Psalm 19 - Trust in the word of the Lord

Psalm 19

For once, David doesn’t seem to be in trouble! Instead we have  a psalm of unalloyed praise.There are many times when we do seem to be in trouble, but God also grants us times of peace. First of all David says how creation declares the glory of God. Some use science to try and "disprove God”, or as an alternative to God. Such attempts are both futile and misguided. If we approach things aright, then we see how creation shows how great God is. In Rom 1:19 Paul says that creation makes known to all something of the greatness of God, so men are without excuse.

Creation is good, the Law of the Lord is perfect. ` It refreshes the soul. We should always look to the word of the Lord. Some claim to be clever in their disbelief in God, but the opposite is true. They are fools (see previous psalm) and if we pay attention to the Law then we become wise. Atheism brings no peace, but the word of The Lord gives joy to the heart. His commands are radiant and give light to our lives, they enable us to see clearly. The decrees of the Lord are precious, they are worth much more than gold.

We should seek His word, and trust it more than anything.

Psalm 18 - The Lord is my deliverer

Psalm 18

The preamble to this psalm tells us that David wrote this after h e had been delivered from Saul by the Lord, it is similar, though not identical, to David’s psalm of praise in 2 Samuel 22. David loves the Lord, and describes the Lord as His rock, fortress and deliverer. When in trouble David took refuge in the Lord. He turned to the Lord, called upon the Lord, and sought to do things His way.

David faced many real threats, his very life being in danger, with death seeking to have him. David called upon the Lord in his distress. We may think that we can only call upon the Lord in faith, but sometimes our feelings will overwhelm us, we can still call upon the Lord. God heard Him from His temple, and God took action. We should realise where our prayers go, not into thin air, but up to the temple of God. The Lord took action and scattered David’s enemies. He reached down and pulled David out of the depths, he rescued him from the enemies who were too powerful for David. We may face situations where the opposition is much stronger than us. 

The Lord rescued David because David trusted in Him. Christ is our righteousness, but the fact that we trust in the Lord matters, the fact that we trust Him affects our relationship with Him.  And God enables us to do things that by nature we cannot do.  And the word of the Lord is flawless. So the end result was that David triumphed over his enemies.

Psalm 17 - Vindicate me Lord

Psalm 17

David is in trouble again. He feels that he is being unjustly treated, and he calls upon the Lord asking the Lord to vindicate him. In the psalms we get a full range of emotions from David. There are times when he is overwhelmed by sin,  others when he is full of fear. In all these situations he calls upon the lord, whatever circumstances we might be in today we should call upon the Lord.

David then says that the Lord could examine his heart but would find no wrong. We may think that we can never say that, but we pray on the basis not of our righteousness, but Christ’s righteousness. At the same time David had resisted attempts to bribe him, and had avoided violent ways. We should seek to stick to the Lord’s ways, and the Holy Spirit will help us to do that.

David is confident that God would hear him, we too should be confident that the Lord will hear us, on the basis of Christ’s righteousness. We should expect to see the  wonders of His great love. So often we expect to see disaster, but the Lord actively looks after us.

The wicked are indeed full of evil plans, but David calls on the Lord to rise up against them.

David expects the Lord to vindicate him, and that he will see the Lord.

Psalm 16 - Trust in the Lord

Psalm 16

David calls upon the Lord to keep him safe. Whatever the situation we should always take refuge in the Lord. David knows that all his hope is in the Lord, and he delights in God’s people. The company we keep is important, if we choose the wrong crowd we can be dragged away from the Lord, conversely if we mix with godly people it can help us in following the Lord.running after other gods is not a wise thing to do, it will lead only to trouble.

The Lord is our portion, He is our provider, and \He is good to us. He instructs us. We are secure only when we keep the Lord at our right hand.

When we put our trust in the Lord we will be glad and will rest secure. The Lord’s will is to look after us and to fill us with joy in His presence.

Psalm 15 - Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?

Psalm 15

For once David is not in trouble., this time he is musing on “who may dwell in the Lord’s sacred tent”. He has known God’s help, but who can ascend the hill of the Lord? The answers he gives sets a very high standard, and not one that we can reach, that is why we need Jesus. Yet it is still worth pondering them, for the Holy Spirit works in us to produce more of the character of Jesus within us. First his walk is blameless, he speaks the truth and is righteous. \he tells no lies, and does no wrong to his neighbour, he does not cast slurs. Notice how much of politics is casting slurs on others. He despises a vile person, rather than honouring him. Instead he honours those who fear the Lord. His word is reliable. He lends freely to the poor, not seeking to exploit them. Such  a person has the approval of God, and so his life is built upon a solid foundation.

