1 John 1 PNut 20240808

The transcription is a discussion about the book of 1 John in the Bible. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding the background of the book before studying it. They mention that the author of 1 John is John, the son of Zebedee, and that he was a follower of John the Baptist before becoming a disciple of Jesus. The speaker also points out similarities between the Gospel of John and 1 John, particularly in how they present Jesus as the Word. The purpose of both books is to help readers believe in Jesus and have eternal life. The speaker highlights the use of the words "know" and "love" throughout 1 John and emphasizes the importance of keeping God's commandments as evidence of true belief. They mention that John was dealing with false teachings, particularly from a group called the Gnostics. The speaker encourages listeners to test teachings to ensure they align with the original apostolic message. So, good evening everybody, and I'd like for y'all to go to the Word of God and open your Bibles up to 1 John, the epistle of 1 John, in the back of your Bible right after the book of 2 Peter, and we'll begin to study this wonderful epistle this day. It's such a great one. So, first we'll begin with the introduction, and I don't even know if we'll make it into actually studying the book tonight, because it's good that when you study books of the New Testament that you learn the background of them, because by learning the background, it can help you better understand the epistle when you start to study and read it, because it's one thing to, like I always say, to own a really nice Bible, but it's a different thing to really learn the Bible and practice it. So, we've got to understand about 1 John is that it don't begin with a solitation like most epistles of the New Testament, and the author's name does not appear, nor is it specifically addressed to any church or individual, but the writer of the epistle is John, the son of Zebedee. Let's look at Matthew 4 verse 21. And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee, their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Alright, so this is that John, okay? And he is the brother of James, the son of Zebedee. And this same John, as John mentioned to me earlier, gave me some background, that he was a follower of John the Baptist. So, if you really learn a lot of background about this John, who was one of Christ's favorite disciples, who shared a special relationship with Christ, he was earlier a follower of John the Baptist, before he started to follow Christ, okay? And he is one of the only apostles who wasn't martyred, okay? And he did such a wonderful work for Christ. And the epistle of 1 John that we'll read, you're going to see the similarities between the gospel of John, that bears John's name, but it's about the life of Christ, and you're going to see similarities with the epistle of 1 John. And the first similarity, for example, you're going to see that Christ is presented as the word, logo, in John 1.1, and also in 1 John verses 1-3. So, can somebody read John chapter 1 verse 1? John 1.1. In the beginning was the word, and the word was this God, and the word was God. Alright, so here in John chapter 1 verse 1, Christ is referred to, he's presented as the word, okay? But also, if you pay attention to 1 John chapter 1 verses 1-3, Christ is presented again here, in the same manner. Could somebody read 1 John chapter 1 verses 1-3? Janice. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands concerning the word of life, the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testified to it, and proclaimed to you the eternal life, which was the Father, and was made manifest to us. That which we have seen and heard, we proclaim also to you, so that you, too, may have fellowship with us, and indeed, our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. Okay, so we see the parallel passage between the gospel of John that bears John name, and also 1 John. Okay, back here. Okay, this is internal evidence to help us to understand that this comes from the same individual. We understand that John wrote both books, okay? And both works was written that his readers may believe, and thereby inherit eternal life. Okay, so let's look at John chapter 20, verses 30 and 31. Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Amen. So we see here that these things have been written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you might have life through his name, and that is eternal life. Okay, so we see why those things were written in the gospel of John, but if we look at parallel passages from 1 John, what does 1 John chapter 5, verse 13 say? Somebody read that for us. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. So we see internal evidence from both of these books that lets us know that it's from the same individual, okay? And we see Christ is presented as the Word in both etymologies, okay? And when we talk about the date and the purpose of 1 John, we don't know the exact time and place because it's not given. But the external evidence points that it was written at the end of the first century, shortly after the gospel of John was written, probably in the years between A.D. 90 and 95. And it is generally agreed that John was living in Ephesus at that time, and that this letter was circulated among the churches of Asia. And perhaps the reason his name is not included in the letter is that the receptionist personally knew him and did not need to be told that it was from John. But I want you to pay attention to two words that are used