Blessing:

Bless this day and glorify Your name through me, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Scripture Reference:

1 John 2

Today’s Message:

There are several contrasts in the second chapter of I John. These contrasts are used by God to warn the Church family.

The first contrast was the conflict between light and darkness, which was a continuation of that thought from chapter one. From 1:5-7, you saw the initial contrast of light and darkness which provided fellowship; and in 2:8-11 you saw that light and darkness are differentiated by the contrast of love and hate. So you can add love and hate to your list of contrasts that you started in chapter one.

There is also a contrast of loving the world or loving the Father in 2:15-17. You can’t love both! And the final contrast is the conflict between truth and error, or as the text so aptly puts it, truth and lies, in 2:21-27.

And you saw yesterday the contrast of saying and doing.

So far your contrasts should be:

1. Light/Darkness
2. Love/Hate
3. Love the Father/Love the world
4. Truth/Lies
5. Saying/Doing

Chapter 2 also warns the Church family about false teachers that are controlled by the spirit of antichrist. John gives three identifying traits of those of the antichrist spirit:

1. He departs from the fellowship. (2:18-19) One of the evidences of true Christian life is a desire to be with the people of God; a true love of the brothers.
2. He denies the faith. (2:20-25) The great assertion of the faith that sets a Christian apart from others is this: Jesus Christ is God’s Son come in the flesh and that Jesus is the promised Messiah (Christ) – also see I John 4:2.
3. He tries to deceive the faithful. (2:26-29) Not only do they deny the Son, but they deny the Spirit. They want to take the place of the Spirit; to be teachers and lead others astray. But, believers have the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and He will teach them the truth!

You also can see four reasons why Christians should not love the world in 2:15-17.

1. Because of what the world is. World – komos (#2889) an invisible spiritual system opposed to God and Christ; Satan’s system (look at Dr. Zhodiates NT Word Dictionary for a complete word study)
2. Because of what the world does to us. Worldliness is not so much a matter of activity as of attitude! Anything in a Christian’s life that causes him to lose his enjoyment of the Father’s love or his desire to do the Father’s will is worldly. Responding to the Father’s love (your personal devotional life), and doing the Father’s will (your daily conduct) – these are the two tests of worldliness. Worldliness is the lust of flesh, eyes, pride of life=world’s system.
3. Because of what a Christian is. We are part of God’s family! Here are 3 stages of growth:

• Little children = born ones; all believers, even the immature ones
• Young men = not yet fully mature, but they are maturing through the Word
• Fathers = mature believers who have an intimate, personal relationship with God; they know God

Because of where the world is going. “The world is passing away”, but he who does the will of God abides forever!

Reflection:

Do you love the world? The world is Satan’s system that he has been using since the Garden of Eden: lust of the flesh (desire), lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Don’t fall in his trap!

Your Turn:

1. Name the characteristics of the believer who knows Jesus. (2:3, 6, 10, 14, 21, 28, 29)
2. Name the characteristics of the unbeliever who does not know Jesus. (2:4, 9, 11, 15, 19, 26)
3. Now that you’ve looked at several points in this chapter, just simply read through it again and feel the context of what John is saying in chapter 2.
4. Again, reflect on what the Holy Spirit is saying to you personally. You might want to write out a prayer to the Lord….that helps in putting your thoughts together. We will close out chapter 2 tomorrow.

Closing Prayer:

Lord, I want to be authentically Yours! Examine my heart and my walk, and bring awareness to me in any area of which I need to repent. Amen.