Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

1 John 4:17-18 God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. John today gives us the formula for having confidence before God. And it all starts with God. It all starts with who God is. God is love. What does this mean? God never does anything that is not loving. Why? Because that is His very nature. Importantly this is a love that is unconditional. Unconditional love is something we rarely experience in the world. Usually our parents are the best example of unconditional love in this world. One of my favorite verses in the bible is "perfect love casts out all fear". This is a different kind of fear than fear of God because of His holiness. The fear of God that is out

1 John 4:13-16 13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. One of the most under applied doctrines in the Christian faith is the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Today, John tells us how important the Spirit is in our relationship with God. It is the person of the Holy Spirit that testifies with our spirit, so we can know without a shadow of doubt we live in Him. Paul says in Ephesians 1:14, "The Holy Spirit is a downpayment guaranteeing our future inheritance." Notice the word "guarantee". God does not want us to doubt where we are going when we die. A Christian should answer the question, "Do you know that you are going to go to heaven?", with, "Absolutely!&q

God’s Love and Ours 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. John has spent 3 chapters trying to make the believers aware of the false teachers, and why what they were teaching was so dangerous. Today he moves more to what the right teaching is, and maybe more importantly what it looks like in their lives. John distinguishes God's love from worldly love in a couple of ways including: 1. God is love, and love comes from God

1 John 4:4-6 4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. After warning of the dangers of these false teachers, John encourages the believers with these words. First, he says they have overcome them. Though we are tempted in this life through bad teaching and behavior, the battle is over. And then he gives us an amazing promise when he says, "Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." Of course he is referring to the Holy Spirit, who is in you when you come to faith. He that is in the world is Satan, or the devil, who works overtime through these false teachers to confuse and dece

1 John 4:1-3 On Denying the Incarnation 4 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. John summarizes his teaching about false teachers today by telling the believers to "not believe every spirit", but test the spirits to see whether they are from God or not. A person's teaching flows from their spirit within them. Notice the spiritual reality of what is taught regarding spiritual matters. If someone purports to impart a spiritual message it is via one of two spirits. A spirit of the world, or from the Spirit of God. And John gives a litmus test for whi

1 John 3:19-24 19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. John gives us today more assurance of what it means to have confidence in what we believe. 1. We rest in His presence. When we are a true believer and know God through Jesus, we can truly rest. We can rest in His peace and in His promises. We can rest because He has done everything we need for life and salvation. 2. If we feel con

1 John 3:11-17 Love One Another 11 This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. 13 So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. 15 Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them. 16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? As John continues to d

1 John 3:7-10 7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. Again this passage is very tricky and an improper interpretation of it could do a lot of damage. And we see here the danger of "proof texting". This is taking a verse out of context and using it to prove something you want to prove. And the verse that could cause problems is, "the one who does what is sinful is of

1 John 3:4-6 4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Again John is trying to be real clear on what is sin in our lives and it's effect. The false teaching was that since you are a Christian the Law doesn't really apply anymore. Yesterday we called it "anti-nominianism", which means "against the Law". The purpose of the Law is that it judges us and shows us our need for Christ. Unless we have the law, we don't know what sin is. And the Law has no power to change us so that we can keep it. But the Gospel is that "he who had no sin came to take away our sin". Since Jesus was sinless and perfectly kept the Law, he is the only One who could take our sin upon himself. But the key teaching today is that if we live in Jesus, we

1 John 3:1-3 3 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. For John the idea of being "born again" is a big one. The idea is that when someone believes in Jesus they are "born from above" and become part of God's holy family. Remember, in chapter 2, he calls the believers "little ones" or "children". John's gospel and his letters are very relational, which is why he focuses so much that the believers know God in a deep and intimate relationship. This is a great privilege for us, and those we have fellowship with in the body of Christ. Our love

1 John 2:28-29 Living as Children of God 28 And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. 29 Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children. As John closes out this chapter, he wants the believers to know that they know that they know him with these words, "Remain in fellowship with him." As we have said the word "fellowship" is a word that means a close connection with God that only believers have with Christ. John knows as they remain in Jesus their lives will reflect that. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, knew how important this friendship with Jesus was. He was one of the inner circle of Jesus' disciples, who Jesus poured His life into. As we maintain this close fellowship with Jesus by abiding in Him and obeying His commandments (see John 15), we don't need to afraid of His return. It wi

1 John 2:18-27 Warnings Against Denying the Son 18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.[e] 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24 As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And t

On Not Loving the World 15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father[d] is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. In keeping with the last verse and in the context of the chapter, John tells the believers, "Do not love the world or anything in it." It would be easy to misconstrue this passage if the context of why John is writing is not remembered. He is confronting false teachers who say God can't dwell in the flesh, so our sinful nature is eliminated. Therefore, you can go and do whatever you want because it really doesn't matter anymore. We see that the word "world" or "cosmos" in the Greek can mean three things. One, it can mean the physical world God created. God is not referring to h

1 John 2:12-14 Reasons for Writing 12 I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. 14 I write to you, dear children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one. John is writing to believers of all ages and all maturity levels. Remember his main objective is to strengthen the believers so they will be able to recognize false teachers and remain true in the faith. He does not want his work as an apostle to be in vain, especially because he has been an eyewitness to all these things who have occurred. John recognizes there are different stages of maturation wit

1 John 2:7-11 7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. 9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister[b] is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister[c] lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. John's command to love one another is old because it comes from the Old Testament, but it is new by how it radically it is re-interpreted by Jesus. The problem with the Law was that the natural human response was to do the least amount possible to obey it. And that obedience might be

2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. Love and Hatred for Fellow Believers 3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God[a] is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. It might be really to confuse these verses and think that anyone who messes up doesn't know God. After all John says, "Whoever says I know him but does not do what he commands is a liar and the truth is not in that person". Does that mean if we disobey one of God's commands we are a liar and don't know the truth? This

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 1 John is confronting three different heresies that were threatening the young church. In these verses he is confronting the false teaching that says the sinful nature had been eliminated in a Christian's life. The people who taught this refused to take sin seriously, and in this way the death of Christ did not mean much to them. This was a rationalization that they used to indulge the sinful nature. To this John says, "if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us". To be in denial that we still struggle with a sinful nature assumes we have already been made perfect. The apostle makes this clear that we are not yet perfect when he says in Philippia

Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. One of the big themes in the Gospel and letters of John is light and darkness. John says that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. Another big theme in John is fellowship, which comes from the. Greek word "koinonia". Fellowship is a word that means a deep friendship and closeness that comes about through one's relationship with God. When John says "God is light" he means that he is holy and pure. Light is also a metaphor for the truth. When something is brought into the light it is exposed for what it really is. On the other hand &qu

The Incarnation of the Word of Life 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete. As we have studied the letters of Paul and Peter this year, now we dive into the letters of John, the apostle. What is common to them, as we have just seen in Peter's two letters, is the writers were all eyewitnesses. They saw first hand, touched first hand and heard first hand. These are the 3 apostles that were sent out to proclaim who Jesus was, how he came and what He proclaimed. You can almost tell how ex

17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. 2 Peter finishes with a final warning to the young believers to not be carried away by the lawless teachers. Remember we are not set free from sin to go back to breaking the law. We are set free to fulfill the Law of Christ to love God with all your heart, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. Paul says it well in Galatians 5:1, "it is for freedom that Christ has set you free, stand firm then and do not let yourselves be yoked again to slavery." But he finishes with a positive challenge as well, after warning them about all the things to avoid. He says, "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." This verse is a great summ