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1JOHN CHAPTER 4 KJV WEB See previous page 1Jn 4,1-6 (70c) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Being sensitive to the Spirit >> Test the spirits (160b) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit god >> Counterfeit spirit – John is addressing two subjects simultaneously: false spirits and false prophets, for the two are one. Anybody who preaches Jesus but does not teach Him as the Son of God who came in the flesh is a false prophet. The world follows false prophets that teach by the spirit of error. For example, Hollywood movies call “good” spirits human and evil spirits demons, but both are in fact demons. There is obviously no such thing as a good demon, and there is no such thing as a disembodied human spirit in the world trying to figure out their way after death. When people die they either go to heaven or Hades, but they can't stay here. People have made their choice throughout life, and people don't remain in the world after death finishing projects and tying up loose ends, like in the movie "Ghost". See also: Death is separation; Rom 6,21-23; 218f (164h) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world is at enmity with God >> The world does not know God -- These verses go with verse 8. The objective of the antichrist is to impersonate the Holy Spirit, suggesting that the person (or persons) who carry the spirit of antichrist strive to imitate a prophet. This means that the man of lawlessness who will lead the last global civilization of mankind to its demise will mimic Jesus Christ, and succeed in seducing the whole world, except for those who are chosen to rise above his grand deception. The spirit of antichrist are many, and each has its own brand of false teaching, and each brand, if accepted by the world, becomes a new religion. Therefore, every religion of the world has its origins from demons, except Christianity. At the end of the age, when the entire human race falls prey to its scheduled downfall, the antichrist will introduce his ultimate deception, and the world will swallow it hook, line and sinker. His false teaching will inevitably revolve around the taking on the role of Jesus Christ the Son of God in human flesh, the very fact he denied about Christ for two millennia. The antichrist would not teach Jesus as the Son of God in human flesh unless he intended to lie about Him, which is an essential trait of his character. In the same way that the Holy Spirit is conjoined to the Truth, so Satan and his antichrist is conjoined to lies and deception. See also: Deny that Jesus came in the flesh; 177c / God will give the antichrist first-up at bat; 2Pet 1-16; 66l (177c) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> False doctrine (Cults) >> Distorting Scripture for personal gain – Jesus had a body that yearned for sin just like our own, but the fact that His soul was the Holy Spirit kept Him from disappointing His Father. Jesus was more than made in the image of God as He declared us in Genesis 1-26. Jesus was God in human flesh, and every cult denies this about Him. A wise Christian battling the blasphemy of antichrists would do well to bring this passage to their attention, throwing it in their faces and never letting them change the subject, for there is no other teaching more relevant by comparison. All cults consider Jesus to have been just a prophet. Jehovah’s Witnesses will tell us whatever it takes to persuade us of their deceptions, and once they have us, the spirit of their religion will wrap its tentacles around us, and tell us what they really believe. By that time it is too late to leave, because their doctrines have become seared into our conscience as with a hot branding iron by demonic forces of wickedness (1Tim 4-2). See also: Deny that Jesus came in the flesh; 183k (179f) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> False prophets >> False prophets preach works and deny Christ (183k) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >> Truth is the enemy of the spirit of error >> Spirit of error rejects the truth – Antichrists always bring their false teachings in one of two ways: either by confessing that Jesus was the Son of God but denying that He had a body of mortal flesh (the ancient Gnostics), or else they will say that He was merely a prophet (modern-day cults). The second is the most common. Virtually every religion in the world acknowledges Jesus Christ, but claims He was merely a prophet. In contrast, the born-again Christian knows that Jesus was the Son of God, who came in a body of flesh and blood just like our own and was without sin, flawless and perfect, and He died for the sins of the world. The spirit of antichrist speaks the name of Jesus and teaches lies about Him, but it cannot confess Him as the Son of God clothed in human flesh. We see exorcist movies on TV, where a priest is casting out the devil from its victim, calling out the name of Jesus. The devil can speak the name of Jesus, but it cannot speak about Him as the Son of God, and it especially scares the devil to remind him that Jesus defeated him, clothed in our weakness. Satan and his demons cannot not remain in the presence of such truth and will eventually leave. “The antichrist” is coming at the end of the age to deceive the whole world; he will be Satan clothed in human flesh, and he will finally discover just how hard it is to accomplish anything clothed in such weakness. See also: Deny that Jesus came in the flesh; 1Jn 4-2,3; 37c 1Jn 4-1 (62h) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Being clever >> Do not commit yourself too hastily (160d) Works of the devil >> Satan determines the world's direction >> Led by the devil to suppress the word of God >> Suppressing the truth with false doctrine -- This verse goes with verse 3 (174j) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Form of godliness but denying the truth -- This verse goes with verse 3 1Jn 4,2-4 (45k) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >> Satan VS the saints (111c) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit of truth -- These verses go with verse 15 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 4-2,3 (37c) Judgment >> Jesus’ humanity >> He had human flesh – This is the most poignant verse in the Bible speaking directly to cults. Every cult has its own belief system, yet they have one belief in common; they all reject Jesus Christ as God in human flesh. Many cults have fanciful explanations about the identity of Christ, often using passages such as Phi 2,6-8 where Paul used these phrases: "form of God... form of a bondservant... likeness of men... appearance as a man" to describe His physical form. They say He had the appearance of a man but was not actually a man, claiming that He didn’t have human flesh and blood as we do, otherwise He couldn’t have been without sin and performed His many miracles. It is their way of denouncing the deity of Christ, being a fabrication of their own cultic tendencies. The Bible teaches that Jesus came in human flesh and His body consisted of the same substance as ours, born of the Virgin Mary. Perhaps they watched too many sci-fi movies about aliens from another planet impregnating a woman who gives birth to a life form that wasn’t human. God the Father placed His seed in Mary and she gave birth to a son, and her Son was composed of human flesh just like hers and ours. The genetic influence the Father contributed to His Son did not alter His physical composition; rather the Father’s influence determined the identity of Christ, and for this reason He was able to live without sin, and not one of us can say the same. We may not like sin and we may even say we hate it, but we don’t hate it enough to avoid it like Jesus did. On a spiritual level Jesus was incapable of sin, but on a physical level he was just as capable of sinning as anyone. Being without sin was His greatest miracle. See also: Deny that Jesus came in the flesh; 60e (60e) Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> They do not acknowledge Jesus as God in human flesh / They do not acknowledge Him defeating sin in human flesh – It is of utmost importance that we understand Jesus Christ literally came in the flesh. Christians believe this without hindrance, but there are others of anti-Christian persuasions, unbelievers according to Scripture, who cannot accept this, because it infringes on their false religion. They say that Jesus Christ did not come in the flesh. What do they mean by this? It suggests that Jesus had an advantage over us, as though He didn’t actually come in a human body, but was perhaps angelic in nature or had some other form. They attest that this is how he was able to