1 John 2:7-14

7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. 14 I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
(ESV Taken from BibleGateway.com)


Up to 1 John 2:6, John was telling us what Christians will look like. Christians are to be walking in the light with the Lord. They realize that they are sinners and know that the Christ is our advocate or intercessor to God for our forgiveness. It comes down that we are supposed to walk life like Jesus. John also tells the us that there are people that say they walk in the light but they are liars. As John continues to write, John gives us a new commandment. This commandment is new but it is really an old one (1 John 2:7-8). The old commandment is one Jesus gave his disciples before during his last time talking to them before his arrest. Jesus say,” A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35). In the Gospel of John, John writes that the disciples are to love each other. This must have been a huge impact in John's life because his gospels and letters all talk about love. This old commandment that John is talking about is something they people heard or even when the gospel was correctly preached to new believers heard. John Piper said in a sermon, "John means for this to be very encouraging. He is not writing to load any new duty on the believers. He has nothing new to say. It's the same old "word" they received when they first heard the gospel. It was part of the foundational gospel message. It is not stage two. It is not a counsel of perfection for monks and nuns. The commandment of love 'is the word which you have heard'" (DesiringGod.org). The 2 greatest commandments is love God and love everyone else.

John tells us in 9-11 that the new commandment is to love our fellow Christians and not to hate them. If you hate fellow Christians, John warns us that we live in darkness. What kind of love is John talking about? The love that uses in the Greek is agapaō (Strong #G25) or to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly. This is the same love that Matthew uses when Jesus tells us the greatest commandments. In the KJV, agapaō is used 135 times for love and 7 for beloved. It is used when Jesus tells the rich man to sell his possessions in Mark 10:21. It used a lot when Jesus loved the people he was helping. I think that is what John is telling us here. That we must love everyone especially our fellow Christians like how Christ loved people. This goes along with 1 John 1:8 & 10. If you hate your brother John says it is like murder (1 John 3:15). So when you hate your brother, you have stepped off into the darkness. The light of Christ is no longer shining because of the evilness in your heart to the person. This different when we love our fellow Christians. We continue down the path of light. Jesus told his disciples before they left for Bethany, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him" (John 11:9-10). This is an answer to the disciples questioning him going back to Judea. But the application is still the same. If we live in the light of Jesus, we will not stumble because we continue down the path of light. We can see where we are going. David said in Psalms 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Since John says Jesus is the Word of God. Let us learn from Jesus on how love. Let us follow his example of loving people to remain on the narrow road to heaven that is lit up by God and not down the dark wide road to hell.



O loving and graceful father. Thank you for the example of love that your Son has shown us. Lord, allows us to love the same way and continue down the path of life fulfilling your will. I pray this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

1 John 2:1-6

1My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.  (ESV)

 

I just love reading John. He words always seems to be one that talks to me. So lets continue on with 1 John 2:1-6.  John seems to teach like he a parent, but yet he understands the that most of the people are adults and are just less mature Christians. In verse 1, John  continues the "I write you" stuff thing by talking about sin. In chapter 1 verse 8-10 claiming to have fellowship with the Lord God Almighty and yet walk in darkness. We are liars and the truth or Christ (what ever you choose) is not in us. BUT, if we know we sin and ask the God for forgiveness, we are forgiven and then purify of all unrighteousness. John is telling us this so we know that we must walk in the light but if claim to fellowship with God. But sometimes we slip and that is why Christ is an advocate for us. In the ancient Greek, advocate is paraklētos (G3875 Strong's) which means an intercessor, consoler or an advocate and comforter. (Three times in the gospel of John, Jesus refers the Holy Spirit as a comforter (ESV says helper), which is the same Greek word.)

Since Christ is advocate for our sins, he became an atonement or propitiation for the world sins according to verse 2.  Paul writes in Romans 3:24-25, "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith." God crushed his Son (Isaiah 53:10) for our sins. John stress that it was not only for Christians but for the whole world. God loved the world and came to save it (John 3:16-17). 

Verse 3 makes a claim to know Christ is to obey him. That is what also write in John 14:15 & 21. An example in the old testament is King David. King David obeyed God after he was corrected by the prophet after is affair/murder. Verse 4 tells that people who do not walk with the Lord and claim they do are liars because the truth is not in him. This truth is Christ. This truth is God's words (John 17:24-26) and God's Words is Christ (john 1:14) If we remain in Christ, we come to know Christ. Also if we remain in Christ, our love for God is perfected. This is because Christ remained in God's love (John 15:9-10) and was the perfect sacrifice. for our sins. And this comes to the last verse I am going to talk about in this post. Verse 6 says 'whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. " Abides also means to remain to obey. So if we remain in Christ and the truth, then he must walk as Jesus did. He must love our brothers and love God. We need to make disciples for Christ. Is that not what Christ did?

