1 John - Chapters 3-5

In chapters 3-5 of 1 John, the main ideas discussed are: Jesus is God and came in the flesh, believers have fellowship with God and with one another, Jesus shed his blood as a sacrifice for our sins, there are deceivers who deny Jesus and God, believers are called children of God and should love one another, love is the essence of God's character, perfect love casts out fear, faith in Jesus conquers the world, and eternal life is found in Jesus. There is also a debate about the meaning of the references to water and blood. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to tune in with me today. If by chance you want to contact me, you can do that at bab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Alright ladies, today's lesson is on chapters 3-5 of 1 John and it's going to kill me because there is so much great stuff here and my goal is to have the lesson less than 20 minutes so that I honor your time. As a reminder, this lesson is not scripture, even though I try to put as much scripture in as I can, so please take the time to read and ponder this amazing book. In chapters 1 and 2, John covered that Jesus was from the beginning, so he was God, and that he came in the flesh, which John and the other apostles could see, hear, and touch. Jesus was fully human too. Jesus is also light and those who walk in him walk in light. Believers have fellowship with God as well as with one another and we are called to love as Jesus loves. The only way we have fellowship with God is Jesus shed his blood as our sacrifice to make propitiation or payment or appeasement with God the Father. John also made it clear that we have all sinned, which is why we need Jesus. In chapter 2, John said he wrote this letter so that we will not sin. Jesus was our paraclete, which can be translated advocate, counselor, helper, or comforter. In John chapter 14 verse 16, Jesus said, I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper that he may be with you forever. And Jesus said another, he is also acknowledging that he is our paraclete, our helper, but now we also have the Holy Spirit as our helper. John spoke of people who were trying to deceive the believers and then he said, because we have the Holy Spirit within us, he will lead us into all truth and we are to remain or abide in him. John described these deceivers as the Antichrist and said many have come in this last hour. These men denied that Jesus was the Messiah and they denied both God the Father and his son Jesus Christ. Chapter 2 ends, if you know that he is righteous, you know that as well, everyone who does what is right has been born of him. Now chapter 3 begins, look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God's children and we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears we will be like him because we will see him as he is and everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. In verses 4-10 John said that children of God live in righteousness and children of the devil commit sin. Verse 8b and 9 read the son of God appeared for this purpose to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin because his seed abides in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God. Edward A. McDowell said present continuous action as we have stated earlier John is accurate in the use of his tenses and the full force of the present tense as expressive of continuous action is to be insisted on here. A literal translation of this statement is everyone born of God does not go on doing sin because his seed abides in him. Now I also want to point out to you the reference to seed. This refers back to Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 when God spoke to the serpent and said I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise him on the heel. This is why the virgin birth is so important. Jesus was born of woman her seed but he was not born of man the sin seed. In Adam we have all inherited sin except Jesus because he was born of God. Jesus was bruised on the heel when he was crucified on the cross but in that death and the shedding of his blood it brought atonement for all who believe and that crushed the serpent. Now those who are believers have Jesus' seed in them. We have God's seed the Holy Spirit within us that is how we can be called children of God. God's children do right and love their brothers. In verses 11-15 John used the example of Cain and Abel. Cain murdered his brother because his works were evil but his brothers were righteous. When John told us we should not be surprised if the world hates us too. Robert Yarbrough said in this section John uses the negative example of Cain to warn his readers of the certain dangers they face especially the danger of lovelessness. Verses 16-24 said that we love because we have been loved and the best example was when Jesus laid down his life for us so we also should lay down our lives for our brothers and help when we see a need. True believers keep God's commands and love one another and the way we know that he abides in us is by the spirit he has given us. Glenn W. Barker said the joining of belief and love in a single command shows how inextricably connected the two are in John's mind. Belief comes first because it is the basis for love but love is the only expression of true faith. Then chapter 4 starts Beloved do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to determine if they are from God because many false prophets have gone out from the world. This is how you know the spirit of God. Every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God but every spirit who does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist. You have heard that he is coming and he is already in the world. Verses 1-3 of chapter 4. Edward A. McDowell said in the previous attack upon the false teachers branded as Antichrist found in chapter 2 verses 18-27 the emphasis was on their denial of the deity of Christ as the son of God. Here it is on their denial that he was actually a human being. McDowell also said by its use of the perfect participle emphasizes the fact that Jesus not only came in the flesh but that his coming in the flesh is an abiding reality. Ladies the only way our salvation works is that Jesus is both the son of God and the son of man. That fact did not change after his ascension. That is the only way that he can mediate between us and God and that is the only way that we can then become children of God. In verses 4-6 John reminded us that believers are from God or out of God and that is how we can overcome because greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. In verses 7-12 John again calls his readers beloved and then he told us to love one another because God is love that is his character and as Edward A. McDowell said the statement God is love declares that the very essence of God's character is agape meaning love and therefore it is never absent as a factor in every word and deed. God's love was revealed by sending his one and only son into the world so we can live through him therefore when we love we are like him. Verse 16 reads we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love and the one who abides in love abides in God and God abides in him. Verse 17 explained that perfect love brings confidence in the day of judgment. 