Latest / Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ) / "Words of Life" by Hiram Kemp - Part 7

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"Words of Life" by Hiram Kemp - Part 7 · Cumberland Trace Church of Christ (Formerly Lehman Ave Church of Christ)

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All right, good evening.
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If you have your Bible, go ahead and turn it to 1 John.
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Neil and I have switched.
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We're trying something new this quarter, taught half of the quarter in the adult two class,
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lessons through 2 Samuel, and Neil was out here teaching from 1 Peter, and tonight we're
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going to start a lesson or a series of lessons through 1 John, and Neil will be teaching
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lessons on Nehemiah in the adult two classroom.
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So go ahead and turn your Bible to 1 John.
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This class is called The Words of Life from the Letters of John, and so we'll be trying
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to go from 1 John all the way through 3 John, looking at those three books, and there are
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various people throughout the New Testament named John, but the John we will be looking
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at is the author of this book and the gospel of John, as well as the book of Revelation,
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and we've got good reason to appreciate and realize that John refers to himself regularly
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as the disciple that Jesus loved in the gospel of John, and if you read, just read John's
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gospel, read 1 John, there's a lot of similarities in terminology and emphasis and things he
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highlights, and we'll see some of that as we get through 1 John tonight, but the one
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who wrote this material was in a special class of individuals that was uniquely connected
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to Jesus, and that's going to play a role in what we read and study tonight from the
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book of 1 John.
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So just a reminder, we've got seven weeks left in the quarter, so what I'm trying to
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do in the time we have remaining is there are seven chapters we're looking at, the five
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in 1 John, and then second and third John, and so, if you listen real quick and don't
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interrupt me, then we will get through, I'm joking, no, you can talk all you want, but
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the goal is to get through this material, so hopefully we can get through this, and
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we will notice words of life throughout 1 John, so what I'm going to attempt to do is
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every Wednesday, Lord willing, have a sort of theme, a major idea for each chapter and
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the words of life that spring forth from that.
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There's different ways to study the Bible.
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One way to study the Bible is to move methodically slowly through a book, looking at every word,
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every verse in great detail, and there's some strength and wisdom in doing that, but of
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course there's some weaknesses.
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If you always study the Bible like that, you will occasionally miss the forest for the
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trees as you zero in on key words, key verses, unpack meaning, and all of that.
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Another way to study the Bible, which isn't flawless, you need them both, but another
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way to study the Bible is to get an overall view of a book by walking and marching through
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in rather quick succession and not drilling down necessarily into every detail, but making
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your way through and allowing the totality of what you're studying to inform the decisions
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that you make, and so we're going to take that second approach as we work through 1 John.
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We won't deal with every single verse or every single word in every verse or every
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controversy surrounding 1 John, but we hope to make some progress.
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Yes, ma'am?
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We'll be using the ESV or whatever English version you want to use is fine, but for sure,
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yeah, we will be referencing verses from the ESV.
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Great question.
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All right, so let's start tonight.
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Tonight will be some introductory material, and then hopefully we will get through the
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first chapter of 1 John.
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So the author of 1 John, as I've said before, tradition, internal evidence, and external
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evidence points to John the Apostle being the author of this book.
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In fact, we don't have any copies.
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I know you might be looking at 1 John, and sometimes people say things like, well, how
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do we know John wrote it?
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Well, there's evidence for that, but we also don't have any manuscripts without the heading
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John 1 or 1 John.
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So John's the author of this book.
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What do we know about John the Apostle that would be helpful in studying this book?
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What do you know about the man named John, the Apostle John, that would be helpful in
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studying the book of 1 John?
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So whatever you can think of about the Apostle John, what do you know?
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He was very close to Jesus, yes.
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We preached a sermon recently on Matthew 17 on the Mount of Transfiguration.
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John is in what's sometimes called the inner three.
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So Matthew 17 1, he's up on the Mount of Transfiguration.
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Mark chapter 5, he and Peter and his brother James go into Jairus' house, and only those
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three individuals go into the inner part of the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus when he's
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praying and asking God to remove the cup if possible.
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So he's very close to Jesus, not just because he's in the inner three, though.
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He's also referred to regularly in his own gospel, he refers to himself as who?
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The disciple who Jesus what?
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Who Jesus loves.
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So he never mentions himself directly, but he does go by that nickname for lack of better
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words.
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What else do you know about John?
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All right, so we put some things together.
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John is potentially, most likely, the only one of the 12 that died a natural death.
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All the others are supposedly martyred.
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Of course, Peter, Jesus tells him in John 21 how he's going to meet his earthly demise.
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But John dies a natural death.
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In Revelation 1 9, John says, I, your brother, in the tribulation in the kingdom, I'm exiled
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on the Isle of Patmos.
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And so John is on the Isle of Patmos, and we believe that John dies a natural death,
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which is going to play a part in some of what we'll say momentarily.
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Anybody else?
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So John died a natural death, really close to Jesus.
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What else?
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His father was a girl.
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So he's the only one of the 12 that's at the foot of the cross, and then he gets put in
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charge of Jesus' mother, Mary.
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John 19, 26 and 27, Jesus is hanging on the cross.
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One of the seven statements Jesus makes there is, woman, behold your son, son, behold your
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mother.
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And from that moment on, Mary is put into John's care.
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Here are a few other things about John.
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John is a disciple of Jesus with an angry past.
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He's called as a fisherman in Matthew 4, 21 through 22, along with his brother.
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They work for their dad, Zebedee.
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Zebedee and Sons Fishing.
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I don't know if that was the company name, but it has a nice ring to it.
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Jesus tells them to leave their boat, their nets, and follow him.
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And he and his brother, they do just that.
