THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST
SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUs
(Chapters 1-2)
Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now, Timothy Sparks and Ben Bailey.
Timothy Sparks:
“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1:7). I’m Timothy Sparks.
Ben Bailey:
And I’m Ben Bailey. Welcome to our study of the Book of 1 John. This lesson is being brought to you by individual members and congregations of the churches of Christ. We invite you to visit the church of Christ in your area. Let them know how much you appreciate this broadcast, and ask them to study the Bible with you. You will find people who love God supremely, and who are interested in going to Heaven. We are making these broadcasts available on CD or DVD. If you would like a complimentary copy, you may log onto our website at www.thegospelofchrist.com, fill out the request form you will find there, and we will be happy to send to you whatever you need. We will not even charge you for the postage.
In 1 John, we enter into a study about “walking in the light” and about “walking in the love of God.” We are going to learn that it is imperative for Christians to “walk in the light.” In John 8:12, we learn that Jesus is the light. So, we must walk “in the light.”
Timothy Sparks:
This whole idea of “walking in the light” has to do with fellowship. If we walk in the light, then we will have fellowship with God and with one another, “and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1:7). We could refer to the overall theme of 1 John as “true fellowship.” From the first three verses of 1 John 1, we learn how Christ is the manifestation of eternal life, and that He came to show us eternal life. John wrote,
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 Jn. 1:1-3).
Ben Bailey:
We learn a lot about the idea of eternal life from John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” The concept of “eternal life” carries with it the implication of having a close and intimate relationship with God. The hope of eternal life is one of the blessings of being a Christian. In 1 John 2:25, John writes, “And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.” The beauty of eternal life is not just living forever. It is living forever in the presence of God and Christ in a place of never-ending bliss. In verse 5, John says, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” This whole letter is a letter of light and of love. Chapters 1-2 might be referred to as instructions on “walking in the light.” We, as Christians, are supposed to walk in the light. Chapters 3-5 might be referred to as “walking in love.” In 1 John 4:8, we learn that God Himself is love. Thus, we are to follow His example. This whole book is patterned after God. Because there is no darkness in Him, then we must be people who continually walk in the light, not in darkness. We must walk in the light, love the light, and tell others about the light of Jesus Christ. The idea of “walking in the light” is intended to portray to us the fact that we must live the Christian life. Being a faithful Christian is more than just attending an assembly on Sunday or Wednesday. It is more than singing, giving, or taking the Lord’s Supper. It has to do with living faithfully every single day. When people see you as a Christian, do you represent the light of God to them? By your speech, action, and example, do you show the light of God in your life? According to Matthew 5:16, our light is to be such that it can be set on a hill to be seen by all people.
Timothy Sparks:
In 1 John 1:7, we read, “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” Some have suggested that this means that Christians can sin with no ill effects. Such a concept frequently is referred to as “the windshield-wiper effect.” The idea is that just as a windshield wiper immediately washes off any rain that hits the windshield, so the blood of Christ immediately washes away our sins—without our having to do anything about them. That, however, is not what John is teaching. He says that we must “walk in the light.” That word “walk” means “continually abide.” We must “continually abide in the light.” In fact, in the very next verse John says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” The worst type of deception is self-deception. John observes that it is possible for us to deceive ourselves. In 1 John 1:9, John goes on to say, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.” Sandwiched in between verses 7 and 9 is verse 8, which contains an important message that complements the thoughts of these two verses. John says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” There is a parallel in Acts 8:22. When Simon the sorcerer tried to buy the gift of the Holy Spirit, Peter said to him, “Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.” The context of 1 John 1:8 clearly indicates that repentance is necessary. If we sin, we must repent, we must confess our sins, and we must ask God to forgive us. As John begins chapter two, he says,
“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 Jn. 2:1-2).
John makes it clear in these two verses that he is writing so that we “may not sin.” Thus, those who offer up the “windshield-wiper effect” interpretation of 1 John 1:7 are clearly in error. Christians can sin. And when that happens, they must do something about it. John does not want us to sin so as to live in darkness. Rather, he wants us to live in the light of God’s love.
Ben Bailey:
John makes it clear in 1 John 1:7 that it is the blood of Christ that cleanses us. But we must “walk in the light.” We are not talking about some sort of “free cleansing that covers sin even if you do not know you have sinned.” John is talking specifically about people who are diligently trying to walk in the light. And when they sin, they confess those sins and repent—which is what “walking in the light” is all about. The nice thing is that we as Christians have an Advocate Who is willing to plead our case for us. The term “advocate” indicates a “helper.” It has been said that one of the great blessings of Christianity comes from the fact that God is our Judge, but that His Son, Jesus, is our lawyer! The text of 1 John 2:1 makes it clear that this is indeed the case. Jesus stands before God’s throne to “plead our case.” If we are faithful, we can know that He will “argue for us,” and that as a result, we will be saved. That is evident from John’s comments in verse 3, where he says, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” Christianity is not a guessing game. It is not something that is “better felt than told.” We can know that we are saved—if we follow God’s Word.
