All right, I II III John, this is the class lesson number four: Abiding
in the Faith is the title of the class, I John 4:1-5:21.
In our last lesson John highlighted the main differences
between the good and the evil and a surefire test to determine the two. He
said the good obey Jesus and the evil disobeyed Jesus, pretty simple pretty
simple acid test that he puts forth for his readers. He demonstrated this
difference by showing that those who love Christ and their brethren were
truly sons of God and those who didn't did not belong to God regardless of who
they were or what other characteristics they had; they could be good people, smart
people, modern people, there can be all kinds of people but if they didn't obey
Christ they didn't belong to Christ. So John was doing this of course to reveal
the hypocrisy of the false teachers who were infiltrating the church with their
persuasive but false notions about true spirituality, that was the battleground.
What is truly spiritual, how are you truly saved, who are truly the right ones?
So in effect he says to his readers if you want to discern the truly spiritual
people in the church examine their behavior. Makes sense doesn't it, pretty
common-sense thing examine their behavior. If their behavior conforms to
the example of Christ and His teachings and especially His loving attitude well
then you have truly a spiritual person. Now if you remember in our previous
lessons when he talks about these individuals they're claiming to have a
kind of a higher spirituality a better spirituality I will show you a better
way they said, a more intense more a godly gospel that'll give you
even more spiritual insight and power and this is why John is
of answering this. You want to see whose spiritual do you want to discern who the
truly spiritual are we'll compare them to Christ if they're doing what Christ
does, if they're acting like He does, if they teach what He taught, then you've
got a truly spiritual person on your hands. If on the other hand the person
violates Christ's teaching or does not have love especially he says for the
brethren that person's a fake a son of the devil he says not a son of God. Love
according to John is the defining characteristic of a Christian. Now in the
final verses of chapter three he summarizes the Christians basic
doctrines: faith in Christ as Savior that's one basic doctrine, love of others
as an expression of that faith kind of boils it all down to its most simplest
parts. So in the final chapters John will give the third of three, he started with
good conduct, love, the third of three ways that a person can be certain that
they belong to God. He will then finish with a conclusion and a summary. Remember
again the argument here the thing going on: who are the true disciples, who are the
ones that truly belong to God? The false teachers, the gnostic teachers, the one
who were teaching the secret knowledge they said you know if you learn the
secret knowledge from us and if you do what we say you'll really be a spiritual
person you'll really be saved. And so John and his letter is saying to them
these are the marks of the person who saved the one who believes in Christ and
His teachings, the one who loves his brother those are marks. Okay those are
you know descriptive qualities of the individual who's safe. So let's
look at our outline again see where we are in the process, confidence in
salvation right that's what he's talking about. First lesson we talked about
confident salvation because we're walking in the light and all of what
that means. Confident salvation by
abiding in love, talked about that. And in this particular section John's going to
talk about confidence in salvation because we abide in the faith. So we've
seen the way that John describes the fully human fully divine Jesus from his
eyewitness experience, he's also given two ways to confirm to yourself your
salvation: if you walk in the light, if you abide in love you know you are saved
because that's how saved people act. He also as I've just mentioned gives some
ways to discern the true from the false disciples and teachers. For example
disobedience to Christ especially in the matter of loving one's enemies. Now he
gets back on track for the third way a person can be assured of their salvation
whether or not they respect and teach and live according to Jesus's word
that's the third way he provides. So let's start chapter 4 shall we he says,
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are
from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you
know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from
God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is
coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children,
and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in
the world." In this section when he talks about spirit he's talking about teachers,
he's not talking about ghosts or apparitions he's talking about teachers
we know that in context because then he talks about prophets and teachers so
spirits are teachers okay. And he deals with the false teachers head-on, calls
them out, a simple acid test true teachers teach
that Jesus is fully human and fully divine at the same time, that's the true
teaching about Jesus Christ. False teachers vary from this teaching, either
Jesus is not fully human He's really a spirit only appeared as a human or Jesus
is really only human and for a time the Spirit of God was on Him you know like
the prophets of old to do great things.
