Sunday School Lesson
July 4
Lesson 5 (KJV)
ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
DEVOTIONAL READING: Isaiah 56: 1–8
BACKGROUND SCRIPTURE: Leviticus 13–14; Luke 5: 12–16; 17: 11–19
LEVITICUS 13: 45–46
45 And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
46 All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.
LUKE 17: 11–19
11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
KEY VERSE
One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God.—Luke 17: 15
CONFIDENT HOPE
Unit 1: Jesus Teaches About Faith
LESSONS 1–5
LESSON AIMS
After participating in this lesson, each learner will be able to:
1. Summarize the relationship between the two texts of the lesson.
2. Distinguish between contexts that call for public thanks to God and those where private thanks are more appropriate.
3. State a plan for implementing lesson aim 2 in his or her witness.
HOW TO SAY IT
Galilee Gal-uh-lee.
Judea Joo-dee-uh.
leprosarium lep-ruh-sare-ee-uhm.
Leviticus Leh-vit-ih-kus.
Samaria Suh-mare-ee-uh.
Samaritan Suh-mare-uh-tun.
Introduction
A. Leprosariums
Nancy Brede was taken from her family at age 13 in 1936 after being diagnosed with leprosy. She was isolated with other youth and children at a leprosarium (the modern equivalent of a leper colony) in Hawaii. At best, leprosariums were places where patients could go for medical care; at worst these were places of exile. Nancy and others were quarantined in accordance with Hawaiian law that was in force at the time. Another leprosarium in the United States was located in Carville, Louisiana, from 1894 to 1999.
Due to the infectious nature of leprosy (Hansen’s Disease), quarantine was deemed necessary until the advent of antibiotic drug therapies in the twentieth century. Even so, many leprosariums still exist in the world. Leprosy was well known in the ancient world as well. Today’s lesson tells of a band of 10 infected, quarantined men who had just one hope: Jesus.
B. Lesson Context
The two Scripture passages in this lesson were written more than 1,000 years apart. But the text from Leviticus gives important context for the account found in Luke. Leviticus 13 is devoted to the identification and regulation of skin diseases as part of the legal code for Israel.
We might be surprised to see such rules, assuming that the Law of Moses covered only religious regulations, prohibitions against crimes such as murder and thievery, etc. However, what we would consider a medical problem was a religious and community issue for God’s people. They saw physical afflictions as more than health issues; they understood them as punishment for sin (compare John 9: 1–2).
Detection of certain skin conditions identified one as having leprosy; a person with leprosy was unclean. A skin disease was usually treated with washing and quarantine. If the disease did not go away, it was considered ongoing and therefore demanded banishment of the person from the community. This amounted to a sentence of lifelong shame and isolation (example: 2 Chronicles 26: 19–21). The appearance of leprosy was a life-altering event that usually ended only with death.
Biblical descriptions of leprosy are not precise enough to narrow it to any single skin condition known today. The term leprosy today is identified with Hansen’s Disease only—a slowly progressing bacterial infection that causes disfigurement and nerve damage. However, in both the Old and New Testaments, the word leprosy seems to describe skin diseases in a more general sense. Leprosy included a scaly skin appearance that could be described as being “white as snow” (Numbers 12: 10; compare Exodus 4: 6), a condition that might be caused by several diseases.
Tension between Jews and Samaritans is an undercurrent in today’s lesson. Jews and Samaritans were religious and ethnic cousins, sharing a common ancestry and both loyal to the Law of Moses (compare John 4: 5–26). But events starting with the division of Israel into two kingdoms in about 930 BC, and exacerbated by the northern kingdom’s exile in 722 BC, alienated the two groups. After the northern kingdom’s exile, those remaining intermarried with the peoples that the conquerors resettled in the land. This mixture of different people and culture resulted in the Samaritans. The Old Testament traces the time line of these events from 2 Kings 17 through Ezra 4 and Nehemiah 4 (compare Luke 9: 51–56).
