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Background Info on 1 John

Posted on Apr 3, 2024 in Uncategorized |

From “How to Read the Bible Book by Book, Gordon D. Fee & Douglas Stuart, Zondervan, 2002

Content: A treatise that offers assurance to some specific believers, encouraging their loyalty to Christian faith and practice in response to some false prophets who have left the community ” Author: the same author who wrote 2 and 3 John, who there calls himself “the elder”; a solid historical tradition equated him with the apostle John.

Date: Unknown; probably toward the end of the first Christian century (late 80s, early 90s).

Recipients: A Christian community (or communities) well known to the author (whom he calls “dear children” and “dear friends”; the false prophets defected “from us,” 2:19); it has traditionally been thought to be located in or around Ephesus

Occasion: The defection of the false prophets and their followers, who have called into question the orthodoxy—both teaching and practice—of those who have remained loyal to what goes back to “the beginning.”

Emphases: That Jesus who came in the flesh is the Son of God; that Jesus showed God’s love for us through his incarnation and crucifixion; that true believers love one another as God loved them in Christ; that God’s children do not habitually sin, but when we do sin, we receive forgiveness; that believers can have full confidence in the God who loves them; that by trusting in Christ we now have eternal life.

OVERVIEW OF I JOHN

You can experience some real ambivalence in reading 1 John. On the one hand, John’s writing style is very simple, with a very limited and basic vocabulary (so much so that this is usually the first book beginning Greek students learn to read). It also has a large number of memorable— as well as some profound—moments. On the other hand, you may experience real difficulty trying to follow John’s train of thought. Not only is it hard at times to see how some ideas connect with others, but certain, obviously significant, themes are repeated several times along the way.

Although, like most of Paul’s letters, the aim of 1 John is to persuade, it nonetheless does not come in the form of a letter (notice that there is no salutation or final greeting). Most likely this is because John is writing to communities where he has direct oversight. What he writes includes teaching that “you have heard from the beginning” (2:24) about “the Word of life” who “was from the beginning” (1:1; cf. 2:13).

The primary concerns are three: the Incarnation; love for the brothers and sisters, especially those in need; and the relationship between sin and being God’s children.

The first two of these are the more urgent and are expressed together in 3:23: “This is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another.”

The Incarnation is touched on in 1:1-4 and 2:20-25, then specifically taken up in 4:1 – 6 and 5:1-12. The saving significance of Christ’s death —the ultimate expression of God’s love for us— is tied directly to one’s belief that he “came in the flesh.”

The concern about believers’ loving one another is spoken to in a preliminary way in 2:7-11, then specifically in 3:11-24 and 4:7-21. The obvious tie between these two themes is that God’s love for us, which we in turn are to have for one another, is fully revealed in the Incarnation, when the Son of God died for us (see 2:5-6; 3:16; 4:8-12).

The concern about sin is tied to the theme “Who are the true children of God?” This issue is first taken up in 1:5-2:2; it is picked up again in 2:28-3:10 and forms the concluding matter in 5:13-21. God’s true children do not continue to live in sin, but neither are they sinlessly perfect; what matters is whether their obedience expresses itself in love for the brothers and sisters. The true children of God have already been given eternal life (= entered into the life of God, and thus are tasting the life of the age to come).

SPECIFIC ADVICE FOR READING I JOHN As you read, be especially on the lookout for what John says about the false prophets, since they are the key to everything. Note that they have recently left the community (2:19), but only after trying to lead the whole church astray (2:26; 3:7; 4:1). These prophets apparently considered their teaching to come from the Spirit (cf. 4:1), which is why John urges that the believers’ own anointing of the Spirit is sufficient for them (2:20, 27; 3:24). Indeed, in a marvelous wordplay on the language of “anointing” (chrisma), he calls the false prophets “antichrists” (antichristos = against the Anointed One). There has been much speculation about who these false prophets are, or what heresy they represent, but in the end these things cannot be known for certain, except that they deny the Incarnation, fail to love those in need, and (perhaps) argue that they are sinless.

