1 John 2:12-29

(1 John 2:12-29)

 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.  I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.  』

 

John encouraged brotherly love in a desirable attitude of the saints who associate with God. John was wary of loving the world. The Apostle John once again confirms that the regenerated are those who know Heavenly Father, and repeatedly encourages them to know Christ and overcome Satan. In this encouragement, the apostle John's desire to immediately realize his identity as a person who knows God, to practice love, and not to fall into the delusion of heresy is implied. John's request is to focus solely on saving the Spirit and not to care about the things in this world. 『Don't love this world or things in the world』. The world is a world ruled by Satan. John says that the love of this world is the lust of the eyes and the pride of this life.

 

In this way, there is a mutually exclusive relationship between loving the world and loving God. Just as light and darkness cannot coexist, love of God and love of the world cannot coexist. Because, the heart that loves God is the heart that saves the spirit, and the heart that loves the world is the heart that kills the spirit. John tells the love of the world that the Father's love is not in it. This is because the characteristics of the world are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of this life.

 

The lust of the flesh is a sin in which a man who has left God forsakes the will of God and chooses only his own desire. The lust of the eyes is the sinful desire to pursue through the eyes. The pride of this life is the pride of life unrelated to God. In other words, it means living a human will without relying on God.

 

The world and the church are incompatible. However, many churches are showing a wish for the blessing of the world. They pray to make a lot of money, and when the college admissions season begins, they often pray in the church to parents. However, it is said that there is no love from the father. Say that things in this world are not from father. Why did the God who created all things tell us not to love this world?

Because Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they were driven into the world. The world is a place without blessing. All days are blessed except for the Old Testament Sabbath. The world has become a place where criminals live. In Genesis 6:5 『And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 』This world is such a place. God did so that Satan would dominate the world. Satan who has been drawn from the kingdom of God to this earth will eventually be judged by God. However, the Bible shows how fallen humans have left God. There is Satan in the background of the Fall, and all who follow Satan show that it is.

 

God has provided a way of life that is distinct from Satan's ruled world, but most humans have become those who love the world. God wanted to destroy the devil through a distinct life and reach the kingdom God wanted, but most humans gave up. This world continued until Jesus came to this world. In John 18:36『 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. 』

 

Even the devil who tested Jesus said in Luke 4:6-7, “And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 』

The devil is boldly speaking to Jesus. Before Jesus came to this world to direct the cross, He was the Creator, Jehovah God. Jesus came in the flesh and said to himself, "I was in the Old Testament." He said he was with Abraham. Abraham was about 2,000 years before Jesus was born. In John 8:55-59, he said, "Abraham was there before he was born." He also said he was with them.

 

In Genesis 14:18 『And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. In Hebrews chapter 7, it is said, "This Melchizedek is Jesus." That is, Abraham met Jesus. Abraham gave a tenth to King Melchizedek.

 

In Hebrews 11:24-26 it is said that Moses met Christ. After Jesus' resurrection, while on the road in Luke 24:27, while talking with the two disciples, 『And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And at the Sea of Galilee, the same is said in verse 24:44. 『And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. After all, it means that the Lord God of the Old Testament is Jesus Christ. In 1 John 2:29『 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him. 』

 

He means Jesus Christ will come again. It means that if we are not born of Jesus Christ, all people are still fallen sinners. Those who practice righteousness in the world speak according to the standards of human beings, so it is not righteous to God. Everyone in this world born of parents is not righteous. In 1 John 3:9『 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 』 Satan is deceiving people from reaching God, saying, "Believing in Jesus, but being a man with a weak body, we have no choice but to love the world and sin." Those who are deceived by Satan's whispers will eventually love the world. There is no middle ground, either a child of light or a child of darkness.

 

If the church preaches for the blessing of the world, it can be said to be a fake church. The fake church is not interested in being united with Jesus who died on the cross. Salvation is entering into Christ from the world. If you simply believe, "If you believe in Jesus, you will be saved." You don't even know the meaning of entering into Christ. To enter into Christ is to abandon the greed that the world loves. It is crucified about the world. Those who are born of God do not love the world. So the saint does not sin because he becomes a child of God, not a child of Satan.

 

The key to salvation is not to ask for forgiveness of sin, but to die about sin and the world. Only those who die on the cross will live again. It is not humanly understandable to be united with Jesus Christ, who died on the cross 2000 years ago. But God will allow that to happen to those who repent. God is transcending time and space.