Teach

1 John 2:25-27 - And this is what he promised us—even eternal life. I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

John 15:4 - Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

Matthew 28:19-20 - Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

1 Corinthians 12:28 - And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.

Colossians 3:16 - Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Conclusions:

• Since the Bible constantly advocates teaching, John is not ruling out human teachers
• At the time when John wrote, Gnostic teachers were insisting that the teaching of the apostles was to be supplemented with the higher knowledge that the Gnostics claimed to possess
• What readers were taught under the Spirit’s ministry through the apostles not only was adequate but was the only reliable truth
• The teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit develops the capacity to appreciate God’s truth already revealed—making the Bible meaningful in thought and daily living
• The believer has no fruitfulness apart from his union and fellowship with Christ
• A branch out of contact with the vine is uselsss
• Matthew ends with the reassuring and empowering words of Him who came to earth to be God with us
• The apostles and prophets were part of the foundation of the church, and teaching was associated with the pastoral office
• Any act of helping others may be the product of a spiritual gift, though the primary reference in 1 Corinthians 12:28 is probably to a ministry to the poor, needy, sick and distressed
• Those with gifts of administration were enabled by the Holy Spirit to organize and project plans and spiritual programs in the church
• Word of Christ refers especially to Christ’s teaching, which in the time of the Colossians was transmitted orally
• Some of the most important doctrines were expressed in Christian hymns preserved for us now only in Paul’s letters
• A hymn was a song of praise, especially used in celebration, much like the Old Testament psalms that praised God for all that He is

Application:

• Do you appreciate God's truth already revealed?
• Do you have fruitfulness?
• Do you obey everything Jesus commands?
• Do you help others?
• Do you teach and admonish others?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Know My Father Also

1 John 2:21-24 - I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.

John 8:19 - Then they asked him, "Where is your father?" "You do not know me or my Father," Jesus replied. "If you knew me, you would know my Father also."

John 14:23 - Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

John 15:4 - Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

1 John 1:3 - We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

Conclusions:

• John makes it clear that the Word was with God and was God and reveals God
• Jesus stresses that the Father is known through the Son and that to know the one is to know the other
• Love and obedience are linked
• The believer has no fruitfulness apart from his union and fellowship with Christ
• A branch out of contact with the vine is useless
• “Fellowship with us” is participation with us in our experience of hearing, seeing and touching the incarnate Christ
• Fellowship is the spiritual union of the believer with Christ—as described in the figures of the vine and branches and the body and the head—as well as communion with the Father and with fellow believers

Application:

• Do you know Christ?
• Do you obey Jesus teaching?
• Do you have union and fellowship with Christ?
• Are you in union with Christ, the Father and fellow believers?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Anointing

1 John 2:19-20,27 - They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth…As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

Jeremiah 31:34 - No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

John 14:26 - But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Acts 2:26-27 - Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

Acts 22:14 - "Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth.

Conclusions:

• Since the Bible constantly advocates teaching, John is not ruling out human teachers
• At the time when John wrote, Gnostic teachers were insisting that the teaching of the apostles was to be supplemented with the higher knowledge that the Gnostics claimed to posses
• John’s response was that what the readers were taught under the Spirit’s ministry through the apostles not only was adequate but was the only reliable truth
• The teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit does not involve revelation of new truth or the explanation of all difficult passages of Scripture to our satisfaction
• The teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit is the development of the capacity to appreciate and appropriate God’s truth already revealed—making the Bible meaningful in thought and daily living
• “All things” are all things necessary to know for salvation and Christian living
• When the Lord has done His new work, there will no longer be among His people those who are ignorant of Him and His will for human lives
• True knowledge of the Lord will be shared by all—young and old, the peasant and the powerful
• Know the Lord refers to experiencing the Lord, not knowledge of the Lord
• The Holy Spirit is the Counselor’s normal title in the New Testament emphasizing His holiness, rather than His power or greatness
• Both the Father and the Son are involved in the sending of the Holy Spirit
• The Holy Spirit “reminding you of everything I have said to you” is crucial for the life of the church—and for the writing of the New Testament
• It was the resurrected Jesus that had convinced Paul of the truth of the gospel and that became the foundation of his theology

