Day 356: 1 John 1-3

(This epistle was written by John from Ephesus around 90 AD. Remember, John was the youngest Disciple and would have been around sixteen years old when Jesus was crucified. This would make him around seventy-three years old when this letter was written. There were many similarities between this letter and the Gospel of John which we will point out. This letter was from the third of the four authors in this mini-section of the New Testament which consisted of epistles written by four separate authors. This letter, like John's Gospel account, was filled with Doctrine from a completely logical perspective...to the point when we take the time to fill in the connection between the Doctrines John referenced it will require many more words than what John wrote. Chronologically, this was the latest of the epistles and contained the most comprehensive logical explanation of Christianity.)

1 John 1
¹ That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life

(Doctrine: Jesus was from the beginning. Jesus is God in His Nature. John stated he had seen Him, looked upon Him, and handled Him. Jesus is the Word of Life. John began his Gospel account with the same Doctrine: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) John was the only New Testament writer to use "Word" (with capitalization) to refer to Jesus.)

² (and the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare unto you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us);

(Life was manifested. They had seen and bore witness to life. John was going to show us eternal life which was with the Father and shown to them.)

³ that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ:

(What they had seen and heard (Jesus, life), they declared to us - so that we may have fellowship with each other. The cause was fellowship with God and Jesus:
-The First Command, Thou shalt love the Lord, was the cause,
-The Second Command, Thou shalt love your neighbor, was the effect.)

⁴ and these things we write, that our joy may be made full.

(John gave the reason (why) he wrote these things: that our joy may be full.)

⁵ And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

(Doctrine: God does not have any evil causes within His Nature.

This was the main point: God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. God is Holy: always completely Right and always completely Just. It is impossible for God to do anything wrong and unjust because He does not possess the necessary evil causes within His Nature to be wrong and unjust and God has no other nature besides Right and Just to act in.)

(Verses 6-10: each if/then statements.)

⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

(If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness (contradiction), we lie and do not the truth:
-"If we say that we have fellowship with him" was a declaration. Our actions will prove whether what we say is a lie or factual.
-Walking in darkness did not mean making a mistake. It meant intentionally making progress away from God.
-If we have said we are in fellowship with God but are intentionally moving away from God, we are liars and do not the truth.
-Truth was the measurement of whether or not we were in fellowship with God. The measurement for truth was not lack of contradiction because we may not have all the facts. The measurement for lying (lack of truth) was contradiction.)

⁷ but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

(Walking in the light was intentionally making progress towards God. If we have fellowship with God, as Jesus did, we would have fellowship with each other. The effect of having fellowship with God was that Jesus' Blood would cleanse us from all sin.

This verse was presented the way things ought to be. We need to keep "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" in context with the rest of this verse and not add to the context an outside source.)

⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

(Saying we have no sin was deception. This was the right what but with the wrong how/why. The wrong how/why behind having no sin was doing it in our own strength. This was the Law: "I won't do this, that, etc." The right how/why behind having no sin was being in fellowship with God (by grace through faith). These were principles, things we ought to focus on, not things we do not do. A person truly in fellowship with God would not say "I have no sin." Truth was the measurement. Notice, Salvation is not based on never sinning. We have all sinned, yet people do receive Salvation. Salvation must depend on something more...)

⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

(God will forgive us of our sin if we confess because:
1) He is faithful - God believes something He cannot see and something that has not happened yet (God cannot go ahead in time). God's faith in us is increased with every interaction. He understands us and experiences us more with every interaction, whether we do good or bad.
2) He is Just - Jesus' Blood gave God infinite value. When we confess (which is a value to God) He is Just to give us access to this value.)

(Salvation depends on us confessing our sins. This verse didn't mean we confess one time and God cleanses us from all unrighteousness, even unrighteousness we haven't done yet. This meant God will cleanse us from the unrighteousness we confess. Confessing our sins removes unrighteousness. This point will be expanded upon after the next verse...)

¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

(Saying we have not sinned was like saying "I have never been wrong." Saying this was pride. The effect of saying this was stating God was a liar (which we know is impossible). Saying this meant God's Word (truth) was not in us.)