Timothy Sparks:
This is what John 17:3 is all about. When John wrote, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom You have sent,” he made it clear that we come to know God through Jesus, His Son. When we “know God through Jesus Christ, Whom [God] has sent,” then we know that we have eternal life. We achieve eternal life through knowledge of God, knowledge of Christ, and obedience to their commandments. John wants Christians to know that they do not have to sin. Their knowledge of God and His Word can keep them from sinning. But if they do sin, God has made provision for those sins to be forgiven. If we are willing to repent of our sins, and confess those sins, our “lawyer” Jesus will plead our case before the Judge. And Jesus, as it turns out, is the perfect lawyer, because He has never lost a case! Imagine going to court here on Earth, knowing that you had a lawyer who had never lost a case. While we may not have that happen to us in the here and now, we do have such a lawyer in Christ. Jesus will argue our case, and thus God will bring down the gavel to say, “Charges dismissed.” John’s purpose in writing, therefore, is to remind us of our Advocate, and to urge us to walk in the light so that we do not sin. Through obedience to Christ and His commands (Jn. 14:15), we are able to maintain spiritual fellowship with God and Christ.
Ben Bailey:
In the religious world of our day, the concept of “fellowship” is one that is engulfed in terrible confusion. Today, so many people suggest that we can have fellowship with “this group” or with “that group.” Yet John presents an entirely different picture altogether. His teaching is that we can have fellowship with God, and with one another, only when we do what God has commanded us to do! I cannot have fellowship with God if I do not do what the Bible says for me to do. Look at the question asked in Amos 3:3, “Can two walk together unless they be agreed?” The point is that God’s people cannot walk hand in hand with God unless they agree with God. That is the same point John is trying to make here in 1 John 2:3 when he says, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” The only way you can be sure that you have fellowship with God is if you know that you are doing what He says to do. And the only way that we can have spiritual fellowship with other people is if they, too, are doing what God says to do! The Bible teaches what might be called a very “limited” fellowship, in the sense that only those people who do what the Bible says can enjoy true fellowship with one another and with God. Should we be kind, gentle, and sociable? Certainly. But we cannot have true spiritual fellowship with people who refuse to do what the Bible says to do. John continues this line of thinking in 1 John 2:4-6 when he says, “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His Word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” Peter said, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” (1 Pet. 2:21). Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me as I also imitate Christ.” The pattern of our example and fellowship is found within Jesus Christ. We can know that we have a right relationship with God and Christ by coming to the Bible, opening it, reading it, and seeing if we are doing what it says we need to do. So many people today want a “better-felt-than-told” type of religion. But the only way to know that you have the “right religion” is to go to the Bible and see if you are doing what God said for you to do. True fellowship has its basis in the Word of God.
Timothy Sparks:
John writes in 1 John 2:5, “Whoever keeps His Word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” If we strive to keep God’s commandments, then we can know that God’s love is perfected in us. This reminds us of Jesus’ statement in John 14:15, when He said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” It also reminds us of John 15:14 where Jesus said, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” We learn from 1 John 2 that “loving God” is based upon our “keeping the Word of God.” We show our love for God by doing His will. In 1 John 2:7-8, John says,
“Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.”
We therefore have a commandment that is “old” and one that is “new.” John goes on to say in verses 9-11,
“He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”
The commandment to love is “old,” as is evident from Leviticus 19:18 (“you shall love your neighbor as yourself”). Yet it is “new” as it is expressed in Jesus Christ.
Ben Bailey:
How can we be in true fellowship with God, Christ, and one another if we say we “hate” someone, or if we do not love those around us? If we cannot even love one another here on Earth, how can we be expected to love one another in Heaven? In John 13:34-35, Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” In the Book of 1 John, John repeatedly returns to the idea of love, of loving our neighbor, of loving one another, and of what this really means. If God is love (1 Jn. 4:8), and if God has created us in His image (Gen. 1:26-27), then how can we not love one another? All of this comes back to John’s discussion about “walking in the light.”