Those are false teachings, Jesus: fully human, fully divine at the same time from
birth to physical death and of course subsequent resurrection. So anyone
claiming spirituality John is saying here anyone claiming spirituality or
knowledge or insight teaches this teaching and those who do not do not
come from God regardless of their personality or their following.
They may be sincere but they're in error. I mean this passage here is a hard
teaching when you think about the the consequences of it.
Whoever does not teach that Jesus is fully human and fully divine does not
have God, there are a lot of people who teach that Jesus is not divine or not
human or not the Savior and John is saying here these people do not have God.
That's a hard teaching because most of the "teaching" from higher
institutions today are pluralistic in nature, in other words trying to get as
many people as possible into the kingdom of God. I've heard one teaching
interesting teaching for what it is but the idea being that every
single religion is really a Christian religion
but stunted. In other words the Hindu religion is really Christianity and if
Hindu can't kind of if they could have just follow through on their thinking
that arrived at the point where Jesus is God and so would Muslims and so would
Buddhists and so would every other religion. A very deep book high-sounding
theological themes and ideas but not in concert and not according to what John
says here in just a few verses. So John, anyone claiming rather
spirituality or knowledge needs to be teaching this simple thing. Let's keep
reading what he says, he says, "They are from the world; therefore they speak is
from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God
listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know
the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." So he doubles down
here, he says it one time then he says it another time; those who are
not teaching this they're in error. He goes on verse 7, "Beloved, let us love one
another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and
knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the
love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into
the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved
God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has
seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is
perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He and us, because He
has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testified that
Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world." So John repeats the idea
that love is also a factor in determining the true disciple and
teacher however he also adds that God's love was the motivating factor in
sending Jesus and to deny this is also to deny God's love.
Why else would God send Jesus? Why else this plan that took several
thousand years to be fulfilled to save us, why else do that? So to
neglect or to change this teaching is also to neglect to teach the single most
important example of God's love for man. Because if Jesus isn't God then God
does not displaying His love to man, because it's God in the form of man that
came to earth and that suffered the cross. So if Jesus is only a man then
that takes God out of the equation, if Jesus is only a spirit then it takes
the sacrifice out of the equation. He has to be divine and human; divine to give
the sacrifice power and value human in order to be able to relate it to human
beings. You take away one side or the other you spoil everything.
Without Christ and proper teaching about Him we cannot attain the kind of love
that sent Him and the kind of love that comes from Him. So false teaching
therefore interferes with the love of Christ for us this is truly what they
are to lose if they follow the false teachers, he's talking to them about love.
Keep reading says, "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in
him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has
for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God
abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence
in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There's no
fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment,
and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved
us. If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his
brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has
seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from
Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also." Again on the same
theme of love those who accept the proper teaching will also enjoy the
fruit of that teaching in their lives and that is the love of Christ in their
hearts. If you don't if you reject the idea that Jesus is divine or that Jesus
was fully human and offered His sacrifice for you, you don't receive the
benefits of salvation. The benefit of salvation is that your sins are forgiven
and that you receive the spirit that indwells you and when you receive that
you're transformed, you're regenerated into a new person, a new person with the
capacity to love as Christ loves and he's saying if you mess around
with the doctrine you're not going to get the result of the doctrine if you
change the teaching of the gospel you won't receive the benefits of the gospel
which is the forgiveness of sins. I mean what motivates Christians
gratitude I don't know about you, gratitude. I am so grateful that God
forgives my sins yesterday, sins today, sins even tomorrow
sin you'll forgive those I'm grateful for that. And I'm convinced we all
are and this is what motivates us to do what we do as Christians to go the
second mile, to turn the other cheek, all those things that that we see that God
gives us to do, gives us the example to do we do these things because
of gratitude because we realize what we have because of the gospel but if you
take the gospel away and change it you won't have those things and that's what
that's what he's arguing here. And so the love that we have for God that continues
to be developed and cultivated in us through the Spirit as we submit
ourselves to the Spirit in our walk of faith this love will bind us to God he
says it'll bind us to our brethren and it'll fortify us against Satan's attack.
