Tuesday, November 24 –
We
continue to read thru the letters of John, and today our reading is in 1 John
2:1 – 29. After you have read the
Scripture please come back and we’ll walk through it again.
The letters of John differ from Paul’s letters in a couple of ways. First, there is no greeting, nor
salutation. Officially it is not really
a letter at all. Instead, John is
writing teachings to a number of churches in which he has direct
oversight. That’s why he says in chapter
2, that what he is saying is what “you have heard from the beginning”
(2:24). Second, John is writing to
people who he has a deep affection for personally. Thirteen times he uses the language of “children”,
or, “my little children”, five of them are in chapter 2 alone – did you
notice that? I mention that because
sometimes it’s hard to understand what John is trying to say, and what his mood
is in relation to them. I think it’s
best to read the letters of John as one who writes as a Father of a family, or
a school teacher of a classroom, or the Pastor of a church fellowship! He is not lofty in his language, but very
clear that there are some things that we need to be very clear about, some
things we need to be aware of as dangerous, and some things that we need to
constantly practice because of our faith.
He
begins with our relationship with Jesus Christ.
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may
not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for
ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (2:1-2).
We
are well aware of the danger of stopping at chapter divisions. This passage belongs with the latter part of
chapter 1 where John had warned of the danger of self-deception concerning our
sinfulness and reminded them that “confession of sin” – saying what God says
about our sin – is the only way to truly deal with Sin. Now we understand why confessing our sins is
absolutely necessary. While John, like
Paul, tells us he doesn’t want us to sin, he understands our human nature and
the reality that “if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous (one).”
Jesus is our “advocate” – from the same Greek word that Jesus used of
the promise of sending the Holy Spirit in John 14 – “another helper” or
“advocate” – “parakletos” – one who is called alongside to mediate. We can think in a modern sense of a defense
attorney. Jesus is our defender, an advocate
called alongside of us when we confess our sin.
Not
only does he become our advocate, but he is also the means for our being freed
from the guilt, and penalty of our sin.
Jesus is “the propitiation (NIV has ‘atoning sacrifice’) for our
sins…(2:2). The Greek word refers
back to the Old Testament sacrifice on the Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur. Jesus is our Advocate and has the right to
appear before the Father on our behalf because he is the “lamb of God, slain
for the sins of the world”. John
uses the word “world”, not to mean that Christ Jesus made salvation universal
for every person who has ever lived, but rather to say that his sacrifice was
complete and effective – there is nothing further in the world to be done. The Father’s response to his Son’s death on
the behalf of those who “confess” their need and turn to Christ is that nothing
more needs to be done – it is truly “finished”.
We
should make sure we connect this all to the last verses in chapter 1, and
realize that it is walking in the light (truth) that causes us to understand
our sin, our need for reconciliation with God, Christ’s work on the behalf of
those who trust Him as their Savior, and therefore “walk in the light of
Christ’s love”. In a long section from
verses 3 – 11. Here we read two
things: First, that walking in the truth
of Jesus’ sacrifice means we are followers of Christ Jesus, and obedient to His
way, truth, life – “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we
keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his
commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his
word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we
are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way
in which he walked” (2:3-6). We need to make sure we understand what John
is saying. We are in God’s family – the
children of God – by virtue of Jesus’ work.
The family is a metaphor for God as Father and Jesus as the Son of God,
our Advocate, and we, therefore, out of respect, choose to honor God and obey
Christ.
Second,
this means we learn to obey through love, not rules, and this love, from Christ
Jesus, is to become a pattern for all of our relationships, especially to
fellow believers – “Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old
commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word
that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am
writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is
passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in
the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his
brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.
But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness,
and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes”
(2:7-11). The failure to love, or at
least learn to love, is to “still walk in darkness”. Failure to love is equal to the sin of
self-deception in that both are living in a world of darkness (1:6-7).
Does
John doubt their faith? I think
not. Once again, in poetic form, John
refers to them as the family he understands them to be – “I am writing to
you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake” (2:12).
Then he begins to address them as
the true children of God’s family: “fathers, young men, children (2:13),
followed by a repetition of “fathers, young men”. What is it that he wants them to know? “I
write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write
to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one” (2:14). It is the assurance that their
faith rests securely in Christ, their sins are forgiven, they know both Christ
and the Father, and as a result, have overcome the evil one. These friends are Fathers – ones who have a
long-standing faith in Christ, as well, they are young men – ones who have a
forming faith in Christ, still learning, and they are children – ones who have
a new faith that is just beginning.
Regardless of age and experience, Christ Jesus is their Savior, and
their Lord – they have overcome the evil one.
Since
they have this knowledge and experience of a strong, growing faith in Christ,
John warns them of the temptation of the world.
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves
the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the
world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is
not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away
along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (2:15-17). What does John mean by “the world”. The context helps us see that this is not
people created in the image of God who make up the world. Rather, the world is the system –” kosmos”
– of every age that is opposed to God, led by Satan in exalting flesh,
materialism, pride, and is destined for judgment and doom (passing away). This
is just the first of six times that John will use “kosmos”, the world,
to make a distinction between that which God loves (God so loved the world…),
and the fallen world that is under the dominion of Satan. The world that is
deceived by Satan is full of fleshly desires, a lust for more, a pride of
self-exaltation, and an arrogance against everything that is of God. Love from God is towards brothers and sisters
in Christ who know that Christ has redeemed them, bought them out of the
slavery of a world fallen under the spell of the evil one.
The
final part of this follows. Since the
world stands in contrast to the family of God, we must understand the
commitment that is involved. The
gentleness of “little children” changes before our eyes as we read about
dangers that loom large in view of a world that hates Christ – “Children, it
is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many
antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 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 it might become plain
that they all are not of us” (2:18-19). We
see John’s reason for writing this to these brothers and sisters in
Christ. People who were once a part of
their fellowship have departed, rejecting the commands of Christ.
“Who
is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist,
he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the
Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard
from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in
you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is
the promise that he made to us—eternal life. I write these things to you
about those who are trying to deceive you” (2:22-26).
There
were twin threats that these Christians were experiencing. On the one hand, John is living in a time of
growing persecution. The emperor at the
time is Domitian, and he had come down hard on Christians because he proclaimed
himself as a god. Some Christians had
been martyred because they refused to proclaim him as a god, and some had
recanted to save their lives. On the
other hand, there was a growing heresy – Gnosticism – that had crept in denying
that Jesus was a real human being. John
ties both of them up as nothing more than the work of an “anti-Christ” – i.e.,
both Satanic in its source, but also firmly entrenched in a fallen world
system.
The antidote for this is the truth of who Jesus is. This is the work of the Holy Spirit who teaches us the truth about Christ through the word of God – “But you have been anointed by the Holy One … the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him” (2:20, 26-29). The truth is both a “now” and a “will appear” truth. In the meantime, we bear the likeness of the children of God and stand in truth by faith in Christ alone
Peace.
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