EPISTLE Part 5 / GOD IS LOVE. John (1,2,3)

“FOR THE LOVE” - The Apostle John’s Letters.

1 John 1:1-4 “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. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.”

PRAY

The two most difficult things to get straight in life are love and God. We wrestle with those things and it can take a lifetime to figure them out. But here the Apostle JOHN brings an incredible clarity to both. God is love, and with a revelation of the Love of God.. everything falls into place. When things are in KINGDOM ORDER…things fall into place in my life!

This is Johns epistles….. to the Church

Key Themes:

Love - What true Love is. That God is love. 1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Sin - and Jesus is our answer for our sin: 1 John 1:8-9 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Truth - What is true knowledge, To know God

False Doctrines & Views of God: 1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” / John deals directly with the incarnation & the spirit realm. Natural and supernatiral.

Written late century AD. Towards the end of Johns life.

Key Verses:

1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

2 John 9 “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”

3 John 2 “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.”

Words Mentioned:

Love - 46 Times

Know - 42 Times

SIn - 28 Times

World - 23 Times

Life - 15 Times.

Abide - 12 Times.

Some Background on John: THERE IS SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT JOHN.

He was one of the 12. He was a relative (most believe he was) He was a Galilean like Peter.

John was the disciple whom Jesus LOVED. John seemed to have a very distinct and intimate relationship with Jesus.

John ‘s gospel accounts are very different from Matt, Mark, Luke - the Synopyic Gospels. John was the only disciple who lived the longest and died of old age. The rest of the disciples were martyred….

History tells us that they tried to Kill john and they couldn’t kill him. The emperor was so afraid of John that they banished him to the island of Patmos, which is where he wrote the book of revelation. He had a revelation of Jesus as messiah and God.

John was MYSTICAL But also FOUNDATIONAL.

TRUTH TO WRITE DOWN: IN FAITH THERE IS MYSTERY BUT ALSO FOUNDATION.

(First mention principle) John”s Gospel & His Letter begins in a very unique way

1 John 1:1 “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—”

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

We serve a God who exists in such glory that our HUMAN EXISTENCE cannot approach or see him while we occupy our natural bodies. OUr natural eyes cannot see the Glory of God. But when we are made alive in CHRIST, our HEARTS KNOW IT… and we KNOW IT VERY WELL.

FAITH HAS FOUNDATION, BUT ALSO MYSTERY.

John understands this - and He is watching the church begin to doubt some things - and later in his life he sees things that are being challenged and feels compelled to write AT THE END OF HIS LIFE. Its almost like His life was preserved for a reason because he wrote do late.John remembered things that only someone with a close intimate knowledge could remember which is really why he wrote the gospel of John but also these letters 1-2-3JOhn.

I wanna give you just a few examples of things we have in JOHN’s writing that we dont have anywhere else in the Gospels:

Now remember this is about 60 years after Jesus died.

The wedding at Cana

The encounter with Nicodemus - John 3. You must be born again (john 3:16

Woman at the well In John 4..

There are many more (like The High Priestly Prayer in John 17 - John heard and wrote this down for us).

John is relentless is spreading the message of how much God loves, and how our obedience is tied to his love. We submit to his love because, as like children, our father knows how to BEST LOVE US.But here is what’s interesting

SO WHAT ARE THE KEY MESSAGES & TAKEAWAYS FOR THE CHURCH THEN & NOW FROM 1-2-3 John:

1.GOD IS LOVE, AND HE IS TRUE

This is foundational truth for us today: JESUS CHRIST is true and you can believe in him.….Gods love for you & I meant that JESUS came to us. In the FLESH.

John says this right off the top: Guys, I was there. First hand experience trumps anyone else’s “say-so” any day of the week. When you were there, when you heard and you touched and you saw with your own eyes that changes everything. ITS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE PERSUADED OTHERWISE!! John encourages the church - this is your belief in Jesus. Its a real belief in a real person who was REALLY HERE IN THE FLESH. And a resurrected Christ.

What had happened in the church? Competing forces for truth (about Jesus)

Gnostism and a myriad of other Gods were in the mix in Ephesus where John lived and he was an elder. And what John saw worried him which led him to write. He BRINGS FOUNDATIONAL WORDS to the Faith which you cannot see. Its like John says, you can use my experience to build your own faith. But its real. I was there. And you can experience his LIFE also, now. That is eternal life.

1 John 1:2 “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—”

WE CAN BE GRATEFUL TODAY BECAUSE WE HAVE THESE WORDS WHICH ARE JOHNS WORDS< AND HE SAW JESUS IN THE FLESH. WHEN YOU READ JOHN YOU CAN READ THE RED LETTERS WITH A GRATEFUL HEART TODAY BECAUSE HE WAS RIGHT THERE AND HE HEARD EVERY WORD AND HE WROTE THEM DOWN FOR YOU AND FOR ME / THE CHURCH OF JESUS

He told the church 0- There is no debate. Jesus is real. He is love and he is truth and you can trust him

THIS IS NO DIFFERENT TO WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR WORLD TODAY: PEOPLE ARE LONGING FOR WHAT IS TRUTH AND WHAT IS LOVE.

this was a WORLD seeking for the RIGHT Truth, the RIGHT God - and John provides confirmation in this LETTER

1 John 2:21-25 “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. 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. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 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. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.”

OUR WORLD RIGHT NOW IS ASKING THESE QUESTIONS:

Who is GOD? We live in a confused world where everyone is trying to find and seek they’re own GOD> or become they’re own version of God. They serve the God is MONEY. The God of Government. The God of Sex. The God of Lust and the God of Self. We are at a pivotal time in history where revival is just around the corner because our world is growing tired with FINDING DEAD END GODS.

(this is why we do mid week ministries like Exchange and Youth house - to proclaim the real and true and living God: JESUS).

