Blessed Assurance - Overview of 1 John

Welcome & Announcements: Daniel

Sunday School: This coming Sunday is the first week of Sunday School. We will be spending the first week doing an overview and introduction. Please read the "Introduction" section for January 9th. There will be a brief volunteer training time before Sunday School this week.

Small Groups: Next Thursday (January 13th @ 6:30 pm), we will be meeting at Daniel & Lynette's new house. Content: We will be watching a series called, Gentle & Lowly. This series is based on the book (which I linked below). This is an amazing book and I am excited to be able to study the Scriptures together in our home.

Fellowship Sunday: We will be having a Fellowship Sunday after service on January 23rd.

Call to Worship in Song:

Blessed Assurance How Great Thou Art

Scripture Reading: Someone Needed

Old Testament Text: Deuteronomy 6:4-9 New Testament Text: John 13:31-34

Offering & Pastoral Prayer: Daniel

Adoration

Confession

Thanksgiving

Supplication

Marian Mason (Kaye)

Bill Shillingburg (Kaye)

Prayer

This week, we are covering an introduction and brief overview of the book of 1 John.

As we consider jumping into a book, it is important that we grasp the big picture of what John is doing before we dive into the individual pieces.

The Book of 1 John as a Medical Examiner

I want you to picture every time we come together for the next several months like John is hooking you and I up to a monitor that you would find in an operating room.

You would find in any hospital room, machines which measure vitals on the human body.

They measure things like heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and blood oxygen levels.

These instruments only have ONE function, and that is to report what is already existing.

These instruments (TYPICALLY) do not produce the vitals, but only measure to see if life is present.

In the same way that medical instruments measure vital signs, 1 John is seeking to measure our vital signs as Christians.

Purpose

One of the purposes of this book is this very test.

1 John 5:13 ESV

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.

John is NOT giving false assurance.

Nor is he simply trying to puff us up and show how good we are.

The Epistles of John: An Expositional Commentary (Christian Assurance)

“In his first epistle, his purpose is to lead those who already believe to a deeper understanding of the faith and to confidence in that which they already possess.”

He is seeking to give an accurate assessment that we may know the joy of fellowship with God and one another.

1 John 1:4 ESV

4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

This entire book is truly centered upon this reality, joy.

How can a person who claims to be a believer truly know they are a Christian?

John is putting the profession of the believer to the test.

In a day and time that people wonder, “What really is a Christian?”

If you were to just poll a person on the street and ask them, “What is a Christian?”

They would give you a myriad of answers, mostly being incorrect.

But John is writing to Christians whose faith has been shaken because of people who have recently departed from their gathering.

It becomes clear as you read the letter that John is addressing the Christian’s in a particular place who have become unsettled by false teaching among them.

1 John 2:19 ESV

19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

John is confronting people who have departed from their gathering and are really causing a major stir.

Naturally many of the other members of the church were confused.

Were the new teachers right?

Was the old teaching to be abandoned?

Where did the truth lie?

Had they been Christians all along, or were their former beliefs only a preparation for this higher and only authentic form of Christianity?

In short, how could one know when he was truly a child of God?

How could a believer know when he was born again?

The Epistles of John: An Expositional Commentary The Statement

Can a person really know anything for certain in such circumstances? Are there any absolutes? Is there anything that will be true, not only today, but tomorrow and the day after that as well? John replies that in spiritual matters, which are the most important anyway, there can be certainty. And if this is true, then this is obviously a message that our age (as well as every other age) needs to hear.

In a day and age when there is so much confusion, we need clarity.

We need the book of 1 John.

He gives several tests to determine if there is any life in the person.

The first test is....

Believing Test: Do you believe the right things?

This means that God is a God of truth.

He is not the God of deception.

He is not concealing Himself, but has clearly made Himself known.

It also continues to affirm a slogan which has been said around Gospel Life for a long time now, “Our theology drives our practice.”

Basically, what we believe determines what we do.

And for John, he is simply asking, do you believe the right things?

You must believe that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God come in the flesh.

I want to introduce you to a term which is uncommon but important and will be referenced often throughout this letter...

Esoteric Gnosticism

This first term means to be understood “specially” or by a limited number of people.

The second term comes from the greek word for “knowledge”

Likely what was happening was there was a group which was claiming that they had some kind of “special knowledge”

This group also believed that the physical body was in some way “bad” or “evil” and they elevated a hyper-spirituality.

This group which had broke off from the church as a whole was saying that they were able to have an experience with God because of some “secret” knowledge.

These gnostics were unsettling the Christians in that place because they were rejecting Jesus in some way and looking down on people who did not have this “special” experience.

If you read this book you will continue to hear the words...

1 John 3:19 ESV

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;

They were elevating themselves and their experiences and diminishing the person of Jesus.

Part of the lie that these gnostics were believing is that Jesus didn’t really come in the flesh, because they believed the flesh was evil.

They believed that the Messiah came upon Jesus at his baptism and then left at the crucification.

This is because they believed the body was evil.

Now you may wonder, “What does esoteric gnosticism have anything to do with me?”

Great question!

Have you ever separated your intentions from your actions?

Have you ever said, “I would like to read my Bible” or “I would like to pray”, but when it comes to your actions you do nothing.

But as someone asks your status spiritually, you say you’re doing well because you intended well...

Listen to how John confronts these haters of the body who denied the incarnation....

1 John 1:1–3 ESV

1 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— 2 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— 3 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.

John is trying to be abundantly clear, the ONE whom we SAW, the ONE whom we HEARD, and the ONE whom we TOUCHED.

The Historical Grounds of Our Faith

This was not some half-flesh Jesus, but a fully human and fully God, Jesus.

This fully man, and fully God, Jesus came at a real time and in a real place.

And what we have seen, heard, and touched; we have told you about.

1 John 2:21 ESV

21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

John is very clear that this group of believers had the truth at the founding of their community.

This group that has broken off from you, they are the ones who are liars.

1 John 2:22–25 ESV

22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 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.

For John, the believing test is not something we relegate to the back halls of our church assembly.

We never just say, “Oh, what you believe is not really that important.” \

We never just say, “However you feel is what is true.”

There has been a myth in some Christian circles that the thing we should all look out for is atheism.

“The real danger is not unbelief, but wrong belief; not irreligion, but heresy; not the doubter, but the deceiver.”

Friends, what we believe is critically important.

Believing Test: Do you believe the right things?

Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?

Another purpose of this letter is...

1 John 2:1 ESV

1 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.

The second test for John is...

Obeying Test: Do you obey what you say you believe?

Believing the right things for John is of utmost importance, but obeying what has been believed is of equal importance.

At this, John wheels in the second instrument which will test us to see if we are alive spiritually.

He does so by using stark and contrasting images like light and darkness and spiritual children.

The opponents of John also believed that since the body was evil, they could do whatever they wanted and live however they wanted.

They believed it didn’t matter what you did in this body because what mattered is the “secret knowledge” they had acquired.

Are you walking in the light or in the darkness?

1 John 2:3–6 ESV

3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

This is critically important because true belief always shows itself in righteousness.

“We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.”

This is so important because it reveals what is present.

John now comes around from another angle and hits it negatively.

1 John 2:15–17 ESV

15 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. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

John is saying that you cannot have two loves.

You must either love God or love the world.

Trying to love both will effectively rip your heart apart.

In this letter though, John is not calling for some kind of “Christian perfection”, he actually says....

1 John 1:10 ESV

10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

So John is not trying to show that a Christian should be perfect, rather he is showing what it means for a Christian to walk in the light.

1 John 1:7–9 ESV

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.

The Epistles of John: An Expositional Commentary The Tests

John says that the one professing to be without sin deceives himself and makes God a liar (1:8, 10)—but it does mean that he must be progressing in righteousness so that his profession is increasingly matched by his conduct. Any claim to a higher experience of Christianity that is not matched by superior moral conduct is to be rejected (1:6).

Who’s Your Daddy?

1 John 3:7–10 ESV

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.

I heard a great example in this regard....

Imagine if I Worked for An Office While the Boss Was Away

Directly in line with another purpose that John has...

1 John 2:7 ESV

7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.

The final test that John gives is...

Loving Test: Do you love your brothers/sisters?

Now there are so many parallel’s between the upper room discourse in John 13-17 and the book of 1 John.

When all of the disciples were distracted by Jesus telling them He was leaving, John is harking back to this occasion.

It is as if John is saying to this community, remember where the new covenant was founded.

John 13:34–35 ESV

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John is exhorting the people to love one another, not in some random or “universal” way, but to love a specific people.

Let’s be clear, if I went outside of this church on the street and started yelling, “Love one another”

I would likely get people saying, “Yes! That’s exactly right, we should love one another.”

That’s all well and good, but if I started yelling, “Love one another at the expense of yourself”

You would no longer hear cheering, rather you would hear booing.

You would hear people yelling, “No way! I should never love myself at the expense of others.

Redefining Love

1 John 4:9–11 ESV

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.

For John, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is the center piece for the Christian understanding of love.

It should impact our understanding of community.

1 John 3:14 ESV

14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.

Application for the NON-Christian

I want to say a word if you’re NOT a Christian here today: if you’re not a Christian, you don’t enter Christianity by beginning to love.

You enter into Christianity by belief.

1 John 4:15–16 ESV

15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

It begins there.

It begins with belief or faith.

It begins by believing the love that God has for us.

According to John, a Christian can know, first, that Christianity is true (this is an objective or historical certainty) and, second, that he is a Christian (this is a subjective or personal certainty).

The message of the letter is that this double assurance is right, necessary, and normal for the Christian.

Communion

Since this is the first time we will be taking communion in a little while, I want to take a minute and say that if you’re not a Christian here today, you can go ahead and allow the elements to sit in front of you.

Please don’t feel any pressure to take them.

Also, if you’re a Christian here today, consider Paul’s warning in 1 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 11:27–29 ESV

27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

Please take a minute and confess where you have sinned this week before you take of the bread and the cup.

The Bread

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 ESV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

The Cup

1 Corinthians 11:25–26 ESV

25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.