1 John 3 – 4
Verse 3:1 opens with some reasoning on why our faith is so odd to others:
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.
The last line really hit me hard and often makes me wonder how we found Him. Think about how counter intuitive our faith is to others. At the same time we can find good in people who do not know Christ, which is often difficult to understand how they could reject Christ. This can be discouraging when looking at saving the world, but the key to people’s hearts is a servant’s attitude. Don’t look at the blessing you will get, but rather the blessing of salvation they will get. Honestly, who cares if you are never materially blessed, but your actions saved thousands. The problem is we keep our feet in the “world’s” door and hope for comfort in this life.
The disciples never showed us that life. All the people preaching the Gospel were ridiculed, jailed and often killed for their beliefs. How we got “richly blessed” meaning money is just how the “world” has corrupted the message of Jesus. Sure we can point to thousands of believers who are “blessed” and live well, but is that because of deeds for heaven or just hard work on this earth?
Verses 3:5 & 6 are tough ones to take:
5 You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.
We know that Jesus died to “take away” our sins and allow us to have a connection with God. Sin blocks that connection and therefore must be confessed to remain in God’s will. That is simple to understand, but verse 6 gets very difficult. We all “keep on sinning” in one way or another, so how can this be true for us? Think about your life and even the most “holy” people I know mess up from time to time. Does that mean no one really knows Jesus? I think the difference is intentional sin and stuff we keep doing even when we know it’s wrong. If we know it’s a sin, STOP DOING IT! Simple!! The key is maintaining a fellowship in Jesus and to do so we must be “confessed up”!
Verse 3:22 must be carefully interpreted:
and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
They key here is how we define “whatever”. If “whatever” are material things I believe we missed the mark. We need to release the world and what attracts us to it to really be in fellowship. Rather than asking God for a “million dollars” like George Bailey in “It’s A Wonderful Life”, give thanks for the blessings you have in front of you. I thank God every day for my two fantastic children, one is graduating UGA and the other is getting his first invite to the X-Games. I can’t thank the Lord enough that they turned out the way they did, even with all my mess ups.
Verse 4:1 is a critical verse:
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.
The most dangerous Christian is one who will blindly follow their leader. Not because there are not some great leaders, but because they “blindly” follow. We need to ALWAYS test the spirit to ensure it does not get corrupt. When PK starts preaching his Gospel and not the Gospel of Jesus I will move on. Even though I have learned to trust him, I will continue to test and ensure he is not drifting. Don’t feel that just because you are new to Christ that you cannot test, two benefits is you will grow quicker and you can often shake the blind followers to their senses with a new perspective.