1 JOHN CHAPTER 1 (A.D. 90) INTRODUCTION 1 That which was from the beginning (speaks of Jesus Christ; He is from everlasting), which we have heard (John was personally with Christ for 3-1/2 years), which we have seen with our eyes (John saw what Christ was as a Man), which we have looked upon (what he saw was more than a passing glance; it was “gazing with a purpose”), and our hands have handled (refers to the fact that Christwas human), of the Word of Life (says in the Greek, “The Word of The Life,” referring to the fact that Christ is also God); 2 (For the life was manifested (not hidden, but rather revealed), and we have seen it (made visible to the human race through the humanity of our Lord), and bear witness (we can testify to the fact), and show unto you that Eternal Life (this “Life,” which Christ is and has, is “Eternal”), which was with the Father (the Son is the same essence as the Father), and was mani fested unto us;) (This was made visible to us, and given to us as well.) FELLOWSHIP 3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you (hence, this Epistle), that you also may have fellowship with us (something possessed in common by both, in this case Christ): and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. (Fellowship with Christ guarantees fellowship with the Father.) 4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. (This should have been translated, “our joy may be full.” John wanted others to know Christ as He knew Christ.) 5 This then is the Message which we have heard of Him (presents the true Message of the Cross in comparison with the false), and declare unto you, that God is Light (as to His nature, essence, and character, God is Light), and in Him is no darkness at all. (Spiritual darkness does not exist in Him, not even one bit.) 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie (to claim Salvation while at the same time “walking in darkness” automatically dismisses our claims), and do not the Truth (such a life is a “lie,” and is not “true”): 7 But if we walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, we have fellowship one with another (if we claim fellowship with Him, we will at the same time walk in the Light, which is the sphere of His Walk), and the Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. (Our Faith being in the Cross, the shed Blood of Jesus Christ, constantly cleanses us from all sin.) SIN 8 If we say that we have no sin (refers to “the sin nature”), we deceive ourselves (refers to self-deception), and the Truth is not in us. (This does not refer to all Truth as it regards Believers, but rather that the Truth of the indwelling sinful nature is not in us.) 9 If we confess our sins (pertains to acts of sin, whatever they might be; the sinner is to believe [Jn. 3:16]; the Saint is to confess), He (the Lord) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (God will always be true to His Own Nature and Promises, keeping Faith with Himself and with man), and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (“All,” not some. All sin was remitted, paid for, and put away on the basis of the satisfaction offered for the demands of God’s Holy Law, which sinners broke, when the Lord Jesus died on the Cross.) 10 If we say that we have not sinned (here, John is denouncing the claims of sinless perfection; he is going back to Verse 8, speaking of Christians who claimed they had no sin nature), we make Him a liar (the person who makes such a claim makes God a liar, because the Word says the opposite), and His Word is not in us. (If we properly know the Word, we will properly know that perfection is not in us at present, and will not be until the Trump sounds.) 1 JOHN CHAPTER 2 (A.D. 90) THE ADVOCATE 1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that you sin not. (This presents the fact that the Lord saves us from sin, not in sin. This Passage tells us that, as Believers, we don’t have to sin. Victory over sin is found exclusively in the Cross.) And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous (Jesus is now seated at the Right Hand of the Father, signifying that His Mission is complete, and His very Presence guarantees intercession [Heb. 7:25-26; 9:24; 10:12]): 2 And He is the propitiation (satisfaction) for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (This pertains to the fact that the satisfaction is as wide as the sin. If men do not experience its benefit, the fault is not in its efficacy, but in man himself.) EVIDENCE 3 And hereby we do know that we know Him (refers to a “know so” Salvation), if we keep His Commandments. (This can be done only as the Believer understands that the Cross is the solution for all things, and that it must ever be the Object of our Faith. That being done, Christ will live through us by means of the person of the Holy Spirit, and the Commandments will be kept, referring to the entirety of the New Covenant [Gal. 2:20].) 4 He who says, I know Him, and keeps not His Commandments (if our claims do not correspond with His demands, then we really don’t know Him), is a liar, and the Truth is not in him. (If one’s life is not changed by what is professed then one really doesn’t have what is professed.) 5 But whoso keeps His Word (we are to abide by the Word of God, ever making it the rule of our lives, and we can do so if our Faith is solidly placed in the Cross), in him verily is the Love of God perfected (refers to the “Fruit” of one who “keeps His Word”): hereby know we that we are in Him (refers to Rom. 6:3-5). 