1 John | Chapter 2 – Scripture Supply

1 John 2:1b-2

We have an Advocate

Introduction
1b-2 Assurance

Introduction

Last week we began the examination of John’s words on the 2^nd benefit of our fellowship with God in 2:1 “Freedom from sin”. We noticed the change in tone in John’s appeal as it was very tender as he addresses them as “My little children”. We also noticed that John switches from the formal to the personal as he had addressed them by the formal word “WE”, now he address them in the personal word “I”.

I believe in part the reason for those was his establishment of what a true believer is found in verse’s 1:6-10. We also looked at John’s Appeal as it defines what will next be his Assurance as John says that the purpose of his writing this was that they, may not sin. Again, this in part was linked to the character and nature of God in verse 5 that in the Godhead there is only light and not ever even a little darkness which John saw the potential twofold perversion of His teaching.

The peril of presumption: Here the “peril” is since the escape from sin in the form of forgiveness is so easy, why fear falling into sin?
The danger of despair: “If we can never in this life be done with sin why strive for holiness?” Why bother? It’s useless, sin is just an abiding reality…an illness that we just must learn to live with!

John’s counter to this is to let them know what his purpose was, “That they may NOT sin”. Even if someone was to view John’s truth about Jesus in 2:1 as an insurance policy; such a view isn’t so we can have no regards to driving safety or a disregard to personal driving habits and go out to deliberately crash our car. The Christian is NOT expected to continue to practice sin, the plan of the gospel alleviates the possibility of being a slave to sin any longer. Jesus has transformed the believer as old things have passed away and all things are maid new. There is a difference in “sin nature” and sins!

God has changed our root and this ought to be visible in our
God has changed our character and this ought to be visible in our conduct.
God has changed us in principle so that it ought to be visible in practice.

Vs. 1b-2 Assurance

Vs. 1b-2 Now we examine John’s twofold assurance “Assurance” in the words “And IF anyone sins” As already established John’s “Assurance” is not speaking of the person who is “habitually practicing sin” in verse 6 but instead is aimed at the believer who has an “infrequent act”!

We have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous: There are three things to understand about this aspect of our assurance with Jesus:
1. “We have”: These words provide us the insight that the provision is personal! Jesus is not a formula or a ritual, instead Jesus is an abiding person! This speaks to me as we don’t need to look to find the “insurance policy” as our assurance is not on some forgotten paperwork but in the person of Jesus.
2. “An advocate with the Father”: The word in the Greek is the same word used of the Holy Spirit “Parakletos” and means “one called alongside to help”. The word “with” in the Greek is very descriptive as it means “facing”. Our Advocate is always “facing” the Father, always in fellowship with the Father. If the believer sins and separates fellowship Jesus is already facing the Father on our behalf to bring us back into fellowship Him. It is also very convicting for the believer to realize that every time we chose to fall into sin Jesus must “face the father” on our behalf! Yes, Jesus has access and our appeal but the thought of Him having to continue to do so on my behalf just because I’ve chosen to disregard the power Jesus has given me to say no to ungodliness causes me to want to avoid choosing sin.
3. “Jesus Christ the righteous”: Here John identifies why this is true assurance as it is based Jesus Christ the righteous. Here we understand that Jesus as our advocate before the Father is not proclaiming our innocence. The basis of His appeal before the Father is NOT our innocence instead it is that our quilt has been covered by His blood. This is important as it means that there can never be any fear that our innocence could ever be overturned on further evidence as our forgiveness has never been granted based upon evidence of our innocence; instead, it is based upon the truth of our guilt and Jesus’ innocence. Jesus faces the Father having been innocent and has covered our guilt in His innocent blood. We are guilty as charged but are forgiven based upon Jesus Christ the righteous. Notice how John uses three names to identify our Advocate:

Jesus: This speaks of His humanity, His identification with fallen humanity and all our weakness and our temptation yet without sin.
Christ: This speaks of His Divine position He is the only one qualified for this position. Our defense attorney will only be one of two people; ourselves in our own goodness, which is as filthy rags, or Jesus who comes before the father in His.
Righteous: This reminds us of His character who alone has the power to deal with all and every sin. What better advocate could the believer who slips into sin have then this?

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not just ours, but also for the whole world. This verse deals with the reason why Jesus is the only “Advocate”. As John makes three statements with regards to the affective nature of His sacrifice:

And He Himself: It was the priest that would offer the sacrifice to satisfy the penalty for sin that separated fellowship, but here we are told that Jesus didn’t just offer a sacrifice to appease the just demands instead He Himself became our sacrifice. We could be the worse sinner and have committed the worst sins and as great as those may have been the Sacrifice of Jesus will always be greater. Furthermore, we understand by using these words, the heart of Jesus towards to offender as we know His willingness to be the sacrifice for every person no matter who you are and what you have done.
- Is the propitiation for our sin: God’s righteous judgment against sin demands a sacrifice and Jesus the Son of God is the Father’s willing gift to reconcile fallen people back to Himself! In Jesus the Father has removed the barrier to fellowship namely our sin!
- And not for ours only but also for the whole world: Finally, we see the affective nature of Jesus sacrifice as it not only was strong enough to cover our personal sin throughout our lifetime, but every person who has ever been through their lifetime. The sacrifice of Jesus is inexhaustible. Because of Jesus all fallen humanity has had their sins paid for by Jesus. The vaccine of His blood is the only cure for their terminal condition but that doesn’t mean that they are saved, what it means is that they are redeemed, but they must receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior to be saved! John emphasis that Jesus’ sacrifice is sufficient for the whole world, but it is only efficient for those who are united to Him in spirit.

1 John 2:3-6

Two self-tests of walking in the Light

Introduction
Vs. 3 Progression of progress
Vs. 4-6 Experience, union, and abiding

Introduction

It is generally thought that in this section John begins a new thought as he starts the section with the phrase “NOW by this we know”. Yet I would argue the force of this phrase is a continuation of what he has been writing about as all we need to do is ask “By what do we NOW know?” Clearly John is referring to that which he now believes they now know as he has just written on it. It is my opinion that what John is doing is offering a twofold test to the believer as to see if they are indeed NOW KNOWING. It seems to me that John is anticipating the question of those that are reading this letter in which he has just identified Jesus as the believer’s assurance, advocate, and propitiation, while at the same time writing about those who are merely professors to fellowship with Jesus while in actuality they are only pretenders. How can a person distinguish their true position? By the use of the phrase “In HIM” I believe John offers “two tests” that will indicate our position as possessors of Jesus or only professors of Christ. Of course, they involve the transformative work of Christ in the life of the believer.

Test 1: 2:3-6 Obedience

Test 2: 2:7-11 Love

The person who has met Christ will experience relational transformation which will be seen in our obedience to Christ and truth. Secondly, it will impact us as we relate to our fellow “earth walkers”, and this will be seen in how we treat them in love as Christ has treated us. The Apostle offers ample tests both that are negative as well as those that are positive. He does so to make certain that the person reading this would not be self-deceived and remain in the state of self-deception but neither did he want them to lack the assurance offered in Christ.

Vs. 3 Progression of progress

Vs. 3 John starts out with this phrase so that the believer can enjoy the assurance of their abiding relationship: “By this we know that we know Him”! The emphasis is the assurance to us that we have a true relationship with Jesus. “Are you,” John asks, Enjoying a personal conscience relationship with Jesus? By this statement John is making sure that his readers are not only connected to Jesus by intellectual knowledge as in a belief in a theory, but instead connected to Christ by experiential knowledge that has put into practice what they know is true. An artist is not one that has learned how to mix paints and learned the rules of perspective…no, an artist is one who has put brush and paint to the canvas. Skill comes with practice. Rembrandt was once asked by one of his students when he would become as skilled to which he replied, “Try to keep putting the things you have learned in practice and in good time you will discover the hidden things you seek.” We will only truly know that we know Jesus when we endeavor to continually KEEP His Word! The Greek word KEEP is one that means to “attend carefully”. It speaks not only of the act of obeying but that of valuing His words so much that we don’t want to miss the opportunity of not obeying all of them! There are things that we eat because we know they are good for us, but we don’t feel guilty if we miss them as we don’t care for their taste. Then there are those things that aren’t very good for us, but they taste so good that we won’t waste a bit and even lick the plate. The Apostle uses a Greek word that combines the benefit of the first with the pleasure and taste of the second. The commandments that John is referencing is not the LAW but instead the words of Christ that were either given by Jesus or the writers of the New Testament. Obedience to Gods Word is usually a progression in maturity that centers upon what it takes to motivate us:

Baby Christians: View obedience as a have to as if they are a slave responding to a master. They view obedience in terms of what will happen to them if they don’t obey. If they don’t obey, they will be punished.
- Immature Christians: View obedience as a need to as if they are an employee. He may not enjoy his work, but he does enjoy being rewarded with a paycheck! If they don’t obey, they won’t be rewarded!
- Mature Christians: View obedience as a want to because the relationship between God and him is one of love. Jesus said this in John 14:15 “If you LOVE ME, keep My commandments.”

We most likely started our relationship with God viewing obedience as I have to and then graduated to, I need to but maturity happens when the I have to and the I need to becomes I want to! Immaturity is only motivated to obedience by warning and reward instead of being motivated to obey because we love Him!

Vs. 4-6 Experience, union, and abiding

The progression of maturity seen in the attitude of what motivates the believer from I have to, to I need to and finally I want to will also be seen in the growth of our relationship. John describes this by using three words that indicate a deepening relationship with God and then speaks in terms of how this will progress through our obedience to the Words of Christ.

