Love and Identity, 1 John 2:15-17, Theology Matters Series

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline and questions for our meeting on October 3-10, 2010. A few weeks ago, we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 2:15-17 and discusses the idea that our identity as Christians is revealed by what we love. If we have the love of the Father, then our actions will reveal an identity in keeping with God's will and plans. If we love the world, then we will find ourselves identifying with the world instead of God. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Love and Identity
Theology Matters Series
1 John 2:15-17

Introduction

The Problem with Tests
Comprehensive exams for graduate school
Does anybody like tests?

John gives several tests in this letter to reveal a person’s commitment to Christ
1. The theological test—what we believe about Jesus
2. The social test—how we act towards others
3. The moral test—how we respond to God’s demand

Our passage today comes in the context of the social test

Chapter 2 has discussed the importance of brotherly love, the spiritual family, growth in God’s family, and obedience to God’s commands

In verses 15-17 John gives instructions regarding love and identity

John says “Identity is revealed by love”
What or who we love reveals who we are
John asks, “Where is your love?”

1 John 2:15-17

1. A Command
1 John 2:15—This is the only command in this section, so it must be the main point

Let’s define some terms

What does the word “world” mean?
Greek term, kosmos, means “world” with four variations
The universe or created order or the earth specifically (Romans 1:20; 1 Cor. 8:4, Rev. 11:15)
Humanity in general (John 1:29; 3:16)
Earthly possessions (Matthew 16:26; 1 John 3:17)
Hostility to God (2 Corinthian 5:19)
John’s use seems to encompass the last two in this passage (example: “world of sports”)
John wants us to avoid loving the sphere of things that are hostile to God or lead us away from God

What does the word “love” mean?
Ironically, the Greek term here is a form of agape
Probably used here as cherish, show affection for, value, hold in high esteem
Think of Lord of the Rings and Gollum’s “Precious”

Now that our terms are defined, let’s look at the command

Don’t love the world or its things
We were commanded earlier to love our brothers and not to hate them
Now we are given a negative command about love
John seems to imply that loving the world is the opposite of loving our brothers and sisters

The command is to avoid cherishing possessions or things hostile to God (they are not the same thing)
Stuff must not be as important at people

If you do love the world, you do not have the love of the Father
Jesus says you can’t serve two masters (Matt. 6:24)
We cannot have God’s love or love for God while loving that which leads us away from him

The lover is consumed by the beloved

What we love reveals who we are
What does what you love or cherish reveal about you?
What is your “precious” that consumes you?
Love of God produces love for others—that should be our identity

2. A Contrast
1 John 2: 16—John defines what the “things of the world” are
In doing so, John gives us three characteristics of what infatuation with the world looks like

a. Lust of the flesh
Refers to a desire or longing or appetite
Eve’s temptation (tree was good for food) or even Jesus’ temptation (stones to bread)
The problem: these appetites may become the controlling factor of life, driving everything we do
These are desires gone wrong, desires that have replaced God as the focus
What does your appetite reveal about you and what you love? Do you control your appetites or do they control you?

b. Lust of the eyes
Things triggered by sight, the seductive lure of attractive things
Eve (the fruit was a delight to the eyes—it looked good) and Jesus (taken to the top of the temple and told to throw himself off)
Think of the seductive nature of advertising that leads to “I need something” whether I need it or not
This is the danger of the attractive, the beautiful, the sensual
Attractive things in themselves are not sinful, it is the “lust” or the “craving” for them that is the problem
Wanting to own or to possess it as a matter of uncontrolled or wanton desire
What do the things we look at or long for tell us about ourselves and what we love?

c. Boastful pride of life
The outward show of “stuff” or “position” or “prestige” as a means of attaining my security
This is wanton self sufficiency—”See what I accomplished”
Eve (the fruit is desirable to make one wise, to be ike God) and Jesus (the offer of the world as a kingdom)
Where is my security? Is it in “stuff” or “position”? What makes me proud and what does that say about my love and my identity?

By describing what the “love of the world” looks like, John implies for us what the “love of the Father” looks like: it is the opposite

Three characteristics
a. Does not desire things for selfish use
b. Does not desire things for possession because they look good
c. Is not boastful or self-sufficient

The love of the Father is focused on God and his desires, his possessions, his ability
The love of the Father pushes us to use our “stuff” for others, to avoid trying to control others, to be willing to see others put ahead of us or blessed in spite of us
This is love for the brothers and sisters

How do you use things? How do you view others? How self-sufficient are you?

