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The Powerful Message of 1 John – How to Live the Glory of God · truthunedited

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Speaker 1: Imagine a letter written nearly two thousand years ago by
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Speaker 1: an elderly man who had seen and touched Jesus with
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Speaker 1: his own hands. This man is John, the Beloved Disciple.
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Speaker 1: He writes not with complicated words or abstract ideas, but
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Speaker 1: with a heart full of love and truth. In his
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Speaker 1: first letter, John wants to show us who God truly
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Speaker 1: is and who his son Jesus is. Like a grandfather
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Speaker 1: sharing meaningful stories with his grandchildren, John shares what he saw,
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Speaker 1: heard and experienced first hand. He wants you to truly
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Speaker 1: know God, not a distant or made up God, but
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Speaker 1: the one who revealed himself in Jesus. On this journey,
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Speaker 1: John will lead us into true light, perfect love, and
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Speaker 1: a life that never ends. Let's follow in his footsteps
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Speaker 1: and discover the nature of the one True God and
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Speaker 1: his son. The old Apostle. John sat down to write
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Speaker 1: his letter. His hands, now wrinkled with age, had once
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Speaker 1: touched Jesus himself. His eyes, though weary from the years,
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Speaker 1: had looked upon the Savior face to face. Now he
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Speaker 1: shared this unique experience with people who had never had
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Speaker 1: that opportunity. What was from the beginning, what we have heard,
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Speaker 1: what we have seen with our eyes what we have
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Speaker 1: looked at and our hands have touched. Concerning the Word
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Speaker 1: of life, John wrote at the beginning of his letter
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Speaker 1: in First John one one, he wasn't talking about made
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Speaker 1: up stories or empty philosophical ideas. John spoke from personal experience.
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Speaker 1: Continuing in First John one too, he explained, and the
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Speaker 1: life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify
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Speaker 1: and proclaim to you, the eternal life which was with
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Speaker 1: the Father and was revealed to us. For John, Jesus
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Speaker 1: wasn't a myth or a legend. He was someone real,
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Speaker 1: someone he had known, walked with, and spoken to. At
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Speaker 1: the time, some false teachers were claiming that Jesus had
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Speaker 1: not truly come in a physical body. They believed matter
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Speaker 1: was evil and that God would never really become human.
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Speaker 1: But John knew the truth. He had heard jesus voice,
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Speaker 1: seen his face, touched his hands, and even leaned against
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Speaker 1: his chest during the Last Supper. When John wrote what
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Speaker 1: our hands have touched, he was saying, I touched him,
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Speaker 1: I felt his skin, his hair, the warmth of his body.
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Speaker 1: He was as real as you and me. This direct
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Speaker 1: testimony gave his message great weight. It wasn't second hand
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Speaker 1: knowledge or rumor. It was the experience of some one
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Speaker 1: who had been there. John had seen Jesus teach on
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Speaker 1: the hills of Galilee. He had watched him multiply bread
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Speaker 1: and fish to feed the crowds. He was there when
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Speaker 1: Jesus calmed the storm with a word, and most importantly,
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Speaker 1: he saw Jesus after the resurrection, proving that death had
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Speaker 1: no power over him. Why did John share all this?
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Speaker 1: He explained it himself. What we have seen and heard
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Speaker 1: we proclaimed to you also, so that you too have
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Speaker 1: fellowship with us. And indeed our fellowship is with the
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Speaker 1: Father and with his son Jesus Christ, Verse John one three.
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Speaker 1: John wanted his readers to share in this special relationship
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Speaker 1: with God in a time of confusion when many false
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Speaker 1: ideas about Jesus were spreading. John's testimony was like an anchor.
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Speaker 1: He had been with Jesus from the beginning of his
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Speaker 1: ministry all the way through to the resurrection. He saw
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Speaker 1: Jesus die on the cross and then return to life.
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Speaker 1: That first hand knowledge gave John the authority to speak
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Speaker 1: the truth about who Jesus really was. John continued his
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Speaker 1: letter with a powerful message he had heard straight from
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Speaker 1: Jesus himself. This is the message we have heard from
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Speaker 1: him and announced to you, that God is light, and
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Speaker 1: in him there is no darkness at all, he wrote
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Speaker 1: in First John one five. It was a simple statement,
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Speaker 1: but a profound one. In it, John revealed something foundational
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Speaker 1: about the name of God. When John said God is light,
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Speaker 1: he wasn't just using poetic language. He was sharing an
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Speaker 1: essential truth about God's character. Light reveals what is hidden.
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Speaker 1: It shows things as they really are, in the same
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Speaker 1: way God is completely true and reveals reality as it is.
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Speaker 1: Light also represents purity. When something is exposed to the light,
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Speaker 1: any stain or flaw becomes visible. John said that in
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Speaker 1: God there is no darkness, not even a hint. He
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Speaker 1: is perfectly pure, without any trace of evil or falsehood.
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Speaker 1: Like the sun on a clear day, he shines without
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Speaker 1: anything to obscure him. After revealing this truth, John showed
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Speaker 1: how it should affect the lives of his readers. If
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Speaker 1: we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet
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Speaker 1: walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth,
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Speaker 1: he explained in First John one six. In other words,
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Speaker 1: if God is light, his children cannot live in the shadows.
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Speaker 1: John went on to explain what it means to walk
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Speaker 1: in the light. But if we walk in the light
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Speaker 1: as He himself is in the light, we have fellowship
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Speaker 1: with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son
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Speaker 1: cleanses us from all sin. First John one seven, walking
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Speaker 1: in the light doesn't mean being perfect. It means being
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Speaker 1: honest with God, with others, and with ourselves. God's light
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Speaker 1: doesn't mix with the darkness of sin. They are opposites
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Speaker 1: that cannot coexist. When light arrives, darkness disappears. That's why
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Speaker 1: any one who lives with God cannot live a life
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Speaker 1: of lies and wickedness. At the same time, John saw
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Speaker 1: this clearly in the life of Jesus. The Master walked
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Speaker 1: in the light, always speaking the truth even when it
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Speaker 1: was hard. He was transparent, sincere, and lived exactly what
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Speaker 1: he preached. He never wore a mask or pretended to
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Speaker 1: be someone he wasn't. Living in God's light means two
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Speaker 1: powerful things, according to John. First, it brings true fellowship
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Speaker 1: among believers. We have fellowship with one another. Second, it
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Speaker 1: brings ongoing cleansing through the blood of Jesus. It's like
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Speaker 1: standing under a waterfall that continually washes away any dirt
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Speaker 1: that appears. God's light doesn't just expose sin. It also
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Speaker 1: guides our steps in the right direction, Like a lantern
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Speaker 1: on a dark path. God's nature lights the way so
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Speaker 1: we don't stumble. That light shows us how to live.
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Speaker 1: John had seen that light shine perfectly in Jesus. In
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Speaker 1: John eight twelve, Jesus had declared I am the light
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Speaker 1: of the world. The one who follows me will not
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Speaker 1: walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.
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Speaker 1: For John to know Jesus was to know that divine
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Speaker 1: light in human form. Although God is perfect light, John
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Speaker 1: understood that bel leavers still struggle with sin with realism
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Speaker 1: and compassion. He addressed this tension in First John one eight.
