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- 1 John 2:20
There is a special ministry of the Holy Spirit to assure us that we are children of God, and here are three observations about His ministry:
1. The Holy Spirit is sent by Jesus
“You have been anointed by the Holy One” (...
- 1 John 2:19-20
Here were people who had once professed faith, and then they abandoned the faith that they once professed. They left the church.
Abandoning the faith was evidence that these people were never true Christians. True faith perseveres, and cont...
- 1 John 3:19-20
The normal experience of the Christian life is that our hearts do not condemn us, but sometimes they do. Don’t make the mistake of accepting the verdict of your own heart. Why would you do that when you can appeal to a higher court? When your hear...
- 1 John 3:19-20
John is writing to Christian believers, and here he speaks about a problem that believers will face: “Whenever our heart condemns us.” Notice, John does not say, “If...” He says, “When...” So this is not an unusual problem.
Some b...
- 1 John 3:21
What John describes here is the normal experience of a Christian believer.
Our hearts do not condemn us
“If our heart does not condemn us...” (3:21). There is no better life than to know that you are forgiven, that God...
- 1 John 2:4
John presents us with three themes—obeying, loving, and believing—and he uses them in three ways: as tests, as directions, and as signs.
Tests
The evidence that a person knows God is that he or she obeys God’s commands,...
- 1 John 5:7-9
God testifies that Jesus is His Son through the water, the blood, and the Spirit.
The water speaks of the baptism of Jesus
When Jesus was baptised, the Spirit of God descended on Him like a dove, and an audible voice f...
- 1 John 4:15, 5:1
John tells us that Jesus is the Christ, and that He is the Son of God.
First, Jesus is the Christ
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God” (5:1). The liar denies that Jesus is the Christ, bu...
- 1 John 2:18
The “antichrist” (singular) is a person who will oppose Christ and all that He stands for. This person will be an embodiment of evil, and he will arise in the future. But even in the first century, there were many antichrists.
When John spe...
- 1 John 3:14
John acknowledges that some relationships will be difficult, but he also reminds us of where love comes from.
Some people are hard to love“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers” (3:14). We...
- 1 John 2:10
One way assurance grows is by loving God’s people. Here are two kinds of evidence that show whether a person actually loves God’s people:
Hatred is evidence of darkness and death
“Whoever hates his brother is in the dark...
- 1 John 2:5
John has been talking the language of law. Now, he is talking the language of love, and the two are joined together. “Whoever keeps his word [his commandments], in him truly the love of God is perfected.”
The love of God has a purpose: to ...
- 1 John 2:3, 6
The way we know that we know God and that we are in Christ is to keep His commandments, or to say it another way, to walk as Jesus walked. Walk in obedience to God’s commands and you will grow in assurance. Walk as Jesus walked and you will know t...
- 1 John 2:3
To know God is the reason and purpose for which we were made. Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn. 17:3).
But John goes even further. It’s not only that we shoul...
- Ezekiel 7:8
The wrath of God toward sin can be poured out, and when it is poured out it will be spent.
This takes us to the heart of what happened at the cross. The divine wrath toward sin was poured out on Jesus. He became the propitiation for our si...
- 1 John 2:2
A propitiation is a gift or payment to placate the anger of an offended person. The best way to explain this is through an illustration.
Meet Neil and Sally. They met at the office and quickly began dating. One night they went to a...
- 1 John 2:1
An advocate is one who is called alongside to help. The word is used for a lawyer defending a client in court. Jesus is our advocate. He speaks in our defence. He advocates for us.
What could our defence be?
Jesus cannot p...
- 1 John 1:9
John presents us with twin truths: Sin remains in us, and God forgives our sin. How are we to respond to these truths? Here are two dangers.
1. We acquiesce in our sin.
We say to ourselves, “Everybody sins. And God loves...
- Romans 6:12
Notice, Paul does not say, “Don’t let sin remain in your body.” He says, “Don’t let sin reign in your body.” Sin’s power over you is broken, but its presence in you remains.
And we are called to engage in a battle with the si...
- 1 John 1:8
Notice that John includes himself: “If we say we have no sin...” Even the apostles could not say that they were wholly free from sin. The impulse to sin remains within every Christian, even while we walk in the light.
Writing to believers, ...
- 1 John 1:8
Perhaps you have come out of the darkness. You may have been at one time like the prodigal son, but you have renounced works of darkness. You have forsaken evil ways. You have returned to the Father, and you have no interest in going back.
<p...- 1 John 1:6
John presents us with two appropriate responses if we are walking in darkness.
1. Renounce the lie
“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie...” (1 Jn. 1:6). The lie is that sin d...
- Psalm 119:105
What does it mean to walk in the light? It means:
1. Submitting yourself to the light of God’s Word
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (119:105). If you want to know what pleases or offends God, you have to le...
- 1 John 1:7
Walking in the light is often misunderstood, so let’s clear away two misunderstandings:
1. Walking in the light is not perfection.
This is good news because if it meant being completely free from sin, no one would ever ...
- 1 John 1:6
Here is a person who claims to have fellowship with God. He will give you the clearest testimony. He will tell you that he is reading his Bible. He will say he wants to honour the Lord in all that he does.
But notice the word “while.” This ...
- 1 John 1:5
Where does the Christian message begin? What is the first thing that people need to know about God?
Many would say the gospel begins with the love of God. “God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son” (Jn. 3:16). But the first thing J...
- 1 John 5:13
How can I be sure? This may be the number one question that believers ask. And it is rightly asked by thoughtful believers. The question of assurance is pressed on us for several reasons.
1. Many people are abandoning a fa...
- 2 Corinthians 5:21
This is what God does for every person who is in Christ:
1. God doesn’t count your sins against you
“In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them” (5:19). The reason...
- 2 Corinthians 5:21
In the Gospels, we find three witnesses—an angel, a devil, and God the Father—testifying that Jesus is without sin.
The witness of the angels: When the angel came to Mary, he said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power ...
- 1 John 3:20
John writes to Christian believers, and he says, “Whenever our heart condemns us...” He does not say “if,” he says “when” because every Christian has a new heart.
If you are a Christian today, your new heart is sensitive to sin, hates its p...
