Studies Through 1John - Lesson 3
The Benefits of Being A Christian
We write this to make our joy complete.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:4-7
Last lesson we looked at 5 claims to Jesus' deity in the first 3 verses and if you were to debate with John, he would probably say, "Did you meet Him? Did you touch Him? Did you hear His teachings personally? Did you see Him raise the dead, heal lepers, make the lame walk? Did you see Him calm a storm and walk on water and feed 5000 - twice? Did you hear Him forgive sins? Did you see Him transfigured? Did you see Him die and come back to life 3 days later? Did you see him levitate and disappear into heaven? Well, I did, so you are basically talking about stuff you know nothing about." I don't know if John would have been that blunt later in life but he may have been.
Today I want to go over 3 benefits from believing that Jesus is God from these 4 verses; joy, takes us out of darkness, and fellowship with other believers.
1. Joy - "we write this to make (y)our joy complete"
What is joy? The Greek word is chara which is related to charis - grace. The first thing we have to realize is that you can't have joy without the grace of Christ. Those who have not received the free gift of God's grace in salvation (Eph. 2:8,9) can not have joy. People without Christ can experience happiness which is contingent on favorable circumstances happening to them but Christians can experience an inner happiness or deep sense of well being and favor even in...
trials - "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds," James 1:2
troubles - "I have spoken to you with great frankness; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds." 2 Cor. 7:4
poverty - "In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity." 2 Cor. 8:2
getting kicked out of town -"They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51 So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit " Acts 13:50-52
severe suffering - "You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit" 1Thes. 1:6
insults, persecution, confiscation of property - "Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property," Heb. 10:33,34
Tim Keller often uses the illustration of the house he bought in Pennsylvania on a hill that always had a wet basement even in times of drought and his grass was always green when there was no rain. His neighbors told him finally that it was because there was an underground river that ran through that hill. So even in times of drought there was water because he had an underground stream and when it poured, he was flooded. This is what joy is - an underground current of happiness that is always there, sometimes enough for a dehumidifier but sometimes enough that you need a pump. How is that possible? Only through the grace of God He ...
1. Gives the Holy spirit- Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) We can't produce it- only God can
"You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit" 1Thes. 1:6
" the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, " Rom. 14:17
2. We know that bad things happening to us help us become more like Christ which is our main goal in life
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything James 1:2-4
3. Knowing we have something the world can't take away
the salvation of our souls
" Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell". Matt.10:28
" Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:8,9
eternal treasures
" and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light." Col. 1:12
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." Matt. 6:19,20
Love of Jesus
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom. 8:38,39
So, what can we do to increase the Joy in our lives? Here are 4 areas to look toward. Joy is like the floater in my eye - if I try to look for it, it moves away. The Beatitudes say "blessed are the ______". They don't say "blessed are the blessed" because joy isn't found by pursuing joy it is found by pursuing other things and as you do that, joy will come. Here are some of those things;
A. fellowship - we will talk in depth about this in a little bit but it is amazing to see how many of the verses in the Bible on fellowship also talk about joy.
fellowship with one another -
"In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you." 2 Cor. 7:13
fellowship with God (worship) -
"Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy." Luke 24:52
B. Fulfilling your ministry - "The seventy-two returned with joy..." Luke 10:17
C. Meditating on the future -"... leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven." Luke 6:23
D. Discipling - "For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. 9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? " 1Thes. 3:8,9
Leading someone to the Lord and then seeing them grow is one of the most joyous activities you will ever be involved in.
2. We are taken out of darkness
People like me who were saved at an early age probably have a harder time understanding the condition of darkness. Being raised in a Christian home the "light" has surrounded me my whole life. As I get older, I am seeing more and more darkness brought to light that is deep inside of me that God brings to light to remove yet still what is described in Ephesians 2 is still a little foreign to me, yet true;
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Eph. 2:1-7
This was our condition prior to salvation - Zombies; walking dead our one desire satisfying our flesh in the kingdom of darkness headed by Satan. Satan's kingdom is referred to as the kingdom of darkness and hell, despite talking about fire, is referred to over and over as a place of darkness(see below). God's kingdom is called a kingdom of light because as John says in vs. 5 (above) there is no darkness in God at all. Therefore, salvation is described as being taken from that Eph. 2 kingdom of darkness into a kingdom of light. Here is how Paul and Peter describe it;
"to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." Acts 26:18
"to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Col. 1:12-14
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." 1Pet.2:9
"We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." 2Pet. 1:19
As I've pondered darkness over the years, two pictures have come to my mind. First the problem of evil and second the picture of salvation.
