1 John 1:1-4 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with

our
eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life
was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which
was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim
also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed out fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

John begins by leaving no doubt as to his experience with the Lord Jesus. He has heard Him, has seen
Him, has touched Him. The reality of the person of Jesus was necessary at the time John wrote as many
doubted that Jesus existed, or that if He did, He must have been a spirit, something other than a true
man. John desires to put those heresies to rest before he moves on. The “word of life.” What does that
phrase mean to you? What is life really, from a spiritual or practical level? Why is Jesus called the word
of life do you suppose?

John gives numerous reasons for his writing throughout this letter. We see a couple of them here.
First, that we his readers might have fellowship with him, and more significantly with the Father and
Son. Consider this as we study. 1 John is written in part so that we might enjoy relationship with the
Lord, let that influence your thinking as you study on. Further, “we write that our joy may be complete.”
Do you take joy from sharing with others parts of your relationship with someone? Who? Do you share
stories about your friends, your family, your pet? We share hints of our significant relationships with
those we would see appreciate them, John is doing the same, sharing about His Lord and Savior Jesus.
Do you do the same?

1 John 1:5-10 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and
in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie
and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with
one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar,
and his word is not in us.

John uses figures of speech often in his writing. What do you think “light” and “dark” and “walk” mean
to John? What does it mean to walk in darkness or in light? This seems to be a very important question
based on the remainder of the passage. How we walk points to our fellowship with Christ, with truth,
with our forgiveness. So what do those things mean? Darkness is not simply the presence of sin in our
lives, John lets us know that sin can be dealt with in ways that will allow us to still remain in the light. So
what do you think he means?

If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us. What does it mean to confess our sins? What
do you say, to whom do you say them? Confession of sins is a big deal in this passage and others. What
does that word mean?

1 John 2:1-6 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone
does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for
our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we
have come to know him, if we keep is commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep
his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the
love of God is perfected. But this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him
ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

John writes to us that we may not sin. The implication is that we might live a sin free life, but at the
same time, he gives us the encouragement that, should we sin (let’s be honest we all do) we have a
saving grace through our Savior, Jesus, stop and thank God for providing a way to righteousness through
Jesus. John calls Jesus the propitiation for sins, what does that mean? Propitiation is the taking on of
God’s righteous wrath, that others might have His favor. Jesus, through His sacrificial death on the cross,
took all God’s wrath that we sinners will ever deserve, took all the punishment we deserve, so that we
might instead receive God’s love and favor. It took the cross to make this happen.

So how can we know that we have come to be a part of God’s favor, that we have the benefit of Jesus
work? One way, according to John, is that we will keep his commandments, not perfectly, but as we
walk and abide. Think again about what that word walk might mean. As we walk in the way Jesus
walked we will keep His commandments and have reassurance that we are His. There is more to our
salvation than just doing good works, there are lots of “good” people out there, but this is one place
where Christians can gauge their relationship with the Father, by asking “how am I doing keeping His
commandments.” How are you doing?

1 John 2:7-11 Beloved, I am writing to you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you
had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it
is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the
darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and
hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is
no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness,
and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

What does it mean to truly love your brother? Think about what Jesus taught when He talked about
loving your neighbor as yourself, think about the example that He set for us. There is no greater love
than to lay down one’s life for someone. While we won’t often, maybe ever, be called to die for
someone, we can lay down our lives for others daily. Giving up your will when you could fight for what
you want, sharing a kind word with someone who needs it when you are busy or in a bad mood, letting
someone’s hurtful comments slide past you without retaliating and then forgiving them in your heart.
All of those things are examples of laying down your life, your will, for someone else. Think about other
ways that you can love those in your life in this way, share them with someone else.

1 John 2:12-14 I am writing to you little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. I
am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you,
young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the
Father. I write to you fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young
men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil
one.

