Jacobs Thoughts and Doings

The elder, To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth – because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever: It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.  

And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.  And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.  

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them.  Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work. 

2 John 1, selections

I understand that the “lady” is the Church of Jesus Christ.  Her children love the truth.  What is the truth that is in us and lives in us forever?  The truth is that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. That truth and God’s love are intertwined.  They cannot be separated.  If we think about it, this is not easy to believe!  Yet the Gospel that sets us free is rooted in that fact.

Some in the church insisted that Jesus did not take on flesh like ours.  By believing that, they removed a stumbling block for those who are attracted to Jesus as a teacher of truth but who cannot swallow the idea that Jesus is God in human flesh.  For them, the ethical teachings of Jesus are what makes Jesus special, not who he is – God Almighty in a human body, like ours.

I find myself wondering if this is not the case today.  Is Jesus a great teacher or is he God in the flesh, fully and completely?  For myself, I find it comforting to believe that Jesus teaches us how to live.  I find it discomforting to deal with whether Jesus had flesh like mine or that God prepared a special kind of body for his Son to live in here on earth.  But, if Jesus is not a true human being, that shifts everything. His death and resurrection are inconsequential, not essential or even possible or believable.  Salvation becomes the result of trying to obey Jesus’ ethical teaching. Do I hear this resonating in today’s church?

A reflection.  I found myself surprised to learn that Thomas Jefferson, whom I was taught to admire in history classes, took this point of view.  He acknowledged that Jesus was a great ethical teacher, but could not bring himself to believe that Jesus Christ is God in an ordinary human being.

A word on “walking in truth.”  John insists that it is not enough to acknowledge truth but to live in it. That truth that is in us by the new birth controls how we feel, how we think and it shapes our destiny.

After stressing the importance of walking in truth John reminds us of the importance of love.  Walking in truth is a life of love.  But it is not a love that welcomes heresy, not at all.  The truth does not encourage us to hate people but to stand firm against heresy!  People who spread heresy must be stopped, lest they allure even the believers into unbelief.  John is strong, indeed, on this point.   “Do not take them into your house or welcome them.  Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.”   Love all persons but beware of heresy.  I suppose it could be summed up that way.

This word from John is as appropriate today as it was when written about 2,000 years ago, and as urgent.

Our neighbor children, Dema and Katya enjoy a book on our bench.  They love Anna Ruth’s cookies, and her loving care.  They live four houses away, just a nice walk.  We enjoy having them here.  They touch the “children feelings” in us.

We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 

Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

1 John 5:19 – 21.

So John brings his letter to a conclusion by stating again a fact that is basic to all spiritual understanding, that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

We might ask, is that really true?  Is there no good in people who do not know Jesus Christ?  John does not even address this issue.  He certainly recognizes that there is some goodness in all cultures and philosophies.  I think we all do.  That is not the point, the point is that there are two worlds, that made up of unredeemed unbelievers who are under the control of the evil one and those who have given their lives to Jesus Christ and are living as redeemed persons.  It is as stark as that. 

As we look out upon life, we see many things in this world that do not seem all that bad, in fact there are some good things happening among unbelievers, their kindness, commitment, humor and so on.  This world tends to allure us away from Jesus.

The idols our societies erect seem more desirable than Jesus, God’s saving Son.  John warns, in closing this amazing letter, Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.  He concludes with that appeal to all who believe in Jesus Christ, beware of idols.  Our cultures in the West do not speak much of idols.  In John’s days, they were more palpable, and visible, probably.  That is not that idols are no more, certainly not.  We have just renamed them!

John is not oversimplifying; he is stating truth upon which all followers of Jesus stand.  And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

 May John’s reminder be my daily challenge, until I see Jesus face to face.

I never tire of viewing the new moon.  This is the best I can do with the limited lens I have for my camera.  Nevertheless it reveals the beauty and awesomeness of our stunning moon.  It is bright, pure and powerful enough to cause our sea tides, all over our planet, twice a day for who knows how long!.  Some friend!

We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:18 – 20.

So John concludes this precious letter, his word of testimony, so to speak, with what we, as believers know.  Not what we allured by but what we know.

First of all, we know that God’s born-again children do not continue to sin as they had done.  John, then assures us believers that God keeps us safe, that we are protected by Him now and always.   He covers us so that no evil one can harm us. God keeps them safe. What a relief to know that God fights our battles for us and with us.  We know that God will be our shield and protector.

