1 John

The Word of Life Walking in the Light Warnings and Promises God’s Lavish Love Righteousness Love One Another Test the Spirits God’s Love and Ours God is Love and Truth God Speaks Through the Bible

The Word of Life (1 John 1) That which was from the beginning (the Word who became the Christ) we have seen with our eyes and touched with our hands and proclaim as the Word of life. We have seen it and testify to it and share it with our fellow men that you may also walk with the Lord for peace and joy within. We declare to you that God is light, in him is no darkness at all. If we claim to fellowship with him, yet walk in the dark like a pall, we lie and do not live by the truth, have no hope for a happy end. If we walk in the light, which is the Son, we are purified from sin. If we (as Christians) confess our faults he is faithful and just to forgive, to cleanse us from unrighteousness, a holy life to live. If we claim to have no sin to confess, we have called the Lord a liar and can have no fellowship with him, the only purifier. Sin that is deliberate, habitual requires repentance (a turning), not only sorrow for being caught, but God’s obedience learning. Accidental sin and weakness may catch us unawares. Ask forgiveness and get back on track to avoid the devil’s snares. Unrepentance eats away at us like cancer, growing fast. The Great Physician has the cure: forgiveness of the past. § Walking in the Light (1 John 2) The apostles were human, just like us, with crumbly feet of clay until the Holy Spirit was given on Pentecost Day. It mellowed the “Sons of Thunder” and gave them nerves of steel to endure their earthly trials and preach with righteous zeal. John writes to make his joy complete and to keep our souls from sin, to help us avoid false teachers whose charm can draw us in. He writes with much encouragement so that by his words we know that if we’re walking in the light no debt for sins we owe. His practical teaching is timeless and simple to understand; “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.” “Whoever claims to know him must walk as Jesus did.” Simple but not so easy to obey as he has bid. When we do sin, we have One who speaks to the Father in our defense, the Righteous One whose sacrifice became our recompense. We sacrifice our human will, our sinful old desires, and learn to live above the world, to holy aims aspire. God’s love is truly made complete in him who obeys the Word. If anyone hates his brother, claiming to live in the light is absurd. He who hates walks around in darkness, preferring it to light, which would make his sins apparent, an ugly, shameful sight. § Warnings and Promises (1 John 2-3) Who is the liar?  It’s the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Many antichrists have come and gone, and will pay an awful price. Nobody who denies the Son has the Father’s saving grace. Without the Son (the Word of God) no one will see his face. By the Word you are anointed and taught to do God’s will. Ignore the teaching of antichrists, a doctrine sure to kill. If the Word of God remains in you, you will remain in him and his promise of eternal life will never fade or dim. Continue in him so that when he appears you may be unashamed, crowned with the glory and honor of wearing his righteous name. What love the Father has lavished on us that his children we should be called! And that’s exactly what we are! No wonder we are enthralled. The reason the world does not know us is that they don’t know him. They choose the darkness and stumble about, with a future that is grim. We know that when he shall appear we’ll see him as he is and will sing his praises forever, just knowing we are his. § God’s Lavish Love (1 John 3) Dear friends, we now are children of God; what we will be has not been made known. Now we live by a different standard, by the example that Christ has shown. We know that we shall be like him, immortal in the skies, glorious beyond description, where no one ever dies. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself anew just as Christ is pure and righteous; his promises are true. Everyone who breaks the law by sin, pursuing “my own way”, even though he claims to love the Lord, has a heavy price to pay. But you know the reason Christ appeared was to take away our sin so we become as one with him, a new lifestyle begin. New habits soon replace the old, yet still we make mistakes. His blood renews us daily, cleanses errors that we make. “When I get my life in order, then I will seek the Lord” some people have been heard to say, a luxury they can’t afford, like waiting til the cancer’s cured before going to the doc. The answer: Give your heart to God and he’ll take it out of hock. § Righteousness (1 John 3) He who does RIGHT is righteous; do not be led astray. Not everyone who calls Christ “Lord” will walk the narrow way. The one who follows after sin, preferring selfish desire, will suffer with the devil in that horrid lake of fire. The Son of God appeared to us to destroy the devil’s work, and the one who truly belongs to him will not his duty shirk. Many modern-day “religionists” will loudly “talk the talk”, seeking after fame and fortune, but do they “walk the walk”? Selfishness is inconsistent with what we should be about. Christ gives us the strength to overcome, good reason to sing and shout. He gave us the powerful privilege of knowing his mind through the Word. His atonement and redemption are the best news man ever heard. The Word renews our joy and peace throughout the storms and strife that buffet us and test our souls for patience in this life. If we dilute the message and try to widen the gate, we water down the power; it cannot our hunger sate. Anyone who refuses to do right is not a child of God. One who does not love his brother has a hellish road to plod. To deny that God is a God of wrath is the Bible to assault. If we choose not to belong to God, we’re Satan’s by default. § Love One Another (1 John 3) Christ demonstrated his love for us by his voluntary death which was his purpose for coming to earth, to serve til his final breath. The message he left by example is this: We should also love one another. Do not be like Cain, whose evil thoughts caused the murder of Abel, his brother. He hated the righteous Abel because of his own sinful ways and we should not be unduly surprised if we’re hated in these last days. Because we love our brothers, we know that we have passed from death to life eternal, with treasures that will last. As Christ laid down his life for us, we should lay down our lives for our brothers. Let us not love only with words or tongue but with actions to help each other. Our