Friday, March 27, 2020

The Book of John

It's believed that Apostle John was the only one among the original apostles who lived a long life and died of natural causes. This means that he gained a lot of knowledge about what was going on in the church, both about things that were good and things that weren't so good. He was a man who told it like it was, whether it was black or white, good or bad. He didn't wrap things up. For example, see the following true central Christian doctrines that the foundation of salvation is Christ:
  • Jesus said to him (Thomas), "I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
    No one comes to the Father except through me.    " (    John 14:6).
    See also Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life.
  • "Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." (1 John 5:10–12).
The Book of John is written to Christians. John writes these letters so that Christians can know that they have eternal life with God (1 John 5:11–13). 
Having the Son means believing in the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

 There was a heresy at the time John wrote these letters known as Gnosticism, see The Danger with Gnosticism. Therefore John says that every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God (1 John 4:2, 
2 John 1:7). Those who reject it aren't from God. The entire doctrine of redemption and forgiveness is centered on the fact that Jesus Christ came as our human representative (Gal 4:4–5) (incarnation). He couldn't represent us if he was only
a spirit without a human body. He could only represent us if he was fully human. He must also be fully God to be the perfect representative for us. Because he needed to be without sin, he had to be born by a virgin. Jesus is the only one in human history who is without sin, and is therefore the only one qualified to bear the sin of the world. John also explained that Jesus came as
Christ (Messiah) even when he was born, and was crucified and died physically (not spiritually) as Messiah, the Son of God (1 John 5:6–8,
John 19:34, Luk 1:34–35, 2:8–11, Rom 5:8). Jesus never lost his deity. As Christians, we must believe both in the humanity and in the deity of Jesus Christ. 

 God is light (1 John 1:5), see Jesus the Light of the World. He reveals our intentions (1 Cor 4:5, Eph 5:13–14). There are people who claim to have fellowship with God but walk in darkness (1 John 1:6–7). Walking in darkness isn't the same as making mistakes and repenting. We are all sinners and make mistakes (1 John 1:8, 10).
We need to repent when we fall into sin (1 John 1:9). To walk in darkness is to live in a conscious lifestyle of sin, without wanting to change, without repenting.
God sees what is in our hearts. Sin begins with the evil that we have in our hearts, see Love and not revenge in The Sermon on the Mount. Eventually it may express itself in some kind of sinful action.
  • Walking in the light:
    Walking in the understanding that I am a sinner saved by grace.
  • Walking in the dark:
    Denying my sinful condition while claiming to be in fellowship with God.
We don't need to sin (1 John 2:1a). Sin doesn't have to dominate our lives.
We will never reach sinless perfection in this life, but we can overcome sin.
If we sin, we have an advocate in Jesus who speaks for us with God the Father 
(1 John 2:1b, Rom 8:34, Heb 7:24–25). See this explained at time 9:22–12:28 in Bible Q & A With Pastor Paul │ August 2023.

 We know that we have come to know Jesus if we keep his commandments 
(1 John 2:3–6, Luk 6:46, Mat 7:21, John 14:23–24), see Jesus and the Law.
We are saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8–9), but it must be seen in our life
that we obey God's will (James 2:20), see Sanctification.

 It's crucial to love (and not hate) our brother in faith, and our neighbor as 
ourselves (1 John 2:9–11, 3:11, 15, 4:20–21, John 13:34–35, Mat 22:37–40, 
Luk 10:25–28). This isn't done automatic in our lives. It depends on our will.
We can resist the Holy Spirit. We can choose not to. The right thing is to forgive. Because we want God to forgive us our sin, we must forgive those
who wrong us (Mat 5:21–22, 6:12), see Forgive and You will Be Forgiven.

 We must not love the world (1 John 2:15–17). The world here means
man's fallen system, where people try to find meaning without God.
It means the following (Gen (1 Mos) 3:6, Mat 4:2–10): 
  1. The lust of the flesh: 
    Makes me sin. 
  2. The desire of the eyes: 
    Things that appeal to me visually and that I want. 
  3. Pride of life: 
    My desire to be liked by people, to have people think highly of me,
    to get a high position among people. 
It's these areas where we find all sin. This is where we are attacked as Christians. Jesus was tempted in these three areas when he was tempted
by Satan in the wilderness, see The Temptations of Jesus:
  1. Making bread from stones to satisfy his hunger after he had fasted
    for 40 days (Mat 4:1–4, Luk 4:1–4).     The lust of the flesh.
  2. Be the ruler over the world, shown by Satan in its glory, by worshipping Satan (Mat 4:8–11, Luk 4:5–8). The lust of the eyes.
  3. Throw himself down from the temple without being hurt, to find favor with the people (Mat 4:5–7, Luk 4:9–13). The pride of life.
John wrote 1 John when mankind had reached the end time (1 John 2:18). There is an increase in the number of antichrists at this time. Antichrist of the end time will come at the end of this end time (at the period that we call the Tribulation period), see Who is the End Time Antichrist? We have seen many who have come in the spirit of Antichrist (1 John 2:22), but we are still waiting for the end time Antichrist. 