6 He who says he abides in Him (pertains to a claim being made) ought himself also so to walk, even as He (Christ) walked (pertains to the manner in which we order our behavior). PROOF 7 Brethren, I write no new Commandment unto you (to love the Brethren is not a new Commandment), but an old Commandment which you had from the beginning. (To love the Brethren has been the foundation and the keynote of the Plan of God from the very beginning.) The old Commandment is the Word which you have heard from the beginning. (Since the old Commandment of Love has ever been before the Believer, there is no excuse to not walk after this direction.) 8 Again, a new Commandment I write unto you (the Commandment of Love is both old and new), which thing is true in Him (Christ) and in you (if we are “in Him,” then we should be like Him): because the darkness is past (pertains to the time before Christ), and the true Light now shines. (The “true Light” is Christ, which Light will shine forever, and pertains to the time since Christ has come.) 9 He who says he is in the Light, and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now. (How can we claim to have love, and at the same time hate our Brother? Such a person isn’t saved, despite his claims.) 10 He who loves his Brother abides in the Light (the type of love addressed here is the God kind of Love, which one cannot have unless one is truly saved), and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. (To walk in the light is to be governed by love, which removes the stumbling blocks.) 11 But he who hates his Brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness (this is an individual who has once known the Lord, but is losing his way with God simply because of hatred in his heart for a fellow Christian; consequently, he walks in darkness), and knows not where he goes, because that darkness has blinded his eyes. (The penalty of living in spiritual darkness is not merely that one does not see, but that one goes spiritually blind, which makes one an open target for false doctrine.) 12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His Name’s sake (because of what He did for us at the Cross). 13 I write unto you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. (This refers to those who are mature in the Christian life.) I write unto you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. (This refers to Believers who have now come to the place where they are living in the Power of the Spirit, and their victory over Satan is a consistent one.) I write unto you, little children, because you have known the Father. (This refers to Believers who haven’t been saved very long. The Greek word used here is “paidion,” and refers to a child in training. It is the business of the “Fathers” and the “young men” to train the young converts in the ways of the Lord.) 14 I have written unto you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. (John is repeating himself here in order that the “Fathers” may ever know and understand that God’s Prescribed Order of Victory has got them to this place [a place of overcoming strength], and they must not allow false doctrine to come in and destroy that.) I have written unto you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one. (Never forget how you have overcome, which is by Faith in the Cross of Christ [II Pet. 2:2].) 15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. (The “world” spoken of here by John pertains to the ordered system of which Satan is the head.) If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (God the Father will not share the love that must go exclusively from Him with the world.) 16 For all that is in the world (there is nothing in the system of this world that is of God), the lust of the flesh (refers to evil cravings), and the lust of the eyes (craves what it sees), and the pride of life (that which trusts its own power and resources, and shamefully despises and violates Divine Laws and human rights), is not of the Father, but is of the world. (These things have the system of the world as their source, not the Heavenly Father.) 17 And the world passes away, and the lust thereof (whatever the allurements of the world, they soon fade): but he who does the Will of God abides forever (the one who keeps on habitually doing the Will of God). FAITH 18 Little children, it is the last time (all the period, from the First to the Second Advents may, in this sense, truly be called, “the last time”): and as you have heard that Antichrist shall come (the Apostle is speaking of the coming man of sin, who will make his debut after the Rapture of the Church), even now are there many Antichrists (in the Greek is “Pseudochrists,” and refers to one who claims to be of Christ); whereby we know that it is the last time. (We know this is the last dispensation before the Second Coming of the Lord.) 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us (the crowd John speaks of claims to be of the True Church, but John says, “they were not of us”): for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us (had they been of the True Church, they would not have succumbed to false doctrine): but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. (“Them going out” means they turned their backs on the Christ of the Cross.) 20 But you have an unction from the Holy One (every True Believer has the “Anointing,” of the Holy Spirit), and you know all things. (This should have been translated, “you all know.”) 21 I have not written unto you because you know not the Truth (what John is writing in this Epistle only reinforces what they have already known), but because you know it, and that no lie is of the Truth. (The Truth will never produce a lie, and a lie can never produce the Truth.) 