Sunday, May 6th, 2018
Holy Spirit is Truth
The book of 1 John
The Roman world of the first century was a time of testing and comparison between the Eastern and Western religions. The gods of the Greek and Roman pantheons were in ill repute. The religions that were deemed more mysterious were very popular because of their emphasis on personal relationship with the deity and secret knowledge. This is what Gnosticism taught. The more secular Greek philosophy was popular and was merging with other worldviews. Into this world of eclectic religion came the exclusiveness of the Christian faith (Jesus is the only way to God, cf. John 14:6). 1 John was written to help correct these 2nd generation of believers and put this bad teaching to rest, encourage them in their identity in Christ, and propel the church into the next century on solid ground.
As you read and study together, make sure to work hard at hearing from everyone that has gathered together. Pray for one another and be accountable to applying the word of God to your lives.
General Questions:
- 1 John addresses heresy that claimed Jesus wasn’t fully man, which would mean he could not understand our sin and our flesh. Do you ever find yourself believing that Jesus doesn’t understand your moments of sin? Why?
- What is a testimony of man that you hold as greater than the testimony of God?
- Often when we see “eternal life” we can simply think of living in heaven after our life on earth. John explains that eternal life is really life in Jesus, who is forever. Discuss what eternal life means to you and if this passage has caused you to think differently at all.
- How does knowing if someone does not believe this “testimony” they do not have “life” affect the way we interact with those who don’t have a relationship with or belief in Jesus?
For Further Discussion:
- Look more deeply into use of “water and blood” used in verses 6-8. What do you think John means by these symbolically or literally? What could the significance of this language be?