Jude 1:1-11 - Be Forever Vigilant!

Jude 1:1-11

Greeting to the Called

1 Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,
To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:
2 Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Contend for the Faith

3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Old and New Apostates

5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

Hey Jude may have been a popular song about making sadness better, but the truth is that those who reject Christ cannot be made better after they die and face a certain judgment for their twisting of the gospel into outrageous and uncontrolled lusts while denying the Lord Jesus Christ who died that they might be saved from those sins.  Jude, the brother of James the apostle, wrote to the believers who were (and are) called by God our of sin’s reign over them (Romans 5:21, 6:18, 22-23), made holy or sanctified in the righteousness of Christ alone (an alien righteousness), and preserved in Jesus Christ until the end through judgment with a certain hope of salvation that cannot be lost or taken away.  The love, mercy, and peace of God is found in Christ and abounds in Him alone, but the opposite is held in store for those who reject Him and distort the good news into a license to sin.  Jude warned the true believers to be wary for those who rise up within the church to cause such mayhem and to be ready to defend the truth of the faith revealed in the gospel as settled already by the words given to the writers of the scriptures for us to base our faith firmly upon.  Anyone who adds to the gospel or changes it has already revealed their condemnation in rejecting the person and work of God’s Son.  These corrupters sneak into the church often unnoticed at first, and it takes a firm grasp of understanding on the doctrines of grace from the scriptures to be able to recognize and defend against them.  Jude recalls Old Testament examples of those who had disbelieved even after being brought out of the bondage of sin, just as the angels who fell from heaven after following the devil who rejected His sovereign authority over them.  These also will be spending eternity in torment in the lake of fire prepared for them (Matthew 25:41, 2 Peter 2:4, 9) as just reward for denying and defying the Lord God and His Son.  Men and women who likewise reject His Son will join these in that torment prepared for the devil and his deceiving angels urging people to defy His gospel until the end.  The fallen angels are said to be chained in darkness until the judgment.  We see the example of sinful Sodom and Gomorrah, and the others around them who gave themselves over to sexual immorality and “strange flesh” which reveals their condemnation for perverse sexual behavior such as homosexuality and even bestiality!  The Lord saved His people out of these sinful places and has reserved judgment for those practicing such abominations, no matter how hard the culture tries to dissuade us from holding to the truth.  Some rise up within the body who have crept in to similarly pervert the word of God and steer us from following in holiness and true righteousness of body and soul.  We are called to beware and vigilant and valiant for the truth in doctrine and practice as we see these defiling their bodies in immoral acts and rejecting the authorities of God and man put here by Him, in the church and in the world.  Such pursuers of sin defile themselves and try to pull others down with them as they corrupt their bodies and souls with destructive aims like Cain who murdered his brother over an acceptable sacrifice of worship to God and of Balaam’s greed and those of Korah who (Numbers 16:1-3, 31-32) defied the authority of the leader Moses put over them to lead them with God’s word and faced the consequences.  These dreamers pretend that God’s judgment will never happen and they continue in sin without repenting or turning to listen and accept Him.  May we be forever vigilant in the body to keep these from attacking (Acts 20:29-30) the sheep of the flock. 

3 John 1:1-13 - Pride and Praise

3 John 1:1-13

Greeting to Gaius

1 The Elder,

To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth:

2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Gaius Commended for Generosity

5 Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers, 6 who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well, 7 because they went forth for His name’s sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles. 8 We therefore ought to receive such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth.

Diotrephes and Demetrius

9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. 10 Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.

11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.

12 Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. And we also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true.

Farewell Greeting

13 I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink; 14 but I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face.

Peace to you. Our friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.

