1JOHN CHAPTER 5
KJV
WEB
See
previous page
1Jn 5,1-5
(8m)
Responsibility >> Responsible to defend God’s cause
>>
Laying the foundation of freedom
(85l) Thy kingdom come
>>
Belief >> Treating the knowledge of God as fact >>
Believing the Son by obeying the Father >>
Obeying the law by faith in the cross
>> Obedience represents our faith
(156b) Witness
>>
Validity of the believer >> Evidence of
salvation >> Loving God is evidence of salvation >> Keeping His commandments -- These
verses go with verse 18.
This is love, keeping the
commandments of God. This is also what overcomes the world. The entire book of First John is a
litmus of proofs that we can use to determine who is our brother and who isn't.
John wrote in these terms because He knew that at the second coming of Christ
the Church would be full of false brothers, and he wanted to give us a way to
determine who really believed and who didn't. He said that those who love God also love the children of God (1Jn
4-20,21), and now he is saying just the opposite, that those who love the
children of God also love God. One proves the other, as though we were talking
about an equation. We love God as much as we love the children of God, and we
love the children of God as much as we love God, no more and no less.
1Jn 5,1-3
(90c) Thy kingdom come
>>
Keeping the law >> Law is our tutor >>
It prepares your heart to receive Christ
(90h) Thy kingdom come
>>
Keeping the law >> Righteousness of the law >>
We must keep the law because it is righteous – John is referring to the
Ten Commandments of
the old covenant, meaning that we are still required to love God with all
our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves. One of the few differences between the old and new
covenants is to replace the word “neighbor” for “brother.” Neighbor
means friend in the world, while brother means friend in the
Church. John said that God’s commandments are not burdensome, but
historically they were. The old
covenant law was such a burden in the old covenant that Paul said it was impossible to fulfill.
The reason the law is no longer a burden is that the
Holy Spirit works in us to joyfully fulfill His commandments.
(110g) Thy kingdom come >>
Faith >>
Spirit and the word >> Born of the Spirit by the
truth >> Conceived by the Spirit of truth -- These verses go with verses 18-20
(153a) Witness
>>
Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the
father >> Church bears witness of the Father
through Christ -- These verses go with verses 9-12
(208f) Salvation
>>
The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >>
Being the friend of God >> Relationship with God
through obedience >> We are His friends if we keep His commandments –
A few verses earlier we read, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but
that He loved us” (1Jn 4-10), and now he is saying that loving God is
important too. That is, we love God because He first loved us, and we prove
our love for God by loving our
fellow man, and our ministry toward God as students of the word and disciples
of prayer is the foundation of our ministry toward
people.
1Jn 5-1
(132a)
Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holy Spirit is in
God’s people >> Spirit of God in the spirit of man >> Spirit of
the Father – Keep in mind that it was important to John
that we know who is our brother and who isn't, in order to protect the
doctrines of the Church from charlatans and to protect the saints from spiritual
abuse. The apostle John was fascinated with the trinity; this epistle is riddled with
implication of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and their connectedness. We
should use this book to prove our faith and deduce the faith of our fellow
Christians. For example, in this verse he uses our love of the
father to prove our love for Jesus. What did John mean by our love of the Father? In the old covenant this would have
referred to the love of God’s law, as the psalmist wrote so poetically in
chapter 119, but here in the new covenant the love of the Father refers to our personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. John is
saying that we who cling to the Holy Spirit prove that we will do the same to Jesus when we get to heaven.
(150f)
Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear
witness of Jesus >> Confessing Jesus as the son of God – There are
many beliefs about
Jesus; in fact, virtually every religion of the world incorporates Him in some way. Most consider Him to be nothing
more than a prophet, whereas Christianity sees Him as the Son of God. To call
Jesus the Son of God is to call Him God in human flesh, in that
such a title declares Him to be the prodigy of God, His offspring. No son is identical to his father, though he has half his
genes, mixed with his mother's to create a completely different person.
Similarly, just as Jesus had His Father’s input coursing through
His veins, He was a completely different person from His Father, though he mirrored
His Father’s attributes, holding a different office within the
trinity, while identifying with humanity.
(173a) Works of the devil
>>
The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >>
Scripture that contradicts the Catholic faith >>
Relationship between Jesus and His mother >>
Jesus is our savior, not Mary –
Jesus was made of the same stuff as
Mary, and Mary was no different from any human, so Jesus’ body
was made of the same stuff as ours. The fact that the Father's genes in Mary
was able to produce a child shows the humanlike qualities of God, indicating
also that there was something about Jesus that was not
entirely human. See also: trinity; 253d
(238d) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The kingdom is transferred to
the Church >>
Born again >> Jesus is born again from
the dead -- This
verse goes with verse 18
(248f) Priorities
>>
God’ s preeminence >> Jesus is first >>
Jesus is first born of the Father -- This verse goes with verse 18
(253d)
Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is equal
with the Father >> Jesus has all the internal qualities of the Father
>> Jesus is the exact representation of the Father
– It was His soul, His innermost being that God
conceived in Mary that made Jesus the exact representation of the Father; He had the soul of His Father! He thought like
God, and He behaved like
God, yet He found Himself in a body that was just as capable of sin as our
own. See
also: trinity; 173a
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
1Jn 5-2
(33i) Gift of God
>>
God is our Father >> Children need to obey their
Father –
A motive for perfecting our relationship with God is that we might encourage
the brethren to continue in the faith, which is how we love them. James
implied the inverse, that we love God by loving the children of God (Jm
2,1-26); Jesus said the same thing (Mat 25,31-46); hence, one acts as evidence for the
other. We see that observing His commandments is evidence of both loving
both God and His children. That is, good works act as evidence of our love of
God and of the brethren, but works
can be faked at least for a season. If we see someone observing the commandments of
God, we can be relatively confident that he is committed to the interests of Christ and
to the needs of the saints. Conversely, a so-called confessing Christian who does not observe the commandments of
God is a liar. He does
not love God, nor His children. Anybody who would enter the assembly of the
righteous and attempt to defraud the saints is more likely a wolf than a
sheep, a reprobate devoid of conscience toward God. Beware of them, for whenever
they want something they just takes it, often using nefarious means without the
least concern for our welfare.
