John’s warning concerning the world
The reasons we sin are neither complicated nor new. John summarizes and warns against the three ways temptations appeal to us: 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 [...]
Envisioning the Beloved Society
John summarizes all that he has said to this point in a poem in 1 John 2:12-14: I am writing [grapho] to you, little children [teknia; cf. 1 John 2:1], 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 [...]
Love as the Litmus Test of Genuine Faith
John’s words in 1 John 2:9-11 are hard, and they should give every sincere Christian pause: 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 [...]
How Jesus Made the Old Commandment New
John’s transitions are abrupt and short, but clear and significant. In 1 John 1:5-2:6, John had described the message of the gospel and then applied that message to two false beliefs. (On this passage, see posts 1, 2, 3, 4.) At 2:7, John quickly changes subjects through a single-word transition: “Beloved.” In 1 John 2:7-14, [...]
Reforming the Lives of Wanton Libertines (Like Me)
In 1 John 2:1-6, John turns his attention from Pharisaical hypocrites to wanton libertines: And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his 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 [...]
How can God be faithful, but still just?
Ever since AWANA, when I memorized “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9), this verse has been an important part of my understanding of the gospel. God forgives us when we confess our sins to him. This [...]
Reforming the Speech of Pharisaical Hypocrites (Like Me)
In 1 John 1:5-2:6, immediately after John lays out his thesis statement for the section that “God is light, and in him there is no darkness whatsoever,” he turns his attention to addressing those who deny their own sinfulness. Three times he addresses those who say that they have no sin: 1:6: If we say [...]
God is Light, and in Him is no Darkness Whatsoever
In 1 John 1:5-2:6, the Apostle John writes about sin, faithful living, our Advocate in Jesus Christ the Righteous, forgiveness, cleansing from sin, and obeying God’s commandments. In some ways, this section is a primer on practical Christianity–what does it actually look like to become a baptized member of Christ’s church? Everything, though, that John [...]
The fear of Jesus
Mark weaves a magnificent and profound play on words in the last few verses of his account of Jesus’ calming the storm: And he [Jesus] awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you [...]
Ezekiel’s Dry Bones and the Christian Doctrine of Bodily Resurrection
Christian exegetes have wrestled with the connection of Ezekiel’s Valley of Dry Bones and the doctrine of the bodily resurrection since they first preached on Ezekiel 37 from the light of Christ’s own bodily resurrection. While early exegetes drew a very quick line from the resuscitation of the bones to our own bodily resurrection, some [...]
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