A timeless danger that can lead us astray...

This week we are looking at a section of letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of John. Yesterday, in 1 John 3:4-6, we saw John reveal the reality that, at the end of the day, acts of omission and commission against God and others is ultimately about a lawless rebellion against God.  And because of that reality, everyone who engages in a lifestyle that is committed to selfishly rebelling against God and others is revealing the reality of a lawless rebellion against God.

However, John drove home the reality that the person who has  truly recognized Jesus for who He truly is; the person who has identified themselves as having a genuine and authentic relationship with God will not engage in a lifestyle that is committed to selfishly rebelling against God and others. Today, as John continues this section of his letter, we see Him warn the members of the church at Ephesus of a timeless danger that they were facing. Let’s discover that timeless danger together, beginning in 1 John 3:7-8:

 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; ⁸ the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

As we talked about earlier in this series, when John uses the phrase “little children” this was a term of endearment that John used to describe the members of the church at Ephesus. You see, John cared deeply for the members of the church and desired their spiritual good and growth. And because of that reality, John warned the members of the church at Ephesus to make sure no one deceives you. In other words, John was warning the members of the church at Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to make sure that no one misled them in a way that caused them to go astray in their relationship with Jesus.

And to make sure that no one misled them in a way that caused them to go astray in their relationship with Jesus, John explained that the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. When John states that He is righteous he is proclaiming that Jesus is right in character and is always right and just in His actions. John’s point here is that if we know that Jesus is totally just, fair, and right in character and actions, then the person engages in a lifestyle that is committed to doing what is just and right reveals the reality that they have a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus.

By contrast, in verse 8, John states that the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. Now Jesus and the other authors of the letters that make up the Bible teach us that the Devil is the leader of a group of supernatural beings who known as demons. We also know that the Devil and demons have superhuman, but limited knowledge and power. The Devil and demons are angels that were created by the Lord before the creation of the universe, who rebelled against God sometime before the fall of humans that is recorded for us in the very first letter in the Bible in Genesis 3.

And the Devil and the demons that follow the Devil are driven by a desire to destroy the Kingdom of God and the people of God. John’s point here is that the person who engages in a lifestyle that is committed to selfishly rebelling against God and others reveals the reality that they are demonstrating a connection with the lifestyle of lawless rebellion of the Devil. When John states that the devil has sinned from the beginning, he is reminding the readers of his letter throughout history that the Devil has acted out of a selfish love and rebellion against God since the beginning of time.

And because the devil has, from the beginning of time, been committed to destroy the Kingdom of God and the people of God, John states that Jesus, as God in a bod, took on flesh and entered into humanity in order to destroy the works of the devil. John’s point here is that Jesus took on flesh and entered into humanity in order to abolish and bring to an end that which was brought into being by the work of the Devil to attempt to destroy the Kingdom of God and the people of God. Jesus took on flesh and entered into humanity in order to abolish and bring to an end the enslavement to a lifestyle that is committed to selfishly rebelling against God and others that came about as a result of the devil and his desire to destroy the kingdom of God and the people of God.

You see, John wanted to make sure that the reader of his letter would not be misled in a way that caused them to go astray in their relationship with Jesus to instead embrace the idea that they could remain in genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus while engaging in a lifestyle that is committed to selfishly rebelling against God and others. We see John hammer this point home in what he says next in verse 9-10:

 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. ¹⁰ By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

As we discovered earlier in this series, when John uses the phrase born of God, here is revealing for us the reality that when we respond to Jesus making Himself known to us by placing our confident trust in Him and recognizing and acknowledging who He is by accepting Him as being large and in charge of our lives, we become a part of the family of God. As we talked about earlier in this series, becoming a part of the family of God as a child of God is solely the result of God’s transformational activity in our lives. It is only through God’s transformational activity in our lives that flows from His desire to bring us into an eternal relationship with Him that results in us becoming a child of God as a part of the family of God.

By contrast, when John refers to the children of the devil, he is referring to one who demonstrates the characteristics of the devil, who engages in a lifestyle that is committed to selfishly rebelling against God in an attempt to destroy the kingdom of God and the people of God. John here is reminding the readers of his letter throughout history that, as a general rule, children tend to take on the characteristics and character of their parents. And intuitively we know this to be true. That is why we can cringe or bow our chest in pride when our children say or do something the reflects us, right? And we experience this when we say something that sounds just like our parents.

And because of that reality that children tend to take on the characteristics and character of their parents, John states that no one who is born of God engages in a lifestyle that is committed to selfishly rebelling against God and others. John then explains that the reason that is the case is due to the fact that His seed abides in him. But what does that mean? The phrase His seed refers to the very nature and character of God that is present in a follower of Jesus.