(86n) Thy kingdom come
>>
Obedience >> Be doers of the word from the heart >> Love the truth
(122f) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Confidence in
yourself as you die to sin >> Confident in what
you are doing
(131f) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Unity >>
Brother depends on you >> To do
the will of God – Love is defined as keeping His
commandments, whereas Jn 15-12 says just the opposite, that keeping His
commandments is love, indicating that they are interchangeable; they are essentially the same.
Consequently,
the
love of God and keeping His commandments must both be present before we
can love the children of God. In other words, a good person who is not saved
cannot love the brethren until he becomes a child of God himself. The children
of God have special needs; they need to be loved by the Spirit of God who dwells in His
people. The ability to impart something divine into another person is what it means
to love the brethren, but if we have nothing divine to impart, then we cannot
love the brethren.
1Jn 5-3
(6b)
Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >>
Jesus’ yoke of love –
The love of God is to keep His commandments, and what was His commandment?
Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another,
even as I have loved you, that you also love one another;” and He said in
another passage, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his
life for his friends” (Jn 13-34,35; Jn 15-13). We need to have this love for one another. God wants to give us a willingness to lay down
our lives for our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord; that is profound!
Jesus was not talking about laying down our lives for the heathen who couldn’t care less about God. Rather,
He was talking about laying down our lives for our fellow brethren, and
He said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have
love for one another.” If we had this kind of love for one another, the
Church would unify, and through that unity the world would come to a
revelation of Jesus Christ. Our ministry toward God is even more important
than this, because it is the foundation of our love for one another, meaning
that we cannot lay down our lives for the brethren if we haven’t come to a
spiritual revelation of God’s love for us.
(89c) Thy kingdom come
>>
Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Wisdom
never exceeds what is appropriate
(115e)
Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through your
ministry >> By the word of God
–
Jesus went to the cross and laid down His life for the Church, and John said
that it was not burdensome to Him. How could John say that? He sweat drops
of blood! Jesus did the works of God through the Spirit, and if it weren't
for the Spirit of God, Jesus would not have been able to go to the cross. We do all things
through the Spirit too, and it is not hard, because the Spirit of God is doing
His work through us. Just as God has commanded us to live through Him, so He lives through us.
We call it working (with) the grace of God, and it is the most ethereal subject of the Bible, and it
is also the lost
knowledge of the Scriptures. The relationship we have with God is symbiotic:
We are the body of Christ; we represent Jesus in the world; He wants the
lines between us to disappear so we become Him.
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
1Jn 5-4,5
(39e) Judgment
>>
Jesus defeated death >> Victory >>
Jesus overcame the world
(106b) Thy kingdom
come
>> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Attaining the hearing ear >>
Knowing the sound of His voice >> Having
confidence in His voice
(110l) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Spirit and the word >> Spiritual substance follows the truth –
Verse four says, “This is the victory that has overcome the world -our
faith,” and the next verse says we must believe that Jesus is the Son of
God, so John used both words: “faith” and “believe”. Most people think
these two words mean the same thing; in fact, even the Bible uses them
interchangeably, so they are synonymous, but they don’t mean the same.
Generally, when Jesus used the word “believe” He meant “obey”, but
when Paul used the word “believe” he usually referred to a revelation of
Jesus Christ. When we reread these verses with this in mind, this is what it
says, ‘This is the victory that has overcome the world –a revelation of
Jesus Christ.’ By this we understand Jesus by revelation that He is the
Christ. When we jump to verse five, it teaches that we behave like
Jesus is the Son of God, for we live like we believe it. Putting these verses
together (4&5) this is what overcomes the world, that we live according to
our revelation of Jesus Christ. If we don't live by the revelation, then we
don’t believe it, setting up a paradox, leaving us open to the many
false religions of the world and the depraved lifestyles that these false religions
engender. In other
words, we cannot overcome Satan by merely believing that Jesus is the Son of
God; we must have a revelation of it. Once God convinces us of the truth of
His Son through the Spirit, we maintain our faith by living like we believe
it; otherwise we don’t.
(112d) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Light >> Jesus light in us overcomes darkness >>
The light of His power
(165b) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> The world is at
enmity with God >> The world is accountable to
God
1Jn 5-4
(46c)
Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >>
Revelation
knowledge is our weapon –
Jesus' divine nature allowed Him to rise above the
temptations of his flesh, and the fact that He lived a sinless life in a body
of sin was by far His greatest miracle, and the Father used His sinless life to defeat Satan. As a result, those who believe that Jesus was
the Son of God have overcome the world. He said we overcome the world by our
faith that Jesus is the Son of God. Faith in the truth that is in Jesus, turns
our belief into something beautiful, but faith in anything else holds varying
levels of negative power. There are those who think faith has power in itself, but
this is New-Age thinking; rather, the power of faith is determined by what we
believe. In other words, our faith is
completely dependent on the Son of God to empower us. There are a number of
things that John could have said that overcomes the world, such as love, but
love does not generate faith; quite the opposite, faith generates love, along
with all the other fruits of the Spirit, not to mention the gifts of the
Spirit, and as Paul said, “the work of faith with power” (2The 1-11).
Faith has the power to overcome the world in that it is the great equalizer.
Faith allows us to suffer for Christ, knowing that He rewards faithfulness. Faith is the means by which we receive
from God; it is the
means by which we obtain the Holy Spirit of our salvation. Faith is how we
walk by the Spirit and come to know God, and through that relationship we do His will and endure all things. Faith is how we please God. Faith is
how we introduce Jesus to the world and how we conduct spiritual warfare
against the principalities of darkness in high places. We defeat him through
faith, which produces love that opposes of our spiritual enemy.