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In Mark 3, 17, when Mark's listing the 12, Mark says that these two brothers were named
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the Sons of Thunder, which suggests some things about John's temperament.
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And later on, in Luke chapter 9, you read about them in 54 through 56, Luke 9, 54 through
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56, asking if Jesus would call down fire from heaven on the Samaritans, reminiscent of some
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things that happened in 2 Kings 1 with Elijah, because they were frustrated at people's inability
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to respond to Jesus.
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And so it seems like the John we meet initially is pretty angry.
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You remember he and James' brother say, hey, help us to sit one on your right and one on
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your left in the kingdom.
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They've got some ideas about greatness that don't properly align with what Jesus wants.
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And then he's at the foot of the cross, as was mentioned momentarily, and he's influential
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in the early church.
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The first half of the book of Acts is Peter and John.
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And then at the end of John's life, John is affiliated with the seven churches, primarily
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the church in Asia.
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Now, what does all of this information have to do with how you read the book of 1 John?
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It has this to do with it.
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And really, this is true about everything John wrote, the book of Revelation included,
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John's gospel included.
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As you read 1 John, the man we're going to read from tonight says a lot about love,
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truth, patience, and brotherly kindness.
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And you can't be on good terms with God unless you're on good terms with your brother.
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It's important that we appreciate the man we're reading those words from was once a
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hardened fisherman.
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But by the time Jesus got done with him, he was a softened saint.
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John's a different man at the end of his life.
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If he's in his upper 90s, as we estimate him to be when he's writing the book of 1 John,
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he isn't just writing about, hey, you should love the brotherhood.
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And if you don't love your brother whom you have seen, you haven't loved God whom you
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can't see.
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He has actually lived that out.
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He's gone from a man who thought greatness was about sitting on the right hand and then
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the left in Jesus's kingdom to a man who just simply wants to share the truth that he's
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come to know, love, and live with other disciples.
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And so John's whole life is changed by the truth that he shares, and he wants to communicate
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that to others.
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He was an eyewitness of Jesus's earthly ministry.
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But here's one more thing John's history helps us with as we read 1 John.
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John was with Jesus from the very beginning until the very end.
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He's at the foot of the cross.
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John is also the last of the living apostles.
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He's the last apostle alive, and he dies a natural death.
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His brother was killed in Acts chapter 12, verses 1 through 4 by Herod.
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If we're right about this, John saw all of his friends die for their faith.
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By the time you get to 1 John, you're reading from a man who's seen just about everything
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that a person could expect to see in about 60 years of following Jesus.
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When John talks about false doctrine, when John talks about people introducing new ideas
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into Christianity, he's the perfect person to be writing about these things because he's
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been in Christian ministry now for some 60 years, and he's seen a lot of changes, a lot
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of ups and downs, a lot of people recant and turn away, but also a lot of people persist
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and stay consistent.
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And so the John that we're going to read from tonight has literally been there through all
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of it.
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John 19.35, he says, the one that's writing to you about these things was there, present
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and true.
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John 21.24, he says the same thing.
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So the author of 1 John knows exactly what he's talking about, and we should take him
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at his word, not only for his inspired apostolic testimony, but just because of his life experience
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and long duration in Christian service.
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So that's the author of 1 John.
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Now, let's talk a little bit about the audience and the purpose.
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So as you read through 1 John, John doesn't write like some of the others.
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Who did Paul write the book of 1 Corinthians to?
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Take a guess.
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That's right.
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And what about the book of Philippians?
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Very specific.
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1 John doesn't read like that.
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John doesn't seem to be writing to one specific congregation in and around Ephesus.
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It seems to be a letter written more generally to Christians at large.
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We don't know a whole lot about these folks.
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Sometimes there are conversations regarding New Testament books.
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Are these Jews or are they Gentiles?
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John doesn't really let us in on a lot of that.
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The only Old Testament reference he makes in all of 1 John is to Cain.
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In 1 John 3, verses 12 and 13, he mentions Cain.
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Other than that, John cites no Old Testament sources, but we don't really know a lot about
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his audience.
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Here's what we do know.
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They seem to be experienced Christians.
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Look at some of these passages, 1 John 2, and we'll just read some of these.
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John says things throughout this book as if these individuals have been Christians for
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a long time and they already know some things.
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And so he'll talk about things like, this isn't a new commandment.
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You already know this.
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You already have this knowledge.
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1 John 2, 7 says, beloved, I'm writing no new commandment, but an old commandment that
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you had from the beginning.
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The old commandment is the word that you have heard.
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So he's expressing some knowledge that he believes these individuals have.
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Look at chapter 2 and verse 18.
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Children, it is the last hour, and as you've heard, the antichrist is coming.
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So now many antichrists come, therefore we know it's the last hour.
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Chapter 2 and verse 20, but you have been anointed by the Holy One and you all have
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knowledge or chapter 2 and verse 24, he says, let what you heard from the beginning abide
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in you.
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Chapter 2 and verse 27, but the anointing you have received, I guess you get the point.
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John's writing to people who seem to not only be Christians already, he says in chapter
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1 and verse 3, we skipped that one, but he says, you have fellowship with us.
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That is with the apostles and with God.
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John seems to be writing to people who are experienced Christians, who've been at this
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for a little while, and yet he writes them this letter.
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So here's a question.
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What does this tell you about our relationship to the truth and Christianity?
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If John, who's vouching for these Christians, we just read the references, John's saying
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you already know this stuff, the truth is already in you, you already have an anointing
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of the Holy Spirit or the Holy One in chapter 2 and verse 20, if John's vouching for these
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Christians and yet he's doubling down to remind them about things he clearly emphasizes that
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they already know, what does this say to us about how we should be approaching learning
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in the Christian life?
