I John 2:18

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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.

THE STUDY:

           Again, John addresses the reader in an intimate way by calling them “Children.” This is also referring to John as a pastor leading his flock. The phrase, “the last hour” is something that is viewed in many different ways. The dominant sense of the expression last days, in the New Testament, is that of a period of suffering and struggle preceding a divine victory. Hence the phrase here does not refer to the end of the world, but to the period preceding a crisis in the advance of Christ’s kingdom, a changeful and troublous period, marked by the appearance of “many antichrists.”^[1]

          Antichrist refers to someone who stands against Christ, or one who stands instead of Christ.^[2] While the false Christ is merely a pretender to the Messianic office, the Antichrist “assails Christ by proposing to do or to preserve what he did, while denying Him.” Antichrist, then, is one who opposes Christ in the appearance of Christ.^[3]

          To bring this into our world today, we face difficulties each and every day. We know, as believers, that during these periods of suffering and struggles there is a divine victory coming. We can rest assured that as a follower of Jesus we have VICTORY! But with this understanding, we need to be warned to the fact that there will be attacks by the antichrist.

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We can walk away with the understanding that in this day and time we will have sufferings and struggles. But VICTORY is ours! We have read the end of the Bible, Jesus wins!

CONCLUSION:

          The cocoon of the emperor moth is flask-shaped. In order for the perfect insect to appear it must force its way through the neck of the cocoon in hours of intense struggling. It is believed that the pressure to which the moth’s body is subjected is a provision of nature for forcing the juices into the vessels of the wings.

          A person was witnessing this struggle once, and out of pity took the point of some scissors and snipped the confining threads to make the exit easier, but the moth’s wings never developed, and it spent its brief span of life crawling instead of flying through the air on rainbow wings.

          Look not with false pity on God’s children who suffer. As men we are inclined to be shortsighted. God would have us inspire their courage in the midst of it by remembering His love, and then looking for the glory to come out of it. ^[4]Let us look at the struggles of life as a time for building up instead of ripping down. The antichrist in the world wants to take the credit for the victory but the one who gets the praises for the victory in our lives should be Jesus.

         

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] Vincent, M. R. (2002). Word studies in the New Testament (1 Jn 2:18). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[2] Vincent, M. R. (2002). Word studies in the New Testament (1 Jn 2:18). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[3] Vincent, M. R. (2002). Word studies in the New Testament (1 Jn 2:18). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[4] Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.

I John 2:12

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I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.

THE STUDY:

          In verses 12-13 we see the statement, “I am writing to you” repeated three times. As we study the word of God one of the things we should pay attention to is repeated words or phrases. John repeats this statement so we need to look at the reason why. With certainty, we can say John is referring to this Epistle and not some other letter. In a letter, when someone writes “I am writing to you” is will be followed by the reason why they are writing. The scripture is no different. After all three incidences, John tells the reader why he is writing this Epistle.

          In this verse John holds no punches! He starts with the very foundational pillar of Christianity; Forgiveness of Sin! John goes on to say for his name’s sake. To do something on account of the name of a person is the same as doing it on account of that person. Forgiveness ‘on account of the name’ is shorthand for what is spelled out more fully elsewhere. God forgives our sins because of Jesus Christ, the one whom he sent as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.^[1]

          I share all of this with you this morning because it will help us to understand the next couple of verses. The thing that stands out to me in this passage is the statement, “little children!” Most scholars believe John is referring to “all” and not just children or immature believers. John uses the term “children” frequently throughout his writings. This presents the feel of an authoritative figure (Pastor of sort) sharing the written word. When he says, “I write,” he means that his words, being penned, are permanent. The members of the church are apt to forget the spoken word, but that which is written stays. ^[2]

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

As a new believer in Christ I struggled with the fact that I WAS FORGIVEN. I still stand in amazement today to the fact of God’s Love for me, He forgives me! All I have to do is ask. If you struggle with the same thing let me say this, “YOU ARE FORGIVEN!” The next time Satan tries to get you to think you are not go back to that moment you asked Christ into your heart or remember this moment and relive it over and over again. It will remind you that “God forgave so Satan go away.”

CONCLUSION:

         

I heard about a tribe of Eskimos, the Moravians. The missionaries, who first went to these Eskimos, could not find a word in their language for forgiveness, so they had to compound one. The compound word is,  “Issumagijoujungnainermik.” It is a long assembly of letters, but an expression that has a beautiful connotation for those who understand it. It means: “Not-being-able-to-think-about-it-anymore.” Let Jesus do this for us today. So that those sins that we have been forgiven for will not be able to be thought of anymore.

           

         

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] Kruse, C. G. (2000). The letters of John. The Pillar New Testament commentary (89). Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.

^[2] Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Vol. 14: New Testament commentary : Exposition of James and the Epistles of John. New Testament Commentary (265). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

I John 2:1

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I John 2:1

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.

THE STUDY:

          We are entering chapter 2 of John’s 1^st Epistle. I pray that God has been speaking to you during this time and you are developing a desire to dig deeper into His word.

          This passage is promoting one of the key essentials to our Christian heritage; Forgiveness of Sin! We will look, more in detail, at the later part of this passage tomorrow but today I am excited to reveal to you what God has shared with me concerning the phrase, “My little children.” To help better understand this phrase we need to know more about John in regards to this movement called Gnosticism. I will not be sharing any new information about the Gnostics but I do encourage you to do research on this group so you can have a better understanding of what John was dealing with.

          When John says, “My little children” he is not referring to them as a child per say but as someone who he has an intimate understanding and feeling toward them. Just as Jesus stated in John 13:33, Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ We have the sense of a very intimate moment between Jesus and His disciples. John uses the same phrase (little children) when he addresses the reader. This gives the reader a sense of a father speaking to his beloved children.

          I wondered why John used this phrase. The answer may be found in the fact that John was the last living disciple. He was viewed as the last charter member of the disciples and, with that, he was looked highly upon by the church of that day. With this position in mind we can now see why John calls them “My little children.” He does this with position and influence in mind. He was the last (so called) authoritative figure (disciples) and was very influential regarding the truth of the Word of God.

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• First thing we can walk away with is the fact that there are still authoritative figures in the Church of Jesus Christ today. Those figures are called minister, pastors, elders or whatever the denomination chooses to call them. The scripture is very clear to the idea of needing and respecting leaders within the church. We can debate this fact of a need for leaders due to the fall of many prominent church leaders. This should not be a reason for God’s people to think they can do without leadership. Leaders have a responsibility to seek the face and guidance of the Holy Spirit. They will be held to this calling that God has on their life. The sheep, God has given these leaders, have a responsibility to follow and pray for their spiritual leader. This is what they will be held accountable for.

• Secondly, there is going to be times when you feel like John. He was very concerned for the church and, knowing that his time was coming to an end, felt a need to leave “his children” with some simple truths. He pin’s one of those truths in his gospel, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Let us remember God is still in control.

CONCLUSION:

If there was one last thing I could share with my children before I left this world it would go something like what I found in the song “These Simple Truth” by Sidewalk Prophets:

Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say!

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod