1 John 1:5-2:2
Notes
Transcript
1 John 1:5-2:2
5 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 practice 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.
John has seen a lot!
Around 20 years old at the crucification of Jesus.
Book estimated to be written around 90 AD. Meaning John is around 77 years.
Meaning we’ve got a well seasoned, mature follower of Christ, that the Holy Spirit is using to share truth.
I heard in a sermon that the book of 1 John is like a spiral. Hitting the same teachings over and over throughout the book. Goes around and around hitting the same subjects with more and more truth.
The book in some is ways is simple blunt. Do this, don’t do that. This is truth, this is not. Love, do not love.
Giving clear and concise truths. Over and over.
What I’m getting at is these truths are important.
And just as the phrase goes “practice makes perfect” so it is with spiritual truth. In gaurding our hearts in foundational truths over and over, the Holy Spirit makes what is weak and tossed to and fro by every strange teaching or thought, to strong in Him!
In today’s world there are many false teachings of Christ and in John’s life it was no different.
Why?
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
The devil hates God and hates you. As we just got done with in the book of Ephesians, we always need to be prepared, well trained, for we are always in battle here in the enemies land.
Lets dive into some of these teachings today.
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.
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you”
“we” = multiples! Not I seen and you must believe me! Multiplies “heard” “Him”!
proclaim = announce officially or publicly
No single person seeing gold plates, no one mere man had the only truth and everyone else is a liar.
1 John 1:1-3
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— 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—
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.
Many seen the truth…the same truth(not differing truths), the same Jesus(the one and only still worshiped and praised 2000 years later), and heard/seen/touched the same thing!
Thank you for unchanging truth!
“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
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.
“that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”
Just as oil and water don’t mix.
Holy and unholy don’t mix.
God is Holy, Pure, Rightous in everything. No impurities at all.
No darkness only light!
What is darkness? The absence of light, right?
What is cold? The absence of heat, right?
Darkness is nothingness.
Cold is nothingness.
That’s what the world wants you to think…you are nothingness...
You are not nothingness...
Want does truth show? Light? Heat?
Yes! God is all light, God is heat, God is power, God is the sustainer!
Take the light of the sun away, what happens? Death.
Take the heat of the sun away, what happens? Death.
God is the light and through Jesus we have the way, the truth, and the life.
God is life and no death is in Him at all!
Where does darkness come from? From the absence of light!
Where does sin and death come from? The absence of God!
Next time someone says “if God is all good and He created everything, why do we have evil in the world”, it’s because we have hid from the light. We not God, pursued darkness.
The light has always been there and will always be there but we chose the absence of God!
Truth, God is light and in HIM is no darkness at all!
If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
John... very pointed, loving truth given here.
The type of love that is more needed in the world.
A love that truly cares about your well being over being politacally correct or that wants your favor.
The love of a parent verse that of a friend that we get into trouble with.
The love that thinks of tomorrow and not just today.
The truth? How can we say with our lips one thing but walk or act a different way?
The truth? We can’t, we lie to ourselves and are probably being lied to.
These are word’s of love, word’s of warning, word’s of loving conviction.
Some are telling you that you can continue to play with fire and you think you can to. But what eventually happens? We get burned, right?
Well this is on a much deeper level! This is about light and dark. Life and death.
What is the truth in our lives, that is what John is trying to get us to think about.
Don’t be deceived! Please, personally walk in truth. Not just study, listen, think but just as baby starts to trust and walk. We walk.
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,
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.
Guess what light does? It allows us to see!
And we see others! In darkness all we see is ourselves, our wants, our desires.
In light we see!
And just as when man and woman get married and become one flesh, so it is in the body of Christ.
We become one with Him and each other. We become one flesh.
We care, we love, we walk with one another.
For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
and also in
that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
Light shows us that we are not alone! Praise God!
Guess what else walking in the light does?
“and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
The Light washes us clean through the blood of Christ!
This hiding in darkness and doing things of darkness, you know, the things that you don’t want seen, dark actions.
This has been brought to the light and light shows we are in trouble.
We have nowhere to hide, the light has made it clear.
But God...
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
Jesus, being perfect in every way. Laid down His life for us! Lived as we lived with all the pains, trials and tribulations but… never sinned.
He’s the only one that could take our place, no one else was pure.
Truth!
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Truth…we are sinners, not one is perfect, and we all are equal in that!
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Not one has more favor with God over another, we all need God’s grace equally!
How many have heard or like I used to think...
“I’m not really that bad, i’m not going around killing people or anything like that”?
Quite a few of us a bet. Well what are you comparing yourself to?
The world…really, this fallen broken world that we’ve all contributed to?
Don’t be deceived! We all are in trouble and in need of God’s help!
That is truth! We can’t save ourselves! If your hearing all I got to do is try harder, work harder, the truth is not in us.
We just need to surrender to His rightous ways and walk with Him.
Walk, walk, walk!
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Opposite of the deceit mentioned above and saying we have no sins?
Confession, bring it humbly to the Lord.
Remember the story of the prodigal son?
Discuss it...
And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“I have sinned”
What does the father do?
Fattened calf, robe, ring, celebration, lost son now found!
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
I see me and I see you. Walk in truth…cleansed!
If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Do you see this spiral of teachings talked about at the start?
It means it is important!
Humble ourselves.
We are sinners, all equal.
Verses to break pride and self rightiousness.
Verses to break self rightous religios deeds.
I read this and am warned about it through this scripture
Luke 18:9-14
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Pride, self rightousness broken
God does not need us, we need him!
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.
Feeling beat up?
Feeling why try?
Feeling why did I even come here this morning?
Feeling like a just want to stay away from the light?
Don’t be deceived.
Luke 15:22-24
But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.
For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
You are valued.
You have been made in the image and likeness of God
You have been purchased by the blood of Jesus.
Confess, repent, believe and walk in Truth!
Truth, yes, in us alone outside of Christ is darkness.
Truth, no darkness is in Him.
Truth, in Jesus we have light and life.
Truth, in Jesus we have forgiveness of our sins.
Truth, Jesus is our advocate
Advocate = an individual who actively supports and promotes the interests of another person
Actively, not words soley but by action…lived, died, raised.
Promotes our new birth and our heart of flesh instead of stone. Our new births interests and concerns is God but we still make mistakes and sometimes fall in our walk.
And lastly but certainly not least.
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
Propitiation is a two-part act that involves appeasing the wrath of an offended person and being reconciled to him.
Jesus took the punishment we all rightly deserve, death, and through that death we’ve been reconciled to Him.
Or in other words made right with God. Darkness gone. Washed clean. And this is enough for the whole world if the whole world wanted it.
This is our God! The God of the Bible.
You are loved deeply. Don’t be deceived into thinking otherwise.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
Don’t run away in unrightousness but run toward in His love and rightousness.
Let’s pray!