John’s point here is that the very nature and character of God remains present in the life of a person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus. And because of that reality, John explains that a person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus cannot sin because they are a part of the family of God as a child of God as a result of God’s transformational activity in their lives. John’s point is that a person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus as a part of the family of God cannot engage in a lifestyle that is committed to selfishly rebel against God, because they have been brought into the family of God.

But how does what John is writing here relate to what John wrote in 1 John 1:8-9? Because in 1 John 1:8-9, states that “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” John seems to state that we deceive ourselves when we proclaim that we are not guilty of selfishly rebelling against God.  However, here John states that a person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus as a part of the family of God cannot engage in a lifestyle that is committed to selfishly rebel against God, because they have been brought into the family of God.

So which one is it? Is John contradicting himself here? Friday, we will discover the answer to this question…

Connection with God vs. Rebellion against God...

At the church where I serve, we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled Connect. During this series, we are looking at a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 John. During this series, we are going to discover the components that make for true connection and community. During this series, we are going to discover the landmines and roadblocks that keep us from true connection and community. And as we go through this series, our hope and our prayer is that God would move by the power of the Holy Spirit in our heads, hearts, and hands, in a way that moves us to the place where we can experience the connection and community with God and one another that we were created and designed to experience. 

Now this week, I would like for us to spend our time together picking up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of John, we will see John reveal for us another timeless truth when it comes to how we can experience the connection and community with God and one another that we were created and designed to experience. So let’s jump into the next section of this letter together, beginning in 1 John 3:4-6:

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.

Now to fully understand what John is communicating here, we first need to be reminded of the context in which John was writing this letter. As we talked about earlier in this series, John, as part of this letter, was addressing an issue that had arisen as a result of some people who had left the church at Ephesus and were trying to influence others to leave the church at Ephesus. There were some people who had attend the church at one time, but had left the church, who were claiming that you could have close connection with God while living their day to day lives in a way that is marked by moral and spiritual darkness as a result of selfishness and rebellion against God.

There were some people who had attend the church at one time, but had left the church, who were proclaiming that they were not guilty of selfishly rebelling against God and others.  There were some people who had attend the church at one time, but had left the church, who were proclaiming that one could have close connection with God while living a life that was in disobedience to the commands and demands of God. 

Once again John is circling back to an earlier claim that he had made in this letter that the person who has a genuine and authentic relationship with God will persist in obeying the commands and demands of Jesus, as opposed to the claims of those who left the church at Ephesus that one could have close connection with God while living a life that was in disobedience to the commands and demands of God.

Now with that context in mind, John begins that section of his letter by explaining that everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness. Now this word practice, in the language that this letter was originally written in, means to carry out an obligation of a moral nature. As we have talked about earlier in this series, when John uses the word sin, this word refers to acts of omission and commission against God and others that flow from our selfish love that places us above God and others in rebellion against God and others.

So John is explaining that everyone who engages in a lifestyle that is committed to selfishly rebelling against God and others is engaging in a lifestyle of lawlessness. Now this word lawlessness literally means to be anti-law. This word conveys that sense of a person who lives in lawless rebellion against someone or something.

And because of that reality, John explains that sin is lawlessness. John is revealing the reality that, at the end of the day, acts of omission and commission against God and others is ultimately about a lawless rebellion against God.  And because of that reality, everyone who engages in a lifestyle that is committed to selfishly rebelling against God and others is revealing the reality of a lawless rebellion against God.

However, as John points out in verse 5, Jesus, as God in a bod, took on flesh and entered into humanity in order to take away, or remove, such acts of omission and commission against God and others that flow from our selfish love that places us above God and others in rebellion against God and others from humanity. And, as John points out, Jesus us able to do that because in Him there is no sin. In other words, Jesus, in His very nature and character, has no sin. And Jesus, in His conduct here on earth, never selfishly and rebelliously did anything that He should not have done, and never did not do the things that He should have done that hurt God and others.

And because of that reality, in verse 6, John states that no one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. But this morning, what does that mean? Is John saying that Christians should never sin? Is John saying that if a person really has a relationship with Jesus, that they would never sin?

To understand what John is communicating here, we first need to be reminded of what John means when he sues the phrase abides in Him. As we have talked about throughout this series, abiding refers to someone who does not leave a certain realm or sphere of existence. This is the idea of remaining in connection and communion with God as we are mystically and spiritually united in Jesus as followers of Jesus. John’s point is that that the person who remains connected with God as they are mystically and spiritually united with Jesus will not engage in a lifestyle that is committed to selfishly rebelling against God and others.        

