A New Commandment

At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. – 1 John 2:8 ESV

John has made it clear that to claim to know God and to abide in Christ is little more than a lie if it is not accompanied by obedience and a lifestyle that emulates that of Jesus. Those who have truly come to know Christ and, as a result, have come to know the Father, should be experiencing the life-transforming power of His Spirit. John had heard Jesus make the promise, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12 ESV). And that was not the only time that John had heard those words from the lips of Jesus. “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness” (John 12:46 ESV). John was convinced that Jesus was the light of the world, and he was convinced that “the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8 ESV). He had witnessed the penetrating, life-changing power of the light in his own life and had seen it impact those around him. In just a short time, Christianity had spread throughout the known world. The apostles had taken their commission from Christ seriously and spread the good news regarding Jesus Christ to Jew and Gentile alike. Many had converted to Christianity. In doing so, they had come to know Christ as their Savior and sin-substitute. They had accepted His free offer of eternal life by acknowledging their sin and believing that His sacrificial death on the cross had paid the penalty for their guilt. His death had satisfied God and His resurrection had proved that He had been sent from God. The truth of that message had spread, penetrating the darkness of the world, and transforming the lives of those who had once lived in helplessness and hopelessness.

But that light was to continue to spread. It was to further permeate the lives of those who believed in Christ, exposing their sin in order that they might confess it. “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 ESV). As the light expands in the life of the individual, it extends to those around him. The love of God, expressed through the life and death of His Son, is perfect or made complete in the lives of His children. God loved us by sending His Son. Christ loved us by giving His life. And when we love others as we have been loved, we complete the circle. Our love for others is an expression of our love for God. In essence, we are conduit through whom God loves those around us. And when we allow His love to flow through us to our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are expressing our love to Him. To refuse to love those whom God has chosen to love through the death of His Son is to question our love for God. Later on in his letter, John writes,  “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20 ESV). We can't see God. We can't physically express our love to God. But when we love those who He has redeemed with the blood of His Son, we are loving Him. We become conduits of His love. Again, John tells us, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 John 4:16 ESV). The love of God resides in us. But that love is not to be hoarded. It is to be shared with those around us, especially those who share our faith and are part of the household of God. John gives us the motivation for our love: “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19 ESV). Because we have experienced the gracious, merciful, undeserved love of God through the gift of His Son, we should love others, as an expression of our love for Him. So in essence, when we love others, we are loving God. That means the other person does not have to be loveable or lovely. They don't have to be deserving of our love. We are simply sharing the love of God and our love for God with them. “And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:20 ESV).

When Jesus said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35 ESV), He was letting us know that the kind of love He was talking about was not of this world. He wasn't referring to human love, which is almost always marred by selfishness and a deep-rooted what's-in-it-for-me motivation. What Jesus had in mind was a supernatural, Spirit-empowered kind of love that starts with God and flows through His Son into the lives of those who place their faith in Him. That love, like light, is not to be hidden or hoarded, but shared with those around us. It is to penetrate and permeate the darkness. One of the greatest evidences of the reality of Christ's saving work is our capacity to love. It proves we are His disciples. And it reveals the love of God to those around us. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 ESV).

WLJW

By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. – 1 John 2:5-6 ESV

A number of years ago there was a fad that passed through the ranks of evangelical Christians. It was based on a book called In His Steps by Charles Sheldon. The subtitle for the book was “What Would Jesus Do?” That simple phrase became the acronym WWJD and was placed on wristbands and other paraphernalia to serve as a reminder for Christians to always consider what would Jesus do in a given situation. In other words, they were to consider living their lives with Him as their model. The section of First John we are currently in – 1 John 2:3-11 – carries a very similar sentiment. Except that John would simply say, Walk Like Jesus Walked. And there would be no question n John's mind as to what that would look like for each and every believer. For John, one of the key characteristics or proofs of a saving faith was love for you fellow believers. But John did not have in mind some kind of Hallmark card, syrupy, sentimental kind of love. He was referring to the lay-it-all-on-the-line kind of love that Jesus expressed through His life and, ultimately, His death. John had personally heard Jesus say, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35 ESV). And this was not some isolated statement. Jesus had made sure His disciples knew the importance of it by repeating it regularly. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:12-14 ESV). Here Jesus gives the clear definition behind what He means when He says, “love one another.” We are to love as He loved us. How did He love us? By sacrificing His life on our behalf. The kind of love Jesus was calling His disciples to exhibit toward one another was to be selfless and sacrificial. Later on in his letter, John writes, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10 ESV). God showed His love for us by sacrificing His Son. Jesus showed His love for us by giving His life.

John pulls no punches when he tells his readers, “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness” (1 John 2:9 ESV). And he follows that up with, “whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:11 ESV). But an evidence or proof that we are abiding in Christ and His light is shining in and through our life will be a Christ-like love for others. Jesus said that this kind of love would be proof to the world that we are His disciples. It is meant to be a kind of love that shocks and surprises. In John's day, it showed up in the form of converted Jews and Gentiles worshiping Christ together. That was shocking to the lost community around them. It was a love that showed up in believing slaves and their Christian master worshiping as brothers in the same fellowship – with no change in their slave-master relationship. Scandalous. Unbelievable. Shocking. It was love expressed through willing sacrifice as believers met the needs of other believers so that no one went without. It was the love of Christ being lived out in daily life. Christians walking like Jesus walked. Doing what Jesus had done. Loving like Jesus loved.

In the same way that an absence of light produces darkness, an absence of love in our lives produces hate. When we fail to love as Jesus loved, it is as if we hate the other individual. To choose not to express love to another brother or sister in Christ isto hate them. God has loved us. He expressed that love through the gift of His own Son's life. Jesus has loved us by laying down His life on our behalf. And we are called to love as we have been loved. Sacrificially and selflessly. “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:11-12 ESV). We are to be conduits of God's love. When we love one another, the love of God is perfected in and through us. It is completed, come full circle. We have been loved by God and we are expressing that love to others. Walking like Jesus walked. Loving like Jesus loved. Living in the light of God's love and sharing that love with others.

The Fading Darkness.

At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. – 1 John 2:8 ESV

Light penetrates and permeates. Light illuminates and eliminates the darkness. Just as physical light has a transformative nature, so does the Light of the world. Jesus said, ““I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12 ESV). Those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ have had the darkness of their lives penetrated by the Light. We have been given the Spirit of God, resident within us, to enlighten us and empower us to live our lives in such a way that we make a difference. “You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a basketbut on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16 ESV). But if we are going to have an illuminating impact on the world around us, we first have to allow the Light to have its full influence on us. John made the claim that the darkness is fading. It is a statement of fact. As light grows, darkness diminishes and fades. Yet, it would be easy to look around the world and conclude that the darkness is winning. Evil appears to be increasing. But could the problem be that we, as children of light, have allowed the darkness to overtake the light in our own lives? Are our lamps too feeble? Is our faith too small? Is our light too weak to penetrate the darkness around us? 

Paul gives us words of encouragement. “The night has advanced toward dawn; the day is near. So then we must lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the weapons of light” (Romans 13:12 ESV). We must live with a realization that the light wins. The darkness loses. There is a movement of God going on that is moving the world from darkness to light. We may not be able to see it. We may not feel it. But as soon as Jesus entered the world, the light of God penetrated the darkness and began to spread. But we have a responsibility to see to it that we don't end up loving the darkness more than the light. We must live as children of the light, fanning the flame of faith through regular time in the Word, fellowship with other believers, and a reliance upon the Spirit of God for strength, wisdom and ongoing exposure of any darkness that remains in our lives. The darkness still resident in our lives should be passing away. The light – the righteousness and holiness of God – should be increasing. Everywhere we go, our lives should provide light in the darkness. Our lives should be proof of the transforming power of God made available through Jesus Christ. When Jesus commissioned Paul to take the good news regarding Jesus Christ and His offer of salvation to the Gentiles, He said, “I am sending you to open their eyes so that they turnfrom darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (Acts 26:17-18 ESV). So not only is the light in our own lives to be increasing, slowly and steadily eliminating the last vestiges of darkness; but it is to be shining out of us into the darkness around us. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7 ESV). We have the light of God in our lives. That light should be increasing in intensity and influence. It should be shining through all the cracks and flaws our lives, revealing the power of God at work in our lives. When people look at us, they will still see clay jars; flawed, cracked and seemingly without value. But they should also see God's light shining through us and around us. We are simply receptacles of His glory. We are the conduits of His life-changing, darkness-diminishing light. As the children's song says, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine! Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!” But we must never forget that our ability to illuminate others and eliminate darkness is not self-produced, but a by-product of walking in the light.

By This We Know.

