I JOHN
Listen to this study TH2216
Please turn in your Bibles this evening to I John chapter 4 as we continue our study through the Word of God. As we have seen so far in our study of this letter, John opens up in chapter 1 by speaking of THE LIGHT OF GOD, that there is no darkness in Him at all. As we moved into chapter 2 John is still speaking of THE LIGHT OF GOD but now he is admonishing us to abide in the light of God so that it will be manifested in our lives, so that we will shine brightly.
Last time, in I John chapter 3 we began a section dealing with THE LOVE OF GOD and how rich, how deep that love is. In fact, God loves us so much He has adopted us into the family of God! Now, tonight, as we move into I John chapter 4, John is still speaking of THE LOVE OF GOD but now he is admonishing us to abide in that love so that God’s love will not only flow into our lives, but through our lives touching the lives of others.
If you remember from last time, we read in I John 3:24, “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.” As believers we have the Holy Spirit in us, guiding us, teaching us, directing us. You see, He is the Spirit of Truth but please also understand that there is a spirit of error out there trying to deceive us. How can we discern between the truth and the errors? John is going to explain that to us next as we abide in THE LOVE OF GOD. With that said, let’s begin reading in I John chapter 4, starting in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us this evening.
Today, many in the church are not doing what John is instructing us to do. They refuse to test the spiritual experiences they are having to see if they are found in the Word of God. They say God is bigger than His Word and thus, these spiritual experiences must be of God, they feel good! The result of not testing the spirits is we see some Christians barking like dogs, being glued to the floor, clucking like chickens, roaring like lions, running around the church like warriors, being so drunk in the spirit that they can’t walk, being slain in the spirit and-so-on! We see Christians trust in their experiences over what God’s Word is saying!
In regards to spiritual power, again there is a lack of discernment. We see Christians drawn to these signs and wonders and yet the Bible warns us that, “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”
II Thessalonians 2:9-10. And thus, these people are drawn to these so-called “faith healers” that make all kinds of claims of healings, but they can’t be substantiated. That is not to say that God doesn’t heal, He does, but not as these claim. We see people flocking to see the picture of Jesus on a tortilla or Mary on a cement wall or glass building. And the list goes on-and-on to the signs and wonders people are drawn to that are not Scriptural.
Folks, we are to test the spirits to see if these things are from God or not. Remember the warning that John gave back in I John 2:18, “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.” You see, the false prophets, the false teachers are out there, the spirit of Antichrist is at work and we must be able to discern what is of God and what is not of God! But how do we do that? Let’s read on and see what John has to say.
Like back in John’s day, there were those who taught about Jesus, but it was not the truths of God, they made a Jesus to their own liking, it was a false Jesus. Remember back in I John 2:22 we were warned, “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.” In other words, some were denying the deity of Jesus Christ. Here John is saying that others were denying that God became flesh and dwelt among us. We see that again in II John 7 where we are told, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.” And that same spirit of Antichrist that was around in John’s day is still at work today!
Do you really think the Devil cares if you love Jesus, if you pray to Jesus if your Jesus is a false Jesus? Of course he doesn’t care, in fact he promotes these false representations of Jesus. Let me give you a couple of examples to show you how a false Jesus is being presented today, not by Jehovah Witnesses or Mormons or the like, but by the church itself, they are beginning to not only accept it, but teach it to their people. In the book, Messiah and the Second Coming, we are told:
Jesus was one soul who reached the state of Christ Consciousness; there may have been many others. He symbolized the blue print we must follow . . . The way is open to everyone to become a Christ by achieving the Christ Consciousness through walking the same path He walked. He simply and beautifully demonstrated the pattern.
- Davis and Rice, Messiah and the Second Coming, p. 49
Also, out of Science of Mind magazine, John White wrote:
The significance of incarnation and resurrection is not that Jesus was a human like us but rather that we are gods like Him – or at least have the potential to be. The significance of Jesus is not a vehicle of salvation but as a model of perfection.
- John White, Jesus, Evolution and the Future of Humanity,
(Science of Mind magazine, Oct. 1981), pp. 40-42
Sadly, this New Age Jesus is being taught in the church today as Willigis Jager so clearly shares with us in his book, Contemplation: A Christian Path. He wrote:
Salvation will now be nothing other than a realization of the fact that “the kingdom of God is within you” . . . This is the good news Jesus proclaimed to humanity. The kingdom is already within all of us.
- Willigus Jager, Contemplation: A Christian Path, pp. 93-94
The warning to us from John is that we have spirit testers to see if what they are saying, what they are teaching is from God. If they deny His deity, if the deny His humanity, if they bring to you a Jesus that is not found in the Word of God, then they have the spirit of Antichrist and not the Spirit of God working in them. Folks, we as Christians should be able to discern truth from lies. Remember what John said back in
I John 2:24-27, “Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us — eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.”