Vs. 4 “I know Him”: The word used by John here is the same as in verse 3 and speaks not of theoretical or intellectual knowledge but personal and experiential knowledge. The Greek renders the question of verse 3 as “we are continually getting to know by experience that we have experienced and still do experience Him”. It is in this first part of our relationship that we progress by imitation of Him…we “Keep His commandments” developing a habit that seeks to do so. This becomes practical obedience and is contrasted here against the person who claims to have experienced Christ but isn’t heeding the duty of even I have to, that person who isn’t even to having to obey is demonstrating that they are a counterfeit Christian not a real one. It doesn’t matter what the words of their mouth’s evaluation, it is the actions and in this case the lack of practicing obedience that is the proof that they have no relationship with Jesus.
- Vs. 5 “We are in Him”: Here John describes the deeper relationship with Christ that is one of a union between us, a oneness that occurs. Here the maturity comes about through obedience that is changes from the Practical to the Principle of obedience. John states it this way in verse 5 “But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him.” The word “keeps” indicates a continual habitual practice who becomes more concerned with missing out of the benefits of God’s Word than the rigors of it. John says that the person who has transitioned into this “oneness” with Christ begins to realize what the “Love of God” is all about in their life. The motivation of obedience is no longer I have to as it has become,

I need to. Love is becoming the primary reason for obedience but notice that this love is first from the perspective of His love for us before our action of obedience is our love for Him.

Vs. 6 “He abides in Him”: Finally, John describes the maturity of the believer that has continued to progress in their maturity to “abiding in Christ”. The word means to remain and describes a continual connection more than it does a position. This connection is the saint’s manner of life that views obedience as loving obligation as the love of Christ constrains us (2 Corinth 5:14). Not only are we united with Christ, but we are seeking to continually enjoy that relationship by remaining in that place by making it our home! Here obedience is a “Walk with Christ” where we seek to go where He is going, living the way He is living in us. It’s more than our duty it’s an expression of our devotion as John writes in verse 6 “Ought to walk just as He walked.” It’s a joint participation which we are so close to Him as to match His steps with ours as His nature is what we order our life around! Here is where it changes to, I want to!

It is what Paul said in Gal 2:20 “Christ lives in me”!

1 John 2:1b-2

“We have an Advocate”

Introduction
Vs. 1b-2 Assurance

Introduction

We began the examination of John’s words on the 2^nd benefit of our fellowship with God in 2:1 “Freedom from sin”. We noticed the change in tone in John’s appeal as it was very tender as he addresses them as “My little children”. We also noticed that John switches from the formal to the personal as he had addressed them by the formal word “WE”, now he address them in the personal word “I”.

I believe in part the reason for those was his establishment of what a true believer is found in verse’s 1:6-10. We also looked at John’s appeal as it defines what will next be his assurance as John says that the purpose of his writing this was that they, may not sin. Again, this in part was linked to the character and nature of God in verse 5 that in the Godhead there is only light and not ever even a little darkness which John saw the potential twofold perversion of His teaching.

The peril of presumption: Here the peril is since the escape from sin in the form of forgiveness is so easy, why fear falling into sin?
The danger of despair: “If we can never in this life be done with sin why strive for holiness?” Why bother? It’s useless, sin is just an abiding reality…an illness that we just must learn to live with!

John’s counter to this is to let them know what his purpose was, “That they may NOT sin”. Even if someone was to view John’s truth about Jesus in 2:1 as an insurance policy; such a view isn’t so we can have no regards to driving safety or a disregard to personal driving habits and go out to deliberately crash our car. The Christian is NOT expected to continue to practice sin, the plan of the gospel alleviates the possibility of being a slave to sin any longer. Jesus has transformed the believer as old things have passed away and all things are made new. There is a difference in sin nature and actual sins!

God has changed our root and this ought to be visible in our fruit.
God has changed our character and this ought to be visible in our conduct.
God has changed us in principle so that it ought to be visible in practice.

Vs. 1b-2 Assurance

Vs. 1b-2 Now we examine John’s twofold assurance “Assurance” in the words “And IF anyone sins” As already established John’s Assurance is not speaking of the person who is habitually practicing sin in verse 6 but instead is aimed at the believer who has an infrequent act!

We have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous: There are three things to understand about this aspect of our assurance with Jesus:
1. “We have”: These words provide us the insight that the provision is personal! Jesus is not a formula or a ritual, instead Jesus is an abiding person! This speaks to me as we don’t need to look to find the insurance policy as our assurance is not on some forgotten paperwork but in the person of Jesus.
1. “An advocate with the Father”: The word in the Greek is the same word used of the Holy Spirit Parakletos and means one called alongside to help. The word with in the Greek is very descriptive as it means facing. Our Advocate is always facing the Father, always in fellowship with the Father. If the believer sins and separates fellowship Jesus is already facing the Father on our behalf to bring us back into fellowship Him. It is also very convicting for the believer to realize that every time we chose to fall into sin Jesus must face the father on our behalf! Yes, Jesus has access and our appeal, but the thought of Him having to continue to do so on my behalf just because I’ve chosen to disregard the power Jesus has given me to say no to ungodliness causes me to want to avoid choosing sin.
1. “Jesus Christ the righteous”: Here John identifies why this is true assurance as it is based Jesus Christ the righteous. Here we understand that Jesus as our advocate before the Father is not proclaiming our innocence. The basis of His appeal before the Father is NOT our innocence instead it is that our guilt has been covered by His blood. This is important as it means that there can never be any fear that our innocence could ever be overturned on further evidence as our forgiveness has never been granted based upon evidence of our innocence; instead, it is based upon the truth of our guilt and Jesus’ innocence. Jesus faces the Father having been innocent and has covered our guilt in His innocent blood. We are guilty as charged but are forgiven based upon Jesus Christ the righteous. Notice how John uses three names to identify our Advocate:
Jesus: This speaks of His humanity, His identification with fallen humanity and all our weakness and our temptation yet without sin.
Christ: This speaks of His Divine position He is the only one qualified for this position. Our defense attorney will only be one of two people; ourselves in our own goodness, which is as filthy rags, or Jesus Christ who comes before the father in His.
Righteous: This reminds us of His character who alone has the power to deal with all and every sin. What better advocate could the believer who slips into sin have then this?

And not for ours only but also for the whole world: Finally, we see the affective nature of Jesus sacrifice as it not only was strong enough to cover our personal sin throughout our lifetime, but every person who has ever been through their lifetime. The sacrifice of Jesus is inexhaustible. Because of Jesus all fallen humanity has had their sins paid for by Jesus. The vaccine of His blood is the only cure for their terminal condition but that doesn’t mean that they are saved, what it means is that they are redeemed, but they must receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior to be saved! John emphasis that Jesus’ sacrifice is sufficient for the whole world, but it is only efficient for those who are united to Him in spirit.

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not just ours, but also for the whole world. This verse deals with the reason why Jesus is the only “Advocate”. As John makes three statements with regards to the affective nature of His sacrifice:

And He Himself: It was the priest that would offer the sacrifice to satisfy the penalty for sin that separated fellowship, but here we are told that Jesus didn’t just offer a sacrifice to appease the just demands instead He Himself became our sacrifice. We could be the worse sinner and have committed the worst sins and as great as those may have been the Sacrifice of Jesus will always be greater. Furthermore, we understand by using these words, the heart of Jesus towards to offender as we know His willingness to be the sacrifice for every person no matter who you are and what you have done.

Is the propitiation for our sin: God’s righteous judgment against sin demands a sacrifice and Jesus the Son of God is the Father’s willing gift to reconcile fallen people back to Himself! In Jesus the Father has removed the barrier to fellowship namely our sin!

1 John 2:3-6

“Two self-tests of walking in the Light”

Introduction
Vs. 3 Progression of progress
Vs. 4-6 Experience, union, and abiding

Introduction

Clearly John is referring to that which he now believes they now know as he has just written on it. It is my opinion that what John is doing is offering a twofold test to the believer as to see if they are indeed NOW KNOWING. It seems to me that John is anticipating the question of those that are reading this letter in which he has just identified Jesus as the believer’s assurance, advocate, and propitiation while at the same time writing about those who are mere professors of fellowship with Jesus, while in actuality they are only pretenders. How can a person distinguish their true position? By the use of the phrase “In Him” I believe John offers two tests that will indicate our position as possessors of Jesus or only professors of Christ. Of course, they involve the transformative work of Christ in the life of the believer.

Test 1: 2:3-6 Obedience

Test 2: 2:7-11 Love

The person who has met Christ will experience relational transformation which will be seen in our obedience to Christ and truth. Secondly, it will impact us as we relate to our fellow earth walkers, and this will be seen in how we treat them in Love as Christ has treated us. The Apostle offers ample tests both that are negative as well as those that are positive. He does so to make certain that the person reading this would not be self-deceived and remain in the state of self-deception but neither did he want them to lack the assurance offered in Christ.

Vs. 3 Progression of progress

There are things that we eat because we know they are good for us but we don’t feel guilty if we miss them as we don’t care for their taste. Then there are those things that aren’t very good for us, but they taste so good that we won’t waste a bit and even lick the plate. The Apostle John uses a Greek word that combines the benefit of the first with the pleasure and taste of the second.

The Commandments that John is referencing is not the Law, but instead the words of Christ that were either given by Jesus or the writers of the New Testament. Obedience to Gods Word is usually a progression in maturity that centers upon what it takes to motivate us:

Baby Christians: View obedience as a have to as if they are a slave responding to a master. They view obedience in terms of what will happen to them if they don’t obey. If they don’t obey, they will be punished.
Immature Christians: View obedience as a need to as if they are an employee. He may not enjoy his work, but he does enjoy being rewards with a paycheck! If they don’t obey, they won’t be rewarded!
Mature Christians: View obedience as a want to because the relationship between God and him is one of love. Jesus said this in John 14:15 “If you love me, keep My commandments.”

