Saturday, May 22, 2010

11. Christ‘s Witnesses (5:6 – 21)


Christ’s Witnesses Testify

6This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
7For there are three that testify:
8the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.
9If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this that He has testified concerning His Son.
10The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.
11And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
12He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

Summary: The water, the blood, the Holy Spirit and the hearts of the true believers all testify that Jesus is the Son of God and that He has brought us eternal life. Jesus is more than a historical person; He is the embodiment of deity.

That You May Know

13These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. 14This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
15And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
16If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.
17All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death.
18We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.
19We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
20And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ This is the true God and eternal life.
21Little children, guard yourselves from idols – (and from the testimony of men, v.9

Summary: Christ assures true believers that we have eternal life, and in this assurance we may know that God will hear our requests and will also give life to those for whom we pray, providing they have not committed a “sin unto death” (an unpardonable sin). For these we are not asked to pray because such sinners either cannot or will not repent. All unrighteousness is sin but all sins do not carry a permanent death penalty; they can be forgiven. The true believers, those who are born of God, do not sin, i. e. they do not perpetual sins — they are sanctified and holy instead. Being in this state, the evil one does not touch them. The whole world is under the power of the evil one but true believers are of God. Christ has come and has given us understanding. Therefore, we must keep ourselves from idols (those objects that hold our attention and keep us from Christ.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

John's Letters

10. Faith and Knowledge

Can a Christian be certain of his standing with God? Faith grows to become assurance. “The main elements in ‘faith’ ... are (1) a firm conviction, producing a full acknowledgement of God’s revelation of truth, e.g., 2 Thess. 2:11-12; (2) a personal surrender to Him, John 1:12; (3) a conduct inspired by such surrender, 2 Cor. 5:7.” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary). John assures us that when we are in the Will of God we know that the things we experience by faith are true. The following quotations are from the letters of John.

l. We know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments (I John 2:3).

2. We know because we have been anointed by the Holy One (2:20).

3. We know the truth (2:21).

4. We know that when Christ appears we shall be like Him (3:2).

5. We know that Jesus appeared to take away our sins (3:5).

6. We know hat we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren... (3:14).

7. We know that when we love in truth, we are of the truth and our hearts will assure us before God (3:19).

8. We know that in whatever our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and will assure us (3:l8, l9).

9. We know that when our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God (3:21).

10. We know by the Holy Spirit that when we keep His commandments we abide in Him and He in us (3:24).

l1. We know the Spirit of God by this: ever spirit that confesses that Jesus came in the flesh is of God (3:24).

12. We know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error because those who are of God hear us (4:6).

l3. We know that Christ dwells in us and we in Him because He has given us His Spirit (4:13).

14. We know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep His commandments (5:2).

15. We know that we have eternal life (5:13).

16. We know that He hears us and will grant the requests that we ask of Him (5:15).

17. We know that no one who is born of God sins (Greek, continually sin) but Christ keeps him and the evil one does not touch him (5:18).

18. We know that we are of God and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one (5:19).

19. We know that the Son of God has come, and that He has given us understanding, in order that we might know Him who is true and be in Him (5:20).

You will rejoice and be glad when your faith matures into knowledge.

Friday, May 7, 2010

9. Overcoming the World

1 John 5: 1-5

1Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.
2By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.
3For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
4For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.
5Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

I need not relate how wayward and wicked the world is. Everyone knows this, except those who are too blind to see and too dead to feel. I choose rather to ask you to reflect on the blindness and indifference you see about you and ask that you examine your heart and life and your relationship with Christ. If there is anything between you and your Lord that hinders your full enjoyment of life, now is the time to realize it and get it off of your mind and shoulders. John tells us how to do this; he calls it “overcoming the world.”

If you are a true believer in Christ, you have experienced the new birth and are a child of God. If you love God the Father for His goodness and grace, you are sure to love His Son also. And with this divine love in your heart, you will love your brothers and sisters in God’s family. In this love it is easy to obey the Father’s commands because they are not burdensome. Observe how others struggle with the commands of God. Many spend their entire lives in guilt and fear.

