The
American
Wisdom Series
Presents
1st.
John chapter 1
Caution to students of God's Word - Please remember two things when using our American Wisdom Series studies:
#1.
Our
commentary is not God's Word. It is only our interpretation or understanding
of "His Word" and even though we try our best to be accurate we may
or may not be correct. #2.
The King James translation, or any other translation, of the original Hebrew
text has some words which were given different translations at different
places probably because of the interpreters preconceived ideas of what
they think God meant to say.
For example:
According to the notes in the "Dake's Annotated Reference Bible" the Hebrew
word hayah in the KJV is Trans. (became) 67 times, (becamest or came to
pass) 505 times, (become) 66 times, and (come to pass) 131 times, but for
some reason in Genesis 1:2 it is translated (was)! That
sure changes the way a person perceives the original creation of the earth,
doesn't it? Gen. 1:2 And the earth
was
(became) without form, ... Having said that,
let us continue with our "studies".
These studies contain knowledge, we believe, you must have to fully
and accurately unlock and understand the Word of God.
May the Holy Spirit be your only guiding light. Sincerely, John RhineRevelation 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
John 15:26
But when the Comforter is
come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which
proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
John
16:13-14
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he
will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever
he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [14] He
shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto
you.
Now 1st.
John chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
A person who does not "walk in that
light",
yet claims to be a Christian, is
nothing more that a liar!
We live in the most exciting time
in the history of mankind!
When you think about it, for nearly 6,000 years man's
only form of transportation was either by land or by sea, either by walking
on foot or riding on animals or in carriages pulled by animals, or by rowing
boats or sailing ships.
His only forms of communicating with those who lived in
distant lands were by couriers or letter carriers who were limited to those
primitive modes of transportation.
There was no electricity, no internal combustion engines,
no Jumbo Jets and no instant global satellite communication networks.
But God has poured out His spirit
in these last days and inventions and technologies and information have
been greatly increased to prepare the way for the prophetic events which
are happening and are yet to occur in this final generation of the fig
tree, the final generation preceding the return of Jesus Christ.
Do you realize that the majority
of God's Word, including the Old Testament and New Testament prophecies,
along with the events that were written as "ensamples for us upon whom
the ends of the world are come" (1 Cor. 10:11), were written for our day
when one half of all the sons of God, i.e. one half of all of His children,
would be alive in the flesh to face the false-christ and witness the birth
of a new age.
You see, there was a "great apostasy" in the "world that
then was" (2 Pet. 3:6) when the Great Red Dragon, Satan, drew 1/3 of God's
children away from the light of truth (Rev. 12:4) which Lucifer was to
protect.
That apostasy, that falling away,
caused the destruction of that first age to which we have witness of in
the fossil records.
Well, guess what?
"There is nothing new under the
sun" and there shall also be a great apostasy at the end of this earth
age and it will be caused by the same Great Red Dragon when he appears
as Jesus Christ, only he will be an imposter, the "spurious messiah".
The apostle John was well aware
of the coming false-christ in the last days and in fact he would be the
one apostle who Christ would be take in the spirit to the Lord's Day, the
last day of this present earth age, which
is also the first day of the Millennium, and shown these final events
and record them in graphic, pictorial detail so that we might also SEE those
events.
What a Revelation it is indeed!
Seeing then that it is now "the last time", not known
to us by speculation but by Biblical and historical documentation, then
it is time we prepare ourselves with the practical teaching from the epistles
of John "in the light of the love of God".
1 John
2:18
Little children,
it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come,
even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last
time.
Before we begin, perhaps there is one thing you should
know about true men and women of God.
They always tell it like it is.
They are quick to expose ignorance
and hypocrisy, especially when it comes to God's Word, and they are never
afraid to teach His Word as it is written, for that Word is Christ and
in that Word is Life itself.
To knowingly teach against that which is written would
be to speak against the Holy Spirit of God, which is blaspheme!
John states in his own words in verse four of this first
chapter, that the reason he wrote these epistles to us is so that we can
be full of the same happiness and joy that he came to know through fellowshipping
with Christ!
