Page 1 John Epistles of The - Rocky Mountain Collegecobalt.rocky.edu/~hyla.thompson/bible_notes/46...

Su

pp

lemen

tal No

tes:

The

Epistles ofJohn

Chuck Missler

© 2001 K

oinonia House Inc.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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


on to man: but

God is faithful, w



ill with the tem



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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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


on to man: but

God is faithful, w



ill with the tem



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 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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