I. Unclean
(LEVITICUS 13: 45–46)
A. Physical Indicators (v. 45)
45. And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
It is hard to overestimate the fear the people of Israel had of leprosy or the sorrow of a family member or friend being diagnosed as a leper. Describing this disease as the plague suggests that it was considered a divine affliction (see Exodus 11: 1, where the same Hebrew word is used). Being dressed in torn clothes, a partial face covering, and uncovered head was associated with mourning (see Genesis 37: 34; Ezekiel 24: 17). Incurable skin diseases led to a state of perpetual mourning for one’s lost life.
Adding to this trauma, the Law of Moses required afflicted persons to announce their presence by shouting unclean. This was a warning to steer clear (contrast Luke 17: 13, below). This uncleanness prevented persons with leprosy from participating in any of the communal religious activities or feasts (see next).
B. Social Separation (v. 46)
46. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.
The defiled person had to be quarantined. In Moses’ day, the Israelites walked through the wilderness on their way to the promised land (Numbers 14: 33–34). So at the time the law was given, those with leprosy had to live outside the camp. As the Israelites settled into the promised land, the places of quarantine were outside the villages (compare Luke 17: 12, below).
What Do You Think?
Under what circumstances should you keep your distance from those who are spiritually “unclean”? Why?
Digging Deeper
How do you resolve the tensions among Matthew 28: 19–20; Romans 16: 17; 2 Thessalonians 3: 14; and 2 John 10–11 in this regard?
Those afflicted with leprosy suffered not only from the illness itself but also from being ostracized socially. This meant no participation in weddings, funerals, synagogue meetings, and certainly not temple activities. The afflicted persons depended on the kindness and provisions of family members or friends for survival. While medical conditions presenting as skin diseases were not immediately fatal, their resulting exclusions likely caused lives to be shortened by misery.
II. Cleansed
(LUKE 17: 11–14)
A. Lepers’ Request (vv. 11–13)
11. And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
The bulk of today’s lesson comes from Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem (Luke 9: 51–19: 44). He chose a route that crossed areas where Samaritans might be encountered: through the central part of Palestine. This route began in Galilee and moved south through the region of Samaria (see Luke 9: 52).
On a map, it is easy to see that the shortest route from a town in Galilee to Jerusalem in Judea would take one through Samaria. But Galilean Jews usually made the trip via the Jordan River valley, a longer route, in order to avoid Samaria. As Jesus traveled, He was in a transitional area between Samaritan and Jewish settlements. No geographical features separated the two areas in an obvious way. The distinction was determined by the makeup of the villages, with the Jewish villages of Galilee lying to the north of the Samaritan region (see also Lesson Context).
12. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off.
The social isolation and physical pain of having leprosy probably resulted in more relationships between afflicted Jews and Samaritans than would be the case otherwise. As Jesus reached the edge of a certain village, a band of ten men that were lepers who lived banished lives was ready to meet Him. We are not told if this village was Jewish or Samaritan, so it may have been either.
The fact that the men stood afar off was in compliance with the Law of Moses (see Leviticus 13: 46, above; Number 5: 2). They probably stayed near the village, where some of them may have had family members who provided food and clothing. But the men did not venture close. Those afflicted with leprosy who ignored the expectation of maintaining proper distance might be driven away by having rocks thrown at them by fearful people.
13. And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
The lepers did not presume to approach Jesus, choosing instead to shout at Him from a distance. They addressed Jesus as Master rather than “rabbi” or “lord.” The underlying Greek word being translated in this address is found only in Luke’s Gospel in the New Testament (here and in Luke 5: 5; 8: 24, 45; 9: 33, 49). It is a term of respect and deference, primarily found on the lips of Jesus’ disciples. Its use by the men with leprosy implies some existing knowledge of Jesus. The author gives the impression that they shouted in unison, indicating a plan formulated before Jesus’ visit.
The men are not recorded as having cried out the required, “Unclean!” (see Leviticus 13: 45, above). The focus, rather, is on their plea for mercy, divine favor (compare Luke 18: 38–39). In the case at hand, such mercy would entail God’s healing. Requests for God’s mercy occur frequently in the psalms (examples: Psalms 30: 10; 51: 1; 57: 1).
