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We begin today with the study of 1 John chapter 2.
The Test of Knowing Christ
2 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
The Test of Knowing Him
3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
The first five verses of this chapter tell us Who Christ is. He is our Advocate with the Father. Jesus Who is righteous goes before the Father on our behalf, in our place. He has given Himself for us, bearing our sins and the sins of the whole world on Calvary. He has taken on our guilt and sin and shame and suffered the punishment for those sins.
When we become believers in Jesus Christ and have taken Him as our Savior, we can ask God for the forgiveness of our sins through Christ. We are now free from those sins and the death they would have brought to us. The wage of our sins is death. That death has already been paid for by Christ on our behalf. (see Romans 6:23)
WHEN YOU HAVE CHRIST AS SAVIOR
When you truly embrace Christ as your Savior, you will follow and obey His commands. Your walk and way of life will be more like His.
7 Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. 8 Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.
9He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
THE FULFILLMENT
Christ holds out to us the fulfillment of the Old Testament in Himself.
His commandment of pure love toward God and others is held up here.
LIGHT AND DARKNESS
He uses the illustration of darkness vs. light. It is aptly used as a comparison. At the Creation, God’s first word brings light from the darkness.
Now, Christ is showing us that when we are His followers, we will turn from all that was dark in our lives, and allow the light of Christ’s Love to shine forth from us into the world.
If we say we are light because we love Christ, but we still hate our brother, we are, in fact, liars.
Darkness cannot coexist with God’s Light.
Good and evil are forever two separate entities.
FREE WILL’S CHOICE
We choose either to wholeheartedly follow Christ and ask for His Holy Spirit to dwell within our spirits, or we live for the world.
The choice has always been ours to make. God gave us free will and this is the most important of all decisions we have to make.
With it comes the decision to love our brother and live in the light of Christ.
THEIR SPIRITUAL STATE
12 I write to you, little children,
Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.
13 I write to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
Because you have overcome the wicked one.
I write to you, little children,
Because you have known the Father.
14 I have written to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,
And you have overcome the wicked one.
FOR US
John writes these words to:
- to the children or new believers whose sins are forgiven,
- to those who have come to know Jesus,
- to young men who have chosen Christ over the devil,
- to all of us.
John has written these things to encourage us.
He writes to instruct us fully.
Do Not Love the World
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Jesus has told us this before.
We cannot serve God and man (see Matthew 6:24.)
Choose which one is getting your heart and energy and love.
Will you grasp at things of the world and give your life to the pursuit of what is temporary?
Or will you follow after that which is of God and for eternity?
THE CHOICE
The choice is lasting.
Make no mistake about it.
It will take your life one way or another.
If you love the things of the world, the love of God is not in you.
The things of the world are fleeting and evil and not of the Father.
The world will pass away.
It is only the one who does the will of God who will abide forever.
Deceptions of the Last Hour
18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
DENYING GOD AND THE SON
We know that there is one Antichrist who will come at the end times.
Already there are many antichrists who have come.
In other words, all those who are not following Christ and who deny that there is a Father God and that Jesus Christ is His Son are antichrists.
Whoever denies the Son doesn’t have true faith in the Father either.
ACKNOWLEDGING GOD AND THE SON
The one who acknowledges the Son also has the Father.
There can be nothing said simpler. If you deny Him, you are not of Him.
If you confess and believe in God and Jesus His Son, you will be saved.
The Trinity or Triune God (Who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) will dwell within you and with Whom you will have fellowship.
They will abide with and in you.
Let Truth Abide in You
24 Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.
26 These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. 27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
THE CHILDREN OF GOD
28 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.
What we heard from the beginning we know is true. Jesus is the Son of God and in Him we have the promise from God fulfilled. We will be forgiven our sins by God the Father through Christ’s death and we will have eternal life with God.
WHAT WE KNOW
John has written these things in warning as some others will try to deceive us. The anointing which we have received from God lives within us and we don’t need anyone to teach us that.
WE KNOW THAT OUR FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD IS TRUE!
WE ALREADY KNOW HE LIVES WITHIN US!
THE HOLY SPIRIT WITHIN US IS TEACHING US ALL THAT IS TRUE!
WE KNOW WE WILL ABIDE WITH HIM AND HE WITH US !
Lastly, we know that the day will come when Christ will again appear and we can have confidence that He will come for us as believers to take us Home with Him. We will not be ashamed at His coming if we have continued to follow and obey God.
THOSE WHO ARE HIS
Every believer knows that God and Christ are righteous and that all who practice righteousness are born of Him and are His. HALLELUJAH!
MAY THIS BE YOUR HOPE!!!
I hope that you can join us in the other lessons of 1st John. You can follow the links to any of the other lessons. Thank you again for joining. Click on any of these links to go to the next lesson: Jesus as John saw Him – I John Lesson 1, Knowing Him – 1 John Lesson 2, How Great Is The Love – 1 John Lesson 3, The Reason For Love – 1 John Lesson 4, and Faith And Love – 1 John Lesson 5.
Please leave comments below on the lessons. This will help us in future posts.