The 3 Purposes for Writing 1 John
1. That your joy may be full (1 John 1:4)
Our joy being full (complete) only comes from fellowship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ (v. 3), which comes from truth (v. 2).
2. So that you may not sin (1 John 2:1)
Does this verse teach we can be sinless after salvation? Absolutely not! Look at verse 2 - "If anyone sins..." Yet our goal should always be holiness. Knowing that we will never be completely free from sin, we should strive for that in our lives because of our love for Jesus. However, we are freed from a lifestyle of habitually, continually engaging in sin.
3. So that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5: 13)
This verse has been a tremendous help in my life during times I struggled with doubt over my salvation. This verse teaches that if you believe in Jesus Christ (His death, burial, resurrection), you can presently know that you presently have eternal life! What encouragement and relief! My salvation does not depend on how I feel, it depends on what God did in my life. And if I have eternal life now, I can't lose my salvation- because I now have eternal (never ending) life. If it can stop- then it wasn't eternal!
Next homework assignment: Read the book of 1 John. Yup, again! Actually, you may have to read it more than once this week for this assignment.
1. Look for one of the keywords in this book: "know." Mark it in your Bible the same way throughout the book of 1 John, so it sticks out to you at a glance. I simply circled the word. A couple of times it says, "did not know" or something similar. I circled "did not know" during those instances. If you don't like marking in your Bible yet, try printing out the text onto full size paper and mark on it that way. You can find your favorite Bible text online at www.biblegateway.com
Here is an example of how I did it:
2. Find the SIX times Jesus is given as our example. Words that will help these stand out are "as He" and "just as He." One of them is a little difficult to find because it doesn't have those words in it. I simply underlined the phrase. I also wrote "Jesus Our Example" in the margin next to the verse.
If you read the passage through and don't find them all, don't give up! Read through it again (and maybe even again) and you'll find them all! This will help you become more familar with the book by reading it over and over again. You may even consider using an audio Bible. I wrote about how much I enjoy reading the Bible while listening to an audio Bible in this post here.
Enjoy!
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
