Confident Prayer, 1 John 5:13-17, 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 for our meeting on June 26-July 3, 2011. A while back we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 5:13-17 and discusses the idea that Christians should have boldness in their prayers because of the confidence they have in Christ. In fact, confident prayer starts with assurance, is built on a confident relationship, and results in life. We have to remember that the life God has given us in Christ is not for us alone, it is a gift to be shared with others. One means of doing that is through prayer for those who have fallen into sin. This lesson looks at that issue and even considers an answer to the question of the sin unto death. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Confident Prayer
1 John 5:13-17
Theology Matters Series

Introduction
Let me start with a confession
I have never been what you might call a prayer warrior
In fact, my batting average at getting positive answers from God is not very high
Truth be told, I know I could do more in prayer

No doubt we all share a similar view
We are pretty sure that we don’t pray enough
Maybe when we do pray we aren’t real sure that we know what we are doing or that God will hear us

We lack confidence

Our passage today addresses that issue

In 1 John 5:13-17, John gives us three parts of confident prayer
1. It starts with assurance
2. It continues with a confident relationship
3. It results in restoration and life

Confident prayer is a desperate need for the body of Christ today

1. Confident Prayer Starts with Assurance

1 John 5:13—John ends his letter by letting his readers know his purpose.

In the Gospel of John 20:30-31, John says that he wrote so that people may believe in Jesus the Messiah/the Son of God (i.e., the Incarnation) and that by believing receive eternal life in his name.

In the letter, John’s purpose is to assure those who have put faith in the Incarnation. His purpose is to give them confidence in their salvation. Verse 13 states this purpose clearly.

John begins this section with a statement of assurance
He says that faith in the name of Jesus leads to confidence in salvation

He speaks of knowing our relationship to God
John uses some form of the word “know” in his short letter over 40 times
At least 8 of those uses are found in chapter 5

John seems to be saying that our confidence begins with our salvation and our salvation is something we can know

Throughout his book, John has given us indications of how we know we belong to God

In our passage from a couple of weeks ago (1 John 5:6-12), John tells us that we have an internal and an eternal witness by God’s Spirit in us, but we also have a historical and a supernatural witness to salvation in the testimonies of God’s people and God himself

We also saw that we can be confident of knowing God when we keep his commandments (1 John 2:3-5), when we love as God loves (1 John 3:14-16, 4:7-16), when we have the witness of the Spirit in our confession of Christ (1 John 4:13-16) and when we love God and love his children (1 John 4:19-5:3).

Assurance of salvation is based primarily on what Christ has done for us
We have confidence because God has provided salvation
God manifested his love for us in Christ, and that love is our assurance

Confident prayer begins with assurance in salvation/eternal life

Has your life been transformed by the salvation that only comes through a knowledge of Jesus?
If so, then you have assurance that the God who saved is the God who will hear

This is good news: Our Father hears us

2. Confident Prayer Continues with Confident Relationship

1 John 5:14-15—John continues his conclusion by reminding his readers of their intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

1 John 5:1 reminds us that faith in Christ has resulted in our becoming children of God
This means that we have a family and a familiar relationship with God
As a child has special privileges with his or her parent, so we have the privilege of confidence as children of God

“Confidence”—remember that we defined this word as meaning in some sense “freedom of speech” (cf. 1 John 2:28; 4:17 both regarding judgment)
1 Jon 3:21-24 is almost a parallel passage here regarding prayer

John is saying that because of our relationship with God as children, we can come into his presence to make our requests with boldness—we have confidence and freedom to speak directly to our Father

Ray Stedman says that God delights in bold praying and in bold people—our prayer to God should be confident, bold, and certain because he loves us

This confidence arises from two principles given in these verses: the certainty of being heard (a promise) and the certainty of receiving (a qualification)

The promise: When we pray, God hears us and responds
a. We ask confidently (Hebrews 4:16)
b. We come into his presence (the words “in him” in verse 14 could be rendered “before him”). We come confidently into our Father’s presence to speak freely with him
c. We must ask for him to respond
d. We have an audience, so we must talk to our Father and we must listen for and anticipate his response

Remember as Andrew Murray says, “Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue. Gods voice in response to mine is its most essential part.”

Prayer isn’t a magic lamp or a secret code by which we obtain all our wishes, but rather as Ray Stedman says, “Prayer is a means of obtaining the will of God, and is limited always by the will and purpose of God.”

That brings us to the Qualification—we must ask according to God’s will (cf. Matthew 6:10; John 14:13)

John is not saying that we can get God to do whatever we want by adding the magic words “in Jesus’ name”
a. Prayer is not asking God to move towards us, but for God to move us towards him
b. Pastor E. Stanley Jones: "If I throw out a boat hook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God. "

Remember, James 4:3 reminds us that we can pray and ask improperly
In fact, James acknowledges that we often fail to receive answers to our prayers because we ask for selfish reasons

John says that if we know we have eternal life through our relationship with God by faith in Christ, then we can be confident that our Father God will hear us when we pray

If God hears us, it then follows that like a good Father he will respond to us

But John goes a step further—not only does God hear us, but “we know that we have obtained the request made of him”
This sounds like we can be assured of a favorable response
So, does God answer all your prayers with “Yes”?
Yeah, me neither!

The problem goes back to that little phrase: “according to his will”
a. This means we must line up with God—like Jesus in Gethsemane, we must make sure our hearts cry out “Not my will, God, but yours”—our focus must be on the best interests of God and his kingdom and not our selfish desires
b. We must not harbor un-confessed or habitual sin (Psalm 66:13)
c. We must trust God for the answer (Matthew 21:22)—he will respond, but not always in the way we desire or expect!
d. We must be sure to seek what God wants, for in doing so we will pray for what he longs to accomplish—we can only do this by spending time with God in his Word and in prayer (remember the Sears catalog—Ray Stedman)

Confident prayer keeps a relationship with God fresh
This kind of prayer also has amazing results

3. Confident Prayer Results in Restoration/Life

1 John 5:16-17—John now gives application to his lesson on praying according to God’s will by giving an example to his readers

Praying isn’t just about us, praying is for our brothers and sisters
We should pray confidently for each other
We should pray for restoration and life

Again, John gives a promise and a qualification here
a. The promise—if we pray for a brother or sister who is not committing a sin unto death, then God will give them life
b. The qualification—the promise does not apply to the one committing a sin unto death

A quick disclaimer: We tend to get tangled up in a discussion of what a “sin unto death” may be, but John assumes his readers know this already. The point John seems to make here is that praying according to the will of God means that we should pray for each other, that we should pray for restoration and life for those committing sin
a. We have a responsibility to each other
b. Part of loving God’s children is to pray for them

John doesn’t say, “If you see your brother or sister sinning, quickly get on the phone and talk to others about it!” He doesn’t say, “Let the pastor know so that he can deal with it!” No! John says, “Pray for your brothers and sisters and God will give them life.”
a. We are brothers and sisters, not competitors
b. All sin is serious
c. You can’t be indifferent to sin if you love others

If our prayers are for children of God who sin, then in what sense do they need “life”? John says our prayers will result in life from God for those who commit sins not unto death

To answer that question is to continue on to the qualification—What is the sin unto death?