The wonder of this little treatise is how much John can say, and say so profoundly, while using a notably limited vocabulary. But it is the very repetition of words, plus the use of stark contrasts, that is so effective. His special vocabulary tells the whole story: To remain/continue/abide (24x) in the truth (9x) means to believe in (9x) or confess (5x) the Son (22x), to whom the Father (14x) and Spirit (8x) bear witness (12x); it means further to be born of God (10x), so as to walk (5x) in the light (6x), to hear (14x) and to know (40x) God, to keep (7x) the commandment (14x) to love (46x) the brothers and sisters (15x), and thus to have life (13x), which is from the beginning (8x), and finally to overcome (6x) the world. All of this is in contrast to the lie (7x), deceit (4x), denying Christ (3x), having a false spirit (4x), thus being antichrist (4x), walking in darkness (6x), hating (5x) one’s brothers and sisters but loving the world (23x), thus being in sin (27x), which leads to death (x).

In putting all of this together for the reading of 1 John, it may help you to think in terms of a musical composition rather than a Pauline argument. A prelude anticipates the first theme, then the next two main themes are struck, or at least hinted at, followed by an interlude and then another prelude— this time to the major theme of the false prophets and their denial of the Incarnation. With all the major themes now in place, John works them over two more times each, adding and clarifying as he builds with powerful crescendo to the finale.

Background Info on 1 John

Posted on Apr 3, 2024 in Uncategorized |

ORIENTING DATA FOR I JOHN

From “How to Read the Bible Book by Book, Gordon D. Fee & Douglas Stuart, Zondervan, 2002

Date: Unknown; probably toward the end of the first Christian century (late 80s, early 90s).

OVERVIEW OF I JOHN

The primary concerns are three: the Incarnation; love for the brothers and sisters, especially those in need; and the relationship between sin and being God’s children.

The first two of these are the more urgent and are expressed together in 3:23: “This is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another.”

SPECIFIC ADVICE FOR READING I JOHN

As you read, be especially on the lookout for what John says about the false prophets, since they are the key to everything. Note that they have recently left the community (2:19), but only after trying to lead the whole church astray (2:26; 3:7; 4:1). These prophets apparently considered their teaching to come from the Spirit (cf. 4:1), which is why John urges that the believers’ own anointing of the Spirit is sufficient for them (2:20, 27; 3:24). Indeed, in a marvelous wordplay on the language of “anointing” (chrisma), he calls the false prophets “antichrists” (antichristos = against the Anointed One). There has been much speculation about who these false prophets are, or what heresy they represent, but in the end these things cannot be known for certain, except that they deny the Incarnation, fail to love those in need, and (perhaps) argue that they are sinless.

A (Mercifully Short) History of Lent

Posted on Feb 22, 2024 in Uncategorized |

Excerpted from The Good of Giving Up by Aaron Damiani, 2017, Moody Publishers

Where did Lent come from? How did it become recognized as the forty-day period of prayer, fasting, and generosity leading up to Easter? And when we say, “Lent began as a practice of the ancient church,” what does that even mean?

To answer these questions, I invite you to picture yourself in a thorny pastoral situation. Imagine the Lord saw fit to answer your prayers for the unchurched, and revival broke out in your region of the Roman Empire. Your church is deluged with new converts, and the nets of your ministry are breaking from the surplus of fish reeled in by the gospel. People with broken pasts and no background in Christianity come readily to be filled with God’s love in Christ. The poor and wealthy, young and old – people representing all the cultures of your region – are desperate to encounter Jesus and join his family.

It’s the beautiful mess for which you’ve fasted and prayed. Now it’s up to you to shepherd these sheep.

To complicate matters, imagine that Christianity is outlawed and branded as a public menace. State-controlled propaganda blames Christians for the Empire’s various trials, and every weapon of the state and cultural elite is aimed at eradicating the worship of Jesus Christ. You meet secretly late at night or early in the morning, yet this leads the local officials to accuse you of conspiracy. Church leaders are often summoned and interrogated, sometimes tortured or even fed to beasts. Survivors sustain trauma, and so do you, since there is a price on your head. People crack under the pressure and renounce Christ for fear of losing family members, limbs, or their homes.

You have tough questions to answer, and the stakes for answering rightly could not be higher. For instance, who do you baptize and admit into your fellowship? A few of the “spiritual seekers” are likely state informants. How, then, do you discern one from the other? Others are hyped from their conversion but are ill-prepared for a life of cross-bearing. How do you bridge the gap?

Moreover, how do you maintain the integrity of the Christian faith while welcoming so many pagan converts? The church isn’t growing incrementally; it’s multiplying faster than you can keep track. And rival teachers are wooing the spiritually hungry with heretical teachings. You need a process of discipleship that is dynamic enough for the situation – and quick.

One more thing: Many who wavered under threat of torture want to be admitted back into fellowship. Others have brought scandal on themselves by committing murder or adultery, and they also want to be publicly forgiven. Though such people have not made unreasonable requests, they have broken faith with the family of God. Restoration should not happen without some kind or process.

How do you respond to these needs?

Binding Ourselves to Christ

The pastor-theologians of the church faces conditions like these in the first few centuries after Jesus’s life and passion. And this is the environment out of which the practice of Lent emerged. Early church leaders called their people to devote themselves to a regular season of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving to form themselves as more mature Christians. This season later became known as Lent, but in the meantime it was simply a gentle harness that yoked the fledgling church to Jesus Christ.

Fasting is a willing abstention from eating food, and some drinks, to make space in our souls to feast on Jesus. In short, fasting is “hunger for God, concretized.” For many people, this is the most painful and powerful part of Lent.

Prayer is participating in the life of God, talking with and listening to him, whether in solitude or communal worship. Christians pray using the scriptures, especially the psalms. In Lent, our prayers take on a tone of repentance and contrition.

Almsgiving is a direct participation in God’s generosity as we give away our resources in love to our neighbor.

When the Christian church weaves fasting, prayer, and almsgiving together over a period of several weeks, individuals, families, and communities are impacted powerfully. These practices strengthened the ancient church in at least four areas.

Spiritual growth. Seasons of prayer and fasting allowed our spiritual forebears to participate in their union with Jesus, who himself fasted as he sought refuge in his Father’s love, (Matthew 4:2). Jesus assumed that his followers would fast after he returned to the Father: “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast,” (Matthew 9:15). Prayer and fasting were practical ways for the early church to receive Jesus’s strength in their weakness.

Discipleship. Pagan converts to Jesus needed to cultivate new habits to support their walk with Christ. Fasting, prayer, and generosity over a period of time promoted spiritual reformation. Along the way, they received pastoral support in the form of prayer, fellowship, confession, and Bible teaching. In addition to forming new converts, this process helped to weed out informants.

Generosity. The early church took on responsibility for those marginalized by the Roman Empire, including abandoned babies, widows, lepers, and victims of plague. The practice of generosity, or almsgiving, made this sustainable. And when the early Christians fasted from food, they had more resources to give away.

Discernment. After persecution began to wane, many people who renounced Christ and betrayed their friends and family sought reentry into the church. Periods of fasting and prayer were integral to determining how and when to welcome apostates back into fellowship. Requiring the lapsed to fast, pray, and give generously helped to weed out the insincere.

In short, Lenten practices were a loving and pastoral response to the needs of a congregation. And they still are, provided that we practice them in the right spirit.

Enrolling in Christ’s School

But how did formal, prolonged practices that remind us of Lent become the season of Lent leading up to Easter?

The historical development of Lent is uneven and messy. For three hundred years after Christ, different churches around the world took varying approaches to extended seasons of prayer, fasting, and generosity. Given the pace of growth and the heat of persecution, this is not surprising.

I am writing this chapter in the month of June, and my kids are still in school for another week. Chicago public schools usually begin class after Labor Day and end later in June, which offers both benefits and drawbacks. While my kids are finishing the school year, their cousins in Alaska, Texas, and Ohio are already enjoying summer break. But at the end of the day, my kids are learning the same subjects as their cousins. Yes, there are variations in the calendar, teaching styles, and local customs, but all the cousins are learning how to read, perform math equations, and dissect frogs.

As the early church wrestled with how to make disciples, they developed what we might consider “Schools of Lent.” They varied somewhat in timing and style, but they all had the same essential curriculum of Christ-centered prayer, fasting, and generosity. These church leaders would later develop universal standards that would stand the test of time. Three “Schools of Lent” were most prominent during the first three hundred years of the church’s life.