(238b) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The kingdom is transferred to
the Church >>
Born again >> Born of the Spirit by the will of
man
1Jn 5,5-20
(253e) Trinity >>
Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is
equal with the Father >> Jesus has all the
internal qualities of the Father >> Jesus is the Son of God >> Declared
the Son of God by angels and believers –
We must understand that Jesus is the Son of God or the world will overcome us.
Every false religion is defined by its rejection of Jesus as the Son of God;
so if we don’t believe He is the Christ, we will fall prey to
one of the lying deceptions that are in the world, and if we are not the
religious type, we will fall prey to the belief that there is no God at all.
Either way the world will overcome us. What did John mean by overcoming the
world? Each person overcomes the world by dying in faith that Jesus is the Son
of God. By this we will go to heaven, and later God will give us new bodies at
the resurrection of the righteous, and then He will cause us to inherit the
earth, and by that we will overcome the world. So what does it mean to
overcome the world by inheriting the earth? John is not talking about the
earth itself but overcoming the ruler of the world, which is Satan, through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We come to a saving knowledge of Jesus,
believing that He is the Son of God, for there is no salvation apart from
understanding this. Anyone who believes that someone lower than God
paid for their sins doesn’t understand the gospel, and he doesn’t understand
what God has done for us; he doesn’t understand salvation or God’s vision for
mankind or his vision for the Church or His eternal plan.... Without
understanding Jesus as the Son of God, they don’t understand anything; they could read the Bible,
but it wouldn't do them any good, because they have rejected the key of knowledge (Lk 11-52).
1Jn 5,6-12
(141a)
Witness
— Key verse for entire chapter –
God has acquired many valid witnesses in Scripture throughout history, starting with Abraham and ending with the apostle
John, whose most valid witness is Christ Himself. The degree to which God's witnesses can validly confirm His identity is the power of their testimony. This chapter will solidify in the reader's mind the validity of Jesus' witness of the Father, the Father's witness of Christ and
the Church's witness of God.
(151h) Witnesses Of The
Father (Key verse)
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
1Jn 5,6-8
(38a) Judgment
>>
Blood of Jesus >> God judged the devil through
the blood of His son – Jesus came by water and blood. The water
represents the virgin birth, in that every fetus is contained in a water sack
inside the mother’s womb, and the blood represents Jesus’ humanity.
John’s point is that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and that His physical
composition was completely human by evidence of His blood. When they
whipped Him, He bled profusely, and when they nailed Him to the cross a bloody
mass, He died like any man.
Ironically, His humanity is what destroyed the power of Satan, because He was
without sin. Heb 2-17 says,
“For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order
that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God,
and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” Jesus proved
that Satan had no power over Him, not even in His weakest hour. Hence, the
blood of Jesus frightens the demonic world because it proves He defeated their
world of darkness in the frailty of human flesh. Thus, He created a doorway
through which we may pass into the light of His glorious kingdom. Jesus said
after His resurrection, “Look
at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not
have flesh and bones, as you see I have” (Lk 24-39).
(87c) Thy kingdom come >>
Obedience >> Jesus obeyed all
the Father’s will –
This passage refers to the obedience of Christ in submitting to the cross. It
also refers to
our faithfulness to fulfill the works that God has prepared for us. It says
that Jesus came by way of water and blood. The water represents His natural
birth since His physical consistency was sixty percent water, and He was
encased in a water sack in His mother’s womb. The blood represents the
obedience of Christ, who willingly went to the cross and shed His blood for
the sins of the world, and the Spirit testifies of these things, for the
Spirit is the truth. The water represents the fact that Jesus was born a human
being through His mother. Physically, He was just like us with a human
body, but the soul of Christ was the Spirit of God. Jesus did not have two
spirits, His own and the Spirit of God. We have our own spirit and the Spirit
of God, who are born-again, but Jesus didn't need to be born-again, since He
is the life giver. Jesus incorporated
all three aspects into his life: the Spirit, the water and the blood,
and He is calling us to do the same. The Spirit and the blood are one, for the
Spirit led Jesus to the cross, which was the epitome of God’s will for Him. So too, Christ is calling us to obey the Holy Spirit, who leads us
into God’s will, which ultimately requires sacrifice.
(103a) Thy kingdom come
>>
Purifying process >> God’s cleansing power >>
Blood of Jesus
(103f) Thy kingdom come
>>
Purifying process >> Spirit like water >>
Cleanses you from the desire to sin
(111d) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Water and the word – The importance of this
phrase: Spirit
of Truth, cannot be overstated. It is a combination of the Holy
Spirit with the word of God, which is something different from the Bible. When the Holy Spirit wields the word of
God, He is able to transform the letters written on the page into the power of
God. This is what God did when He conceived His Son in the Virgin Mary.
The name "Christ" is literally translated "Anointed One,"
and Jesus is often called the word of God. So, when we put the two
together we see Jesus as the word of God in the fullness of the Spirit, in
other words saturated
in the Holy Spirit, which literally defines the power of God, and God has
given each of us potential to live like Jesus according to our faith (Rom
12-3).
(153c) Witness
>>
Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the
father >> Holy Spirit bears witness of the
father
1Jn 5,7-10
(255f) Trinity
>>
Father, Son and Holy Spirit >> The process of
imparting the substance of God >> Father
discloses the word by the Spirit – When it says that the three are in agreement,
it means that the three are one in reference to the trinity. Therefore, since
it was God who deposited His seed in Mary, the water represents the Father;
the blood obviously symbolizes Christ; and the spirit is the Holy Spirit;
hence, the trinity is spelled out for us. The Father conceived Jesus
Christ in Mary through the Holy Spirit, “and these three are one,”
meaning all persons of the trinity were involved in the conception of Jesus
Christ in the flesh, the manifestation of God's word (Rev 19-13).
1Jn 5-7,8
(109c) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Revelations of the Holy Spirit >> Things
revealed by the Spirit
(255b) Trinity
>>
Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >>
God’s word is Spirit >> Spirit of the word >>
Words of His Spirit are truth –
The Spirit, the water and the blood represent Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
where the blood represents Christ, the Spirit is the Holy Spirit, and the
water represents the Father, in that He conceived Jesus in Mary’s womb. The
fetus developed in a water sack, representing
the Father sending Jesus to give His life a
ransom for the sins of the world. It wasn’t pity or mercy on the part of
Christ but obedience. Pity and mercy belong to the Father, who is the origin
of
our salvation.
