John Chapter 2 "The Cause of Writing, the Test of Knowing, and Loving God." This Bible Study is written by Roger
Christopherson, and made available with written
permission by http://www.theseason.org Remember from the first chapter, where John told us that the blood of Christ covered all sin. He also said that we all sin, and anyone that says that they don't sin is a liar. This is setting the stage for the first verse of Chapter two, for it might seem a little strange, if you skip over chapter one. I John 2:1 "My little children, these thing write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: " Notice how gentle that the Apostle John is. John had just told us that we had all sinned, and if we deny it we are a liar. However the Greek makes it clear what John meant in this verse. An "advocate" is an lawyer, one that pleads your case before the judge, our heavenly Father. Our advocate, or lawyer in heaven is on the right hand of the Father. He is Jesus Christ the righteous one that shed His blood for you, and now that given His life for you, He becomes your defender. Righteous means that everything that he says and does is right and just. Why would John write that you sin not? In the Greek, the word used ["hina"] is in reference to an "habitual sinner". The habitual sinner is one that is void of any knowledge of God's Word, and acts merely out of his own desires. It is a person that just doesn't care about God's Word, and they make a habit of sinning the same acts over and over intentionally. Christians may sin the same sin over and over by habit, but when the Christian makes the sin, he asks the Father for forgiveness. The point is to have your spirit in tune with the Spirit of God, so when you do sin, you ask for forgiveness then, not pass it over and hope it will go away. When we do fall short, we have Jesus Christ as our advocate to represent us, right there in heaven at the right hand of God, before the throne of God. I John 2:2 "And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." "Propitiation", "hilasmos" in the Greek; is the "atoning sacrifice for our sins". That atoning sacrifice has a condition, and that condition is that they repent to the father in Jesus name. The requirement is to confess and repent of your sins. That sacrifice was for all mankind in this flesh age in the entire world that repents of their sins.. I John 2:3 "And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." In as much as the word "habitual" was used in connection with sinning, if you try to keep God's commandments and then fall, we have our advocate in Jesus Christ upon repentance. The price has already been paid for those sins of falling short of God's commandments, but it still requires your naming them to the Father in heaven, in Jesus name. Then your sins are forgiven and you have a new life, just as if that sin had never happened. I John 2:4 "He that saith "I know Him," and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." Again it would be easy for someone to get on a guilt trip over this verse. There is just nobody perfect, my friend, we all sill sin and come short of God's standards at some time or another. We like to say, "Don't sin", knowing that you will, but when you do, confess it when you realize what you have done. Any time you feel like a guilt trip is starting, repent and then get back to your business at hand. Knowing that the the promise of God is true; "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." To question this to to commit blasphemy against God. Once forgiven by the Father, you start a new life afresh, and the next time you fall short it requires your confession also. Our Christian life is a reality, not a religion. It is knowing where you stand before the Father, and when you fall short of His standards, confess it to him, and try to do better the next time. I John 2:5 "But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him." As long as you have that unction to try and keep God's Word, His commandments, and you see the truth, and His Word is in you, you become hungry for more truth. Then it becomes easier for you to keep His Word. I John 2:6 "He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked." This is saying that Jesus Christ walked and taught while he was on earth, and we ought to also walk and talk in the same manner as Christ walked. Friend, Jesus was perfect both in His flesh and Spirit, but you will not, but the point is that we try to walk in that manner. When we fall short there is repentance through our confession to the Father. When you try to walk in the path that Jesus walked, think on this; He was persecuted, beaten, spit upon, and crucified. The world just did not love Jesus then, and if you walk in that path, they may not love you either. They did not understand Jesus and his ways, and they will not understand yours either. When you commit to walk as Jesus walked, you better be focused on His Word, and stay in that word, for that is where the promises to those that walk His walk are given. When you have the promises of God, and you are in His Word, then claim each of those promises. We have an advocate in heaven. I John 2:7 "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 the beginning." The subject here is our heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. So the beginning is in reference to the beginning of the Father and Son, and the Word that is given to us. This is in reference to the very beginning. Remember back in the Gospel of John 1:1, 2; "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God." The Word is that which was spoken by God and written down by the prophets, and we call it the Bible, or Scriptures. God's Word has never changed, and it never