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1JOHN CHAPTER 1 KJV WEB 1Jn 1,1-5 (106h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Means of hearing from God >> Through His Son 1Jn 1,1-4 (150j) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness of Jesus >> Speak the word >> Preaching the word to the Church – This testimony is vital to our understanding of Him, for if He never came, and the Bible were not written based on experience, how could we trust it? As it is, we hang our faith on the confidence in the testimony that holy men of God have conveyed their personal experiences with Jesus. The word of God was manifested, God Himself in human flesh, and John proclaimed to us this eternal life, who performed so many miracles, there were not enough libraries in the world to hold the things He said and did. After He healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, the ears of the deaf and raised the dead, He turned to His disciples and said, “I know that His commandment is eternal life” (Jn 12-50). That is something we can believe. We can believe anything a man says who has that kind of power; we can put our total faith and trust in Him. 1Jn 1,1-3 (110l) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spiritual substance and truth >> Spiritual substance follows the truth (117j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Eyes of your spirit >> Seeing through the eyes of your spirit >> Acknowledging the presence of God – If everybody were like Helen Keller who was blind and deaf from her nineteenth month, there would have been no one to teach her that the objects she touched were real. She felt vibrations in her throat, and could turn them into words that had meaning to others, and now John is testifying to us the word of life that he saw and heard. We are like Helen Keller, who have neither seen nor heard directly from the creator of the universe but have the capacity to believe, and we feel in our hearts that there is a God and that He loves us and is the ultimate Truth. If we look for Him, even if we grope for Him, we will find Him, and He will share His Truth with us, so we will become one with Him. To have fellowship with John is to embrace his writings, to believe the testimony that he has given of His Lord and Master, and believing his testimony is to have fellowship with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. (132b) 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 Jesus – John called Jesus the word of life; He was also called the word of God in many instances in the New Testament. This life is eternal, thus it is from God. Since our flesh is destined to decay, this life does not pertain to it. Instead, we who are born again have the Holy Spirit inextricably woven within our souls, so we have become one spirit with Him (1Cor 6-17). If we have become a new creation through the promise of eternal life, once our flesh has breathed its last, we will continue to live through the eternal Spirit who dwells in us. This is the promise of eternal life. Jesus Christ has been introduced into our spirit, and there is no way anyone can remove Him without our consent. See also: Spirit and the word; 148h (148h) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Natural advantage of being with Jesus – John said that with their five senses they detected this man; they hardly needed faith while in His presence, except to confirm that what they saw and heard and touched was the Truth. God manifested Himself to the disciples so they could bear witness of His promise of eternal life. The apostles needed faith as we do after he returned to heaven, but while He was with them, they beheld Him. The Holy Spirit helped them remember the things He said and did, and they wrote them for us to read, and we need to believe their report. It is His presence they experienced that John is reporting, and we have the witness in ourselves who believe in Him. See also: Spirit and the word; 1Jn 1-1,2; 37d KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 1-1,2 (37d) Judgment >> Judgment of God on His Son >> Jesus’ humanity >> He was a man – Things were different when Jesus was with His disciples in the flesh, because He could look them in the eye and tell them the word of God in person and tell them what to do and where they went wrong. Man’s preferred realm is the flesh; it is where he lives; he is not adept to the Spirit, though man is essentially a spirit, and should be able to relate to God. Man has a tendency to disregard the Holy Spirit, who works with us as an unobtrusive presence. We build mechanisms against Him aimed at counteracting His ministry. The Holy Spirit will not overrule the will of man but wants us to obey Him from the heart. He wants us to willingly serve Him, so the defense mechanisms we build stand against Him to protect us from His convictions, yet we are the ones to suffer for resisting Him. This is the difference between the physical presence of Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Jesus spoke to his disciples face to face and was not so easily defeated by their mechanisms, yet even then their unbelief counteracted Him. The Pharisees were riddled with defense mechanisms, having personally installed them to oppose God and ward off any sense of guilt, defeating their conscience and inadvertently any hope of knowing the Truth, and again they suffered in the exchange. When Jesus came and tried to teach them about God, their defense mechanisms were in place to keep Him at bay, so they could not learn from Him. All they knew was based on their religion, and their religion ironically kept them from God. See also: Spirit and the word; 112j (112j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Light >> Being in the presence of truth – John and the other apostles walked with Jesus for 3 years and dwelled in the presence of God’s Truth and Life. Jesus is the Truth and the Holy Spirit is the life of God, and the two of them intersect with the Father. The truth of God is as much a spiritual entity as the life of God. The gospels show that throughout the disciples' interaction with Jesus they never really understood Him. John may have come closest, but not even he had any idea of Jesus’ true purpose. It was impossible for them to wrap their heads around the concept of God in human flesh. Peter proclaimed Him to be Son of God (Mat 16-16), yet he in no way contemplated the full implications of this. He could put it into words, but he couldn’t fully comprehend it, until Pentecost and the Holy Spirit enlightened their knowledge of God, and the truth began to glow in their hearts. This is when they began to understand God. So God’s truth is spiritual, for we cannot know Him without the Holy Spirit. We can quote Scripture; we can teach Bible class, but we can’t know the truth until the Holy Spirit reveals it to us. See also: Trinity; 254f / Spirit and the word; 254f / Spirit reveals God's word; Rev 4-1,2; 237i (144c) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> The Church Bears Witness of Jesus >> Having fellowship with Him (244d) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> Eternal life of the trinity >> Jesus is the source of eternal life – We read passages like this in the Bible and say, ‘What a great verse,’ but how will we ever fully appreciate what it means? The way the Bible refers to the life of God as different from the way we talk about life in temporal terms; meanwhile, Jesus spoke about life in terms of eternity. The life of God manifested in Jesus goes back to the name God gave of Himself to Moses at the burning bush, "I AM" (Exodus 3-14). That didn’t go very far with pharaoh, but it sure made an impact on us since the day He said it. “I AM” means, ‘I was; I am now, and I always will be.' Eternity past is incomprehensible to us, because we are created beings and came into existence at some point. God brags about having been alive forever in the past and confidently affirms that He will remain alive forever in the future, and we worship Him for that. (245n) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> Spirit realm superimposed upon the natural realm >> The spiritual manifesting into the natural (254a) Jesus Is the Life of the Spirit (Key verse) (254f) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is the life of the Spirit >> Jesus is the substance of God’s life >> Jesus is the manifestation of God’s life – John called Jesus the word of life, and in numerous places the Bible calls Him the word of God. “Life” is the description Jesus gave to the Holy Spirit, according to Jn 7-38, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.” Hence, for Jesus to be the word of life and the bread of life (Jn 6-35) is to equate Himself with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the very origin of God’s life. He is the headwaters of the spring of crystal clear water that proceeds from His Father’s throne, and the water is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. We must understand Jesus and the Holy Spirit as one and the same. John said that this life was manifested, in reference to Jesus' physical body, born to the virgin Mary and fathered by Joseph. He became a man, entered His ministry at the age of thirty, picked His twelve disciples, who had the privilege of hearing Him firsthand, seeing Him and touching the word of life. Jesus spoke the truth and never lied about God and the Holy Spirit does the same, and they both point to the Father. Therefore, we say that Jesus is the embodiment of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the soul of Christ. See also: Spirit and the word; 1Jn 1-7; 112e / Trinity; 255c (255c) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> God’s word is Spirit >> Jesus is the word of the Spirit >> Jesus is the manifested word of God – The trinity tries to explain many mysteries about God. If He were composed of just the Father and the Spirit, He would be relatively comprehensible, but introduce the Son and He makes understanding the trinity a bit harder, especially when we think of eternity past when the Son was ever present with the Father. He is like a spur or like a break in the curb along a road with city managers having plans to build another road there in the future when it becomes needed, only this road has been in planning stages over the course of eternity past, and the road is mankind. It seems unthinkable but the very configuration of God regarding His very essence, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, indicates that He has always meant to include mankind in His circle of deity. Christ is the eternal Son of God, making the origin of the Father's children an aspect of Himself. See also: Trinity; 1Jn 1-3; 131m KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 1-2 (253cc) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal with the Father >> Jesus has all the external qualities of the Father >> Outward appearance of Jesus Christ 1Jn 1,3-10 (208i) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being the friend of God >> Having fellowship with God – The one whose walk is shoddy is likely to say, ‘I have no sin,’ simply because he doesn’t know the truth. Both James and John didn’t talk about their personal relationship with Jesus as it were by faith as Paul did. Paul’s