Jim Thomas, Senior Pastor
The Letters of John: That You May Know…
The Message of 1 John:
God wants you to rejoice in the knowledge of His love for you, which has been displayed vividly in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Goals for our study of the letters of John
- More confident assurance of God’s love for you
- Deepening experience of abiding in Christ
- Increasing power over sin and temptation
- Fuller sense of the joy in your faith
- Greater love for the community of believers
1 John 3:11-24
Four ancient Greek words translated as ‘love’ in English:
- Eros
- Storge
- Philia
- Agape
- v. 11 – the timelessness of love
- v. 12 – the opposite of love
- v. 13 – the antipathy of the world towards God’s love
- v. 14 – the evidence of life through love
- v. 15 – the impact of the absence of love
- v. 16 – the self-sacrifice of love
- v. 17 – the generosity of love
- v. 18 – the practicality of love
- v. 19 – the assurance of love
- v. 20 – the proper condemnation of a healthy conscience
- v. 21 – the proper confidence of Gospel-based faith
- v. 22 – the realignment of affections from loving God
- v. 23 – the commandments that please God
- v. 24 – the deep communion of abiding in love
Three categories of evidence for true Christian faith:
- Theological evidence: belief that Jesus is the Christ
- Moral evidence: obedience to His commandments
- Social evidence: love for one another
Love is not “luv.”
“It is easier to be enthusiastic about Humanity with a capital ‘H’ than it is to love individual men and women, especially those who are uninteresting, exasperating, depraved or otherwise unattractive. Loving everybody in general may be an excuse for loving nobody in particular.”
– C.S. Lewis
Notice the parallels we find in the words of Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of John:
- “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:34-35
- “This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” – John 15:12
- “This I command you, that you love one another.” – John 15:17
Discussion Questions
- Words and Deeds…practical living faith is essential to John (v18). How are you living out your faith in practical ways?
- In verse 22, John is not saying that “God is a piñata and prayer is a stick.” Are there times when you pray this way? How can you change that?
- Love…begets Love…begets Love. How have you seen this principle play out in your own life? Is there someone or something that needs your Love today?
- Who in your life deserves your honor but perhaps has not been high on your list to receive your honor? Ask God to help you make a plan to begin.
- “Acrimony and outrage are the kudzu of our culture.” What practical steps are you taking to strike the root of this in your own life?
“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.”
– Romans 12:10
“Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.”
– Romans 13:8
“Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.”
– 1 Thessalonians 4:9
“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart.”
– 1 Peter 1:22
“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”
– 1 Peter 4:8
“‘One anothers’ I can’t find in the New Testament: humble one another, scrutinize one another, pressure one another, embarrass one another, corner one another, interrupt one another, defeat one another, disapprove of one another, run one another’s lives, confess one another’s sins, intensify one another’s sufferings, point out one another’s failings . . . .”
– Ray Ortlund, Jr.
“The Christian community, when it is working properly, offers men and women a way of being related to one another that cuts across all the things that divide us… There is nothing else in human life that levels distinctions and creates new relationships like the knowledge that one has been saved by grace.”
– Fleming Rutledge, Means of Grace
“We must strive to hold ourselves accountable to practice forgiveness and reconciliation. Our mutual love for one another is how the world will see who Jesus is.”
– Tim Keller
“I wonder if anything is more urgent today, for the honour of Christ and for the spread of the gospel, than what the church should be, and should be seen to be, what by God’s purpose and Christ’s achievement it already is — a single new humanity, a model of human community, a family of reconciled brothers and sisters who love their Father and love each other, the evident dwelling place of God by His Spirit. Only then will the world believe in Christ as Peacemaker. Only then will God receive the glory due to His name.”
– John Stott