| Teacher: Rusty Kennedy Series: 1 John |
Rusty's Notes | |
Apollos and Zenas travel to Crete and deliver Paul’s letter to Titus.
Year: A.D. 65
From: Ephesus
To: The churches in Asia Minor
Provocation: Christ is Life, Light, and Love, and He has come in the flesh and was seen, heard, and handled by John himself.
PROLOGUE: OUR DECLARATION
1 JOHN 1
1 What was from the beginning, (the very first day), what we have heard (with our own ears), what we have seen with our (own) eyes, what we have observed and have touched (verified) with our (own) hands, concerning the word of life--2 that life was revealed, (before our eyes) and we have seen it (saw it happen) and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us--
FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare (passing on) to you: God is light (pure light), and there is absolutely no (trace of) darkness in him.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (2 Ti 1:16). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Viola, Frank. The Untold Story of the New Testament Church. Destiny Image Publishers, 2004. pp.163-164.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Jn 1:14). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Jn 8:12). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Jn 12:35–36). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. 1 John 1.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Ro 6:10). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[9] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 7:27). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[10] Christian Standard Bible (1 Jn 1:1–10). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[11] Christian Standard Bible (Eph 5:8–10). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
- Paul travels to Nicopolis, Greece and spends the winter there.
- He plants a church in Nicopolis—a community who reflects God’s nature.
- Paul sends Tychicus to replace Titus in Crete.
- When Tychicus arrives, Titus joins Paul in Nicopolis and helps him found the new church.
- When winter is over, Paul and Titus head off to Corinth to check on the church there.
- They then head for Ephesus and ask Erastus to join them.
- Erastus, however, cannot go so he stays in Corinth. (2 Timothy 4:20 - Erastus has remained at Corinth;[1])
- The Neronian persecution continues to spread beyond Rome.
- On his way to Ephesus, Paul is arrested and taken back to Rome where he is imprisoned again.
- Paul is not enjoying house arrest as he did in his first imprisonment.
- Rather, he is put in the Mamertine dungeon (Rome’s state prison) awaiting trial.
- Paul spent as much as 25% of his apostolic ministry in prison.
- Although he can receive visitors, it is very difficult to locate him.
- An Ephesian believer named Onesiphorus hunts for Paul in Rome.
- He finally finds him and refreshes Paul in prison, not being ashamed of his imprisonment.
- Also, Tychicus, Demas, Titus, and a man named Crescens find Paul and stay with him for a time.
- 2 Timothy 1:16 - May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.[2]
- Noting that war is on the horizon, Jews from the churches in Palestine begin to migrate to the churches in Asia Minor.
- Among them are Philip and his four daughters who relocate to the church in Hierapolis. (their tombs were located in this town.)
- John the Apostle Moves to Ephesus
- With Paul in prison, John the apostle comes to Ephesus and joins Timothy.
- John sends some of his coworkers to minister to the churches in Asia Minor.
- In one of these churches, a self-appointed demagogue named Diotrephes rejects John’s ministry along with the men John has sent to help the church.
- Diotrephes’ lust to have first place in the church is so extreme that he accuses John with wicked words and excommunicates those brethren who desire to receive the workers whom John has sent.
- The heresy that liberty is license to sin has crept into the churches in Asia Minor also.
- False prophets have risen up in the churches in Asia Minor and are spreading the heresy.
- These false prophets are “antichrists.”
- They have left the churches and have undermined the foundations of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- However, they are still in contact with the believers and are leading some of them astray with their deviant gospel.
- Here is what they are teaching: The material world of matter is evil.
- Therefore, the Divine Christ could not have come to the earth in human flesh.
- He rather came in spirit and only seemed to be touchable human flesh.
- This denial of the Lord’s incarnation later came to be known as Docetism.
- Docetism is the belief that Christ could not possibly dwell in a human body.
- His body must have “seemed” to be human.
- Gnostics did not believe that Jesus came in the flesh.
- Jesus was not the Son of God.
- Since salvation means deliverance from the physical world, including the physical body, it does not matter how a person behaves in their bodies.
- Since sin is part of the material world, sin does not exist for the Christian.
- We (the false prophets) are sinless.
- We (the false prophets) have special insight from God’s Spirit to see these deeper truths.
- As a consequence of embracing this false gospel, some of the brethren are exhibiting hatred toward one another.
- Others are claiming that they have never sinned and that sin does not exist.
- John is burdened to write a gospel that portrays the real Christ, and several letters that specifically deal with the crisis in Asia Minor.
Year: A.D. 65
From: Ephesus
To: The churches in Asia Minor
Provocation: Christ is Life, Light, and Love, and He has come in the flesh and was seen, heard, and handled by John himself.
- John refutes the present heresy that has spread in Asia Minor at every point by revealing God’s nature in Christ.
- The fruit of that nature is love for the brethren and the refusal to habitually practice sin.
- All Christians have received insight (“knowledge”) from the Holy Spirit, and all have the anointing of the Spirit to teach them truth.
- John exhorts the fathers, the young men, and the children in the church to abide in Christ.
- He closes the letter by exhorting the believers to guard themselves against false conceptions of God (“idols”).[3]
- Tom Landy stories
- If John could sit and tell you stories and show you pics… it would look like this…
- First time I laid on eyes on Jesus.