This short letter by the apostle and elder John, the apostle of love (John 21:7), this epistle deals with praise for the faithful and addresses the pride of the self-serving.  He praised Gaius for his prosperity in the truth, a lesson for those today who would twist this kind of prosperity into mere material possessions and wealth.  Because this faithful follower of Christ persevered in living in the truth, John prayed for that soul prosperity to echo into his health and meeting of needs as well, but not as the goal to pursue.  The testimony of others who saw Gaius in action brought the news to John and made his heart joyful of the truth in him and walked out by him.  This is our example as well to be living praiseworthy lives unto Christ as a testimony to God’s grace in Christ.  This love we are to display for others as John wrote extensively about in his first epistle should be moving us to showing compassion on strangers in meeting their needs (not wants) and not just fellow believers.  Their witness to God’s love through us will be carried on to wherever their feet lead them from us and give further glory to God and to the truth of the transformative gospel of changed lives reflecting God’s character in His Son as was displayed to us when He walked among us.  We also are to go into all the world as we are led that we work our way and not expect or demand support from those we minister to as the desire was commanded here.  Likewise, those who serve in ministry to us should be eagerly received with joy and love in return because we all are co-laborers (συνεργός, synergos) in the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  However, there are not all such faithful believers in our midst; the example is given of Diotrephes who was driven by prideful self-importance.  This man opposed those servants who ministered the gospel of love and peace, the very ones John had been praising for their faithfulness.  Diotrephes seemed to forget that Jesus Christ alone is preeminent (Colossians 1:18) and not himself!  John addressed this self-centered destructive behavior when he visited those in the church to whom he wrote here.  He exposed the slander and addressed how this deceiver had even kicked servants of the gospel out of the congregation to bolster his own pride and hide the truth with his lies against the brethren.  In stark contrast to this evil slanderer, John praised the faithful Demetrius whose life testified to the truth spoken and walked out by him to all.  This man was pointed out by the apostle as an example of how we all should live and serve God in contrast to the divisive and controlling deceiver.  He reminded the church to imitate what is good and not what is evil according to the word of God.  He reminded them and us that those who do evil have not even seen God.  They are not disciples of Christ because they do not know Him and are not known by Him.  They failed the test of love from John’s first letter as evidence of true conversion.  Those who do good echo God’s love in their lives as proof of their standing in Him.  In the end, John had to end the letter without saying so much more that he wanted to tell them and to hear from them about the Lord’s work in and through them, no doubt.  He would come and speak face to face in sweet and sincere fellowship in love and with a shepherds heart as he prayed for continued peace in midst of opposition from without and from within (Acts 20:29-30) the body and shared greetings and expectations of greetings from them.  May we be so engaged in the church as well as we observe pride and praise and deal with each accordingly in love. 

2 John 1:1-13 - Love the Elect in Christ

2 John 1:1-13

Greeting the Elect Lady

1 The Elder,

To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth, 2 because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:

3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

Walk in Christ’s Commandments

4 I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father. 5 And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. 6 This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

Beware of Antichrist Deceivers

7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.

9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; 11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.

John’s Farewell Greeting

12 Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.