Your sins are forgiven, have you stopped today and thought what that truly means? We are forgiven for
His name’s sake, that means that the character of God, His love for us, demanded of Him a way out for
us. John writes to fathers, young men, and little children. We are all at different places in our growth of
faith. Some have newly come to Christ, they have come to know the father. Some have walked a while
longer (young men), they have grown strong in what they believe and by that have come to overcome
the power of the evil one in their lives. And some have walked in the Lord for a long time. Where do
you think you are at in your faith, which of those descriptions best describes you? Do you feel like the
person John describes? Do you know the Father, do you feel strong, does the Word of God abide in you
(that’s a big hint to real strength by the way)? Ask the Lord to grow you to the next step in your walk of
faith, opening your eyes to who He is and all that He has done for you.

1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of
the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the
eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away
along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. This seems out of sorts with other parts of Scripture
(i.e. for God so loved the world) when taken at first glance. What do you think John is really getting at
with these words? I think a hint lies later in the passage, the world, as John is referring to it here
involves the desires of the flesh and the eyes and pride of life. That is the worldliness that we should
certainly not give our love to. Our lives can be looked at as a series of moment by moment choices. Will
we love the Lord and those things that are noble and godly, righteous and holy, or will we give our
hearts over to the world? Most everything that you do in your day could be boiled down to that simple
yet very difficult choice. Which parts of the world call more dearly to your heart? What desires of the
flesh or the eyes vie most strongly for your affections, taking them from the Lord? Those worldly
temptations that most call to you are those that you may need extra help in battling if you’d truly be
devoted to the things of the Lord. Who do you have that helps you, how do you pray with regards to
them? John reminds us that this world is not made to last, but we have been given the keys to the one
that does. Where will you focus your love?

1 John 2:18-25 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now
many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but
they were not of us; for it they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out,
that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One,
and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you
know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?
This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the
Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide
in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in
the Father, And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.
What is the single most important thing you need to know? The one thing that cannot be argued with,
that cannot be compromised? The reality and identity of Jesus Christ needs to be the answer. Many
people believe in “God” in some way, many come close to the reality of who Jesus is, but they stop short
of the truth, or worse yet play games with it. So the key question for today, who is Jesus? The
“antichrist” the John warns us against has a (hopefully) different answer than you do. What do you
believe about Jesus? His identity, his humanity, his divinity? Solid answers to those questions are
necessary to be secure in your faith.

1 John 2:26-29 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the
anointing that you received from him abides in you and you have no need that anyone should teach
you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything and is true, and is no lie—just as it is taught
you, abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have
confidence and not shrink from him in shame at him coming. If you know that he is righteous, you
may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

Many will try to deceive you about the person of Jesus. Some will do it because they just don’t know any
better, they are the victims of deceit themselves (i.e. Mormons, jehovah’s witnesses, etc.). Some will do
so out of malice, they are hopefully fewer, but they are hopefully easier to spot than those who are
genuine in their misleading. John tells us that the anointing that we receive upon hearing and believing
the truth will protect us. Are you attentive to the spirit of God who would keep you near to Him? What
lies about Christ have you heard these days? What is true?

“Abide in him so that when he appears we may have confide and shrink from him in shame.” Everyone
will come face to face with Jesus some day. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, that He is
Lord. For some that will be a day of rejoicing at His return, some will hang their heads in sadness and
shame for they knew the truth of who He is and denied it. Which will you be?

1 John 3:1-3 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of
God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved,
we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he
appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him
purifies himself as he is pure.

We are children of God! While you have an earthly father who loves you very much, that fact pales
beside the fact that you are also God’s child. Many people will glibly talk about “we are all God’s
children” little understanding what that means, and often without any knowledge of Christ who has
made our adoption possible. You are God’s son or daughter just as much or more so than you are mine.
The Father’s love for us is amazing, better than any love an earthly father could give to his kids, it came
at great cost and knows no bounds. Think about what is means to be loved completely and
unconditionally but the best Father ever. That’s love that is hard to grasp, something this world won’t
ever truly understand without the person of Christ on display. The best part is that his great love and
our adoption is only the beginning, there are greater things to come. We have a promised as yet
undefined but wonderful to look forward to, but we have to wait upon His return to see it made
manifest. Our job for now, with the hope set before us and the help of Him who loves us, is to work
toward the holiness He desires for us. How are you working toward that?

