Sunday School Lesson

1. 1 John 1:1-4
“Telling The Truth About Jesus”
June 7, 2015
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA

2. What’s the number one thing?

3. The Glory of God!
http://eat-art.org/images/uploads/The_Glory_of_God_(1).jpg

4. 1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV
31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or
whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

5. June Memory Verse
Philippians 1:6 NIV
6 Being confident of this, that he who began a
good work in you will carry it on to completion
until the day of Christ Jesus.

6. Pray for
2015 Committee on Committees
Kendall Smith, Chairman
Beth Aldridge
David Gibbs
Sherye Green
Mike Lowe
Chris Maddux
Jim Merritt, Jr.
Elizabeth Rich
Eddy Waller

7. Lesson References
• Focus on the Bible: 1.2.3 John by Michael
Eaton, Christian Focus Publications, 1996.
• Twelve Ordinary Men by John MacArthur, W
Publishing Group, 2002.
• First John Introduction by Dr. Bob Utley,
Available on YouTube

8. Why study 1 John?
It answers 2 basic questions about Christianity
1. How are we saved?
2. How are Christians supposed to live?
(3 Tests of Christianity)
1. Brotherly love
2. Obedience to the Gospel
3. Rejection of a fallen world system

9. Purpose of writing 1 John
1 John the epistle (letter) was written as a cover
letter to the Book of John
– There is no opening greeting and directive
– Letter was circulated to all churches in the area

10. Who was John?
• Son of Zebedee and Salome
• Younger brother of James who was a Disciple
& the 1st martyr of the church
• James and John nicknamed the “sons of
thunder” by Jesus
• Fisherman by trade

11. Who was John?
• A follower of John the Baptist until he singled
Jesus out as the Messiah (John 1:35-39)
• Referred to himself as “the disciple that Jesus
loved”
• Only disciple present at Jesus’ crucifixion
• Jesus gave him the charge to care for his
mother

12. John the Preacher/Author
• Remained in Judea for about 12 years after
the Resurrection
• Fled to Roman Asia because of the
persecution of Christians by Herod Agrippa I
• Became the leader of the church at Ephesus,
which was founded by Paul in 50 A.D.
• Wrote letters of John while at Ephesus around
85-95 A.D.

13. Church in Ephesus

14. John in his last years
• Was the only disciple still alive in 85 A.D.
• Only disciple that was not martyred; died in
98 A.D.
• Banished to prison community on Isle of
Patmos to live in a cave
• Wrote the Book of Revelation while at Patmos
in 95 A.D.

15. Christianity’s Challenge
in the 1st Century
• Paul established churches in Roman Asia
during his missionary journeys 46-62 A.D.
• Acts 19:10 …’all who dwelt in Asia heard the
word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.’
• Many Jews fled Israel by 70 A.D. to Asia
• Attempt to mix pagan ideas with Gospel in
Asia

16. Churches in the 1st Century

17. False teachers in the church
• 1 John 2:19 ‘They went out from us, but they
were not of us.’
• False teachers did not have Jesus as the center
of doctrine for salvation
• Interpret the Gospel to fit their lifestyle and
heretical philosophy

18. Philosophy of the 1st Century
Mediterranean world
• God is a spirit, and spirit is good; matter
(physical) is evil.
• “Dualism” – contrasting aspects that are equal
• Their Logic – If this is true, God cannot be fully
God (spirit) and fully man (physical body) in
Jesus.
• A Holy God cannot be in sinful matter

19. Specific ‘…isms’ of the 1st Century
1. Docetism – the heresy that denies the reality
of Jesus’ human nature
– Denies the eternity of Jesus (1 John 1:1)
– Denies Jesus was the Son of God in the flesh
– John addresses this in 1 John 1:1-4

20. Specific ‘…isms’ of the 1st Century
2. Gnosticism – special “knowledge” from God
– I know the truth, and I am saved by what I know,
therefore, it does not matter how I live.
– I do not sin
– Separates truth from life
– Claim to have a very special fellowship with God,
derived from their ‘elitist knowledge’

21. Specific ‘…isms’ of the 1st Century
3. Antinomianism - ‘against the law’
– There are no moral laws God expects Christian to
obey
– Christians are not required to obey Old Testament
laws because Jesus fulfilled the OT law as a means
of salvation
– I do not believe that I sin
– Claim to have fellowship with God
– Considered to be a component of gnosticism

22. Specific ‘…isms’ of the 1st Century
4. Asceticism – I am saved by what I don’t do.
– I don’t eat certain things, etc. (don’t, don’t don’t)
– Misguided Jewish Christians who tried to
incorporate Christianity into Judaism
– Monks who lived a life of denial and degree of
holiness proportionate to self-denial
• The monk with the most lice was the holiest

23. John’s Style of Writing in 1st John
• Written in ‘black & white’ terms
– Very direct and no middle ground for compromise
• All about the ‘horizontal’ relationships
– To be right with God, you must also be right with
man
– Brotherly love
• ‘If, then’ style of writing
– If you say ………, then you lie, and do not know the
truth.

