Good morning...some snow here and cold outside...but its going to be a good day!
Lots of commentary about love from Friday's reading! Good!! Like I said to a few people- this is John's letter, not Jesus'! This is what John thinks, not necessarily what Jesus taught or thought. Regarding love- it is hard to "love" all people, but then we run into the question "What is love?" I look at it as not hating; doing the best we can to see and hear what "they" are saying and doing the best we can todo good for them. We may not agree, but we can still coexist. Does that make some sense?
Also, we don't know who John write this letter to. Was it a church or an individual? Usually authors would write the name(s) of the recipient(s) in the introduction. None here! But, like Donna T said, John is trying to drive home a point to the person! John does say things like "you are like little children" many times, so it seems like it is written to a group rather than a single person, but that is just my guess.
John picks up the little children theme again in this last chapter. The way we know we are children of God is if we believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Most of this letter has been on sin and loving others, but John wants to be sure we know that loving others doesn't "earn" us salvation- we get that through faith and belief in Jesus as Messiah. The continuation is that if we love and know Christ, then we also love and know God, and if we love God then we love God's children (i.e. "others"). Not only does our love for children of God express our love and respect for God, but our obedience to God also shows our love for God. A "Christian" who does not love God and also follow God's commands isn't really a Christian! If we love God, the commandments should be "easy" to follow. Have you ever had a boss that you really liked- you would probably do anything for them, as opposed to a boss that you didn't like- less likely to be full of energy. Similar with God- if we love God then we should want to follow the commands!
In this next section (vv 6-12), John builds our relationship with God on Jesus Christ. He begins with Jesus is both divine and human (born of blood and water). A "common" thought (the Gnostic belief) was that Jesus was just divine, no humanity. John is countering that argument here. Water and blood may also be John's reference to the two ways Jesus comes to us through the sacraments- water (baptism) and blood (communion). Others (Augustine especially) say John is referencing the water and blood that poured from Jesus' side when he was stabbed at the crucifixion. Or it could be John's reference to the water at Jesus' baptism and the blood at Jesus' crucifixion. Regardless, John says that these three- water, blood, and Spirit- all confirm Jesus divinity and humanity.
John goes on to say, we listen to people all the time and believe them (v 9). God's witness and testimony is far greater than that! And God has said Jesus was God's son! When we accept that, we accept the Spirit in our hearts (v 10). The Spirit rests inside us and reminds us of our belief and our confirmation of Jesus as Messiah. And if we have that confirmation internally, then we have eternal life. John hopes that his clarity will help persuade others to believe (v 13).
If we truly have faith and belief in God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit resides in us, then we can have the boldness and confidence to pray to God and know that God hears us. Not that God will answer/respond the way we want God to, but know that God wants us to pray and have conversation with God. God desires us to pray earnestly and honestly. One example John gives is when we see someone sinning. The first thing we should do is pray for them (v 16) and God will bless that person. Maybe that's what Jesus means when Jesus says "love all". Mortal sin has several connotations. A mortal sin can be one that is done with intent or knowledge; one that causes death to another; it could be a reference to sin that separates us from God (so more spiritual level). Mortal sin may reference denial of Christ while a non-mortal sin is any others. There is lots of open ended questions here, but I think we should be praying for all people- especially those that actively deny Christ!
John closes with some reassuring words. If we are born of God then we are protected by Christ against the evil one! The evil one is active in our world (always has and always will), but we have a shield of protection through Christ.
The ending is quite abrupt and odd..."keep yourselves form idols.", however it does somewhat fit with the theme. Idols are what interfere with our relationship with God. Idols, those false gods, prevent us from fully developing an intimate relationship, so the warning is suitable- even though abrupt! What are your idols that prevent your relationship from being solidified?
I hope you learned from this last chapter! Tomorrow is John's second letter- a very brief commentary on deceivers in the church that are teaching Christ never came in human form! This is an important jump because it shows us that orthodoxy, a proper view of doctrine, has begun to evolve in the church!
Have a good day, stay warm- snowing like crazy here on the hilltop!
Shalom+
Pastor Paul
John agins tells how we are children of God, by believing that Jesus is the messiah and following God's commandments, By doing thiese things we can defeat the evils of this world. John seems to keep repeating this over all the previous chapters. John says if we see a fellow believer sinning a sin that is not a mortal sin?( he does not say what a mortal sin is) we can pray for him and he will have eternal life Here I am confused by What John is saying that a believer that commits a mortal sin (again not saying what a mortal sin is) but not telling us to pray for that person but does this lead the eternal death? I am somewhat confused with these verses?? Jon then tells us to keep away from whatever would take God's place in our hearts I am thinking he is referring to worldly things that cause us to sin. Still not sure what the mortal sins are I am thinking perhaps having no other Gods before God?
ReplyDeleteThere does seem to be lots of repetition in this letter! I guess John was trying to say something!!
DeleteThere are a few ways to interpret "mortal" sin...a sin that is knowingly done (as opposed to not knowing it is a sin), a sin that causes the death of another, a sin that involves denying God/Jesus).
I am not really a fan of these either- I think we should definitely be praying for the "mortal sin" person! He is kind of confusing here!
Thanks Clara!
I liked this book but am kindof glad we are done with it. It is so repetitious, even the words used. And, I agree, the ending was so abrupt - not like Paul's letters which usually ended in a sincere benediction and personal notes. I am not sure this really is a letter - maybe a part of a letter - or maybe even notes on how to word things.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Clara, I was a bit confused with those verses as well - in my translation they are vs. 16 and 17 and keeps saying a "sin not unto death". That seems to mean that some sins ARE and some AREN'T - but John is not clear at all as to what they are.
My translation comments say that the water is Jesus' baptism = when His ministry began - and water means his crucifixion - when His ministry ended - well here on earth.
Looking forward to 2 and 3
I agree- some good advice but he says it so often. I guess he thought it was important!
DeleteA mortal sin can be interpreted many ways...a sin that is done unknowingly, a sin that causes the death of another, a sin that causes you to deny God/Jesus. I think this person should definitely be prayed for!
Good thoughts!
I have been reading and making my comments for about two hours and my comments keep disappearing. I think I have it figured out but I am going to try again tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteBlogspot is sometimes fickle!
DeleteCindy, I have gone to writing my comments in Word and then copying them to the blog after saving them in Word. This way, if the blog-o-sphere gobbles up the comment, I can just copy it again. This is working well for me.
ReplyDeleteJohn has a very strict means of handling sin – don’t do it. He always comes back to the same theme – if you say you love God, and then sin against your neighbor (who is a child of God), then you are a lair and you do not love God. You are, therefore, a man of Satan or the antichrist. And, yes, he beats this drum again in this chapter.
ReplyDeleteJohn talks about Jesus as “the one who came by water, blood and the Spirit.” The water and blood are what flowed out of Jesus when he was stabbed on the cross and the Spirit is the truth. Verse nine says that we accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater. Verses 10 and 11 go on to expand this concept.
John continues, saying that if we see somebody commit a sin that does not lead to death then we should pray for this person. If the sin does lead to death, them we should not pray for the sinner. John also says that there is a sin that leads to death, but he does not elaborate.
BTW, it was in the 60's here today, but tomorrow, we will be lucky if it reaches 40. Send us some of your rain, please. We are in the middle of a drought, and we could really use it.
I like what you say...don't do it! Good point...and he says it often!!
ReplyDeleteI think we should pray for all people equally- maybe even more for the person that has mortal sin. A mortal sin is a sin that is done unknowingly, or one that causes death of another, or one that causes you to deny Christ/God.
Maybe will get to the mid 40s here today with some snow!!
Good thoughts Jack