perform His miracles and remain sinless. None of this can be true, since they must first deny the virgin birth of Christ. The fact that he was born through the virgin Mary, who was just as human as the rest of us, proves that Jesus had the flesh of us all. For them to manipulate the idea that Jesus had a body of a different nature than ours, they must make some serious decisions about Christ without any support from Scripture. The Bible is specific about the virgin birth, but these people have no regard for the word of God, otherwise they would believe the truth; instead, they prefer to make up their own ideas. Jesus came in a body unlike our own; He was completely human, and He performed His works purely through the strength of His Father, otherwise how could He atone for our sin through the sacrifice of His body if it were unlike ours? The real motive of these false prophets who don’t want to believe Jesus came in the flesh is that the gospel is geared toward us living like Him, and they want an excuse to avoid that! See also: Deny that Jesus came in the flesh; 150d (64h) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Weaknesses of God >> God subjects himself to human frailty >> His weakness is stronger than men – Believing that Jesus came as God in human flesh makes the distinction between those who obey the Holy Spirit and those who obey demons. First century Christians knew the challenge God had placed before them; they had to give the Church a good sendoff, knowing things would soon go awry from there. The First Century Church thought Jesus would return in their lifetime or shortly thereafter, yet they still gave their best effort to leave the Church intact, and if every generation felt the same way, we might not be in apostasy as we are today. Perhaps they thought Christianity would continue on course for the next thousand years. Unknown to them, Catholicism would emerge in the third century, bringing with it many teachings of apostasy in more ways than most people know, under which even the protestant church is still suffering. Most people don’t realize the destructive force these changes have brought to the Church, such as the fact that Catholicism permanently established the Church as an entity of the state. Prior to Catholicism the church was not recognized by the world as having any place in it, but now that the Church had developed an uneasy truce with the world, it doesn’t make sense anymore why people need to be saved, saved from what? Now that the Church has assimilated into the world, the only observable difference between Christians and non-Christians is that one believes in a certain set of doctrines and the other doesn’t, but the gospel is far more reaching than that. It should, however, be clarified that Catholicism is in fact a Christian religion and not technically a cult, because it holds to the teaching that Jesus came as God in human flesh; the council of Nicaea in 325 AD determined this. See also: Catholicism (Constantine); Jn 7-19,20; 186a (136e) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Jesus’ fleshly body >> The flesh of Jesus’ sacrifice (150d) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Confessing the salvation of Christ >> Confessing Jesus because you are saved -- These verses go with verse 15. It is very simple to make a distinction between the Spirit of God and the spirit of error, just determine whether a person confesses that Jesus Christ came as God in human flesh. If he doesn't confess this, he is not Christian. John doesn’t say we should try to evangelize these people. Basically, anyone who denies that Jesus came as God in human flesh has joined himself to a cult, for that is the very definition of a cult. In the first century Christians battled with the Gnostics, who were blasphemers and deceivers who preached a gospel different from the one that was handed down to them by the original apostles who walked with Jesus in the flesh. Paul said in Gal 1-8,9, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” See also: Deny that Jesus came in the flesh; 253ea / Gnosticism denies that Jesus is God in human flesh; 2Jn 7-11; 198b (253ea) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Father >> Jesus has all the internal qualities of the Father >> Jesus is the Son of God >> Contested the Son of God by sinners and demons -- these verses go with verses 14,15. A father and mother come together to conceive a child, and that fetus is a composite of both parents, and the child will develop a personality of his own, distinct from the parents, though within their genetic framework. With the conception of Christ, the only difference lies in the question of His soul. In His case the Father placed a copy of His own soul into the fetus. This is significant in that when a person is born-again, the Spirit of God mixes with that person’s soul to become one spirit with Him (1Cor 6-17), but with Christ His soul was already the Holy Spirit. Jesus had all the physical qualities provided to Him by both parents (Heb 10-5); He developed a personality that was uniquely His own within the parameters of His parents and society in which He lived, but His Spirit was that of His Father. That is, the soul of Christ was the Spirit of God; this was the only difference between Christ and any other man. He had the soul of God, but He had the flesh of man. This is what every cult will deny, and to deny this is for them to deny being made in the image of God, for they are denying that God can be made in the image of man, which the incarnation did. Jesus was not merely in the likeness of God; He was the very person of God! See also: Deny that Jesus came in the flesh; 1Jn 4-3; 157i 1Jn 4-2 (156i) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> Confessing Jesus is evidence of salvation -- This verse goes with verse 15 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 4-3 (157i) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Having a reprobate mind – John called them the spirit of antichrist. We know that in the last days he will come to set up his satanic kingdom and introduce the Mark of the Beast, and if anyone receives it, he will be damned for eternity, finding his place in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, a terrible fate. John used the word “antichrist” in his epistles, and Paul used the term “man of lawlessness” to describe him in 2The 2-3. We know the antichrist is unimaginably evil who is coming to overthrow the human race and plunge man into judgment with God by martyring His people, but do we attribute the same amount of evil to this conversation, talking about cults and deceivers who will come to distort the truth with a lie and deny that Jesus Christ came as God in human flesh? Do we attribute the same level of wickedness to these people as we do to the spirits behind them? We could view all of mankind as victims, but in fact we are responsible for what we do. If we make proselytes of a cult, we will be judged for it. John never told us to reach cult leaders with the gospel, considered by the first century to be Gnostics. On the contrary, he told us to have nothing to do with them, not even to let them in our house (2Jn-10). Paul was a stickler about maintaining his reputation, being a good reason we should not let them in our homes, because we could be seen as condoning their religion in the eyes of those who may be weak in faith, who may let them in their homes and become enslaved to their doctrines and possibly lose their faith in Jesus to heresy. See also: Deny that Jesus came in the flesh; 1Jn 4-5,6 156l (160d) Works of the devil >> Satan determines the world's direction >> Led by the devil to suppress the word of God >> Suppressing the truth with false doctrine -- This verse goes with verse 5. The devil often tells the truth but with an evil motive, like he did with Adam and Eve, and the deceptions that are in the world have accumulated over a course of many centuries. Once Satan convinces a person of his lies, he sears them into his conscience as with a hot branding iron, so he cannot stop believing them. It is a major uphill battle trying to untie a person from spiritual deception. Those who belong to Satan and have believed in his teachings for many years, God can deliver them, but they will have to work with Him, because strong spiritual forces want to reclaim him by the things he once believed, and his former beliefs will never completely go away (Mat 13-52). (174j) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Form of godliness but denying the truth -- This verse goes with verse 5 (180b) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Wolves lead people into a cult >> Wolves bypass the cross (201a) Denying Christ >> Whoever is not with