Life in the Spiritual Lane-I John

Memory verse: I John 1: 7-" But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

I John is a new Testament book written on a high plane, with a spirituality to challenge the maturest Christian. While all scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit (II Tim 3: 16, 17; II Peter 1: 21), the lofty spirituality of John shines through in the writing of this book.

John writes continually of fellowship with God through Jesus Christ (1:3,4, 6, 7). What do we want to go to Heaven for? To escape Hell? Escaping Hell is not an altogether unreasonable proposition (see Matthew 10: 28). But Heaven is more than a relief from Hell; it is a place of fellowship with Jesus.

See the fellowship that Jesus describes! Matthew 11: 28-30; Matthew 18: 12-14; John 14: 1-7; Revelation 3: 20, 21. Can you imagine!? The King of Kings and Lord of all Lords wants to be friends with you? And not just for a minute . . . but forever!

Don't ever tell me you feel useless or unwanted. It just isn't true. And Christians sholdn't have to spend a lot of time getting their self esteems up. Not with Jesus as their nearest friend.

Who are you? Why are you special? In I Peter 2: 9, 10 you are called "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people." What could be more special?

Okay, now let's get back to this "walking together" relationship. How do people feel and behave when they are walking together with Jesus?

Comparisons to brides are well taken, and are made in scripture. Read

Ephesians 5: 22-33. Paul's letter encourages us to compare our relationship to Christ as a bride to a groom. Brides are

1. Subject to a husband-are you subject to Christ?

Or are you out there doing your own thing? See God's frustration with Israel in the Old Testament when they were "Doing their own thing" in Malachi 1: 6-14.

2. Led by a husband. Are you led by Christ? If you are led by Christ, you will bear fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5: 22-24).

The picture of The unfaithful wife of Hosea is that of a wife who would not be led.

3. Loved by a husband who will give everything, even his life, for his Wife. John 3: 16. Husbands, make your wives feel loved. Make them special. If you don't regard them as special, no one will treat them as special. If you treat them as special, the rest of the world will move out of the way for a couple who is special. See Ephesians 5: 28, 29.

4. Brides are pure. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" Do we strive for purity? I Corinthians 6: 9-11. The forgiveness we have- Are we wearing out our welcome? Could happen! See Romans 6: 1-4; Hebrews 10: 26-31.

5. Brides respect their husbands. And they think of them often. Do we reverence Christ in our hearts? Do we make him first in our hearts? No bride ever strayed who put her husband first among men in her heart. We won't stray when we put Jesus above even earthly relationships in our Hearts.

Other observations on I John 1. As long as we are walking together with Christ, there is a continual cleansing of sin. Walk with Him. Talk with him. Do the best you can to submit to Him, be loved by him, respect him, be pure for him, be led by him. And then stop worrying! He can forgive sins. He made a point of that on several miracles. Not only can he heal the sick, he can forgive their sins as well (see Mark 2: 1-12). Worrying about sins that have already been forgiven is a problem all its own (II Corinthians 7: 8-11).

We hope that by visiting this website, you have been blessed.

Sid Womack, webmaster