Psalm 14 - when society rejects God

Psalm 14

In previous psalms Daavid has been dealing with fairly personal matters, in this one he takes a more general look at society. Those who say “There is no God”are fools. They might claim to be wise, but quite the opposite is true. Their deeds are evil, and they do no good. Our society that rejects God is a poorer society.

While they deny the existence of God , the Lord does exist and He sees all people. He looks to see if there are any who seek God., but all have turned away and have become corrupt. This is the general condition of mankind. A society that rejects God is a less caring society But God does exist and is active. He is present in the company of the righteous, so even if society as a whole turns away from God, we do well to continue to look to Him, and to put our trust in Him. 

Psalm 13 - When it is very difficult

Psalm 13

David is in trouble again. In this psalm we see how he is feeling and how he responds.. It starts with David feeling as if the Lord has forgotten him, and is paying him no attention. He is wrestling with all sorts of troubling thoughts, probably imagining all that could go wrong. Sorrow fills his  heart and it seems as if the enemy is triumphing over him. He does not want the enemy to be able to gloat in triumph over him. His response is to call on the Lord, he still trusts in God and reminds himself that God has been good to him. 

We can feel guilty when we experience difficult and negative thoughts and feelings, this is normal, and we see how David responds to the situation.

Psalm 12 - When all seem to neglect the Lord

Psalm 12

In the previous two psalms David had been praying in response to personal circumstances, in this one David is concerned about the overall state of the nation. We too can be concerned about the nation’s general state. So let's see how David responded. It can seem that there is no one who is faithful, people “flatter with their lips but harbour deception in their hearts”.

David calls on the Lord to silence all flattering lips and boastful tongues”. We should be bold in our prayers. When evil triumphs it is the poor who suffer most. The Lord rises in response. The words of the wicked tell lies, and are not fruitful, but God’s words are flawless. The Lord looks after the needy. He takes action against the wicked.

Psalm 11 - When all seems lost

Psalm 11

David was under pressure. In fact he spent most of his life under pressure of various sorts. Sometimes it was his own fault, as after the Bathsheba incident, at others it was because of others such as Saul. At such times we can think that retreating into “safety”, it can seem as if we are defeated. David is reacting to such a situation. Circumstances tell us to “Flee like a bird to our mountain”, “what can the righteous do?” Then David reminds himself of who the Lord is. The Lord is in His temple, He observes everything, He is not unaware of our situation, and HE hates the violent and the wicked. The Lord will take action. We need to listen to the Lord, not to the voices (even from within ourselves) telling us we are defeated and that our situation is hopeless.

Psalm 10 - When the Lord seems far off

Psalm 10

There are times when God seems to be far off, to be oblivious to our situation, and doing nothing about it. David wrote this psalm in one of those times The wicked seemed to be abounding,  hunting down the weak. The wicked were doing well having no regard for the Lord, boastful in his success.

He was full of lies, waiting for more people to trap. He thinks he cannot be seen by God.

David calls upon the Lord to rise up and do something about the situation. He is convinced that God does see the afflicted, and that “the Lord is king for ever and ever”. Even when things seem dark and God seems to be far off we should still call upon the Lord and trust in Him.

Psalm 9 - The Lord reigns forever

Psalm 9

The psalm is a psalm of praise.The introduction has “to the tune of “The death of the Son”, it does not indicate whether David has just suffered loss, whatever the case, David responds by praising the Lord. David declares that He will give thanks to the Lord, with his whole heart, and tell of God’s wonderful deeds. He will rejoice in the Lord and sing praises to Him. This is what we should always do. Sometimes it will be very difficult to do so, but we should persist.

Things can seem bad, but God has never forgotten us, So in v3 David says his enemies turn back, stumble and perish. God has upheld his cause, God has brought forth justice, He has taken action.

“The Lord reigns forever, evil does not reign forever, our enemies do not reign forever. God is a refuge for His people, so we should seek him out when it is all so difficult.

V13 makes it clear that David is fully aware of the difficulties, yet still calls upon the Lord. He calls on the Lord to act. We should follow the line that David takes.

Psalm 8 - How majestic is your name!

