-22.
Not all w
ho are in the fellowship are saved; but rem
aining in thefellow
ship is one evidence.
Jesus makes it clear that only those w
ho produce fruit are truly “bornagain.”
It is interesting that in the history of the false cults and anti-Christian
religious systems, every leader started out in a local church. T
hey were
“with us” but not “of us.”
The N
T m
akes it clear that it is dangerous to depart from the fellow
ship:2 T
im 3-4; 2 P
et 2.
He D
enies th
e Faith
(vv.20-25; also 4:1-6)
The false teachers then–and today–used tw
o special words to describe
their experience:
“Know
ledge” (thus, Gnostics); and
“Unction” (anointing), w
hich gave them their unique know
ledge, and“illum
ination.”
20]B
ut ye have an unction from the H
oly One, and ye know
all things.
Page 57Page 56
Originally they sought to satisfy intellectual—
rather than sensual—gratification; but later they taught their follow
ers to satisfy the body’sdesires so they w
ouldn’t bother them any m
ore.
[Today: w
ith denial of any foundational absolute truth, is it any wonder
that “everyone is doing what is right in their ow
n eyes”? (Cf. D
eut. 12:8Judges 17:6; 21:25; Prov. 12:15; 21:2.)]
Betw
een the two extrem
es of the Stoics and the E
picureans there were
many variations; but they all denied the m
essiahship of Jesus. (Cf. 1 John
2:22.)
Th
e Gn
ostics
The G
nostics were distinctive in that they, boasting of a “super-
knowledge,” accepted (sort of) the deity of Jesus, but denied H
ishum
anity.
[It was the opposite of agnosticism
, which holds that the reality of G
odis unknow
n and probably unknowable. C
harles Spurgeon has pointed
out that “agnostic” is the Greek w
ord for the Latin, “ignoram
us.”(W
hich, of course, doesn’t impress people at parties: “I’m
an ignora-m
us” just doesn’t have the same ring to it!)]
[It is significant to note that the subsequent headquarters of theG
nostics was A
lexandria, the famed literary headquarters in E
gypt. The
“Alexandrian M
anuscripts” (Codex V
aticanus and Codex Siniaticus) are
now understood to have been expurgated variations that rem
aineddiscarded for m
any years, but were prom
oted by Westcott and H
ort(com
petent linguists who em
braced Gnostic heresies). T
hus, thesesources becam
e a major influence on m
ost modern translations. In recent
years many scholars now
regard these sources as corrupt and haveencouraged a return to the B
yzantine texts as represented by Textus
Receptus, et al., that w
ere the primary sources for the K
ing James V
ersionand its variants. S
ee How
We G
ot Our B
ible Briefing P
ackage for a more
detailed review.]
Yet, how
does one detect the counterfeits?
27]B
ut the anointing which ye have received of him
abideth in you, and ye neednot that any m
an teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things,
and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
It is interesting that anti-Christian groups rarely try to lead lost sinners
to their false faith; instead, they spend much of their effort trying to
convert professing Christians to their doctrines. T
hey are out toseduce... Jesus called S
atan the “father of lies” (John 8:44).
The devil’s purpose is to lead C
hristians astray by encouraging falsedoctrines (cf.2 C
or 11:1-4, 13-15).
It is possible to “spin” or twist the S
cripture to mean alm
ost anything(cf. 2 C
or 4:1-2).
Satan has counterfeit m
inisters (2 Cor 11:13-15) preaching a counterfeit
gospel (Gal 1:6-12) that produces counterfeit C
hristians (John 8:43-44)w
ho depend on a counterfeit righteousness (Rom
10:1-10).
Jesus sows the true seed; the enem
y the tares (Matt 12:24-30).
John was w
riting in the midst of the em
erging Gnostic heresies; and so
these letters are extremely tim
ely today, with w
idespread denials of thedeity of Jesus C
hrist so prevalent in the antics of the “Jesus Sem
inar”and various blasphem
ous TV
specials, etc.
We discussed several variants am
ong the Gnostics last tim
e. There w
eretw
o additional extreme groups that also denied the m
essiahship of Jesus(that w
ere mentioned in A
cts 17:18):
Th
e Sto
ics
The Stoics w
ere disciples of Zeno, and their nam
e came from
the PaintedP
ortico at Athens w
here Zeno lectured. T
hey were pantheists w
ho heldthat the w
ise man should be free from
passion, unmoved by joy or grief,
and submissive to natural law
. They observed rigid rules and self-
discipline.
[Even the G
reeks understood that eros needed to be carefully bridled!T
he rampant exploitation—
and demeaning—
of sex in our society isreaping a w
hirlwind!]
Th
e Ep
icurean
s
The E
picureans took their name from
Epicurus w
ho taught in Athens.
They accepted the G
reek gods on Mount O
lympus. T
hey consideredpleasure rather than truth the prim
ary pursuit of life.
Page 59Page 58
The first is not a new
theme: the first tw
o chapters of 1 John dealt with
these. But in 1 John 3, the approach is different. In the the earlier chapters
the focus was on fellow
ship. In 1 John 3:1-5, the emphasis is on
sonship—being “born of G
od.”
(Basic to these chapters: 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18.)
Th
ree Reaso
ns fo
r a Ho
ly Life
Go
d th
e Fath
er Lo
ves Us (vv. 1-3)
1]B
ehold, what m
anner of love the Father hath bestow
ed upon us, that we should
be called the sons of God: therefore the w
orld knoweth us not, because it knew
him not.
1 John 3:1 may be translated, “B
ehold, what peculiar out-of-this-w
orldkind of love the F
ather has bestowed upon us.”
While w
e were H
is enemies G
od loved us and sent His S
on to die for us!
Many translators add a phrase to 1 John 3:1: “that w
e should be calledthe sons of G
od, and we are.”
Sons of G
od: not simply a high-sounding phrase: it is a critical reality.
[Cf. S
ons of God vs. S
ons of Adam
; Gen 6 et al; John 1:11-12...]
We should not expect the w
orld to understand this thrilling relationshipbecause it does not even understand G
od. Only a person w
ho knows
God through C
hrist can fully appreciate what it m
eans to be called a“child of G
od” [vs. the “brotherhood of man”].
2]B
eloved, now are w
e the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear w
hat we shall
be: but we know
that, when he shall appear, w
e shall be like him; for w
e shallsee him
as he is.
V. 1 tells w
hat we are; v.2 tells w
hat we shall be. T
his was m
entioned in1 John 2:28 as an incentive for holy living and now
it is elaborated.
[One cannot understand the im
portance of 3:2 without som
e backgroundin m
athematics or physics: dim
ensionality, etc.] This rem
arkable state-m
ent requires an understanding of hyperspaces: spaces of more than
three spatial dimensions...
This anointing abides in the believer and equips him
for his calling asa true w
itness to Christ (cf. 1 P
et 2:5).