theme was retaining fellowship with God based on conscience. In contrast, James and John wrote about retaining fellowship with God based on our walk, stressing that our behavior is the only proof we have that the Holy Spirit dwells in us. These are things at the top of God’s list of priorities. Both James and John said that if these things are not growing and increasing (2Pet 1-8,9), they have reason to doubt we are we the children of God. 1Jn 1,3-5 (81c) Thy kingdom come >> Prayer >> The priesthood >> Ministering to God 1Jn 1-3 (70c) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Being sensitive to the Spirit >> Test the spirits – John did not take every Christian at his word, but tested the spirits to see whether they were from God (1Jn 4-1). It would have made more sense had he said that our fellowship was with God, but he said that our fellowship is with Christians, especially with himself (this epistle), that if we find fault with the Scriptures, it proves we don't believe the truth. Then he added that his fellowship is with Christ and with the Father. John was claiming to be certified by virtue of his walk with Christ as a disciple of Jesus in the flesh. John officiated between Christ and the Church, not like a Catholic priest who claims to intercede for the sins of the people, but interceded in reference to the truth. He was saying that if we pass the test of fellowship with him and with the elders, it proves we are truly born-again and have bona fide fellowship with Christ and with the Father. This depicts the confidence that John had in the truth, not from his title as apostle, but from his relationship with God. See also: Evidence of salvation; 1Jn 1-7; 137m (131m) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Having fellowship with God – John curiously said that our fellowship is with Christ and with the Father, but leaves out the Holy Spirit. Why? John depicts God as the Holy Spirit, while Christ and the Father are subjects of His tapestry. That is, we have fellowship with Christ and with the Father through the Holy Spirit. Both Father and Son literally experience our faith through the Holy Spirit in that they are virtually one and the same, based on this statement: there is only one God and God is one (Mk 12-32; Jm 2-19). At the time of this writing John didn’t literally have fellowship with Jesus, for He had long ascended to the father, and he never once laid eyes on the Father, except in his experience with Christ. Hence, to fellowship with the Holy Spirit is to fellowship with Christ and to fellowship with Christ is to fellowship with the Father. See also: Trinity; 1Jn 1-1,2; 112j 1Jn 1-4 (44h) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Transformed >> Completely full – John was full of joy, but he was not completely filled until he wrote this epistle. God was pressing on his heart, convicting him to pick up the pen and begin to write, and we all benefited though the centuries because of it. When his joy level began to wane, he knew he needed to do something, so that when he completed it, his joy would be made complete, and so John used the fruits of the Spirit to guide him. If this epistle were a simple thing to write, it wouldn’t have made such an impact on his life, being likely that the book of First John came through terrific soul searching and struggle of heart. In fact, it is likely that all books of the Bible came from the prophets with great wrenching of soul. (87m) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Committed to the word of God (125e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Joy is the result of partaking of the Holy Spirit >> Joy of the revelation of Jesus Christ (216h) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will over man >> Compelled by the Spirit >> Following God in fear of losing the anointing – John had to write the book of First John for his joy to be complete. Had he not written it, his disobedient soul would have felt like whips across the back. He wrote it for our benefit, but also for his own, that he may remain in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. "These things [he wrote], so that [his] joy may be made complete." He had to write this epistle to keep the reason of his existence from being nullified. He could not hold it within himself; he had to write, being compelled by the Holy Spirit. Jeremiah 20-9 says, "His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in." Had he not written, he would have lost fellowship with God through disobedience. Had he not written, his joy would have dried up and blown away with a scorching wind. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 1,5-8 (43b) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Conform to the character of Christ >> Conform to His nature – This is the first revelation that John has given us so far, and it is the most important revelation relating to God’s character. Throughout First John he elaborates on this statement, “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” God has every intention of rewarding our faith in Him, so what do we stand to lose if we suffer for Him, only to be eternally rewarded in heaven? 