22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? (Anyone who denies in any fashion Who Jesus is and What He has done to Redeem humanity is a “liar.”) He is Antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son. (He who denies the Trinity is Antichrist. God the Father and God the Son are represented here, and it is the Holy Spirit Who inspires the Text. So we have here the Trinity.) 23 Whosoever denies the Son, the same has not the Father (no matter the claims, if Jesus is denied, so is the Father): [but] he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. (If the Son is accepted, the Father is as well, for the Son is the only way to the Father [Jn. 10:30, 38].) 24 Let that therefore abide in you, which you have heard from the beginning. (We must not deviate from the True Gospel, which originally brought us to Christ.) If that which you have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, you also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. (It is the responsibility of the Believer to nurture the stability and growth of correct Doctrines by a Holy life and a determination to cling to them and remain true to them.) 25 And this is the Promise that He has promised us, even Eternal Life (which we obtain by accepting Christ and what He did for us at the Cross). 26 These things have I written unto you concerning them who seduce you. (All false doctrine comes under the heading of “seducing spirits” in one way or the other, and is, therefore, labeled “Doctrines of Devils” [I Tim. 4:1].) 27 But the Anointing which you have received of Him (the Holy Spirit) abides in you (abides permanently to help us ascertain if what we are hearing is Scriptural or not), and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same Anointing teaches you of all things (no Believer needs anything that’s not already found written in the Word), and is Truth, and is no lie (the Holy Spirit will guide us into all Truth [Jn. 16:13]), and even as it (the Anointing) has taught you, you shall abide in Him (refers to the fact that what we are taught by the Spirit, regarding the Word of God, helps us to abide in Christ). 28 And now, little children, abide in Him (presents the condition of fruit-bearing [Jn. 15:4, 7]); that, when He shall appear (the Rapture), we may have confidence (speaks of the heart attitude of the Saint, who lives so close to the Lord Jesus that there is nothing between him and his Lord), and not be ashamed before Him at His Coming. (This presents the fact that some certainly will be ashamed.) 29 If you know that He is Righteous (could be translated, “Since you know that He is Righteous”), you know that every one who does Righteousness is born of Him. (All who are truly Born-Again do “Righteousness.”) 1 JOHN CHAPTER 3 (A.D. 90) LOVE 1 Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us (presents that which is foreign to this present world, and, in fact, comes from another world), that we should be called the sons of God (we are “sons of God” by virtue of adoption into the Family of God, derived through the Born-Again experience): there fore the world knows us not, because it knew Him not. (The world does not recognize nor acknowledge Believers as sons of God, just as they did not recognize nor acknowledge Christ to be the Son of God.) 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God (we are just as much a “son of God” now as we will be after the Resurrection), and it does not yet appear what we shall be (our present state as a “son of God” is not at all like that we shall be in the coming Resurrection): but we know that, when He shall appear (the Rapture), we shall be like Him (speaks of being glorified); for we shall see Him as He is. (Physical eyes in a mortal body could not look upon that Glory, only eyes in Glorified Bodies.) RIGHTEOUSNESS 3 And every man who has this hope in Him (the Resurrection) purifies himself (takes advantage of what Christ did for us at the Cross, which is the only way one can be pure), even as He (Christ) is pure (places Christ as our example). 4 Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the Law (the Greek Text says, “the sin,” and refers to Believers placing their Faith in that other than the Cross; such constitutes rebellion against God’s Prescribed Order and is labeled as “sin”): for sin is the transgression of the Law. (This refers to the moral Law — the Ten Commandments. Rebelling against God’s Order, which is the Cross, opens the door for works of the flesh [Gal. 5:19-21].) 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins (He did so at the Cross; the Christian cannot practice what Christ came to take away and destroy); and in Him is no sin. (This presents the fact that He was able to be the Perfect Sacrifice to take away the sin of the world, which completely destroys the erroneous doctrine that Jesus died spiritually, as some claim.) 6 Whosoever abides in Him sins not (does not practice sin): whosoever sins (practices sin) has not seen Him, neither known Him. (As stated, Jesus saves from sin, not in sin. If we look to the Cross, “sin will not have dominion over us” [Rom. 6:14].) 7 Little children, let no man deceive you (the entirety of this Epistle is a warning against antinomianism, which teaches that sin doesn’t matter because Grace covers it): he who does Righteousness is Righteous (truly being Righteous will truly do Righteousness, i.e., “live Righteously”), even as He is Righteous. (We have been granted the Righteousness of Christ, so we should live Righteous, which we can if our Faith Eternally abides in the Cross [Rom. 6:1-14].) 