28]A
nd now, little children, abide in him
; that, when he shall appear, w
e may have
confidence, and not be ashamed before him
at his coming.
The w
ord abide dominates this section:
If we abide in C
hrist, we w
alk as He w
alked (1 John 2:6).If w
e love our brother, we abide in the light (1 John 2:10).
If the Word abides in us, w
e will be spiritually strong (1 John 2:14).
If we do the w
ill of God, w
e shall abide forever (1 John 2:17).T
he anointing (of the Holy S
pirit) abides in us and we should abide
in the Spirit (1 John 2:27).
We abide in the W
ord, in the Spirit, and in C
hrist (1 John 2:28).
Abide m
eans to remain in fellow
ship, and fellowship, or koinonia, is the
key idea in the first two chapters of this epistle. T
he next three chaptersw
ill focus on sonship, or being “born of God.”
29]If ye know
that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness
is born of him.
Verses 28 and 29 are a bridge from
the fellowship section into the sonship
section of this epistle, which begins next tim
e as we take up C
hapter 3..
* * *S
ession
6:
First Jo
hn
3
Th
e Preten
ders
1 John 3 = counterfeit C
hristians: “Children of the D
evil” (1 John 3:10).
[Treasury agents study the real thing—
not the counterfeits.]
The true child of G
od...1)
practices righteousness; and2)
loves other Christians despite their differences.
1 John 3:1-10 deals with the first;
1 John 3:11-24 deals with the second.
Page 61Page 60
Go
d th
e So
n D
ied fo
r Us (vv.4-8)
4]W
hosoever comm
itteth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgres-
sion of the law.
5]A
nd ye know that he w
as manifested to take aw
ay our sins; and in him is no
sin.
John gives two reasons w
hy Jesus came and died:
(1) to take away our sins (1 John 3:6-6); and
(2) to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:7-8).
For a child of G
od to sin indicates that he does not understand orappreciate w
hat Jesus did for him on the C
ross.
Every great personality of the B
ible sinned at one time or another:
Abraham
lied about his wife
(twice: cf. G
en 12:10-20; & 20:2-13).
Moses lost his tem
per and disobeyed God
(cf. Num
20:7-13).D
avid had his affair with B
athsheba and even resorted to murder
(2 Sam. 11, 12).
Peter denied the L
ord three times
(Matt 26:69-75).
But sin w
as not settled in the lives of these men. It w
as an incident intheir lives, totally contrary to their norm
al lives, totally contrary to theirnorm
al habits. And w
hen they sinned, they admitted it, repented of it,
and asked God to forgive them
.
The unsaved person (even if he professes to be a C
hristian but is acounterfeit) lives a life of habitual sin; especially the sin of unbelief—it is the norm
al thing in his life.
And you hath he quickened, w
ho were dead in trespasses and sins;
Wherein in tim
e past ye walked according to the course of this w
orld,according to the prince of the pow
er of the air, the spirit that noww
orketh in the children of disobedience: Am
ong whom
also we all had
our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the
desires of the flesh and of the mind; and w
ere by nature the children ofw
rath, even as others. - Eph 2:1-3
He has no divine resources to draw
upon. His profession of faith is not
real. This is the distinction that is in view
in 1 John 3:1-10—a true believer
The spiritual realm
is the larger reality; our physical world is a “subset.”
[10 dimensions, et al...]
[Flatland, E
dwin A
bbott; et al...]
God’s love for us does not stop w
ith the new birth. It continues
throughout our lives and takes us right up to the return of Jesus Christ.
When our L
ord appears, all true believers will see H
im and w
ill become
like Him
.
For our conversation is in heaven; from
whence also w
e look for theS
aviour, the Lord Jesus C
hrist. {conversation = conduct; w
e live orconduct ourselves as citizens of heaven, or, for obtaining heaven}.
Who shall change our vile body, that it m
ay be fashioned like unto hisglorious body, according to the w
orking whereby he is able even to
subdue all things unto himself. - P
hil 3:21
This m
eans that we w
ill have glorified bodies—the oivkhth,rion oiketerion
of 2 Cor 5:2 and Jude 6, 7—
suited for heaven.
3]A
nd every man that hath this hope in him
purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
But the apostle does not stop there: he tells us w
hat we should be. In
view of H
is imm
inent return, we should keep ourselves clean.
All this is to rem
ind us of the Father’s love. H
e wants us to live w
ith Him
every day. Salvation, from
start to finish, is an expression of the love ofG
od.
An unbeliever w
ho sins is a creature sinning against his Creator. A
Christian w
ho sins is a child sinning against his Father.
The gravity of the crim
e derives from the infinite glory of G
od, contrastedw
ith the rebellion of the sinner, a mere created being. [10 L
ies About G
od,Irw
in Lutzer...]
“The fear of the L
ord”: not 2 Tim
1:7; rather that God’s children hold H
imin reverence and w
ill not deliberately disobey Him
or try His patience.
John now turns from
the future appearing of the Lord Jesus (3:2) to H
ispast appearing (3:5, “m
anifest” means “appear”).
Page 63Page 62
For us to assert our w
ill against God’s w
ill is rebellion and rebellion isthe root of sin. T
he very essence of sin is lawlessness.
The w
hole work of the C
ross is denied when a professed C
hristianpractices deliberate sin. T
his is one reason why P
aul calls such people“enem
ies of the Cross of C
hrist” (cf. Phil 3:18,19).
6]W
hosoever abideth in him sinneth not: w
hosoever sinneth hath not seen him,
neither known him
.
1 John 3:6 & 9 m
ay startle you; they seem to contradict 1 John 1:8, 9. W
hatthe G
reek text really says:
“ Abide” is one of John’s favorite w
ords. It is this abiding—com
munion,
koinonia—that keeps us from
deliberately disobeying God’s W
ord.
There is m
ore in the death of Christ on the C
ross than simply our
salvation from judgm
ent, as wonderful as that is. T
hrough His death,
Christ broke the pow
er of the sin principle in our lives.
Rom
ans 6-8 is this identification with C
hrist in His death and resurrec-
tion. Christ not only died for m
e, but I died with C
hrist! Now
I can yieldm
yself to Him
and sin will not have dom
inion over me.
7]L
ittle children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous,
even as he is righteous.8]
He that com
mitteth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from
the beginning.F
or this purpose the Son of G
od was m
anifested, that he might destroy the
works of the devil.
Christ appeared in order to destroy the w
orks of the devil. If a man know
sG
od, he will obey G
od; if he belongs to the devil, he will obey the devil.
John accepts the reality of a personal devil: many different nam
es inScripture:
Satan =
Adversary
Devil =
Accuser
Abaddon or A
pollyon = D
estroyerP
rince of this world
Dragon, et al.
