Scripture

We know that we are children of God and that the world is controlled by the evil one.

Observation

God has given us eternal life through His Son. Anyone who has the Son has life, and anyone who does not have the Son does not have life.

When we see a brother or sister sinning, we should pray for that person to repent. There is a sin which leads to death; not every sin leads to death.

We know that we are children of God and that the world is under the control of the evil one. We live in fellowship with the Son of God, and therefore we live in fellowship with the true God.

Application

There is a huge gulf between the children of God and the people of the world. The world and its people are controlled by the evil one. The children of God are led by God.

This is not to say that we should avoid unsaved people or look down on them. We should love them with the love of Jesus who loved the world enough to die for it. We should love them and seek to win them to Him.

At the same time, we should understand that the gospel will never be popular in the world. Most people do not want to know that they are sinners, although there are many people who long for their Redeemer.

We should also work at redeeming institutions that the world controls- education, entertainment, politics, and culture. Jesus is greater than satan, and He alone can rescue the world, its people and its structures.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for saving me. Thank you that I am led and directed by you and not by the evil one. Amen.

Scripture

So we have three witnesses- the Spirit, the water, and the blood- and these three agree.

Observation

Everyone who believes Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. If we love God, we will obey His commands and love His children.

Jesus was revealed as God’s Son at His baptism and on the cross. The Spirit also confirms this, meaning there are three witnesses to Jesus’ Sonship- the Spirit, the water, and the blood.

God has testified about His Son, so anyone who refuses to believe that Jesus is the Son of God is calling God a liar.

Application

The three witnesses- the Spirit, the water, and the blood- all testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

The Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts that Jesus is Lord, and that we can be set free from the bondage of our sin. We need that testimony because satan has blinded us and we would never work it out by ourselves.

The water is the water of Jesus’ baptism. This was the first revelation that He is the Son of God. The heavens opened and the voice from heaven declared, “This is my beloved Son.”

The blood is Jesus’ blood shed on the cross. Jesus, the truly divine one, laid down His life for our sake. The Roman centurion said at the time of Jesus’ death, “Surely this man was the Son of God.”

Anyone who denies that Jesus is the Son of God not only calls the Father and the Holy Spirit liars, but they also ignore the testimony of the water and the blood.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, today I declare, “You are truly the Son of God.” Amen.

Scripture

All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.

Observation

Since God loves us, we ought to love one another, for this brings full expression to God’s love for us.

God has given His Spirit as proof that He lives in us. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is the Son of God has God living in them.

As we live in God, our love becomes more perfect. Perfect love casts out all fear because fear has to do with fear of being punished. If we fear then it shows we have not experienced God’s love.

God has given us this command- if we love God then we must also love our christian brothers and sisters.

Application

If we confess that Jesus is the Son of God, then God is living in us and we are living in God.

Confessing that Jesus is the Son of God is not just about words- it is about expressing heart- felt conviction that stems from relationship.

Paul says something similar in Romans: “if you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

If we believe this with our heart, then it is a sign to us and to others that God is living in us. When we come to Jesus and confess that He is our Lord, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, comes and resides in us.

As John describes repeatedly in this letter, the result of this is that we love God and love other christians. Love is the fruit of relationship with God, and it is the sign of it.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for loving me. Please grow your love in my heart so that I can love other people with your love. Amen.

Scripture

Dear children, let us not merely say we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

Observation

The message we heard from the beginning is we should love one another. Love for our christian brothers and sisters shows we have God’s life. Anyone who hates another person is a murderer at heart and does not have God’s life in him.

Jesus showed us real love by giving up His life for us. So we should give up our lives for others. If we have enough money to live well, we should share with a brother or sister in need.

We must believe in the name of Jesus, and love one another as He has commanded us.

Application

One of the unexpected features of the internet age has been the rise of tribalism on social media. It seems that the more we are connected, the more we feel the need to identify with a particular group.

Some groups are happy to welcome and endorse people as long as they toe the party line. When someone expresses an opinion contrary to the correct position, the mob descends with virtual pitch forks and harries them until they recant.

Christians are not to be like this. We are to love one another with genuine love. We must not love one another in words alone, or merely in theory. Love must be practical.

So we must continue to love people when it is not convenient or when they say things or do things a little outside our comfort zone.

John gives the example of someone who has enough money to be comfortable. They must have genuine compassion on those who are struggling financially.

Our love for one another must be like God’s love to us. It must be unconditional, unfailing, giving, costly.

We are the people who embrace the unlovely and the different ones. We are the people who hang in there with people through their struggles and challenges. We are the people who love because God first loved us,

Prayer

Father, your love for us is ever lasting. Help me to love the people around me and to be as consistent in that as you are. Amen.

Scripture

Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them.

Observation

God’s love for us is amazing. He calls us His children. We don’t yet know what we will be when Christ returns, but we will be like Him.

Sin is breaking God’s law. Jesus came to take away our sin, so if we continue to sin, it shows we are not following the ways of Jesus.

When people keep sinning they show that they belong to the devil. People who have been born into God’s family do not continue to sin. They cannot keep sinning because God’s life is in them.

Application

If you are genuinely born again, you will turn away from sin. That is what it means to be born again.