works should be founded on the truth, the Word of God, our light, that will guide us on the righteous path to the land where is no night. If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence and rest, because we do as he commands and give him our very best. This is his command, his pleasure: to believe in the name of his Son and to love one another by sacrifice, just as he has done. To obey his commands is to live in him and to have his Spirit within to help us war against fleshly desires, the victory to win. § Test the Spirits (1 John 4) One of the gifts of the Spirit during apostolic times was discernment of different spirits: were they worldly or sublime? Today we can use the written Word to determine if spirits are true, or teaching foreign, false ideas dreamt up from out of the blue. John says: Don’t believe every spirit of men who might lead you astray, but test them by the Bible, see what the Lord has to say. For many false prophets are loose in the world, who will tickle your ears with a lie, to make you feel good while still in your sins, the Sword of the Spirit defy. The spirit of the antichrist denies that Christ has come and established his new kingdom; no reason for us to be glum. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome these liars, because the one who is in you is greater that their supplier. These false prophets are from the world and speak from the world’s viewpoint. When they hear us preach the word of God, their noses become out of joint. Whoever knows God listens to us and says, “Amen and amen”, upholding the Word of the risen Christ that offers freedom from sin. § God’s Love and Ours (1 John 4) Dear friends, let us love one another for from God is true love born, the sacrificial love demonstrated by wearing a crown of thorns. Agape love we are to show when we are despitefully used, being good to even our enemies as we are sorely abused. Because of love, God gave us rules to protect his children from harm. A father’s love without discipline is as vain as a hug without arms. Love has parameters, boundaries, where justice is demanded. It chastens and it punishes, yet is gentle and open-handed. In order to show his love for us, Christ resigned his human will to suffer a terrible, shameful death, all prophecy to fulfill. Because of his inhumane death God’s wrath is turned aside, so that we can be one with him and in his love abide. For us, it is painful to crucify our selfish “old man of sin” and keep him on the cross ‘til death, a new life to begin. New ethics, character, morals for the narrow road ahead allow us to be ambassadors to serve here in Christ’s stead. God sent his Son into the world that we might live through him, and as we show the world his love, our cup is filled to the brim. § God is Love and Truth (1 John 4) We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin, the willful sin of which he was enslaved. But Christ, the first-born Son of God, will keep him safe from harm, that he need never fear death and the grave. He gives us understanding so that we may know the truth, for God is truth and we now live in him. On that dark day when Pilate asked the question, “What is truth?” he was looking at its very synonym. He says to be like children, the ultimate in faith, to trust his strength and wisdom to redeem. Our Father can do anything, is stronger than the devil, and protects our souls against his wily schemes. For ourselves and others we should pray for everyday forgiveness of the sins that often catch us unaware, but prayer for unrepented sin is futile, wasted effort while the volunteer hugs tight the devil’s snare. We are often sorely tempted to worship worldly idols, mostly in the form, these days, of fame and greed. They can draw our thoughts away from serving God, our only hope, who provides us daily with the things we need. The comfort of his Word, as his Spirit dwells within, will bring the “peace that passeth understanding”. It nullifies the fear of death; our spirits are eternal, possibilities to serve always expanding. In truth and love we follow him along the narrow way that leads us on to Jordan’s peaceful shore where we’ll meet with all God’s people in the home which he prepared and praise his awesome name forevermore. § Faith in the Son of God (1 John 5) No two scriptures disagree if we look for the overall meaning. The Spirit helps us understand, important lessons gleaning. Believing that Jesus is born of God and that all he says is true is the basis of the Christian faith, salvation to imbue. Everyone who loves the Father loves his children as well. To love God is to obey his commands, as many scriptures tell. He doesn’t command a “good feeling”, but doing what is right, as a mother who often misses sleep to tend a sick child through the night. To do right is to be righteous, in a right relationship with the God who wants the best for us, proper tools for our souls will equip. Everyone who loves the Father has overcome the world. His word is our strong shield for defense when Satan’s darts are hurled. “The faith” is more than a person’s belief, but God’s cumulative design that encompasses everything he is; his example is our guideline. On the day John baptized Jesus, the Spirit, in the form of a dove, came, as a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son whom I love.” All three are in agreement, the Spirit, the water, the blood, available to all sinners who would choose to rise from the mud. § God Speaks Through the Bible (1 John 5) This is God’s testimony which he has given about his Son, left for us in the Bible to help us the gauntlet to run. The four gospels of the apostles were written that we might believe. Acts of the apostles show what they taught to sinners who this faith received. Their letters to the churches teach how to walk in the Word, responsibilities in Christ, their faith to undergird. They are to remind the faithful that we have eternal life, and we can speak in prayer to him who strengthens us through strife. Anyone who believes what he has said knows that he is faithful and true, will never break a promise. We must not his love misconstrue. Like an earthly father, his love entails justice and mercy and wrath. His children must be disciplined to keep them on the right path. Anyone who does not believe him calls almighty God a liar, not accepting his testimony as the ultimate qualifier. God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son, who will take us home to glory when this short life is done. Those who have not the Son have no life at all, no hope of eternal bliss, no joy at his second coming, no loving, welcoming kiss. To contact me: cgtrent@att.net