Hello everyone. Let’s continue in the series of Bible Studies through the book of 1 John. So if you’ll get your Bible and follow along. We’ll begin in 1 John 5:1.
1 Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: —
And the proper translation should be there is begotten of God. They have God’s Holy Spirit in a begotten way. We are born of God at the resurrection as we’ve already explained.
1 — and every one that loves him that begat loves him also that is begotten of him.
In other words, we love God for begetting us with His Holy Spirit, and we love those who have been begotten with His Holy Spirit. We are to love God and love our brethren. This has been made plain throughout the writings of John, the apostle who was known for love.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
Have you noticed as we go through this series of Bible Studies through the book of 1 John that he talks about love a lot and he connects it with obeying the Ten Commandments? Sometimes that connection is not made by others who talk about love, and others who talk about the Ten Commandments. But, you know, the two go together.
Verse 3, isn’t that what it says here?
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
Or burdensome. You can’t separate the two. The love of God involves keeping His commandments, and keeping His commandments involves loving God and loving neighbor. That is a truth right straight from the Bible that is not understood by very many people. Religions of this world generally separate those two. They teach that, well, if you really love God, you’re not going to be bothered with keeping those harsh commandments, or if you keep those harsh commandments, that brings you in bondage and takes you away from the love of God. When in fact the Bible teaches the two go together.
The commandments are not grievous. They are not harsh. They are not burdensome. They are tremendous. They give us freedom. They are about loving God and loving neighbor. And when you talk about the love of God, it says here, it’s going to take you to the subject of keeping the commandments. The two go together.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
Now, there are not two sets of commandments. There’s not a set of commandments that were given on Mount Sinai, and then the set of commandments that came after Christ was resurrected from the dead. Christ said, “I and my Father are one.” And there are not two sets of commandments, one coming from Christ and one coming from the Father. There’s one set of commandments called the law, and it is God’s law. And actually Christ is the one who gave the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai because He’s the God of the Old Testament.
There’s one set of commandments, and they belong to the Father and the Son. So when you read about the commandments, you take it in context and you’ll see it’s talking about the Ten Commandments, the law of God.
Continuing now, verse 4.
4 For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.
Once again, whatsoever is begotten of God. We become overcomers. We overcome the pull of the world. We overcome the influence of Satan, and we overcome the dominance of our human nature. And we begin to have the nature of God in us and we start to become totally involved in a relationship with the Great Creator. We become more like Jesus Christ. We walk with God. We grow in conversion. We become a new creature in Christ and we walk in newness of life. What a tremendous change that takes place. And it is a life of overcoming, of growing, of developing holy, righteous, spiritual character in us. God is the one who develops that in us.
5 Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
We look to Him in faith. We follow Him. We don’t jump out ahead of Him. We don’t pull alongside of Him. We don’t drift a long way behind Him, but we follow closely in His footsteps, reflecting Him, and becoming more and more like Him. Paul said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” You check the word and it means imitate or emulate me as I emulate or imitate Jesus Christ. And as we do that, we start thinking more the way He thinks and we become more like Him. We can never rise to that level until we’re resurrected and born again. But in this life through the power of the Holy Spirit that comes from God, we can become more and more like Jesus Christ in our walk with Him. It starts with believing in Him, on Him, and actually believing Him in what He says.
6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.
That’s right. We have to repent and the blood of Jesus Christ is applied to us. We have to be baptized, covered with water, completely immersed. And then we have to have the laying on of hands and we receive God’s Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ Himself was baptized. Jesus Christ Himself set us the example that we should follow in His footsteps. And so verse 6 is really talking about the process of repentance, baptism, and receiving God’s Holy Spirit.
Now continue in verse 7.
7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one.
8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
Now here’s a case where we learn something about proving all things. You know, at Ambassador College, we went through the subject of the translations of the Bible thoroughly and repeatedly, and year after year. And we checked as far back as you could go in the Greek manuscripts and in the Hebrew manuscripts—the Bible being written in Hebrew as far as the Old Testament is concerned, and Greek as far as the New Testament is concerned. And so you cannot get back to the one original Hebrew manuscript or the one original Greek manuscript, but you can get back to original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts taken from the original Hebrew and Greek manuscript. And so God has seen to it that you can have an accurate translation of the Bible into English or into other languages. And the most accurate and dependable and correct translation of the Bible is the Authorized King James. It has some translation errors.
Now, the New King James version is very accurate and very good also and it puts it in modern language. So you put those two together and relying as the final word on the Authorized King James version, and if God is working with you and leading you and opening your mind, you can understand what He has revealed from His holy word, the Holy Bible. But the Bible interprets the Bible. So you can’t just go to the Greek and just go to the Hebrew because sometimes that can be misleading. That is helpful, but the final translation of the Bible that you rely on is what the Bible actually says as it interprets other scriptures of the Bible that are unclear. You take all the clear scriptures on the subject and put it with the scripture that is not clear on the subject, and the clear scriptures will make plain the unclear scripture on any one subject. And the Bible never contradicts itself. The scripture cannot be broken. So with that as a background, when you go back to 1 John 5:7–8, you can study any source you want to that is an authoritative source about the Bible and you will see that this is a spurious verse right here. I’m going to explain to you what I mean by that. You can check the commentaries, Adam Clarke; Jamieson, Fausset, Brown; and modern commentaries. You can check translations and versions of the Bible, modern translations and versions of the Bible. You put it all together and you will see that portions of verse 7 and portions of verse 8 are not inspired scripture. This is spurious and false scripture. This was inserted by men. These errors do not appear in the manuscript prior to the printing press is what most authorities will tell you. And you will not find them in any of the manuscripts except one, and some say two or three or four. But over 100 (something like 112) of the manuscripts in Greek do not contain these erroneous verses.
If you’re really going to rely on proper translations and proper versions of the Bible, proper manuscripts of the Bible, if you’re going to rely on those sources for your beliefs in terms of what the scriptures say, you’re going to find that the erroneous parts of verse 7 and verse 8 cannot be found in those manuscripts and in those versions of the Bible. You’ll find these verses in various translations, but they usually have a footnote saying, “this is not in the original manuscripts”. The footnote will say this was added later.
So even though you might have a good translation of the Bible and you’d find this here, look at the footnotes and you will see that they make it plain—they don’t belong there. Except for one or two versions and translations, and except for one or two or three manuscripts, this is the case. Just do a little study in some of the handbooks and some of the commentaries and in some of the various translations, looking at the footnotes and you’ll see that what I’ve said here is true.
So here’s the way this should read, here in 1 John 5:7–8.
7 For there are three that bear record.
8 — the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
The erroneous part of verse 7 and verse 8 is this: Starting with the phrase in heaven.
7 — [in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one.]
8 [And there are three that bear witness in earth”, ]
Those areas should be removed. Those areas are not scripture. Those words are not inspired of God. They were inserted by men to try to substantiate the false pagan teaching of the trinity. There are not three in the Godhead. There’s only the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is the power that comes from the Father and the Son. We’ve covered that at other times and we will in the future.
So please note in your Bible as you read through 1 John Chapter 5 and get to verse 7 and verse 8. The part of verse 7 that is false and not scriptural is this:
7 — [in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one.]
The part in verse 8 that is false and not scripture is this:
8 [And there are three that bear witness in earth,] —
You ought to bracket that and mark that as nonscripture. Here’s what verse 7 and verse 8 should say:
7 There are three that bear record.
8 — the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
Okay, now we’ll continue.
9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he has testified of his Son.
10 He that believeth on the Son of God has the witness in himself: he that believeth not God has made him a liar; because he believes not the record that God gave of his Son.
11 And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
Can you imagine? We need to think about that more. Eternal life. You know, we live physical lives. We’re born, we live our lives, we die. But that’s not the end of it. That’s an interruption, that’s a pause, that’s like going to sleep. That’s not the end of our lives. No, God is going to resurrect the human family at the appointed time that He has worked out in His plan of salvation. And everybody who has been given a chance for salvation (and that will include everyone) who takes that opportunity (and that will include most although some will turn their back on it and lose out); but everyone who takes that opportunity for salvation will then be given eternal life. That means life that will go on forever and ever and ever. There will be no pain or suffering or disappointment or heartache or disease or war. The commandments will be kept perfectly throughout all eternity. And the blessings and the happiness and the joy and the peace and the abundance and the productivity and the accomplishments and the tremendously exciting abundant living that comes from God the Father and Jesus Christ will be the way of life that is followed throughout all eternity, throughout the entire universe. That requires and should inspire us to think about that, to wrap our mind around that, and to focus and dwell on that more than the worries and the sorrows and the disappointments that occur in this life.
Let’s just read that again.
11 And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son has not life.
In other words, we have Jesus Christ in us so we have a measure of eternal life in us now in that we have the Son in us. We don’t have eternal life. We’re mortal, not immortal. But we have God’s Holy Spirit, we have the mind of Christ. And we have the way of life that God has laid out for us to live. So we’re in the process of being saved and in the process of having the gift of eternal life given to us at the resurrection. So we live the abundant life now and we have a glimpse of and a foretaste of the eternal life that we will be given when we are ushered in to the Kingdom of God and into the family of God through Christ. We have that down payment. We have that earnest in us now of eternal life if we’re walking with God and following Jesus Christ and overcoming and growing.
13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God.
We have that down payment of eternal life.
14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us:
That wouldn’t be love if we ask something against His will and He heard us. Then we would be receiving things from Him that wouldn’t be good for us. And that would mislead us and confuse us. And we would start to think that no matter what we do, we’re going to get good things. So we wouldn’t repent and change and overcome and do the right thing as opposed to the wrong thing. Because no matter what we do, all these wonderful things come our way; and that would just validate and perpetuate evil and disobedience and wrongdoing.
So you can understand why he says here in verse 14.
14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us:
Because you see, that’s what works. That’s what produces good things. That’s what brings about wonderful living and clarity of thought. And eventually that’s what leads to eternal life. What am I talking about here? I’m talking about asking anything according to His will. His will be done, not our will be done, must be our attitude.
15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
Why? Because we’re trying to obey Him. We want His will, not our will. We’re growing and overcoming and following Him. So when we ask according to His will, we can be assured He’s going to answer, He’s going to hear. We’re going to have what we need given to us from Almighty God. And even have what we don’t even think about—that He gives to us. He answers exceedingly above and beyond anything that we can think and ask. He knows even more than we know about what we’re asking. So many times not only will He give us what we’re asking, He gives us way more than what we’re asking, and much better than what we’re asking. But He tells us to ask, and to ask according to His will in faith.
Like a loving Father when he sees the right attitude, it gives him great joy just to smother his children with love and with blessings and with understanding.
16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
Sin is the transgression of the law as we’ve already seen. And no matter what sin we commit, God will forgive us if we repent. We have to repent. We have to go before God and confess our sins and be sorry for them—truly sorry. And then turn around and go the other way. We have to overcome them. And if we have that attitude of repentance and that attitude of overcoming, no matter what sin we’ve committed and no matter how often we’ve committed it, when we deeply repent and we look to God in faith and we trust Jesus Christ and His sacrifice, those sins through Christ will be forgiven—blotted out, and forgotten by Almighty God.
Now, we don’t keep on sinning, however. It’s not a matter of we sin, we repent; we sin, we repent; we sin, we repent, you know. We commit that sin; we say we’re sorry. Then we commit that sin; then we say we’re sorry. That’s not repentance. Repentance means we’re sorry for committing that sin or any sin. And then we start overcoming that sin. We quit doing that. With God’s help, we crush that and we move on pass that. And we overcome it. That’s what true repentance and conversion is all about. So any sin like that, God will forgive upon repentance through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Therefore that is not sinning unto death. Why? Because we’ve repented and God forgave us. And He gives us life then instead of death.
But what is this here in verse 16? What does this mean?
16 — There is a sin unto death: —
What does that mean? Well, that means someone who sins and who gets into a state of practicing sin. And they become hardened in that position, and their attitude becomes unyielding and unbending, and they become incorrigible. They know they’re doing wrong. They know they’re going in the wrong direction. But they will not change and they will not repent. Therefore they commit the unpardonable sin; therefore they’re going into the Lake of Fire.
What makes the unpardonable sin unpardonable is the individual will not repent. God will not forgive us of sins that we do not repent of. Now, that doesn’t mean we have to list every single sin we’ve committed. But the attitude of repentance—we must have that attitude of repentance when we get on our knees before Him. We don’t have to just go down the line listing everything we’ve done wrong, but we ask Him to forgive us of our sins, all of our sins—some of which we know about, some of which we don’t know about. But the attitude of repentance means we’re sorry for all of the sins that we have committed, and God forgives us of all of those sins through Christ.
But the sin that is a sin unto death, that is—the individual who commits that sin who will not repent. What that means when it says “There is a sin unto death” —that’s talking about an individual who becomes incorrigible, who knows better, who will not change, and who chooses the wrong way willfully and deliberately and viciously. And keeps on going in that way and will not change and hardens in that position. Well, if they don’t repent, they will not be forgiven. Therefore they will not be pardoned; therefore they are in a state of committing the unpardonable sin. Therefore they’re going to go in the Lake of Fire. A position none of us ever want to get into.
Now, I’ve had people come to me and they are fearful that they’ve committed the unpardonable sin. Anytime I’ve ever talked to anybody who is uptight and afraid that they’ve committed the unpardonable sin, I have found that they have not committed the unpardonable sin. They want to have their sins forgiven. They want to repent, and therefore God will forgive them when they repent.
But someone who has committed the unpardonable sin, they don’t care. They’re not concerned about it. They could care less. So don’t walk around uptight and fearful that you’ve committed the unpardonable sin. Just go and repent before God and ask Him to forgive you. And if you’re concerned about it, that’s a good indication you haven’t committed it. But if you get to the point to where you don’t care one way or the other, I’m not judging anyone, I’m just saying that’s a very dangerous position to be in. You could be headed toward a state of bitterness. And you could slide into a hardened position where you then will never repent and therefore you will not be pardoned and therefore you’re going into the Lake of Fire. Nobody can render that judgment, only God. But we can read what the scriptures say that warn against that attitude and against that condition, and avoid it with all dispatch and urgency and with every fiber in our being.
17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.
Why? Because the person repents and changes of those sins, and therefore they are forgiven through Jesus Christ.
18 We know that whosoever is born of God sins not; —
Because they’re spirit beings.
18 — but he that is begotten of God keeps himself, and that wicked one touches him not.
In other words, he doesn’t practice sin. He overcomes sin, she grows, they change as a way of life. And therefore they’re not walking in sin, but rather they’re walking in righteousness as they follow Jesus Christ. And when they make mistakes, they repent and God forgives them.
19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in wickedness.
And so God tells us to come out of the world. He doesn’t tell us to hate the world, that is people in the world, or condemn people in the world. We are to love people. And we are to set an example for people, and we’re to let our light shine so that others will see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. But we are not to be of this world. And we live in the world but we are not to be of the world. We want to come out of that way of life and into God’s way of life.
20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and has given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
And so John concludes the letter with those words of love and admonition.
Now let’s keep moving and go right on through the Bible and turn to 2 John, the second letter of John, 13 short verses. We’ll begin in verse 1 of the book of 2 John.
2 John
1 The elder —
Speaking of John.
1 — unto the elect —
Or chosen
1 — lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;
In other words, he’s writing a letter to the church and to the brethren in the church. The lady being the church, and the children being the brethren in the church, and the elder being John, the apostle.
2 For the truth's sake, which dwells in us, and shall be with us for ever.
That’s right. Once God opens your mind and you understand the truth, the truth then will be with you forever. And by the way, the truth doesn’t change. Our understanding and obedience to the truth is what changes. In other words, our understanding grows in a question of the truth, and our living by the truth improves and grows. So the truth doesn’t change, but we change and fit our lives more in line with the truth. And we change and grow in our understanding of the truth. But the truth stays the same.
So what is the truth? Well, let’s turn over here to John 17:17. Once again, we’re cross referencing the apostle John’s writings and he doesn’t contradict himself, rather it all fits together to make things plainer. When he talks about the truth, what’s he talking about?
Let’s turn here to John 17:17. He says, actually Jesus Christ said this, and it was recorded by John. These are the words of Jesus Christ, and He says:
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
He’s praying to God the Father and He says “Thy word is truth.” So what is truth? The words of God, from Genesis to Revelation.
Let’s go back now to the book of 2 John and pick it up where we left off. And what a wonderful thing here when it says in verse 2.
2 For the truth's sake, which dwells in us, and shall be with us for ever.
3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
You noticed he doesn’t mention anything here about the Holy Spirit. When you study the epistles of Paul, his greetings and salutations do not include an official recognition of the Holy Spirit. It just says grace and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is not an individual. It is not a person. The Holy Spirit is the power that comes from God the Father and Jesus Christ. And here John is greeting the church, and what does He say? Greetings.
3 — from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
No mention of the Holy Spirit. He’s giving the official greetings from the Godhead as an apostle of God. And yet the Holy Spirit is not mentioned. Why? Because it’s the power that comes from God—not a third individual in the Godhead. The Bible makes that plain. That teaching is a pagan doctrine. The doctrine of the trinity comes from paganism. You can study and see for yourself. Just get reliable authorities on the Bible, reliable authorities about history, reliable authorities about church history, and you will see that that was something that mankind came up with on his own. It crept into biblical teachings long after Jesus Christ was on this earth. It did not come from Jesus Christ; it does not come from God the Father—that pagan doctrine of the trinity. It comes from paganism.
4 I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.
5 And now I beseech you, lady, —
Church.
5 — not as though I wrote a new commandment unto you, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
See, we don’t have to just keep on trying to come up with some new thing. Let’s get back on track where the truth is, and go forward, understanding more deeply the truth. That’s what we want to do.
6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.
And you know, the commandments were given right in the Garden of Eden by God the Father to Adam and Eve. You can nail that down. Just take a look and see what they did right in the beginning and you’ll see they broke several of the commandments because it says they sinned. And Paul said, “Where there is no law, there is no sin.” So if there was sin, there had to be the law, and that law was the Ten Commandments. And sin is the transgression of the law.
So right from the beginning, they were taught the Ten Commandments.
7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
He did come in the flesh and he is in the process of being in the flesh because he dwells in all of us as we go forward toward the Kingdom of God. So anyone who does not believe that and does not teach that is labeled antichrist.
8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have gained, but that we receive a full reward.
And we do have to be careful or we can lose what we know. And we can slip from where we are in our obedience to God. We have to be on guard. We can become lukewarm. We can become smug and self–satisfied. We can slow down and stop and no longer grow and go forward. That’s exactly what Satan tries to get us to do. That’s exactly the way of the world. That’s exactly the pull of our human nature. And we can grow weary in well doing.
We had better be alert. We had better be watching. We had better stir up God’s Holy Spirit and stir up the understanding of God’s word that is in us and that has been given to us. Otherwise we can be in danger of falling away. Paul himself said, “Take heed to yourselves, lest after you have understood all these things, you let them slip.” He also says, “He that thinks he stands, take heed, lest he fall.” These are warnings that we better take note of. And John gives us one right here.
8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
9 Whosoever transgresses, and abides not in the doctrine of Christ, has not God. He that abides in the doctrine of Christ, he has both the Father and the Son.
They go together. They are together. Isn’t that wonderful? We can pray to the Father because we have the Son, and we go through the Son to the Father. He gives us access to the Father. And they listen, they care, they answer. They will never leave us nor forsake us.
10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
Once you have proven God exists, the Bible is inspired, and this is His true church, why waste time looking into a bunch of other things. It’s not that you’re afraid to look into them. Instead it’s a complete waste of time. Why waste time letting people into your house where they’re going to argue and badger and confront and persuade and try to deceive and pull you away with a mixture of good and evil. God says, Don’t do that.
10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
And you can let him in your house literally or you can let him in your house through literature. You can let him in your house through the television, through the radio, through the internet. There are various sources that produce this error and teach this wrong that you can let into your life and into your house. And you can dabble and rustle around in it, and you can look into it and read it and listen to it and pay attention to it. And first thing you know, it’s going to confuse you.
Once you have proven where the truth is and you have proven where the true church is, God says, Focus on that and give yourself over to that and go forward living that way of life. Don’t be dabbling and mucking around in all of this other erroneous stuff that might titillate your intellect and you know, cause your ears to itch with interest, but can deceive you, can throw you off. Isn’t that what he’s saying here? What does verse 10 mean? Does it mean what it says? It says what it means?
This is God inspiring John to say this:
10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
11 For he that bids him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
Pretty clear, pretty plain.
12 Having many things to write unto you, —
John says:
12 — I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.
13 The children of your elect sister—
Or another congregation.
13 — greet you. Amen.
All ministers want to be around God’s people. They want to go see God’s people. They want to go take care of their flocks. And sometimes they can’t as soon as they’d like to and stay as long as they want to. But when they can, they will, and if they can’t, they’ll do what they can to serve them even at a long distance—if they’re true ministers of God and true shepherds of the flock the way God says we should be. And of course, the apostle John was certainly that kind of shepherd and that kind of minister.
Let’s move on now. Let’s turn over here to the last book of John, 14 short verses. This is the third epistle or the third letter or the third book of John. We’ll begin reading in verse one.
3 John
1 The elder unto the well beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
Apparently a leader there in that congregation that John was writing to.
2 Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.
Now, of course, that’s prospering spiritually as well as physically. God wants us to have abundant lives. He wants us to profit. He wants us to prosper. He wants us to do well and to succeed. The big thing is to succeed spiritually. But as we do that, we’re going to succeed physically. That doesn’t mean we’re all going to be wealthy and wallowing in luxury. No, that can actually be our downfall.
But it means that He is going to give us what we need and then some. He will not withhold anything that is good for us as we yield more and more into His hands. And so we need to make sure that we’re obeying Him, serving Him, and doing what He says and living by faith. And we are going to prosper and be in health. That’s what He wants us to have, prosperity and health. But He wants it be to spiritual, first of all, and then physical, and He wants us to share it with others and help others have the same thing.
Now, there will be trials and tests and setbacks and disappointments and pain and suffering that goes with it. That’s all a part of the Christian process of building character and overcoming and growing and learning patience and faith. And eventually we’re all going to die. But along the way, this is the kind of life that we can live—the abundant life spiritually first and then physically, if we completely yield ourselves into God’s hands. And John is saying, “I wish that’s what you would do, my beloved brethren,” and he’s saying that to us today.
3 For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, even as you walk in the truth.
4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
And I can say that as well. Nothing makes a minister as happy as seeing God’s people growing in the truth, overcoming and changing, and becoming more and more yielded to Him. We know then they’re going to be happy, and we know then they’re going to be blessed. And the church will be healthy and the work will get done. And so John was thrilled to hear that report. Just as we’re thrilled to hear that report today. And we do hear those reports and it’s certainly inspiring and uplifting when those reports come in.
5 Beloved, you do faithfully whatsoever you do to the brethren, and to strangers;
6 Which have borne witness of your love before the church: whom if you bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, you shall do well:
So he’s just saying, “You’re practicing Christianity.” And he’s saying here in verse 6.
6 Which have borne witness of your charity before the church: whom if you bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, you shall do well:
7 Because that for his name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.
We’re helping one another out here. That’s what we should do in God’s church. And even if somebody is not in the church and they’re going to accept it and take it the right way and it will help them and it will honor God, where we can, we should help them.
8 We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellow helpers to the truth.
Fellow helpers, fellow workers, fellow laborers in God’s work and in God’s way.
9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, receives us not.
Yeah, those kind of people come along from time to time, and John had to deal with them even in his day. You’re always going to have somebody sooner or later that shows up wanting to be the big shot, wanting to be the center of attention, wanting the limelight, and wanting other people to follow him, etc. And of course, John dealt with this man. And sometimes we’ve had to deal with these types of people when they come along. In fact we’ll deal with them every single time. And sometimes they do come along and then we have to deal with them. God tells us to. We must protect the flock and we must keep wolves away from the sheep. Obviously, this was a wolf among God’s people. And here’s what John says about it.
10 Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither does he himself receive the brethren, and forbids them that would, and casts them out of the church.
Without the authority to do so. Not being a chosen servant of God with that position and authority. If he had been a chosen servant of God, he wouldn’t have that attitude. He would help them. He would work with them. He would show love toward them. And they would only be put out of the church as a last resort after much work and much love and much concern and care. Not prating around and prancing around and strutting around, throwing his weight around like a big bully. Which is what this man was. Which none of God’s ministers are, never.
You will never find a true, humble servant of God bullying people around and running over people in the church or even out of the church. God condemns that. And here’s a case in point right here when John brings this rotten example out about this man who was prancing around that way among God’s people. Well, he said he’d deal with him and he was dealt with.
11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, —
Don’t follow him.
11 — but that which is good. He that does good is of God: but he that does evil has not seen God.
And he’s talking about Diotrephes and anybody else who has that attitude.
12 Demetrius has good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and you know that our record is true.
Follow him, pay attention to him, listen to him and Gaeus and me. And move this fellow out. And when I come, I’ll take care of him if he’s not moved out. That’s what John is saying here.
13 I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto you:
14 But I trust I shall shortly see you, and we shall speak face to face. —
That’s what I want to do and that’s what I’m hoping to do so I’m not going to keep writing this letter. I’m going to save the other things I have to pass on to you, to do it in person. That’s what John is saying here.
14 But I trust I shall shortly see you, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to you. Our friends —
Greet you or
14 — salute you. Greet the friends by name.
Get to know one another. Get to love one another. Start conducting yourself as the children of God and the family of God. Pray for one another. Care for one another. Love one another. Know one another by name and help one another. You are the church. You are the children of God. We are the family of God. Therefore let’s love one another, care for one another, greet one another, and pray for one another. That’s the message you’re going to find as you read among many other messages, but that’s one of the themes, one of the most important themes you’ll find as you go through 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and as a matter of fact as you go through the book of John where he is talking about Jesus Christ and all the things having to do with Jesus Christ.
So you read the book of John and put it with 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and later on we’ll go through the book of Revelation, all written by the same author. And you will learn many things about Christianity, about Jesus Christ, about this way of life. And you’ll also hear repeatedly about the quality of true love that comes from God and that should go out to our fellowmen and back to God. Because John was the apostle filled with love. All the apostles had love, but John just seemed to have an extra amount of love which he taught about on a regular basis.
Well, we’ll stop there and pick up in the study of another book next time.
This is Charles Bryce with the Enduring Church of God.