An Overview of 1 John
1 John is a book that reminds us to obey God’s and Jesus’s word fully, to love one another, and to overcome lies with the truth. We should act and speak as true children of God. Let’s learn to understand, obey, and love as we are commanded.
Walking in Light and Life
In the first two chapters of this letter, the apostle John reaffirms that Jesus Christ did not come on his own but came from God. He [Jesus] is the Word made flesh (John 1:14) who came to give the true light, which is the word of life, the revealed word. John speaks his testimony about Jesus being from God because he saw and heard Jesus as one of the 12 disciples. He wishes that believers today also believe this (have fellowship) so they, too, have complete joy.
John then writes about walking in the light. What does this mean? According to 1 John 1:5, God is light. If we walk in the light, then we walk according to God’s Word. Who spoke God’s word? It is Jesus. So, if we keep Jesus’s words, we keep God’s words and thus walk in the light. The next verse goes on to say that if one says they believe, but walk in darkness, they do not have the truth in them (1 John 1:6, John 14:23-24). If we claim to believe in God and Jesus and also obey their teachings, then we truly have the light in us and we are forgiven of our sin. Yet, if people think they’re not sinful, they make Jesus a liar and they don’t have the word (of truth) in them.
Christ Our Advocate
John reminds us that if we do sin, we have an advocate before the Father – Jesus Christ. Jesus is the one who ransomed us by his blood on the cross, and by his righteousness, we can receive forgiveness for sin. Jesus is the advocate, meaning he speaks on our behalf (like how a lawyer speaks on behalf of their client in a court of law). John says if we confess our sin, God will forgive our sins on behalf of Christ because his blood atoned for our sin.
Believers must remain [faithful] to the words of Jesus and God out of love. John reminds us that if we say we know him but don’t keep his commands, then we are a liar. The apostle James said faith without works is dead (Jas 2:14) – meaning believing but not acting on that belief. Jesus also said that those who love him keep his commandments (John 14:23).
Love One Another
Jesus taught his disciples to love one another as Christ loved them and give their lives for them (John 15:12-13). Love is one of the key themes in the Bible, and in chapter 4 of this book, we are told about love and those who love belong to God.
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
1 John 4:7-8
God loved us and sent Christ Jesus to die for our sin so we could receive forgiveness and eternal life. If we love one another, we have God’s spirit in us, but if we don’t love one another. then God’s spirit is not in us. We must love one another as God and Christ commanded us.
“We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”
1 John 4:19-21
Even in other letters by the Apostle Paul, Christians are told to love one another and love God. Romans 13 mentions how love is the fulfillment of the law – meaning by loving others, we don’t do anything to harm them (breaking the law). If we truly love God and Jesus, we will keep their commandments – and their commandments aren’t burdensome (1 John 5:3). This means that we are to believe and obey what God said through Jesus.
Children of God
In chapter 3, John addresses us, the readers, as children – not like physical children – but spiritual children. A child is born of their father’s seed, and in the Bible, there are two kinds of seed. We have God’s seed and the devil’s seed. What makes us children of God or of the devil? It has to do with whose seed we’ve been born of. In Matthew 13:24-30 and 13:38-39, we read about two kinds of seed being sown and the promise of the harvest. Those born of God’s seed, are God’s sons, and are harvested, and those born of the devil’s seed, are the devil’s sons, and remain in the field. God’s seed is the word (Luke 8:11), and the devil’s seed is his word (John 8:44).
John reminds us of the difference between God’s sons and the devil’s sons like this:
“Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”
1 John 3:8-10
God’s children do not sin, meaning they obey God’s word, whereas the devil’s children do not obey and commit sin. In chapter 5, John distinguishes two types of sin; sin that leads to death and sin that does not lead to death.
“If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.”1 John 5:16-18
Do you think that death talked about here is physical or spiritual? God told Adam to not eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, otherwise, they would surely die (Genesis 2:17). Adam ate. Then what died first, the flesh or the spirit? In Revelation 20:11-15 we read of the final judgment before the throne, and there it mentions the “second death”, the lake of fire – hell. Children of God do not commit the sin of betraying the new covenant unlike the previous chosen people (Hosea 6:7). Instead, they remain faithful and keep the new covenant until the end and are saved.
Testing the Spirits
Chapter 4, verses 1 to 6 are very important for Christians today. There are so many different things that are said or taught about Christianity, and not all of it is true. Jesus warned us about this in Matthew 24:4-5 when he said,
And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.”
John says this,
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world… They are from the world; therefore, they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.”
1 John 4:1, 5
What does this mean? We can’t see, feel, hear, or touch spirits, so how can we test them? Jesus said in John 6:63 that his word is spirit. There is God’s spirit and the devil’s spirit. So, if there is God’s word, there is also the devil’s word. God’s word is true (Proverbs 30:5). The devil’s word is false (John 8:44), but it sounds like it could be true. The devil’s a crafty serpent-like it says in Genesis 3, and he twisted God’s word to make it seem true, seem right but was in fact false. Also, he has people who walk and talk like God’s people, but instead speak lies.
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.”
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
So, what must we do? We must train our spiritual ears to discern truth from lies. In the book of Job it says,
“for the ear tests words as the palate tastes food. Let us choose what is right; let us know among ourselves what is good.”
Job 34:3-4
We must study the Bible and understand it plainly and fully so we can discern the devil’s lies from God’s true word.
“We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error”
1 John 4:6
We Must Overcome
The last chapter of this letter reminds us of what we must do as believers in Christ. Christ overcame the devil, the world, and himself at the first coming. We, too, must overcome the world, the devil, and ourselves in our lives of faith. If we overcome, we know we have been born of God’s seed.
“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
1 John 5:4-5
Overcoming the world doesn’t mean actual world conquest. It means overcoming the world of lies and false teachings with the truth of God’s word. When we believe and obey the truth of God’s word, we become born of God’s seed (James 1:18, 1 Peter 1:23). We are reminded that the devil is in control of the world (1 John 5:19), and that Jesus, who was God’s son, came to give us understanding (of God’s word). The final words remind us to keep ourselves from idols, or false teachers, according to Habakkuk 2:18-19.
1 John is a book that reminds us to obey God’s and Jesus’s word fully, to love one another, and to overcome lies with the truth. We should act and speak as true children of God. Let’s learn to understand, obey, and love as we are commanded.
Written by Kenny
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