1Jn 1,5-7 (112g) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Light >> Obeying the truth in broad daylight >> Jesus’ deeds in the light – There is only one light emanating from Jesus, and that light is best defined as truth and the secondary meaning is love. We must know the truth before we can love one another. Therefore, if we walk in light of His flawless character, we have fellowship with one another and build unity by walking in the light of Christ together. John amazingly equates our fellowship with one another with having fellowship with God. Clearly he was talking about something more than socializing. Spiritual fellowship proves that we have an understanding of God's word that we received from Him, which has the power to separate the sheep from the goats. Along this enlightened path we have fellowship with one another and nowhere else, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin as an added benefit to walking in the light. This resembles Jesus washing the feet of His disciples; the rest of them are clean, only their feet needed washing from the dusty trail, symbolic of the sins we commit throughout the day, even while serving the Lord. (191c) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Extract the leaven of hypocrisy 1Jn 1-5,6 (184c) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Darkness >> Hiding behind your own imagination >> Hiding from the truth – Darkness can be defined obviously as sin, but it can also be understood as unbelief, which is the root of all sin. If we conclude that there is darkness in God, we say that to excuse our own sin, developing the attitude that we are no worse than God. If we really believed in God’s flawless character, we would want to be like Him, indicating the darkness John implies pertains to our behavior originating from our beliefs. 1Jn 1-5 (17d) Sin >> Judging in the flesh >> Accusing God and others of sin – Most people will not admit that they believe God is evil for allowing evil and suffering in the world. They pose their questions as though they really wanted an answer, but their complaints are merely rhetorical, because they have already made up their minds that God is at fault for all the faults of this world, and they won’t hear anything else. If they learned the truth about God, they would dismiss it. They accuse God of sin, saying, ‘If I were God, I would not have made a world like this, basically claiming to be better than Him.' In fact, God didn't make a world like this either, we did! The truth is, if they were God they would have destroyed the world long ago, because it hates God. Some of the evil in the world is their own, so they should be asking, ‘why does God allow me to do evil?’ What would they do if God tried to stop them? How would they act if God infringed on their will? They wouldn't like it! Going back to John’s statement, “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” This is something we are obligated to believe, since it suggests that the evil and suffering in the world is not His, but ours. Therefore, the question should be, ‘why do we allow evil?’ Someone might ask, ‘What about natural disasters?’ So, now God is supposed to stop all natural disasters from happening, otherwise people will find fault with Him? People will get mad at God no matter what He does! Natural disasters cause just as much good as “evil”, giving people an opportunity to practice their faith by coming to the aid of those who are suffering, and it gives opportunity to those who are suffering to believe in God’s character in spite of the circumstances. An aspect of the truth that John is telling us is that volcanoes, hurricanes and earthquakes are not evidence of darkness in God’s character. We live in a flawed universe, one that is no longer “good” as He originally made it (Genesis chapter 1). If we don’t believe in God, it proves our darkness is ours and not from Him. See also: Suffering and evil is the result of man's disobedience; Col 2,8-10; 66f (41e) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >> Jesus knew no sin (105b) Thy kingdom come >> Pure in heart >> A pure heart is an unleavened heart (112c) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Light >> Jesus’ light overcomes darkness >> The light of His truth KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 1,6-10 (108c) Thy kingdom come >> Faith is the balance between truth and unbelief – This passage is the thesis of First John and balances the matters concerning sin and righteousness. John coherently solves the riddles that have plagued the human soul since the beginning of time, ranging in issue from guilt to forgiveness, from God's righteousness to the unpardonable sin of self-righteousness. Man has either suffered in his conscience or erroneously believes himself to have never sinned, deceiving himself and making God a liar, who declared all men sinners (Rom 3-23). So many words from Genesis to Revelation expand the teachings that John summarized in these few words. He said that if we claim to have fellowship with God yet walk in darkness, we are just fooling ourselves, but then turned and said that everyone has sinned, and then gave the remedy through repentance and faith in Jesus' cross, restoring us to fellowship with Him and with one another. 1Jn 1,6-8 (92b) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> Trail of good works >> Ray of light leading to the face of Christ – God has specifically prepared a trail for each of us, that we should walk on it. According to John's usage, "light" is defined by the words truth and love. If we say that we always practice love by our actions, we deceive ourselves, but if we confess that we don’t always love our family members, our fellow Christians and our neighbors, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We continue walking on this path; it is the only trail the light of Christ shines on us. It is the path of obedience. To the left and to the right is total darkness. The light is actually shining on the path, so if we walk on the path the light will shine on us, but if we divert from the path, we walk from the light. So, essentially we are walking as it were on a ray of light emanating from the face of Christ. His light shines on us as we walk in His light, simultaneously confessing our sins. Nowhere does John say that confessed sin leads off this ray of light that is straight and narrow, for we immediately confess our sins without breaking our stride. We abide in Him and our fruit remains as we remain on this trail of good works that God has prepared for us beforehand that we should walk on it (Eph 2-10). The Christian walk is not about being perfect, but about seeking perfection and confessing our failings. 