13 The children of your elect sister greet you. Amen.

The elder who wrote this encouraging letter to a chosen woman in Christ and her children appears to be to an actual person representing a local church and its members.  He wrote of the truth and love for them because they know the truth of the gospel and person of Jesus Christ, the truth that never leaves or fades away.  This truth of the Lord abides forever in we who have come to know Him through repentance and faith and are now found in Christ and His righteousness alone.  To these and we who now read these words, we are given grace, mercy, and peace with God in the Father and Christ His Son by the understanding of His Spirit living in us and comforting each one.  The elder John goes on to share his joy in knowing some of them (not all, unfortunately) are indeed living and walking through life in obedience to the truth of all Jesus taught us (Matthew 28:20) to do beyond merely being saved from God’s wrath on our sin.  The commandments to follow are not burdensome but lightening to the load of life’s worries and give hope in peace with God through His sacrificial death which paid the price forever for us as the Passover Lamb of God whose lifeblood was shed on the tree of our cursing to cleanse us from all past, present, and future sins.  He then commands above all that we show godly and unconditional love to one another as a plea from the shepherd of a shepherd to the flock of wandering and sometimes self absorbed sheep.  This love is defined by keeping all His commands to follow and love Him first and others as ours as we recall from His words in Luke 10:27 and explained further in Romans 13:8, 10 for us to dwell on.  Galatians 5:14 goes even further to tell us that such love is the culmination and fulfilling of love the moral Law contained in the Ten Commandments.  This is the same commandment which they and we are to heed by living it out.  This letter also warns that there are some in the local body who are deceivers, antichrists who deny the deity of Christ Jesus who came in an actual body of a man (Philippians 2:7-8, 1 John 4:2-3) while still being God among us (1 Timothy 3:16), Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23).  Our reward is in taking God at His word in the person and work of the divine Son of God.  The warning extends to beware of those falsely professing Christ while denying His identity, work, and teaching because without adhering in the heart and mind to these truths we do not have God in truth and are still lost in our sins.  Such who teach contrary to Jesus Christ as the divine Son of God and man come to pay the full price for our sins are not to be taken in or even greeted in the name of Christ because they are opposed to Him in their denial.  This is a difficult saying that we need to understand and consider well.  In the end, we should greet one another in person who are in Christ by their confession of His divine person and saving work that our joy may also be full as John’s was like he told them here for reassurance and in love.  We are also to love and care for the elect of God in Christ who hold to the truth of this confession. 

1 John 5:14-21 - Final Words

1 John 5:14-21

Confidence and Compassion in Prayer

14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

Knowing the True—Rejecting the False

18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.

19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

Final words are given to us here at the end of the book by John to bolster our confidence of faith and spiritual understanding.  We have a certain confidence through conviction of the truth of the gospel and person of Jesus Christ by God’s Spirit living inside us who confirms the words of truth of this life.  This confidence assures us when we pray that Jesus hears and answers according to His word and will as we ask in trusting faith for our petitions.  Our prayers, however, must be according to His will with our lives practicing it as well (John 15:7, 1 John 3:22), and not just our misplaced or selfish desires (James 4:3) for our gain and not for God’s glory.  This is why the prosperity imitation gospel is no good news at all as it perverts prayer into self-serving idolatry in a sense.  True worship in spirit and truth seeks to live and pray for what is God’s will revealed in scripture.  This is our confidence then that when we pray for His will to be done on earth as in heaven we will see the answer as we prayed for.  We are also told to be careful who we pray for.  If someone is living a sin that ends in death due to an unrepentant mindset, we are told to refrain from praying for that sin until the person repents and seeks forgiveness from the Lord (1 John 1:9) first.  This does not mean that we cannot or should not pray for other sins of unrighteousness, just the ones heading towards the consequences of unrepentant behavior and hearts.  This is further explained by the fact that those truly born again by God do not seek to habitually practice sin without true repentance or remorse to God as evidenced by turning from sin to Him over and over.  It does not mean that anyone is sinless but that the direction and intention of our lives are set on righteous obedience through repentance and faith.  We therefore do not give opportunity to the devil who is our adversarial lion seeking to devour us (1 Peter 5:8) by keeping our path set away from sin to follow Him who leads and guides us (Psalm 31:3) for His name’s sake.  The entire world follows the deceiver but we follow the true and living Lord over all who made Himself known to us that we may understand and keep ourselves in Christ the Son of God who alone is true and perfectly sinless in divine righteousness.  This truly is the true God and eternal life as John summarizes here.  Since we worship Him, let us take heed to these final words as His children, “keep yourselves from idols,” as we worship and follow the Lord, not the world or our own desires and pursuits.  What is the direction of our lives and prayers?  We should dwell on these final words concerning our salvation and direction of our lives in prayer because we are in Christ and His love.