We most likely started our relationship with God viewing obedience as I have to and then graduated to I need to, but maturity happens when the I have to and the I need to becomes “I want to! Immaturity is only motivated to obedience by warning and reward instead of being motivated to obey because we love Him!

Vs. 4-6 Experience, union, and abiding

The progression of maturity seen in the attitude of what motivates the believer from I have to status to I need to and finally I want to will also be seen in the growth of our relationship. John describes this by using three words that indicate a deepening relationship with God and then speaks in terms of how this will progress through our obedience to the Words of Christ.

Vs. 4 “I know Him”: The word used by John here is the same as in verse 3 and speaks not of theoretical or intellectual knowledge but personal and experiential knowledge. The Greek renders the question of verse 3 as “we are continually getting to know by experience that we have experienced and still do experience Him”. It is in this first part of our relationship that we progress by imitation of Him…we “Keep His commandments” developing a habit that seeks to do so. This becomes practical obedience and is contrasted here against the person who claims to have experienced Christ but isn’t heeding the duty of even I have to. That person who isn’t even having to obey, is demonstrating that they are a counterfeit Christian and not a real one. It doesn’t matter what the words of their mouths it is the actions and in this case the lack of practicing obedience that is the proof that they have no relationship with Jesus.
Vs. 5 “We are in Him”: Here John describes the deeper relationship with Christ that is one of a union between us, a oneness that occurs. Here the maturity comes about through obedience that changes from the Practical to the Principle of obedience. John states it this way in verse 5 “But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him.” The word keeps indicates a continual habitual practice who becomes more concerned with missing out of the benefits of God’s Word, then the rigors of it. John says that the person who has transitioned into this oneness with Christ begins to realize what the Love of God is all about in their life. The motivation of obedience is no longer I have to as it has become, I need to. Love is becoming the primary reason for obedience but notice that this love is first from the perspective of His love for us before our action of obedience is our love for Him.
Vs. 6 “He abides in Him”: Finally, John describes the maturity of the believer that has continued to progress in their maturity to abiding in Christ. The word means to remain and describes a continual connection more than it does a position. This connection is the saint’s manner of life that views obedience as loving obligation as the love of Christ constrains us (2 Corinth 5:14). Not only are we united with Christ, but we are seeking to continually enjoy that relationship by remaining in that place by making it our home! Here obedience is a walk with Christ, where we seek to go where He is going, living the way He is living in us. It’s more than our duty it’s an expression of our devotion as John writes in verse 6 “Ought to walk just as He walked.” It’s a joint participation which we are so close to Him as to match His steps with ours as His nature is what we order our life around! It is what Paul said in Gal 2:20 “Christ lives in me”!

1 John 2:7

“Walking in love”

Introduction
7 Loves Light

Introduction

We are now into the section of the Apostle John that starts with the phrase “Now by this we know”. It is here that John offers a twofold test to the believer to see if they are indeed NOW KNOWING. I believe John offers these two personal tests to indicate our position as true believers of Christ. They indicate the transformative work of Christ seen two ways.

Test 1: Vs. 2:3-6 Obedience

Test 2: Vs. 2:7-11 Love

Previously our focus was upon the action of obedience and not just intellectual agreement. It is clear based upon vs 2:4 that John was comparing the verbal profession of some who say they are Christians with those whose actions reveal that they have a relationship with Jesus.

I also believe that there is usually a progression in maturity that centers upon what it takes to motivate us towards obedience:

Baby Christians: View obedience as a have to as if they are a slave responding to a master.
Immature Christians: View obedience as a need to as if they are an employee.
Mature Christians: View obedience as a want to or I get to because the relationship between God and him is one of love.

We most likely started our relationship with God viewing obedience as I have to and then we graduated to I need to, but maturity happens when the I have to and the I need to becomes I want to or I get to! Immaturity is only motivated to obedience by warning and reward instead of being motivated to obey because we love Him!

Vs. 7 Loves Light

Vs. 7 There are several things about John introduction to the second personal test that I find interesting:

1. Brethren: The best Greek manuscripts don’t use the word translated here as “Brethren”, instead they use a word that is translated divinely loved ones which is interesting as John’s 2^nd test is that of loving one another. It is unfortunate that in the English language that a person can use the same word to express how they feel about their spouse or ice cream. When we use the same words to describe affection to two vastly different things, we can indirectly devalue the one while inflating the other.

2. I write no new commandment: The reason for this was that they had heard this from the beginning. You will find this subject mentioned in Leviticus 19:18 spoke on the need to “Love your neighbor as yourself” and as such clearly it is not a new revelation. Next Jesus had said in Mark 12:28-34 that of loving God and loving each other that all the other aspects of the law hung and such it was not even new with regards to the words of Christ. In the Greek there are two words that can be used for the word NEW. The first means NEW IN TIME to which John clearly says that this commandment is not NEW IN TIME. The second word means NEW IN QUALITY. It is the second definition used her as John wants to assure his readers that the quality of the commandment hasn’t diminished over time. God’s love has always been essential from the beginning, and they had heard of the necessity of treating each other the way Jesus treats us. Love was an essential part of Christian teaching and that is why John says that this isn’t a NEW commandment as far as something they had heard. Instead, it was something that needed to be refreshed and rekindled in their minds. Throughout this section John will reveal three ways in which this old commandment was refreshed:

3. New Emphasis: Prior to this the commandment was general and was one of many. But here this commandment is given preeminence. But not only was it placed above the others it was given a fresh new place as it is the motivation behind our obedience to do everything else. Doing the right thing must not be out of fear or reward…it isn’t because of the law that we obey it is because of love that we do so.

4. New Example: This was always true in Jesus (verse 8) but now it His love as our example of how we are to treat each other. Our example isn’t how other Christians treat other Christians in the body of Christ, but rather how Jesus treats each of His brothers and sisters. He didn’t mistreat those who mistreated Him. Jesus Illustrated in His life a love when people:

Sinned against Him
Mistreated Him
He loved Peter even through Peter’s impulsiveness
He never doubted Thomas even though Thomas doubted
The truth is: Jesus died not only for His friends, but He also died for His foes!

5. New experience: That is to say that love becomes the new experience that is fundamental to transformative work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. Love and Light go together as does in the opposite Hatred and Darkness. It isn’t satisfactory for the Christian to merely talk about love; they are to practice it to one another. As verse 9 will indicate for a person to claim a relationship with Christ while hating his brother makes that personal statement untrue. Humanity falls into two classes of people; Those that walk in light and love, and those that walk in darkness and hatred, and the clarification of which class they belong to isn’t defined by words but instead by actions! There is no middle ground, the heart of humanity is NEVER EMPTY it will be either Hatred or Love, but it will never be both at the same time! It is impossible to be in fellowship with God while being out of fellowship with God’s people at the same time! There is no such thing as the Lone Ranger Christian! We are designed to be in fellowship with each other. The Christian life has two relationships: The vertical relationship towards God and the horizontal towards fellow followers of Jesus. And like a marriage what God has joined together man must not separate. Christian love towards each other is not to be a passing emotion, a blind sentiment; NO, it’s a practical activity that applies countless times a day. Through God’s word Christians are exhorted to:

Prefer one another Rom. 12:10
Be of the same mind Rom. 12:16
No judge one another Rom. 14:13
Receive one another Rom. 15:7
Admonish one another Rom 15:14
Build up each other 1 Thess. 5:11
Bear one another’s burdens Gal. 6:2

In short, loving other Christians means to treat them the same way God treats us, and this has to do with not mere words but attitude as well as actions. While not directly in the text the effect of a loveless professing Christian can be seen in three ways:

1. 9 He lives in darkness: Though the person may think they are in the light their behavior indicates darkness. They are self-deceived as John writes that they “say they are in the light” as darkness has blinded them. These are those that cause trouble in the body of Christ, they may very well think that they are mature followers of Christ, but their actions are divisive.

2.10 He is a stumbling block: This person over time will not be satisfied with living in blindness, they will set themselves in the way so that others stumble over them. It is very serious to walk in darkness, but it’s dangerous to do so and lay down trying to trip up others. There was a man who was out walking in the dark when he saw a pinpoint of light in the distance. The light seemed to be moving all over the place as not on a set pattern. As the man drew near the light, he saw a most unusual sight as the man with a flashlight was a man who was blind with a white cane. The man who had observed him at a distance had to know what purpose a blind man would need for a flashlight in the darkness. The blind man smiled at the question and said, “I carry a flashlight so you can see me, not so I can see you, as I don’t want you to stumble.” Love makes us steppingstones, where hate makes us stumbling blocks! We ought not to be the cause of people falling over each other instead we need to be the cause of lifting each other up. People come from different backgrounds and opinions and Paul dealt with this Christians worshipping on different days, eating different diets and his words were “love one another” “Walk in love”

3. 11 In stunts maturity: A blind person can’t advance forward as easily as one with sight who walks in the light. Maturity is our goal, becoming more consistent walking in light and love is what ought to be the trajectory of our life now as believers. Nothing will take us off course quicker then hatred and bitterness. We cannot generate Christian love by our own power, but we can confess the lack of it and ask the Lord to grant us His love for those whom we have harbored hatred. The active work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is in the business of the continual transformative work of taking the old things and making them new things in our experience!

Love is what lights our direction in life! The proof is never going to be in our confession or assertion of truth it will always be seen in transformative attitudes and actions.