1 John 3:4-10 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him
keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let
no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes
a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the
Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of
sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of
God. Bu this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever
does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

One of the key words in our passage is “practice.” What does it mean to practice something? Practice is
something we do regularly, something we put time and heart and energy into, something that, if we
really want to excel at whatever we are doing, can take up a large portion of our life. What, then, does
it mean to practice sin or to practice lawlessness? That seems to be a very key distinction in the
passage, and acts a test to see where we are in our faith, to the point of guiding our hearts as the
certainty of our salvation (or lack thereof). We will all continue to struggle with sin as long as we live in
this world, but there is a difference between struggling and practicing that comes from the heart. If
there are sins that seem to continually consume your time, your energy, your life, sins that you can’t
seem to get away from, sins that you give yourself to, then it’s time to ask someone you trust for help
with them, and maybe it’s time to reconsider if you faith is genuine.

1 John 3:11-15 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love
one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why
did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be surprised,
brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we
love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a
murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Do not be surprised that this world hates you. As the world tends more and more to godlessness,
something that has happened since the fall and will continue until Christ returns, the tolerance it will
bear toward followers of Christ will continue to grow less and less. There have always been places where
Christians have been persecuted to the point of martyrdom, countries and peoples who have ever been
enemies of God and His children. But even in my lifetime those nations and people once thought to be
“God fearing” have grown markedly less so, and even “educated and well mannered” people now find it
seemingly amusing to mock or belittle those of faith. Our calling is to continue to love the Lord, to love
His children, and even to love those who persecute us. That kind of living isn’t easy, all the more reason
for us to have that deep love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. God has called many out of darkness
with the blessed consequence that we have a family who loves us no matter what this world can hand
out, take a moment or two to thank Him in prayer for that joy.
1 John 3:16-18 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our
lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his
heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but
in deed and in truth.

John gives us two very practical ways to gauge whether or not we are loving on another. First, are you
willing to lay down your life for someone? That may not necessarily mean actually dying for someone,
though that is what Jesus did for us, it may mean daily putting others first in life. Second, are you willing
to give to your brothers in Christ? Both of these questions are very practical, they have tangible actions
paired up with them, making them helpful to see where we are in our faith. If we walk around self-
absorbed and self-centered, or if we cling to our possession when we see need in our midst we might do
well to re-evaluate where we are with Christ. How do you feel about those practical ways to love?

1 John 3:19-24 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him, for
whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved,
if out heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God, and whatever we ask we receive
from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his
commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he
has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this
we know that he abides in us, but the Spirit whom he has given us.

What does your heart condemn you for? I know that I feel guilty about a lot of things, that I feel
condemned even when I know that I am forgiven, yet my heart still holds to that feeling of guilt. There
are a lot of problems with that kind of condemnation for a believer. While it is a right response to feel
convicted of sin (to recognize something that we have done as sinful), once we have confessed-agreed
with God that we are in the wrong—and repented, had a change of heart, we should feel free of the
condemnation that sin undealt with brings. Romans reminds us that there is no condemnation in Christ
Jesus, we have been set free from that. Yet we feel the guilt and the sting of our sin as we grieve the
Holy Spirit and sear our consciences with the things we do wrong. We can avoid that turmoil of the soul
if we keep his commandments, against those things there is no guilt nor condemnation, and our prayer
life and walk with Him are doubly blessed as well. So, again, what does your heart condemn you for?
How can you get help walking away from those things?

1 John 4:1-6 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from
God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. But this you know the Spirit of God: every
spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not
confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard was coming
and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he
who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak
from the world and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us;
whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of
error.
As you go through this life you will hear many different religions, many different types of faith, some will
seem more acceptable than others, some will seem out of this world and farcical. More significantly,
many will play games with the person and deity of Jesus Christ, and at the end of the day, that is the key
distinction that you must always be aware of. Some keys to keep close: Jesus was indeed a real man,
some will say that he wasn’t truly human, they are wrong. Jesus was truly God as well (don’t ask me
how both can happen, Scripture is clear on it though), some will say Jesus wasn’t really God, they are
wrong. Jesus really lived and really died, some will suggest that one or the other didn’t happen, they are
wrong. Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, you guessed it, some will say that he
nothing of the sort, they are wrong. No matter what church or spiritual place you may find yourselves in
throughout your life, cling to the truths above. If you find yourself among those who play games with
Jesus, either fight or flee, but never compromise. If I can give you nothing more than that advice I will
have still done well as your dad.