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If John's saying, hey, you already know this stuff, and yet there's five chapters that
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we know as the book of 1 John dedicated to these Christians who John has already said,
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there's no new commandment about love, but I'm writing about love anyway.
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There's no new warning about false teachers.
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You know there are many antichrists, and yet I'm warning you about the antichrist.
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What does it say to you and me about our Christian life and the way we should approach learning
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in the body?
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We need to be reminded.
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Yeah, everybody needs to be reminded.
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In 2 Peter 1, 12 and 13, Peter says, I'm going to stir up your minds by way of remembrance
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though you already know these truths.
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So yeah, on the one hand, we need to be reminded.
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What else?
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There is no graduating yet.
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We won't be having your Christian graduation and we won't be having mine.
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Nobody graduates.
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Everybody has to keep learning.
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John will say throughout this book, if we do this or if we do that, he'll include himself.
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Anything else?
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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I guess over time, this church means a lot to John.
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There's some intimate language, as Chuck mentioned there, little children, my beloved, all of
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that's in there as well.
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Here's a few other things.
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Just because we know certain things doesn't mean that we shouldn't be reminded.
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Kevin mentioned that already.
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The familiar and the well-known needs to be rehearsed and reviewed regularly.
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I think sometimes we can approach Bible books, sermons, classes, even in your Bible reading,
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you get to Luke 15, the prodigal son, and you just got this tendency in your mind to
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think, well, I know this one already.
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I even know how this one ends.
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And you just rush on through it.
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Start your Bible reading.
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You're in Genesis one.
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I already know what's coming.
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I know the order of the days and you can sprint through God's teaching us through books like
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first John and the rest of the New Testament.
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The familiar needs to be read more closely.
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We need to slow ourselves down and really drink deeply from these truths because just
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because we heard it once doesn't mean we already know that all there is to it.
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One of John's favorite words and first John is this idea of knowing and Christianity.
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Knowing is far less about what's in your head.
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It's about what's in your life.
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The way the Bible uses the word, no, it's not about intellectual knowledge.
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That's a part of it.
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But that's just the means to an end.
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In the Bible, knowing means it's actually impacted the way you go about living.
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And so John's saying to these people, you know intellectually about loving one another,
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but how does God know you really know about loving one another?
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This is an easy one.
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If you actually what?
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Everybody say love one another, right?
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See, love one another.
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You can quote those verses, but when you live those verses, that's when God says, check
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you know it.
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How long are you and I going to be working on loving one another?
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And so there we got first John.
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And that's why you can read the whole Bible.
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And then guess what?
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When you get done with it, guess what you should do?
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You just should read it again.
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Though you know these things, though they're marked up, you've got verses highlighted,
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you've got verses committed to memory.
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John says you're going to need to do it again.
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So John's audience includes experienced Christians throughout the book of first John.
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John makes several purpose statements, and I just want to go over these quickly.
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We'll get to first John one tonight, but here's some of the purpose statements.
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Let me back up before you start taking notes and ignoring me.
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Okay, first.
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So some books in the Bible don't have this.
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Some books in the Bible, like Matthew, for example, Matthew doesn't say, this is why
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I wrote.
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But if you read Matthew a lot, look for key words, key ideas, you can figure it out.
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Luke doesn't say, well, Luke says some things in his intro, but some books don't say, this
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is why we wrote.
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We've got to do hard work and try to dig it out.
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But sometimes the author says, this is why I wrote this book.
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And John has three purpose statements.
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So it's not just one idea.
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John has three of these so that statements, and I just want to talk about these briefly
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before we get into the other introductory matters.
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There are three of these.
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Look at first John chapter one and verse three.
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First introductory statement.
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Why did John write this book?
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Why is this book in your New Testament?
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First John one and verse three.
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John says that which we have seen and heard, we proclaim also to you so that you too may
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have fellowship with us.
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And indeed our fellowship is with the father and with his son, Jesus Christ.
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So John proclaimed in written form, the things that we know as the book of first John, so
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that the people reading it then and now may know what, what does John want us to know
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based on first John one and verse three, two things they both have to do with.
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It's the same as what you've heard.
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Yes.
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Which is what, what have we heard?
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Fellowship.
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Okay.
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So fellowship with two groups.
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First with each other.
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This us here seems to be the apostles, John, those that knew by eyewitness testimony and
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with the father and with his son, Jesus Christ.
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So one reason why John wrote first John is so you know, and I would know who we have
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fellowship with.
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That's a big deal.
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Essentially, John is saying, remember whose team you're on.
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Remember who's working alongside you and who you're working with.
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When you get to the end of first John, this should be clear.
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John's going to say, this is who's in this camp and this is who's not with us.
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And I wrote so that you'll know who you have fellowship with.
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The second purpose statement, look at first John one in verse four, John says, and we
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are writing these things.
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Why?
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What does he say?
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So that your joy or our joy may be full.
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So John wrote.
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So his readers would come to the end of this book and have full and complete joy.
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This is important because Christianity properly understood and applied is supposed to produce
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joy in its adherence.
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That means people that do Christianity right at the end of it is supposed to produce joy.
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I think this is important and unique in first John for this reason.
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So there are other places like John will say in John 15, 11, Jesus speaking, I'm teaching
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you these things so that your joy will be full.
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Jesus says up till now, you've asked nothing in my name, but ask and receive and your joy
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will be full.
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John 16, 24.
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But what does John says?
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One of his reasons for writing first John one in verse four, so that at the end you'll
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have what?
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Full joy so that your joy may be full.
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Here's why that's interesting in first John.
