1st John

[Aaron]

various excerpts the past two weeks from BibleHub, Biblegateway, and maybe Blueletterbible, ESV, KJV, or other ....
(and maybe gotquestions)

1 John 2 New American Bible
biblehub . com/nabre/1_john/2.htm
Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist.q 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.r. Life from God's Anointing.


For "if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15).

"Ultimately, when we touch the things of the world, the question we must ask ourselves always is: "How is this thing affecting my relationship with the Father?""

"The time has passed when we need to go out into the world in order to make contact with it. Today the world comes and searches us out. There is a force abroad now which is captivating men. Have you ever felt the power of the world as much as today? Have you ever heard so much talk about money? Have you ever thought so much about food and clothing? Wherever you go, even among Christians, the things of the world are the topics of conversation. The world has advanced to the very door of the Church and is seeking to draw even the saints of God into its grasp. Never in this sphere of things have we needed to know the power of the Cross of Christ to deliver us as we do at the present time.

"Formerly we spoke much of sin and of the natural life. We could readily see the spiritual issues there, but we little realized then what equally great spiritual issues are at stake when we touch the world. There is a spiritual force behind this world scene which, by means of "the things that are in the world," is seeking to enmesh men in its system. It is not merely against sin therefore that the saints of God need to be on their guard, but against the ruler of this world. God is building up his Church to its consummation in the universal reign of Christ. Simultainneously his rival is building up this world system to its vain climax in the reign of antichrist. How watchful we need to be lest at any time we be found helping Satan in the construction of that ill-fated kingdom. When we are faced with alternatives and a choice of ways confronts us, the question is not: Is this good or evil? Is this helpful or hurtful? No, the question we must ask ourselves is: Is it of this world, or of God? For since there is only this one conflict in the universe, then whenever two conflicting courses lie open to us, the choice at issue is never a lesser one than: God ... or Satan?"



"And what of science? It, too, is one of the units that constitute the cosmos. It, too, is knowledge. When we venture into the further reaches of science, and begin to speculate on the nature of the physical world-and of man-the question immediately arises: Up to what point is the pursuit of scientific research and discovery legitimate? Where is the line of demarcation between what is helpful and what is hurtful in the realm of knowledge? How can we pursue after knowledge and yet avoid being caught in Satan's meshes?

"These, then, are the matters at which we must look. Oh, I know I shall appear to some to be overstating things, but this is necessary in order to drive home my point. For "if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15). Ultimately, when we touch the things of the world, the question we must ask ourselves always is: "How is this thing affecting my relationship with the Father?""

""The earth" is the scene of this crisis and its tremendous outcome, and "this world" is, we may say, its point of collision. That point we shall make the theme of our study, and we will begin by looking at the New Testament ideas associated with the important Greek word cosmos. In the English versions this word is, with a single exception shortly to be noticed, invariably translated "the world." (The other Greek word, aion, also so translated, embodies the idea of time and should more aptly be rendered "the age.")

"It is worth sparing time for a look at a New Testament Greek Lexicon such as Grimm's. This will show how wide is the range of meaning that cosmos has in Scripture. But, first of all we glance back to its origins in classical Greek where we find it originally implied two things: first a harmonious order or arrangement, and secondly embellishment or adornment. This latter idea appears in the New Testament verb cosmeo, used with the meaning "to adorn," as of the temple with goodly stones or of a bride for her husband (Luke 21:5; Rev. 21:2). In 1 Peter 3:3, the exception just alluded to, cosmos is itself translated "adorning" in keeping with this same verb cosmeo in verse 5.

"(1) When we turn from the classics to the New Testament writers we find that their uses of cosmos fall into three main groups. It is used first with the sense of the material universe, the round world, this earth. For example, Acts 17:14, "the God that made the world and all things therein"; Matt. 13:35 (and elsewhere), "the foundation of the world"; John 1:10, "he was in the world, and the world was made by him"; Mark 16:15, "Go ye into all the world."

"(2) The second usage of cosmos is twofold. It is used (a) for the inhabitants of the world in such phrases as John 1:10, "the world knew him not"; 3:16, "God so loved the world"; 12:19, "the world is gone after him"; 17:21, "that the worldmay believe." (b) An extension of this usage leads to the idea of the whole race of men alienated from God and thus hostile to the cause of Christ. For instance, Heb. 11:38, "Of whom the world was not worthy"; John 14:17, "whom the world cannot receive"; 14:27, "not as the world giveth, give I unto you"; 15:18, "If the world hateth you ..."