1 John 5:1-13 - Born Again by Belief in God’s Work

1 John 5:1-13

1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The Certainty of God’s Witness

6 This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

This is the certainty we have in Christ Jesus, the Son of God in whom we have believed and received (John 1:12) as our sovereign Lord and Savior from our sin’s just reward.  If we truly believe into Him and not just have mental assent or emotional attraction, then we are born of God.  If we are so born of God in Christ, then we love not only Him for our rebirth but we also love all others who are born again to this same living hope (1 Peter 1:3) in Christ.  Loving others then results in loving God above all others and then loving others by keeping God’s word in all things.  He has written His commandments on our new hearts of flesh and blood (Deuteronomy 9:10, Jeremiah 31:33-34, 2 Corinthians 3:3) with the finger of God by grace, no longer on external cold stone tablets of rote compliance to in a vain effort to earn His favor.  To love God according to the greatest commandments (Mark 12:30-31) is to willingly and thankfully do all He has recorded in scripture and transcribed onto our renewed hearts out of love.  We have certainly over the world by the faith given us (Ephesians 2:8) in this goodness of God’s grace in His Son to reconcile us to Himself (Colossians 1:20) by trusting and taking Him at His word that Jesus is the very divine Son of God and no mere man.  This Son came of human birth and divine origin to shed sacrificial blood to pay for our sins once and forever as no yearly animal sacrifice ever could, those being just a shadow of the perfect sacrifice of God’s own Son in place of Abraham’s (Hebrews 11:17-19) as a further foreshadowing of our deliverance by faith in God’s sacrificial work for us.  The witness of God doing these things is clearly recorded for eternity in the scriptures that we may have a certain hope witnessed by faith.  If we were to doubt or reject this truth, we would be calling God a liar in our cosmic treason of disbelief in God’s own testimony to the truth.  What is the testimony?  It is eternal life (what never ends in duration or possession) in the Son of God in whom we put all our confidence and trust by taking God at His word as it is written for us to understand the mystery of Christ in us (Ephesians 1:18, Colossians 1:27) as our hope that springs eternal from knowing Him.  Simply put, if we have God’s Son we have this life.  Without Him we remain spiritually dead in our sins.  We are born again by belief in God’s work through His Son and not our efforts to earn His favor.   These words have been written to us by the Lord through John to believe in the name of Jesus Christ the Son of God in person and work that we may be assured of our eternal life in and with Him and that we do not waver or stumble in this certainty. 

1 John 4:7-21 - Love as Demonstrable Proof of Salvation

1 John 4:7-21

Knowing God Through Love (John 3:16)

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Seeing God Through Love

12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

The Consummation of Love

17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.

Obedience by Faith

20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

Love is the proof and way to know and see God, and drives out fear of eternal suffering by emboldening us as we demonstrate His presence in us in our love for Him and others.  We are urged here to love one another since we have God’s love in us from our rebirth and we know Him personally and intimately.  God demonstrated His love in His Son sent into this world to pay the full price for our sins as the perfect Passover Lamb sacrificed to reconcile us to Him, and He calls us in Him to love others as the second greatest commandment (Luke 10:27, Galatians 5:14) tells us.  Since God so loved us out of the world (John 3:16, 1 Peter 2:9), we are bound to love each other as He does, no matter how little anyone (including us) deserves it.  Though we have not yet seen God face to face with our eyes, we can see the evidence of His presence in our love given unconditionally in return by the enabling of His Spirit within.  His Spirit not only seals us forever (Ephesians 1:13-14) as His own children, but gives us the assurance of our position in Christ and enables us to persevere to the end when He will return to take us to Himself forever.  This is our certain hope that gives us peace with Him (Romans 5:1).  We confess that the Father sent His Son as savior to the world for all who are drawn to believe and receive Him that we believe the love of God which has driven Him to so love us.  As it tells here, because God is love we remain in His love as He remains forever in us, never to leave of forsake (John 10:28-29, Hebrews 13:5) any of his children whom He has called and died for.  His love then drives out any fear of eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46) in our eternal security in our salvation that never ends.  This absolute hope is our boldness to be as Jesus in the world to show His love through the gospel lived out and spoken through to the world.  Yes, we are able to love Him and others because He first loved us and enables us to love one another in return.  The proof of having the love of God and His presence sealing our salvation then is love for our brethren; if we hate others, we lie to ourselves and the Lord.  Hate has no place in a child of the sovereign Lord.  If we cannot love other we can see then we are incapable of loving the unseen God as it is written here.  If we truly love God, then we will love others.  Period.  That is the demonstrable proof of our conversion and standing in Christ before the Father. 