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. – 1 John 2:3

Profession of a having a relationship with God cries for proof. It begs for evidence. Following up with his assessment of false claims of intimacy with God found in the previous verses, John says, “Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4 ESV). That sounds eerily similar to what John wrote just a few verses earlier. “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6 ESV). From John's perspective, the assertion of intimacy with God means nothing without the kind of behavior that gives evidence that one is truly walking in the light. Obedience to the commands of God is proof that one has a relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ the righteous. His light has illuminated the darkness of our lives, exposing the sin within, and replacing it with the power to live holy lives, set apart for His glory. To claim to have an abiding, ongoing, personal and intimate relationship with God through Christ is one thing. To live like it is another. “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:6 ESV). That is a serious and sobering statement. It is a call to a radical, revolutionary kind of lifestyle that looks nothing like what we see modeled on this earth.

Jesus came to dispel darkness. He came to penetrate the darkness of man's sin with the light of His life. He said of Himself, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12 ESV). But it does no good to claim to know the light of the world if our lives do not reflect the presence of that light on a daily basis and in practical ways. The apostle Paul puts this in terms we can understand and apply. “For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7 NLT). The light of God in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ, has penetrated the darkness of our lives and the result should be that it shine OUT of our lives in ways that prove its existence. John tells us what that should look like on a daily basis. And he ties it back to the greatest commandment as Jesus explained it. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:36-39 ESV). Love God and love others. You can't do one without the other. Without God's help, loving others is impossible. At least, to love them on God's terms is impossible. But it is impossible to say you love God if you can't bring yourself to love those who are supposed to be your brothers and sisters in Christ. Supposedly the darkness of our lives has been penetrated by the light of Christ. But “whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness” (1 John 2:9 ESV). In other words, their behavior does not reflect their so-called relationship with Christ. If anything it contradicts the truth as expressed by Christ Himself. He said, “If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12 NLT).

To continue to walk (conduct your life) in the dark when you have been exposed to the Light makes no sense. Anyone whose life is marked by hatred rather than love for his brother, is stumbling around in the dark, “because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:11 ESV). But John says, we can know that we have come to know Christ. We can know we have a relationship with God. We can know that we are in him. And the proof is in the transforming power of Christ in us. We can love others. And when we love others we are expressing and proving our love for God. We are giving evidence of His Spirit's presence within us. We are walking (living our lives) in the same way Jesus did. In obedience and dependence upon God. Claiming to know Him is one thing. Living as if we know Him is another. And the strength to accomplish is God-provided, not self-made. “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3 NLT). Life transformation is evidence of our ongoing sanctification by God. By this we know.

Jesus Christ the Righteous.

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. – 1 John 2:1 ESV

For John, a life without sin was to be the goal for every believer. But he was well aware of the fact that complete sinlessness was not a possibility as long as we live on this earth and in these bodies. Like every other believer, John had a sin nature and knew all too well the kind of influence it could have on his life. But he was also convinced that a life characterized by sin was no longer the inevitable fate for those who had placed their faith in Christ. We could and should “walk in the light, as he is in the light” (1 John 1:7). Jesus Christ, through His death on the cross, has made it possible for us to have fellowship with God. He gave us His Spirit to live within us and to empower us to live godly lives. Our sin natures were not eradicated at our conversion, but our helpless and hopeless enslavement to sin was. Paul explained our new post-conversion status: “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin” (Romans 6:6 ESV). What made all this possible was the righteousness of Christ. It was His sinlessness that made Him the perfect, acceptable sacrifice. “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT). His righteousness made our right standing with God possible. We could have spent our lifetimes trying to earn favor with God and live up to His holy standard, and we would have failed. But the righteousness of Christ alone is what satisfied (propitiated) God the Father. His sinlessness allowed Him to become our substitute and pay the price for our sinfulness.

His death has given us life – life more abundantly in this age and the guarantee of eternal life in the age to come. Until He returns, we must still deal with the reality of sin in and around us. Our sin natures are alive and well. Our flesh, as Paul so aptly describes our sin nature, is alive and well. It is that earthly, unrighteous part of us that is driven by desires and passions that are contrary to the will of God. Paul puts it this way: “ The sinful nature [flesh] wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions” (Galatians 5:17 NLT). But the answer to this dilemma is to walk in the Spirit, to live our lives under the Spirit's control. Christ has provided a new source of strength through the Spirit's indwelling presence that can enable us to say no to sin. “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Galatians 5:24-25 NLT). Elsewhere Paul writes, “Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace” (Romans 6:12-14 NLT).

We can walk in the light, as He is in the light. We can live our lives in the power of the Spirit. We can walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). But John reminds us, “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1 ESV). It's not a matter of if, but when. We will sin in this lifetime. We are no longer slaves to sin, but we are still greatly influenced by its presence in and around us. We can sin less and we should. But in those times when we give in to temptation and listen to our sinful passions rather than the Spirit within us, we have an advocate – a paraklētos – an intercessor who is pleading our cause before God. Jesus Christ the righteous is our advocate. He sits at the right hand of God the Father and represents us before Him. He is a constant reminder to God the Father of our righteous standing because of His own righteousness. When God looks at us, in essence, He sees Jesus. We are clothed in His righteousness. As a result, we stand before God as justified. Because of what Jesus the righteous has done on our behalf, God is able to pardon, accept and declare us to be just in His sight. So that when we sin, “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 ESV). “The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7 ESV). Jesus died for our sins. Jesus lives for our sins. He is our advocate. He is our representative. His death paid for our sins. But in His resurrected life, He continues to redeem and save us from the condemnation of sin in our lives. “For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God” (Romans 5:10-11 NLT).

Godly Fellowship.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. – 1 John 1:7 ESV

John is passing along a message he heard directly from Jesus Himself. It is a simple, yet profound message that gives us a glimpse into the character of God. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 ESV). Interestingly enough, in his gospel, John made the claim that Jesus was the light. He wrote, “He was in the beginning with God…In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1,4-5 ESV). Later on John elaborated on this light that had come into the world. He stated that God loved the world so much that He sent His only son that the world might be saved through Him. But when Jesus, the light, arrived into the world, “people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God” (John 3:19-21 ESV).

God is light. And as His Son, Jesus is also light. Jesus is not simply a reflection of God, but God in human form. “He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15 ESV). “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1:18 NIV). When Jesus entered the world, He penetrated the pervasive darkness that permeated everything. Sin had infected the world and the lives of men – even those of the people of God, the Jews. Jesus came to change all that. He came to expose sin. “You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5 ESV). Jesus didn't just come to provide us a model for living. He came to provide us with the capacity to live holy, light-filled lives in the midst of a dark, sin-filled world. “By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:5-6 ESV). How did Jesus walk? In the light. Jesus was the light and yet He walked in the light of God's will. This speaks to that mysterious truth regarding the unique nature of Jesus' divinity and humanity. He was the God-man – 100 percent God and 100 percent man. As the Son of God, He was the image of the invisible God. As the Son of Man, He was a human being who “understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15 NLT). Jesus walked in the light. He lived in obedience to the commands of God. He allowed the Holy Spirit to direct His path and guide His steps. “And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness” (Luke 4:1 ESV). Jesus' entire life and death was dedicated to doing God's will. In His high priestly prayer, prayed near the end of His life, Jesus was able to say, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do” (John 17:4 ESV). Everything about His life gave evidence that He not only was the light, He walked in the light.

And John wants us to know that we should have the same goal for our own lives. Fellowship with God and with His Son should be accompanied by light, not darkness. To claim to have fellowship with God and yet live a life characterized by darkness or sin is to live a lie. “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him” (1 John 3:6 ESV). The idea here is that of continual, repetitive, unrepentant sin. It is a lifestyle characterized by darkness rather than light. Instead, “whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning” (1 John 3:7-8 ESV). Our lives should give evidence of our fellowship with God. Our ability to fellowship with one another should give evidence of our fellowship with God. Anything we do that is characterized by righteousness is of God. It is a product of, the fruit of the Spirit of God within us – “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT). Living in the light exposes sin in order that we might confess it. But living in the light also produces fruit. It causes our faith to grow. It purifies our character. The more intimate our fellowship with God through Christ, the more intense the light will become in our lives. That light will have an effect on our lives. John puts it succinctly and practically. “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness…whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:9, 11 ESV). But “Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling” (1 John 2:10 ESV). We are to walk in the light, as He is in the light. And that regular, consistent exposure to the light will gradually transform us into the image of Christ.

The Danger of Deception.