Jesus is against him >> He is against Christ who does not receive Him >> Whoever does not receive God’s word is against Christ 1Jn 4-4,5 (199i) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Rejecting Christ >> The world rejects God >> World rejects God because it does not know Him – John uses an interesting word in this passage, "them". He also said, “Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God” (1Jn 4-3). He was referring to a variety of spirits but especially the spirit of antichrist, saying that there are many of them. Then he goes from plural to singular saying, “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world,” suggesting that all the demons have a single master, whose name is Satan. He is the leader of demons, yet John in the same way is talking about people, for we cannot talk about the antichrist without talking about a man who will embody the devil. Satan is powerless without man, for God has given him no authority except what he received from Adam when he sinned. Man gives power to demons by obeying them and thus corrupting the earth through sin. The difference between the earth and the world is that the earth is a planet, while the world refers to the social impact of man on the earth. God simply refuses to violate man’s will, and for this reason demons cannot impose their will on us either, unless we invite them to do so. See also: Overcome the world; 1Jn 4-4; 39e / How the world is like the Kingdom of God; Lk 8-18; 222j 1Jn 4-4 (39e) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Victory >> Jesus overcame the world – For us to overcome the world means that we have entered into Jesus’ victory through faith (Jn 16-33). Jesus was frank about the true nature of this world; man was completely lost and is in desperate need of a Savior, but He also knew that most people would not receive Him, though He was willing to pay for their sins whether they received Him or not. Jesus victory over the world entailed defeating Satan on a spiritual level. He overcame the world through death, which is counterintuitive to most of our thinking. The world thinks exclusively in terms of power and success. When two men fight, the one who gets in the most licks is considered the winner, so what about the person who gets hung on a cross? How can people possibly see Jesus as overcoming the world when the Church agrees with the world’s system of thought? Jesus overcame the world by dying without sin. We who live in mortal flesh have no choice but to sin. Jesus was God in human flesh. His victory was maintaining His Father’s approval throughout His life, and we enter into His victory through His Spirit who dwells in us. If we believe in Jesus and follow the Holy Spirit, we too will overcome the world. See also: Overcome the world; 112d (39ib) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Jesus defeated Satan’s authority >> Church has inherited Jesus' authority (112d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Light >> Jesus light in us overcomes darkness >> The light of His power -- This verse goes with verse 18. One highly significant outcome of the Spirit of God leading us into the truth is that nobody can lie to us. We have overcome the deceptions of the world through the Holy Spirit who indwells us. So long as we love and continue serving the truth with all our hearts, a thousand demons gathered around us all speaking their lies against the knowledge of God would have a negligible effect on us, because God Himself taught us the truth by His Spirit. See also: Overcome the world; 119j (119j) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Curse of sin is broken >> Bondage of Satan is broken – The world is immersed in lies and deceit; there is nothing real about it. John is saying that we have overcome the world that is primarily controlled by the spirit of demons, but we have also overcome the world of mankind. We have not overcome the world through violence, quite the opposite; we have overcome the world in the sense that man can martyr us and still we go to heaven, and in fact we receive a better resurrection because of it, and the end result of martyrdom is always the further spread of Christianity. We have overcome the world in the sense that we have overcome its deception. See also: Overcome the world; 1Jn 4-4,5; 199i (132a) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holy Spirit is in God’s people >> Spirit of God in the spirit of man >> Spirit of the Father -- This verse goes with verse 9 1Jn 4,5-8 (129a) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Bearing fruit >> Evidence of your fruit >> The type of fruit indicates who you are serving KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 4-5,6 (85h) Thy kingdom come >> Words that are spoken in faith >> Verbalize your faith (156l) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Living an ungodly lifestyle >> Associating with the world – John is talking about false prophets as Gnostics. Antichrists and their teaching originate from the world, meaning it is non-offensive to unbelievers, except that it is religious. Their teaching revolved around the fact that Jesus was not human, that His body was made of a different substance than ours, and so it is no wonder He was able to perform miracles and was without sin, but they are wrong. Jesus was in fact human, His flesh was the same as ours, and Jesus performed miracles and lived a sinless life through His Father and has called us to seek His perfection, which is highly offensive to the world, because it removes their excuses for reveling in their sin. See also: Deny that Jesus came in the flesh; 1Jn 4,1-6; 164h / Spirit of error; 168g (168g) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world listens to itself >> The world speaks it’s own language – The unfortunate truth about this world is that by default people can hear the teachings of antichrist more clearly than they can hear the truth. There can be two people, one who speaks God's truth and the other who speaks the devil's lies, and man will generally believe a lie over the truth, suggesting that in the last days man will be persuaded by the antichrist. Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “Who then can be saved?” His response: “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Mat 19-26). Jesus was saying that salvation is a miracle. See also: Spirit of error; 168k (168k) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world has deaf ears to God >> You cannot hear God while you listen to the devil – We know the difference between the truth and a lie who are being led by the Holy Spirit. The acid test of our discernment is extremely simple: the one who listens to us can hear the voice of God, but the one who does not listen to us cannot hear the Holy Spirit speaking in his heart; instead, he is more persuaded by demons. The Holy Spirit teaches us the truth, permanently embedding His word into our heart, and in the same way those who pay attention to demons allow deception to solidify in their heart, permanently stamping it into their minds as with a hot branding iron, and they will not be able to repent of their unbelief (1Tim 4-1,2). See also: Spirit of error; 156l (198a) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Unteachable >> Resisting the knowledge of God (219g) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> The elect >> God chooses us as we choose ourselves >> God chooses us as we fulfill His calling – Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (Jn 15-16). We cannot fully understand God in this life, but must simply accept Him on many levels; we must especially accept that God is blameless. Predestination goes far beyond our ability to righteously judge Him. Many people who judge God come to the conclusion that He is wrong, that predestination is unfair and even evil, but we cannot understand predestination, because it is God's point of view, which is higher than ours. God speaks to everyone, and for this reason everyone has a chance to believe and know the truth, but some people are drawn to Him in ways that not even they understand. God's judgment is true, otherwise how could He have created such an expansive universe? We believe that He is right and good and better than anyone, especially better than His critics. We get into trouble when we accuse God of injustice and develop the attitude that since we don’t understand Him, He must be wrong. This kind of logic is unreasonable, man thinking he knows better than God; it is the height of arrogance; how could man possibly have the proper perspective of God when the smallest obstacle obstructs his view? He is way up there, and we know better than Him? I think not! See also: Blasphemy leading to a