An intense baptism class. If you wanted to become a Christian under Roman persecution, you could enroll in a three-year process known as the “catechumenate,” a full-immersion experience that taught the spiritually curious how to live, think, and worship as Christians before they were baptized and admitted into the complete fellowship of the church. This often involved putting aside concubines, quitting professions that involved idolatry or injustice, and making restitution with people against whom one had sinned against by stealing, cheating, or deceiving. Those who had denied Christ in word or deed and wanted to rejoin the church could also enter the catechumenate. During the three years, candidates studied the Bible, attended worship services regularly, and received moral and theological instruction from their pastor. Once they had shunned their pagan ways and embraced the ways of Jesus, they were allowed to register for baptism. At that point, things got even more intense. Candidates and their sponsors – a more mature Christian who walked with them through the catechumenate process – would enter a three-week period of fasting and prayer. The fasting requirements of the catechumenate in part formed the basis of the Lenten fast in later centuries: one daily meal of vegetables. During the three-week fast, each candidate was interviewed, prayed over, and expected to memorize key doctrines of the Christian faith before they were baptized. In short, the catechumenate helped early Christians break old, sinful habits, reorder their loves, and conform their daily lives to the ways of Christ.

The Easter Fast. A few short years after Jesus’s passion, the earliest Christians began to fast and pray to remember Jesus’s death and celebrate his resurrection. As early as the first century, baptismal candidates and their sponsors fasted the day before Easter. By the late second century, Christians fasted for forty hours, going without food and drink between the afternoon of Good Friday and the morning of Easter. By the third century, Christians fasted throughout Holy Week, and by the fourth century the Easter fast was extended to forty days.

The Epiphany Fast. Whereas early Christians in North Africa and Rome fasted before their baptisms, those in Syria, Armenia, and Egypt practiced a forty-day fast after their baptisms. They sought to model Christ, who received his baptism and then spent forty days fasting in the desert. Epiphany is the season of the church calendar beginning in mid-January and celebrates the revelation of Christ’s glory in his incarnation. Eastern Christians were enamored with Christ’s glory and wanted to partake in him, so they were baptized during Epiphany and then fasted after receiving the sacrament.

While specific practices of each “School of Lent” were slightly different, they all shared the same rich gospel curriculum of humble repentance, spiritual renewal, and holy preparation for the mission of the church in the world. The early Christians were learning how to put their besetting sins to death (“mortification”) and to experience new life in union with Christ (“vivification”).

In the fourth century, the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, and persecution of Christians eased considerably. This meant that Christian leaders could gather in safety, inform each other about the practices of their church, and solidify their teachings. In 325, a diverse gathering of church leaders from around the world convened in Nicaea (in what is now modern Turkey) to decide on matters relating to theology and practice.

At this council, the church leaders decided that they all would practice Lent – they called it Quadragesima, meaning “fortieth” in Latin. They took the three overlapping fasts and turned them into one universal season leading up to the Easter feast. Yes, baptismal candidates would still fast, taking one simple meal in the evening, but now the whole church – every person in every region – was invited to join them. Lent took the best parts of the catechumenate fast, the Easter Fast, and the Epiphany Fast and combined them into a universal, forty-day period that finds its culmination on Easter Sunday.

One of my friends who loves Jesus but is skeptical of Lent once asked me, “If Lent and Easter are so wonderful, why just celebrate them once a year?” This is a great question, and history shows that Christians in Rome insisted that every Friday is a “little Lent” and that every Sunday is a “little Easter.” As such, Sundays are for feasting and rejoicing in Christ, not fasting. So in 487, the church excluded Sundays from the forty days of Lent. That’s why Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, to account for all forty days.

Even though Lent became a standard season for the Christian church in the fourth century, it has always been flexible enough to adjust to the local culture and pastoral needs of the people. Fasting, prayer, and generosity are woven together differently for Christians in different parts of the world. Even in my own life, Lent is never quite the same each time I practice it.

But the pastoral vision for this season remains unchanged: Lent is a school that trains people to live as Christians. It is so effective at forming us into the likeness of Christ that we continue it to this day.

A (Mercifully) Short History of Lent

Posted on Feb 21, 2024 in Uncategorized |

Excerpted from The Good of Giving Up by Aaron Damiani, 2017, Moody Publishers

It’s the beautiful mess for which you’ve fasted and prayed. Now it’s up to you to shepherd these sheep.

How do you respond to these needs?

Binding Ourselves to Christ

Almsgiving is a direct participation in God’s generosity as we give away our resources in love to our neighbor.

Spiritual growth. Seasons of prayer and fasting allowed our spiritual forebears to participate in their union with Jesus, who himself fasted as he sought refuge in his Father’s love, (Matthew 4:2). Jesus assumed that his followers would fast after he returned to the Father: “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast,” (Matthew 9:15). Prayer and fasting were practical ways for the early church to receive Jesus’s strength in their weakness.