a significant number of times in 1 John. And the first word is know, K-N-O-W. It is found 38 times. And the word love is used 51 times, okay? So John wrote this letter to give assurance that the disciples of Christ would know that they have eternal life in him, okay? It's because I'm about to read 1 John 1 verse 4. John, okay, and we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. All right, and we just read 513 where it states, These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. Okay? So we see that John was right to let the disciples know, to give them assurance that if they believe on Christ, that they have eternal life in him. And the foundation for this assurance rests upon keeping God's commandments as John tells them in this epistle. And this application is prevalent for us all even today, okay? Because we all can read the gospel and believe and have eternal life. And we can know that if we are in Christ, that we can have assurance that we have eternal life, and that eternal life is in Christ, okay? But the assurance that we have, it rests upon keeping God's commandments. So if you say I'm a Christian but you're not being obedient, then how could you say that you possess eternal life? Amen. Let's read 1 John 2, verses 3-5. 1 John 2, verses 3-5. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. One who says, I have come to know him, and does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. For whoever keeps his word in him, the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in him. Amen. So, see here's that, in fact to love God is to keep his commandments and to love one another, okay? Yes. To love God is to keep his commandments and to love one another. So if you can't stand Charles tonight, God says you don't love him, alright? If you can't love somebody who you have seen, how could you love God whom you have not seen? Amen. That is impossible. That is contradictory to the Bible for you to say, well I can't stand Charles but I love God. That's impossible. That's impossible, alright? Because God said to know him is to keep his commandments, and to love him is to keep his commandments, and to love one another. Let's read 1 John 3.13 and also 1 John 5.3. Okay, 1 John 3.13 reads, Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. And the other one was 1 John what? 5.3. 5.3 says, For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. Oh, this is one that whooped my conscience a lot when I would just do wrong and try to make a right way out of it, but you can't get around the word of God. You can't twist it. You can't bend it. It just don't budge, okay? Ain't no way but one way, and that's his way. He is no exception. God doesn't show partiality. He has no respect for persons. And if you say, well, God, I tried, but it's hard. Well, that's the scripture that whoops me so bad when they say his commandments are not burdensome. It's not hard to keep God's commandments. It's not a burden. Actually, you should love to do God's will. Alright? We should hold his will like the apple of our eye. And if God don't want for us, then we should want it for ourselves. Let's look at the background of this epistle of 1 John. We've got to understand what John was dealing with because only then can we fully understand the epistle. So we've got to understand that John, he dealt with the modernists, the modernists of his day, alright? And like modernists of every generation, they claim to have new and progressive knowledge, okay? And the fact that John insists that our teaching be tested by the original, possibly missed, makes this matter relevant for every successive generation because we, too, must try to experience whether they be of God, okay? And I can say Mr. Terry Taylor, on the other day, he went to the church in his prison. And he sat in. And when the preacher got through preaching, he went up there and told them, look, you're teaching false teaching. And the preacher said, excuse me, what did he say? He said, well, you're teaching false teaching. Okay? And he asked him about what? He said, well, about salvation. That's not true what you're teaching, okay? So Jerry was able to understand and test the Spirit to know that it wasn't from God because the message that he was given on the podium was the opposite of the original apostolic message that Mr. Terry Taylor obeyed when he became a Christian. So this application of 1 John is relevant for every successive generation. Okay? And in particular, a group known as Gnostic was spreading a damnable heresy. Okay? This is what John dealt with. And they claimed to have superior knowledge. Okay? And their teaching wasn't in the midst of paganism and corrupt Christianity. And they thought that they understood the gospel better than the apostles themselves. Okay? And they taught a lot of false teachings. Okay? And one of the teachings that they taught was that they denied that Christ had come in the flesh. And so that's why John starts this epistle by giving the apostles eyewitness accounts of the Word of Life that came in the flesh. So could our first reader read 1 John chapter 1, verses 1 through 4? That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we look upon and have put with our hands concerning the Word of Life, the life was made manifest, and we have seen it and testified to it and proclaimed to you the eternal life which was in the Father and made manifest to us. That which we have seen and heard, we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us. And indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. All right. Thank you. So basically saying, look, we are witnesses that the Word of Life came in the flesh. So look, y'all Gnostics can hush that false teaching, because we as apostles, we are eyewitnesses that the Word of Life came in the flesh. And so we see that the apostle, he answers this point first. And this epistle begins like the Gospel of John. Because the Gospel of John states in verses 1, it states, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And in the Gospel of John, John declared that the Word became flesh, if you pay attention to John 1, verse 14. Could somebody read that for us? Okay. John 1, verse 14. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. So we see how these epistles are parallel, how these books are parallel to one another. We have one minute remaining. The apostle is giving this eyewitness account of the fact that Jesus did, in fact, come in the flesh. Okay. And we even see in John 1, verse 14, that the Word became flesh. Okay. And in this epistle, he writes as one who by reason of personal encounter can bear witness of that fact. That's why he stated, for we have heard, we have seen with our eyes, and we have looked it upon, and our hands have handled. Thank you for using Global Telling. Hey, Pat, could you just start with John 1? John 1? John 1. Okay. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. This man came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all through him might believe. He was not that light that was sent. Okay. All right. Okay, so here in 1 John, we see here that John gives his eyewitness account that Christ, in fact, did come in the flesh. All right, and he gives a testimony as one with personal encounter. And he can bear witness of that fact, because John states, notice, I want y'all to pay attention to this, okay? In verse 1, in 1 John, chapter 1, verse 1, it states, he stated, we have heard, Then he states, we have seen with our eyes. Then he states, we have looked it upon. Then he states, our hands have handled. So notice something about each of these individual points that I just pointed out, because each of these graduates to a closer, more personal confirmation that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Because look at that expression, which we have looked it upon, means more than a simple look, okay? The apostles had observed him in more than a simple look. It was different circumstances and witnessed the many signs and wonders he performed. So it is by their close, personal walk with him, they had touched his body, even after his resurrection. Let's look at John, chapter 20, verses 24 through 29. John. Okay. John, chapter 20, verses 24 through 29. Yes, sir. Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, we have seen the Lord. But he said to them, unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails and place my finger into the mark of the nails and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, Put your fingers here and see my hands and put out your hand and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. Thomas answered, My Lord, my God. And Jesus said to him, You have believed because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed. All right. Amen. So we see here that they had a more closer, closer walk with Jesus. He wasn't just talking about right here in 1 John, chapter 1, verse 1, some old simple look. This is more than a simple look. We see how the apostles had observed Christ in different circumstances. And they witnessed the many signs and wonders he performed. And by the close personal walk with him, they had touched his body even after his resurrection in John, chapter 20, verses 24 through 29. But as we come down to 1 John, chapter 1, verse 2, it states, For the life was manifested. That's the same thing John, chapter 1, verse 14 stated. We see the similar parallel passages in these books. It says, For the life was manifested. And we have seen it. And bear witness. And she went to you, that eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested unto us. So John is letting them look, look, let them know, look. For the life was manifested. So for these Gnostics who say that Christ did not come in the flesh, John is constantly refuting that false teaching. So if somebody come to me and say, look, Jesus was just a man. That Jesus, you know, Jesus did not come in the flesh. Then that's not the same as the eyewitness status of the apostolic messages that is related to me in the Bible. So I know that that spirit is not of God. Okay? That is false teaching. Because John clearly states it, For the life was manifested. And the central purpose for this epistle was to answer the false teaching who had denied that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. So what John is saying is, this world of life, who is eternal and was in the beginning with God, is the same one who became the historical Jesus. And we see that John, however, he used three verbs. That progress from being a witness to a bold declaration to apostolic authority. He states, We have seen and bear witness and show unto you that eternal life. We know indeed from the scriptures that Jesus Christ is the source of eternal life. And this is affirmed both in the Gospel of John and in this epistle. Okay? And we're going to look at, and we're going to look at these scriptures. Let's look at John chapter 1 verse 4. What did you say Mike? Oh, that ain't my phone. That's somebody's phone. I don't know who's phone it is. Sounds like somebody's phone. We ain't belong in it. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. 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