The Holy Spirit along with God’s Word will keep us in the truth. As you deviate from what the Holy Spirit is telling you, as you deviate from God’s Word, you are traveling down a slippery slope away from the true Jesus! Folks, it is very clear, Jesus said in John 8:24, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am [He], you will die in your sins.” It is not that we are gods and forgot that we are gods. I am forgetful, but what kind of god would I be if I couldn’t remember that I was god and you couldn’t remember? That is just plain foolishness. You see, we are sinners separated from God by our sins and apart from receiving the atoning work of Christ into our lives by faith, acknowledging that He is God, you will die in your sins! The spirit of antichrist is at work, use your truth tester to expose those deceptions and so that you will know the truth and the truth will set you free from the lies!
Too often Christians become fearful regarding the lies of the Devil, this spirit of Antichrist that will ultimately usher in the Antichrist during the Tribulation Period. But John tells us believers not to fear, why? Because our victory is in Christ and He is far greater than the Devil. Folks, Jesus and Satan are not equals, they are not brothers like the Mormons teach, Jesus is God, He is eternal, He is the creator of all things, even Satan who was called Lucifer before his fall. And you can read of his rebellion against God, this anointed Cherub who was the worship leader in heaven and yet it was not enough. In Isaiah 14:12-17 and Ezekiel 28:12-17 you can read of this fall from God.
And, during the battle of Armageddon, Jesus will destroy the Antichrist and his forces with the words that proceed from His mouth and Satan will be bound. Thus, the secret for a victorious Christian life whether it is dealing with heresy or anything else, is for us to rely on God, that we trust in Him. John put it this way in I John 5:4-5, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” It is not complicated, but are we willing to believe it and walk by faith?
Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 12:34b, “. . . for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” You see, whatever is influencing your life will overflow in the words you say. And isn’t it interesting that as the unsaved world speaks, calling good evil and evil good, the people rejoice. But as we speak, standing up for righteousness, the people fight against us. Case in point. In an article from the Christian Examiner, July 2006, talking about the rating of a Christian movie called Facing the Giants to be released this fall it was given a PG rating by the movie industry. Now this is a family movie and a PG rating is given to those movies in order to warn parents that there might be some profanity, violence or brief nudity. Not in this movie but listen to what the article said:
“Facing the Giants” is too evangelistic. The MPAA, [Motion Picture Association of America] Fuhr noted, tends to offer cryptic explanations for its ratings. In this case, she was told that it “decided that the movie was laded with messages from one religion and that this might offend people from other religions.” . . . “It is kind of interesting that faith has joined that list of deadly sins that the MPAA board warns parents to worry about.”
- Christian Examiner, Film Rated PG to Warn of ‘Thematic Elements’ of Evangelism, July 2006, p. 16
We should also not be surprised by this for Jesus warned us in John 15:18-21, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.” In a California Public School they had a study on Islam, where the students dressed up as Muslims, had Muslim names and yet, if you were to do that with the Christian faith you would hear those words, “Separation of Church and State!” At a college in California, you cannot put the Koran on the floor or under any other book! But the Bible is discredited at these so-called institutions of higher learning! The fight is against the truths of God, don’t be surprised about it, don’t be fearful, because the Lord will give us the victory, walk by faith!
One more point before we move on and it regards the word in verse 6, “us.” The Roman Catholic Church, in its official doctrines, says that the Roman Catholic Church is what is being spoken of here with the word “us.” Thus, if you don’t adhere to the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church you do not know God, the truth is not in you! That is interesting because the Roman Catholic Church did not exist in John’s day, Peter was not the head of it, there is no record of that. And there is a dispute to when it really started, but it may have been 100 years or more after John wrote this letter, so this is not speaking of the Roman Catholic Church. Then who is it referring to? John is speaking of the Apostles and those that wrote the Word of God, those that received these revelations by God’s Spirit. Boice put it this way, “If this were a mere individual talking, the claim would be presumptuous. But it is not. This is one of the apostles citing the collective testimony of all the apostles and making that testimony of truth and sound doctrine.”
Do you see where this love comes from? It comes from God into our lives and then that love flows to others through us. Thus, this AGAPE love stems from a regenerate nature and fellowship with God. Paul put it this way in Romans 5:5, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” The love of God flows into our lives and thus, it should then flow through our lives or as Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” If God is love, and He is, then being a child of God that love should be seen in us also!
When God says that He loves us they are not just empty words. God shows us He loves us by His action. If you doubt God’s love for you, then look to the cross for in that we see God’s love for us. Paul, in Ephesians 3:14-19 tells us of this love, “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height — to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
It is a love that in it’s width opens His arms to all of mankind. It is a love that in it’s length never ends. It is a love that has a depth that can reach to the most wicked sinner and pull him out of that mire. It is a love that has a height that riches up into the heavens, where we will be gathered up one day! That is God’s love for us!