1Jn 1-6 (19g) Sin >> Mocking God without a cause >> Man's twisted understanding -- This verse goes with verses 8. John raises two important questions: what did he mean by walking in darkness and how do we know when we are walking in darkness? Walking is a verb by definition that refers to our actions steeped in darkness (disobedience), but there is another darkness (unbelief) that we claim to have fellowship with God when we don't, thus we are committing a spiritual lie, which is insidious. When we try to deceive the brethren that we have fellowship with God, we only deceive ourselves, and we fellowship with something else other than God. According to John, if we think we have fellowship with God but practice sin, we have entered a spiritual realm without the Holy Spirit. (84j) Thy kingdom come >> Your words can lead to your own demise >> Lying -- This verse goes with verse 8 (86g) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word >> Clothe yourself with the word of God >> Practice the truth (110m) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spiritual substance and truth >> Spiritual substance follows obedience – John agreed with James that a man who has faith but has no works is lying. The flipside of that is also true that if we practice the truth, it is tantamount to knowing the truth. That is, knowing the truth and practicing the truth are one and the same, so the person who does not practice the truth does not know God. (157i) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Having a reprobate mind -- This verse goes with verse 10 (174k) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Lip service (178i) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Hypocrisy of the Church is rebuked >> The Church is rebuked for making false judgments -- This verse goes with verse 8 (182c) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Self deception >> Lying to yourself -- This verse goes with verse 8 (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 – There is the darkness of ignorance, and there is the darkness of sin, and the two of them are one, in that ignorance causes sin as sin causes ignorance, and both are depicted as darkness. For example, people who don’t know God are called sinners, and in this way ignorance causes sin. Likewise, when a nation that has come to know God and becomes as it were a Christian nation, and then slides from its steadfastness, its faith is replaced with ignorance. If we practice sin, we cannot have fellowship with God, because sin causes ignorance, and we cannot fellowship with God through ignorance, but we fellowship with Him based on the truth. (196a) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Lord, Lord >> Pretending to be a disciple – The person who fits John’s description hasn’t gotten on first base with the Lord, though he claims to have fellowship with God. He doesn’t know God if obeys darkness instead of light; he is an imposter, a false brother, our worst enemy. People attempt to infiltrate and sabotage the Church as insiders, being one of the most effective ways to inflict damage on the Church. Most of us go through periods of disobedience and struggle in their walk with God, and so we must be careful not to pass judgment too quickly. There are many who really want to love God, and in their hearts they do, but they have a hard time expressing that love. We need to give them time to repent, and while we are waiting, we are watching them, measuring their sincerity and making sure they are not hurting anybody. (202f) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Running from the word of God >> Running from the truth -- This verse goes with verse 8 (208f) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >> Being the friend of God >> Relationship with God through obedience – All three of John’s epistles were never an issue with those who selected the canon of the Bible. Selecting the book of James, though, for entry into the canon of authoritative works was highly controversial, because he spoke in such contrast to the apostle Paul, who taught that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works. James said virtually the opposite, “You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone” (Jm 2-24). The apostle John taught the same way that James did, on a very practical level, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth”, yet his writings were not controversial because he was the disciple whom Jesus loved, giving him ultimate status. Meanwhile, James was a brother of Jesus; does that count for anything? KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 1-7 (4i) Responsibility >> The choices you make >> Accountable for your sinful nature -- This verse goes with verse 9 (37h) Judgment >> Redemption of man >> His blood delivered us from destruction -- This verse goes with verse 9 (103a) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> God’s cleansing power >> Cleansing blood of Jesus -- This verse goes with verse 9 (112e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Light >> Jesus light in us overcomes darkness >> The light of His truth – There are two aspects of our walk with God: our fellowship with Him (v6) and our fellowship with one another. Salvation comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Rom 10-17). When we obey the Scriptures He sears His word into us by His Spirit, and the result is faith. By that faith He calls us with a holy calling to fulfill a purpose that He prepared for us from the foundation of the world. Through obedience we obtain an anointing from God, who reveals all things to us. This term “light” is in reference to knowledge. “We have seen the light,” is a common phrase that means we have finally come to real-eyes something. When we walk in the light, it means we are living according to what we know; that is, we have aligned our works with our beliefs. Knowledge that has enlightened us we understand by the Spirit, so to walk in the light refers to obeying the Holy Spirit. In other words, to walk in the light means to live according to the knowledge that the Holy Spirit has revealed to us. Light is in reference to the facts of the Bible that the Holy Spirit has lifted off the page and placed in our heart, for, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing” (2Cor 3,2-4; Jn 6-63). Without the Holy Spirit we are blind to the true knowledge of God. The Holy Spirit must reveal Jesus Christ to us before we can come to know Him; salvation is not on a volunteer basis; we don’t just decide to get saved. Rather, salvation is a concerted effort on the part of both God and man. If we obey the Holy Spirit, we will walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, and we have fellowship with Him. Likewise, if the Holy Spirit is enlightening God’s word to the brethren, we have fellowship with one another. See also: Spirit and the word; 1Jn 1,1-3; 132b (120b) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Forgiveness >> God forgives us when we become accountable to Him >> When we repent (130d) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Being in one accord >> Having one origin (137m) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Maturity >> Maturing with our brothers >> Employing your gifts to mature the body (Spiritual fellowship) – There is a difference between spiritual fellowship and engaging in social activities. Spiritual fellowship is the ability to reciprocate in a conversation about our faith in Jesus with the Holy Spirit bearing witness with the truth in each person. Go to an unbeliever and try to convey our knowledge of God to him and see how far we get. Likewise, when we go to church and try to convey our knowledge of God to someone and it feels like we are talking to a fencepost, it is evidence that the listener is not saved. See also: Evidence of salvation; 156d (156d) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of salvation >> Loving your fellow man is evidence of salvation >> Love the brethren – Isn't it interesting what John said? “If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light we have fellowship with one another.” We should expect him to say, ‘We have fellowship with God,’ and in fact he did say that in verse three, but here he is pointing out the significance of our fellowship with one another. This is one of many criteria that we use to determine the validity of someone's faith. When we talk to so-called Christians about our faith and they have nothing to say in reply, it is most likely because their relationship with God is either in shambles or non-existent, indicating that they spend the majority of their time and energy in the world with their temporal concerns. The entire book of First John is devoted to establishing a list of criteria that we use to judge the sincerity of faith in our fellow "believers". Someone might complain that we are passing judgment after Jesus told us not to judge, but Jesus also said, “Judge with righteous judgment” (Jn 7-24). We can make a ninety-nine percent accurate assessment of a person’s spiritual status using the principles that John divulged in this epistle and elsewhere, one of the principles being spiritual fellowship. That is, we know our brother is going to heaven if we have fellowship with him, not social interaction but the exchange of spiritual wisdom and knowledge that we received from Him. See also: Evidence of salvation; 1Jn 1-8; 157g (193k) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Run to God >> Run to God to avoid running from Him -- This verse goes with verse 9 1Jn 1-8 (3b) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Get out of His way >> Quit believing lies -- This verse goes with verse 10 (19g) Sin >> Having the mental disease of the world >> Man’s twisted understanding -- This verse goes with verse 10 (84j) Thy kingdom come >> Your words can lead to your own demise >> Lying -- This verse goes with verse 10 (86m) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word from the heart >> Internalize the word of God -- This verse goes with verse 10 (132k) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holy Spirit is in God’s people >> Holy Spirit is in the hearts of men -- This verse goes with verse 10 (157g) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Deceiving and being deceived >> Deceiving – If we say we have not sinned, we are lying to ourselves and to God, proving that we don’t know Him. There are many in the world today who don’t believe sin exists; they say it is a figment of our imagination. Then there are those who believe sin exists but they personally don’t have any; John says the same to them; they are deceiving themselves. If they don’t know the