King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Monday, December 26, 2022
Chapters: THE BOOKS OF I, II, & II JOHN
Study: Walking In The Light
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
There are just so many things going around in my head from the chapters for today, and I swear if I did not jot it down when I thought about it, I would think of something else, forgetting what I had just thought. On top of that my keyboard is giving me a hard time, I am having to reload the page anytime I want to type any character outside of a number or letter. Stupid devil! There is one good thing, I am off work today, with pay. Well, there are a few other things as well, one of them being that my cold is almost gone, another is the reassurance of why I dedicated my life to Christ and gave up the things of the world. Living life in the flesh certainly does absolutely nothing for our morale or success, and those who managed to get by are suffering more that we will ever know. They are just too proud to admit that their suffering is a result of their sin, [1 John 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.]
[Liar; a falsifier:] That is one powerful word, and one that no one likes to be called, especially if we are living in sin. Well, those are saved, and living in sin, using their salvation as a justification that it is okay to do so, are not only lying to themselves, they are making God look like a liar. Now, there is a difference between sin that is unknowingly and willfully committed, and those who willfully commit sin are going to suffer greatly until they repent. They will get so bad that they either fall away from their faith all together (if that were the case, they were never really saved to begin with) or die before their time having suffered so much that God saw no other option, but to bring them home from their bondage, [1 John 5:16-17 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. 17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.]
The Book of 1 John is the twenty-third book of the New Testament, sixty-second book of the Bible, and contains five chapters. The author of this epistle is John (the same John who wrote the Gospel of John as well as Revelation), and it was written to Christians who were falling into satanic deception which was breaking their fellowship with God and other believers. The purpose of this letter was to remind believers how they have eternal life, and our works of Christ are evidence that His lives inside of us, [1 John 5:10 He that believeth on the Son of God- hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.]
As we know John’s Gospel was written to address all believers of God, typically the Gentiles, out of all the four Gospels, it is God’s presence that is seen through it more than any of them. These letters that John wrote are no different as you read them it is apparent who is actually speaking. John, begins his first letter with a reminder that all who accept Christ is of the Father, and the evidence of that is in our walk with Christ.
[1 John 1:1-6 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:]
[and was manifested unto us;] [Manifest; Made clear; disclosed; made apparent, obvious or evident.] Fellowship with God our Father, is only made possible through the incarnation of Christ, the eternal Word Himself and is clearly made as we shine the Light of Christ through our obedience. If you think that the world does not see Him in us, think again, they do, and so does Satan, which is why he tries to stop us every which way we can. We all backslide a little bit, and I am not going to lie, I did, and it truly was torture on not only my body, but spirit and soul as well. Fellowship with our Father can be maintained only by walking in the Light, which signifies the recognizing of our sins with frank confession of them and forsaking of them as they are revealed to us. Our salvation is not the green light to live in sin.
[1 John 2:1-3,5,7-8 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. 8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.]
[but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning.] There is this Gospel hymn that comes to mind as I read this, [Get the new look, from the old Book. Get the new look, from the Bible. Get the new look, from the old Book. Get the new look from God’s Word. The inward look, the outward look, The upward look, from the old, old Book. Get the new look, from the old Book. Get the new look from God’s Word.] God, has not changed His stance on sin, His commands to avoid sin at all cost are not null and void because we get saved. If anything, they ought to be the drive that keeps us from sin.
[1 John 2:12-15,28-29 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. 13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. 14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. 15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.]
[and not be ashamed before him at his coming.] We should never be ashamed of what we are doing when the lights are off, and it appears that no one is looking. If we are, then repentance is the best option because there is always someone watching, and our sin will be found out publicly if we are doing something that we are ashamed of. Sin has a way of manifesting, why do you think that it is often referred to as a disease or leavening agents, it will overtake us if we do get a handle of it, [Genesis 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.]
This is actually what God had told Cain when He rejected the offering that he had brought to Him. This is the thinking of the majority of people who know of Christ, but do not receive Him, they want the blessing of God with their halfhearted offerings. Do you want to know what is worse than a halfhearted unsaved person? A halfhearted saved Christian, who willfully commits sin. The truth is, there is no joy in worldly living. What they end up with is a sad, wasted life, with nothing to show for it. While we are all sinners saved by the grace of God through Christ, we are a work in progress until the day God takes us home or Christ returns. When we walk with Him daily, He literally transforms us into His likeness, and reveals to the world that we are the children of God.
[1 John 3:1-6 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.]
[Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not:] This is not meaning to say that we cannot sin having received Christ as our Saviour, nor that we are not saved if we do, but it is to say that we do not willfully commit sin since we are fully committed to Him. I tell you what the worst thing I ever did was make that decision to willfully commit sin, and here is the thing, God, knew that I was torn up about it. That did not stop God from sending judgment on me or him either, the difference is that I repented and stopped while he did not and continues to suffer now. For the life of me I will never understand why I made that decision, but have always understood that God was with me and led me out of that mess. Praise God!
[1 John 3:19-24 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. 20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. 22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.]
