JEAN'S BIBLE STUDY
| KJV WEB
| Endtime Prophecy
| Parallel Gospels
Page Numbers | Plywood Canoe
OT Commentary | Books
Contact | Gospel Tract

1JOHN CHAPTER 2 KJV WEB See previous page 1Jn 2-1,2 (31l) Gift of God >> Gift of His grace >> Forgiveness is a of God’s grace (83i) Thy kingdom come >> Jesus intercedes for us >> He prepares us to meet the Father (120f) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Forgiveness >> Forgiveness is an act of mercy >> God passes over our sins -- These verses go with verse 12. (See also: 1Jn 1-7) God expects us to walk in light of His righteousness, and if we sin, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. We are students of the Bible and disciples of prayer to avoid sinning, but if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father. God’s will for us is that we minimize sin in our lives, since it is impossible to avoid it altogether. Jesus is the propitiation for our sins, “and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world,” even for those who do not believe in Him. Imagine going to hell, knowing our sins have been forgiven. People go to hell not because they are unforgiven, but because they have rejected God manner of forgiveness, who is Jesus Christ the righteous. They refuse to enter into covenant with Him and receive His righteousness (the Holy Spirit). 1Jn 2-1 (8m) Prevention (Key verse) – "An ounce of prevention is worth of pound of cure." (8n) Responsibility >> Prevent sin from coming between you and God – The apostle John prevented many sins simply by writing this epistle. It is better to learn our lessons from a book than by experience, so we can avoid the pain that accompanies mistakes. (29f) God Is On Our Side (Key verse) (29j) Gift of God >> God is on our side >> God identifies with us >> He is our advocate – We read the Bible to avoid sinning, though the Bible says we’re all sinners (1Jn 1-8,9), and if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. God doesn’t want us to sin, but He knows we will and has established a way to forgive us through Jesus' blood sacrifice, who cleanses us from all unrighteousness. We commit sins we don’t even realize, and God cleanses us from them all; it is when we sin against our conscience that we go to God, and He cleanses our conscience by removing our sin from His memory, so we maintain confidence that His kingdom is waiting for us at the end of this life. By faith in Him we have forgiveness of sin, and we show our appreciation for the gift of eternal life by living for Him. If we practice doing what we know is wrong, we abuse the grace of God, and we abuse our conscience, defined as God's memory of our sin, but God is patient with us and desires that we seek His freedom. Our relationship with God is a two-step process: abstaining from sin and drawing near to Him. Both of these should be happening at the same time, for a good conscience proves to ourselves only that we belong to Him, and His blood sacrifice, of which we have all become partakers, guarantees our place in heaven. There are too many people in the Church today who partake of the sacrifice well enough but never mind abstaining from sin. They are willing to let God forgive them, but they are not willing to repent; they just figure God will forgive them. This is not faith. To avoid abusing the grace of God, we must be in the perpetual process of repentance, for without repentance we cannot believe that we are His children. (42c) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Overcoming sin -- This verse goes with verse 10 (42h) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Transformed >> Conform to the purity of Christ (80b) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word in spiritual warfare >> To deliver yourself from bondage – In the previous chapter John promised we would sin (1Jn 1-8), and in this verse he hopes we won’t. John wants us to minimize our sins, for we are not free to sin but free to do righteousness. Freedom to sin is like thinking we have no sin at all; either way, the truth is not in us. (148f) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Natural advantage as an evangelist >> Being youthful -- This verse goes with verses 12-14 (194e) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Hate evil >> Condemning sin >> Hate evil by being innocent of it 1Jn 2-2 (165g) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Do not partake of the world >> Be in the world but not of the world – Jesus is the "Savior of all men, especially of believers" (1Tim 4-10). God took all the sins from every person and heaped them on Christ as He was dying (2Cor 5-21). It says He went to the lower parts of the earth (Eph 4-9,10) and dropped them into hell and then returned. We don’t know what this means, whether it is symbolic or literal or somewhere in-between, but we do know that all the sins of man are in hell, and we are not going there as disciples of Jesus. We will be in heaven and our sins will be in hell, far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103-12). In the new creation God will place sin and sinners at the center of the new earth. Physically, there will be a finite distance between us and our sin; but spiritually, the distance will be greater than one end of the universe to the other, or east is from the west. (210d) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our savior >> Jesus is the savior of the world KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 2,3-10 (42j) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Transformed >> Conform to the walk of Christ 1Jn 2,3-8 (129i) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> love perfects unity >> God’s love 1Jn 2,3-6 (90j) Thy kingdom come >> Keeping the law >> We do not nullify the law through faith; we fulfill it – If we have received the Holy Spirit, we know that we are in Him; moreover, if we keep His commandments, we know that we know Him. Note that John starts talking about the law and then replaces the law with love, because they are in some ways the same. The Apostle Paul taught that keeping the law is like having a personal trainer preparing us for faith, so we only need to believe in Jesus and the law will assure that our conduct will not get in the way of our faith. Many who believe in Jesus, who have come from various addictions that conflict with their faith, have learned that God is bigger than their addictions, and He has delivered them from these things as they worked with Him. However, there are others who cave to their addictions, and as a result they do not keep the law, so when they attempt to believe in Jesus, they do not have a tutor that ushers them into faith. Instead, their lawlessness gets in the way of believing in Jesus. Are they going to heaven? They are more than suspect in John’s book. He calls them liars, saying that the truth is not in them. See also: Drug addiction (deceitfulness of sin); Rom 7-11; 181j (156b) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> Loving God is evidence of salvation >> Keeping His commandments -- This verse goes with verse 17. John demands evidence of our faith by keeping the law; he did not accept anything less. To the person who says, I believe in Jesus, John says, ‘Good, then live like Him.’ His message is very much like the book of James, who also wrote a proof-oriented epistle, who was not interested in taking people at their word, but demanded they show him their faith, which is reasonable, since knowing God should be evident. Jesus said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another” (Jn 15-12). You can either keep Moses’ Ten Commandments or you can keep Jesus’ one commandment; it’s all the same. However, there is a demonic spirit loosed in the Church that says we are not required to keep the law. Who has liberated us from keeping the law; did the Apostle Paul? Anyone who teaches this is a liar! James said, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker” (Jm 2-10,11). By the same token, anyone who keeps the epistles of Paul, but does not keep the epistle of John has broken the Scriptures. Although Paul taught that we cannot find justification before God by keeping the law, he didn't mean we were liberated from it. What good work is not covered by the law? Since love is the summation of all the commandments, then there is no getting around loving the brethren. We keep the law, not to get saved, but because we are saved, and if we don’t love the brethren, then John says we’re not saved. See also: Evidence of salvation; 1Jn 2-3; 122e (206f) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Conditions to promises >> Conditions to the love of God >> Conditions to loving Jesus 1Jn 2-3 (87i) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Those who obey believe in God >> Those who obey the word -- This verse goes with verses 5&6 (92k) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way connects you to God >> It solidifies your relationship with Him (122e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Confidence in yourself as you die to sin >> Confident in your salvation -- This verse goes with verse 5. What about the good person who doesn't believe? There are some people who come from families that were taught not to lie, not to cheat, not to steal, not to swear, but they don't believe in Jesus. When John said, “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments,” the fact that John was talking about someone who goes to church is evidence that they believe in Jesus, and the fact that they keep His commandments is evidence that their faith is real, but there is no actual proof of faith; there is only proof of our own, "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom 8-16). He didn't say, “By this we know that [they] have come to know Him;" it says, "By this we know that we have come to know Him," in our conscience. This does not mean we cannot use what John said as a meter for another person's faith, for it is important to weigh the hearts of those who claim to believe, but at the same time we must keep in mind that everything John said is evidence and not proof of faith. It's when we combine all the evidences that we come close to proving whether someone really believes. See also: Evidence of salvation; 1Jn 2-10; 156d (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 1Jn 2,4-6 (51j) Judgment >> Judging the Church with the world >> No partiality with God’s righteousness KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 2-4 (20k) Sin >> Disobedience >> Rejecting the word -- This verse goes with verse 9&11. John doesn’t think we should go by what people say, but by what they do. When someone tells him, ‘I have come to know God,’ he answers, ‘Oh yeah, let’s see!’ This is the Bible saying that our practice of the truth is just as important as our knowledge of it; hence, knowing the truth without practicing it is completely worthless! The person who claims to know Him (the truth), but forsakes His commandments is simply not a Christian. A person who commits a sin apart from his true character and mourns and repents over it and returns to God, his sin is irrelevant. John is talking about a way of life. We all commit sin; it is unavoidable; he said as much in 1Jn 1-8. We love God and try to obey Him, yet we still falter everyday. The sins we commit in secret are between us and God, referring to conscience, but the sins we commit against the brethren, if they come from a habitual lifestyle, John says we are not obligated to consider such a person a brother in the Lord. If he once had strong faith and has backslidden, we should "restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness" (Gal 6-1), but if there was never anything about him that resembled Christianity, that person is a false brother, and we should not trust him with our heart; rather, his purpose in the church is to infiltrate and exploit. We should not allow this, for the Church was designed as a haven, not for the unruly but for the saints. They don’t want a relationship with God but are afraid of Him, like Adam and Eve who after taking the forbidden fruit ran from Him. Those who have never had a relationship with God do the most to cause division. They are scoundrels, and we need to confront them, because they mean to harm the saints and have little potential for good. (80h) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word to minister to God >> In your inner man -- This verse goes with verses 7&8 (84j) Thy kingdom come >> Your words can lead to your own demise >> Lying -- This verse goes with verse 9 (86m) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word from the heart >> Internalize the word of God (132k) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holy Spirit is in God’s people >> Holy Spirit is in the hearts of men (157g) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Deceiving and being deceived >> Deceiving -- This verse goes with verses 22&23 (158h) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Divide and conquer >> Division (Cliques) >> Hating your brother -- This verse goes with verse 9 (174k) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Lip service -- This verse goes with verse 9 (182c) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Self deception >> Lying to yourself – There is too much easy-believism in the Church today, too many people who separate Paul’s teachings from the teachings of James and John. The vast majority of our understanding of grace comes from Paul; if it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t understand the grace of God at all. However, there are many people in the Church who misinterpret Paul to say that works are optional as though we can choose to keep the commandments. Such Christians go shopping in the Bible and pick out various verses that appeal to their flesh. They don’t want what James and John said, so they stay in the books of Romans and Galatians, but if they went to John’s church, he would expect them to keep the commandments, and if they didn’t, he would consider them unbelievers, and he certainly wouldn't give them a ministry in the church. (184j) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Abusing the grace of God >> Dragging God’s Grace Through The Mud >> Unwilling to honor God’s grace 1Jn 2,5-10 (117k) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Eyes of your spirit >> Seeing through the eyes of your spirit >> Light illumines your spirit 1Jn 2,5-8 (8d) Responsibility >> Prepare to interact with God >> Entering the realm of the Spirit – This passage teaches how to get a revelation from God. It starts with walking in the knowledge we have (doing what we know). When we do, our knowledge will glow as it were in our heart as a revelation of the Holy Spirit. Verses 7 & 8 say that the same old words that we have known for years will suddenly be transformed into a force in our life that will chase away the darkness and bring new light. However, none of these things happen until we first walk in the knowledge we have, transforming it into true knowledge (2Pet 1-3). See also: Spirit and the word; 1Jn 2-7,8; 80h 1Jn 2-5,6 (87i) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Those who obey believe in God >> Those who obey the word -- These verses go with verse 3. This passages slaps our sinful nature. The only person who has kept God’s commandments without ever slipping is Jesus. The rest of us are just a lot of screw-ups who get everything wrong, who must restart time and time again, trying to make something of our lives that resembles the teachings of Scripture. We want to live by what the Bible says, and we get it right sometimes, and there are many righteous and holy people who have truly perfected the love of God; still they make mistakes. God says these mistakes are irrelevant, because He has a system prepared so when we sin, we simply repent, confess our sins, and God is “faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn 1-9). In this way we continue our quest for God and His path for our feet. If we slip off the trail, we get right back on it and keep pushing forward; that is the Christian walk. This is what John means by the love of God truly being perfected in us. Giving up is not in our vocabulary. We will make mistakes and we will commit sin, but to surrender means bondage that takes away our freedom to serve God. It redirects our feet to a strange path that God has not designated for us that estranges us from His will. The one who falls, and returns, God's love is truly perfected, giving confidence that we are in Him. Many people claim to believe in God, but the one who believes ought to walk in the same manner that He walked. This is how we distinguish imposters from the true children of God. Building faith is not something that happens on its own, any more than houses build themselves. We must push the attributes of Christ into our lives and push out the old behaviors and habits that held us in bondage to unbelief. (156b) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> Loving God is evidence of salvation >> Keeping His commandments -- These verses go with verse 17 1Jn 2-5 (43j) Judgment >> Satan destroyed in the absence of sin >> Perfected in love (44c) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Complete >> Fulfill the requirements (103h) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> Cleanse yourself – When a drug addict finds faith in Jesus Christ and is delivered from his addictions, this is a powerful testimony. It promotes strong confidence in God’s ability to deliver His people from their sins, and it especially builds confidence in the person who finds God's freedom that they are truly born-again. (122e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Confidence in yourself as you die to sin >> Confident in your salvation -- This verse goes with verse 3 (137j) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Maturity >> Stages of maturity are levels of accountability >> Maturity is working with God 1Jn 2-6 (91m) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> Trail of good works >> The trail that Jesus walked (230b) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Partaking >> What we must do to partake of the kingdom >> Partaking which requires our participation 1Jn 2,7-10 (112i) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Light >> Light exposes sin >> Light reveals hidden motives KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 2-7,8 (46c) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >> Knowledge is our weapon -- These verses go with verses 12-14 (80h) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word to minister to God >> In your inner man -- These verses go with verse 14. Some might be inclined to see these verses as the difference between the old and new covenants, where the old is passing away and the new is replacing it. That would be an accurate interpretation. In the days of the old covenant God commanded Israel to comprehend the Scriptures with their natural minds, and if this was important to them, then it is important to us. We must have a proper perspective on the Bible, for God wants to anoint us, and how can He anoint heresy? God's purpose of the new covenant is to reveal His word to us by the Spirit as we obey Him, for if we will fill our mind with His word and fill our hands with His work, He will anoint our lives, and if we obey His revelation, He can use us to help establish His Kingdom in the world, but to merely obey the written word by the natural mind cannot rise above the teachings of the old covenant and does little to promote His kingdom. Whatever God is revealing to us is what we need to do; and by that He will reveal Himself all the more, initiating a snowball effect where God ministers to us as we minister to Him. See also: Spirit and the word; 92b (92b) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> Trail of good works >> Ray of light leading to the face of Christ – The Holy Spirit has a general purpose in all His children, helping us keep His commandments to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as our self. Unlike the law, which reads the same way to everyone, the Holy Spirit also has a unique ministry in all His children to lead us on our custom designed trail of good works, which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk on it (Eph 2-10). We need to be careful to listen for His voice, as Mary (the mother of Jesus) said to the servants at the wedding of Cana, “Whatever He says to you, do it” (Jn 2-5). It would behoove us to take her advice. His special ministry will never contradict His general ministry regarding the law, which is also based on love. Once we find God’s purpose, He will fill our hands with His work, and give us inspiration and motivation to finish it. See also: Spirit and the word; 107m (106j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Means of hearing from God >> Through the Bible (107m) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> The Bible will lead you to truth >> True light – On the one hand, the Old Testament reads the same as it always did, so nothing has changed in regard to the message, and we could say the same about the New Testament. If we have been saved for forty-one years, we can turn to our favorite passage and read the same words as when we first got saved; the Bible hasn't changed. “On the other hand,” he says, “I am writing a new commandment to you,” suggesting that God wants to give light to His word. He doesn’t just want us to understand facts and information about the Bible; He wants to reveal those facts and information to us, so He can change our lives and we can change those around us. Even if our interpretation of the Bible is accurate, He calls it darkness if the Spirit has not enlightened us. “The darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.” See also: Spirit and the word; 109e (109e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelation of the word of God >> Revelation of the meaning of God’s word – The word that we have heard is the old covenant law that we have read. Conversely, the new commandment refers to the new covenant Holy Spirit giving light to see