If say we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. – 1 John 1:10 ESV

Three different times in 1 John 1:5-2:2, John uses the phrase, “If we say…” And each is followed by a statement that reflects a certain viewpoint or perspective with which John has a point of conflict. It isn't just that John disagrees with them, it is that he believes them to be outright lies, declarations of deception. It would appear that these three viewpoints were being lived out in the local fellowship to which John wrote. These were not simply scenarios concocted by John, but examples of real-life attitudes held by some who called themselves believers. The first John addresses has to do with those who try to deceive others. It has to do with behavior that doesn't accurately mirror or reflect stated beliefs. “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6 ESV). To claim to have fellowship with God while modeling behavior that is well outside His holy expectations for His children, we end up living a lie. We don't DO the truth. When John speaks of walking in darkness, he uses the Greek word, peripateō. It means “to walk, to regulate one's self, to pass one's life.” And John seems to be using this word in the progressive or continuative sense. Accordingly, the NET Bible translates this line as, “If we say we have fellowship with him and yet keep on walking  in the darkness.” It carries the idea of continual, habitual sin. It is to live one's life characterized by sin. And yet John has said that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 ESV). So how can one claim to be in fellowship with Him, yet conduct their life as if His light never penetrates the darkness of their behavior. They claim one thing, but do another. They lie. All in an attempt to deceive others, to convince them that are something other than what they truly are. To live in darkness is to live without the benefit of the light of God in one's life. To fellowship with God involves walking in the light – His light. It includes the bright illumination of His holy Word and the presence of His Holy Spirit. Fellowship with God will eliminate darkness by exposing sin and encouraging confession. To claim to have a relationship with God, while consistently living sinful, unrepentant lives, is to live a life marked by deceit and deception. It may be intended to garner acceptance and inclusion among those who truly love God. The object of the deception may be to feel a part of the faith community. But fellowship with God must include DOING the truth of God.

The second statement John addresses has to do with self deception. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8 ESV). The claim of sinlessness seems ridiculous. That anyone would ever claim to be without sin after all God has had to say on the matter seems ludicrous. And even if you don't accept God's assessment on the matter, it would be difficult to conclude that sin either does not exist or that you don't struggle with it. But the real issue here has to do with the rejection of the need for a Savior. Only sinners need a Savior. This second statement John addresses seems to reflect an attitude that contradicts John's and God's view of sin. These individuals did not believe their actions were sinful to begin with. They refused to admit that they were sinners and, as a result, proved that the truth was not in them. Had they had fellowship with God and been exposed to His light, they would have known their own sinfulness and their need for the salvation made available through Jesus Christ. As stated earlier, fellowship with God will eliminate darkness by exposing sin and encouraging confession. “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 ESV). A lack of recognition of our sin exposes a lack of light in our lives. Our sinfulness remains unexposed and, therefore, unconfessed. The result if self-deception, believing we are spiritually healthy and whole, while God sees us as sinful, condemned and worthy of death.

The final statement is the most serious of the three. The first two have to do with those who do not DO the truth or simply do not HAVE the truth of God within them. But the third statement seems to address those who have been confronted by the truth of God regarding their sin, but who refuse to accept it. They have had the light of God illuminate their sinfulness, but disagree with His assessment. “If we say we have NOT sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:10 ESV). While this one sounds similar to the second statement, it would appear that it is speaking about specific sin, while the other was referring to general sin. The situation seems to indicate an individual who has had a particular sin exposed by God, but rather than agree with Him about it and confess it, they simply deny it. And in doing so, they call God the deceiver. He is the liar. They reject His declaration of their sinfulness and make Him out to be a liar. And John sadly concludes that the word of God is not in them. They not only do not practice the truth or have the truth within them, they lack the word, the logos of God. I am reminded of John's opening statement in his gospel. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 ESV). “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 ESV). Without the Word in our lives, we lack the ability to see the sin in our lives. And even when confronted by God's assessment of our sinful estate, we will reject it, making Him a liar. 

God has made the sinful state of man clear. His law proved it. All men stand before Him as sinful and guilty as charged. But God has also provided a solution to man's sinful situation. “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4 ESV).

To Sin Or Not To Sin.

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. – 1 John 2:1 ESV

John opens up chapter two of his letter by referring to his audience as “my little children.” It was a term of affection, spoken from the heart of a pastor who saw the believers to whom he wrote as his personal responsibility. He was concerned about their spiritual well being and wanted to make sure they understood what he was trying to tell them. Like children, they were somewhat gullible and susceptible to outside influences. They were too tolerant of other people's opinions about the gospel, which is the whole reason John is writing his letter in the first place. He knew that, if he was not careful, much of what he had just written could be misunderstood or misconstrued by his readers. He had made it quite clear that anyone who claimed to be sinless or who refused to accept God's declaration of sin in their lives was deceived and guilty of calling God a liar. Rather than deny our sins, we should confess them. “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 ESV). It would have been easy for someone to conclude that the availability of confession and forgiveness was like a get-out-of-jail-free card allowing them to sin without consequences. Knowing human nature like he did, John knew that the doctrine of God's grace, made available through Jesus Christ's death, could be abused. The apostle Paul knew the same thing. In his letter to the believers in Rome, he spent the first five chapters establishing the guilt of all men and their unrighteous standing before a holy God. “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” ( Romans 3:22-23 ESV). But Paul, like John, knew there was good news for sinners. “…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 ESV). Paul follows this wonderful news with the sobering question: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2 ESV). He knew that someone was going to make the seemingly logical conclusion that more sin would lead to more of God's grace and forgiveness. In other words, they could keep on sinning, but always just ask for and receive forgiveness. Both Paul and John rejected this dangerous notion.

In fact, John said that the reason he was writing was so that his readers would NOT sin. God's grace was not a license to sin. Christ's death on the cross was not to be used like some miracle elixir to magically remove the guilt of our sins. Yes, if we sin, we can confess those sins and receive God's forgiveness and cleansing. But forgiveness is not the goal. Sinlessness is. Paul would have agreed. “How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:2-4 ESV). Both Paul and John knew that their readers were going to end up sinning, because they knew their readers had sin natures. As long as we live on this earth, all of us as believers in Jesus Christ will wrestle with the presence of our sin natures. But that does not mean that we HAVE to sin. It does not mean that sin is inevitable and unavoidable. We can walk in newness of life. But to walk in newness of life we have to learn to walk in the light – in fellowship with God and His Son. We must allow the penetrating and purifying light of God reveal hidden sin in our lives so that we might confess it and receive forgiveness for it. So much of the time, we are busy confessing for sins we have committed, but fail to ever see the root source behind our sins. We tell God that we're sorry for lying. We admit to him that we had a lustful thought or an angry outburst. But we never see what's behind those acts. We can't see our heart or know that those symptoms are the result of something far more insidious and dangerous – our own pride. It is only when “we walk in the light as he is in the light” that we begin to realize just how deep-rooted our sin nature really is. The great King David wrote, “How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin” (Psalm 19:12-13 NLT). Our goal is to live lives free from sin. But for that to happen, we must live in the light, in close fellowship with God, the Son, and the Word, allowing the Spirit of God to use the Word of God to penetrate and expose those hidden sins that are the root cause of all our wrong attitudes and actions. “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires” (Hebrews 4:12 NLT). One of the primary ways we can walk in the light is by spending time in God's Word. The Psalmist knew the reality of that truth. “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:9-11 ESV). “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105 ESV).

The more time we spend in the light of God's Word, the more hidden sins will be exposed. But John reminds us “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1 ESV). He stands beside the Father making intercession for us, and providing forgiveness and cleansing because of His sacrificial death on the cross.

If we say…

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. – 1 John 1:6 ESV

Talk is cheap. Or so the saying goes. In this section – 1 John 1:5-2:2 – John starts out by writing, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you…” (1 John 1:5 ESV). In other words, he says that what he is writing was given to him by Jesus Christ Himself. The same Jesus Christ who “was from the beginning” (1 John 1:1 ESV), who was “the word of life” (1 John 1:1 ESV), “the eternal life” (1 John 1:2 ESV), and “was made manifest to us” (1 John 1:2 ESV). This same Jesus, the Son of God, gave to John the message contained in his gospel and in his three letters. And as a good disciple or student of Jesus, John was passing on what had been taught to him. This was exactly what Jesus had told him to do as part of His great commission. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20 NLT). 

