Pastoral Letters 1, 2 and 3 John. God is Light, God is Love and God is Life

When we live through particular events we gain firsthand experience and knowledge. So when others begin to doubt or even say the event didn’t happen, we are well placed to speak out as witnesses and to put the record straight.

The traditional view is that the pastoral letters 1, 2 and 3 John were written by the Apostle John in about AD 85-95 some years before he was in exile on the island of Patmos. At the time, John was an older man and thought to be living in Ephesus. He may well have been the only one of the original apostles still alive.

We remember that John was an eye witness to Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. John had seen, heard and touched Jesus; he had walked and talked with Jesus, saw him heal, heard him teach, watched him die, met him risen, and saw him ascend into to heaven.

1 John was written to a number of gentile churches. John’s purpose was to reassure the Christians in their faith, to counter false teaching concerning the reality of sin (1 John 1:6-8) and to emphasize that Jesus was God in the flesh (1 John 4:1-3). He wanted them to know the reality of God in their lives, to assure them of eternal life and encourage them to have continual fellowship or walk with God.

Key verse is ‘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.’ 1 John 5:13.

The letter has a similar style to John’s gospel, using contrasts such as light and darkness, truth and error, God and Satan, life and death, love and hate. The main themes of the letter are God is Light, God is Love and God is Life – I pictured them as three giant ‘L’ plates hanging over the front door of the church!

• God is Light – Pure, holy, true, reliable – no darkness. We need to live or ‘walk’ in the light of God’s presence (1 John 2:10); and so, when we sin, we confess our sins and receive forgiveness (1 John 1:5-10).
• God is Love – ‘See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!’ (1 John 3:1). God loves us and we are part of God’s family. John stresses that love comes from God and the importance of expressing that love for others in a practical way. ‘Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.’ (1 John 3:18).
• God is Life – Eternal life; and a way of life to be lived out now. ‘God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life;’ (1 John 5:11-12). Plus, we can be sure that God will listen to our prayers whenever we ask for anything in line with God’s will (1 John 5:14-15).

Overall, 1 John reminded me that sharing our faith experiences with one another can have a positive effect and encourage others, particularly those who are younger in the faith.

The Letters 2 and 3 John are very short and written to specific people. 2 John is addressed to Cyria and her children (although some think John is referring to a church), warning them to watch out for false teachers who don’t acknowledge that Jesus was God in the flesh, and asking (or rather, commanding) them to walk in love and obedience.

3 John made me smile. It is written to a friend, Gaius, and contrasts the attitudes of Gaius in offering hospitality and Demetrius in being truthful, with the rather dictatorial, self appointed leader Dotrephes, who I imagine, judging from the tone of the letter, is likely to receive the Alex Ferguson ‘hair-drier’ treatment (or extra coaching) from John when they next meet!

Have blessed week!

2 Peter

Second Epistle of Peter

Much of the second epistle of Peter was written to warn Christians about the dangers of listening to ‘false teachers’ and to encourage them to deepen their faith in and their knowledge of Christ.

This second epistle can be generally divided into three parts, Guidance, Warnings and Hope.

Guidance – If our faith is real, it will be evident in our faithful behaviour. If people are diligent in Christian growth, they won’t fall away or be deceived by false teachers. Growth is essential. It begins with faith and culminates in love for others. To keep growing we need to know God, keep on following him, and remember what he taught us. We must remain diligent in faithful obedience and Christian growth.

Warnings – Peter warns the church to beware of false teachers. Many of these teachers were proud of their position, promoted sexual sin, and advised against keeping the Ten Commandments. Peter countered them by pointing to the Spirit-inspired Scriptures as our authority. Christians need discernment to be able to resist false teachers. God can rescue us from their lies if we are diligent in prayer, remain true to his Word, the Bible, and reject those who distort the truth.

And finally Hope for Christ’s return and the New Kingdom. As Christians, our hope is in this promise. The cure for complacency, lawlessness, and heresy is found in the confident assurance that Christ will return. Christians must keep on trusting and resist the pressure to give up waiting for Christ’s return, we should always be ready.

From the Good News Bible –chapter 3, vs, 17 – But you, my friends, already know this. Be on your guard, then, so that you will not be led away by the errors of lawless people and fall from your safe position. 18 But continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be the glory, now and forever! Amen.