1Jn 5-8
(131k) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Unity >>
Working together for one cause
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
1Jn 5,9-12
(111e) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Spirit and the word >> Father and the Son –
The one who does not believe the testimony of the Father that He has born
concerning His Son has rejected the indwelling Holy Spirit, and has made Him a
liar, and to reject the Spirit is to reject the message. If we have heard the
gospel of salvation, we must believe it and fashion our lives around it, and
He in turn will give us of His Spirit. Believing in Jesus is to worship the
Father. We don't worship the Bible that tells us these things; rather, we
worship the truth given us by the Spirit. We do not have the person of Christ in our
presence, so the word of the Spirit stands in His place, and we worship the
truth by believing His message. The word that God planted in our heart is tantamount to God Himself,
who lives in us by the truth
we believe. The seal of
the Holy Spirit who dwells in us acts as proof that we believe.
(153a) Witness
>>
Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the
father >> Church bears witness of the Father
through Christ -- These verses go with verse 20. The
testimony of men is what the evangelist offers, and John is saying that the
one who believes the evangelist’s message must also hear the same message
from God. Believing the message of the preacher
cannot save a person; he must hear it from God, and the testimony is given by the Spirit.
The one who hears the message of the gospel without hearing the testimony of
the Spirit has not yet come to believe in Jesus. The preacher speaks the message,
and God confirms the message in our heart.
1Jn
5,9-11
(147i) Witness
>>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >>
Solemnly testify about Jesus
1Jn 5-9
(77e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Humility >> Refusing the glory of man >>
Refusing to be exalted by men
(169i) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory
of man >> Loving the approval of men rather than
the approval of God >> Coveting the favor of men
(198i) Denying Christ
>>
Man exercises his will against God >> Ordained
by man >> Ministries ordained by men will falter
1Jn 5,10-12
(169a) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> The world is
blind to God >> Blind to Jesus >>
Blind to the glory of God in Christ –
John prefaced this statement by the contrast between the testimony of men and
the testimony of God (v9). Paul wrote, “The Spirit Himself testifies with
our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom 8-16). The testimony
of men is important too, regarding the great commission. Jesus commanded
us to preach the gospel to all creation and to make disciples of all men, but
if they only believed the word of men, having never received the testimony of
the Holy Spirit, their eternal fate would still be in
jeopardy. Many people believe in
the testimony of men but fail to interact with the Holy Spirit and be
born-again.
(200e) Denying Christ
>>
Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >>
Rejecting Christ >> Rejecting the faith of God >>
Rejecting Christ through unbelief –
There
are many messages God would have us know, yet the message of eternal life is
what He wants us to know more than anything. Many believe
the gospel coming from men, but they don’t actually want to know God, for they have not made peace with
Him in
their hearts. Others
denounce the message of eternal life; John says they are liars and unbelievers, “because he
has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son.”
With the promise of eternal life why isn’t everybody a Christian (Rom 6-23)?
Why
don’t they want to live in paradise forever? They are too busy chasing menial
pleasures to bother with an alleged afterlife.
1Jn 5-10
(20ca)
Sin >>
Nature of sin >>
Unbelief >> Having a mind that is unable to
receive >> Unbelief cannot distinguish light from darkness
– Receiving
the gift of eternal life seems to
infringe upon man's worldly interests, because if he receives it, he will become
a child of God, and God will request his submission, but the world will never submit to God.
People reject God’s
offer of eternal life based on what Jesus said in Jn 3-19, “Men loved the darkness rather
than the light; for their deeds were evil.” To choose their darkness over
the light is what God calls evil. They love their darkness, and they don’t
want to change, and if they do, they want to be in total control of those
changes. Being in control is what they think makes them like God, but Jesus
completely submitted to His Father, and for us to emulate Jesus is to be more like God than those who resist
Him.
(95a) Thy kingdom come
>>
Perspective >> False perspective in the world
(154i) Witness Of The
Believer (Key verse)
(155g) Witness
>>
Validity of the believer >> Witness of the
believer >> Holy Spirit bears witness of the
believer
(203d) Denying Christ
>>
Dishonor God >> Lying to God –
Imagine someone standing in front of God, pointing his
finger at Him and calling Him a liar; how would that end? God's aloof stance
refraining from judgment indicates the world's demise, compared to the
love He shows His people simply by their faith in Him. God interprets the
world’s unbelief in His Son as calling Him a liar, after testifying that
He has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world, and we can’t stop God from
thinking this way. People think they control God because He has chosen
to temporarily suspend judgment and has given them freedom to reject Him, and through that freedom
they think they're bigger than Him, as though they somehow earned this
freedom. They think they can do anything and God can’t stop them, but a day is coming when God
will recall everything they have done throughout their lives.
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
1Jn 5-11,12
(205aa)
Salvation >> Verses useful in evangelism
(254f) Trinity
>>
Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >>
Jesus is the life of the Spirit >> Jesus is the
substance of God’s life >> Jesus is the
manifestation of God’s life -- These verses go with verse 20
1Jn 5-11
(35k) Gift
>>
God gives Himself to us >> Gifts from the Holy
Spirit >> The gift of life -- This verse
goes with verse 16
(244e) Kingdom of God
>>
The eternal kingdom >> Eternal life of the
trinity >> Father is the source of eternal life – The core message of the gospel is eternal
life. Isn’t it wonderful that it wasn’t something else, like being healed
of our diseases, or receiving the Holy Spirit, or fulfilling the great
commission? These things are wonderful, but eternal life is infinitely better.
What greater gift could God give us? All other gifts are embedded in this one,
for the one gift of eternal life affords us all the time we will need to
receive everything He intends for us, and it will take an eternity to give us His vast treasures
of wealth and glory.