1 John 4:1-6 - Test the Spirits!

1 John 4:1-6

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

There is a spirit of error in the world that is set against the truth.  Therefore, we are called to test what we hear taught to determine if the teaching comes from God or not.  We do this by comparing with what the scriptures teach, especially concerning the identity of the person of Christ as well as what it tells us about His work to save us.  False prophetic statements from cults do not confess who Jesus the Christ is; they deny that the Christ is the Son of God, the word become flesh.  His identity as God (John 10:30, 33, 37-38) is essential to be able to save us from our sin as the perfect sacrificial Passover Lamb of God.  False teachers would have us believe that He was only a man or a prophet who was not of a supernatural birth in contradiction to scripture.  These are opposed to Christ, antichrist, in false doctrine that offers no hope of a resurrection and eternal life bought at such a high price of the divine Son of God and man.  This is why we are to identify the spirit of error from the spirit of truth; the Spirit of God Himself testifies to us as the words of Jesus echo in our souls and move our hearts and minds in syncopation of the divine truth of the Gospel.  There are many such antichrists in the world even now under the sway of the wicked one (1 John 5:19) who are battling against the minds and hearts of those who have the gospel testimony (Revelation 1:2, 12:17) of Jesus Christ.  We overcome the world (Romans 8:37, 1 John 5:4, Revelation 12:11) and these lies by the truth of the person and work of Jesus Christ!  Remembering that He in us is infinitely greater that these in the world and even the evil one behind them, we persevere to the end and listen to what we hear, comparing spiritual things with spiritual in the word of God to know the difference between the spirit of truth and that of such error.  Doctrine matters (2 John 1:9), though these deceivers would have us believe otherwise that they might sneak the little lies in one at a time.  We must test what we hear to ensure (Acts 17:11) what is right and what is not.  Our doctrine must be what the scriptures tell us and not anyone else who contradicts them.  Truth matters infinitely more than mere feelings and reasoning, for the gospel hangs on the divine identity of the Son of God (1 John 5:10, 12-13) in whom we trust for our salvation and entrance into the king of God by faith in the truth (1 John 5:20) of our identity in Him.  Watch and beware of those who influence with philosophical stories and reasoning contrary to the truth to tickle our ears with some new thing or move us by emotional arguments to desire something less than God’s best in the gospel of the Son of God. 

1 John 3:10-24 - Abiding Love

1 John 3:10-24

The Imperative of Love (Matthew 22:39)

10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

The Outworking of Love

16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. 20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

The Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error

24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Here love is defined by abiding in Christ.  Abiding in Christ means we are living according to His word in seeking righteous and holy obedience with a thankful and willing heart.  Those who do not pursue living this way are still doing the work of the devil, the false accuser and slanderer, and are not the children of God.  The word goes further to define and identify those who are not God’s people by the lack of practicing righteousness in character and love in action to others.  God’s word all along has this definition as a command to love Him above all by loving others as ourselves (Luke 10:27) and not to seek the passing pleasures (Hebrews 11:25) of self-serving sin.  This is abiding love, remaining in Christ and His love to shine that love light to others as He does.  The first example in human history of failure to love is given in the example of Cain who murdered his own brother because he despised Abel’s righteous gift offered to God (Genesis 4:4-5, 8) while his own was evil and self-seeking (Romans 2:8, James 3:16) in intent.  He did this as Genesis 4:6-7 tells us after being warned to do good and be aware of sin’s desire to overtake us in anger and not in love and acceptance.  A lack of love therefore is seen in Cain’s response that he is not his brother’s keeper to watch over and protect him, and that spoken to God just after his lack of love morphed into murderous hatred.  We are to love by looking out for one another and not only our own interests (Philippians 2:4) to abide in Christ and demonstrate His love.  Such agape love is a result of our passing from death to life (John 5:24) in our regenerative rebirth and not a method of earning our salvation.  Love for God and our fellow man is the proof of the changed heart with His law written by the finger of the Spirit on our hearts.  Hating others makes us murderers (Matthew 5:21-22) as Cain was.  In contrast to him, we see the example of Jesus Christ who sacrificed Himself for our good.  He did this not only to pay the price for our sin and bring us into eternal relation with Him, but also as our example to lay down our own lives for one another in contrast to Cain.  This extends from our conduct and conversation to the meeting of the needs we see in our brothers and sisters when we are able to help them as we contemplate how the Lord meets all our needs and more.  We are to love in our actions of truthful care and not to check a box of compliance to be seen in good standing with our Lord.  Truth observed in us is this sincere unfeigned love for God and man.  If we do these things and still doubt our motives are entirely pure, we can rest in faith by knowing He understands our hearts and their motives (Hebrews 4:12) in alignment with the Bible.  If we have no feelings of condemnation, however, we can build our confidence in His work of sanctifying grace in us to conform us to the image of the Son of God and rejoice in that work of God in us.  If then we do these things from a sincere and unforced heart to please the Lord, we have the assurance to receive what we truly need in our lives through our sincere prayers of faith.  We obey the commandment to love one another as we believe on the name of the Son of God and abide in His love and grace.  Keeping His word in this way is our assurance of proof that we are in Christ and He in us as His Spirit given to love in us proves His presence and work because we are in Christ and His love.  This is abiding love as we abide in Him and His love. 

1 John 3:1-9 - Perfected Towards Sinlessness

1 John 3:1-9

1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Sin and the Child of God

4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

We are called towards sinlessness in our sanctification, yet we are still battling against sin as sinners saved by grace until the day we shed this mortal coil and stand before our Lord as sinless in more than the state of imputed righteousness (Romans 4:22-25, 2 Corinthians 5:21) we currently possess in Christ.  We are called His children who have been saved by grace while still sinners (Romans 5:8-9, Ephesians 2:5) and are not being told here that if we sin at all that we lose it all; no, rather, that we no longer make pursuit and practice of sin an ongoing habitual thing.  The world looks at us, changed by grace in a new birth as new men and women, and cannot grasp that we can still stumble and fall yet get back up by repentance in faith to be forgiven (1 John 1:9) and continue on to avoid sin and put it to death one little step at a time in our sanctification by God’s working in us (Philippians 2:12-13, 1:6).  We ourselves who have so much of scripture revealed to us by the indwelling Holy Spirit have great difficulty seeing the final outcome of His work in the resurrection to come, understanding only that we will have bodies that are not corrupted by sin as evidenced by a lack of death to them as a result of sin which will no longer be present within or without in His presence.  We shall be made like Him in sinlessness!  The image marred in Eden’s Garden will be restored as originally designed and created (1 Corinthians 15:54-56)!  Therefore, we look ahead to sinless perfection in eternity and work towards preparing ourselves by avoiding and mortifying it in this present life until we stand before Him forever among the tree of life’s healing leaves (Revelation 22:2) beyond the curse of sin at last.  Continuing to practice sin reveals our unregenerate state and not our lack of earning and keeping our salvation.  Jesus came to take away our sin (John 1:29) that we might live in His righteousness and imitate that righteousness by abiding in Him and putting sin to death (Romans 8:13, Colossians 3:5).  This direction of the life is our proof that we have truly seen and know Him and is not a flawed attempt to earn or keep our salvation.  The bottom line is spelled out here that we are not deceived into working to maintain our salvation nor abandoning any attempt to perfect our pursuit of righteousness.  If we continue in wanton abandon to sin and lean on the unbiblical phrase, “once saved, always saved” as a license to sin, we do not know Him.  Just like the devil who deceived Eve in the beginning, such can easily be led to believe going against God’s word and His commands for holiness is somehow acceptable.  God tells us something different here.  If we continue in sin without resistance, it usually means that we do not have His seed, namely Christ, in us to be able to resist and therefore cannot continue to practice sin as before our conversion.  It does not mean that we who are His are entirely incapable of sinning.  We are being perfected towards sinlessness in eternity when we are finally apart from the presence and influence of sin in the presence of Him who promises to perfect us (1 Peter 5:10, Hebrews 13:20-21) in ongoing sanctification until that day as we participate by putting our sin and its desire to death day by day.  We have not yet arrived, but have a certain hope of this process of sanctification.