reprobate mind; 2Cor 12-20,21; 203k 1Jn 4-5 (160d) Works of the devil >> Satan determines the world's direction >> Led by the devil to suppress the word of God >> Suppressing the truth with false doctrine -- This verse goes with verse 1 (168e) World Listens to Itself (Key verse) (174j) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Form of godliness but denying the truth -- This verse goes with verse 8 1Jn 4,6-10 (208j) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being married to God >> Knowing God >> Sharing intimacy with Him 1Jn 4-6 (55da) Paradox >> Opposites >> Darkness exposes itself by its own reaction (106i) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Means of hearing from God >> Through prophets (107j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> hearing from God >> The Church is of the truth >> God’s people can discern the truth (151a) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness of Jesus >> Speak the word >> Speak the logos (156h) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> Understanding wisdom is evidence of salvation (183a) Spirit Of Error (Key verse) (222d) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> God does not entrust his treasures to dogs >> Do not give to dogs who will not receive you KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 4,7-12 (43j) Judgment >> Satan destroyed in the absence of sin >> Perfected in love -- These verses go with verses 16-21. God’s love is manifested in two ways: in Christ Himself, and through our faithfulness. Of these, the love of God was displayed through the example of Christ. Our example of Him is a mere reflection of God’s love and not the very substance of it. Our demonstration of Christ is not the essence of love but emulates from the fact that he loved us. What does John mean by God's love being perfected in us? James commanded us to be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Jesus said in Jn 13-17, “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” His love is perfected in us when we do what He says as a way of life. (124l) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Love is the action of God’s faith – This phrase: "God is love" is the heart of God's very nature and the center of the gospel. These three words summarize not only the vast majority of Scripture, but also heaven, the universe, and even the depths of God, whose magnificence is in His simplicity. 1Jn 4-7 (131h) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Interdependence >> Being selfless toward one another (156d) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> Loving your fellow man is evidence of salvation >> Love the brethren -- This verse goes with verses 12&13. When John wrote this epistle, it was easier to discern the Church's true members. The saints practiced their faith, and so it was easier to tell them apart from scoundrels, but in today’s apostasy people don't practice their faith but require everyone to assume they believe. So we can scarcely tell Christians apart from scalawags, making it all the harder for the the true saints protect their faith from those who would only use them. (208bb) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Salvation verses >> The kindness of God >> You can be saved without ever hearing about Jesus (238b) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The kingdom is transferred to the Church >> Born again >> Born of the Spirit by the will of man 1Jn 4,8-10 (30c) Gift of God >> God knows our needs >> He is the source of our obedience -- These verses go with verse 16 1Jn 4-8 (157c) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Rejecting God >> Rejecting God’s people (164h) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world is at enmity with God >> The world does not know God -- This verse goes with verses 1-6. Some people come to the most blasphemous conclusions about God. Those who believe in Him don’t know how they go from “God is love” to ‘God is evil.’ This is how some people think, though, and of course they bypass the fact that they live in a cursed world because of sin, and it is through sin that they concoct their ideas about God, their whole lives painted by sin and its consequences. God has given us our lives; we live for a while, and then our bodies quit functioning, and we go live with the lover of our soul. That’s not so bad, but those who consider God an ogre will find their place in hell where they will be allowed to continue feeling that way about God, and there will be no way to reach any other conclusion. For them, they will go from ignorance to ignorance, from a cursed world to cursed world. They will say, ‘I knew God was like this.’ 2Samuel 22-26,27 says, “With the kind You show Yourself kind, With the blameless You show Yourself blameless; With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the perverted You show Yourself astute [astute meaning: shrewd, contrary, unsavory, tortuous, perverse].” (The words in brackets were taken from various translations, also found in Psalm 18-25,26.) Whatever people think of Him determines how they experience Him. Those who believe in Him will go from faith to faith, from a beautiful planet with faults to a perfect paradise with God, but those who think He is evil will be rewarded with a world that will let them keep believing He is evil. It is all in what we want. Do we want heaven or hell? It is our choice. Yes, God is love, but He hates sin as much as He loves righteousness. He loves those who hate Him, but not forever, for those who die apart from Christ will never see or know the love of God. See also: Reprobate (Incapable of repentance); Rev 20,1-3; 163b (174j) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Form of godliness but denying the truth -- This verse goes with verse 1. Since God is love, and since we say He is our God and proclaim our love for Him, and since we say that it is our destiny to live with Him forever in heaven, John tells us that we should all the more love one another. It is only logical that we should conform to His image, but are we doing that? If we make these claims about God's love but walk contrary to them, it defeats all sense of reason. If we decide to walk the opposite direction of God's character, it is an admission that we don’t know Him, for we can’t love God and live contrary to Him. There are many doctrines in Christendom claiming we can get by with this, but John says that these are the teachings of antichrist. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 4-9,10 (229d) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Kingdom grows by itself >> God causes the growth >> Kingdom grows according to the will of God 1Jn 4-9 (115b) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Working God’s grace through Christ >> We receive an anointing through Christ – Living through Christ is how we manifest God in the world, but what does it mean to live through Christ? To those who don’t understand the gospel, the Bible is a mystery from Genesis to Revelation. If we told them that we live through Christ, they would get lost in all the phonemes and syllables, but to us who are born of God and understand the Scriptures, living through Him means we have His Spirit abiding in us and we follow His lead. We who are born of God seek intimacy with our creator and want to live with Him in heaven and inherit all the promises, including and especially eternal life. We live through the Spirit who dwells in us; and He gives us direction and understanding and wisdom into His will, not just through Scripture but guidance designed specifically for us. (132a) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holy Spirit is in God’s people >> Spirit of God in the spirit of man >> Spirit of the Father -- This verse goes with verses 12-16 (244l) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> Literal manifestation of God’s word >> Love is the manifestation of truth (248f) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Jesus is first >> Jesus is first born of the Father 1Jn 4-10 (249a) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Values >> The highest values >> Spirit over the law – When John said, “Not that we loved God, but that He loved us,” it is good that we love God, but it is better that God loves us, that we come to a realization of this. It is not so important that we love God by practicing commandments and filling requirements and observing regulations. Far more important is that we seek the knowledge of God and come to a revelation of Him. We could make a bulleted list of the many facets of God’s love and have a cerebral understanding of Him and pass a written test, but it would mean nothing until we get a revelation of those facts. The