Take a few minutes, get into groups of two or three, and scan through 1 John. Find places where the words “sin,” “death,” and “life” show up.

What did you find?

There are typically three responses to what the “sin unto death” may be
a. Some specific sin that causes the person to die physically (cf. Moses, Achan, Uzzah, Ananias and Sapphira, the folks in 1 Corinthians 11)
b. The unpardonable sin, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit or rejecting Jesus
c. The sin of the false teachers who denied the Incarnation and lived immoral and unloving lives

It seems likely that the background for John’s comments here is to be found in 1 John 3:11-18 and the contrast between the children of God and the children of the devil
1 John 3:14—”We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brothers. He who does not love abides in death.”
The sin unto death, at least in part, seems to be a persistent and intentional disobedience of Jesus’ command to love one another. It is denying the love of Jesus and following the unloving example of the false teachers

1 John 3:23—disregarding this command leads to death

Regardless of the view one takes on this issue, John expects his readers to pray for one another especially when they fall into sin

So, when should we not pray?
That is difficult to say, isn’t it?
Apparently there is a time in which prayer is no longer useful—note that John does not command us not to pray, but he seems to suggest that when a person reaches the point of “sin unto death” prayer will not help
We should respond, then, by continuing to pray unless we get some indication from the Spirit to cease praying

If all wrongdoing is sin, then praying for restoration of our brothers and sisters is the best starting point

Confident prayer results in restoration and life for those who sin
We cannot ignore the sin of others
We should pray for God to work in their lives

Application

How do we respond to this difficult passage?

There seems to me to be only one response, we must become a people of prayer, and not just any prayer, but a confident prayer that comes from an assurance of our relationship with our Father through his Son, Jesus Christ

As E. M. Bounds says, “"What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but people whom the Holy Ghost can use – people of prayer, people mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through people. He does not come on machinery, but on people. He does not anoint plans, but people, people of prayer."

How does this look in every day life?

First, we must be diligent in keeping our relationship with God current. That requires time with God, with his Word, and with his people

Second, we must pray. We need to carve out time to meet with God in prayer. This week set aside at least 10 minutes a day where you simply get with God to pray for others.

Finally, we must avoid sin. We need to live accountable lives with each other so that we can honor God. Remember, everything we do reflects on the character of God. Our lives are the best (or worst) witness for the grace of God in Jesus Christ. How are we doing?

Confident prayer begins with salvation, continues with a confident relationship, and results in restoration

Will we practice it?

Thanks for reading!

Can I Get A Witness? 1 John 5:6-12, 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 for our meeting on June 5, 2011. A while back we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 5:6-12 and discusses the idea that Christians should live in response to the testimony and evidence God offers in the Incarnation. In fact, if we take the Incarnation seriously, we will realize that God is calling us to a life of humble service to others just as Christ came among us. His life is not merely an example for us, it is a call for us to take God at His Word and live as he has called us. In this lesson, I put the audience in the jury box and ask them to consider several pieces of evidence and some testimony. Then I ask them to make a decision based on that evidence. The decision will reveal itself in our own testimony to what God has done. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Can I Get a Witness?
1 John 5:6-12
Theology Matters Series

Introduction
Jury duty
These words usually do not make people happy
When you receive a notice of jury duty, it doesn’t usually bless you
I served on juries before—two in Waco and a grand jury in Campbell County
We heard testimony, observed evidence, and rendered a verdict

Our passage today, 1 John 5:6-12, makes me think of a courtroom

Twelve times in 1 John our author uses the Greek word for witness, testify, or testimony
Ten of them show up in our passage today

I am going to ask you, ladies and gentlemen, to be a jury today

I am going to present to you some testimony and some evidence, and I will be asking you to render a verdict

Are you ready?

The Evidence
In chapter 4, John reminds his readers of the importance of faith in the Incarnation. Now he addresses the issue: How can we be assured that the Incarnation is a fact? In these verses John lays out the evidence for the Incarnation.

We live in an age where uncertainty and a lack of “dogmaticism” is enshrined as a valuable virtue.
We are told the no one can be certain and that truth is relative
We are often reminded that things are subjective and truth is a personal decision or opinion
I even saw a letter to the editor that declared that faith in the resurrection of Christ is based on “blind faith” and cannot be known by “fact” or historical data

That is the world WE live in

John would say that such a view of the world is foolish

I would agree with John

John gives us three pieces of evidence and a contrast to say to us, “You can be bulldogmatic on the topic of the incarnation”

In 1 John 5:6-9, he lists his three witnesses as follows: the Spirit, the water and the blood

Verse 6 tells us that Jesus Christ came by the water and the blood and not by water only

What in the world does John mean by this?
To what do the words “water” and “blood” refer?

Here are some options:
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
The Incarnation (Jesus’ birth) and the Crucifixion
Some connection to blood and water coming from Christ at the crucifixion (John 19:34)
But none of these are satisfactory given the context

Let’s remember a bit of our history here
John is dealing with opponents to his teaching
These opponents apparently were teaching a doctrine that said that God is Spirit only and cannot be “flesh” or “human”

In fact, some of them even claimed that Jesus only “seemed” human, he was really a spirit being (Docetism)

Some even went so far as to separate the man Jesus from the Messianic Divine Spirit called “Chirst” (Cerenthus). This teaching claimed that the spirit of Christ came on the man Jesus at his baptism, but left him at the cross. That is, Jesus the man was endued with power at his baptism, but this divine power left him at the cross. The Spirit of “Christ” couldn’t suffer or die in this view

For these individuals, redemption is not important but enlightenment is needed. They have a baptized Jesus but a “bloodless” Christ. They are happy to be initiated into a “mystery,” but they shy away from suffering as a means of redemption

These are the people resisting John’s teaching

John is writing not only to reassure his people but to also resist the false teachings of his opponents

The language in verse 6 indicates a past historical kind of witness
With that in mind, it seems likely that water and blood refer to the baptism of Jesus and the crucifixion of Jesus

John says that it is not by “water only” but by the blood as well
John refers here to God’s testimony in Jesus’ baptism and crucifixion
These two historical events testify to the truth of the Incarnation

As if these two were not enough, John reminds his readers that there is also the testimony of the Spirit of Truth (verse 7)

The word “Spirit” here refers to the Holy Spirit of God.