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Speaker 1: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
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Speaker 1: and the truth is not in us. John wasn't expecting
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Speaker 1: immediate perfection, but rather honesty. Some in John's community were
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Speaker 1: pretending to be beyond sin. Perhaps they thought that once
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Speaker 1: they became Christians, they no longer had to worry about
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Speaker 1: their flaws. John corrected this dangerous thinking. Denying sin doesn't
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Speaker 1: make it go away. It only blinds us to our
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Speaker 1: need for God. But John didn't leave his readers without hope.
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Speaker 1: In first John one nine, he offered the remedy if
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Speaker 1: we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
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Speaker 1: forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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Speaker 1: Sincere confession always meets divine forgiveness, there's no need to
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Speaker 1: hide our faults or pretend they don't exist. John went
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Speaker 1: even further in verse John one ten. If we say
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Speaker 1: we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and
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Speaker 1: his word is not in us. Calling God a liar
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Speaker 1: is no small thing. God's word clearly states that every
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Speaker 1: one sins. Denying that is rejecting divine truth. After establishing
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Speaker 1: the reality of sin, John presented the great solution in
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Speaker 1: verse John two one, My little children, I am writing
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Speaker 1: these things to you so that you may not sin.
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Speaker 1: But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with
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Speaker 1: the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous. Notice how John calls
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Speaker 1: his readers my little children, expressing his fatherly love for them.
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Speaker 1: What a comfort to know that Jesus is our advocate.
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Speaker 1: In the Roman legal system of that time, an advocate
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Speaker 1: would literally stand beside the accused before the judge, in
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Speaker 1: the same way Jesus stands beside before the Father, pleading
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Speaker 1: our case. But Jesus is no ordinary advocate. John calls
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Speaker 1: him the righteous one. He has the right to defend
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Speaker 1: us because he is perfectly righteous without sin. It's like
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Speaker 1: having the most respected Supreme Court judge as your personal defender.
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Speaker 1: John explains why Jesus can be our advocate in First
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Speaker 1: John two to two. He is the propitiation for our sins,
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Speaker 1: and not for ours only, but also for the sins
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Speaker 1: of the whole world. The word propitiation means a sacrifice
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Speaker 1: that satisfies justice and removes wrath. Jesus doesn't just defend us,
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Speaker 1: He paid our debt. Jesus sacrifice has a universal reach.
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Speaker 1: John clearly says it is for the whole world. That
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Speaker 1: doesn't mean everyone will automatically be saved, but that jesus
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Speaker 1: work is sufficient for anyone who believes, regardless of nation, race,
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Speaker 1: or background. John had stood at the foot of the cross.
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Speaker 1: He had seen when Jesus suffer and die. He had
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Speaker 1: heard his final words, it is finished. He knew that
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Speaker 1: this sacrifice wasn't just a display of love. It was
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Speaker 1: the ultimate payment for sin, a perfect offering that fully
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Speaker 1: satisfied divine justice. Because of that sacrifice, Jesus can now
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Speaker 1: be our perfect advocate. He doesn't minimize our guilt or
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Speaker 1: make excuses for our sins. Instead, he holds out his
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Speaker 1: pierced hands as evidence of the price He paid for us.
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Speaker 1: Later in his letter, John revealed another fundamental truth about
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Speaker 1: the nature of God. In First John four to eight,
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Speaker 1: he wrote, anyone who does not love does not know God,
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Speaker 1: because God is love, and he reinforced this idea in
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Speaker 1: First John four sixteen. God is love, and whoever abides
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Speaker 1: in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
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Speaker 1: God is love, three simple words that change everything. This
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Speaker 1: isn't just one attribute among many. It's the very essence
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Speaker 1: of who God is. Just as God is Light showed
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Speaker 1: us his perfect purity, God is love reveals his heart.
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Speaker 1: John didn't arrive at this conclusion through abstract philosophy. He
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Speaker 1: saw God's love embodied in Jesus Christ. In First John
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Speaker 1: four nine. He explained in this the love of God
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Speaker 1: was made manifest among us, that God sent his only
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Speaker 1: son into the world so that we might live through him.
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Speaker 1: God's love didn't remain a distant feeling or a beautiful idea.
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Speaker 1: It took human form in Jesus, the eternal son of God,
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Speaker 1: left the glory of heaven and entered our broken world.
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Speaker 1: He limited himself to a human body. He experienced hunger, thirst, fatigue,
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Speaker 1: and temptation, all because of love. But God's love went
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Speaker 1: even further, as John describes in First John four ten.
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Speaker 1: In this is love, not that we have loved God,
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Speaker 1: but that He loved us and sent his son to
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Speaker 1: be the propitiation for our sins. True love doesn't wait
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Speaker 1: to be loved. First. God loved us when we were
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Speaker 1: still his enemies, when we had nothing attractive or deserving
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Speaker 1: about us. This love isn't just a warm feeling. It's
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Speaker 1: tangible action. God didn't just say he loved us. He
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Speaker 1: demonstrated it through the ultimate sacrifice of his son, as
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Speaker 1: Jesus taught, greater love has no one than this, that
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Speaker 1: someone laid down his life for his friends, John fifteen thirteen.
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Speaker 1: John saw this love in action throughout jesus ministry. He
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Speaker 1: saw Jesus wash the feet of his disciples, including Judas,
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Speaker 1: who would betray him. He watched as Jesus healed the
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Speaker 1: high priest servant who had come to arrest him. He
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Speaker 1: witnessed Jesus from the cross, asking the Father to forgive
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Speaker 1: his executioners. This divine love creates a responsibility for Jesus' followers,
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Speaker 1: as John explains in First John four eleven, beloved. If
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Speaker 1: God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
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Speaker 1: The love we receive must flow to others. We can't
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Speaker 1: keep it to ourselves. John went further showing the inseparable
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Speaker 1: link between loving God and loving others in First John
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Speaker 1: for twenty twenty one. If anyone says I love God
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Speaker 1: and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he
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Speaker 1: who does not love his brother whom he has seen,
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Speaker 1: cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this
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Speaker 1: commandment we have from him, whoever loves God must also
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Speaker 1: love his brother. John's logic is clear and direct. If
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Speaker 1: we can't love the people we see, how can we
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Speaker 1: claim to love the God we don't see. Love for
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Speaker 1: others is the visible proof of love for God. One
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Speaker 1: cannot exist without the other. John had heard Jesus come
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Speaker 1: up the entire lore in two commandments, love God and
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Speaker 1: love your neighbor. Now he showed that these two loves
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Speaker 1: are so deeply connected that they are inseparable, like two
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Speaker 1: sides of the same coin. The love that John describes
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Speaker 1: is not a fleeting feeling or a shallow emotion. It's
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Speaker 1: an active commitment to the well being of others. It
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Speaker 1: means choosing what's best for someone, even when it comes
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Speaker 1: at a cost. It's a small scale reflection of the
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Speaker 1: love God showed through Jesus. How can we know if
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Speaker 1: someone truly knows God? This question lingered in the minds
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Speaker 1: of John's community. Many claimed to know God, but their
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Speaker 1: lives told a different story. With the wisdom of someone
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Speaker 1: who had walked with Jesus for years, John offered a simple,
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Speaker 1: clear test infer John two three. We know that we
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Speaker 1: have come to know Him if we keep his commands.
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Speaker 1: It wasn't about warm feet, filings, or exciting spiritual experiences.