8 He who commits sin (practices sin) is of the Devil (whoever is truly born of God does not live a life of habitual sinning); for the Devil sinneth from the beginning (from the beginning of his rebellion against God). For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the Devil. (This proclaims what was done at the Cross [Col. 2:14-15].) 9 Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin (does not practice sin); for his seed remains in him (refers to the Word of God): and he cannot sin (cannot continue to practice sin), because he is born of God. (This refers to the repugnancy of sin in the heart of the true Christian.) 10 In this the Children of God are manifest, and the children of the Devil (there is no comparison between the two): whosoever does not Righteousness is not of God, neither he who loves not his Brother. (“Righteousness” and “Love” are the two manifestations of the Child of God.) LOVE 11 For this is the Message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. (The first attribute made evident in the new Christian is “Love.”) 12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his Brother (presents the prototype of evil). And wherefore slew he him? (Cain was not a murderer because he killed his Brother, but killed his Brother because he was a murderer.) Because his own works were evil, and his Brother’s Righteous (points directly to the Cross; the rejection of God’s Way [the Cross], which Cain did, is labeled by the Holy Spirit as “evil”; Abel accepted the Cross [Gen., Chpt. 4]). 13 Marvel not, my Brethren, if the world hate you (expect no better treatment from the world than Abel received from Cain). 14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the Brethren (love for the Brethren is the first sign of “spiritual life”). He who loves not his Brother abides in death. (Love for the Brethren must characterize the Salvation profession. Otherwise, our claims are false.) 15 Whosoever hates his Brother is a murderer (the absence of love proclaims the presence of hatred; where hatred is, there is murder): and you know that no murderer has Eter nal Life abiding in him (comes back to the absence of love). 16 Hereby perceive we the Love of God (speaks of knowledge gained by experience), because He laid down His Life for us (the highest proof of love is the Sacrifice of that which is most precious): and we ought to lay down our lives for the Brethren. (This proclaims Christ as our example, and what the meaning of true love actually is.) 17 But whoso has this world’s goods (refers to the necessities of life), and sees his brother have need (it is seeing a Christian in need of the necessities of life over a long period), and shuts up his bowels of compassion from him (presents the individual who has the means to truly help, but refuses to do so), how dwells the Love of God in him? (His actions proclaim the fact that despite his profession, there is actually no love of God in him.) 18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue (let us not merely talk love); but in deed and in truth. (True love demands action.) 19 And hereby we know that we are of the Truth (the evidence of love is the guarantee of Truth), and shall assure our hearts before Him. (Am I loving as I ought to be? Our hearts will tell us!) 20 For if our heart condemn us (our failures in duty and service rise up before us, and our heart condemns us), God is greater than our heart (the worst in us is known to God, and still He cares for us and desires us; our discovery has been an open secret to Him all along), and knows all things (presents God Alone knowing our hearts; this is the true test of a man). 21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not (does not claim sinless perfection, but represents the heart attitude of a Saint that, so far as he knows, has no unconfessed sin in his life), then have we confidence toward God (implies no condemnation). 22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him (speaks of prayer, and that we must keep asking for that which is desired), because we keep His Commandments (Christ has already kept all of the Commandments; our Faith in Him and the Cross gives us His Victory, and is guaranteed by the Holy Spirit [Rom. 8:1-2, 11]), and do those things that are pleasing in His sight (pertains to the fact that the Cross is ever the Object of our Faith [Heb. 11:6]). 23 And this is His Commandment (is given to us in the singular), That we should believe on the Name of His Son Jesus Christ (stands for all the Son of God is in His wonderful Person, and above all what He did for us at the Cross), and love one another, as He gave us Commandment. (Proper Faith guarantees proper love [Mat. 22:37-40].) 24 And he who keeps His Commandments dwells in Him, and He in him. (Faith in Jesus Christ and what He did for us at the Cross proclaims the fact that we are dwelling in Him, and He is dwelling in us [Jn. 14:20; Rom. 6:3-5].) And hereby we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He has given us. (The knowledge that God is abiding in the Saint comes from the Holy Spirit. He bears witness in connection with our human spirit, as energized by Him, that we are children born of God [Rom. 8:16].) 1JOHN CHAPTER 4 (A.D. 90) TEST THE SPIRITS 1 Beloved, believe not every spirit (behind every doctrine there is a “spirit”; if it’s true Doctrine, the Holy Spirit; if it’s false doctrine, evil spirits), but try the spirits whether they are of God (the criteria is, “is it Scriptural?”): because many false prophets are gone out into the world (and they continue unto this hour). 