Lesson 1<\/p>\n
What is the Message?<\/p>\n
1 John 1:1-4<\/p>\n
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There is a strange phenomena taking place in society today. Maybe it has been around for a long time but now is more exaggerated in our highly mobile and connected environment. It seems that the whole world has become narcissistic. Just look at facebook and the other social media to see how so much of it is self promotion. Everything that is done is for the moment with no thought of the long term conse- quences. There is is even a new term for photos taken with smartphones, Ipads and even computers. They are called \u201cSelfies\u201d and they are everywhere.<\/p>\n
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The second thing that amazes me are the number of biographies and auto-biographies available, even in Christian bookstores, written by or about celebrities as young as their early twenties. How is it that a story capture who a person truly is whose only claim to fame is that he or she is an athlete or actor or race car driver and on and on can go the list. Many of them become one year wonders and are never heard of again. We are to read about and listen to these individuals as if they have some corner on wisdom because they can run or throw a baseball or football.<\/p>\n
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There is a story about the great nineteenth evangelist D.L Moody of whom it was said that he refused to allow any one write the story of his life until after his death. His reasoning was that some where along the line he might do something to discredit his name and bring ridicule and criticism upon himself. He even went so far as to destroy the majority of the his sermon notes to make sure that his particular way of writing things down to jog his memory as he preached might be misinterpreted.<\/p>\n
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I think the \u201cbiographical selfies\u201d may come back to haunt these individuals just as some of the personal material that is written on facebook and twitter will follow them. What is written down or shown will never go away and each of us will have to live with what has been put out there for all the world to see.<\/p>\n
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The church has had its share of people who have had a large following. Many of them have had moral failures that completely ruined their reputations and the ministries that they led. Sadly, some still continue on as if nothing has happened in their lives that would affect how they are viewed. Celebrity is a dangerous thing. Christian leaders need to be very careful of how they present themselves to the vulnerable and those with a lack of maturity to see through the false teachings they share. Every one of us need to be very careful and examine what they do in light of the Scriptures.<\/p>\n
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I believe that John was in a unique position in history. He was one of the original twelve disciples and outlived all of the others by at least two decades. God granted him a privilege that only one other man was allowed to see and return. Paul had his vision of heaven but God was given the panorama of all that God was planning to do in the future. Both Revelation and the book of John were written late in the first century. The letters that John wrote were penned even later possibly within the last decade of that world changing era.<\/p>\n
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He had experienced time with Jesus, seen persecution of the church under a number of emperors, and spent time in exile himself. John was at the time the letters were sent was beginning to see a change in the church that was not positive. We get a hint of the drift away from the truth especially in Paul’s letter to the Galatians.<\/p>\n
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1<\/p>\n
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The beginnings of a false teaching broadly called gnosticism was leading some Christians astray. Gnosticism taught that there only a select number of people who were wise and had had a special revelation from God concerning the teachings of the church. As we look at them with a critical eye it is obvious the such doctrine would totally undermind the gospel that had been passed downed through the apostles about Jesus.<\/p>\n
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Some of the most dangerous ones in some cases took opposite viewpoints. One taught that Jesus was not God but only a human being. They did not believe that God could indwelt sinful man. Their conclusion took a couple of forms. Since all material was evil then it was only the spirit that mattered so one could do with his body as he pleased. This is somewhat the attitude of today that my body is mine and I can do with it what ever I want. To the extreme this teaching would have destroyed the notion of the divinity of Jesus. Some then taught that the Holy Spirit had come on Jesus at His baptism and left at the time He was put on the cross.<\/p>\n
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John of course knew about all these heresies that were popping up in the church and wrote the three letters to counteract them. One last point that I find interesting that by the time these letters were written He had been shown what would happen to the churches in Asia minor including Ephesus from which the three originated.<\/p>\n
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The problems that John faced in the first century are still prevalent in our time. Atheism and outright militancy against Christianity is on the rise. There are probably more anti-Christians books available today than at any other point in history. His letters should be viewed as not just for the churches surrounding Ephesus but relevant to us today.<\/p>\n
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1 John 1:1<\/p>\n
John begins his letter with the kind of evidence that would be irrefutable in the best courts of public opinion. He laid out for the people his own personal experience which had been verified over and over again in the sixty plus years since they first occurred. Without a doubt he was convinced of what he wrote. His first statement could mean a couple of things. He may have been speaking of the eternal nature of Christ on when he and the others thirst were introduced to Him. Either way the real issue was the understanding that John had of the importance of the physical evidence that needed to be shared with those who were doubting that Jesus was the Son of God and the Savior of the world.<\/p>\n
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The disciples had heard John the Baptist describe Jesus as the Lamb of God. Following that first contact with Jesus many of them would spend the next three and one half years with Him. During that period of time they would have heard the words of Jesus over and over again. The next thing John spoke was to verify the physical reality of the man. They had seen Him as a flesh and blood human being. Just as important they had observed all that He had done gaining understanding that this man was also the Son of God. To further emphasize His presence among them they touched Him as everyone might do to another person in the normal activities of life. With all the evidence before them they came to believe with all of lives that Jesus was indeed the Logos, the very Word of God, living among them.<\/p>\n
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What was the evidence that you heard that led you to follow Jesus?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Why was it important for John to present such a detailed description of the relationship he and the other disciples had with Jesus?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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2<\/p>\n
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What are the things he listed that would be proof enough for anyone to believe? (He listed the five senses that all of us use every day.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