His word and power to live godly in this present evil age. The new commandment on paper is no different from the old one, but the Holy Spirit brings light to His word, making it seem like a new commandment. The Holy Spirit impacts the Scriptures, allowing Him to do in us what we read in the Bible. Study Israel's interpretation of their Old Testament, and compare it with Jesus’ interpretation of it; the difference is as great as the word without the Spirit. Israel did not comprehend the intent of the law, and for that reason they did not recognize their own messiah! The same is true about the New Testament; if we don't understand it by the Spirit, we are destined to be grouped among the religious Pharisees. The affect of the Holy Spirit on the word of God in our heart is summarized by the proper interpretation of the Bible and the revelation of those writings. When He inhabits our mind, He changes us in ways that make us unrecognizable to our family members, slowly transforming us over the years to new covenant believers. The darkness of our old life is passing away and the light is already shining with a splendor that the world cannot comprehend. See also: Spirit and the word; 1Jn 2-9; 24k (110j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit of revelation >> Revelation of the truth >> Revelation of the true doctrines (151h) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> New Testament bears witness of the Old >> Men of faith (191d) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Extract the leaven of false doctrine (229a) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Kingdom grows by itself >> Growing in numbers corresponds with spiritual growth >> Kingdom slowly spreads and overtakes darkness (250hh) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Sequence of priorities >> Believe the first message; all subsequent messages are meant to dissuade you – There is a saying, the Old is the New concealed, and the New is the Old revealed. John was talking about continuing the revelation of the Old Testament, writing new words through a revelation of what has been written. He was also reminding us to be diligent to embrace the revelation of God’s word that we initially heard, meaning the first word we heard is the one that is from God, and all other versions thereafter are Satan’s attempt to dissuade us from the initial word (see: Numbers chapters 23,24). For example, in Mat 24-4,5 when it says, “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many,” it implies that this is an effort to dissuade us from the truth after the initial word from God was spoken. Case in point, a Great Endtime Revival will sweep the world in the last days managed by the Jewish people once they have received Jesus as their Messiah. The Jews will be led by the Two Witnesses who perform signs, wonders and miracles, and they will never claim to be the Christ. They will orchestrate the 144,000, who will lead the gentile nations into the grace of God. A great deception will follow this revival after everybody has had an opportunity to believe the truth from God. This is according to the principle that God speaks first, then Satan comes behind Him to dissuade us from the truth. These false christs will come after the Great Endtime Revival has been well entrenched to dissuade people from joining the revival, and many will follow them. See also: Great Endtime Revival (Jews will manage the gospel [144,000] Two Witnesses); Act 2-46,47; 129n KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 2,8-11 (169e) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world is blind to God >> Darkness has a blinding effect – The children’s game Pin the Tail on the Donkey has some relevance to this subject. We all laugh when we put a blindfold on somebody and give him a donkey tail, spin him a few times and watch him stumble in the darkness. It seems funny because what he is trying to do is so easy to those who can see. What is blindness? It takes away knowledge. They take off his blindfold and immediately he can see where to pin the tail. The person who has been blinded by hate and bitterness and unforgiveness is walking in a stagger trying to find his way in the darkness of sin. The people standing around him can say it is straight ahead or to the left or to the right, and in this way he can pin the tail on the donkey by following directions, but the person in spiritual darkness rejects instruction, except from his mentors, who are probably also blind. He can hear the sighted people telling him which way to turn, but he doesn't listen and falls into a pit (Mat 15-14). He only needs to take off the blindfold and the problem is solved, "but their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ" (2Cor 3-14). 1Jn 2-8 (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 1Jn 2,9-11 (92h) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> What kind of trail is this? >> The wrong gate is wide and many enter by it – Unfortunately, a person’s heart can be very complicated. Jeremiah 17-9 verifies this, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” The heart remembers the paths it has taken and their crookedness, and it knows when we have walked in circles. When we walk on crooked paths, they make our heart crooked, and we only understand crookedness. The solution is to start walking in a straight line in the direction of the Holy Spirit, and forget all the circles we have walked in the past and begin remembering the straightness of God’s ways and prefer them over darkness. (176c) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Ignorance >> Ignorance lurks in darkness – The reason we have trouble with bondage, whether it be from bitterness or rage, lust or covetousness, stems from ignorance that replaces potential, healthy experiences with God. Many people misunderstand the definition of ignorance, thinking it is a derogatory word, but ignorance actually refers to a lack of knowledge, such as a person without an education. Knowledge must come from experience, suggesting that when we study our books to pass courses to earn our degree, we can’t just read them; we must be present listening to the words as we read and comprehend the material, and in that comprehension is the experience of learning. The same applies with our relationship with God; we must experience His word as something more than mere words on a page but prayerfully read the Bible. (179k) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Wolves lead people into a cult >> Leading people through ignorance (184e) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Darkness >> God controls darkness >> Darkness is the absence of light – Jesus and the Apostle Paul and the Apostle John all equated the biblical concept of “darkness” to disobedience, which ultimately leads to demonic activity. We need to know what John meant by the word “brother”. We could assume he was referring to our brother in the faith, but he also included our neighbor, though he has less weight. If we hate our neighbor, we are just as much in darkness if we hated our Christian brother, shutting the door to racism. Anybody who has a genuine faith in God cannot hate his neighbor, regardless of race, color or creed, though we may detest some of the things he does. The difference between bitterness and racism is that one pertains to bondage, while the other pertains to a blatant unwillingness to accept our fellow man, referring to flagrant rebellion against the known will of God, and Christians are not to live this way. Racist Christians are in name only. Unforgiveness turns to bitterness is a type of spiritual bondage that we need to overcome, whereas racism is a sign that we need to get saved. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 2-9 (20k) Sin >> Disobedience >> Rejecting the word -- This verse goes with verse 4&11 (24k) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Anger >> Unforgiveness -- This verse goes with verse 11. Unforgiveness has a blinding effect. The words darkness and light are analogies for describing the spiritual realm, yet the Bible never defined them. We understand that Jesus used the word "light" to represent the truth about God, knowledge that we comprehend as a result of the Holy Spirit revealing Jesus Christ to us, but darkness implies that we are receiving truth from a different source. Bitterness will lead us to listen to the wrong spirits, and these demons teach their victims that it is okay to hate our brother, meaning anybody who feels justified in hating his brother is a disciple of Satan. He does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. See also: Spirit and the word; 1Jn 2-20; 111c (84j) Thy kingdom come >> Your words can lead to your own demise >> Lying -- This verse goes with verse 4 (157c) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Rejecting God >> Rejecting God’s people -- This verse goes with verse 11. John is not talking about believers who are struggling in the faith; he is talking about unbelievers who think they are Christians and would mislead true believers into accepting them. If they hate their brother or if they are racists, we shouldn't believe they are Christians, for they are not following Christ. Any Christian who walks in darkness for an extended period eventually succumbs to his darkness, eroding his faith until it disappears altogether, potentially developing a reprobate mind so he cannot be restored to repentance. Hatred and bitterness can overtake our faith and eat us alive. (158h) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Divide and conquer >> Division (Cliques) >> Hating your brother -- This verse goes with verse 11 (174k) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Lip service -- This verse goes with verse 4 (182a) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Self deception >> Believing the darkness within you is light -- This verse goes with verse 11. We all know the difference between darkness and light; when we turn off the light, we can’t see anymore. Why then do we have a problem interpreting the difference between darkness and light as it pertains to God? How could someone perceive darkness as light? Knowing the difference between darkness and light is easy in both the natural and spiritual realms, unless he is following the wrong spirit! Light corresponds with the commandments of God, so if we hear people telling us that they hate certain people groups or demonstrate that hatred in front of us, we can be confident that person is not a brother in the faith. We know the law commands us to love one another, so on the flipside, “The one who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.” The one who spiritually stumbles generally stumbles over the truth, as Jesus said, “blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over me” (Mat 11-6). The truth is in the way of a person who walks in darkness. The truth is there to lead us to God, but if we see the truth as an obstacle, it proves we are walking on the wrong trail. The trail of good works is lighted and clear of debris; we don’t stumble over darkness. So long as we remain on the trail that God has prepared for us, we will never stumble (2Pet 1-10), because there is nothing in the way. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 2-10,11 (129h) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> love perfects unity >> Genuine love 1Jn 2-10 (42c) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Overcoming sin -- This verse goes with verse 1 (95g) Thy kingdom come >> Attitude >> Having a cooperative attitude >> An attitude that fosters unity (137l) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Maturity >> Maturing with our brothers >> Maturity is tested by our relationship with others – Sometimes God calls us to ignore foolish and ignorant sinners and their ways (2Tim 2-23), and when they come to rob us of our dignity, we are to forgive them and go on living for Jesus, knowing that life in the flesh will one day end, and we will meet God, and He will judge us for the things we did in the body, whether good or bad. If we live for Him, He will accept us into paradise, while our enemies who never repented of their unbelief will disappear into the black darkness, which they have always known. (139k) Temple >> Temple made without hands >> Hiding place >> Abiding in Jesus -- This verse goes with verse 24 (156d) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> Loving your fellow man is evidence of salvation >> Love the brethren – According to Rom 12-3, God has given us a measure of faith, and that measure is the flame in our lamp that God has commanded us to protect; for if it dies, we have no way of relighting it, and we will have no choice but to walk in darkness. When we read the epistle of First John, we come to realize that it is a list of criteria that we can use to identify the true brethren and expose false brothers. From verse to verse he speaks this way, and so did James, giving us a way to separate the sheep from the goats. It doesn’t seem this knowledge is significant in the Church today; in fact, there is an assumption that anybody who goes to church must be saved. The Bible is simple enough a little child can understand it, because they want to do the will of God, but some people have infiltrated the church, bringing all their baggage with them. See also: Evidence of salvation; 1Jn 2-29; 155k 1Jn 2-11 (20k) Sin >> Disobedience >> Rejecting the word -- This verse goes with verse 4&9 (24k) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Anger >> Unforgiveness -- This verse goes with verse 9. The problem with unforgiveness is that it expresses unbelief in God’s righteous judgment. There are Christian brothers and sisters who struggle with unforgiveness. People caught in bitterness try to suppress it, yet it keeps bobbing to the surface. They can’t seem to get over it; they are in bondage to it. We who have faith can let things go that people do to us, because we understand this life is our offering to God that we sacrifice to do His will. If someone has robbed us or hurt us (or even killed a family member), we can forgive him, because we know there is a judge over all creation and He judges righteously. No one is getting away with anything. If we hold bitterness against someone, at the judgment God will take our bitterness into account, and He will go easier on the person who offended us as a way of judging our bitterness. Therefore, if we want God to judge our enemies, we must forgive them. Rom 12-19,20 says, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” (97b) Thy kingdom come >> Having a negative attitude about yourself >> An uncooperative attitude (157c) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Rejecting God >> Rejecting God’s people -- This verse goes with verse 9 (158h) Works of the devil >> Divide and conquer >> Division (Cliques) >> Hating your brother -- This verse goes with verse 4 (161d) Works of the devil >> Satan determines the world's direction >> Wandering from the character of God >> Wander from the love of God -- This verse goes with verse 28. Those who are faithful in Jesus walk in broad daylight, but the one who hates his brother walks in darkness, like walking off the railroad tracks and into the woods in the middle of the night; and soon as he ventures off the trail he is immediately lost. His venture off the trail ends in absolute disaster; he can’t see the deadfall in front of him; he trips over a few stumps and then veers into a swamp and becomes hip deep in mud. He stops and prays and asks for help, and he has to wait for the morning light, and then he has to find his way back to the blessed path that was so easy and logical to follow. When he finds it he stays on it. (182a) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Self deception >> Believing the darkness within you is light -- This verse goes with verse 9. Blind people are in darkness because their eyes don’t work, but those who suffer from spiritual blindness, their eyes work well enough, but they can't see because there is not enough light. That is also the case of animals that live in caves where there is never any light. Many of them actually have eyes, though they don’t work because of disuse. Nature says that if they don’t use them, they lose them. Same goes for the spiritual realm; the darkness has blinded their eyes. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 2,12-14 (8a) Responsibility >> Use time efficiently >> Use wisely what time you have – John used the words: children, young men and fathers to imply spiritual development. Many people get saved and never grow but remain children in their thinking for decades. The first six months of their salvation they were excited about their newfound faith, and then they became complacent and quit growing. In their case they may be sixty or seventy years old, but John is still calling them children. There are others who grow beyond their childhood years to become young men, and then there are the few that have spiritually grown for as long as they have been Christians. Obviously they had lulls in their development like anybody, but they quickly returned to their faith. These are the fathers. They are usually older people, because it takes time to spiritually grow; God takes His time in everything He does. (46c) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >> Knowledge is our weapon -- These verses go with verses 7&8. Children have not developed the skills and abilities and relationship with God to overcome the evil one; they get knocked-down and beat-up, but they matured to become young men and overcome the evil one. They have put reigns on all their weaknesses and sins, and they are learning self-control and the tricks of the devil and how to avoid pitfalls. Now when the devil batters them, they don’t always fall; when he wars with them, they don’t always lose. They are learning to stand in the Lord and wield the sword of God’s Spirit through the word of God, and they are learning who is their enemy and how to overcome him. This all takes time and experience. (75b) Thy kingdom come >> Motives of the heart >> Motives for doing the will of God -- These verses go with verse 21 (148f) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Natural advantage as an evangelist >> Being youthful -- These verses go with verse 1 (238j) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Teachers "remind" their students >> Teaching by rote – John reiterated himself, teaching by rote, and whatever the Bible teaches by rote indicates its importance. It is important that young men overcome the evil one, and it is important for fathers to know that Jesus existed before the beginning of all things. John is saying that fathers help children and young men in the process of maturity. As we develop in the faith, one of the things we should incorporate in our understanding is that Jesus is an aspect of God. We must believe in the trinity. This has been given to fathers, because it requires the experience of knowledge to comprehend. 1Jn 2-12,13 (224d) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> Describing the kingdom after he makes all things new >> Children of God resemble their Father – When children are very young, their parents are their whole world. Later when they mature to become young men and women, they don’t remember their toddler years like their parents do; for them it was a time filled with memories. Good parents love their little children. They are cute and cry and fall and skin their knees and elbows and need band-aids, protection, a lot of maintenance and oodles of TLC. Their parents do just about everything for them, and the children scarcely appreciate it, but the parents don’t mind, because they know this is the way it is with young children. Parents savor their children’s adoration of them in total dependence, but the parents want their kids to eventually mature, and become independent men and women, don’t fall as often or need as much help. 1Jn 2-12 (120f) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Forgiveness >> Forgiveness is an act of mercy >> God passes over our sins -- Th is verse goes with verses 1&2. This is what happens to Christians when they first get saved; they realize they have been forgiven. It is usually their first revelation. Isn't it beautiful that the very first day we are born-again we are introduced to the Father! We don't have to work up to it like the corporate world where people grovel their way to the top. Instead, God places us at the top and teaches us about our exalted position with Him. (234b) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the glory of God >> Seeking the glory of His favor – God has forgiven us for His own sake. Talk to Christians and they will tell you what God has done for us, but the fact is, all things are for His sake, and we are the mere beneficiaries of His overall plan. Long before He created anything He planned everything in advance; He knew from the beginning everything that would happen. We know the plan of salvation, but God has plans that go far beyond that. God sent His Son to die for our sins that we can be forgiven, so we can live with Him in heaven, but that is just the beginning; there is so much more that God has planned for His creation. He plans on creating many more things and so many more people. He has every intension of blessing us beyond our wildest imagination, but we must also remember that He is doing it for His own sake and not just for ours. We will eventually get to heaven and the True Church will finally be together at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and God will reveal more of His plan to us then. There will be a Millennium, a thousand-year reign of Christ, and then He will destroy this present universe, including the earth and He will recreate a new heavens and a new earth and establish His heavenly city, New Jerusalem, on the new earth, and His plan will continue from there. See also: New heavens and a new earth (Construct of the new creation); 1Jn 4-16; 33m KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 2-13,14 (46m) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Demons