In addition, when John states that no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him, the phrase has seen Him literally means to mentally or spiritually perceive Jesus for who He truly is. The phrase knows Him literally means to arrive at the knowledge of someone so as a means of identifying or relating to them. This phrase conveys the sense of having a past experience that has ongoing and continuing results.

John is talking about a person who has entered into a relationship with God that is an ongoing reality in their lives. Once again John is answering the question “How do I know that I have a genuine and authentic relationship with God?”

The point that John wanted to drive home to the readers of his letter throughout history is that the person who has  truly recognized Jesus for who He truly is; the person who has identified themselves as having a genuine and authentic relationship with God will not engage in a lifestyle that is committed to selfishly rebelling against God and others. And as John continues this section of his letter, we see Him warn the members of the church at Ephesus of a timeless danger that they were facing.

Tomorrow we will discover that timeless danger…

True community and connection with Jesus Christ will produce confidence in us...

This week we are looking at a section of a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of John. In 1 John 2:28-29, John explained that those who remain in close connection and communion with Jesus will have a confidence and boldness in that relationship and connection when they see Him face to face. This confidence and boldness comes from knowing that they had lived in genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus that leveraged their time, treasure, and talent into the kingdom mission that they had been given by Jesus.

John then revealed the reality that when we respond to Jesus making Himself known to us by placing our confident trust in Him and recognizing and acknowledging who He is by accepting Him as being large and in charge of our lives, we become a part of the family of God.

As John remembered and reflected on Jesus conversation with Nicodemus, the point that John wanted to make unmistakably clear is that if we know that Jesus is totally just, fair, and right in character and actions, then the person whose life is marked by doing what is just and right reveals the reality that they have a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus as part of the family of God. John is revealing the reality that it is the life of a person who reveals and reflects Jesus in their character and conduct that produces the confidence that, when Jesus returns, they will enter into the fullness of the community and connection with God that they were created for as part of the family of God.

And as John continues in his letter to these early followers of Jesus, we see John transition to reveal the reason why followers of Jesus can have confidence as a result of their connection with Jesus as a part of the family of God. So let’s discover that reason together, beginning in 1 John 3:1:

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

Now to fully understand what John is communicating here, we first need to understand what John means when he states “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God;” What is so interesting is that this statement, in the language that that letter was originally written in, is actually in the form of a question and answer. The word that John uses here for the word great literally refers to how glorious something is. If John were making this statement in the language that we use in our culture today, this statement would sound something like this: “Do you realize how glorious the love is that the Father has bestowed on us that we would be called the children of God?”

When John refers to followers of Jesus as being called children of God, this phrase conveys the concept of being identified with someone as a result of displaying the characteristics of another, in this case God. John then answers his own question by affirming the reality that those who have a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus that is reflected by a life that reveals and reflects Jesus are identified by others as being children of God.

John’s point here is that the glorious love that God bestows on followers of Jesus results in a life that looks more and more like Jesus. And as followers of Jesus live lives that look more and more like Jesus, they will be identified by those around them as being in relationship with God as part of the family of God.

John then reminded the members of the church at Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history, that the world, which, as we discovered a few weeks ago, refers to those things in the world around us that are hostile to God and place themselves in opposition to God and His kingdom, “does not know us, because it did not know Him.” John’s point here is that those in the world that are hostile to God and oppose God do not identify with or have genuine and authentic connection and relationship with followers of Jesus because they did not identify with Jesus so as to trust and follow Jesus. Instead they rebelled and rejected Jesus and His message and teachings.

John is reminding followers of Jesus throughout history that it is God’s transforming love in our lives that identifies us as His children as we live lives that reveal and reflect Jesus to those around us. It is God’s transforming love that is the source of the confidence that we can have as followers of Jesus that we possess and genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus. And it is that genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus that will result in a life that is lived in a way that is distinctly different from those around us who rebel and reject Jesus. And as a result, those who rebel and reject Jesus will not identify with followers of Jesus because they have refused to identify themselves with Jesus.

John then concluded this section of his letter by returning to what followers of Jesus will experience at the end of God’s story here on earth when Jesus returns to earth. We see John make this return in 1 John 3:2-3. Let’s look at it together:

 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. ³ And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Here John reminds followers of Jesus throughout history that, while their identity is that of a child of God that has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus, what that connection with Jesus will look like in eternity has not been disclosed or made known. However, while John did not know what that relationship and connection with Jesus would look like in eternity, he did know something. When John uses the word know, this word refers to the introduction of a well-known and generally accepted fact. John then explained that the well-known and generally accepted fact that he did know was that “that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”

 John here is revealing the reality that when Jesus returns to earth, followers of Jesus will be transformed so that they can participate in the Divine nature in the fullest form of community and connection with God. John is reminding followers of Jesus throughout history that, in eternity, we will share in the fullness of Jesus’ character and rightness. Now the big fancy church mumbo jumbo talk word for what John is referring to here is the word glorification. 