What Do You Think?
Contrasting Luke 17: 13 with Matthew 9: 21 in lesson 3, under what circumstances should you express your need publicly rather than silently? What about the reverse?
Digging Deeper
What other examples from Scripture support your conclusions?
The men with leprosy saw Jesus as a conduit of God’s grace and mercy. They apparently had heard of Jesus’ ministry of healing the sick. Such healing had already included cases of leprosy (Luke 5: 12–14; 7: 22). Friends or relatives who provided for these men likely had shared stories heard about Jesus as a healer. The preparedness of this band of desperate men indicates that Jesus’ arrival at this particular village was expected and eagerly anticipated.
B. Jesus’ Response (v. 14)
14a. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests.
Jesus’ immediate response was not to heal the men but to command an act that required faith (compare 2 Kings 5: 10). To be recognized as cleansed, they needed to be certified by a priest (see Leviticus 13: 17; compare Luke 5: 14). Jesus instructed them to seek such certification before they were healed, though He spoke as though it had already been accomplished. The nearest priests might have been living in the village since priests, who were from the tribe of Levi, had no fixed territory in Israel or Samaria (Numbers 18: 20–24).
14b. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
The text indicates that the 10 men with leprosy were not healed until they began to make their way to the priests as Jesus commanded (contrast Luke 5: 12–13). The men were thus rendered clean and free of disease when they obeyed in faith.
We assume that the fact they were cleansed means that all visible and invisible manifestations of their affliction disappeared. Hair that had become unnaturally white (Leviticus 13: 2–3) returned to its natural color, etc. The men thus realized that their trip to the priests was not a fool’s errand, but rather the first step in reclaiming their lives. They would be able to resume their roles in family and village life. A simple lesson here is that faith that resulted in obedience led to healing (again, compare 2 Kings 5). For the 10 men of our text, this was physical healing. For us, it may be spiritual healing, a cleansing of our “unclean” hearts when we obediently follow Jesus (Acts 2: 38–41; etc.).
III. Affirmed
(LUKE 17: 15–19)
A. Return of One (vv. 15–16)
15–16a. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks.
One man’s heart drove him to respond in ways that are not attributed to the other nine. First, he delayed his trip to a priest as he turned back to Jesus; the man’s burning desire to be declared clean by a priest was trumped by his desire to show gratitude. Second, in his loudest voice he glorified God (compare Luke 5: 26; 7: 16). His words are not recorded, but we can imagine something like our familiar, “To God be the glory, great things He has done!”
Third, the man fell down … at Jesus’ feet, which was the extreme posture of submission (compare Luke 8: 41). The context indicates a posture appropriate only for worshipping God (see Acts 10: 25–26; Revelation 19: 10; 22: 8–9). The man’s mourning for his wretched state (see Leviticus 13: 45, above) was transformed into spontaneous praise for the one who brought God’s healing to him as he gave thanks to Jesus.
All this was the man’s instinctive reaction to having been shown mercy. He may not have understood everything that had just happened, but one thing he knew: Jesus had been God’s instrument in his healing (compare John 9: 25). The man had been shown the mercy requested!
Putting these facts together helps us understand the nature of worship. We glorify God for who He is, extolling His revealed attributes (His transcendent holiness, etc.) We thank God for what He has done in providing the blessings we personally enjoy. 16b. And he was a Samaritan. The author Luke now reveals the shocking plot twist: the one who thought it more important to return to Jesus before seeing a priest was a Samaritan. We assume that the man could be identified this way by some distinctive trait. Perhaps his accent gave him away (compare Matthew 26: 73), or maybe it was the precise words he used to glorify God. Distinctive clothing is another possibility. The irony here is similar to that of Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10: 30–35), given the hostility between Jews and Samaritans (see Lesson Context).
