CPTC 1 John 5:1-12

Observations:

v. 1, A parallel is given on the identity of a Christian:

Believing Jesus is the Christ (Messiah, Anointed One, Promised One of God) affirms your being born of God.

To believe is indicate an expectation to loving the One who has sent the Son and to love the Father, we are to love others born of Him.

v. 2, John builds from v. 1, reversing the focus from loving God to when we are loving our brethren.

To love our brothers and sisters, we must love God and obey Him

v. 3, John builds from v. 2, stating that to love God is to obey God and the expectation from God in obedience is not burdensome.

Is your Christianity burdensome?

Maybe because your identity in Christ is at odds with your lifestyle?

vv. 1-3, John mentions loving God three times

v. 1, Loves the Father

v. 2, Love God

v. 3, Love of God

vv. 4-5, On that premise of obedience to God is not burdensome, John goes on to make a statement on the reality of one who is born of God

To be born of God is to overcome the world

Where does such victory abide in? Our faith.

To note, it is not faith itself that gives us victory over the world, but rather it is the object of our faith; John clarifies that the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God is the one who overcomes the world.

v. 5 and v. 1 appear to parallel; to believe Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God (equivalent for Christians), is to be born of God and to overcome the world.

Being born of God inherently permits us to overcome the world

vv. 6-8, in vv. 1-5, John begins and ends with an important note on believing in Jesus as Christ and Son of God. On that premise, he delves into who this Jesus is, citing Him as One who has come by water and blood and is testified by the Holy Spirit, who is truth. John from there asserts that Jesus has three testimonies that are in agreement regarding who He is,

Water

Baptism?

Blood

Crucifixion?

The Holy Spirit

God, the third person of the Trinity?

v. 9, John reasons that if we accept the testimonies of men, how much greater then is the testimony of God? John makes it clear that God’s testimony is that He has testified about His Son (?is that He testified about His Son to mean that God’s testimony regarding Jesus is that the Father Himself has affirmed His identity and that affirmation is sufficient, “this is His testimony, that He testified”?)

v. 10, Again referencing believing in Jesus, the Son of God, to believe is to have the testimony in you. To not believe is to make God a liar, not to believe in the testimony He has provided regarding His Son.

John seems to trickle down from discussing believing Jesus is the Christ (v. 1) to believing Jesus is the Son of God (v. 5) to now whoever believes in the Son of God

There seems to be a building up from a call to believe to a matter-of-fact in said belief

v. 11, John expounds on the testimony, stating that God’s testimony is that God has given His children eternal life and this life is in His Son.

v. 12, John summarizes that to have the Son is to have life and to not have the Son of God is to not have life.

Exegetical Idea/Primary Claim:

Primary Claim:

As Christians living in wait for Christ’s return, the spiritual warfare has heightened to a degree where tares among the wheat have been sown. The call to stand on guard against false teaching and abide in the Truth is urgent.

Homiletical Idea

As Christians, let us not lose sight of the urgency John presents in guarding our hearts from teaching that tickles the flesh and reality that the Church stands among contenders seeking to lead us astray and destroy us. Let us cling tightly to Christ and in His message, that we may have true fellowship with God and abide in a joy everlasting.

Liturgical Idea

What should we praise God for? (Rejoice)

What should we confess to God? (Repent)

What should we ask God for? (Request)

What should we lift up to God? (Sacrifice)

What should we live out for God? (Service)

Intro:

Recap:

N/A

Prayer

Read 1 John 2:18-27

Head- What does it mean?

(15-20 min.)

vv. 18-27, The Last Hour

vv. 18-19,

v. 18, Twice John mentions to his beloved Christians that the last hour is at hand and the enemy is coming after them; first, the antichrist is coming, second, many of his type have already appeared.

v. 19, These antichrists have come from within the walls of the Church, but John emphatically notes that they were never a part of the Church, for if they were a part of the body, they never would have abandoned the body.

How do you know if you are a Christian? For one, you don’t abandon the Church catholic.

Summarize:

The urgency is higher than ever before for those who are in the last hour of the last days; many antichrists have gone before the antichrist, some of which have even gone out from the Church’s midst.

vv. 20-23,

vv. 20-21, John’s audience, he asserts, is anointed by God and they know “the truth;” these are not Christians who partake in deception, but in truth.

vv. 22-23, The one who partakes in deception is that lying antichrist who denies and rejects Jesus’ identity as Messiah, the Sent One, Promised One, Lord and Savior of mankind. This rejection of Jesus’ identity is ultimately a rejection of God the Son and God the Father, thereby also of God the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, the affirmation of Christ’s identity is also embraced by the Father.

Summarize:

John distinguishes between true Christians and false Christians; these false Christians, antichrists, are those who reject Jesus’ testimony and ultimately the Father. True Christians confess Christ’s identity as true and therefore abide in God’s embrace as adopted children.

vv. 24-27,

vv. 24-25, On this premise, John exhorts his audience to abide in the truth they know and have been taught from the beginning of their life in Christ. If this truth abides in them, they have fellowship with the Son and the Father and are partakers in the promise of God, eternal life.

It is worth noting, this is the only time John uses the word promise in all of his writings

vv. 26-27, All of this stands as a foundational guard against the deception adamantly infiltrating the body of Christ. Therefore, the anointing John’s audience have received from God is within them and is sufficient to point them to the Way by which they have been called to follow, beckoning God’s children to abide in Him.

Summarize:

We must therefore persevere and guard ourselves from false teaching, abiding in the truth and partaking in the promise of God, which all ultimately point and instruct to abiding in Him.

Primary Claim:

As Christians living in wait for Christ’s return, the spiritual warfare has heightened to a degree where tares among the wheat have been sown. The call to stand on guard against false teaching and abide in the Truth is urgent.

Heart- Do I buy it?

(15-20 min)

Open the discussion for any questions.

(Let group answer these questions)

What verses stood out to you and why?

What personal reflections did this reading trigger?

What should we praise God for? (Rejoice)

What should we confess to God? (Repent)

What should we ask God for? (Request)

What should we lift up to God? (Sacrifice)

What should we live out for God? (Service)

As Christians, let us not lose sight of the urgency John presents in guarding our hearts from teaching that tickles the flesh and reality that the Church stands among contenders seeking to lead us astray and destroy us. Let us cling tightly to Christ and in His message, that we may have true fellowship with God and abide in a joy everlasting.

Hands- So What? How then should I live?

(10-15 min)

Walk with God: What does discipleship look like personally in your walk with God?

Keep Christ first: What does discipleship look like personally when we keep Christ first?

Keep sin out of your life: What does discipleship look like personally when you are keeping sin out of your life?

Personally,

It is not only submitting to the will of God, but to the authority of spiritual leaders within your local church.