1 John 4:7-12 Beloved let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born
of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this
the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we
might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his
Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

What is love? That is a question that this passage demands that you answer. So what is love. What does
is ask of the one showing love, and what response does it require (if any)? God loves us so much that He
gave his Son, that is a huge gift, a great cost. Does that sink in to you? The gift, or sacrifice of Jesus has
a lot of consequences (love, propitiation according to the passage above), all those consequences were
done through or by love. So, it is very important to have in your heart and head what love means.
There are different words for love, different types of love, but I would ask you to think about what love
means from the heart, what did God do when He gave us Jesus? What did Jesus do when He went to the
cross for us? What does it mean that God loved us? What does it mean for the future, what was the
cost, and what does it mean right now?

1 John 4:13-21 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his
Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come
to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in
God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the
day of judgment, because as he so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love
casts out feat. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for
he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this
commandment we have from him; whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Again, what you believe about the person of Jesus is key. Son of God and Savior of the world, do you
believe those things to be true of Him? No one else can claim those truths with any kind of credibility, so
what do you believe. And to love, love is a wonderful thing, in this case it cancels out our need for fear
of punishment before a righteously wrathful God. If we understand his true love for us, exhibited by and
through Jesus, we can live free from fear of his wrath which we would otherwise deserve. The next step
then is to try and share some of that same sentiment with those around us. Since we are love we should
be able to love others. Is that true of you? What does that look like?

1 John 5:1-5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who
loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of
God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his
commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of
God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it
that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ? Do you know that means? Christ means in part, king and Lord, in
this case King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He has a unique place in this world as its ultimate king. Once
again we come to a pairing of love for God and obedience to the commandments His given. How are
you doing in keeping His commandments? One could also ask how are you doing loving God? The two
ideas go hand in hand, one without the other is pretty much hollow. Obedience without love is dead
religion and legalism that doesn’t create the relationship God desires for us. Love without obedience is
false love that costs us nothing, and can be rendered very cheap when things don’t go the way we’d like.
It doesn’t feel like we’ve overcome the world most of the time, at least not for me. Yet John tells us
clearly that our faith in Christ overcomes the world. Think of it this way, this world really only offers lusts
of the eyes, lusts of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life, all things that bear death with them. Faith in
Christ and His work for us on the cross, in the love He gives us, take the world by storm, leaving it truly
fallen and vanquished.

1 John 5:6-12 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the
water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there
are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. If we receive the
testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne
concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does
not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne
concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave is eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
Whoever as the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Jesus is confirmed as overcoming the world by several things, John lists three in this passage. The water,
when Jesus was baptized things were very different than when you and I were baptized. God did not
speak from the heavens when I came up from the water, and in all the baptisms I’ve been to I’ve never
heard such. Yet with Jesus there was a very clear witness of His Son. The blood of the cross, is a
testimony of His death and the sacrifice made for our sake. And the Spirit, God’s gift to you and I at the
moment of our salvation opens our eyes to the truth of who Christ is. The most significant choice that
people can make in their lives is whether they will believe the testimony that God has made available
regarding Jesus, or whether they will consider the salvation open to them a lie, eternal life is at stake in
our answer to that question. Pray for those who have yet to take in the truth.

1 John 5:13-20 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may
know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him that if we ask
anything according to he will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we as, we
know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. If anyone see his brother committing a sin
not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not
lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All
wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. We know that everyone who has been
born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one
does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil
one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may
know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and
eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

As we have studied through 1 John we have seen several different “tests” given by the Lord to helps us
have confidence that His work in us is begun and secure. It is my hope that you have examine
yourselves as we’ve studied and found some measure of certainty that you are saved and set apart
through Christ’s work, and likewise some places to grow in your faith and in the life it calls you to. We
will ever continue to struggle against sin, to walk in the light and in the direction God desires for us.
John reminds us to hold one another up in prayer, knowing that the Lord hears us, protects us, and will
continue to deliver us from the wrongdoing that this world holds. Please stay faithful to pray for one
another, for me, for all those you love, and for those who remain lost today as well. Bless you.