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Throughout first John, John talks about false teachers.
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John talks about the antichrist.
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In fact, the last verse in the book in first John 5, 21, he says, keep yourself from idols.
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And I just think it's interesting in a book that deals a great deal with false doctrine.
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John still didn't lose his joy, and he still didn't lose joy as the emphasis for why he
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wrote this book.
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That means even in Christianity, yes, there's spiritual warfare, there's engagement, but
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all of that is still supposed to be funneled through a joyful response at the end of it.
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God still wants us to be people of joy.
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Sometimes we tell people, hey, God's not really interested in your feelings.
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God is interested in the truth, and that's not true.
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This idea that all God cares about is propositional truth.
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Just get the facts right.
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That's not biblical Christianity.
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Biblical Christianity is concerned with the truth, but biblical truth is always supposed
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to lead a person to joy, not apart from God, but because of God.
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Because you know these things, if they're held to properly, the response is going to
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be you're going to be joyful at the end.
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You'll be glad about it.
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It's not Christianity as facts, and then there's feelings over here.
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We tell people God doesn't care about how you feel.
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The Bible actually says God deeply cares about that, and first John's in the Bible so that
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when you get to the end of it, you'll be a person that has joy.
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So yes, oppose false doctrine, oppose religious error, but if in doing so, you lose your joy,
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that's false doctrine because joyless Christianity is false doctrine.
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It's no such thing as being a sound, faithful, healthy Christian and not having joy, even
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if you're on the front lines opposing error, and in just about every chapter, John's going
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to deal with some false doctrine, and yet he still says, hey, you can read this book
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and come to the end of it, and you can have a smile on your soul, if not on your face.
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Next one, first John 5, 13.
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First John 5, 13, the final reason why John wrote, John says, I write these things to
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you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal
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life, and the new King James and the King James add one statement at the end, and keep
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believing on the name of the Son of God.
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So this third reason John says he wrote is for what reason?
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The questions get harder from here.
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I'm giving y'all the easy stuff now, starting out.
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Why did John write?
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What reason?
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So that you could have assurance that you have eternal life.
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We tend to think about eternal life as something we're going to get at the end.
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So you're going to die, and then God's going to give you eternal life.
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That's true.
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If you're a Christian, when you die, your life's going to keep going, but that's not
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what John says here.
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What does John say right here?
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If you're a Christian, what?
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You already have it.
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John's speaking in the present tense.
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John says, I'm writing these things to you who believe on the name of the Son of God,
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that you may know you have eternal life right now.
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And we'll talk about how that's possible, how can you have eternal life right now and
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receive it in the future.
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But if you're a Christian, John says you have it.
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And when you get to the end of 1 John, John wants you to know that.
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So here's the question.
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Why is it important that Christians understand this?
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Not only that eternal life is something you get at the end, but why is it important that
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Christians know right now, not in the future, but presently, that you have eternal life?
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What's so important about knowing that?
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Okay, yeah, it's going to give you hope.
20:50
It'll give you hope in life.
20:51
If you know you already have eternal life, it'll encourage you for sure.
20:55
But somebody might respond to that, I agree with you, Kim, but somebody might respond
20:58
to that, well, that's the eternal part.
21:00
I mean, I want the hope for after this life.
21:02
When I get older or sick or get ready to depart from this life, I want to know I have eternal
21:07
assurance beyond the grave.
21:09
But what about having eternal life right now changes a person?
21:12
I agree with you, by the way.
21:13
I'm just saying, if somebody were to push back and say, yeah, but eternal life, my life
21:18
in heaven with God, that's all I need for hope.
21:20
Why does John stress you already have eternal life right now?
21:25
Okay, so the hardships you face is motivation to persevere because you know something better
21:29
is coming.
21:32
Nothing can hurt you.
21:35
It's already done, for sure.
21:38
Part of the reason John is a teacher is because we're teaching about the church's nature.
21:42
For sure.
21:43
So John's combating some false doctrine.
21:45
That'll help you for sure.
21:46
Joey.
21:47
The way we're, what we're going to be doing more by God is what we're doing is if it's
21:52
now.
21:53
Yeah, I think, Joey, Miller, I'm going to let you go, go ahead, Miller, go ahead.
21:57
And it's going to be evident in how you live.
21:58
I think what Joey says, and Miller, this is great, it's going to affect the way you live
22:02
right now.
22:03
If you know already you have eternal life, there's a sense in which, yes, self-preservation
22:09
matters.
22:10
Keep yourself under God's care and watch 2 John 8, 1 Corinthians 9, 27.
22:13
But listen, if your eternity is set, you can freely pour into other, you're not worried
22:18
about first place with other people.
22:20
I'm not in competition with you.
22:22
I'm not, I'm already set.
22:24
I'm heaven bound.
22:25
I'm golden.
22:26
I have eternal life presently, and it'll be fully realized at the end.
22:30
Sometimes you, I saw your hand, Mike, sometimes you're watching a football game and the score
22:35
is like 45 to three.
22:37
It's like a minute left.
22:39
The game is essentially what?
22:41
What are people on the other side doing if you're on that 45 side?
22:44
It's the championship game.
22:45
You know what they're doing?
22:46
Pouring Gatorade on coaches, putting on championship hats.
22:49
You might say to those people, wait a minute, the game isn't over.
22:52
But in their mind, they're celebrating in that moment just as sure as they will when
22:56
the clock hits all zero.
22:57
The game's over.
22:58
They just have got to let the clock run out.
23:01
I mean, they can't stop at mid-game and let the other team walk off.
23:03
And that's how life works.
23:05
If you're a Christian, there is a sense in which the game is already over.
23:09
Jesus was serious in John 19, 30.