Bible commands us to love God, being the first commandment of the Law, and so John is showing the difference between the old and new covenants. Faith is no longer about fulfilling the commandments of God, but about having a revelation of Jesus Christ, who fulfilled those commandments. (250h) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Sequence of priorities >> The first is a precondition for what comes after it (Cause and effect) -- This verse goes with verse 19 1Jn 4-11 (4l) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Being accountable to your brother – This verse goes with verse 21 (12d) Servant >> Father is our example through Christ (42g) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Transformation >> Conform to the Love of Christ – John keeps hammering on the subject of loving one another through the love of God, reiterating himself numerous times in this chapter. We cannot overstate the love of God and the importance of loving one another. We should love one another because God loves us. Doesn’t that make sense? This is logical and reasonable. Red flags pop-up when we don’t see these simple concepts manifested in our lives, though they are so difficult to produce in our contrasting flesh. John has spoken a mere dozen words or so in this verse, but if we can establish these truths in our lives, it would change us from the inside out and make us beautiful people and attract the world that others may be saved. Love has the power to change the world, but it requires diligence on our part to determine no other response but love to the circumstances and people in our lives. The attitude that certain individuals do not deserve our love must be rooted from our hearts. No poet comes close to making statements so profound. When God spoke through His apostles who walked with Jesus throughout His ministry, who have seen His resurrected body and witnessed His ascension, the Holy Spirit inspired John to write these words that do not compare to any poet. No one else was in a position to write them, but we are in a position to obey them. This is our obligation, and if we fulfill our ministry, God will see to it that we speak the word of God with power to change the world around us. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 4,12-16 (132a) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holy Spirit is in God’s people >> spirit of God in the spirit of man >> Spirit of the Father -- These verses go with verse 4 (139k) Temple >> Temple made without hands >> Hiding place >> Abiding in Jesus – Abiding in Christ is like taking our dog for a walk, and stopping at a restaurant to eat dinner. Dogs are not allowed in the restaurant, so we tie the dog to a post and proceed into the restaurant. If the dog is unruly, it will bark and cry until it upsets everybody and we cannot enjoy our meal; we must attend to our dog every two minutes to calm it. Owning an untrained and unruly dog that has learned to control his master, instead of the master training the dog, is annoying to everyone, including the patrons and workers in the restaurant. We need to train the dog to be patient and wait for us; this is what it means to abide in Christ. We must tie up our flesh before we can venture into the temple and explore its various rooms. 1Jn 4-12,13 (156d) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> Loving your fellow man is evidence of salvation >> Love the brethren -- These verses go with verse 7. If we have fellowship with one another, it proves we have fellowship with God. Spiritual fellowship is an aspect of love that cannot be imitated. When those who do not know God attempt spiritual fellowship, the best they can do is socialize. Any sinner can quote the Bible, but spiritual fellowship is an interaction between the saints, the word of God and the Holy Spirit. The believer accomplishes this in his ministry as students of the word and disciples of prayer. (208bb) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Salvation verses >> The kindness of God >> You can be saved without ever hearing about Jesus 1Jn 4-12 (44c) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Complete >> Fulfill the requirements -- This verse goes with verses 17,18 (55e) Paradox >> Opposites >> No one has beheld God at any time... except us -- This verse goes with verse 14. John said that no one has seen God at any time, meaning neither Moses nor the apostle Paul saw Him while they lived in the flesh. Moses spent forty days and forty nights on top of Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments, and he stood in the presence of God and received the oracle of God by evidence of the glow on his face, and Paul met Christ on the road to Damascus, yet neither of them saw God in all His glory. When the Bible uses the general word "God", we should assume it is referring to the Father; no one in this life has ever seen the Father. Jesus also alluded to this in Jn 6-46, “[No one] has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.” Although Jesus is the exact representation of God, He is not the Father. Since the Son and the Holy Spirit have two different forms, it stands to reason that the Father also has a form that is unlike the other two. Most likely the Father has a form that is unlike anything He has ever created. Paul alluded to being privy to the presence of God in the sense of Moses, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit" (see: 2Cor 3,6-18). We will never behold the Father in this life, but if we dedicate our lives to the one true faith in Christ, we will become acquainted with Him in a way we will not be able to explain to another, or even to ourselves. See also: God's substance is faith; Rev 3-21; 70ja (103k) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> God purifies His church >> Jesus purifies His people – Paul said, "Let all that you do be done in love" (1Cor 16-14). If we love one another, God’s love is perfected in us, proving that God abides in us. In other passages John said that if God abides in us, then we should love the brethren, and so both of these are proofs of each other. That is, God abiding in us proves that we love the brethren, and loving the brethren proves that God abides in us. This also suggests that if one is missing, then neither are true. In other words, if God abides in us but we do not love the brethren, then God does not really abide in us. Apart from God, no one can love the brethren the way Jesus commanded us, especially not the world, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15-13). We have the Spirit of God living in us, and the world hates God. The world can sense that God lives in us and that He is the central mantelpiece of our lives, and they hate us for it, and so the world cannot love the brethren. Therefore, the fact that we love the brethren is proof that God abides in us. (137j) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Maturity >> Stages of maturity are levels of accountability >> Maturity is working with God – No one has seen God face-to-face, but there is a way to know God and to see Him through love, for if we love one another, it proves that God lives in us. If He abides in us and we manifest Him by loving one another, we will come to know God, and in knowing Him our eyes will be opened and we will see Him as Paul said, through a mirror dimly (1Cor 13-12), also as Jesus said in Mat 5-8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (169g) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world is blind to God >> God blinds their eyes (206f) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Conditions to promises >> Conditions to the love of God >> Conditions to loving Jesus KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 4,13-16 (70j) Authority >> Believer’s authority >> We have been given authority over all creation >> We are the children of God >> We have the divine nature – Most people want to believe that God loves them, yet John emphatically said He does, erasing any doubt, but not for everyone. It is an achievement to believe in God's love to the extent that He actually does. God is ready to bestow all His authority and grace on us in order that we might reign with Him. Whomever God creates after us, He will cause us to reign over them at His right-hand through Christ, and the Father’s role in all this is to delegate His authority to establish His creation. If the Father kept His authority to Himself, His kingdom would remain small and insignificant, but by delegating His authority He glorifies Himself. Everything the Father does are the things that no one else can do; for example, He created the universe and all thing in it, and we worship Him for it. If He did things that He could have delegated