24. 1 John 1:1 NIV
1 That which was from the beginning, which we
have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,
which we have looked at and our hands have
touched —this we proclaim concerning the
Word of life.

25. 1 John 1:2 NIV
2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify
to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life,
which was with the Father and has appeared to
us.

26. 1 John 1:3 NIV
3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and
heard, so that you also may have fellowship with
us. And our fellowship is with the Father and
with his Son, Jesus Christ.

27. 1 John 1:4 NIV
4 We write this to make our joy complete.

28. Summary of 1 John 1:1-4
The only giver of fellowship with God is the one
and only Lord Jesus Christ.
Who then is this Jesus, the Son of God?

29. Who is Jesus?
1. He was ‘from the beginning’ in verse 1
John 1:1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God.
– John 1:1 precedes Genesis 1:1 (Creation)
– 1 John 1:1 can mean any of the following:
• Before Creation
• The beginning of history
• The beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry
• The beginning of the Christian faith of John’s readers

30. Who is Jesus?
2. This One who was from the beginning
became manifested in human flesh
– We have heard…seen with our eyes…touched with
our hands
– The Life was manifested to us…
– The Son of God was physically tangible
– Docetism regarded Jesus as an illusion

31. Who is Jesus?
3. The Son of God is characterized by Life and is
Eternal Life
– The Life appeared … Verse 2
– John 1:4 ‘in Him was life’
– There was one generation of men who witnessed
this ‘Eternal Life ‘ walking on earth in human form
– John says, this eternal life “has appeared to us”
– John continually repeats his credentials as a
witness

32. Names for Jesus in 1 John 1:1-4
• That which was from the beginning
• Word of life
• The life
• The eternal life
• God’s Son
(In the opening of the Gospel of John, he refers
to Jesus as the Word)

33. What is this ‘fellowship’?
Fellowship (Greek koinonia) is the spiritual union
of the believer with Christ as well as communion
with the Father and fellow believers.
– A personal relationship
– We experience the presence of the Father and
Jesus through the Holy Spirit
– This fellowship is also with our fellow believers

34. Purpose of John’s Letters
1 John 1:4
4 We write this to make our (your) joy complete.
‐ Goal of the epistle is to create joy in the readers
‐ The proclamation of the reality of the gospel
produces a fellowship in eternal life (God and
Jesus)
‐ Fellowship in eternal life (God through Jesus)
produces JOY

35. Definition of the Gospel
1. The Gospel is a person (Jesus) to be received.
2. The Gospel is truth about that person (Jesus)
to be received.
3. The Gospel is a lifestyle like that person
(Jesus) to be lived.
4. Remove any one of the above, and you do
not have a complete Gospel.

36. Lesson Application for Today’s World
The heresy of the 1st Century is alive today if:
1. We combine Christianity with any other system
of thought.
• Reincarnation, Humanism,
2. We emphasize correct doctrine at the exclusion
of personal relationship and a lifestyle of faith
• Denominationalism, legalism, orthodoxy

37. Lesson Application for Today’s World
The heresy of the 1st Century is alive today if:
3. People turn Christianity into exclusive
intellectual eliteness
4. People turn to asceticism (don’t, don’t, don’t) or
antinomianism (I am saved by the grace of God,
and can live like I want)
• Asceticism – Trusting in what I don’t do
• Antinomianism – Taking Christianity as a license to do
what I want – Live it up!

38. Closing Thoughts
The Epistle of 1 John has 3 tests of genuine
fellowship (salvation):
1. The affirmation of a proper view of Christ
• 1 John 1:1-4
2. The affirmation of sin’s reality
• 1 John 1:5-2:2
• Next Sunday’s Lesson
3. Obedience to God’s Commands
• I John 2:3-6
• Next Sunday’s Lesson

39. The Plan of Hope & Salvation
John 3:16 NKJV
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life.”
John 14:6 NKJV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No one comes to the Father except
through Me.”

40. Romans 3:23 NKJV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a NKJV
23a For the wages of sin is death,
• Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
• Even Jesus, the only one who doesn’t deserve death,
died in this life to pay the penalty for our sins.
• The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the second
death explained in Revelation 21:8.

41. Revelation 21:8 NKJV
8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable,
murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters,
and all liars shall have their part in the lake which
burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death.”
Romans 5:8 NKJV
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in
that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

42. Romans 6:23b NKJV
23b but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
Revelation 21:7 NKJV
7 “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I
will be his God and he shall be My son.”
• Romans 10:9-10 explains to us how to accept
Jesus as our Savior.

43. Romans 10:9-10 NKJV
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord
Jesus and believe in your heart that God has
raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto
righteousness, and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation.
Romans 10:13 NKJV
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD
shall be saved.”

44. If you have questions or would like to know
more, Please, contact First Baptist Church
Jackson at 601-949-1900 or
http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/