B. Absence of Nine (vv. 17–19)
17. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
Jesus’ questions were rhetorical—not expected to be answered literally, but rather meant to grab the attention of those within earshot. The response Jesus sought was one of self-reflection, not one of determining the latitude and longitude location of the absent nine who were also healed.
Jesus’ questions should serve the same function today as it rings in our ears. Why did only 1 of the 10 pause to first praise God and thank Jesus? When we are blessed, are we more like the 1 or the other 9? Jesus’ healing miracles always function to serve a larger purpose than merely “being nice” to someone; miracles serve as teaching opportunities (John 9; etc.).
What Do You Think?
What can you do to ensure that expressing gratitude for God’s blessings is one of your regular practices?
Digging Deeper
What guardrails can you erect to ensure that such expressions do not become
18. There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
Another curiosity is that the one who did come back was, of all people, a non-Jew—a stranger! This was a rebuke to Jews who, of all people, should have accepted Jesus and His mission (compare Matthew 10: 5; 15: 24; Luke 7: 4–9; John 1: 11; 4: 22; etc.). In the end, relationship with God is demonstrated by one’s faith, not by ancestral connections (see Luke 3: 8).
NEGLECTING TO SAY THANK YOU
While visiting a science museum, my boys explored. At one point, my oldest was on a stationary bike, testing how fast he could pump his legs, while my 3-year-old stood next to me. When we were ready to move on, I looked down to take the little one’s hand only to realize he was not there!
Panic seized me. I paced swiftly through the museum. Yelling out his name, I drew more than a little attention to myself. Almost immediately a museum employee asked how he could help. A two-way radio and several pairs of eyes helped reunite me with my son in short order. With my heart beating wildly, I hugged him tightly, scolded him gently, and moved on.
It wasn’t until we were leaving that I realized I had neglected to thank the people who had helped me. My emotional state had resulted in thoughtlessness. Was it the same for the nine? How will you ensure that you do not let an opportunity slip by to thank Jesus for His blessings?—A. B.
19. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
After posing His rhetorical questions for all to hear, Jesus turned to the Samaritan to address him personally. All the men were healed by faith, but only this singular Samaritan received the affirmation thy faith hath made thee whole (compare Luke 7: 50; 18: 42). This does not mean that the man had the power to heal himself all along (see Matthew 9: 22, lesson 3). It does not mean that the power of his personal faith in and of itself brought about the healing. It means, rather, that the man’s trusting expectation in God, as demonstrated by his initial act of obedience to seek out the priests, was pleasing to God, by whose power the leprosy was vanquished.
The word rendered made … whole is often translated saved (see Matthew 8: 25b [lesson 2]; 9: 21 [lesson 3]). Jesus offered physical healing to some, and it had to be expected by faith. He offered salvation from sins to all, and it too had to be expected by faith.
The good news about Jesus was already moving beyond the confines of Judaism. The good news of Jesus was not limited to a Jewish audience, although there was initially a certain sequence in terms of evangelism priorities (Matthew 10: 5; Romans 1: 16; etc.).
In the larger picture of Luke-Acts, the Samaritans form a bridge group between Jews and Gentiles. Samaritans were despised by the Jews of Jesus’ day, but the Roman world saw Samaritans and Jews as variations of the same religion. Luke’s understanding of Jesus’ plan for evangelism was for it to begin in Jerusalem and Judea, move to Samaria, and then expand worldwide (Acts 1: 8). The incident in today’s text is not an exception to that plan since the Samaritan with leprosy sought Jesus out, not the reverse.
What Do You Think?
Returning to a question from lesson 3, how has your view changed, if at all, regarding how to counsel someone who has been told that lack of healing was due to lack of faith?
Digging Deeper
What Scripture passages support your conclusion? A
COMPLETE HEALING
Several years ago a close friend of a relative was in a serious car accident. After having spent weeks hospitalized, he was sent home while still in extreme pain. Due to his spinal injuries, he spent months in rigorous physical therapy. It took over a year of exhausting therapies and time off work before he was physically well again.