What gave credibility to the message from John that is lacking in so much we read today? (He had spent a lifetime focusing on the gospel and what it meant in his life and that of the others who would read his words.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
What makes a person believable in your eyes?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
By what criteria do you judge a person as a genuine Christian?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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1 John 1:2<\/p>\n
What John was doing would fit a scene in a courtroom. He is continually laying fact upon fact until there is should be no room left of who Jesus was. In this verse he spoke of the manifestation of Jesus. The Greek word for manifested is \u201cemphanizo\u201d which means to \u201cshine\u201d \u201cbring to light\u201d or \u201cshow plainly.\u201d God choice to reveal Himself in plain sight for all men of His day to see.<\/p>\n
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Jesus came and allowed Himself to be seen and heard was that man may come to understand the eternal life He was providing through His death and resurrection. Once again John stated that the information he was proclaiming was not third hand. He had seen and heard the One whom God had manifested to them. John and the others believed Jesus the revealed truth. Having served the Lord for years he was proclaiming the truth as it was given to them.<\/p>\n
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Why did John continue to repeat the same idea over and over? (He wanted to make sure that the people understood that what he was sharing was not what he had experienced first hand.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Why did he use the word manifested? (It gave such a clear picture that God had been revealed through His Son.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Why is it so important to continually spend time in God’s word?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Why is it so important to memorize the word? (Makes one ready to share God’s word anytime and anyplace.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Why would you heed the words of someone like John? (He had stayed committed to Jesus for over sixty years even during very difficult times.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
How well equipped do you feel to share about Jesus?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Why is his message still effective? (It has stood the test of time sharing the truth that cannot be denied.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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1 John 1:3<\/p>\n
Having spoken the word so the people would find eternal life because of John’s witness, He had one more step the followers of Christ were to take. They were to hear the word, believe it, gain eternal life through its truth which would lead to genuine fellowship with other believers. The fellowship spoken about here is more than meeting to eat fried chicken and mash potatoes. It is to be an active participant with other Christians in the service of Jesus Christ. Koinonia, the Greek word for fellowship has one more important meaning. The church is to be bonded together to serve a united purpose. The way for each person to participate is for each person to use the gifts and abilities that God has given him\/her to the furtherance of God’s kingdom. As John so beautifully put it our ultimate fellowship is with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Every person longs for the time when what has started in this lifetime will be made complete. God calls man to be part of His body working alongside Him to bring all people to salvation. Without being an active part of the ministry it cannot be said that one is actively become part of the whole.<\/p>\n
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3<\/p>\n
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How did the citizens in Asia Minor come to the place of finding eternal life according to this verse?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
What are the steps to having fellowship with other believers?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
What is fellowship of believers?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
What is the ultimate example of fellowship? (The Trinity)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
What does God truly want for each of us? (To be a part of His forever fellowship.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
How have we misused the idea behind the word? (We call every gathering a fellowship.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
How do we fulfill the idea behind fellowship? ( We use our gifts and abilities in working together for the common good of God’s kingdom.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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1 John 1:4<\/p>\n
John took the time to write the letter for one purpose. He desired that our joy be made complete. There will never be final joy until each person is at home with the Father. Meanwhile John, as he did in his gospel, wants the recipients of his letter, which would include us today, to not allow the circumstances of this world destroy the happiness that we have found in Christ. The world buffets man but God through Christ gives a peace and joy that overcomes the world.<\/p>\n
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What thanksgiving can we find in John’s words? (The assurance that we can have in Christ for eternal life.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
What does joy mean for the Christian?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
How is it different than happiness? (Happiness depends on what is going on around us. Joy is the peace and happiness that can even be found in the midst of trouble.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Who is the giver of true joy?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Why can man not find it on his own? (Because there is always conflict even in the hearts of man that keeps him from resting in God.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Look to God’s word as proof that Jesus came to earth in the flesh to save mankind. See Philippians 2.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Learn what true fellowship means for followers of Christ.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Be willing to use all that God has done for you in His service that the body of Christ will be unified.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Learn to rest in God. It is only by doing so will you find true joy.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Study God’s word to learn what God means by His peace.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Today it is critical that we be able to give a strong defense for the person of Jesus Christ. The proof that God came to earth is found within the pages of His word. Even though there have been others like Josephus who have written of Him, the most conclusive evidence has come from men like John who lived and worked with Jesus for the three and one half years. Almost all of the men who wrote about Him gave their lives in belief that Jesus was indeed who He said He was.<\/p>\n
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Now is our time to witness to the facts of Jesus’s life. We must spend the necessary time meditating, studying and reflecting on God’s word. It is important for us to know what it says so that we can follow the commands given in Deuteronomy 6 to teach and share His word so that he next generation will have the same fellowship with the Father with which we have been blessed. 2 Timothy 2:2 is also a strong admonition to teach faithful men so they themselves can teach others. Let us not fail in this task.<\/p>\n
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4<\/p>\n
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