Psalm 8

Gittith is another musical term. As is quite common in the psalms, David sees the glory of God in creation. We should all dwell on the wonder of creation, seeing the glory of God reflected in it. Likewise, in science we can see the glory of God. Problems arise if we start worshipping creation itself, as humans are prone to do. Many are keen to write God out of the picture, an equally foolish approach is to denigrate all science. God has set His glory in the heavens. Children and infants can sometimes be wiser than the so-called sages of an age. The universe is vast, yet God has still given man a special place. David is amazed at this. Why are we so special? It is simply because God has decided that it is so, he chose us, and He cares for us. He has “crowned us with glory and honour”. Our importance comes from God, and when we try to detach ourselves from God we lose our place of glory and honour. It is when we get back in right relationship with God that we find our true place in life. God made us rulers over creation (Gen 1:26).  The fundamental fact of the universe is not evolution, but that the Lord’s name is majestic in all the earth.

Psalm 7 - How to react when others work against us

Psalm 7

Shiggaion is probably a musical term, this is its only occurrence in the Bible. Cush was a

Benjamite, and hence probably a supporter of Saul and so working against David.

There will sometimes be those who are working against us. In this Psalm we see

how David responds, and he does so by seeking refuge in the Lord, and calls on

the Lord to “save and deliver” him. If God does not do so, the danger is real, he

could be torn and ripped apart.

David was being accused of all sorts of things, but he was innocent in this matter.

We are saved by grace, by God’s mercy and forgiveness, even so it is better

if we obey the Lord. David seems to rely on his innocence in this matter.

Living a righteous life gives us a certain strength,

but we must not rely on self-righteousness, there is a difficult balance

to hold here.David calls on the Lord to act. We worship the

God who acts. We often look at situations as if the Lord will

do nothing, the God of the Bible is not a do-nothing God. God is our shield

“who displays His wrath everyday”. We should seek to live righteous lives (which

we can only do with the help of the Holy Spirit). Then we will see the deliverance

of the Lord, and give praise to Him.

Psalm 6 - the unfailing love of the Lord

Psalm 6

It seems that David knew he had done something wrong, something against the Lord, though we are given no indication of what. Whatever the details David asks the Lord not to rebuke him in His anger, but instead to have mercy on Him. We are all reliant upon the Lord treating us with mercy, David was not feeling good, he felt faint, and his bones were in agony. Moreover his soul was in anguish. Many of us go through times of feeling terrible, there is nothing unusual about this. We, like David, may wonder “how long?” David calls upon the Lord to deliver him on the basis of His “unfailing love”. He reminds God that the dead do not praise Him. We are more likely to praise the Lord when we are well than we are under pressure.

David was having a very difficult time, but he knew that the Lord had heard him and would answer his prayers. It is his enemies who would be put to shame. The unfailing love of the Lord is our strength and security.

Psalm 5 - The right side of God

For some reason David is experiencing hard times, so he has written a lament. Most of God’s people in the Bible experienced hard times. David called upon the Lord for  help, and acknowledged the Lord as his king and his God. He knew that the Lord was the One who ultimately determined the course of his life.

David made his requests known to God at the start of  the day. He knew that God stood for righteousness. So the arrogant people who opposed David were also on the wrong side of God. Today people talk about being on the wrong side of history, being on the wrong side of God is a far more serious place to be in. So when the unrighteous oppose us we need not fear.

David asks the Lord to lead him in His righteousness. The unrighteous are full of evil and deceit, but those who take refuge in the Lord can be glad and full of joy. The Lord is a shield around us.

Psalm 4 - peace under trial

Psalm 4

This was a psalm of David, and may have been written while his kingship was being slandered. So David feels in distress, and his response is to call upon the Lord. The kingship was his glory, but there were those who were turning it into shame. These people preferred delusions and false gods. David was the Lord’s chosen servant, and the Lord back his servants, and hears David when he calls upon Him. We too can be confident in the Lord.

The people were plotting sin, instead they should tremble before the Lord. What sorts of thoughts do we have when lying on our beds? We should offer the sacrifices of the righteous, we should humble ourselves before the Lord and seek his purposes.

David asks the Lord to bring prosperity upon the land and to fill his heart with joy. When we are under pressure we do not normally feel joy, but we should ask the Lord for joy, joy is part of the fruit of the spirit. Neither do we feel peace, but again, we should ask for peace. Our prayers should be guided by what the Holy Spirit can give, not by what we think we can achieve.