Even after that, however, he was still injured emotionally and spiritually. He kept himself distant from his spiritual family. He was bitter and angry about his suffering, and he clearly needed a different kind of healing. After two or three years of gentle pushes, he was successfully encouraged to turn back to Christ. Only then was the man truly made well. As happened when the healed Samaritan fell at Jesus’ feet, God blessed this friend with a deeper kind of well-being.
The reality of God’s blessings is beyond dispute. What is open to question is our reaction when receiving them. What improvements do you need to make in this regard?—A. B.
Conclusion
A. Thanks and Worship
Life doesn’t get much worse than the fate of a person with leprosy in Jesus’ day: excluded from the community, required to be self-degrading in word and appearance, and destined to live with a slowly fatal and painful disease. It was a living death.
Yet a heart of thankfulness survived in the Samaritan leper. He remains a worthy example of the biblical way to worship. He overcame the urgencies of his life to stop, turn around, and look at Jesus without being distracted. He let praise for God well up from his heart and be expressed in his words. He overcame tunnel vision of “what’s next” to adopt a worshipful posture. He gave thanks to the one who has healed him, claiming no credit for himself.
God does not need our thanks. But He created us as beings who need to give thanks (1 Thessalonians 5: 18). The unthankful life can become bitter and cold. The thankful heart will find peace and purpose in all circumstances.
May we learn from the man who returned that even in the humblest of circumstances, there is nothing to prevent us from giving praise and thanks to God—nothing except our own selfish and stubborn hearts. May we recognize our spiritual poverty, ask for God’s mercy, and give praise and thanks when it arrives.
What Do You Think?
Which part of today’s lesson do you have the most trouble with? Why?
Digging Deeper
Other than a church staff member, who can you seek out for help in this regard?
B. Prayer
Lord God, may we worship You without distraction or impatience. We pray in the name of the one who heals and saves, Jesus our Lord. Amen.
C. Thought to Remember
Let us determine to give thanks to God.
KID’S CORNER
How to Find Joy in the Light
Sunday July 4, 2021
1 John 1:1-10
1 John 1:1-10
Introduction
The three Letters of John and the Gospel of John were written by the Apostle John (the brother of James, the sons of Zebedee). The complete International Bible Study Commentary on the Gospel of John is available online for those who have not studied it. Those who have studied the Gospel of John will recognize John’s application of Jesus’ teachings in the three Letters of John. In 1 John 1:1-10 John introduces some of the themes he will discuss in more depth; therefore, the first Bible Lesson will be the longest in our study of First John. If a leader or teacher does not complete the first lesson during the time allotted, there should be time to finish the first lesson and do the second lesson at your next meeting. May the Holy Spirit guide your study and lead you into a closer fellowship with the God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and His true followers.
(1 John 1:1) What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—
John did not address First John to a specific person as he did Second John and Third John. He purposely wrote his letter for those who believe in Jesus Christ. In 1 John 5:13, he wrote, “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.” Followers of Jesus Christ can know that they have eternal life. John probably meant for his letter to be copied and shared with other churches—to those who had heard him teach and/or to those who had read his gospel. His letter began by explaining who sent the letter, but without naming the sender (like John did in the Gospel of John, where he did not name the writer). His use of “we” indicates that his letter would reveal the experiences and teachings of Jesus’ original eleven disciples who became apostles, so in some sense his letter’s teaching came from them all. “What was from the beginning” meant from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry His disciples experienced and learned from Jesus as they followed Him. John may also have wanted his readers to remember how he described Jesus in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (which he will further explain in the following verses of his letter). John then described the foundation of their (the disciples) testimony about Jesus and why they were reliable witnesses. From the moment Jesus called them to follow Him, they “heard” Jesus’ teaching with their own ears. They did not repeat what they heard someone else say Jesus said, and neither did John in his gospel or his letters. They repeated what they themselves heard Jesus say directly to them, to the crowds, to the authorities, and to others. Thus, they personally witnessed what they taught about Jesus and what Jesus said and did. They saw Jesus with their own eyes. The words “what we have looked at” indicated that they had carefully examined and verified the truth of all they had seen and heard from Jesus (during approximately three years of His ministry). Therefore, their testimony came from their personal understanding of Jesus and had a