will. It is the old commandments and they apply today just as it did then, when it was written down. I John 2:8 "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." This "new commandment" should be written "fresh commandment", because it is the same as the "old commandment" but applied with a fresh application to our lives. The Word of God never changes. When you allow that Word, the commandments of God to become fresh in your mind, it is true light that shines out, and will put darkness our of your mind. That light comes as you dig into God's Word, and absorb it into your mind. Friend, it will change you, whether you like it our not. This new command is what we call the "New Testament" and within the New Testament are a fresh writing of the Old Testament. Both declare the same promises of God, and are unchanged. But now that Jesus has conquered death, and is the light, and He [Jesus] has victory over death, which is to say Satan who is darkness. Just as Jesus was in the light, we are in that same light when we are in Christ. I John 2:9 "He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now." This isn't directed to hating the Word, but hating your brother who is in Christ. You should hate Satan and all evil, but those that are Christians and claim the name of Christ, we are to love as we would ourselves. We are all of the same body of Christ, and to be in that body is to be in the light. We know that some brothers are very difficult to love, but we can forgive them and pray for him. Many times those Christians that sin, are ignorant of what they are doing, and that is why we pray for them and love them. We are instructed in the the book of II Thessalonians 3, that we can love and understand him that he just doesn't know that he is doing. In this chapter it tells you how to treat a brother such as this, and it doesn't even say that you are to visit with him, just don't treat him as an enemy. However, we are to correct him as a brother. II Thessalonians 3:6; "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us." I John 2:10 "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him." That is to say that you abide in Christ for Christ is the light. I John 2:11 "But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whether he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes." Pick this up in an analogy whereby you totally understand this; Christ is the Light, and when you follow His way, you follow the Light. His way is the events and prophecy that are going to happen to the nations of the world. When you know what is going to happen tomorrow, it takes away the anxiety whereby you know and understand what will come to pass in this final generation. John says that someone that is contrary to that, walks in darkness and can't tell where he is going. Apply that both physically and spiritually, and do you want to place yourself in that place? The analogy that John is using here, is put yourself in a strange house, and turn out every light, and let it be totally dark, and now start to walk around the house. You don't know where your going or what you are going to fall over. Friend, that is what it is like to not have the Word of God in your heart and mind, with the truth of His Word. You cannot have the light simply by loving Jesus, because if you love Jesus you would love His Word, and absorb it into your mind, and it would become part of all your life. It is from His Word that you will know His plan, for He is the living Word, and you must know and understand all of His Word. We are not talking about memorizing all the scripture, but being familiar with it from beginning to end, and knowing the signs that we are to be on watch for. We are to know the working plan of God for this earth age, then you are in the light. As we look around us at the rest of the people, we see them stumbling around in the darkness, with no thought for the times and age that we are in spiritually. I John 2:12 "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake." I hope you didn't miss this verse, for it tells us that "your sins are forgiven you", all of them for His name's sake. His name sake is for the sake of Jesus Christ. Naturally when you follow the instructions given there, that must be followed, He promised that He will cleanse you. Notice also the tense that John is writing in, it is given in this letter and John writes first to the little children. I John 2:13 "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." Then John writes to the fathers, which have come to know Jesus Christ who was from the beginning. Then thirdly John writes to the young men who have overcome Satan the wicked one, the devil. John is writing in the present tense. I John 2:14 "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." Now John is writing to remind us that he has written in another tense, and we know that writting as the "Gospel of John". Now John is making reference to the book of Saint John from this book of the letter of John, as the second letter of John. Do you remember who the book of John started? "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God." and so on. John is saying again that he wrote both books for that purpose. Meaning that if you have ears to hear and eyes to see, and understand the light of His Word, then you walk in that light and understand what he is about to say. This is documentation that John wrote both the gospel of John, and the three letters of John that is contained in this book. We know also that John wrote down the book of Revelation. I John 2:15 "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." The world is this earth age, and the things that are part of this age. To love not the world means that we are not to