Chief activity: to oppose C
hrist and God’s people.
Satan is not eternal. S
atan is a rebel. Christ is the obedient S
on ofG
od...even to the death of the Cross...
does not live in habitual sin. He m
ay comm
it sin—an occasional w
rongact—
but he will not practice sin (m
ake a habit of it).
The difference is that a true C
hristian knows G
od. A counterfeit C
hristianm
ay talk about God and get “involved” in “religious activities,” but he
does not really know G
od. A true C
hristian lives a life of obedience; hedoes not practice sin.
Christ appeared in order to take aw
ay our sins (vv.4-6).
Several definitions of sin in the Bible:
... for whatsoever is not of faith is sin... - R
om 14:23
The thought of foolishness is sin... - P
rov 24:9
Therefore to him
that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him
itis sin... - Jam
es 4:17
All unrighteousness is sin... - 1 John 5:17
But here, John defines sin as law
lessness (1 John 3:4). The em
phasis isnot on sins (plural); but on sin (singular). S
ins are fruit; but sin is theroot. G
od’s love does not mean H
e has no rules and regulations for His
family.
And hereby w
e do know that w
e know him
, if we keep his com
mand-
ments. - 1 John 2:3
And w
hatsoever we ask, w
e receive of him, because w
e keep hiscom
mandm
ents, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.- 1 John 3:22
By this w
e know that w
e love the children of God, w
hen we love G
od,and keep his com
mandm
ents. - 1 John 5:2
God’s children are not in bondage to the O
T law
, for Christ has m
ade usfree and has given us liberty (G
al 5:1-6). But G
od’s children are not tobe law
less either! (Cf. 1 C
or 9:21.)
Sin is basically a m
atter of the will.
Page 65Page 64
“Shall be” saved: F
rom the presence of sin;
Called, “the redem
ption of our body” (Cf. R
om 8:23).
When a person receives C
hrist as his Savior, trem
endous spiritualchanges take place in him
. He is given anew
standing before God, being
accepted as righteous in God’s sight. T
his new standing is called
“justification.” It never expires and is never lost.
The new
Christian is also given a new
position: and he is set apart forG
od’s own purposes to live for H
is glory. This new
position is calledsanctification and it has a w
ay of changing from day to day.
But perhaps the m
ost dramatic change in a new
believer is what w
e callregeneration. H
e is “born again,” into the family of G
od (“re-” means
again; “generation” means “birth”).
[Tw
o natures: which do you “feed the m
ost”?]
Physical man needs cleansing; so does the inner m
an (cf. James 1:22-25).
The C
hristian’s “bar of soap”:1 John 1:9.
Unconfessed sins are the first step in w
hat the Bible calls “backsliding”
(cf. Jer 3:22). Sin is like a virus; instead of fighting its invasion, w
e yieldto it (cf. Jam
es 1:13-15). James 1:14: carried aw
ay; enticed; bait & hooked;
or trapped: the end is death.
The inner m
an also needs food and cleansing; he also needs exercise(cf. 1 T
im 4:7). T
hat includes exercising—not defrauding—
the Body of
Christ w
ith your spiritual gift (cf. 1 Cor 12:1-11).
10]In this the children of G
od are manifest, and the children of the devil: w
hosoeverdoeth not righteousness is not of G
od, neither he that loveth not his brother.
Yielding to sin is the distinguishing m
ark of the “child of the devil.” They
profess or claim one thing, but practice another. S
atan is a liar and thefather of lies (cf. John 8:44).
He that saith, I know
him, and keepeth not his com
mandm
ents, is a liar,and the truth is not in him
.- 1 John 2:4
False teachers in John’s day taught that a C
hristian did not have to worry
about sin because only the body sinned and what the body did in no w
ay
Christ is G
od but was w
illing to become a servant. S
atan was a servant
who w
anted to become G
od.
He w
as born of a wom
anso that w
e could be born of God;
He hum
bled Him
selfso that w
e could be lifted up;H
e became a servant
so that we could be m
ade joint-heirs;H
e suffered rejectionso that w
e could become H
is friends;H
e denied Him
selfso that w
e could freely receive all things;H
e gave Him
selfso that H
e could bless us in every way.
Destroy (v.8) does not m
ean “annihilate.” Satan is certainly still at w
orktoday! D
estroy here, means “ to render inoperative, to rob of pow
er.”
Jesus compares this w
orld to a palace that contains many valuable
goods. A strong m
an is guarding this palace (Luke 11:14-23). E
very time
a lost sinner is won to C
hrist, more of Satan’s “spoils” are taken from
him.
Go
d th
e Ho
ly Sp
irit Lives in
Us (vv. 9-10)
9]W
hosoever is born of God doth not com
mit sin; for his seed rem
aineth in him:
and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
No one w
ho is born of God practices sin . . . he cannot practice sin
because he is born of God.
- 1 John 3:9
Why? B
ecause he has a new nature w
ithin him, and that new
naturecannot sin. John calls this new
nature God’s “seed.”
Th
ree Ten
ses of “B
eing
Saved
”:
“Have been” saved:
From
the penalty of sin;Positionally,
Called justification salvation.
Eph 2:8, 9
“Are being” saved:
From
the power of sin
;O
perationally, by the Holy S
pirit, mom
ent-by-mom
ent;C
alled sanctification.R
om 6
Page 67Page 66
Love, obedience, and truth. B
ut each time it probes deeper. In John 2
it was on relationship. T
hen, on sonship and brotherhood. Now
, as am
atter of life and death! (Cf. 1 John 3:14).
We w
ill explore four “levels” of relationship:m
urdervv.11-12;
hatredvv.13-15;
indifferencevv.16-17;
Christian com
passionvv.18-24.
Mu
rder
11]F
or this is the message that ye heard from
the beginning, that we should love
one another.
The unbeliever sins against the law
;the believer sins against love.
12]N
ot as Cain, w
ho was of that w
icked one, and slew his brother. A
nd wherefore
slew he him
? Because his ow
n works w
ere evil, and his brother’s righteous.
Murder is the low
est level; it is the level on which S
atan himself exists
(cf. John 8:44).
Cain is also an exam
ple (cf. Gen 4:1-16). C
ain is not presented as anatheist; he is presented as a w
orshiper. The children of the devil
masquerade as true believers: they attend religious gatherings; they
even bring offerings. These are not valid proofs that a person is born
of God.
It seems clear that G
od had given definite instructions concerning howH
e was to be w
orshiped. Cain decided to do it his ow
n way.
Satan is alw
ays interested in turning people away from
the revealed will
of God (cf. G
en 3:1).
The real test is his love for the brethren. H
ere, Cain failed. H
e murdered
his brother and then lied about it (cf. Gen 4:9). H
is envy had turned toanger. C
enturies later, the Pharisees did the same thing to Jesus (cf.M
ark15:9-10).