(Taking verses 8-10 together revealed a powerful Doctrine concerning Salvation. Our Salvation does not depend on not sinning. If it did, no one would be saved, because we have all sinned (verse 8). In fact, if you even say you have not sinned (verse 10), God's Word is not in you, and you are not saved.

**Our Salvation depends on our response to our sin.**

If we justify ourselves (verses 8 and 10), then we are not saved. If we respond to our sin by confessing, then God cleanses us from all unrighteousness (verse 9).

**We are saved because of Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross and our responsibility is to respond to our sins with confession and repentance.**)

(Theme of Chapter 1: God is light. In Him there is no darkness at all. God lacks contradiction. If we have a contradiction in what we say and do, then we are the source of the contradiction, not God.)




1 John 2
¹ My little children, these things write I unto you that ye may not sin. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
² and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.

("My little children" were new believers. John wrote these thing so that they would not sin. However, if you sin, you have an Advocate: Christ. Advocate meant "lawyer." Christ is a Lawyer for believers. He pleads the cause of believers who sin before a judge. Who is this judge?

God the Father is the objective Judge. He sees sin and recognizes the unrighteousness and injustice. Christ is our Lawyer. He pleads our case to God, the Judge…and Christ paid the bill.

Christ is our propitiation. His Blood paid for our sin. Not only for our sins (believers) but for the sins of the whole world (everyone who has ever lived, is living, and will live…believer and unbeliever). Notice, Christ did not only die for believers. Christ provided everything necessary for Salvation for everyone. It is the choice of the individual whether Salvation is attained. It is the responsibility of the individual.)

³ And hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
⁴ He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
⁵ but whoso keepeth his word, in him verily hath the love of God been perfected. Hereby we know that we are in him:
⁶ he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked.

(Cause: We know God (Fellowship). - Effect: We keep His commandments.
Cause: We keep His commandments. - Effect: We know that we know Him.

-Truth was the measurement.
-The love of God is perfected (maximum profitability) when we keep His word. By this we also know that we are in Christ.
-If you say you abide (live, dwell) in Christ, you ought to walk as He walked (make progress towards God; grow in grace). Again, the contradictions prove we are not allowing God to direct our actions, because there are no contradictions with God.)

⁷ Beloved, no new commandment write I unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning: the old commandment is the word which ye heard.

(Beloved (believers) already knew what John had written. The old commandment was Christ and they have already heard (understand) this.)

⁸ Again, a new commandment write I unto you, which thing is true in him and in you; because the darkness is passing away, and the true light already shineth.

(Next, John wrote about this "new commandment." John gave us a hint to what the second half of this letter was about.

The Hint: the "true" light now shineth; the "true" light was in Christ and in believers. This was the same Doctrine referenced in John 1:5,9.)

⁹ He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother, is in the darkness even until now.

(This was the same conclusion as 1 John 1:6.)

¹⁰ He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling in him.

(This was the same Doctrine as John 11:10. John's reference to the light was an allusion to the Holy Spirit. John had yet to directly reference the Person of the Holy Spirit by name to this point.)

¹¹ But he that hateth his brother is in the darkness, and walketh in the darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because the darkness hath blinded his eyes.

(If we love our brothers (fellow believers) we abide in the light. The only way to truly love is by the Holy Spirit through you (grace). When we are in the light, we will not stumble. When walking in darkness (intentionally making progress away from God) the person does not have direction because they are blind.)

¹² I write unto you, my little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
¹³ I write unto you, fathers, because ye know him who is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the evil one. I have written unto you, little children, because ye know the Father.

(This Doctrine was also in John 17:3. The next verse also referenced the Doctrine that we need to know the only true God...)

¹⁴ I have written unto you, fathers, because ye know him who is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the evil one.