depth of meaning which was more than simply reporting facts about what Jesus said and did as a contemporary newscaster might do from time to time. Jesus had carefully explained the truth to them, and they had come to understand the deeper meaning of what they saw and heard from Him. They knew the truth from and about Jesus and they taught the truth they learned. The words, “touched with our hands” indicated that Jesus was a real physical human being (not a mere ghost or spirit): they could touch Jesus with their hands. Jesus, the Son of God, came as a man and John even saw the blood and the water that poured forth from Jesus’ side when the soldier pierced Him with a spear (John 19:34). For those who had read John’s gospel or had heard him teach, John reminded his readers of what Jesus told Thomas after he rose from the dead in John 20:27, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” When the disciples saw and listened to Jesus, they had physically seen and heard “the Word of life” [“Word” is preferred over the NRSV “word”]. A word can be spoken and heard, but usually not seen unless written. John wrote that in Jesus “the Word of life” could be physically heard, seen, and touched. The “Word of life” in his letter would remind the readers of what his gospel taught in John 1:4, where he wrote about Jesus, “in him was life, and the life was the light of all people” and in John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth” [NASB is preferred: “the only begotten from the Father”].
(1 John 1:2) and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—
The Word of Life was revealed to the disciples and to all who saw Jesus. Because Jesus ascended into heaven after His resurrection from the dead, John and the other disciples had the responsibility (given to them by Jesus) of testifying (as though they were eyewitnesses giving evidence in a court of law) to what they had seen and heard about and from Jesus. In John 17:3, Jesus defined the meaning of “eternal life,” by teaching, “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John wrote his gospel and his letters so his readers might come to know “the only true God, and Jesus Christ” whom the Father had sent. As John will teach in his letter, to “know” the only true God will involve a fellowship or a communion or a personal relationship with the Father and the Son, which is an indication that a believer in Jesus has eternal life in Jesus Christ. John declared, preached, and wrote that Jesus Christ is “the eternal life,” the Giver of eternal life, and He was with the Father, but He came into the world and revealed himself in the world. In John 3:16, John testified to what Jesus had declared, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” In his letter, John will describe how a follower of Jesus can believe in and receive eternal life, and the difference that will make in this life and throughout eternity. In 1 John 5:11, John explained, “And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” Eternal life cannot be separated from an everlasting knowledge, communion, relationship and fellowship with God the Father and the Son.
(1 John 1:3) what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
As John wrote his letter, he continued to refer to Jesus’ disciples (who became apostles) as “we,” as those who testified to the good news of what they had personally seen and heard in Jesus Christ. As the Church grew in numbers, the Apostle Paul listed the various leaders in the Church as gifts from Jesus Christ to believers. As gifts of Jesus Christ, these leaders based all their work and teaching on what the first disciples had seen and heard. In Ephesians 4:11-13, Paul wrote, “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” Notice: Jesus Christ gave these gifts, these leaders, teachers, and others, to the Church “until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.” The only way for believers in the Church “to come to the unity of the faith” is to first come a true “knowledge of the Son of God.” Therefore, true Christian faith must be based on the truths that Jesus taught, truths that the apostles wrote in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit guided the writers of the New Testament so people could learn the truth. John wrote his letter because he wanted his readers to join this fellowship of believers where they could enjoy, among other blessings, “the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.” But even more than fellowship with other believers, John wanted his readers to come into fellowship “with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
(1 John 1:4) These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.
John wrote about Jesus because he wanted his readers’ joy to be complete. Their joy could not be complete without knowing the Father and Jesus; therefore, John wrote so his readers could truly know about and come into fellowship with the Father and the Son. Believers remain joyful because they live daily in fellowship or in communion with the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and other believers. Jesus’ gift of eternal life to believers is the gift of himself to live within them, which brings joy to believers in Jesus. Even if confined in a solitary cell, believers know the joy their relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit gives them in their hearts.
