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Introduction

For background on the author, see John the apostle.

Unlike the letters of Paul and Peter, or even John’s other letters, this letter of John’s says nothing about the writer or the recipients. He just starts right in with what he wants to say…and stops as soon as he’s said it.

John’s writing style is unique and recognizable. Although we can see him writing this way in his Gospel, his other letters, and even in Revelation, that style achieves its most well-defined form in this letter. It’s a style so simple and straightforward that it sounds almost childlike at times. This is ironic given the fact that that he wrote this letter late in life, after his contemporaries Peter and Paul had already died. (As to how we know John wrote this late in the game, see 1 Jn 2:18-19 and the accompanying BSN note below.) The more mature John became, the more simple his statements of truth became. This brings to mind a wise remark by a 19th-century US Supreme Court justice.

“For the simplicity on this side of complexity, I wouldn’t give you a fig. But for the simplicity on the other side of complexity,
for that I would give you anything I have.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809-1894)

The apostle John lived long enough and walked with the Holy Spirit of Jesus long enough to find the simplicity that can be found on the other side of complexity. May we learn to understand him so that we can one day speak as plainly and simply as he did.

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1 John 1

1 Jn 1:1-3 – The similarities between the opening of this letter and of the Gospel of John are impossible to ignore. Pondering the obvious similarities will lead to discovering less obvious, but equally edifying, ones. ***** As for the expressions “the Word of Life,” “the life,” and “the eternal life” and other scriptures that use them, see THE LIFE.

1 Jn 1:4 – Sin leads to grief, but righteousness leads to joy. Writing this letter generated joy in John’s heart because he was being faithful to spread the word of the One who sent Him. Likewise, it is joyful to fathers to share the word of the Lord with their children because to share it is to do righteousness. Your children will never forget that you taught them of Jesus and the Bible.

1 Jn 1:5 – As in 1 Jn 1:1-3, let us notice and appreciate the similarities between the way John began his Gospel and the way he begins this letter – and the way those similarities complement each other.

John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
John 1:5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

1 Jn 1:6-7 – It’s one thing to know the truth – it’s quite another to walk in it – that is, to practice it.

1 Jn 1:8-10 – Verses 8 and 10 bookend verse 9. Taken together, the three verses clearly show us the path to take, and the path to avoid. Every morning we and our families wake up to that fork in the road.

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1 John 2

1 Jn 2:1-2 – In 1 Jn 1:8-10, John wrote of the simple and sure way our sins are forgiven: by confessing them. But John does not want this to make us cavalier about sinning, so he quickly follows with “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.” (Chapter and Verse Divisions Post-Date the Authors) ***** By using the expression “Jesus Christ the righteous,” John reminds us that Jesus is not off the reservation by being so willing and ready to forgive us; rather, He is “faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9). That is, Jesus was appointed by God to be our “Advocate.” We would never have had the nerve to suggest the messianic plan. It all flows from God’s grace – not our goodness or wisdom.

1 Jn 2:3-6 – In this passage, John says there are two way we can know that we have come to know Jesus: one is if we “keep His commandments,” and the other is if “walk in the same manner as He walked.” The reason John can say both is that Jesus practiced everything He preached. If Jesus hadn’t practiced everything He preached, then doing His commandments and walking as He walked wouldn’t produce the same outcomes. But because Jesus did practice everything He preached, whether we do what He said or imitate what He did will produce identical outcomes. And, as a result, we likewise will be practicing everything we preach. This is one of those truths that are exceedingly simple but also exceedingly hard. (That is, “simple” is not the same thing as “easy.”) Yet Jesus expects us to achieve it just as He expected Peter to walk on water when He commanded it (Mt 14:28-33).

John 8:31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;

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Luke 6:40 “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.”

That is, we are expected to mature into sons of God.

Matt 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

1 Jn 2:7-11 – John is alluding to Cain and Abel here, and will be more explicit later in the letter (1 Jn 3:11-12). Jesus Christ came to heal sin at its root. We may not have understood how awful Adam’s and Eve’s sin was in the garden when we read about it in Gen 3, but Gen 4 immediately shows us when Cain killed Abel. What pains a father and mother more than sibling rivalry? This is why John himself writes so clearly about the other side of that coin.

