(This is what was covered during our first Bible Study on 1 John - January 8, 2014)
Bible
“The Bible is an integrated message system divided into 66
books, written by 40 different authors over a period of thousands of years, yet
agrees completely in its presentation of God, history, and truth.”
“The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed, and the Old Testament is in
the New Testament revealed.” –Chuck
Missler
"The BIBLE -- banned, burned, beloved. More widely read, more frequently attacked
than any other book in history. Generations of intellectuals have attempted to
discredit it, dictators of every age have outlawed it and executed those who
read it. Yet soldiers carry it into
battle believing it more powerful than their weapons. Fragments of it smuggled into solitary prison
cells have transformed ruthless killers into gentle saints." –Chuck Colson
“This Book will keep you from sin, and sin will keep you
from this Book.” –D. L. Moody
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for
every good work.” -2 Timothy 3: 16, 17
“Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to
me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God
of hosts.” –Jeremiah 15: 16
Basic Bible Study Tips
Remember: The Best Commentary on the Bible is… THE BIBLE
1. Ask QUESTIONS
2. CONTEXT, CONTEXT, CONTEXT
Example: Matthew 19: 16-22
Matthew 19: 16-22
16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” 20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Matthew 19:21 is often used out of context to teach that one has to be poor in order to be a Christian. That is not what Jesus was saying, nor was He teaching that you have to be a good person in this passage. He was dealing with the rich young ruler's view of himself, and showed him that he was not as "good" as he thought he was.
3. Interpret HARD TO UNDERSTAND passages in light of easy to
understand passages, not vice versa.
Example: James 2: 20, Ephesians 2: 8-10
James 2: 20
But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without
works is dead?
Ephesians 2: 8-10
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that
not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
James 2:20 is a difficult passage because, by itself, it seems that it is teaching that you are not saved without good works. It could be interpreted either way. But Ephesians 2:8-10 is very clear: works CANNOT save you. There is no way to interpret that passage. Therefore, interpret James 2:20 in light of Ephesians 2:8-10, that someone who has faith will do good works, but the works do not save you.
THE GOSPEL
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I
preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which
also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless
you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also
received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that
He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the
Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that
He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part
remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.
The Gospel is the most important part of the Bible and of our lives. I hope it will be spoken of, taught, read, studied and proclaimed often through Citylight Church!
BACKGROUND OF 1 JOHN
Author: Traditionally accepted as John the Apostle. Wrote
the Gospel of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and Revelation. Only identifies
himself at end of Gospel and in Revelation. Wrote Gospel of John as “the
disciple whom Jesus loved.”
Personally called by Jesus and was an eyewitness of His
entire ministry.
Considered younger than the rest of the disciples.
Was a part of Jesus’ “inner-circle” of three disciples,
Peter, James and John. Only they experienced the Transfiguration, Jairus’
daughter raised from the dead, and prayer in the garden.
1-3 John are technically considered “epistles” (letters),
however they are different than the rest of the Epistles in the Bible. For
example, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians Colossians written by Paul to the
churches in those areas. 1 John is sometimes referred to as a “written sermon.”
Unknown exact time when books were written, by traditionally
believed to be late first century, commonly believed to be 90-95 AD.
John and his brother James, the Sons of Zebedee, were given
the nicknames “Sons of Thunder,” probably referring to their occasional tempers.
John writes in a very black and white style- this is right, this is wrong,
light or darkness, truth or lies, right or wrong.
Main Purpose of 1 John: To combat the heresy of GNOSTICISM
(from Greek “gnosis” meaning knowledge)
GNOSTICISM IS THE TEACHING based on Gnosis, the knowledge of
transcendence arrived at by way of interior, intuitive means. Although
Gnosticism thus rests on personal religious experience, it is a mistake to
assume all such experience results in Gnostic recognitions. It is nearer the
truth to say that Gnosticism expresses a specific religious experience, an
experience that does not lend itself to the language of theology or philosophy,
but which is instead closely affinitized to, and expresses itself through, the
medium of myth. Indeed, one finds that most Gnostic scriptures take the forms
of myths. The term “myth” should not here be taken to mean “stories that are
not true”, but rather, that the truths embodied in these myths are of a
different order from the dogmas of theology or the statements of philosophy.
… All religious traditions acknowledge that the world is
imperfect. Where they differ is in the explanations which they offer to account
for this imperfection and in what they suggest might be done about it. Gnostics
have their own -- perhaps quite startling -- view of these matters: they hold
that the world is flawed because it was created in a flawed manner.
… The blame for the world’s failings lies not
with humans, but with the creator. Since -- especially in the monotheistic
religions -- the creator is God, this Gnostic position appears blasphemous, and
is often viewed with dismay even by non-believers.
… Human nature mirrors the duality found in the world: in
part it was made by the false creator God and in part it consists of the light
of the True God. Humankind contains a perishable physical and psychic
component, as well as a spiritual component which is a fragment of the divine
essence. This latter part is often symbolically referred to as the “divine
spark”. The recognition of this dual nature of the world and of the human being
has earned the Gnostic tradition the epithet of “dualist”.
Humans are generally ignorant of the divine spark resident
within them. This ignorance is fostered in human nature by the influence of the
false creator and his Archons, who together are intent upon keeping men and
women ignorant of their true nature and destiny. Anything that causes us to
remain attached to earthly things serves to keep us in enslavement to these
lower cosmic rulers. Death releases the divine spark from its lowly prison, but
if there has not been a substantial work of Gnosis undertaken by the soul prior
to death, it becomes likely that the divine spark will be hurled back into, and
then re-embodied within, the pangs and slavery of the physical world.
Not all humans are spiritual (pneumatics) and thus ready for
Gnosis and liberation. Some are earthbound and materialistic beings (hyletics),
who recognize only the physical reality. Others live largely in their psyche
(psychics). Such people usually mistake the Demiurge for the True God and have
little or no awareness of the spiritual world beyond matter and mind.
…Gnostics do not look to salvation from sin
(original or other), but rather from the ignorance of which sin is a
consequence. Ignorance -- whereby is meant ignorance of spiritual realities --
is dispelled only by Gnosis, and the decisive revelation of Gnosis is brought
by the Messengers of Light, especially by Christ, the Logos of the True God. It
is not by His suffering and death but by His life of teaching and His
establishing of mysteries that Christ has performed His work of salvation.
Citylight Church is a new church starting in 2014 in the Capital Region of Upstate New York, with the desire to reach those who live in Albany and nearby areas with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are currently offering a home Bible study on a weekly basis and plan to offer more ministries soon. If you have questions about Citylight Church, or would like to see how you can be involved with this ministry, feel free to contact us.
You can email Mike Towers at mike@citylightalbany.com
