Antwan

Diotrephes is a self-centered, immature church leader that is threatened by the authority of others; he has a controlling spirit about him. I believe a strong pastoral leader must be balanced; they must know how to take charge to handle the role of pastor (the Bible says that to take care of God's house, he has to know how to lead his own), but he must not be so controlling as to never accept anyone else's viewpoints other than his own; that is not humility and it's not of God; his main goal is to see that what is good for the church is accomplished, not his own will. One struggling with traits similar to Diotrephes need to humble themselves and remember why they were bestowed with leadership in the church: to bring about God's will and not their own; also, they should remember that the church is in it together to bring glory to God, become more like God in our character, and bring about God's will. They also need to remember that the minister to the congregation is not a tyrant, but in fact, a servant. Also (this should have been first), they should seek God in prayer for what is the best choice to take in matters.

In helping support missionaries that go out to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the supporters are actually helping Christ spread the message about Himself, and helping His church grow, since the missionaries don't go out for their own sakes, but for Christ's. Also, in supporting the missionaries, and showing hospitality to them, one receives his/her reward from Christ Himself at His coming on Judgment Day. I believe that God's plans are never thwarted, and He will always find ways to accomplish His plan and will, but the effectiveness of the Christian workers probably wouldn't be as strong without the aid of fellow believers backing them.

The Apostle John tells his followers to refuse hospitality, in a corporate sense, to false teachers to prevent the false prophets from spreading their heresy and perverting the truth. He doesn't tell them not to be kind to them on an individual basis, but not to allow them to come into their church meetings and spread their heretic teachings (but they shouldn't let them spread false teaching in their individual homes, either). The main point made hear is to not become contaminated with a heresy and refuse the spead of false teaching. If the heresy is spoken in the congregation, as opposed to an individual, it would be more likely to be believed, since it is in a church setting, where everyone believes in it is the Spirit of Truth that inspired the message. Also, if spoken in the congregation, as oppposed to an individual, the heresy has more momentum to spread from each individual in the congregation. It is okay to be polite, but not gullible; don't let anything go on in the church, at the expense of the church's well-being, physical or spiritual. I don't think the divisions of denominationalism finds justification here, because these verses are talking about opposing those that are not really Christians, those that deny the Divinity of Jesus Christ, not those who believe in Him, but whose beliefs may differ a little for your own; as long as a person believes in Jesus as the Christ, born Son of God, and somehow, being God Himself incarnate, there is no reason to reject them.

The danger of running ahead of the Gospel of Christ is that you pollute the original message, which is the true, saving message; the message is no longer true, so the ones that put their faith in it will be lead astray, away from the true Christ; the message is not a "deeper truth", but a lie, or a perversion of the truth. If one runs ahead of Christ's guidance, they are really not abiding by the original words He left for us to follow, and are out there, doing things on their own (the way they want to, not the way He would want us to). To abide in Christ means to stick with the teaching that He left for us to follow; this is important, because following the path He called us to take leads to Him and eternal life.

John wants the church under his discipleship to keep their hearts on guard, and to not let something unworthy of worship come in and take the place in our minds and hearts that should belong to God: first place. Anything can become an idol: pursuit of success, fame, riches, sexual fulfillment (outside the boundaries God has set for it: in marriage with one person of the opposite sex), your children, husband, wife, material things, etc. The things I think I struggle with most would be **** for things I know God didn't and doesn't intent for me to have, but it is a struggle because I find myself still having a desire for it; the part of the study when the issue came up about worrying if one is a "real Christian" or 'How can God accept someone as sinful as me' hit home for me, but I am still striving for God.

The two conditions in 1st John for prayer is that prayer is granted to those that obey God, and prayer is meant to bring about God's will, so that is what we should be seeking when we pray: what His will is for the given situation we are praying about. We search the Scriptures and pray to Him to reveal what it is that He wants to bring about. When our main motive for praying to God is to bring about our will, it is more likely that it won't be answered because we are asking amiss, seeking to gratify our own selfish desires.

