Rev. Ronald C. Purkey,
Pastor
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The following Bible study outline was
prepared by Rev. Ronald C. Purkey for
the Adult Bible Class at Paul’s Chapel where
Rev. Purkey is the teacher.
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KEEPING A
SCRIPTURE:
INTRODUCTION: John made it abundantly
clear to his readers from the very start that the message he and the other
disciples proclaimed was based on personal experience. Their source was what
they had “heard,” “seen,” and “touched” (1
In essence, John was saying, “I know what
I’m talking about. I was there and experienced these things with my own
senses.” This statement was clearly directed toward the developing heresy of
Gnosticism about which John was deeply concerned. Gnostic teachers had
infiltrated the church and were presenting new, wrong ideas to believers. These
false teachers, or “antichrists” (see
I.
PREPARATION FOR TESTING THE SPIRITS (1
A. Confidence
in God. (
John associated the rest and peace that
comes from being in the hands of an all-knowing, all-loving God with confidence
in prayer. As a consequence of performing deeds of love, believers can calm
their condemning hearts and boldly approach the throne of God in prayer. And as
they draw near to God, they may have confidence that their prayers will be
answered because they are obedient to God’s commands.
B. Subjection
to God. (
Thus according to John, there are definite
conditions for answered prayer. The praying Christian must “obey [God’s]
commands and do what pleases him” (vs. 22b). This requires subjection of both
the believer and the request to God’s will. Subjection of the things requested
to God’s will is implied here, but specifically addressed in
C. Faith in
God. (
John said
that effective prayer was based on obedience to the commands of God. But the
ultimate command, according to the apostle, involves faith and love. Believers
are commanded to believe in Christ and “to love one another” (vs. 23).
1. Have Faith.
The first part of the commandment,
to “believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ,” contains the epistle’s first
specific reference to faith. To believe in Christ’s name means to believe in
everything that the name represents. It involves all that Christ Himself is
(both human and divine). The historic person, Jesus of Nazareth, is to be
identified with Jesus Christ, God’s Son (1
2.
Love Others.
The second part of the
commandment, “to love one another,” had already been mentioned in 2:7-8. But
here, for the first time, faith and love are brought together in the same context.
Both concepts are commanded, both are elements of God’s will for believers, and
both are tests of a right relationship between Christ and the believer.
D. Obedience to God. (
1.
A New Concept.
In verse 24, John
introduced the new concept of mutual abiding: the believer in Christ, and
Christ in the believer. John also presented this concept in the parable of the
vine and branches (see
2.
A New Awareness.
And how can the believer
know that Christ abides within? “We know it,” said John, “by the Spirit he gave
us” (vs. 24). It is the Holy Spirit who prompts the confession concerning the
person of Christ (see
3.
A New Power.
Thus the crucial evidence of Christ’s abiding in us
and we in Him is the work of the Holy Spirit whom Christ Himself gave us. The Holy
Spirit, as John proceeded to show, is both the Spirit of faith (4:1-6) and the
Spirit of love (vss. 7-16). The Holy Spirit is the energizing force behind the
command given in verse 23.
We Are What We Watch
Many people
claim they don’t watch the commercials on TV, but you likely have at least a
few advertising jingles or slogans buried in your brain. Can you finish these
sentences?
“When it
absolutely, positively....
“Like a good
neighbor....”
We are bombarded
by messages telling us what to feel and think. And these are not messages of
hope and love. Ad executive Jerry Della Femina says, “Advertising deals in open
sores -- Fear. Greed. Anger. Hostility.... We play on all the emotions and on
all the problems, from not getting ahead -- to the desire to be one of the
crowd. Everyone has a button. If enough people have the same button, you have a
successful ad and a successful product.”
What messages
do you think have influenced your life and thoughts, both from ads and other
things? Do you see yourself as a wonderful “child of God,” or an incomplete
person who needs more “things” to be “somebody”? What does Psalm 8:5-8 say
about who you are, in God’s view?
“For thou hast made him a
little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over
the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All
sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the
paths of the seas.” – Psalm 8:5-8
– David C.
Cook Publishers, Bible-in-Life
QUESTION: How
can believers have confidence before God that they will receive what they
request when they pray?
According to John, this
occurs when we obey His commands and do
what pleases him (vs. 22). John indicates that there is a basic command
that must be obeyed, to believe in the
name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us
(vs. 23).
QUESTION: In
addition to positive answers to prayer, what other benefit does John say is
derived from obedience to God’s commands?
