1. Live in the Light.
The Epistles of John

2. 8 Week Series The aim will be to give a summary
Today we will begin an
8 Week Series
The aim will be to give a summary
of the main concepts found within
the three Epistles of John. .

3. The goal of the class will be: to give tools for obedience.

4. in a more thorough way than ever before…
You will likely be forced to
think about the truth
in a more thorough way than ever before…

5. The result will be rewarding!
The work will
be worth it!
The result will be rewarding!

6. Today we will be covering the 10 verses of Chapter 1,
& the first 2 verses of Chapter 2. .

7. Rather than taking time to giving general background to the book, author, audience and setting…
we want to dive right in. .

8. Chapter 1 .

9. which we have seen with our eyes,
(1:1) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes,
which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—

10. (1:2) the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—

11. (1:3) that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

12. (1:4) And we are writing these things so that our joy may
be complete.

13. (1:5) This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

14. (1:6) If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

15. (1:7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

16. (1:8) If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

17. (1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

18. (1:10) If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

19. (2:1) My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

20. (2:2) He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

21. some observations from
Let’s try and make
some observations from
what John is saying… .

22. which we have seen with our eyes,
(1:1) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes,
which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—

23. (1:2) the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—

24. John begins speaking about Jesus
John begins speaking about Jesus. He says that Jesus is the One who was from the beginning of time. .

25. The word used is ‘the first’ or ‘the king’ of ‘the ruler’.
He is speaking of Christ’s preeminence before all time
& all things..

26. he was/is ‘the word of life’ & he was/is ‘the eternal life’.
John describes Christ,
by saying that
he was/is ‘the word of life’ &
he was/is ‘the eternal life’. .

27. John says that this One, this word of life, this eternal life, was with God from the beginning and was now made manifest, visible to them. .

28. John says that the apostles saw him with their own eyes, they heard his voice and they touched his person. They saw his lifestyle & his behavior. .

29. In other words, what the disciples examined displayed
by Christ in word & deed
is the essence of
‘eternal life’. .

30. Let’s re-read and
then re-phrase
to make this clear. .

31. which we have seen with our eyes,
(1:1) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes,
which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—

32. (1:2) the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—

33. the ‘word of life’ we have looked upon
(1:1-2) That which was with God from the beginning was ‘eternal life’—that life was made manifest (incarnate) and through
the ‘word of life’ we have looked upon
it (eternal life), we have seen it (eternal life) and touched it (eternal life) with our hands…
and we are proclaiming to you the eternal way of life that was manifest to us by God.

34. in view here is more than or
The ‘eternal life’
in view here is more than or
different from our normal understanding of ‘salvation’ or ‘living for ever’. .

35. This is very, very important….

36. (1:2) the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—

37. The eternal life in focus
is the type of life
that Jesus displayed….

38. That is; the quality of life that Jesus lived…which is also the kind life that we will live forever with Jesus.

39. This distinction is very important to understand.

40. Eternal life can mean two related, yet very different things.

41. of life that will last eternally.
First, most commonly, eternal life means escape from the punishment of our sins & freedom from condemnation on judgement day, along with a length
of life that will last eternally.

42. (John 3:16) God so loved the world,
that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

43. Not only is this the primary way that Christians perceive
‘eternal life’ it is often the only thing they have ever been taught concerning eternal life…and they have no other paradigm.

44. a godly & fulfilling life.
However, there is another aspect to the truths about ‘eternal life’ that are not only very important, but they are essential to living
a godly & fulfilling life.

45. Second, less commonly, eternal life means the quality of life experienced in holiness & joy. That is, the type of life or the benefits and enjoyments that are part of eternal life…which can be experienced now, partially and then, fully.

46. (John 17:3) And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

47. is someone that you can know intimately, namely God & his Son.
Eternal life
is someone that you can know intimately, namely God & his Son. .

48. to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
(Gal 6:8) For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows
to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

49. Eternal life
is something that you can reap the rewards of by sowing to -
living in the Holy Spirit. .

50. (John 6:27) Do not labor for the food that spoils, but [labor] for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.

51. Eternal life
is something that you can work towards & something satisfying that you can feed yourself with. .

52. (1 Tim 6:12) Fight the good fight of the faith
(1 Tim 6:12) Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

53. Eternal life fight for & take hold of on this side of eternity.
is something that you can
fight for & take hold of on this side of eternity. .

54. (John 4:13-14) Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

55. is a spring within you that quenches the thirst of the soul.
Eternal life
is a spring within you that quenches the thirst of the soul. .

56. There are more examples, but hopefully that is enough to convince you.

57. The point is, the kind of or type of ‘eternal life’ that John has in view here is the kind of life that Jesus led, which was displayed in his visible behavior… .

58. The ‘eternal life’ that John has in view here is not
‘eternal salvation’ from sin found in belief of the gospel. .

59. calls us to do certain things, and not do other things…
Which means, when John
calls us to do certain things,
and not do other things…

60. #1 Eternal Life: …it is not so that we can labor, sow, fight for
Salvation/escape from punishment/live forever.

61. He is calling us to do/not do certain things in order to have
#2 Eternal Life:
the satisfaction & the reward of walking in holy fellowship with God…a present quality of life.

62. That is;
Our eternal salvation is not at stake in doing or not doing these things….

63. The #1 eternal life assured in future salvation is guaranteed and is based on the promises of God and the accomplishments of Christ.

64. Our experience of joy and true fellowship with God is what is at stake. .

65. The #2 eternal life experienced in ongoing sanctification is very much ‘up for grabs’ and is based on our willingness to walk in obedience.

