1 John

As I shared in an earlier post about memorizing Scripture, I like to memorize larger chunks to keep the verses in context. I've been working on 1 John since the beginning of June, and am now just finishing the third of five chapters. One of the reasons that memorizing larger chunks of Scripture is that you're constantly in the same part of the Word and are able to really meditate on what you're reading. Here are some of the themes I've noticed from 1 John:

1. Knowledge- The phrase "This is how we know" recurs continually throughout the book. Often we think that faith has nothing to do with intelligence, but John shows us that we really should (to quote other Scripture) love the Lord our God with all our mind. When John uses the phrase "This is how we know" he follows up with describing ways we can check our spiritual walk. In 2:3-6 we learn that we can know we are in Christ when we obey his commands. We can know what love is because of Jesus' example (3:16). We know Christ lives in us because of the Spirit he gave us (3:24). God doesn't want us to follow him with our brains turned off, but rather he calls us to use our intellect to follow him.

2. Sin- 1 John is full of commentary on the forgiveness of sins. We're probably all familiar with 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." This theme continues throughout the book. 2:2 reminds us that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice not only for our sins but also for the sins of the whole world! This is a fundamental truth, and one that we need to be reminded of constantly.

3. Truth- Similar to knowledge, John constantly reminds us about being in the truth. 2:20-23 tells us that we know the truth because of the Holy Spirit. We are to love not with words, but with actions and in truth (3:18). God's Word is the ultimate truth that we need in our lives, and the standard by which we should live our lives.

4. Love- God is love (4:16). We know what love is because we know God and we have seen the greatest love in his Son, Jesus Christ. John tells us that we are not to love the world, but to love the Father (2:15-17). I think the most convicting verse about love is this: "For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." (4:20-21) Wow! We are called to love our brothers with actions, with the kind of self-sacrificing love that Jesus demonstrated. If we aren't loving in this way, we cannot claim to love God.