1 & 2 & 3 John – Page 3

1 John 2:28-3:10 – Children of God

We are all children of God or are we? Does this passage conjure up any doubt in your mind? Are you feeling a bit guilty because you know you’re a sinner? These are some serious questions to wrestle with as we read through this passage and figure out what it is saying to us.

Right off the bat, John tells us to remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns we won’t cower back in shame. That stirs up some memories of being a child and breaking my mom’s hall mirror. My brother and I had been told NOT to climb in the closet. We didn’t listen. As a result, the mirror, which was affixed to the closet door, was smashed into a million pieces when the closet door somehow slammed into the wall as we were climbing in the closet. Talk about cowering in shame. That’s when you wish you were invisible.

1 John 2:18-27 – Who Are You Following?

Read 1 John 2:18-27

When we see the prefix, “anti” we know it means the opposite or against. For instance, antifreeze is something we use to keep our cars from freezing up in the cold. So what about the antichrist? Is it the opposite of Christ or against Christ? John says, “anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist.” The Greek, antichristos, means literally “adversary of the Messiah.”

We are also told that many antichrists have appeared already. Can you imagine how many more have since John wrote these words? You may have encountered an antichrist who tried to cloud your judgment or belief about Jesus, put a doubt in your head, or tried to lure your trust away from Jesus.

1 John 2:15-17 – What Do You Love Most?

Read 1 John 2:15-17

Have you seen the little jokes or quizzes going around asking if you had to take only one thing with you to the moon, to a deserted island, or some other obscure location what would it be? Sometimes they’ll even give you a list to choose from like chocolate, a book, your pet, wine, a blanket, etc. In other words, what do you love most? While those exercises may seem silly, they get us to thinking about something beyond our current reality.

Today’s reading would caution us from loving things of this world. What does that even mean? Didn’t God create everything that is? Perhaps it’s in the language, the word “of” as opposed to “in”. Everything “in” the world is God’s creation and belongs to him. But those things “of” the world are available because the world has created them.

1 John 2:7-14 – Is It New or Old?

Read 1 John 2:7-14

John is focused on relationships, particularly our relationship with God. When he says “know” he is focusing on more than just our “head knowledge.” He wants us to dig deeper. What do we “know” of God through listening for his voice, reading his word and letting it permeate our being, watching his creation unfold before our eyes? How has the life of Jesus and how he lived impacted us and how we want to live?

John reminds us here of an old commandment, but he’s bringing a fresh, new twist to it. We are to love one another. That’s the old law, and you will recall Jesus also spoke of it (John 13:34) as a new commandment. Loving God is of course always #1, but how we treat each other is of utmost importance, too. What’s John’s twist?

1 John 2:1-6 – Do You Know God?

Read 1 John 2:1-6

I’m so glad John wrote this to us so that we won’t sin! Unfortunately, I don’t think his words can keep us from sinning, it’s not that easy. But his words can make us aware of our sin and what we can do about it. So on the off chance you happen to sin (and you will), we can all be sure that Jesus is ready to save us.

Jesus is portrayed here as our advocate, pleading our case for us. With my legal background, of course, I picture a lawyer in court before the Judge. I have worked on many a case representing the “bad guy” who was still allowed counsel before the judge. What would the sentence be? A good lawyer would make sure the sentence was fair or non-existent in the right circumstances. Jesus pleads not-guilty for us because he, himself is the sacrifice for all sins.