1 John 2:7-11

“The commandment, false claim and contrast”

Introduction
7-8 The commandment
9 The false claim
10-11 The contrast

Introduction

John offers these two personal tests to indicate our position as true believers of Christ. They indicate the transformative work of Christ seen two ways.

Test 1: 2:3-6 Obedience

Test 2: 2:7-11 Love

Last time our focus was upon the action of obedience and not just intellectual agreement. It is clear based upon 2:4 that John was comparing the verbal profession of some who “Say they are believe that there is usually a progression in maturity that centers upon what it takes to motivate us towards obedience:

Baby Christians: View obedience as a “have to” as if they are a “slave” responding to a master.
Immature Christians: View obedience as a “need to” as if they are an “employee”.
Mature Christians: View obedience as a “want to” because the relationship between God and him is one of love.

We most likely started our relationship with God viewing obedience as “I have to” and then graduated to “I need to” but maturity happens when the “I have to” and the “I need to” becomes “I want to”!

Immaturity is only motivated to obedience by warning and reward instead of being motivated to obey because we love Him!

There are several things about John introduction in verse 7 to the second personal test that I find interesting:

Brethren: The best Greek manuscripts don’t use the word translated here as “Brethren”, instead they use a word that is translated “divinely loved ones” which is interesting as John’s 2^nd test is that of loving one another. It is unfortunate that in the English language that a person can use the same word to express how they feel about their spouse or ice cream. When we use the same words to describe affection to two vastly different things, we can indirectly devalue the one while inflating the other.
I write no new commandment: The reason for this was that they had heard this from the beginning. You will find this subject mentioned in Leviticus 19:18 spoke on the need to “Love your neighbor as yourself” and as such clearly it is not a New Revelation. Next Jesus had said in Mark 12:28-34 that of loving God and loving each other that all the other aspects of the law hung and such it was not even new with regards to the words of Christ. In the Greek there are two words that can be used for “NEW”. The first means “NEW IN TIME” to which John clearly says that this commandment isn’t NEW IN TIME. The second word means “NEW IN QUALITY”. It is the second definition used here as John wants to assure his readers that the “quality” of the commandment hasn’t diminished over time. “God’s Love” has always been essential from the beginning, and they had heard of the necessity of treating each other the way Jesus treats us. Love was an essential part of Christian teaching and that is why John says that this isn’t a “NEW commandment” as far as something they had heard.

Instead, it was something that needed to be refreshed and rekindled in their minds. Throughout this section John will reveal three ways in which this “OLD COMMANDMENT” was refreshed:

As we look at this passage, we can see that it consists of three parts!

Vs. 7-8 The commandment

Vs. 7-8 The commandment: It is here that I notice that John mentions three reasons for it!

7a Remind: Since the commandment wasn’t new as they had received it from the beginning as Jews and from the beginning of their Christian encounter this was used to remind them the LOVE is an essential aspect of their life. Love both as the motive of obedience as well as loving each other in the body of Christ wasn’t something that was NEW to them but something that they may have needed to be reminded of.

8a Renew: It was NEW or fresh three vital three ways:

New Emphasis:

Prior to this the commandment was “general” and was one of many. But here this commandment is given preeminence. But not only was it placed above the others it was given a fresh new place as it is the motivation behind our obedience to do everything else. Doing the right thing must never be out of fear or reward…it isn’t because of the law that we obey it is because of love that we do so.

New Example:

This was always true in Jesus (verse 8) but now it His love as our example of how we are to treat each other. Our example isn’t how other Christians treat other Christians in the body of Christ but rather how Jesus treats each of His brothers and sisters. He didn’t mistreat those who mistreated Him. Jesus illustrated in His life a love when people:

Sinned against Him
Mistreated Him
He loved Peter even through Peter’s impulsiveness
He never doubted Thomas even though Thomas doubted
The truth is: Jesus died not only for His friends, but He also died for His foes!

New experience:

That is to say that LOVE becomes the new experience that is fundamental to transformative work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. Love and Light go together as does in the opposite hatred and darkness. It isn’t satisfactory for the Christian to merely talk about love; they are to practice it to one another. As verse 9 will indicate for a person to claim a relationship with Christ while hating his brother make that personal statement untrue. Humanity falls into two classes of people; Those that walk-in light and love, and those that walk-in darkness and hatred and the clarification of which class they belong to isn’t defined by words but instead by actions!

There is no middle ground, the heart of humanity is never empty, it will be either Hatred or Love, but it will never be both at the same time!

It is impossible to be in fellowship with God while being out of fellowship with God’s people at the same time! There is no such thing as the Lone Ranger Christian! We are designed to be in fellowship with each other. The Christian life has two relationships: The Vertical relationship towards God and the Horizontal towards fellow followers of Jesus. And like a marriage what God has joined together man must not separate. Christian love towards each other is not to be a passing emotion, a blind sentiment; No, it’s a practical activity that applies countless times a day.

Through God’s word Christians are exhorted to:

Prefer one another Rom. 12:10
Be of the same mind Rom. 12:16
No judge one another Rom. 14:13
Receive one another Rom. 15:7
Admonish one another Rom 15:14
Build up each other 1 Thess. 5:11
Bear one another’s burdens Gal. 6:2

In short, loving other Christians means to treat them the same way God treats us, and this has to do with not mere words but attitude as well as actions.

8b Rekindle:

As the darkness is passing away and true light is already shinning, LOVE needed only a spark to be fanned into a flame in their lives. Selfishness is always associated with darkness.

Vs. 9 The false claim

Vs. 9 The false claim: Here we note John records three aspects to this false claim:

The profession: “He who says he is in the light”: It is a wonderful claim to make but it is more than a statement it is one that is visible and not a mere declaration.
The example: “and hates his brother”: The proof is not in the assertation, but it is in actions. In true Christianity our profession is never in words only as they must always be associated by our actions. Knowledge without the accompaniment of transformed actions is worthless trivia.
The outcome: “Is in darkness until now”: The claim without the accompaniment of the right action is proof of not being in the light, but instead of having never left the darkness! Darkness according to verse 8 should be passing away and true light already shinning.

Vs. 10-11 The contrast

Vs. 10-11 The contrast: Is stated both in the positive in verse 10 and the negative in verse 11.

10 Positive: Here what we learn is that LOVE LIGHTS OUR DIRECTION and that we are either going to be in light or darkness, love or hate but we will never be in both together at the same time. John speaks of a man who loves his fellow Christian, and this is a direct consequence of his abiding in the light and love of Christ. The result of this is that there is “no cause of stumbling” in him as his words match his actions. There are three stages of a person who is in the light and love of Jesus:

Walk in light
They are in the light
They abide in the light

11 Negative: This person is also marked by three things:

Vs. 9 He lives in darkness: Though the person may think they are in the light their behavior indicates darkness. They are self-deceived as John writes that they “say they are in the light” as darkness has blinded them. These are those that cause trouble in the body of Christ, they may very well think that they are mature followers of Christ, but their actions are divisive.

Vs. 10 He is a stumbling block: This person over time will not be satisfied with living in blindness, they well set themselves in the way of others to stumble them. It is very serious to walk in darkness but it’s dangerous to do so and lay down trying to trip up others. There was a man who was out walking in the dark when he saw a pinpoint of light in the distance. The light seemed to be moving all over the place as not on a set pattern. As the man drew near the light, he saw a most unusual sight the man with a flashlight was a man who was blind with a white cane. The man who had observed him at a distance had to know what purpose a blind man would need for a flashlight in the darkness. The blind man smiled at the question and said, “I carry a flashlight so you can see me not so I can see you, as I don’t want you to stumble.” Love makes us steppingstones; hate makes us stumbling blocks! We ought not to be the cause of people falling over each other instead we need to be the cause of lifting each other up. People come from different backgrounds and opinions and Paul dealt with this Christians worshipping on different days, eating different diets and his words were “love one another” “Walk in love.” Today I would say that this would apply to the Covid virus situation and all the different views. “Love one another” “Walk in love” and “Don’t judge one another”!

Vs. 11 It stunts maturity: A blind person can’t advance forward as easily as one with sight who walks in the light. Maturity is our goal, becoming more consistent walking in light and love is what ought to be the trajectory of our life now as believers. Nothing will take us off course quicker then hatred and bitterness. We cannot generate Christian love by our own power, but we can confess the lack of it and ask the Lord to grant us His love for those whom we have harbored hatred. The active work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is in the business of the continual transformative work of taking “the old things” and making them “new things” in our experience!

1 John 2:12-14

“Three stages of maturity”

Introduction
12, 13c Little Children
13b, 14b Young Men
13a, 14a Fathers

Introduction

We left off with the second of two personal tests to indicate to ourselves our position as true believers of Christ. They indicate the transformative work of Christ seen two ways:

Test 1: 2:3-6 Obedience

Test 2: 2:7-11 Love

We have spent time looking the progression of Christian maturity as seen in our motivation in obedience:

Baby Christians: View obedience as a have to as if they are a slave responding to a master.
Immature Christians: View obedience as a need to as if they are an employee.
Mature Christians: View obedience as a want to because the relationship between God and him is one of love.

Then we noticed that in chapter 2 verses 7-11 John wrote this example consisted of three parts!

7-8 The commandment: Where John wrote of three reasons for it: Remind, Renew and Rekindle.
9 The false claim: Where John records three aspects to this false claim: The profession, the example, and the outcome.
10-11 The contrast: Is stated both in the positive in verse 10 and the negative in verse 11.

John wanted his readers to evaluate their true position as his goal was the same as Jesus’ – our maturity and spiritual growth! It is what this section is addressing the three different stages of growth with an appeal to each. The challenge is, What are these different stages of maturity in this passage?

