'Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us that we should be called the sons of God.'
These words from that old tune came back to me today as I was reading 1 John chapter 3. The NIV reads "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!"
In his book titled 'Be Real' Warren Wiersbe highlights the importance of this verse by linking it back to the passage in Ephesians that says that while we were still his enemies, God, through Christ Jesus, brought us near himself (Eph 2:12-13).
Showing posts with label 1 John. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1 John. Show all posts
Friday, July 6, 2012
Sunday, November 21, 2010
The Spirit, the Water, and the Blood
1 John
The Spirit, the water, and the blood agree. John used these three to testify to Christ because the Old Testament law stipulated that there had to be two or three witnesses to a matter in order to determine the truth. Interestingly, later translations of these verses - 1 John 5:7-8 - have added a few lines about how the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit testify in heaven and the Spirit, water, and blood testify on earth. However, this addition does not appear in any manuscript prior to the fourteenth century. There's an interesting article by Daniel Wallace on bible.org (click here) that talks about this issue at greater length. The reason this later addition has been kept is because it speaks to the Trinity, and yet it isn't actually very reliable. However, I'm not an expert on these matters, so if textual criticism is your thing, check out the link above.
The Spirit, the water, and the blood agree. John used these three to testify to Christ because the Old Testament law stipulated that there had to be two or three witnesses to a matter in order to determine the truth. Interestingly, later translations of these verses - 1 John 5:7-8 - have added a few lines about how the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit testify in heaven and the Spirit, water, and blood testify on earth. However, this addition does not appear in any manuscript prior to the fourteenth century. There's an interesting article by Daniel Wallace on bible.org (click here) that talks about this issue at greater length. The reason this later addition has been kept is because it speaks to the Trinity, and yet it isn't actually very reliable. However, I'm not an expert on these matters, so if textual criticism is your thing, check out the link above.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Love drives out fear
I learned something today, or at least I was reminded - if you're in a loving relationship, there is no need to fear. Love involves trust, and if you love someone, you won't be malicious or hateful toward him, and he won't have any reason to fear you. God loves us; why should we fear him? Of course, there is a holy fear and awe toward God as master of the universe, but there is no reason to fear him.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Love again!
1 John
I am going to carry on from yesterday's theme in 1 John - love. I must admit, I didn't do the best job at putting 3:18 into action today. It's easy enough to love a spouse or close friend, but we're called to do more than love those we like. So today's application is to do better than we did before. That's my prayer for myself and you - to show God's love to whomever I/you meet. Since we profess to believe in God, we need to speak from his viewpoint, and that's love for all.
I am going to carry on from yesterday's theme in 1 John - love. I must admit, I didn't do the best job at putting 3:18 into action today. It's easy enough to love a spouse or close friend, but we're called to do more than love those we like. So today's application is to do better than we did before. That's my prayer for myself and you - to show God's love to whomever I/you meet. Since we profess to believe in God, we need to speak from his viewpoint, and that's love for all.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Love and life
Key verses
John 11:25-26 - Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."
1 John
Here is a great call to action: Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth (1 John 3:18). My challenge to you (and myself) is to go out and put this verse into action. Look around and ask, how can I show love in a tangible way to someone today? It's interesting how love passes us from death to life. Believing in Jesus means believing in the love he showed us. That's love - he died so we would live. We went from death to life.
We were meant for relationships, and love is at the heart of any relationship. Let's build on that!
John 11:25-26 - Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."
1 John
Here is a great call to action: Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth (1 John 3:18). My challenge to you (and myself) is to go out and put this verse into action. Look around and ask, how can I show love in a tangible way to someone today? It's interesting how love passes us from death to life. Believing in Jesus means believing in the love he showed us. That's love - he died so we would live. We went from death to life.