[and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.] I am not going to question my ex about whether or not he is really saved, God is his judge. Part of the reason that I did not want to give up on us was that I believed that I could change his heart, which is always our biggest mistake. As I have been saying for quite some time, those whom have sincerely and honestly accepted Christ as their Saviour are automatically wired to start living their lives in a way that pleases God, and that includes removing sin from their lives. It is the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us that tells us that we need to stop doing something that we learn is sin. We also need to be careful as there are many wolves in sheep’s clothing, just trying to get us out of God’s will.
[1 John 4:1-4 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.]
[whereof ye have heard that it should come;] You see, Satan, may knock us for a loop once in a while by making us believe that something or someone is from God, but eventually the truth comes out. That is when we repent and come out better than we were before. This is all bringing tears to my eyes because it is reminding me that because Jesus lives inside of me I have overcome the biggest obstacle that I ever got myself into, [2 Corinthians 7:11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.]
[because greater is he that is in you,] Do you understand that, if you are saved, Christ lives in you? The fact that He lives in you means that you have overcome the greatest battle you will ever face in your lifetime, death. That alone should be the drive that leads us to live a life that is pleasing to God. People should be able to tell if Christ is in us because we truly are different. If they do not see Christ in us, than we are obviously not walking with Him. We can live in this world and not be of it, we can enjoy this life with some integrity, and we can enjoy a life of fellowship with God. We are going to mess up, sometimes several times a day, but living our lives with Christ makes us more like Him as we learn His ways and mimic them, including His love for lost souls.
[1 John 4:6-10,15,17,19 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. 7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 19 We love him, because he first loved us.]
[not that we loved God, but that he loved us,] God is with all who have receive His Son, He always will be, and all one needs to do order to feel His presence is to simply remind themselves just how much He loves them, and that He will take care of everything. We must never waiver in our faith, and never forget that we have the witness of Christ within ourselves through the Holy Spirit that lives within us.
[1 John 5:1-4,10 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.]
[because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.] We have the proof right inside of us, the Holy Spirit, which is why the second you doubt yourself, He is right there to remind you that you belong to Jesus. I will tell you this, while I do not wish any of the judgment that I faced for my sin on anyone, it was what brought me closer to God and His presence seen more that I had ever seen since I dedicated my life to Him. What gives me such confidence? He answers my prayers every day. Okay, so, I am not going to say that God answers every one of my prayers everyday, but He does answer them. Sometimes, it is a flat out, “No!”, “Just wait your turn!”, or “I am not going to give you that answer right now.”, but there is not a day since my little episode that He does not speak to me, [1 John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.]
The Book of 2 John, is the twenty-fourth book of the New Testament and sixty-third book of the Bible. 2 John was an epistle (letter) written by the Apostle John to the elect lady and her children. The purpose of this letter was to caution believers to be faithful to sound doctrine and to warn them against false teachers. What we are to learn from the letter is that we must remove ourselves from false teachers who cause us to follow and live by the wrong doctrine, [2 John 1:7 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.]
We are saved by grace through our faith the second we believe in the immaculate birth, sinless death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and receive Him as our Saviour. Do not let go of what you have been taught. John, begins this letter by addressing it to the elder unto the elect lady. The lady elect is not a woman, but a body of people, the body or the Church of Christ to be exact.
[2 John 1:1-2,8-10 The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; 2 For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever. 8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. 9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:]
[bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house,] This also brings tears to my eyes, and an aching to my heart. I wish I could take back those two years that I struggled with sin, but I cannot and to be honest, if I did not go through what I did, I do not believe that I would be as strong in my faith as I am now. God, really does have a purpose for the things that He allows, keep in mind that He never allows sin, that is all on us and our freewill to choose to do so. What He does allow is for us to choose how we handle sin, and should we fail, give us an escape route, [1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.]
With that said, I was also reminded that we must never confuse God’s temptation with Satan’s, God, will never tempt us with sin, He will tempt us with affliction though in an effort to prove our faithfulness to Him. The Book of 3 John is the twenty-fifth book of the New Testament and sixty-fourth book of the Bible. It was written by the Apostle John to a man named Gaius. The purpose of this letter was to commend Gaius for his faith and hard work, but also rebuke some of the people causing trouble in the church. What we are to learn from the book is that our lives are examples of what others follow, whether it be good or evil, [3 John 1:11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.]
John’s third letter is addressed to someone named, [Gaius; a Christian], so, this is written to all faithful Christians and explains exactly why we are not to receive those into our lives do cause us to question or against our faith. Because greater is He that is in you, our soul is saved, meaning it is sinless and righteous before God, and if we want God’s blessings to continue it is important that we continue walking in the truth.
[3 John 1:1-5,11 The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth. 2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 5 Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers; 11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.]
[whom I love in the truth] Do you see who is actually talking through these chapters? It is not John, it is God, and He finds no greater joy than to see His children walking in His Word. And because greater is He that is in you, He has the power to lead us away from any sin, [James 1:12-14 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, The sacrifice You made for us is still something true believers cannot comprehend, to give Your life for us and even want to fellowship with us after all we have done is truly amazing. Lord, I want to walk in Your Light, lead me and guide me, give me Your power and the strength that only You can give me to be able to shine Your Light through me. Fill me with Your grace and knowledge to discern the liars from the true, and keep me in Your Light, that I may not walk in darkness. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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