 What can be even more dangerous are those who claim to be Christians, but in their teaching and way of life, come in the spirit of Antichrist (1 John 2:19). They distort the truth. We must be alert to false teaching and false teachers so that we aren't led astray (2 John 1:8–9). In John's time they taught secret knowledge, later known as Gnosticism, see The Danger with Gnosticism. In today's time, for example, we have the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons. We don't need such teachings. The Holy Spirit is the ultimate teacher (1 John 2:20, 27). Having said that, it's an advantage to receive good biblical teaching. However, there is no advanced knowledge that only a specific elite has (Luk 24:36–38, 45, John 14:26, 16:12–15, Jer 31:31, 33–34a).

Sometimes we need to be reminded of biblical truths (1 John 2:21, 24, 28). 
We who have received Jesus and believe in him are called children of God 
(1 John 3:1, John 1:12), see Who is the Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?

 Sin is lawlessness from the God's law (1 John 3:4). Jesus, who was without sin, came to take away our sin (1 John 3:5). It means that Jesus has taken away the judgement of our sin, he has taken away the punishment that we deserve. But Jesus also removes the sin that is going on in our lives already in this life (Eph 4:22–24, 
2 Cor 5:17). The Holy Spirit who lives in us believers is sinless and perfect, but we as humans sometimes sin (1 John 1:8, 10, Rom 7:15–20). The old sin nature is still there, see the last part of The Book of Galatians. However, we must remember that sin is incompatible with the new nature that we received when we became believers in Jesus Christ (1 John 3:6–10, 5:18). The new nature is the new normal, and it's sinlessness, righteousness, purity, and holiness. But because of the old nature, we sometimes mess it up and make mistakes. Then we must repent and ask God
for forgiveness, see Sanctification. See 1 John 3:4–10 (ESV), 5:18a (ESV) explained at time 20:56–41:48 in 1 John 3 • Beloved, we are God’s children.

Jesus said: "Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
(Mat 10:38–39). And: "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Mat 16:24). The cross was an instrument of death. When Jesus talks about taking up the cross, he is talking about letting the old nature die and letting the new nature take over my life more and more. Deny myself wrong desires. A death of self-absorption and of the things in this world that entice me to live only for myself. To start living a life for Christ and for other people. That's what it means to be a disciple of Christ. See also 1. Deny yourself and 2. Take up his cross in The Apostle Peter.

 If we believe in the name of Jesus Christ and love one another as God has commanded us to do, we aren't condemned (1 John 3:21–23, John 15:7,
Rom 8:1), see also The Golden Rule and Ask, and it will be given to you in
The Sermon on the Mount. To believe in the name of Jesus means to believe in all that Jesus has claimed, said, and is. We can be deceived by the feelings in our heart that we are condemned (Jer 17:9). We should focus on what God's word says.
God is greater than our feelings and knows everything (1 John 3:18–20).

 We must not assume that every demonstration of spiritual power comes from God 
(1 John 4:1, Mat 24:24). There are false prophets and false teachers in the body of Christ (1 John 4:2–3, 1 Kings 22:19–23, John 8:44). We must test what we hear according to the texts of the Bible (1 Thess 5:20–21, 1 John 4:6). If it's not in the Bible, we must not believe it. We should also test the messengers by the fruits of their lives (Mat 7:15–20). Jesus must be identified as he says he is, see
Jesus is God. The preached message must not be worldly (1 John 4:5, 2 Tim 4:3–4),
see Word of Faith Movement in the U.S. We tend to go by feelings and emotions, but that can lead us in the wrong direction. 

 God sent his Son into the world:
  1. So it's revealed who really knows him (1 John 4:7–8):
    "Let us love one another, for love is from God" (1 John 4:7a). "Anyone who does not love does not know God (has no experiential knowledge of God's love in his life), because God is love" (1 John 4:8), see Love in God's Attributes. 
  2. So he would show his love among us and to us, so that we could live through him (1 John 4:9–10).
  3. To be the atoning sacrifice (propitiation) for our sins (1 John 4:10),
    see God is Holy in in God's Attributes.
  4. As a reminder that we should love one another because Jesus loves us
    (1 John 4:11, 2 John 1:5). Not just those who we think deserve it.
  5. So that God's love can be completed in us.
God is the source, the originator of all love. The fact that unbelievers have the ability to love tells us that this fallen world still retains some of what it means to be made in the image of God, see The Fall of Man in The Biblical Creation and the Fall of Man.

