Fellowship & Assurance
The Core Question
How can you know that you have eternal life?
"Jesus didn't have a real body. Sin doesn't matter because it's only physical."
"We heard, we saw, we touched Him." (1:1). The Incarnation is real. How we live in the body matters.
Reflection
Do you treat your faith as merely a mental belief, or a tangible reality that affects your physical life?
Confession
Walking in the light doesn't mean you are sinless. It means you are honest about your sin (1:9).
What happens when we fail to walk in the light?
You cannot love the Father and hate His family. Bitterness blinds us (v.11).
The "World" isn't nature; it's the system opposed to God. It has three traps:
Cravings for physical pleasure outside God's bounds.
Greed, materialism, and coveting what we see.
Arrogance about status, wealth, or achievements.
"The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."
The Purifying Hope:
"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us..."
Not every spiritual sounding thing is from God. We must test them.
Acknowledges Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.
Submits to Biblical authority (v.6).
"Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (4:4)
Perfect Love
Casts out fear
Fear has to do with punishment. If we fear judgment, we haven't fully grasped His love.
True Christianity shows itself in three ways:
1. Theological: Believing Jesus is God in flesh.
2. Moral: Obeying God's commands.
3. Social: Loving God's people.
"Little children, keep yourselves from idols."
Based on the tests of 1 John