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God (as Believers, we are to know what the Spirit of God sanctions): Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God (the Incarnation of Christ speaks of the Cross of Christ, the very reason for which He came; this means the Spirit of God will place his sanction on the Cross and the Cross alone; anything else is not of God): 3 And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God (Christ came in the flesh to go to the Cross; this refutes the error of Gnosticism, which claims the flesh of Christ was evil, as much as all matter they claim is evil; also, know what the Spirit of God sanctions): Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God (the Incarnation of Christ speaks of the Cross of Christ, the very reason for which He came; this means the Spirit of God will place his sanction on the Cross and the Cross alone; anything else is not of God): 4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them (some of the Christians of John’s day were tempted to believe the doctrine that denigrated the Cross, but had overcome that temptation): because greater is He (the Holy Spirit) Who is in you, than he (Satan) who is in the world. 5 They are of the world (refers to the false teachers of Verse 3): therefore speak they of the world (refers to the fact that the source of their false doctrines is the world), and the world hears them (because the false teachers are saying what the world wants to hear). 6 We are of God (those who accept Christ and the Cross): he who knows God hears us; he who is not of God hears not us. (Man’s attitude toward the Message of the Incarnate Saviour ranks him on God’s side or the world’s.) Hereby know we the Spirit of Truth, and the spirit of error. (The “Spirit of Truth” is the Holy Spirit, Who leads us into all Truth, which refers to “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified [I Cor. 1:23; 2:2]. The “spirit of error” refers to any doctrine that denigrates or ignores the Cross, which is fostered by Satan, who employs seducing spirits [I Tim. 4:1].) GOD IS LOVE 7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God (speaks of agape love, of which the world knows nothing, and, in fact, cannot have to any degree); and every one who loves is born of God, and knows God. (This is the God kind of love, and cannot be faked. In fact, something will always happen to show what type of love the person possesses, whether it’s the God kind or that of the world.) 8 He who loves not knows not God; for God is love. (“As to His nature, God is love.”) 9 In this was manifested the Love of God toward us (if we truly have the Love of God in our hearts, we will, as well, manifest such love toward our fellowman), because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world (our Lord is the uniquely Begotten Son of God in the sense that He proceeds by eternal generation from God the Father, co-possessing eternally with God the Father and God the Spirit the essence of Deity), that we might live through Him. (It is only through Christ and what He did at the Cross that we can find life, and, as well, live through Him as He lives through us [Gal. 2:20].) 10 Herein is love (the Greek says, “herein is the love”), not that we loved God, but that He loved us (the unconverted human race does not love God; nevertheless, He loved the human race), and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (“Propitiation” is the Sacrifice, which fully satisfied the demands of the broken Law and did so by our Lord’s Death on Calvary’s Cross. His Death eternally satisfied the Righteousness of God.) 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. (The Love of God is portrayed by the Cross more so than anything else. For us to understand His Love, we have to first understand the Cross.) 12 No man has seen God at any time. (The idea is no one has ever yet seen Deity in all its essence.) If we love one another, God dwells in us (Saints having this agape love habitually for one another show that this love, which God is in His Nature, has accomplished its purpose in our lives), and His love is perfected in us. (The words “His Love” do not refer to our love for Him, or even to His Love for us, but to the Love that is peculiarly His own, which answers to His Nature.) 13 Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us (“dwells” speaks of fellowship between two or more individuals; in this case, God and ourselves), because He has given us of His Spirit. (The Holy Spirit has been caused to take up His permanent Residence in us.) 14 And we have seen and do testify (John was an eyewitness of Jesus Christ, both to Who He was and to What He did as well) that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. (His Mission was to Redeem lost humanity, which He did at the Cross.) 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God (the confession John speaks of here is a lifetime confession, and represents the sustained attitude of the heart), God dwells in him, and he in God (proclaims the union of the Father in the Believer and the Believer in the Father, all made possible by what Christ did at the Cross). 16 And we have known and believed the Love that God has to us. (The love God has shown to us is manifested in Him giving His Son to die on the Cross.) God is Love (which is proven by His Act of the giving of His Only Son); and he who dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him. (This is all made possible by the Cross, and only by the Cross.) 17 Herein is our love made perfect (our love is brought to fruition, i.e., “made complete,” by a continued confession of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and what He did for us on the Cross), that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment (the Judgment addressed here is the coming “Judgment Seat of Christ): because as He is, so are we in this world. (Christ is totally victorious, and due to the fact that we are in Him, we as well can be totally victorious in this world.) 