1 John 2 and 3 further questions and notes

To go with last night's and next week's midweek meetings: 

If you’d like a re-cap on the passage we looked at last night (1 John 2:28-3:10, Wed 21^st April), you might find the following helpful:

What does John tell his readers to do in this passage? What does that mean?

“continue in him” (v28). “Him” = Jesus. Cf. 2:24. We remain in Jesus by seeing that the apostle’s message remains in us.

Why should we do it (v28)?

So that we might have confidence and be unashamed before Jesus at his appearing = the Second Coming.

 

What categories does our passage divide people into? (v10).

Children of God and children of the devil. Our passage shows us how to tell them apart. It is striking that no third category is suggested.

 

How does the passage characterise / describe real Christians? How can real Christians be known / identified? What do real Christians do?

Christians are children of God (vv1-2). They bear the family likeness of godliness..

They do what is right and love their brothers (fellow Christians) (v29, v10).

The same questions can be asked negatively: how does the passage suggest false believers or teachers can be identified?

Remember the context of false teaching that John is addressing (v7). One way to spot false teachers is by their ungodly lifestyle (v8) or the ungodliness their teaching encourages.

 

What incentives / reasons / arguments for godly living does the passage give?

(This would be a very open question that requires people to pick out the implications of a number of points in the passage. Some are drawn out by the questions below).

V3: the hope of seeing Jesus and being like Him. As children of God we are to bare the family likeness (2v29, 3vv2-3). Jesus’ purpose to destroy sin and the work of the devil means his people should have nothing to do with it (v5, v8). Sin is incompatible with our new God-given life (v9).

 

How does verse 2 describe the Christian hope?

When Jesus returns we will see him as he is and will be made like him. We will be made sinless, like Jesus. (We will also be given glorified resurrection bodies like Jesus now has).

How does verse 3 suggest that hope should affect us now? What’s the logic?

We purify ourselves as Jesus is pure. If we want to be like Jesus in the future, surely we want to be like him now. We are to live in the light of our destiny.

 

How / why do vv5-6 suggest that continuing to live in sin is incompatible with Christian faith? What was the purpose of Jesus’ coming? Vv5, 8.

Jesus came to take away sins (v5) and to destroy the work of the devil (v8) so it makes no sense to profess faith in Jesus and want to hold on to your sins (v5), which are works of the devil which are to be destroyed. There is no sin in Jesus (v5) so it is incompatible with living in Jesus to live in sin (v6). 

 

Do Christians in fact continue to sin?

Yes! Cf. 1:8.

So what does John mean when he says that “no-one who continues to sin” knows Jesus (vv6, 9)?

John is talking about a consistent pattern of life. Just because someone does some things that seem good, that doesn’t necessarily make them a Christian! Similarly, a genuine believer wont be continually complacent about his sin and unrepentant. Real Christians are sinful and far from perfect but they strive to be godly and we should expect some progress.

 

You might ask group members to think on their own about whether there are particular sins they are continuing to live with / are cherishing / have ceased to fight against etc. You could allow sometime for silent reflection and prayer.

 

Summary points / applications / for prayer & praise:

Praise God for the confidence we have in Christ (v28).

Praise God for his great love and for the privilege of being his children (v1), and our glorious future (v2).

Pray that we would remain in Jesus (v28) and not be lead astray (v7).

Pray that we would never be satisfied with our sin but that we would repent of it and seek to be more like the Lord Jesus. Confess any known sins to God and repent of them.

Praise God that Jesus has taken away our sins (v5) and destroyed the work of the devil (v8).

* * *

God willing, on Wednesday 28^th April at 7:45pm via Zoom, we’ll look at 1 John 3:11-24.

The person leading has suggested you might like to think about the following questions in advance:

(1) In what ways have you experienced self-sacrificial love from others?

 

(2) Have you ever faced hatred or opposition for your Christain faith?

If you would like to dig into the text, you might find some of the following helpful:

Though we included it last time, I suggest you also read verse 10 this week!

How does the passage say we can know if we are genuine believers? What ways of distinguishing true and false believers does it give?

See especially v10, v14, v15. Vv16 & 19. v24, explained in v23.

Try making lists of everything that belongs to the devil / Cain / evil one / murderer / world / hatred / death / words tongue only etc. side on the one hand and the child of God / love / righteous / life / hated / cross / actions / rest / confidence / obedience etc. side on the other and think about John’s arguments / logic. Why does each of those things belong where it is?

What are the two “examples” given in this passage? What is it about them John wants us to learn from (to copy or to avoid)?

v12 (see Genesis 4). v16.

V15 on hatred and murder see Matthew 5:21-22.

 

Why might the world hate us? (v13 – see also v12) Why did Cain hate Abel?

See also e.g. 2:15-17; 3:1.

What does our culture mean by “love”? What might people say “love” is? How would people finish the sentence “love is…”?

What does verse 16 suggest real love is? How does the passage challenge our culture’s view of love?

 

How should we lay down our lives for our brothers (v16)? What might it mean in practice do this / love one another? What practical ways of doing this are suggested in the passage? (vv17-18)

 

In what ways could you / your group / our church show love like this?

 

How does v19 suggest that Christians can have a clear conscience?

 

If our hearts condemn us (v20), does that necessarily mean we are not genuine believers? Why? What reassurance does John have for someone whose heart condemns him?

 

What promise and conditions does v22 give?

Cf. 5:14-15.

 

How does v23 sum up what God commands of the Christian?

Jesus’ command to love: John 13:34; 15:12, 17.

Summary points / applications / for prayer & praise:

John Stott’s summary of vv11-18: “Hatred characterizes the world, whose prototype is Cain. It originates in the devil, issues in murder and is evidence of spiritual death. Love characterizes the Church, whose prototype is Christ. It originates in God, issues in self-sacrifice and is evidence of eternal life.” (Epistles of John, Tyndale NT Comm., IVP, 1964, p144)

Praise God for his love for us and the death of the Lord Jesus for us.

Pray that we would love one another sincerely and follow Jesus’ example, demonstrating self-sacrificial love in action. Look out for opportunities to do this.

Thank God that he hears our prayers.