So we are going to learn some very
important truths which are applicable to the present moment, to these last
days in particular!
For one thing, after establishing
the fact that the Word of God is truth and light, he is going to tell us
that a person who does not "walk in that
light", yet claims to be a Christian, is nothing more that a liar!
That's telling it like it is, wouldn't you say?
It goes without saying that the
apostle John knew exactly who Jesus Christ was.
He knew that He was Life Eternal who has always existed.
He knew that Jesus Christ was the very Word of God and
that Word was God!
Here is what John wrote in the first verse of his gospel:
John
1:1
In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Notice the parallel between the apostle's words in
John 1:1 to those of 1 John 1:1.
It should be evident to even the most casual reader that
both were penned by the same John, the one who humbly referred to himself
as the "disciple whom Jesus loved" (Jn. 21:7, 20).
1 John
1:1
That which was
from the beginning , which we have heard, which we have seen
with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled,
of the Word of life;
Can you imagine this!
John KNEW that he had personally HEARD the living Word
of God with his own ears, SEEN Him with his own eyes (even in His Glory
at the Transfiguration) and literally TOUCHED the very WORD OF LIFE with
his own hands!!
He actually hugged the Living Word, Life Eternal, He who
always was, is and always shall be!
Wow!
How is that possible?
Here's how as John explains:
[2]
(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and
shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested
unto us;)
That Life Eternal which has always existed from the
beginning, the supreme Almighty God, came down from above (Jn. 3:13) and
was born of woman and tabernacled among men.
John and his companions actually got to hear, see and
touch Him.
It is almost hard to imagine how incredible this is!
Once again, He who is Eternal Life Himself APPEARED and
made Himself known to us, i.e. was made manifest, in the form of lowly
flesh so we mortal human beings could actually SEE Him.
Think about it!
The Living Word of God became flesh!
Now open your spiritual eyes to SEE and your spiritual
ears to HEAR and understand the following verse because John is passing
this tremendous news on to us.
He is telling us that the Word of Life, the Word of God,
is not only REAL but we can actually have that same close fellowship with
the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ that the disciples had!
1 John
1:3
That which we
have seen and heard declare we unto you, that
ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the
Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
Contrary to what the heathen or the children of disobedience
might say, Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God, really walked in the flesh
and John and his companions are first person witnesses in that they actually
heard Him, saw Him, and even touched Him.
It is also true that fellowship with Him produces a joy
that cannot be contained, for as we shall see in the next few verses, God
is Light, and if you walk with Him, that light will be in you and it will
shine brightly wherever you go!
[4]
And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
Will prophesied in Jesus name,
and in His name casting out devils, and in His name doing many wonderful
works get you into heaven?
1 John 1:5
This then
is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you,
that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
When did they hear Christ say He is the light?
John records it in his gospel.
John
8:12
Then spake Jesus
again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth
me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Do you want the light?
Then you MUST follow Jesus Christ!
He is the only true light in this world and the only way
one can have that "light of life", i.e. receive eternal life, is by FOLLOWING
the Word of God!
This is extremely important and the apostle John is not
going to mince any words here because you see, there are MANY now who claim
to be Christians and who claim to fellowship with Jesus Christ and who
say "Lord, Lord, Praise the Lord" and who prophesy (teach things) in His
name and even do many wonderful works.
It was spoken of by Jesus Christ Himself:
Matthew
7:22
Many
will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful
works?
Will going to church and doing many good and wonderful
works and saying you believe in Jesus Christ get you into the kingdom of
heaven? No!
Hey, our opinions don't count!
Here is what Jesus Christ says regarding the matter:
Matthew
7:21
Not every one
that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Not everyone who claims to be
a Christian is going to make it in the first resurrection to eternal life.
Matthew
7:22
Many
will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful
works?
We ask again, will going to church and doing many good and wonderful
works and saying you believe in Jesus Christ get you into the kingdom of
heaven?
Here is Matthew 7:21 again!
Matthew
7:21
Not every
one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
MANY will not!
The question is "Why won't they if they are Christians?"
We just read why not: Because they
"do
not the will of God".
