1 John 4:6 Spirit of Truth or Error

1 John 4:6 says, “We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” John is saying that we who teach the things of God are heard by those who know God. What qualifies any teacher is not apostolic succession or ordination by men, but the spirit of truth rather than error. When people give in to the spirit of falsehood, contradicting the teachings of the Apostles, claiming the Bible is just the teachings of men, they become false prophets, falsely claiming to be speaking for God.

John 10:18 Voluntary Death

John 10:18 says, “No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” Nobody, neither the Jews nor Romans, not even the Father, took Jesus’ life from Him. His submission and death was entirely voluntary. He voluntarily went up to Jerusalem, knowing that He would die. He said that Pilate would have no power unless God gave it (John 19:11). The fact that Jesus had power to take His life again, shows His divinity. And, He voluntarily fulfilled the commission from the Father.

1 John 4:1 Test the Spirits

In 1 John 4:1 we read, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” A misunderstanding of Jesus’ instructions not to be judgmental, is that we should not discern who are false prophets. Yet after Jesus said, “Judge not” (Matthew 7:1) He said “Beware of false prophets.” (Matthew 7:15) Is that a contradiction? Jesus does not want us to be always judging, hypercritical, and beware of false prophets, falsely claiming to bring a message from God. How do we test without judging? We do not condemn, but discern by the fruits.

John 10:17 Because

John 10:17 says, “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.” The Father loved the Son from eternity, and that love is culminated and fully justified, because He is the Good Shepherd, and because of His voluntary readiness to sacrifice Himself for the sheep. His desire was to bring the whole world back to the Father. Jesus lay down His life of His own free will and had the power to take His life back again. The Good Shepherd dies, not to leave the sheep defenseless, but to rise again and be the Shepherd of more sheep coming into the flock.

John 10:16 Other Sheep

John 10:16 says, “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.” Jesus describes one flock, but not one fold or courtyard, and he described one Shepherd Jesus, not any human leader. Mark found sheep in Egypt and the Coptic church became a separate sheepfold. Thomas, Thaddeus and Bartholomew also did the same in Assyria. Later Thomas did the same in Kerala, southwest India. Competing Roman and Eastern Orthodox claims of being the “one true church” are not borne out by history. All Christians are one in Christ.

John 10:15 I Know the Father

In John 10:15 we read, “As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” We might ask how is the two-sided intimate knowledge between Jesus and His sheep? His answer is to compare it with the mutual knowledge between Him and His Father. Those of us far removed from ancient agricultural practices may not understand the love of a shepherd for his sheep, but perhaps we can relate in some ways if we’ve ever had pets that we loved and spent many hours with. The love of this Shepherd is so great that He willingly dies for his flock.

John 10:14 I Know My Sheep

In John 10:14 we read, “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” Psalm 23 is a picture of life under the Good Shepherd. I once knew a shepherdess who taught me the difference between a sheep farmer and a shepherd. She knew her sheep by name and they knew her. She didn’t drive them like a sheep farmer would, but called them and they knew her voice and came to her. A bond of trust exists between shepherd and sheep. To a stranger all sheep may look alike, but to a loving shepherd, each is an individual and cared for individually.

John 10:12-13 The Hired Hand

In John 10:12-13 we read, “But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.” A hired hand or wage worker does not own the sheep nor cares like Jesus does. He does not fight the wolf, but runs. False prophets or other predators come and take sheep by force, “not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29; Matthew 7:15). Human pastors come and go but Jesus will never leave.

Pastors

The word pastor is one of the least used words for a church leader in the New Testament, but a very meaningful one. Whereas other church leadership roles carry meanings like envoy, servant, older person, teacher and overseer, the word pastor means a shepherd. Every human pastor is an assistant to Jesus. In larger churches assistant pastors or small group leaders become the hands-on pastors of the flock. All pastoral care is vital because there is nothing more important to Jesus than his flock. Human pastors are inadequate and totally incapable of providing what Jesus would, yet it is a privilege to love and be loved by the flock of Christ.

John 10:11 The Good Shepherd

In John 10:11 we read, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” The word “good” also means beautiful of heart, and the word “shepherd” is exactly the same word as pastor. A reason for his goodness is also given, that he will “expose himself to any danger for their safety”.[1] “When the wolf comes, he would still remain to protect them.”[2] We have a literal example of such a good shepherd in David, who protected his flock of sheep from “a lion or a bear” (1 Samuel 17:33-35). More than facing danger, Jesus laid down His life for His sheep.

[1] Benson Commentary [2] Barnes’ Notes

1 John 3:4-6 Sin

What is sin? 1 John 3:4 says, “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” Should we be legalistic, returning to the letter of the law? The new covenant is “not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6) Jesus taught that a bad thought breaks the law (Matthew 5:22, 28). What hope do we have then? 1 John 3:5-6 says, “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin.” Jesus covers our sins (Romans 4:7).

1 John 3:1-3 Sons of God

The phrase “sons (or children) of God” in 1 John 3:1-3 refers to human beings. In Genesis 6 the sons of God married and giants were born. Jesus said that angels cannot marry or give children in marriage, so the phrase “sons of God” in Genesis also means human beings. We are called children of God by adoption. We will be like him and live forever. This process is called theosis, or divinization, or sanctification. We are being transformed day by day to be like Jesus. We purify ourselves, freeing ourselves from everything unholy, staying close to Jesus. We “know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him”.

Acts 3:19 Turn to God

Acts 3:19 says, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out”. “Be converted” is old English and has changed meanings. It is not passive in Greek. It is better translated today as that we must act and “return to God.” The word converted means something totally different today. The purpose for turning to God is, “so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” This refers to a breeze that refreshes a weary soul. There is no delay indicated for the times of refreshing. Forgiving refreshment begins immediately and will culminate in those times of refreshing that Jesus brings at his coming.

Luke 24:47 Repentance INTO Forgiveness

In Luke 24:47 we read that “repentance and forgiveness [repentance INTO forgiveness] of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Preaching against sin is not to condemn, but to save, to lead us to forgiveness. The opposite of sin is not impossible moral perfection, but faith. The Old Testament proved that letter-perfect law-keeping is impossible. We fail law-keeping. Repentance is not keeping the letter of the law, but changing from unbelief to faith in God. Paul taught that the purpose of the law was not perfect obedience in the letter, but to expose sin. Gospel preaching is not better morality, but forgiveness, absolution.

Luke 24:39 Jesus is not a Ghost

A recycled heresy, Marcionism calls Jesus a ghost. In Luke 24:36b-48 Jesus proves he is not a ghost, a spirit without a body, “Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones”. The disciples disbelieved for joy, it seemed too good to be true. Jesus then ate with them. The Hebrew scriptures are summarized by the description “the law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms.” He opened their minds to understand the scriptures. We too need divine help to understand the Bible. There were three parts to Jesus’ instructions: he would suffer, be raised and repentance resulting in forgiveness must be proclaimed to all nations.

Do we Confess our Sins?

1 John 1:9-10 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” One US President was famous for saying that he had no sins to confess. But humble confession that we have not attained sinless perfection, is a hallmark of true Christianity. Self-righteous judgmentalism hides behind a mask of legalistic perfection. It makes us liars and fake Christians. We must learn to openly and humbly admit what Jesus taught, that even our thoughts are often sinful.

Historical Evidence

Paul reminds the church of God in Korinthos that the Gospel which he first preached to them included the resurrection, even though some no longer believe in it. He presents a creed, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” Notice that Paul twice says that this was according to the Hebrew Scriptures. He also gave historic evidence of the resurrection, “that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present”.