place the things of this earth age over the things of the Father. Don't let the things of this world become the number one thing in your life, God is number one in your life. I John 2:16 "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." "Lust" means something longed for, to the point of almost worshipped. I John 2:17 "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." In other words, you are going to sin, and fall short in this life, but you have an advocate that can bring about your forgiveness. And for His names sake, The Father will always forgive your sins when you repent in Jesus name. This does not apply to those who deny the Holy Spirit the right to speak through them, when called before the Antichrist to give answer of themselves. We are to stay in His Word, and practice repentance, when it becomes necessary. I John 2:18 "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. John is saying that the reason that he is writing these things in this letter, is that you are to know these things already. John is addressing those in Christ gently, those in "the last hour", and we are living in the time of the last hour. In the Strong's Greek dictionary, # 5610, times is "Hora", "an hour, and instant, an season." These is only one last hour talked about in the Scriptures. It is that final hour before Christ returns. As ye have heard, as Jesus told us of that last hour in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, as well as the many places in the Old Testament by many of the prophets of God, that the Antichrist will come. John is telling us that even before the Antichrist comes, there will be many other antichrists that will come. Remember Jesus taught about these "antichrists in Matthew 24, and Mark 13, and we will go there shortly. What Joh is about to tell us was taught to him for Christ Himself. Remember that the entire chapter of Matthew 24, and Mark 13 was Jesus responding to the disciples question; What will it be like in the last hour before His return? Jesus answered that in those events that consummate the end of this earth age, these seven things will happen. There are seven things also named in Revelation, and that is why He gave seven. They are the seven seals, the seven trumpets, the seven vials, and so on, there are seven things, and they are given in order in the seven trumpets of Revelation. The warning to us is that the Antichrist is coming first, before the return of Jesus at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. Many people don't realize this, because it isn't taught in their church houses. Jesus warns us in Matthew 24:23; "Then if any man shall say unto you, `Lo, here is Christ,' or `there;' believe it not." If you always thought thought that if someone said that Christ is here, go to Him, if you do, you could be in trouble. Matthew 24:24 "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." This is not a man with a beanie, that has risen in the ranks of an organization, trying to act like he is Christ, but he will be performing miracles, and supernatural wonders. The Antichrist will be an angelic being, that looks like the church world thinks Christ ought to look, and saying the things they expect Christ ought to say, and doing supernatural things, and they will believe that the Antichrist is Christ for they were taught to believe so in their church houses. Friend, it is just possible that the elect will not be fooled by this fake Christ, for they know that they will not see our Lord and Savior in this flesh body, and the time of the Antichrist must come first. There is no way that when you know that the Antichrist, the "son of perdition" must rule from Jerusalem, and show mighty works, that you would be fooled into believing that fake to be Christ, and bow to him. Don't let the word "Antichrist scare you, it is written throughout the entire word of God that this fake would come first. I John 2:19 "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." Who are "they"? The subject is "antichrists", John told us in that first letter he wrote to us, called the Gospel of John, do you know them? You are suppose to. I John 2:20 "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." You should know all things concerning this. The word "unction" would be better translated as "discernment". We are to be able to discern something satanic, and know the difference between the things of God and the things of Satan. We get that discernment from God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit [Holy One]. It is Christ that gives us that unction to know those that come amongst us, claiming to be of God, but being of the evil one. This ability was new to every Christian at the beginning, but when God touches you, and it settles in you mind, you will have the ability to discern. Remember that John is writing here on three levels, to the old man, the young man, and to the children, and that is why we should teach on three levels, so that each time you go over a Scripture, a new level of understanding of that Word will come to light. If you don't get all the understanding on the first time through, don't worry about it, there will be a next time. That is why John mentions the three levels. I John 2:21 "I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth." John writes the truth to you, because within your mind you know the truth when you read it. That is the discernment that God gives. I John 2:22 "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son." John is telling us that he has written this before, and reminding us that we should know this. John told us this in John 8:44; "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." Remember that there were those that came to Christ claiming to be of Judah, and of course they were "Kenites" claiming to be of our brother Judah, but they were not. Jesus Himself answered them in John 8. Jesus made it clear who the "Kenites" are, that they were the offspring of Satan, their father. Now John is reminding us to go back and freshen our memories. We should know about those Kenites that are liars, and speak not the truth. They think like Satan, and talk like Satan, because they are the offspring of Satan from the Garden of Eden. Kenite means the offspring of "Cain", who is the son of Satan. When Jesus talked to them face to face, He told them that they were of their father the devil, and that is why they are not of us. The word "lust" means "longing for", and they were longing for the things that their father did and said. Who was this first murderer in the beginning? Of course it was Cain, the father of the Kenites, as we see in Strong's Hebrew dictionary # 7014, and # 7017. Friend, the father of lies is Satan, and he is the Antichrist. "Anti" in the Greek, Strong's number 473 means "instead of, or in substitution for". It is one that is claiming to be something that he is not. It is Satan claiming to be the Christ, the Messiah, when he is a fake, and the deceiver of the whole world, except for the elect. This is directed to the last time, hour, just before the coming of the true Messiah. Are you ready for it? or are you waiting for a fly away fairy tale to take place, which will place you dead center in the Antichrist's camp. I John 2:23 "Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also." Friend, if you have seen one, you have seen the other also. Why? Jesus said in John 10:30; "I and My Father are one." I John 2:24 "Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father." If you desire to stumble in the dark God will let you stay there, but if you want to know the truth, learn what happened in the beginning, in the Garden of Eden. You will never begin to understand the Word of God, if you do not know what happened in the that brought about the birth of the first murderer Cain, and why Cain and his offspring went out from amongst us in the beginning. Jesus talks about this in Matthew 13, in the "parable of the sower", where He said, if you don't understand this parable, you will understand none of Christ's parables. Why? Because the wicked one came in the night and planted the tares. Then in explaining that parable, in Matthew 13:35-43 He explains all parts of the parts. In verse 37; "He answered and said unto them, He That soweth the good seed is the Son of man;" God created Adam and Eve the good seed. Matthew 13:38 "The field is the world; and good see are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;" So who is the wicked one? Matthew 13:39 "The enemy that soweth them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels." Satan planted the evil seed and his children are evil. There is no great mystery to this, it is just that church social systems never like to get down to the basics of God's Word. John is telling us, that which we have heard from the beginning, that shall remain in you, and there is no one that can rob you of that truth. Friend, if you know this truth in these final days of this earth age, you will continue in the Son, and in the Father. Why? It is the truth and you will not be deceived by the Kenites, or the Antichrist or any part of his system. Remember in Revelation 3:9 by this same writer John; "Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee." Jesus told John that the truth gives you a key that unlocks the doors and no man can shut it. It also opens doors of truth that no man can close. The two churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia were the only two churches of the final days that held fast to the truth, and were not deceived, and that Christ approved of, with His blessings. The churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia taught in their church who those were that claimed to be of brother Judah, and did lie, were liars, and were from the father of lies, and they were of the synagogue of Satan. We call them Kenites. If your church isn't teaching who those Kenites are, and the perversion that the Kenites bring, it is out of tune with almighty God. I John 2:25 "And this is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life." Eternal life is a promise, whereby getting old doesn't mean anything. Even though the earth is millions of years old, we are just babes as far as eternity and our soul is concerned. This is one of those promises that we can claim when we are in Christ, and have repented of all our sins. This is the big promise and the free one to us, that the blood of Christ was shed to pay for you and I. It is free in that sense that you could not pay the price, regardless of the amount of money you have. The cleansing of your sins required a price that only God Himself could provide, and that promise was fulfilled when Jesus Christ, the Son of God went to the cross willingly to shed His blood. His blood cleanses you, whereby you receive the promise of eternal life. All others will be gone very shortly, and this old earth age will be over in a very short time. The question is, after the millennium, will you pass on with it? or will you have eternal life. I John 2:26 "These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you." Remember those that went out from us and were not part of us, those Kenites, they are those that seduce you. Their father was the first murderer, who was Cain, the son of Satan. Even Paul warned us of those that would seduce you. John keeps on warning us of these people, and refers to them as to what happened way back in the beginning, in the Garden of