23:11
It is finished.
23:13
We've got to let the clock run out and not switch teams in the middle of the game.
23:16
But there's a sense in which, as Joey mentioned, if you know that already, it'll change the
23:21
way you live.
23:22
You can have this fullness of joy.
23:23
First John 1 and verse 4.
23:24
In fact, I would argue every time we don't have it, it's because we've forgotten the
23:29
score.
23:31
We don't really appreciate and realize it.
23:32
And so John says, I'm writing this to you.
23:35
So you'll K-N-O-W.
23:36
You'll know it.
23:37
I want you to get this, see it in your mind.
23:39
Eternal life isn't simply something you'll receive at the end.
23:42
Eternal life functions in two ways in the New Testament.
23:45
Duration of life, how long you're going to live, but also in this life, how strong you're
23:49
going to live.
23:50
Eternal life means both.
23:51
And we'll see it momentarily.
23:52
Mike, go ahead.
23:53
That's right.
23:59
You put them both together.
24:00
That's right.
24:01
All of this goes together.
24:02
All right.
24:03
Now let's do one more thing before we get into the actual First John chapter 1.
24:07
All right.
24:08
So as was mentioned a moment ago, John wrote this book.
24:11
He's writing about these various things we talked about.
24:14
Know who you have fellowship with so your joy can be full and you know you have eternal
24:17
life.
24:18
But in First John, John is also responding to some false teachings, some false ideas.
24:23
Some people have said that John's responding to a group of people known as the Gnostics.
24:27
This is a group that basically comes full fledged in the second century.
24:31
We got a lot of writings from that time period about what they believe.
24:34
The good news for you and for me, you don't have to know anything about that to go to
24:36
heaven.
24:37
I'm not going to spend a lot of time on that.
24:39
I'm just going to tell you this.
24:40
Here's what it appears John's responding to based on what we find in the book of First
24:44
John.
24:45
So turn your Bible to First John 1.
24:47
John seems to be responding to some people who didn't believe Jesus was a real person.
24:51
It appears that these false teachers had some weird ideas about Jesus as an individual.
24:55
So John wants to stress that Jesus isn't an idea.
25:00
Jesus isn't a thought.
25:01
Jesus isn't a doctrine.
25:02
He was a real flesh and blood human being.
25:04
He starts in First John 1 beginning in verse 1 by saying that which was from the beginning
25:08
which we heard, which we've seen with our eyes and have looked upon and our hands have
25:12
handled concerning the word of life.
25:14
He's saying Jesus was a flesh and blood person.
25:16
When you get to chapter 4, John's going to make a statement that may seem pretty elementary
25:20
and kindergarten to you and me, but he's writing to people who were saying things like
25:24
or hearing things like Jesus didn't really appear in the flesh.
25:27
He just appeared to.
25:29
So in First John 4 in verse 2, he says, by this, you know, the spirit of God, every spirit
25:34
that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.
25:38
And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.
25:42
This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard from the beginning and is now already
25:46
in the world.
25:47
John seems to be responding to some people that had weird ideas about Jesus's personhood.
25:52
Second, Jesus is the son of God and is divine.
25:55
Major idea for John.
25:57
These opponents had to be saying things like Jesus wasn't really God.
26:01
And so he says a lot, but chapter 5 in verse 20, he says about Jesus, this is the true
26:06
God and eternal life.
26:08
A third idea or error that John responds to is Christians do fall short.
26:15
Whoever these false teachers were, they seem to be some guys that thought they had special
26:18
knowledge.
26:19
And their idea was, if you get on our level, you'll reach spiritual heights you've never
26:23
seen before.
26:24
And John says, that's false.
26:26
No matter who you are, you still are going to struggle the rest of your life with what?
26:31
Starts with S, ends with N. Sin, yeah, you're going to struggle with sin.
26:35
How long are you going to struggle with sin?
26:39
What if you really, really read the Bible, though, and learn it well?
26:44
You'll struggle with sin.
26:45
What if you come to every church service?
26:48
Still struggle with sin.
26:49
Y'all don't seem like y'all believe it, but you will, okay?
26:51
Y'all are looking like y'all are like, I am?
26:53
Yeah, you are.
26:54
You are.
26:56
As long as you're in the flesh, you'll struggle with sin.
26:59
This is one of the ideas John harps on.
27:00
And at the very same time in 1 John, he responds to that by saying, Christians don't live a
27:04
sinful lifestyle, though.
27:06
And so you'll find these kind of statements.
27:07
Look at 1 John 3.
27:09
Right after he says things like, hey, Christians aren't without sin, in 1 John 3 in verse 6,
27:14
you find these kinds of statements.
27:16
No one who abides in him keeps on sinning.
27:18
This is the ESV.
27:19
No one who abides in him keeps on sinning.
27:21
No one who keeps on sinning either has seen him or known him.
27:25
1 John 3 in verse 9, no one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides
27:31
in him, and he can't keep on sinning because he's been born of God.
27:34
Or chapter 5 in verse 18.
27:36
In chapter 5 in verse 18, he says, we know that everyone who has been born of God does
27:42
not keep on sinning, but he who is born of God protects him, and the evil one doesn't
27:46
touch him.
27:47
So John has two ideas working at the same time.
27:50
If you're a Christian, you're still going to fall short and commit sin.
27:53
But if you're a Christian, you're not going to just live a lifestyle of reckless sin because
27:58
God's working in you and in your life, and it makes a difference.
28:00
And here's the last one.
28:02
Love is supreme.
28:04
John makes a big deal about love throughout 1 John.
