Greta

The statement "God is Love" is important because it puts Love on the highest level and shows us exactly what God is. It shows us that God's nature is to love everyone and that everything He does is done through Love. This knowledge gives us a secure feeling, because we know that "all things come together for the good of those who love Christ -- or those He loves" We are created in God's image of love, but we fall, and when we do we can have confidence to know that when we confess our sin to God, He loves us so much that He will forgive us - and so healing begins. We must also forgive those who have hurt us, for we must follow God's example. If we do not forgive, it hurts us even more that the person we refuse to forgive.

Christ in us is greater than false prophets, Satan and the world. We have overcome them because we are submitted to Christ and have become His children, renouncing the devil and all his works. Our fear has been of Satan, and now we confess that Jesus lives in us and is greater that Satan, we know that we are above him and need take no notice of his lies. Pure Love casts out all fear.

Believing that Jesus was God in the flesh is important because God is showing us that what Jesus can do in the flesh we can also do because we are flesh. Satan doesn't want us to believe this because it enables us to live in victory and Satan doesn't want us doing that. The implication is that it is possible for us to do everything that Jesus does -- EXCEPT we cannot die to save mankind. God needed a pure sacrifice and Jesus, in human flesh, is the only one who qualifies. He is also so pure that death could not hold Him and He was risen from death to life in order that we too can be risen to eternal life. Hallelujah!

I am not sure about this! The way I understand it is that we obey God because we love Him, but our obedience doesn't earn us the answer to our prayer. Yet the scriptures tell us that if we pray acording to His will or His Word, that He will hear us and answer our prayer. I think that when we pray God's will it means that God has put the prayer into our hearts and mouths, and if He has done this, it is something that He already knows He wants to do. When praying in a group, two or three are gathered together and Jesus is in the midst of us. Our prayers are heard, but the answers will come in God's timing and not ours.

To lay down your life for your brothers means to put their needs before your own. An example would be to put your own life on 'hold' in order to look after a sick relative. To help someone in a very selfless way and really go out of your way to help them. In a large community, we could split up into smaller groups for prayer, or for having a meal together, and so get to know a few people more intimately.

Anger can turn to hatred in our hearts when we dwell on it, rehersing our anger again and again. Anger and hatred relate to murder because by this time we have stored up so much bitterness towards the person, that there is poison in us. We get rid of the stored up anger by confessing our sin to God, then by forgiving the person we are angry with, forgiving ourselves and then praying for the other person - and asking God's help to love him/her.

Cain resented Abel because the Lord was pleased with Abel's sacrifice but disliked Cain's. Cain killed Abel because he was jealous of him. Following this line of reasoning, it would seem that the world hates us because it is jealous of us? Sermons I have heard in church teach that only a blood sacrifice is acceptable to God, and that Abel should have exchanged some of his produce for one of Abel's lambs and then sacrificed the lamb to God.

John's teaching on sin and righteousness in this passage show us that with the help of the Holy Spirit we can identify false teaching and have nothing to do with it. We must confess all sin as quickly as possible and endeavour to live righteously.

Praise God for His seed in us which thankfully prevents us from continuing in sin. It takes a long time, but bit by bit He gives us the victory over sin and makes us more and more like Jesus.

Lawlessness shows up in a person's attitude and actions when we refuse to obey Jesus. When we go our own way instead of His. An attitude of lawlessness is an attitude of sin.

We are motivated to purify ourselves from sin because we want to be ready when Christ comes again. We recognise our sin and confess it to God who forgives us. We try to turn from our sin but we need God's grace to do this fully.

We are children of God because His Spirit lives in us. The Holy Spirit enters us when we receive Christ as our saviour. The Holy Spirit in us changes us, first by giving us an overwhelming love for God and then by making us righteous.

The Holy Spirit teaches us the right way to go and how to behave. Our leaders have also received the spiritual gift of teaching and they are able to take the whole congregation in the same direction because they have prayed for and received a 'special word for the church' from God.

Abiding in Jesus means that we dwell in Him and He in us. A Christian abiding in Jesus will be spending time every day in the Word of God and in prayer, and Jesus will be seen to be shaping this Christians's life. A Christian who is not abiding in Jesus will find himself slipping further away and may even be going back to some of his old habits.

The Holy Spirit connects with our spirit and teaches us internally. He gives us recall of scriptures we have previously read and which are now important in our present situation. His truth confirms with our spirit that Jesus is Lord and His truth also exposes all false doctrine so that we may turn away from it.

When we invite Christ into our lives we receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit starts a work inside each of us, making us more like Jesus. He guides us from the inside and teaches us how to behave. It is NOT the same as baptism in the Holy Spirit, for this causes us to bubble up and overflow in the Spirit, speaking in other tongues and receiving power. All Christians are able to receive this, but sadly, not all do.

The antichrist John expects to come is still not revealed. He is expected to be someone really loathsome, an abomination that causes desolation. Someone who declares he is god and manipulates unbelievers to worship him. The 'antichrists' already in the church John is writing to are people who are really against God and are causing a big disruption in the church. We see the spirit of antichrist at work in our day by the introduction of false doctrine and imoral behavour.

The three examples of worldliness given, lead to greed, jealousy, trying to get our own way, judging and gossipping and being unkind to others. It is hard to see these things in ourselves, although we can easily see them in others. God helps us see ourselves more clearly by showing us a 'mirror image' of ourselves. When we are disturbed at what someone else is doing, it is most likely to be a mirror image of what we do ourselves. One finger points forward - but four point back to us!

I think that loving the world means loving the base and sinful life that we used to live before we received Christ into our lives. Anything that we put before the Father, keeps us from loving Him as we should.

We all need encouragement for it gives us the will and desire to go on. John encourages all three groups by showing them who they are in Christ. If we don't receive encouragement, we often sink.

It is like putting a knife into our hearts. When we hate and will not forgive, we will find we are cut off from God. We can not see Him or hear Him. We can only come back into the light when we forgive the person unconditionally. I have been there and know it is true.

We can obey Christ without becoming legalistic and judgemental when we obey through LOVE. Love puts self to one side and obeys lovingly for Jesus sake because it wants to, while legalism obeys because it has to. We can be serious about obedience and make love our center by spending more time with God in His Word. Love from Greta

When we sin, John assures us that if we confess our sin, Jesus will interceed for us with the Father. This gives us great comfort because we know that Jesus has already died for us so He has done everything possible to release us from sin. Knowing He has done all this for me makes me want to avoid sin completely, for I want Jesus' approval. Love Greta

Confession is acknowledging and owning up and it is important to confess our sins because we must admit we have done wrong before we can move on. If we don't confess our sins, they will accumalate and remain unforgiven. We are promiced forgiveness and cleansing if we confess our sins. Forgiveness releases us from a moral obligation and cleansing makes up pure again. Love from Greta

When a Christian walks in darkness he becomes seperated from God. He might deceive himself into thinking he is OK, but he remains seperated from God until he confesses his sin and asks forgiveness, and is washed afresh in the Blood of Jesus. Only then is he restored into the light again. Love from Greta