1 JOHN LESSON 7
We will begin this lesson in I John 5:1 "Whosoever believeth that
Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that
begat loveth him also that is begotten of him."
To truly believe in Jesus, brings new birth in Him. To be filled
with Jesus is, also, to be filled with His love. To have this special
kind of God love dwelling within you, would cause you to love all of
God's creation. If we truly love God in our hearts and are filled with
Him, then we love all of our brothers in Christ.
I John 5:2 "By this we know that we love the children of God,
when we love God, and keep his commandments."
Look, with me, at some Scriptures that Jesus spoke Himself about
this very thing. John 13:34 "A new commandment I give unto you, That
ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one
another." John 13:35 "By this shall all [men] know that ye are my
disciples, if ye have love one to another." The completeness of the
commandments that Jesus gave to all of us were caught up in the one
word, love. He said love God first, and then love your neighbor as
yourself. His commandment is love.
I John 5:3 "For this is the love of God, that we keep his
commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."
There is perfect peace and rest in the Lord, when we keep His
commandments. There is no fear, when there is perfect faith. Matthew
11:28 "Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest." Matthew 11:29 "Take my yoke upon you, and learn
of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto
your souls." Matthew 11:30 "For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is
light." II John 1:6 "And this is love, that we walk after his
commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the
beginning, ye should walk in it."
I John 5:4 "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world:
and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith."
We know that without faith, it is impossible to please God. Look,
with me, at the definition of what faith is. Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith
is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen." We live in a "show me" generation. To please God, we must
believe in our heart in the love of God, which we cannot see with our
physical eye. The love of God, even though we cannot see it with our
physical eye, is more real than anything else. Our very life is
determined by believing in salvation through our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. When we bury our flesh in water baptism, and rise to new
life in Jesus, we have been born of the Spirit. We are no longer
flesh, but spirit. The victory over this world is when the world
becomes unimportant in our life, and we are living to the day when we
can go home to heaven and be with Jesus. Christians are in this world,
but not of this world. We are dead to fleshly desires of this world,
and are putting our faith and trust in Jesus.
I John 5:5 "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that
believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?"
Jesus defeated Satan on the cross. He defeated sin, as well. If I
have received Jesus, then Jesus in me has overcome the world and
Satan. I am no longer in a battle against Satan. I am living in the
victory of Jesus.
I John 5:6 "This is he that came by water and blood, [even] Jesus
Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the
Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth."
I believe the water and blood, spoken of here, has to do with the
piercing of His side by the soldier, and the water and blood came
gushing forth. John 19:34 "But one of the soldiers with a spear
pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water."
Water, also, symbolizes the Word of God. The blood seals the covenant.
The Spirit bearing witness is the Holy Spirit. We could, also, look at
the Way, Truth, and Life. These are symbolized also by the water,
Spirit, and blood.
I John 5:7 "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the
Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
The fact that they are One is in the Spirit. They are of one mind
and accord. The manifestations of that One Spirit are Father, Word,
and Holy Ghost. The name of Jesus, in heaven was the Word of God. The
Father is like the great Architect. The Word is creator God. The Holy
Ghost functions as Teacher and Guide. Each have a purpose. All are
God. Each is co-equal with the other. When you see Elohim, or El, for
the name of God, it is speaking of the plurality of God. Jesus means
Jehovah Saviour. Many times when you see Lord, it means Jehovah. When
you see LORD, it means El, or Elohim. This Scripture above has puzzled
people through the ages, but I believe that we should look more from
the spiritual standpoint to understand what it is saying. Jesus said
He and the Father were One, but at His baptism all three were present.
Jesus was being baptized, the Father was the voice that came from
heaven and said this is my beloved Son. The Holy Ghost was symbolized
by the dove that lit on Jesus. I would not get into an argument over
their oneness except to say, I believe they are one in the Spirit, as
we are one with Jesus in the Spirit when we believe. We look at an
egg and we say, behold an egg. Really that egg consists of shell,
white and yellow, but they all three are an egg. It is difficult to
separate the Father, Word and Holy Ghost, other than their purpose.
Believe completely in your heart, and you will not go too far wrong.
I John 5:8 "And there are three that bear witness in earth, the
Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one."
We see three totally different things which are of the same
purpose. Notice, the unity is in their agreement. All three are
necessary to be Christians. Each has its separate function, however.
Jesus did not just come by water, but by blood, as well. The Spirit,
here, is speaking of the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of the risen
Christ.
I John 5:9 "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God
is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of
his Son."
Man's witness is in part, because of the limited knowledge he
has. The witness of God is in power and operating with full knowledge.
The witness of God was when the voice came from heaven and called
Jesus His Son. This happened at the baptism of Jesus, and again, at
the transfiguration. Men can speak all kind of glowing reports of
things Jesus has done, but when the voice comes from heaven and calls
Jesus Son, it leaves no doubt who He is. Jesus is actually man's only
contact with the reality of God. He represents God to mankind and
mankind to God the Father.
I John 5:10 "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness
in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he
believeth not the record that God gave of his Son."
God said that Jesus was His Son when the voice came from heaven.
To deny this witness, would be to deny God altogether. It would be as
if we were calling Him a liar. When we believe in Jesus, the witness
becomes alive within us. The witness within us is a knowing that
Jesus is the Son of God, as the Father said from heaven.
I John 5:11 "And this is the record, that God hath given to us
eternal life, and this life is in his Son."
This does not mean that we will inherit eternal life sometime in
the future, but that it is ours now. Jesus is Eternal Life. To have
Jesus, means you possess eternal life. This Life, spoken of here, is
in Jesus. John 1:4 "In him was life; and the life was the light of
men." Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of
God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Colossians 3:4
"When Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then shall ye also
appear with him in glory."