Jesus, here too, called them children of the devil (cf. John 8:44).
affected the spirit. Som
e of them w
ent so far as to teach that sin is naturalto the body, because the body is sinful.
The N
T exposes the foolishness of such excuses for sin. T
he “oldnature” is not the body; the body itself is neutral. It can be used eitherby the old sinful nature or by the new
divine nature.
How
does a child of God go about overcom
ing the desire of the old sinnature? B
y beginning each day yielding his body to God as a living
sacrifice: Rom
12:1. (See B
e Ye T
ransformed.) [R
eading, studying,feeding his new
nature; time for devotion and prayer... and then depend
on the power of the S
pirit in the inner man.]
Thy w
ord have I hid in mine heart, that I m
ight not sin against thee.- Psalm
119:11
If he does sin, he must instantly confess to G
od and claim forgiveness.
But it is not necessary for him
to sin (cf. 1 John 1:9).
There hath no tem
ptation taken you but such as is comm
on to man: but
God is faithful, w
ho will not suffer you to be tem
pted above that ye areable; but w
ill with the tem
ptation also make a w
ay to escape, that yem
ay be able to bear it. - 1 Cor 10:13
The true C
hristian also loves other Christians (detailed in 3:11-24).
These w
ords were not w
ritten so that you and I might check on other
people. They w
ere given so that we m
ay examine ourselves. D
o I havethe divine nature w
ithin me or am
I merely pretending to be a C
hristian?
Do I cultivate this divine nature by daily B
ible reading and prayer? Has
any unconfessed sin defiled my inner m
an? Am
I willing to confess and
forsake it? Do I allow
my old nature to control m
y thoughts and desires,or does the divine nature rule m
e? When tem
ptation comes, do I “play”
with it or do I flee from
it? Do I im
mediately yield to the divine nature
within m
e?
The life that is real is honest w
ith God about these vital issues.
Lo
ve or D
eath?
John’s letter keeps returning to the same three topics:
Page 69Page 68
Jesus didn’t just talk about His love; H
e died to prove it (cf. Rom
5:6-10).H
e was not a m
artyr; He w
illingly laid down H
is life (cf. John 10:11-18;15:13).
Self-preservation is the first law
of physical life;S
elf-sacrifice is the first law of spiritual life.
17]B
ut whoso hath this w
orld’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shuttethup his bow
els of compassion from
him, how
dwelleth the love of G
od in him?
John turns from “the brethren” in v.16 to the singular (and specific) “his
brother” in v.17. Personal and active... W
ho is “his brother”? (Cf. L
uke10:15-37.)
Ignoring a need can be sin; indifference to needs... One of the benefits
of stewardship is the ability to m
eet the needs of others (cf. Eph 4:28).
Ch
ristian L
ove (vv.18-24)
18]M
y little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in
truth.
Talk’s cheap:
If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of
you say unto them, D
epart in peace, be ye warm
ed and filled; notwith-
standing ye give them not those things w
hich are needful to the body;w
hat doth it profit?- Jam
es 2:15, 16
Three w
onderful blessings:
Assurance (vv.19-20)
Truth: w
hen the word and deed becom
e one.T
he Ultim
ate Truth: Jesus C
hrist, the Word of G
od.
19]A
nd hereby we know
that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before
him.
A C
hristian who practices love grow
s in his understanding of God’s
truth, and enjoys a heart full of confidence before God.
20]For if our heart condem
n us, God is greater than our heart, and know
eth all things.
Hatred
13]M
arvel not, my brethren, if the w
orld hate you.
The w
orld hates Christ (John 15:18-25) for the sam
e reason Cain hated
Abel: C
hrist reveals the world’s sin and its true nature; then they m
usteither repent or destroy the m
essenger.
Satan is the “prince of this w
orld” and controls it through murder and
lies. Like C
ain, the people of the world try to cover up their true nature
with religious life. In contrast to this, G
od is love (1 John 4:8) and truth(John 14:6; 1 John 5:6).
14]W
e know that w
e have passed from death unto life, because w
e love the brethren.H
e that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
To a C
hristian, hatred is the same as m
urder (cf. 1 John 3:15; Matt 5:21-
26).
15]W
hosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know
that no murderer hath
eternal life abiding in him.
[...and lust is the same as adultery: M
att 5:27-30.]
Note: w
e are not being told that murderers cannot be saved. P
aul tooka hand in the stoning of S
tephen (cf. Acts 7:57-60); and he adm
itted thathis vote helped to put innocent people to death (cf. A
cts 26:9-11; 1 Tim
1:12-15).
But G
od’s grace saved him. T
he issue is whether one can continue to
be a murderer. T
he answer is no.
Hatred does the hater far m
ore damage than it does anyone else (cf. M
att5:21-26)...it actually puts one into a spiritual and em
otional prison. The
antidote is love.
Ind
ifference
16]H
ereby perceive we the love of G
od, because he laid down his life for us: and
we ought to lay dow
n our lives for the brethren.
Failure to do evil is not enough. L
ove involves doing them som
e good(cf. Isa 1:16-17).
Page 71Page 70
Sessio
n 7:
1 Joh
n 4
Intro
du
ction
:
In the first section we encounter the w
arnings against false teachers. Isthis really necessary today? N
ever more urgent! W
e are in the devil’sterritory. A
nd the occult has never been more openly prom
oted... It isthe purpose of the devil to confront us w
ith error and thus to enslave us.
This first section (vv.1-6) is intended to fortify us against spiritual
gullibility. John uses three personal pronouns:
Ye are of G
od (v.4);T
he targetT
hey are of the world (v.5);
The enem
yW
e are of God (v.6).
The fearless
1]B
eloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of G
od:because m
any false prophets are gone out into the world.
And m
any are in pulpits. The birds of M
atthew 13 are in the overgrow
nm
ustard trees! (Cf. M
att 13:4, 19 vs v.32).
They have crept in unaw
ares... - Jude 4
But there w
ere false prophets also among the people, even as there shall
be false teachers among you, w
ho privily shall bring in damnable
heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them
, and bring uponthem
selves swift destruction. A
nd many shall follow
their perniciousw
ays; by reason of whom
the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. A
ndthrough covetousness shall they w
ith feigned words m
ake merchandise
of you. - 2 Pet 2:1-3
Bew
are of false prophets, which com
e to you in sheep’s clothing, butinw
ardly they are ravening wolves.
- Matt 7:15
And m
any false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many...F
or thereshall arise false C
hrists, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs
and wonders; insom
uch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the
very elect. - Matt 24:11, 24
At B
ethany, Jesus knew M
ary’s heart and defended her (cf. Luke 10:38-
42). After P
eter’s denial, Jesus knew of his repentance and sent a special
message to him
(cf. Mark 16:7). (Peter’s confidence w
as essential on thisvery issue; A
cts 3:14.)