WHO is right? Right in the end. Who is right about all this eternity business? John’s Gospel is known as the “i am” gospel. Or the Red Letter Edition. Which means this: He recorded the very worlds that Jesus spoke. And declared about himself. our world wants what’s RIGHT - Jesus is our true north and in the end it’s HIS RIGHTOUSNESS that prevails,

(this is why we preach Christ crucified and we proclaim his life on sundays its because IN him Eternal life is ours - when our lives are our over here naturally our real lives spiritually continue on for all of eternity!).

What is TRUTH? It was john thats recorded it when Jesus said “I am the way, the truth & the life”. We live in a world that is desperately searching in the darkness for TRUTH. For what stands up, for what is relatable. For what is foundational for theyre very lives: The reason that so much suicide is prevalent amongst young people is because when you dont feel like there is hope, you wonder how you can live - and our young people NEED hope. And Hope comes from HEARING TRUTH. God is truth. HE is your TRUE NORTH. Your RELIABLE compass. And HE IS what you can BASE YOUR LIFE around.

1 John 4:1-6 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

What is RIGHT? everyone is fearful of bding wrong. And everyone wants to tell everyone else they are wrong. There is a hunger and a thirst for what is right. Righteousness. Which is truly found only in CHrist. But the enemy tries to sell the counterfeit which is SELF RIGHT-EOUSNESS. What is TRUE and what is RIGHT is found in JESUS. Jesus is RIGHT. We are wrong. But in HIS RIGHTOUSNESS we are also MADE RIGHT. Its so easy but so many complicate it because we think we can work it out on our own. JESUS is RIGHT, I am WRONG - SO what do I do about it? Put my TRUST in Him. Submit my life to HIM Wholly and I can be saved. And I am found on the RIGHT SIDE of the equation, in JESUS name.

1 John 2:1 “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.”

Let me show you a verse that John wrote in Revelation:

Revelation 19:11 “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.”

SO JOHN WRITES TO SAY: GUYS JESUS CAME IN THE FLESH, HE IS THE SON OF GOD. WE SAW IT - HE BRINGS TO US THE LOVE OF GOD THROUGH HIS OWN LIFE> HE IS OUR TRUTH…..

2.LOVE ONE ANOTHER, BECAUSE THATS OUR COMMAND.

(with God there is revelation & opportunity: everything God reveals to you, he then asks you to go do something it’s it).

Its the same with the Love of God.

1 John 3:11 “For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.”

There is nothing more compelling to a human being than GOD’s LOVE: why?

Because its FREE OF CONDITIONS. Its the truest most pure form of Love: UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.

Paul said it this way:

2 Corinthians 5:14–15 (NKJV)

For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

John HAD A PRSONAL REVELATION OF JESUS

HE SAW HIM & HE SAW HOW MUCH GODS LOVE PERMEATED THROUGH HIM TO THE WORLD & HE FELT COMPELLED TO ENCOURAGE US TO DO THAT ALSO.

NOW OUR HEARTS CAN SEE HIM.

Then we can have the same revelation

WE HAVE HAD A REVELATION OF JESUS.

JOHN Grew in his REVELATION OF JESUS - AND HE DISTILLED IT DOWN TO ONE THING: FOLLOW THE COMMAND OF OUR LORD

LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

WE CAN LOVE OTHERS - BECAUSE WERE LOVED.

1John 3:1-2 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

There is a famous historical record of John towards the end of his life he shows up to church in Ephesus

PRAY FOR THOSE THAT HAVE NOT ENCOUNTERED THE LOVE OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS.

FOR THE LOST TO COME HOME

FOR THE PRODIGALS TO RETURN

FOR THE WEARY TO FIND STRENGTH IN HIM

FOR THE HOPELESS TO FIND HOPE IN JESUS.

Chapters 1-2 LIGHT / God is light, no darkness.drawing back to the beginning. He is Mystical but he is foundational.

He draws the foundation from the book of Genesis

Chapters 3-4 LOVE /“not as light but as LOVE” he Creates all things as we understand.

Jesus is the LOVE OF GOD FOR US. Jesus is Gods proof that God loves us, and the Holy Spirit is PRoof that Jesus loves us as well

Chapter 5: LIFE./

God is LIFE. God is the source of all things. Our life has to be connected to HIS life. If you believe in me you will have eternal life.

So Why was John Writing

False ideas about who God is…. Its because of the gnostic, pagan idea that there is a GOOD and EVIL that war’s against each other.

That is earthly thinking.

In God there is no evil.

Evil is the absence of Gods goodness and also his presence,

He writes to exhort the believer concerning his relationship with God, the church and the world and sin.

SIN IS REAL: We cant cheat ourseleves into thinking that SIN doesnt exits - it does TO SHOW the tru knowledge of God involves a personal relationship with God. Knowing God is the goal of teh Christian. A personal relationship trumps all.

MESSAGE: True fellowship with God means we will walk in LIGHt and WALK IN LOVE. The World with the Kingdom of God. If you love teh world, you will not Love GOD. If you are a feiend of the world, you are NOT a friend of God.

The believe abides in LIFE he will not live in SIN. Its one thing to SIN, its another to LIVE IN SIN. That is PRACTICED HABITUAL SIN. A believe does not WALK and LIVE IN DARKNESS.

If we truly love God, we wont practice a life of SIN.

Notes:

Notes:

3 John: just one chapter, very short. Pack a punch though. He always has a deep message

“ a book of truth”.

John is a philosopher and a mystic at heart. He loves to dissect and understand the truth about Jesus.

God is Love, Not the other way around: this person who is the creator his best and greatest nature is LOVE. Its who HE IS… and His love SPRINGS FROM HIM.

1John 3:1-2 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”