You see, when we read the letters that make up the Bible, we discover that, apart from a relationship with Jesus, human beings are sinners who sin; as John pointed our earlier in this letter, apart from Jesus, we are selfish people who hate the light and love darkness.

However, when we become followers of Jesus, we become saints who sometimes sin. As followers of Jesus, we have a new identity and are being transformed by the Holy Spirit who takes up residence in us and begins to make us more and more like Jesus in our character and conduct. The big fancy church mumbo jumbo talk word for this is sanctification.

Yet there are still times where we live our lives in the power of our old nature before we became followers of Jesus and selfishly do things that hurt God and others and fail to follow the message and teachings of Jesus, which the Bible calls sin. John’s point here is that when Jesus returns, those who have a genuine and authentic relationship with Him will be transformed into saints who never sin. We will be able to fully participate in the Divine nature.

And because of this reality, John states in verse 3 that everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Now when John uses the word hope, this word refers to looking forward with a confident expectation that something promised is going to happen. In this case, the hope that John is referring to is the confident expectation that Jesus promise to return is going to happen. And this confident expectation in Jesus return is an ongoing reality in their daily lives as they live in genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Him.

And because of this confident expectation of Jesus return in the daily lives of those who have a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus, John states that these followers of Jesus purify themselves just as Jesus is pure. This idea of purifying literally means to cause one to be morally pure. John’s point is that followers of Jesus who have genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus will live their lives in such a way that causes them to grow in moral purity which produces a life that looks like Jesus in character and conduct.

And it is here, in this section of this letter, that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to connecting in true community. And that timeless truth is this: True community and connection with Jesus Christ will produce confidence in us.  Just as it was for the members of the church at Ephesus; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history; true community and connection with Jesus Christ will produce confidence in us.

The timeless reality is that, as followers of Jesus, our community and connection with Jesus Christ will produce confidence when we meet Him. As we as followers of Jesus live our lives in a way that reveals and reflects Jesus in our character and conduct, we can have confidence that, when Jesus returns, we will enter into the fullness of communion and connection with God that we were created for.

As followers of Jesus, our community and connection with Jesus Christ will produce confidence because of God’s love for us. It is God’s transforming love in our lives that identifies us as His children as we live lives that reveal and reflect Jesus to those around us. It is God’s transforming love that is the source of the confidence that we can have as followers of Jesus that we possess and genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus. And it is that genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus that will result in a life that is lived in a way that is distinctly different from those around us who rebel and reject Jesus. And as a result, those who rebel and reject Jesus will not identify with followers of Jesus because they have refused to identify themselves with Jesus.

As followers of Jesus, our community and connection with Jesus Christ will produce confidence for the future that drives us to become more like Him in the present. The confident expectation that we have as followers of Jesus that Jesus will return as a result of our genuine and authentic community and connection with Jesus will drive us to live our day to day lives in a way that we are becoming more like Jesus in character and conduct.

So here is a question to consider: are you living the extraordinary lives of meaning, purpose, and significance that God created us for? Are you living life in the confidence that comes from a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus? Are you living lives with a confident expectation of Jesus return that is driving you to become more like Jesus in the present?

Because, as we have discovered, true community and connection with Jesus Christ will produce confidence in us. Our community and connection with Jesus Christ will produce confidence when we meet Him. Our community and connection with Jesus Christ will produce confidence because of God’s love for us. And our community and connection with Jesus Christ will produce confidence for the future that drives us to become more like Him in the present.

Finding Confidence as a Child of God...

At the church where I serve we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled Connect. During this series, we are looking at a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 John. During this series, we are going to discover the components that make for true connection and community. During this series, we are going to discover the landmines and roadblocks that keep us from true connection and community. And as we go through this series, our hope and our prayer is that God would move by the power of the Holy Spirit in our heads, hearts, and hands, in a way that moves us to the place where we can experience the connection and community with God and one another that we were created and designed to experience.  

This week I would like for us to spend our time together picking up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of John, we will see John reveal for us another timeless truth when it comes to how we can experience the connection and community with God and one another that we were created and designed to experience. So let’s jump into the next section of this letter together, beginning in 1 John 2:28-29:

Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. ²⁹ If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.

John begins this section of letter by commanding the members of the church at Ephesus, who, as we have seen throughout this series, were every near and dear to his heart, to abide in Him. As we have seen throughout this series, this phrase “abide in Him” literally means to not leave a certain realm or sphere. John here is commanding followers of Jesus throughout history to remain in connection and community with Jesus as followers of Jesus.

