1 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.
Contents Introduction and background... 3 1.1-4 Prologue / Introduction... 5 1.5-2.2 Walking in the light... 6 2.3-11 Keeping His commands... 7 2.12-17 The church and the world... 8 2.18-27 A warning about antichrists... 9 2.28-3.10 The hope of God s children... 10 3.11-18 Brotherly love, the mark of the Christian... 11 3.19-24 Assurance and obedience... 12 4.1-6 The spirit of truth and the spirit of deception... 13 4.7-12 God's love and our love... 14 4.13-21 A combination of two tests... 15 5.1-4 A combination of three tests... 16 5.5-12 The true faith confirmed... 17 5.13-21 Christian assurance... 18 2 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.
Introduction and background Who, why, and when? 1 John was almost certainly written by Jesus close friend and follower, John (the apostle John). In fact, if you read the gospel of John alongside this series in 1 John you will notice plentiful links, similarities, and connections between the two books. It s likely that John was writing to several churches across Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) sometime in the late 1 st century. He states his purpose for writing clearly in the letter: I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. (5.13) It appears from the letter that false teachers and false teaching about the gospel were causing Christians to have doubts about their salvation. For this reason, John opens the letter with a heavy emphasis on the truth of the Incarnation (where the Word became flesh, John 1.14), and his authority as an eyewitness of Jesus. Nearly all heresies through history have some roots in a denial of the true incarnation either reducing the full humanity of Jesus, or the full deity of Jesus. John speaks as an authoritative witness to the physical incarnation of the Son of God in the flesh; Jesus of Nazareth. It is the person and work of Jesus that is this 'word of life', the non-negotiable core of orthodox Christianity. What s the letter about? From this core of the true, historic Jesus and His work (in other words, the 'gospel'), flow three essential tests of true Christianity. These weave throughout the letter. These are 1) the doctrinal test of true, orthodox belief centred on the person of Jesus; 2) the moral test shown in obedience to God's commands and a desire for righteous living; and 3) the test of love shown primarily in love for our Christian brothers and sisters. We must realise that it is possible for someone to come to church, call themselves a Christian and yet not display these marks of true Christianity. Thus, John's purpose is to give Christians certainty (also known as 'assurance') of the life they have in Jesus (in contrast to their doubts raised by false teachers/teachings). Implicitly the letter also gives a challenging wake-up call to complacent 'Christians' to examine their life and doctrine, and to make sure that they really are in possession of what they claim: the word of life. For the Christian, when we are walking in sound doctrine, obedience to God, and love for one another we can not only be assured of our salvation, but know true joy from true fellowship with God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Note that 1 John fits in perfect harmony with the rest of the New Testament. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone; it is the person of Jesus Christ, and what He achieved in His life, death, and resurrection that saves us. We add nothing to it, and can only access all this by faith (this is a key argument in the books of Romans, Ephesians, and Galatians for instance). Yet, through trusting in Jesus, our faith 'gives birth' to a new way of life. True faith is demonstrated by its works. This is a 3 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.
key argument made in the book of James, as well as here in 1 John. Whilst James seems primarily written to wake Christians up from a false, lazy, double-minded Christianity, 1 John seems written to give assurance to Christians who were struggling with doubt and uncertainty. We look to faith in Jesus alone for our salvation; we look to the effects of our faith in our life for assurance of that salvation. 1 John is particularly about the latter. Scripture quotations in this booklet are from either The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers, or Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 4 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.
1.1-4 Prologue / Introduction 27th September 2015 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (ESV) What is fellowship? What does it mean to have fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ? How does Christian fellowship (v3) relate to Jesus coming in the flesh (v1-2)? Read through the whole letter in one sitting. What words keep coming up? What themes and ideas are repeated? What seems surprising or confusing? 5 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.
1.5-2.2 Walking in the light 4th October 2015 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practise the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 2 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (ESV) John highlights three areas of false thinking, beginning each with if we say... ; can you summarise each of the three, and what true thinking John replaces it with? If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves (v8) In what ways do we do this? What difference does it make to you in everyday life that we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ? If it makes little difference, why is that? What does propitiation mean? Is John saying in v2 that every single person who has ever lived in the world will be saved because of Jesus? 6 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.
2.3-11 Keeping His commands 11th October 2015 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. 7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (ESV) Do you think of God s commands as good, or tiresome? Why is that? In what ways do we do verse 4? See verse 6. What is the proof that we are dwelling in the Lord Jesus? What is this commandment that is both old and new (v7-8)? In what ways do you avoid, or hold back on, loving people? 7 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.
2.12-17 The church and the world 18th October 2015 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. 14 I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (ESV) Summarise the poem in v12-14. What is our status as Christians? What does John mean by the world? Verses 15-16: Why is there no middle ground? What does it mean to love the world? Is it wrong, for instance, to enjoy your job, or be pleased after tidying your home, or to eat a tasty meal? What is the will of God? How do we know it? How do we do it? What aspects of the world lure you most strongly (v16)? What gospel truth do you need to keep returning to? 8 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.