To look to the church of God rather than the Son of God as a means for salvation (eternal life) is dangerous and erroneous, because the church (congregation, people of God) can't save anyone, because they are in need of salvation themselves (which comes through the Son of God). Only the Son can save anyone, because it is His Blood that bought us back and paid the price for our sins. What is needed for salvation is belief that Jesus is the Son of God and having relationship with Him, rather than seeking salvation by joining a church and merely obeying its rules (although one should congregate with fellow believers, they shouldn't place trust for salvation in the congregating together with other believers). What should be taught is to always look to God through Jesus for salvation, and to cultivate a relationship with Him, to learn from and look to lead lives that please Him, rather than putting the people of God into the place of God Himself; what should be taught is placing God (not the church) first; the church is only the vehicle of believers coming together corporately to worship God and draw strength from each other. One can have "faith" in anything, but only placing your faith in Jesus Christ is the only kind of faith that saves.

The difference between a defeatist mentality and the victorious, overcoming mentality we are supposed to have in Christ is that the former is a fearful state of mind and existence that does not stand up against the evil in the world; the defeated cowar to the demands/commands of the worldly culture, but the overcomer in Christ is victorious and overcomes this world because their Master has already overcome it; it is evident, however, in the believers' lives when they walk out the commands of a lifestyle of love in this world and oppose the pull of the world's culture and customs. Having a strong faith that Jesus Christ has already overcome the world for you (the ones in Him) and looking forward to the final victory over the present state of the world gives the Christian courage to walk out the life he/she is supposed to live and to stand against the standards of the world. If one suffers from the defeatist's mentality, what it really says is they are not really focusing on the fact that they already have victory in Jesus through what He has already done.

The ideal fear a Christian should have for God is a healthy respect, awe, and reverence for Him, not a terrifying fear (although I do believe we should have a little fear of what He will do to us if we don't remain in Him). It is this terror that is extinguished the more we get to know God and experience His love, and it's the absence of this fear we have toward the coming judgment: we have confidence that in Christ we will escape that wrath.

What the statement "God is Love" says of His character is that He always acts with love. This is important to understanding His motivations and His very nature; unless we see and understand this, our vision of Him becomes distorted, and we don't see Him the way that He is; we see or think of Him as cold, distant, judging, rather than loving, caring, and near (approachable). Knowing that God is love should encourage us to approach and draw close to Him; it should also encourage us to be more like Him in our nature towards our fellow humans, especially those in the household of faith. To the ones outside the church, our reflection of God's love towards them should draw and bring them to God. That we were originally created in the Image of the loving image of God, but fell from that grace, but are now back in that grace, means that we are on the road to becoming again what God intended us to be from the beginning. Love demands a willingness to forgive, because you can't truly fully love someone unless you get past the hard feelings you may have towards them if they have done something hurtful to you.

The One Who is in us Christians is the Holy Spirit, who is God. He is greater than the spirit that is in the world, which is the Anti-Christ, who ultimately is the devil. Bottom line: God, who is in us, is far greater, and far more powerful than the devil, the one influencing the world. We are victorious over the spirit of error because we have the Spirit of Truth in us, that will lead us into the Truth and away from the lies/heresies of the Anti-Christ. In the future, we will be victorious in that the Truth will ultimately lead to God, and eternal life and bliss, while the ones who follow the spirit of the Anti-Christ are ultimately heading for destruction. This truth should comfort those under the control of the Holy Spirit and living in Truth, but for those who were beginning to listen to the heresies, it should have alerted them to get back unto the true path.

