Knowing Jesus
Text: 1 John 2:3-11
Introduction
1. Illustration: "Often in the Scriptures the word know means not just being aware of something but having a personal experience of it. Jesus did not know sin, not because he was unaware of what it is but because he never committed it himself. For although he is like us in every other way, he never sinned. Given this meaning of the word know, it is clear that anyone who says that he knows God must also keep his commandments, for the two things go together" (Didymus The Blind, Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture NT, vol 11, 178).
2. In our text this morning, John clarifies that true knowledge of God does not come by some special revelation revealed by false teachers; it only comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
3. But how do we know that someone really knows Jesus?
A. To Know Him Is To Obey Him
B. To Know Him Is To Love Others
C. To Know Him Is To Love His Children
4. Let's stand together as we read 1 Jn. 2:3-11.
Proposition: The true test of knowing God is do we live like Jesus.
Transition: The first sign of knowing God is...
I. To Know Him Is To Obey Him (3-6).
A. If We Obey His Commandments
1. John opens this section with the first of three tests of whether we know God.
2. In v. 3 he says, "And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments."
A. John moves from the foundation laid in the previous verses to another simple test that exposes whether or not a person is truly a follower of Jesus Christ.
B. Again, John calls to mind the teaching of Jesus as recorded in his gospel account. "If you love me, you will obey my commandments" (John 14:15).
C. Building on this very simple statement, John establishes a simple test for the Christian and emphasizes the word know.
D. When he does this, he establishes a certainty to the phrase "that we know Him." Christians can be absolutely sure that they know the Lord by the simple criterion that they follow the Lord’s commandments—that they are obedient to them (Easy-To-Read Commentary Series, The - Easy-to-Read Commentary Series – The General Epistles: A Practical Faith).
E. Therefore, to know him is to obey his commands and life a way of life that he expects from his people.
F. Hosea 4:1 (NLT2)
1 Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel! The LORD has brought charges against you, saying: "There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land.
G. When John speaks of knowing God he uses the perfects tense. This means that he is thinking of a past experience, which has continuing results: "we have come to know him."
H. He is writing this to reassure the readers that their experience with God was genuine.
I. He is saying we can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we know God, but the test of this is whether or not we obey him (Marhsall, 121-123).
3. Then in v. 4, John talks about the negative side of the subject. He says, "If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth."
A. John now turns to the negative side of things and issues a warning to any who claim to have come to know God and yet do not keep God’s commandments.
B. Believers may be certain that a person is not a follower of Christ if that person fails to obey what the Lord has commanded. Indeed, John calls such a person a liar.
C. The truth does not abide in that individual, and the Spirit does not dwell in that person’s heart.
D. John does not suggest that genuine followers no longer sin. They have not reached sinless perfection. Such would contradict the criteria John has already established. "If we say, ‘We aren’t sinful’ we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8).
E. It is imperative to understand the difference between the false claim that believers have no sin and the true premise that they simply obey His commandments (Easy-To-Read Commentary Series, The - Easy-to-Read Commentary Series – The General Epistles: A Practical Faith).
F. John implies that this individual will be exposed as a liar by his disobedience to God’s commands.
G. What is internal will eventually come to the surface. The condemnation of this person is quite similar to what John says in 1:6, 8.
H. Not only is the claim of this individual false, but the truth is altogether absent from his life (Akin, New American Commentary – Volume 38: 1, 2, 3 John, 91).
4. Then John furthers this idea when he says, "But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did."
A. Everything the believer knows about the reality of his faith centers on the word of the Lord.
B. John 8:31-32 (NLT2)
31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.
32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
C. Drawing on his experience when he walked with the Lord, John drives home this unchangeable truth.
D. When God’s Word abides in the heart of the believer, then the fruit of that abiding truth gives birth to a maturity of thought and behavior which is the work of God in a person’s life.
E. The result of such Spirit-directed activity is the assurance of every believer’s standing with his Lord, but believers must acknowledge that this assurance results from the Lord’s involvement in their lives and not from their own faltering efforts to keep His Word (, Easy-to-Read Commentary Series – The General Epistles: A Practical Faith, 308).