John makes six statements about the readers, he does so by arranging these statements in two sets of three statements each using the male gender specific.
In each of these sets the first remark is addressed the “dear children” but a different word in the Greek is used in each case.
Secondly, he addresses the “fathers”.
Third to the “young men”.

The question on this passage is, How did John intend his readers to look at these three stages of Christian maturity? It seems to me reading these verses that John identifies these natural stages of Christian maturity this way:

Children: John identifies them as LEARNERS: Those who have recently come to knowledge and faith in God that has resulted in their knowledge that their sins are forgiven, vs 12.
Young men: John identifies then as SOLDIERS: Who he declares in verse 13 and 14 are bearing the brunt of spiritual warfare.
Fathers: John identifies then as EXPERIENCED: Who John says by life and encountering the Lord throughout it have acquired spiritual wisdom. They have a knowledge of God that is not mere intellectual it is personal and experiential. They have lived enough life to know that life isn’t fair

The use of the phrase “I write” (used three times) and “I have written” (used twice) suggests to the reader two things:

The lacking in maturity is NOT a problem when we have “recently come to knowledge and faith in God”.
It IS a problem however and the reason for the Apostles appeal if when we are still at that level of maturity when we ought to have grown beyond it.

This section is beneficial no matter where the Christian is in their maturity as there is no such thing as far as maturity is concerned as standing still. The only way in the Christian life to NOT become more worldly, is to keep growing in our maturity! We all begin as little children; but we MUST NOT stay that way! For sake of continuity, we will examine this passage in terms of the three natural stages of Christian maturity but to do so it will be necessary to take the passage apart and not follow it chronologically, instead along the lines of “Children”, “Young Men” and “Fathers”.

Vs. 12, 13c Little Children

12, 13c “Little Children”: John’s first remark is in what he calls them as Little is a term of endearment that literally means little born ones. This is also an expression of spiritual life and because of this fellowship with God. They are described with the positive characteristics of understanding that they are forgiven as well as the basis of that forgiveness, “His names sake” (vs. 13). They are keenly aware that their pardon is both complete and permanent and it is based completely upon God and nothing to do with their works. Then in verse 13c they are said to “know the Father” which goes beyond the introduction through the means of divine revelation that led to understanding their forgiveness and onto a real experiential relationship with God as their personal Heavenly Father. As beautiful and natural as this relationship is, it is nonetheless incomplete and immature. “Little children” are still in need of teachers to feed them the pure milk of the Word. Clearly John writes to these “Newborn Ones” to assure them that he was writing NOT because he had doubts of their salvation, he hadn’t any, but he did want to encourage them to continue in their fledgling faith and grow on into maturity!

Vs. 13b, 14b Young Men

13b, 14b “Young Men”: here we see that John’s statements are much more in-depth in comparison to his remarks towards “Little children”. First their characteristics are described “strong”, and the Greek word has the strength as not natural but rather bestowed. Notice John does not encourage these “Young Men” to exercise, instead he states that they are strong! John assures them that they are not lacking in this area and have enough strength to defeat satan’s attacks. They don’t need to say more power, they need only apply the strength they already have been given to defeat the enemy! Secondly, John tells them why they can have confidence in their strength being more then efficient in verse 14b as “the word of God abides in them”. These young men have applied the gospel and assimilated it’s demands in obedience to its precepts. Such characteristic is for the purpose of conflict John declares as twice tells them not only who they are doing battle against as well as the inevitable outcome of overcoming victory. There is no mystery as to the purpose of the Christian life, and no Christian life is worthy of the name Christian that cannot face conflict and realize that it has not only the power to wage the fight of faith, but the God given strength to WIN! Furthermore, the victory is assured as we are to merely overcome which suggests that the enemy has already been defeated and we are called only to abide in the victory afforded us in Christ. The secret for such abiding victory is allowing the continuance and growth in the Word of God! The Word of God is both food for our souls and a sword for the warriors that we are called to be! The Christian needs to be preoccupied with God’s Word three ways: Attention, Intention and Retention!

Vs. 13a, 14a Fathers

13a, 14a “Fathers”: This reference appears to be in connection to those who have continued into maturity and become fathers of the community of faith. They are called so no doubt due to their application and obedience to the faith which has taken time and experience to develop. They are described as have known and such experience has had the natural outcome as they only grew in what they had experienced from the beginning. They didn’t need more they only need to continue to apply more of Jesus. Notice that this maturity is seen in a relationship to Christ and not in the work of Christianity! Our growth is in the areas of fellowship with God and our fellow Christians and not in titles and efforts! The Fathers of the faith are not those who possess the largest resumes but instead those who look more like the one they are privileged to serve! To these fathers, the world’s glow and trinkets has no attraction to allure them. The father sees these things as temporary toys and like Paul said in 1 Cor 13:11 “When he became a man. he put away childish things”!

1 John 2:15-17

Two loves

Introduction
15-16 Incompatibility
17 Impermanent

Introduction

The plan of God from the beginning is to reestablish fellowship with fallen humanity. John declares that this experience with him was the single most blessed experience he has had in his life. The impact that Jesus had upon his life 70 years earlier had only grown better over those years and now he only wants others to experience what he has enjoyed. The apostle John understood that this was not a mere intellectual exercise instead it was relational. So, John wrote to these believers of a twofold self-test that could enable the professor of faith to determine if they were indeed possessors of faith: 2:3-6 Obedience, and 2:7-11 Love. Furthermore, John wanted these same believers to understand that such fellowship and relationship with God was progressively increasing, growing in maturity. John wanted his readers to evaluate their true position as his goal was the same as Jesus’…. our maturity and spiritual growth! Therefore, as we noticed last week that the Apostle John wrote this letter to the three different stages of growth with an appeal to each.

Children: John identifies them as LEARNERS:
Young men: John identifies them as SOLDIERS:
Fathers: John identifies them as EXPERIENCED:

Chapter 2:12-14 was written to reassure his readers as John didn’t want them to think that he was questioning their salvation. In fact, he says just this, that he had written them “because their sins were forgiven” and “because they have known Him who is from the beginning”. If the readers missed those truths, then they have misunderstood John’s words to them. Now, in this section John goes on to reveal to them how to apply what he has just reassured. There is a balance in the life of the Christian between assurance of our salvation and pressing on into our sanctification so that we can grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. There is no better way to grow in our relationship then to LOVE but as John writes it is best realized in our refusal to love the World System that we were once devoted too.

15-16 Incompatibility

Vs. 15 In this verse John states the danger as he simply states: “Do not love the world or the things of the world”. The primary question for the Bible student is, “What does John mean when he says the world?” In 1^st John 2:2 we see that Jesus Himself died for the whole world. In 4:14 we read that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Using these words of John, we can determine that John is not referring to the material world or the world in which humanity dwells. John narrows his interpretation of this exhortation down based upon 2:19 as the world is that he is writing about here is the part of the world that is apart from God. It is what Paul wrote about in Gal. 1:4 as “this present evil age.” I believe that John is using this word for “world” which is Kosmos in the Greek; (as it appears 6 times in three verses in 1^st John), for the “the fallen world system that is apart from God”. It that context it applies to the fallen worlds: Values, Pleasures, Pastimes and Ambitions! It is this World System that John in 5:19 declares is in the grasp and sway of the evil one. It is this system that rejected Jesus when He came according to John 1:10. So when John writes this exhortation here is he is not thinking in terms of the material world as in THINGS as he is addressing the attitude behind materialism. John is thinking of self-centeredness: that leads to worldly ambition, arrogance, and manipulation! John is saying that we Christians that are aiming to continue to grow in our relationship with Jesus must not continue to court the temporary intimacy of the world system, by seeking a relationship to its morals, ideals, covet its trinkets or value its customs and adopt its laws. The only certainty of this fallen world system is that it is passing away! A person who is having an affair with the fallen world system, John declares has displaced God’s love for him! This truth stands with John’s exhortation: It is only as the LOVE of God fills the Christian that the will of God will motivate the believer, and it is this LOVE conquered Christian that God uses to be more than a conqueror! John now moves on to describe the danger of mixed affections by first giving the reader the two truths about trying to pursue both the love of the world system and a love for God:

15-16 Incompatibility: The Christian can only love, one or the other but never at the same time! Humanity is mastered by that which they love but we must never forget that these two loves offer two very different results: If we love the things of this world system, we will find ourselves enslaved by our affections. It is only when our love is upon God that we find our true freedom! Jesus said in Matt. 6:24 that we cannot serve two masters. John proceeds to give the reasons for this in verse 16 as he mentions the trinity of the flesh that he prefaces as “For all that is in the world” makes it appeal to three aspects of our flesh that are certain to enslave us again:
“The lust of the flesh”: The desire of having! These cravings are directed at our flesh and carnal nature. The pursuit of this blinds the believer of goodness and blessings of obeying God’s Word. The danger of loving pursuing having is that is that such pursuit never satisfies and takes away the desire of the things of God which will fulfill the true longing of our hearts.

“The lust of the eyes”: The desire of seeing! The second aim of the world system deals with covetousness. Not only with the possession of material things but also that of ambition and image. The Christian who is caught up into the love the world system in this area is seeing their value in THINGS be that possession, image, wealth, status, power etc. These are the values of living vicariously through others and identifying with others success and position. It measures success on external things and not Christ like character! We are NOT to pursue the love of the world system that equates value on things we or those we identify with have achieved instead we are to love God who has shown us our true value in what He has done to have a relationship with us!