Just as God testified of Jesus as the Christ at his baptism and at his crucifixion, so also the Holy Spirit continues to testify about Christ and his work of salvation (John 15:26)
This witness is the truth (John 14:6)

These three: The Spirit, the water, and the blood all agree (verse 8)—they are united in testimony
They agree about the witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Incarnate Word of God
Their testimony is God’s evidence of Jesus

John closes this section with verse 9, in which he contrasts human testimony with God’s testimony

Simply stated, John reminds us that we often receive the testimony of humans
We usually accept the word of human agents without asking for more
How would you respond if every time you spoke to a friend he said, “I just don’t know if I can believe you. Is your testimony true?”
Most of us expect to be believed in most cases, and we tend to believe other human witnesses in general

Parent, Authorities, Pharmacists, Doctors, even the people on TV or in the newspaper
We often accept their testimony without hesitation
If we can accept the testimony of humans, then we ought to recognize that God’s testimony is greater than human words

God’s testimony is pretty straightforward: He has testified/borne witness to his Son (Matt. 3:17; 17:5; 2 Peter 1:17)

In other words, the evidence for the Incarnation is historical and supernatural
The historical events speak of Jesus as the Messiah and God’s witness supports these facts/events

God has spoken his witness in history and in his Scripture, what is the effect of it?

The Effects
1 John 5:10-12 outline the effects of the witnesses John offers above

The evidence John presents brings the reader or hearer to the place of a decision

Just like a judge or jury must make a decision and respond to the witnesses and the evidence presented in a court of law, so also the hearers/readers of John’s letter must now respond

There are two possible responses

1. The negative (5:10)
One possible response to the testimony/witness John provides is to say, “It isn’t true. I will not act on it in faith. God lies.”

John depicts unbelief not as a position to be pitied, but as a sin of which to repent

The person who looks at God’s evidence and God’s testimony and says, “It is not true” is calling God a liar.

Remember, “faith” as we defined it last week is an action—it is acting on what we know and placing our trust in something bigger than us—it is total reliance on Jesus and what God has accomplished in him

John’s opponents did not accept the full testimony of God
They belittled the truth of Christ by making him less than the Incarnate Word of God
They tried to avoid the blood of the crucifixion and to rely only on a mysterious enlightenment that led one to a mystical experience
Such actions/faith claim that God lied in his Word

This position does not accept the truth of God’s full testimony regarding Jesus

2. The Positive (5:10-12)
The person that responds to God’s testimony with faith (i.e., that trusts completely in God’s works in Christ for salvation) receives as a result an internal testimony
This is the testimony of the Spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:15-17; Gal. 4:4-7)

All who place faith in God’s truthful witness will have an internal testimony of this Truth

The person that responds to God’s truthful testimony with faith also receives an eternal testimony and eternal life

This life is not just a heavenly reality in the future, it is a spiritual reality now—the believer in God’s truth lives a life full of God
His life is centered on God, directed by God, filled with God
That is abundant life—the certainty of that life is focused on Jesus as the perfect revelation of God (John 1:1-3; 14; Hebrews 1:1-3) and as the one who gives abundant life (John 1:11-12; 10:10)

John even says that eternal life is in Jesus, and those who have Jesus have that eternal life—those who deny the truth of Jesus do not have eternal life

Embracing Jesus equals life, while rejecting Jesus results in no life

So what is the verdict?
Will you reject the evidence and God’s testimony?
Will you accept the evidence and the witness and have life?

What does the Jury say?
We stand in a place of decision today. John has offered us testimony and evidence regarding the divine Messianic status of one Jesus of Nazareth

We must now make our decision, we must render our verdict

Is Jesus the Christ? Is he the perfect expression and reflection of God’s divine nature?
If so, what are the ramifications for us?
If not, what will happen?

The Verdict
If we reject the Word of God as presented today, we must acknowledge that we are labeling the testimony of the evidence and of God as false. We will call God a liar and we are spiritually dead

If we accept the testimony, then we must place our trust completely in Christ for the life that only God can bring. Our life will exhibit that quality of life that only Jesus offers

If we accept God’s testimony then, our lives will look like Jesus—we will be his witnesses, we will add to the evidence our own testimony

What is your decision?

Thanks for reading!

I Want to Know What Love Is: Love Manifested, 1 John 4:7-12, Theology Matters

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 for our meetings on March 27 and April 3, 2011. A while back we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 4:7-12 and discusses the idea that Christians should be a people who love like God loves. We need to be aware of and to share the love that God has given to us in Christ. His gift of grace becomes visible to others when we live the love Christ has shown us. When we love others, we give a living example of the love Jesus showed in the cross. John gives us the character of love, the definition of love, and the result of love. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

I Want to Know What Love Is
Love Manifested
1 John 4:7-12
Theology Matters Series

Introduction
How many of you know the rock group Foreigner?
Yeah, I’m old, that is certain!
One of their hits was “I Want to Know What Love Is”
I liked the song, but the point I want to make is this—there are lots of people in our world who make the same statement

People want to know love, they want to experience it, they want to see it
Just look at the movies and magazines today
Many of the materials give instructions on finding love
Some movies exemplify romantic love as the goal of human existence
In fact, I would dare say that love is a dominant theme in many areas
The problem is that the love exemplified in these “sources” rarely offers real satisfaction or any sense of fulfillment

Love in the world often ends in hurt or disappointment

Can anyone here describe a time (besides your salvation experience) when you thought you experienced real love? What did it look like?

Our passage in 1 John 4 today addresses the issue of what love looks like

Verses 7-12 offer us John’s view of love, and in them we find three points to consider
1. The character of love
2. The definition of love
3. The result of love

As we unpack these three topics, we will see that for John
“Love resembles Jesus” in his character, action, and empowerment

1. The Character of Love
1 John 4:7-8—John likes to repeat himself. This is now the third time he has instructed his readers to “love one another.” In 1 John 2:7-11 and 3:11-12 John has already given this command, now he returns to his earlier message

John seems to repeat himself in an effort to make sure the point gets across
When John is older, church tradition/history tells us that his message becomes simply “Little children, love one another”
When asked why he repeats this message, John replies: “It is the command of our Lord, and it is enough.”

“Love one another” in John’s mind flows naturally from the basic character of love
John defines the character of love as being tied to the character of God

Notice that John says in v. 7 “love is from God”

The kind of love John to which John is encouraging us is not a mere emotion or an expression of human concern

The love mentioned in 1 John usually refers to a divine source, a heavenly origin (cf. 1 Corinthians 13)

We don’t learn this kind of love simply by attending seminars, reading books, or trying harder.  We learn to love one another in this way only as we draw closer to God through Christ

Love’s true character is divine

Notice that in v. 8 John says, “God is love”
John Stott: “"This is the most comprehensive and sublime of all the biblical affirmations of God's being."