Psalm 3 - Our deliverer

Psalm 3

As the text indicates David wrote this psalm when he fled from his son, Absalom. THis happened as after his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah. God was judging him, so the taunts of the enemy  that God would not deliver Him would be all the more poignant. Even so David still had faith in God, God was still a shield around him. Go answered his prayers from his holy mountain. The Lord was still His strength and His protector. For all of us there are times when we are acutely aware of our failings, our sinfulness, even in those times God is still our saviour. This is not to belittle our sins in any way, but we must still trust in the Lord, He is our only hope. When Jesus told Peter that despite his protestations he would deny Jesus, Jesus also said He had prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail (Lk 21: 31,32).

So even in this situation, David prays for help from The Lord and knows that deliverance comes from Him.

Psalm 2 - serve the Lord

Psalm 2

This Psalm talks about the futility of man raging against God. Men (and women) of all sorts often present themselves as superior to God, knowing better than Him. We should not fear when this happens. The psalmist begins by asking why do the nations conspire, they are plotting in vain. The rulers of the earth rise up both against the Lord, and His anointed (i.e. against Jesus). They see God as imposing unnecessary and unwanted restrictions on us. So they seek to break free of the supposed shackles.

However, God is enthroned in heaven and merely laughs at their futile efforts. He rebukes them, and terrifies them in His wrath. Why? Because His ways are actually good for us, and going against them harms us and others. God has installed Jesus as Lord of All. The Lord has made the nations His inheritance, Jesus will break them with a rod of iron.

So anyone who is wise, whether kings or ordinary mortals, should humble themselves before the Lord, and chose to serve Him. We can either become objects of wrath, or recipients of blessing.

Psalm 1 - follow the Lord

Psalm 1

\as well as expressing feelings. Praising God, and calling out for help, the Psalms also give instruction, and this psalm is a prime example.The Psalm reminds us that it is wiser and better to walk in the ways of the Lord, than to follow the ways of the wicked. This was something that Israel repeatedly forgot to do. The one who shuns the ways of the wicked is the one who is blessed, Parallelism is a common feature of Hebrew poetry, with an idea being repeated. We have an example here in v 1. We are not to follow the ways of the wicked, and this means not standing in the way of dinners, nor sitting in the company of  mockers.Sinners are, by definition, fools, so it makes sense to avoid standing in their place. Mockers have no regard for the ways of the Lords, so we should not keep company with them. 

Instead we should delight in the law of the Lord. We should meditate on His Law, not on the ramblings of the wicker or of mockers. If we do this we ill be like a tree planted by streams of water, we will receive sustenance and refreshment. If we are in a difficult situation right now, but turn to God we can be confident that we will receive strength. Success lies in following the Lord.

The wicked may seem OK for a time, but they are like chaff, they will not stand in the judgement. It is axiomatic in the Bible that all things will eventually be brought under judgement.

Conversely the Lord watches over the way of the righteous. Right now the Lord is watching over us, we are always in His care, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Psalms - Introduction

Psalms - Introduction

 The Psalms are many people’s favourite part of the Old Testament. Many, but not all, were written by David, 73 are attributed to David, Psalm 90 is attributed to Moses, and others are credited to various temple musicians. They cover a wide range of emotions, Some are pure praise, others deal with David in various situations he encountered as recorded in the Old Testament. The psalms are split into five “books”, and they formed an important part of Israel's worship. The five books are:

Book 1 - 1-41

Book 2 - 42-72

Book 3 - 73-89

Book 4 - 90-106

Book 5 - 107-150

It is worth noting that the New Testament makes use of the psalms, including two of the most “theological” books, Romans and Hebrews. God teaches us through a combination of His word and our experiences. When we are going through testing times I find it helpful to let the psalms correct my thinking, for in the midst of difficultues we often have a number of wrong thoughts, we forget who God is and His promises to us.

3 John 11-15 - Closing remarks

3:11,12

What we do matters, we should not do evil but good. So anyone who promotes what is evil has not seen God. It may be that in John’s day some of the false teachers were actually claiming to have seen God, but anyone who promotes what is evil clearly does not know God at all.  These false teachers may even denigrate those who hold to the truth. WE can see both these factors playing out in regard to the issue of sexual morality. John then positively promotes Demetrius. We should commend those who faithfully speak and teach the truth.