1Jn 5-12
(25k)
Sin >> Consequences of sin
>>
Dead in sin >> The human condition without
Christ – That’s a pretty straightforward statement.
Again, this is not rocket science, but very simple concepts based on John's invulnerable logic, using
the cross of Christ as his premise. There are a lot of
people who think they believe in Jesus, but if they don’t see Him as the Son of
God, He is probably just one of many prophets in their religion. Belief
systems like this must fudge this term “Son of God”. It takes a lot of work, but where there’s a will there’s a way. This is
the power of man to reason his way right out of
heaven.
(26d)
Sin >> Consequences of sin
>>
Death is separation from God’s life
1Jn 5,13-15
(30l) Gift of God
>>
God favors you through your prayers
(114f) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Obeying the Holy
Spirit >> Receiving a revelation from God
through obedience
(122e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Confidence in
yourself as you die to sin >> Confident in your
salvation – Many people do not feel secure in their
salvation. Although they believe in the doctrines of Jesus’ atoning
blood sacrifice to cleans them from all unrighteousness, they still have doubts, not
about Jesus, but about themselves. They fear they don’t really believe,
or that their strength of faith doesn’t meet some unspoken standard, or
perhaps they accuse themselves of being permissive in regard to sin. Some
people fear they don’t know enough about the Bible, or they have not been
committed enough in their faith, and their lack of commitment makes them feel
distant from God. All these examples are aspects of the human condition that
Jesus sacrificed His flesh to forgive. None of us are committed enough to
deserve God’s love and grace, and we all take advantage of His mercy, but
what are we supposed to do? We can’t save ourselves. These are the very
reasons Jesus came to save us. It is true that there are verses in the Bible
that speak of a terrifying expectation of judgment (Heb 10-26,27), but this is
talking about unbelievers; a person who is in pursuit of
God’s forgiveness is by no means guilty of such spiritual atrocities. If
some people feel this way, then why don’t they become students of the
Bible and bolster their confidence? They don’t have to guess or
wonder. They say, ‘I imagine I’m going to heaven, but I don’t really
know.’ John said, “These things have been written… that you
may know you have eternal life.” Our salvation should not be a point of
concern. A person who doubts his salvation cannot fulfill his
calling from
God, because whenever he puts his hands to the work, he questions
whether he’s even going to heaven. God wants us to know we are His children,
so we have the strength to pick up the work that God has called us to do. He wants us to fulfill our purpose in life, and we can’t do
that if we are wondering if we are even saved. “This is the confidence we
have with Him, that if we ask anything in His name he hears us.” The proof
of our salvation is answered prayer, since God does not hear sinners (Psalm 66-18).
So answered prayer affords confidence in our salvation, and this confidence affords
an expectation to receive, and these two build on each
other.
(248a) Priorities
>>
God’s priorities >> The will of God >>
We play our part in the will of God >> Knowing
the will of God
1Jn 5-13
(67g)
Authority >> Jesus delegates authority
>>
The name of Jesus is the salvation of God
(92f) Thy kingdom come
>>
The narrow way >> Trail of good works >>
You must be born again to walk on this trail
(109b) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Revelations of the Holy Spirit >> Revelation of
the gift of God
(155j) Witness
>>
Validity of the believer >> Witness of the
believer >> The word of God bears witness of the
believer –
Why do people need to know they are saved if they believe? God has
given us His Spirit, who leads us back to Him crying “Abba! Father!” (Gal
4-6). He gives His word as confirmation and clarification
to our faith that the things we believe are true. The witness of
the Spirit who lives in us testifies that we are the children of God, and He
also gives His word to confirm that the Holy Spirit is leading us back
to the Father. There are most likely countless people in
third-world nations who have heard the gospel and are born-again, but don’t
have a Bible in their hands to read. The Scriptures are not confirming their
spiritual experiences, and they are not entirely sure that what they sense in
their heart is real. There is something transpiring in them that is greater
than themselves, and they have someone living in them that is greater than
their conscience, and God is calling them to yield to Him. Walking with God
is scary enough with the Bible, much more without confirmation of the
Scriptures.
(244d) Kingdom of God
>>
The eternal kingdom >> Eternal life of the
trinity >> Jesus is the source of eternal life --
This verse goes with verse 20
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
1Jn 5-14,15
(34i) Gift of God
>>
Generosity >> God is willing to Give >>
His natural blessings
(79f) Thy kingdom come
>>
Renewing your mind through prayer –
We don’t see this kind of faith in the Church these days. God hears all kinds of requests every day all around the world,
and He answers some of them, but most go unanswered. Why doesn’t
God answer our prayers? The reason for this is mostly due to the condition of
the Church; it is not obeying the Lord as it should, but what
about individuals who are serving the Lord; why
doesn’t He answer their prayers? The purpose of answered prayer is to glorify
God, and the Church as a whole is not doing that, and if He answered the
prayers even of the most faithful, onlookers would think God approved of the
Church's waywardness. What good would it do if God answered
prayer if the result were more disobedience and further distortion of the truth? God
would be found participating in the sins of those who would use His generosity
for their own purposes. Adding up these reasons for rarely seeing answered prayer, we
must conclude that it is from a lack of humility and submission in the Church.
(152ia)
Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father
>> Prophets >> The Church holds the position of a prophet >>
Church operates under a prophetic anointing >> Delivering a prophetic
message from God
(154j) Witness
>>
Validity of the believer >> Witness of the
believer >> Conscience >>
Having a good conscience >> God is my conscience
1Jn 5-14
(104f) Thy kingdom come
>>
Pure in heart shall see God >> Shall see the
Father >> Being in the presence of God –
If we don't have confidence in Him, He won’t listen to us, indicating that
He listens for our confidence. John was
saying that if we know He hears us, we also know we have received our request; that is, we know when we have made contact with God. The level
of confidence and faith that John says we need is not just based on God’s
promises in Scripture; it is also based on real-time knowledge that God is
present with us and listening. Always when we pray, we know He's up there somewhere
listening; otherwise, how could He
judge the world. He knows
everything; He hears everyone's every word and records it all, but during
times of answered prayer we know He is personally listening to us, that He has in a sense stopped what He was doing and is
putting His full attention on us, and in that moment, whatever we ask of Him
according to His will, we know we have receive it. So when John
says that He hears our prayers, He is not talking about His omniscience. God is loving and
generous, and He also wants to show Himself to His Church, and for this reason
He wants to answer our prayers, not as a one-time event but always. He wants
answered prayer to be a regular experience, for God
promises these things in His word.
