1 John Part 5

Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1 John 2:6

What does that mean? How did Jesus "walk"? What was the essence of his life? Which principles transcended his day to day actions and were a part of everything he did? Like John said in his gospel, the world doesn't have enough books to tell about all the things that Jesus did (John 21:25), but the principles that strike me are grace and truth. You can have truth without grace, but you can not have grace without truth.

We must start with the truth. Jesus personified truth (John 14:6) so he never could get away from it or escape it. He never lost sight of the truth like we do. Truth defines his very being. This is what makes the grace that he walked in have all the greater magnitude. Jesus is the very essence of truth, yet he came to forgive people who were filled with sin and treated them with grace and compassion while never being able to escape the reality and the magnitude of their sin.

How do we imitate this in our own lives?

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. ¹⁰Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. ¹¹But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him. 1 John 2:9-11

Do you hate your brother? Do you hate other people? I know I do. What does it mean to hate? Do you put yourself first and treat others like they don't matter? I know I do. Do others just get in the way sometimes? Do you only have time for smart people, pretty people, funny people, moral people? We are none of these things to Jesus. We are not smart or moral for sure. Yet he has grace and compassion on us. Do you only have time for people that can provide you some benefit? Then you are not walking as Jesus did. Jesus needs nothing from anyone and we have nothing to offer him.

Selfishness is a constant struggle. Our felt needs are there constantly. And they are up close and intense. I guess this is otherwise referred to as the flesh. Our physical and emotional desires are in our faces surrounding us. Our sinful nature wants to fulfill these desires with no regard to the consequences. Will we walk as Jesus did, looking to the needs of others while grounded in truth, or will we disregard the needs of our brothers and fulfill our selfish sinful desires?

I feel the need to emphasize the need to be grounded in truth. We should not rationalize the sins of others or ourselves. Sin is sin and it is not ok. We need to pray throughout the day as well as set time aside for prayer to stay grounded in the truth. When we recognize our own sin and the sin of others for what it is, it should drive us to compassion because they are helpless just like we are. It should compel us to show the love of Christ to them, not become annoyed and condemn them in our hearts.

1 John Part 4

Obedience vs. Disobedience: What Does it Show and What are the Consequences?

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. ⁴The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. 1 John 2:3-5a

Obedience shows that we have come to know God, but disobedience shows that you are lying if you claim to know God. Why is this?

I can think of a few reasons why this is true, but I can not claim that this is a comprehensive list. I'm sure there are many benefits of obedience of which I am unaware, and the same goes for consequences of disobedience. If you come to know God's great care and concern for you, you will trust him and consequently obey him. If you come to know God's sovereignty, power, justice, holiness, and hatred of sin, you will avoid disobedience.

Have you been acquainted with the great rewards and deep joy of obedience to God? Then you know him and will obey him all the more. Have you experienced the sting of his judgment or the consequences of stumbling in the darkness? Then you will turn and obey.

God's love made complete

If I obey God's word, his love is made complete in me(v5)? How is God's love incomplete if I am disobedient? Isn't God's love the same always? I believe that this means that God's love will be able to bear fruit in our lives if we are obedient. If we are not obedient, then God's love does not have the opportunity to have the impact that it was intended to have. Therefore it remains incomplete in us.

1 John Part 3

But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ²He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:1b-2

We should strive not to sin, but if we do, we have someone to speak to the Father in our defense. Isn't it great that someone speaks in our defense when in ourselves we are indefensible? And it's not just anyone; I suppose anyone could speak in our defense, but only one is qualified to speak to the Father in our defense. This is the Righteous One, Jesus Christ. He can have that title in capital letters because He is the only one who is righteous. Now it is even more amazing that not only someone speaks in our defense to the Father, but the Righteous One, Jesus Christ, is the one that speaks in our defense.

Verse two says that Jesus Christ is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. I looked up the word atone and it means to make amends for. Christ's sacrifice makes amends for us and the sins we have committed. The consequence of someone making amends is reconciliation if both parties are willing. And praise God he is willing to reconcile with us!

I also found out that the word atone is actually a contraction of the words at and one. We just don't think of it that way since the word doesn't sound like a combination of those words to us. It is actually the pronunciation of the word one that has changed over the years.

Now I know that the Bible was not originally written in English and it is easy to get carried away with just one word. But the New American Standard version uses the word propitiation in the place of the phrase atoning sacrifice. It seems to mean about the same thing, which we'd hope is the case for two reputable translations. Because of Christ's sacrifice, someone has made amends for us and we are reconciled to God.

I find it so hard to live like I am reconciled to God even when I sin. I struggle so much with fear, wanting to hide from him fearing his anger and disappointment. I am at one with God through Jesus. I just am.

1 John Part 2

And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ... This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. ⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 1 John 1:3b,5-10

This passage has confused me in the past. It seemed to say that if we walk with God we will not sin, but then later John says that if we are without sin we deceive ourselves. It seemed contradictory. But alas, it is not.

