1 João 4
David Guzik · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 João 4:2
Guzik - Today, some groups deny that Jesus is really God (such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and Muslims). But way back in John’s day, in this time closest to the actual life and ministry of Jesus on this earth, people didn’t have a hard time believing Jesus was God. They had a hard time believing that he was a real Man. This false teaching said Jesus was truly God (which is correct), but really a “make-believe” Man. Today, we are passionate about saying, “Jesus is God,” and we should be. But it is no less important to say, “Jesus is a Man,” because both the deity and humanity of Jesus are essential to our salvation. Ray
1 João 4:3
Guzik adds on the spirit of the antichrist that "It is the spirit which both opposes the true Jesus and offers a substitute Jesus. The devil doesn’t care at all if you know Jesus or love Jesus or pray to Jesus – as long as it is a false Jesus, a make-believe Jesus, a Jesus who is not there, and who therefore cannot save." (ED: SEE PAUL'S DESCRIPTION OF "ANOTHER JESUS") What did John mean by saying of which you have heard that it is coming? Even in this letter they had heard of this coming antichrist (1Jn 2:18-27+). In addition, given the fact that the letter of First John was written around 90 AD which means that the Gospel of Matthew and the epistle of 2 Thessalonians would have been available to the church, not to mention OT writings which included the book of Daniel. The point is that all three of these sources gave warnings about a final world ruler which John identified as the Antichrist (See Daniel 9:27+, Matthew 24:15-16+, and 2 Thessalonians 2:3-5+) The upshot is that since the readers had heard, they should not be surprised or caught off guard by the appearance of these men with the spirit of antichrist. Hiebert adds that "In 1Jn 2:18+ John reminded them that they had been warned that the Antichrist was coming; here he reminds them that they knew that the spirit of the antichrist also was coming. The perfect tense, “ye have heard,” indicates that these realities were part of the regular Christian teaching concerning the future. (1 John 4:1-6) And now it is (present tense) already in the world (kosmos) - There is disagreement regarding the interpretation of the world. Some feel the context (especially the anti-God use of kosmos in 1Jn 4:4,5) refers to the part of mankind that is hostile to God and His Christ and under the control of the devil (1Jn 5:19+), while others favor this usage is more neutral and refers to planet earth, the sphere in which we live. There is a sense of "already not yet" regarding the spirit of antichrist, for this spirit will have its consummation in the end-times political leader known as the Antichrist, the prince who is to come (Da 9:26+), the man of lawlessness (2Th 2:3-4+), the beast (Rev 13:2ff+). The only other place in Scripture where this person is specifically referred to as Antichrist is in 1Jn 2:18+ "Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour." Bob
1 João 4:3
Guzik - The principle of presenting a true Jesus is essential to the testing of spirits. No one who presents a false Jesus, or one untrue to the Scriptures, can be regarded as a true prophet. Today, there is a lot of curiosity about the "true Jesus." (Ed: An example of this genre of false teaching is the Jesus Seminar which sought to "reconstruct the life a the historical Jesus" and was formally disbanded in 2006.) Many modern academics say they want to discover the "true Jesus" and when they say this they often mean, "The true Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible. The Biblical Jesus is make-believe. We need to discover the true Jesus behind the myths of the Bible." Not only is this position ignorant (ignoring the confirmed historical validity of the New Testament) it is also arrogant. Once any academic throws out the historical evidence of the New Testament and other reliable ancient writings, they can only base their understanding of Jesus on their own personal opinion. These academics present their baseless opinions as if they were scholarly facts. (ED: IN SO DOING THEY ARE MANIFESTING THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST!) (1 John 4 – Abiding in God and His Love) Cerinthus, a false teacher of John’s day, denied the Incarnation by teaching that the divine Christ descended on the human Jesus at His baptism and then departed before His crucifixion (1Jn 2:22+). John teaches that Jesus did not merely enter into an already existing human being, but He came as a human being. The Greek tense of the verb has come (1Jn 4:2) and the meaning of the noun flesh indicate that not only did Jesus come as a human being, He was still a human being even as John wrote. God