(John wrote to:
-Little children (new believers) because their sins were forgiven and they knew God. John wanted them to know their sins were forgiven and that making some mistakes did not necessarily mean they did not know God. John wanted to assure them that they did know God.
-Fathers (mature believers who make "little children") because they knew Christ from the beginning. John wrote this twice. These fathers had sound Doctrine.
-Young men (bold and fervent believers) because they had overcome the wicked one, they were strong, and God's Word lived in them. These young men had sound Doctrine, took abuse well, and lived in the light. They had overcome (conquered) the wicked one. They took an offensive stand against the enemy with the Word of God that was in them. Spiritual warfare is done with words.)

¹⁵ Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vain glory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
¹⁷ And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

(If we love the world, the love of God is not in us because the world consists of: lusts of the flesh, lusts of the eyes (imaginations), and the pride of life. Notice, the three things that are in the world correlate with the three reasons in Genesis 3:6 that Eve had for eating the forbidden fruit:
1) lust of the flesh ("good for food")
2) lust of the eyes ("pleasing to the eye"), and
3) vain glory of life ("makes one wise in one's self").
The world will pass away and the lust of the world will pass away because our flesh will pass away. Those who do the Will of God will live forever.)

¹⁸ Little children, it is the last hour: and as ye heard that antichrist cometh, even now have there arisen many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last hour.

(We have heard that Antichrist (singular) will come and now there were many antichrists (plural). This was why we know it is the last hour. The word Christ literally meant "anointed." Antichrists were against ("anti") the anointing.)

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 they all are not of us.

(The antichrists came out from us (believers) but were not of us or they would still be with us. We know that we know God (verse 3); the antichrists do not know God. People outside of these two groups (believers and antichrists) will know that the groups are separate.)

²⁰ And ye have an anointing from the Holy One, and ye know all the things.

(We have an anointing. This anointing comes from the Holy One (Holy Spirit). We can know all things through the anointing (grace) from the Holy One (Holy Spirit). From John 16:13 - "...he will guide you into all truth...")

²¹ I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
²² Who is the liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, even he that denieth the Father and the Son.
²³ Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that confesseth the Son hath the Father also.

(John wrote to us because we know the truth and because we know that no lie is of the truth. Those who deny that Jesus is the Christ (Anointed One) are liars. Those who deny the Father and the Son are antichrists. Those that deny Christ do not have the Father. Those who acknowledge the Son have the Father.)

²⁴ As for you, let that abide in you which ye heard from the beginning. If that which ye heard from the beginning abide in you, ye also shall abide in the Son, and in the Father.

(Let the Word (Christ) abide (live, dwell) in you. If the Word remains in you, you will continue with Christ and God. John also wrote this: "...If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." (John 14:23) If we love Christ and keep His words (let the Word abide in you), Christ and God will make Their abode with US, the new Jerusalem, the Bride!)

²⁵ And this is the promise which he promised us, even the life eternal.

(This promise will happen if we let the Word live in us and remain in us.)

²⁶ These things have I written unto you concerning them that would lead you astray.

(John wrote these things about/because of those that would lead us astray (antichrists). We can only make progress in the light by choosing to take direction from God via the Holy Spirit, which is grace.)

²⁷ And as for you, the anointing which ye received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any one teach you; but as his anointing teacheth you; concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, ye abide in him.

(There were a lot of Doctrinal points in this long sentence:
-The anointing lives in us (grace through the Holy Spirit).
-We do not need any man to teach us.
-The anointing teaches us all things: "11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;" (Titus 2:11-12)
-The anointing is truth and no lie.
-As much as the anointing has taught us, we will live in Him. The more we grow our faith (understanding and experience), the more we will live in Him.)

²⁸ And now, my little children, abide in him; that, if he shall be manifested, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

(When is the best time to start this process of fellowship with God, Christ, Holy Spirit, and each other? NOW! So that we are always ready for when Christ returns (Luke 12:40 - "Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not."). We will have boldness if we allow God to direct our actions via the Holy Spirit.)

²⁹ If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one also that doeth righteousness is begotten of him.

(Every one that does Righteousness is born anew. Righteousness that results in our Salvation comes from God, because of Christ, to the Holy Spirit, through us (grace). This is God's Righteousness, not ours. God gets the credit but it is our responsibility to choose to let God flow through us.)

