Genuine Christian Fellowship

I John 1:1-2:17

The True Christian Church Fellowship

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

My question to you is:

Are we a genuine Christian family? Are we a true genuine Christian fellowship? Are we a true genuine Christian church?

How can we know whether we are a genuine Christian church family or not?

A genuine Christian family or fellowship must be composed of genuine true individual Christians, those who have experienced the new birth in Christ, those who have been born again according to John 3:3,7 (The Story of Jesus and Nicodemus). There is an inner witness of the Holy Spirit in the person who is born again.

In John 3:3 and 3:7, Jesus said to Nicodemus that he must be born again to enter the kingdom of God. To be born again is to repent of one's heart attitude of self-centeredness and to call upon, that is, to pray to God to confess one's sins and to invite Jesus Christ into one's heart as Lord and Savior. It is to decide to revere and obey God throughout one's life.

What happens inside the person who is born again?

The person becomes a totally new creation. The old has passed away and the new has come (II Corinthians 5:17). He or she has got a total transformation inside out. It is a literally new birth, not physically, but spiritually.

But now, how about external proofs of a born-again Christian?

Is there a way to test whether someone is a genuine born-again Christian or not? 

According to I John 1:1-2:17, yes, there are four crucial tests for genuine Christianity.

1. Proper view of Christ (1:1-4)

2. Proper view of sin (1:5-2:2)

3. Obedience to God’s commands (2:3-6) and

4. Love of the brethren (2:7-17)

Tests 1 & 2 are tests of doctrines- Doctrine of Christ and Doctrine of Sin.

Tests 3 and 4 are tests of Morals- Obedience and Love

Read John 1:1-2:17

Test 1

Concerning Jesus Christ

(1:1-4)

Who is Jesus Christ?

Is He God or not?

Was He God-Incarnate or not?

Did He come down as God in the flesh or not?

Did He take the form of a human babe born of Virgin Mary 2000 years ago in Bethlehem, Israel or not?

Was God Jesus Christ also the Man of Galilee who grew up from this virgin-born baby, did a lot of miracles and healing, was crucified, and rose again on the Third Day after Crucifixion or not?

Did Jesus Christ have a real physical body or not?

Was Jesus Christ a Man or not?

So, was Jesus Christ just God only? Or just Man only? Or BOTH!

Let’s read again 1:1-4

1 That which was from the beginning,which we have heard,which we have seen with our eyes,which we have looked upon,and our hands have handled,concerning the Word of life—

² the life was manifested,and we have seen,and bear witness,and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—

³ that which we have seen and heard we declare to you,that you also may have fellowship with us;and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

 ⁴ And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

Apostle John is affirming categorically that Jesus Christ was both Man and God. Do you? 

By speaking of eternal life as ‘existing with the Father’ (1 Jn 1:2), John is alluding to the preexistence of Christ. Christ was God as well as became Man for our sake-to die on the Cross in our place saving us from our sinfulness and death unto eternal abundant life and Heaven, where we will enjoy an eternal fellowship with God and one another. What an everlasting joy it will be!

Do you and I pass this first test? That is, having a proper view, the biblical view of Christ as both God and Man! It is absolutely vital. We must not accept but reject completely any contrary view coming from anyone about this crucial Doctrine of Christ!

Test 2.

Do you and I have a proper biblical view of sin?

Is sin real or not?

Apart from Jesus Christ the Innocent Perfect Sinless One, is there anyone without sin?

Can we ignore sin?

Let’s read I John 1:5-2:2

⁵ This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
 ⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
 ⁷ But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
 ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
 ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

I John 2:1-2

 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

² And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

God is light in such a way that He admits no darkness/SIN. (1 Jn 1:5-7)

A genuine Christian walks habitually in the light (truth and holiness), not in darkness (falsehood and sin). He/she experiences cleansing from sin continually through the blood of Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior.

Not only do false Christians walk in darkness/sin but they deny the existence of a sin nature in their lives. If someone never admits to being a sinner, how can he/she be saved? (1 Jn 1:8)

Continual confession of sin is an indication of genuine salvation. (1 Jn1:9)

If anyone commits sin, let him confess and trust in Jesus Christ the Righteous One, for He is Our Advocate with the Father. (1 Jn 1:10- 1 Jn 2:1-2)

Do you and I pass this second test of being a genuine Christian, that is, a proper biblical view of sin? Do we pass the test of the doctrine of sin?

Tests 1 and 2 are tests of doctrines-Doctrine of Christ and Doctrine of Sin. 

Tests 3 and 4 are tests of Morals (2:3-17). Test 3 is about Obedience (2:3-6) and Test 4 (2:7-17) about Love.

Test 3

A Biblical View of Obedience (2:3-6)

³ Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.

 ⁴ He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

 ⁵ But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.

 ⁶ He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

It is about hypocrites- those who profess Christ while at the same time are not keeping His commandments.(1 Jn 2:4)

His Greatest Commandment as you know is to love Him and others (Matthew 22: 36-40)

His New Commandment to us is to love one another as He loved us (John 13:34-35;15:12,17)

His Great Commission is to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20)
Do we obey these commandments of Our God?
Let’s just take the Greatest Commandment of Loving God.

Do we truly love God? 

-Adore Him?
-Believe Him?
-Confess and Commit ourselves to Him?
-Do His Will?
-Exalt His Name?
-Fear and Follow Him?
-Glorify Him?
-Honor and Hope in Him?
-Intercede and pray to Him?
-Join in His Compassion for this lost world?
-Know Him truly?
-Like and Live for Him?
-Magnify His Name?
-Not provoke Him?
-Obey Him?
-Praise and please Him?
-Quit sinning?
-Respect, Revere Him, and Rejoice in Him always?
-Seek, Surrender to and Serve Him?
-Trust and Thank Him in everything?
-Uplift His Name?
-Value Him and His Word?
-Wait upon and Worship Him?
-Xcel for Him?
-Yield to Him always? and
-Zoom (or Focus) on Him?