Timothy Sparks:
John also repeats the idea of “walking in the light.” Thus, we see that the two ideas of “walking in the light” and “walking in love” are inextricably linked. In 1 John 2:12, John says, “I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake.” What a great blessing it is for us as Christians to have our sins forgiven! When we begin to realize the eternal consequences of sin, we then will simultaneously begin to realize the immense blessing of forgiveness that comes only through Jesus Christ. Salvation is found only “in Christ” (2 Tim. 2:10). From Acts 4:12 we learn, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Paul said in Ephesians 1:7, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” What does this forgiveness mean for us here and now? Jesus answered that when He said, “…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (Jn. 10:10). Paul, in Titus 1:2, spoke of how Christians are “in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.” We need to view eternal life in two ways. First, through the hope of eternal life, we can have the very best life here and now. Second, we live “in hope of eternal life.” In Romans 8:24-25, Paul wrote, “For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” Christians live “in hope of” life in the eternal realm.
Ben Bailey:
Paul admonishes Christians to be people of love. But we are not to love the world or the things in the world. In 1 John 2:15-17, John writes,
“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. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
Christians are in the world, but not of the world. We may have to live in the world, but we should not become so involved in the things of the world that our lives revolve around such things. One of the greatest problems that Christians face is getting too attached to the world. We live here. We work here. But our main goals should not be focused on the world. To not love the world, we must love God and His kingdom first and foremost. Jesus taught as much in Matthew 6:33 when He said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” We need to love God and His kingdom first, so that we do not get caught up in the things of the world. Peter reminds us in 2 Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” One day, this old world will cease to exist. Why would we want to set our goals on something that one day will cease to exist? We should set heavenly goals. If our heart is in Heaven, then our treasure will be there also. This is why John reminds us that “all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” Sometimes we are drawn to the world by the things we see. At other times, we may be drawn to the world by the desires of the flesh. And sometimes, we simply are drawn to the things of the world by our own pride. We would rather glorify self than glorify God. We, as Christians, must be very careful about where we place our priorities.
Timothy Sparks:
Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Paul wrote, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2). Paul said in Ephesians 5:11, “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” In 1 John 2:18, John says, “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.” John is not saying that there will be a single individual who will be known as the antichrist. In fact, he says that there have been many antichrists. Then, he defines what it means to be an antichrist. Anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, is an antichrist. The word “antichrist” simply means “against Christ.” Anyone who is “against Christ” is an antichrist. And this would include those people who deny the biblical plan of salvation. Paul wrote in Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly….” If we deny Christ’s Word (i.e., His teaching), then we deny Christ. Sadly, the concept of the antichrist is sorely misunderstood in religious circles today. It is not uncommon to hear the term antichrist applied to just one individual. Yet John makes it clear in the context of 1 John 2 that the term actually applies to anyone who sets himself against God, His Son, and His Word.
Ben Bailey:
If we as Christians stop doing what the Bible says for us to do, we could even become antichrists. John is not talking about a single individual who will be involved in some “great apocalypse.” Rather, he is talking about anyone who sets his will against the will of God. In 1 John 2:29, John writes, “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” In 1 John 2:25, John said, “This is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.” We need to ask ourselves if we are walking in the light of God. If you are not a Christian, you can become one by doing exactly what the Bible says. God wants you to be His child. You can become a Christian today by believing in Jesus as the Son of God, repenting of your sins, confessing the name of Jesus as your Savior, and being baptized for the forgiveness of your sins. Jesus is “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29).
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Narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
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1. The text of 1 John deals with “walking in” two things. What are those two things?
2. In 1 John 1:1, we are introduced to “the Word of life.” What, or who, is that Word of life?
3. Explain the connection between John’s statements in John 17:3 and 1 John 2:25.
4. The whole idea of “walking in the light” in 1 John has to do with a specific subject. What is that subject?
5. In 1 John 4:8, John describes God as “love.” How does John describe God in 1 John 1:5?
6. This lesson discussed the “windshield-wiper effect.” What is that concept, and what is wrong with it?
7. In 1 John 2:1-2, John speaks of an “advocate.” What is an advocate? And who is the advocate of whom John is speaking?
8. Christians are cleansed of their sins by something. According to 1 John 1:7, what is that “something”?
9. Define eternal life, according to John 17:3.
10. Explain the importance of Amos 3:3 as it applies to the topic of “fellowship” that John discusses in 1 John 1.
11. According to 1 John 1, if we say that we do not sin, we do two things. What are those two things?
12. Explain the connection between John 14:15 and 1 John 2:3.
13. In 1 John 2:5, John taught that the love of God is “perfected” in us. How does that occur?
14. Explain the connection among such passages as 1 John 4:8, Genesis 1:26-27, and 1 John 2:9-11.
15. In 1 John 2:12, John names a specific blessing that only Christians enjoy. What is that blessing?
16. There are two ways to view eternal life. What are they?
17. In 1 John 2:15-17, John listed three things that can cause a Christian to sin. What are those three things?
18. Explain the main thrust of the following passages: (a) Ephesians 1:7; (b) Acts 4:12; and (c) 2 Timothy 2:10.
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