are subject to the word of God (137g) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Maturity >> Maturing in Jesus is hard work >> Maturity is the process of growing – Those who have been walking in the Lord for a long time, their benefit is a deep and abiding knowledge of God they have accumulated over the years. They have been through some battles, and they have learned how to fight through the strength that God supplies, instead of using the arm of the flesh. They develop the tools of spiritual warfare. (208j) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being married to God >> Knowing God >> Sharing intimacy with Him (244b) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> There shall be no end to his increase >> The Father is eternally glorified – If Children know their heavenly Father, how much more do young men and fathers know Him? We have a relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit with the goal of knowing the Father; Jesus always said this. He sought to wean His disciples off Himself and onto the Holy Spirit, and the goal of the Holy Spirit is to lead us to the Father, whose glory is the purpose of all things. What do we know about our heavenly Father? We know that Jesus came to reveal Him to us, for to know Christ is to know the Father. Still the Father is a conundrum to us beyond what Jesus has revealed to us, for we know nothing else about Him, such as what form He takes. What is His consistency? We don’t know if He has a body, but we do know that He is human, for He created us in His image, and we know that He must be more than a Spirit (Jn 4-24). The Father must be an entity that distinguishes Himself from the members of the trinity, and He must be a composite of the other two, and possess another aspect of God that defines His essence, something we cannot presently imagine. It will be interesting to discover the Father’s essence one day. In fact, it will take an eternity to understand some aspects of God, meaning we will never understand Him completely, and for these things we worship Him. See also: God is human (He made us in His image); Rev 1,10-20; 253cc (253b) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Father >> Jesus has all the external qualities of the Father >> Son is infinite and eternal like the Father – People who have walked with God for many years and have developed a vital relationship with Him have come to understand that Jesus Christ existed before the beginning. When He speaks about the “beginning”, we don’t know what beginning He meant, so we must assume that He existed before all beginnings. He called Himself the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end (Rev 1-8); and Col 1-17 says, "[Jesus] is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." No letter comes before the first letter, and it doesn’t say how long before the beginning Jesus existed, so we must assume that He existed from eternity past. Certain cults like the Jehovah Witnesses say that God created Christ and then created everything else through Him, but the Bible says that Jesus existed before the beginning, and if Jesus were a created being as they claim, the fact that he was created would be the beginning, and we know that Christ existed before the beginning. Jesus was not created; therefore He is a divine aspect of God. Consequently, people who are mature in their faith understand that Jesus Christ is God, meaning Jehovah Witnesses are immature in their thinking. Jesus always was and always will be the cause of every beginning. See also: Cults (Jehovah Witnesses); 1Jn 5-20; 244d 1Jn 2-14 (9i) Responsibility >> Strengthen one another >> Be strong (80h) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word to minister to God >> In your inner man -- This verse goes with verse 24 1Jn 2,15-19 (156l) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Living an ungodly lifestyle >> Associating with the world – John is so forthright in these verses that he says with all confidence that anybody who loves the world is not a Christian. Anybody who loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, meaning he does not love God. How could he be a Christian and not love God? There are many people in this late hour of growing apostasy who think this is possible, but John says that anybody who loves the world needs to be saved from it. Both James and John wrote epistles that we can use as evidence to determine whether someone is a Christian or not, and then Paul advises us to stop just short of proclaiming a person saved or unsaved, for ‘God knows those who are His, and let everyone who names the name of the Lord abstain from wickedness’ (2Tim 2-19). What James and John offer is evidence, not proof, of a person’s salvation. Show me someone who loves the world and I will show you a person who is not a Christian, but there is a gray area where no one knows the inner workings of another person’s heart or how he has been advantaged or disadvantaged in life; only God knows who belong to Him. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 2,15-17 (22d) Sin >> Greed takes without consideration for others >> The worldliness of greed – God views the world as something that is evil and needs to be reconciled to Himself, and for this reason Jesus went to the cross. We who are born of God are still in the world but are no longer of the world; rather, we belong to God now; He has adopted us. The only point of going into the world is to preach Jesus that some might be saved. The world is like a ship with a hole in the bottom of it and it has as its cargo all the people of earth, and God is a lifeboat who is drawing as many to Himself as will come. (22f) Sin >> Lust (craving pleasure) >> Fleshly desire (57d) Paradox >> Opposites >> Friend of the world is an enemy of God (84g) Thy kingdom come >> Words of your mouth >> Boasting in men is not needed (154e) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Witness that the world is godless >> Witness that the world hates God (164b) The World (Key verse) (165f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Do not partake of the world >> Do not love the world – This thing that John calls the “world” is not the earth, but human civilization and their secular worldviews, consisting of attitudes and values that exclude God and diametrically oppose His truth. Every world empire that has existed on the earth has been different from the others, yet each civilization incorporates three elements into its worldview that ultimately manifests through its culture, becoming the thrust of society: “the lust of the flesh (greed), the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life.” Love is not mentioned; in its place is the pursuit of self-interest and pleasure, and the egotistical reveling in these things. For this reason John warns not to love the world that man has created. John is saying to hate the world's collective belief system that people have developed to represent the entire group. (167a) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind is set on the flesh >> Lust of the fleshly mind (170h) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Outward appearance >> Temporary >> Rewards of this life are temporary (183g) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >> Spirit of the broad road >> Spirit of the world – John is reminding us that the world is passing away; it is dying. All cultures have one thing in common, invariably they all deny God's sovereign rule over mankind. People exclude Him by developing a religion to explain Him and then integrate their religious views into their culture and allow their religion to reign over them instead of God, so that man retains control of his own destiny. John is warning us not to be seduced by our culture’s belief systems that do not incorporate God’s vision of mankind, which is to come under submission to God's ruling authority and accept His purpose for their lives. (187j) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Die to the flesh >> Spirit versus the flesh >> Trying to work the Spirit by the flesh (191j) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Set apart >> Set apart from the world – Within the first couple hundred years after Christ's death the Church remained separate from the world. Back then the Church was more like the Amish (Anabaptists), who are mostly agrarian and support each other’s businesses and often have jobs in the world and whenever possible employ their fellow Amish citizens, keeping to themselves. The only transformative difference from the early Church was that they were evangelistic, often resulting in persecution, but also many were saved and the Church grew very rapidly in the first and second centuries. Then, in the third century the Catholic Church came into being and nationalized Christianity, radically curbing persecution, but in the process surrendered its authority as a distinct entity from the world. The Church is still an aspect of the world to this day; it is an entity of the state, but this is not God's will. Now a person can be a Christian and also be part of the world with limited apparent conflicts, except that Christianity for the most part is ineffective in saving people, since the distinction between the world and the Church has been removed. People simply don't understand what they need to be saved from anymore. 2Cor 6-17,18 says, “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate," says the Lord. And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty.” See also: History of the Church; Rev 12,7-11; 42b (194h) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Hate evil >> Victory over sin >> Hate evil by doing good – When John said, “Do not love the world,” he did not mean that we should like it or dislike it; he meant that we should hate it! Throughout the Scriptures, there is virtually no case when God ever liked or disliked anything. For example, it says in Rom 9-13, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” God didn’t actually hate Esau but compared to His love for Jacob it seemed He hated him. This shows God's zealous nature; He never does anything half-heartedly; He hates and loves with nothing in-between. So when God tells us not to love the world, He is telling us to hate it, not people but their views, attitudes and values. Jesus called Satan the ruler of the world in Jn 14-30. By association then, people of the world who do not belong to God are children of the devil. We are to hate the world with a divine hatred, the way God hates it. Remember in Jn 3-16 Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” So according to these two verses, we see that God both hates and loves the world at the same time. He loves people so much that He gave His only Son to redeem them from a world that hates Him. It is the fact that Satan controls the world that He hates, and He hates sin: being separated from God. When we associate with the world, the more we agree with it, the more we can relate to Satan and the more God hates what we support. God loves us through His vision of us, which is to submit to His authority and die to the world to become a constituent of His kingdom (Rom 7-4). 