truth about themselves, how can they know the truth about God? Merely admitting that we are sinners doesn’t make us forgiven, but it is the first step, for the truth pertains as much to the righteousness of God as it does to the condition of man. Our mouth flies open without our even knowing it and spews words venomous as snake spit before we have a chance to close it. If we don’t sin with out mouth, we are perfect in every way, but none of us can control the tongue (Jm 3,1-12). We mostly sin with our words, and John is saying that if we think we are in control, we are just deceiving ourselves, and lying is a sin. See also: Evidence of salvation; 1Jn 1-3; 70c (174g) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Self righteousness >> Believing you don’t have a sinful nature -- This verse goes with verse 10 (178i) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Hypocrisy of the Church is rebuked >> The Church is rebuked for making false judgments -- This verse goes with verse 10. John is talking about unbelievers who are deceiving themselves, believing they have not sinned, feeling no need to be saved. What John ultimately means by the truth not being in them is the Spirit of truth. That is, if the Holy Spirit does not dwell in them, they do not belong to God. To say they have not sinned is the greatest sin of all, for how can they be forgiven if they think they've done nothing wrong? Refusing to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is the sin that leads to hell, the sin that John mentioned here, that of self-righteousness. They probably compare themselves to serial killers, murderers and rapists (1Tim 1,9-11), though having never committing these sins, yet comparing themselves with them is to use their standard instead of using Jesus Christ as their standard for righteousness, which is God's standard that no one can achieve, thus showing the need for salvation. (182c) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Self deception >> Lying to yourself -- This verse goes with verse 10 (200j) Denying Christ >> Excuses for rejecting Christ >> Using irresponsibility as an excuse to reject God >> Using your sinful nature as an excuse to sin -- This verse goes with verse 10. This life can be so frustrating that we need a pressure release valve for the stress that build’s in our lives, and sometimes these valves are based on sin. Probably all of us have at least one of them. Sometimes our ability to cope gets maxed-out, so we reach for our pressure release valve, which probably involves our mouth in some way, either what we put into it or what comes out of it. We must keep a close eye on these pressure release valves, because they can overcome us. Sometimes we sin by accident, but usually we do it on purpose, because we don’t know how else to respond to some of the ridiculous things that happen to us. (202f) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Running from the word of God >> Running from the truth -- This verse goes with verse 10 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 1-9 (4i) Responsibility >> The choices you make >> Accountable for your sinful nature --This verse goes with verse 7 (37h) Judgment >> Judgment of God >> Redemption of man >> His blood delivered us from destruction -- This verse goes with verse 7. The gospel of Christ is the method of God’s forgiveness, for we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1Jn 2-1). If it weren’t for Him, none of us would be going to heaven or obtaining favor with God. He first tells us that if we think we have fellowship with God yet walk in darkness, we are lying to Him, to ourselves and to the brethren; then He says that it is hopeless to avoid sin, so not to get any ideas about completely eradicating it from our lives. Sin complicates Christianity, and for this reason we should avoid it like the plague. (83i) Thy kingdom come >> Jesus intercedes for us >> He prepares us to meet the Father (102d) Thy kingdom come >> Faithfulness (Loyalty) >> Faithfulness is dependable >> God is dependable (103a) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> God’s cleansing power >> Cleansing blood of Jesus -- This verse goes with verse 7 (120c) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Forgiveness >> God forgives us when we become accountable to Him >> As we confess our sin (193k) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Run to God >> Run to God to avoid running from Him -- This verse goes with verse 7 (194j) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Turn from sin to God >> Yielding >> Confessing your sin to God – When we get lost in the woods with a compass, we don’t know exactly where we parked the car, but we do know the general direction we need to go. The farther we walk, the closer we get to it, and we constantly modify our direction until we reach our destination. This is the Christian life; we get saved, and our lives are a wreck, and the Bible points us in the general direction where we need to go; and as we continue walking, we keep modifying our direction according to Scripture and the leading of the Holy Spirit, and hopefully at the end of this life we will enter heaven. Since we have been walking in the light for so long, as we exit this life, we suddenly discover heaven is right in front of us. Others have been walking in darkness all their lives, and when they exit this life, all they see is darkness. This is the teaching of John; salvation is a process; we stumble all along the way, confessing our sins to God who is faithful and righteous to forgive our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We modify our direction, because