1 John 2:18-29 - The Denier is the Liar

1 John 2:18-29 

Deceptions of the Last Hour

18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Let Truth Abide in You

24 Therefore 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 And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.

26 These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. 27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

The Children of God

28 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

Here we hear that the spirit of the antichrist liar is the denier of Jesus Christ.  There is no truth in this type of person because they deny the word of God.  This includes all cults which say Jesus was just a man or perhaps a good prophet, but not the very Son of God, which is the only truth about Jesus Christ that the spirit of antichrist cannot abide.  This is how we identify the spirit of truth from the spirits of error.  Such can even arise from within the church gatherings but end up leaving when pressed to confess Jesus as the divine Lord and Son of God and not just a prophet or man without a permanently divine nature in union with that man.  This is why we try to capture this truth that is difficult to comprehend and define in a creedal statement that includes the words, ‘hypostatic union.’  To acknowledge that the Christ eternally existed with God the Father along with His Spirit and who came to us as a man (John 1:1-3, 14) is essential to believing faith that receives Him as the Word of God become a man to be able to save us as only a perfect sacrifice could ever accomplish.  Only God is perfect.  Only the Son of God therefore can save us.  This the antichrist cannot agree with and is set against to deceive many into false faith or outright rejection of the person and work of Jesus Christ, our great God and Savior (Titus 2:13).  We therefore see that those who reject this truth and leave us are not of Christ but are in opposition to Him and the gospel of God.  We who have believed God by taking Him at His word with supernatural faith to receive Him and be changed (John 5:24, Galatians 2:20) by a spiritual rebirth are now able to fully understand these truths and know they are true by the understanding given by his Spirit living inside us (John 3:3, 14:26, Romans 8:9-11, Ephesians 1:13-14, 1 Peter 1:23) now.  These things John wrote to encourage our faith to hold to these truths and not be fooled by the lies that say otherwise.  Only the liar who is an antichrist set against Christ denies who He is.  Only the liar denies the Father and His only Son.  Without having God’s Spirit, these truths are denied.  Only those who acknowledge the Father and Son are one in Him and have His Spirit (Romans 8:9).  Knowing here things, we who have trusted and received Him continue in the truth and reveal the liars as we have the absolute hope of a certain eternal life through taking God at His word and not denying it in rebellion as in Eden’s Garden under the lies of the serpent who made us doubt the Lord and His clear word of what was permitted and what doubt earns as punishment for that sin of denial, namely physical and spiritual death.  We abide, continue to live in the grace of God in Christ by faith and can see those who try to dissuade and convince us otherwise.  We hold to the Son and Father by the clear understanding given by His Spirit who anoints and teaches (John 14:16-17, 26, 1 Corinthians 2:12-13, 1 John 2:27) us these things.  We have our confidence in these promises and truths and ready ourselves accordingly form his return by faith and perseverance to practice righteousness in return out of obedient thankfulness.  We remember that the denier of these things is the liar who is of the spirit of antichrist and we resist those by faith.