John then provides the reason behind his command by stating that when He appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. John is pointing the readers of his letter throughout history to the climactic scene that will occur at the end of God’s story here on earth, when Jesus Christ will return to earth. John’s point here is that those who remain in close connection and communion with Jesus will have a confidence and boldness in that relationship and connection when they see Him face to face. This confidence and boldness comes from knowing that they had lived in genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus that leveraged their time, treasure, and talent into the kingdom mission that they had been given by Jesus.

When John uses the phrase “to shrink away in shame”, he is referring to those who we looked at last week who rejected the message and teaching of Jesus to instead follow false teaching. John is revealing the reality that those who fail to remain in connection and community with God by rejecting the message and teaching of Jesus to instead follow false teaching will find themselves ashamed and will experience disgrace of the worst kind at His second coming. This shame and disgrace will occur as the result of the realization that those who rejected the message and teaching of Jesus and attempted to fill the empty spaces in their lives through pleasure, possessions, or position will have leveraged their lives into a lie.

Then, in verse 29, John explained to the members of the church at Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history, that “if you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him”. But what does that mean? What is John’s point here? To fully understand what John is communicating here, we first need to look at a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible, called the gospel of John. Because it is in the first section of the gospel of John that we see John provide the answers to this question. So let’s discover the answer to this question together, beginning in John 1:12-13:

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

In these verses we see John unpack what he means when he uses the phrase receive Him. However, to fully be able to wrap our minds around the significance of what John is saying here, we first need to wrap our mind around some words. When John uses the word received here, this word means to recognize and acknowledge one’s authority.  John’s point here is that Jesus provides the person who recognizes and acknowledges who He is as God in a bod the capability to experience a change in their nature that results in entry into a relationship with God as part of the family of God.

John then answers the question “how does one receive Jesus” with the statement “to those who believe in His name”. Now the phrase believe in here, in the language that this letter was originally written in, is the same word that is also translated trust in our English Bible. This word literally means to entrust oneself with complete confidence to someone or something. John’s point here is that when we respond to Jesus making Himself known to us by placing our confident trust in Him and recognizing and acknowledging who He is by accepting Him as being large and in charge of our lives, we become a part of the family of God.

That is what John is referring to in verse 13 when he uses the phrase “who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” The phrase were born refers to the process by which one becomes part of the family of God as a child of God. In verse 13, we see John reveal three ways that one does not become a part of the family of God.

First, John reveals that we do not become a part of the family of God by being born of blood. This phrase refers to one’s physical birth parents and family tree. In other words, we do not become a part of the family of God in relationship with God by being born into the right family. Just because your parents or grandparents are Christians does not mean that you are automatically a follower of Jesus. And being a part of the family of God has nothing to do with one’s nationality, or ones ethnic or cultural background.

Second, John reveals that we do not become a part of the family of God by the will of the flesh. Now, the will of the flesh refers to our sexual desires. John’s point is that we do not become children of God simply because our parents desired to have children and acted on that desire to have children. Our sexual desires that result in physical birth does not result in our spiritual birth as a child of God.

Third, John reveals that we do not become a part of the family of God by the will of man. The will of man refers to our desires as human beings. John’s point here is that we do not become children of God simply because there are people around us who desire us to. And it is not our desire to perform for God by keeping a list of rules for God that results in us becoming a part of the family of God.

Instead, John explains that we become a part of the family of God as a child of God because we are born of God.  John here is revealing for us the reality that becoming a part of the family of God as a child of God is solely the result of God’s transformational activity in our lives. It is only through God’s transformational activity in our lives that flows from His desire to bring us into an eternal relationship with Him that results in us becoming a child of God as a part of the family of God.

We see Jesus Himself reveal this reality in a conversation that Jesus had with a man named Nicodemus that is recorded for us in an account of Jesus life that was also written by John. So let’s look at a part of that conversation together, beginning in John 3:3:

Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

When Jesus uses the phrase kingdom of God, He is referring to God’s royal reign. You see, the Jewish people were looking for a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah who God had promised would bring the Jewish people back to God and back to prominence in the world. Jesus told Nicodemus that, in order to be a part of this kingdom with the Messiah, one must be born again. This little phase, born again, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to be born from above. We see Jesus continue to engage Nicodemus in verse 4-8:

Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he? "Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. "Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Jesus statement here, if communicated in the language we use today would have sounded something like this: “No Nicodemus, you cannot enter into the womb again, you cannot be born from above because of something you do. To be born from above is something that the Spirit of God does to you. In the same way that you have been brought into the world physically in a way that resulted in you entering into a relationship with your earthly parents, you also have to be brought into a relationship with God by the Spirit of God. Nicodemus, you should not be surprised at what I am telling you. It’s like the wind. The wind moves throughout the world every day. And no one has any control over the wind. The wind does whatever it desires. The wind starts when it wants to start; the wind goes where it wants to go; the wind ends when it wants to end. Just as no one can control the wind, no one can control the activity of the Holy Spirit and what He does in bringing people to the place where they are brought into a relationship with God that results in them being a part of the Kingdom and family of God.”

