The Course Objectives
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
College courses and course objectives
The lectures
The readings
The tests
This is the final day of class;
John reminds us of what we have learned and where we go from here
John has taught us (doctrines and what to believe)
John has given us tests (how to know who is of Christ)
John has told us how to live (holiness/keeping His commandments)
This class is pass/fail
You don’t get an in-between grade
You either know Christ or you don’t
You either love God and others or you don’t
You either keep His commandments or you don’t
Have you achieved the course objectives? Have you “passed the class?”
What do you do with what you’ve learned in the class?
A college course prepares you for a job
This course has prepared you for something...
13 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. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. 18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power 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 him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
As John concludes this epistle:
He summarizes/reminds us of the truths he has written/taught us
He calls us to action in response to the truths he has written/taught us
There are three main lessons taught over and over:
Believe in the Son of God
Love God and Love Others
Keep God’s Commandments
What do you do with this information?
1. Know Christ (vv. 13, 20).
1. Know Christ (vv. 13, 20).
13 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.
20 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. He is the true God and eternal life.
Remember those three lessons, we have to KNOW Christ in three ways...
Beliefs (Believing the truth)
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.
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.
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.
Affections (Loving the Truth)
10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.
11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
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.
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Obedience (Living the truth)
29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
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 practices 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 practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
2. Know the victory you have in Christ (vv. 13, 18).
2. Know the victory you have in Christ (vv. 13, 18).
13 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.
18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
Victory over death
13 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.
16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
Remember last week...
12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Victory over sin
16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. 18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
Victory over the devil
18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
Let’s unpack this, what does this all have to do with victory in Christ, how is this a summary, and what do we do with this?
DEFINE:
Brothers
Sin not leading to death
Sin leading to death
Praying for the one, not the other (“I do not say that one should pray for that”)
Context...John has just written: “if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. We know that he hears us, we know that we have the requests we asked of him”
What John is NOT saying
“don’t pray for unbelievers”
“pray confidently knowing that you have whatever you ask concerning unbelievers”
What John is saying:
For believers, you have confidence of four things:
God is going to keep His promise, you have life
You won’t continue in habitual sin (you can find victory)
God protects you
The evil one does not touch you
You can ask/pray with confidence for the believer because you know these truths and these promises for the believer
For unbelievers:
You don’t know God’s will for them
judgment
salvation
you can pray for them, but it’s not making those confident requests knowing you have what you ask
The way that we pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ (as an act of love, interceding for them) should reflect our beliefs and confidence in Christ
We have eternal life
We are freed from sin
We are freed from the devil
God hears and answers our prayers because we align our will with His
The Opposite is true at present for Unbelievers
Enslaved by the devil
Enslaved for sin
Enslaved to death
Let’s recap.
Know Christ
Knowing Christ leads to victory
Knowing Christ and the victory we have impacts the way we live.
3. Know how to live for Christ.
3. Know how to live for Christ.
“Remind yourself of the truth”
13 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. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. 18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power 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 him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
“we know… we know… we know…”
“Rely on God”
14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.
“Guard your heart for God”
21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
Remind yourself of the truth of who Christ is, what you have in Christ
Pray to Christ, praising Him for who He is and asking for Him do what He says He will do
Guard yourself from false beliefs, false loves, false obedience. Keep yourself for God.
God is keeping you, but you also keep yourself
Closing
Closing
20 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. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
Are there any areas of your life where “living victoriously” feels like a challenge? For example, do you live in fear, doubt, or slavery to the devil, sin, or death? How can you overcome those things confidently as a believer?
Knowing the signs of life in a true believer, can you confidently say that you are a child of God? Why or why not?
Out of the three practical takeaways—(1) reminding yourself of the truth, (2) relying on God, and (3) guarding your heart for God—which of these do you need to grow in the most? What practical steps will you take in the coming weeks to make that happen?
What are some of your biggest takeaways from studying 1 John?