And yet, while John was busy proclaiming or declaring the message of Jesus, there were other voices communicating ideas that were contradictory and confusing. The early church was being bombarded by a cacophony of mixed messages – many of which sounded reasonable and logical. There were opinions being shared and options being offered concerning everything from sin to salvation and even the nature of Jesus Himself. The apostle Paul had repeatedly run into the same thing and was forced to confront the believers in Corinth about this problem. “You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed” (2 Corinthians 11:4 NLT). As far as John, Paul and the other apostles were concerned, the content of the gospel was not open to options or other opinions. And a big part of the gospel message was the recognition of man's sinfulness. It was the very presence of sin in the lives of men and the reality of God's judgment against it that made it necessary that God provide a Savior. “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:23-25 ESV). In spite of this, there were those who were claiming to have fellowship or an intimate relationship with God while walking in darkness. They boasted of having a right standing with God, but their behavior didn't reflect it. Their lives were a lie, a walking contradiction of the truth and the transformative power of the gospel. There where others who said, “We have no sin” (1 John 1:8 ESV). In other words, they were denying the reality of their own sin nature. Those who believe themselves to be sinless have no need of a Savior. Jesus addressed this misconception when He was confronted by the Pharisees who demanded to know why He associated with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus simply responded, “Healthy people don't need a doctor – sick people do” (Matthew 9:12 NLT). This was not a declaration of the Pharisees' righteousness, but of their refusal to admit their own sin and their need for a Savior. Recognition of our sin and guilt is the first step in receiving the free gift of salvation made possible through Jesus Christ. There was yet another group that John had to address. They were saying, “We have NOT sinned” (1 John 1:10 ESV). Their boastful claim was a direct rejection of the assessment of God Himself. Throughout the Scriptures, God's declaration of man's sinfulness had been made clear. “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 ESV). “What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?” (Job 15:14 ESV). “Who can say, ‘I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin’?” (Proverbs 20:9 ESV). To reject God's declaration of our sin is to call Him a liar. Paul summarizes the condition of all men soberly and succinctly. “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else” (Ephesians 2:1-3 NLT). But Paul, like John, knew the good news that followed the bad news. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5 NLT). John wanted his readers to know that acknowledgement of sin through confession (agreement with God about it) was the key to finding forgiveness and cleansing. Recognition of our sin leads us to seek a Savior – Jesus Christ the righteous – the propitiation for our sins. What we say about ourselves carries little weight with God. What He says about us is what matters. He says we are sinners in need of a Savior. He says we are sick and in need of a physician. He says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matthew 17:5 ESV). And Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV).

Light in the Darkness.

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. – 1 John 1:6 John used the theme of light and darkness repeatedly. In his gospel, referring to Jesus, he wrote,  “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5 ESV). “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:9-11 ESV). The imagery of darkness and light was a common one among the Jews of John's day. Darkness was associated with evil. Even in the creation account recorded by Moses in the book of Genesis, it describes the state of the universe by using the imagery of light and darkness. “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2 ESV). Darkness was the prevailing state. It permeated everything. But God did something. He was not content to leave things as they were. And Moses records, “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:3-4 ESV). In his letter, John describes God as light. Light is not just an expression of God's power, it is the essence of His being. It speaks of His holiness and righteousness. It describes His penetrating, permeating nature. Darkness is the absence of light. Darkness and light cannot coexist. At the beginning of creation, darkness prevailed. But God penetrated the darkness with His very being. His presence changed the condition of the world. He created physical light to eliminate the darkness. He separated one from the other. And this is the very same thing God did when He sent His Son into the world. The apostle Paul tells us, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV). The state of affairs when Jesus arrived on the scene was marked by spiritual darkness. So God penetrated that darkness with His presence once again. But John records, “the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God” (John 3:19-21 ESV). Jesus came into the world as the very light of God. He came to expose sin by expressing the holiness of God. He lived without sin (Hebrews 4:15) in order to demonstrate the kind of righteousness God's holiness required. He lived the kind of life that God demanded. And His example exposed the darkness that was so prevalent at the time – even among the people of God. But Jesus didn't come simply to expose darkness. He came to deliver men from it. He said, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness” (John 12:46 ESV). Darkness was not intended to be the norm. The presence of darkness is evidence of the absence of light. Jesus came to change all that. And John makes it clear that because God is light, He cannot tolerate darkness. “In him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 ESV).

Yet in John's day, there were those who claimed to have a relationship with God, but who were living in darkness – in sin. John said that to say one thing and do another was to “not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6 ESV). There was a disconnect between their expressed beliefs and their behavior. They claimed to be in the light, but lived lives characterized by darkness. These same individuals were even claiming to be without sin. They were denying any darkness in their lives. And John said there were self-deceived and void of the truth in their lives. Light exposes darkness. The closer we get to the light, the more flaws get revealed. Increasing intimacy with God makes our sin all the more evident. But John reminds us, “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 ESV). Jesus came to pay for our sins. “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2 ESV). Our sins have been paid for. But we must still acknowledge them. We must allow the light of God to penetrate our lives and expose them. We are to confess them and turn from them. Our lives are to be marked by light rather than darkness. Our behavior is to reflect our beliefs and our fellowship with God and His Son. The apostle Paul would remind us, “Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them” (Ephesians 5:11 ESV). “For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5 ESV). “The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12 ESV).  “for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true) and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8-10 ESV).

Fulness of Joy.

And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. – 1 John 1:4 ESV

In the book of First John, the apostle John is writing to believers. He is reminding them of the tlmeless significance of Jesus Christ. Which is why he opens his letter with a reminder of the non-negotiable reality of Jesus' divinity – "that which was from the beginning" – and his humanity – "which we have heard, which we have seen … and have touched with our hands." He is unapologetically proclaiming his belief in the incarnation of Christ. He had been a first-hand witness of Jesus' humanity, having spent three years of his life in close proximity to Him. But John had also seen Jesus put to death and buried in a borrowed tomb. But then three days later, he had personally witnessed Jesus' miraculous resurrection. He had talked with Him, ate with Him, and then watched as Jesus ascended back into heaven, having just promised to return some day.

John tells his readers, "And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete" (1 John 1:4 ESV). In other words, his purpose for writing the letter was to instill in his readers the same joy he knew and had experienced. God had come in human flesh. Jesus had ended up being far more than John initially perceived or expected. He was more than just a human Messiah or earthly king. He was the Son of God, the Word “that became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14 ESV). But it didn't stop there. Jesus took on “the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8 ESV). He had died a sinner's death on behalf of men. And His death made it possible for men to have a restored relationship with God the Father. John says that truth, that reality should produce in us a joy that is full and complete.

But many believers today lack joy. They have Christ, but their joy seems to be less than full. In John's estimation, joylessness is nothing less than Christ-lessness. We can have Christ, but not take full advantage of all He has to offer. Instead, we can easily make Christ a means to something else … our happiness, the hope of a better life or even eternal life. But John would have us realize that Jesus is not a means to finding joy, He is our joy. Many today are suffering from spiritual starvation because they are surrounded by information regarding Christ, but fail to ingest it and feed themselves from it. Starvation doesn't take a complete absence of food, just an inadequate amount of it for survival. I can starve to death standing the aisle of a well-stocked grocery store. The presence of food does me no good if I don't take advantage of it. I can also starve by eating a steady diet of the wrong things. A diet of Twinkies and Moon Pies will not end well. I may feel full, but I will starve my body of the nutrients it needs to survive and thrive. Many of us as Christians do the same thing with Christ. We seek satisfaction and joy in the wrong places. We turn to something or someone other than Christ for what we need and end up starving to death spiritually.

Perhaps you lack joy because you don't get enough of Christ. John said that what he was writing would lead to complete joy – full, abounding, full-to-the-brim joy. Jesus Himself made a similar promise when He told His disciples, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11 ESV). He had just finished teaching the about what it means to abide in Him. He had told them that fruitfulness would be a direct by-product of abiding or remaining in Him. Because apart from Him, we can do nothing. It would seem that John believed fulness of joy was directly tied to our fulfillment in Christ. Is Christ enough? Or do we require more? Is it not enough that the God of the universe sent His own Son to take on human flesh and die a sinner's death in our place? Is it not enough the a holy God would provide a means by which sinful men could be made right with Him and enjoy intimate fellowship with Him now and for eternity? Many of us lack joy, because we are not fully satisfied with Christ. We believe He is enough to save us, but not enough to fulfill us and bring us joy – even in the midst of uncertainty, sorrow, pain and suffering. The apostle Paul would have us understand that it is Jesus Christ – God in the flesh – who alone can provide salvation and satisfaction. He prayed, “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith – that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19 ESV). Fulness of God brings fulness of joy. Christ is enough. Christ is sufficient. And when we finally realize that truth, we will find true joy.

God Made Visible.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life… – 1 John 1:1 ESV

The very idea that God became a man is a difficult one to reconcile. From the earliest days of the church, there have been those who have attempted to discount it as nothing more than a myth, dispute it as an impossibility, or simply rationalize it away through various man-made explanations. Even the Jews of Jesus' day, who were desperately awaiting the coming of the Messiah, were not expecting God to come in human flesh. They were looking for a human savior, a warrior-king in the same vein as David. Their greatest conflict with Jesus was not so much that He claimed to be the Messiah, but that He claimed to be God. That concept was unfathomable and unacceptable to them. In fact, it was His claim of deity that led them to seek His death. “This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God” (John 5:18 ESV).