We were meant for relationships, and love is at the heart of any relationship. Let's build on that!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
You ol' dry bones
Key verse
1 John 3:1 - How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!
Job 13:15 seems to have some very different translations. The NIV says "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face." This version seems to suggest that even though God has Job suffer bad times, Job will still trust that God has something better in store, although he will ask God why. The NIV also includes a footnote, however, that says another way to read the verse is "He will surely slay me; I have no hope - yet I will surely defend my ways to his face." This different version suggests that even though Job has no hope because God will definitely kill (if this is the proper translation of slay) him, Job is still going to ask God why.
In some ways, these two translations are similar, but the first seems to be more trusting in God than the other.
EzekielI like this passage about the old dry bones, because it reminds me of a song I once heard.
Here are the lyrics from an Internet site.
It was down in boneyard circuit
There was no way to shirk it,
A Preacher named Ezekiel was sent
he landed at the station
and saw the situation
a valley of dry bones was his audience
by way of a suggestion
the Lord asked him a question
can these dry bones be raised up from the dead?
The spirit was beseeching
the preacher went to preaching
and from the pulpit this is what he said
Oh you old dry bones,
hear the words of the Lord
Rise upon your feet
his goodness to repeat
lay aside your dry profession
get a holy Ghost possession
you have been bleaching in the desert long enough!
1 John 3:1 - How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!
Job 13:15 seems to have some very different translations. The NIV says "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face." This version seems to suggest that even though God has Job suffer bad times, Job will still trust that God has something better in store, although he will ask God why. The NIV also includes a footnote, however, that says another way to read the verse is "He will surely slay me; I have no hope - yet I will surely defend my ways to his face." This different version suggests that even though Job has no hope because God will definitely kill (if this is the proper translation of slay) him, Job is still going to ask God why.
In some ways, these two translations are similar, but the first seems to be more trusting in God than the other.
EzekielI like this passage about the old dry bones, because it reminds me of a song I once heard.
Here are the lyrics from an Internet site.
It was down in boneyard circuit
There was no way to shirk it,
A Preacher named Ezekiel was sent
he landed at the station
and saw the situation
a valley of dry bones was his audience
by way of a suggestion
the Lord asked him a question
can these dry bones be raised up from the dead?
The spirit was beseeching
the preacher went to preaching
and from the pulpit this is what he said
Oh you old dry bones,
hear the words of the Lord
Rise upon your feet
his goodness to repeat
lay aside your dry profession
get a holy Ghost possession
you have been bleaching in the desert long enough!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Antichrists
Who is the antichrist, or antichrists, that John is talking about? It's not one specific person, or group of people, per se, but rather, as Clarke's commentary suggests: "Every man who opposes the spirit of the Gospel, and every teacher and
writer who endeavors to lower the Gospel standard to the spirit and
taste of the world, is a genuine antichrist, no matter where or among
whom he is found." As long as we stick to the word of God, we will be able to discern the antichrists of our day.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Against the gnostics
As we make our way through Job, I thought it would be interesting to insert a map of the land of Uz, which is where Job lived.
This map is from bible.cc
1 John
Some brief comments on 1 John - it was written partially to combat against early gnostic teachings, such as that Jesus didn't have a mortal, fleshly body, which meant that anything his followers did in the flesh didn't really matter. As we will see in 4:2, John doesn't agree with these ideas (This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God...)
1 John
Some brief comments on 1 John - it was written partially to combat against early gnostic teachings, such as that Jesus didn't have a mortal, fleshly body, which meant that anything his followers did in the flesh didn't really matter. As we will see in 4:2, John doesn't agree with these ideas (This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God...)
Friday, November 12, 2010
The blind man
Key verse
1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
John
I like this story about the blind man (I read the whole thing). I find it amusing that he asks the Pharisees if they want to be Jesus' disciples as well. He stays true to Jesus, his healer, even though he gets accosted by the Pharisees. Don't doubt the power of Christ, even if you bombarded by criticism and hatred.
1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
John
I like this story about the blind man (I read the whole thing). I find it amusing that he asks the Pharisees if they want to be Jesus' disciples as well. He stays true to Jesus, his healer, even though he gets accosted by the Pharisees. Don't doubt the power of Christ, even if you bombarded by criticism and hatred.
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