3:13-15

As at the end of 2 John, John says he has much more to say, but wants to see them face to face. He closes with a friendly greeting.

3 John 1:5-10 - Pointing out error

3:5-8

John encourages Gaius that what he is doing is helping the brothers and sisters. Moreover the brothers and sisters were appreciative of his efforts and were reporting how helpful he was being. Gaius is encouraged to continue to treat them well. These brothers and sisters were going “for the sake of the Name. In the previous letter John had warned about not helping those who were opposed to the gospel, conversely it was important to help those who were for the gospel.

3:9,10

Now there comes a warning about a church leader, Diotrephes. This man was all about self promotion and was even opposing John. We should honour church leaders, but there is also a time to point out clear errors and wrong behaviour. Moreover Diotrophes was spreading malicious rumours about John. Thus man was a clear destructive influence.

3 John 1:1-4, and Intro

3 John - Chapter 1

3 John was also written by John the apostle, see introduction to  1 ans 2 John. In 2 John John had warned against giving hospitality to travelling preachers who did not teach the gospel, but denied the humanity of Jesus. In this letter he urges that to offer hospitality to faithful preachers, and warns against a church leader who seems to be of the controlling type.  Leaders who are concerned with their own aggrandisement rather than promoting Christ are a danger.

3:1-4 As in 2 John, John introduces himself as “the elder”, and the letter is addressed to a particular individual called Gaius. He starts by encouraging Gaius. When we have to deal with opposition it takes it out of us, and we need encouragement. He commends Gaius for continuing to walk in the truth. Standing up for the truth is a spiritual battle, and takes effort, so we need to be built up.

2 John 1:7-13 Do not welcome false teachers

2:7-11

John is now about to give what might appear to be rather harsh instruction, this is why he has stressed the importance of love in obeying Christ. As well as christian preachers there were “many deceivers”, these deceivers denied the humanity of Christ, the importance of this was stressed in 1 John. If they welcomed such false teachers  then they were sharing in the "wicked work” of such people. We might think that we should be “nice” and “kind” to everyone, and definitely not judgemental, this is an attitude that finds much traction in the church, but it is unbiblical nonsense. False teachers spread poison, this dishonours Christ and harms people, to support such work is not “loving”.

2:12,13

John had more to say, but preferred to visit them in person. Face to face teaching is more effective than written, video or podcast teaching. “You sister “ is probably a related church, and they sent their greetings.

2 John 1:1-6 - Walk in love

2:1-3

John refers to himself as “the elder”, and his recipients as “the lady chosen by God”. If we are saved we are “chosen by God”. Jesus said to His disciples that they did not choose Him, but He chose them (John 15:16). John also tells them that they live in the truth. One of the tactics of the enemy is to make us feel uncertain, so John assures them that they are in the truth. And this is not a temporary thing, but “will be with us forever”.

The “Grace, mercy and peace from God” will be with us in truth and love. This comes from God.

2:4-6

The letter was addressed to the lady and her children, those who believe as a result of her walking with Christ. So John is delighted that some of her children are also walking in the truth. John urges them to continue to “love one another" In these first few verses we have already seen a number of similarities to 1 John. And this love is not a sentimental thing, but means walking “in obedience to His commands”. We are to walk in love.

2 John - Introduction

2 John - Introduction

This short letter says it comes from “the Elder” John  is believed to have functioned as an elder in the Ephesian church. The recipients are referred to as “the lady chosen by God”. The author is John the apostle, there are a number of similarities to 1 John, so it is reasonable to assume the same author. It was probably written about the same time.

At the time there were travelling preachers and teachers, both Christian and gnostic types. The natural instinct was to be hospitable, but John urges them to show some discernment. Jesus told His disciples to be “innocent as doves, but as shrewd as serpents” (Matt 10:16), we are not meant to be naive fools!

1 John 5:18-21 Born of God

5:18-21

Anyone born of God does not continue to sin. Now John is not arguing for sinless perfectionism, but anyone who still rejoices in sin and advocates sinful behaviour is not born of God. On a more positive note the one born of God is kept safe by Him, and the evil one cannot harm them.  False teachers may be pretending to offer some extra form of protection. But in Christ we have all the protection we need. We are children of God, and the world is under the control of the evil one. So we need to appreciate the truth of the situation. Moreover, the son of God “has given us understanding”. Some false teachers may claim to be oh so clever and to belittle our understanding. We should not listen to them, for Christ has given us understanding. He has enabled us to know God.