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Speaker 1: It was something practical, something anyone could examine obedience. In
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Speaker 1: fir John twoy four, John was even more direct. Whoever
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Speaker 1: says I know Him but does not do what he
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Speaker 1: commands is a liar, and the truth is not in
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Speaker 1: that person strong words but necessary. Knowing God isn't just
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Speaker 1: a thought in the mind. It's a transformation that changes
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Speaker 1: how we live. In the next verse one John two five,
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Speaker 1: John connected obedience to love. But if anyone obeys his word,
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Speaker 1: love for God is truly made complete in them. This
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Speaker 1: is how we know we are in him. Obedience doesn't
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Speaker 1: stem from fear, but from a growing, maturing love in
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Speaker 1: the heart of the disciple. John got to the heart
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Speaker 1: of it in First John two six. Whoever claims to
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Speaker 1: live in him must live as Jesus did. Jesus is
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Speaker 1: the perfect model of obedience. He didn't just teach the
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Speaker 1: way he was the way his words and actions were
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Speaker 1: always in perfect harmony. Jesus had demonstrated this perfect obedience
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Speaker 1: throughout his earthly life, even as a child. In Luke
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Speaker 1: two forty nine, he said, didn't you know I had
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Speaker 1: to be in my father's house? Years later, in the
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Speaker 1: garden of gethsemone Matthew twenty six thirty nine, facing the
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Speaker 1: suffering ahead, he prayed, not as I will, but as
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Speaker 1: you will. Jesus's obedience wasn't about following rules against his will.
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Speaker 1: It was the natural result of his love for the Father.
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Speaker 1: As he said in John four thirty four, my food
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Speaker 1: is to do the will of him who sent me,
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Speaker 1: and to finish his work. For Jesus. Obedience wasn't a burden,
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Speaker 1: It was a joy, like eating when you're hungry. In
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Speaker 1: his letter, John also spoke of a command that is
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Speaker 1: both old and new. In First John two seven to eight,
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Speaker 1: he wrote, dear friends, I am not writing you a
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Speaker 1: new command, but an old one, which you have had
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Speaker 1: since the beginning. Yet I am writing you a new command.
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Speaker 1: Its truth is seen in him and in you, because
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Speaker 1: the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.
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Speaker 1: What was this command that was both old and new?
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Speaker 1: John didn't have to explain. His readers knew it was
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Speaker 1: the command Jesus highlighted in John thirteen thirty four as
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Speaker 1: the summary of all others love one another as I
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Speaker 1: have loved you, so you must love one another. This
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Speaker 1: command was old because love for one's neighbor had always
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Speaker 1: been part of the law of Moses. But it was
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Speaker 1: new in the way Jesus lived and taught it, a
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Speaker 1: love willing to lay down one's life for others. It
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Speaker 1: was also new because the true light Jesus had shown
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Speaker 1: what it looked like in full. Obeying God's commands is
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Speaker 1: not a way to earn divine favour, but the natural
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Speaker 1: response of someone who has already experienced God's love, like
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Speaker 1: a child who obeys not out of fear, but out
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Speaker 1: of trust and the knowledge that they are deeply loved.
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Speaker 1: John had seen in Jesus the perfect example of this
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Speaker 1: love driven obedience. In John fourteen fifteen, he had heard
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Speaker 1: Jesus say, if you love me, keep my commands. Now,
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Speaker 1: as a spiritual father, he passed this truth on to
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Speaker 1: the next generation of believers. The mark of a true disciple, then,
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Speaker 1: is obedience that flows from love, not a bced or
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Speaker 1: legalistic obedience, but a natural response to the love God
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Speaker 1: has poured into our hearts. We don't follow rules to
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Speaker 1: be loved. We follow because we already are. After speaking
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Speaker 1: of obedience, John introduced a second test for identifying a
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Speaker 1: true disciple, love for fellow believers. With straightforward words, he
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Speaker 1: showed that we cannot separate our relationship with God from
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Speaker 1: our relationship with others. In First John two nine, he wrote,
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Speaker 1: anyone who claims to be in the light but hates
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Speaker 1: a brother or sister is still in the darkness. There's
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Speaker 1: no middle ground. We either walk in the light of
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Speaker 1: love or in the darkness of hate. The two can't coexist,
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Speaker 1: just as light and darkness can't occupy the same space.
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Speaker 1: John continued in First John two ten to eleven. Anyone
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Speaker 1: who loves their brother and sister lives in the light,
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Speaker 1: and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.
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Speaker 1: But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in
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Speaker 1: the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do
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Speaker 1: not know where they are going because the darkness has
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Speaker 1: blinded them. Love for others isn't just a nice feeling,
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Speaker 1: it's something visible in concrete actions. Later in the letter,
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Speaker 1: in First John three p. Seventeen, John gave a practical example.
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Speaker 1: If any one has material possessions and sees a brother
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Speaker 1: or sister in need, but has no pity on them,
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Speaker 1: how can the love of God be in that person?
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Speaker 1: John's question was rhetorical but powerful. If we see someone hungry, cold,
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Speaker 1: or homeless, and we have the means to help, but
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Speaker 1: choose not to, how can we claim God's love is
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Speaker 1: in us? John didn't leave room for excuses or empty explanations.
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Speaker 1: In First John three eighteen, he was even more direct,
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Speaker 1: Dear children, let us not love with words or speech,
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Speaker 1: but with actions and in truth. Pretty words and empty
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Speaker 1: promises aren't enough True love shows up in what we do,
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Speaker 1: just as John had written in John three sixteen, for
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Speaker 1: God so loved the world that he gave his one
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Speaker 1: and only son. God's love was demonstrated through concrete action.
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Speaker 1: To gil illustrate the contrast between the way of love
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Speaker 1: and the way of hate, John used two opposing examples,
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Speaker 1: Cain and Christ. In verse John three twelve, he wrote,
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Speaker 1: do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil
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Speaker 1: one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him?
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Speaker 1: Because his own actions were evil and his brothers were righteous. Cain,
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Speaker 1: the first murderer in history, killed his brother Abel out
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Speaker 1: of envy. His deeds were evil, and he couldn't stand
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Speaker 1: to see his brother's righteousness. Hate drove Cain to murder
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Speaker 1: and into separation from God. It's the perfect example of
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Speaker 1: the path of darkness John warned about. In contrast, John
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Speaker 1: pointed to the supreme example of love in verse John
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Speaker 1: three fourteen to fifteen. We know that we have passed
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Speaker 1: from death to life because we love our brothers. Any
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Speaker 1: One who does not love remains in death. Anyone who
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Speaker 1: hates a brother or sister is a murderer. And you
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Speaker 1: know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
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Speaker 1: John then reached the highest point, the perfect model of
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Speaker 1: love in First John three sixteen. This is how we
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Speaker 1: know what love is. Jesus Christ laid down his life
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Speaker 1: for us, and we ought to lay down our lives
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Speaker 1: for our brothers and sisters. While Cain took his brother's life,
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Speaker 1: Christ gave his own life for us. One is the
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Speaker 1: portrait of hatred, the other the image of perfect love.
