Sep5-11: Important Themes in 1 John

Teaching Points

1. According to 1 John, what has God done for us, and what is being done now for us?

ANSWER: Jesus died for us on Calvary and interceding for us in the heavenly sanctuary.

• 1 John 1:9 Forgiveness and Cleansing through the blood of Jesus
• 1 John 2:1, 2 Jesus is the Advocate and Propitiation for our sins
• 1 John 2:27 Jesus teaching us through the anointing
• 1 John 3:8 Jesus was sent to destroy the works of the devil
• 1 John 4:8-9 Jesus was sent to us that we might live through Him
• 1 John 4:10 Sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins
• 1 John 5:11 To give us eternal life through Jesus Christ
• 1 John 5:14 God will hear us through Jesus

OBSERVATION:

Notice the sanctuary message in the following verses

• 1 John 1:9 "Through the blood of Jesus" (The Altar of Burnt Sacrifice) forgiveness (Daily Service) and cleansing (Yearly Service, cleansing means blotting out sin during the day of atonement) are possible.
• 1 John 2:1, 2 Jesus is our Advocate (High Priest-Advocate means intercessor and the work of intercession is done by the High Priest, Heb. 7:25, 26)
• 1 John 2:27 The anointing is the Holy Spirit (John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come). The Holy Spirit will teach and guide us into all truth. But what truth? Read John 16:8-11. The Holy Spirit will teach especially about "sin", "righteousness", and "judgment". See how sin, righteousness, and judgment are sanctuary theme as well. Sin-the blood of Jesus can forgive and cleanse our sins. Righteousness-Jesus goes to His Father to complete righteousness for us through "the daily"(Holy Place) and "the yearly"(Most Holy Place) services. Judgment- the antitypical Day of Atonement is the day of judgment. At the end of the investigative of judgment, Satan will receive his final judgment. And then he will be in "prison" for 1000 years and then he will be executed.
• Sanctuary theme is not an obvious theme in 1 John however I do see subtle reflection of sanctuary in 1 John.
  

2. What imagery is found in the book that better helps us understand what the church should be all about?

ANSWER: The church is God's family on earth.

• 1 John 2:9-11 The church should be a light of the world. And that light is love.
• 1 John 2:13, 14 The church has "little children", "young men", and "fathers". The church is a family.
• 1 John 2:1, 18, 28 The church is God's little children
• 1 John 3:1 The church is the sons of God on earth.

OBSERVATION:

• The plan of salvation is more than saving us from sin. It is more than forgiving our sins. It is more than giving us power to overcome sin. It is more than receiving immortality. It is more than going to heaven. It is much more than all of these. We are called the sons of God living in the presence of God forever and ever.

3. According to the following texts, how are we given salvation?

ANSWER: Salvation comes only through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

• 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness
• 1 John 2:2 Jesus is the propitiation for our sins
• 1 John 4:9, 10 God sent Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins.

OBSERVATION:

• There is a connection between forgiveness, cleansing and propitiation.
• Propitiation means atonement or expiator.
• Salvation is based upon what Jesus did. Jesus paid and suffered the consequence of sin to it's full punishment. Jesus has made the satisfactory sacrifice for our sins that Jesus can forgive and cleanse us from our sins.
• The final work of atonement is to blot out our sins. Therefore the point of complete salvation comes when the blood of Jesus blots out our sins from the book of the record. This is an amazing grace of God!

4. Review the following texts and summarize what they teach us about ethical behavior.

ANSWER: Love the children of God and keep His commandments

• 1 John 1:7 Walk in the light as Jesus is in the light
• 1 John 2:1 Sin not
• 1 John 2:15, 16 Love not the world
• 1 John 3:4 Keep God's commandments
• 1 John 3:7 Follow righteousness
• 1 John 3:15 Hate not your brother
• 1 John 3:17, 18 Show compassion
• 1 John 4:7 Love one another
• 1 John 5:2, 3 Keep God's commandments\

OBSERVATION:

• We can clearly see the connection between light, love, commandments, and righteousness.
• Therefore we cannot separate them. If you have one then you have to have the others.
• For example. If you love God then you have the light, keep His commandments, love your brother and follow righteousness.
• Based upon the connections above, try to answer below discussion question.

DISCUSSION:

• What do the following verses are really saying?
• Matt. 5:14 "You are the light of the world"
• Matt. 6:33 "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness"
  

5. What does John teach about truth?

ANSWER: Truth is clear, simple, and absolute. Truth demands action because truth is not merely a theory but life changing power.

• 1 John 2:4 You have the truth if you keep God's commandments
• 1 John 2:21 There is no lie in the truth
• 1 John 3:17, 18, 19 You have the truth if you show compassion to your brother
• 1 John 4:6, 7 You have the truth if you know God. You know God if you love one another
• 1 John 5:20 It is true that we can know God and we can be in God.
  

OBSERVATION:

• Truth is always truth.
• Truth cannot be changed.
• There is a close connection between truth and obedience.
• Truth is 100% truth and nothing but truth.
• Truth can be discovered as we learn to know God.
• Truth and love cannot be separated.
• Truth will always lead you to true love.
• True love will always lead you to truth.

CONCLUSION:

• The theme of the 1 John is pretty simple and clear. The fellowship of the light means walking in the truth. That truth can only be found in Jesus Christ the Son of God. Therefore in order to be in the fellowship of the light, you must know the Son of God. And you can claim to know the Son of God if you love your brother. If you love your brother then you are keeping His commandments. And if you are keeping His commandments then you are born of God. However the fellowship of darkness does not look evil from outside. The fellowship of darkness also claim to have the truth but they do not really love one another, they do not really keep God's commandments, and they do not really believe that Jesus is the Son of God. The fellowship of darkness is the spirit of antichrist. Therefore John is making a clear contrast between the fellowship of the light and the darkness in his epistle.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

• What is your goal for having a church fellowship?
• How do you achieve that goal?
• What is lacking in our church fellowship?
• How can we make our church fellowship better?
• What is God's purpose for our Christian fellowship?
• Is it possible to develop Christian character without Christian fellowship?