28:08
Evidently, these false teachers were saying, you can be really spiritual, doesn't matter
28:12
how you treat other people, and John believed Jesus when Jesus said, the two great commandments
28:17
are what?
28:18
Love God with your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
28:23
And for John, that's the true test of spiritual knowledge.
28:26
These false teachers said, come in our classroom, and we'll teach you all sorts of things you
28:30
never knew.
28:31
John says, if they don't treat people right, listen, if they don't treat people right,
28:37
it doesn't mean anything.
28:39
First John will wake you up because it's saying, it doesn't matter how much you know.
28:42
These Gnostic false teachers are thinking they're the spiritual know-it-alls, and John
28:46
says, it doesn't matter what they tell you guys.
28:48
If what they teach doesn't lead to you treating people right, you know it's false doctrine.
28:54
That's the way John reasons.
28:55
John reasons whatever Christian doctrine you receive, if it somehow gives you permission
29:00
to treat people worse than you would have otherwise, you don't have to hear anymore.
29:04
You know that's false doctrine, because truth will always produce love.
29:08
Not acceptance, not approval, but it's always going to produce love.
29:11
And if that's not happening, you know you're being taught something that's inconsistent
29:15
with what Jesus revealed.
29:16
All right, now we're ready for First John, Chapter 1.
29:19
All right, First John 1, let's just read all 10 verses, so when the bell rings and we quit,
29:24
I can say we got through the whole chapter, all right?
29:28
First John 1, 1 through 10, here we go.
29:32
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our
29:37
eyes, which we have looked upon and have touched with our hands concerning the word of life.
29:42
The life was made manifest, and we have seen it and testified to it and proclaimed to you
29:46
the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us.
29:50
That which we have seen and heard, we proclaim also to you, so you too may have fellowship
29:55
with us.
29:56
And indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
29:59
And we're writing these things to you so that our joy may be complete.
30:04
This is the message which we've heard from him and proclaimed to you, that God is light
30:07
and in him is no darkness at all.
30:10
If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice
30:13
the truth.
30:15
But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another
30:17
and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
30:21
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
30:25
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse
30:30
us from all unrighteousness.
30:31
If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.
30:35
Okay, John does two things in these 10 verses, rather simple but life-changing and impactful.
30:42
John says, here's how fellowship is enjoyed and with who, and here's how fellowship is
30:46
maintained.
30:47
So let's do 10 verses in 15 minutes, all right?
30:51
In chapter 1 and verse 1, John says, that which was from the beginning which we've heard,
30:55
which we've seen with our eyes, we looked upon in touch with our hands concerning the
30:59
word of life.
31:01
John starts out by saying that which was from the beginning.
31:03
He's talking about Jesus.
31:05
What does this sound like?
31:06
First John 1 and verse 1, what does this sound like?
31:08
What does this remind you of?
31:11
John 1.
31:12
In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, the word was God.
31:15
John seems to be going back to his gospel and he's saying, here's some true and thorough
31:20
and deep realities.
31:22
But John gets specific.
31:24
He says, Jesus, we saw him.
31:27
We heard him.
31:29
We touched him.
31:30
We handled him.
31:31
And you can look, think about the passages that go along with this.
31:33
When Jesus was raised from the dead, he told the apostles, see, touch me, a spirit doesn't
31:37
have flesh and bones like you see I have, Luke 24, 39.
31:40
They saw him.
31:42
First Timothy 3.16 says Jesus was manifested in the flesh, seen of angels, justified in
31:47
the spirit, taken up in glory.
31:49
All these things.
31:50
Why is John stressing in First John 1 and verse 1, hey, we were eyewitnesses.
31:54
We were actually there.
31:56
Why is that so important to him?
31:59
Yes.
32:01
Credibility about what exactly?
32:03
Oh, Wayne, I didn't see.
32:05
To his audience.
32:06
We need you to know the things we're communicating to you.
32:08
This didn't come from secondhand knowledge.
32:10
It came from individuals who were there in the flesh.
32:12
Verse two.
32:13
He says Jesus's life was clearly manifested before the apostles.
32:17
And so he's saying in verse two, the life was made manifest as Jesus.
32:21
And we've seen it and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the
32:25
father and made manifest to us.
32:27
You know, so many people have ideas about Jesus.
32:30
These two verses are important because so many people have ideas about Jesus.
32:34
Jesus wouldn't think this is a big deal.
32:36
Jesus would think this is the biggest deal.
32:38
Why Jesus wouldn't condemn people for that.
32:40
And what we've always got to be asking ourselves and others, whenever those kinds of things
32:44
come up, this is the question.
32:47
How do you know that?
32:49
How do you know that?
32:50
How do you know Jesus would not be okay with this and he would?
32:52
How do you know that?
32:53
John's saying, I got five chapters worth of stuff to say to you.
32:56
And this is coming from somebody who actually heard him, who actually saw him, who engaged
33:01
with him.
33:02
That's why we quote verses in sermons and in classes.
33:05
You can take what we're saying because Jesus actually talked to these individuals.
33:09
They were eyewitnesses and it's as good as gold.
33:11
And so John's saying, I want you to know we were eyewitnesses.
33:15
We saw these things.
33:16
In verse two, Jesus is described using several words.
33:19
Give me the words.
33:20
What is said about Jesus in verse two?
33:22
No one person.
33:23
Give me all of them.
33:24
Okay.
33:25
Just give me like one at a time.
33:26
What's said about Jesus in verse two?
33:27
What is he called in verse two?
33:30
The life.
33:31
Yeah.
33:32
John one in verse four says in him was life and the life was the light of man.
33:36
Jesus is called life.
33:37
What else?
33:40
Eternal life.
33:41
Eternal life.
33:42
And you can write first John five 20 next to that.