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Speaker 1: John had seen that love in action. He had stood
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Speaker 1: at the foot of the cross, where Jesus, in his
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Speaker 1: moment of greatest pain, still cared for others, asking forgiveness
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Speaker 1: for his executioners, and making arrangements for his mother. He
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Speaker 1: had seen Jesus wash the disciple's feet, even knowing one
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Speaker 1: would betray him and another would deny him. On many occasions,
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Speaker 1: John had heard Jesus teach about love for the brethren.
22:56
Speaker 1: In John thirteen thirty four to thirty five, Jesus said
22:59
Speaker 1: a new command. I give you love one another as
23:03
Speaker 1: I have loved you, So you must love one another.
23:05
Speaker 1: By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples
23:08
Speaker 1: if you love one another. Now John was passing that
23:11
Speaker 1: teaching on the love John describes is not weak or sentimental.
23:15
Speaker 1: It's strong enough to face death. It's practical enough to
23:19
Speaker 1: open the wallet and share resources. It's honest enough to
23:22
Speaker 1: go beyond beautiful words and show up in concrete actions.
23:27
Speaker 1: After the tests of obedience and love, John introduced a
23:30
Speaker 1: third test for identifying the true disciple, the correct confession
23:35
Speaker 1: about Jesus Christ. The truth about Jesus was under attack,
23:39
Speaker 1: and John didn't stay silent. In First John four one,
23:43
Speaker 1: John warned, dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but
23:47
Speaker 1: test the spirits to see whether they are from God,
23:49
Speaker 1: because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
23:53
Speaker 1: This wasn't about being suspicious, it was about being wise.
23:57
Speaker 1: Not every message or teacher who talks about spiritual things
24:01
Speaker 1: is actually from God. But how can we know who
24:04
Speaker 1: speaks the truth? John gave a clear standard in First
24:08
Speaker 1: John four to two three. This is how you can
24:11
Speaker 1: recognize the spirit of God. Every spirit that acknowledges that
24:15
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.
24:19
Speaker 1: But every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not
24:22
Speaker 1: from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which
24:26
Speaker 1: you have heard is coming, and even now is already
24:30
Speaker 1: in the world. The test was simple, what do they
24:33
Speaker 1: say about Jesus in John's day? Some teachers claim that
24:37
Speaker 1: Jesus only appeared to have a human body, but wasn't
24:40
Speaker 1: truly human. Others denied that the man Jesus was the Christ,
24:45
Speaker 1: the son of God. These teachings struck at the very
24:49
Speaker 1: heart of the Christian faith. Two John, the truth about
24:53
Speaker 1: Jesus was non negotiable. Jesus Christ is fully God and
24:58
Speaker 1: fully man. He came in flesh. Any teaching that denied
25:02
Speaker 1: this truth wasn't from God, but from the spirit of
25:04
Speaker 1: the Antichrist, the spirit that opposes Christ and his work.
25:09
Speaker 1: John wasn't making up this test. He remembered the moment
25:12
Speaker 1: recorded in Matthew sixteen sixteen seventeen when Peter confessed, you
25:17
Speaker 1: are the Christ, the son of the Living God, and
25:21
Speaker 1: Jesus replied, blessed are you Simon's son of Jonah. For
25:25
Speaker 1: this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood,
25:29
Speaker 1: but by my Father in Heaven. The true confession about
25:32
Speaker 1: Jesus comes by divine revelation. The false teachers appeared spiritual
25:37
Speaker 1: and intelligent. They promised secret, superior knowledge. But John showed
25:42
Speaker 1: that however impressive they seemed, they were wrong on the
25:45
Speaker 1: most important point, the truth about Jesus Christ. Denying that
25:51
Speaker 1: Jesus came in human flesh wasn't just a minor doctrinal error.
25:55
Speaker 1: It was a denial of redemption itself. If Jesus were
26:00
Speaker 1: aren't truly human, he couldn't die in our place. If
26:03
Speaker 1: he weren't truly God, his death wouldn't have the power
26:06
Speaker 1: to save us. John was deeply concerned about these false
26:10
Speaker 1: teachings because they weren't just abstract ideas. They affected real lives.
26:16
Speaker 1: Wrong doctrine leads to wrong living. What we believe about
26:21
Speaker 1: Jesus determines how we live for Jesus. In First John
26:25
Speaker 1: five one, John stated, everyone who believes that Jesus is
26:29
Speaker 1: the Christ is born of God. The correct confession is
26:32
Speaker 1: not merely about saying the right words. It's about true faith,
26:37
Speaker 1: a faith that transforms a person from the inside out.
26:41
Speaker 1: Throughout his letter, John repeatedly affirmed this essential truth about Jesus.
26:46
Speaker 1: In Firse John four fifteen, he wrote, if anyone acknowledges
26:51
Speaker 1: that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in
26:54
Speaker 1: them and they in God. This confession isn't just with
26:58
Speaker 1: the lips, but from the heart, resulting in a changed life.
27:03
Speaker 1: John knew that the truth about Jesus was more than
27:06
Speaker 1: just sound doctrine. It was the key to eternal life.
27:11
Speaker 1: In John twenty thirty one, he had written the purpose
27:14
Speaker 1: of his gospel, but these are written that you may
27:17
Speaker 1: believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
27:21
Speaker 1: and that by believing, you may have life in his name.
27:24
Speaker 1: In the fourth and final test for identifying the true Disciple,
27:29
Speaker 1: John spoke of victory over the world. The true disciple
27:33
Speaker 1: not only obeys, loves, and confesses correctly, but also overcomes
27:38
Speaker 1: the system of values that opposes God. In First John
27:42
Speaker 1: five four to five, John wrote, for every one born
27:46
Speaker 1: of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that
27:49
Speaker 1: has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it
27:52
Speaker 1: that overcomes the world only the one who believes that
27:56
Speaker 1: Jesus is the Son of God. Victory doesn't come from
28:00
Speaker 1: from our own strength or will power, but from faith
28:03
Speaker 1: in Jesus Christ. This victory isn't just for a few
28:07
Speaker 1: super Christians. It's for every one born of God. When
28:11
Speaker 1: we're born into God's family, we also receive the power
28:14
Speaker 1: to overcome the world. Victory is part of our inheritance
28:19
Speaker 1: as God's children. But what does it mean to overcome
28:22
Speaker 1: the world? John explained in First John two fifteen seventeen.
28:27
Speaker 1: Do not love the world or anything in the world.
28:31
Speaker 1: If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father
28:34
Speaker 1: is not in them. For everything in the world, the
28:37
Speaker 1: lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and
28:40
Speaker 1: the pride of life comes not from the Father, but
28:44
Speaker 1: from the world. The world and its desires pass away,
28:48
Speaker 1: but whoever does the will of God lives forever. The
28:51
Speaker 1: world referred to here is not the planet Earth or
28:55
Speaker 1: the people whom God loves so deeply. It's the system
28:58
Speaker 1: of values and desires that stands in opposition to God.
29:03
Speaker 1: John identified three aspects of this system. The lust of
29:07
Speaker 1: the flesh uncontrolled physical desires, the lust of the eyes,
29:13
Speaker 1: the craving to possess what we see, and the pride
29:16
Speaker 1: of life the arrogance rooted in achievements and possessions. These
29:20
Speaker 1: three enemies attempt to pull us away from God. The
29:24
Speaker 1: lust of the flesh urges us to fulfill every desire
29:28
Speaker 1: without restraint. The lust of the eyes stirs a constant
29:32
Speaker 1: longing for more the pride of life deceives us into
29:36
Speaker 1: thinking we don't need God, that we are self sufficient.