F. Obedience is linked not merely with knowing God but with loving him. Those who obey God’s word really do love him.
G. By this obedience and love, believers can know that they live in him. Jesus portrayed in human terms absolute obedience to the Father.
H. Anyone who wonders how to obey God can look at Jesus. Those who truly desire to live in God should live their lives as Christ did.
I. To "live as Christ did" doesn’t mean choosing twelve disciples, performing great miracles, and being crucified.
J. People cannot merely copy Christ’s life. Much of what Jesus did had to do with his identity as God’s Son and his special role in dying for sin.
K. Anyone’s claim to live in Christ must be backed up by following his example of complete obedience to God and loving service to people (Barton, Life Application New Testament Commentary, 1154).
B. To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice
1. Illustration: "One word stands out from all others as the key to knowing God, to having His peace and assurance in your life--it is obedience." (Eric Liddell)
Elisabeth Elliot tells the story of when she and her brother Tom were small children. Their mother would let Tom play with paper bags that she had saved as long as he put them away afterwards. One day she walked into the kitchen to find them strewn all over the floor.
Tom was in another room at the piano with his father singing hymns. When their mother called him to the kitchen to tidy up, he protested, "But Mum, I want to sing Jesus loves me this I know."
His father, seated next to him, backed up the boys' mother by saying: "It's no good singing God's praise if you're disobedient. To obey is better than sacrifice."
2. God is more concerned about your obedience than your sacrifice!
A. 1 Samuel 15:22 (NLT2)
22 But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
B. A medieval monk named Thomas a Kempes said, "Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience. Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience withdraws from Grace"
C. God wants your sacrifice and service, but he is more interested in your obedience.
D. He wants us to be like Isaiah who when asked, "Whom shall I send," replied, "here I am send me!"
E. He is interested that our response to him is not can I or should I, but will I!
F. He wants us to desire his will more than anything else in our lives.
G. And it's this response of obedience that determines if we truly know God.
H. The response that he wants from us is "yes, Lord, let your will be done in my life."
I. It's this kind of response that shows whether or not we know him.
Transition: The second test of whether or not we know him has to do with how we treat others.
II. To Know Him Is To Love Others (8-9).
A. Love One Another
1. Old Testament scholar Christopher Wright states in his book Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament,
"I find myself aware that in reading the Hebrew Scriptures, I am handling something that gives me a closer link with Jesus than any archaeological artifact could do...Above all, this is where he found the shape of his own identity and the goal of his own mission. In short, the deeper you go into understanding the Old Testament, the closer you come to the heart of Jesus...For it saddens me that so many Christians in these days love Jesus, but know so little about who he thought he was and what he had come to do." (Wright, Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament, ix).
2. I bring this statement out because so many Christians fail to see not only Jesus in the OT, but also love in the OT. They see the OT as focusing on wrath and judgment, but nothing could be further from the truth!
3. John says in v. 7, "Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before."
A. The commandment to love one another is both old and new. For the Jews, the command to love others was as old as the Pentateuch (Leviticus 19:18), and as new as Jesus’ words (John 13:34).
B. Leviticus 19:18 (NLT2)
18 "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
C. Thus, John knew that he was not writing a new commandment because it is an old one you have always had.
D. However, Jesus called the commandment "new" because he interpreted it in a radically new way. The newness of Jesus’ command focused on the practice of love (Barton, 1154).
E. The word a?ap?t?? (agapetos), translated "friends", is derived from the root of the word that means "to love."
F. In a sense, John calls them beloved, a term of endearment to these precious children in the faith.
G. In the face of heretical doctrine, John was intent on proving that his doctrine had not changed throughout his long life.
H. He had witnessed the glory of the Son, and nothing could be added to or subtracted from that marvelous experience. Therefore, the foundation of his teaching remained steadfast and sure.
I. John affirmed that these difficult teachings were no different from the message preached by the apostles from the very beginning.