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that as Christians that we live like the example of your son. That we not only show that we are Christians by the way we act but also that we tell people about your son. I pray that your will is done in their life and ours as we spread the word of you around the world. I pray all this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

1 John 1:5-10

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (ESV)

 

This post comes as I have not been obedient to God and what he has said. The good thing is there is no time to dwell in it. Here he go.

Back to First John Chapter 1 verses 5-10. I thing we need to remember is that when the Bible was written, it did not have verses or chapters. John continues to tell the churches that he is writing to that message that God as proclaim to the world is that "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." (verse 5)

Light has not been used yet in 1st John. The word light in Greek is phōs. It means lights as we know light and also a metaphor to show that "God is light because light has the extremely delicate, subtle, pure, brilliant quality" (BlueLetterBible.com)  So darkness would be the opposite of darkness or the ignorance of divine things. So to saw that God is light shows us that he is right, not flowed. And as Christians, according to 1 Cor 1:9 says; "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. ", we need to have fellowship with God. John stresses in verse 6 that if we claim to fellowship with God and yet we ignore the divine things we lie and God's word is not in us.

How is this true? Well if God is light and we walk in darkness, we would not have fellowship with he because God has no darkness (verse 5). That makes you a liar and the truth (God's Word John 17:17) has not entered you body.

As we know from 1 John 1:4, that fellowship among Christians is also among God. But also if we (Christians) walk right with God, we have a fellowship with God. That is when the Blood of Christ cleanse us from our impurities.  Is that not why Jesus says in Math 26:27-28, "And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. " The blood of Christ is to make us cleans.

That is because as humans we sin, Paul writes in Romans  3:23, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,". So John gives a warning to Christians in verse 8 and 10.  Verse 8 is "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." and 10 is "If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." When people say that have not sin, not only to they deceive themselves, they also make God to be a liar and now walk in darkness. John also says that the truth is not in them.

BUT..... if you confess your sins and say that you are not worthy of God's grace. God forgives you and then purifies you by the blood of Jesus for all unrighteousness.

So if claim to follow our Lord and savior, walk with him in fellowship to stay in the light b/c you lie when you claim to in him and walk in darkness. AMEN!!!

 

O Lord our God and Redeemer, your son died on the cross so we got be right and not suffer the torments of your wrath. O Lord, I want to pray for all the so-called Christians that claim to walk with you but are in darkness. Lord, have someone show them that they are wrong and that they need to walk with you. I pray all this in the name of your Son. Amen.

1 John 1:1-4

"1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life  was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life,^, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete." ESV  (Text copied from BibleGateway.com)

    

     John is write this letter to different churches. John starts his letter is a similar fashion as the start of his part of the Gospel. "That which is from the beginning" (1 John 1:1) is close to "In the beginning was the Word." (John 1:1) John starts out to say that what is from the beginning that he and others have heard, seen, touched was concerning the word of life. The word of life is Christ. In the Gospel of John, John writes that Jesus is the Word of God (John 1:1 & 14). This Word is the bread of life (John 6:48). So John is telling the Christians reading this, that he (John) has heard, seen, and touched Jesus. John would continue to tell us that "life was made manifest." (1 John 1:2) Manifest is translated from the Ancient Greek word phaneroo (fä-ne-ro'-ō). Phaneroo means "to make manifest or visible or known what has been hidden or unknown, to manifest, whether by words, or deeds, or in any other way." ( BlueLetterBible.com) 

     This life that was manifested to us through Christ, John used it to proclaim Christ so you can have fellowship. The Greek word John would use is koinōnia. Koinōnia means "fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation, intercourse." ( BlueLetterBible.com) So fellowship is like a club which everyone would have something in common. This fellowship that John is talking about is a Christian fellowship that the God the Father and his son Jesus Christ are part of. So this fellowship would have the things of God on our mind, which is what Jesus talked about and John proclaimed to these Christians(and us). That everything that John learned from Jesus and the Holy Spirit, he told these Christians so they would have a common believe of the Lord. John is telling this to us because fellowship in the Lord and other Christians would complete our joy in the Lord (1 John 1:4). Jesus talks about  joy in God and that if the Disciples would obey God they would receive the joy (John 15:10-11). John also writes in his third letter verse 14 that he has no better joy then know that some he should Christ to is walking in the light. Paul even told the Philippians, "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind." (Philippians 2:1-2) Paul had joy knowing that the Philippians had the same mind as him.

     These first four verses in John are about sharing the Bread of Life (John 6:48) that was made know to us so we can have fellowship with other Christians, with God, and his son Jesus. Doing this would complete our joy in God.

 

O gracious Lord of all, I want to thank you for the great word you have put on this sinful world. Your word will stand forever and ever. Lord, I pray that we as Christians can continue to share the Gospel and with your power, help heal some wounds  that have hurt the growth of Your Church, turn more people to your word. Let our joy be complete but living in obedience to your commandments and following your way. I pray all this in the name of Jesus Christ, you son. Amen.