The apostle states that
obedience to God’s commands results in a right relationship between the
believer and Christ. Obedient Christians are assured that they live in Christ, and that He lives in
them (vs. 24).
QUESTION: How
can Christians know Christ lives in them?
John says it is the work of
the Holy Spirit. And this is how we know
that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us (vs. 24).
II. PROCEDURE
FOR TESTING THE SPIRITS (1
At the end of
the previous chapter (see
A. Put
Everything to the Test. (4:1)
John’s discussion in
chapter 4 on testing the spirits contains four elements: (1) a warning not to
trust every spirit; (2) a command to test the spirits; (3) the reason for
testing the spirits; and (4) an explanation of how to test the spirits. John
first commanded his readers not to indiscriminately accept what every spirit
had to say, but to put them to the test to determine their origin, if they were
from God. The reason this testing was necessary was because many “false
prophets” were spreading their heretical teachings among the people.
B. Recognize True and False Prophets. (4:2)
By definition, a prophet
speaks on behalf of some spirit. In Scripture, a “true prophet” speaks for God,
or as John indicates here, for the “Spirit of God” (vs. 2) who is also the
“Spirit of truth” (vs. 6). False prophets, on the other hand, speak for the
“spirit of the antichrist” (vs. 3) who is the “spirit of falsehood” (vs. 6).
C. Know the Spirit of God. (4:3)
Next, John turned to the
matter of how Christians can “recognize the Spirit of God” (vs. 2). The litmus
test is the spirit’s belief about the incarnation of Christ; was God the Son
born into the world as a man? Without this doctrine, the plan of salvation is
impossible. If a teacher “acknowledged” or confessed that Christ had come in
the flesh, here was a true prophet of God (vs. 2). A denial of this essential
doctrine unmasked “the spirit of the antichrist” (vs. 3), about which John had
earlier warned his readers (see
D. Live in Victory over Error. (4:4-5)
1.
The Assurance.
John assured his readers
that they were living in victory over the antichrists about whom he had warned them.
And the reason for their victory was because the Holy Spirit of God within them
is greater than Satan who is in the world.
2.
The Explanation.
John explained further that
because the antichrists “are from the world” (vs. 5) and therefore naturally speak
from the world’s point of view, the world pays close attention to what they
have to say.
E. Understand the Teachings of Christ. (4:6)
Since the church’s formation at Pentecost, Christ’s
teaching as explained by the apostles has been the touchstone by which the
“Spirit of truth” (a true worldview) is distinguished from the “spirit of
falsehood” (a false worldview) (vs. 6).
Resisting a Materialistic
World(view)
Isn’t
it interesting how we can be perfectly content with all that God has provided
-- we don’t have any true material needs -- then we merely walk onto a car lot,
into a mall or grocery store, and suddenly...
A
materialistic worldview is a pervasive and powerful influence in our culture.
Even as Christians, we can become caught up in it if we’re not careful. It’s
not wrong to buy new things or to enjoy the blessings God brings into our
lives. And there are no hard, fast rules for gauging materialism, because it’s
ultimately a heart issue. In
QUESTION: In
1 John 4:1, what did John command his readers to do and why was it necessary?
First, John commanded his readers not to “believe
every spirit” (vs. 1). Second, he told them to “test the spirits to see whether
they are from God.” This was necessary, according to the apostle, “because many
false prophets have gone out into the world.”
QUESTION: How
did John say believers could “recognize the Spirit of God”?
The crucial test is the incarnation of Christ. John
wrote, “Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh
is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God”
(vss. 2-3).
QUESTION: According
to John, how can a Christian recognize or distinguish between a true worldview
(“the Spirit of truth”) and a false worldview (“the spirit of falsehood”)?
John taught that false spirits “are from the world
and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to
them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not
from God does not listen to us. “This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth
[a true worldview] and the spirit of falsehood [a false worldview]” (vs. 6).
CONCLUSION: North American culture
prides itself in its diversity, in its many and varied worldviews. Yet,
ironically, it often despises the true worldview, precisely because that
worldview claims to be the only way to God. Consequently it can be difficult to
speak up for Christ and the Christian worldview. Yet as Christians we must
speak up, for we may be the only ones some people ever hear speaking up for
truth in a world full of error.
THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: (Concerning the Bible) “This Book will keep you from sin or sin
will keep you from this Book.”
PASTOR RONALD PURKEY’S OFFICE
E-Mail: Pastor Ronald Purkey
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