J. Such a statement served as a reminder to those who had first heard the message early in the apostolic ministry and as authentication to those who had not.
K. The commandment summarized everything that had already been articulated through the Law and the Prophets—love is expressed through obedience (Easy-to-Read Commentary Series – The General Epistles: A Practical Faith, 311).
4. Then in v. 8 John shows that it is also a new commandment because Jesus gave it a whole new meaning. He says, "Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining."
A. This commandment was established in Jesus Christ, the very essence of light Who willingly laid down His life for sinful man.
B. John 15:13 (NLT2)
13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
C. A reflection of this boundless light is evident in all those who believe in Him and receive His redemption.
D. Therefore, as more and more people are redeemed, darkness continues to recede in the face of such overpowering light.
E. The darkness of sin that had ruled their hearts and minds gave way to understanding, forgiveness, and redemption.
F. When they were redeemed, the light that dawned in their darkened souls was absolutely real and nothing could resist its impact (Easy-to-Read Commentary Series – The General Epistles: A Practical Faith, 311).
G. Although the true light is already shining and the darkness has not passed away completely, the darkness is disappearing slowly but surely.
H. Thanks to the victory of Christ, the outcome of the conflict between light and darkness is a foregone conclusion.
I. The conflict continues, however. But like the first rays of sun at dawn slowly but steadily piercing the darkness, so the true light experienced and shared by Christians is growing (Barton, 1154).
B. Your Love For One Another
1. Illustration: A story from the Peanut’s cartoons - you know - with Snoopy and Charlie Brown:
It’s Christmas time and Lucy comes in where Charlie Brown is standing and says, "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown. `Tis the season of peace on earth and good will toward men. Therefore, I suggest we forget all our differences and love one another."
Charlie Brown, whose face lights up at this, says, "That’s wonderful, Lucy. I’m so glad you said that. But tell me, do we have to love each other only at this season of the year? Why can’t we love each other all year long?"
Lucy retorts, "What are you, a fanatic or something?"
2. Just as you can tell what team a person roots for by the colors they wear, so a person can distinguish a Christian based on how they treat people.
A. John 13:34-35 (NLT2)
34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."
B. Someone won't be able to tell if you are a Christian because of your "Jesus Saves" t-shirt.
C. They won't be able to recognize you as a Christian because of the ten ton study Bible you carry under your arm.
D. They won't even be able to deduce whether you are a Christian because of the huge gold cross you wear around your neck.
E. No, the only way to tell if a person is a follower of Jesus is by the way they treat others.
F. They will see Jesus because of the way you help those in need.
G. They will see Jesus because of the way you hold your tongue and your temper when people get in your grill.
H. They will see Jesus because of the way you show concern for someone whose having a bad day.
I. The real question is if you were convicted of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
Transition: The third test is...
III. To Know Him Is To Love His Children (9-11).
A. But Hates A Brother Or A Sister
1. "How can someone say that he belongs to Christ and at the same time hate his brother for whom Christ died?" (Andreas, Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture NT, vol. 11, 181).
2. This is the question that John deals with now. Can you be a Christian and hate your Christian family? I think the answer is clear.
3. In v. 9 John says, "If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness."
A. These next few verses highlight the absolute contrast drawn between light and darkness, love and hate, God and the world. The two contrasts cannot coexist.
B. This verse teaches that a person who claims to be in the light (1:7) should then, by extension, also be filled with love (2:7-8).
C. If that person makes this claim but hates a Christian brother or sister, then the claim to be in the light is false. That person is still in darkness.
D. Living in love is living in the light, since the gospel both illuminates people’s minds and warms their hearts to love.
E. Love should be the unifying force and the identifying mark of the Christian community. Love is the key to walking in the light, because believers cannot grow spiritually while they hate others (Barton, 1155).
F. The foundation of John’s statement is constructed on the practical, objective evidence of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which John had witnessed and to which he continually testified.
G. Moreover, it is based on the new birth, which the Spirit brings to the life of those Christ has redeemed.
H. Hinging upon his statements recorded in the two previous verses, John now provides yet another measure by which one can evaluate his relationship with Christ.