Yet, at one point, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13 ESV). Peter's response was most revealing. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16 ESV). And Jesus commended Peter for his answer. “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17 ESV). Jesus went on to say that the very essence of Peter's confession would be the foundation on which He would build his church. Rather than deny or dispute Peter's statement, Jesus fully agreed with it and acknowledged the indisputable necessity of it. In yet another confrontation with the Pharisees, they sarcastically said to Jesus, “So the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am’” (John 8:57-58 ESV). Jesus knowingly used the very words that God spoke when revealing Himself to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). And His words did not escape them, because they immediately picked up rock with which to stone Him.

The Pharisees could not reconcile Jesus' claim to be divine. They could not make it work within their understanding of God, so they wrote Jesus off as a blasphemer. He was little more than crazy. But there are still those today who would deny the divinity of Jesus. The late Robert W. Funk, founder of the Jesus Seminar, once wrote, “We should give Jesus a demotion. It is no longer credible to think of Jesus as divine. Jesus’ divinity goes together with the old theistic way of thinking about God.” His rejection of Jesus as divine was clear. “A Jesus who drops down out of heaven, performs some magical act that frees human beings from the power of sin, rises from the dead, and returns to heaven is simply no longer credible.” But Funk and his fellow members of the Jesus Seminar are not alone. Unitarians and Universalists reject the deity of Christ, teaching that He was merely a man. Over the centuries, there have been countless attempts to either rationalize away Jesus' deity. What we cannot explain, we tend to reject. But the gospel of Jesus Christ hinges on the deity of Jesus Christ. He was not just a man sent by God to live an exemplary life and die a martyr's death. He came to live a sinless life and die a sacrificial, substitutionary death as the unblemished Lamb of God. But even with this Robert W. Funk and others take issue. “The doctrine of the atonement—the claim that God killed his own son in order to satisfy his thirst for satisfaction—is sub-rational and sub-ethical. This monstrous doctrine is the stepchild of a primitive sacrificial system in which the gods had to be appeased by offering them some special gift, such as a child or an animal.” At the core of man's rejection of Jesus' deity is the notion that we don't need a savior. Either we reject God's assessment of our sinfulness or we somehow think we can fix the problem ourselves. We can be our own saviors. But God knew the only solution to our problem was to send His Son to do for us what we could never have done for ourselves. “By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3 ESV). God entered time and space in human flesh. Unbelievable? No doubt about it. Inconceivable? From a human perspective, yes. But God became visible so that salvation might be made possible. Sin required a sacrifice. That sacrifice had to be a man. The righteousness of God required that man be without sin. The unbelievable, inconceivable, inexplicable nature of Jesus as the God-man, made it possible for Him to meet that requirement and satisfy the just demands of a holy God. He came. He lived. He died. He rose again. God became visible and made man's salvation possible. I don't have to explain it, but I do have to accept it.

Christ, the Eternal Life

…the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us… – 1 John 1:2 ESV

There is a certain sense in which the Christian church has turned eternity into some kind of a reward to be had. We have too often offered salvation based on the promise of eternal life or the threat of eternal separation in hell. In doing so, we have turned Jesus into little more than a ticket to a preferred future. But John would have us understand that Jesus is not just the means by which we get eternal life – He IS eternal life. Throughout his gospel and letters, John would have us understand that Jesus is to be the focus of our desire, not eternal life. If we make eternity the object, we are guilty of turning Jesus into little more than a tool to get the reward we want. But in John's estimation, Jesus IS the reward. In one of His confrontations with the religious leaders of His day, Jesus made the sobering statement, “You study the scriptures thoroughly  because you think in them you possess eternal life, and it is these same scriptures  that testify about me, but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life” (John 5:39-40 ESV). Jesus was accusing these men of making eternal life the focus and in so doing, walking right past the very one who was eternal life. Like the Pharisees, we can become so obsessed with eternal life that we miss out on the relationship Christ has come to offer us with Himself. In His High Priestly prayer recorded in John 17, Jesus makes the statement, “Now this  is eternal life  – that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ,  whom you sent” (John 17:3 ESV). In Jesus' own estimation, eternal life is about a relationship with God and Himself. It is about intimacy with God and His Son – something that would be impossible without Christ's work on the cross. Eternal life WITHOUT fellowship with God and His Son would not be a reward, but a punishment. That is the essence of hell. All men will experience eternity. The question is whether they will experience it in intimate fellowship with God and His Son, or without them.

We know from John 3:16, that the gift of eternal life is based on belief in God's Son. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 ESV). But again, it would be so easy to turn that verse into a formula for eternal security. Belief + Jesus = Eternity. And while that would be partially true, it misses the whole point. This isn't about getting what we think we want (eternal life). It is about getting what we need (Jesus). He is eternal life. That is why John seemed to teach that eternal life was not some future promise, but a present reality for those who believed in Jesus. Jesus said, “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life” (John 6:47-48 ESV). He then compared Himself to the manna that was provided by God for the Israelites, so that they might eat and not die. It was a temporary solution that forestalled death from hunger while they wandered in the wilderness. But Jesus says, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread  that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51 ESV). Jesus is the source of eternal life. It is a relationship with Him that gives us life. Listen to His words: “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears  my message  and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24 ESV). Jesus is the reason we need not fear death. We don't have to worry about future judgment or condemnation. We already have eternal life because we have Him. He is eternal life. He is ALL we need.

But too often we live as if something is missing. We exist as if the best is yet to come. And while it is proper and right to long for Christ's return and to desire a time when sin will be no more, it is essential that we understand that eternal life is not some future commodity to be had, but a present reality to be enjoyed. John reminds us, “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us insight to know  him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This one  is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20 ESV). Jesus isn't the golden ticket to the prize of eternal life. He IS eternal life. He is the prize. The point of heaven is not to escape hell, but to experience an intimate, unbroken relationship with God and His Son forever. And that relationship begins the moment we place our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and see Him as our source of eternal life.

The Incarnation.

It has been interesting to see some of the responses to my recent posts concerning the book of First John. Much of what John was dealing with in his letter head to do with heresies entering the early Church. As Christianity spread, so did the variety and numbers of different interpretations of the gospel. The book of First John is a pastoral letter addressed to believers and designed to both warn and encourage them. His intention was to provide them with assurance concerning their beliefs in Christ. Throughout the letter John used the phrase, “by this we know.” He wanted them to know, without a shadow of doubt, that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. But He was much more than just a human savior, an earthly deliverer who would provide them with victory over their earthly enemies. He came to be their Savior from sin and their means for enjoying a right relationship with God. For generations, the Jews had believed that the Mosaic Law was the key to achieving a right relationship with God. Human effort had been the accepted means by which men could find favor with God. The sacrificial system, given by God, was used by men to have their sins cleansed and forgiven. The very fact that the sacrificial system existed was proof that men were incapable of keeping God's commands. Paul writes, “Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,  so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:20-21 ESV). The law revealed man's sin, but could do nothing to remove it. The law simply exposed man's inability to meet God's holy standards. Which is why God provided a Savior. But it is at that point that so many continue to stumble today. I have received comments from some who refuse to accept the deity of Christ. They argue that Jesus was nothing more than a man, created by God. This is not a new view. John battled the same errant belief in his day. One of the comments I received stated, “‘And the Word was made flesh’ talks about the Word or the Speaking which became a reality, namely a man of flesh and blood, who after his resurrection proved to his disciples that he was not a Spirit (though God is Spirit) and told them so.” It is subtle, but what he is saying is that Jesus was nothing more than a man into whom the Word or Spirit of God entered. He was flesh and blood. But the disturbing point about this teaching is that it rejects the deity of Christ. For John, the deity of Christ was a non-negotiable ingredient to the gospel. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life…” (1 John 1:1 ESV). He was not speaking of some disembodied Spirit or force, but of Jesus Christ Himself. He was from the beginning. He was the eternal life. As John states in his gospel, “He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:2-3 ESV).

There are those today who still reject the deity of Christ. They refuse to accept Him as God. This was the same problem Jesus ran into during His earthly ministry. On one occasion, as Jesus was walking through the temple in Jerusalem, the Jews demand to know if He is the Messiah. Jesus makes a simple, but direct comment: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30 ESV). And the immediate response of the Jews was to pick up stones and kill Him. Why? They provided the answer. “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God” (John 10:33 ESV). The Jews clearly understood Jesus' claim to be God. He was not just claiming to be a man who had the Spirit of God within Him. He and God the Father were one. It is Jesus’ deity, miraculously blended with His humanity, that made Him a fitting sacrifice for the sins of man. To believe anything else is to believe another gospel. If we believe that we can simply emulate the life of Christ and share in the divine Spirit as He did, we miss the point of His life, death, and resurrection. The belief that God became flesh is essential to the gospel. Yet, as in John's day, there are those who refuse to accept it.  Again, one of the recent comments I received put it this way: “Having come down in the form of a god, does not mean Jesus came down as the God of gods.” In other words, Jesus was NOT God, but a little god. And according to this teaching, we can become a little god by following His example. But this is NOT the gospel. And the apostle Paul had strong words for those who would attempt to explain away the true essence of the gospel message. “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6-9 ESV).