1Jn 5,16-18
(28f) Gift of God
>>
God is our advocate >> Protect us through our
walk >> Wise conduct – John
spoke about a sin leading to death and said that no one who is born of God commits this
kind of sin.
Those who are truly born-again do not commit the unpardonable sin, because
God protects them from the evil one. The devil tempts us to
blaspheme the Holy Spirit and commit the sin that leads to the death of our
faith in God, the death of our hope of eternal life and the death of our love
of the brethren.
1Jn 5-16,17
(26a) Sin
>> Consequences of sin
>>
Death >> Dead to God through sin
(26h) Sin
>> Consequences of sin
>>
Death is the result of sin
(218f) Sovereignty
>>
God overrides the will of man >> God’s will
over man >> Reaping the harvest >>
We choose our actions, not their consequences >>
wages of sin is death
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
1Jn 5-16
(9g)
Responsibility >> Strengthen us by
the sword of His Spirit >> Through prayer –
God
wants us to pray for one another, so we may be healed of our mental and
physical ailments, but He excludes praying for someone who commits the
unpardonable sin—blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. God wants to answer
our prayers, but for this there is no antidote.
(21g) Sin
>>
Disobedience is backsliding
(21i) Sin
>>
Premeditated sin >> Intending to abuse the
grace of God
(35k) Gift
>>
God gives Himself to us >> Gifts from the Holy
Spirit >> The gift of life -- This
verse goes with verse 11. When
John said, “give life,” he was talking about granting repentance. Many
of our sins we commit in bondage, and God grants His power to overcome that
bondage. When we work repentance into our lives, the result is an
anointing that God will use in place of the sins we committed, and once we have
broken the bondage of sin, we can continue using the anointing to do His
will. However, there is a sin leading to death, the sin of blasphemy against
the Holy Spirit, when God speaks to us by His Spirit and we know it is God,
but we respond in unbelief. It is one thing to disobey a direct order from
God, but it is another thing to deny that it is God speaking when we know it
is Him, such as the Pharisees, who knew Jesus was their Messiah but refused
to believe in Him and outright denied Him. John said, “I do not say that he should make request for this.”
The sin of
renouncing our faith tells God that He is not worthy of our service. We should not
pray for somebody who blasphemes the Lord, being a waste of
time and faith, suggesting that our prayers actually participate in
his sins. When someone blasphemes the Lord and begins to develop a reprobate
mind, the best thing to do is run from that person and don’t look back.
The one who gives up on God will end up our worst enemy. They do not have fond
memories of believing in Him or of serving the lord or the joy of
forgiveness. They blame Him for everything about themselves; they
even blame Him for their own rejection of God. See also: Blasphemy; 185i
/ Less we listen, less we
hear; Jm 4-17; 200c
(64f) Paradox
>>
Anomalies >> Limits of God >>
God cannot directly violate the will of man
(82b) Thy kingdom come
>>
Three elements of prayer >> Direction
(Attitude) >> What not to pray for
(116b) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through worship >>
In prayer
(130e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Unity >>
Committed to caring for the needs of the body >>
Committed to holding up one another
(131b)
Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >>
Unity >> Interdependent on each other to pray
(162e)
Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the
devil (Addictions) >> Bondage >>
A slave to unbelief >> Bondage to an inability
to believe
(185e) Works of the devil
>>
The origin of lawlessness >> Mystery of
lawlessness >> The mystery of sin
(185i) Works of the devil
>>
The result of lawlessness >> Blasphemy >>
Responding with contempt to the Holy Spirit >>
Evicting the Holy Spirit – The one who treats the Holy Spirit with contempt
tells God that he doesn’t want help to be rid of sin; he is comfortable
with his bondage and tells God to leave him
alone. This is blasphemy. If we tell God to leave us alone, He will, and
then how can we repent? We can say these things and not really mean them,
and God knows the difference, so if
we tell God to leave us alone and mean it, we run the risk of
committing the unrepentable sin, and if we continue, it will lead to a reprobate
mind and to the loss of our salvation.
Jesus said that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
is a sin that cannot be forgiven, for with all forgiveness there must also
be repentance, meaning God does not forgive what we don’t repent. In the
next life, at the believer’s judgment He will not reward us for
the sins from which we did not repent. Many pooh-pooh the rewards, but on
the day of judgment when He is handing out rewards, we will not pooh-pooh
them then but wish we had received a full reward (2Jn-8). Blasphemy against
the Holy Spirit is a different kind of sin, one that has no conjugate
repentance, and for that reason it is unforgivable. it is the kind of sin
that hardens our heart, classified as a spiritual sin in the sense that it
causes us to retreat from the Lord instead of approach Him. A person who blasphemes the Holy Spirit is not
automatically barred from heaven, for probably all of us are guilty of this
to some degree, but if blasphemy continues, every regression becomes the new
resistance from which we cannot progress. The further we step from God, the
more willing we are to step further from Him, until faith in Him becomes a distant
memory, and then we just turn and walk the other way, and at that point we
have developed a reprobate mind and are barred from heaven. This has
happened to Christians and non-Christians alike. See also: Blasphemy; 207a
(193g) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>> Turn from sin to God >>
Repent >> God grants repentance
(207a) Salvation
>>
God makes promises on His terms >> Eternal
security? >> Perish by losing your faith >>
The apostasy
(walking out the same door you came in) – There are two types of sin, one leads to
death and the other does not. “Leading to death,” what does that mean?