“And the pride of life”: The desire of being! The final appeal the fallen world system makes is the boasting of what he has or does! While ambition in itself isn’t sinful as we are encouraged by Jesus to be ambitious in being the least of all and the servant of all but that is not the appeal in the world system it is to be above others and to boast that we are superior to others based upon what we have or have done! So many wants to leave a legacy in the world after they have left where future generations will recall their name. Far too often those of history that we recall are not remembered for their beneficial works but for their evil actions that hurt and destroyed others.

Vs. 17 Impermanent

17 Temporary verses eternal: John warns that the pursuit of the love of the world system is one that not only will never satisfy it also won’t last even if for a moment we enjoy it’s pleasures. The world system is heading for destruction, its passing away. Think of all those who have moved it to the object of their love; what have they once they have died? What did they get for their love’s investment? How foolish to have ones hopes and dreams invested in something that was never designed to last. All its pleasures are temporary satisfaction and will end up in nothing. They amount to a mirage to a parched soul and illusion that will end up with dirt on the mouth instead of living water. But compare that with the love of God and at once we note that not only is what God grants us that pursue His love that which only satisfies the longing of our hearts it never ceases to do so as it is eternal and temporary. The Christian who tries to love the world system will lose the peace and security they have in the love of God as the world system is constantly in a state of flux. Jim Elliot once said, “He is no fool who gives up what he can never keep to gain what he cannot lose!”

1 John 2:18-19

“Truth verse false”

Introduction
18-19 The warning

Introduction

The Apostle John’s letter was addressing the greatest blessing in life… “fellowship with God”. His letter addresses what he had observed in the church and that was that it had to be more than intellectual agreement with truth…it had to be application of truth. Our maturity in the faith is a natural progression as the Apostle John describes it this letter as three different stages of growth with an appeal to each.

Children: John identifies them as LEARNERS:
Young men: John identifies them as SOLDIERS:
Fathers: John identifies them as EXPERIENCED:

We have already noted the first two of the threefold tests of Christian life in the believer:

WALK IN LIGHT 2:3-6 Obedience, (In righteousness the destination of our obedience)
WALK IN LOVE 2:7-11 Love, (The motivation of our obedience)
WALK IN TRUTH 2:18-27 Truth, (The source of our obedience)

The reason for this is that our obedience is only as safe as it is fixed upon truth. It is popular today for some to say that it isn’t truth that is the source of our obedience, instead they say that it rather the sincerity of the person, not what is the stability of their sincerity. A lie no matter how passionately obedient a person is in their devotion to it will not make what they believe true. Sincerity is not the magic ingredient that makes something true, it makes a difference in what a person believes is true. It doesn’t matter how obedient or even if a person has the right motivation in their obedience if what they are following is a lie and not the truth, the outcome will be that they are still as lost as they were before. The apostle devolves these three ways in this section:

18-21 The contrasts between what is false and what is true as seen in false teachers (antichrists) and true followers of Jesus.
22-23 The greatest lie of false teachers, denying the necessity of the person and Word of Jesus.
24-27 The encouragement for true followers of Jesus to defend the truth against the lie.

Vs. 18-19 The warning

Vs 18 In verse 17 John mentioned that the “world was passing away” and the reason for this was that the world system makes its appeal to the “lust of the flesh” which is based upon a lie. The life of the Christian is not only filled with peril,it needs to be protected and God has supplied TRUTH to guide the believer through the obstacles of the false world system designed to trick and trip up believers. The uses of the repeated word “little children” suggests two things:

First, that they were in a relationship with God!
Secondly, that their position of maturity in Christ made them vulnerable to lies!

John also uses two terms to indicate the believer is living in a time of great crisis:

First, notice this severity is couched in the phrase “it is the last hour”. This phrase speaks not of the duration of time but rather that type of time. As such, it speaks of the desperation of satan as his time is shortened and placed believers in greater danger due to our enemy knowing that he has a short time left to deceive. Since the resurrection of Jesus every Christian has been living in a time of great crisis as satan has known that his time is coming to an end. It is therefore important for believers to know not only what they believe, but why they believe it!
Second, John mentions who it is that is behind the deception antichrist. This term is used by John many times in the Bible. It is used three different ways: A spirit that is in the world that opposes or denies Jesus. False teachers who embody that spirit by spread the lies. A person who will head the final rebellion against Jesus. The spirit of the antichrist has been in the world since Genesis 3 and is the one behind every false doctrine and religious substitute for the reality of the truths of the person and work of Jesus. The word ANTI can mean both against or instead of which reveals the two truths regarding the lies that they teach, as the lies that false teaching is either aimed at being against Jesus or instead of

The proof that we are in the “last hour” is that we have the proliferation of lies that are both against and/or instead ofJesus. But the truth of the matter is that we have had such since the garden of Eden in Genesis 3 and specifically since the Resurrection of Jesus. That is what Jesus said in John 8:44 saying of the religious leaders and satan, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Vs. 19 The unfortunate reality of these lies is found in the results it’s had upon the rejection of TRUTH as John shows three results of believing a lie.

“They went out from us”: DEPARTS FROM FELLOWSHIP: John indicates that the believing a lie leads a person to depart from fellowship. This reveals to the reader that not everyone that is a part of the church is a part of the family of God. It is possible for a person to be a member of the church but not a member of the body of Christ and this is based not upon location of their physical presence, but of their heart! If their heart has departed from truth, then they have departed from fellowship with God and His church. One of the great benefits of the church is fellowship with God or with other people but the word means things in common and if a person has believed a lie, then we no longer have Jesus in common! The departure from God’s people reveals that there was a departure from truth!
“They were not of us”: DENIES THE FAITH: Second, such a departure is an indication that were counterfeitsand not real believers. This isn’t implying that staying in a church keeps a person saved, rather it indicates that remaining in fellowship with God’s people centered around the practice of the person and work of Jesus is evidence that that person is truly a Christian. The sad truth to fallen humanity is that a person can be close to a salvation experience with Jesus and even manifest some characteristics that would pass as a believer and yet not be a child of God. All true believers regardless of church affiliation share the love of the truth of the Word of God and Jesus being essential. Most of the false teaching that has come into the world started out in the Church as those who taught such lies departed from the truth. Those that have experienced like precious faith cannot ever depart from it as Peter said to Jesus. “Where shall I go You have the words of eternal life” after the 70 departed, (John 6:68-69)

“That it might be manifest, that none of them were of us”: DECEIVES THE FAITHFUL: Those that depart from fellowship also deny the faith and in turn be actively engaged in deception of those who remain in the Church. It won’t be long before those that depart will no longer profess the truths about Jesus, they will be against Him and instead of for Him. Jesus’ work and words will no longer be sufficient they will need to be accompanied but the works of the flesh! He can be demoted to a good teacher or a wonderful man but NEVER the SON OF GOD and the ONLY WAY TO THE FATHER!

1 John 2:20-23

“Truth verse false part B”

Introduction
20-21 The reminder
22-23 Who is a liar?

Introduction

The Apostle John’s letter was addressing the greatest blessing in life…” fellowship with God”. His letter addresses what he had observed in the church and that was that it had to be more than intellectual agreement with truth…it had to be application of truth. Our maturity in the faith is a natural progression as the Apostle John describes it this letter as three different stages of growth with an appeal to each.

Children: John identifies them as LEARNERS:
Young men: John identifies them as SOLDIERS:
Fathers: John identifies them as EXPERIENCED:

We have already noted the first two of the threefold tests of Christian life in the believer:

WALK IN LIGHT 2:3-6 Obedience, (In righteousness the destination of our obedience)
WALK IN LOVE 2:7-11 Love, (The motivation of our obedience)
WALK IN TRUTH 2:18-27 Truth, (The source of our obedience)

It is important to reinforce that the reason for this is that our obedience is only as safe as it is fixed upon truth. It is popular today for some to say that it isn’t truth that is the source of our obedience instead they say that it rather the sincerity of the person not what the stability of their sincerity. A lie no matter how passionately obedient a person is in their devotion to it will not make what they believe true. Sincerity is not the magic ingredient that makes something true, it makes a difference in what a person believes is true. It doesn’t matter how obedient or even if a person has the right motivation in their obedience if what they are following is a lie and not the truth the outcome will be that they are still as lost as they were before. The apostle devolves these three ways in this section:

18-21 The contrasts between what is false and what is true as seen in false teachers (antichrists) and true followers of Jesus.
22-23 The greatest lie of false teachers, (denying the necessity of the person and world of Jesus).
24-27 The encouragement for true followers of Jesus to defend the truth against the lie.

Vs 18 In verse 17 John mentioned that the “world was passing away” and the reason for this was that the world system makes its appeal to the lust of the flesh which is based upon a lie. The life of the Christian is NOT only filled with perilit needs to be protected and God has supplied TRUTH to guide the believer through the obstacles of the false world system designed to trick and trip up believers. The uses of the repeated words little children suggest two things:

First, that they were in a relationship with God!
Secondly, that their position of maturity in Christ made them vulnerable to lies!