1Jn 2-15,16 (249l) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Wealth >> World’s perception of wealth >> The world’s wealth has no value >> The world’s idea of wealth opposes the truth KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 2-16 (22i) Sin >> Lust (craving pleasure) >> Lust of the eyes 1Jn 2-17 (23i) Sin >> Poverty (Oppression) >> God’s perspective on the poor (87e) Thy kingdom come >> Ministry to God through obedience >> Seeking the glory of God – There is no "lust" in heaven, a sin that underpins all the world’s rebellion against God. The world is passing away, and darkness will be confined to a certain location, quarantined from the rest of creation. It says the person who does the will of God lives forever, but death will be thrown into hell. There is a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked, and everybody who loved death will be thrown alive into the lake of fire, conscious of their existence, circumstances and surroundings. God will have given them a different body, one that conforms to their darkened souls and can survive the flames of hell. They wanted to live in a world without God, so God will give them their heart's desire, a place where God has removed His presence and gifts, such as a cold glass of water, but the one who does the will of God will live forever. We will be invited to enter through the gates of the holy city, into the New Jerusalem, our new home, paradise. We define "life" as not dead, but God defines "life" as the absence of death, where death cannot exist. In this present creation life is the exception; but in the creation to come, life will rule. Throughout Scripture, life is associated with light, and darkness is associated with death, so we will be invited to eternal life in light of God’s truth. "And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb" (Rev 21-23). There is no night there, and we will not need to sleep, and we will never get tired. Those who receive this heavenly paradise have both believed in God and obeyed His will. See also: No more injury, pain or death; 1Pet 3-13,14; 243h (127h) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Goodness >> Rewards for doing good >> Doing good is the will of God (156b) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> Loving God is evidence of salvation >> Keeping His commandments -- This verse goes with verses 3-6 (243h) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> The indestructible kingdom >> The body of Christ is indestructible >> The new creation is indestructible (247k) Priorities >> God’s priorities >> The will of God >> We play our part in the will of God >> Doing the will of God 1Jn 2,18-20 (50c) Judgment >> God judges the world >> These are the last days – John is saying that antichrists are a sign of the last days, indicating that the apostle John lived in the beginning of the last age. Antichrists could not come until Christ came, the age of Messiah, which is the age of grace, marking the last age of man’s reign on earth, calling it the last hour. The coming of Jesus was a sign that the end of man’s reign has come, and antichrists represent that same sign. Therefore, Christ and antichrist have one thing in common: they both signify the last age of man. Much of endtime prophecy had already been written in the Old Testament, and in it we see complete desolation coming, only after Christ introduced His age of grace. Introducing that age, He inadvertently introduced antichrists, which began to populate starting in the days of John. The original apostles knew there was no way the Church would keep antichrists from infiltrating the Church, posing as honorable Christians. Once they thoroughly infiltrated the Church and introduced their destructive heresies, they could begin to spread their doctrines and make “Christians” instead of disciples, many who believe what was false, who will continue corrupting the gospel. See also: Antichrist; 1Jn 2-18,19; 160f 1Jn 2-18,19 (160f) Works of the devil >> Satan determines the world's direction >> Led by the devil into the wilderness – Antichrists and the reprobate mind have influenced the world to such a degree that our neighborhoods are crumbling from a lack of substance. Jesus said that the Church is the salt of the earth (Mat 5-13). If the Church were living for Jesus, even unbelievers would be influenced to dedicate their lives to the moral precepts of the Bible, thus preserving the world, but since the Church barely adheres to its own teachings, the world has become utterly corrupt. People who follow Satan have embraced the teachings of antichrist and live by the elementary principles of the world, so when they are offended by the disciples of Jesus, when they leave the Church, they are led by the devil into waterless places. Antichrists, though they have a religious veneer lead the life of criminals and sinners in the eyes of God, who can’t see fit to be born-again and follow Jesus and inherit eternal life. To those who belong to Jesus it is unfathomable why they just can’t believe and be saved and lead a quiet and simple life in the love of God (1Tim 2,2-4), yet this is impossible to false brethren who think they are already saved. See also: Antichrist; 180c (172a) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Devils among the saints >> False brethren among the people of God >> Antichrists among Christians (174j) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Form of godliness but denying the truth (180c) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Be shrewd as wolves and more innocent than they appear >> Fighting off wolves with a clever innocence >> Being more innocent than their self-righteousness – There were antichrists infiltrating churches even in the days of the original apostles, Paul being extremely livid about them. He intended to prove not only to antichrists but also to the saints how a true apostle should behave. He went to extremes and ratcheted-up his dedication to Christ to such an extent that no antichrist would go there (2Cor 11,12-15,23-30). It wouldn’t be worth it to be mercilessly whipped and beaten and then imprisoned for years just for a little fame and fortune. Although there were many proofs given to identify true believers and to identify false brethren, people in the Church over the millennia were far too lazy to detect them. See also: Antichrist; 1Jn 2-18; 46f (191e) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Extract the leaven from the Church (200m) Denying Christ >> Whoever is not with Jesus is against him >> He is against Christ who does not receive Him >> Whoever receives the world is against Christ 1Jn 2-18 (46f) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Fall of Satan >> Resisting Satan’s deception – “The last hour” refers to the last 2000-year “age of grace” since Jesus shed His blood for mankind. Note that antichrists didn’t come until the real Christ came; the devil had nothing to counterfeit until Christ appeared. This hints at how to interpret endtime prophecy based on a sequence of events; Satan cannot move until Christ moves first. It is an interesting paradox that Satan is a counterfeiter, which is an attempt to copy as close as possible the real thing, yet anti- means opposite. So, outwardly he tries to replicate the attributes of Christ, while inwardly he possesses the opposite characteristics of Christ. How close of an approximation does Satan need before he can successfully deceive Christians? He doesn’t have to get very close to fool the world, and it is not that much harder to fool gullible Christians in this lackadaisical apostasy under which the Church has been suffering for millennia, who are more willing to believe a lie than the truth. These are the forces that Christians battle as we ebb closer to the unveiling of Satan’s last days world-empire. Evil is escalating in the world faster than most people can keep up with it. Life is becoming more of a challenge to everyone by the darkness that is attempting to engulf us all. See also: Antichrist; 1Jn 2-19,20; 70c (203h) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Back-slider >> Withdraw from obeying God >> Withdrawing from God KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 2-19,20 (70c) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Being sensitive to the Spirit >> Test the spirits – These antichrists have defected from the Church, meaning they originated among us, but “they went out from us,” John said, because they were unable to mask the fact that their lamps were not lit. We see no reason to believe unenlightened people belong to God, and in this passage he adds that without the inspiration of anointing, there is more evidence they belong to the devil. Wanting to join the Church proves that a spirit is motivating them, but their unlit lamps prove that the spirit is not from God. Those in the Church whose lamps are smoldering belong to Satan, and eventually they will leave on their own volition after their unenlightened condition exposes them as false brethren. Their darkened hearts resemble the counterfeit church of antichrist, which John later in the book of revelation called “The Great Whore.” See also: Antichrist; 1Jn 2-19; 159c 1Jn 2-19 (159c) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >> Counterfeit godliness >> Counterfeit Christian – The word “they” means those who would follow the spirit of antichrist. Those who leave the fellowship of the brethren have proven themselves not to be the true saints. He was saying those who left the brotherhood have also left the faith. The Church was strong and vibrant and antichrists could not overcome it, and so they had no recourse but to leave. The only way false brothers could remain in assembly was to infiltrate its doctrines; in the first century they could not, but later (after the third century) they succeeded. See also: Antichrist; 1Jn 2,18-20; 50c 1Jn 2-20 (111c) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit of truth -- This verse goes with verse 24. This is the first time John uses the word anointing in his epistle. He contrasts the spirit of antichrist with the anointing, suggesting they are opposites. God gives His children an anointing to understand His word and to reveal it to others, and He gives an anointing to discern the true children of God from the devil. God is Spirit, and we must know Him by the Spirit; this implies that God's truth is more than just facts and information; it is the power of God. His people understand the Bible differently from unbelievers, whose knowledge is lifeless facts and information. The Bible as we comprehend it by the Spirit allows us to know God on a higher level than we know other things. See also: Spirit and the word; 1Jn 2-24 106f (113a) The Anointing (Key verse) (113l) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> The anointing >> Anointing establishes us in His will -- This verse goes with verse 27 (133a) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holiness >> God is holy >> The Father is holy 