If God’s commandments become burdensome to you, this is a strong indication that there is something lacking on your part of the relationship. How vain and pretentious it is for one to talk about his love for God and show a lack of love for his brothers and sisters. If you love God you will surely love your brothers and sisters in His family. We have the best Father ever; don’t you think we should love Him and love one another as He loves us? If you have a problem loving and showing it, others will see that you have not yet overcome the world. Look around you and observe what people say and do; this will indicate whether they are children of God or people of the world. Others will judge you by the same standard.

The Old Testament Law commanded those under it to “Love the Lord your God;” the New Testament is full of assurance that God loves us, and that “We love because He first loved us.” We love not just God but our spiritual siblings and everyone because God showed us the meaning of love by loving us.

Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. “Everybody who's talkin' ‘bout heaven ain’t a goin’ there.” Are you a true believer? Do you truly believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Do you believe that His death satisfied the condemnation of God upon your sins? And that His resurrection is your assurance that you will also be raised to meet Him when He comes? “Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

Observe the following truisms in this reading.
1. If one believes in Jesus Christ, he is born of God.
2. Whoever loves the Father loves His children also.
3. We know that we love one another when we obey our Father command to do.
4. Our Father’s commandments are not burdensome to those who love Him and His other children.
5. Just as God’s commandments are not burdensome, neither is the world – once it has been overcome.
6. How will others know that we as brothers and sisters are the children of God if we don’t show then by the way we live? Perhaps our love for them will be their invitation into the family.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

8. Surprise by Love – No 2

I appreciate the favorable response I received from last week’s, “Surprised by Love” essay. There is much more that should be written about my love epiphany – my confrontation by the love of God – my surprise. In this essay I will fill in some of the gaps in my testimony to this experience. But first, I hasten to say that no one should spend his life chasing experiences; “Cast your burdens upon the Lord.” “Draw near to the throne of God with boldness.” Don’t envy the experiences of others.

On the plane in our return trip from Florida to Indians, after I had discovered that God loves Lacy Williams, I started talking about my dad who had been dead for 15 years. I didn’t understand why he came to mind or why I felt such love for him. Dad and I were not very close. Although he was a fine Christian man, I don’t recall him ever telling me he loved me. Instead, I learned years later, that he told mother that I was his “strange son.” On the other hand, I don’t remember telling him that I loved him. I know we loved one another; we were just unable to express it. But at this moment I felt a deep affection for him and wanted very much to talk with him and to share what I was experiencing. (You don’t want to wait until its fifteen years too late to tell your father you love him, so do it now ! Do it while he is able to hear you. It will mean the world to him and give him an opening to express his love for you.)

After a while I remembered a verse from I John, “We love because He first loved us” (I John 4:19). I loved my father as I had never loved him before because, for the first time, I experienced God’s love for me! I know this statement to be true because, for the first time, I also felt a strange affection for everyone. I began expressing my feelings and showing my love for others in ways I had not done before. And I was rewarded with statements and gestures of affection that I wasn’t accustomed to receiving. We love our fathers, mothers, siblings, eve n our enemies, because God first loved us. What a surprise! What a life changing experience!

The following is humorous and full of joy. On Saturday when I was in the church building by myself, I started walking around the auditorium practicing my sermon aloud, as I often did. I related our trip, our blessings and the incident on the plane. When I came to the Book marker and the statement, “God loves Lacy Williams,” I was suddenly filled with joy. I laughed, I cried and I praised God for His grace and deliverance. This was the culmination of my epiphany, which I shared with my congregation the next day.

John Wesley said of his disciples who had experienced this sanctifying change, “Scarcely one third of them maintain their experience.” Of course we can’t be up on the mountain all the time, but we can remember that the God of the mountain is still God in the valley, the God of the good times is still God in the bad times, and the God of the day is still God in the night.” And we can always remember our mountain top experiences and thank God for them.

Finally, don’t be discouraged or intimidated by those who have had experiences that you haven’t had. You can’t know how much they have prayed or how long they have waited for God’s love to break through. If you don’t have an out of this world experience to relate, just tell others what the Lord has done for you. Rest in what you have and praise Him for it and He will give you more.

My Faith Has Found A Resting Place -- Words by Eliza Hewitt, music by Andre Gretry

My faith has found a resting place—
Not in device or creed:
I trust the ever living One—
His wounds for me shall plead.

Enough for me that Jesus saves—
This ends my fear and doubt;
A sinful soul I come to Him—
He’ll never cast me out.

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea;
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.