I John 5:12 "He that hath the Son hath life; [and] he that hath
not the Son of God hath not life."
Jesus is Life, as we read earlier in this series of lessons. To
have Jesus means we have life everlasting. Hebrews 3:14 "For we are
made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence
stedfast unto the end;" Colossians 3:3 "For ye are dead, and your life
is hid with Christ in God." To deny Jesus brings death.
I John 5:13 "These things have I written unto you that believe on
the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal
life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
The name of the Son of God, of course, is Jesus. There is power
in that name. John 1:12 "But as many as received him, to them gave he
power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his
name:" John 20:31 "But these are written, that ye might believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have
life through his name." The name Jesus means Saviour. To believe on
the name Jesus means you believe there is salvation in the name.
I John 5:14 "And this is the confidence that we have in him,
that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:"
When we have confidence in Him, it means that we know He will do
what He has promised. My favorite Scriptures pertaining to this are in
the 14 chapter of John beginning with the 12th verse. We need to look
at the following Scripture to see that everything we pray for may not
happen, and the reason it won't happen. James 4:3 "Ye ask, and receive
not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume [it] upon your lusts."
When we pray, we must pray for the things that are beneficial. Be
careful what you pray for, you might get it. Prayer has great power
when coupled with faith. The power of prayer is in the name of Jesus.
I John 5:15 "And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask,
we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."
To know means that we have faith in it happening. It is very
important to believe that you receive the thing you are praying for.
It is your faith that is the key to getting prayers answered. Mark
11:24 "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye
pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them]."
When Jesus healed the sick, He said; your faith has made you whole.
I John 5:16 "If any man see his brother sin a sin [which is] not
unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin
not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall
pray for it."
The sin, here, I believe is when a man totally rejects the
salvation in the Lord Jesus. God will not overrule the will of the
person being prayed for. The prayer of intercession is a powerful
prayer. It is an unselfish prayer for others. It is in the will of God
to save all of mankind. The unselfish prayer, prayed by someone who
firmly believes, will be answered, if the person being prayed for has
not totally turned against God. In the book of James, we read James
5:14 "Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the
church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name
of the Lord:" James 5:15 "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick,
and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they
shall be forgiven him." We see from this, that it is correct to pray
for the sins of others to be forgiven. The only time this would not be
answered, would be if the person had totally rejected salvation in
Jesus Christ. You cannot give a person something that they will not
take.
I John 5:17 "All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not
unto death."
We see in the following Scripture in Jesus' own words that sins
will be forgiven. The only one that will not is the sin against the
Holy Ghost, which I believe is dying not believing in Jesus Christ.
Matthew 12:31 "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and
blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy [against] the
[Holy] Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men."
I John 5:18 "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not;
but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one
toucheth him not."
The we, in the verse above, is John and all believers in Christ.
To be born of God means that we are a new creature in Christ. Christ
is sinless. If we are allowing Christ to live in us and through us, we
will be free of sin, as well. Notice, there is an effort that we must
make not to sin {keepeth himself}. When we are living with Christ in
us, the blood of Jesus Christ keeps the enemy from us.
I John 5:19 "[And] we know that we are of God, and the whole
world lieth in wickedness."
The Christian is to live a separated life away from the sin of
the world. The world around us is more wicked today than it has ever
been before in history. We must not get caught up in this sin that
surrounds us.
I John 5:20 "And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath
given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we
are in him that is true, [even] in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the
true God, and eternal life."
Here, again, we see the statement "we know". This leaves no
doubt. We know Jesus is the Son of God. We have accepted that as fact.
We know, also, that eyes of understanding have been opened to the
knowledge of the Son of God. The world has eyes to see, but they do
not see. We know the Word of God to be True. We know that eternal Life
is in Jesus. We, Christians, know what we believe and are eager to
tell others who will believe. Jesus is speaking to believers in the
next verse. Matthew 13:11 "He answered and said unto them, Because it
is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but
to them it is not given." II Corinthians 4:6 "For God, who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to
[give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ."
I John 5:21 "Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen."
We have mentioned before, that idols mean nothings. They are of
no value at all. II Corinthians 6:16 "And what agreement hath the
temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as
God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be
their God, and they shall be my people."
1 John 7 Questions
1. Who is born of God in verse 1?
2. To be filled with Jesus is to be filled with His _______.
3. Quote 1 John chapter 5 verse 2.
4. What was the new commandment Jesus gave in John chapter 13 verses
34 and 35?
5. Quote Matthew chapter 11 verse 28.
6. My yoke is _______, and my burden is _________.
7. Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the ___________.
8. What is faith?
9. When do we know we have victory over this world?
10. Who is he that overcometh the world?
11. This is He that came by ________ and ________, even Jesus Christ.
12. What bears witness?
13. What does the author believe the water and blood, in verse 6, to
be?
14. Water symbolizes the _______ of ______.
15. Who are the three that bear record in heaven?
16. How are they One?
17. What was the name of Jesus in heaven?
18. How does the name Elohim differ from the name Jehovah?
19. What did the dove at the baptism of Jesus symbolize?
20. What are the three that bear witness in the earth?
21. What is their unity in?
22. What is the greater witness?
23. Jesus is actually man's only contact with the __________ of God.
24. Life is in whom?
25. Quote John chapter 1 verse 4.
26. Quote Collosians chapter 3 verse 4.
27. How do you know you have eternal life?
28. Quote John chapter 1 verse 12.
29. Quote James chapter 4 verse 3.
30. Is it right to pray for others sins to be forgiven? Explain.
31. All unrighteousness is ____.
32. What does the author believe to be the sin against the Holy Ghost?
33. To be born of God means what?
34. Little children, keep yourselves from ________.
35. What is the temple of God?
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