33:45
Jesus is called eternal life.
33:46
So when John says you can know you have eternal life, this is what he means.
33:50
If you have Jesus, you have eternal life.
33:52
He animates your life.
33:54
He is eternal life.
33:55
Eternal life isn't something like this battery God's going to put in you in heaven so that
33:59
you never die.
34:01
Jesus is eternal life.
34:02
And if you have Jesus, you already have it.
34:04
It'll be fully realized in heaven.
34:06
But Jesus is eternal life.
34:07
That's not separate from Jesus is who Jesus is and what he's actually all about.
34:11
And John says, you have that and he's eternal.
34:14
That was manifested with the father in verse three.
34:16
He says, this is why he told you all of that.
34:19
All that information in verses one and two comes down to this in verse three, that which
34:23
we've seen and heard, we proclaim to you so that you may know that so that you too may
34:28
have fellowship with us.
34:30
And indeed, our fellowship is with the father and his son, Jesus Christ.
34:33
What does fellowship mean?
34:36
And don't say like a meal that we eat at the church or something like that.
34:40
Like what is fellowship?
34:42
Oneness?
34:44
Yes.
34:46
Kinship, close ties, joint participation, spending time together.
34:57
Relationship got to have like beliefs, partnership, all of that, all of those.
35:04
And partnership, according to John and first John one, three, who is our partnership with?
35:08
Who is our kinship with?
35:11
There's two groups he starts with.
35:13
Who is our partnership with?
35:14
Just read the verse.
35:15
Who does he say?
35:16
Father and the son.
35:17
That's last.
35:18
But first, he says with who the apostles with us, he says, truly, your fellowship.
35:23
I told you all of this about Jesus so that, you know, you're on the side.
35:27
You have people that saw Jesus and you're on our team.
35:30
You're in partnership with us.
35:31
But it's bigger than just John, Peter, James in the 12.
35:34
Truly, our partnership is with who?
35:38
With God, the father and son, Jesus Christ.
35:40
First Corinthians one in verse nine says the same thing.
35:42
We have fellowship with God and with Jesus.
35:46
John is teaching you and me something, not just biblical facts.
35:48
He's teaching us how to share our faith with other people.
35:52
This is what I mean.
35:54
When you go out into the world and we talk to people about Christianity, the Bible, truth,
35:59
we shouldn't be reasoning and leveraging from this standpoint.
36:02
Well, the church of Christ says, well, I've always been taught.
36:05
Our tradition says truth isn't established by churches of Christ.
36:09
Our fellowship comes from apostolic testimony that ultimately came from God.
36:14
And our fellowship is with God and with his son, Jesus Christ.
36:18
That's what ultimately counts.
36:19
It's not like our truths versus this group over here.
36:23
Is it in the Bible?
36:24
Did God say that?
36:25
Did the apostles teach that?
36:26
If they did, then that's what we should be espousing and that's what we should be trying
36:30
to uphold.
36:31
John is saying this is how we're reasoning.
36:33
We were apostolic eyewitnesses.
36:34
We saw, felt, touched, handled, and our information ultimately came from God.
36:39
Why do you believe baptism's for the forgiveness of sins?
36:41
Don't ever lead out with, well, my preacher said.
36:44
Well, in the church of Christ, we don't.
36:46
That's not good enough.
36:47
That doesn't mean anything to anybody.
36:48
What actually matters is, hey, you know, the apostles were eyewitnesses and they wrote
36:52
the stuff down that Christians should do, practice, and believe.
36:55
And because our fellowship's with them, we're on their team, the only thing I know about
36:58
Jesus that really matters is the stuff the people that were walking with him actually
37:02
wrote down and said.
37:03
So if you can't put your finger on the passage, then I'm not going to practice that.
37:06
I'm doing those things because our fellowship, this is how John's reasoning.
37:10
The only reason why you should believe us is because we have inspired testimony and
37:14
that inspired testimony comes from God and that's whose team you really want to be on.
37:18
That's who you want to have fellowship with.
37:20
That's who you want to be in partnership with.
37:22
And John says we can know those things.
37:24
And verse four, so your joy can be full.
37:27
John wrote so that your joy may be full.
37:29
All right.
37:30
Correct.
37:31
Yeah.
37:32
That's right.
37:33
Yeah.
37:34
And right after that, in Matthew 16, Jesus says, I'm going to build my church and then
37:43
he says, I'm going to give the apostles the keys and whatever they bind on in earth would
37:47
have been bound in heaven.
37:48
It's the same process from God to the apostles.
37:51
And when we submit to the apostles, listen, John's saying you weren't there.
37:56
Verses one and two, you couldn't quote that and say it was true about you.
37:58
Did you see him?
38:00
Everybody go like this.
38:01
You weren't there.
38:02
Okay.
38:03
Did you touch him?
38:04
Did you feel him?
38:05
No.
38:06
But John's saying, guess what?
38:07
If you believe our testimony, it's just as good as if you were there in person because
38:11
you're receiving it from trustworthy sources.
38:13
You didn't have to be there.
38:14
We were there.
38:15
We saw, touched, handled.
38:17
We felt Jesus.
38:19
We heard him.
38:20
And because we're writing these things to you, you're on our team and you have participation
38:23
with us and that's just as good and we ultimately have fellowship with God.
38:27
That's what matters.
38:28
That's why we appeal to what the apostles wrote and that's where our fellowship is enjoyed.
38:32
Now, the last part, how fellowship is maintained, that's verses five through 10.
38:36
John says in verse five, God is light and in him is no darkness at all.
38:40
That's about God's holiness and purity.
38:42
So verse three, you have fellowship with God, but that fellowship can only be maintained.