John is referring to a sin that leads to the death of our faith, and if the premise of our salvation dies, then so does our salvation. This
flies in the face of the ever-popular Eternal Security doctrine, which is
not supported by Scripture. To whom is John referring? He must be talking
about born-again Christians, whose faith dies as a result of a catastrophic
sin. He’s not necessarily talking about a single sin or even many sins, but a type of sin,
called blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. When a person blasphemes the Holy
Spirit, they know exactly what they are doing. This is not sin committed in
ignorance that Jesus shed His blood to forgive (Heb 9-7), classified as sins not leading to death. Instead, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an
unforgivable sin that if repeated, eventually erodes a person’s conscience
until the he can no longer believe, developing a reprobate mind.
Those who practice a lifestyle of resisting the Holy Spirit, John says he
doesn’t even want the saints wasting their faith and prayers on such a
person. On the lighter side, there is a type of sin that does not lead to
death. We should pray for our brothers and sisters who are caught in such
fleshly bondage. See also: Blasphemy; 35k
(217d) Sovereignty
>>
God overrides the will of man >> God’s will
over man >> God gives up on you >>
When you give yourself over to sin
1Jn 5,18-20
(110g) Thy kingdom come >>
Faith >>
Spirit and the word >> Born of the Spirit by the
truth >> Conceived by the Spirit of truth -- These verses go with verses 1-3
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
1Jn 5-18
(43i) Judgment
>>
Satan destroyed >> Perfected by God –
When John said that no one born of God sins, he was talking about two things:
no one born of God practices sin, and no one born of God commits
the unpardonable sin. To say that no one who is born of God practices sin is
setting the Christian standard for freedom. This doesn’t mean Christians are
totally free of sin but that Christians are working toward that goal. Moreover, no one who is born of God blasphemes the Holy Spirit
and develops the reprobate mind, for in doing so would no longer be Christian.
(46k) Judgment
>>
Spiritual warfare >> Demons are subject to the Church through Christ
(156b) Witness
>>
Validity of the believer >> Evidence of
salvation >> Loving God is evidence of salvation >> Keeping His commandments -- This verse
goes with verses 1-5
(228h) Kingdom of God
>>
God’s kingdom is a living organism >> God
working in you >> God works in you to keep you
in His will
– Passages in the Bible like this are difficult to
understand when we compare them to our observations, nor do they dovetail
with our personal experience. When we were first saved, just about all of us
had problem areas regarding sin that we needed God’s help to overcome, and
slowly He brought us from these things over a period of years, but during that
time how did our immaturity square with this passage? It is much like
construction workers erecting a building; we have all seen the beginning stages
of development where the ground is torn-up with piles of dirt in various
places; the site is a mess. Wait a year or so and return to the same
location and we will see a completed building that has been carefully
landscaped with grass, sidewalk and bushes. This is like the newborn
Christian; he is a construction zone where only the workers are allowed
beyond the yellow tape. God works with us over a period of years, and the
Christian really wants to become free but is struggling; there is no blasphemy
in that.
(238d) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The kingdom is transferred to
the Church >>
Born again >> Jesus is born again from
the dead -- This
verse goes with verse 1
(248f) Priorities
>>
God’ s preeminence >> Jesus is first >>
Jesus is first born of the Father -- This verse goes with verse 1. A
person is born of God in many of the ways that Jesus was born of God through
His mother Mary, in that the Father placed His seed in her womb, which began
to grow. In the same way, God placed the seed of His Holy Spirit in us and we
began to grow into his likeness. We nurture that growth and make sure that the
things God is doing in our lives is watered and cultivated and given every
opportunity to blossom and flourish. In this way the devil does not touch us
while we are growing in the faith, but the minute that growth process is
stifled or paused, it becomes an opportunity for the devil. Rev 1-5 says that
Jesus was "firstborn of the dead;" we will follow Him in the
resurrection of the righteous.
1Jn 5-19
(164c) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> The world system >>
Satan rules the world >> The world is his
kingdom
–
This statement has the
potential to fuel a paradigm shift in anyone who comes to believe it.
Unbelievers are mostly offended by the preaching of Jesus. They can also
be offended by verses like this, because it speaks against the world they
love, whereas John advised the Christian earlier in this epistle not to love
the world for the very reason that it is of the devil. There are a lot of
people who don’t believe this, yet even Jesus called Satan the ruler of the
world (Jn 14-30). It is God’s earth, but it’s the devil’s world! What
does that mean? Every civilization of mankind throughout human history was
and still is under the power of the evil one. Satan’s influence on the world
is very much like an overcast sky that covers our perspective from horizon to horizon,
blocking out all direct sunlight. This overcast sky
creates an atmosphere of gloom and despair in the world, creating an environment
that is conducive to
sin. This spiritual cloud hangs over the mind of society that Satan uses to do
his works, which is to steal, kill and destroy. Although every
civilization has developed a theory about God, ultimately man's theories
revolve around the works of their own hands. Furthermore, every civilization
has been different from all others and every people have had their own
personalized culture, yet they all had a few beliefs in common. First and
foremost, all cultures have secularism as its premise, which is the belief
that what the five senses can perceive is all that matters, disregarding the
unseen spiritual realm. Our five senses tell us about the world and act
as five witnesses that all agree with each other and converge on one
perspective called reality. Secularism becomes the platform of two other
fundamental beliefs: materialism, which is the value system
that the more we have the more we are worth; and humanism, which is man’s
replacement of God with himself. Atheists don’t
believe God exists, and there are agnostics who don’t find it necessary
to even have a theory about God; they just don’t care. Nevertheless, the Bible says that if anyone
seeks God with all his heart, he will find Him (Deut 4-29), suggesting
that those who don’t find Him never really tried, which makes their religion
no different from the secular world. See also: Atheism, the Religion of unbelief (Secular humanism);
Jd-4; 172d
(183g) Works of the devil
>>
The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >>
Spirit of the broad road >> Spirit of the world – Life seems to make sense to unbelievers, but
they don’t know that their understanding of the world is masterminded by the
devil. This is the premise of Satan’s power over mankind; he forms their
perceptions and guides them through
the process of developing their perspective in order to assure they come to
many wrongs conclusions about God. Almost everyone in the world comes to one
of three conclusions: either God doesn’t exist, or there is something wrong
with Him, meaning He doesn’t like us, or He’s unknowable. The devil
leads people into their belief system, making sure that most of their beliefs about
God are skewed and then convinces them
that everything they believe is true. The fact that so many people believe
relatively the same thing has the effect of solidifying their beliefs under
the misguided impression that if so many people believe the same things, they
can’t be wrong, but the world is wrong. God does exist, there is nothing
wrong with Him and He is knowable!