Here is a quick outline of verses 3-7:

1. Our fellowship is with the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ. v3
2. God is light; there is no darkness in him at all. v5
3. If we claim to have fellowship with God (pure light) in whom there is no darkness, yet you walk in darkness, you are a liar because there is no darkness in God. If your fellowship is with darkness, it can not be with God who is pure light. v6
4. If we do walk in the light (God) :, a. We have fellowship with one another, and b. The blood of Christ will purify us from all sin. Christ will remove the guilt resulting from the sins we commit.

Here are the issues that confused me in the past:

1. What does it mean to walk in the darkness vs walking in the light?
2. What does it mean that the blood of Christ will purify us from all sin?

My confusion arose from how I answered these questions. I thought that walking in the light meant being sinless, and walking in the darkness meant committing sins. I was in the light as long as I did not sin, but then would be in the darkness as soon as I sinned. This definition came from outside of this passage, and indeed from outside the Bible from a legalistic sinful mind.

Walking in the light means walking with God, having fellowship with Him. It does not mean that we will never sin once we have chosen Christ. It means that we stay in contact with Him through prayer, reading Scripture, good works, fellowship with other believers, evangelizing, and any other way we may have fellowship with Him. It means that when we do sin, we confess our sins to God and ask forgiveness. And God will be faithful to Christ's sacrifice and forgive us if we have put our faith in him. And Christ's blood will also continue to do the work of purifying us and making us more like Him.

Using this correct definition of fellowship, verses 8-10 do not contradict the previous verses. Realizing that we sin and confessing those sins to God are part of walking in the light and maintaining our fellowship with him. This is how the Word has a place in our lives. Not by claiming to be sinless.

So, God knows you are going to sin even though you have chosen to walk with him. Do not hide from him, but confess your sins without delay so that you can be purified.

1 John Part 1

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:1-3

Jesus Christ personifies life and eternal life. He is the Word of life, meaning he communicates life. Jesus Christ is real. John and others touched him with their hands and saw him with their eyes.

If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.1 John 1:6

May I quit living like a liar! I have Jesus and can walk in him and have fellowship with Christ and other Christians. May he purify me from my sin!

2 John Part 3

John is known for writing about love. He expresses what love is in many ways. Love for Jesus is shown by obeying his commands (John 14:15). If someone is in authority over you, then you love them by obeying commands that they have the authority to give. He also says that there is no greater love than laying down your life for your friends (John 15:13). If you give of yourself for your friends, even if it hurts you, is loving your friends. You have given up something precious and put others ahead of yourself. This is also love.

After the resurrection, when Jesus was asking Peter if he loved him, he told Peter to feed his lambs (John 21:25). So love is shown to a person by taking care of people for whom the person cares also. You can love a person by loving their children or parents or someone else they care about.

Love is also expressed by taking care of a persons needs (1 John 3:17). One may express love by giving food or clothing to someone who is needy, or by listening to someone who needs to talk or is lonely.

It is clear that John believes that love is shown through actions. It is shown through obeying, feeding, listening, or whatever action is called for to love a person in a particular situation. He also says it explicitly here:

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1John 3:18

It struck me today while reading 2John that while he is known for writing about love, he is very stern about correct doctrine. We're fed the lie that love is shown by accepting everyone without arguing over doctrine; it is exclusionary and discriminatory to judge the beliefs of others. Read what John says in 2 John 9:

Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God. 2 John 9

Wow. If you don't continue in the proper teaching then you do not have God. If you don't have God then your sins are not forgiven and you are going to hell. Doesn't really fit into the modern concept of love, does it?

2 John Part 2

I managed to cover three verses of 2 John in my last post a few months ago, and I'm ready to get started again. My last New Testament study concerned who I am in Christ - all the things the New Testament says is true of believers. Hopefully I can put it in this blog someday in an extended study.

Back to 2 John: What is love? What is true love? 1 John 4:8 says that God is love. His nature is love. Since God's very nature is love then we can believe what John says about love in verse six of 2 John:

2 John 6a And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands.

Think about this for a moment: Could anything else possibly be love or loving other than walking in obedience to God? Our own nature is wicked and sinful, and the god of this world is Satan. Are there any other alternatives? You are either walking in obedience to God, obedience to your own sinful nature, or obedience to Satan, who is a thief and a liar.

John goes on to warn the lady to whom he is writing about false teachers. The false teachers in this place and time were denying that Jesus Christ actually came in bodily form. I don't know of many that say this today other than Jehovah's Witnesses regarding Christ's resurrection, but there are many other very dangerous false teachings that are very common. One such teaching is a perverted view of tolerance. John shows his intolerance for false teaching in his warning to his friend:

2 John 7-8a Many deceivers ... have gone out into the world. Any such person in the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out...

Such an act would be seen as the opposite of love in our world today. But a follower of God knows that identification and correction of sin and falsehood is at the center of loving a fallen world. We know it from our own experience. How loving would it have been for God not to tell us about our own fallen ways? To not warn us of negative consequences? To be silent on the prospect of eternal hell for those who do not believe in him? True love is shown in his grace of loving us while still sinners, not denying that we are sinners.