3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.

1 Jn 2:12-14 – In this brief passage, John breaks down his message for children, young men, and fathers. My message is simply to men, and it’s about their families.

1 Jn 2:15 – Notice the similarity:

James 4:4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

1 Jn 2:16 – Notice the similarity:

Gen 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise…

1 Jn 2:17 – Notice the similarity:

1 Pet 4:2 so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.

The apostles were all on the same page, we just sometimes have to work past their individual personalities to recognize that.

1 Jn 2:18-19 – These two verses are an indication that John lived longer than Peter and Paul and therefore closer to the Lord’s coming. Paul in 2 Timothy and Peter in 2 Peter foresee their respective deaths as imminent, and both therefore give warnings about the proliferation of false teachers who will subsequently arise in the last days before the Lord’s coming. John says the same thing, only reporting it in the present tense instead of the future tense. That is, John is bearing witness to the fulfillment of what Paul and Peter predicted. Of course, Paul and Peter were just remembering and passing on Jesus’ prophecies about the time between His ascension into heaven and the second Coming. (For more details, see the BSN notes on 2 Pet 2.) ***** The word “antichrist” means “against Christ” and therefore is synonymous with “false Christ” or “false Messiah.” Most people know what the word “antisemitic” means; “antichrist” should be understood in the same way, except that the primary focus of the word antichrist is “against Christ” rather than “against Christians” per se. Indeed, the spirit of antichrist is against Christians, but its primary focus is against Christ Himself because not everything that is called Christian is of Christ. Thus did Jesus say to Paul, ““Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” and not “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Christians?”

1 Jn 2:20 – John will have more to say about this “anointing” in verse 27 below.

1 Jn 2:21 – John is writing this letter to believers, just as the other 26 texts of the New Testament are also written primarily to believers. That is, the New Testament exhorts believers to believe. (If you think that’s unnecessary, you haven’t been trying to believe for very long.)

I’m not saying that unbelievers can’t benefit from the New Testament. On the contrary, unbelievers can read the New Testament and be converted. I was just such a person. And I’m just one of many. Nevertheless, the documents in the New Testament were directed primarily to believers. Believers in Jesus Christ by definition have a strong desire for truth. The New Testament is full of truth. If an unbeliever is starved for truth and reads it, he’ll be hooked. But if he’s an unbeliever who has no appetite for truth, he either won’t partake at all or will spit it out. God didn’t send His apostles to argue with closed-minded people. He sent them to help open-minded people.

1 Jn 2:22-23 – If you confess the Father but not the Son, you get neither. If you confess the Son alone, the Father comes along for free.

Mark 9:7 Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!”

The Father didn’t have much to say in the New Testament other than this. Jesus was the one doing all the talking. And this is just what Moses had prophesied.

Deut 18:15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.

1 Jn 2:24 – From whom did John learn this?

Luke 8:18 “So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”

If you want to hear a new word from God, go back and dwell on the old word. Out of believing meditation, new words will come from Him. Once you’ve found the well, know that it will always provide you water. Don’t go digging new wells all the time. The wells that quenched your thirst in the beginning have much more water than what you’ve tasted so far.

1 Jn 2:25 – And here is one of His most notable expressions of that promise:

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,
John 11:26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

1 Jn 2:26 – When you walked away from Satan, he didn’t give up. He just started looking for opportunities to win you back.

Luke 4:13 When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

1 Jn 2:27 – This is what you want to teach your children. You want them to see you as training wheels on a bicycle – an aid only necessary in the beginning. You are the teacher who leads them to the Teacher. Jesus doesn’t need an intermediary – He is the intermediary.

1 Jn 2:28 – The Second Coming

1 Jn 2:29 – This is the first of six times John refers to the new birth in this letter. (Jesus introduced the concept in John’s Gospel when He told Nicodemus that he must be “born again.”)

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1 John 3

1 Jn 3:1a – If you’re an orphan and a wise and generous man pats you on the head, that’s nice. But if he adopts you as his son, then he’s much more than nice.