we don’t always do the will of God. We trip and fall on our face and skin our nose. A scab forms and everyone can see that we have been eating dirt, but we continue and eventually it all goes away. God is asking us to walk in His direction and use the teachings of Christ as our model of behavior. See also: Analogies (Using a map lost in the woods); Jn 14,7-11; 117j KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Jn 1-10 (3b) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Get out of His way >> Quit believing lies -- This verse goes with verse 8 (19g) Sin >> Having the mental disease of the world >> Man’s twisted understanding -- This verse goes with verse 6 (80h) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word to minister to God >> In your inner man – We deserve hell because we are sinners, and we still sin, but one day God will transform us, and He will take us from sin and make us perfect so we cannot sin. The Bible says we are to seek perfection in this life (Mat 5-48), and already we cannot sin (1Jn 3-9), but these statements speak to our commitment and dedication to the faith, making sure it is complete as disciples of Jesus. If so, our salvation is complete in Him, though it doesn't mean we will never sin again. He is creating a people exactly the way He wants through Christ’s suffering on the cross, and now that Christ has risen and ascended to the Father, He has raised us with Him. We have not yet received that position, but we are to live as though we are already in heaven. (84j) Thy kingdom come >> Your words can lead to your own demise >> Lying -- This verse goes with verse 6 (86m) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word from the heart >> Internalize the word of God -- This verse goes with verse 8 (132k) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holy Spirit is in God’s people >> Holy Spirit is in the hearts of men -- This verse goes with verse 8 (157i) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Having a reprobate mind -- This verse goes with verse 6 (174g) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Self righteousness >> Believing you don’t have a sinful nature -- This verse goes with verse 8. Some people have said, ‘I’m not a sinner; I haven’t done anything bad enough for God to judge me.’ This is the epitome of self-righteousness. John says to them, ‘You don’t know God.’ God doesn't care that we have sinned; His only concern is whether we have been redeemed by the blood of the lamb. To deny that we are sinners is to seek heaven (or avoid hell) based on our own merits, and God simply doesn’t want people in His heaven who got there based on their own merits, except Christ, our redeemer. God wants to take away our rights and in their place give us His rights, the right to become the children of God. He want to replace our pride with humility, our dignity with honor and our honor with holiness, so that nobody can boast before God. He wants a people who cannot look God in the eye as though they were equal with Him in some way. Instead, he will raise us to His level based on His own sovereign authority and good will toward man (Eph 2,1-7). (175j) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Ignorance >> Ignorant of what God means >> Ignorant of the meaning of God’s word (178i) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Hypocrisy of the Church is rebuked >> The Church is rebuked for making false judgments -- This verse goes with verse 6 (182c) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Self deception >> Lying to yourself -- This verse goes with verse 6 (200j) Denying Christ >> Excuses for rejecting Christ >> Using irresponsibility as an excuse to reject God >> Using your sinful nature as an excuse to sin -- This verse goes with verse 8 (202f) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Running from the word of God >> Running from the truth -- This verse goes with verse 6 (203d) Denying Christ >> Dishonor God >> Lying to God – By denying the truth that we are sinners we accuse God of lying and replace what He said with our own views about ourselves. People refuse to believe that God will one day Lord Himself over His creation. God has subjected His children to His authority through the cross, but those who die in their sins He will subject to eternal damnation in hell. Either way we will all one day submit to Him. Imagine being in heaven and approaching God’s throne and calling Him a liar to His face in front of everybody. God would probably ask, 'How did you get in here?' (Mat 22,11-13). One of the ways we deny the truth is to deny that we are sinners. Anyone who would deny he is a sinner cannot go to heaven, which is ironic, for only sinners go to heaven. Those who consider themselves righteous are banned from heaven, because they call God a liar, who declared us sinners. To call God a liar is to accuse Him of sin, so instead of we being sinners, God is the sinner, basically inverting the truth. There is a term for lying to our own conscience, hence lying to God; it is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which Jesus said was the unpardonable sin, simply because it destroys the conscience and hardens the heart, making it impossible to believe in God. This is the power of sin. How many sins must a person commit before He is a sinner? For Adam it was just one, and we have committed many more than that, and so it is too late to plead innocent. All we can do is admit we are sinners and throw ourselves on the mercies of God, for there is more than enough mercy at the foot of His cross. See also: Blasphemy leading to a reprobate mind; Rev 12-12; 157i See next page