What we love reveals who we are
The love of the Father leads to love for others

3. A Comparison
1 John 2:17—John now reveals the lasting difference between the love of the world and the love of the Father

The stuff of the world is passing away
The world is temporary (1 Cor. 4:17-18—things that are seen are temporal)
The stuff of the world will not last (Heb. 11:25—passing pleasures)
The world and its stuff leads to death

The love of the Father leads to eternal life
Love of God leads to doing what God wants
For John, keeping God’s commandments equals life (1 John 2:3-5; 1 John 5:2-3; cf. John 14:15

What we love reveals who we are
Love for the world reveals death in us
Love for God reveals his life in us by the things we do—loving God shows up in how we treat others

Application
How do we respond to this information? If what we love reveals who we are, then what does our love reveal about us today?

Some of us may be in good shape. In fact, I think many of you are doing well in this regard. Your love for Christ reveals itself in your selfless love for others. You love to spend time with the Beloved and with his people. You are consumed with his stuff, his Words, his presence. You are “in love” with the Father because of the Son.

On the other hand, some of us may have misplaced our love—we came to Christ and were initially consumed by him. He was everything to us, and we wanted to be with him and in him in all things. We would surrender even our lives just to be around the Beloved. Something changed, however, and our love grew a bit cold. We avoided too much contact with him. We were hesitant to hang around him. We found other “attractions” to “meet out needs.”

What can we all do this week to put feet to the truth of this passage?
1. First, take a hard look at your heart. What do you love? What does that love reveal about your identity, about who you are? Are there things that have gotten your attention and misplaced your love? List them, then deal with them. Confess them to God. If necessary, physically remove them. Find a way to keep them from becoming idols again. Be accountable.

2. Second, begin to cultivate love for God. Make an appointment to spend time in his presence. Make time to spend time with his people. Use your things to love others, give your eyes to love him. Look at and pay attention to those things that are attractive to God—humility, selfless giving, encouraging others, putting the needs of others before your own, loving without expectation of return. This week make a special effort to find your security in him—not in a job, a relationship, a pay check, or a dream. Let love for him consume you. Remember what he has done to show his love for you. God loved you enough to die for you.

What we love reveals who we are—will we be consumed by God’s love?

Discussion Questions

1. What is the danger of loving the world and the things of the world?

2. Where has the stuff of the world invaded your spiritual life? What things do you find yourself pursuing as “ultimate things”?

3. What is it about the world that makes it so attractive? How does the love of God help us overcome the allure of the world?

4. What is the result of loving the world? How should that motivate us? Where do you need God’s help to love not the world?

5. How can you root yourself more deeply in the love of God in order to overcome the attraction of the world?

6. In what ways does God love the world? What is it about the world that God does not love?

7. How should we live in response to God’s love? Who needs God’s love through us this week?

8. Where do we need to resist the world? Will we?

Thanks for reading!

Three Stages of Growth: Growing on to Maturity, 1 John 2:12-14, Theology Matters Series, 1 John 2:12-14

Hello all:

I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church called the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. A while back I started posting these notes on the blog too. So, here is the outline and questions for our meeting on September 12, 2010. A couple of weeks ago, we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 2:12-14 and discusses the need for Christians to grow through the stages of Christian life on their way to maturity. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Three Stages of Growth: Growing on to Maturity
Theology Matters Series
1 John 2:12-14

Introduction
Our study of 1 John has focused several times on fellowship

We have talked about fellowship with God, fellowship with Christ, and even fellowship with one another

Fellowship requires relationship—there can literally be on “communion” or fellowship where there is no relationship

Today’s passage takes this idea into account and offers for us three stages of growth in our relationship with God
1. Being Children
2. Being Youth
3. Being Fathers

1 John 2:12-14
Relationship is a process
The process of Christian growth results in maturity
Let’s grow to maturity

1. Children
1 John 2:12, 13c

Teknia—infant, baby, refers to relationship by birth
Paidia—a half grown child, a child under instruction (Gal. 2:24—Law as a tutor to lead us to Christ—”tutor” is paidagogos)

Characteristics of “children”
a. Sins are forgiven on account of Jesus
This is the “little child” stage in the family of faith. All of us begin here—our sins are forgiven because of what Christ has accomplished (1 John 2:1-2; 1 John 1:7-9;
The basic Christian position is one of having received forgiveness of sins. It is the starting place of our salvation experience.

b. Know the Father
This is the reason our sins are forgiven, i.e., because we know the Father
We have come to God as to a Father, not a stern Judge or a sentimental and libertarian Grandfather
As children, we have a Father, a Daddy, an Abba (Gal. 4:6; Romans 8:15)
John 17:2-3—eternal life is defined as knowing the Father through Jesus

We start as children who love “Daddy”

The danger of immaturity (Heb. 5:12-13)
Little boy who fell out of bed: “I guess I fell asleep too close to where I came in.”

Remaining an infant is hard to live with on a permanent basis, isn’t it?