1 Jn 3:1b – If the world didn’t think Jesus was a good person but rather thought Him worthy of execution as a criminal, how positive are they going to be about you and me?

1 Jn 3:2 – The more mature we become, the greater visibility we have into God’s character. ***** We don’t have to prepare for the Lord’s coming (The Second Coming) like John’s generation did, but we still have to go through a maturation process.

1 Jn 3:3 – This is another way of describing the maturation process. We are not the products of random mutation and natural selection. Rather, we are creatures designed for purpose, and we have been given a significant role to play in the attainment of that purpose.

1 Jn 3:4-10 – We can try to complicate life and pretend everything is gray, but when all is said and done, we’re either acting like children of the devil or children of God. ***** Notice John’s allusion to the new birth in verse 9.

1 Jn 3:11-12 – This paragraph echoes 1 Jn 2:7-11, only with a more explicit reference to Cain.

1 Jn 3:13 – If they called Him names, will they do any less to us?

Matt 10:25 “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”

1 Jn 3:14 – When we come to love Jesus, we cannot help but come to have a special affection for others who love Him. To use John’s own word, it’s a “fellowship.”

1 John 1:1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life–
1 John 1:2 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–
1 John 1:3 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.
1 John 1:4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.
1 John 1:5 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.
1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
1 John 1:7 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.

1 Jn 3:15 – John is summarizing this teaching of Jesus:

Matt 5:21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’
Matt 5:22 “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
Matt 5:23 “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
Matt 5:24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
Matt 5:25 “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.
Matt 5:26 “Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.

1 Jn 3:16 – John could say this because he himself heard Jesus say…

John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

The way Jesus lived was laying down His life for us. The way He died was another way He laid down His life for us.

1 Jn 3:17-20 – This point that John is making about love, James makes about faith.

James 2:14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
James 2:15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,
James 2:16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

Therefore, neither love nor faith is real if it is not acted upon.

1 Jn 3:21-22 – Our deeds make a statement that our hearts find it hard to ignore. And if our hearts are for us, we have the confidence to ask God for help.

1 Jn 3:23 – This verse effectively encapsulates the message of the entire Bible.

1 Jn 3:24 – John could say this because he himself heard Jesus say…

John 15:10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love…

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1 John 4

1 Jn 4:1 – We are “beloved.” We should not forget this. It’s a requisite memory to act on verse 19. ***** A “spirit” is something that is unseen. We are called to be spiritual – to think about unseen things. This means migrating away from our fleshly orientation. In his Gospel, John portrayed how Jesus worked patiently with His disciples to transform them from their natural, fleshly mindset to a spiritual mindset. At times, it seemed as if He was never going to succeed…but we can certainly see success in the life of John. He is now teaching that same spiritual orientation to others. ***** We have to “test the spirits” because they are not all of God. John wasn’t the only apostle who coached believers to judge things. There was Peter for one.

1 Pet 4:7 …be of sound judgment and sober spirit…

Paul, too, exhorted believers to judge rightly.

Rom 12:3 …think so as to have sound judgment…

Of course, all the apostles got their teaching from Jesus Himself.

Luke 12:57 “And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right?

“But I thought Jesus taught that we shouldn’t judge!” someone will protest. No, that’s taking Him out of context.

Matt 7:1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.
Matt 7:2 “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.
Matt 7:3 “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
Matt 7:4 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?
Matt 7:5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Taken in context, Jesus is not teaching that we should not judge, but that we should not judge hypocritically. That is, we should not judge without first applying the standard involved to ourselves. If Jesus meant in this passage that we shouldn’t judge at all, then He would be teaching that He wants us to all go around with specks in our eyes never saying a word about it.

So, John is absolutely right that we have to judge spirits. We certainly have to judge them today when half the country thinks opposition to transgenderism is child abuse. Either transgenderism is child abuse or opposition to transgenderism is child abuse. There is no middle ground. We have to make a decision. Indifference is not an option.