18 There is no fear in love (the type of “fear” spoken of here is not a godly fear or a filial reverence, but rather a slavish fear for a master or of a criminal before a Judge); but perfect love casts out fear (God has a Perfect Love for us, and if we have a perfect love for Him, which we surely can have, then we know He is going to sustain us, so there’s nothing then to fear): because fear has torment. (It is guilt that makes men fear what is to come.) He who fears is not made perfect in love. (If we do not properly understand the Cross, then we are not made perfect in love.) 19 We love Him, because He first loved us. (The first initiation of Love was on the part of God, and not us, as was necessary.) 20 If a man say, I love God, and hates his Brother, he is a liar (as James said, “does a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?” [James 3:11]): for he who loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God Whom he has not seen? (If a professed Christian does not love one who bears the Divine Image, whom he sees and knows, how can he love God, Whose Image he bears, yet has not seen?) 21 And this Commandment have we from Him (the Holy Spirit, through John, proclaims all of this as a “Commandment”), That he who loves God love his Brother also. (True love for God will always bring forth the correct action.) 1JOHN CHAPTER 5 (A.D. 90) THE NEW BIRTH 1 Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God (the word “believeth” is not a mere intellectual assent to the fact of the Incarnation, but a heart acceptance of all that is implied in its purpose — the substitutionary death of the Incarnate One for sinners): and every one who loves Him Who begat loves him also who is begotten of Him. (This simply states that those who love God as their Father also love God’s Children.) 2 By this we know that we love the Children of God (we know we love God if we love those who bear His Image), when we love God, and keep His Commandments. (Jesus said the same thing in Jn. 14:15.) 3 For this is the Love of God, that we keep His Commandments: and His Commandments are not grievous. (This is easy to do, providing we look exclusively to the Cross. Otherwise it is impossible [Mat. 11:28-30].) 4 For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world (if we follow God’s Prescribed Order, we will overcome the world): and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our Faith. (John is speaking here of Faith in Christ and the Cross, which then gives the Holy Spirit latitude to work within our lives [Rom. 8:1-2, 11].) 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (It is not he who “does,” but who “believes.”) LIFE 6 This is He Who came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ (refers to the Living Word becoming flesh [Jn. 1:1, 4], which is symbolized by “water” and then as the Lamb of God Who took away the sin of the world, which was effected by the shedding of His Blood on the Cross of Calvary); not by water only, but by water and blood (testifies to the fact that the Incarnation within itself, although absolutely necessary, was not enough; the phrase also testifies to the absolute necessity of the Atonement). And it is the Spirit Who bears witness, because the Spirit is Truth. (The Holy Spirit bore witness to the Divine Birth of Christ, and to the Divine Sacrifice of Christ [Mat. 1:18; Heb. 9:14].) 7 For there are Three Who bear record in Heaven (the Law has ever required the Testimony of two or three witnesses [Deut. 17:6; 19:15; Mat. 18:16; II Cor. 13:1]), the Father, the Word (Jesus Christ is the Word [Jn. 1:1]), and the Holy Spirit: and these Three are One. (The only sense three can be one is in essence and unity, as is clear in Jn. 17:11, 21-23.) 8 And there are Three who bear witness in earth (as in Heaven, so on Earth), the Spirit, and the water, and the blood (speaks of the Holy Spirit; the Humanity of Christ, while never ceasing to be Deity, and the Atonement, i.e., “the Cross”): and these Three agree in One. (These Three agree that Christ is Very Man while at the same time being Very God, Who died on the Cross to Redeem fallen humanity.) 9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater (if we receive witness of sinful men who can so easily deceive, we should gladly receive the witness of God, Who cannot possibly deceive): for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son (centers on the Cross). 10 He who believes on the Son of God has the witness in himself (that Witness is the Holy Spirit [Rom. 8:16]): He who believes not God has made Him a liar (presents the problem of unbelief as the basic difficulty in the human race); because he believes not the record that God gave of His Son (proclaims the fact that the proof is undeniable). 11 And this is the record (the “record” is the Word of God, which is the story of the Cross), that God has given to us Eternal Life (the Life of God flowing into and literally becoming a part of the Believer), and this life is in His Son. (Christ is the Source, while the Cross is the means.) 12 He who has the Son has Life (through the Cross); and he who has not the Son of God has not Life. (This rules out all the fake luminaries of the world.) PRAYER 13 These things have I written unto you who believe on the Name of the Son of God (all that John writes is to bring to the mind of His readers the fact that they have Life Eternal because they believe on the name of the Son of God); that you may know that you have Eternal Life (not a mere experimental knowledge, but an absolute knowledge), and that you may believe on the Name of the Son of God (keep believing). 