The Real Deal: 1 John 1:5-2:2

1 John 1:5-2:2

5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an [1] Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

Notes from the study:
John writes that God is Holy and in Him, there is no darkness. Therefore, in order to have fellowship with God, we must strive for holiness and not walk in darkness. In order to have fellowship with God, we need to recognize His holiness along with his other characteristics. His holiness is what prevents him from having fellowship with sinners, who are not made holy by the blood for Jesus. It is what causes him to bring righteous wrath on the world that walks in darkness. In the coming day, he will not abide that which is not made holy by His work through Jesus (what do you mean by he will not abide that which is not made holy...). We as Christians need to understand this if we are to have fellowship with God.
John then goes on to contrast those that understand and those that don’t. Verses 6 and 7 are paired as well as verses 8 and 9. One could make the case that verse 10 and 2:1-2 are a pair, but it doesn’t really follow the form of 6/7 and 8/9. The content of 10 and 2:1-2 do contrast each other.

“If we say” verses are lies of the false or Gnostic teachers. They are compared against the next verse, which is truth. Verse 6, 8, and 10 all contain lie or some form of it (v6 lie, v8 truth is not in us, v10 liar). So as to say, if you do this, you are sinning or walking the path of a sinner / walking in darkness.

Verse 7,9 and 2:1-2 all contain the forgiveness of sin, extremely important to the central message of the gospel but even more so as this stands in opposition to v8 and v10 (we have no sin, we have not sinned). We use the term of walking in light as a metaphor for full disclosure, not hiding anything. A man who walks in this way acknowledges his sin and asks for forgiveness (if a Christian). A person who walks in darkness uses that darkness to hide away their sin, thus making the claims that they have no sin or have not sinned or even do not sin. Walk in the light, strive to be holy, and ask for the forgiveness of the Lord and he will forgive us our sins and cleanse us in the blood of his son, Christ Jesus, who paid the price for our sin, nay for the whole world’s sin.(2:2)

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Announcements:

No small groups 7/21, Wed as we have in-person prayer on Monday 7/19 at Cheasapeake Manor (34756 Chesapeake Ct, Union City, CA 94587). For more information contact Justin Chien at slk23022@gmail.com.

Vincent has been so kind to set up daily Bible selection distributions to whomever asks. Please let us know if you'd like to be included in these emails.

7/7/2010: HUDDLES: Complete Surrender (St Augustine)

Our session was on the battle within! The body is pretty darn good at listening to our mind-- we want the food, we grab it, we eat. But sometimes the mind won't listen to itself! Habits, bad habits, conflicting wills, get in our way...

We read an excerpt by St Augustine's "Confessions". St Augustine freely expresses the struggle he faces with his own mind! Why can't he just make his decision immediately? What is holding him back? Why are old habits so hard to shake? Who will free him? He was drawn to read the Word and he read a passage from Romans 13:13- 14 and realized the Lord Jesus Christ would be the one to set him free! He needed to get away from his sins and arm himself with the Lord. His hope should be on the Lord, we should no longer be a slave to our flesh, but a slave to God.


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Other news:

Don't forget to sign up for retreat! Remember, this means submitting payment AND filling out the appropriate paperwork. See details in previous post, below. The early sign up (and cheapest price of $115) is by this coming Sunday.

Pool party on Aug 14th (Saturday): more info to come!

Study on 1 John 1:1-4: Passage and Summary

Incarnation: Fellowship with One Another and Him
1 John 1:1-1:4
1:1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life--
2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us--
3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made

What is the main thing we are trying to get from this study?
Validation of Christ and who he was. John has some authority in this manner, being a close associate of Jesus. This beginning is setting up his assertion of the supremacy of Christ. This was to battle the Gnostic belief that Jesus was never in the flesh. John is linking the spirit and the flesh by saying he was always there and he came in the flesh, and we (John and the disciples) have see him in the flesh.
We’ve heard, touched, seen with our eyes.
V1 is talking about the physical manifestation of Christ. V 2 is talking about the spiritual. Both are important regarding the gospel. V3 is about the gospel and having faith in Jesus which allows you to have fellowship with God. Both physical and spiritual manifestation of Christ is important to the validity and power of the gospel. He could not die for our sins if he was never flesh. He could also not conquer death for us if he was not divine.

2010 Retreat Info

Hey Guys, here's the info for retreat this year.

August 27-29, 2010 (Friday to Sunday)
Westminster Woods
6510 Bohemian Hwy.
Occidental, CA 95465

Register HERE

Early Bird Price (register by next Saturday 7/18):
Individuals - $115

Regular Price (register by 8/1):
Individuals - $140

Late Price (register after 8/1):
Individuals - $175

NOTE: You are not registered until you've completed the registration form AND paid the registration fee. Please pay the registration fee with cash or check payable to LSCC to Alan. Scholarships are available for those with financial need, please talk to Alan.

*the photograph used in this post does not reflect the retreat site, nor is it an accurate representation of Westminster Woods. It is merely used here to encourage you to sign up for retreat.