Application:

• Do you have the capacity to appreciate God's truth?
• Have you experienced God?
• Does the Holy Spirit teach you and remind you of all things?
• Do you have an anointing from the Holy One?
• Is seeing the resurrected Jesus important to you?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

A New Command

1 John 2:8 - Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

John 13:34 - "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

Romans 13:12 - The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

1 Thessalonians 5:5 - You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.

Conclusions:

• In a sense a new command was an old one, but for Christ’s disciples it was new, because it was the mark of their brotherhood, created by Christ’s great love for them
• Our standard is Christ’s love for us
• The night is the present evil age
• “Is nearly over; the day is almost here” is a clear example of the New Testament teaching of the nearness of the end times
• These texts do not mean that the early Christians believed that Jesus would return within a few years.
• The early Christians regarded the death and resurrection of Christ as the crucial events of history that began the last days
• Since the next great event in God’s redemptive plan is the second coming of Jesus Christ, the night, no matter how long chronologically it may last, is nearly over
• The day is the appearing of Jesus Christ, which ushers in the consummation of the kingdom
• In Semitic languages, to be the “son of” a quality meant to be characterized by that quality
• Christians do not simply live in the light; they are characterized by the light

Application:

• Is your standard Christ's love for you?
• Have you put aside the deeds of darkness?
• Are you characterized by light?

All scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

New Command

1 John 2:6-7 - Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard.

1 Corinthians 10:14 - Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

1 John 3:23 - And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.

John 13:34-35 - "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Leviticus 19:18 - " 'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

Conclusions:

• Corinthians Christians had come out of a background of paganism
• Temples for the worship of Apollo, Asclepius, Demeter, Aphrodite and other pagan gods and goddesses were seen daily by the Corinthians as they engaged in the activities of everyday life
• The worship of Aphrodite, with its many sacred prostitutes, was a particularly strong temptation
• God’s command has two parts: (1) Believe in Christ, and (2) love each other
• In a sense a new command was an old one, but for Christ’s disciples it was new, because it was the mark of their brotherhood, created by Christ’s great love for them
• Our standard is Christ’s love for us
• Love is the distinguishing mark of Christ’s followers
• Love your neighbor as yourself is quoted by Christ, Paul and James
• The stricter Pharisees added to this command what they thought it implied: Hate your enemy
• Jesus reaction, “Love your enemies,” was in line with true Old Testament teaching and was more in agreement with the middle-of-the-road Pharisees
• Rabbi Nahmanides caught their sentiments: “One should place no limitations upon the love for neighbor, but instead a person should love to do an abundance of good for his fellow being as he does for himself.”
• Neighbor does not merely mean one who lives nearby, but anyone with whom one comes in contact

Application:

• Do you flee from idolatry?
• Do you believe in Christ? Do you love others?
• Is your standard Christ's love for you?
• Is love one of your distinguishing marks?
• Do you love to do an abundance of good for your fellow being?

All Scripture references taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

God's Love Is Truly Made Complete In Him

1 John 2:5-6 - But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

John 14:15 - "If you love me, you will obey what I command.

1 John 4:12 - No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

John 17:20-21 - "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Conclusions:

• Love, like faith, cannot be separated from obedience
• Since our love has its source in God’s love, His love reaches full expression when we love fellow Christians
• The God whom no one has ever seen is seen in those who love, because God lives in them
• The unity of believers should have an effect on outsiders, to convince them of the mission of Christ
• Jesus prayer is a rebuke of the groundless and often bitter divisions among believers

Application:

• Do you love Jesus?
• Do you love fellow Christians?
• Are there divisions between other believers and you?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Obey His Commands

1 John 2:3-4 - We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

John 14:15 - "If you love me, you will obey what I command.