Now looking back at 1 John 2:29, when John uses the word righteous, this word refers to something that is upright, just, and fair. So when John uses the word righteous about Jesus Christ, he is proclaiming that Jesus is right in character and is always right and just in His actions.

You see, as John remembered and reflected on Jesus conversation with Nicodemus, the point that John wanted to make unmistakably clear is that if we know that Jesus is totally just, fair, and right in character and actions, then the person whose life is marked by doing what is just and right reveals the reality that they have a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus as part of the family of God. John is revealing the reality that it is the life of a person who reveals and reflects Jesus in their character and conduct that produces the confidence that, when Jesus returns, they will enter into the fullness of the community and connection with God that they were created for as part of the family of God. 

And as John continues in his letter to these early followers of Jesus, we see John transition to reveal the reason why followers of Jesus can have confidence as a result of their connection with Jesus as a part of the family of God.

We will discover that reason tomorrow...

Our answer to the question “Who is Jesus?” determines whether or not we experience true community and connection with God and others...

This week we have been looking at a section of this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of John. We have looked on as John revealed the reality that there will be people who possess this same spirit of rebellion and opposition to God and His kingdom mission as the Antichrist will come from within the community of the church.

John then applied the reality that truth a lies cannot coexist by basically saying “Who is the liar but the one who claims that Jesus was not the fulfillment of God’s promise to send the Messiah? This is the one who places themselves in opposition to God as an antichrist, the one who rejects and repudiates God the Father and Jesus His Son. Whoever rejects and repudiates Jesus as the Messiah does not have a genuine relationship and connection with God the Father. However, the one who pledges allegiance to Jesus as the Messiah has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus and with God the Father also.”

John called the members of the church at Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to recognize those who are antichrists and who oppose God and the kingdom of God by their rejection and repudiation of Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promised Messiah. And because of that reality, John commanded the members of the church at Ephesus to keep the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel that they had heard from the very beginning of their relationship with Jesus at the center of their lives.

John then explained that if the members of the church kept the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel that they had heard from the very beginning of their relationship with Jesus at the center of their lives, the result would be that they would experience an ongoing connection and community with God the Father and Jesus. John here is basically saying to the members of the church at Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history “If the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel that you heard remain in you, then you will remain in close connection and community with both Jesus and God the Father”.  John then concludes this section of his letter by revealing to the readers of this letter of a reason behind this letter in 1 John 2:26-27:

²⁶ These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. ²⁷ As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

Now to fully understand what John is saying in these verses, we first need to understand what John is not saying. John is not saying that followers of Jesus do not need to have any pastors or teachers in their lives. John is not saying that followers of Jesus do not need anyone to teach them about Jesus.

Because, if that was the case, if followers of Jesus do not need pastors or teachers; if followers of Jesus do not need anyone to teach them about Jesus, then why is John even writing this letter? If all we need is the Holy Spirit, then why do we even have the Bible? John’s point here is that the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the life of a person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus will confirm and affirm the teaching of true teachers of the message and teaching of the letters that make up the Bible.

John’s point here is that the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the life of a person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus will expose the teaching of false teachers who were opposing the message and teaching of the letters that make up the Bible. John is calling the members of the church at Ephesus to remember that they have the anointing of the Holy Spirit which teaches them all things that are true about Jesus so that they do not need these false teachers to teach them anything that lines up in opposition to the message and teaching of Jesus.

And because of that reality, John commanded the members of the church at Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to allow the Holy Spirit, and what the Holy Spirit had confirmed and affirmed to remain in them, so that they would remain in close connection and community with both Jesus and God the Father.  And it is here, in this section of this letter, that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to connecting in true community. And that timeless truth is this: Our answer to the question “Who is Jesus?” determines whether or not we experience true community and connection with God and others. 

Just as it was for followers of Jesus in John’s day; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history; Our answer to the question “Who is Jesus?” determines whether or not we experience true community and connection with God and others. This morning, the timeless reality is that we experience true community and connection with God and others as a result of responding to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader. You see, the most important question that any and every person will ask and answer is the question “Who is Jesus?”

