1 João 2
Ray Stedman · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 João 2:1-6
Stedman - Have you ever seen a counterfeit bill? I do not know that I have ever had one handed to me. I may have, and, if so, I passed it along without knowing. But I know one thing about counterfeit bills. Contrary to popular expression they never come in $3.00 or $7.00 denominations. You hear the phrase, "as phony as a $3.00 bill," but I have never seen a $3.00 bill and I never hope to see one. Counterfeiters are smarter than that. At a superficial glance, a counterfeit bill appears to be perfectly normal and in a common denomination. But there is always something bogus about it, there is always something phony. There is a lack of exact correspondence. There is a blur somewhere, or something is omitted from it which marks it as a counterfeit bill. It is the same with a phony Christian, and there are phony Christians, many of them. As John indicates, they say the right things. If you were to judge them by what they say, you would never know they were phonies. They go to the right places, they mingle with the right crowds, and they say the right things. They say "I love him," but, as John indicates, there is something wrong with their lives: They disobey his commandments. They have no apparent desire to do what he says, to keep his word. Their lives are unchanged. Their actions are no different than they were before. As a dairyman once said to me, "They preach cream, but live skim milk." (Ed: But in truth, professing believers aren't even "skim milk" for at least it is still milk!) Paul also warns about this in his letter to Titus. He speaks of some who, he says, "profess (present tense - continually) to know God, but they deny him by their deeds; they are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good deed," (Titus 1:16a RSV-Commentary). It was Charles Spurgeon, the prince of English preachers, who once said, "An unchanged life is the sign of an uncleansed heart." The Scripture is very clear about this: If the thief has not stopped his stealing, if the liar has not quit lying, if the alcoholic has not stopped drinking, there is no good in his claiming that he is a Christian. If there has been no basic change in his life, there is nothing that indicates to him or to anyone else, that he has been delivered from bondage to Satan and the power of evil into the kingdom of God (Col 1:13-14, Acts 26:18). Now let me make something clear. You can stop all these things without being born again. There are many reasons why men quit something evil, if for no other reason than that it is bad for their health. You can stop these things without being born again, but you cannot be born again without stopping them. That is the claim John makes. (Counterfeits and Reflectors | 1 John 2:3-6) This is the knowledge which you must possess: and if you will think you have it, whilst your life and conversation (behavior) give the lie to your profession, your doom is fixed Charles Simeon - It is evidently taken for granted, in my text, that some self-deceivers will be found, who will “say, that they know Christ, whilst yet they keep not his commandments.” And what shall I say to them? What can I say more, than what God himself speaks to them in my text, “That they are liars; and that the truth is not in them?” I grant that this sounds harsh; but it is the declaration of our God: and I dare not to soften or conceal what He hath spoken. In many other passages does this loving Apostle use the same language [1John 1:6; 1John 4:20; 1John 5:10.]; and I entreat you, brethren, to lay it to heart. Be assured, that, whilst you continue under this delusion, “the truth is not in you:” the Gospel has not yet wrought effectually on your hearts, nor are you possessed of real integrity in your souls. No, indeed, you are “liars” and hypocrites, and must take your portion with such characters in the eternal world. Tell me, then, whether it does not become you to “examine yourselves,” and to try your faith [Job 20:4-7.] by this standard? Do not imagine that the knowledge here spoken of is a speculative acquaintance with divine truth: no; it is such a knowledge as both justifies [Note: Isaiah 53:11.] and sanctifies [John 17:17.] the soul; it is that knowledge in comparison of which St. Paul “accounted all things as dung and dross [Philippians 3:8.].” This is the knowledge which you must possess: and if you will think you have it, whilst your life and conversation (behavior) give the lie to your profession, your doom is fixed: for thus saith God, by the Prophet Hosea: “Israel saith, my God, we know thee: Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him [Hosea 8:2-3.]:” yea, “every such person shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the glory of his power, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed in flaming fire to take vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ [2 Thessalonians 1:7-9.].” I say, then, to every one of you, “Examine whether ye be in the faith, and prove your own selves [2 Corinthians 13:5.].”] (1 John 2:3-5 The True Test of the Love of God) Puritan Thomas Brooks - Such walk in darkness, who promise to themselves the future vision of God's face, while they go on in the willful breach of God's royal law. Such who say they know Him—and yet in the course of their lives walk contrary to Him—such are liars: "He who says, I know him, and keeps not his commandments, is a liar," 1 John 2:4. (A Cabinet of Choice Jewels) There is nothing worse than self-willed deception! Obedience is evidence of true conversion. -- Bob Utley Bob
1 João 2:7-11
Stedman reminds us "comes out of a shared life. (cf 2Pe 1:4+ where "partakers" = "sharers") It is the fact that you and He (Christ) share together the same life that makes it possible for you to love (a "one another") who may be difficult, disagreeable, or hard to live with. It is because the love of God is shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Spirit Who is given unto you (Ro 5:5+). That is the only way it can be done (cf Gal 5:22+). This, therefore, is the new thing. The old commandment was there from the beginning. We are our brother's keeper. No man is an island. We have a responsibility to love each other. But we have never found the way until we find it in the sharing of the life of Jesus, the fellowship with the Son of God (ED: And I would add learning to moment by moment yield to the control of the Holy Spirit Who Alone can empower this God-like love). In the light of that new power it is now possible to perform the old commandment. Therefore, John says, "the darkness is passing away." Do you find that true in your life? Now comes the question, "How do you measure your progress in this?" How do you know how far along you have come, or whether you have even begun? John answers that in 1Jn 2:9-10. You can test yourself by asking, "What is my attitude toward my fellow Christian, my brother in Christ, the man who, like me, professes faith in Jesus Christ?" (Visible Christianity | 1 John 2:7-11) Johann Bengel - In Christ all things are always true, and were so from the beginning; but in Christ and in us conjointly the commandment [the love of brethren] is then true when we acknowledge the truth which is in Him, and have the same flourishing in us. (1 John 2 - Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament) As Steven
1 João 2:7-11
Stedman - What does he mean here by hate? -- "He who hates his brother." The dictionary tells us that hate is "a feeling of extreme hostility or extreme dislike of another." That suffices as far as the definition is concerned. We know well the feeling, this dislike, this aversion to someone, a sense of extreme hostility toward another. Ah, yes, but it can be expressed in two different ways. It can be active, in that we indulge in malicious talk or injurious actions toward another. We can strike them, or beat them, or throw our garbage over their fence, or mistreat them in some way. We can attack them, we can slander them behind their back. All these are active expressions of hate, and perhaps most of us think of hate only in this sense. But hate can also be expressed passively and still be hate. It can be expressed by indifference, by coldness, by isolation, by exclusion, unconcern for another. Someone has well said that indifference is the cruelest form of hate. You only need to read the Gospel records to see how true that is. What hurt our Lord most was not the active enmity of those who were trying to accomplish his death, but the coldness and indifference of those who once followed him yet turned aside from him and idly stood by as he was put to death. (Visible Christianity | 1 John 2:7-11) Those who profess to be Christians, yet are characterized by hate, demonstrate by such action that they have never been born again. John
1 João 2:7-11
Stedman - To be "in the darkness" is to be unregenerated, as you see also from 1Jn 3:14. (See sermon Visible Christianity | 1 John 2:7-11) Jesus was very clear regarding the contrast between light and dark when He said "And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world (Jn 8:12), and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for (explains the darkness = their conduct demonstrates the spiritual darkness that is in their unregenerate heart) their deeds were evil. For (further explains the manner of those who hate God and why they hate His exposing light) everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But (striking contrast similar to that here in First John) he who practices the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." (John 3:19-21) Matthew Poole on is still in darkness = under the power of the unregenerate principle of impure and malignant darkness: the Gospel has done him no good and is to him but an impotent and ineffectual light, in the midst whereof, by stiff winking, and an obstinate resistance which excludes that pure and holy light, he creates for himself a dark and a hellish night. (Woe!) James Montgomery
1 João 2:7-11
Stedman - Now John says that he who hates his brother is not a Christian. He is "in the darkness until now," i.e., he has never come out of it. He is in the state of darkness in which the whole race is plunged and into which we were all born. He has never been removed from that. To say you are in the light and yet hate your brother is a basic denial of faith. We have seen this all along. (See sermon Visible Christianity | 1 John 2:7-11) The true Christian, who knows God and walks in the light, both obeys God and loves his brother. The genuineness of his faith is seen in his right relation to both God and his fellow human beings. John Stott - John now shows that Jesus Christ, the true light, is the light of love, and that therefore to be, or to live, or to walk in the light (1Jn 2:9, 10; cf. 1Jn 1:6) is to walk in love. Light and love, darkness and hatred belong together. In 1Jn 2:3-6 the general principle preceded the specific example. Here the example comes first. The Gnostic claim was as much to have been ‘enlightened’ as to possess the ‘knowledge’ of God. The falsity of their claim to be in the light was betrayed not now by disobedience, but by hatred. The true Christian, who knows God and walks in the light, both obeys God and loves his brother. The genuineness of his faith is seen in his right relation to both God and his fellow human beings. (BORROW The Letters of John or SEE The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary - Page 98). ILLUSTRATION OF A DEADLY DELUSION - It is said that D. L. Moody was once accosted on a Chicago street by a drunk who exclaimed, "Aren’t you Mr. Moody? Why, I’m one of your converts." Said Moody in reply, "That must be true, for you surely aren’t one of the Lord’s." The gospel promises not only forgiveness of sins but also new life. When a person receives this new life, his or her life should begin to show some changes. Larry Richards - Somehow the young woman in Canada got my Phoenix phone number. She began to call me, sometimes several times a day. She was anxious and afraid. She didn’t know if she was a Christian, though she believed in Jesus. When the fears came flooding back, she dialed my number. She was an extreme case, but many Christians have moments of uncertainty. How can we know that we’ve come to know Him? John gave three tests. First, we obey His commands (v. 5). A person wearing the uniform of the U.S. Army obeys the orders of officers over him. That’s part of being a soldier. Obeying Jesus is part of being a Christian, and shows that we acknowledge His authority. Second, we “walk as Jesus did” (v. 6). If we belong to Jesus we become more and more like Him. So when we respond to others and to life situations as Jesus did when He was here on earth, we show that we belong to Him. Third, we love our brothers (v. 9). You can’t hate others and belong to Jesus, because Christ loves others. People can say they belong to Christ, and be hateful and hating. But their actions deny their words. So take a look at yourself. Do you find you keep Jesus’ commands? Do you try to act as you think He would? Do you love your fellow Christians, and enjoy being with them? Then relax! You know Him. And others know you know Him as well! (Borrow The 365 day devotional commentary) David Jeremiah has written a fascinating devotional book called "Signs of Life." On Day 14 he has a chapter entitled "Physical Signs." Here is an excerpt from this chapter - Click here to read chapter Physical Signs - (Hint if book unavailable you can go to link and change page from 76 to 78 which should allow you to continue -- but I cannot guarantee it will work). Darkness and light cannot coexist since darkness, by definition, is the absence of light. Jesus and the apostle John talked about the incompatibility of spiritual darkness and spiritual light (John 3:19; 8:12 and 1 John 1:5; 2:9, respectively), and Paul expanded on the differences between believers and unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14–18). So when professing Christians never seem to find themselves hanging out with other Christians—for recreation, service, fellowship, study, or worship—they are creating telling evidence of their preferences. We wonder why they are choosing darkness over light. Detective Tom Hill, a thirty-year veteran of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, summarizes the point of this chapter: “You just can’t argue with physical evidence—you can’t.”4 That’s a tough statement. It is equally tough in the world of CSI—Christian Scene Investigation: the evidence tells the truth. So who are you? What do you do? Where do you go? And who are your friends? Take a fresh look at the physical evidence of your spiritual life. Remember, evidence always trumps personal impressions when it comes to establishing a solid verdict. SIGNS OF LIFE Life Sign: Every day I create incriminating evidence to prove that I am a follower of Christ. Life Verse: The good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden. 1 Timothy 5:25 Life in Action: What can I do to improve my chances of being convicted of being a Christian? Practicing What We Preach Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 1 John 2:9 Today's Scripture & Insight : 1 John 2:7–11 Pastor and writer Eugene Peterson had the opportunity to hear a lecture by Swiss physician and highly respected pastoral counselor Paul Tournier. Peterson had read the doctor’s works, and admired his approach to healing. The lecture left a deep impression on Peterson. As he listened, he had the feeling that Tournier lived what he spoke and spoke what he lived. Peterson chose this word to describe his experience: “Congruence. It is the best word I can come up with.” Congruence—it’s what some refer to as “practicing what you preach” or “walking your talk.” The apostle John stresses that if any of us “claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister,” then we’re “still in the darkness” (1 John 2:9). In essence, our lives and our words simply don’t match up. John goes further to say such people “do not know where they are going” (v. 11). The word he chose to describe how incongruence leaves us? Blind. In what ways does the word congruence describe you? How can you grow to live a more consistent life? Jesus, I want my words and actions to match up. There are times I fall short, but my desire is to grow more consistent each day. Help me, please, so that everyone listening and watching my life will be drawn to You. The Light Of The World - By Vernon C. Grounds One dark and ominous night during World War II, a US aircraft carrier was plowing through heavy seas in the South Pacific. All lights were out because of enemy submarines. One plane was missing. Somewhere in that pitch-black sky it was circling in a seemingly futile search for the carrier—its only landing place, its only hope of not being swallowed up by the giant ocean. The ship’s captain, knowing the terrible risk involved, gave the order, “Light up the ship.” Soon the plane zoomed onto the deck like a homing pigeon. At Bethlehem, knowing the risk, God gave the command, “Light up the world.” Then Jesus was born. A new and radiant light began to shine, pushing back the darkness of the world, of spiritual ignorance, and of sin and despair. Like a ship lit up in an otherwise darkened sea of sinful humanity, Christ came as “the light of the world” (John 8:12). John wrote, “The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8). When Jesus the Savior entered this world, it was like the sunrise breaking radiantly over the horizon of human history (Luke 1:78-79). Long ago in Bethlehem One cold and starry night, Jesus came from heaven above To bring us love and light. —Fitzhugh Without the light of Jesus, we would be in the dark about God. 1John 2:10 The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. (NASB: Lockman) Greek: ο αγαπων τον αδελφον αυτου εν τω φωτι μενει και σκανδαλον ουκ εστιν εν αυτω Amplified: Whoever loves his brother [believer] abides (lives) in the Light, and in It or in him there is no occasion for stumbling or cause for error or sin. (Lockman) Berkley (Modern Language): He who loves his brother remains in the light and there is nothing within him to occasion stumbling. ESV: Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. KJV: He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. HCSB: The one who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. NET: The one who loves his fellow Christian resides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. NIV: Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. NLT: Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.
1 João 2:7-11
Stedman adds "But notice that the apostle is careful to make a distinction between walking in the darkness, and being in the darkness. To be "in the darkness" is to be unregenerated, as you see also from 1Jn 3:14." (See sermon Visible Christianity | 1 John 2:7-11) John Stott - The person with hatred in his heart, however, because he is in the darkness, also walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him (1Jn 2:11; cf. Pr 4:19). Hatred distorts our perspective. We do not first misjudge people and then hate them as a result; our view of them is already jaundiced by our hatred. It is love which sees straight, thinks clearly and makes us balanced in our outlook, judgments and conduct. Cf. John 8:12; 11:9-10; 12:35. (Borrow The Letters of John or see The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary - Page 99) David
1 João 2:7-11
Stedman comments on walk writing "I like that figure because a walk, of course, merely consists of two simple steps, repeated over and over again. It is not a complicated thing. In the same way, the Christian life is a matter of taking two steps, one step after another. Then you are beginning to walk. Those two steps follow in this passage. Paul describes them as, "Put off the old man" (Col 3:5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 see note) and "put on the new." (see specific attitudes and actions in Col 3:12-4:6) Then repeat them. That is all. Keep walking through every day like that. That is how Scripture exhorts us to live." (True Human Potential) WALK, WALKING - EXCERPT FROM Dictionary of Biblical Imagery page 3096 In biblical times walking was the most common way of going somewhere, even over long distances. It is not surprising, then, that references to walking in the Bible number well over two hundred (and in some versions nearly three hundred). A survey of references to the physical act of walking reveal that Jesus is the most persistent pedestrian in the Bible. Beyond the literal mechanics of movement by foot, walking at a more figurative level becomes a prime metaphor for two (often related) motifs-interaction with someone else (a companion on a metaphoric walk) or a person’s lifestyle (with the image of walking suggesting continuing progress in time and in a chosen direction). Followers of the Way. NT references to walking build on OT motifs. Walking now becomes a metaphor for how Christians are expected to live. John alone among the Gospels portrays Jesus as encouraging his people to walk in the light rather than in darkness (Jn 8:12; 11:9). This expression also occurs in John’s letters, which are small classics in the literature of how Christians are to live. Believers are not to walk in darkness (1 Jn 1:1–6; 2 Jn 11) but in the light (1 Jn 1:7); they “must walk as Jesus did” (1 Jn 2:6 NIV), in the truth (2 Jn 4; 3 Jn 3–4), in obedience to God’s commands and in love (2 Jn 6). In Paul’s letters the figurative use of walking is primarily drawn from Paul’s extensive practice of it. In keeping with his tendency toward heightened contrasts, Paul portrays the Christian life in terms of contrasting walks: Christians are to walk in newness of life rather than death (Rom 6:4), in good works rather than trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1–2, 10), as children of light instead of darkness (Eph 5:8), with moral self-control rather than in sensuality (Rom 13:13), by faith rather than sight (2 Cor 5:7). Summary. Walking is one of the Bible’s vivid metaphors for how godly people should live, both positively in terms of what to follow and negatively in warnings about what to avoid. Unfortunately, some recent translations tend to replace the concrete vigor of the original with prosaic words like live, conduct or behave. The result is to diminish a reader’s capacity to allow concrete, everyday activities to become windows on divine realities. (Click for full article Dictionary of Biblical Imagery page 3096) Blinded (5186)(tuphloo/typhloo from tuphlos = blind from a root tuph/typh- = to burn, smoke, cp tuphos = smoke) to envelop with smoke and in the active sense means to make blind, to rob of sight. The figurative sense means to be unable to "see" (understand, comprehend) some truth, especially spiritual truth. The only other uses in NT are Jn 12:40 (of God blinding eyes) and 2Cor 4:4+ (of Satan blinding eyes). TUPHLOO - 3V - Jn. 12:40; 2 Co. 4:4; 1 Jn. 2:11 Ralph Enlow writes that "Scripture often employs the imagery of blindness to describe the spiritual condition of persons who are either unable or unwilling to perceive divine revelation. The things of God are perceived not by observation and inquiry, but by revelation and illumination (Mt 11:25, 26, 27; 1Co 1:21; 2Pe 1:19, 20, 21-note). It is the Lord who "gives sight to the blind" (Ps 146:8; Is 42:16)… Spiritual blindness, then, refers in some instances to the inability of unbelievers to comprehend spiritual truth, specifically failure to recognize the true identity of the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ (Jn 1:1, 14). (Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology) Going (get, go their way, go away, goes, went) (5217)(hupago from hupo = under or denoting secrecy + ago = to go) means literally to lead under or to bring under and is used in this sense only once in the only use in the Septuagint/Lxx in Ex 14:21 (to translate "swept… back" - caused to recede). Most commonly hupago means to go, to go away, to withdraw one's self (e.g., of Jesus' departure from the world (Jn 8:14, etc). Hupago has the notion of withdrawing. The idea of hupago is not so much of preceding to a definite point, but of leaving the present scene. In other words, it often means ‘to go’, with the implication of going in a certain direction, as to the house of Jairus (Lk 8:42). Most of the uses of hupago are used without a direct object. In other words,; the “where” of the going is not specifically stated and is usually understood from the context. Hupago is used most often in the Gospels (70x) and is frequently (36x) used as a command (present imperative) calling for for one to continually go (go away, depart), most of these commands being issued by Jesus. These uses by our Lord testify to His authority of Christ = over physical illness (Mt 8:13); directing His followers on mission (Lk 10:3); directing the disciples with details for His triumphal entry (Mark 11:2); Satan (or demons) to go (be gone, go away). (Mt 4:10, 8:32, 16:23, Lk 11:8). It is notable that Jesus does not need to engage in a "power struggle" over the demonic forces, usually commanding them to with this one verb hupago! Go! Mounce - hupago means “to go” in the sense of departing (Mt 4:10, “Away from me, Satan!”) or accompanying (Mt 5:41, “Go with him two miles”). It is used figuratively to refer to dying (Mt 26:24, “The Son of Man will go just as it is written”) or to an outward sign of conversion (Jn 12:11, “Many of the Jews were going over to Jesus”) The phrase, “Get behind me” (Mk 8:33) may reflect the Hebrew idea of both contempt and rejection. Going and bearing fruit are also a part of what it means to be chosen by God (Jn 15:16, “I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit.”). Jesus uses the verb often in the gospel of John to refer to “where he is going,” namely, to his Father in heaven (Jn 8:14; 13:3; 14:4-5, 28). (Mounce's complete expository dictionary of Old & New Testament words) Louw-Nida - Hupago means to lead (oneself) under, i.e. withdraw or retire (as if sinking out of sight), lit. or fig.:— depart, get hence, go (a-) way.
1 João 2:15
Stedman remarks that 1 John 2:15-17 deals with "the supreme peril to fellowship and therefore the greatest peril to Christian maturity. Here is a great enemy of the Christian, the siren voice that seeks to lure us aside, trap us, delude us and ultimately to defeat us, in our Christian experience. (1 John 2:15-17: The Enemy Around)
1 João 2:24
Stedman: It is clearly a twofold process that our Lord asks: "Abide in me" that is the active voice. That is something we are expected to do. We imitate that. "Remain in me." "Abide in me." "Follow me." "And I in you." The implication is, "Let me abide in you." That is passive. It is not something we can initiate but something we can expect to happen and trust God for. It takes both to be a fruitful, Christlike Christian. One alone is not enough. This is where many Christians make a mistake. They work at one or the other but not at both. When I was 22, I got my first car -- a beautiful Model A Ford with a rumble seat in the back. As I recall I paid $15 for it from my brother, who had earlier bought it for $35. (If I still had it today it would be worth thousands of dollars.) Since it was a used car it had used car problems. Occasionally it would refuse to start. The first time I had this difficulty, I called my older brother, who was much more mechanically minded than I, and asked him to help me. He handed me a screwdriver and showed me where to put it on the spark plug, and said, "Hold that." I stood there, innocently holding the screwdriver. Suddenly I felt a terrible jolt run up my arm that almost took the top of my head off. His only comment was, "Well, the spark's OK!" Then he began to work on the carburetor. After a little adjustment here and there, he finally got the car going. But I had forcefully driven home to me a fact I have never forgotten since: It takes both gas and spark to run a car. One alone will never do it. And when our Lord says, "Abide in me and I in you," it takes both to be a fruitful Christian. Many Christians concentrate on one or the other, but not both. But notice here that one without the other always results in the same thing -- fruitlessness. It may make you active as a Christian, and even apparently successful, but you are not rendered Christlike unless both are there. In Verse 4, Jesus takes up the first requirement, "Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me." The word "abide" is the simple word, "remain." "Stay with me," he is saying. "Keep close to me." In other places, it is the word, "Follow me," "do what I say," "obey my commands," "search the Scriptures," "allow the Spirit to transform you by the renewing of your mind." Renewal comes by the Word of God. Love one another, forgive one another, reach out to one another, minister to one another. Those are his commands. There must also be prayer: "Pray the Father," he says in this very discourse, "and he will give you… " (John 14:16 RSV). These are the disciplines of the Christian life. We must learn early that there is no chance of being a Christlike Christian unless we discipline our life, initiating habits of searching the Scriptures, praying with others, loving each other, forgiving one another, worshipping together, etc. There is no possibility of growth and bearing fruit without that. "Unless you abide in the vine you cannot bear fruit." (Full sermon - The Vine and the Fruit | John 15:1-11) Robert Hawker: Jesus meant by the expression to say, that by his Holy Spirit, which he was going from them purposely to send, they should be enabled to abide in him. The words, according to my view, are similar to that sweet scripture of Christ, when Jesus breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. John 20:22. This was no precept: commanding them to receive what they had no power to take hold of, without the Lord making them receivers, of what he communicated. In like manner here. Abide in me. Jesus undertakes for them, that they shall abide in him. (John 15 - Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary) William
1 João 2:24
Stedman - Now look a little more closely at the word which John employs here. He says, "Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you." That means more than simply reading your Bible once in a while. That means more than to read it in a rather cursory way, then shut the book and mark off on the list that you've done your Bible reading for today. This word abide, literally, means "to remain in you." Or perhaps the closer word would be, "possess you." It is exactly what we would mean when we say to a guest who comes into our house, "Make yourself at home." Of course, they know that we really do not mean that. It is a polite expression and does not mean, "Take over the house and do what you would like," but, rather, "In the rooms that you have already been given access to, feel free to move around a bit, if you like, but don't go in the bedrooms, and stay out of the closets." But if we really meant that statement we would be saying, "Possess this house as though it were yours. Go anywhere you like, do anything you like, make yourself at home as though you were really home." And that is what this word (meno) means. John is saying, "Let this message which was from the beginning make itself at home in your heart, in your life, possess you -- spirit, soul and body. Let it grip you, mind, emotion, and will. Let it lay hold of you, your whole being." This is the first and necessary step to the goal that he has in mind, the fullness of God manifest in you. See how he links this inescapably with the Word of God. Let the Word abide in you. Now here is our trouble. When we read the Bible we really do not want it to move into the whole house, we only want it to move into one room or two. We want it to occupy the room of our mental acumen, the library, if you like, the study. Many people read the Bible that way. They study it intellectually for the knowledge of the times in which we live. Perhaps the prophetic passages because they are simply interested in discovering what the program of God is for the future. Or they study certain of the moral standards or ethical teachings of the Bible, like the Sermon on the Mount, since they are only interested in extracting from it certain intellectual, academic, moral teachings, and that is all they want. There are others (I am afraid, perhaps, a majority), who study the Bible only for the stirring of emotions that it gives. You can do that, you know. That is why we love to read certain favorite passages. I know people who open the Bible and invariably read the same passages over and over -- the 23rd Psalm, the 14th chapter of John, or the 6th chapter of Romans. Why? Because these truths, as they read, stir them. It blesses and stirs their hearts. These are beautiful passages, and beautiful thoughts, and they stir the emotions. That is why we turn to these favorite passages. We love the good feeling we get from reading these passages that have spoken to us in the past, and reading them again wakens memories and we are stirred anew. But that is all. After we have read them and our emotions have been stirred, we close the Bible and go out to live just as we have always lived. There is no difference. When this happens, we may be religious, certainly we are "churchy," and no one can deny that we are reading the Bible, but, yet, the Word of God is not abiding in us and that is the necessary thing. Now, John is urging toward this. He is saying let the Word grip you. Let it confront you intellectually first, that is always the gateway through which God makes his appeal to man. Understand what God is saying. Meditate on these passages until you see the truth, you know what God is saying. Read them again and again and let them burn into you, muse and meditate upon them until they grip you. (Ed: NOT ONLY read again and again, but LEARN TO READ WITH A PURPOSE - this is where inductive Bible study, especially learning the basic skills of observation is absolutely invaluable!) Then as you find you understand the truth you will discover that it has done something to your emotions. It has moved and gotten hold of you, you are captivated by it, you are held by it, you are compelled by it. When that happens, that moving of your emotions, then respond to it: submit yourself, obey it. This is what the Scripture calls acting or living by faith; obeying the truth made known to the mind, gripping the emotions, and thus moving the will. That is the Word of God abiding in you, possessing you. Let that happen, the apostle says, i.e., make provision for it, set a time for this, make room in your life for this. (See full sermon The Living Word | 1 John 2:24-25)
1 João 2:24
Stedman adds some very practical comments in his exposition in which he explains that the fulfillment of the promise (of abiding in the Son and the Father) "is inescapable. If the Word, if the truth of God has possessed you, then you will be possessed by the Son and by the Father, i.e., by the fullness of God which is in the Son and the Father. Notice, it is the same word he uses, "then you will abide in [be possessed by, gripped by] the Son and the Father." This is, of course, nothing more than what Jesus himself had said to his disciples in the Upper Room, as recorded in the 14th chapter of John. If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode (this is the Greek word "mone" = mansion, resting place, habitation - Believers today are the resting place of the Son and the Father [and the Spirit - 1Cor 3:16, 1Cor 6:19-20-note)]!!! We are the answer in a sense to Jehovah's question in Isaiah 66:1! Amazing Grace indeed!) with him. (John 14:23). (The Triune God is promising) We will abide in him, we will dwell in him, we will move in him, we will go about with him wherever he goes. We will be with him at his work, we will be with him at his home, we will be with him in his relationships with others, we will be with him in his problems, we will be with him in his joys, we will be with him when he is confronted with temptations to anger and temper, we will be with him all the time. We will make our home with him. This is what John is saying. "If what you have heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father." Now there is a difference, as you know, between being "in" something, and "abiding in" something. Our Lord made that clear in John 15 in the parable of the vine and the branches. He said, "I am the vine, and you are the branches," (John 15:5a RSV). The branch was in the vine by virtue of union, and the life of the vine (or some of it, at least) was being imparted to the branch so that it could bear leaves. But it could not bear fruit under that relationship. He pointed out that if a branch is to bear fruit, it must abide in the vine, i.e., the fullness of the vine must be in the branch. Not just enough life to sustain it, but all that the vine is, is to be imparted to the branch, and the result would be fruit, and more fruit, and much fruit (Jn 15:5,8) to the complete satisfying of the owner of the vineyard. This is what our Lord called abiding, i.e., all the life of the vine accepted by the branch. This, you will notice is a reciprocal relationship. To the degree that you act in faith, obeying the Word, to that same degree the Father and the Son will be in you, performing the Word. This explains why there is sometimes so much difference between Christians. One Christian, even one relatively young in the faith, can seem to be so abundantly full of the character of Jesus Christ, manifesting the fruit of the Spirit in such abundance, while another Christian who, perhaps, has been a Christian for years, is still crabbed and ugly in temper and disposition, and there is little of the fruit of the Spirit. What is the difference? One has allowed himself to be possessed by the Word, and thus he is possessed by the Father and the Son. If you obey little, you will experience little. If you obey much, you will experience much. To the degree that you give yourself to God in understanding and obeying his Word, to that same degree he gives himself to you. That is what John is teaching us. That is why the Apostle Paul in that wonderful 3rd chapter in Philippians says, "I am not claiming absolute perfection, but I press on that I may apprehend that for which I have been apprehended, i.e., that I may lay hold of that for which he has laid hold of me, that I may possess him in order that he may fully possess me," See Php 3:12-14-note). Now if this reciprocal relationship is true, this suggests certain conclusions that must inevitably follow. If it is true, as it surely is true, that God gives Himself to us in the same degree that we give ourselves to Him, then I see three things that result from this: First, you can have all that Christ is, if you are ready to take Him. There is no limit to the degree to which He will give Himself to you, if there is no limit to the degree to which you are ready to believe and obey Him. You can have all that He is, in any situation, at any given moment, if you are ready to take it by an act of obedient faith. Second, if that is true, then it is also true that you will only have as much as you are satisfied with. God will never give more to you beyond what you really want. God never forces blessing upon anyone. This is why Christians can live, sometimes for decades, in weakness, and folly, in barrenness, fruitlessness and despair, because they do not really want more from God. Nothing has awakened them to hunger and thirst after righteousness (Mt 5:6-note). They are content to live at that low level, and God will never force more upon them. Oh, He will try to wake them up, by one means or another, but He will never bless them, cannot bless them, beyond that which they are willing to take. The third conclusion is: You have now, therefore (if you understand this), all that you really want from God. Your present level of life is indication that is all you want. So do not blame God if your life is not filled with the blessing and fullness that the Scriptures seem to promise. It is not His fault. You now have all that you really want, because you can have from Him all that you are ready to take. If your life is not satisfying to you, as a Christian, it is not God's fault; it is that you are not yet willing, for one reason or another, to take from Him all that He is ready to give, out of the fullness of His being. (See full sermon The Living Word | 1 John 2:24-25) Brian Harbour talks about how to finish well using a baseball illustration - You don't know the name Bobo Holloman, and there is a reason for it. Bob Holloman was a baseball player, a pitcher. He was one of the young players Bill Veeck brought up to play for the St. Louis Browns a few decades back. Hollomon kept bugging Veeck and the manager for a starting assignment, and they finally gave him one against the Athletics. Everything the A's hit was a rocket, but everything was right at somebody, so instead of hits they were outs. In the eighth inning, the second baseman made a miraculous play to rob the batter of a hit. With two outs in the ninth, the first baseman caught a screaming line drive down the line. The game was over. Hollomon had a no-hitter, the first twentieth-century no-hitter achieved by a pitcher in his first major league start. What an incredible start to his career. Great days were ahead for Bobo Holloman. Not really. Fact is, he never even pitched another complete game and by the end of the year he was back in the minors, never to see the major league again. Bobo Holloman started well; he just didn't finish well. That happens to restaurants. There are about 555,000 restaurants in the United States with new restaurants starting each year. But more than half of all new restaurants fail within the first three years. They start well; they just don't finish well. That happens to churches. There are approximately 375,000 church congregations in the United States. About 80% of all U.S. churches have either leveled out in attendance, are declining, or are dying. They start well; they just don't finish well. That also happens to "Christians." From the time of Paul's reference in his second letter to Timothy about Demas—"Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me" (2Ti 4:10)—the church has been plagued with the problem of people who claim to have faith but whose faith fizzles at the finish. (Notable Harbour Verse-by-Verse Studies) ABIDE MENO WORD STUDY Abide (3306)(meno) in simple terms means to remain in the same place or position over a period of time. It means to reside, stay, live, lodge, tarry or dwell. Menō describes something that remains where it is, continues in a fixed state, or endures. Meno can mean "to take up permanent residence" or "to make yourself at home." Meno is the root of the Greek noun mone which means mansion or habitation (Jn 14:2, 23). More than one half of the uses of meno are by John in his Gospel and letters. Here is a summary of some of the nuances of meno related specifically to dwelling or abiding in Christ - (1) to dwell in God (or Christ) means that we walk as Christ walked (1Jn 2:6, Php 2:5, Jn 13:15); (2) to dwell in Christ means that we don’t habitually live in sin (1Jn 3:6); (3) to dwell in Christ means that we continue in His Word (Jn 8:31, 1Jn 2:17); (4) to dwell in Christ means that we bear fruit (Jn 15:5, Heb 13:5, Col 1:10, Ro 6:22, Php 4:7, 1Co 16:5, Jn 4:36) THOUGHT - This short list describing abiding in Christ begs the simple question - How is your daily abiding in Christ going beloved? Are you walking like He walked, in the power of the Spirit? Are you daily fighting off temptations to sin against God? Are you daily in His living Word and even more important is it truly in (being assimilated into your inner man - cf 2Co 3:18+), or is it in one ear in the morning and out the other by noon (cf Jas 1:22+)? Is the Spirit bearing fruit in your life, fruit that will endure throughout eternity (Jn 15:16+)? Let me encourage you, by God's Spirit and Word, to redeem the short time you have left, doing all for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph 5:16KJV+). Amen. Louw-Nida - 1. stay, remain, abide (to remain in the same place over a period of time) (Acts 27:31); 2. wait for, remain in a place or state, and expect something in future (Acts 20:5); 3. continue to exist, remain in existence (Mt 11:23); 4. keep on, continue in an activity or state, as an aspect of an action (2Jn 9) Analytical Lexicon - (1) intransitively; (a) of someone or something remaining where it is remain in a place, stay, tarry (Mt 10.11), opposite exerchomai (go away, depart); (b) in a more permanent sense dwell, live, lodge (Jn 1.38); (c) figuratively, as remaining unchanged in a sphere or realm continue, abide, remain (2Ti 2.13); (d) figuratively, as remaining in a fixed state or position keep on, remain, abide (1Cor 7.11; Heb 7.3); (e) of persons continuing on through time last, remain, continue to live (Jn 12.34), opposite apothnesko (die, perish); (f) of things continuing on through time last, be permanent, endure (Heb 13.14); (2) transitively; (a) as expecting someone or something wait for, await (Acts 20.5); (b) of things, such as danger, that threaten await, face (Acts 20.23) (Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament- Barbara Friberg and Neva F. Mille Timothy Friberg) Stephen Renn - The meaning "remain" in the sense of "be preserved" is indicated hypothetically in the case of the city of Sodom in Matt. 11:23; and also literally in regard to the earthly destiny of the disciple, John (John 21:23). The idea of remaining unmarried is found in 1 Cor. 7:11 (cf. also 1 Cor. 7:20, 24). More commonly, menō is translated "remain" in the senses of "stay," "rest on," in several contexts. Menō refers to staying in a house as a guest (Luke 10:7; 19:5; John 2:12; 4:40; Acts 9:43); or more generally, to staying in a particular place (cf. John 8:31; 10:40). John 1:32 refers to the Spirit coming to permanently "rest on" the person of Christ. Paul's determination to "stay" with the Philippian congregation for the purposes of nurturing them is indicated in Phil. 1:25. John 19:31 refers to the Mosaic legislation that forbids allowing bodies to remain on a cross of execution during the Sabbath day. Where believers are concerned, their state of "remaining" in Christ, referring to their intimate relationship with Him, is indicated in John 6:56; 1John 2:24, 28; 3:6. Conversely, unbelievers are said "to remain" in darkness (John 12:46); and 2Cor. 3:14 affirms that the veil of unbelief remains over their understanding. Menō is also predicated of Christ and God. God's word is to remain in the heart and life of the believer (1John 2:24); as is God's love (1Jn 3:17). In a negative context, the unbeliever is denied the presence of God's word in his heart (cf. John 5:38). God himself is said to remain faithful (2Ti 2:13); and Jn 12:35 declares that Christ remains forever. The qualities of faith, hope, and love are said to remain, or endure (1Cor 13:13). Jn 9:41 refers to guilt remaining. (Expository Dictionary of Bible Words) TDNT - 1. Meno means a. “to stay in a place,” figuratively “to remain in a sphere,” b. “to stand against opposition,” “to hold out,” “to stand fast,” c. “to stay still,” and d. “to remain,” “to endure,” “to stay in force.” 2. There is also a transitive use “to expect someone.” The meaning of menō (“abide”) in John 15 has provoked much debate. Reformed commentators equate it to believe. Free Grace advocates uniformly understand menō (“abide”) to indicate communion or fellowship with Christ. The Word of God abides forever (1Pe 1:23,25); Jesus abides forever (Jn 12:34); and so does the new covenant (2Corinthians 3:11). Unbelievers abide in darkness and death (John 12:46; 1 John 3:14), but Christians abide in Christ (Jn 6:56; 15:4-7). IVP New Testament Commentary - To remain (Ed: Especially in many of John's uses in a moral or ethical sense) implies the maintenance of a stable and vital—but not static!—fellowship with God. In the words of one author, abiding suggests "utter and dependable permanence" (Houlden 1973:82). (1 John 2 Commentary) Meno is used to describe the Holy Spirit coming on Jesus and remaining (Jn 1:32-33). Meno is used figuratively to describe the wrath of God abiding (continually = present tense) on all who do not believe in Jesus as their Savior (Jn 3:36). How does Jesus abide (meno) in us? In Jn 15:7 He said it would be through His Word, with the aid of the Spirit (Jn 16:13, 14:26). The disciples could abide in Christ by being obedient to His Word (Jn 15:10). Most of the uses in Acts and in the Synoptic Gospels (and several times in John - Jn 1:38-39, 2:12, et al) refer to physically continuing in a place and/or lodging there. When meno is used of one staying or dwelling with another physically, it often still has an ethical sense in that it implies fellowship, intimacy, communion as discussed more fully in the following paragraph. In many of the uses of meno the translation as to stay, to remain, to abide, etc, implies more that just position (i.e., more than them just physically staying, remaining or abiding somewhere), but when used of persons staying, remaining or abiding, meno often includes the ideas of fellowship, friendship, communion, companionship and harmony. For example, read Mt. 10:11, Mt. 26:38, Lk 1:56, 19:5, Jn 1:39-40, et al, where the idea is not only physical presence but relational interaction. In short, meno used in this sense speaks of an at-homeness with someone. Most of us would not invite someone to remain in our home if we were out of fellowship with them! And so you can see that meno can convey the idea of making someone feel at home -- think of this sense in uses in which Jesus abides in us (Jn 15:5). THOUGHT - Do we "make Him feel at home?" Do we say, do or watch things in our home He is in that might make Him uncomfortable or "uneasy?" I am very convicted by my own question! First-Second John repeatedly (25x in 18v) uses meno followed by the preposition "in" (en). Many of John's uses parallel one of Paul's favorite phrases "in Christ" - 1Jn 2:6 (in Him = Christ); 1Jn 2:10 (in the light); 1Jn 2:14 (word of God abides in you); 1Jn 2:24 (in you = the teaching, the truth, in the Son and the Father), 1Jn 2:27 (in you = the anointing abides ~ Spirit; in Him = in Christ); 1Jn 2:28 (in Him = Christ); 1Jn 3:6 (in Him = in Christ); 1Jn 3:9 (in him = God's seed in him); 1Jn 3:14 (in death); 1Jn 3:15 (in him = eternal life does not abide in habitual haters); 1Jn 3:17 (in him = love of God does not abide); 1Jn 3:24 (in Him = in Christ; in us = Christ in us); 1Jn 4:12 (in us = God abides in us); 1Jn 4:13 (in Him = in Christ or in God); 1Jn 4:15 (in him = God in confessors); 1Jn 4:16 (in love… in God and God abides in him); 2Jn 1:2 (in us = truth); 2Jn 1:9 (used twice - in the teaching)
1 João 2:24
Stedman: That again is the first work of the Father -- removing the fruitless branches. Those like Judas who gather with the people of God for awhile appear to be believers -- they show a certain degree of life. Leaves are present -- but there is no fruit. Ultimately these people disappear from our midst. They do not stay with it. As the Lord makes clear, it is a process: There is first the "withering" of the life they apparently had for awhile. Then the branches are "gathered," then "thrown into the fire," and ultimately "burned." Here we must refer to those verses where Jesus speaks of the end of the age, when the angels will come and gather out of the Kingdom of God all that offend, and throw them into eternal fire, and they are burned, Matthew 25:41-46). (Full sermon - The Vine and the Fruit | John 15:1-11) J C
1 João 2:24
Stedman: In Northern California, where we are so abundantly provided with vineyards, at a certain time of the year vinekeepers cut of certain "sucker shoots" from the vines. It is because they will never bear fruit. They will grow leaves abundantly, but they will never produce fruit. If allowed to remain, these shoots will actually sap the life of the vine and greatly reduce the quantity of fruit it will bear. The first work of the vinekeeper is to totally remove fruitless branches. We do not have to guess what this (Jn 15:2) means, although many commentators have struggled with this. It had recently happened to one of the disciples. The Father had removed Judas, the fruitless branch from the disciples' band. This was the work of God. Within the congregation of the faithful there appear from time to time men and women who appear to be believers, but they will never become fruitful branches. They may give every evidence of life, as Judas did, for he manifested the power of Christ to heal the sick, raise the dead and to cast out demons, etc. But they have never borne true fruit and never will. It is the work of the Father to remove them. In John's first letter, the apostle says of certain people: "They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out that it might be plain that they all are not of us," (1 John 2:19 RSV). This is the work of selecting those who are fruit bearing Christians and removing those who are not. This has happened again and again throughout the history of the church. (Full sermon - The Vine and the Fruit | John 15:1-11) John 15:7+ "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.