We must not confuse this with the idea that “love is God”
We do not define God by our view of love
Rather, we define love by God’s nature (Ray Stedman)

God’s love includes his holiness—Psalm 138:2 (On Holiness see: Isaiah 6:3; 1 Peter 1:14-16)
God’s character is just and loving—the two always go together as we will see more clearly in our next verses (H. A. Ironside)

So, John tells us we should love one another because of God’s nature or character
John adds that those who know God (i.e., know his character or know him intimately) will as a direct result love others

John’s argument is simple—if the life of God is present is us, then his love should be present as well

If we know that God’s love for us, then we should love others

Jesus as the example of God’s love: 2 Timothy 1:13: John 8:42: 1 John 2:5-7

Love resembles Jesus in his character

2. The Definition of Love
1 John 4:9-10—Here John shifts from discussing the character of love to giving the supreme example of love—John now sets out to define love for his readers

John describes the manifestation of God’s love and sums it up in one historical event—Jesus’ crucifixion (cf. John 3:16-19)
a. In this one event God revealed a love that has never since been surpassed (2 Cor. 4:6-7; 9:15)
b. This love sacrifices to make things right
c. This love empowers others to do the right things

Let’s unpack these

Love is sacrifice

John says that love was manifested (i.e., made known, made visible, made clear) by God’s act of sending his only Son Jesus into the world
.The reference to Jesus as God’s “only begotten” refers to their unique relationship
Only Jesus is God’s “only begotten” Son—it refers to Jesus’ divine status
b. Please remember that this sending was not simply to tell the world what it needed to hear—(John 3:16-19)—rather God had another thing in mind
c. Jesus is sent to be the “propitiation” for our sins—1 John 2:1-2--meaning to appease or to bring reconciliation.
d. It has at its core the idea that two groups are estranged—one is angry at the other (Rom. 1:18-19)

God’s wrath was aimed at humanity because of sin. We were guilty and deserving of death (Romans 6:23)

Instead of holding us guilty for our own sins, however, God decided to appease his own wrath by his own plan. Jesus took our place and received the just punishment of our sins (Isaiah 53:4-6). Jesus became the atoning sacrifice for our sins

Do you see in this act the coming together of God’s justice and love? (Stedman) God’s justice demanded holiness and required an ultimate sacrifice for sin , while God’s love provided the only true means to atone for that sin

Love is sacrificial—it does what is necessary to set things right

But God’s love is not simply sacrificial, it does not simply “cover a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8)—rather it also gives us what is needed to live love ourselves. In other words, love empowers us to emulate Jesus

God’s love was manifested “in us”—this can mean either “on our behalf” or “in our midst”
The point is that God’s love is manifested in space and time
It is not simply theoretical—it is real—it is “in us”

In v. 9 John says that God sent Jesus into the world so that we could “live through him”
Let that sink in—we who deserved death for our sins are being given life by the one who actually died for the sins of the world
The greatest sign of love is the bloody cross—there by God’s grace and love we lost our burden, our guilt, even our inability to live as God intended—in the cross our Lord died so that we might live through him

God’s love is for our benefit—it enlivens us--it is empowering
That is the true definition of love—It sacrifices that others may gain

How does our love for others measure up?

Love resembles Jesus in his sacrifice

3. The Result of Love
1 John 4:11-12—Now that he has shown the character and definition of love, John now offers a description of the result of love

“If God so loved us” is reminiscent of the “so” in John 3:16
It probably refers to the manner in which God loved us
John seems to be saying, “If you have received love in this way, you should then love others like that”
In other words, the way we love should be sacrificial and for the benefit of others—that they may gain God

This God kind of love also has a moral imperative to it—because God has done this, we “ought” to respond in a similar manner (1 John 2:4-11)

How and when did God love us?
a. God loved us when we were sinners (Romans 5:6-8)
We cannot understand grace or the love of God until we understand the nature of sin.  We will not understand the wonder of the atoning sacrifice until we grasp the horror of that which needed atoning
b. God loved us by giving a means for us to be reconciled to him—he gave Jesus as our atoning sacrifice (Romans 3:25; 5:9-11)
As already noted, Jesus died so that we could live

God’s love is our motivation to love others

Verse 12 is incredible—here John states a well known doctrine—God is not visible to the human eye—we cannot see him

Yet John seems to claim that when we love one another, God becomes apparent
The verse claims that when we love with the love God has given us in Christ, then God abides in us and his love is “perfected” (i.e., made complete, accomplished, finished, brought to its goal) in us
Our relationships of love become the place where God and his love become visible to others
When we love, we show God

Love resembles Jesus as we make him known by loving others

Application
This is a weighty thing—how are we to be “ambassadors of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:20-21) when we are still fallen and prone to let God down?

How can we claim to know God when we cannot love those closest to us?

How do we respond to John’s exhortation in these verses?

First, we must recognize our need to experience and live in God’s great grace and love—knowing God through Jesus Christ is the starting point. Remember that John says that loving others comes from loving God. This week make it a point to spend extra time with God. Take 15 minutes a day to look up verses that speak of God’s love (start in 1 John 2, 3, and 4, but don’t neglect John’s Gospel—chapters 3, 5, 13-15)—learn of his love and ask him to empower you to emulate it

Next, take some time to ask where you can share this love of God. Start with your brothers and sisters in Christ, but don’t neglect those outside of the household of the faith. Look for opportunities to tell others how God’s love has changed your life, just be sure to love them while you tell them. Here are some suggestions (thanks to Bruce Goettsche on-line for these):

1. Seek for ways to get beyond feelings of competition
2. Speak of other’s with honor instead of enjoying or gossiping about their shortcomings, struggles, or inconsistencies
3. Rally to the side of those who are hurt or experiencing injustice—offer them a word of encouragement or stand with them in prayer
4. Look for opportunities to help those who can’t help you back—give sacrificially into the life of one who may not pay you back
5. Extend forgiveness to those who offend
6. Be patient with someone who desperately needs it
7. Be quick to show hospitality to others
8. Be willing to pray for and with each other
9. Share the story of Jesus and your salvation with someone
10. Bake cookies for someone who is down and write them a note of encouragement

Love resembles Jesus
How are we doing?

Thanks for reading!

Confidence Before God: How Our Hearts are Reassured, 1 John 3:19-24, 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 for our meetings on February 20-27, 2011. A while back we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 3:19-24 and discusses the idea that our hearts can have confidence before God because of God's character and the things his Spirit has done in and through us. When we think rightly about God and love others as he commands, we find assurance for our hearts and minds. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Confidence Before God
How Our Hearts Are Reassured
1 John 3:19-24
Theology Matters Series

Introduction
Questions
1. What comes to mind when you think of the terms “assurance” or “confidence”?
2. Describe what you think a confident person is like
3. When do you lack confidence?
4. When do you feel confident?

Contrary to appearances, I am not a very self-confident person
I constantly ask my wife (and others) for reassurance
I seem to think I am continually lacking confidence

Many of you can identify with my personal struggles, while others think that these things are a bit strange

Our passage today focuses on the issue of the confidence a Christian can have before God

In 1 John 3:19-24, John lists three ways we can be confident before God
1. Our knowledge gives us confidence/assurance
2. Our kinship with God gives us confidence/assurance
3. God’s commandments are a source of confidence/assurance

God’s character is our confidence

1. Knowledge
1 John 3:19-20, 24b

When I read this passage, I was struck by the repetition of the phrase “by this we . . . know” in verses 19 and 24.