(Theme of Chapter 2: The only way to prove that we are believers is to choose to allow the Holy Spirit to direct our actions. John alluded to the Holy Spirit when he wrote about the light. To this point, John had not directly written about the Person of the Holy Spirit.)




1 John 3
¹ Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this cause the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

(We are sons of God because the Holy Spirit lives in us. The love the Father has bestowed upon (given to) us is the anointing (grace) we receive of the Holy Spirit. The world does not know God, therefore the world does not know the "sons of God." The Doctrine of being children of God referenced in this and the next verse was also stated in John 1:12.)

² Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is.

(Even now we are children of God. We ought to have faith that when He (Jesus) appears, we will be "like" Him and we will see Him as He is (The Right and Just Bridegroom). This Doctrine was also stated in John 17:24.)

³ And every one that hath this hope set on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

(This hope (faith) that we have will cause us to purify ourselves as Jesus is pure. Purifying is a process (grace through faith). If we allow God to direct our actions through our understanding and experience of Him, the result will be God's Righteousness through us. An effect of this Righteousness is purity (cleanness). Purifying ourselves is something we ought to do intentionally because of the faith we have in Jesus.)

⁴ Every one that doeth sin doeth also lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

(All sin is lawlessness, however, this did not mean that all lawlessness is sin. This verse is a victim of "causality abuse" all too often. We do not live under the Law. We live under grace. If someone interprets this verse to say that all lawlessness is sin they are contradicting the God-given definition of sin (Romans 14:23) and they are actually contradicting God.)

⁵ And ye know that he was manifested to take away sins; and in him is no sin.

(Doctrine: Jesus was manifested (came to earth, became flesh) to take away our sins, and in Him is no sin. There is no sin in Him. Jesus' heart was 100%, completely, absolutely pure! There was no sin in His whole Being. In Him there is no darkness at all.)

⁶ Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither knoweth him.

(It is impossible to sin during the times we allow God to flow through us. God's grace through us will always be Righteousness. Romans 7 showed that God's grace can encounter sin as it makes its way through our conscious brain with the result being sin. However, if the soul/mind of the believer intended good (allowing God's influence through their actions) and this sin came out, then it wasn't the believer (soul/mind) sinning, but the sin in the believer's body and there would be no condemnation. However, much like we have seen in 1 John 1, the believer would confess and repent when they were confronted with the fact this sin came out of them.)

(The second half of this verse spoke about those people who "walk in darkness" (people's soul/mind intentionally making progress away from God). Context was extremely important when interpreting this verse. If this verse was interpreted without context, people might put themselves and others into condemnation by saying even sinning once means you do not know God. However, every soul/mind that intentionally chooses to sin is a soul/mind that is choosing not to know God. This mind/soul is choosing not to be led by God via grace.)

⁷ My little children, let no man lead you astray: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous:

(Deception comes from the enemy saying/doing a right what but with a wrong how/why. We have to know the why and how in order to "let no man deceive" us. Knowing how and why we do Righteousness even as He is Righteous will lead us to intentionally being able to be Righteous through grace and if we know the how and why we will not be deceived.)

⁸ he that doeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. To this end was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

(Sin was brought into the world through Adam because of the serpent (who was influenced by the devil who sinned from the beginning). (See commentary for Genesis 3:11-12.) This was why Jesus came to earth. Jesus came to destroy sin (the works of the devil). This Doctrine concerning the devil was also stated in John 8:44.)

⁹ Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin, because his seed abideth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of God.

(This verse was about Jesus. He was begotten of God. We were created by God. The "seed" that remained in Jesus was the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that we (believers) have living in our hearts today. Jesus never sinned because He did nothing of Himself but only and always what pleased God. In order to understand why it said Jesus "cannot" sin you must understand the context.

This spoke to the truth that we learned from verse 6: It is impossible to sin during the times we allow God to flow through us. God's grace through us will always be Righteousness. Verses 8 and 9 contained Doctrine that was also stated in John 3:3-5. Also, Jesus has been judged and with His loss of free will His Nature has been established. Ever since Jesus' resurrection, Jesus has lost the ability to sin.)

