1st John God is Love!

Bible Study w/ Abouna Zakaria
Notes Written by Servant Serving in Mexico

5 St.Johns in the Bible
Who: St. John
For/ Who: His children
Why: To dispel the heresy of God not being divine (only being human) and heresy that sin is good because it helps us know God better
What about: God is love
When: 1st Century after the devastation of Jerusalem (72-73) end of 1st Century

Chapter 1 purpose of incarnation
Another reference Incarnation of the Word by St. Athanasius
1John1:1-4
Verse one reads “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life-- It embodies the word of God and their life
The four things:
-heard
-seen
-looked upon (meaning thought about)
-hands have handled
Are the four criteria that make an experience real
He also says “we” to say the he is not the only person who has experienced it
Verses 2-4---- to have company and the enjoyment of life and joy
“that life”=Jesus
When God commanded Adam not to eat from the tree He said “or you shall surely die”
When Adam and Eve lived in communication with God they had concern for Him and His word. When that was cutoff through sin they became essentially dead, and we as well through heritage. When Christ came “the life was manifested” life=God. Fellowship with God=joy.
“these things we write to you that your joy may be full” life=joy
Fellowship with each other=the love of God
1John 1:5-10---follow the path of God in the light and we must confess our sins
God is without darkness and without sin
Things that aren’t good are satisfied in darkness
As humans we decide what is good and bad based on surroundings but God is unchanging and always good. He is perfect and therefore He is our moral compass. Therefore we cannot say God is good and evil. We also define good and evil for ourselves through Him.
Metaphor: Light Bulb
Adam sinned and cut the cable to the power source(God) that provides light(life) for the light bulb
Jesus reconnected it. Now we have the option of turning the light on and off (We can now decide if we want life or not, it was not an option before)
Repentance is the light bulb needing to be fixed. We are still connected to Christ but need to change something in our lives
Spiritual death is like the generator being broken. It is something that God must fix.
Live every day like it is your last
Bible + Prayer=Life because through them you know God and thereby know what is good and evil.
“Dissernment”
Abraham’s relationship with God was special
Hebrews 11:17-22
Received promises from God that he would receive a son and laughed, but the promises came true. By default the promises God said about the son had to come true. God promised Abraham that the son would give him generations of descendants.
When God told him to kill that son Abraham recognized God’s voice. He obeyed Him without question for one reason, he knew Gods promises were true so whether he killed his son and brought him back to life or stopped him from killing his son God would not take his son away from him. Genesis 22:5 he said “we” will come back to you. He knew he would return WITH his son.
As for us the way we discern Gods voice is because it provides inner peace and it agrees with the bible. For example the shepherds when they heard the good news about Christ’s birth they were shocked and afraid but came away with joy and inner peace.
Other cross references for 1John1:5-10:
Psalm 14:1-3
Romans 3:12
Romans 7:7-12