John closes his letter with a warning “keep yourselves from idols”. I think it was Calvin who said the human heart is an idol factory. We have great propensity to make idols out of anything.

1 John 5:13-17 - Confidence and the seriousness of sin

5:13-15

John reassures his readers that he is writing these things to them because they do believe in the Son of God, and so that they “may know that they have eternal life”. We need to teach our congregations, but we also need to reassure and encourage them. This also means that we can approach God with confidence in prayer, knowing that He hears us. 

5:16,17

If we see a fellow believer sin, that does not lead to death, we should not condemn them, but pray for them, pray that God will give them life. What is “sin that leads to death”? It could mean that if the person dies we should not pray for them, or it could refer to persistent wilful sin. Either way there is a recognition that sin can have terminal consequences.

1 John 5:6-8 - water and blood

5:6-8

“Who came by water and blood”, water possibly refers to baptism, or possibly it refers to natural birth, blood refers to the cross. Taking the baptism and cross it refers to the beginning of His ministry, and the cross to the end, taking the birth and cross combination, it refers to his humanity and death. I personally think the latter fits the context better. John then says that there are three that testify, the Spirit, the water and the blood, and they are in agreement. All three are vital, and to deny any one of them is to deny everything. The Holy Spirit testifies about Jesus, he is fully human (the incarnation), and He shed His  blood on the cross for our sakes. 

1 John 5:1-5 - Loving the Father and the Son

5:1-3

Loving the Father and loving the Son are one and the same thing, they are inseparable, you cannot claim to love one and not the other. Some who do not love God claim to love Him and His children, but the only way to truly love people is to love God and carry out His commands. Loving God and obeying His commands go together and are inseparable. Jesus spoke about loving Him and obeying His teaching (John 14:23).

5:4,5

“Everyone born of God overcomes the world”. The world is opposed to God, so we face opposition, but if we are born of God we overcome the world. We overcome the world by believing that Jesus is the Son of God, not by going along with the world. Believing that Jesus is the Son of God is crucial.

1 John 4:13-21 - Love

4:13-16

The Holy Spirit is absolutely essential. He assures us that we live in Him. Acknowledging that Jesus is the Son of God is a crucial sign too. Jesus is the focus of all the Father’s plans, so we testify that the Father sent His Son to be the saviour of the world. “So we know and rely on the love God has for us”. What we believe matters, but it is also a relationship, a love relationship with God.

4:17,18

We will have confidence on the day of judgement because of God’s love for us. False teachers often rely on fear, but perfect love drives out fear. “Fear has to do with punishment”. The cross has paid the price for us, Jesus took on Himself the punishment that should have been ours, so we have no fear. God’s love drives out fear.

4:19-21

God’s love for us is the starting point, we love in response to His love for us. Again John points out that hating a brother or sister is incompatible with loving God. How can we say we love God who is unseen if we do not love a brother or sister who we can see?

1 John 4:7-12 - This is love

4:7-12

Love comes from God. This is one of the arguments for the Trinity, for it is because God exists as three persons that love could exist between these persons. So love if we are born of God. Conversely if we do not love then any claim to know God is spurious. The supreme demonstration of His love for us was His sending of His son, so that we “might live through Him”. The Son was sent as an atoning sacrifice. There are some ignorant people who refer to this as “cosmic child abuse”, but such people only demonstrate their own stupidity and ignorance. The Father and Son were in complete agreement. God’s love for us is the starting point, any love we have for Him followed on from that. We also ought to love one another. Love is the essential proof that God lives in us.

1 John 4:1-6 - The Test

4:1-3

We now come to what is probably the most theological part of the letter, focusing on the incarnation. It is interesting that John is clearly concerned with lifestyle and behaviour, “Loving one another”, but this does not diminish his concern with right theology. Indeed most false teachings fail to get the person of Jesus Christ right, denying either His humanity or His divinity. It is worth noting that most early heresies tended to deny His humanity. John begins this section with a test to see whether or not a spirit is from God. He also recognises that many false prophets have gone into the world. The key test here is whether a spirit “acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh”, i.e. the humanity of Jesus. Any spirit that does not acknowledge this is not from God, indeed it is the spirit of the antichrist, and the spirit of antichrist is already in the world.

