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1John by Theme
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Songs of Themes of 1st John
New Life in Christ
(1Jn.2:20, 25, 3:24, 4:4, 13, 5:1, 4-5)
Holy One, Thy Gift Anoints Us
Holy One, Thy gift anoints us;
Cleansing wine and living oil
To Thy heart and mind now join us.
Lo new birth in man fulfilled!
In our heart lays God's foundation,
Strong and sure, through Calvary.
Shoots of life from Thy plantation
Seal us to God's family.
We in Thee are overcomers
Of this lost world's perishing;
Cursed to hell are all its members,
Save those who salvation brings
Up from death where sin did bind us---
Shedding darkness we now see,
Devils, who perfect man's blindness,
From Thy pow'r and light must flee.
Hearts of stone could never prosper,
Barred are they from bless-ed rest,
But in Thee mankind is offered
Living words in hearts of flesh.
Our new love of those begotten
Of the Father reassures,
We are born of God, and one in
Saving faith, sincere and pure.
By Thy breath the Holy Helper,
From the Father Thou received,
Comes to grow God's word within us
When we once that word believe.
May our hearts, O Vine, be forming,
Of Thy knowledge love displays,
Crowns of spirit wrought for glory,
To Thy everlasting praise.
words: 2016 by Stephen Popovich
music: 1824 by Beethoven from 9th symphony
And I will put my Spirit in you (Ezekiel 36:27)
The Anointing
1John 2:20
But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.
"Anointing" (also "unction")
An outpouring, as oil in a ceremony; or the Holy Spirit upon man
transliteration: | pronounced: | used as: |
chrisma | khre'-smä |
noun |
chrio |
khre'-o |
verb |
Holy One
"Holy One" refers to Christ as is clear from 1John 2:27, as well as the reference to the Messiah as the Holy One throughout scripture (Acts 2:27).
The Holy Spirit was sent by Jesus after he received it from the Father (Acts 2:33). Moreover, it also was "poured out" through Jesus as indicated in his object lesson of John 20:22 where Jesus links the Holy Spirit with his breath; perhaps so that when the "anointing" of the Holy Spirit was heard as a mighty rushing wind (Acts 2:2) on the Day of Pentecost, the first thoughts of the Apostles would be of the breath of Jesus poured upon them and in them. Soon after, Peter explains this including of the Spirit as a foretaste of the end times outpouring of God's Spirit spoken of by the prophet Joel (Acts 2:16-17).
And you know all things
The anointing sanctifies man to the word of God (2Thess.2:13) so that it becomes knowledge that is understood and followed. the Spirit convicts us of the gospel warning (Jn.16:8-11)
and then fulfills the gospel promise of eternal life to all who believe (Jn.3:8, Rom.8:11, Titus3:5). Believers are further sanctified by the Spirit to God's word as he leads us away from fulfilling the lusts of the flesh (Gal.5:16) and toward bearing a fruitful life (Gal.5:22-25) of prayer, praise (Phil.3:3) and increased
knowledge (1Cor.2:13-14) as
word ministering vessels of God (1Cor.12:6-7, Eph.4:11-12).
Holy One, Thy gift anoints us;
Cleansing wine and living oil
To Thy heart and mind now join us.
Lo new birth in man fulfilled!
And I will put my Spirit in you (Ezekiel 36:27)
The Promise
1John 2:25
And this is the promise that He has promised us, eternal life.
God promised to Abraham that all nations would be blessed in him by faith (Rom.4:13). The meaning of this promise, made clear by the new covenant teachings, is that the whole world would through Christ would be offered both justification by the death of Christ (Gal.3:8, Rom.4:25) and eternal life of the Holy Spirit (Gal.3:14, Acts 2:33). This promise made to Abraham and his seed, Christ (Gal.3:16), is the basis for God's promise in the call to the unconverted to receive eternal life in Christ by faith (Rom.9:8, Eph.3:6, 2Tim.1:1, Gal.3:29).
Concerning the promise of eternal life:
God is able to deliver on his promise (Rom.4:21-22).
The Holy Spirit is the foundational deposit of the promised inheritance to Abraham and Christ his Seed (Heb.11:10, Heb.11:39, Acts 2:33, Eph.1:13-14).
Our promised inheritance is fulfilled in heaven
The promise contained in the call of God will not be withdrawn nor will any gift received thereby be taken back; they are irrevocable, immutable and anchored in Christ in heaven (Rom.11:29, Heb.16:17-20).
Hearts of stone could never prosper,
Barred are they from bless-ed rest,,
But in Thee mankind is offered
Living words in hearts of flesh.
Our Security to Eternity
1John 3:24
Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
In the Lord's illustration of the abiding vine and branches (Jn.15:1-11), the work of Holy Spirit is in the white spaces. In this verse, prefaced by reference to the surety of our salvation (1Jn.3:19-21), John reveals that we are able to continually abide in Jesus (and he in us) because of the Spirit whom he has given us.
The verb tenses are key to this verse: Keeps and abides are both in the present tense but given is in the past (aorist) tense. Moreover, in a very similar verse (1Jn.4:13), given is in the perfect tense; underscoring the action as having been completed in the past, once for all, never having to be repeated. This is consistent with passages that describe the Holy Spirit as my:
New spiritual birth that is everlasting (Jn.3:6-7, Tit.3:5-7, Gal. 4:6, Jn.6:40, Rom.8:16-17)
Seal of ownership (Eph.1:13, Eph.4:30, 2Cor.1:22)
Deposit of promised inheritance (Eph.1:14, 2Cor:5:4-5, Gal.3:14, Rom.8:23)
Portion of the foundation of the city of God (Heb.11:9-10, Heb.11:39, 2Tim.2:19, 1Cor.3:11,13-14)
In our heart lays God's foundation,
Strong and sure, through Calvary.