First, the problem of evil. If God creates everything doesn't He have to create evil? I am a baseball fan and exclusively a Brewer fan. Growing up we would go to County Stadium for night games which wasn't in the greatest part of town. We would arrive early and tailgate which means grills cooking Bratwurst, Kilbassa, Polish Sausage, Sauer Kraut and throwing baseballs, footballs, Frisbees, etc. It was a party atmosphere with happiness, revelry, singing, and anticipation of a victory. The smell of charcoal and grilling filled the air and to this day the olfactory pleasures bring a feeling of well being. After the game when the lights went out and the cars were gone, out came the rats. The metal garbage cans gave off the odor of smoldering rubbish and homeless people slowly descended on the lot looking for remains. It became a somewhat dangerous place. What was the difference between happiness and dread - the absence of light. Similarly God is light. Can you imagine a world without His light? Revelations gives a glimpse of it. Post Apocolyptic movies and TV shows often show the darkness of humanity when the light of God is taken out of the world. God doesn't need to create evil - evil is just the absence of Him. C.S. Lewis in his chapter "The Invasion" from Mere Christianity talks about evil in the same way saying that "badness is simply spoiled goodness." (He gets much deeper than that)
Second, a picture of salvation. Imagine you are living in a dark your whole life. You are content with this until one day God opens your shutters, which you didn't know existed, and light shines in. You suddenly see how filthy your cottage is - years of dust, spider webs, dirt filling your house. Your clothes are filthy as are you. You have 3 choices - close the shutters and ignore the filth, open the shutters and embrace the filth, detest the filth and clean up using the light to guide you. In a spiritual sense, I believe that at some point in our life, God shines His light on our heart. It could be a blinding light like Saul/ Paul got on the road to Damascus, or it could be a brief pen light but nevertheless we will stand before God without excuse. When the light of the Spirit's conviction shines on our dirty hearts we have a choice to make - ignore it, say I don't mind it, or be appauled by it and get in the light.
This, hopefully gives a little insight into what it means to be in the Kingdom of darkness. The Bible gives some more insights into darkness in the following passages.
1. Hell is Darkness - we will never have to go to Hell
"But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matt. 8:12, 22:13, 25:30
" And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.... 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever." Jude 1:6,13
2. Death is darkness - we will never die
the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned. Matt 4:16
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace Luke 1:79
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. Heb. 2:14,15
3. Sin is darkness - we have been delivered from the bondage of sin
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God John 3:19-21
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Rom. 1:21
The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh Rom. 3:12-14
4. Walking in darkness - the life without Christ is described this way which to me implies randomness, no orientation, no real direction, slipping and falling a lot, depression, gloom, etc
Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36 Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light John 12:35,36
3. We have fellowship with fellow believers
Fellowship is from the Greek word Koinonea and the root word of that means "common". We have a common partnership. We begin doing life together through the common bond of salvation. As Children of God belonging to the Kingdom of light we now have a new family . We become a body which functions best as we belong to each other.
" For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." Rom. 12:4,5
14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it 1 Cor. 12
Even Jesus in His prayer in John 17 for us says
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
He is praying for Fellowship; fellowship with the Father as we saw in the last lesson and fellowship with each other as we see in this section. Lets look at some of the things that we have in common besides pot-lucks and Bingo games. (as above, notice how many times we see joy come up in these verses)
1. A common mission - our job has become to partner in the evangelization of the planet Earth before time runs out. My job isn't a doctor; my job is to partner in the evangelization of the planet as a doctor.
" I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now," Phil. 1:3-5
2. Common Possessions - After all, don't you share things with your family? And "things" aren't yours anyway - everything belongs to God.
"In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people." 2 Cor. 8:2-4
" All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need." Acts 2
" All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. ... there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need." Acts 4
3. Common Persecution - you mess with my family, you are messing with me
" Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions" Heb. 10:32-34
4. Common future - Is Heaven going to be big enough to avoid certain people for all eternity? Time to start getting along with them down here.
" To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: " 1Peter 5:1
5. Common needs for encouraging, strengthening, refreshing -
"so that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed." Rom. 15:32
" for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me." Phil. 1:25,26
"And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God" 1Sam 23:16
" I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith." Rom 1:12
"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Heb. 10:24,25
You see the Church is so much more than a hospital for sinners, it is a mash unit to put us back together and back into the battle against the evil one to free those enslaved by him. The church is a launching pad and we are the church.
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