The First Letter of Peter

The First Letter of Peter does not focus on the teaching of Jesus; rather, it rejoices in the living hope which makes people like us, born after Christ, get out of bed in the morning!

However wonderful and inspiring Christ’s teaching was, if He had not physically risen from the dead we would have no grounds for believing that a once-for-all saving work had been performed. By rising from the dead, Christ makes it clear that, however dark the tunnel, if we persevere, there will be light at the end of it. Furthermore, to share in His suffering is a privilege which draws us more closely to Him. To suffer for Christ’s sake, especially when the suffering is unwarranted, is a high calling.

Before Calvary, Peter had, of all the disciples, been the most opposed to Jesus setting His face to Jerusalem, but now, post-Easter, Peter realises that Jesus needed to die in order to show us that, through His resurrection, we too can conquer. We are baptised into the life of Christ. If He can do it, so can we! That is our “living hope”.

This puts suffering in a new light. “Even gold” Peter says “is tested by fire”. That is what makes it the precious metal it is. We are not to run away from suffering but embrace it. Christ’s suffering is therapeutic, for “by His wounds we are healed”. In a nutshell, Peter says, “Christ died … in order to lead you to God. He was put to death physically, but made alive spiritually”.

The likelihood is that this letter was sent out to Christian congregations from Rome in around AD 65. Despite troubled times, Peter is full of encouragement. Although “the devil, like a roaring lion, is looking for someone to devour”, we are not to be fearful, because the foundation of our life is Jesus, a “living stone”. For others this stone is a stumbling block; for us it is the ground of faith. .

Today, the enemy of faith is not so much physical persecution as society’s indifference or incredulity that anyone could believe in a God who suffers and invites us to do the same. But whatever form opposition takes, Peter encourages us to be resolute, not to give up. We are to put away hypocrisy and jealousy and not to descend to insults. We are to resemble babies, eager for pure milk.

There is ongoing debate as to whether Peter was the author of this epistle. The views he expresses sound more like Saint Paul than Saint Peter. There is also the question of style. The letter is written in sophisticated Greek with a rich fund of metaphors. Could this really have been written by an unschooled Galilean fisherman? But it matters not who is the author. It is the message that counts. With Jesus alive in our hearts, we can conquer the world!

The Book of Ecclesiastes

A Book for our time ?

“Down to earth” ?

See life from a human perspective ?

The Book of Ecclesiastes is a piece of “Wisdom Literature” composed during the Greek period around about 300 B.C.. The book is also known as “Koheleth” or “Quoheleth”, which can be translated as “Teacher”, “Preacher”, “Speaker” or “Philosopher”.

The opening verse might be seen to suggest that the book was composed by King Solomon, son of King David.

This seems to be a rather odd book. At times the author could be described as agnostic [unsure about God’s existence], atheist [does not believe in God’s existence], or a believer in God ! He pours scorn on any sense of security and certainty in life, on people’s actions, on politics, on love and pleasure. Everything he sees and experiences is vain or empty and useless. He warns us not to take ourselves too seriously and to shed all illusions we have about life. Whilst the book may seem rather disjointed, many of the statements and questions it poses resonate with many of the feelings and views of the secular western world of both the 20th and 21st centuries. However, the composer seems to conclude that there is a God, who can and does inject joy into every dimension of life; a God in whom human beings will find ultimate satisfaction and eternal life.

Ecclesiates is not a long book and it is worth reading from beginning to end; not least, because you will stumble upon some well-known texts and feelings which are articulated today by ordinary folk at the bus stop, at a funeral gathering, or in the pub ! Some texts have found their way into everyday English conversation.

If you do not have time to read the book, here are some texts which caught my eye :

“Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanity. All is vanity.” [Chapter 1 verse 2]

“Everything has it’s time” [Chapter 3 verses 1-8]

“And though one might prevail against another: two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.” [Chapter 4 verse 12]

“dreams come with many cares, and a fool’s voice with many words.” [Chapter 5 verse 3]

“It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.” [Chapter 7 verse 5]

“Surely there is no one on earth so righteous as to do good without ever sinning.” [Chapter 7 verse 20]

“Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one bungler destroys much good.” [Chapter 9 verse 38]

“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments, for that is the whole duty of everyone.” [Chapter 12 verse 13]