Meeting 11/26/11
It seems 1John was written to us for building our confidence and encouraging us to continue in our faith in Jesus. "Remain in Him, Stay in the light, Walk as Jesus did, etc." And there will be that great reward of heaven and fellowship with Jesus for eternity. Sin had entered the world. God countered with Jesus. He is the antedate and the complete atonement for all of the world's sin. He is the answer to our sin problem. There is an admission that we will still sin, but the distinction is made that after we've been changed into new creations, we will no longer participate in a lifestyle of sin. Our mindsets and attitudes are different. We now want fellowship with Jesus and with the other disciples. We are no longer our own. We live for so much more. He lives through us! (This is why there is an exclamation point after 1John 3:1 when the author gets so excited about this amazing love that the God of creation has for us as His children!) It's this love that inspires true heart change. It inspires true love. It is the most powerful force in the universe. And this is the love He calls us to walk and live in as His disciples. It's the message of Chapter 2. For the purpose of lifting us up, he states that we know that we know Him if we obey His commands. What are His commands about? Love. Tough, true love. It's easy to love those that love us, but good luck loving the unlovable, the outcast, the unpopular, the different beliefs, etc. It gets messy, doesn't it? A lot of folks don't want to get messy anymore. They seem to stray from the afflicted or problem infested relationships. In fact, we too quickly move from our problem jobs, marriages, churches, friendships, etc. There is a time to leave, but it seems we move away too quickly, without giving the Lord's timing a chance to bring His will to reality. Further, in verse 5, he claims God's love is made complete in us if we obey His word. What is His word? In one way, His word is Jesus, with a capital 'W'. So we are to obey Him. That indicates there is a greater-lesser relationship present. He is our Papa. He is our authority. He is our master. This is a truly loving, safe, trustworthy, faithful relationship. Secondly, His word is His teachings or actual words. These are the words of life He has left us with in the Bible. This is the map, the handbook, the love letter, etc. We are to hold on to these teachings as if they are our life. Our life actually depends on abiding in them. So in both cases, we are to love Him and His word. We should be cherishing both aspects of the relationship. We should adore them and cherish them. We should hold them dearly close to us.
The next point made is about loving your brother (v9-11). If we love our brothers, we live in the light, we are of the light, and we are loving perfectly. Remember Jesus had much to say about loving our brothers. The image is contrasted to a blind person walking around aimlessly, stumbling in the dark like a liar that won't admit they are in the wrong.
I don't know for sure why the next part of the passage is so uniquely separate from the rest, but I recognize the same passion meant to encourage the readers (v. 12-14). Whether you are a child or father or young man, these are pointed words of encouragement to hang in there and continue. They are words directed at the heart, realizing the power of the opposition in perilous times. It might be better quoted with exclamation points following each sentence and shouted out with great passion. It's the heart that is for you and I to make it and finish this race.
Now comes the next command in the negative sense: 'do not love the world or anything in the world'. (v 15-17). Previously, the author encouraged us to love God and His people, but here he is saying what not to love. With the greater reward of our heavenly life in view, he warns that loving the world's vision of success and self-gratification is a dead end, unworthy of our best efforts, and unheralded by God Himself. Pursuing the sinful, selfish ways is not considered profitable to man. God is not very fond of it and calls us to so much more. God is vying for our love. He longs for our response to be positive and agreeable, just as a man longs for that same response from his wife.
Chapter 2 concludes with the warnings about the end times and antichrist spirits in the world. It is an honest realization that there is great opposition to our faith. We must be aware of the battle going on around us. The spirit of the antichrist wants to destroy anything precious to God. It wants to pervert and twist all of His truths. It hates anything Godly, including our relationships. We must continue in Him and remain true to Him. Hang in there and keep the faith in Christ alive and on fire in our hearts. We got to know that we know what we know what we ought to know! Have confidence in our Saviour. Let Him develop your identity in Him. May no other influence or vision of success define who you are, save Christ. He, alone, is our esteem, identity, and confidence. He is the only One we can truly lose ourselves to and be truly, completely discovered and found in. How? Because He is the only One who really loves us perfectly! (a sneak peak into next week, Chapter 3)
