Welcome to the reading of the First Epistle of John , Chapter 2 , with In the Field Audio Bible . My name is Christie , your host for this episode . John is now the last apostle , living as an old man writing this letter to his children . He first distinguishes knowing God from doing God's work on earth .
John claims that he does not add new commandments or statutes , but emphasizes the most important command of all . This two-fold process involves loving one another and loving God . John also distinguishes between loving worldly things from loving the Father . If we believe and love worldly , earthly things , we take away from loving the One who created them .
It is now that we see John start to touch on what would be the final book of the bible , Revelation . Toward the end of this chapter , John introduces us to the tribulation with what it looks like , with periods of intense judgment on the unbelieving world .
Within this period , the intensity will be terrible for the Jewish people , but the Deliverer will come out of Zion saving them . The Antichrist is here now , placing discerning Christians on alert for Christ's coming .
It is at the end of this chapter that God's true children recognize Jesus as both fully God and fully man , with the only way to salvation being through him . We have a lot to unpack and listen to with this chapter . It may take a few times listening to it to start understanding the importance of love and its place in the upcoming tribulation .
The importance of love and its place in the upcoming tribulation . This chapter is the precursor and the preparation of what we know as the final book of the bible , the Revelation of Jesus Christ . Find your quiet place , pray over the scripture and prepare yourself to listen to the First Epistle of John , Chapter 2 . The First Epistle of John , Chapter 2 .
Then we have a friend who speaks to the Father for us . He is Jesus Christ , the blameless one . He gave his life to pay for our sins . But he not only paid for our sins , he also paid for the sins of the whole world . We know that we have come to know God if we obey his commands .
Suppose someone says I know Him , but suppose this person does not do what God commands , then this person is a liar and is not telling the truth . But if anyone obeys God's word , then that person truly loves God . Here is how we know we belong to Him . Those who claim to belong to Him must live as Jesus did .
Dear friends , I'm not writing you a new command . Instead , I'm writing one . You have heard before . You have had it since the beginning , but I am writing what amounts to a new command . Its truth was shown in how Jesus lived . It is also shown in how you live . That's because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining .
Is passing away and the true light is already shining . Suppose someone claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister , then they are still in the darkness . Anyone who loves a brother and sister lives in the light . There is nothing in them to make them fall into sin . But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness .
They walk around in the darkness . They don't know where they are going . The darkness has made them blind . Dear children , I'm writing to you because your sins have been forgiven . They have been forgiven because of what Jesus has done . Fathers , I'm writing to you because you know the one who is from the beginning .
Young men , I'm writing to you because you have won the battle over the evil one . Dear children , I'm writing to you because you know the Father . Fathers , I'm writing to you because you know the One who is from the beginning . Young men , I'm writing to you because you are strong . God's Word lives in you . You have won the battle over the evil one .
Do not love the world or anything in it . If anyone loves the world , love for the Father is not in them . Here is what people who belong to this world do . They try to satisfy what their sinful desires want to do . They long for what their sinful eyes look at . They take pride in what they have done and what they do . All of this comes from the world .
None of it comes from the Father . The world and its evil desires are passing away . The world and its evil desires are passing away , but whoever does what God wants them to do lives forever . Dear children , we are living in the last days . You have heard that the great enemy of Christ is coming , but even now , many enemies of Christ have already come .
That's how we know that these are the last days . These enemies left our communities of believers . They didn't really belong to us . If they had belonged to us , they would have remained with us , but by leaving they showed that none of them belonged to us . You have received the Spirit from the Holy One and all of you know the truth .
I'm not writing to you because you don't know the truth . I'm writing because you do know it . I'm writing to you because no lie comes from the truth . Who is the liar ? It is anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ . The person who says this is the great enemy of Christ . They say no to the Father and the Son .
The person who says no to the Son doesn't belong to the Father , but anyone who says yes to the Son belongs to the Father . Also , make sure that you don't forget what you have heard from the beginning . Then you will remain joined to the Son and to the Father . And here is what God has promised us . He has promised us eternal life .
I'm writing these things to warn you . I am warning you about people trying to lead you astray . But you have received the Holy Spirit from God . He continues to live in you , so you don't need anyone to teach you . God's Spirit teaches you about everything . What he says is true . He doesn't lie .
Remain joined to Christ , just as you have been taught by the Spirit , dear children , remain joined to Christ . Then , when he comes , we can be bold . We will not be ashamed to meet Him when he comes . You know that God is right and always does what is right , and you know that everyone who does what is right is God's child .