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: Sunday, December 26, 2021
Chapters: The Books of I, II, & II John
Message: God So Loved The World
Hello My Friend,
As I was reading the chapters for today, this passage came to mind, [John 15:4-7 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.] So many people want the blessings and salvation that God so willingly offers to all who believe in Him, yet so few are willing to do what it takes to receive them. The way to get to heaven is not rocket science, God made it simple, [John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.]
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.]
The Book of 1 John is a letter written from the Father to His “little children” who are in the world. The sin of a believer is treated as a child’s disobedience to their Father, and is dealt with as a family matter. John begins his letter with a reminder that all who accept Christ is of the Father, and therefore, we are are walk in His light.
[1 John 1:1-2,5-7 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;) 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: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.]
[and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.] Our faith alone in Christ cleanses our soul of the sin that covered us in filth. Jesus really does more than just cleanse our soul as we walk in His light, He cleanses our conscience, our mind, our spirit, and our body. Confession of sin is the key to the cleansing, even after we are saved, and we must confess our sins sincerely, and daily in order to keep His light shinning, [1 John 1:9-10 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.]
This does not mean that we lose our salvation and have to keep asking Him to save us, this means that we are now the children of God, and therefore, He expects us to act like it.
[1 John 2:1-6,9-10 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. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. 9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. 10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.]
[And he is the propitiation for our sins:] [Propitiation; The atonement or atoning sacrifice offered to God to assuage his wrath and render him propitious to sinners.] This is why we cannot lose our salvation once we accept Christ as our Saviour, He is our atonement from the wrath and judgment of the second death of hell and the lake of fire, [Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.].
This does not mean that He wants us to continue living in sin, and when we truly believe in what Christ did for us we are automatically wired, thanks to the Holy Spirit, to want to remove the sin. Yes, we are going to sin again until we get to heaven, but our salvation is not a cover up to continue living in sin, it is the jump start that we need to get His light shinning in us. Our obedience to His commands is what keeps His light shinning in us so that we may be seen apart from the world. Besides, following His commands does reveal those who truly do abide in Christ or are impostors. John warns us of this, [1 John 2:18-20,28 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. 20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. 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.]
[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, [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. The majority of people who know of Christ, but do not receive Him are the ones who want to live an immoral life without feeling guilty about it. I had a man tell me once, “I know Jesus, but have a lot of partying to do before I give it all up for Him.” You see, their mentality is this, “If I have Christ in my life, then I will not enjoy my life.” The truth is, there is no joy in worldly living. What they end up with us 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. Those who are content to remain living in their sin may not be saved to begin with, going the way of Cain.
[1 John 3:9-12,18 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. 11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. 18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.]
[Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin;] 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. Now, this is actually referring to sin that is knowingly committed, and not repented of. While we all have sin, which Jesus will help us overcome through obedience, if there is no shame, if there is no admission of sin, then perhaps they are not saved to begin with and need to reassess their salvation, [1 John 3:21-24 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.]
God created the heaven and earth in six days, it did not take long for the devil to bring sin upon man, creating the sin death curse and separation between God and man. It took three days for Jesus to reverse that curse, creating eternal life and fellowship between God and all who believe in His Son. While the devil can never produce life, he can produce deception and he is good at it too. Be not deceived, not everyone that confesses Christ is true, and we who are true need to stay away from those who are not.
[1 John 4:1-4,16-17,20 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. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 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. 20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?]
[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. Okay, we who walk with Christ are not sinless, 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. 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.
[1 John 5:1-4,10-11,20 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. 11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath 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.]
[because he believeth not the record] 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. Now, we come to the Book of 2 John, it 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.]
The lady elect is not a single woman, but a body of people, the body or the Church of Christ, to be exact. John begins this letter by addressing it to the elect lady elect, [2 John 1:1-2,6-8 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. 6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. 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. 8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.]
[Look to yourselves,] We have the proof of our faith 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 God. Do not let go of what you have been taught. 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. Now, 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.]
[Gaius; a Christian], Gaius means Christian, so, this John addresses this letter 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 1:1-4,9-12 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. 9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. 10 Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church. 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. 12 Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true.]
[The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius,] 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.]
Let Us Pray: 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, give me Your power and the strength that only You can give me to be able to live the joyful life that You would have me live as I let Your Light shine through me. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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