(1 John 1:5) This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
When John wrote in his gospel about John the Baptist, he said in John 1:7 and 9, “He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” In his letter, John proclaimed the message of Jesus, the true light, who had revealed himself to them and who had enlightened them. In his letter, John wrote, “God is light.” The Son revealed the truth about the Father and himself, truth that can enlighten people that all might believe in the Father and the Son. Furthermore, no darkness, no deceit, no deception, no dishonestly, no error, and no falsehood can be found in or expressed by the Father or the Son. No darkness, no evil, no wrongdoing exists in God.
(1 John 1:6) If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
Based on the truths John previously described, John began to apply these truths to the way of life that all true believers in the Father and the Son should pursue. True believers in and followers of Jesus Christ should not walk in darkness, which refers to a person’s way of life. Walking is moving and going in some direction. Walking can become a way of life. Walking is intentional and includes one or more goals of someone. A person might walk to a supermarket daily for the exercise and to buy food. Walking in darkness involves pursuing a way of life that includes deceit, deception, dishonesty, error, and falsehood to achieve one or more goals. John wrote that if we are walking in darkness, we cannot truthfully say that we have fellowship or communion with Jesus Christ. John puts the matter starkly. If we say we are followers of Jesus Christ while at the same time we are walking down a path of life that includes deceit, deception, and dishonesty, then we are telling lies and we are not doing what is true. John writes about two ways of life, and there are only two, we either walk in the light or we walk in the darkness no matter what we say. Thank God Jesus came to enlighten us and die for us so we could turn from walking in darkness to walking in the light. In this life, believers in Jesus will not live perfectly, nor will they live in darkness, practice evil, or walk with sinful purposes.
(1 John 1:7) but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
In this verse, John begins to teach us more good news. No one needs to walk in darkness. Even though we have sinned, we can have fellowship with God the Father and Jesus His Son. Jesus Christ shed His blood when He died on the cross to cleanse us from ALL sin. In 1 John 3:4, John defined sin, “Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.” Walking in darkness or walking in sin is practicing lawlessness. Sinful living involves practicing lawlessness as a way of life or with an ultimate intention to disobey God rather than love and obey God. As we learn more about what God the Father has done for us through His Son, we will learn more about how to be cleansed from ALL sin. To be cleansed from all sin, John emphasized that true believers in Jesus will turn from practicing lawlessness, from walking in darkness, from doing what is evil, and they will turn to walking in the light, to loving Jesus and obeying His commands, to walking in the truth with an enlightened mind, to walking spiritually in fellowship with Jesus who is walking in the light, and to having fellowship with the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and other believers in the Church (when this is humanly possible in the Church as led by the Holy Spirit). By the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit helps people turn from walking in darkness to walking in the light and to knowing they are cleansed from all sin by the grace of Jesus Christ. Paul described how believers turn from darkness to light with these words in Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” We will learn more about what this means and how to walk in the light as we learn more about Jesus and His teachings in John’s letters and gospel.
(1 John 1:8) If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
No one can truthfully say they have never sinned, have never been lawless, have never been deceitful, deceptive, or dishonest. If we have ever sinned, if we have ever been lawless, we need to be cleansed from all sin. [True and lasting joy will be given to us after Jesus cleanses us from all sin and comes to live within us through the Holy Spirit.] If we live long enough, when we are honest with ourselves in the light of God’s Word, we might even be able to say that at one time we walked in darkness, lived a sinful life, and practiced lawlessness in a variety of ways, and we are ashamed and sorry and thankful that Jesus came to save us from practicing sin and the eternal consequences of sin. Thankfully, the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ can cleanse us from ALL sin and do many other things to help us. As believers in the Word of God, we know that whenever we hear someone who is walking in darkness say they have never been lawless, have never sinned and therefore have no sin, we know they are deceiving themselves and the truth is not in them. We can enlighten them when we teach them about Jesus, but they may not listen, and we cannot make them believe the truth and turn to Jesus for cleansing, so we pray for the Holy Spirit to help them.
