I John

I have been going through the book of I John of late and wanted to share some of my reflections. I John is interesting to me because it was written by the apostle John (although there is a lot of disagreement that he is the author, as there is with most of the purported authors of the books of the New Testament)toward the end of his life. John had most likely by this time witnessed the ministry of Christ, the eventual spread of the Gospel throughout the World, the destruction of the Jewish temple, and the problems inherent with proclaiming the truth of the Word of God in a hostile world. I think it is quite worth our listening carefully to what someone with such extensive wisdom has to say.

While there is much speculation what issues John was addressing (of course), it appears very certain that John was addressing problems in former members teaching false doctrine and confusing those in the flock John was focusing on. John is essentially stressing that Christ did come in the flesh and that genuine faith in Christ results in obedience to God and true love for others.

I will share my thoughts in a devotional-like manner; I like to use the format of Text-Thought-Prayer. Text is noting some compelling elements in the text, Thought is my personal contemplations on the text and Prayer is attempting to apply the truths of the passage to my life. My first entry will be the first 4 verses of I John Chapter 1:

Text
I John 1.1-4- “The beginning of time”, Gk. Ap arkes, probably not the beginning of Christianity but the beginning of time itself. “We heard”, perfect tense, meaning
the message was heard and continues to be heard to this day. The personal message of Christ could be heard, felt and seen.

Thought
Christ touches all of our senses- we must, however, recognize fellowship is only possible with the Father and the Son. Only through the Son can we know the Father.

Prayer
Do I let Christ penetrate all of my senses? The temptation of having “heard” God is to forget that he constantly speaks and must be heard continually. Lord, help me to hear you Today.

Next: I John 1.5-2.2

Comments

Mon, 01/11/2010 - 9:07pm — thebish

I John 2.3-2.11

TEXT-
“Have come to know him”, perfect tense signifying that there was a point where they recognized he was the Christ, and they are currently learning more about Christ. “If we obey his commands”, this is characteristic of believers not the condition they must fulfill. Unlike the false teachers, we must actually do what Christ taught, not simply intellectually assent to it. We cannot claim to know God if we ignore his word to us. V. 6 “Must walk as Jesus did”, “Jesus” = Gk. ekeinos for “that one”, a strong demonstrative pronoun reflecting Acts 10.38; we are to exemplify Christ unlike the false teachers. V. 7 “the old command and the new command” refer back to Det. 6.4 (the old), but this old command was lived out in Christ's life; this is what makes the command new, we are to imitate the example Christ lived out as Light in loving God and others. “Hates his brother”, v. 9, there is no neutrality with John, we either regard others with love or we hate them. When we “live in the light” there is no room for hate. We become less self-centered and are able to love others more freely.

THOUGHT-
Like James exhorted us in James 1.22-25, John exhorts us to be doers and not just hearers of the word. John is telling us here that God is not just some great thought, but also causes us to act on his word and to practically love others. We cannot have fellowship with God and not with man or vice-versa. The love of God is truly exemplified when we, in the power of the Holy Spirit through God’s Word, love others in an unselfish manner. It must be both orthodoxy and orthopraxy that drives the followers of the Light.

PRAYER-
Lord, help me this day not to look into your word and forget immediately what I just read. Show me how to imitate your love for others in the personality and gifts that you have given me. By your power and strength help me to walk the same path as “That One” did.

Mon, 01/04/2010 - 9:33pm — thebish

I John 1.5-2.2

In this next section, John's presents his key thought in the letter (in my opinion) in verse 5, "God is Light". In a world where false teachers had tried to lead them astray, personal sin, doubt and other works of darkness that had shaken their confidence, John reminds his flock of the security and care of the God who is Light.

TEXT-
I John 1.5-2.2- “God is light” revealed by Jesus, Gk, ap autou, “message we have heard from him” denotes revelation and salvation. V. 7, “fellowship with one another” shows that to walk in the light we not only love God but also other people. V. 8 Apparently some false teachers had broken away from this church and were teaching that we could sinless and John was correcting that thought here. By confessing our sins (rather than denying them), God is just and faithful to forgive us, echoing Det. 32.4. In verse 9 John is intimating that not only the guilt of sin is removed but also the power of sin over our lives is dealt with. God is the God who forgives sin (c.f. I Ki. 8.46, Ps. 14.3, Prov. 20.9), contra the false teachers who claim they have not sinned (v.10). Verse 2.1, John mentions “if anyone sins” for the third time so far in this letter! “Jesus Christ, the Righteous One”, c.f. Is. 53.11, probably a messianic title. V. 2.1, “advocate”, Gk. Paraclete, same word used for the Holy Spirit, our helper. V. 2, Christ alone is the propitiation and expiation, Gk. Hilasmos, for the whole world. While it is a much debated word, the idea is most likely that Christ both removed the guilt of sin, expiation, and restored our relationship with God, propitiation.

THOUGHT- Forgiveness of sin is neither a license to sin or a claim to “be above it all”. Our salvation and revelation is from Christ's hand alone and can only be experienced in love and community with others. Inevitably there will be times when we do sin, but Christ has become the expiation and propitiation for our sin. We are to honor that sacrifice by not downplaying our sin. Intriguingly, God also calls us to not project our feelings about ourselves as if that is how God feels about us; we are to accept his forgiveness on the face value of its power.

PRAYER-Lord, it is all too easy for me to overlook my sin and to dwell in the darkness. Your Word frequently reminds me, however, that you are willing and able to forgive my sin. Help me not to hide like Adam and Eve, and to let you remove all my sin and the guilt of sin.


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