Verse 19—”By this” refers to the information just above this verse—1 John 3:18
John is saying here that we will know (it is future) that we are in the truth (i.e., children of God) if we love in deed and in truth (i.e., we practice the kind of selfless love Jesus exhibited)

Verse 24b—”By this” refers back to the verses just before (vv. 23-24a) and to the end of verse 24

John is saying here that we know (it is present tense) that we abide in Christ if we keep his commandments—the command is to believe in Christ and to love one another (more on these later)

John is also saying that we know we abide in Christ by the Spirit he gave us
The reference to the Spirit here is not necessarily only a reference to the inner witness of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:15-17), but may also refer to the presence of the Spirit in our lives as the One who empowers us to believe in Christ and to love one another

The Spirit here is a reference to God’s character and God’s presence as a means to obey God’s commands

2 Peter 1:3-4

John seems to be saying that our changed behavior is evidence (i.e., something we can know) that should give us confidence

The knowledge that God has changed us is a source of assurance/confidence
But our actions are not based on our own abilities, our changed lives flow from the character of God

In verses 19-20, John brings up the idea of our hearts (or consciences) and the possibility of condemnation

“Whenever our hearts condemn us” speaks to those times when we feel condemned or less than confident in our relationship to God

John assumes that the people to whom he writes have struggled with their confidence, they have felt condemned

Perhaps your heart/conscience has condemned you in the past
a. You aren’t good enough, you can’t live up to God’s standard
b. You don’t do the things you should
c. Why would God choose you?

John responds by noting that we can “reassure” our hearts before God because “God is greater than our hearts and knows everything”

What does John mean by this reference?

When John says that God is greater than our hearts/consciences, he seems to be referring to God’s character –a source of confidence for us is the knowledge of God’s character

God’s character is greater than our conscience—he is the one who redeems us (and as shown in v. 24) who puts his Spirit in us

James Boice states “… whatever our hearts may say, God knows us better than even we ourselves do and, nevertheless, has acquitted us. Therefore, we should reassure ourselves by His judgment, which alone is trustworthy, and refuse to trust our own.”

God knows the change he has made in us if we have indeed come to know him through Christ

God judges us not by our conscience but by his justification of us in Christ (Rom. 8:31-39)

When we face condemnation, we can look at two things to reassure ourselves—God’s enduring love and character, and the actions his Spirit has worked out of our changed lives as we obey his command to love

God’s character is our confidence

2. Kinship
1 John 3:21-22—in the previous section, John told us that we can “know” confidence by knowing how we love others and by knowing God’s character. In these verses he introduces the idea that we can be confident before God because we have relationship with him—we are God’s kin

This relationship is shown by two things—answered prayer and God’s abiding Spirit (vv. 23-24)

B. F. Westcott states, “The thought here is of the boldness with which the son appears before the Father, and not of that with which the accused appears before the Judge.”

The Christian has boldness in God’s presence because he or she is a child of God—the child of the emperor has privileges with the king that simple subjects do not have (Rom. 8:16-17; Gal. 4:31-5:1; John 1:9-13)

This family relationship should produce confidence and assurance

John continues this idea by talking about the blessing of answered prayer

What John does NOT mean
a. God is not a cosmic Santa Claus who simply gives you whatever you ask
b. God will not answer all of your requests with “Yes”

What John means
a. God loves to respond to his children
b. God’s children love to respond to their Father
c. When we obey God, we have freedom to come into his presence
d. Of course, when we obey God, we will ask primarily for those things that will give God the most pleasure (i.e., our praying will not be selfish but will be “according to his will”)

God’s character is our confidence

3. Commandment
1 John 3:23-24—John now returns to the idea that our confidence/assurance before God is evidenced by what we believe and by how we live

What “pleases God” (v. 23) is two fold
a. My theology—what I believe about God and Jesus Christ
b. My ethical practice—how I act in response to theology

In fact, theology should drive ethics—right living should flow from right doctrine

John gets very specific here about the commandment
a. We must believe in the name of God’s Son Jesus
b. We must love one another

This commandment is similar to Jesus’ response in Matthew 22:37-40
The call of every Christ follower is to love God and to love others

Believing in the name of Christ refers to the ground of our salvation—it is only in what Christ has accomplished that we can be saved or brought into proper relationship with God

We cannot love God without Christ’s sacrificial love

Our confidence is grounded on what God has done in Jesus

Loving one another is the practical result of our salvation—we show the love God gave in Christ by loving others

This action is not the foundation of our confidence, it is the evidence of it

The gauge of our relationship with God is how we love others

Obedience to God’s command is the manifestation of God’s love poured into our lives (1 John 4:12-17)

Abiding in Jesus is shown by obedience to Jesus

God’s character is our confidence
Our obedient response is the evidence that we have come to know him

Application
The foundation of our assurance or confidence before God is always and only faith in the person and work of Jesus—Jesus is our Rock, our Cornerstone, and our Foundation
Any attempt to have boldness before God without faith in Christ will end in shame
Faith alone in Christ alone is the only means of security before God

Once we have that settled, however, there is room for obedience, and that obedience is also a source of assurance

This week, find ways to obey the word John gives
1. Spend time cultivating your relationship with God—this week set aside an extra 10 minutes a day to get into God’s presence, to pray, to read his Scripture—your confidence is in that relationship

2. Spend time cultivating your relationships with others—this week make time to love one another—be creative, but be purposeful—make a plan to show Christ’s love and follow through—where can you serve this week in a way that would make Christ’s love know?

God’s character is our confidence
What can we do this week that will reveal God’s character to others?

Thanks for reading!

Truth or Consequences: How to Avoid Deception, 1 John 2:18-23, 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 for our meeting on November 28, 2010. A while back we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 2:18-23 and discusses the idea that our we have to be careful about our doctrine and where we get our theology. John warns us that there are people who want to deceive us or to draw us from the Truth about Jesus, and he gives us some tips on how to avoid spiritual deception. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Truth or Consequences: How to Avoid Deception
1 John 2:18-23
Theology Matters Series

Introduction
Teaching philosophy at the community college yielded some interesting conversations:
a. Well, that is “your” truth, not mine
b. It doesn’t really matter what you believe, just as long as you are sincere

These views can be dangerous, right?

If I genuinely believe that a bottle of poison will cure my illness, I may end up dead in spite of my belief
The example of the person who almost kills a loved one because he or she sincerely believes that the person is an intruder

In religious circles, we sometimes hear things like:
Doctrine divides, so let’s avoid doctrine and just focus on getting along
Jesus said you will know you are my disciples by your love, not by your doctrine. Let’s avoid disputes about doctrine and just find places where we agree

John, on the other hand, seems to put a premium on doctrinal issues

In chapter one he even claims that true joy comes from a sound doctrinal foundation
He argues against a bad doctrine that ignores the Incarnation or makes Jesus less than God

What a person believes is just as or more important than the sincerity of that belief

Apparently, it really makes a difference what you believe!