Attacks meant to make us feel guilty and unsure about our salvation by accusing
us of our sins and our failures. I've said this before right the accuser of
the brethren that's the devil, all day all night he accuses us. Just remember
you know when your inner voice tells you
that you're no good or if your inner voice tells you that you're not going to
make it or that your sins are really not forgiven because you haven't repented
enough, ask yourself the question is this Jesus talking to me, is it the Lord
that's saying to me you're no good, is it the Lord saying to me you haven't
repented enough you haven't paid enough for your sins, is that Jesus talking to
you from the cross?
It's an old story but it still works in 2018
just like it worked back in the first century same old tactics. So John says we
can withstand these things and have confidence and peace of mind if the
love of Christ and others is on our hearts. It's a simple equation, if as a
Christian you're feeling guilty a lot, love more. That's the antidote
love more, love more God, love God more, love your brethren more. Unsaid but
inferred here is that this love is only available to those who
accept the teachings about Christ as given by the Apostles. All the
false teachers will produce, talking about these false
teachers here in the first century, all that the false teachers will
produce is doubt, fear, pride, sorrow, that's the only thing that they're
producing in the churches at this particular time. And John is saying to
you the gospel has brought the love of Christ into your very heart and soul
something that these false teachers and their teachings cannot give you and so
we jump to chapter 5 verse 1 he says, "Whoever believes that Jesus is the
Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and
observe His Commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His
commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of
God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world- our
faith." So John continues to repeat and build on this idea of abiding in faith
as a way to be certain of teachers and certain of self. He said that the
teaching will produce the love of God in our hearts for others, he said that false
teaching will not produce this kind of fruit. Now he's trying to demonstrate how
love of God is manifested. He's already explained some ways that
the love of the brethren is shown, here he says that obedience to Jesus' word is
the way that we show God we truly love Him. Doing this he says will produce
three things: first it'll show God that we love Him in the way He wants us to
show that we love Him. If God did not demonstrate to us and give us
instructions on how to worship Him we would not know how to worship Him. I mean
just take a look in the world all right take a look at countries different
countries the religions that have grown up without the revelation of God and
look at what they do they fall down in front of statues, their concept of God is
something that has six arms and twelve eyeballs, you know I mean this is without
understanding and knowledge so unless God opens the eyes of man, man doesn't
know what to do in his relationship with God. We don't know how to worship Him
unless He's given us how to do it, songs and spiritual songs and prayers in
the name of Christ and the communion with the bread and the fruit of the
vine and remember, all of this we didn't make this up God gave this to
us. We demonstrate our love to Him by obeying the things that He's given us,
why? Because in doing it His way we please Him. Isn't that what we want to do
when we're worshiping? I want to please God
not myself.
Secondly we show that our faith and our love our sincere and real and effective
when I do you know God's things God's ways I'm saying to God I want to
please you Lord, I want to show you my love. My grandchildren I show
them my love, as we all do right, we hug them and we hug them you just
want to squeeze them right? Give them a kiss or play with them or buy them things.
Well we can't do that to God, we don't buy Him anything we can't hug Him
we can't kiss Him but we can obey the things that He's given us to do, that
shows our love to Him and also it shows that the world no longer owns us. We are
free from the world and the flesh and the law once and for all.
We're able to say to Satan you don't own me anymore we're able to say to the
world you don't own me I live here but you no longer own me. Verse 5 to 12 need
to kind of move here it says, "Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who
believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the One who came by water and
blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the
blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For
there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the
three are an agreement. If 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. The 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. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and
this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have
the Son of God does not have the life." Can it be any clearer? Could John have
stated this idea any any more clearly? I'm not even sure that's good grammar. I
mean John throws down one last challenge to the Gnostic teachers who are
trying to lure away the innocent and unsuspecting with their promises of
secret knowledge and spiritual power. He states once and for all that the only
way to be free from the flesh from the world that's what the Gnostic teachers
are promising the only way to be free from this is to be free through Christ.
