1 John

1 John: A Letter of Love and Light

1 John is a letter written by the apostle John to the Ephesus church. It is a letter of love and light in which John encourages believers to walk in the truth and to love one another. He also warns against false teachers and the dangers of sin.

One of the main themes of 1 John is the importance of love. John writes, "God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:16). He also says, "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). John's message is that true love comes from God, and that we are called to love one another as He has loved us.

Another critical theme in 1 John is walking in the truth. John writes, "If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not speak the truth. 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 cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:6-7). John's message is that we cannot truly love one another without walking in the truth.

John also warns against false teachers and the dangers of sin. He writes, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). He also says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). John's message is that we need to be discerning about who we listen to and what we believe and that we need to confess our sins to God so that we can be forgiven and cleansed.

1 John is a powerful letter that encourages us to walk in love and light, to love one another, and to walk in the truth. It also warns us against false teachers and the dangers of sin.
John's message is still relevant today and is a message we all need to hear.

Here are some specific lessons that we can learn from 1 John:

• God is love; we are called to love one another as He has loved us.
• We cannot truly love one another without walking in the truth.
• We need to discern who we listen to and what we believe.
• We must confess our sins to God to be forgiven and cleansed.

How can we apply these lessons to our lives today?

• We can love one another by being kind, compassionate, and forgiving.
• We can walk in the truth by studying the Bible and applying its teachings.
• We can be discerning by testing everything against the teachings of the Bible.
• We can confess our sins to God and ask for His forgiveness.

1 John is a letter that is full of wisdom and encouragement. It is a letter that we can all learn from, and it is a letter that we can all apply to our lives today. I’m looking forward to parsing out each verse with you.

Pastor Jody