John has already given us a couple of tests in this chapter—the moral test of obedience to God (2:1-6) and the relational test of love (2:7-18). Now, John reminds us that there is also a doctrinal test for believers to consider—1 John 2:18-23

John here offers a warning of sorts to his readers—be careful what you believe, be careful what you accept

In John’s day, there were false teachers who were teaching a doctrine whose consequences would lead to shipwreck and death

In our passage today, John gives his readers instructions on how to avoid deception in spiritual matters. To avoid deception, we need to focus on two things:
a. We need to know the source
b. We need to know the truth

Let’s look at John’s advice on how to avoid deception
1 John 2:18-23

1. Know the Source
1 John 2:18-20
John contrasts true believers and false teachers in these passages

The first thing that many note is John's reference to “the last hour”
May be a reference to the return of Christ
Most likely a reference to the fact that since Christ’s resurrection and ascension the world has entered the last stage of history before God’s kingdom is fully revealed
Mark 13:33—no one knows how long this period will last, but there is a sense of urgency here
The end could come at any moment

Another interesting issue is his mention of Anti-Christ and antichrists
John alone uses the term “antichrist” in his epistles. It does not appear anywhere else in the NT
“Anti-Christ” refers to a particular person, but that does not seem to be John’s focus here
“Many antichrists” is the reference that John emphasizes
“Antichrist” means either “against Christ” or “in place of Christ”

John is referring here to the spirit that stands against the sound teaching of Christ or that tries to replace Christ with another

In John’s day, these folks came claiming a “new revelation” or a “deeper knowledge of the truth” –they claimed an experience that no one else had

To avoid deception, know your teachers

These false teachers (or “antichrists”) may operate in the range of Christian ideas and concepts—they may even came from our ranks

This means we need to be careful to examine ourselves—are we genuinely following Christ, or are we merely tagging along with others to see what happens?

We also need to be on our guard—there are actually people in the world who would like to mislead others and teach a false doctrine

These false teachers may have started off as orthodox teachers, but soon they veered from the truth so that they no longer abide by the teaching of apostles
a. They are more interested in being popular
b. They are more interested in being heard
c. They are interested in making money
d. They claim to have a “fresh” or “new” revelation not given before

The false teachers separated themselves from the church, from orthodox belief
We must beware of anyone who breaks from orthodox teaching of the Scripture to pursue a new or different doctrine

Verse 19 does not refer to individuals who simply leave a church to go to another place of worship. Rather, it refers to folks who leave the sound teaching of who Jesus is for a false gospel that puts the focus on anything but Jesus

They not only attack orthodox beliefs, but they also recruit others to their aberrant views
Modern examples include: Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, Scientology, Christian Science, Islam, etc.

John makes the following points:
a. True Christians are born of God
b. True Christians persevere in the truth and with other believers
c. Church growth or unity are not as important as good doctrine

The test of orthodoxy is submission and obedience to the apostolic teaching found in the New Testament, particularly the teaching about the person and work of Jesus

Verse 20 mentions an “anointing” that Christians have
The false teachers apparently claimed a higher anointing than John or the apostles
John says that we all know the truth because of God’s anointing in our lives
John 14:6-7; 16:13-14
We must be diligent to learn and to follow the truth

To avoid deception, know the source of your doctrine

2. Know the Truth
1 John 2:21-23
In these verses, John reminds us that we must be careful to know the truth
Not knowing the truth has consequences

We live in a day that has rejected the idea of absolute truth
To think that someone could stand in front of a group like this and claim to speak of “the Truth” is considered illogical, intolerant, and even (in some cases) evil by many postmodern people
Truth is what you make of it in a postmodern society

John simply does not agree

In verse 21, John claims to be writing to those who actually know the truth
John was no postmodern

To avoid deception, pursue and know the truth

As we noted earlier—sound doctrine matters
John encourages his readers to recognize the difference between a lie and the truth
Simply stated, truth and lies do not mix—they do not get along (i.e., the Law of Non-Contradiction)

Lies are tied to how Jesus is viewed (v. 22)
To deny Jesus as the apostles taught him is to deny truth, to deny God himself

Sound doctrine is strongly linked to a personal relationship with God
To deny the Son means that one does not “have” the Father
Knowledge of Jesus is salvation, to deny who he is (i.e., the Incarnation of God, God in the flesh, God among us) is to deny what he accomplishes and the God he makes known (John 1)

Sound doctrine about the person and work of Jesus is essential to a proper relationship with God

True believers pursue the truth about God as revealed in Christ (Heb. 1:1-3)

John wants his readers to know that Jesus is the only true revelation of God
a. He is not just a good teacher or an anointed man
b. He is God among us, redeeming us, and leading us
c. He is our only means of salvation, and his divinity guarantees our redemption

To avoid deception, know good doctrine/learn the truth

Application
So what do we do with this information? How do we respond to what John has written here?

If we wish to avoid deception in spiritual matters, then we must be discerning in two areas—who teaches us and what is true doctrine

This week we can do the following
a. Look closely at those who teach us—are their lives consistent with the life of Jesus? Do they exhibit the same attitudes as Christ (Phil 2)? Where is their focus? Are they focused on legacies, numbers, buildings, money, or Jesus? What is their character?

b. Pay attention to your own doctrine. Take some time this week to read through 1 John or the Gospel of John. Ask the Spirit who anoints you to give direction and understanding about what the Bible says about Jesus. Read good books on sound doctrine. Make it a point to be around believers who hold to sound doctrine.

c. Check yourself by John’s three tests—are you obeying God’s commands, do you love others, and are you abiding in truth?

To avoid deception, we must know our teachers and know the truth

Thanks for reading!

Knowing Jesus, 1 John 2:1-6, 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 meetings on August 8-15, 2010. A couple of weeks ago, we started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." This lesson looks at 1 John 2:1-6 and discusses the the effect that knowing Jesus should have on the life of a Christian. We consider the role of Jesus regarding sin and redemption, the importance of Jesus' commandments, and the need to walk as Jesus walked. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Knowing Jesus
Theology Matters Series
1 John 2:1-6

Introduction
Our series “Theology Matters”

We started our study of 1 John a few weeks ago
We introduced this letter and discussed issues related to its writing—author, date, reason for writing, situations in the church, and even the problems facing some of John’s people
Then we looked at how John presents the Incarnation as a foundation for joy and for fellowship with God and with others
The past couple of weeks we looked at how God’s Light illuminates our lives and helps us overcome and avoid sin
We discussed how walking with God is an ongoing experience that requires both effort and practice
This week we find John continuing that theme by focusing in on Jesus

Our passage this week finds John clarifying his discussion about walking in the Light by explaining how knowing Jesus helps the Christian

Our passage gives insight into three important areas regarding knowing Jesus
1. Knowing Jesus’ role regarding sin
2. Knowing Jesus’ commandments
3. Knowing Jesus’ example

Knowing Jesus is the only way to true life as a Christian

1. Knowing Jesus’ Role Regarding Sin
1 John 2:1-2

John further clarifies his discussion concerning light and dark by outlining for his readers the reason for his letter
a. He writes to warn them to avoid sin
b. He writes to describe for them the character of Christ and its impact on their lives as Christ followers

John tells his readers: “Do Not Sin” (v. 1a)
Earlier he warned us not to claim to be sinless
Now he tells us not to sin
Which is it? Are Christians sinful or sinless? How much will a real Christian sin?