Second, we know that we are children of God.  We all need to keep in mind, every day and in every situation, whose we are.  That is more important, I do believe, than to know who we are.  If I try to figure out who I am, I am lost. I have no idea. If I realize that I am a reborn child of God, born of his Spirit, I know exactly who I am.  That is who I am!!  Unbelievers are under the control of the evil one.

Third, the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true.  The thing I need to understand is that I cannot figure out who I am but, having been born of God by the atoning work of Jesus, I am given understanding regarding the things of the Spirit.  The question is not, who am I? but who is God?  The doors of understanding open wide when I know Him who is true.  I need to grasp this truth with both hands and with all my strength.

Fourth, we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.  This is a pillar truth, but one of the hardest to grasp.  I am in Jesus Christ!! That is my new identity, my eternal identity.  It makes all the difference. John reminds us that the One we are in is the true God, not some faltering idol, but God who is eternal, absolutely trustworthy.

What is simpler than a wooden train engine?   Simplicity gives it strength. I enjoy making such things.  It is in the blood, I guess.  Lord, make me and keep me simple!

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

1 John 5:13 – 15

John makes it clear that he is writing this letter, not to convince unbelievers to believe, but to confirm the believers in what they do believe.

What they believe gives them confidence as they relate to God.  They believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  God himself declares it.  As God declares that Jesus Christ is His Son and that through faith in Him we have eternal life, we agree wholeheartedly with God and we look at all reality through His eternal eyes.  There is no insight more powerful in all of life.

To unbelievers, John seems to be playing with words.  He is not.  He is reflecting exactly what God says (we might say, what God believes.)  If God declares that Jesus is His Son, we do so as well.  This is the life-changing belief that believers have.

So, my soul, praise God that you believe!  This is, in itself, a miracle of grace.  It makes all the difference. As believers we rely completely on God for our hope and salvation.  And our hearts respond heartily to the invitation to just believe.   This seems to be prosperous but even more so is the promise that if we believe with our whole hearts, without reservation or desire to control, we have what we ask God for, in the name of Jesus.  John writes, “We have.” In the asking is the receiving.  Only a believer can understand that.  It is a mystery, indeed, but the most powerful reality that can be imagined.

I need this confidence in the grace of God, the hallmark of all believers through the ages.  I praise God that I even want to believe, and more so that I do believe.

So John closes his letter with an assurance in the love and mercy of God that satisfies the soul, and delights the mind. I need to grasp this wonderful reality.

Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

1 John 5:10, 12.

The basic fact – God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  Let it sink in.

The gift – eternal life, from now to eternity – forever.  What a marvelous gift!  It is believable to the reborn person, a bothersome thought to the unbelievers.  Not only is it believable, it is our priceless inheritance, given freely by the Lord of mercy himself. As I see it, and I am trying to discern the heart and mind of John the Apostle as he shares his belief with us, God knows how desperate we human beings are, so much so that we can never really know God and his mercy by stretching our human will to think such thoughts. The human mind, unaided, might come to the conclusion that there is God.  But that is not salvation.  That is just exalted human thought, admirable, but leading nowhere.

Our salvation, the thing we need above all others, is provided by God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a gift beyond comprehension by the unregenerate mind and heart but is ours by faith in God and all that he accomplished in Christ for our salvation.  Receiving this salvation changes everything!

Do I really believe this??  As I read the writings of men and women of old I see them searching, searching diligently, for God’s salvation that is absolutely necessary.  Plato, Aristotle, and a host of others began to realize who God is, but came short of discovering his salvation plan.

That we now know.  God’s life is in his Son.  There is a huge difference between seeking for God and having God seek us.  When God seeks us he offers, fully and freely, salvation in his Son Jesus Christ. Whoever has the Son has life.

This is all quite breath-taking.  I need to stop now and again, like right now, and give praise and thanks and all my heart to Father, Son and Holy Spirit, water and blood, that bought my salvation!  It astounds me with wonder.  It is a wonder that I accept by faith and then live in the wonder of it all, like all the saints, including John.

Now and again, I can not restrain myself, like needing to build a small porch to replace a few brick steps. I enjoy working on a project that I have to think through and build. The steps will go on in what is the lower center of the picture.