4:4-6

The Holy Spirit bears witness to the humanity of Christ, and He is in us. If we believe the gospel then we have overcome the spirit of anti-Christ, for the Holy Spirit is greater than the spirit who is in the world. We should not be surprised if the world listens to the anti-Christ, for the anti-Christ is the spirit of the world, and speaks from the viewpoint of the world. If we believe the gospel we are from God, for we are born again of God.

1 John 3:19-24 - Believing in the Son, and loving one another

3:19-24

The change in our lives shows that we belong to the truth, despite what  anyone else may try to tell us. Note that our experience is seen as important. Even so, it may be that we still feel condemned. In that case “we know that God is greater than our hearts. He knows everything, and He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us knowing just what we were like. Note that there is an interplay between theological truth and our experience. It is better when we do not feel condemned, and this gives us greater confidence in prayer. Our actions and obedience do matter. The primary command of God the Father is to “believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another”.and the Holy Spirit attests to the truth of this.

1 John 3:11-18 - Love one another

3:11-15

John places a great deal of emphasis on loving one another. He goes right back to Cain as to why this matters so much. Cain “belonged to the evil one”, he murdered his brother because Abel’s action showed up his own failures. Likewise the world hates us, and this should come as no surprise.In repenting and believing in Christ we have done “the right thing”, so the world that is in rebellion does not take kindly to us. 

Loving each other (or not) is a key indicator of whether or not we have passed from death to life.

3:16-18

Jesus laying down his life for us is the prime example of love, we should act towards our brothers and sisters in Christ in the same way. This includes sharing our material possessions, it will not always be as grand a matter as actually dying for someone. Love is not just a matter of words and feelings, but of deeds and action.

1 John 3:1-10 - Not continuing to sin

3:1,2

Tactics used by false teachers fall into two broad categories. On the one hand they may try to make us feel guilty or inferior, John has been dealing with this line of attack so far. The second broad line is to claim to be offering us something better. But the Father has lavished on us great love, we are loved by the Father, and the sign of that ove is that we are now children of God, there is nothing better that anything else can give us. So if the gospel is so great, why does not everyone go for it? The reason is that the world does not know Jesus. Instead it hates Him. 

Our final destiny has not been made known to us yet, at least not in detail. But we do know that we shall be like HIm, and we shall “see Him as He is£. Indeed that is why we shall be like HIm. Because of all this, we purify ourselves. To continue to live in sin is not consistent with the gospel.

3:3-6

In Christ we are forgiven for all our sins, but sin is still lawlessness. Sin is not an acceptable part of the new life in Christ.Jesus appeared in order to take away our sins. He takes away the guilt, but also changes our nature, so if we live in Him we will not continue to sin. The notion that Jesus is all about forgiveness and acceptance, so we overlook sin and carry on is completely at odds with the gospel.

3:7-10

Those who perpetuate the myth of continuing to sin are seeking to lead us astray, we must not listen to them. We are made righteous in Christ, and this will start to affect our lives.Sin is the devil’s work, and Christ appeared to destroy the devil’s work. Note from what John said in chapter one, this is not about perfectionism, it is more about the direction we are going in. Hating sin and loving our brothers and sisters in Christ are signs of truly belonging to God.

1 John 2:26-3:2 - Christ is the best reward

2:26,27

John now makes it clear that he is writing these things about "those who are trying to lead them astray”. His readers were anointed, and this anointing was received from Jesus. It is quite possible that the false teachers claimed to have a special anointing, and were in some way belittling the people John was writing to. John assures his readers that they did not need anyone to teach them. This does not mean that we don’t need teachers, but only teachers who believe the gospel. John assures them yet again, saying that the anointing they have received was real, not counterfeit (as it was in the case of the false teachers. They must remain in Christ.

2:28,29

Turning away from Jesus may look like a tempting option, may look as if it will make life a little easier, but we need to remember that Jesus is coming back, on that day it will be a lot better for us if we “continue in Him”, if we have stuck with Christ. Then we will be confident and unashamed. Jesus is righteous, so that those have been “born of Him” will do what is right.

3:1,2

Tactics used by false teachers fall into two broad categories. On the one hand they may try to make us feel guilty or inferior, John has been dealing with this line of attack so far. The second broad line is to claim to be offering us something better. But the Father has lavished on us great love, we are loved by the Father, and the sign of that ove is that we are now children of God, there is nothing better that anything else can give us. So if the gospel is so great, why does not everyone go for it? The reason is that the world does not know Jesus. Instead it hates Him. 