Little children can be rude, lazy, even selfish, but they know their Daddy
There must be a beginning to the Christian life, but we should not end there.
The goal should be maturity. Just as we expect an infant or a toddler to grow, so we should expect a new Christian to mature (2 Peter 3:18)

We must grow out of childhood

2. Youth
1 John 2:13b, 14b

Characteristics of the “youth”
a. Overcome the evil one
b. Strong/Vitality
c. Word of God abides in them

The first two items above are a bit more “militant,” i.e., they describe a youth who is battle ready. They are strong and ready to fight and win.
These are Christians whose faith has been tested and found to be solid (1 Peter 1:6-9; James 1:2-4)
They have wrestled with the evil one and won
Their eyes are open to the true nature of the conflict (Eph. 6:12ff)—we wrestle not with flesh and blood
The immature Christian tends to look at other people as the source of their problems

Those who have overcome the evil one know better
The battle is in the mind and in the heart, with attitudes, temptations, and spiritual assaults
They have learned to live in fellowship with God through Christ—God’s strength is their armor (Eph. 6:10)
They know that they cannot win the battle alone—they need God and they need brothers and sisters (i.e., “a band of brothers” or “comrades in arms”)
They have learned to walk in God’s Spirit

Youth glory in their strength or accomplishments

The source of their strength and training is found in the last item—it is the Word of God
a. They have a hunger and a thirst for God’s Word
b. They don’t simply read or study it, they “abide” in it
c. They pitch their tent in its regions, they listen to its instructions, they act on its advice
d. They realize that their orders and their training are found only in this one source—God’s Word
e. This is a reference, of course, to both the written Word and the incarnate Word of God
f. We need God’s instruction (the Bible) and God’s incarnation (Jesus Christ)

These Christians are a bit further along in spiritual growth than the “little children,,” yet they are not quite mature
All they lack to be “mature” is experience

We must press on to adulthood

3. Fathers
1 John 2:13a, 14a

Characteristics of the “mature”
a. Know him who has been from the beginning
b. Got in on the ground floor
c. Know the One who started it all

These “fathers” or “mature” are the ones who have been there since the beginning of the Christian movement. They may well be John’s disciples

These are those Christians who have progressed through the earlier stages of Christian growth. They have probably even produced spiritual offspring

These individuals have “known him who was from the beginning”: a possible reference to 1 John 1:1 and the Incarnation

Spiritually mature folks don’t forget their foundation

By long experience, these folks have come to know God with a deep intimacy
They have a personal acquaintance with the Father through Jesus that has spanned a long time and many hardships

It is a close relationship, like a married couple who have been together for decades

They have become like the One they love—they are Christ-like

1 Cor. 13:11—they have put away childish things

They are no longer juvenile in their attitudes

They are no longer unstable, flippant, or petty, but they are dependable, faithful, competent, and thoughtful

These people are mature

They walk in forgiveness (both receiving and giving it), they resist/overcome the evil one, they know the Father, they act like the Son, and they walk in the Spirit

Spiritually mature people become like Jesus/We must grow to maturity

Application
The family of Christ includes many followers at different stages of Christian life and discipleship

There are those who are just starting out or learning to walk in the faith
There are those who through diligent study and application of God’s Word have become strong warriors in God’s family
There are those who by long experience and intimacy with God have become mature leaders and parents for others

The application then becomes clear—God intends for us to grow on to maturity in our walk with Christ. We cannot risk the danger of remaining children or youth in our faith forever. We must continue to grow.

This week:
1. Take time to evaluate your spiritual growth chart. Like those charts our parents used to chart our height or growth as children, so do we need to take stock of where we are. How long have you been a follower of Christ? How far have you come? Are you still in infancy? Young adulthood? Are you mature? Make an honest assessment.

2. Make time to get familiar with God and his Word this week. If the youth gain their strength and vitality against the evil one by abiding in the Word, then we need to learn to do this as we mature in our faith. Read 1 John and the Gospel of John. Act on the commands.

3. Make time to relate to your brothers and sisters. Are you in an accountable relationship? Do you have a group of people who regularly challenge you to grow and to do the things God has called us to do? If not, find a group. Motivation is important in Christian growth, and we should motivate one another. How can you motivate your brothers and sisters? How do you need motivation?

4. Make time to show God’s kindness to others.

We must move on to maturity
Will we?

Discussion Questions

1.Motivation is important in Christian growth, and we should motivate one another. How can you motivate your brothers and sisters? How and where do you need motivation?

2. Why is knowing forgiveness so basic to the Christian life (see 2 Pet. 1:9)? Is there a danger of abusing this truth? Where do you need forgiveness? Where do you need to give it?

3. What areas need to change so that you can grow on to maturity?

4. Where has God worked maturity in you? How did he do it?

5. In what ways are you like Christ? Where do you need to change?

6. How can you help others grow on to Christ-like maturity?

7. Who do you know that needs to start a relationship with God? How can you introduce them to Christ?

Thanks for reading!