They're teaching you want to be free well you have to give up pork
and you give up eating meat and if you're married you know you have to
abstain from sex and you have to do this and you have to do that you know and
then you'll get to that secret power that powerful spiritual
place and John is refuting this. The way to access the power of God is through
the Son of God and he reminds them of the life of Christ,
the amazing witness of God. Well what do you think that water is here when he's
talking about the water, well the water Jesus was baptized what happened when
Jesus was baptized? God from heaven confirmed that He was the Son of God. So
there's the water, there's the voice, the Spirit, what do you think the blood is?
Well the cross and the resurrection he's saying these things witness who Jesus is
the very Son of God. So the amazing witness of God at His baptism, there's
the water, the glorious ministry of miracles
through the Holy Spirit, the death and resurrection, there's the blood the three
witnesses. If you doubt he says look at the witness that testifies to the truth
of what Jesus taught and compare that to what these false
teachers are teaching. Because spirits don't bleed and hedonists don't do
miracles, His ministry was no secret Jesus' ministry no secret. In essence
John is saying to his readers if they don't believe these witnesses and the
promise of eternal life these witnesses have made then they forfeit the promise.
Okay you don't want to believe Jesus you don't want to believe these three witnesses
here not good enough for you you want to go with the secret teachers you want to
go for the secret knowledge go ahead he says but realize one thing
you're leaving behind the promise of eternal life that comes with Christ. If
you think you've got a better deal somewhere else yeah go for it. And
make no mistake he says, the promise of eternal life only comes through Christ
and His teachings not through the secret and false teachings of these Gnostics.
Don't just listen to him he says, don't just listen to me,
John, he says listen to the witnesses that witness to the truth of what I'm
saying to you. So in the final verses John will summarize and close his letter
concerning this subject so let's read on verse 13 he says, "These things I have
written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know
that you have eternal life. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that,
if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears
us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked
from Him." So he ends this much the way as he ends his gospel.
He could write much more he could argue much more but these three
ways: walking in the light,
experiencing the love of God,
remaining faithful to the teachings. These three ways will help you have
confidence he says. And how to discern the true from the false teachers all of
this should be enough to preserve and strengthen their faith. If we pray to God
to help us to do these things, here you know this is not where he's saying
if you want a new bicycle you know ask God and you'll get a new bicycle, in
this particular passage he's referring to what he's been talking about, if
you're lacking confidence in your faith he's saying ask God he'll give you that.
If your faith about who Jesus is a little shaky you don't quite grasp
everything ask God He'll give you He'll help you grow stronger in your
faith concerning Jesus if you recognize that yes you know Christian love the
kind of love that God wants us to have for self and for others when we examine
ourselves we're thinking well I'm not as much of a loving person as I thought I
was or I could sure do a lot better and I would like to be able to love more
well he's saying ask God He'll give you this. This is a kind of prayer that God
answers. So if we pray to God to help us to do these things He will answer our
prayers this is what this section is actually referring to. Verse 16 and 17 he
says, "If 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 requests
for this. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death."
We know that Jesus talked about the sin that leads to death before in Mark 3:29,
Luke 12:10, he says "Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of man it
will be forgiven him, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit it
will not be forgiven of him." So this John is referring to these passages
here and that are in Mark and Luke. Now in context Jesus in these passages was
referring to those who were saying that He Jesus was of the devil and His
teachings were false and so John has been talking about people who claim
Jesus as a ghost and His teachings are not inspired or they're incomplete and I
believe that John is echoing Jesus here saying that all manner of sin is
forgivable except denying Christ, denying His word, denying His work, this is the
blasphemy of the Holy Spirit because he is the one who brings Christ it's the
Spirit that brings Christ's word, it's the Spirit that brought Christ from to
the cross and resurrected Him from the dead. So if you deny this I mean there's
nowhere else to go for forgiveness that's the point,
in other words John is saying if someone denies Christ and remains in denial of
Christ His person and His work and so and denies all of that, don't ask God to
forgive him that. Why? Because that's the only way that that person can receive
forgiveness through Christ. So if they reject Christ and they
completely do away with that there is no other way for forgiveness
and John is saying don't ask God to make an exception of someone who has denied
Christ He won't. This is the way of salvation and this is quite an
indictment against the false teachers let's always stay in context okay before
we apply ideas to the 21st century. He's still talking about the false
teachers, no forgiveness for these guys, don't ask God to forgive him because he
was nice to you and you know he bought lunch while he was talking to you about
his false doctrine.