Our final destiny has not been made known to us yet, at least not in detail. But we do know that we shall be like HIm, and we shall “see Him as He is£. Indeed that is why we shall be like HIm. Because of all this, we purify ourselves. To continue to live in sin is not consistent with the gospel.

John 2:24-27 Remaining in the Son

2:24,25

Again, John urges them to stick with what they first heard. The gospel needs to be presented clearly, and then expounded and explained. Only by sticking with the gospel will we remain in the Father and in the son, and Jesus had told them the importance of abiding in Him (John 15:4). Then we will receive the promised eternal life.

2:26,27

John now makes it clear that he is writing these things about "those who are trying to lead them astray”. His readers were anointed, and this anointing was received from Jesus. It is quite possible that the false teachers claimed to have a special anointing, and were in some way belittling the people John was writing to. John assures his readers that they did not need anyone to teach them. This does not mean that we don’t need teachers, but only teachers who believe the gospel. John assures them yet again, saying that the anointing they have received was real, not counterfeit (as it was in the case of the false teachers. They must remain in Christ.

1 John 2:20-23 The Father and the Son

2:20

In one sense we are just ordinary people, but in another we are special, for we have been adopted as sons of God. In some ways it is like Jesus, He was the Son of Man, fully human, but He was also the Son of God, and could do amazing things. John expresses it by saying we “have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. This is a defence against any group that tries to make us feel inferior.

2:21

John assures them that they already know the truth. Again it is a counter against false teachings that seek to make us doubt. Remember that in Eden the serpent said “did God really say....” we should have confidence in the gospel.

2:22

We have had lifestyle tests, now we come to the key doctrinal test, and doctrine matters. Some try to tell us that to be concerned about right doctrine is a mistake, such people are the ones who are truly mistaken. The first test is denying that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is indeed the Christ, He is the centre and the focus of everything. If we deny Jesus then we are also denying the Father, for the Fathers sent Christ in order to fulfil His plans.

2:23

The matter is very simple, we cannot have the Father without the Son. They come as a package., you cannot have one without the other.

1 John 2:15-19 - Do not love the world

2:15-17

There are many false teachers who “love the world”, this can come in the form of so-called “prosperity teaching", or those who go along with the world's crazy and corrrupted ideas on sexuality. We cannot love the world and God. The world’s ways are in rebellion to God, so if someone is motivated primarily by worldly thinking they are not of God. The world and is ways will pass away, but the one who does the will of God lives forever, we need to make the right choice and to listen to those who have made the right choice, not ones following the way of death.

2:18,19

Some may say this teaching causes division, but Jesus said He came not to bring peace, but division (Lk 12:51). Some appeals for unity are actually appeals for toleration of wrong teaching. In the letters to the seven churches in Revelation there are criticisms from Jesus of  those who tolerated wrong teaching. Those who leave because false teaching is not tolerated show that they never really belonged to God nor to us. Note the strong line that John takes against false teachers, they are even identified with the antichrist.

1 John 2:7-14 Knowing God

2:7,8

What is all this stuff about not being a new commandment, (v7) and then “I am writing a new command”(v8)? When we sinned we became slaves to sin, when we come to know Jesus we are born again, we are set free, what was once impossible is now possible. 

2:9,10

So a definite sign that we do know Jesus is that we love our brothers and sisters in Christ. If we hate our brothers then that is a pretty sure sign that we are still in the darkness, and the converse is true. Knowing Christ changes our attitude to other people.

2:11

The person who hates his brother is walking in the darkness. We should not follow such people for they have been blinded, they have no idea where they are going.

2:12-14

John is talking about sin, but we approach the subject from the position that we have been forgiven, John then mention two other groups, fathers and young men, Both are approached from a positive angle. Fathers know Him who is from the beginning, young men have overcome the evil one. The Gnostic types would claim to have special knowledge, and to be able to give the young men special power, but the way to overcome the evil one is through Christ alone. We have all the power and salvation that we need in Christ

1 John 2:3-6 - A test

2:3-6

We don’t earn salvation by what we do, but what we do shows whether or not we are saved, If Jesus comes into our lives things will start to change, we will start to change. Keeping His commands is a sign that we do actually know Him (see John 14:23). Conversely, if someone claims to know Jesus but does not obey Him, then they are a liar. We can ignore such a person. A sign that the love of God is complete in us is obedience to God. Obedience is the fruit of the gospel.Obedience to Christ is a test we should apply to all teachers.