29:40
Speaker 1: John reminded us that all of this is fleeting. In
29:43
Speaker 1: verse John two seventeen, he highlighted the contrast the world
29:48
Speaker 1: is passing away and also its lusts, but the one
29:51
Speaker 1: who does the will of God lives forever. What the
29:55
Speaker 1: world offers is temporary, but what God gives lusts for
30:01
Speaker 1: Victory over the world doesn't mean isolating ourselves or rejecting
30:06
Speaker 1: all that is good in God's creation. It means not
30:09
Speaker 1: letting the world's values shape our choices and priorities. It's
30:13
Speaker 1: about choosing God's will over selfish desires, even when that
30:18
Speaker 1: goes against the cultural current. John reassured believers that divine
30:23
Speaker 1: protection is present in this battle. In First John SHAVAIV.
30:28
Speaker 1: Eighteen to nineteen, he wrote, we know that anyone born
30:32
Speaker 1: of God does not keep on sinning. The one who
30:35
Speaker 1: was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil
30:37
Speaker 1: One cannot harm them. We know that we are children
30:41
Speaker 1: of God and that the whole world is under the
30:44
Speaker 1: control of the evil one. Believers live in a world
30:47
Speaker 1: under the influence of evil, but they are not abandoned.
30:51
Speaker 1: The one who was born of God, Jesus, Christ, Gods,
30:55
Speaker 1: the child of God. The evil One cannot touch them
30:59
Speaker 1: in the sense that he cannot snatch them out of
31:02
Speaker 1: God's and or separate them from God's love. But this
31:06
Speaker 1: protection doesn't exempt us from the fight. Victory by faith
31:09
Speaker 1: isn't automatic or passive. It's a daily battle. John saw
31:14
Speaker 1: this struggle in jesus life. He faced every temptation the
31:18
Speaker 1: world could offer, yet remained without sin. I have overcome
31:22
Speaker 1: the world, Jesus said in John sixteen thirty three, showing
31:26
Speaker 1: the way for his followers. The values of the world
31:29
Speaker 1: are seductive, and the pressure to conform is strong, But
31:33
Speaker 1: the true disciple understands that the world and its desires
31:37
Speaker 1: are passing away. Why trade the eternal for the temporary.
31:41
Speaker 1: Why choose what will soon fade over what lasts forever.
31:45
Speaker 1: A disciple's victory over the world isn't arrogant or boastful.
31:49
Speaker 1: It's the result of faith in Jesus, who has already
31:53
Speaker 1: overcome the world on our behalf. It's the firm assurance
31:57
Speaker 1: that we belong to God even while living in a
31:59
Speaker 1: word world ruled by the evil one. John's letter reached
32:04
Speaker 1: a beautiful turning point. After speaking about the nature of
32:08
Speaker 1: God and the marks of a true disciple, he gazed
32:11
Speaker 1: in wonder at the miracle that takes place when someone
32:15
Speaker 1: becomes a child of God. In First John three to one,
32:19
Speaker 1: he wrote, with awe, see what great love the Father
32:24
Speaker 1: has lavished on us, that we should be called children
32:28
Speaker 1: of God, and that is what we are. It's as
32:31
Speaker 1: if John paused, looked at this truth from every angle
32:34
Speaker 1: and said, do you realize what this means? Children of
32:38
Speaker 1: God us? This wasn't a state as humans could earn.
32:43
Speaker 1: It wasn't a title they could achieve. It was a
32:46
Speaker 1: gift born out of the Father's great love. The same
32:50
Speaker 1: idea appears in other parts of the New Testament, like
32:53
Speaker 1: in Ephesians, where Paul said we were by nature children
32:58
Speaker 1: of wrath. Now because of the Father's love, we are
33:02
Speaker 1: called and truly are children of God. John continued in
33:06
Speaker 1: First John three two, dear friends, now we are children
33:10
Speaker 1: of God. And what we will be has not yet
33:13
Speaker 1: been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,
33:16
Speaker 1: we shall be like him, for we shall see him
33:19
Speaker 1: as he is. A transformation had already begun. Now we
33:24
Speaker 1: are children of God. And another was still to come,
33:27
Speaker 1: we shall be like him. This hope of one day
33:31
Speaker 1: being fully like Christ had a practical impact on the present,
33:35
Speaker 1: As John explained in first John three to three, all
33:38
Speaker 1: who have this hope in Him purify themselves just as
33:42
Speaker 1: He is pure. The hope of becoming like Jesus changes
33:46
Speaker 1: the way we live today. Being a child of God
33:49
Speaker 1: means receiving a new nature with new characteristics. It's like
33:53
Speaker 1: a seed planted in the ground, already beginning to grow
33:57
Speaker 1: and show glimpses of the fully mature place it will become.
34:01
Speaker 1: The child begins to resemble the Father. John explained more
34:05
Speaker 1: about this new nature in verse John three nine. No
34:09
Speaker 1: one who is born of God will continue to sin
34:12
Speaker 1: because God's seed remains in them. They cannot go on
34:15
Speaker 1: sinning because they have been born of God. The image
34:19
Speaker 1: of the seed is powerful. Just like an apple seed
34:23
Speaker 1: can't produce an orange tree, God's seed in us cannot
34:26
Speaker 1: produce a life of sin. This new nature is completely
34:30
Speaker 1: different from the old one. In verse John three six,
34:34
Speaker 1: John was emphatic, no one who lives in Him keeps
34:37
Speaker 1: on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either
34:41
Speaker 1: seen him or known him. John wasn't saying a child
34:45
Speaker 1: of God never commits a single act of sin. He
34:47
Speaker 1: had already addressed that in verse John one eight two ten.
34:52
Speaker 1: What he meant is that a child of God cannot
34:54
Speaker 1: live in a continuous pattern of sin. The contrast was
34:58
Speaker 1: sharp in verse John three seven eight. Dear children, do
35:02
Speaker 1: not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does
35:05
Speaker 1: what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
35:09
Speaker 1: The one who does what is sinful is of the devil,
35:13
Speaker 1: because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The
35:16
Speaker 1: reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the
35:19
Speaker 1: devil's work. Being born of God creates a total incompatibility
35:25
Speaker 1: between the new nature and the ongoing practice of sin.
35:29
Speaker 1: It's like oil and water. They don't mix, not because
35:32
Speaker 1: the child of God is perfect in themselves, but because
35:35
Speaker 1: the divine nature within them rejects sin. The transformation from
35:40
Speaker 1: children of wrath to children of God is so deep
35:44
Speaker 1: that it reshapes a person's most basic desires. What once
35:48
Speaker 1: seemed attractive now repulses, What once felt dull now brings joy.
35:54
Speaker 1: The heart of stone is replaced with a heart of flesh,
35:57
Speaker 1: tender to God's will. But even with this new nature,
36:01
Speaker 1: God's children still lived in bodies subject to weakness and temptation.