The belief that Jesus was God manifested in the flesh is important, because it point us to the fact that Jesus lived a sinless life in our place to fulfill the requirements of the law that we could not live up to, and took our place in God's punishment for sin. When this belief is perverted, it subtlely undermines the whole foundation of the Christian message. The penalty for sin had to be paid, since God is just; sinless flesh had to take the place of sinful flesh; if Jesus were not in the flesh, He could not have died in our place, and we would still be in our sins awaiting judgment. Also, if the heresy Cerinthus promoted were true, when Jesus was born in the flesh, He would have been just another human just like us, with the same inclination towards and tendency to sin just like us until the "Christ" spirit descended on Him for a time. If He were just a mere human proned to sin like us before the "Christ" spirit came on Him, He would not be a suitable sacrifice for us; that is why that is not true. If Satan successfully got us to believe these lies, he would have us unknowingly saying that Jesus was not really a satisfying sacrifice for our sins, and therefore we are still subject to answer for our own sins. The significance of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is that He died in the flesh for our sins; His Blood is a satisfying sacrifice. That God raised Him back to life on the third day is important for Christians then and today, because it is a model for what God will one day do for us: we who are in Christ will also conquer death when He raises us back to life at His coming. We who are in Christ will be with Him spiritually when we die, but when He returns to earth, all who are in Him, dead and alive, will receive glorified bodies like His. The crucifixion and resurrection are important to Christians because it signifies His and our conquering of death and everlasting paradise thereafter.

As as child of the Most High, when we obey Him, He hears us, and grants our repitions; however, when we are disobedient to Him,and don't walk in the ways that are pleasing to Him, we not only are not heard as far as granting of prayers are concerned, but we often have to suffer the consequences of our actions. It's like the relationship of parent and child: if the child is obedient and good, the parent is more inclined to listen to the child, and give the child what he/she needs,and sometimes what they want (if it is not harmful), but if the child is disobedient and asks for something, the parent is more likely to be like, "You are acting like this, and you want me to...what? You can forget it!" That is much like the relationship between God and His children; not that we earn anything from Him, because He owes us nothing (its enough that He saves us, which can't be earned, either), but when we honor Him in our lifestyle, He is more likely to honor us when it comes to our prayers and requests.

To the extreme, there may be situations where one has to literally sacrifice their life to save their friends, family, or fellow believers in Christ, which shows the kind of love being talked about here and by Jesus. However, it can also mean to make sacrifices in one's life to provide for the needs of someone else, in material and other ways; I was adopted by my paternal grandmother, and one way of looking at it is that she sacrificed her time and resources for my well-being. That's love, and sacrifice!Within the Christian community, to provide for those brothers and sisters less fortunate than yourself, out of your own need would be a sacrificial love. In a larger church, introducing yourself to other members and getting involved in their lives outside of church services can be a means of forming a loving relationship where you can look out for their needs and they for yours.

Anger turns into hatred when the situation that bred the anamosity is not dealt with, providing opportunity for bitterness to take root. In the past (and I admit that I still struggle with it in some situations with some people), I learned that if you hate someone, the motive to murder them is always there. When you are angry and hate someone, you want vengence, and murder would be the ultimate vengence. To get rid of hidden bitterness, the situation that causes the conflict should be resolved between the two parties involved, as well as praying that God heals one of that bitterness; that's also commanded in Scripture, that if you stand praying, or offering a gift to God, if you have offended anyone, or someone has offended you, go and make peace, then go make your offering to God; that bitterness against a fellow brother/sister or human also affects relationship with God.

Cain was angry at his brother Abel because God accepted Abel and his offering, while rejecting Cain and his offering. Cain murdered his brother out of hatred and jealousy. The story of Cain and Abel illustrates the relationship between the world/apostate church and the true church in that the world and those who follow a false doctrine of Christianity resent the true believers in Christ, because the righteous living of believers bring to light the sins of the world in comparison of lifestyes. Also, the true church is hated because they are favored and accepted by God, which makes apostates and the world jealous.

John's message on sin and righteousness combats the false doctrine by pointing out the stark difference between the two, and their oppositions to one another, rather than making light of sin, as if it doesn't matter to sin, which is what the false teachers seemed to be teaching. If one is truly in God, their sins will bother them; they will be convicted by the Holy Spirit, which is the first step away from sinning; those that take sin lightly are not of God, but the devil, and only deceiving themselves. I think what John is saying, too, is look at the natures: those opposed to sin and attempting to rid themselves of it are born of God and are taking on His nature gradually, which is also opposed to sin; those that continue to purposely sin are of the devil.