38:47
You can only stay in partnership with God if you make sure that you stand the light
38:51
where he is.
38:52
God is light and in him is no darkness at all.
38:54
Jesus says in John 8 in verse 12, I'm the light of the world.
38:59
He that walks with me won't walk in darkness, but he'll have the light of men or the light
39:03
of life.
39:04
And he says in verse six, if we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness,
39:09
what does your Bible say at the end of verse six?
39:13
We lie and?
39:15
Okay, if you're writing your Bible, here's a time to write, here's a time to circle.
39:19
Starting in verse six, John's going to make seven if statements back to back.
39:23
John's going to hinge a lot of what he says on if this is true and they come in rapid
39:26
succession.
39:27
So first is in verse six.
39:29
If we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and we don't practice
39:32
the truth.
39:33
That's the first one.
39:34
Then in verse seven, if we walk in the light, then in verse eight, if we say we have no
39:40
sin, he does it again in verse nine.
39:42
If we confess our sins, he's going to do it in verse 10.
39:46
If we say we have not sinned, then he'll do it in chapter two in verse one.
39:51
He says, my little children, these things we write to you so that you don't sin.
39:55
But if anybody sins, we have this advocate with the father.
39:58
And then last, he'll do it in chapter two in verse three, when he talks about if we
40:01
keep his commandments.
40:02
So a lot of what John's going to hinge his arguments on throughout this book is if this
40:06
is true.
40:07
And the first one's in verse six of chapter one.
40:09
If we say we have participation with God and walk in darkness, we lie and don't practice
40:13
the truth.
40:14
You're not God's partner if you walk and live in darkness.
40:18
A person that says, well, I believe in Jesus.
40:21
God knows my heart.
40:22
John says, if you claim that, but you don't persist in faithfulness, you lie and don't
40:27
practice the truth.
40:28
Your life actually has to be changed by these truths John's sharing.
40:32
But if it has been true of you, and if you walk in the light, as he is in the light,
40:36
you have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
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So first John 1.7 is about if you walk in the light, as he is in the light, you have
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fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse you from all
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sin.
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Why does that matter?
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Because the day you get baptized, what does God do with all your sins?
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Wash them away.
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Y'all told me a moment ago, though, how long am I going to be struggling with sin?
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All my life.
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Verse 5 says, if I'm walking in the darkness, I can't have fellowship with God.
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So how can a person who's still going to struggle with sin their whole life be in participation
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with God?
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You can't be sinlessly perfect.
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What does John say you have to do in verse 7?
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Walk in the light.
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John says, if you walk in the light, as he is in the light, then you have fellowship,
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and the blood of Jesus will keep cleansing you from all sins.
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That means several things, and I know we're about to run out of time, but this is important
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for your Christian life and how you go about living the Christian life.
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This means that if you walk in the light, God's not demanding sinless perfection for
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you.
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In fact, according to John, in the light you sin, or you wouldn't need the blood to keep
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cleansing you.
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But if you walk in the light, just like he's in the light, you keep this partnership, fellowship
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with him, with the apostles, with other Christians, and the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse
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you from all sin.
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John uses the same word for cleanse here that's used like in Matthew 8 in verse 2.
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The leper came to Jesus, he says, if you will, you can make me clean, question.
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When Jesus cleanses the leper, Jesus says, I'm willing, he cleanses him, question.
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How much leprosy did the leper retain?
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This is easy math, right?
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How much?
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Zero.
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If you walk in the light as Jesus is in the light, according to the Bible, how much sin
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do you retain?
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How much sin did he say he cleansed you of in verse 7?
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How much?
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All of it.
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Look at verse 9.
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He's faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and cleanse you from what?
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How much of it do you retain?
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So it's not the case that we're sinless, but it's also not the case according to the New
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Testament that Christians are just, well, you know us, just filled with sin, can't get
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rid of it.
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John says, you don't retain any of it.
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Are you in the light?
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What does that mean?
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That doesn't mean sinless perfection.
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That means I'm persistently trying to walk in harmony with God's will.
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It means, according to John in chapter 2, verses 7 through 11, I love the brotherhood,
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I love other Christians, and as long as you do that, the blood keeps cleansing you.
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You don't run in the direction of willful sin, but even when you're not perfect, even
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if you die without praying, God, forgive me for my sins, right before you get hit, I hope
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you don't get hit by an 18-wheeler, but if you do, it's not this magic form, I gotta
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die in my sleep.
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I hope God takes me right before one of those, I don't need that.
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I don't need that.
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Even if I fall short right before I die, I know if I'm in the light, the blood's been
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cleansing you your whole life, and God didn't send Jesus all this way so that your salvation
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can always be this up and down, maybe, possibly, and you better die right before one of those
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prayers.
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You know what?
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I know I'd be safe to go to heaven if I got baptized right before death.
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According to John, if you're in the light, you're just as clean today as the day you
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got baptized, because you retain just as much sin.
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If you believe that, it'll change the way you live.
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You already have eternal life.
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You can go out and evangelize.
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You don't wanna just go soil yourself and just get yourself dirty in sin, but you know
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if you stumble, the same blood that was available then is available now, and it's just as potent,
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and it continues to cleanse.
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The only thing that'll stop it is what he says in verses eight and 10, right when the
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bell rings.
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If you deny sin, if you refuse to be open and honest and confess it, God can't deal
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with it.
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If you cover it, God'll reveal it.
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If you confess it and reveal it, God'll cover it, and then he'll take it away, and you won't
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retain any of it.
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John says that's the truth, that's what we can know, and that'll give you full joy.
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All right, chapter two next week.
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Thanks for a good class tonight.