the Son is forever fully God and fully man. He is immortal and has received a resurrected human body that does not age or die. A denial of Jesus’ full and true humanity proves that a teacher is not of God. CERINTHUS sə rĭn’ thəs (Κήρινθος). Cerinthus is not mentioned in the Bible. He was an early Gnostic who lived at the close of the first Christian cent. According to Irenaeus, he appeared about the year 88, was known to the Apostle John, and it was in refutation of his errors that John wrote his gospel. The apocryphal Epistle of the Apostles, written around the middle of the second cent., lists him with Simon Magus as one of the two “false apostles, concerning whom it is written that no man shall cleave with them.” Cerinthus was a Jew by race and religion. He studied in Alexandria, appeared in Pal., and was most active in western Asia Minor, spreading his false teaching about the person of Christ. He taught that the world was created, not by God, but by a power far separated from Him; that Jesus was the natural son of Joseph and Mary, although he was more righteous, prudent, and wise than other men; that at Jesus’ baptism the Christ descended upon Him in the likeness of a dove, providing Him miraculous powers; that at His death the Christ departed from Him, so that it was only the human Jesus that died and rose again. These views regarding Christ became known as Cerinthianism. Epiphanius claims that he was the arch-opponent of both Paul and John. There is, however, no evidence that he was active during the ministry of Paul. Irenaeus relates that when the Apostle John went to the bath at Ephesus, upon learning that Cerinthus was there, he fled for fear that the bath should fall to pieces. Cerinthus reflects a syncretism of Gnosticism, Judaism, and Christianity. He is said to have insisted on the necessity of circumcision and the observance of the Jewish sabbath. He held a rather crude view of the millennium, that the righteous would enjoy a paradise of sensual delights in Pal., and that Jesus, through the power of the divine Logos coming upon Him, would reign as the Messiah for one thousand years. Paul describes "another Jesus" in his Second letter to the Corinthians… I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me. For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. (2Cor 11:1-4+) Comment: Paul is using sarcasm in this section in his discussion of false teachers. As Henry
1 João 4:4
Guzik - The believer has a resource for victory, the vital presence of the indwelling Jesus, which makes victory always possible - if we will rely on He Who is in us instead of relying on ourselves. This understanding gives great confidence and spiritual power (Ed: His power flowing through us!). For those walking in this truth, victory is assured - they have overcome them. It is a positive statement, not a wishful hope. Westcott - Elsewhere ‘the word of God’ (c. 1Jn 2:14), ‘the unction received from Him’ (1Jn 2:27), ‘His seed’ (1Jn 3:9) is said to ‘abide’ in believers, as here He himself is in them. Pulpit Commentary asks how did they overcome the false prophets/teachers? They suggest it was "By refusing to listen to the false teachers (ch. 10:8) the sheep have conquered them: the seducers have “gone out” (1Jn 2:19), unable to hold their own within the fold."a For an up tempo "musical interpretation" of John's encouraging words listen to MercyMe's song from 2014.. Greater is the One Living Inside of Me “There are two great forces at work in the world today: the unlimited power of God and the limited power of Satan.” -- Corrie ten Boom Henry
1 João 4:5
Guzik - Those who are of the world (kosmos) are evident because they speak as of the world (kosmos); the influence of the world (kosmos) in evident in their speech. As Jesus said, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34+). (ED: AND AS "WORLDLINGS" THEIR HEARTS ARE EVIL AND WICKED AND THE FRUIT OF THEIR LIPS IS THE SAME!) Pulpit Commentary - The source of their character and their teaching is the world; from it they derive their inspiration; and of course the world listens to them. Once again (see on ch. 3:23) we have an echo of Christ’s last discourses: “If ye were of the world, the world would love its own” (John 15:19). Steven
1 João 4:7
Guzik - John insists that there is something that is given to the believer when they are born of God; a love is imparted to their life that they did not have before. Christians are not "just forgiven" - they are born anew by God's Spirit. Of course, this love is not perfected in the life of a Christian on this side of eternity. Though it may not be perfected, it must be present - and it should be growing. You can't truly grow in your experience of God without also growing love for one another. Albert
1 João 4:10