- Well let me back up a second… John the Baptist…
- Called to follow…
- Water to wine…
- Try convincing people of something incredible through a letter…
PROLOGUE: OUR DECLARATION
1 JOHN 1
1 What was from the beginning, (the very first day), what we have heard (with our own ears), what we have seen with our (own) eyes, what we have observed and have touched (verified) with our (own) hands, concerning the word of life--2 that life was revealed, (before our eyes) and we have seen it (saw it happen) and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us--
- John uses sensory descriptions to make the argument that Jesus did come in the flesh.
- In order to have fellowship with God (be saved), this concept needed to be received.
- This means that John was speaking to a mixed group of people-believers and unbelieving Gnostics or people who were being influenced by Gnosticism.
- The “we” in the passage is a general designation of the people he’s addressing.
- Those in the group who commit the Gnostic heresy are not true Christians and therefore need to repent for salvation.
- The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.
- John 1:14 - The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.[4]
- Jesus is the Word made flesh. He is the full expression of God in tangible, human form.
- This physicality of Jesus demonstrates God’s compatibility with our humanity.
- We saw it, we heard it, and now we're telling you so you can experience it along with us.
- John is writing these words so that his audience has fellowship with fellow Christians and apostles.
- This fellowship is also with the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
- When we believe in Jesus we join a community of people who have been united with the Trinity.
- We are communing with both.
- Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!
- Nothing would make John happier than to see these false teachers turn from their heresy and believe the truth.
- In this we see the heart of God for His lost creation.
FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare (passing on) to you: God is light (pure light), and there is absolutely no (trace of) darkness in him.
- John is separating the light from the darkness and consequently the difference between the saved, who are of God, and the unsaved who are not.
- There were people in the church who were not actually saved even if they appeared to be so.
- The Gnostics, for example, were Christian heretics, meaning they subscribed to some of the same language present within Christianity but deviated by rejecting the physicality of Jesus as well as the problem of sin.
- John 8:12 – Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”[5]
- John 12:35-36 - Jesus answered, “The light will be with you only a little longer. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. The one who walks in darkness doesn’t know where he’s going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become children of light.”[6]
- Those who walk in the light are true believers.
- John is not talking about Christians being constantly in and out of fellowship with God.
- He is addressing people who are either permanently in fellowship with God through a reception of the true Gospel, or people who were perpetually rejecting Jesus and therefore in the darkness.
- Those who are in Christ are perfectly cleaned by the blood of Christ.
- However, those who deny the physicality of Jesus necessarily reject the blood of Christ which comes from a physical body.
- A claim like that is errant nonsense.
- True Christians will never be in denial of the reality of sin.
- John is, therefore, addressing Gnostics who do deny the reality of sin.
- These Gnostics needed to confess their sins in order to be cleansed and forgiven.
- He won’t let us down; He’ll be true to Himself)
- Purge us of all wrongdoing.
- While 1 John 1:9 is often used as a reassurance for believers who confess their sins, this is not the best way to interpret the verse.
- Furthermore, it’s actually not very reassuring to state that the believer’s ongoing forgiveness is based on the ability to remember sin and confess it.
- Another problem is it creates a two-tiered view of forgiveness.
- We believe that we are forgiven positionally in Christ but not relationally.
- That’s why we need 1 John 1:9.
- But the reality is God has a blood-based economy (see Hebrews 9:22; Hebrews 7:27), and John was thinking about the blood of Christ while he was addressing the topic (1 John 5:7).
- John was not speaking of confession as a means of becoming more forgiven.
- He was inviting Gnostics to recognize their sinfulness so that they could be saved.
- Gnostics were in denial of the reality of sin.
- Those who denied the reality of sin (verse 8 and 10) did not contain the truth of God or the word of God within them.
- They were not Christians.
- However, all who confess their sins are cleansed from all unrighteousness, not just some, and forgiven perfectly for all sin.
- Confession, therefore, is not a tool prescribed by John for Christians to somehow become more forgiven.
- Confession is how one enters into the true faith.
- In order to be saved, we must recognize our sins.
- After all, this is step 1 to becoming a Christian.
- We need to recognize that we need salvation from sin.
- Once we believe in Jesus we are perfectly cleansed by the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7).
- All who believe in Jesus have the truth of God and the word of God living within them (see also 2 John 1:2).[7]
- Romans 6:10 – For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God.[8]
- Hebrews 7:27 - He doesn’t need to offer sacrifices every day, as high priests do—first for their own sins, then for those of the people. He did this once for all time when he offered himself.[9]
- We out-and-out contradict God.
- A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.
- Ephesians 5:8-10 - For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light--9 for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth--10 testing what is pleasing to the Lord.[11]
[2] Christian Standard Bible (2 Ti 1:16). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Viola, Frank. The Untold Story of the New Testament Church. Destiny Image Publishers, 2004. pp.163-164.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Jn 1:14). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Jn 8:12). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Jn 12:35–36). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. 1 John 1.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Ro 6:10). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[9] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 7:27). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[10] Christian Standard Bible (1 Jn 1:1–10). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[11] Christian Standard Bible (Eph 5:8–10). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
RSS Feed