Bible Studies for Life for June 7: Purposefully connected

Bible Studies for Life for June 7: Purposefully connected focuses on 1 John 1:1-2:2.

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I was certain my daughter would be arriving at D/FW Airport on May 21 at 4:15 p.m. on a flight from San Francisco. She had been in China the past 18 days taking part in an East Texas Baptist University study abroad opportunity.

Early that morning, I checked on her flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco to see where her plane was in its 14-hour journey to America. Instead of finding that the flight had hours left before landing in the United States, the airline’s website reported her flight had been cancelled. When I talked to an agent on the phone inquiring about my daughter, she could not confirm if the group from ETBU was able to get on a later flight. The passenger list had not been updated.

Life is full of uncertainties. I was expecting to see my daughter that afternoon at the airport. I had put my trust in an airline schedule. Can we really be sure of anything?

There are some things we can be sure of. During the month of June, we will be taking a journey through 1 John to discover and reaffirm certainties of the Christian life. The lessons tell us about who Jesus is and why he came, the assurance of salvation, criteria for discerning truth and living with confidence.

The reality of fellowship (1 John 1:1-4)

John, one of Jesus’ original 12 disciples, writes 1 John. John has first hand knowledge of God incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ (v. 1). He writes this letter to combat the false teaching of the Gnostics, who believed all matter was evil, thus denying the reality of Jesus’ incarnation.

John also is aware that the commitment by believers was declining, as many believers were falling back to their old ways before they knew Christ.

John’s focal message to his readers is that in order to maintain their relationship with God and with other believers it is important not to forget the facts of where Christ had come from and what he had done. “The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us” (v. 2). He is reminding them of Jesus’ preexistence and incarnation as well as the eternal life that comes through him alone.

Have you ever heard someone make this statement, “A relationship with Christ is what brings us together.” The statement is true when a person has a correct understanding of who Jesus is and why he came. A life-changing relationship with Christ leads the believer to live consistently in fellowship with God and with other believers.


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Christian fellowship is based on the shared experience of knowing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The fellowship with other believers is a vital step in maintaining our relationship with God.

Walking in fellowship (1 John 1:5-7)

The heretics of John’s day denied the reality of sin. The false teachers were encouraging gratification of every lust because the body was going to be destroyed at death anyway. John refutes this claim by writing: “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth” (vv. 5-6).

Light represents what is pure, holy, true and reliable. Darkness represents what is sinful and evil. If we claim to live for God but walk in the darkness, we are hypocrites. We cannot love God and love sin.

How does a believer not court sin? “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son, purifies us from all sin” (v. 7). To stay in close fellowship with God, we must believe our sins are washed clean by Jesus shedding his blood on the cross. To show our love and gratitude to Jesus for what he has done for us, our daily lives are to be a mirror image to the ethical values Jesus both personified and taught.

John is instructing those who have fellowship with God to avoid sin and seek out fellowship with other believers. Our time with other believers is very important in keeping us accountable to our Savior. Faithful attendance in a Sunday school class is one way to develop relationships that will help you on your journey through the Christian life.

A costly fellowship (1 John 1:8-2:2)

Do you remember the old Happy Days television show that was popular in the 1970s? In one episode, Fonzie tries to admit to Richie that he was wrong. As he is talking to Richie he has a really hard time forming his lips to get the word “wrong” out. Admitting wrong is difficult.  

Not confessing our sins and failing to seek forgiveness is a dangerous path for anyone to follow. The false teachers during John’s time were saying that people were without sin and incapable of sinning. The word of God says this is not true.

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (v. 8). The truth is, we are all sinners, and even after we become Christians, we still will sin. Sin moves us away from God and the blessings he wants to give us. So how do we move in the right direction to restore our relationship with God? “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (v. 9).

Confessing our sins to God is agreeing with him that we have done wrong according to his standards. True confession also includes a commitment to not continue in the sin. If we do not confess our sins, a conflict will occur in both our relationship with God and our relationship to ourselves. By not confessing our sins, we are living a lie that only hurts us.

Jesus, who paid the price for our sins, is our go-between before the Father. He is the only one who can help us to restore our relationship with God (vv. 1-2).

As I was worrying about my daughter getting home safely from her trip to China, I knew I could pray asking the Father to be with her and provide for her. The Lord did just that, as the ETBU group of nine was assigned to the last nine seats on the next available flight to America. Believers can be sure of God’s promises found in his word.


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