Be careful that the devil not accuse you and rob you of your confidence
(cf. Rev 12:10).
Answ
ered Prayer (vv. 21-22)
21]B
eloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have w
e confidence toward G
od.22]
And w
hatsoever we ask, w
e receive of him, because w
e keep his comm
andments,
and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
Your love for the brethren proves you are living in the w
ill of God w
hereH
e can answer your prayer.
A believer’s relationship to the brethren cannot be divorced from
hisprayer life. If husbands and w
ives are not obeying God’s W
ord, theirprayers w
ill be hindered (cf. 1 Pet 3:7). A
lso ref. John 15:7; Psalm
37:4.
Abiding (vv.23-24)
23]A
nd this is his comm
andment, T
hat we should believe on the nam
e of his Son
Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us com
mandm
ent.
Love is the fulfilling of G
od’s Law
(cf. Rom
13:8-10).
24]A
nd he that keepeth his comm
andments dw
elleth in him, and he in him
. And
hereby we know
that he abideth in us, by the Spirit w
hich he hath given us.
The H
oly Spirit is here m
entioned for the first time (introduced in 2:20).
Abiding:
1 John 3:24, 4:13;A
ttesting:1 John 4:1-6;
Authenticating:
1 John 5:6-8
Cf. R
omans 8:14-16
* * *
(These notes w
ere largely excerpted from T
he Bible E
xposition Com
mentary,
by Warren W
. Wiersbe, see bibliography).
Page 73Page 72
14). In the earlier passage, love for the brethren was a m
atter of light ordarkness; in the second, it is a m
atter of life or death.
In 1 John 4:7-16, we get dow
n to the very foundation of the matter, w
hylove is such a critical part of a life that is real. L
ove is the valid test ofour fellow
ship and sonship because God is love.
If we are united to G
od through faith in Christ, w
e share His nature. T
hus,love is the test of the reality of our spiritual life.
Th
ree Fo
un
datio
nal F
acts...
1) What G
od is: God is L
ove...
7]B
eloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth
is born of God, and know
eth God.
Three tim
es in this section we are encouraged to love one another: 1 John
4:7, 11-12.
8]H
e that loveth not knoweth not G
od; for God is love.
This is the third of three expressions in John’s w
ritings that help usunderstand the nature of G
od:
•G
od is spirit (John 4:24); as to His essence. B
eyond the restrictionsof the physical w
orld; not limited by tim
e and space...
•G
od is light (1 John 1:5); as a symbol of holiness; darkness is a
symbol of sin (John 3:18-21; 1 John 1:5-10).
•G
od is love (1 John 4:8); even His judgm
ents are measured out in love
and mercy (L
am 3:22-23).
Because w
e have been born into His fam
ily, we have received H
is nature(cf. 1 Pet 1:14-16; 2 Pet 1:4).
“Know
” = m
uch deeper meaning than sim
ply intellectual acquaintanceor understanding.
[The verb know
is used to describe the intimate union of husband and
wife (G
en 4:1).]
Thus, test every serm
on:
2]H
ereby know ye the S
pirit of God: E
very spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh is of G
od:
Is the Virgin B
irth important? It is essential!
What think ye of C
hrist? Whose son is he? (C
f. Matt 22:42.)
3]A
nd every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is com
e in the flesh is notof G
od: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should
come; and even now
already is it in the world.
Third reference to the spirit of “antichrist” (cf. 2:18, 22).
4]Y
e are of God, little children, and have overcom
e them: because greater is he that
is in you, than he that is in the world.
Let’s not forget that S
atan has two strategies:
Deny his existence; or
Overem
phasize his capabilities.
5]T
hey are of the world: therefore speak they of the w
orld, and the world heareth
them.
The w
orld is his. The m
edia, and virtually all formal institutions...
Is it any wonder that they tolerate any religion except C
hristianity?
[Cain w
as religious...]
6]W
e are of God: he that know
eth God heareth us; he that is not of G
od hearethnot us. H
ereby know w
e the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
The essential equipm
ent—the A
rmor of G
od—is listed in E
phesians6:10-18.
Go
d is L
ove
For the third tim
e we w
ill be considering the subject of Love, this tim
efrom
a deeper point of view.
Love for the brethren has been show
n as proof of fellowship w
ith God
(1 John 2:7-11); then it was presented as proof of sonship (1 John 3:10-
Page 75Page 74
forgiven. The great m
ystery...even Socrates recognized the paradox:
It may be that the deity can forgive sins, but I do not see how
.- S
ocrates, 500 BC
God loves you, but H
e cannot save you by love. He has to do som
ethingabout the fact of sin. It took the C
ross. The paradox is w
hat the Book
of Rom
ans deals with in C
hapters 1-7; God’s predicam
ent, which is
solved by God’s greatest gift: H
is Son.
[This is the role sym
bolized by the “Mercy S
eat”—propitiation—
in theT
abernacle and the Tem
ple. Some scholars believe that it w
ill be literallyused in the M
illennium for H
is throne.]
Jesus was “m
ade flesh” (John 1:14) and He w
as also “made sin” (2 C
or5:21) for us.
It is significant that we are to rem
ember H
is death (not His birth!) in the
Lord’s S
upper. He com
mands it: “T
his do in remem
brance of me.”
11]B
eloved, if God so loved us, w
e ought also to love one another.
A second tim
e we are adm
onished to love one another.
3) What G
od is doing: God abides in us
12]N
o man hath seen G
od at any time. If w
e love one another, God dw
elleth in us,and his love is perfected in us.
No m
an has seen: 1 Tim
1:17. Jesus is the image of the invisible G
od: Col
1:15. We are participants in the great dram
a of God’s love!
God’s D
welling P
laces:
In Eden: H
e walked w
ith Man (G
en 3:8). [No T
emple in E
den.] Sin requiredm
an’s covering. [Enoch (G
en 5:22), Noah (G
en 6:9), and Abraham
(Gen
17:1; 24:40) also “walked” w
ith God.]
After the E
xodus, God dw
elt with m
an by means of the T
abernacle (Ex
25:8; 40:33-35). God dw
elt in the camp, but not in the bodies of the
individual Israelites. Unfortunately, the nation sinned and G
od’s glorydeparted (1 Sam
4:21).
To know
God m
eans to be in a deep relationship with H
im. T
his knowing
is not simply a m
atter of understanding facts; it is a matter of perceiving
the truth.
Many of us have “18-inch problem
s”: getting what is in our heads into
our hearts.
The fact that C
hristians love one another is evidence of their fellowship
with G
od, their sonship from G
od, and that they know G
od. This is a daily
experience of growth. W
e are to be growing in this direction. T
o argueotherw
ise is to prove that one does not really know G
od.