Guzik put it this way - His love for us initiates our relationship of love with Him, our love only responds to His love for us. We can't love God the way we should unless we are receiving and living in His love. Love means forgiving the sins of the beloved and remembering them no more. -- I Howard Marshall Steven Cole on propitiation for our sins - So that we don’t get our focus on ourselves, or get puffed up with pride over how loving we are (ED: It is also possible that those with the spirit of anti-Christ were making the claim with their "lips" that they love God, but their "life" proved their words to be a lie), John directs us back to God’s love as seen in His sending His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ....“Propitiation” means to satisfy God’s justice and wrath toward our sin. His love didn’t just brush aside our sin, because His holiness and justice would have been compromised. Rather, His love moved God to send His own Son, who bore the penalty that we rightly deserved. The initiative was totally with God! He didn’t wait until we showed some promise of changing or until we cried out for help. Rather, as Paul put it (Ro 5:8), “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (1 John 4:7-11 Why We Must Love) Max Anders - Theologians argue whether Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross should be described as expiation or propitiation. Expiation emphasizes payment of a penalty to remove guilt. Propitiation speaks of appeasing or averting God’s wrath. (See Holman New Testament Commentary - 1 & 2 Peter, 1 2 & 3 John) Divine love springs spontaneously from His heart. His wrath against sin cannot be placated by good works. -- Kenneth Wuest Warren
1 João 4:11
Guzik- If you had a pipe that was clogged - water kept going into it, but never came out, that pipe would be useless. You would replace it. Just so, God puts His love into our lives that it might flow out. We want the Lord to clear us and fill us so that His love can flow through us. C H
1 João 4:11
Guzik - When Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, and showed such great love and servanthood to them, we might have expected Him to conclude by gesturing to His own feet and asking who among them was going to do to Him what He had just done for them. Instead, Jesus said: If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet (John 13:14). The proper way to love God in response to His love for us is to go out and love one another. F F Bruce - “If the children of God must be holy because He is holy (Lev 11:44f; 1 Pet 1:15f and merciful because He is merciful (Lk 6:36), so they must be loving because He is loving—not with the ‘must’ of external compulsion but with the ‘must’ of inward constraint: God’s love is poured into their hearts by the Holy Spirit whom they have received (Ro 5:5) (Borrow The Gospel and epistles of John) Once one begins to understand the incredible price paid for sin and the magnitude of personal sin, he will understand the love of God and demonstrate it himself (John 13:31–35). -- Danny Akin John Piper "when he says, “We ought (opheilo) to love each other,” he means ought the way fish ought to swim in water and birds ought to fly in the air and living creatures ought to breathe and peaches ought to be sweet and lemons ought to be sour and hyenas ought to laugh. And born again people ought to love. It’s who we are. This is not mere imitation (ED: ALTHOUGH IN ONE SENSE IT IS - SEE Eph 5:1-2+). For the children of God, imitation becomes realization. We are realizing who we are when we love. God’s seed is in us (1Jn 3:9+). God’s Spirit is in us (1Cor 6:19+). God’s nature is in us (2Pe 1:4+). God’s love is being perfected in us. God’s Christ-Sending Love As Our Internal Impulse. Yes, there is the external impulse of seeing in history the Son of God laying down His life for us and constraining us in this way (2Co 5:14+). But what’s unique about the Christian life is that there is also the internal impulse that comes from being born again and having the very love that sent the Son into the world pulsing through our souls by the life of God within. The new birth enables us to experience the manifestation of God’s love in history as an internal reality of God’s Spirit within us." (1 John 4:7-21 The New Birth Produces Love) The deeper we go into the meaning of the Cross, the greater will be our love for Christ and the greater our active concern for one another. Warren
1 João 4:12
Guzik - Some people think the greatest evidence of God's presence or work is power. Some people think the greatest evidence of God's presence or work is popularity. Some people think the greatest evidence of God's presence or work is passionate feelings. But the greatest evidence of God's presence and work is love. Where God is present and working, there will be love. Steven