18 and 19 read there is no fear in love because perfect love casts out fear because fear involves punishment and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. McDowell said love matures individuals fear impedes their growth toward maturity. Glenn W. Barker said love and fear are incompatible the fear spoken of here is not to be confused with reverence for God. John then gave another warning to believers to not hate our brothers. This then leads us to chapter 5 of 1 Peter which continued everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been born of God and everyone who loves the parent also loves the child. This is how we know that we love God's children when we obey God and his commands for this is what love for God is to keep his commands. Now his commands are not a burden because whatever has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world our faith and who is the one who conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God. Again John points out that Jesus is both the Messiah the son of man and also the son of God and when we have faith in Jesus that conquers the world. Now the understanding of verses 6-11 have been debated throughout the years. It refers to three that testify of Jesus the spirit the water and the blood and these three are in agreement. Augustine thought the water and the blood referred to when Jesus was pierced on the cross and both water and blood came out John chapter 19 verse 34. Calvin and Luther connected it to John chapter 4 when Jesus said he was the living water and then chapter 6 with the Passover feast and they saw it as a reference to the sacraments. Others saw it as relating to Old Testament symbolism of the purification of water and then the giving of sacrifices. Then others agree with Tertullian and see the water referring to Jesus as baptism and the blood to his death on the cross. I'm not sure but then I think what do I know to be true? For me the spirit shows that Jesus was God and his spirit still testifies of him. The blood represents his precious blood that he shed for our sins. So the question is what about the water and I'm good at saying I am not sure. As I have said before I am always however very cautious with teachers who claim they know for certain. This section wraps up with verses 11 and 12 and the testimony is this that God has given us eternal life and this life is in his son. He who has the son has the life. He who does not have the son of God does not have the life. Ken Easley said John presented three declarations about eternal life. First it is a gift from God, God has given, none could ever earn it. Second it is a present possession, the verb form is in the present tense. Third it is found only in union with Jesus Christ in his son. Verses 12 and 13 focus on the son has life. In chapter 5 John says the son of God ten times and the key verse of 1 John is verse 13. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. Christians can be assured of their salvation, it is not to be a guessing game. Then verses 14 and 15 speak of prayer and when we know we have eternal life then we can come confidently before God and then if we ask according to his will he hears us and we can know we have the request. The key to that is if we are praying according to his will. Glenn W. Barker said prayer becomes not only a time for petitioning but of yielding one's life to the will and the work of God. Some answers to prayers are recognized immediately, others later and some are not recognized in our lifetime. Verses 16 and 17 speak of what to do if we have a brother or sister in Christ who is sinning. John specifies that there are different sins, those that bring death and those that do not. Charles A. Ray Jr. said Bible scholars disagree as to the exact nature of this sin but generally three options are presented. A specific deadly sin like the high handed sin in the Old Testament such as found in Numbers 15.27-31 or blasphemy against the Holy Spirit found in Mark 3.29 or the total rejection of the gospel found in Hebrews 10.26-27. The quote continues, though certainty is not possible, the third option has fewer problems than the other two. The book ends with verses 18-21 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not sin, but the one who is born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the sway of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true one. We are in the true one, that is in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, guard yourselves from idols. So ladies if we keep this verse in context within the whole book we find in chapter 1 that John said in verse 8 if we say that we have no sin we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. So John acknowledges that we are not perfect yet. So he may be referencing continuous sin such as the blatant sin of those who left their community or he may be declaring that when we are in Christ God sees us in Christ and therefore does not see our sinfulness anymore. Then John said that the one who is born of God keeps him. Jesus is the one who is born of God, so Jesus keeps believers and the evil one, the devil does not hold or cling to them. Jesus is the true God. Jesus is eternal life. Therefore we are to guard ourselves from idols. Edward A. McDowell said by eternal life the writers of the New Testament mean life that is endless as to time and life that is God breathed as to quality. Since John warns the readers to guard themselves from idols it may be a last attempt to remind his flock that the antichrists are not following the true God therefore they are serving idols. So ladies do you know that Jesus keeps you? Do you know that you have eternal life? Do you know you are loved by God? Do you test the spirits to see if they are from God? Do you declare that Jesus was fully human and fully the son of God? Do you abide in Christ? Do you walk in the light? Do you live in truth? If you have heard his voice today please don't harden your heart and turn to idols. And let us walk in truth and abide in Christ so when he comes again we will not be ashamed.