1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Titus 1:16 - They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

1 John 3:6 - No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

1 John 4:8 - Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Conclusions:

• Love, like faith, cannot be separated from obedience
• Faithful and just is a single concept
• Faithful and just indicates that God’s response toward those who confess their sins will be in accordance with His nature and His gracious commitment to His people
• God is faithful to His promise to forgive
• God will provide the forgiveness that restores the communion with Him that had been interrupted by sin
• The false teachers stood condemned by the test of personal conduct
• Right knowledge is extremely important, because it leads to godliness
• Paul maintained a remarkable balance between doctrine and practice
• John is not asserting sinless perfection, but explaining that the believer’s life is characterized not by sin but by doing what is right
• Only those who are to some degree like Him truly know Him
• In His essential nature and in all His actions, God is loving
• John similarly affirms that God is spirit and light, as well as holy, powerful, faithful, true and just

Application:

• Do you love Jesus?
• Have you confessed your sins?
• Do you claim to know God? Do your actions deny Him?
• Is your life characterized by doing what is right?
• Are you to some degree like Him?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Atoning Sacrifice For Our Sins

1 John 2:2 - He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 1:29 - The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Conclusions:

• He is the One who turns aside God’s wrath, taking away our sins, and not only ours but the world’s
• God’s holiness demands punishment for man’s sin
• God, therefore, out of love, sent His Son to make substitutionary atonement for the believer’s sin
• In this way the Father’s wrath is satisfied; His wrath against the Christian’s sin has been turned away and directed toward Christ
• Forgiveness through Christ’s atoning sacrifice is not limited to one particular group only; it has worldwide application
• Forgiveness must be received by faith
• 1 John 2:2 does not teach universalism, but that God is an impartial God
• God so loved the world is the great truth that motivated God’s plan of salvation
• The world is all people on earth—or perhaps all creation
• Although believers are also called sons of God, Jesus is God’s son in a unique sense
• Lamb of God is an expression found in the Bible only in John 1
• Many suggestions have been made as to the precise meaning of Lamb of God
• Lamb of God seems to be a general reference to sacrifice, not the name for a particular offering
• John was saying that Jesus would be the sacrifice that would atone for the sin of the world

Application:

• Has God's wrath been turned away from you?
• Are you a son of God?
• Has Jesus atoned for your sins?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Darkness

1 John 1:4-8 - We write this to make our joy complete. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

John 8:12 - When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Hebrews 9:14 - How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

Proverbs 20:9 - Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin"?

John 8:44 - You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Conclusions:

• It is also true that God is light
• And as Jesus followers reflect the light that comes from Him, they too are the light of the world
• Darkness is both the darkness of the world and that of Satan
• God is light; but Jesus is also the light from God that lights the way for life—as the pillar of fire lighted the way for the Israelites
• He was the one who offered the sacrifice, and He was the sacrifice itself
• Christ was unblemished in the entirety of His being, not just superficially
• To cleanse our consciences means to remove sin’s defilement from the very core of our being
• No one is without sin—but those whose sins have been forgiven have clean hands and a pure heart
• The Jews relationship to Satan was stated explicitly
• Jesus clearly excluded the idea of the universal fatherhood of God
• The Jews problem was basically spiritual, not intellectual
• Being oriented toward Satan, the Jews were bent on murder and eventually would succeed
• Truth is foreign to Satan and those who are his

Application:

• Do you reflect the light that comes from Jesus?
• Have you removed sin's defilement from the very core of your being?
• Do you have clean hands and a pure heart?
• Do you have spiritual problems?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Fellowship With Us

1 John 1:3 - We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:9 - God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

John 15:2,4-5 - He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful…Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Colossians 1:18 - And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

Conclusions:

• “Fellowship with us” means participation with us in our experience of hearing, seeing and teaching the incarnate Christ
• Fellowship is the spiritual union of the believer with Christ—as described in the figures of the vine and branches and the body and the head—as well as communion with the Father and with fellow believers
• God may be trusted to do what He has promised, namely, to keep believers strong to the end
• “Cuts off” is a reference to judgment
• Pruning produces fruitfulness
• In the New Testament the figure of good fruit represents the product of a godly life or virtues of character
• The believer has no fruitfulness apart from his union and fellowship with Christ
• A branch out of contact with the vine is useless
• Jesus is emphasizing that He is the vine
• A living union with Christ is absolutely necessary; without it there is nothing
• Christ is the beginning of the new creation
• Christ was the first to rise from the dead with a resurrection body
• Elsewhere Paul calls Him the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep
• Others who were raised from the dead were raised only to die again

Application:

• Do you have a spiritual union with Christ?
• Is God keeping you strong to the end?
• Is your life godly or virtuous?
• Do you have fruitfulness?
• Do you have a living union with Christ?
• Is Christ your head?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Word Of Life

1 John 1:1-3 - That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

John 1:1-2,4 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning…In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

John 11:25-26 - Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

1 Timothy 3:16 - Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

Conclusions:

• Fellowship is the spiritual union of the believer with Christ—as described in the figures of the vine and branches and the body and the head—as well as communion with the Father and with fellow believers
• The Word was distinct from the Father
• Jesus was God in the fullest sense
• Christ is the light of the world, who holds out wonderful hope for man
• Jesus not only is life but conveys life to the believer so that death will never triumph over Him
• Jesus is the way to God
• Jesus is not one way among many, but the way
• In the early church, Christianity was sometimes called the Way
• The Holy Spirit enabled Jesus to drive out demons and perform miracles
• Most importantly, the Spirit raised Jesus from the dead and thereby vindicated Him, showing that He was indeed the Son of God
• Christ was seen by angels at His resurrection and ascension

Application:

• Are you in spiritual union with Christ?
• Is God's Word meaningful to you?
• Is Christ your hope?
• Does Jesus convey life to you?
• Do you see Jesus as the only way?
• Does Jesus Christ produce piety in you?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Covers Over A Multitude Of Sins

James 5:15-20 - And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8 - Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Conclusion:

• Love forgives again and again

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Elders

James 5:12-14 - Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned. Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.

Psalm 50:14-15 - Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."

Colossians 3:16 - Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Psalm 23:5 - You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

1 Timothy 5:17 - The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.

Conclusions:

• God is honored with praise in the fulfillment of the vows—and, implicitly, with obedience to His covenant law
• The word of Christ refers especially to Christ’s teaching, which in the time of the Colossians was transmitted orally
• But by implication, the word of Christ includes the Old Testament as well as the New Testament
• Some of the most important doctrines were expressed in Christian hymns preserved for us now only in Paul’s letters
• Psalms refers to the Old Testament psalms, some of which may have been set to music by the church
• Psalm could also describe a song newly composed for Christian worship
• A hymn was a song of praise, especially used in celebration, much like the Old Testament psalms that praised God for all that He is
• A song recounted the acts of God and praised Him for them, much like the Old Testament psalms that thanked God for all that He had done
• The heavenly Shepherd-King receives David at His table as His vassal king and takes him under His protection
• In the ancient Near East, covenants were also included with a meal expressive of the bond of friendship; in the case of vassal treaties or covenants, the vassal was present as the guest of the overlord
• Anointing the head with oil was customary treatment of an honored guest at a banquet
• All elders were to exercise leadership and to teach and preach, and all were to receive honor
• Those who excelled in leadership were to be counted worthy of double honor
• This was especially true of those who labored at teaching and preaching
• Such honor should include financial support

Application:

• Are you obedient to God's law?
• Does the word of Christ dwell in you richly?
• Are you under God's protection?
• Do you honor your elders?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible