1. The minor epistle of John was written AFTER the fall of Jerusalem. Many of second generation of believers in some churches were compromising their faith by conforming to the worlds standards. John's church was in Ephesus, one of the churches that is written to in Revelation. (Revelation 2: 5 "You have left the LOVE you had in the beginning") In the minor epistle of John, John wanted believers who "lost their first LOVE" to get back on track.
2. It's one thing to 'see' something, it's another to 'SEE' something and to take it in.
1st John 1:5-2:2 Consider 3 things...Who God is, what we are, and what we have as a result.
1. 1:5-7 WHO GOD IS.....God is LIGHT. We can chose to live in the light OR the dark. If we walk in the LIGHT, we are walking in fellowship with ANYONE else walking in the LIGHT because we are in fellowship with God. Remember, we SEE things in the LIGHT, we see what we want to see in the dark. Question, Why would someone falsely claim they have fellowship with God?
2. 1:8-10 WHO WE ARE.....We are sinners, and that's OK if we realize that and get a relationship with God. But it is more than just talking, it's walking the talk. It's walking with God. (I find it interesting the part that says "if we confess our sins". It does NOT say who we are to confess to. The Catholics say to a priest, parents say to 'mom or dad', but I personally think it is to God. I don't think we have to spill out our guts to each other, but to God. Not saying that we wouldn't feel better if we wronged someone to clear it up with them. I am saying, if we want a genuine fellowship with God, we will confess our deepest sins to Him and, from then, walk in the light) Anyways, my question is, what does Christ's cleansing blood have to do with this fellowship?
3. 2:1-2 WHAT WE HAVE.....We have an advocate, a helper. We will never be sinless, but if we do sin and mess up, we can say we are sorry, and keep on going. Christ is our advocate as long as we keep out fellowship with Him. Two questions here
A. Can we really be sinless? It kinda sounds like that in 2:1. If not, why would John say "that you sin not"?
B. Christ does not automatically act as our advocate, but the believer must first do something - we need to confess. Is He an advocate for the WHOLE? (For those of you who want to really go deeper, the greek word parakletos is used here in 2:1. In those days, the word is kinda used like a defense attorney in todays court. It's someone who pleads a case before the judge in defense of the one being charged.) Is this advocacy to us as individuals, or through us, as a church, is Christ is an advocate us as a whole (specifically RCV)? Another way of asking, is this advocacy horizontal, vertical, or both?
Great post! These are great questions and thoughts! The satisfaction of asking the question is SEEing the answer God gives us. Keep digging. Keep asking questions and pursue the truth in His answers.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliments, but I'd really rather have possible answers and insight. I believe there is a lot of wisdom to be shared from others, but that wisdom is just forgotten memories if kept to ourselves. My desire is to stimulate thinking through discussion. I'm most interested in what the Faithful and Chosen have to share...both here AND abroad.
DeleteVery good post! Keep up the good work Russ! Very interesting and eye opening! And Ez for making blog. Love you guys! :-)
ReplyDeleteJohn was probably based in Ephesus, but it's likely all the churches of Asia Minor were under his care. Specifically, the seven churches mentioned in Rev. 2-3 were likely under his care. (Clement of Alexandria talks about John's "circuit" in "Who is the Rich Man that Must Be Saved")
ReplyDeleteI would agree that 1 Jn. 1:9 does not state to whom we should confess our *sins*. I agree the implication is that we should do so to God. On the other hand, James tells us that we should confess our *faults* to one another so that we can pray for one another. That word "faults" is the same word translated "trespasses" in the Lord's prayer.
I understand that to mean that there are specific sins that can just be confessed to God. Other things, though, especially if they are ongoing issues, should be confessed to someone who can pray for you.
On whole and individual, it's probably good to look at both the context and at Revelation chs. 2-3. The context seems, at least to me, to be dealing with individuals, but Revelation 2-3 shows Jesus dealing with churches as a whole (though he addresses individuals, too).
I hope that's not saying too much, but I wanted to give those extra passages in James and Revelation to compare.