Definition of Sin
1 John 3:4—sin is lawlessness
Romans 3:23—falling short of God’s glory

Our goal should be to avoid and to resist sin

John writes as though his letter may help his readers in avoiding or at least resisting sin
a. Scripture can aid us in avoiding and resisting sin (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Psalm 119:105)
b. As we walk in God’s Truth (his Light, remember last week?), we will be aware of our sins and aware of the potential traps in life
c. God’s Word is our most convenient revelation from God—to neglect it is to neglect God’s self-disclosure

Knowing Jesus leads us to lives that avoid and resist sin

In verses 1b-2, John further describes the role of Jesus by the words “advocate” and propitiation

Advocate
a. Paraclete—the same word describing the Holy Spirit in John’s Gospel (14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7)
b. “Called along side”
c. Carries the following ideas
Advocate, Helper, Counselor, Intercessor, etc.
d. To plead another’s case or the aid them in their defense

Atonement (1 John 4:10; Romans 3:23-25; Hebrews 2:17-18)
a. Hilasmos—Propitiation, Expiation, or Atonement?
b. Has to do with appeasing an angry deity or in making payment for sins
c. May also mean bringing reconciliation between warring parties
d. God, in Jesus, offers the only sacrifice that will deal adequately with sin
e. Jesus is the hilasmos for the whole world (John 3:16)

Jesus died as a result of sin—all sin—the sin of every human being
Therefore salvation is available to all because the sacrifice is on behalf of the whole world
Of course, only those who come to God through faith in Jesus Christ receive the benefit
God provides the means of salvation, humans receive the gift by faith

Knowing Jesus leads to fellowship with God and forgiveness of sins
Through Jesus we get both salvation and sanctification

2. Knowing Jesus and His Commandments
1 John 2:3-5a

Salvation comes from knowing Jesus as the atoning sacrifice and only advocate for our sins

Assurance of our salvation comes from knowing and keeping his commandments
“By this we know that we have come to know him”

What does it mean to know Jesus?
a. The word here means more than simply intellectual acknowledgment or understanding
b. The idea in the Greek has to do with experience or with sharing life together
c. It implies a “fellowship” or unity built on shared life

John says that we can have assurance in our relationship with God if, and only if, that relationship has caused a change in our way of life
If we are genuinely followers of Christ, then we should keep his commandments

What are his commandments? (Matthew 22:35-40)
a. Love God
b. Love your neighbor
c. Love one another

Some of John’s opponents seem to teach that you can come to know God and live any way you want, or that you can sin outwardly and not receive damage to your soul
John says that is a lie—if you know God through Jesus, you will do what Jesus tells you to do

Verse 5 tells us that if we “keep” God’s Word (another way of saying, “Do what God tells us to do”), then we will find the love of God has been perfected and by this love we will gain assurance that we know Jesus and abide in him

Perfected Love/Love of God

Whose love?
a. God’s love for us
b. Our love for God
c. A little of both?

The word “perfect” may mean the following:
a. Perfect
b. Complete
c. Mature
d. Finished

God's love for us is already perfect, complete, mature, and finished, so the love that needs perfecting is our love for Him and for others.

Abiding in Jesus (John 15—Jesus is the vine, we are the branches)
a. Abiding in Jesus means to draw from him what we need to live as God intended

Knowing Jesus means doing what he says
If we know him, we will do what he tells us to do

3. Knowing Jesus’ Example
1 John 2:5b-6

Abiding in him (John 15 again!)

We know we are in God or in Christ because our lives have changed/because we now keep his commandments

We are not saved by our obedience, but our obedience provides assurance that our lives have been changed

Looking at your life, how strong is your assurance?
How has God changed you? How have you obeyed him?

Following in his footsteps/Jesus as our Example
a. Following Jesus/keeping his word is the very definition of being his disciple (John 8:31-32)
b. A disciple/student will become like his teacher (Luke 6:40)
c. We must grow to be more like him if we are genuinely following him—it is the goal of salvation/sanctification (Romans 8:28-29)
d. How did Jesus live? He did what the Father did and said what the Father said (John 5:19, 30; 15:15)
e. We should also say what God says and do what God says to do (which means we must spend time in his Word and listening to his Spirit)

Knowing Jesus means knowing how he lived
We cannot claim to know Jesus if we refuse to live in the same manner he lived

Application

The easiest answer here is to say what John says
a. Avoid/resist sin
b. Obey God
c. Be assured

Unfortunately that is not always as easy as it may sound
To avoid or resist sin is a part of obeying God
To do these things requires us to know what God wants us to do

Here are some suggestions:
a. Set aside 15-30 minutes a day to read Scripture. As we’ve been doing throughout this study, focus in on 1 John and the Gospel of John. Look for commands or places where Scripture seems to say that you should do something. Write those down. Pray for wisdom and opportunity and strength to do them.

b. Then, go and do it. God says to share our faith—find one opportunity to testify of God’s mercy to you. God says to love our neighbor—find a need to meet this week and do it. God’s Word says to confess our sins—acknowledge and confess your sins.
Hear what God says and say it. Find out what God is doing and do it.

Knowing Jesus means living like him
Will we take the risk?

Discussion Questions

1. How much will a real Christian sin? What should your goal be? Is it good enough to only sin a little bit? Why shouldn’t you sin?

2. Why is Jesus a perfect Advocate? In what areas do you need Jesus to be an Advocate for you? On what grounds does Jesus defend us?

3. How well must you obey God’s commandments in order to have assurance?

4. In what areas are you working to keep God’s commandments? Where does obedience characterize your life in Christ?

5. In what areas of your life do you need to be more like Jesus? How often to you long to be like Christ? Have you seen any progress in being like Christ?

6. If you begin to walk like Jesus regularly, what areas will need to change? In what ways will you need to take your sin seriously?

7. In what ways should we imitate Jesus?

8. How would imitating Jesus change your neighborhood? Your workplace? Your family?

9. How much is God’s grace to you in Christ worth?

10. Where have you seen God’s work in your life? Where have you responded to God with your own work on his behalf?

Thanks for reading!