Those who answer the question “Who is Jesus?” by claiming that that Jesus was not the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah who would provide all humanity the opportunity to be rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separated them from God so that they could experience forgiveness and the relationship with God that they were created for reveal the reality that they have repudiated and rejected the relationship with God that they were created for. Those who answer the question “Who is Jesus?” by claiming that that Jesus was not the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah who would provide all humanity the opportunity to be rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separated them from God so that they could experience forgiveness and the relationship with God that they were created for reveal the reality that they are still in opposition to God and His kingdom mission as a result of their selfishness and rebellion.

Those who answer the question “Who is Jesus?” by responding to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader reveal the reality that they have been rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separated them from God so that they could experience forgiveness and the relationship in communion with God and in community with others that they were created for. And as followers of Jesus, we are to allow what the Holy Spirit has confirmed and affirmed about the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to remain at the center of our lives, so that we will remain in close community and connection with both Jesus and God the Father. 

So here is a question to consider: How have you answered the question “Who is Jesus”? Is Jesus just a good moral teacher? Or is Jesus God-in-a-bod who is the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah to provide all humanity the opportunity to be rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separated them from God so that they could experience forgiveness and the relationship with God that they were created for?

Are you allowing what the Holy Spirit has confirmed and affirmed about the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel remain at the center of your lives, so that we will remain in close community and connection with both Jesus and God the Father?

Because the timeless reality is that our answer to the question “Who is Jesus?” determines whether or not we experience true community and connection with God and others...

Who is a part of the visible church and who is part of the invisible church?

This week we are looking at a section of this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 John. Yesterday we looked on as John revealed the reality that while the antichrist, the last great world leader who will place himself in opposition to God and His kingdom mission that we read about in the Book of Revelation, has not yet appeared, there are already present those who possess the same spirit as the spirit of the antichrist and are adversaries to God and His kingdom mission.

And some people who possess this same spirit of rebellion and opposition to God and His kingdom mission that would come from the antichrist will come from within the community of the church. There will be those who profess to have a relationship and connection with Jesus and appear as part of the visible church, but in reality, do not have a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus.

And because of that reality, these antichrists who had left the church at Ephesus and were trying to influence others to leave the church, had revealed the reality of their true spiritual condition by leaving and forsaking community and connection with the church. John’s point is that true followers of Jesus would have remained and continued in connection and community in His church.

Now a natural question that arises here is “Well Dave, if that John is saying is true, then how can we know who is a part of the visible church and who is part of the invisible church? How can we know who is really in possession of a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus and who is simply professing that they have a relationship with Jesus? How can we know who has true connection with God and who is actually opposed to God?

If that question is running through your mind, I want to let you know that you are asking a great question. And fortunately for us, we see John provide the answer to that question is what he says next. So let’s look at what John says next, beginning in 1 John 2:20-25:

²⁰ But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. ²¹ I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. ²² Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. ²³ Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴ As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.

Now when John states “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know”, John is revealing the reality that it is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the life of a person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus that empowers them to know the truth about Jesus and the message of the gospel.

And it is the truth of the message of the gospel which John talks about in verse 21. When John uses the word truth, this word refers to the truth of the message and teaching of Jesus that forms the basis of Christianity. John’s point in verse 21 is twofold.

First, John explains that he had written this letter to the members of the church at Ephesus because they know the factual reality about the message and teaching of Jesus that forms the basis of Christianity. In other words, they know the truth about what it means to experience a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus. Second, John explains that he had written this letter to the members of the church at Ephesus because they know that no lie is of the truth. John is reminding the members of the church at Ephesus that lies and truth cannot coexist. This morning, either something is true, or it is a lie. Two contrary claims cannot be equally true. One claim is true, and one claim is false.

John then applied this reality to the circumstances that were occurring at the church at Ephesus and that still can occur today in verse 22. If John was writing verse 22 and 23 in the language that we use in our culture today, these verses would sound something like this: “Who is the liar but the one who claims that Jesus was not the fulfillment of God’s promise to send the Messiah? This is the one who places themselves in opposition to God as an antichrist, the one who rejects and repudiates God the Father and Jesus His Son. Whoever rejects and repudiates Jesus as the Messiah does not have a genuine relationship and connection with God the Father. However, the one who pledges allegiance to Jesus as the Messiah has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus and with God the Father also.”

John is calling the members of the church at Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to recognize those who are antichrists and who oppose God and the kingdom of God by their rejection and repudiation of Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promised Messiah. And because of that reality, in verse 24, John commanded the members of the church at Ephesus to let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning.

In other words, John was commanding the members of the church at Ephesus to keep the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel that they had heard from the very beginning of their relationship with Jesus at the center of their lives. John then explained that if the members of the church kept the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel that they had heard from the very beginning of their relationship with Jesus at the center of their lives, the result would be that they would experience an ongoing connection and community with God the Father and Jesus.