36:05
Speaker 1: That's why John spoke of the purifying hope, the certainty
36:10
Speaker 1: that one day we would be fully like Christ. This
36:13
Speaker 1: hope wasn't a vague dream or a pious wish. It
36:16
Speaker 1: was a certainty grounded in God's promises. In First John
36:20
Speaker 1: three to two, John used the word we know there
36:24
Speaker 1: was assurance. One day, when Christ appears in his glory,
36:28
Speaker 1: we will be transformed to be like him, not just
36:32
Speaker 1: superficially similar, but alike in nature, though still creatures, not
36:36
Speaker 1: the creator. The reason for this complete transformation, for we
36:41
Speaker 1: shall see Him as he is. Seeing God in his
36:45
Speaker 1: full glory would completely change us like Moses, who came
36:49
Speaker 1: down from the mountain with his face shining after encountering
36:52
Speaker 1: God's glory. But to an even greater degree. The vision
36:57
Speaker 1: of Christ will make us like Christ. Until that day comes,
37:01
Speaker 1: the hope of this future transformation is already producing change
37:05
Speaker 1: in our present lives. Everyone who has this hope in
37:09
Speaker 1: him purifies himself. John wrote, Christian hope isn't an escape
37:14
Speaker 1: from reality, but a force that transforms it. It's not
37:18
Speaker 1: a dream that makes us neglect the present but a
37:20
Speaker 1: vision that inspires us to live differently. Now, the purification
37:27
Speaker 1: John spoke of wasn't just about avoiding certain sinful behaviors,
37:32
Speaker 1: but about actively seeking to be like Christ in thought, word,
37:36
Speaker 1: and deed. It's a continuous process, not a one time event.
37:40
Speaker 1: Day after day, the child of God seeks to rid
37:43
Speaker 1: themselves of everything that's contrary to Christ's nature. What's the
37:48
Speaker 1: standard for this purification? Just as he is pure, Christ
37:53
Speaker 1: is the perfect model. His purity isn't merely the absence
37:58
Speaker 1: of evil, but the fullness of goodness. Not just not
38:01
Speaker 1: doing wrong but actively doing what is right. It means
38:05
Speaker 1: not only avoiding lies but embracing truth, not merely fleeing
38:09
Speaker 1: hatred but cultivating love. Thus, being born of God produces
38:14
Speaker 1: a new nature, one that's incompatible with sin and fueled
38:18
Speaker 1: by the hope of one day being completely like Christ.
38:21
Speaker 1: It's a real, visible and progressive transformation that will culminate
38:27
Speaker 1: in final glorification when Christ returns. After speaking of this
38:31
Speaker 1: new nature, John turned to another wonderful aspect of the
38:35
Speaker 1: Christian life, the assurance of eternal life. In a world
38:41
Speaker 1: full of doubt and uncertainty, John wanted his little children
38:46
Speaker 1: to have confidence in their salvation. In burst John five
38:52
Speaker 1: eleven to twelve, John declared, and this is the testimony.
38:56
Speaker 1: God has given us eternal life. And this life is
38:59
Speaker 1: in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life. Whoever
39:04
Speaker 1: does not have the Son of God does not have life.
39:07
Speaker 1: The message was clear and direct. Eternal life was not
39:11
Speaker 1: something to be attained in the future, but a gift
39:14
Speaker 1: already received. God has given us eternal life, past tense,
39:21
Speaker 1: completed action. This eternal life wasn't some abstract idea or
39:27
Speaker 1: vague promise. It was in his son, in Jesus Christ.
39:33
Speaker 1: Whoever had Jesus had eternal life. Whoever didn't have Jesus
39:37
Speaker 1: didn't have it. It was as simple as that eternal
39:40
Speaker 1: life was not something separate from Jesus, but inseparably linked
39:44
Speaker 1: to him. But how could one be sure of this gift?
39:48
Speaker 1: John spoke of a threefold testimony that confirmed this truth.
39:51
Speaker 1: In First John five six to eight, he wrote, this
39:55
Speaker 1: is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ.
39:59
Speaker 1: He did not come back water only, but by water
40:02
Speaker 1: and blood. And it is the spirit who testifies, because
40:05
Speaker 1: the spirit is the truth. For there are three that
40:09
Speaker 1: testify the Spirit, The water and the blood, and the
40:13
Speaker 1: three are in agreement. This threefold testimony, the Spirit, the water,
40:19
Speaker 1: and the blood confirmed the reality of eternal life in Christ.
40:25
Speaker 1: The Spirit is the Holy Spirit who inwardly bears witness
40:30
Speaker 1: to the believer that they are a child of God.
40:33
Speaker 1: As Paul explained in Romans eight sixteen, the Spirit himself
40:37
Speaker 1: testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.
40:42
Speaker 1: The water and blood likely refer to jesus baptism and crucifixion.
40:47
Speaker 1: The water of the Jordan River, where Jesus was baptized,
40:51
Speaker 1: marked the beginning of his public ministry. The blood of Calvary,
40:55
Speaker 1: where he was crucified, marked the climax of his redemptive words.
41:00
Speaker 1: Together they encompass the entire scope of Christ's saving mission.
41:05
Speaker 1: These three, the Spirit, the water, and the blood, are
41:09
Speaker 1: in agreement, testifying that Jesus is the Christ, the Son
41:13
Speaker 1: of God, and that in him we have eternal life.
41:16
Speaker 1: John continued in First John five nine or ten. We
41:20
Speaker 1: accept human testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it
41:25
Speaker 1: is the testimony of God which He has given about
41:28
Speaker 1: his son. Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts
41:32
Speaker 1: this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him
41:36
Speaker 1: out to be a liar because they have not believed
41:39
Speaker 1: the testimony God has given about his son. If we
41:43
Speaker 1: accept human testimony in important matters like in a court room,
41:48
Speaker 1: how much more should we accept God's testimony. God's testimony
41:53
Speaker 1: is absolutely trustworthy. He cannot lie or deceive. What he
41:57
Speaker 1: says is final truth. And what is this testimony of God.
42:02
Speaker 1: It's that his son Jesus Christ is the savior of
42:05
Speaker 1: the world and that in him we have eternal life.
42:09
Speaker 1: To reject this testimony is to call God a liar,
42:12
Speaker 1: a serious and dangerous accusation. John made it clear that
42:16
Speaker 1: eternal life was not just a future hope, but a
42:19
Speaker 1: present reality. In Firse John five point thirteen, he explained
42:24
Speaker 1: the purpose of his letter. I write these things to
42:28
Speaker 1: you who believe in the name of the Son of God,
42:31
Speaker 1: so that you may know that you have eternal life.
42:34
Speaker 1: Note the present tense. You have eternal life, not you
42:38
Speaker 1: will have in the future, but you have now. This
42:42
Speaker 1: eternal life is a quality of life, not just a
42:45
Speaker 1: quantity of time. It is the very life of God
42:48
Speaker 1: shared with his children. It begins at the moment of
42:51
Speaker 1: conversion and continues forever. It's not just living forever, which
42:56
Speaker 1: would be dreadful if it meant living in sin or
42:59
Speaker 1: separated from God, but living forever in God's presence and love.
43:06
Speaker 1: The certainty of eternal life isn't based on fluctuating feelings
43:10
Speaker 1: or personal performance. It's based on the reliable testimony of
43:14
Speaker 1: God and the completed work of Christ. That's why it
43:17
Speaker 1: can be an unshakable certainty even in times of doubt
43:22
Speaker 1: or failure. This certainty produced confidence in the believer. In
43:27
Speaker 1: verse John three twenty one twenty two, John wrote, dear friends,
43:31
Speaker 1: if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence
43:34
Speaker 1: before God and receive from Him anything we ask, because
43:38
Speaker 1: we keep his commands and do what pleases him. The
43:42
Speaker 1: clean conscience through Christ's forgiveness, gave confidence to approach God.