66. Our conclusions are confirmed
in the next two verses… .

67. (1:3) that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

68. (1:4) And we are writing these things so that our joy may
be complete.

69. John says that he is writing these things about this eternal life to the churches so that they too can have this type of abundant & joyful life found in fellowship with God & Christ. .

70. John did not say that he is writing to them about the eternal life which was manifest to them so that they could live forever with God in heaven and avoid punishment & condemnation. .

71. John says that he is writing these things so that the believers can have the kind of eternal life that leads to fellowship with the triune God of the universe and joy abundant. .

72. much of the book will be about:
In other words,
much of the book will be about:
how the believer can go about experiencing this type of eternal & rewarding life, which is found in close, joyful fellowship with God. .

73. (1:5) This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

74. The first thing that he wants to say about having this kind of life
is to make something very clear about God. .

75. John says that the main thing to remember about this type of life is that God is holy & perfect and he has no part in any sin or evil. .

76. He summarized ‘the message’ which they heard from Jesus’ manifest life as;.

77. God is holy & perfect. .

78. loving, gracious, compassionate…
He didn’t say
loving, gracious, compassionate… .

79. holiness At the core of the experience of this type of eternal life is.

80. This is very important
to understanding the
Epistles of John. .

81. John’s Epistles are about how to experience a joyful & rewarding ‘eternal life’ now by being in close fellowship with God…accomplished primarily through a life of holiness.

82. John is now going to make
7 Statements in the next 7 Verses in an attempt to outline how we can have this kind of life…

83. John is going to unfold portions of the ‘instruction manual’ or the ‘blueprint’ on how to have this kind of life.

84. (1:6) If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

85. If we claim to be walking
in obedient fellowship with God (who is light: holy) yet we are living
in blatant darkness (sin)…

86. this duplicity is possible)… because God can not have
…we are not in step with the truth (we deceive ourselves by thinking that
this duplicity is possible)…
because God can not have
fellowship with the darkness
that we are in.

87. (1:7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

88. If however we walk in the light
(in step with holiness) we have fellowship with God and the blood of Christ covers us from the sin that we may/will indeed commit during our attempt to live godly lives.

89. (1:8) If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

90. Even while we are walking in the light of God’s holiness we will fall short and sin.

91. the Spirit will convict us and call attention to our error, in an
When we do,
the Spirit will convict us and call attention to our error, in an
attempt to led us to repentance.

92. When this occurs, if we say that we have not sinned, we are essentially saying that the Holy Spirit is wrong and that we did not sin that way.

93. We are deceiving ourselves in
an attempt to avoid the pain of admittance, confession, repentance etc.

94. (1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

95. If however, when the Spirit convicts us of sin that we commit, we agree with Him and we admit our error…

96. God will be faithful (to His promises)
and also just (the death of Christ)
to forgive us of the sin that we did commit against His holiness.

97. (1:10) If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

98. Again, however, if we deny that we have sinned when the Spirit convicts us of the truth that we have sinned against Him in some way…

99. and we make the Spirit out to be a liar (false in His conviction)…
It is clear that God’s word has limited control over our lives and limited sway in our hearts…
and we make the Spirit out to be
a liar (false in His conviction)…

100. (2:1a) My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.

101. John makes his goal clear.
He is not writing the believers to give them license: freedom to sin…

102. that may lead us to believe that sin is petty and obedience is trite.
If God is faithful & just
to forgive us when we sin…
that may lead us to believe that sin is petty and obedience is trite.

103. However, John says, I am writing these things so that we will have
the aim of not sinning…

104. Sin
always separates us
from God.

105. Sin also always separates us from the reward, the joy & fulfillment
of type #2 Eternal Life.

106. and cuts us off from the benefits of type #2 Eternal Life.
Even if God promises to forgive us when we sin... that sin still separates us relationally from God…
and cuts us off from the benefits of type #2 Eternal Life.

107. And John is writing these things so that we may have type
#2 Eternal Life…and that our joy may be full.

108. walking in close, holy, fellowship with God…
The two keys to having this kind of joyful & rewarding life are
walking in close, holy, fellowship with God…
and (2) not sinning.

109. Yet, even as redeemed people,
in a fallen world, with the sin nature remaining, we will sin.

110. And John is explaining how to handle that problem, in order to continue to have the benefits of this kind of eternal life.

111. (2:1a, 2) But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

112. John knows that human nature will push us to the extremes
of deadly ‘license to sin’ and dutiful ‘legalism to obey’.

113. A moment ago he was concerned that we may confuse God’s promise to forgive as license/liberty to sin…

114. Now he is concerned that believers will be controlled by the fear that they have ‘to be perfect’ in order to have this fellowship…

115. And he reminds them again, that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father and He is continually making atoning amends on our behalf in the courtroom of God.

116. it is without limit as it were,
He concludes by reminding them that Christ’s atoning power over sin in their life will never run out,
it is without limit as it were,
capable of covering all the sin of all people for all time if need be.

118. #1 Jesus came not only so that we could have a future eternal life…but so that we would have life more abundant now…and that our joy would be full. (Jhn 10:10, 15:11)

119. #2 Being saved from our sins & punishment in hell is not the essence of eternal life… joyful fellowship with God is. (Jhn 17:3)

120. #3 At the core of this joyful, abundant, eternal life is holiness…because God is utterly holy/light and he can not fellowship with sin/darkness.

121. #4 While retaining their sin nature; believers will continually struggle with the sin that always cuts them off from God & from experiencing this full, rewarding,
eternal life now.

122. #5 Learning to respond to the Holy Spirit’s conviction through admittance, confession & repentance is the key to walking in close fellowship with God.