1Jn 2-21 (43g) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Perfect (mature) >> Flawless -- This verse goes with verse 27 (75b) Thy kingdom come >> Motives of the heart >> Motives for doing the will of God -- This verse goes with verse 26 (80d) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word to learn the ways of God >> Leading to the truth (107h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Church is of the truth >> God’s people are the true witnesses of God (155j) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> The word of God bears witness of the believer – John writes to the Church according to the principle that Jesus spoke in Mat 13-12, “Whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.” John wrote to the Church, because he knew many would receive his letter and be encouraged. Now we know why this principle exists; more is given to the one who already has because he will receive it. God is interested in giving to those who will receive Him, more than giving to those who will not receive Him. Jesus said, “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces” (Mat 7-6). God doesn’t give His treasures to dogs, and by this we see that the Church is based on capitalistic principles. This is how Capitalism works: the one who has the most finds it easier to gain more, but the one who has the least finds it difficult to make ends meet. However, we look in the book of Acts and see that the Church is based on Communistic principles; i.e. the one who is lacking the Church should help supply his needs. Physically therefore, socialism is the principle in place in the Church; but spiritually, capitalism is the principle in play. We understand the physical realm much better than we do the spiritual realm in that we know if someone is struggling we should help him, but on a spiritual level it is impossible to help those who are unwilling to receive Christ. See also: Give to him who has; 222k / Paradox (God is smaller than us); Lk 10-21; 23a (222k) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> Give to him who has >> Whoever has shall more be given – John is not writing to inform us of the truth; he is writing because we already know the truth. Why does he need to write to those who already know the truth? John is writing to supplement our knowledge, so the more we commit to the truth, the easier truth will come to us, like a snowball effect. See also: Give to him who has; 155j 1Jn 2-22,23 (157g) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Deceiving and being deceived >> Deceiving -- These verses go with verse 4 (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 (199g) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Rejecting Christ >> Throwing God away >> Denying Christ – There are all kinds of religions out there; hence all kinds of liars. Almost every one of them admits that Jesus was a prophet. Even Christianity says that, but Christianity goes further and says that He is the Christ, the Son of God, Israel's Messiah. Every religion that believes Jesus was God in human flesh is Christian, and they have the Father also, but the one that denies this is antichrist. The Holy Spirit teaches these things; therefore, we who believe in Jesus have the trinity abiding in us. God sees no legitimate excuse for rejecting Christ as the Son of God; they are at fault for believing and telling lies about Him. Israel believed their Messiah would come to them as God in human flesh, just as He did, but because He came in human weakness as a lamb instead of a lion, they did not receive Him. They didn’t believe in Him because they were looking for someone who would deliver them from their enemies, the Romans at the time, but God has held them accountable for their misunderstanding throughout the millennia. All other religions that deny the Son, thus deny the Father, will go the way of Israel, though Israel has one advantage: it has a permanent connection with the Father as physical descendants of Abraham, for God has not rejected His people (Rom 11-1,2 based on Psalm 94-14). (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 – People don’t know what they are doing when they deny Jesus as Israel’s Messiah. Many Christians these days are reluctant to acknowledge the Jewish race as the basis of their faith, yet Christianity is rooted in Israel’s past. Therefore, to be unwilling to confess Jesus is Israel’s Messiah is to deny that Jesus is the Christ. That is, anybody who denies that the Christian faith as derived from the nation of Israel is akin to antichrist. There are entire denominations of Christianity that refuse to acknowledge their faith as having anything to do with the Jewish people, but when we confess Jesus to be Israel’s Messiah, we are confessing Him to be God in human flesh, for they were looking for a God/man to come and set up His kingdom on the earth, so that Israel would reign over the nations through Him, which the Church also anticipates, that period called Millennium. Only Christians believe that Jesus is the Christ; all false religions deny it; this is what makes them false. The book of First John is a litany of indicators by which we gauge people and their beliefs to see if they hold to Scripture. We dip the litmus paper of John’s validations into the solution to test a person's status as an actual brother in the Lord, and if he fails, we have cause to be deeply skeptical about his faith. If he confess that Jesus is the Christ, then John says he is a brother. In biblical times a person could get killed for confessing Jesus, during a time when the world was trying to snuff out Christianity. Nowadays, a person can confess Jesus without too many consequences; we might be mocked and ridiculed, but it probably won’t cost our life. A day is coming, though, when martyrdom will return, and that is when John’s acid test becomes more necessary. See also: Antichrist (Deny that Jesus came in the flesh); 1Jn 4,1-6; 164h 1Jn 2-22 (180b) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Wolves lead people into a cult >> Wolves bypass the cross KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 2-23,24 (255g) Trinity >> Father, Son and Holy Spirit >> The process of imparting the substance of God >> Father discloses the Spirit by the word 1Jn 2-23 (83f) Thy kingdom come >> Intercession >> Jesus stands in the gap >> He is our mediator (114k) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Working God’s grace through Christ >> Jesus is the way to the Father (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 1Jn 2-24 (80h) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word to minister to God >> In your inner man -- This verse goes with verse 4 (92j) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way connects you to God >> It demonstrates your faith in Him -- This verse goes with verses 27-29 (106f) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Attaining the hearing ear >> When He speaks and what He says – This is the most important verse in the Bible regarding how to receive a word from God. The Holy Spirit has two ministries: His general ministry, helping us keep the commandments of God, and His specific ministry, leading us along our custom designed trail of good works. God spoke to Abraham through the Holy Spirit and commanded him to journey to a distant land that his fathers did not know and make it his new homeland with his wife, Sarah. So, Abraham went; He obeyed the Holy Spirit, and thus the Christian walk was born. Our specific calling resembles the life that Abraham walked with God. He wasn’t following the law, but the Holy Spirit, who led him to fulfill a specific ministry by receiving a specific word from God regarding how he should dedicate his life. The Holy Spirit also has a specific word for each of us regarding how we should dedicate our lives to God. It is something we must be careful to listen and be diligent to fulfill. His specific ministry is something we must know beyond a shadow of a doubt, and this verse advises us how to receive this word from God. John said, “Let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning.” He was intimating that the first thing we hear from God is the truth; anything after that is an opportunity for a counterfeit spirit to breathe a counterfeit word into us to derail us from God’s intended purpose. What we heard from the beginning is the truth; everything after that is deception. We must open our heart to the Holy Spirit, but we must also know when to close our ears to wrong spirits that would lie to us. The devil would love to get us committed to something other than the will of God, to waste our life and faith on meaningless efforts that bear little to no fruit, and discourage us from pursuing the will of God that He has designed for us from all eternity. See also: Spirit and the word; 208a / Believing in Jesus is like the faith of Abraham; Rom 10,2-4; 41h (111c) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit of truth -- This verse goes with verses 27&28 (132i) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holy Spirit is in God’s people >> Filled with the Spirit >> Filled with the blessing of God (139k) Temple >> Temple made without hands >> Hiding place >> Abiding in Jesus -- This verse goes with verses 27&28 (208a) Salvation >> Salvation verses >> The kindness of God >> The cross – The key to this verse is the word “heard”. We are to let the words that we heard from the beginning abide in us. We are to let the truth reside in the central core of our being, where all the decision-making is done, and where all our value system is assembled and where all our attitudes and values originate. The word of God should dwell in the center of that which defines us. If we place His word anywhere else, such as in a dark corner of our mind, God can do nothing for us. He deserves to reside at the forefront of our lives. If we put His word in our heart, then God will place His Spirit in us, superimposing Himself over His word. These two, the Spirit and the word, work together to create the substance of God in us, the anointing, the spiritual equivalent of His word that exhales from us and conveys the gospel in power that we might know how to speak in every situation. See also: Spirit and the word; 1Jn 2,26-29; 155g (255d) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> God’s word is Spirit >> Jesus is the word of the Spirit >> Jesus is the authority of God’s word 1Jn 2-25 (205aa) Salvation >> Verses useful in evangelism (205a) According To Promise (Key verse) (205e) Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s promises >> According to promise >> Promise of eternal life – Isn’t it wonderful that he didn’t say something else? Nothing is impossible with God, except that He could not have improved on His promise! There may be other promises and a host of benefits and blessings appended to this one promise, including the joy of having fellowship with God and the hope that it invokes in the human heart, yet all things pale to the promise of eternal life. (244e) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> Eternal