What We Know
Notes
Transcript
Introduction: Concluding the Letter
Introduction: Concluding the Letter
As the letter of 1 John draws to a close, fortunately the Apostle draws all of his topics into three easy to remember parts for us to meditate on. This epistle is a very focused book of the Bible. It’s purpose is very specific and so he boils it down here for us to touch on. As we’ve seen previously, John’s main concern in this letter is giving us confidence. Confidence in our faith, confidence in Christ, confidence in the body of Christ. John doesn’t want us living our lives not sure whether we actually have eternal life in Christ to know the Father. So, just as he wrote his gospel that we may know that Jesus is the Christ, he writes this letter that we may know that he is ours and we are his. So it is no surprise that, in surveying the different ways he’s approached this subject in the book, we are left with three statements that begin with the words “we know.” If nothing else sticks with you in what we’ve covered in this book, make sure these three statements do. Not only do they give a solid summary of the things we’ve been looking at since we started in this book last year, but they are our go-to when we need the confidence that God desires his people to have in him.
We Know we are Protected from Sin
We Know we are Protected from Sin
Verse 18 links to the discussion we had last week concerning the sin leading to death. It solidifies the conclusion I put forward that the sin leading to death is the sin of the unrepentant apostate, that is, the sin of someone who is still under the power of sin and not the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the first test to give us confidence. Remember, this isn’t written to make us all hypersensitive about whether we have committed one too many sins to be considered Christians, it’s written to give you confidence. A test isn’t given to cause you to fail, it’s given to prove your success. So this test is not given to make you question your Christian walk, it’s meant to confirm it if it is indeed genuine.
One who is born of God, that is, one who has died to sin and been raised to newness of life in Christ does not keep living like he has not died to sin. While there are sins that do not lead to death (the sins of repentant Christians) and no Christian is without sin on this side of eternity, no Christian alive today actively walks in sin, privately or publically. Every Christian without exception hates sin and does not make it the way of their life. Our approach to sin is therefore one place to go to for confidence.
Confidence because natural men do not reject sin like a Christian rejects sins. They may reject sin when it is convenient for them, but not when God tells them to, especially their most cherished and hidden sins.
The reason there is confidence here is seen in the second half of this verse, “but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.” Notice the connection between “everyone who has been born of God” and “he who was born of God”. This connection is important. Our relationship to Christ units us to the Father, this was one of the first points that John established in chapter 1. Because Jesus is born of God, and through him we are born of God, then we should walk in the light as he is in the light. That way we have fellowship with him, with each other and with the Father.
But not only this, he also protects us so that the evil one cannot touch us. While the devil is the father of hypocrites and the god of those who reject the true God, he has no power over those who are born of God. He has no authority to lead them into sin, and that is why we do not keep on sinning.
We Know that we are from God
We Know that we are from God
The second confidence we have is that we know we are from God. If we are born of God, then we are from him and our nature is from him.
What does it mean that we are from God? What Verse 18 says, we are born of him in Christ. We are counted as his people, our sins have been cleansed, and we have a new nature by the sanctifying work of the Spirit.
Our being from God is put in contrast with who the world are under. John paints it black and white, either you know God or no, either you are his child or you are a child of satan, either you walk in the light or walk in the evil darkness of this world. This black and white look makes it clear to us where we stand as opposed to the rest of the world. If someone is not of God, they are under the power of the evil one. They are not their own person.
We know we are from God through Christ, since he is the one who came from God. This gives us confidence, because the the very same love that God has for Christ is also for us who are born of him in Christ. There is nothing more secure than that.
We Know that we Know God
We Know that we Know God
The third thing we know is that we know God.
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
Christ came and gave us understanding. In order to know God, we needed to know how to know him. Hebrews 2:3 tells us that Christ was the first to preach the Gospel to us. He was both the subject of the Gospel message and it’s first messenger. He is the ultimate revelation from God, and with that revelation came the way to know God.
The purpose of us knowing what we know about God in the Bible is to not only know truth, but know him who is true. This is only done in Jesus Christ, which is why the Gospel is the centre of all that Scripture teaches us.
Why is Christ the only way to know God?
Because he is the true God. There is no way to know God except by God’s own prerogative.
He is eternal life. That is, he is the source of the living water we talked about a few weeks ago. If he is the source of true life, and true life is to know the Father (according to John 17:3) than you can only know God through him.
Confidence in knowing God based on our confidence in knowing Christ.
Motivation to know more of him.
Motivation to draw nearer to him in prayer.
Motivation to follow him as a faithful disciple.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Pursue Confidence in Christ
We pursue it by knowing the Scriptures, prayer, and meditation (Private religion)
We pursue it in the church through Christ-like, sacrificial brotherly love
We pursue it by love-fueled obedience for God.
We pursue it for a deeper confidence in the eternal life we are promised and have already come to experience in Christ.