1 Jn 4:2-3 – There is the spirit of Christ…and there is the spirit of antichrist. John simplifies. As Jesus said…

Matt 12:30 “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

1 Jn 4:4 – This is the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus has given to all – just as Moses hoped would one day happen.

Num 11:29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’S people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!”

Though Jesus bestows His Spirit on all, not all receive Him. Many instead grieve Him, as Isaiah prophesied.

Is 63:10 But they rebelled
And grieved His Holy Spirit;
Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy,
He fought against them.

Paul says we should not be like them.

Eph 4:30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

How do we grieve the Holy Spirit? By resisting His lead.

Acts 7:51 “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.

Those who reject Jesus and His Spirit receive judgment. As John the Baptist said:

Luke 3:16 John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

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John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Being led by the Spirit is a distinguishing characteristic of the believing.

Rom 8:14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

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Gal 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.

See also The Apostle John’s References to the Holy Spirit.

1 Jn 4:5-6 – When you are presenting Jesus to your children in the spirit of Jesus – that is, not in self-righteousness – and your children resist you, then know that God is on your side and will help you win them over one way or another. Be quietly confident, because that is the way of Jesus.

1 Jn 4:7-8 – John simplifies. ***** Recognize also his reference to the new birth in verse 7.

1 Jn 4:9 – We live through the Son. Paul sees it the same way, though he expresses it differently.

Gal 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

1 Jn 4:10 – The word “propitiation” means “atonement” – making things right. This is how He reconciled us to Himself.

2 Cor 5:18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
2 Cor 5:19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Notice that God did not reconcile Himself to us; rather, He reconciled us to Himself. There’s a dramatic difference there! If He had reconciled Himself to us, He would have left us in our sins and would thereby have become complicit in our sinning. Instead, He reconciled us to Himself by personally paying the penalty for our sins and then calling us out of darkness to walk in His light. As Jesus said to Paul:

Acts 26:18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’

1 Jn 4:11 – This doesn’t seem too much to ask, does it?

1 Jn 4:12 – John comes back to this point in verse 20 below.

1 Jn 4:13 – If you can hear His voice, you cannot have wandered too far from Him. Heed the voice so that you can say this:

John 8:29 “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”

1 Jn 4:14 – This is the very point that the Samaritans recognized. John was a Jew, but he wasn’t too proud to borrow language from foreigners when they were right.

John 4:40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.
John 4:41 Many more believed because of His word;
John 4:42 and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”

1 Jn 4:15 – Jesus is the way to God.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

1 Jn 4:16 – Contrast John’s statement – “God is love” – with the statement that our overlords make today – “Love is love is love.” There can be no bigger gap between two statements than the one between “God is love” and “Love is love is love.” One statement is truth and the other is a lie. On its face, “Love is love is love” is a meaningless statement, communicating nothing because it is speaking in a circle. What makes it a lie is that its vagueness is intended to hide the fact that the actual point being put forward is “Lust is love.”

1 Jn 4:17 – This is the day of judgment and has been ever since the Second Coming. (Jesus Christ Has Already Come Again)

Is 33:14 Sinners in Zion are terrified;
Trembling has seized the godless.
“Who among us can live with the consuming fire?
Who among us can live with continual burning?”
Is 33:15 He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity,
He who rejects unjust gain
And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;
He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed
And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil;

Judgment is the baptism of fire (Lk 3:16, quoted in the BSN note above on 1 Jn 4:4).

1 Jn 4:18 – Note the words “no” and “casts out.” They leave no allowance for fear in a believer’s heart. Other apostles agree (see BSN: ON FEAR).

1 Jn 4:19 – Without faith, you can’t truly love. That is, you cannot give what you do not have. True love is impossible for a human being who does not believe he is loved. The only incorruptible love is the love that flows from God, through us, to others.

Eph 6:24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.

This is part of why John addressed his readers as “Beloved” in verse 1 above, and throughout this letter (1 Jn 2:7; 3:2, 21; 4:1, 7, 11) – total of six times.