"(3) In the third place we find cosmos is used in Scripture for worldly affairs: the whole circle of worldly goods, endowments, riches, advantages, pleasures, which though hollow and fleeting, stir our desire and seduce us from God, so that they are obstacles to the cause of Christ. Examples are: 1 John 2:15, "the things that are in the world"; 3:17, "the world's goods"; Matt. 16:26, "if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life"; 1 Cor. 7:31, "those that use the world, as not abusing it." This usage of cosmos applies not only to material but also to abstract things which have spiritual and moral (or immoral) values. E.g., 1 Cor. 2:12, "the spirit of the world"; 3:19, "the wisdom of this world"; 7:31, "the fashion of this world"; Titus 2:12, "worldly (adj, kosmicos) lusts"; 2 Pet. 1:4, "the corruption that is in the world"; 2:20, "the defilement's of the world"; 1 John 2:16, 17, "all that is in the world, the lust ... the vainglory ... passeth away." The Christian is "to keep himself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27).

"The Bible student will soon discover that, as the above paragraph suggests,

cosmos is a favorite word of the apostle John, and it is he, in the main, who helps us forward now to a further conclusion."


Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
11. by the blood] More literally because of the blood … and because of the word.

they loved not their lives] St John 12:25, St Luke 14:26 are the closest parallels among the similar sayings of our Lord. Here, as in all of them, the word for “life” is that elsewhere rendered “soul”—not the same as that used for “life eternal” in St John, l.c.

unto the death] They carried the temper of not loving life (not only to the renunciation of life’s joys, but) even to death.

"Pulpit Commentary
Verse 11. - And they overcame him (cf. the frequent references to those who overcome, and the promises made to them, Revelation 2 , etc.). The reference "they" is to "our brethren," the accused ones of ver. 10. By the blood of the Lamb; because of the blood, etc. (Revised Version). That is, "the blood of the Lamb" is the ground or reason of their victory, not the instrument. So in Revelation 1:9, "1 John... was in the island called Patmos, because of the Word of God (διὰ τὸν λόγον)" (cf. Revelation 6:9). Winer agrees with this view of the present passage, against Ewald and De Wette (p. 498 of Moulton's translation). "The Lamb," who was seen "as it had been slain" (Revelation 5:6) - Christ. And by the word of their testimony; and on account of the word, etc. The one phrase is the natural complement of the other. "The blood of the Lamb" would have been shed in vain without the testimony, the outcome of the faith of his followers; that testimony would have been impossible without the shedding of the blood. And they loved not their lives unto the death; their life even unto death. "

"That is, they valued not their life in this world, even to the extent of meeting death for the sake of giving their testimony."


"John 17:4-9
I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them.

I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. ~ Jesus"

" Every aspect of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah had been prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures long before the events ever unfolded in the timeline of human history. No wonder that Jesus the Messiah would say to the Jewish religious leaders of His day, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39)."

"Question: "Where do the Hebrew Scriptures prophesy the death and resurrection of the Messiah?"

"Answer: Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, the promise of a Messiah is clearly given. These messianic prophecies were made hundreds, sometimes thousands of years before Jesus Christ was born, and clearly Jesus Christ is the only person who has ever walked this earth to fulfill them. In fact, from Genesis to Malachi, there are over 300 specific prophecies detailing the coming of this Anointed One. In addition to prophecies detailing His virgin birth, His birth in Bethlehem, His birth from the tribe of Judah, His lineage from King David, His sinless life, and His atoning work for the sins of His people,the death and resurrection of the Jewish Messiah was, likewise, well documented in the Hebrew prophetic Scriptures long before the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred in history.

"Of the best-known prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures concerning the death of Messiah, Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 certainly stand out. Psalm 22 is especially amazing since it predicted numerous separate elements about Jesus’ crucifixion a thousand years before Jesus was crucified. Here are some examples. Messiah will have His hands and His feet “pierced” through (Psalm 22:16; John 20:25). The Messiah’s bones will not be broken (a person’s legs were usually broken after being crucified to speed up their death) (Psalm 22:17; John 19:33). Men will cast lots for Messiah’s clothing (Psalm 22:18; Matthew 27:35).