to others, all He would get for His effort is applause, but by delegating His authority to perform His works through His power, all the glory goes to Him who makes it all possible. This way everyone has a part. We are not spectators of His glory but active participants in working with Him to establish His kingdom throughout His creation, and He has called His Church to operate the same way. Therefore, if a pastor keep his authority to himself, he is not acting like God; but if he delegates his authority to others, his church will grow. See also: Obstacles in the way church growth; 1The 5-24; 130m 1Jn 4-13,14 (118h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Eyes of your spirit >> Giving God your attention >> Resolutely focus on the glory of God >> Focus on Jesus 1Jn 4-13 (155g) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> Holy Spirit bears witness of the believer – In other verses it says the evidence of our salvation is demonstrated in our love for the brethren, so for John to say that our faith is proven by the Spirit who dwells in us suggests there are two proofs of our salvation. There is a personal proof and a public proof of our faith. We know we are Christian by the Spirit who indwells us, but we prove it to others by keeping His commandments through love. 1Jn 4-14,15 (253ea) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Father >> Jesus has all the internal qualities of the Father >> Jesus is the Son of God >> Contested the Son of God by sinners and demons -- these verses go with verses 2,3. John and the other disciples walked with Jesus for three years and saw His miracles and heard the word of God and came to know this man, His personality and character, and most importantly His identity as the Son of God. No one else can make the claim that John made, except another of the eleven disciples. John is confirming that Jesus is the Son of God and that the Father sent Him to become the Savior of the world. The religious leaders martyred Him for his confession as the Son of God and for His relationship with the Father, and they martyred Him on the basis of His character. The religious leaders didn’t like Him because they couldn’t control Him; He was popular with the people and they were jealous. They didn’t like Him because He taught a version of their ancient manuscripts that was so different from their own that they couldn’t recognize the word of God coming from His mouth. 1Jn 4-14 (55e) Paradox >> Opposites >> No one has beheld God at any time.. .except us -- This verse goes with verse 12 (153a) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father >> Church bears witness of the Father through Christ (210d) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our savior >> Jesus is the savior of the world 1Jn 4-15 (78l) Thy kingdom come >> Renewing your mind >> Abiding in Jesus – The fact that Jesus commanded us to abide in Him means there is something we must do to make sure this happens; we must subject our sinful nature to the will of God. Our flesh cannot abide in Him; it is outside the promises of God, except that we in this world stand to benefit from keeping His commandments. Our flesh will one day die and return to the earth, being outside the blessing of God; immediate gratification is all our flesh understands. We will receive a resurrected body that is incorruptible, yet our flesh resists His will at every turn. It seeks its own benefit based on the elementary principles of the world that conflict with God and His eternal kingdom. None of its ways correlate with His purpose for us; therefore, when we abide in Christ, we must do it at the sacrifice of our flesh. See also: Body of Christ; Gal 1,13-24; 238e (111c) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit of truth -- This verse goes with verses 2-4 (144e) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> The Church Bears Witness of Jesus >> That He was sent by God (150d) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Confessing the salvation of Christ >> Confessing Jesus because you are saved -- This verse goes with verses 2&3. John was talking about the spiritual influence on the soul, which determines whether we confess Jesus as the Christ, who came in the flesh, or whether the Spirit of God does not dwell in us and we deny Him. We don’t often consider ourselves having a soul, yet the body represents the soul. This perspective John gave points out the spiritual war that Christians are fighting. We have one of two choices: we either accept the spirit of demons and speak their words, or we accept the Spirit of God and confess Jesus as the Son of God. (156i) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> Confessing Jesus is evidence of salvation -- This verse goes with verse 2 1Jn 4,16-21 (43j) Judgment >> Satan destroyed in the absence of sin >> Perfected in love -- These verses go with verses 7-12. There are those who believe eternal life is less about going to heaven and more about avoiding hell. If heaven were actually important to them, they would be living as though they were going there. As it is, their faith does not revolve around their hope of eternal life but their fear of hell. So their hope is based on fear. The Bible says no such hope exists; rather, true hope is based on love, and true love casts out fear (v18). This suggests that we can't get to heaven by trying to avoid hell. (131m) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Having fellowship with God KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 4-16 (30c) Gift of God >> God knows our needs >> He is the source of our obedience -- This verse goes with verse 19 (33m) Gift of God >> Believers are special to God >> We are beloved of God – Everything about God works through love. Our seat at the right-hand of Christ, who sits at the right-hand of His Father is a place where God will demonstrate His love forever. Jesus Christ will manifest the power of God as we demonstrate His love. God never does anything without using His Son, and the son never does anything without using His people. God has not yet created the new heavens and the new earth (Rev 21-1,2). Since God does everything through His Son, Jesus will also involve us in making all things new. We will never have the creative power of God, but He may ask us for design input before He creates the new universe with our suggestions under consideration. All things are done though love, and for this reason God will trust us in the ages to come. See also: New heavens and a new earth (God does all things through His Son, who does all things through the Church); Jn 1-10; 212b (73a) Authority >> Hierarchy of authority >> Authority makes you accountable >> Kingdom of God is opposite of the world – Money is to the kingdoms of this world as love is to the Kingdom of God. In heaven love is the medium of exchange; God is love, and the opposite of love is hate and murder and all the other attributes that coincide with Satan. He is not just different from God but the exact opposite. This didn’t just happen; everything that defects from God turns into His opposite, hence the demons. Lucifer wanted to be different from God and take over His throne and reign by His own authority, but he forgot that he was in God’s world, playing by His rules, which dictate that anybody who wants to be different must be opposite. This is the way it is for everybody who rejects the will of God. Everyone has their own slant, their own excuses, their own vision and ideas about what is right and wrong, but in the end if they do not subject themselves to God, they will oppose Him. See also: Fear and love are opposites; 1Jn 4-18; 23k (85m) Thy kingdom come >> Belief >> Treating the knowledge of God as fact >> Believing the Son by obeying the Father >> Obeying the old covenant through the new (100c) Thy kingdom come >> Perseverance >> Persevere in abiding in Christ – We are immersed in this world; we can’t help it, but we don’t want to be entangled in it. We know what it means for God to be in us; that is to be born-again, but what does it mean for us to be in Him? Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you” (Jn 15-4). This means to integrate our lives into His purpose. It is something eternal, something we must wait for heaven to fully comprehend. When our eyes are opened in heaven and we receive our resurrected bodies, we will be in God's house who also dwells in us, and then we will abide in Him and He in us in the most literal sense. (136j) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Body of Christ is the temple of God (156b) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> Loving God is evidence of salvation >> Keeping His commandments (208bb) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Salvation verses >> The kindness of God >> You can be saved without ever hearing about Jesus 1Jn 4-17,18 (44c) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Complete >> Fulfill the requirements -- These verses go with verse 12. John required evidence of our faith; James was much the same way, and so was Jesus. John was not willing to believe anybody who made a claim to faith but were unwilling to demonstrate that faith through love, compassion and humility. Those who perfect love have confidence in the Day of Judgment. Talk to any unschooled person in the Scriptures who claims to be a Christian, and he will argue that God will judge His people (Heb 11-30, based on Deuteronomy 32-35,36). In their defense Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (Jn 5-24). He was saying that the children of God will not stand trial at the Great White Throne Judgment; nevertheless, there will be a believer’s judgment. Although we are saved and going to heaven, God will judge His people, and many “will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1Cor 3-15). The believer’s judgment will be brutal on many Christians, but John is saying that those who have perfected love have confidence in the Day of Judgment, and he gives a reason, though it is difficult to understand, “because as He is, so also are we in this world.” Both God and we are in the world, and we acknowledge His presence in our lives, and He leads us into His perfection through love. This brings up another interesting point: when Jesus was alive in the flesh, His disciples acted like a lot of dimwitted idiots, trying to understand what He was saying and doing, but after Pentecost they understood Jesus entirely, but then they didn’t have His physical presence. Hence, no man has ever known the physical presence of Jesus in the Spirit, except Paul and he turned the world upside-down for Jesus. (103j) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> God purifies His church >> We go through Jesus’ purifying process 1Jn 4-17 (45c) Judgment >> Believer's judgment >> God judges our walk in the Spirit >> He rewards us for bearing fruit (122g) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Confidence in yourself as you die to sin >> Confident in good conscience (213f) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> Jesus owns you >> We are his instruments >> We are tools in the hand of God >> We are extensions of His body – John wants us to manifest the love of God through the members of our bodies, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, that His love might open our heart to a revelation of Jesus Christ, that we might have a deeper spiritual understanding of God as we demonstrate His truth. He wants our body, soul and spirit to be in agreement, that there be no contradiction or conflict with any aspect of our being. God finds fault with us when our flesh does not line up with what we know is true about His word, “Because as He is, so also are we in this world.” Note that He didn’t say, ‘As we are, so also is He in the world.’ He is no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit, and so He calls us to join Him by becoming spiritual as we ought and stop sinning (1Cor 15-34). As God is in the world to save sinners, so also are we. As God is in the world to demonstrate His love, so also are we. As God is in the world to warn of His judgment, so also are we. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 4-18 (8n) Responsibility >> Prevent sin from coming between you and God (23k) Sin >> Poverty (Oppression) >> Fear of the unknown >> The fear of fear – John is saying that fear and love are opposites. Love is the product of the Holy Spirit in the process of transforming us into the image of Christ. If love is the manifestation of God, then fear is the manifestation of Satan. Love is directly tied to the anointing that produces the works of God, so fear is also tied to demonic activity; fear then is the motivator behind all sin. For example, fear is the motivator behind greed in that people are afraid of poverty. Fear is the motivator behind lust in that people are insecure and afraid that nobody loves them. Fear is the motivator behind pride, wanting to be first because we are afraid of being last. We have all been told that love is an action, but that is not exactly true. Love, joy, peace, patience and all the fruits of the Spirit are spiritual states that determine the environment of the heart. See also: Fear and love are opposites; 46ab (46ab) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >> Violent take it by force >> Fight the good fight of faith – The Bible teaches that when love and fear war against each other, love always wins; John says that love casts out fear. Remember that these are spiritual states and can therefore be attributed to exorcism, in that the person who casts out demons does so from an internal spiritual environment that is primarily devoid of fear. If the love of God abides in us and has become a stable force in our lives, it prevents fear from infiltrating our heart, because fear and love cannot exist together. When love is present, fear must flee. Isn’t that what James also said, “resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jm 4-7). According to John, we resist the devil by cultivating a heart that is capable of love. Peter says that if we consistently do this, eventually the devil will have no choice but to leave (1Pet 5,8-10). So we have Peter, James and John in agreement about this. John gives the principle that fear and love cannot cohabit; James gives the procedure to resist the devil, and Peter gives the promise that if we are consistent, God will establish us in His love. See also: Fear and love are opposites; 57c (57c) Paradox >> Opposites >> The more you love the less you fear – Fear and love are opposites, so if we fear, it shows our lack of love. This is not readily intuitive, unless we understand the mindset of John, who had the mind of Christ. There is a theme that runs throughout the New Testament: faith and love are one and the same. We could transpose these words, showing that if we have faith, then we do not fear, but John used the word love because love is faith that is perfected. Many people have faith but have not perfected love, and for that reason their faith is incomplete. A person who has perfected faith does not fear, because he knows that God is with him. There are many definitions of faith, but one of them is that faith is a deep-seeded knowing. Some people believe in extra-terrestrials, but their beliefs don’t change them for the good. Many people believe in God this way, but the Bible teaches that “belief” affirms certain doctrines to be true and lives by them, whereas “faith” goes one step further and transcends our beliefs and communes directly with God. Therefore, “belief” interacts with man, while “faith” interacts with God. Eph 3-19 says, “to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge.” We know things that are beyond comprehension… that is faith. To know God this way is to have a faith that is on the verge of perfection, and for this reason we have no fear. See also: Fear and love are opposites; 119d / Difference between "belief" and "faith"; Rev 3,15-17; 86f (112d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Light >> Jesus light in us overcomes darkness >> The light of His power -- This verse goes with verse 4 (119d) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Freedom from satanic influence >> Free from bondage – There are many forms of fear, such as anxiety, which is a fight or flight response to mere shadows. Those who have panic attacks and anxiety are afraid of everything. They can’t identify their fears or point to them, because anxiety has no object, and those who have anxiety expect to be punished. For example, suppose it is the person's 20th high school reunion and he finds himself the only Indian among chiefs. Having a better job or more money would do nothing to alleviate his anxiety, because he could never have a good enough job or enough money to satisfy his anxiety. So how do we reprogram our thinking to eliminate this paralyzing enemy of the mind? What is the one thing that can overturn our fears? John says it is love. Anxiety attempts to measure ourselves against others to see our shortcomings, so John prescribes that we love them, and this allows us to exit the competition. Why does love have this therapeutic affect? Love is greatest in the repertoire of human behaviors, so that nothing can measure against it. In fact, love rejects comparison of any kind. When we practice love, we can expect to be rewarded. God intends to reward us for walking in love, and the reward is that we will be like Christ, and