2) What G
od did: He sent H
is Son
Not only in w
ords: in deeds. He has geared all creation to m
eet man’s
needs. [The A
nthropic Principle...see the Briefing Package B
eyond Tim
eand Space.]
And in the ultim
ate deed:
9]In this w
as manifested the love of G
od toward us, because that G
od sent hisonly begotten S
on into the world, that w
e might live through him
.
“Manifested” =
made public; out in the open. (U
nder the Old C
ovenant,G
od was hidden behind the shadow
s of rituals and ceremony.)
Rom
5:8. Why? 1 John 3:5, 8. W
hen? At the C
ross. (This is the only
place in this Epistle w
here Jesus is called “His only begotten S
on”:unique; the only one of its kind; John 1:14.)
Tw
o purposes are given for Christ’s death on the C
ross:1)
that we m
ight live through Him
(v.9);2)
that He m
ight be a propitiation for our sins (v.10).
10]H
erein is love, not that we loved G
od, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to
be the propitiation for our sins.
“In this way is seen the true love” (cf. R
om 5:5). P
ropitiation: John hasused this term
before (2:2).
Tw
o different forms of the G
reek word are translated “propitiation.”
Here, it is a predicate accusative in apposition w
ith huion, that is the Son.P
ropitiation is something G
od does to make it possible for m
en to be
Page 77Page 76
Su
mm
ary
“Love one another” is both a com
mandm
ent (1 John 4:7) and a privilege(1 John 4:11). It is also a thrilling consequence and evidence of ourabiding in C
hrist (1 John 12).
The better w
e know G
od’s love, the easier it will be to live as a C
hristian.B
ible knowledge alone is insufficient; in fact, a dangerous substitute if
we are not careful. U
nless we love the lost, our verbal w
itness to themw
ill be useless and often counter productive.
We are to return love for the w
orld’s hatred and slander: Matt 5:11, 44.
We have been focusing on C
hristians loving one another. But now
we
turn to a deeper, more im
portant topic: the believer’s love for the Father.
The F
ather loves His children in the sam
e way H
e loves Christ (John
17:23, 26). The C
hristian life is to be a daily experience of growing in the
love of God.
There are four evidences suggested by w
hich a believer can know that
his love for the Father is being perfected:
Confidence (vv. 17-19)
17]H
erein is our love made perfect, that w
e may have boldness in the day of
judgment: because as he is, so are w
e in this world.
“Boldness” here can m
ean “confidence” or “freedom of speech.” It does
not mean brazenness or brashness.
A believer has a reverential fear of G
od, not a tormenting fear; he is a son
who respects his F
ather, not a prisoner who cringes before a judge.
18]T
here is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hathtorm
ent. He that feareth is not m
ade perfect in love.
Fear: G
reek, “phobia.” John is writing about krisisphobia, “fear of
judgment.”
It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgm
ent.- H
eb 9:27
But G
od used Sam
uel and David to restore the nation; S
olomon built a
magnificent T
emple; once again G
od came to dw
ell (1 Kings 8:1-11). B
utonce again, the glory of G
od departed (Ezek 8:4; 9:3; 10:4; 11:22-23).
Then cam
e Jesus Christ (M
att 12:6!; John 1:14).
Now
, in us! “Know
ye not that your body is the Tem
ple of the Holy
Spirit?” (1 C
or 6:19). [See T
he Way of A
gape for the practical implica-
tions.]
“Love one another” is both a com
mandm
ent (1 John 4:7) and a privilege(1 John 4:11). It is also a thrilling consequence and evidence of ourabiding in C
hrist (1 John 12). With this background, w
e examine the rest
of this section (1 John 4:12-16):
13]H
ereby know w
e that we dw
ell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us
of his Spirit.
The w
ord dwell is used six tim
es in vv.12-16; “...to remain in spiritual
oneness with H
im.” T
his is only possible by the indwelling of the H
olySpirit.
14]A
nd we have seen and do testify that the F
ather sent the Son to be the S
aviourof the w
orld.15]
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the S
on of God, G
od dwelleth in him
, andhe in G
od.
Contrast this indw
elling with the isolation and separation w
hen, in theO
T, H
e dwelt in the T
emple.
Wiersbe notes that three different w
itnesses are suggested:T
he witness of the believer that Jesus C
hrist is God’s S
on (v.15);T
he witness in the believer by the S
pirit (v.13);T
he witness through the believer that G
od is love and that He sent
His S
on to die for the world (v.14).
16]A
nd we have know
n and believed the love that God hath to us. G
od is love; andhe that dw
elleth in love dwelleth in G
od, and God in him
.
“God is love” is not sim
ply a conceptual statement: it is the basis for the
believer’s relationship with G
od and with his fellow
man.
Page 79Page 78
3) Joyful Obedience
(1 John 5:1-3)4) V
ictory(1 John 5:4-5)
Joyful Obedience (vv.1-3)
1]W
hosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of G
od: and every one thatloveth him
that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him
.
A call to joyful obedience. [C
f. Paul’s epistle to the P
hilippians...]
Obedience—
joyful obedience—is a fam
ily matter.
2]B
y this we know
that we love the children of G
od, when w
e love God, and keep
his comm
andments.
Every B
ible should be bound in shoe leather. - D.L
. Moody
3]F
or this is the love of God, that w
e keep his comm
andments: and his
comm
andments are not grievous.
The B
ible is not a textbook; it is a love letter.
I have rejoiced in the way of thy testim
onies, as much as in all riches.
I will m
editate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I w
illdelight m
yself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy w
ord.- Ps 119:14-16
Thy statutes have been m
y songs in the house of my pilgrim
age.- Ps 119:54
O how
love I thy law! it is m
y meditation all the day. - P
s 119:97
How
sweet are thy w
ords unto my taste! yea, sw
eeter than honey to my
mouth!
- Ps 119:103
Key point: A
s our love for the Father m
atures, we have confidence and
are no longer afraid of His w
ill!
Victory (vv.4-5)
4]F
or whatsoever is born of G
od overcometh the w
orld: and this is the victorythat overcom
eth the world, even our faith.
A believer in C
hrist does not have to fear the past, present or future. For
the Christian, judgm
ent is not future, it is past; we have been judged
already on the Cross.
19]W
e love him, because he first loved us.
Honesty (vv.20-21)
20]If a m
an say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth
not his brother whom
he hath seen, how can he love G
od whom
he hath not seen?
Ananias and S
apphira were sim
ply playing a role (Acts 5).
21]A
nd this comm
andment have w
e from him
, That he w
ho loveth God love his
brother also.
We have exam
ined two of four evidences. T
he final two w
ill be in the finalchapter in the next session.
Sessio
n 8:
First Jo
hn
5
Review
Everything in creation obeys the w
ill of God—
except Man! (C
f. Ps
148:8.) [The B
ook of Jonah demonstrates this: the w
ind, the waves, the
fish—even a plant and a little w
orm...]
