Understanding
The Bible |
BY THE AUTHOR
Dr. Clarence E. Mason, Jr.
Philadelphia College of Bible
1968
EXPOSITORY ANALYSIS
Prologue:
THE MANIFESTED LIFE 1:1-4
The beginning of Christianity is the beginning of Christ's work on earth.
Contrast verse 1 with "the beginning" of John 1:1 prior to creation.
The time of John's writing is between AD 90-100, at which time the Gnostic
heresy had made considerable progress. They claimed that Jesus, the Logos,
never took on an actual human form but just appeared to be human, So John
punctures Gnosticism here. The purpose of the epistle is stated here: fellowship
with its joy.
The Message:
THE MANIFESTED LIGHT 1:5-2:2
Observe God is light before He is love.
Verse 6 is evidently the profession of an unsaved man (cp. Jn. 8:12; 3:19-21;
9:39-41).
Verse 7 is not profession but an actual fact. It is not a question of how
close we are to the Light, but whether we are in the Light at all, i.e.,
saved or not. The veil is rent and the Light shines out from the Holy of
Holies upon us as believer-priests, ministering in the Holy Place. The blood
is on the Mercy Seat and (literally) "keeps cleansing us from every
sin." If that blood stopped cleansing for a single moment, we would
be lost. Position is in view. This is the ground of fellowship.
Verse 8, "If we say we have no sin (nature)"
Verse 9, "If we confess our sins..." To confess is to say the
same thing about our sins as God does. Then God is "faithful and righteous"
to forgive. This is experiential truth. His forgiveness of us as sinning
saints is never based on mercy but on righteousness and justice. All the
mercy we will ever need was manifested at Calvary. "Faithful"
- to Christ because it is due Him. "Just" - to us because Christ
has paid for every sin.
Verse 10, another profession. "If we say we have not committed sinful
acts.. ." Verse 8 was a denial of sinful nature; here, of sinful acts.
Who is worse, the eradicationist (8) or we who refuse to "say the same
thing about our sin (confess) as God does" (10)?
In 2:1-2, John is writing to keep us from the habit of sin. Sin is customary
but not normal. Not a future but a present advocate is in view; He advocates
while we are sinning. Christ pleads for us in the presence of God. Our advocate
is not Jesus Christ the merciful, but Jesus Christ the righteous. It is
righteousness that keeps us, not His love. His love might get out of patience
with our sins, but His righteousness cannot. "For the sins of the whole
world" - available for all, but experienced by those who believe. Sin
affects fellowship with God, not relationship to God.
Life evidenced
by obedience: FITNESS FOR GOD 2:3-11
Contrasts between the whole trend of life of the believer or unbeliever.
The trend of our life is to keep His commandments. This aims at genuineness
of Christian confession.
Verses 7-8 are explained by 3:23. The old commandment is "believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, " whereas the new commandment
is to love one another while living a godly life. Verse 8b may be taken
historically of the incarnation, but this also took place when Christ came
into your life.
THE FAMILY OF GOD 2:12-4:6
A short sermon for the family 2:12-3:3
Introduction 2:12-13
"Children" (not "little") - the whole family
is in view (12). The family is composed of three groups:
"Fathers" - Christians for a long time (13a)
"Young men" - not Christians as long as the fathers but
strong, full-grown (13b)
"Little children" - "babes" in Christ - because
ye have known the Father; young converts (13c)
All these have their sins equally forgiven (12)!
Body of the message 2:14-27
Fathers 14a
These are long-standing believers whom he does not presume to
instruct; they know the Lord perhaps as well as he.
Young men 14b-17
Even though 14b is true (overcome), keep on your guard because
it is so easy to love the world -the world system.
The Father can't find His delight in a son like the one pictured
in verse 15b; only in One like Mt. 17:5.
Note: it is not the babe but the Christian who has gone on who
is in greatest danger of bogging down in the rut of living for
time and sense (worldliness).
Babes 18-27
The danger of the babe is to be misled by false teaching.
The chief error in John's day was Gnosticism. This does not
say that the babe in Christ does not need human instrumentality
in being taught so that he may grow. It is rather that he does
not need a human teacher to tell him that a given religious
system is false. The Holy Spirit does that through his inner
consciousness. The Holy Spirit u[ the anointing (unction) which
all believers have received.
Conclusion 2:28-3:3
A much needed warning and a blessed encouragement to holy living.
A good literal rendering of 3:3 is: "Everyone who hath this
hope set on Him is ever purifying himself, even as He is pure."
The two
families and the two natures 3:4-10
Sin is an attitude as well as an act; character as well as conduct.
The believer should be dominated by the new nature; the unbeliever is
dominated by the old nature. The old family has not a new nature; the
new family is not to be dominated by the old nature. These statements
are blacks and whites indicating the general trend of a man's life,
not every single experience.
Life evidenced
by love 3:10-24a
1 John 3:16 is a wonderful counterpart of John 3:16, showing the expected
progression in a believer's life.
The two
spirits 3:24b-4:6
The spirit of truth (Holy Spirit)
The spirit of error (antichrist)
The world listens to them (5)! It simply is not true that a liberal
preacher always empties a church and a faithful gospel preacher always
fills one.
PERFECT
LOVE AND ITS RESULTS 4:7-5:5
This love, spoken of as a sign of life, is not something pumped up but something
that is in us because God is in us. It is the word for love like God's love
(Jn. 3:16).
Verse 17 has nothing to do with our (perfect) love for Him but the apprehension
by us, by faith, of His perfect love for us. An apprehension of His love
(Rom. 5:5) casts out all our fear (Rom. 8:11).
Perfect love described 4:7-10
Perfect love's results 4:11-5:5
It gives assurance to us who are His children 4:11-16
It casts out all fear 4:17-18
It produces love for our brethren as a family characteristic 4:19-5:3
It produces a victorious
faith 5:4-5
ASSURANCE THROUGH DIVINE TESTIMONY 5:6-21
The Divine witness upon which my soul rests 5:6-13
Confidence in prayer 5:14-15
Sin unto
death 5:16-17
This passage has puzzled many. 1 Corinthians 11:30 makes it perfectly
plain that God can and does sometimes use illness and death as disciplines.
However, we are instructed here to leave the question as to which it
is with God and not intrude. Just pray for the brother.
Griffith Thomas has a helpful rendering for the last sentence of verse
16:
"I do not say that you shall inquire concerning it."
Divine
certainties 18-21
Three of them: "know. "
"Mason's Notes"
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