¹⁰ In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

(The children of God are known by doing two things:
1) Righteousness (grace) and
2) loving their brother
This was a huge point that was the framework for John's argument. Everything revolved around Righteousness and loving others. Why?

First Command: Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, mind, spirit, and strength. This was the ultimate righteousness. This was a cause.

The effect of the First Command was the Second Command: Love your neighbor as yourself. If a person did the Second Command as a cause, it became a work and would wear the person out. If the person did the First Command, then God would do the Second Command through them.)

Said another way, if a person did righteousness towards God the effect would be loving their brother, which would be Righteousness by God through us to others. The children of the devil are known by not doing Righteousness and loving not (hating) their brother.)

¹¹ For this is the message which ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another:

(This Doctrine was also stated in John 13:34.)

¹² not as Cain was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

(Cain hated his brother: Genesis 4. Cain did not do Righteousness. Cain was "of the devil." This was proof of verse 10.)

¹³ Marvel not, brethren, if the world hateth you.

(Do not be surprised if the world is Cain (hates) towards you. Jesus stated the world would hate us in John 15:20.)

¹⁴ We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death.
¹⁵ Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

(We know that we are saved (passed from death unto life) because we love our brothers. Those who hate their brother abide in death (the inability to repair). Those "abiding" in death are those who are making progress away from God.)

¹⁶ Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

(Verse 16 gave an example of love. We know God's love because He gave us the ultimate value (His life, His Son) and we ought to give our lives for our brothers. Again, this was doing the Second Command as an effect of doing the First Command. Jesus stated this same Doctrine in John 15:13.)

¹⁷ But whoso hath the world's goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him?

(Verse 17 was a contrast of verse 16. Someone who has resources, sees a brother who needs, and does not give to this brother is not in fellowship. This is not love. John asked to be shown how it was possible for God's love to dwell in a person who did not love his brother. Again, John stated if there was no evidence of a person doing the Second Command, then how could the person say they were doing the First Command?)

¹⁸ My Little children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth.

(This was a huge verse: John said do not say you love, instead actually do it (in deed) and the proof was that it would create: love will have fruit. This verse ought to convict people who say they love but do not do it or do not bear fruit with their actions.)

¹⁹ Hereby shall we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before him:
²⁰ because if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
²¹ Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God;

(We ought to know that we are of the truth and our hearts ought to be assured before God. If our own heart condemns (accuses, finds fault with) us, then God will condemn us. If your heart knows that you have sinned then God, who knows all things, will definitely know you have sinned. This verse fits perfectly with the definition of sin from Romans 14:23: anything done apart from faith.)

(If our heart does not condemn us then we have boldness toward God. John was working backwards with his proof. Look at the verses from 2:27 through 3:2. John set up the point that ultimately everything was proven when God is manifest and we boldly face Him. The rest of 1 John actually continued to work back through all the points John had already made.)

²² and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.
²³ And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he gave us commandment.

(How do we have confidence toward God? How do we make sure our heart does not condemn us? We keep His commandments. We do those things pleasing in His sight.

God's commandments: Believe in Jesus Christ (First Command) and love on another (Second Command).

Likewise: Righteousness and loving others.)

²⁴ And he that keepeth his commandments abideth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.

(John introduced the Holy Spirit directly by name. Everything that was written previous to this sentence alluded to the Holy Spirit. It was at this point that John blatantly identified the Holy Spirit. Everything had already been stated, just not with a direct naming of the Person of the Holy Spirit.

If you keep God's commandments you dwell in God and God dwells in you. We know that God abides in us by the Holy Spirit that He gave us. God lives in us by His Spirit. We can only do Righteousness and love others by God (Holy Spirit) doing it through us.)

(Theme of Chapter 3: John presented a proof that began with stating that we are not afraid to face God because we are children of God and have eternal life. It ended proving the why: we do righteousness and love others because the Spirit lives in us.)

Day 357