Eden. Paul teaches in II Corinthians 11:2, 3; "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." [2] Paul is telling us that he has taught them and he is very jealous because of the various doctrines that are floating around. Paul is reminding them that he has engaged them to one husband, Jesus Christ; and Paul wants to present them to Christ upon His return as a chaste virgin to Christ. If you are a chaste virgin spiritually before Christ, it means that you have not been deceived by the serpent, Satan. That is all that Jesus will accept upon His return for His bride. II Corinthians 11:3; "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." Satan has many titles, and the serpent is one of his titles that he used in the garden of Eden, when he sexually seduced Eve. The word "beguiled" in the Greek means "exapatao". Number 1818 in the Strong's Greek dictionary, "to wholly seduce". When Eve was wholly seduced by the serpent Satan, the devil, from that sexual union came a son, Cain. Why is it that people have trouble understanding what happened in the Garden of Eden. When Christ returns at the seventh trumpet, He is going to expect a virgin bride, and Paul is warning that there is going to be many that will be impregnated by this same old serpent, which is Satan, the Antichrist. They are all one and the same. Jesus warned us in Matthew 24:37-39 that it would be exactly as it was in the days of Noah. Who were they giving and taking in marriage to? They were the fallen angels, the supernatural entities, the sons of God that came to earth against God's plan. They married the daughters of men, as we read in Genesis 6:1-8, and sexually their offspring were giants. They were hybrids that God never intended, and thereby God sent the flood to destroy the hybrids. God was preserving the the perfect generation that remained on the earth in Noah's family, whereby the Messiah would come into the world as a baby, born of woman. So those that John is wanting us to be aware of, are the Kenites, those sons of Cain, that will seduce the entire world, in preparing the way for Satan's arrival as the Antichrist. I John 2:27 "But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him." In the Greek, the work "anointing" is the same word used for "unction" back in verse 20. This anointing then is the sure knowledge that you will not be deceived, if you are in Christ, and His Word. Then when a person tries to teach you something that is not true to God's Word, it will ring a bell in your mind right away. Jesus taught us in Mark 13:11, that the whole reason for us to be delivered up, is that we are not to premeditate what we will say, but that the anointing of the Holy Spirit of God will speak through you. It is through this that the world will hear and God Himself will speak through His children. That is why we are not to be seduced by the teachings of the world, and stay focused in the Word of God. I John 2:28 "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." Your husband is coming, and He expects to find a chased virgin, spiritually. Are you going to let the son of perdition, the Antichrist draw you off from Christ, and be seduced by him. Many are being taught the rapture theory today, which is preparing them to fly right into Satan's arms at the sounding of the sixth trumpet. Ezekiel 13:18-23, God said that He hated those that teach the souls of My People to fly, that they should not die. Ezekiel 13:18 "And say, `Thus saith the Lord God; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of My People, and will ye save the souls alive that come to you?" Ezekiel 13:19 "And will ye pollute Me among My People for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to same the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to My People that hear your lies?" God wants workers in the field that stay until the appearing of Jesus Christ, and He doesn't want you ashamed at that time. Some will be so ashamed to the point that they will be crying for mountains to fall upon them, because they are to ashamed to face the true Messiah, that shed His blood for them. They are good people and love the Lord, but they just won't study His Word, but would rather listen to the traditions of men. Ezekiel 13:20 "Wherefore thus saith the Lord God; "Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly." The pillows are the false teachings, and doctrines that we call traditions that teach God's people that it is not important to prepare themselves for the time of the great deception of the Antichrist. Instead they tell them that it is not necessary because they will not be here, they will fly away in a rapture before the Antichrist comes to earth. What does God say about this? "I am against your pillows [teachings], wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly." God is against any teaching that goes against our generation learning the entire plan of God, and causes us to take our focus off the signs and and events that mark the time of the end. All of the prophets and writers of the Word of God warned us of the time of the end, and events that would take place. I John 2:29 "If ye know that He is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him." Jesus Christ is righteous, and everyone that repents to the Father in Jesus name, becomes a child of His. Don't be a child of the devil for that is real easy to do in this world, especially in this generation. When we see someone claiming to be of God, and the fruit of their mouth and actions do not bear out with the Word of God, be careful. In chapter four of this letter, we are given in such plain language, the testing of the Spirit that no one should be deceived.
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