So John has been talking about people who claim that Jesus is a ghost and His
teachings are not inspired, so if you deny this there's nowhere else to go for
forgiveness as I said John says you can pray that God forgive men's weaknesses
and immoralities, their irreverence, their failures, but don't ask Him to forgive
those who promote false teaching or rejection of Christ again because
there's no other way to save these people.
Now I'll say this because there's always a lot of discussion about you know the
unforgivable sin if that person repents, if that false
teacher says I've given it more thought and I have to
admit that yes I you know I was wrong about that, Jesus He is the Son of God
now that I look at the of evidence and I've thought about it and so on so well
of course that person is saved because why they've repented of their false
teaching and false things and they've come to believe in Christ well of course
God will forgive them. It's not the idea that God refuses to forgive somebody
forever, never talked to me about it doesn't matter if he repents he's done
no of course not. And so John finishes with four things
that all Christians should know, verse 18 he says, "We 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." Christians are not slaves to sin he's not saying here no one who is
born of God sins repeatedly as a habit we all sin of course but we're not
slaves of sin. The cross cleanses us, the Holy Spirit empowers us to be free from
the slavery of habitual sin. Second thing verse 19 he says, "We know that we are of
God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one." So Christians know
that there are only two kingdoms in this world: the kingdom of God and the kingdom
of Satan. You're in one or the other there's no neutral place. The majority of
the people in this world are in the kingdom of Satan but don't realize it.
That's why we preach the gospel brethren, that's why we have missionaries.
We've got one in Africa, we've got one in Haiti, and then we've got one on the
internet you know that's why we do that
because people are lost without Christ, there's no other way to save them. And
then verse 20 he says, "And 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." Anybody says you
where does it say in the Bible that Jesus is God well go to the I John
5:20 and read that, what does it say? In His Son Jesus Christ this is the true
God and eternal life. Christians know and proclaim that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God and the Savior, those who are with Him are saved and those who are not are
not. Again a hard truth but we did not proclaim this truth God did we simply
repeat the truth. And then finally in verse 21 he says, "Little children, guard
yourselves from idols." Worshiping any other God or form of God is wrong and
not part of Christian teaching so beware of those who try to make it so. Always
keeping in mind he's talking about the false teachers at that place. So John
ends with a warning to his flock and a warning to those who would seduce them
after vain idols of human philosophy or speculation rather than the gospel
message preached by the Apostles. Nothing has
changed to this day, we still have false gods and false teachings emanating from
very smart and intellectual people that continues to be the case today, many
sophisticated, I mean today you're considered sophisticated if you're an
atheist yes, you're sophisticated if you're an atheist if you're a Christian
well you're certainly not sophisticated so nothing has changed
right this was the argument 2000 years ago come on step up
to a higher level you know. I say to you stick with the
gospel same attack today
evolution, humanism, aliens, where people believe that aliens started the human
race. All attempts to explain life and death without Christ are in the spirit
of the antichrist. A lot of people get their religious training from movies.
The antichrist in the movie all something with big eyes and horns and
you know his head twisting around and spitting up pea soup and all kinds of
stuff the anti-christ, yeah that's Hollywood's antichrist. John is saying
who's the antichrist the antichrist is anyone who preaches that Christ is not
the Son of God, who is that person? He is the anti-christ, no big mystery. The
antichrist could be a blonde haired blue-eyed
25 year-old woman. So we need to keep that in mind, the
antichrist is the one that preaches that Jesus is not God, that the gospel is not
for salvation, that's the antichrist and he sits in the
world, it's already there of course it was already at the church he was already
fighting. Okay so that's the end of I John not a very long reading assignment
here but if you want to just read ahead II John be ready for that we'll do
that one next time. We'll go through we'll do III John and bonus lesson in
this series, we'll also do the letter to Philemon, another short epistle because
we've got one week left in the quarter and we'll be able to do the letter to
Philemon in one class at the very end of the course. Alright that's it for today
thank you for your attention.