1 Jn 4:20 – This thought goes with the one in verse 12.

1 Jn 4:21 – John is referring to this:

Matt 22:36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
Matt 22:37 And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’
Matt 22:38 “This is the great and foremost commandment.
Matt 22:39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’
Matt 22:40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

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1 John 5

1 Jn 5:1a – John is speaking again of the new birth.

1 Jn 5:1b – If you say you love me, show love to my children. If you have no use for my children, then do not tell me that you love me. This is the way any decent man thinks; God much more so.

1 Jn 5:2 – The greatest and the second greatest commandments reinforce each other. This is why Jesus gave both commandments when He was only asked for one. See 1 Jn 4:21 and accompanying BSN note above.

1 Jn 5:3 – Indeed, they are not.

Matt 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Matt 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.
Matt 11:30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

1 Jn 5:4 – Faith without love is nothing, but love without faith is impossible.

1 Cor 13:2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

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1 John 4:19 We love, because He first loved us.

See the BSN notes accompanying 1 Jn 4:19 above.

1 Jn 5:5 – In the previous verse, John used the word “faith.” In this verse, he defines it more precisely: it is faith in Jesus as the Son of God. It is this very specific faith that saves us. ***** Since “the Son of God” is as much a messianic title as “the Christ,” and since the Messiah meant “the Anointed,” and since this meant to be king, first of the Jews and then of the nations, then the following statements are all synonymous.

• “Jesus is the Son of God”
• “Jesus is the Messiah”
• “Jesus is the Christ”
• “Jesus is the Anointed One”
• “Jesus is the King”

This is the foundational truth we are expected to believe. Upon this truth, everything else we believe can safely rest.

1 Jn 5:6-8 – Like verses 1 and 4 above, this verse also alludes to the new birth – specifically when John speaks of “the blood.”

1 Jn 5:9 – The vast majority of everything we know comes from testimony of men – that is, things we have heard or read others say. Yes, this even applies to science for even scientists do not perform an experiment on every word they hear or read. If then we regularly accept the testimony of men, should we refuse to accept the testimony of God? ***** God Testifying.

1 Jn 5:10 – Are we going to call God a liar?

1 Jn 5:11 – The New Testament incessantly points to the Son of God rather than to God Himself. Why is that? ***** As for the expression “this life” and other verses that use it in this way, see THE LIFE.

1 Jn 5:12 – Simple. ***** As for the expression “the life” and other verses that use it in this way, see THE LIFE.

1 Jn 5:13 – Even if all we have to cling to is His name (see 1 Jn 5:5 and accompanying BSN note above), that’s enough!

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

1 Jn 5:14-15 – John sounds very much like James on this point. Surely when we ask for wisdom, we are asking “according to His will.”

James 1:5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
James 1:6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
James 1:7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
 James 1:8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

1 Jn 5:16-17 – If we can’t tell the difference, let’s give our brother the benefit of the doubt and make the request of God.

1 Jn 5:18 – If you haven’t done so recently, see the new birth.

1 Jn 5:19 – Satan is still active in the earth since the Second Coming (Jesus Christ Has Already Come Again) because that cosmic event kicked him out of heaven and emptied the underworld, so there is nowhere else for him to go. But make no mistake about who’s feet he was put under.

Rev 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”

And this is just what had been promised to the Messiah:

Ps 110:1 The LORD says to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

According to Paul, the last enemy that was to be put under Messiah’s feet was death.

1 Cor 15:26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

If the Second Coming has not occurred, then death still has its power and all the dead are still below in Sheol/Hades. Surely you don’t believe that! If you need help sorting out these things, please read the books The Biblical Case for the Second Coming as Accomplished Fact and The Biblical Case for Everyone Going to Heaven. The price is right.

1 Jn 5:20 – He who knows and understands the Son, knows and understands God. He who tries to understand God without understanding the Son is not going to get very far.

1 Jn 5:21 – On this point, even Paul sounds like John.

1 Cor 12:2 You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.
1 Cor 12:3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

As there were idols in John’s day, so there are in ours. Everywhere it seems! Thus we feel like Paul did in Athens.

Acts 17:16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.

And this is not the only way that modern America is like ancient Athens.

Acts 17:21 (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

There is nothing new under the sun. What’s new is above the sun.

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