14 And this is the confidence that we have in Him (proper believing gives us proper confidence, which is proper assurance), that, if we ask any thing according to His Will, He hears us (we should pray with the provision expressed or implied, “if it be Your Will”): 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask (presents the fact that we are assured of this, even though we may not see an immediate answer to prayer), we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him (providing it’s His Will). RESTORATION 16 If any man see his Brother sin a sin which is not unto death (refers to direction other than the Cross, done in ignorance), he shall ask, and He shall give him life for them who sin not unto death. (The Believer who understands God’s Prescribed Order of Victory, which is the Cross, should pray for those who are ignorantly going in a direction opposite of the Cross.) There is a sin unto death (speaks of unbelief; this group is not opposing the Cross because of ignorance, but rather because they simply do not believe in the Atoning work of Calvary): I do not say that he shall pray for it. (While it is pointless to pray that God would forgive such a person, it is proper to pray that the blindness of their unbelief will be removed.) 17 All unrighteousness is sin (refers to any deviation from the Word): and there is a sin not unto death. (This is a lack of trust in the Cross due to ignorance, not unbelief. While such sin will bring great disturbance upon the individual, it will not cause one to lose their soul.) VICTORY 18 We know that whosoever is born of God sins not (does not practice sin); but he who is begotten of God keeps himself (should have been translated, “but He [Christ] Who is Begotten of God keeps him”), and that wicked one touches him not (is the person who keeps his Faith in Christ and the Cross). 19 And we know that we are of God (because of trusting in Christ and what He did for us at the Cross), and the whole world lies in wickedness (refers to the world system). ETERNAL LIFE 20 And we know that the Son of God is come (presents that which is not simply a historic fact, but rather an abiding operation), and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him Who is true (the real “One” as opposed to spurious gods), and we are in Him Who is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ (by virtue of being “Baptized into His Death” [Rom. 6:3-5]). This is the True God, and Eternal Life. (Jesus Christ is truly God, and Faith in Him guarantees “Eternal Life.”) 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. (This does not refer here to the heathen worship of idol gods, but of the heretical substitutes for the Christian conception of God, or anything that pulls us away from Christ and the Cross.) II JOHN CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION (A.D. 90) 1 The Elder (normally refers to “Pastor,” however, this seems to be a title given to John, and for the obvious reasons; he was the last Apostle of the chosen Twelve to die) unto the elect lady and her children (it is believed that this woman was a devout Christian who lived near Ephesus; it also seems her home was the meeting-place of the local assembly), whom I love in the truth (refers to the Love of God); and not I only, but also all they who have known the Truth (the bond that had pulled this aged Apostle to this dear lady and her to him is “Truth”); 2 For the truth’s sake, which dwells (love is a product of Truth) in us, and shall be with us forever. (Truth cannot change.) 3 Grace be with you, Mercy, and Peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in Truth and Love. (The Cross makes all this possible.) LOVE 4 I rejoiced greatly that I found of your children walking in Truth (her children were conducting themselves in the sphere of Truth as it is in Christ Jesus, doing so on a daily basis), as we have received a Commandment from the Father (relates the fact that the Truth by which they were walking was not their own concoction, but rather was according to the Word of God). 5 And now I beseech you, lady, not as though I wrote a new Commandment unto you, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another (the great hallmark of Christianity). 6 And this is love, that we walk after His Commandments (presents the proper expression or evidence of love to God). This is the Commandment, That, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. (This presents the Commandment by which the followers of the Lord are to be peculiarly characterized, and by which we are to be distinguished in the world.) DECEIVERS 7 For many deceivers are entered into the world (a false teacher who leads others into heresies, i.e., “away from the Cross”), who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh (a denial of the Incarnation). This is a deceiver and an Antichrist. (All false doctrine begins with a misconception or misinterpretation of the “Person” of Christ.) 8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought (is the same as Paul’s “examine yourselves” [II Cor. 13:5]), but that we receive a full reward (refers to the coming Judgment Seat of Christ, where and when every true Christian will give account). 9 Whosoever transgresses, and abides not in the Doctrine of Christ, has not God. (The “Doctrine of Christ” is in brief “the Cross.” If one leaves the Cross, one transgresses, and no longer has the Lord, which means that the soul will be lost if such direction is continued.) He who abides in the Doctrine of Christ, he has Both the Father and the Son (Gal. 5:1-6). 