being like Christ is to receive a resurrected body that has no capacity for sin or death, and so fear is eliminated. All these are done away through love, until fear and anxiety become inscrutable to us, just like eternity is to us now. Everything will be turned on its head when we enter eternity; we will suddenly understand it, and fear will become the thing we can no longer grasp. See also: Fear and love are opposites; 1Jn 4-16; 73a / Anxiety (angst); Mat 7-23; 47i (158a) Works of the devil >> Excerpts of the greatest verses of this chapter KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 4,19-21 (208f) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being the friend of God >> Relationship with God through obedience >> We are His friends if we keep His commandments – People want to be taken at their word. They say, ‘I love God,’ but they are unwilling to demonstrate their love and put it into practice and love the brethren. They don’t want God to make them go through the trouble of proving their love, but they don't understand that the more practical demonstration of love God expects from us, the more practical demonstration of love God intends to show us in eternity. Therefore, we should be grateful that God expects these things from us; love proves how great an eternal future we have with Him. 1Jn 4-19 (30c) Gift of God >> God knows our needs >> He is the source of our obedience -- This verse goes with verses 8-10 (250h) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Sequence of priorities >> The first is a precondition for what comes after it (Cause and effect) -- This verse goes with verse 10. We practice love because He first loved us, meaning if it weren’t for God first loving us, we could not love one another. The world has no capacity for love, because of its rebellion against God. The world may have heard about God's love; they may even believe that He loves them, but if they have never acted on their belief in Him, they are not born of God and for this reason they cannot love others as God loves them. People who are not born of God regularly do nice things for others, so how can we say they are not capable of love? They are nice to others to appease their conscience to help believe in themselves as good people, but their love is not from faith, "and whatever is not from faith is sin" (Rom 14-23). Faith glorifies God, but their love is not meant to glorify God but themselves. 1Jn 4-20 (19g) Sin >> Having the mental disease of the world >> Man’s twisted understanding (21j) Sin >> Premeditated sin >> Having no Intensions of loving your brother – The truth is easy to those who love God, but is impossible to those who don’t. A person could say, ‘How can I love God if I don’t know Him?’ A person who seeks God knows that one day he will find the truth, simply because he is pursuing God with his whole heart, and the Bible teaches that whoever seeks Him will find Him (Mat 7-8). Whatever we seek, we will find, so if we seek something other than the truth we will find it in place of the truth. The Bible teaches that faith is based on knowledge, and it is more valuable than gold, meaning the truth is just as valuable as faith. John is saying that the way to the truth is through faith in God and the way to faith is through love. (24k) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Anger >> Unforgiveness (84j) Thy kingdom come >> Your words can lead to your own demise >> Lying – The apostle John was logically arriving at the truth. There have been many who have used logic to reason their way to the truth and came nowhere near it. That is because we must know the truth before we can apply logic to it; that is, we cannot find the truth by logically deducing it. The apostle John spent three years with the epitome of truth, Jesus Christ, and for this reason he could logically explain to us various points about the truth, but the person who attempts to logically deduce the truth and fails to arrive at it has formulated a lie. We could say he wasn’t actually lying, since he was seeking the truth and missed it by accident, but at some point we must admit that believing something about God that isn't true is ultimately a lie, regardless of our good intensions. The reason everything is a lie except the truth is that people seek God with half a heart, and that in itself is a lie. Therefore, anybody who seeks spiritual truth with only half a heart is lying to God. See also: Logic; 158j (158i) Love sickening sweet (Key verse) (158j) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >> Counterfeit godliness >> Love sickening sweet >> Loving words that lack action – These concepts couldn’t be simpler yet more profound. We have our brother standing in front of us with every opportunity to love him, and if we use that opportunity to love him, we will convey the fact that we love God too, but if we don’t, it conveys that we don’t love God either. The truth is not complicated, but people still insist that they love God without showing any evidence of it, saying, 'Trust me, I can feel God in my heart.' We are not called to trust in each other but in God, but we are called to demonstrate our faith as proof to our brother that we love God. Our brother doesn’t care how we feel when he is cold and hungry and needs our help. Not even God cares how we feel; He only cares that we love our brother. He doesn’t need proof of faith through love; our brother does. He’s not asking us to prove anything to Him; He’s asking us to prove it to your brother, for he is the one who needs to know. See also: Logic; 84j (167c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (Mindset of the world) >> (169f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world is blind to God >> Willful blindness (174e) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Self righteousness >> Justifying yourself – John is asking how we could love God if we have never seen Him, and Peter confirms, “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him” (1Pet 1-8). John is saying to the unbeliever that he cannot love God if he refuses to love his brother who is standing right in front of him. The worldly man who does not believe in God and the heathen with a secular mindset have limited themselves to their five senses. The secular man rejects all forms of faith. John was writing to people who had never seen Jesus in the flesh yet love Him, suggesting that seeing Him in the flesh didn’t have much of an advantage, since faith doesn’t need the flesh to see. (174k) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Lip service (180i) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Rebellion >> Rebelling against God’s narrow way >> Rebelling against the will of God (182c) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Self deception >> Lying to yourself KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 4-21 (4l) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Being accountable to your brother -- This verse goes with verse 11. We who love God must love our brother also. Jesus said in Jn 15-12, "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." It is also in the Lord’s Prayer that we should live the same way we will live in heaven, but the question is why? His commandment goes against our sinful nature, suggesting that God wants us to sacrifice our flesh in order to serve Him. This is God using evil for good; He has capitalized on Adam and Eve’s tragic mistake, which has afforded Him the opportunity to see if we will love Him by doing His will against forces that diametrically opposes His commandments. He now has a way to test us to see if we really believe in Him or not. See also: God uses Adam's curse to test man's loyalty; Rev 20,1-3; 15i (140e) Temple >> Temple made without hands >> Hiding place >> The entrance exam – God doesn’t care so much about His predestination and foreknowledge; He could look into the future to see if we actually loved God or not, but it wouldn’t mean anything to Him or us; instead, He wants us to show Him on a practical level that we love Him, and the only way to do that is to love our fellow man. Since God wants us to demonstrate our love on a practical level, it proves that the kingdom He intends for us in the future is a one. It is not a mystical experience where everyone is standing on clouds holding harps, and there are no physical objects anywhere, as depicted so often by Hollywood. Instead, God will give us a physical kingdom that is just as real as this world, and for that reason, He is testing us to see if we are fit for a practical kingdom that we will inherit through faith. See also: Suffering and Evil (God tests us in this life because the next life will be just as real); Rev 2-13; 67h See next page