(219e) Sovereignty
>>
God overrides the will of man >> The elect >>
God transforms the world into the Church >> God
selects us from the world
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
1Jn 5-20
(68f) Authority
>>
Jesus Delegates the Holy Spirit to us >> He
guides you into all truth
(112a) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Wisdom of the spirit
–
Many Christians these days want to be
self-determining. Although they believe that Jesus is God, they flat-out
reject the Holy Spirit. Although they believe many doctrines concerning the
Holy Spirit, they refuse to give Him any control of their lives. We can believe that Jesus is God without it changing
us; but if we believe in the administration of the Holy Spirit that He is
the change agent that Christ sent in His place, who wants to impart the knowledge of
God's will in us to effect obedience in all that He has called us to do so
that we are no longer in charge of ourselves, this is the very
thing that nominal Christians are trying to avoid. They want to
be self-determining just like the cults. When we eliminate the administration
of the Holy Spirit from Christianity, it becomes just another false
religion, and we are back to a works-oriented salvation. However, we who obey the
Holy Spirit aren’t really working but are merely lending ourselves to God, and He
is working through us, performing the works of God, and that cannot be classified as a works-oriented salvation. Instead,
it has a fundamental transformative impact on us and
on all those around us.
See also: Authority of the Holy Spirit; Mat 10-1;
71c
(153a) Witness
>>
Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the
father >> Church bears witness of the Father
through Christ -- This verse goes with verses 1-3
(208j) Salvation
>>
The salvation of God >> Personal relationship >>
Being married to God >> Knowing God
>> Sharing intimacy with Him –
When John used the word “know”, he meant that we know the truth by God
revealing it to us by the Spirit. When we read the Bible and believe it,
we “think” certain things to be true, but when the Spirit reveals the word
of God to us, we come to know Jesus who is true. So when John said, “We know that the
Son of God has come, and has given us understanding,” he was saying that His
understanding has come by revelation of the Spirit; therefore, we must
understand it by revelation of the Spirit. The difference between
understanding the Bible by revelation and understanding it on a mere cognitive
level is illustrated by the ignorance of the disciples when they walked with
Jesus. They were a bunch of clumsy oafs trying to understand what Jesus
was saying and doing, but they did understand that Jesus was the Christ, as Jesus
said to Peter, “flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father
who is in heaven” (Mat 16-17). Jesus was unable to divulge the true meaning
of the gospel to Peter and
the other apostles; but once Pentecost came and the
Lord sent the Holy Spirit in His place, that is when they began to
understand the gospel.
(244d) Kingdom of God
>>
The eternal kingdom >> Eternal life of the
trinity >> Jesus is the source of eternal life --
This verse goes with verse 13. There
are passages speckled throughout the New Testament that testify of Jesus being
God, and this is one of them. Those of a different persuasion, who deny the divinity of Jesus Christ,
don’t care how many verses are in the Bible that speak about Jesus as God. We could quote them this verse and they would
tell us how their religion explains it away, instead of recognizing it for
what it says; the litmus test of interpretation is: less is more. They seek ways of looking at the Bible differently, so they
don’t have to believe that Jesus Christ is God. They think that believing in
Him this way
would somehow take away their freedom, because they would feel more obligated
to trust Him with their lives. Cults and false religions that deny the
divinity of Jesus Christ are in bondage to a works-oriented salvation that
must "produce" to please their leaders so they can receive
honor from one another instead of from God (Jn 5-44). Diligence,
dedication and commitment they have by the bushel basket, but faith, not so
much. If they sought to fulfill God's purpose by faith, it would
alter them in the most fundamental of ways, changing
just about everything about them, the very thing they are trying
to avoid. They would rather be slaves of men and work for their salvation and
remain autonomous. Instead, they give up their rights to gurus
breathing down their necks, who determine the path for their feet at the cost
of
eternal life, all to remain self-determining, what a paradox. See also: Cults
(Jehovah Witnesses); Rev 3-14; 248g
(254f) Trinity
>>
Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >>
Jesus is the life of the Spirit >> Jesus is the
substance of God’s life >> Jesus is the
manifestation of God’s life -- This verse goes with verses 11&12.
John just called Jesus the true God. That
shouldn’t surprise anyone who believes the truth; Jesus was the
true God in human flesh. He came and spoke to us and gave us understanding
about the Father, but the one who speaks to us now is the Holy Spirit. He
teaches us about the written word and gives us understanding so we might know Him who is true.
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
1Jn 5-21
(7g) Responsibility
>>
Protecting the gospel >> Defending your
territory
(195h) Denying Christ
>>
Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >>
Worshipping other gods >> Worshipping other gods
as a servant –
This
is John’s last comment in his first epistle, but it is not the least. If
idolatry were so easy to identify and avoid, John wouldn’t have warned us
about its insidiousness. It creeps behind us and takes control without our
even knowing it, if we are not watchful. Idolatry was the great sin of Israel, the sin of Adam; it is the sin of
mankind. If we can rise above it, virtually everything else in our Christian
walk will fall into place. The reason so many Christians are struggling in
their walk with God is because of idolatry, and they are hardly aware of it.
Idolatry is entertaining to demons; it has a blinding effect
on the worshipper. Every
time we say no to God, we are saying yes to something else, the
worship of idols (demons) that we consider more valuable than obeying God, who created all things. The number one idol of mankind is pleasure.
It comes in many forms. We idolize happiness and pleasure and pursue
them with all our heart like we should pursue God, and in them we are really idolizing
ourselves.
|