2.18-27 A warning about antichrists 25th October 2015 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us eternal life. 26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie just as it has taught you, abide in him. (ESV) Who is John describing in v18-19? What is this anointing (v20,27)? What is the essence of antichrist (v22)? How is it manifested today? Look at verses 22-24: What is the warning to Christians? What is the encouragement? Look at verse 27. Are you abiding in Jesus? What does it mean to abide in Him (you may like to look up John chapter 15 too)? 9 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.
2.28-3.10 The hope of God s children 1st November 2015 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practises righteousness has been born of him. 3 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practises lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practises righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practise righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. (ESV) Why does abiding in Jesus give confidence at His coming? 3.1-3 is a summary of our hope as Christians. Does this fill your thinking? How does this hope affect how you live, right now? Verse 10, by this it is evident, sums up verses 4-9. What is the evidence of your life? If we realise we are actually abiding in sin, what should we do (look back to 1.5-2.2)? 10 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.
3.11-18 Brotherly love, the mark of the Christian 8th November 2015 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (ESV) Review the account of Cain and Abel in the Bible (Genesis 4). Why does John refer back to Cain and Abel here? How does he interpret Genesis 4; what point is he making? How do we know we are alive, according to v14? Do you accept the verdict of v15 (see also Matthew 5.21-26)? What are the tests of whether you love someone or not (v16-18)? How do they compare with what you think, or what the world says about love? 11 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.
3.19-24 Assurance and obedience 15th November 2015 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. (ESV) How do we have confidence before God (or not)? God knows everything (v20). What should our response be to this fact? What should we do when our hearts condemn us? What does it mean to keep God s commandments, according to this passage? How do we abide in God? How does He abide in us? 12 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.
4.1-6 The spirit of truth and the spirit of deception 22nd November 2015 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. 3 But every spirit who does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist; you have heard that he is coming, and he is already in the world now. 4 You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world. Therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Anyone who knows God listens to us; anyone who is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception. [HCSB] Recap 1 John 2.18-27, where John has already mentioned antichrist. What instructions are we given here in 4.1-6? What is the key test of doctrine for Christianity? What substitutes do we tend to use? Verse 4: how have we conquered false spirits? Who is the us in verse 6? 13 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.
4.7-12 God's love and our love 29th November 2015 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 God s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and His love is perfected in us. [HCSB] Why should we love one another? God is love but what does that mean (from these verses)? What stops us loving one another? How do we fake it? How does the gospel help us to love one another truly? 14 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.
4.13-21 A combination of two tests 6th December 2015 This is how we know that we remain in Him and He in us: He has given assurance to us from His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent His Son as the world s Saviour. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God God remains in him and he in God. 16 And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. 17 In this, love is perfected with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, for we are as He is in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love. 19 We love because He first loved us. 20 If anyone says, I love God, yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother he has seen cannot love the God he has not seen. 21 And we have this command from Him: The one who loves God must also love his brother. [HCSB] What are the tests of whether we remain (abide) in God or not? How does perfect love drive out fear? If we fear God s punishment, what should we do? What should we focus on? What is the point John is making in v20-21? 15 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.
5.1-4 A combination of three tests 13th December 2015 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves the one born of Him. 2 This is how we know that we love God s children when we love God and obey His commands. 3 For this is what love for God is: to keep His commands. Now His commands are not a burden, 4 because whatever has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith. [HCSB] What are the tests that we have been born of God? What does it mean to conquer the world (v4)? What is it referring to? How do we know if we love God? How would we like to answer that question, and how does the passage answer it? 16 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.
5.5-12 The true faith confirmed 27th December 2015 And who is the one who conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 Jesus Christ He is the One who came by water and blood, not by water only, but by water and by blood. And the Spirit is the One who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water, and the blood and these three are in agreement. 9 If we accept the testimony of men, God s testimony is greater, because it is God s testimony that He has given about His Son. 10 (The one who believes in the Son of God has this testimony within him. The one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony God has given about His Son.) 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn t have the Son of God does not have life. [HCSB] How does this passage fit with, and follow on from, the previous one? What are the water and the blood referring to? What is the testimony of men? What is the testimony of God? Do you have life? How do you know (you may like to recap through the book at this point to answer this question)? 17 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.
5.13-21 Christian assurance 3rd January 2016 I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 Now this is the confidence we have before Him: Whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for. 16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin that does not bring death, he should ask, and God will give life to him to those who commit sin that doesn t bring death. There is sin that brings death. I am not saying he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin that does not bring death. 18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not sin, but the One who is born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the sway of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true One. We are in the true One that is, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols. [HCSB] What has been John s purpose in writing this letter? Go back through the letter and make a list of tests he has given of being certain of true Christian faith. What does it mean to ask according to His will (v14)? What is John referring to in v16-17? Who does what in v18; can you put it into your own words? How are v19-21 a conclusion to the whole letter? Why does he mention idols suddenly at the very end (v21)? When can you make time this week to re-read the whole letter prayerfully? 18 Tyneside Church Central exists to make Jesus Christ famous, loved, and followed.