We finished 1 John this morning. Since I have been coughing so much, it feels like we had a month between this lesson and the last. I feel there was a huge amount of material in the book and that I learned more than I would have expected.

(Written 3/25, Posted  4/7 )

1 John 5:13-21 New International Version

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

16 If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. 19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

 

First Impression?

As a totally unexpected twist on my part, I felt led to bring my comparative study bible this morning. I have not taken it to lead from in many years and then I only remember doing it to show it as an example. Even more unexpectedly I felt led to read the Amplified version of the Bible rather then the other three versions in the book that I consider my go to translations (New International Version [NIV], New American Standard Bible, and King James [also known as the Authorized Version].)

After reading the Amplified, my first impression was how many more words it used than any of the others. My study mates had that too, but also focused on the confidence in Christ, not needing to fear, being separate from the world, that we know we are saved, and that God hears our prayers. I was struck by how the last verse seemed to stand on its own.

So that you may know – How has studying this book helped you know your situation?

This was sort of a trick question as it was about the whole letter and not just this passage. Various answers included better understanding of the Holy Spirit, knowing God intercedes, reinforcement of the gospel, focus on God’s love, and the many things to see God acting out. For me, I “feel” 100% sure of what I was 100% sure of before.

 Ask and know – I believe spiritual maturity is exemplified in what we pray for. How have your prayers changed?

Our answers ranged from more praise, to more others focused, and to more others spiritual condition focused. I neglected to share “in class”, but I feel free to pray for anything and then also to use it all (the answered and unanswered) as a mechanism to praise God.

There is sin that does not lead to death. – How does it differ from sin that leads to death?

Sin that does not lead to death can be forgiven. The sin that cannot be forgiven is like the “Go directly to jail” card in Monopoly. The Bible teaches that not everyone goes to heaven, that those that reject Christ do not go to heaven, and while we know this to be true, we cannot use it as an excuse to not follow the call of God to love our enemies and share the good news.

Should we not pray about the sin that leads to death?

As God does not let us know the hearts of others, we can pray for anyone in any condition. How God leads us to interact with someone who denies with their lips has to be an individual case by case decision that only the Holy Spirit can reveal to us individually.

All wrongdoing is sin. – Do we live this way?

We do not. We should.

Evil one – Do we look at the world as the realm of the evil one?

We do, but maybe not as granularly as we could.

Idols – Was this an adder or was it the way John wrapped up this whole message?

This is where the Amplified Version came into play. My mind reads idols and imagines little clay “idols”. The idea in the Biblical setting is much greater and is anything that separates us from seeking, finding, and following the will of God. The verse fits and is a great summary, if only we do not let our limited vocabulary and paradigms hinder our openness to hear God’s message.