John here is basically saying to the members of the church at Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history “If the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel that you heard remain in you, then you will remain in close connection and community with both Jesus and God the Father”.  John then concludes this section of his letter by revealing to the readers of this letter of a reason behind this letter.

Friday we will discover that reason together…

Profession vs. Possession...

At the church where I serve we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled Connect. During this series, we are looking at a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 John. During this series, we are going to discover the components that make for true connection and community. During this series, we are going to discover the landmines and roadblocks that keep us from true connection and community. And as we go through this series, our hope and our prayer is that God would move by the power of the Holy Spirit in our heads, hearts, and hands, in a way that moves us to the place where we can experience the connection and community with God and one another that we were created and designed to experience.  

This week I would like for us to spend our time together picking up where we left off two weeks ago. And as we jump into the next section of this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of John, we will see John reveal for us another timeless truth when it comes to how we can experience the connection and community with God and one another that we were created and designed to experience. So let’s jump into the next section of this letter together, beginning in 1 John 2:18-19:

Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. ¹⁹ They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.

Now to fully understand what John is communicating for us in these verses, we first need to ask and answer a few questions. The first question that we need to ask and answer is “What does John mean when he states that it is the last hour?” In the letters that make up the Bible, the phrase “last hour” or “last days” refer to the final chapters of God’s story here on earth, which began with Jesus entry into humanity and will conclude with Jesus return to earth. So, with this phrase, John is reminding the members of the church at Ephesus, who were very near and dear to his heart, that they were part of the final and climactic chapters of God’s story on earth.

Now that leads us to the second question that we need to ask and answer, which is “who is John referring to when he states, “you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared?” When John refers to the antichrist, he is reminding the members of the church at Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history, that at the very end of God’s story here on earth, a great world leader will appear who will place himself in opposition to God and the kingdom of God and will demand to be worshipped as God. In another letter that John wrote that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of Revelation, we see John go into great detail regarding what will happen in the final chapter of God’s story here on earth, when the antichrist will appear and lead rebellious humanity in opposition to God.

However, John explains that while the antichrist, the last great world leader who will place himself in opposition to God and His kingdom mission that we read about in the Book of Revelation, has not yet appeared, there are already present those who possess the same spirit as the spirit of the antichrist and are adversaries to God and His kingdom mission. And these antichrists will be present until Jesus returns to earth.

And as we get closer to the end of God’s story on earth, the adversaries of Jesus Christ will continue to become more and more hostile to God and the kingdom of God. And because of that reality, John explained that is how we can be sure that we are living in the final chapters of God’s story here on earth.

Now that leads us to the next question that we need to ask and answer, which is “What is john talking about in verse 19? They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us?” As we discovered earlier in this series, there were some people who had left the church at Ephesus and were trying to influence others to leave the church at Ephesus.

There were some people who had attended the church at one time, but had left the church who were claiming that you could have close connection with God while living their day to day lives in a way that is marked by moral and spiritual darkness as a result of selfishness and rebellion against God. There were some people who had attended the church at one time, but had left the church, who were proclaiming that they were not guilty of selfishly rebelling against God and others.  There were some people who had attended the church at one time, but had left the church, who were proclaiming that one could have close connection with God while living a life that was in disobedience to the commands and demands of Jesus. There were some people who had attended the church at one time, but had left the church, who were proclaiming that one could have close connection with God while finding their identity in what the world offered instead of what Jesus offered.

With this phrase, John is revealing the reality that some people who possess this same spirit of rebellion and opposition to God and His kingdom mission will come from within the community of the church. But how could that be? The phrase they went out literally means to discontinue an association, in this case to leave the church community. When John states that they were not of us, he is stating that while they were part of the visible church, which is who we see in church on Sundays, they were not a part of what is referred to as the invisible church, which are those who have a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus.

John’s point is that these antichrists had at one time made a profession of faith in Jesus, but had abandoned that profession and were campaigning against Jesus and His kingdom. And this morning, the reality is that there will be those who profess to have a relationship and connection with Jesus and appear as part of the visible church, but in reality, do not have a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus. And because of that reality, these antichrists who had left the church at Ephesus and were trying to influence others to leave the church, had revealed the reality of their true spiritual condition by leaving and forsaking community and connection with the church. John’s point is that true followers of Jesus would have remained and continued in connection and community in His church.

Now a natural question that arises here is “Well Dave, if that John is saying is true, then how can we know who is a part of the visible church and who is part of the invisible church? How can we know who is really in possession of a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus and who is simply professing that they have a relationship with Jesus? How can we know who has true connection with God and who is actually opposed to God?

If that question is running through your mind, I want to let you know that you are asking a great question. And fortunately for us, we see John provide the answer to that question is what he says next.

Tomorrow we will look at what John says next…