Something Worth Proclaiming.

…that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. – 1 John 1:3 ESV

John had enjoyed an intimate, eye-witness relationship with Jesus. He had listened to Him teach and preach. He had watched Him heal and even raise Lazarus from the dead. He had stood with Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the foot of the cross on which Jesus was being crucified, and heard Him say, “Behold, your mother.” From that day on, John would take Mary into his home and care for her. John was close to Jesus. He loved the Lord and was loved by Him. But what John was proclaiming in the opening verses of First John was far more than a knowledge about Jesus the man. He was proclaiming the truth regarding Jesus, the God-Man. The entire letter of First John is based on the foundational principle and reality regarding the incarnation of Jesus. John was not just giving an historical, eye-witness account of Jesus' birth, life and death. He was proclaiming His deity and His role as the spotless sacrifice for the sins of mankind. There were those in John's day who denied the deity of Christ. They rejected the idea that He was God come in the flesh. As we will see later on in John's letter, these people claimed to be Christians and bragged of having a relationship with God, but they denied the Christ. Many viewed themselves as sinless and therefore, in no need of a Savior. But John will make it clear that fellowship with God is impossible without acceptance of His Son as Savior. John had heard Jesus Himself boldly claim, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 ESV). Jesus was NOT just a good man attempting to live a morally exemplary life. He wasn't just another martyr who had sacrificed His life for a good cause. What John was proclaiming about Jesus was radical and risky. Jesus was the Son of God and through Him and Him alone, man could enjoy a restored relationship with God.

Jesus had told His disciples, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves” (John 14:10-11 ESV). What John is proclaiming in these opening verses is unbelievable. It sounds more like fantasy than reality. But John believed it whole-heartedly. He proclaimed it boldly and without apology. Because of who Jesus was and what He did, men can be restored to a right relationship with God. They can enjoy fellowship with the God of the universe. The apostle Paul reminds us, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 ESV). But there's more. “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (Romans 5:10-11 ESV). We have been reconciled, made right with God. Which is what allows us to enjoy fellowship with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. Which should produce in us a joy that is full and complete, lacking in nothing. Jesus Christ, the word of life who gave life to creation, is also the eternal life, God Himself. The Son of God took on human flesh and then took on the sins of man. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24 ESV). John was proclaiming what God had long ago prophesied. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6 ESV). It was Jesus' deity that made possible His sinlessness. It was His humanity that made Him an appropriate sacrifice. It was His death that paid for our sins. It was His resurrection that proved He was who He claimed to be: the sole source of eternal life. Now that is something worth proclaiming.

The Word of Life

…the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us… – 1 John 1:2 ESV

For many, eternal life is some kind of a reward that lies somewhere out there in the distant future. It's life-after-death kind of stuff. It has to do with heaven and, if we were honest, seems to have little to do with life on this earth. But the apostle John provides us different viewpoint on the subject of eternal life. In fact, he seems to equate eternal life with Jesus Himself. He says, “we…proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us” (1 John 1:2 ESV). In John's way of thinking, Jesus didn't just provide eternal life, He IS eternal life. Without Him, eternal life would not exist. It would not be possible. But John didn't just make this up. He had heard this truth from the lips of Jesus Himself when He claimed, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 ESV). John had recorded this very same thought in the opening verses of his gospel. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.  In him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1-4 ESV). Jesus was the logos, the word. He was the source of all life, having played a major role in the creation of the world. But He was also the life – the very source of all life. Jesus is the essence of life, just as His Father is the essence of light. There is no life without Jesus. Men would not exist without His role in the creation. And men will not experience eternal life apart from His saving work in their re-creation. Life without Jesus is impossible. And yet, how many try to live their lives as if He doesn't exist? How many Christians attempt to live their lives without His help. Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10b ESV). Just as He created life “in the beginning,“ so He creates new life when men, dead in their trespasses and sins, turn to Him.

For many of us, eternal life was the carrot that was held out to us as an incentive to accept Christ. It was the preferred alternative to an eternity spent in hell. But when we make the reward the focus, we miss the point. Just as temporal life was not the point of creation, eternal life is not the point of our new creation. The point is God. The focus is fellowship with Him. Man was created to have fellowship with God. Adam and Eve enjoyed uninterrupted, intimate fellowship with the One who had created them, and this would have included Jesus, as part of the Trinity and a participant in the creation process. But sin broke that fellowship. Sin damaged what God had intended. Rather than the abundant life they had been created to enjoy, Adam and Eve experienced diminished life, a life marred by sin and marked by a worship of self, rather than God.

But John wrote his letter to remind his readers that all that changed when Jesus took on human flesh. God became man. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 ESV). John went out of his way to let his readers know that his knowledge of this truth was not academic, but personal and intimate. He had personally seen, heard and touched Jesus, the word of life. He had eaten with Him, watched Him perform miracles, walked with Him, talked with Him and listened to Him as He taught them truths they had never heard before. And John says that what he saw, heard and touched, he proclaimed. What had been manifested to him, he made known to others. Why? “So that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3 ESV). Restored fellowship. Intimacy with God and with His Son. And this restored fellowship, made possible through the Word of Life, should result in joy. But not just any kind of joy – full joy, complete joy, perfect joy. Fellowship is the core of the gospel message. What makes eternal life so attractive is the reality of uninterrupted, intimate, personal fellowship with God and His Son. But eternal life begins the day we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. His death on the cross in our place provided us with a means by which we can enjoy restored fellowship with God the Father. Jesus Christ, the very Word of life, eternal life itself, has made all this possible. And that reality should result in profound joy. John had personally heard Jesus say, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11 ESV). What had Jesus spoken to him? About His abiding presence, providing the capacity to live fruitful, full and meaningful lives in this lifetime, not just in eternity. He had heard Jesus speak of His abiding love and providing presence. “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 ESV).

That which was from the beginning, the Word of life, the eternal life, abides in us. Jesus has taken up residence in the lives of all those who have placed their faith in Him as their Savior and Lord. He has restored our fellowship with the Father and made us part of His body, the Church, in which we can enjoy fellowship with one another as children of God and heirs of the Kingdom yet to come. But our joy is not to be based on some future event or circumstance, but on the present reality of the abiding presence of the Word of life in our lives here and now.

The Day of the Lord Is Near!

Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near. ­– Zephaniah 1:7 ESV

The words of Zephaniah were written during the reign of King Josiah of Judah. He was a good king who had instituted many religious and moral reforms among the people of God. Upon rediscovery of the Law, he was convicted by the sins of his people and motivated to bring about change, using his official capacity as king to reinstitute the celebration of Passover and put in place a program for the removal of the many idols that had become common place in Judah. But Josiah’s reforms had failed to change the hearts of the people. They remained rebellious, hard-hearted, stubborn and unfaithful to God. They were guilty of having turned back from following God and did not seek Him or His counsel. In fact, they no longer took the Lord seriously. Instead, their attitude was, “The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill” (Zephaniah 1:12 ESV). Their view of God was that He was incompetent, indifferent, or simply impotent. They truly believed that He was not going to do anything. In spite of the fact that Israel, their neighbors to the north, had been defeated and taken captive by the Syrians, just as God had said they would be, the people of Judah ignored the warnings of prophets like Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Nahum and Habakkuk. But God reminded them, “The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast” (Zephaniah 1:14 ESV). They could deny it, ignore it, or simply refuse to think about it. But its reality was inevitable and unavoidable.

What does this passage reveal about God?

God’s will is a powerful force that cannot and will not be stopped by men. He is going to do what He has planned to do. He will accomplish His will regarding mankind and His creation. His sovereignty over all that He has made remains intact and invincible. Throughout these three short chapters of the book of Zephaniah, we see the repeated phrase, “I will…” God is letting His people know that while they are saying, “The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill,” nothing could be further from the truth.

“I will utterly sweep away everything…” – Zephaniah 1:2 ESV

“I will sweep away man and beast…” – Zephaniah 1:3 ESV

“I will sweep away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea…” – Zephaniah 1:3 ESV

“I will cut off mankind…” – Zephaniah 1:4 ESV

“I will stretch out my hand against Judah…” – Zephaniah 1:4 ESV

Why? “Because they have sinned against the Lord” (Zephaniah 1:17 ESV). Nothing and no one will be able to stand against the Lord when that day comes when He decides to bring judgment upon the world. No nation on earth will be able to resist His will or avoid His wrath. It will be “a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements” (Zephaniah 1:18-19 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about man?