I. Since God is the very essence of light as revealed in His Son, we know that a follower of Christ will reflect some measure of that light that has so profoundly changed his life.
J. Therefore, if hate rules his relationship with a Christian brother or sister, it invalidates his profession of being "in the light."
K. Hate is the fruit of the darkness that rules sinful man. It is not the fruit of the person that has experienced the love of God and has been redeemed.
L. If a person who lives and walks within the fold of Christian fellowship demonstrates such behavior, then we can only conclude that such a person does not belong to Christ (Easy-to-Read Commentary Series – The General Epistles: A Practical Faith, 312).
4. Then in v. 10, John puts a positive spin the concept when he says, "Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble."
A. As the opposite to 2:9, verse 10 explains that actions reveal faith: anyone who loves other Christians is walking in the light.
B. There is nothing in such a person to make him or her, or anyone else, stumble. In contrast, people who claim to be Christians yet hate a Christian brother or sister are not grounded in the truth, as seen by their actions.
C. They are walking in darkness. In the context of this letter, those who hated other Christians probably referred to the false teachers and their followers who had left the fellowship of the church and thereby had rejected John and the other true Christians.
D. They claimed to love God, but they hated other children of God.
E. "Believers" who hate are in darkness and not light, in sin and not in fellowship with God.
F. They are lost, having been blinded by the darkness. To hate, then, is to choose the darkness and to shut oneself off from the light.
G. To hate is to separate oneself from the presence of God and from the fellowship of other believers (Barton, 1155).
H. Returning to his original comment, John identifies the darkness of the unredeemed life—hatred toward a brother.
I. He expands on the theme of light and darkness, of love and hate. The person who walks in darkness cannot possibly see where he is going. If it is completely dark, how can one determine which way to turn? He cannot.
J. However, this person is much more than a mere hater.
K. Lutheran scholar and commentator R. C. H. Lenski suggests that such people have actually developed into heretics who despise the fellowship of the true believers and who cannot understand why believers will not give up their faithfulness to the Word of God on the basis of a "better explanations."
L. Faced with such "blindness," the heretic literally wants to destroy the believers’ fellowship with one another.
M. For those who follow Jesus, there is only one source of light that can heal this blindness and brighten their pathway. "Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path" (Psalm 119:105) (Easy-to-Read Commentary Series – The General Epistles: A Practical Faith, 313).
B. Love For His Church
1. Illustration: "To love somebody is not just a strong feeling it is a decision, it is a judgment, it is a promise. If love were only a feeling, there would be no basis for the promise to love each other forever."
2. Beloved, love one another!
A. 1 Thessalonians 4:9 (NLT2)
9 But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another.
B. The story of John in Ephesus
C. There's no room in the church for back bitting!
D. There no room in the church for jealousy!
E. There's no room in the church for gossip!
F. There's no room in the church for slander!
G. There's no room in the church for clicks and division!
H. There only thing that there is room for in the church is love for one another!
I. We have the example of Jesus to follow, who loved enough to sacrifice everything for us.
J. We have the example of the Scriptures which tell us to love one another...repeatedly!
K. We have the example of the early church, who's love changed the world!
L. It's time to learn the lesson of "Beloved, love one another!"
Conclusion
1. In our text this morning, John clarifies that true knowledge of God does not come by some special revelation revealed by false teachers; it only comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
2. But how do we know that someone really knows Jesus?
A. To Know Him Is To Obey Him
B. To Know Him Is To Love Others
C. To Know Him Is To Love His Children
3. THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER...
A. WE DEMONSTRATE OUR KNOWLEDGE OF AND LOVE FOR GOD THROUGH OBEDIENCE.
B. WE DEMONSTRATE OUR KNOWLEDGE OF AND LOVE FOR GOD WHEN WE LOVE THOSE WHO ARE UNLOVABLE.
C. WE DEMONSTARTE OUR KNOWLEDGE OF AND LOVE FOR GOD BY LOVING HIS CHURCH.