"Isaiah 53, the classic messianic prophecy known as the “Suffering Servant” prophecy, also details the death of Messiah for the sins of His people. More than 700 years before Jesus was even born, Isaiah provides details of His life and death. The Messiah will be rejected (Isaiah 53:3; Luke 13:34). The Messiah will be killed as a vicarious sacrifice for the sins of His people (Isaiah 53:5–9; 2 Corinthians 5:21). The Messiah will be silent in front of His accusers (Isaiah 53:7; 1 Peter 2:23). The Messiah will be buried with the rich (Isaiah 53:9; Matthew 27:57–60). The Messiah will be with criminals in His death (Isaiah 53:12; Mark 15:27).

"In addition to the death of the Jewish Messiah, His resurrection from the dead is also foretold. The clearest and best known of the resurrection prophecies is the one penned by Israel’s King David in Psalm 16:10, also written a millennium before the birth of Jesus: “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.”"
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1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test ...

www . biblehub.com/1_john/4-1.htm
For many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,… Berean Study Bible · Download
Test the Spirits to See Whether They Are of God


John 6:27
Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval."

John 6:35
Jesus answered, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.

John 7:37
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

John 7:38
Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: 'Streams of living water will flow from within him.'"

Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'"

Isaiah 55:1
"Come, all of you who thirst, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk, without money and without cost!

Isaiah 58:11
The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Jeremiah 2:13
"For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Jeremiah 31:25
for I will refresh the weary soul and replenish all who are weak."

Ezekiel 47:9
Wherever the river flows, there will be swarms of living creatures and a great number of fish, because it flows there and makes the waters fresh; so wherever the river flows, everything will flourish.

Matthew 5:6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Matthew 25:46
And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

John 4:10
Jesus answered, "If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."

John 3:27 John replied, "A man can receive only what is ...

biblehub . com/john/3-27.htm
John replied: No one can do anything unless God in heaven allows it. Good News Translation

John answered, "No one can have anything unless God gives it. Holman Christian Standard Bible John responded,

"No one can receive a single thing unless it's given to him from heaven. International Standard Version"

[Aaron]

Numbers 18:1
And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

[Aaron]

Deuteronomy 21:5
And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried:


5. Deuteronomy 27:24 “Cursed is anyone who kills their neighbor secretly.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

6. Numbers 35:30-32 “‘Anyone who kills a person is to be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. “‘Do not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer, who deserves to die. They are to be put to death. “‘Do not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a city of refuge and so allow them to go back and live on their own land before the death of the high priest.

7. Genesis 9:6 If anyone takes a human life, that person’s life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings in his own image.

[Heirbyadoption]

Aaron, I confess to wondering, perhaps in similar vein to Josh, and especially since you've quoted Wesley and others rather than solely Scripture, what specific lesson are you attempting to share or prompt discussion upon here as relates to 1st John? Fankly, I could hint around all day with verses about submission when communicating with my wife, or verses about obedience for the sake of my children, etc, but at some point there is a benefit when someone "speakest plainly" about what message they wish to convey or discuss, to coin a phrase from the Scriptures....

[Aaron]

Aaron, I confess to wondering, perhaps in similar vein to Josh, and especially since you've quoted Wesley and others rather than solely Scripture, what specific lesson are you attempting to share or prompt discussion upon here as relates to 1st John? Fankly, I could hint around all day with verses about submission when communicating with my wife, or verses about obedience for the sake of my children, etc, but at some point there is a benefit when someone "speakest plainly" about what message they wish to convey or discuss, to coin a phrase from the Scriptures....

Good.

(hope anyway).

Also hope that you are not like Josh, thank you. You asked a question(s) instead of assuming you understood what I said or posted or meant, and instead of then falsely accusing me or bearing false witness against me by telling me what I meant and telling me I was wrong, or something to that effect, eh?

When I attempted to draw out what they assumed that was wrong (in making an assumption they were wrong) , the other posters turned (as noticed by others) rather mocking and hostile, quite contrary to what a wise man would do, eh?

(the "eh?" is somewhat affected, but is meant as sort of 'do you see this, in part at least?' , as other(s) did, but of no use - the posts they and I made were of no effect on those who either started with false assumptions, even maybe because of false teachings they were taught and teach?, or came up with false assumptions , maybe 'innocently ' at first, but then continued with them in that direction even after attempts were made to correct them, and more false accusations then came from them, without any ... attempts it seemed to gain the truth, to learn understanding....