John also uses two terms to indicate the believer is living in a time of great crisis:

First, notice this severity is couched in the phrase “it is the last hour”. This phrase speaks not of the duration of time but rather that type of time. As such, it speaks of the desperation of satan as his time is shortened and placed believers in greater danger due to our enemy knowing that he has a short time left to deceive. Since the resurrection of Jesus every Christian has been living in a time of great crisis as satan has known that his time is coming to an end. It is therefore important for believers to know not only what they believe but why they believe it!
Second, John mention who it is that is behind the deception antichrist. This term is used by John many times in the Bible. It is used three different ways: A spirit that is in the world that opposes or denies Jesus. False teachers who embody that spirit by spread the lies. A person who will head the final rebellion against Jesus. The spirit of the antichrist has been in the world since Genesis 3 and is the one behind every false doctrine and religious substitute for the reality of the truths of the person and work of Jesus. The word ANTI can mean both against or instead of which reveals the two truths regarding the lies that they teach as the lies that false teaching is either aimed at being against Jesus or instead of

The proof that we are in the last hour is that we have the proliferation of lies that are both against and/or instead ofJesus. But the truth of the matter is that we have had such since the garden of Eden in Genesis 3 and specifically since the Resurrection of Jesus. That’s what Jesus said in John 8:44 saying of the religious leaders and satan, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Vs. 19 The unfortunate reality of these lies is found in the results it’s had upon the rejection of TRUTH as John shows three results of believing a lie.

“They went out from us”: DEPARTS FROM FELLOWSHIP: John indicates that the believing a lie leads a person to depart from fellowship. This reveals to the reader that not everyone that is a part of the church is a part of the family of God. It is possible for a person to be a member of the church but not a member of the body of Christ and this is based not upon location of their physical presence but of their heart! If their heart has departed from truth, then they have departed from fellowship with God and His church. One of the great benefits of the church is fellowship with God or with other people but the word means things in common and if a person has believed a lie then we no longer have Jesus in common! The departure from God’s people reveals that there was a departure from truth!
“They were not of us”: DENIES THE FAITH: Second, such a departure is an indication that were counterfeitsand not real believers. This isn’t implying that staying in a church keeps a person saved, rather it indicates that remaining in fellowship with God’s people centered around the practice of the person and work of Jesus is evidence that that person is truly a Christian. The sad truth to fallen humanity is that a person can be close to a salvation experience with Jesus and even manifest some characteristics that would pass as a believer and yet not be a child of God. All true believers regardless of church affiliation share the love of the truth of the Word of God and Jesus being essential. Most of the false teaching that has come into the world started out in the Church as those who taught such flies departed from the truth. Those that have experienced “like precious faith” cannot ever depart from it as Peter said to Jesus after the 70 departed, “Where shall I go You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68-69)
“That it might be manifest, that none of them were of us”: DECEIVES THE FAITHFUL: Those that depart from fellowship also deny the faith and in turn be actively engaged in deception of those who remain in the Church. It won’t be long before those that depart will no longer profess the truths about Jesus, they will be against Him and instead of for Him. Jesus’ work and words will no longer be sufficient, they will need to be accompanied but the works of the flesh! He can be demoted to a good teacher or a wonderful man but NEVER the SON OF GOD and the ONLY WAY TO THE FATHER!

Vs. 20-21 The reminder

Vs. 20-21 With the warning John now offers the reader what God has given to protect the believer from lies as he mentions four things provided for the Christian:

20 REALITY “You have the anointing”: Those that had departed had no real encounter with the Holy Spirit, they had merely counterfeited the manifestations that they thought indicated the encounter such as hyper emotionalism. True believers don’t seek emotionalism as a sign of an encounter with God they seek TRUTH!
20 HUMILITY “From the Holy One”: The greatest proof of the anointing of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is that any such encounter will ALWAYS seek to glorify the Words and Works of Jesus and NEVER the instrument! Any true anointing will always be done in humility and brokenness and never in arrogance.
20 CONFIDENCE “You know all things”: Because the Holy Spirit possesses the heart and mind of the believer, we have complete confidence in the truth of the Word of God and are not looking for outside things to validate Gods Word instead we use the Word of God to validate our experiences. There are folks who are constantly looking for other authors and writers other than the Holy Spirit to speak to their hearts and such a quest apart from the Holy Spirit and God’s word has great potential to leading people away from God instead of towards Him.
21 ASSURANCE: “I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.” Finally, the believer has great assurance as God’s truth constantly moves us towards Him and the mere fact that John was writing this to them was assurance of their fellowship with God as they had not departed from fellowship, denied the faith, nor were they involved in deceiving the elect! The point of the follower of Christ is NOT that we will know everything as we certainly don not. But the believer in Christ knows HIM who alone is hidden all wisdom and knowledge. We aren’t looking for experiences or other knowledge as we have come to Jesus who alone is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE! The Christian continues in the Word of God by the Spirit of God!

Vs. 22-23 Who is a liar?

Vs. 22-23 Here John identifies three things those false teachers attack in the person of Christ:

22 “He who denies that Jesus is the Christ”: The first lie is that of denying the WORK of Jesus. This was not a reference to the coming of Old Testament expectation of the Messiah but rather that Jesus is that Messiah and that His work was to die on the cross for the sin of the world. To deny this means that there is no salvation possible for humanity. The Gnostics denied the Work of Jesus as Messiah and instead proclaimed special knowledge and works that cannot save.
22b-23a “who denies the Father and the Son”: The second lie is to deny the PERSON of Jesus and in so doing they denied His divinity. One of the ways the Gnostics did this was to claim that Jesus became deity at His baptism and then lost it at His crucifixion. John’s statement is clear to deny Jesus’ divinity is to deny the Father as well as Jesus said in John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.” The Gnostics wanted to claim a relationship with God while denying the relationship with the Father and Jesus.
23b “denies the Son does not have the Father either”: The final lie to deny the association between the Person and Work of Christ with the plan of the Father. If the Godhead is not in connection with the person and the work of Jesus, then there is no possibility of a relationship with God. The redemptive work. That is the exact argument of the author of Hebrews in 10:5-7 where we are told, “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.’

1 John 2:24-27

Truth verse false part C

Introduction
24-25 The Word of God
26-27 The Spirit of God

Introduction

We now move to the last part of Apostle John’s words on the self-test of WALKING IN TRUTH 2:18-27. In this section John has developed the teaching by breaking apart these verses three ways:

18-21 Where we noted the contrast between what is false and what is true.
22-23 Second in these verses John outlined the aim of the lies of false teachers, denying the necessity of the person and work of Jesus.
24-27 Finally, we will look at his encouragement for followers of Jesus to defend the truth against the lie.

As noted in verses 20-21 walking in the truth has four specific characteristics that are naturally produced in the believer:

20 REALITY or AUTHENTICITY “You have the anointing”: True believers don’t seek emotionalism as a sign of an encounter with God they seek TRUTH!
20 HUMILITY “From the Holy One”: Any true anointing will always be done in humility and brokenness and never in arrogance.
20 CONFIDENCE “You know all things”: Because the Holy Spirit possesses the heart and mind of the believer, we have complete confidence in the truth of the Word of God and are not looking for outside things to validate God’s Word instead, we use the Word of God to validate our experiences.
21 ASSURANCES: “I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.” Finally, the believer has great assurance as God’s truth constantly moves us towards Jesus. The Christian continues in the Word of God by the Spirit of God!

We also noted in verses 22-23 three things those false teachers attack in the person of Christ:

22 “He who denies that Jesus is the Christ”: The first lie is that of denying the WORK of Jesus.
22b-23a “who denies the Father and the Son”: The second lie is to deny the PERSON of Jesus and in so doing they denied His divinity.
23b “denies the Son does not have the Father either”: The final lie to deny the association between the Person and Work of Christ with the plan of the Father.

Now John in this section addresses what the believer can do to guard ourselves against the lies of false teaching and teachers. His answer is that God has given every believer two defensive weapons:

24-25 The Word of God
26-27 The Spirit of God

Vs. 24-25 The Word of God

Vs. 24-25 The first weapon at the disposal of the believer is the “Word of God”. Notice that John lists three important aspects of this weapon:

Its power: Vs 24a “Therefore, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning”: There are two things that I notice as I read this verse. First the word therefore is a connective word linking what John has just written to what he is about to write. What he just wrote was that with regards to maintaining fellowship with God it was essential that the believer stand upon the truth of the person and work of Jesus in verse 23. Second, is the word that which again is a reference to the present abiding of what these believers had heard from the beginning. In this we learn from John that the weapon of the Word of God is NOT NEW TECHNOLOGY! The Word of God is tried and true in defeating any and every lie that false teachers or false teaching has put out. Furthermore, the Christian knows just where to find TRUTH and we ought not be easily moved to follow after the bright shiny lies that regularly come into the world. Paul admonished Timothy in 2 Tim 3:14-17 saying to him, “But you mustcontinue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for^] instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The key for the believer is to recognize that location of the weapon of the Word of God is where it has always been since we first meet Jesus at the beginning and that it still has the same power as it always has in which when we heard the Word of God in faith it has resurrection power to transform us who trust in it from death to life!
Its usefulness: Vs 24b “If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.” The key to the use of this weapon is to KEEP IT WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES. John uses the word abide which means to remain with and suggests that this weapon does us no good if we are not connected to it! The Word of God needs to be planted in our hearts and not kept on a bookshelf! Furthermore, John links remaining near to the Word of God with the continence of remaining with God the Son and God the Father! Satan is the father of lies but he is not an originator and instead is a counterfeiter. He sows tares in the field where Jesus sows seed. The two growing together look similar during growth, but you can always tell the difference when its harvest time!
Its endurance: Vs. 25 “And this is the promise that He has promised us—-eternal life.” Abiding in the Word of God not only guarantees our fellowship with God it assures that God’s promises towards us will be realized. Eternal life is the final outcome of fellowship with God brought about by trusting in God’s Word that we heard from the beginning. Those that remain in the Word of God are those that remain in fellowship with God, and they are those that will enjoy that fellowship that will never come to an end! John’s words are meant to encourage the believer NOT TO DEPART from the truth of the Word of God that they trusted in the beginning!

