“Christ is the true light of the world; it is trhough him alone that true wisdom is imparted to the mind.”
Johnathan Edwards
Passage
5This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
6If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
7but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
1 John 1:5–10 (NASB95)
"White light cross inside a closed salt mine" by Horia Varlan is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Background
Quote-Jonathan Edwards (October 5, 1703 – March 22, 1758) was an American revivalist preacher, philosopher, and Congregationalist theologian. A leading figure of the American Enlightenment, Edwards is widely regarded as one of America's most important and original philosophical theologians. Edwards' theological work is broad in scope but rooted in the paedobaptist (baptism of infants) Puritan heritage as exemplified in the Westminster and Savoy Confessions of Faith. Recent studies have emphasized how thoroughly Edwards grounded his life's work on conceptions of beauty, harmony, and ethical fittingness, and how central the Age of Enlightenment was to his mindset. Edwards played a critical role in shaping the First Great Awakening and oversaw some of the first revivals in 1733–35 at his church in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Passage-The book of 1stJohn is a General Epistle. It is written by the Apostle John around 85-95 A.D. probably from Ephesus. The key personalities are the Apostles Peter and Paul. Its purpose was to warn about the increasing threat of false teachings and to reassure Christians of their faith and love in Jesus Christ.
It was written to combat false teachings that had to do with the denial that Jesus had a genuine human body (1:1). This Gnostic view of matter as being evil led to two responses, asceticism or licentiousness. He very clearly writes to give the true tests of a true Christian. These tests also contradicted the Gnostic licentious approach to Christianity. He gives several means to measure the reality of one’s conversion experience.
Lesson Notes
Opening Statement
As Peter began to sink in the storm when he took his eyes of Jesus, so do we when we seek wisdom from a source other than God.
12“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And I find knowledge and discretion.
13“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.
Proverbs 8:12–13 (NASB95)
Ask: Where is Jesus in that passage?
Point: Please read the following:
36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
37And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
38“This is the great and foremost commandment.
Matthew 22:36–38 (NASB95)
Ask: Why is this the “great and foremost commandment?”
Point: Whatever we put first in our life gets the best of us, the most of our attention, and superceedes everything else by priority in our decision making processes.
Ask: God can’t possibly want me as sinful as I am involved in His grand plans can he?
Point: please read the following:
14This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.
15So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.”
16He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.”
17He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.
John 21:14–17 (NASB95)
Ask: Why is that passage important to understand by us today in the context of the storms we are surrounded by and following Jesus?
Point: Please read the following:
69The servant-girl saw him, and began once more to say to the bystanders, “This is one of them!”
70But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean too.”
71But he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this man you are talking about!”
72Immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he began to weep.
Mark 14:69–72 (NASB95)
Ask: If Jesus can accept Peter and ask him to walk in God’s plan after Peter denied Christ three times, can He use you and me?
Point: Yes, He can.
Ask: If we are accepted by Jesus and God wants us in His plan, what do we do next?
Point: Please read the following:
39“The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:39–40 (NASB95)
Ask: If as Jesus said in verse 40 everything hinges on loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves why do we need to pay attention to anything else in scripture?
Point: Please read the following:
17“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
18“For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
19“Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:17–19 (NASB95)
Ask: If everything hands on love (Matthew 22:40) and God’s Law is still in effect after Jesus’ sacrifice (Matthew 5:17-19) what are we to do when “our neighbor” is doing something wrong?
Point: The answer lies in another question.
Ask: If we are followers of Jesus Christ and call Him Lord, that means we voluntarily are members of the Kingdom of God. What is the Kingdom of God?
Point: Please read the following:
36Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
37Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
John 18:36–37 (NASB95)
Ask: If the Kingdom of God is spiritual, not of this world, then how do we restore those around us and make disciples of all the world?
Point: Please read the following:
31“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’
32“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:31–34 (NASB95)
Closing Statement
Just like for Peter, the light in the storm is Jesus. Peter took his eyes off Christ for a mere moment and began to sink and drown. We are drowning too but in the water and storms of life around us. We are sinking like Peter but like Peter our solution to rise above it and get back in the boat is to take Jesus’ hand, focus on Him, and learn to follow His ways in all things. That learning only happens in one place and through continuous effort all our lives.