This does not mean we become instantly perfect. There is a process, a life- time of becoming more like Jesus.

As christians we are not allowed to keep our pet sins- whether it is anger or drugs, coveting or pornography.

A christian who keeps his or her sins is like a husband who keeps a lover or two on the side. This is a contradiction.

Of course, we all struggle with sin. We all have our weaknesses, those temptations that seem to particularly entice us. We need to be like the alcoholic who knows he is only ever one drink away from falling.

While christians should not engage in repeated sin, we all fall. For that there is the remedy of 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

If you think this is a loophole that lets us get away with stuff, then you are not thinking straight. It is not about what we can and can’t get away with. We are not motivated by a counting of right and wrong. God has lavished His love upon us and it should be our overwhelming desire to walk in friendship with Him.

Prayer

Father, I admit my sinful ways to you. Please change my heart so deeply that I am no longer attracted to the things that break my relationship with you. Amen.

Scripture

Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come.

Observation

The last hour is here, and many antichrists have already appeared. They have left the church, but they never really belonged.

Those who remain faithful don’t just know the truth, they know the difference between the truth and lies. Anyone who denies Christ is a liar, and anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist.

If we remain faithful to Christ, the Holy Spirit will teach us what is true. So we must remain in fellowship with Christ.

Application

In my early christian years, I like many at the time, was bombarded with end-times teachings about the scary demonic Antichrist and the Great Tribulation that was coming very soon. Various names were suggested for the identity of the Antichrist, but all failed to attain the title, and most are not even remembered these days.

Here, John tells us that already there were many antichrists who had come. In fact, John is the only one that uses this term. He uses it to describe not an apocalyptic demon- possessed world ruler, but many false teachers who deny that Christ is the Son of God.

This would seem to include atheists, Muslims, Hindus, New Agers, irreligious secularists and sceptics, and many more.

The spirit of antichrist is simply any spirit that opposes Christ.

Even in the first century, they believed that they were in the “last hour.” Peter says in Acts 2 that Pentecost is the day foretold by Joel- “In the last days I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.”

We don’t have to worry about a demonic Antichrist seizing power and persecuting christians. That has been going on for 2000 years and will continue to do so until Jesus returns- which could be tomorrow or another 2000 years.

Rather, we need to be faithful to Christ, serving Him in our daily life, and staying steadfast until the end.

Prayer

Thank you Father for your unfailing love. Thank you for the Holy Spirit who protects us from false teachings and false spirits. Please help me to be faithful to you in all things. Amen.

Scripture

For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasures, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.

Observation

John writes to three groups- children, young men and fathers, These are spiritual categories, not chronological ones. God’s children are people who know they are forgiven. The young men are those who know God’s word and have won battles against the evil one. Fathers are those who know Christ in a deep and mature way.

We must not love the world, because that leads us away from God. The wold offers only superficial attractions, and it is passing away.

Application

The world system is opposed to God. It relies on our physical nature to lure us away from the things of God.

This is not to denigrate the physical body. God made us as physical beings. When the physical part of life dominates what we think about and what we do, then we are in danger of turning away from God completely.

The world offers a craving for physical pleasure. We are not to pursue sexual immorality, possessions, unrestrained desire for food, and so on, because these things of themselves are not good for us. The world entices us but God says, “No.”

The craving for what we see can be strong. This covers things like new and better possessions, greed for wealth, that special holiday that will fix everything, a better house in a more prestigious postcode. None of these things will satisfy us, but they are so tempting. The ten commandments forbid coveting, but the world thrives on it.

Pride can be a downfall for many. It is fine to feel good about our achievements, but we can become over-impressed with ourselves. Pride leads us to believe that we are better than other people and ultimately that we are infallible.

The world leads us to worship ourselves and our fleshly appetites. We make idols that displace the one true God.

Prayer

Lord, I confess the many temptations that I feel every day. Please help me to take my eyes off the things of the physical world and worship you alone. Amen.

Scripture

Dear friends, I am writing a new commandment for you, rather it is an old one you heard from the beginning. This old commandment – to love one another- is the same message you heard before.

Observation

If we sin we have an advocate, Jesus Christ, who pleads our case with the Father. We can be sure we know Him if we obey His commandments. Someone who claims to love God but disobeys His commandments is a liar.

The commandment to love is not new. It is the same message we heard from the beginning. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and those who are in fellowship with Him do so too.

If a person claims to be in the light, but they hate their brother or sister, they are still living in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother or sister is walking in the light of the Lord.

Application

The commandment to love one another is at the heart of God’s plan for us. Jesus made it clear. “A new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you.”

John says in this passage that a person’s attitude to other christian brothers and sisters shows whether or not they are truly in the light. If we fail to show love to any brother or sister, we are not really following Jesus.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus taught us that love has to be costly and extend to people beyond our normal circles, to the people we consider to be outsiders- whether that s ethnic, class or sex.

The commandment to love others is unlimited. There is no boundary placed on this.

Because Christ has loved us and all the world, we too must love everyone.

Prayer

Lord, let your love explode in my heart. Help me to love everyone with your love, and to live that out in every encounter today. Amen.