Love is the m
ost powerful concept in the entire S
cripture; it is presentedas the crow
ning attribute of God. A
nd this “First” epistle of John is the
favorite of many because of its being, perhaps, the crow
ning statement
of God’s love and the perfecting of H
is love in the believer.
As w
e closed Chapter 4, John announced four evidences that the
believer’s love is being perfected. We have exam
ined two of them
:
1) Confidence
(1 John 4:17-19)2) H
onesty(1 John 4:20-21)
And the tw
o others:
Page 81Page 80
Jesus is God (vv.6-10)
How
do we know
?
Some called H
im a liar, a deceiver (M
att 27:6); some called H
im a lunatic;
the Gnostics had a collection of strange ideas.
John refutes these false teachings; he presents three infallible wit-
nesses: the water; the blood; the Spirit.
6]T
his is he that came by w
ater and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by w
ater only,but by w
ater and blood. And it is the S
pirit that beareth witness, because the
Spirit is truth.
The w
ater: this refers to His baptism
at the Jordan. The F
ather Him
selfspoke audibly to Jesus from
Heaven (M
att 3:13-17).
The F
ather gave further witness again as the tim
e drew near for Jesus to
die (cf. John 12:28). There w
as also the supernatural darkness, theearthquake, the rending of the T
emple veil, etc. (M
att 27:45, 50-53). No
wonder the centurion cried out, “T
ruly this was the S
on of God!”
The final active w
itness—active today—
is the Spirit (cf. R
om 8:15-16).
That is H
is specific purpose (John 15:26; 16:14).
He speaks to us and teaches us. T
hat is not true of the unsaved person(cf. 1 C
or 2:14).
When Jesus C
hrist died, we died w
ith Him
.
Paul said,
I am crucified w
ith Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but C
hrist livethin m
e: and the life which I now
live in the flesh I live by the faith of theSon of G
od, who loved m
e, and gave himself for m
e. - G
alatians 2:20
Therefore w
e are buried with him
by baptism into death: that like as
Christ w
as raised up from the dead by the glory of the F
ather, even sow
e also should walk in new
ness of life.- R
omans 6:4
Cf. 1 C
orinthians 15:1-4.
“Overcom
e” is one John’s favorite words: recall the seven prom
ises tothe overcom
er in each of the “Seven L
etters to the Seven C
hurches” inR
evelation (chapters 2 & 3).
We grow
in faith as we grow
in love. [The ultim
ate growth is w
hat is dealtw
ith in our book, Faith in the N
ight Seasons.]
5]W
ho is he that overcometh the w
orld, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son
of God?
These things I have spoken unto you, that in m
e ye might have peace.
In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have
overcome the w
orld. - John 16:33
Victorious faith is the result of m
aturing love. This is the panoram
a ofthe faithful in H
ebrews 11: they sim
ply took God at H
is word and acted
on it.
Our previous study highlighted that backsliding, too, occurs in stages:
1)F
riendship with the w
orld(Jam
es 4:4)2)
Spotted by the w
orld(Jam
es 1:27)3)
Loving the w
orld(1 John 2:15-17)
4)C
onformed to the w
orld(R
omans 12:2)
This love also m
ust be cultivated; it is not a “once-and-for-all” thing.C
hristian love is not a passing emotion: it is a perm
anent devotion (cf.1John 4:19).
Ho
w D
o W
e Kn
ow
Fo
r Su
re?
Nothing is certain but death and taxes. - B
en Franklin, 1789
“We know
” occurs 39 times in John’s letter; eight tim
es in this chapter.
[A new
beginning?]
John will deal w
ith five Christian certainties:
Jesus is God
(vv.6-10)B
elievers have eternal life(vv.11-13)
God answ
ers prayer(vv.14-15)
Christians do not practice sin
(vv.16-19)C
hristian life is the real life(vv.20-21)
Page 83Page 82
Are you sure of your salvation? [D
on’t finish this session until you havethat assurance!]
People lack assurance because they:
a) have no basis for assurance; orb) they do not know
the Word of G
od.
God A
nswers P
rayer (vv.14-15)
14]A
nd this is the confidence that we have in him
, that, if we ask any thing according
to his will, he heareth us:
Anything–even the needs and problem
s of daily life.B
ut my G
od shall supply all your needs according to his riches in gloryby C
hrist Jesus. -Phil 4:19
Hindrances:
Unconfessed sin is a serious obstacle to answ
ered prayer.
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the L
ord will not hear m
e...- Ps 66:18
Differences betw
een husband and wife:
see 1 Pet 3:1-7.
If ye abide in me, and m
y words abide in you, ye shall ask w
hat ye will,
and it shall be done unto you. - John 15:7
Prayer is laying hold of G
od’s willingness. P
rayer is God’s w
ay ofenlisting you in w
hat He w
ants to do.
15]A
nd if we know
that he hear us, whatsoever w
e ask, we know
that we have the
petitions that we desired of him
.
“Know
” is in the present tense (cf. Heb 11:1). P
rayer is not spiritual self-hypnosis. P
rayer is the thermom
eter of your spiritual life.
We pray because G
od has comm
anded us to pray and because prayeris the G
od-appointed means for a believer to receive w
hat God w
ants togive him
.
Jesus depended upon prayer, sometim
es all night (Luke 6:12).
7]F
or there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the W
ord, and the Holy
Ghost: and these three are one.
[There are som
e that dispute the presence of this verse in the original;our view
s are not significantly impacted by yielding the point in this
review...]
8]A
nd there are three that bear witness in earth, the S
pirit, and the water, and the
blood: and these three agree in one.
All w
as to be established by two or three w
itnesses (Deut 19:15).
9]If w
e receive the witness of m
en, the witness of G
od is greater: for this is thew
itness of God w
hich he hath testified of his Son.
10]H
e that believeth on the Son of G
od hath the witness in him
self: he that believethnot G
od hath made him
a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave
of his Son.
(A full discussion of just “how
sure can we be” is contained in our
Briefing P
ack, Beyond C
oincidence.)
If God is a liar, then nothing is certain...
Believers H
ave Eternal L
ife (vv.11-13)
11]A
nd this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in
his Son.
A gift: it is not som
ething that can be earned (John 10:27-29; Eph 2:8-9);
it is a person: Jesus Christ. W
e receive this gift, not only from Jesus
Christ, but in Jesus C
hrist.
12]H
e that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the S
on of God hath not life.
...the life: “which is life indeed.” - 1 T
im 6:19 N
AS
B
13]T
hese things have I written unto you that believe on the nam
e of the Son of G
od;that ye m
ay know that ye have eternal life, and that ye m
ay believe on the name
of the Son of G
od.
[Reason #7:] T
hat ye may know
that ye have eternal life.
Our faith is not based on creedal statem
ents: it is based on a person. “We
know...” over 30 tim
es!