life of the trinity >> Father is the source of eternal life KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 2,26-29 (107g) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> (155g) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> Holy Spirit bears witness of the believer – The indwelling Holy Spirit confirms with our spirit that we are the children of God as He teaches us about the word of God. Jesus talked about the indwelling Holy Spirit and the anointing as being one and the same when He told the parable of “The Kingdom of Heaven [being] like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened” (Mat 13-33). It sat overnight and in the morning the entire lump of dough was leavened from the inside-out. God places His Spirit in our spirit and begins to work in us, so that eventually the observer can see God manifesting in our lives as the anointing, and in the process we come to know the truth, for the anointing teaches us about God. See also: Spirit and the word; 1Jn 2-26,27; 113m 1Jn 2-26,27 (69a) Authority >> Discernment >> Judging between truth and error >> Correcting false reasoning – Many people believe doctrines the Bible doesn’t teach. They may be members of a Bible-believing church and attend regularly, yet they are deceived, because they opened their hearts to the wrong people, to the wrong spirits and to the wrong teachings, and when they cleanse themselves from these things, they discover they are alone. No one else believes with them the way they do. This becomes a deterrent to leave their church, divorce their doctrines they once believed and embrace a more accurate version of the truth. On some level they willingly remain ignorant, since the doctrines they believe are the things that bind them together, and they don’t want to lose those relationships. However, it is better to lose relationships with people to gain a closer relationship with Christ, and hopefully find new friends that believe biblically sound teachings, than to stay with what is familiar, because eventually this will lead to a dead end. If we put our lives in fast-motion, we would see the road narrowing and the trees encroaching, grass growing in the cracks, then weeds taking over the trail until it disappears altogether, leaving us in the woods without a path to follow. The only thing to do is backtrack sometimes for miles, and those miles represent years. (113m) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> The anointing >> Guard the anointing – The anointing protects us from deceivers, from those who would lie to us, using false doctrine and spiritual deception. The ultimate goal of the anointing is to teach us to abide in Him, which grants us access into a greater anointing. In this way we grow into the likeness of Him who testifies in our heart that we are the children of God and know the truth (Rom 8-16,17). The Spirit of God burns the truth in us as with a hot branding iron; this is the way all spirits work, whether it be from God or the spirit of error. If we believe a lie, we do it with conviction just as we believe the truth from God. How then can we know for sure that we believe the truth? We must be vigilant to protect our mind and heart from strange spirits and their teachings. There is a game we can play with our enemies: the one who interprets the Bible least wins. If we are not vigilant, like a fish we might bite on one of these doctrines and get caught on a hook that we cannot shake, and now we belong to the spirit in the boat above us. Therefore, the way to protect our heart from spiritual deception is on a moment-by-moment basis, always remaining vigilant, constantly checking our knowledge with the Scriptures and being honest with ourselves. If something doesn’t seem right, we must truly look into ourselves for possible errors in our thinking and judgment. Rooting out false teachings is painful, but the benefits are worth it. See also: Spirit and the word; 1Jn 2-27; 35h (183f) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >> Nursery for the Spirit of error >> Ignorance – There were those who were trying to deceive the saints even back in the days of the early Church. Deceiving and being deceived, they spread their false doctrines in a mindset of ignorance, using their selfish ambitions for monetary profit to steer us into their lies. 1Jn 2-26 (75b) Thy kingdom come >> Motives of the heart >> Motives for doing the will of God -- This verse goes with verses 12-14 1Jn 2,27-29 (92j) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way connects you to God >> It demonstrates your faith in Him -- These verses go with verse 24 1Jn 2-27,28 (106n) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Purpose of hearing from God >> God gives us instruction (111c) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit of truth -- These verses go with verse 20 (139k) Temple >> Temple made without hands >> Hiding place >> Abiding in Jesus -- These verses go with verse 10 1Jn 2-27 (35h) Gift of God >> God gives Himself to us >> The anointing – The anointing is defined as: the indwelling Holy Spirit that manifests through divinely inspired obedience. Note that John refers to the anointing just after he reminds us that there are those who are trying to deceive us. One of the purposes of the anointing is to deliver us from deception, so nobody can lie to us. Therefore, the primary purpose of the anointing is reveal God’s word to us. Our spiritual understanding of God acts as a barrier (shield of faith) so not even the devil can lie to us, for the anointing teaches us about God on a spiritual level that the demons cannot traverse. The anointing is Satan's greatest enemy; it is a blend of knowledge that we believe through obedience, which brings us to the second ministry of the anointing: After He teaches us about God's word, He teaches us to abide in Him, and we do that by loving one another. As we abide in our knowledge of God through obedience, He will increase the anointing with the result of a deeper faith in Him. See also: Spirit and the word; 1Jn 2-28; 100c (43g) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Perfect (mature) >> Flawless -- This verse goes with verse 21 (109h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit the teacher >> Spirit teaches us about the word of God >> Spirit teaches us about Jesus (113l) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> The anointing >> Anointing establishes us in His will -- This verse goes with verse 20 (114f) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Obeying the Holy Spirit >> Receiving a revelation from God through obedience KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 2-28 (50b) Judgment >> God judges the world >> The second coming of Christ (60c) Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> The second coming / End time revival (100c) Thy kingdom come >> Perseverance >> Persevere in abiding in Christ – How many people over the last 2000 years have died and entered eternity in shame because they would not abide in Him, and we are talking about Christians? If John must tell us to abide in Him, then it must not be automatic. We know that the Holy Spirit abides in us who believe in Jesus, but that's not the same as we abiding in Him. This concept of abiding in Him, Jesus commanded in Jn 15,4-10, as something we must force our flesh to do. When He came to abide in us on the day of our salvation, He has remained in us ever since, even when we sinned. The day we meet God, He will see that His Spirit abides in us, which is His criterion for letting us into His heaven, and the way to guarantee that the Holy Spirit abides in us is to abide in Him, in His will. Abiding in Him goes beyond obeying the Scriptures; if we are students of His word and disciples of prayer, God will reveal His specific will that we might fulfill it. So there is a general will of God in the Scriptures, and there is also a specific will that God reveals by His Spirit, and obeying these things is what it means to abide in Him. In this way, if we are alive in the flesh when Jesus returns, we will not shrink away from Him in shame at his coming; or in the event of our death we depart from this life, we will enter eternity in full confidence. See also: Spirit and the word; 1Jn 2,5-8; 8d (108ha) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelation of Jesus Christ >> Spiritual revelation >> Revelation of His return (122g) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Confidence in yourself as you die to sin >> Confident in good conscience – Everything we do in this life is for the sake of the very first moment when we meet God face to face, that we may have a clear conscience, having lived to the best of our knowledge and ability according to His will. Now we can stand before Him and receive the promise of eternal life and receive the reward of obedience, which is a place with Him among the faithful and true. (153d) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Shame >> Hiding under a cloud of guilt >> Your sin will find you out – John is trying to help us reconsider our current trajectory in life, that if we don't live for the day we first meet Jesus, we will have eternal regrets. (154j) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer >> Conscience >> Having a good conscience >> God is my conscience (161d) Works of the devil >> Wandering from the character of God >> Wander from the love of God -- This verse goes with verse 11 (196e) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Immaturity >> Not mature enough to die to self >> Unable to obey God KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 2-29 (155k) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> You will know them by their fruits >> You will know them by their good deeds >> Good works that prove we belong to Christ – Those who practice righteousness prove they are the children of God, yet there are so-called good people who don’t believe in Jesus, and of them John says there is a righteousness that only the children of God possess: love of the brethren. Good people who don’t believe in Jesus don't love the brethren as the disciples of Jesus do. Those who practice love of the brethren prove they are born of God, for true Christian righteousness/love (Jn 15-13) seeks to give glory to God, whereas the unbeliever slants his love to the glorification of self. We can therefore also say that everyone who practices giving glory to God is born of Him. There are many imposters in the church who attempt to develop a righteousness that is not meant to glorify God. Most people who do this intend to lay their good deeds before the Lord at their judgment as a means of appeasing Him, as through He were one of many gods that are in the world. This is what they did in Baal worship with false gods that people worshipped, but when they meet God who created the heavens and the earth, He will be looking for faith in them that produces love, which is the righteousness of the new covenant. See also: Evidence of salvation; 1Jn 2,3-6; 156b (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 See next page