For millennium, mankind has made a habit out of attempting to either deny God’s existence or resist His rule. The human race has gone out of its way to replace God as the rightful King over His creation with sub-par substitutes. They have attempted to run the world and, by extension, their own lives according to their own desires, replacing God’s will with their own. Even the people of God, chosen by Him to be His children and a living example of His grace, mercy and love; regularly rejected Him in favor of false gods and pseudo-saviors. Their lives were marked by pride, arrogance, injustice, and indifference to the ways of God. While God had proven Himself faithful, they had regularly displayed their unfaithfulness to Him. “The Lord within her is righteous; he does not injustice; every morning he shows forth his justice; each dawn he does not fail, but the unjust knows no shame” (Zephaniah 3:5 ESV). God had gone out of His way to show them His power and convince them of His love, “but all the more they were eager to make all their deeds corrupt” (Zephaniah 3:7 ESV).

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

What do you get when you mix a holy, righteous God with an unholy, sinful and rebellious people? For one thing, you get judgment. God will judge wickedness because He is holy and just and must deal rightly with unrighteousness. But at the same time, you get mercy, forgiveness, redemption and restoration. The amazing thing about God is that He had a plan for dealing with man’s sin that would allow Him to remain just and holy, yet loving and merciful at the same time. He sent His own Son to pay for the sins of mankind and satisfy His righteous wrath. He provided a means by which men might be saved from the inevitability of the death sentence against them due to their open rebellion against him. He gave His Son as their sin substitute. He died in their place. But they must accept that free gift, acknowledging their own inability to meet God’s exacting standards and their insufficiency in satisfying the debt they owed. Even the rebellious people of Israel will find grace, mercy and forgiveness in the form of the very one they rejected – Jesus Christ, their Messiah. When all is said and done, God will redeem and restore a remnant of His chosen people, fulfilling His promises to Abraham and satisfying every facet of the covenant He made with them. “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will exult over you with loud singing. I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach” (Zephaniah 3:16-18 ESV).

Father, the day of the Lord is near. It is closer than it has ever been. That day when You will make all things right and complete Your redemptive work for mankind and the restoration of Your creation is right around the corner. May we learn to live in the reality of that thought. May we recognize and rest in the hope that we have in You. You have told Your people, Israel, of the day when You will “restore your fortunes before your eyes.” You WILL do what You have promised to do. And the day when Your work will be done is coming soon. Amen

He Is Coming!

Daniel 11-12, Revelation 22

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” – Revelation 22:20 ESV

As the books of Daniel and Revelation both come to a close, they provide encouraging reminders that the events recorded in them will take place. Daniel is told to “shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end” (Daniel 12:4 ESV). He is to seal up what is contained in the prophesies provided by God and preserve them. God was not telling Daniel to hide them, but to make sure that he preserved them so that the words contained within them would be proven true when all took place just as God had said. In the book of Revelation, John is told, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near” (Revelation 22:10 ESV). This was an indication that the end was close. The culmination of all God's plans for the redemption of mankind were nearer than they had ever been. There is a surety and a certainty contained in both of these books. What God has said will take place. What He has prophesied will come to pass. There will be much that will happen between now and the end of time. Daniel was told of events involving the nations of the world that would result in all kinds of political and military upheaval in the centuries to come. The Persians, Egyptians, Seleucids, and Greeks would jockey for power, conquering one another and making the Middle East a volatile and unstable environment for years to come. All the way up until the rise of the Roman empire, Palestine would find itself in the middle of a power struggle between powerful nations, leaving the people of Israel as helpless pawns and easy preys for their enemies. The 400 years between the close of the Old Testament and the opening of the New Testament were some of the most tumultuous times on earth – just as God had said they would be. But they would end with the coming of the Son of God as an innocent human baby.

What does this passage reveal about God?

But Christ's first advent was designed to pay for sin and offer salvation and justification to all who would believe in Him. His first coming was to satisfy the just demands of a holy and righteous God who had to punish mankind for their rebellion against His sovereign rule. Jesus became the sin substitute, accomplishing for man what he could not have done for himself. Jesus lived a sinless life and lived in perfect obedience to the just requirements of God's holy law. He became the perfect, spotless Lamb who was sacrificed as a payment for the sins of mankind. His death made eternal life possible. He exchanged His righteousness for man's sins. He bore our burden and died the death we deserved. All in fulfillment of God's divine plan. But while His redemptive work is finished, His job is not yet done. He is coming again. He has unfinished business. The point of all prophesy is the future. In Daniel's case, he was given insight into events that would take place over the coming centuries. And all of what was recorded in chapter 11, verses 1-35 has taken place. The various kings and nations mentioned can be easily traced and the accuracy of the prophecies contained in these verses can be easily proven. So if what God said would happen has actually taken place, why would we not believe that everything else He promised would be fulfilled as well. God told Daniel that “there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time” (Daniel 12:1 ESV). He was speaking of the Great Tribulation, the missing seventieth week spoken of in Daniel 9. It will be a time of great trouble. Jesus Himself described it in these sobering terms: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be” (Matthew 24:21 ESV). But God had good news for Daniel. “But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book” (Daniel 12:1b ESV). God would redeem a remnant of His people. He even told Daniel, “But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days” (Daniel 12:13 ESV). This does not mean that Daniel would live to see the end, but that he would be part of the faithful remnant who would undergo resurrection from the dead and stand before “the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:3 ESV).     

What does this passage reveal about man?

Jesus told us, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains” (Matthew 24:7-8 ESV). The centuries have recorded a wide range of events, from wars to natural disasters. We continue to watch as the influence of sin on the world manifests itself in a variety of unsettling forms. There are days when it would appear as if the end was near. We even question whether it can get any worse. But Jesus said these things are simply the birth pains. They are the precursor to something even greater yet to come. Man's rebellion against God will continue to increase up until the bitter end. The period of the Great Tribulation will see the rise of the Antichrist and the greatest outpouring of persecution on the Jews that the world has ever seen. Sin will have reached its apex. Man's rebellion against God and Satan's war against God's people will come to a climax. And then God will step in.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

John records the stirring words of Jesus Himself, predicting His second advent. “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:12-13 ESV). He is coming again. God predicted it and He will bring it to pass. Again, Jesus says, “Surely I am coming soon”  and the response of those of us who call Him our Lord and Savior should be, “Amen. Come Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20 ESV). We should long for His coming. We should pray for His return. And while we wait, we should issue the words found in Revelation 22:17: “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price” (Revelation 22:17 ESV). Jesus is coming again. And while there may appear to be plenty of time before that event takes place, we must live with a sense of urgency. We are to live soberly and righteously, as if His return could take place at any minute. We are to issue an invitation to everyone we meet, inviting them to “Come!” We are to point all those who are thirsty to the source of living water – Jesus Christ. And while we wait for His return, we are to do exactly what the angel told John, “Worship God” (Revelation 22:9 ESV). He is to be our focus. He is to be our source of hope. He is to be our help in times of trouble and our strength when we feel weak. We must constantly remind ourselves that God is not done yet. His will WILL be done. His plan WILL be fulfilled. His Son WILL return. His Kingdom WILL come. And sin WILL be no more.

Father, You are worthy of worship. You are deserving of my praise and my trust. You have proven Yourself trustworthy and true time and time again – in history and in my life. Your Words always come true. Your prophecies always get fulfilled. Your will always comes to pass. Help me to live in light of those realities. And, come Lord Jesus, come! Amen

The Dwelling Place of God.

Daniel 9-10, Revelation 21

Daniel 9-10, Revelation 21And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” – Revelation 21:3 ESV

Daniel and his contemporaries had been in captivity in Babylon for nearly 68 years. He was probably in his 80s at the time these two chapters were written, and had spent the majority of his life living in exile, away from the city of God, and unable to worship in the temple of God. When Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Jerusalem in 586 B.C, he had completely destroyed the temple, the dwelling place of God. So since that time there had been no place for the people of Israel to go in which they might worship and offer sacrifices to their God. For almost 70 years, the people of Israel had endured exile and had lived with the awareness that their great temple lay in ruins. But by the time Daniel received his vision recorded in chapter 10, a group of Jews had been able to return to Jerusalem and had begun the restoration of the city of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the temple – all by virtue of a decree issued by King Cyrus. God had miraculously provided a means by which His people would be returned to the land and the city of Jerusalem could be rebuilt – all in keeping with His promise. But the real emphasis in these two chapters seems to be the presence of God. In spite of the fact that Daniel lived in a foreign land, far away from the city of Jerusalem and the temple where God's presence was supposed to have dwelt, He received word from God Himself. When he prayed to God, He answered. “At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision” (Daniel 9:23 ESV). God then proceeded to give Daniel a glimpse into the future as it related to the people of Israel. He provided Daniel with the assurance of His ongoing presence and unwavering commitment to His people – the Jews. God told Daniel, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage” (Daniel 10:19 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about God?