43:48
Speaker 1: The signs confirming the authenticity of faith were the same
43:52
Speaker 1: that John had mentioned earlier. Obedience to God's commandments, love
43:57
Speaker 1: for the brothers, correct confession of Jesus Christrist, and victory
44:01
Speaker 1: over the world. These were not means to earn eternal life,
44:06
Speaker 1: but evidence that we had already received it. In First
44:10
Speaker 1: John five four five, John linked eternal life to victory
44:15
Speaker 1: over the world. For every one born of God overcomes
44:18
Speaker 1: the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world,
44:22
Speaker 1: even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world?
44:26
Speaker 1: Only the one who believes that Jesus is the son
44:29
Speaker 1: of God. Faith in Jesus not only gave us eternal life,
44:33
Speaker 1: but also power to overcome the temptations and values of
44:37
Speaker 1: the world. The certainty of eternal life did not lead
44:40
Speaker 1: to presumption or a careless life. On the contrary, it
44:44
Speaker 1: motivated the pursuit of holiness and perseverance in faith, knowing
44:49
Speaker 1: that we were God's children, forever inspired, living in a
44:52
Speaker 1: way worthy of that position. Thus, eternal life was not
44:57
Speaker 1: a vague hope, but a present certain based on God's testimony.
45:03
Speaker 1: It was not something to be earned by human efforts,
45:06
Speaker 1: but a gift to be received by faith in Jesus Christ.
45:10
Speaker 1: And it was not only for the future, but a
45:12
Speaker 1: transforming reality in the present. Another wonderful aspect of eternal
45:19
Speaker 1: life was direct access to God through prayer. John spoke
45:24
Speaker 1: of this privilege with words conveying confidence and boldness. In
45:29
Speaker 1: verse John five fourteen fifteen, he wrote, this is the
45:32
Speaker 1: confidence we have in approaching God that if we ask
45:36
Speaker 1: anything according to his will, he hears us. And if
45:40
Speaker 1: we know that he hears us whatever we ask, we
45:43
Speaker 1: know that we have what we asked of him. The
45:46
Speaker 1: word john used for confidence literally meant freedom of speech
45:51
Speaker 1: or boldness. It was the same word used to describe
45:54
Speaker 1: how one would speak with a very close friend openly,
45:58
Speaker 1: without fear, with total honesty. It was a term that
46:02
Speaker 1: described a citizen's right to speak freely in a public assembly.
46:06
Speaker 1: This confidence in prayer came from knowing we were God's
46:09
Speaker 1: beloved children. We were not approaching a distant stranger or
46:14
Speaker 1: a harsh judge, but a loving father who desired to
46:17
Speaker 1: listen to us and respond. There was an important condition
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Speaker 1: for confident prayer if we ask anything according to his will.
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Speaker 1: Effective prayer was not about imposing our will on God,
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Speaker 1: but aligning our requests with his will. It was not
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Speaker 1: a way to manipulate God into doing what we wanted,
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Speaker 1: but to participate in what He already wanted to do.
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Speaker 1: Knowing God's will came from knowing his word and listening
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Speaker 1: to his spirit. The more we grew in our relationship
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Speaker 1: with God, the more our desires aligned with his, and
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Speaker 1: the more our prayers reflected His will. When we prayed
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Speaker 1: a acording to God's will, we were certain that he
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Speaker 1: heard us, not just heard in the sense of recording
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Speaker 1: our words, but in the sense of answering the request.
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Speaker 1: We know that we have what we asked of him,
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Speaker 1: not as a vague possibility, but as a confident certainty.
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Speaker 1: John applied this general principle of prayer to a specific case,
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Speaker 1: intercession for brothers who fall into sin. In First John
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Speaker 1: five sixteen to seventeen. He wrote, if you see any
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Speaker 1: brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead
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Speaker 1: to death, you should pray and God will give them life.
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Speaker 1: I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death.
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Speaker 1: There is a sin that leads to death. I'm not
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Speaker 1: saying that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin,
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Speaker 1: and there is sin that does not lead to death.
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Speaker 1: Intercession for brothers was a practical application of love. When
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Speaker 1: we saw a brother stumble into sin, the Christian response
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Speaker 1: was not to gossip about their failure or abandon them
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Speaker 1: to their fate, but to intercede for them. It was
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Speaker 1: to bring the case to God in prayer asking for restoration.
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Speaker 1: John distinguished between sin that does not lead to death
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Speaker 1: and sin that leads to death. The sin that does
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Speaker 1: not lead to death was any sin from which a
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Speaker 1: person could repent and be restored. The sin that leads
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Speaker 1: to death probably referred to a sin from which a
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Speaker 1: person refused to repent, a state of continuous and conscious
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Speaker 1: rebellion against God. If we saw a brother commit sin
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Speaker 1: that does not lead to death, we should pray for them,
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Speaker 1: and God would give them life spiritual restoration. This intercession
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Speaker 1: could make the difference between the restoration and the ruin
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Speaker 1: of a life. It was a powerful way to love. Concretely,
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Speaker 1: as for sin that leads to death, John did not
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Speaker 1: forbid prayer, but said, I am not said saying that
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Speaker 1: you should pray about that. This seemed to suggest that
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Speaker 1: there are cases where intercession is no longer effective because
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Speaker 1: the person has completely closed their heart to God's voice.
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Speaker 1: Even so, we can never be absolutely certain of who
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Speaker 1: is in that condition, so it is wise to continue
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Speaker 1: praying for everyone. The effectiveness of the prayer of the
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Speaker 1: righteous was a recurring theme in scripture. James wrote that
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Speaker 1: the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
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Speaker 1: James five sixteen. Elijah, a man with a nature like ours, prayed,
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Speaker 1: and it did not reign on the earth for three
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Speaker 1: and a half years. Then he prayed again, and the
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Speaker 1: heavens gave rain. The prayer of the righteous had power.
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Speaker 1: Confident prayer was not a right only for super Christians
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Speaker 1: or spiritual leaders. It was the privilege of every child
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Speaker 1: of God. In Christ, we all had access to the
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Speaker 1: Father by by one spirit Ephesians two eighteen. All of
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Speaker 1: us could approach the Throne of Grace with confidence. This
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Speaker 1: confidence in prayer did not mean that we would always
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Speaker 1: receive exactly what we asked for. God, in his wisdom
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Speaker 1: and love, sometimes answers in ways different from what we expect,
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Speaker 1: but He always responds in a way that is best
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Speaker 1: for us and for his glory. Thus, confident prayer was
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Speaker 1: another wonderful aspect of eternal life. It was not just
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Speaker 1: speaking to God, but participating in his work in the world.
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Speaker 1: It was a privilege, a responsibility, and a power available
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Speaker 1: to every child of God. John brought his teaching full
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Speaker 1: circle by returning to the theme with which he began
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Speaker 1: his letter, Fellowship. Write at the beginning in verse John
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Speaker 1: one three to four, he wrote, what we have seen
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Speaker 1: and heard, we proclaim also to you, so that you
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Speaker 1: too may have fellowship with us, And truly our fellowship
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Speaker 1: is with the Father and with his son, Jesus Christ.