Discipleship. Pagan converts to Jesus needed to cultivate new habits to support their walk with Christ. Fasting, prayer, and generosity over a period of time promoted spiritual reformation. Along the way, they received pastoral support in the form of prayer, fellowship, confession, and Bible teaching. In addition to forming new converts, this process helped to weed out informants.

Discernment. After persecution began to wane, many people who renounced Christ and betrayed their friends and family sought reentry into the church. Periods of fasting and prayer were integral to determining how and when to welcome apostates back into fellowship. Requiring the lapsed to fast, pray, and give generously helped to weed out the insincere.

In short, Lenten practices were a loving and pastoral response to the needs of a congregation. And they still are, provided that we practice them in the right spirit.

Enrolling in Christ’s School

But how did formal, prolonged practices that remind us of Lent become the season of Lent leading up to Easter?

Awake, O Sleeper!

Posted on Apr 15, 2017 in Devotions, Uncategorized |

Looking forward to getting up early tomorrow morning for Sunrise Service. The sermon for that service will be entitled, “Wake Up Call,” and will, in addition to Mark’s resurrection narrative, include Ephesians 5:14. As a kind of addendum, I thought I’d share this video by The Brothers Bright. The lyrics are below.

https://youtu.be/F1xvoD-sP3k

“Oh Abraham would raise his hands;

and mourn this very day;

for his children left the promised land;

in search of their own way.

They kick and scream like wayward sons;

And always wanting to sleep;

and dream away these evil days;

in hopes that God can’t see.

There are chains upon your children Lord;

Chains upon your children.

There are chains upon your children;

We’re in chains.

Do you hear the lion roar?

(Awake O Sleeper)

Stand with me we’ll fight the war.

(Awake O Sleeper)

Your suffering will come again;

and never fall away.

For we trade our many comforts;

Like the one who bled for grace.

There will come a day my God will come;

and put me in my place.

My God I pray;

You’ll call my name;

instead of turn away.

There are chains upon your children Lord;

Chains upon your children.

There are chains upon your children;

We’re in chains.

Do you hear the lion roar?

(Awake O Sleeper)

Stand with me we’ll fight the war.

(Awake O Sleeper)

Let no man bring me harm;
I bear the marks of Jesus.

Let no man bring me harm;

I bear the marks of the Lord.

I said, Let no man bring me harm;

I bear the marks of Jesus.

Let no man bring me harm;

‘Cause I bear the marks of God.

Do you hear the lion roar?

(Awake O Sleeper)

Stand with me we’ll fight the war.

(Awake O Sleeper)

I said, Do you hear the lion roar?

(Awake O Sleeper)

Come on and stand with me we’ll fight the war.

(Awake O Sleeper)

(Let no man bring me harm;

I bear the marks of Jesus;

Let no man bring me harm;

I bear the marks of the Lord.)”

Welcome to Our Website!

Posted on May 17, 2013 in Uncategorized |

Greetings in the Name of Jesus!

Sunday, March 28th was our 53rd consecutive week on Zoom. It was just about a year ago that the COVID-19 crisis began. It has been a difficult and challenging season for us all, to be sure, but God has been gracious to us. He has blessed our online fellowship and has gotten us through. Our theme for last weekend was “Sustained.” God has sustained, fed, nurtured and carried us through these past 53 weeks, and for that we’re extremely grateful.

We will continue to actively and prayerfully monitor the situation and will resume meeting in person when it becomes clear that doing so is practical and will not endanger our congregation and community.

Even while many of us are being vaccinated, it’s important that we continue maintain social distance, wear a mask in public, wash our hands frequently and use hand sanitizer. Faith in God and our concern for own personal freedom don’t negate the role of science and common sense in dealing with this dreadful pandemic. This is a time to be, in the words of scripture, “not weary in well doing.”

We will continue to remain faithful in prayer and continue to stand on the Word of God, as we express our gratitude to the Lord for his having sustained us through this past year. We will continue to trust him to not only bring us through this difficult season, but to beat back this virus and to bring healing to the nations. In the meantime, we will continue to stand on these words from Jude 24-25:

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

May God bless you, strengthen you and encourage you.

–Pastor Charles