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this Doctrine (Jesus Christ and Him Crucified), receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed (to receive such shows acceptance): 11 For he who bids him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. (To help or finance false Apostles makes the person doing such a part of the false doctrine, which is serious indeed!) BENEDICTION 12 Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. (What he said in this short Epistle is evidently all the Holy Spirit wanted him to write at this time, at least to this particular lady.) 13 The children of your elect sister greet you. Amen. (John was speaking of the flesh and blood sister of the “elect lady” to whom he was writing. The simplicity of the great Apostle — the personal friend of the Risen Lord, the last of the great pillars of the Church — in transmitting this familiar Message makes a most instructive finish to what is throughout a beautiful picture.) III JOHN CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION (A.D. 90) 1 The E lder (John refers to himself by this title) unto the well-beloved Gaius (could well be the same one mentioned in Acts 19:29; 20:4; Rom. 16:23; I Cor. 1:14), whom I love in the truth. (As the previous Letter was written to a wealthy woman telling her to shut her door against Preachers of a false gospel, so this Letter was written to a wealthy man to open his door to Preachers of the True Gospel.) 2 Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper (refers to financial prosperity, and should be the case for every Believer) and be in health (speaks of physical prosperity), even as your soul prospers (speaks of Spiritual Prosperity; so we have here the whole Gospel for the whole man). 3 For I rejoiced greatly, when the Brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you (Christian workers were always going out from Ephesus on preaching and teaching missions, and bringing reports from various Churches back to John), even as you walk in the Truth (refers to the manner of one’s behavior). 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in Truth. (Quite possibly Gaius was a convert of John.) FELLOWHELPERS 5 Beloved, you do faithfully whatsoever you do to the Brethren, and to strangers (little did this man know that what he was doing would be heralded in the Word of God, and known all over the world for all time); 6 Which have borne witness of your charity (love) before the Church: whom if you bring forward on their journey after a Godly sort, you shall do well (to “bring forward” as used here refers to standing good for the maintenance and expenses of visiting Preachers): 7 Because that for His Name’s sake they went forth (it was for the sake of the Name of Jesus that these Preachers went forth), taking nothing of the Gentiles. (This refers to virgin territory regarding the Gospel, i.e., different places where they would plant Churches. In planting these Churches, they asked for no money from the new Gentile converts.) 8 We therefore ought to receive such (to be of help to such Preachers, both prayerfully and financially), that we might be fellowhelpers to the Truth. (Through John, the Holy Spirit here proclaims the fact that Believers should give of their financial resources to help take the Truth to others.) DIOTREPHES 9 I wrote unto the Church (speaks of a local Church, but we aren’t told its location): but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, receives us not. (If it is to be noticed, John calls the name of this individual and warns against him, even as he should have done. To be sure, anyone who was not of Truth would not receive John.) 10 Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words (there is no evidence whatsoever that this is said in a vindictive or vengeful spirit; and we must remember that the Holy Spirit is inspiring John to write these words; in other words, this man had to be exposed): and not content therewith, neither does he himself receive the Brethren, and forbids them who would, and casts them out of the Church. (The idea is that Diotrephes would cast those who would side with John out of the Church, or else seek to do so. Consequently, silence on John’s part would have been wrong, just as it is wrong now for Preachers to be silent regarding false Apostles and false doctrine.) TESTIMONY 11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. (In effect, John is referring to Diotrephes as “evil.” At the same time, he is boldly stating that what he [John] preaches is “good” and, therefore, “of God.”) He who does good is of God: but he who does evil has not seen God. (The Holy Spirit, through John, very clearly draws the line. One cannot have it both ways.) 12 Demetrius has good report of all men (this man was probably the bearer of this Letter to Gaius; he was a stranger to the members of the local Church of which Gaius was a member, and needed a word of commendation from the Apostle), and of the Truth itself: yes, and we also bear record; and you know that our record is true. (There could be no higher recommendation, especially considering that the Holy Spirit sanctioned these words.) BENEDICTION 13 I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto you (John ends this Letter in much the same way he ended his Second Epistle): 14 But I trust I shall shortly see you, and we shall speak face to face. (Evidently, the Apostle planned to visit this particular Church shortly.) Peace be to you. Our friends salute you. Greet the friends by name. (This was a small Church, but yet very important, even as the Holy Spirit here proclaims.)
Posted on: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 01:29:21 +0000
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