Theology Matters: A Good Foundation Brings Joy, 1 John 1:1-4

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 July 11 and 18, 2010. We started a new series on 1 John entitled "Theology Matters." As a result, I have a little introduction of the letter before the lesson. The lesson then looks at 1 John 1:1-4 and discusses the theological foundation for real joy. We looked at the issue of the incarnation and how our relationship with God must begin with a proper doctrinal understanding of who Jesus is and what he accomplished. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Theology Matters
And What We Do With It Matters Too
1 John

Introduction to 1 John

Author
a. Probably the apostle John, the author of the Gospel, Revelation, and two other epistles
b. Internal Evidence—similarities to the Gospel
c. External Evidence—Polycarp (associate of John), Irenaeus (disciple of Polycarp), Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian—all claim John as the author of this work
d. The author claims to be an eyewitness

Date—depends on who you ask
Could be anywhere from AD 66 to AD 90.
Probably written around the time of the Gospel

Recipients—churches in Asia (Rev. 1-3) or perhaps Ephesus

Main theme—1 John 5:13 (cf. John 20:30-31)—”that you may know”—the goal is eternal life and an assurance of that life

Life Situation of 1 John
a. The author has responsibility for a circuit of churches (probably located throughout Asia, see Rev. 1-3), and he addresses his fellow Christians as “little children” since he is now aged. The churches appear to be engaged in an ideological struggle that involves the possibility of interpreting the Christian faith as just another philosophy. More specifically, the problem revolves around the character of Jesus of Nazareth. Some were saying that he was not the Son of God come in the flesh. This belief is known as Docetism (a belief similar to later Gnostic ideas) and is directly addressed in 1 John. 1 John may also be written as a cover letter to introduce the Gospel of John.

b. There is a doctrinal issue here. Some folks have declared an elitist position that seems to put them in possession of “special knowledge” or “revelation” or even “anointing” that sets them off as better prepared that others (1 John 2:18-24; 27).
These opponents of John also claim that Jesus was not really a human being. He only “appeared” to be human (i.e., Docetism). Like later Gnostics, they seem to claim that only spiritual things matter, therefore physical is evil. As a result, the Savior cannot be physical. John explicitly addresses this especially in 1 John 4.

Purpose of 1 John:
(a) To introduce the Gospel of John and apply its truth to certain practical situations. 1 John deals more directly with spiritual problems and false teaching than the Gospel (cf. 1:3-4; 2:1; 4:1; 5:13).
(b) To strengthen Christians who were perhaps weak in faith or who required a word of encouragement (cf. 2:1, 7, 12-14; 4:1, 7, 19; 5:13, 21).

Several “so that” statements show purpose:
1 John 1:3-4—”So that our/your joy may be complete”
1 John 2:1—”So that you may not sin”
1 John 2:26—”So that you may not be deceived”
1 John 2:28; 4:17—”So that you may have confidence”
1 John 5:13—”So that you may know that you have eternal life”

That brings us to the prologue of our book and our passage for today—1 John 1:1-4

A Good Foundation Brings Joy
1 John 1:1-4
Theology Matters Series

Introduction
A good foundation
The opponents of John’s message had been proclaiming a message that was not true
That message was causing division and doubt in the believers in Asia
John wrote to tell them the truth and to help them regain confidence and joy
John knew that a good foundation can bring joy

Three things in our passage
a. The Foundation
b. The Fellowship
c. The Resulting Joy

Joy begins with truth

1. The Foundation
1 John 1:1-2

The Incarnation as foundation for good theology
“From the beginning” (cf. John 1:1, Genesis 1:1)
What “beginning” is in sight here?
It is either “creation” or the “beginning” of Christ’s ministry

Eyewitness and first hand experience of John (Acts 4:19-22)
John is telling them what he heard, saw, studied (“look at” or “gaze upon”), and touched. How much more thorough could he be?
John is establishing the veracity and strength of his doctrine
This is not something he made up, it has a history and is tied to real life
The “Word of Life” is tied to historical events—it can be studied, even proven

The “Word of Life” (John 5:19-29; 10: 10-18; 11:25-26)
a. Life revealed—it was manifested to and in us
b. Life proclaimed—it was announced and discussed, it is not a secret
c. Life eternal

The Incarnation is tied to Jesus’ relationship with the Father (John 1:1-5)
Good theology starts with the solid foundation of the Trinity and the Incarnation
Without Jesus (“fully God and fully human”) we cannot have relationship with God/eternal life

Joy is built on good theology

2. The Fellowship
1 John 1:3 (cf. Acts 4:19-22)

What we have seen and what we have heard—that is what we proclaim
John reminds us that as important as good theology is, good practice must also follow
If we know good theology, we must proclaim it
We must stand for what we know to be true
We must announce what God has done in and for us

The concept of koinonia
Fellowship (Acts 2:42; Philippians 2:1)
Having things in common
Sharing a “ship” (story of sailors)
Koinonia implies sharing a life, indeed sharing the “Life” that only comes from God and the relationship between the Father and the Son

The Fellowship of the Father and the Son (1 Cor. 1:9)
The unity of the Godhead
The order of the Godhead
The relationship between Jesus and the Father (John 17:3)

The Fellowship of believers

Joy is found in God’s fellowship

3. The Result: “Joy”
1 John 1:4—textual variant—”our” or “your” joy (cf. John 15:10-12)

Proclamation of true doctrine and the practice of real fellowship leads to the experience of true joy
Note the progression—good doctrine (knowing what God says, knowing the truth), acting on it (proper fellowship and proclamation), and then experience (joy)
We do not start with experience only
We do not rely only on practice or application
We must start with a proper foundation

Joy is built on the foundation of truth and the fellowship only God can provide(John 15:10-12)
For joy to be complete, we must act on what we know
In order to know, we must learn and act

We need time in God’s Word (doctrine), time with God (fellowship), and time with likeminded believers (more fellowship)

Joy is complete when we know truth, live truth, and proclaim truth

Application
How do we respond?

Story of student who didn’t want to spend time learning things he thought were useless

Theology matters
A bad foundation leads to a crooked or cracked house.
The same is true of our lives. A good foundation will lead to joy

This week
a. Learn the truth
Read through 1 John every day (it is only 5 chapters)
Look for the “so that” statements and the “these things we write” statements. Pay close attention to the theological issues John raises

b. Spend time with God
Make a special time each day to be alone with him. Listen, pray, meditate. Let the truth of his existence pervade all you do and think. Fellowship with God.
Spend time with others

c. Find ways to be with likeminded believers. Let them challenge you in the truth.
Find ways to bless others, to share the “Word of Life” with them

Theology matters
True joy comes in knowing and doing the truth

Discussion Questions
1. What is that which was from the beginning? How does the beginning verse (1:1) in this epistle compare to the beginning verse in the gospel according to John?

2. What did John say he had done with this? In what ways can we do these things with the Word of Life?

3. Who or what is the Word of Life?

4. What does John testify regarding this Word?

5. Why does John declare this Word to us? How should we declare this word to others?

6. Who needs to hear the Word of Life in your circle of influence? How can you proclaim this truth to them and help them come to a relationship with God?

7. If we have fellowship based on this Word then with whom do we have fellowship? How does fellowship with the Word enhance or increase fellowship with other believers?

8. Why did John write these things?

9. What is the message that John seeks to get across?

10. What message do we need to believe and live?

11. Why does theology matter?

Thanks for reading!