Page 85Page 84
The C
hristian Life is the R
eal Life (vv20-21)
Reality has been the them
e of this letter.
John was probably w
riting to believers in the city of Ephesus, a city given
over to idols of all kinds. The T
emple of D
iana, one of the wonders of
the ancient world, w
as located in Ephesus; m
erchandising idols was a
chief industry there (Acts 19:21-41). C
hristians were under enorm
ouspressure to conform
...
The P
salms contain caustic indictm
ents of idolatry (Psalm
s 115:1-8;135:15-18; et al).
They that m
ake them are like unto them
; so is every one that trustethin them
.- Ps 115:8; 135:18
Is an idol false and empty? T
hose who live for them
become false and
empty. Is the w
orld harsh and unforgiving? Those w
ho live for the world
become harsh and unforgiving. [T
hose who live for C
hrist become like
Him
!]
20]A
nd we know
that the Son of G
od is come, and hath given us an understanding,
that we m
ay know him
that is true, and we are in him
that is true, even in hisS
on Jesus Christ. T
his is the true God, and eternal life.
We have “the real thing.” Jesus is the true G
od.
We know
Him
; and we are in H
im.
Jesus is the true Light
(John 1:9)...the true B
read(John 6:32)
...the true Door
(John 10:7-9)...the true V
ine(John 15:1)
...and Truth itself
(John 14:6)
Most unsaved people live in an atm
osphere of pretense and sham.
We live in an atm
osphere of reality.
We have been given spiritual discernm
ent to know the true from
thefalse; but the unsaved do not have this understanding.
Christians not only choose betw
een the good and the bad: we choose
between the true and false.
Christians D
o Not P
ractice Sin (vv.16-19)
16]If any m
an see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and
he shall give him life for them
that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death:
I do not say that he shall pray for it.
All sin is hateful to G
od and should be hateful to the believer; but some
is punished with death:
Nadab and A
bihuL
ev 10:1-7A
chanJosh 6-7
Uzzah
2 Sam 6
Ananias and S
apphiraA
cts 5:1-11M
isfeasance at Lord’s S
upper(cf. 1 C
or 11:30).
There are occasions w
here one should not pray (if checked by the Holy
Spirit):
Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer
for them, neither m
ake intercession to me: for I w
ill not hear thee.- Jer 7:16
17]A
ll unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.18]
We know
that whosoever is born of G
od sinneth not; but he that is begottenof G
od keepeth himself, and that w
icked one toucheth him not.
Through continual prayer (cf. L
uke 22:31-32). Satan cannot touch any
believer without G
od’s permission.
One of the characteristics of the m
ature Christian is the ability to
overcome the evil one (cf. 1 John 2:13-14). (T
he secret: 1 John 2:13-16.)
God w
ill not allow us to be tem
pted above our strength:
There hath no tem
ptation taken you but such as is comm
on to man: but
God is faithful, w
ho will not suffer you to be tem
pted above that ye areable; but w
ill with the tem
ptation also make a w
ay to escape, that yem
ay be able to bear it.- 1 C
or 10:13
19]A
nd we know
that we are of G
od, and the whole w
orld lieth in wickedness.
There are three enem
ies: the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Page 87Page 86
21]L
ittle children, keep yourselves from idols. A
men.
* * *
Review
of C
hristian
“Birth
marks”
...Every one that doeth righteousness is born of him
. - 1 John 2:29
Whosoever is born of G
od doth not [practice] sin... - 1 John 3:9
We know
that we have passed from
death unto life, because we love the
brethren... - 1 John 3:14
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of G
od; and every one thatloveth is born of G
od, and knoweth G
od. - 1 John 4:7
For w
hatsoever is born of God overcom
eth the world... - 1 John 5:4
* * *
Bib
liog
raph
y
Barnes, A
lbert, Notes on the N
ew T
estament, Jam
es to Jude, Barnes N
otes (14 vols.),B
aker Book H
ouse, Grand R
apids, MI (reprinted from
1884 edition by Blackie
& S
on, London).
Candlish, R
obert, 1 John, Banner of T
ruth Trust, E
dinburgh, Scotland, 1870.
Harris, R
alph W., ed., T
he New
Testam
ent Study Bible (16 vols.), W
orld Library Press
Inc., Springfield, M
O 1986.
Huther, J. E
., Critical and E
xegetical Handbook to the G
eneral Epistles of Jam
es,P
eter, John, and Jude (translated from the G
erman) (11 vols.), F
unk andW
agnalls, 1884.M
arshall, I. How
ard, The E
pistles of John, William
B. E
erdmans P
ublishingC
ompany, G
rand Rapids, M
I 1978.M
cGee, J. V
ernon, Through the B
ible (5 vols), Thom
as Nelson, N
ashville, TN
1983.P
lumm
er, A., C
. Cem
eance, et al., The E
pistles of St. John, The P
ulpit Com
mentary,
William
B. E
ermans P
ublishing Com
pany, Grand R
apids, MI 1950.
Stedm
an, Ray C
., Expository Studies in 1 John, W
ord Books, W
aco, TX
1980.V
ines, Jerry, Exploring 1-2-3 John, L
oizeaux Brothers, N
eptune, NJ 1989.
Walvoord, John F
., and Zuck, R
oy B., ed., T
he Bible K
nowledge C
omm
entary,C
hariot Victor Publishing, C
ook Com
munications, C
olorado Springs, CO
1983.W
iersbe, Warren W
. , The B
ible Exposition C
omm
entary (2 Vols),S
cripture Press,
Wheaton, IL
1989.
No
tes:
Ab
ou
t Th
e Co
ver Desig
n(o
n th
e tape cassette alb
um
s)
Th
e “Fro
nt” co
ver:
The G
reek border: “I am A
lpha and Om
ega, the beginning and the ending,saith the L
ord, which is, and w
hich was, and w
hich is to come, the
Alm
ighty (Revelation 1:8).” T
he center design element sym
bolizes theW
ord of God Incarnate, illum
inated by the Holy S
pirit.
Th
e “Back” co
ver: (the “fro
nt” to
the Jew
ish read
er)
The H
ebrew border: “H
ear O Israel: T
he Lord our G
od is one Lord: and
thou shalt love the LO
RD
thy God w
ith all thine heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy m
ight (from the S
h’ma, D
eut 6:4-5).”
The center design represents the B
urning Bush, m
ade up of Hebrew
letters which proclaim
“the Eternal O
ne cannot lie.”
Th
e Sp
ine:
The spine includes a M
enorah from the O
ld Testam
ent, a Maranatha
Dove suggesting the N
ew T
estament, and the K
oinonia House logo at
the base.
Koinonia H
ouseP.O. Box D
Coeur d�Alene Idaho83816-0347
(208) 773-6310www.khouse.org
ISB
N 1-57821-144-1
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