Much of what God shared with Daniel regarding the future of Israel was confusing and disturbing. He received news of “a troubled time” in which “desolations are decreed.” He heard about floods and war, abominations and destruction of the city of God. But Daniel also received encouragement. He was told not to fear. He was given news from God Himself, providing him with a reassurance that everything was going to be okay. God was working behind the scenes, orchestrating the affairs of men and implementing His divine plan, according to His perfect timeline. God sent an angel to Daniel who told him that he “came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come” (Daniel 10:14 ESV). God was sharing with Daniel news about the future. He was reminding that He had not forsaken His people. He had seen Daniel and had been aware of His mourning. He had heard Daniel and responded to His cries for mercy. God was not restricted to heaven or relegated to a temple built by human hands. He was the transcendent God who omnipresent, able to be everywhere at once and capable of being with His people wherever they were at any moment and at any time. He is not hindered by time or space. And in spite of the sins of the people of Israel, He was still with them and would one day restore them to a right relationship with Him.    

What does this passage reveal about man?

Man's greatest need is God. And yet our greatest weakness seems to be our insatiable desire to try and live without Him or simply in place of Him. When Adam and Eve were created, they enjoyed unbroken fellowship and intimacy with God. But sin changed all that. They went from having unrestricted access to God to being physically removed from His presence and denied entrance into the garden where they once walked and talked with Him. The story of the Bible is about God's plan to make right what sin destroyed. Sin marred the world. So God is going to make it new again. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (Revelation 21:1 ESV). He will start fresh. He will recreate. He will even make a new Jerusalem. “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2 ESV). When the remnant of Jews returned to Jerusalem during the days of Daniel, they were able to rebuild the temple, but the finished product was a shadow of its former glory. It was nothing like the once-glorious temple that Solomon had built. Because man cannot restore like God can restore. Man can't fix what is wrong in the world. Everything we do is little more than a band-aid on a problem that requires extensive restoration and healing. Even Daniel understood that his people were helpless to fix the problem they were experiencing. Their own sins had gotten them where they were. But God had not abandoned them. He was still among them. And He was always giving them assurances of His ongoing presence and power. But any glimpses they got of God were nothing compared to what was to come. Sin still mars God's creation and damages man's relationship with God. But the day is coming when those things will be remedied once and for all.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

Man was created to have a relationship with God. Sin threw a monkey wrench into the plan, driving a wedge between man and God, and requiring God to do something radical to remedy the problem. God sent His Son to pay for the sins of man and to make possible the restoration of the relationship between God and His creation. But even now, sin continues to make it difficult for man to experience God's indwelling, ongoing presence perfectly, without interruption. So God has one last thing He needs to do. He is going to eliminate sin and its devastating influence. He will destroy Satan and remove him completely from the equation. John was told that God would “wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4 ESV). God reminds us, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5 ESV). A new heaven and a new earth. A new Jerusalem. A new relationship between God and man. “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Revelation 21:3 ESV). Over in his gospel, John writes, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 ESV). The word for “dwelt” in this verse means to “fix one's tabernacle” and it pictures God's choice to dwell among men in a physical form. In Revelation 21:3, John records the noun version of the same word when he writes, “the dwelling place of God is with man.” When Jesus came to earth, He made God visible to men. But the day is coming when God Himself will dwell with men once again. We will enjoy unbroken, unhindered fellowship with God. Sin will be eliminated. Confession for sin will no longer necessary. There will be nothing to get in the way of our relationship with God. He will be our God and we will be His children.

Father, on this earth we only get glimpses of what fellowship with You can be like. Sin continues to make it difficult to see You, hear You, and experience You. The world can be a constant reminder of sin's reality and make it feel like You are distant and removed from everyday life. But the day is coming when we will experience You in uninterrupted glory. You will dwell among us and we will enjoy Your presence. Help me to stay focused on reality of that promise. Amen

Thy Kingdom Come.

Daniel 7-8, Revelation 20

…and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. – Daniel 7:13-14 ESV

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He gave them the following model to follow. “Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10 NLT). Jesus began His prayer with a request that His Father's Kingdom be established on the earth and that the will of His Father be perfectly fulfilled here on earth just as it is in heaven. This was a request for something to be done that was yet future in its fulfillment. Jesus was teaching His disciples to long for and look for a day when the Kingdom of God would be established on earth in a real and final sense. While we see a partial fulfillment of God's Kingdom as we live on this earth as citizens of that Kingdom, and enjoy the Kingship of Christ in our lives; we do not yet see His Kingdom fulfilled in all its glory. That day is yet future. It is reserved for what Daniel records as “the time of the end” (Daniel 8:17 ESV). Daniel was given a glimpse into the distant future, a time called “the latter end” (Daniel 8:23 ESV), “many days from now” (Daniel 8:26 ESV), when God will bring all things to a close and establish His Kingdom on earth. The kingdoms of this earth will cease. The kings of this earth will be removed from power. The one true King will sit on His throne in Jerusalem where He will reign in righteousness and glory for 1,000 years. John was given insight into this event and shown that a day was coming when Jesus Christ would return to earth, defeat Satan and the armies of this world, set up His Kingdom and reward those who had been faithful to Him throughout the time of the Great Tribulation and had suffered martyrdom on His behalf. “They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4 ESV). “…but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6 ESV). This refers to that yet future time period called the Millennial Kingdom, when God will establish His Kingdom on earth once and for all. His Kingdom will come and His will will be done, perfectly and completely. The prayer Jesus prayed will be fulfilled.

What does this passage reveal about God?

God showed Daniel and John things that no man had ever seen. He revealed to them things that had yet to happen, but that would most certainly take place because they were part of His divine plan for the redemption of His creation. Much of what was revealed to Daniel would have a short-term fulfillment. He was shown the various kingdoms that would come to power in the not-too-distant future. He was told of the coming of Antiochus IV (Epiphanes), the eighth king of the Seleucid dynasty, who would lead Syria to great power and prominence and become of the greatest persecutors of the people of God that had ever lived. He would kill thousands of Jews. He would desecrate the temple of God by setting up an idol dedicated to Zeus and offer a sacrifice of swine to this false god. But these events were just a precursor of something even greater and far more sinister to come. Antiochus would be the partial fulfillment of the Antichrist who was to come in “ the appointed time of the end” (Daniel 8:19 ESV). What Daniel saw had to do with events to come that have already taken place, but it also had to do with a future time that has yet to be fulfilled. God's focus is on the end. He is involved in the here and now, but His emphasis is on culmination of all things. He is all about answering the prayer that Jesus prayed. He is all about the coming of His Kingdom and the ultimate fulfillment of His divine will on earth.   

What does this passage reveal about man?

Much must take place before the end comes. Jesus Himself warned that things were going to get worse long before they got better. “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains” (Matthew 24:6-8 ESV). We have been witness to the reality of His prediction. We have been eyewitnesses to countless wars, tragic famines, devastating earthquakes and other seemingly end time events. But Jesus told us not to be alarmed. These things are not necessarily a sign of the end. They are simply evidence of the devastating influence the fall and the presence of sin will have on God's creation and on mankind. Kingdoms will rise and fall. Nations will wage war against one another. Injustice and unrighteousness will become commonplace. The sin of man will reach epic proportions and the darkness of man's rebellion against God will appear overwhelming. The actions of an Antiochus Epiphanes will pale in comparison to those of the Antichrist. “His power shall be great—but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but by no human hand” (Daniel 8:24-25 ESV). Man's capacity for evil will reach it apex in this one individual. He will rule and reign over the world and turn his wrath against the people of Israel. Jesus described this period of time in very harsh terms: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be” (Matthew 24:21 ESV).

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

News of these yet-future events had a devastating impact on Daniel. “And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king's business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it” (Daniel 8:27 ESV). But rather than fear, we must be ready. Rather than live with a sense of trepidation, we should live with expectation. Jesus told us, “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44 ESV). He is coming back. And when He returns the second time, He will come to defeat the kingdoms of this world, along with Satan, the prince of this world. God will take back what rightfully belongs to Him. He will establish His Kingdom and set up His Son as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. “…and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14 ESV). God's Kingdom will come. His will will be done. His Son will reign. His enemies will be defeated. Sin will be eliminated. The unrighteous will be judged. The redeemed will be rewarded. The God of the universe will have the final say. So as Jesus modeled for us, our constant prayer should be that God's Kingdom come and His will be done – on earth, just as it is in heaven. That day is coming. And it is for that day we hope and the creation moans in eager anticipation.

Father, while things appear to be getting progressively worse, we know that man's capacity for sin and rebellion knows no limits. Sin will increase. Unrighteousness will spread like a cancer. But Your Kingdom IS coming. Your will will be done. Your Son is going to return and set everything right. Help us to live with that reality in mind. This story has an ending and it is an unbelievably good one. Amen