Shoots of life from Thy plantation
Seal us in God's family.
Overcoming Satan
1John 4:4
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater
than he who is in the world. 1John 4:4
About Darkness:
What does God's word mean by "darkness"?
Darkness is the way(s) in which man's heart and mind move that is away from God's ways (Eph.4:15-16). Darkness stems from fallen man's innate deadness toward the living word of God (Jn.3:19, Rom.3:11-12). Darkness consists of all false words and knowledge that make up these heart pathways; man's sins then become the works of darkness (Rom.13:12-13, Eph.5:8-11).
What is Satan's part in darkness?
Satan compounds the darkness by spreading false light (2Cor.11:14, Luke 11:35) through false religions, false doctrine, man made traditions and dictums; anything and everything designed to set a pathway for the heart of man away from God (2Cor.4:3).
If we had spiritual night vision goggles, what would we see in this spiritual darkness?
We would see the hearts of humanity setting their hopes and affections on created things of the world (Rom.1:21,25) while being encouraged by Satan's demonic helpers (Eph.6:12) stand as carnival
barkers calling mankind to partake of the world's attractions (Ps.115:4-8).
What propels man to walk in darkness?
Fallen man is driven in darkness by the lusts of his flesh (1Jn.2:16-17) in which he is born entombed (Jn.3:19-20, 2:16).
To where does this darkness lead?
In death and eternal destruction (Prov.14:2, Matt.7:13-14).
About Light:
What does God's word mean by "light"?
Light is made up of words given by God to man as a way to walk in His acceptance and blessing (Prov.12:28, Acts26:18).
How does God give light?
Initially by the words of God's prophets and then directly by His Son, Jesus Christ (J.8:12,12:46, Matt.4:16), as relayed to the world by His Apostles (Heb.1:1-2).
How should those in darkness respond to light?
By faith (John 12:36) lest they remain in darkness under God's judgment (Jn.12:35, 48).
What propels a believer to walk in light?
Similar to how the flesh with its lusts is the appetite that moves fallen man in darkness (1Pet.4:2-3, 2Pet.2:18, Eph.2:3), so the indwelling Holy Spirit provides the appetite for God's word (Rom.8:5, 12-13, Gal.5:16-17). (Click here to see how the Spirit and word work together)
To where does light lead?
God's light is the word of God that leads to its emanating Voice in heaven (Phil.3:14).
We in Thee are overcomers
Of this lost world's perishing;
Cursed to hell are all its members,
Save those who salvation brings
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path
The Abiding Breath of Jesus
1John 4:13
By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
The disciples, all in one place on the day of Pentecost (Acts.1:1), were not the first earthen vessels to receive the Holy Spirit in a unique, indwelling way (Jn.14:17); this distinction was to be Lord's when he ascended to heaven in his transformed and glorified human body (Acts.2:33). Having so received the Holy Spirit, Jesus then could 'breathe it' into his disciples from heaven (Acts.2:2-4), as he prophetically simulated while on earth (Jn.20:22)---making them spiritually alive and in union with His Spirit (Rom.8:9-11).
Similar to 1Jn.3:24, the word abiding (Him in us and we in Him) is in the present tense while given is in the past (perfect) tense; meaning that this 'abiding breath' of Jesus given to individual believers has been completed in the past, once for all, never having to be repeated. This Spirit of Jesus so given is the promised foundation of the city of God laid in all who receive the gospel by faith (Heb.11:9-10, Heb.11:39-40).
By Thy breath the Holy Helper,
From the Father Thou received,
Comes to grow God's word within us
When we once that word believe.
May our hearts, O Vine, be forming,
Of Thy knowledge love displays,
Crowns of spirit wrought for glory,
To Thy everlasting praise.
The First Fruits of Green Shoots
1John 5:1
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.
In the first half of this verse we see the green shoot of eternal life that arises in the heart of a new believer the moment he places his faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ (Jn.1:12-13 Jn.6:47 Jn 20:31).
But look! This green shoot does not appear alone; it bears the first fruits of love (Rom.8:15-16 1Jn:3:14); family love, that over time is to stretch out to a deeper, broader, higher and longer love (Eph.3:18-19).
Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, <---green shoots bearing first fruits of love and later bearing much fruit ----> love one another fervently [Greek for "stretching out"] with a pure heart (1Pet.1:22).
Our new love of those begotten
Of the Father reassures
We are born of God, and one in
Saving faith, sincere and pure
Overcoming the Perishing World
1John 5:4-5
For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Why does man perish?
Man is in union with a world that is now perishing because God's curse on Adam's sin fell on all creation (Gen.3:17-19, Ps.144:4).
How did Christ overcome the perishing world?
By his birth becoming one with the perishing world, bearing the penalty of the curse and then rising from the dead (Jn.12:24, 16:35).
What is the seed from whence eternal life is drawn for man?
The gospel of Christ which contains life sent from heaven (Rom.10:10-11,17).
How does the seed that germinate unto eternal life which overcomes the perishing world?
By faith in this life while we are in these perishing bodies (Jn.3:16, Lk.8:15).
When is the culmination of our overcoming?
When the Lord returns (1Cor.15:10-53).
Up from death where sin did bind us;
Shedding darkness we now see,
Devils, who perfect man's blindness,
From Thy pow'r and light must flee.
Ye must be born again