The Epistle of 1 John – Part Thirteen

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

This is the thirteenth part of a series on the epistle of 1 John written by John the apostle. In this series we will cover the basic concerns John had for writing this letter to Christians. Included are the fourteen reasons he wrote these epistles of 1, 2 and 3 John as well as the eleven assurances we have that establish our salvation as a Christian.

 

1 John 4:4-5

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.

 

John reveals here in this passage the second test that enables us to judge whether the teaching we hear is from God. This test demonstrates the difference between those who possess and manifest the divine nature of the Holy Spirit in their lives and those who have not repented of their sins and have failed to commit their life to Christ. True believers have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit to seal them for eternity as a child of God. Because a Christian has been saved from their sins and has received the Holy Spirit they seek to obey the Lord’s commands and love others. Dedication to God’s Word, submission to God’s Truth and seeking to love in a Christ-like manner are traits of a believer, not a non-believer.

 

Those who speak from the world’s wisdom, knowledge and standards do not have God’s Spirit. They share in the philosophies of the world. They live the lifestyle of the world and feel comfortable in the world for they are of the world not of God. This does not mean that they are necessarily always living horrible hateful lives, but it does mean they are living in the world, not in the Spirit of God, and have chosen to reject God’s Truth.

 

Those who teach wrong doctrine and false beliefs will grab the attention of the world because they speak the same language and live the same lifestyle. They will also have the same worldly goals. In John’s gospel he speaks of this radical difference between the children of God and the children of the world.

 

John 15:18-19

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

 

Several verses reveal that the One who is in us is not only the Holy Spirit but also our Heavenly Father and Jesus as well. We know the Holy Spirit lives in us because of the following scripture passages.

 

2 Timothy 1:14

“Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you — guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.”

 

John 14:16

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth.”

 

But Christ lives in us as well.

 

Colossians1:27

“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

 

John 14:18, 20-21

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you…On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

 

But God also lives in us.

 

1 John 4:15

“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.”

 

John 14:23

“Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

 

John MacArthur states, “In the gospel of John the apostle reports that Jesus said the Holy Spirit would abide in believers (14:16), that He Himself would abide in them (14:18, 20-21), and that the Father would abide in them (14:23).” John MacArthur (1,2,3 John Commentary)

 

So because the Father, Son and Spirit live in us as believers we are God’s children. It is also true that the One in us is greater than the one in the world. This is evidence of God’s victory over sin and how we also can have victory over sin as well as the world.

 

The third test to evaluate truth from error is: “Does the teaching come from the world or from God?” Christians teach the Word of God and this truth is rejected by the world. Christians will recognize the Truth of God because they have the Holy Spirit within them to discern and understand scripture and God’s message. John writes in verse six.

 

1 John 4:6

“We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.”

 

This truth that God’s message and gospel is recognized by those who believe in Christ is also expressed in 1 Corinthians 2:12-14 where it states,

 

“We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

 

But there is a critical point to be made here. Anyone, even a non-believer, can quote scripture, teach a Sunday school class or even preach in the pulpit. But God’s Word must be quoted, taught and preached accurately and this can only be done if the person is an obedient, dedicated and validated follower of Christ. This is confirmed in their lives by a consistent godly lifestyle. This was one of the problems that John was addressing in his epistles. Gnostic deceivers were claiming to be in fellowship with God but were teaching false doctrine. So Christians must be wary of those who claim to be something they are not. When we perceive that a teaching is off-base, we must check it out to validate if it is true or not (Acts 17:11). When we discern that our non-believing friends are accepting some concepts or philosophies of the world, then we have an opportunity to share the truth with them. They need to know what we know; that there is no world-friendly doctrine, spiritual teaching is either true or it is not. Nothing is benign, false teaching is malignant and will erode and taint the lives of those who listen to it.

 

1 John 4:7

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

 

John now returns to one of the major themes in these epistles, loving others. He states in this verse that true “agape” selfless love only comes from God Himself. Those who have received Christ as Savior and Lord of their lives have God living in them and have the capability to love as God loves. John gives this as a mark of a true Christian. Those who reject Christ as Savior are not capable of loving in this manner and are not a child of God. Because one of God’s core character traits is love, those who obey His commands and love in a godly manner can know for sure they are His child.

 

1 John 4:9-10

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

 

John in verses nine and ten shares with us the foundation of God’s grace, the love our Heavenly Father demonstrated in sending His one and only Son. God sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins so that we would not only be saved from the penalty of our sins, but so we could also live an abundant life in Christ and love God and others.

 

John also makes a point of telling us here that true godly love has its basis, not in human motivated love, but in God motivated love. God loves us first and through His love we are offered grace and mercy. When we partake of God’s love by experiencing salvation from our sins we are given the ability and capacity to love as He loved us. Before our sins are forgiven we can’t love as God loves because He does not live in us. What an amazing experience to be granted not only forgiveness for sins, but also to receive the ability to love people in a deeper way that we never could before.

 

1 John 4:11

“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

 

Finally John convicts us and gives us a challenge, to love one another because God loved us. God has a purpose for us when He saves us. He wants us to love people the way He does. We are created in the image of God and once He redeems us, He wants us to fulfill our God-given image by loving others. If we live as Christ and obey His commands we will love people as Christ did. This again, validates that we belong to Him and that He lives in us. As a Christian we have a sense of being completed and fulfilled and we can experience the joy God wants us to have.