I did not come to this forum to teach, nor to change anyone's mind, as the first goal - as noted in the first post and later, I was and am still looking for "pure" ...... 'Anabaptists' (which others have denied exist), "pure in heart" (do they deny this is possible too then ? ) .... i.e. pure disciples even "not as if already achieved"...... but as written "purifying themselves because HE is Pure" .... i.e. the correct direction as described throughout all Scripture, in harmony with all Scripture.

The mocking and aspersions and false witnesses outnumbered the faithful ones.... so far .... but that's not my point and it is impossible to go down that road here today... it might be less possible today than last week, and perhaps even less possible tomorrow than today, eh? ..... see how difficult it is to make progress when people are on different pages and trusting different .... what? different schools ? (even false schools)? .... or even trusting themselves (i.e. in the flesh) instead of trusting the heavenly Father to deliver us ?

1st John is perhaps one of the simplest, if not the simplest, books in the Bible, and as far as I know it was/is written to new believers - it apparently was the first or one of the first Epistles written , and that might be beneficial to find out , and why... as I think it shows and it says , God's Word Breathed/ Inspired by the Father, how a believer can know that they are walking in the light, and not in darkness.....

All the other references, links, subjects, plans, purposes, with all Scriptures, that are in God's Plan and Purpose and are from Him , that are true, are in perfect harmony - no contradiction, unlike human errors or teachings that are from traditions opposed to Jesus or that contradict any Scripture or any part of God's Plan and Purpose in Salvation in Christ Jesus, "eh?" ..... this is so important, I hope you agree, to recognize the perfection of God's Word, Plan and Purpose as He Says and as He Reveals Himself in all Scripture and in and through Christ Jesus to men.

[Heirbyadoption]

Aaron -
Howdy again. Sorry, I've been out of state for several days with a family funeral, wasn't meaning to ignore your reply.

I don't know about "being like Josh"; fact of the matter is, he and I have disagreed just as much on various issues as we have agreed over the last few years. But if there are accusations to be made, I'll leave that between you and him and the mods. Having said that, I DO understand his general frustration with posters such as yourself who come in with scattered ramblings claiming to have the truth and be seeking others of like "purity", and throwing Scriptures around like confetti without a lot of coherent discussion or complete sentences. Frankly, discussion forums are a place designed specifically for coherent discussion, and if somebody isn't here seeking a pulpit, then coherent discussion is the expected method of interaction. Unfortunately, and I wish to say this kindly, your communication on most posts I've read here on MN hasn't been overly coherent nor very indicative of an interest/effort in engaging other posters here in discussion on the topics at hand. Everybody has a Bible, and there's nothing wrong with referencing it, and often at that! But you will find a far more harmonious and effective interaction on a page like MN if you actually engage the discussions like a normal person, perhaps expand on your thoughts with some semblance of normal dialogue (rather than simply firing off various portions of Scripture), especially on what you consider to be "pure" anabaptists like yourself as you claim to be seeking. People aren't trying to mean, but half of your posts seem out of context or make no sense, ergo it makes communication difficult. The regular posters here really arent just a bunch of folks unwilling to hear what you would like to share/discuss.

All the other references, links, subjects, plans, purposes, with all Scriptures, that are in God's Plan and Purpose and are from Him , that are true, are in perfect harmony - no contradiction, unlike human errors or teachings that are from traditions opposed to Jesus or that contradict any Scripture or any part of God's Plan and Purpose in Salvation in Christ Jesus, "eh?" ..... this is so important, I hope you agree, to recognize the perfection of God's Word, Plan and Purpose as He Says and as He Reveals Himself in all Scripture and in and through Christ Jesus to men.

I believe I understand your thought, but herein lies your difficulty, and that of others responding to you. If I get a 10 step manual on how to put a machine together, every step is accurate and true, certainly. But when I randomly throw out Step A and Step C and Step G first, and then mention Step B, and maybe something about Step D, etc, I'm not going to make a lot of sense to anybody, especially to a group of people such as the regular posters here who come for coherent discussion to learn from one another and bounce ideas or questions off one another as relate to the Christian life (and to some degree, Anabaptist versions of it). The structure and often content of your comments haven't often lent themselves to that sort of interaction much so far; perhaps some of the above thoughts could be an encouragement to try a little different approach?

But since you seem desirous of questions, perhaps I could ask a couple. First, could you elaborate a bit on what these "pure" anabaptists that you are seeking fellowship with. And secondly, since you didn't answer it in your last reply: what specific lesson were you attempting to share or prompt discussion upon as relates to 1st John? Thanks!