Do we look forward to His Return?
Do we look forward to spend eternity with Him in Heaven?
Do we go and make disciples of all nations?
Do we love one another? 

This brings us to the final test # 4

Final test-Test 4

A Biblical View of Love (2:7-17)

a. The Love that God requires (2:7-11)

b. The Love that God hates (2:12-17)

a. The Love that God requires (2:7-11)

⁷ Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.

 ⁸ Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.

⁹ He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.

¹⁰ He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

 ¹¹ But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

The hypocrites were in darkness before, and continue to be in darkness into the present time. In fact, they were never truly in the light. (1 Jn 2:9,11) 

Do we love one another? 

A-Accept one another?(Rom 14:1-5; 15:7)

B-Bear one another’s burdens? (Gal. 6:2).

C-Confess our sins to one another? (James 5:16).

D-Devote ourselves to one another? (Romans 12:10).

E-Esteem one another in love? (Rom. 14:5; Phil. 2:3).

F-Forgive one another? (Col. 3:13).

G-Give sacrificially to meet one another’s needs? (1 John 3:16–17).

H-Humble ourselves toward each other? (1 Peter 5:5).

I-Inspire one another to spiritual growth? (Heb. 10:24).

J-Join together in executing the Great Commission of making disciples of Christ? (Heb. 10:25).

K-Kindle holy affection in one another? (1 Peter 5:14).

L-Love and comfort one another with the hope of Christ’s Return? (1 Thes. 4:18).

M-Make peace with one another? (1 Thes. 5:13).

N-Not lie and deceive one another? (Eph. 4:25; Col 3:9).

O-Oppose and fight fear together by growing in love? (1 John 4:18).

P-Pray for one another’s spiritual and physical healing? (James 5:16).

Q-Quicken one another’s heart to forsake unbelief and hardness of heart? (Heb. 3:13).

R-Reach out to one another in compassion? (Col. 3:12).

S-Serve one another in humility? (Gal. 5:13; I Peter 4:10).

T-Trust God instead of resenting one another? (1 John 3:11–12).

U-Use Spirit-filled, Word-saturated music to teach and admonish one another? (Col. 3:16; Eph. 5:19).

V-Visit one another and are hospitable without complaint? (1 Peter 4:9).

W-Walk in truth together? (1 John 3:18; 2 John 1:5).

X-Xceed one another in showing honor and affectionate brotherly love? (Romans 12:10)

Y-Yield and submit to one another? (Eph. 5:21).

Z-Zealously, seek good for one another? (1 Thes. 5:15).

b. The Love that God hates (2:12-17)

¹² I write to you, little children,
    Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.

¹³ I write to you, fathers,
    Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
    Because you have overcome the wicked one.
I write to you, little children,
    Because you have known the Father.
¹⁴ I have written to you, fathers,
    Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
    Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,
    And you have overcome the wicked one.

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

 ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.

 ¹⁷ And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Although Apostle John often repeats the importance of love and that God is love, he also reveals that God hates a certain type of love: love of the world. (1 Jn 2:15)

Positively, the Christian loves God and fellow Christians. Negatively, an absence of love for the world must habitually characterize the love life of those genuinely born again. “Love” here signifies affection and devotion. God, not the world, must have the first place in the Christian’s life.

‘the world’ here is not a reference to the physical, material world but the invisible spiritual system of evil dominated by Satan and all that it offers in opposition to God, to His Word, and to His people.

Either one is a genuine Christian marked by love and obedience to God, or one is a non-Christian in rebellion against God, that is, in love with and enslaved by the world system. No middle ground between these two alternatives exists for someone claiming to be born again.

While the world’s philosophies and ideologies and much that it offers may appear attractive and appealing, that is deception. Its true and pervasive nature is evil, harmful, and satanic. Its deadly theories are raised up against the knowledge of God and holds the souls of men captive.

Satan uses the evil world system to incite the flesh.

Satan uses the eyes to incite wrong desires. Satan’s temptation of Eve involved being attracted to something beautiful in appearance, but the result was spiritual death.

The phrase ‘pride of life’ has the idea of arrogance over one’s circumstances, which produces pridefulness or exaggeration, parading what one possesses to impress other people.

The world controlled by Satan, is the enemy of the Christian because it is in rebellion and opposition against God. The Christian must reject the world. We are IN the world but not OF the world. We are not enslaved to the world system. (1 Jn 2:16)

James 4:4 declares:

⁴ Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

2:17

¹⁷ And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

In contrast to this temporary world which is passing away, God’s will is permanent and unchangeable. Those who follow God’s will abide as His people forever.

Do you and I pass this test 4? Do we pass this final test?

Do we pass the test of being a genuine Christian? A truly born-again Christian?

1. Do we have a proper view of Christ as both Man and God, not just one or the other?

2. Do we have a proper view of Sin?

3. Do we obey God’s Commandments?

4. Do we love God and one another AND reject the satanic evil world system?

If you can sincerely answer yes to these questions, praise the Lord, brother, praise the Lord, sister. Otherwise, repent and ask God to forgive you and help you to pass these crucial tests. He is always ready to forgive and help out the repentant sinner.

Please, O God, help us to be always a true Christian and be part of a genuine church fellowship. In the Name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. Amen.
 

Ref. John MacArthur Study Bible, 1997. 1961-66