Hello and welcome to Beauty - the no-frills, no-nonsense podcast about all things beauty. True beauty. God’s beauty. I am your host, Deanna, and today we are digging into the book of 1 John. Hopefully you are going through this study with us, and if you aren’t, well, it is not too late to join in on the fun. You only missed the first assignment and there is no test - so you still pass and you can make up the work on your own.
The assignment given yesterday was to read up on the book of 1 John and just find out some information about it - like who wrote the book and why. What did you discover? Did you find the book of 1 John was likely written by John, the disciple whom Jesus loved? Some scholars believe he may have written this letter at the time he was living in exile. John never identifies himself in the letters. He just affirms he was part of a group who could testify to the facts about Jesus. I love his display of humility. I have a goal to write a book someday. This would make me feel known in a way I have never felt known - even by complete strangers. And here is John, writing from a very different posture. Convicting…
The letter he wrote was written to the church with the intent of encouraging them in their faith. They were being taught things that were not consistent of Jesus and John took this very seriously and wrote from a place of love to encourage and disciple them in their faith. John knew false doctrine would be detrimental to people and he swooped in to help, confirming the certainties of Christ they had began to question. He was unapologetic, direct, and firm, in a loving and authoritative way. He kept it simple for his audience and left no room for doubt. His letter is not written to a specific church, but scholars believe it was written to the seven churches around Ephesus, the same churches he wrote to in Revelation. I love the way scripture connects itself.
I chose to start with 1 John because of its simplicity and emphasis on love - two of my favorite things. You will see as you read through this short book, John compares various things: light and dark; truth and lies; love of God and love of the world, to name a few. All still very relevant today, but more importantly, these comparisons help us to discover or remember the basics of our faith. They point to the joy in a life lived with Christ, an encouragement to pursue holiness, and a reminder of eternity. The bottom line? When we truly surrender our life to Christ, we strive to obey his commands (all of them) and live a life of love.
Friends, we are studying for a purpose. When you finish your study of 1 John (and any other book of the bible you read), you should be able to answer the question, “What is the big idea?” Think back to your elementary school days when you were taught some basic reading comprehension skills. That is the skill you need to employ when you read scripture. As you read and study, keep this question in mind so you can connect the dots. Remember who John is writing to - people who were disappointed and frustrated. Look at the reasons for that discouragement and the response John provides. This will help you begin to make connections.
As you read through this book, I pray you will do so with fresh eyes alert to learning. And as you learn, I pray your faith will be deepened.
Today’s homework is to take what you learned about the book of 1 John and begin to read. That should be no surprise - reading scripture is the first step in knowing scripture. Start by reading 1 John 1 - the whole chapter. It is only ten verses. I want to encourage you to read from a physical bible rather than an app on your phone. Highlight and underline and write out the things that stir your heart. This will help you read intentionally and for understanding. Pull out your journal or a random notebook begging to be written in, and jot down any questions you might have about the text as you read. This helps guide your study as you seek to learn and it will help you do more than a simple read to check something off your to-do list.
The goal as we read scripture is not to figure out what the text means to us, but rather what we learn about God through the text. We want to see how he shows up and how people find grace and experience mercy. Not everything in scripture is written for us specifically and we won’t “get” something out of every verse, so don’t put that pressure on yourself. Keep your eyes open so you see God in the story and learn more about him. He is unchanging. When we discover who he was for others, we can be confident he will be the same for us. Different times. Different circumstances. Different people. Same God - and I am excited for you to see him in a new way.
Be sure to share a question or two you wrote down as you read. Let’s see if we can find some answers together.
D 🙂