They really do not "believe" because
they know not the Word of God.
They follow the doctrines of their churches and keep the
traditions of men and do not "walk with", i.e. "fellowship with" the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Word of God!
In other words they do not study
His Word which means they do not listen to the Word of God.
How could they?
They do not
know the Word of God, so, how could they possibly know whether they follow Him
or not?
Their preachers say they do.
Jesus Christ says they do not!
Who will you trust these days?
John now tells it like it is with
some straight forward language.
1 John
1:6
If we say that
we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do
not the truth:
It would seem there are MANY "liars" walking around,
aren't there?
It is not that our people are evil folks for they claim
to be Christians and fellowship with Christ.
Nevertheless, John calls them "liars"!
They are the many who have been deceived by the MANY preachers
and ministers who Jesus Christ said would come in His name (Mat. 24, Mk.
13) and deceive them.
How would they deceive them?
By teaching people to attend
church and sing songs and tithe and roll Ishtar eggs and give to missionaries
and collect food for the hungry and do other "good works", etc.
And while they teach all of these
"keep-them-busy" traditions instead of teaching the Word of God line by
line and chapter by chapter, many promise their congregations that Jesus
will return at any moment and "take them up" in the clouds before antichrist
wrecks havoc among the remaining sinners.
It just isn't so.
It is also a lie.
So what John is saying is very,
very simple.
The Word of God is light.
If you do NOT walk daily in that
Word then you do not fellowship with Christ and by default you are walking
somewhere else, which can only be in the shadows of darkness.
If you then say you have fellowship with Him you are a
liar!
We are to walk in that light and
be children of light and children of the day.
1 Thes.
5:5
Ye are all the
children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night,
nor of darkness.
And IF we do "walk in that
light" then we DO have fellowship with Jesus Christ and His atoning blood
will keep us cleansed from all sin.
1 John
1:7
But if we walk
in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Note: Dr. Bullinger in the Companion
Bible also points out that our "fellowship"
John is talking about here is not with
fellow believers but with the Father and the Son.
1 John
1:8
If we say that
we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Those Christians who walk not
in the spirit always think of sin as pertaining only to the flesh.
And since they don't smoke or drink adult beverages or
chase after members of the opposite sex or use foul language they think
they are not sinners.
Won't they be surprised when
they are exposed as spiritual whores and drunkards when Christ returns
and they try to cash in all their good works.
Here is what He will say to them:
Matthew
7:23
And then will
I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart
from me, ye that work iniquity.
There was no fellowship!
You see, there is more to
"believing" in Jesus Christ than just saying you do.
IF you truly believe in Him than
you will love Him dearly and want to walk in the light and stay confirmed
in His Word and fellowship with Him.
He is our joy and our happiness!
He is also the only one who can
forgive us our sins and He has promised to do just that IF we are honest
and confess them to Him.
Of course if we do not walk in the light then we really
do not know what sins we commit and we may think we are pretty good old
guys or gals.
Therefore we won't be confessing
the really Big Sins we have that will surely condemn us to hell.
They are the sins of idolatry and self-righteousness for
starters.
1 John
1:9
If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness.
We are to confess our sins
to Jesus Christ because He alone paid the price as our perfect sacrifice
for our sins and He alone is able to wash away our iniquity and forgive
us, i.e. cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
And if for any reason whatsoever you think you are a pretty
"good old boy" and do not sin then you call Jesus Christ a liar.
That is not a good thing!
It also shows that you are Biblically
illiterate and His Word, which is truth, which is light, is NOT in you.
1 John
1:10
If we say that
we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
What does the Word say about all men
concerning sin?
Romans
3:23
For all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
You see, the Word of God
declares that all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God and though John will admonish us
later in this study to try our best not to sin, we will all
occasionally fall
short to one degree or another as long as we are still living in the
flesh.
That is why we have the blood of
Christ to cleanse us and why it is we have repentance.
IF we confess our sins and ask for
His forgiveness, He has faithfully promised to forgive us!
I don't know about you or how good
you are, but knowing that makes this flesh man happy already!
To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits;
to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, you accomplish both.
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