Vs. 26-27 The Spirit of God

Vs. 26-27 The second weapon is far more powerful as it is living, and what impowers the first weapon. John sets this up by reminding the believer the reason he is writing this to them in verse 26 saying, “These things I have written to you concerning those that TRY to deceive you.”

Perhaps you have noticed that false teachers and teaching is most frequently delivered to those who have good food and NOT to those of the world! False teachers and teaching are aimed primarily at seducing the faithful away from the truth of the Word of God. The Word of God is not enough to protect Christians as it good as the truth of God’s Word is it needs the Spirit of God for it to come alive and protect us from the lies of the World. There are many false teachers who use emotionalism in an attempt to make up what is absent in the Holy Spirit! So, John tells them that they already have the Holy Spirit and ought not look at the counterfeit fake emotionalism! In verse 27 John authenticates the work of the Spirit of God in the Word of God by noting 7 specifics of the Spirit of God at work in the Word of God.

Powerful gift: The anointing which you received. The Work of the Spirit of God through the Word of God will always lead the hearer closer and more dependent upon Jesus. False teachers and teaching leads the person AWAY and ASTRAY from truth. Just as when we first heard and truth the truth empowered by the Holy Spirit brought us closer to God so too now! False teaching is always trying to lead us away from the simplicity and dependency of just trusting God and into what we are doing!
Permanent gift: Abides. The work of the Spirit of God through the Word of God is designed to be permanent and not temporary! The work of the Spirit of God through the Word of God lasts and is never outdated. God’s truth through the Word of God is just as fresh and contemporary as it was when you first received it!
Relational gift: In you. The work of the Spirit of God through the Word of God is relational and not religious as it is from the inside that God effects the outside! The Spirit empowered Word is not a mere outward accompaniment it is designed to be an inward appendage!
Sufficient gift: And you do not need that anyone teach you. The word of God by the Spirit of God is all sufficient gift! We have all the spiritual resources necessary in the presence because we have the power of the Holy Spirit and have no need of outside resources!
Complete Gift: But as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things. We have a Complete Gift as there is NOTHING outside of the Spirit empowered Word of God that is necessary for life and godliness!
Reliable gift: And is true and is not a lie. John reminds the believer of the complete reliability of the Spirit empowered Word as it has never failed them in times past and won’t do so in the future. We have no need to ever pursue false teaching when we have the certainty of the Sprit empowered Word of God.
Abundant gift: Just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. There is never a limited supply of the Spirit empowered Word of God that we might be tempted to try some new so-called truth. Even though things are different from when the Spirit empowered Word was first written the Holy Spirit who knows the end from the beginning has given the believer the Truth that never runs out and is never ought of style!

1 John 2:28-3:3

What manner of Love

Introduction
28-29 Abide, appear and ashamed
3:1-3 Children of God

Introduction

Verse 2:28 is a bridge verse as the Apostle John links what he wants to write next with what he has been saying. So, this verse is a look backwards as well as a look forward. The point of this for the Apostle is to offer what benefits there were in taking the threefold tests of a believer (obedience, love, and truth). He does this prior to writing on being a true child of God in a relationship with God.

Vs. 28-29 Abide, Appear and Ashamed

Vs. 28 Notice that in verse 28 John uses three words that are advantages to believers who have passed the test of fellowship with God. The three words are: ABIDE, APPEARS, and ASHAMED!

ABIDE: This is John’s primary exhortation or calling to believers, stay where you are at! The believer’s calling in maturity, their advancement is to STAY PUT. Stay put, in believing truth, stay put in living that truth out towards others in love, stay put in obey the truth by dying to self-centeredness. If Christians find out that they are out of fellowship with the Lord, then we know that we have MOVED away from God when we should have STAYED PUT! The call of God upon every believer is to stay at home with Jesus! When the world is calling you to go out into the tantalizing trinkets of the world system tell them you would rather stay home with Jesus! What a joy it is to abide in His love, His Word, and in His grace. The Lord has made it simple to Stay at home with Him as He has given us the His Spirit within, His Word without and with these in place we have: Protection for every peril, power over every weakness, peace over every perplexity and permanence over the state of flux of the world!
APPEARS: Notice that John writes, WHEN, He appears not IF, He appears. John states the return of Christ as a FACT, a certain expectation. There is NOT ant shred of doubt and instead John states it as a fact that had passed 70 years of his life! As this relates to the three-fold test that we have taken this reminds the believer that any such test taken now is to make certain that you will PASS the FINAL EXAM! Clearly, John wanted this exhortation of Jesus soon return to produce confidence in the present! This word confidence in the Greek means freedom of speech and it speaks of true friendship in fellowship with God which allows us to speak with Him in perfect honesty and frankness. It suggests that when we see Jesus, we will have nothing to hide, nothing we are embarrassed about as we have already gotten that all out of the way before we have seen Him face to face!
ASHAMED: The context of this word Ashamed is specific as John says that such sorrow at our unfaithfulness is related to His coming! John is NOT speaking to the loss of salvation instead it speaks of the LOSS of joy that a groom or bride may feel at their wedding knowing that they have been unfaithful to the love of their life who had been lovingly faithful towards them! John wants his readers to think of this before they stray away from Jesus perfect love so that they can choose NOW to stay at home with HIM!

Vs. 29 This is where John begins to take up a new thought in his letter which is being a child of God, Born of Him! So, what John takes up here is the topic of true believers being children of God, which is different than natural birth, as spiritual birth is regeneration by the power of God through the work of His Son by His Spirit! The result of this is that God through our adoption has given us His nature! We will notice this regenerative work based upon two distinct marks:

Knowledge: Twice in this verse John uses the word know. This knowledge is both absolute and experienced as we have a twofold understanding:
First, we have an absolute knowledge that is only reinforced through experience of Who alone is righteous, The Lord!
Second, we know again both absolutely and experientially that such an encounter with Jesus who alone is righteous is transformative in nature if we have truly been born again! The supreme proof of NEW BIRTH is the evidence of Jesus Life in our life! There must be Jesus’ righteousness seen in our thoughts, words, and deeds. Without His features seen in us then there is no possibility of us being born of God. To claim that God is our Father we must share the DNA of His character!

Life: John clarifies this by use of the words practices righteousness and not just profession of righteousness. Those that are alive will look like Jesus who is alive! It will be our practice. We cannot claim a transformative work if there is no evidence of transformation. Life where there once was death, love where there once was hate, truth where there once was trusting in lies!

3:1-3 Children of God

Vs. 1 John speaks of the transformative work of God in the believer from three standpoints:

1 What we are
2 What we shall be
3 What we should be

Vs. 1 What we are: “Behold what manner of Love the Father has bestowed on us”. John now bursts forth with the amazing proclamation of assurance of those who have passed the threefold test that indeed We are children of God. The first point he makes is with regards to our new birth conception as we are conceived in His love. The Fathers love for us is unique it is one of a kind and out of this world. While we were His enemies, he loved us and sent His Son to die for us. The whole plan of salvation begins with the Love of God. It was bestowed, not earned, or deserved. His love for us is a direct gift from our heavenly Father. This love is shown, given exhibited and imparted it is this gift alone that has enabled us to be called children of God! This realization has two thoughts connected with it:

Some texts add the words “And we are” after the words “Behold what manner of Love the Father has bestowed on us”. This indicates that such truth must be experienced in our conscience of this new life and how it has come to be. It is a personal revelation of God’s overwhelming love towards us that has nothing at all to do with us and everything to do with HIM!
Second, those words “And we are” suggest that once we realize this truth, we cannot help ourselves as we must share such a truth with everyone. We are a witness to God’s goodness to those around us.

John says, “Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” This tells us that a relationship based completely upon God’s work and none of the object of His love (us) will not be either accepted or understood by those that we want to share His love with. The world cannot know God’s love and the amazing adoption that is the believer’s life because they can only be spiritually discerned according to 1 Cor. 2:14. The Children of God are unknowable to the people of the world unless by the Spirit of God. God’s divine nature imparted will not draw them to His love apart from the Spirit of God’s work through it! We must not be depressed or discouraged over this as they had the same response towards Jesus in His earthly life. Though they knew His family, His mother even they initially didn’t recognize Jesus divine relationship with the Father.

Vs. 2 What we shall be: Even beyond the amazing joy of being children of God THAT’S NOT ALL, there is more to come. There is by lack of experience an unknown glory that awaits the Child of God. Beyond our conception to think of anything higher than our present privilege but nonetheless John declares the reality of a Higher degree between the present and the future our condition. It will be radically improved beyond our imagination while our position as His children will not be changed which means that we are in the right place now and ought to be able to enjoy our position in the present while we await the change in our condition! John does tell us two things that we can know of this condition change as “but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

First John lets us know the timing of such change in our condition as it will be when He is revealed.
Second John tells us what condition will have changed we shall be like Him.
Third John reveals how such condition was made possible as we shall see Him as He is.

Vs. 3 What we should be: The final verse we look at is what the above two should produce in the believer now. The fact that we are children of God ought to produce two particle results in the life of every believer.

Incentive to purity: “Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself”. Those who have come into the love of Christ where they see who they now are, who they will become, and will want to live like Jesus did NOW! Purity is not an option it is a necessity of transformation. We don’t work on purity to be loved by God; we are loved by God which causes us to want to enjoy His love even more so we will seek to be pure.
Standard of purity: “just as He is pure”. The standard of purity isn’t compared to our brothers and sisters, it is Jesus himself. We are to imitate Jesus, our constant consideration, our every thought with regards to our behavior ought to be like Jesus.

As Children of God, we note that such a life was: conceived in God’s love, is marked by our loyalty towards Him and will culminated in our likeness of Him!