Spurgeon put it like this, “If there was to be reconciliation between God and man, man ought to have sent to God; the offender ought to be the first to apply for forgiveness; the weaker should apply to the greater for help; the poor man should ask of him who distributes alms; but ‘Herein is love’ that God ‘sent.’ He was the first to send an embassy of peace.” The Father sent His only begotten Son to be the propitiation for our sins, He took our place on that cross of Calvary and endured the wrath of God that was due us as the sins of the world were placed upon Him. That is LOVE – it is seen in His actions, His work towards us!
And is it really such a great thing that we love God? Not at all, look at all He has done for us. You see, we love Him because He first loved us! And that folks is the amazing thing, that God loves us, miserable sinners and was willing to die for our sins and did and then adopted us into the family of God!
As John finishes up showing us the AGAPE love of God towards us, he then says, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” I John 4:11. Okay, God has done this for you, now you go and do the same to others, love them as God loves you. That is the pattern, receiving from God and then giving to others. It is as Jesus said in John 13:14, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.”
I know, for some it is hard to show this kind of love, but think about it. It would be like having a drainpipe that is clogged. The water goes down but it has no place to go, it can’t flow through the pipe. Thus, there is a problem and it needs to be fixed. The same is true for the Christian who says he can’t love others, there is a problem and it needs to be fixed. You are not to have the love of God just flow into your life, but you are to let the love of God flow through you and touch the lives of others. God pours His love into our lives not just for us but so that it might flow through us!
Yes, no one has seen God the Father, He is Spirit, except the Son, but the evidence of who He is, His nature, is seen in our love towards others! And when John says that, “. . . His love has been perfected in us” he uses the Greek word TELEIOO for “perfected” and it carries with it the idea of maturity. You see, His love needs to grow in us, mature in us so that it can flow through us. Remember, they will know we are Christians by our love!
In other words, we can know by experience that we live in God, but how? If His love is perfected in us or complete in us or maturing in us, but again, how do we know? If we have love for one another! Again, love is seen in our action towards others!
There are many people in the world that know about Jesus, they know He is God, He is the Savior, but that doesn’t mean they are saved. Hear me out on this. John says that you must “confess” these things, that Jesus is God, that He is the Savior and that word “confess” doesn’t mean you just speak it but that you are in agreement with it. The idea of course is that you are in agreement with God and His Word regarding these things. Boice sums it up like this: “To believe in Christ and to love the brethren are not conditions by which we may dwell in God but rather evidences of the fact that God has already taken possession of our lives to make this possible.”
Do you believe that God loves you? You need to because that is what fellowship is all about. Paul tells us in Romans 8:35-39, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Do you have that assurance now? You need to not because I have said it, but God’s word declares it! It is like Spurgeon said, “To feel God’s love is very precious, but to believe it when you do not feel it, is the noblest.” And what a great place to abide in, God and His love for us!
Why don’t we have to fear the judgment of God? Because Jesus already took what was due us and now we won’t face God’s judgment if we are in Christ. Yes, we deserve it, but we won’t face it. You see, God’s love for us was so great that He paid in full the penalty for our sins. Thus, there is no need to fear. Jesus said this in John 5:24, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”
Yes, we will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ or the Bema Seat of Christ, not for judgment, but for rewards. In II Corinthians 5:10 we are told of this, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” And then in I Corinthians 3:12-15 Paul tells us, “Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” You see, if the motive of your heart in serving the Lord was wrong, if you did not serve the Lord faithfully, you will lose your reward but not your salvation!
Now, for those who are not in Christ, they will appear before the Lord at the Great White Throne Judgment. They are going to be going into the Lake of Fire for eternity, but here, in this judgment the degree of punishment will be set forth based on their works. They are going to the Lake of Fire for rejecting Christ, and their works will then be judged and folks, any degree of punishment is going to be bad. Of this we are told in Revelation 20:11-15, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” Thus, there is fear here, and hopefully a fear before they die that they would then turn to Jesus and receive Him as their Lord and Savior!
We talked about this already, but our love for God is born out of His love for us. If you are losing sight of His love for you, then you need to spend some time with Him because there is no such thing as a fire without heat just as there is no such thing as God loving us without us loving Him in return if we are saved!
Our love for others doesn’t save us, Jesus does. Then what is John’s point here? He is saying if you don’t manifest the love of God towards others, if you hate them, then maybe the love of God really never touched your life! Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5:23-24, “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” God wants us to heal relationships before we serve Him, why? Because the love He has shown us needs to be extended to others and if we can’t, then we are in no position to serve!
As I close this evening, please understand that God is not suggesting we love others, He is commanding us! “That’s not fair! Look at what they did to me. Look at how they treated me!” Listen carefully again to what John has told us this evening, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we 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.” I John 4:9-11. May we love others with the love that God has given to us, the love with which He loves us with, for by this all will know we are disciples of Christ, by His love flowing through our lives!