God's Seed within us, the Holy Spirit, keeps us from habitually sinning by convicting us of that sin--letting us see how ugly it really is spiritually. By Him living in us, over a lifetime, the Holy Spirit conforms us little by little into the image of Jesus, in the sense of His nature. We are gradually purified of the sinful nature and take on the characteristics of Christ (but one has to read the Word to know how Christ's nature is).The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin (what some may think of as their conscience bothering them) and promotes righteous living.

Lawlessness shows up in a person's attitude and actions when you see that they take sin lightly; to them, it is no big deal to sin; also, when one doesn't take God's authority seriously, this results in sin, or the disregarding of His standards of living He has set forth for the church.

If we are looking forward to Christ's coming, and we take it and His authority seriously, we repent (turn from) sin and strive to live in ways we know are pleasing to Him, because we want to be confident and not afraid when we stand before Him at His coming. God's grace in our purification is the power behind the scene that helps us change: He is really the One doing the changing; we are responsible to cooperate with the changing by making the effort.

We are children of God, born of Him spiritually, when the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts, and we submit to His leadership and standards of righteous living.

Although the Holy Spirit has been given to us to lead and guides us into the truth of Jesus' word, we still need teachers in the church to teach us the things pertaining to godliness, especially, but not limited to, babes in Christ. God Himself gave us teachers, as well as other offices, in the church to help us mature in our walk to become more like His Son. One cannot just rely soley on the Spirit and reject true teachers anointed by God to teach His word, because the Spirit teaches/guides us by putting us in rememberance of what Jesus said by what we may hear spoken by someone and read in God's word; He doesn't testify of Himself. The anointing of the Spirit brings to our rememberance what we know God, through Jesus, to have already said (and is saying), but the gift of teaching lets people hear what God has said/is saying through the teacher that is speaking it; both the anointing given to each individual believer and the gift of teaching work hand in hand in confirming one another because they have the same Source.

For someone to abide, or remain, in Christ, they keep His word and teachings, and live by them (Christ's doctrine) continually; they do not stray from what He has originally taught. An example of abiding in Jesus Christ would be to love everyone, especially your fellow believers in Christ, because Christ Himself commanded us to. Someone who does not abide in Jesus Christ is one that strays from the original teaching; they may pervert the original doctrine and live by that, or they may intentionally turn from Christ; also, someone who doesn't take their position in Christ seriously is not abiding in Him.

The Holy Spirit acts as a guide in leading believers in/followers of Christ into the truth, which are the words of Christ, and away from false doctrines. Although I said that I struggle with the question of whether or not God's Spirit is in me because I don't personally feel Him, I do have times when I may hear or see something that I know is wrong and not of God because it goes in opposition of something I remember reading in the Bible; that could be the Spirit putting me in rememberance of Jesus' words, and His way of teaching me and other believers; that may also be the way the Spirit testifies of Jesus Christ.

The "anointing" John is referring to is the Holy Spirit, which God has anointed His followers with, that leads and guides them into truth. Anointing of the Spirit in the Bible is often symbolically seen in anointing people and objects set apart for God with oil. In my own opinion, I am a little confused as to how the anointing (pouring out of the Holy Spirit) works in the church, in reference to individual believers; what I mean is, there are some people that I see that have a assurance that God is with them, leading them, and has a relationship so personal with them that He speaks to and guides them in ways they clearly understand; but then, there are those that believe, as I am, that struggle over whether they have the anointing or not, because it seems that they don't have that connection with God that the former Christians mentioned seem to have. I sometimes asks myself if God is in me, wouldn't I feel Him, or is He there, but I don't know how to recognize the feeling, and if He is in me, why is it so hard to kick the habits that I recognize in my life that I know are not pleasing to Him. To answer the question, I believe every Christian is sealed with the Spirit, but that topic is still confusing to me, seeing as He is evidently active in some believers' lives, and others struggle to find Him.