The Holy Spirit comes to us when we give our hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ 
(1 John 4:13). The Holy Spirit takes up residence in us. It's through him that we are born again. He not only gives us a new birth, he begins to express himself in our lives, his character of God. He doesn't dictate. He is a perfect gentleman. He allows us to resist him. I can resist him from changing me, transforming me, and using me. We can grieve him. The following are evidences of the Holy Spirit working in us:
  1. We testify that Jesus is our Savior (1 John 4:14).
    It can be done in words, but also how we live our lives.
  2. We confess that Jesus is God (1 John 4:15).
    When the Bible says that Jesus is the Son of God, it means
    that he is equal with God (John 5:17–18, 10:32–33), see The Trinity.
  3. We know and rely on God's love (1 John 4:16).
    We trust Jesus in all circumstances (Rom 8:35–36, 38–39).
  4. We aren't afraid of the end-time judgment (1 John 4:17–18).
  5. In this world we are transformed to become more like Jesus (2 Cor 3:18).
  6. We love our fellow believers because Jesus first loved us and we love him:
    "We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother." (1 John 4:19–21).
None of us do this perfectly, but we can grow in it. We shouldn't feel condemned if we don't fulfill this list (Rom 8:1). The list is a reminder of how far we can reach in our Christian life.

If you believe that Jesus is Christ (Messiah), that he is the Son of God and your Savior, then you are a child of God. All people who love God the Father also love
his children (1 John 5:1, 5). To love God is to obey his commandments 
(1 John 5:2–3, 2 John 1:6), see Jesus and the Law. His commandments (which aren't the same as the Mosaic Laws of the Old Covenant described in the 
Old Testament) aren't burdensome:
  1. They are good and make life easier.
  2. We want to please God.
  3. They aren't legalistic/religious rules.
  4. We follow them because we love God.
If we pray according to God's will, he hears us (1 John 5:14–15, Eph 5:15–17).
We are to pray in faith (Mat 21:22, James 1:6). We must pray with perseverance 
(Luk 18:1–8), see The Parable of the Persistent Widow, and in obedience
(Psalm 66:18, 1 Pet 3:12). It should be submitted to God's purposes (Luk 22:42).
See also The Lord's Prayer and Ask, and it will be given to you in 
The Sermon on the Mount.

If we have a fellow believer who is living in sin, we should pray for that person 
(1 John 5:16–17), see Dealing With Sin in the Church.

Apostle John introduces himself as an Elder (2 John 1:1). Elders were used as leaders in the congregations (Acts 14:23, Tit 1:5). Elder also means old person, and John was an old person when he wrote 2 John. He wrote this letter to the chosen lady and her children, it may be to a congregation where the so-called children are members of that congregation. This way of writing is also used in the Old Testament where the expression "daughter of Zion" is used for Jerusalem or the Jewish people (Zechariah 9:9). In the New Testament, the born again believers are referred to as the "bride of Christ".

The church consists of redeemed individuals who have placed their hope in Christ for the salvation of their souls. It's not a building. It's a divine institution to be led by humble individuals, broken from pride, who fear God and seek his guidance and will. Every redeemed child of God who puts his hope in Christ for salvation has been made a member of his Church, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone (Eph 2:19–20).

Some things to look for when looking for a church to go to:
  1. A solid biblical statement of faith.
  2. Biblical and balanced worship:
    Apostle Paul wrote that everything should be done "decently and in order"
    (1 Cor 14:40). The fellowship should follow this biblical pattern.
    Not boring, just orderly.
  3. God’s word as the final authority:
    A balanced fellowship shouldn't emphasize emotional reactions and personal experiences over the word of God. Emotions and experiences are good, but God's word must always have the last word. 
  4. Healthy and stable fellowship:
    The church community should see itself as part of the larger network of the Body of Christ. Avoid a fellowship that gives you the impression that they have something that other churches don't. 
Apostle John gives examples of bad leadership in a congregation (3 John 1:9–10). 
It's a leader who:
The root of these problems is often spiritual pride which is a serious issue
for a leader in the Body of Christ. It leads to division (Rom 16:17–18).

Good leaders in a church don't tell you what to do, but they: 
  • Tell what God's word says (Heb 13:7).
  • Encourage in what God's word says. 
  • Pray with you about what God's word says.
  • Let you make your own decisions.
One reason for this is to grow and become a mature Christian. You don't grow
if you are always told what to do and are controlled in all major decisions. 

Jesus is our role model as a good leader, see The Parable of the Good Shepherd. 

Qualities of good leadership:
  • Leadership should exemplify the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22–23).
    We must know what these fruits are and expect to see them.
  • There must be individuals in the leadership who can teach God's word in an understandable and clear way that makes you feel well fed and challenged.
  • There shouldn't be undue emphasis on money and the leaders shouldn't indulge in financial extravagance. 

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