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Speaker 1: We are writing these things so that our joy may
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Speaker 1: be complete. This fellowship had two dimensions, vertical with God
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Speaker 1: and horizontal with our fellow believers. These two aspects were
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Speaker 1: deeply interconnected. We could not have one without the other.
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Speaker 1: Fellowship with God naturally led to fellowship with others, and
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Speaker 1: fellowship with others reflected and reinforced our fellowship with God.
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Speaker 1: The word john used for fellowship coynonia in Greek, was
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Speaker 1: rich with meaning. It referred to sharing something in common,
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Speaker 1: to joint participation. It wasn't just about being in the
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Speaker 1: same place or doing the same activities. It was about
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Speaker 1: deeply sharing life. Fellowship with God meant sharing in the
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Speaker 1: divine life. This is what Peter referred to when he
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Speaker 1: spoke of becoming partakers of the divine nature secapetero. This
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Speaker 1: didn't mean we became divine ourselves. We remained created beings,
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Speaker 1: but we shared in God's life, love and holiness in
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Speaker 1: a unique and profound way. Fellowship with fellow believers meant
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Speaker 1: sharing that same divine life with others who had also
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Speaker 1: received it. It meant recognizing that we shared the same Father,
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Speaker 1: the same Savior, the same spirit, the same faith, the
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Speaker 1: same hope, and the same love. This was a unity
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Speaker 1: far deeper than personal preferences or natural affinities. John made
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Speaker 1: it clear that truth and love were foundational to maintaining
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Speaker 1: this fellowship. Truth without love could become cold and harsh.
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Speaker 1: Love without truth could become sentimental and empty. But together
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Speaker 1: truth and love formed the foundation of genuine fellowship. Regarding truth,
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Speaker 1: John was emphatic in Second John nineteen to ten. Everyone
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Speaker 1: who go on a head and does not abide in
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Speaker 1: the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever abides
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Speaker 1: in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
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Speaker 1: If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching,
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Speaker 1: do not receive him into your house or give him
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Speaker 1: any greeting. True fellowship could not exist where the foundational
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Speaker 1: truth about Christ was denied. Regarding love, John was equally
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Speaker 1: clear in First John four seven to eight, Beloved, let
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Speaker 1: us love one another, for love is from God. And
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Speaker 1: whoever loves has been born of God, and he knows God.
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Speaker 1: Anyone who does not love does not know God. Because
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Speaker 1: God is love. Genuine fellowship was impossible without love, because
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Speaker 1: love is the very nature of God. John identified two
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Speaker 1: major obstacles to fellowship, sin and false doctrine. Sin broke
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Speaker 1: fellowship both with God God and with one another. False
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Speaker 1: teaching distorted the foundation of fellowship, which was the truth
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Speaker 1: about Christ. The remedy for sin was confession and forgiveness,
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Speaker 1: as John had already written in First John one nine,
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Speaker 1: if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
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Speaker 1: to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
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Speaker 1: all unrighteousness. Honest confession led to complete forgiveness, restoring the
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Speaker 1: fellowship that had been broken. The remedy for false doctrine
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Speaker 1: was holding fast to the truth they had heard from
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Speaker 1: the beginning, As John wrote in First John two twenty four,
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Speaker 1: Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.
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Speaker 1: If what you heard from the beginning abides in you,
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Speaker 1: then you too will abide in the Son and in
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Speaker 1: the Father. Faithfulness to the Apostolic truth protected and preserved fellowship.
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Speaker 1: The fruit of genuine fellowship was complete joy. In First
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Speaker 1: John one four, John wrote, we are writing these things
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Speaker 1: so that our joy may be complete. This joy wasn't
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Speaker 1: just an optional extra in the Christian life. It was
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Speaker 1: the natural outcome of living fellowship with God and others.
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Speaker 1: This joy didn't depend on favorable external circumstances. It could
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Speaker 1: exist even in times of persecution or hardship. It was
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Speaker 1: the joy of being known and loved, of belonging to
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Speaker 1: God's family. Genuine fellowship was an antidote to the loneliness
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Speaker 1: and isolation so common in the world. It was the
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Speaker 1: experience of being part of something greater than ourselves, being
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Speaker 1: connected in love to God and to others. In a
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Speaker 1: world that values independence and self sufficiency, Christian fellowship offered
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Speaker 1: a different way of living, one of interdependence, connection, and
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Speaker 1: mutual responsibility. We weren't isolated islands. We were members of
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Speaker 1: the same body, parts of the same family. Fellowship with
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Speaker 1: God wasn't a mystical state reserved for special moments of worship.
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Speaker 1: It was a constant reality, sustained by faith, obedience, and love.
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Speaker 1: It meant walking with God daily, like Enoch, about whom
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Speaker 1: it was said he walked with God Genesis five twenty four. Likewise,
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Speaker 1: fellowship with fellow believers wasn't limited to weekly gatherings or
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Speaker 1: scheduled activities. It was a sharing of life that happened
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Speaker 1: in everyday moments, in meals together, in conversations, in shared work,
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Speaker 1: in joys and sorrows, lived side by side. In this way,
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Speaker 1: genuine fellowship with God and with others was the very
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Speaker 1: heart of the Christian life. It wasn't an optional or
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Speaker 1: secondary aspect of faith. It was the core of the
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Speaker 1: eternal life we receive in Christ. And so we come
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Speaker 1: to the end of our journey through the letter of
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Speaker 1: First John. What a treasure of wisdom and love we
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Speaker 1: found in these pages. The apostle John now aged shared
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Speaker 1: with us truths that still have the power to transform
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Speaker 1: our lives to day. We saw that God is light
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Speaker 1: and love, perfect in holiness and overflowing in compassion. We
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Speaker 1: learned that Jesus is our perfect advocate before the Father,
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Speaker 1: the one who paid the price for our sins. We
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Speaker 1: discovered the marks of a true disciple, obedience born of love,
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Speaker 1: genuine care for fellow believers, write confession about Jesus, and
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Speaker 1: victory over the values of the world. And we explored
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Speaker 1: the wonderful privileges of eternal life, being born again with
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Speaker 1: a new nature, having assurance of salvation, praying with confidence,
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Speaker 1: and enjoying real fellowship with God and with one another.
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Speaker 1: This letter, written nearly two thousand years ago, still speaks
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Speaker 1: directly to our hearts to day. In a world full
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Speaker 1: of lies. John brings us the truth in a world
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Speaker 1: filled with hate. John shows us love in a world
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Speaker 1: marked by death. John points us to eternal life. If
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Speaker 1: this study has touched your heart, don't keep these truths
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Speaker 1: to yourself. Share this video with someone who needs to
58:17
Speaker 1: hear about God's love. Subscribe to our channel for more
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Speaker 1: Bible studies that strengthen faith and transform lives, and above all,
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Speaker 1: live out these truths. Let God's love in you overflow
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Speaker 1: into the lives of others. Walk in the light, just
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Speaker 1: as He is in the light. Embrace your identity as
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Speaker 1: a son or daughter of God. This is the powerful
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Speaker 1: message of Verse John, a message the world so desperately
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Speaker 1: needs to hear. Until our next study, May the grace
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Speaker 1: and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.