In the first sense, Christians are to receive and be thankful for the world, for it is God's gift. Jesus Himself was appreciative of the world in this sense. In the second sense, Christians are to love the world and seek to evangelize it, for God also loves the world. In the third sense, however, th
The first part of John's long parenthesis, verses 12-17, was written to reassure his readers; for John did not want them to think that he was questioning their salvation. Rather, he has written to them because their sins have been forgiven and because they do know the Father. If they miss this truth
John's two statements to the spiritually mature of his congregations, the fathers, are identical; what is more, they are also quite similar to the second of his statements to children. There is one difference, however, and in this difference lies the distinct nature of John's reference.John’s two st
Most persons have had the experience of making a remark that was intended for one individual and of having an entirely different individual take it personally. It may even have been that the one who applied the remark to himself was the one who least needed it. An experience like this is so common t
What does love mean? What will happen if those who profess the life of Christ actually love one another? Francis Schaeffer, who was referred to at the beginning of this study, has several suggestions. First, it will mean that when a Christian has failed to love his brother and has therefore acted wr
The last of John’s examples is again negative and follows quite naturally upon what precedes it. There he has spoken of the man who loves his brother and has shown the consequences of that. There are three consequences. After these, John appends a final and summarizing explanation. The first consequ
John has stated that the darkness is passing away and that the true light is shining; but, nevertheless, the darkness is not completely gone yet, nor is the light seen everywhere or in everybody. Therefore, he brings forward three examples of those to whom the test of love may be applied. There are
The command to love is old in that it existed and was known before Christ's coming. In its simplest form it is found in Leviticus 19:18, which says: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD." This is the verse to which Jesus referred when He was asked His opinion regarding the first a
In an appendix to his very excellent book, The Church at the End of the 20th Century, Francis Schaeffer speaks of love as "the mark of the Christian." His study is based upon John 13:33-35, in which Christ is recorded as having imparted a new commandment to His disciples: "A new commandment I give u
This conclusion also comes to Christians living in our own time. Do we say we are Christians? Then "he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." Clearly, in this verse the first "he" is the Christian; the second "he" or "him" is Jesus. The call is to emulate Jes
Yesterday, we pointed out that there are two kinds of men, and considered the first category. This is the man who claims to know God but who does not keep His commandments. Today we continue with a description of the second category of men.The second type is the man who obeyed God. He is not making
We saw in yesterday’s study that Jeremiah 9:23-24 speaks of some characteristics of God that are to be found in His people.In the same way, Jeremiah 31:34 speaks of the knowledge of God that God’s people will possess in the latter days: “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every
In contrast to either of these two Greek ideas, John's understanding of the knowledge of God is essentially personal and practical. So it is satisfying. It is satisfying because it is knowledge, not of an idea or thing, but of a person, and because it issues in a profound change of conduct.This idea
Anyone who has worked with young Christians knows that often shortly after a person has believed in Christ doubts set in. The initial experience of the Christian is usually one of great joy. He had been lost in the darkness of his own sin and ignorance; now he has come into the light. Formerly he ha
Second, although the word “propitiation” is used in biblical writings, it is nevertheless not used in precisely the same way it is used in pagan writings. In the pagan rituals the sacrifice was the means by which a man placated an offended deity. In Christianity it is never the man who takes the ini
The second term used by John of Jesus is "righteous." Indeed, it is this word rather than either "advocate" or "propitiation" which is emphasized. In what sense is it used?The second term used by John of Jesus is “righteous.” Indeed, it is this word rather than either “advocate” or “propitiation” wh
This is the principle of 1 John 2:1-2: forgiveness in advance for any sin that might ever come into our lives. This is God's promise, and it is given to us precisely that we might not sin. God is not shocked by human behavior, as we often are; for He sees it in advance, including the sins of Christi
Nothing that John has written thus far can be taken as an endorsement of sin. But it is possible that some might misunderstand his statements and thereby reach that conclusion. Has he not argued that all men sin? “Well,” they might argue, “if sin is inevitable, why struggle against it? You will sin,
The application of this section of John's letter must be to each man or woman individually. John has contrasted the nature of God ("God is light") with the nature of man; and he has begun to show the characteristics of those who walk in the light as opposed to those who walk in darkness. It is not e
In yesterday’s study we looked at the first result of walking in the light, which concerns fellowship with other Christians.Second, John says that the one walking in the light will find the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ available to him for continued cleansing. At first glance this seems a contradi
John's definition of God as light is followed by a denial of three false claims in which the reader is probably right in hearing an echo of the erroneous teachings of John's Gnostic opponents. These men claimed to have entered into a higher fellowship with God than was known by most other Christians
In biblical thought two special ideas are associated with the image of light, however. First, the image generally has ethical overtones. That is, it is a symbol of holiness or purity as well as of intelligence, vision, growth and other realities. This is apparent several times in John’s Gospel, as w
What is God? John answers: "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." This statement is John's first great thesis, leading naturally into much of the material that follows. In this section of the letter John presents his thesis (both from a positive and negative perspective), deals with three
At the conclusion to yesterday’s study, we saw that the first word used to describe how the Gospel is shared is martyrein, which originally denoted the bearing of testimony in a court of law.Second, John says, we “proclaim” what we have seen and heard to you. On the surface this verb seems much like