(1 John 1:9) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
In this verse, John gives us more good news, as he will do throughout this letter by leading us and enlightening us step-by-step. The good news for sinners includes the fact that God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ will forgive us for our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God will not eternally punish us or hold our sins against us; instead, God will cleanse us from all the moral unrighteousness we have and feel because of our sins. God will make us new people. All we need to do is believe in Jesus and what Jesus taught and confess our sins to God, which will involve turning from practicing lawlessness. We will not become perfect in this life, but we will become better as new creations in Christ Jesus, and Jesus will give us a perfect Helper, the Holy Spirit, to live within us so we do not practice sin again or walk in darkness as a way of life. If we do sin again, the Holy Spirit will help us confess our sin and turn from walking in darkness, lawlessness, and sinfulness. John wrote that Jesus’ followers can have absolute confidence in the truth that if we confess our sins, then God will forgive us and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. A believer’s confidence rests on the fact that God is faithful and just. God is faithful and keeps all His promises. God is just, because Jesus Christ came to die a sacrificial death so God could justly, mercifully, and lovingly forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We do not need to understand “how God does this through Jesus,” we only need to believe the good news that Jesus will bless us when we do as He has commanded and confess our sins to God.
(1 John 1:10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
In concluding the first chapter in his letter, John repeated and expanded what he taught earlier. If we say we have never been lawless; that is, if we say we have never disobeyed a revealed law of God as revealed to our conscience or as revealed in the Bible, then we call God a liar. If we deny God’s evaluation of us, we call God a liar. If we do not believe God’s promises to us, we call God a liar. If we think we do not need to obey Jesus’ commands, we call Jesus a lair. If we do not believe the Bible is true, the word of God, we call God a liar. There is no darkness in God, so God does not tell lies. Furthermore, no matter what we might claim to be, perhaps a follower of Christ or a believer in God, if we say we have never sinned or broken God’s moral law, the law requiring us to love God and others, then obviously, the word (the teachings) of God have no influence with us and the Word of God [“his word”, the Son of the Father] does not live within us.
How to Find Joy in the Light
Sunday July 4, 2021
1 John 1:1-10
And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full
(1 John 1:4—KJV).
These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete
(1 John 1:4—NASB).
We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete
(1 John 1:4—NRSV).
John wrote his letters to believers, but he also wanted
everyone to find complete joy in Jesus. He wanted everyone to
have the everlasting joy that his friends and those in Christian
fellowship possessed. John’s letter tells us how we can have
everlasting joy beginning with and based on fellowship with
the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. John wrote that
Jesus revealed himself as the life that was from the beginning,
the eternal life, and the word of life, even as John began his
gospel saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). John also
briefly stated the message of Jesus Christ that he heard and
proclaimed: “God is light and in him there is no darkness at
all” (1 John 1:5). Remember how you have felt walking into a
totally dark room without light and then switching on the
light to see. The light kept you from stumbling into various
objects and hurting yourself. The light overcame the darkness
in the room, and you walked safely. John’s gospel and letters
remind us that moral and spiritual darkness exists in the
world; however, there is no darkness in God. Therefore, the
Father sent Jesus, the light, into the world to keep us from
stumbling into situations the darkness hides. From
experience we know that in a lighted room and in the world,
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not
overcome it” (John 1:5). John’s letter teaches us how to walk in
the light that pushes back the darkness so we can have joyful
fellowship with God and other believers.
Thinking Further
How to Find Joy in the Light
Sunday July 4, 2021
1 John 1:1-10
Name _____________________________
1. What did John declare to his readers?
2. What did John want his readers to have?
3. What was the message that John proclaimed?
4. What did John say is the result of walking in the light?
5. What did John say is the result of confessing our sins?
Discussion and Thinking Further
1. What did John declare to his readers?
John declared the basis for his testimony about Jesus and why it was valid, and then he gave the reason for his testimony. He declared the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to them.
2. What did John want his readers to have?
John wanted them to have fellowship with them (including other followers of Jesus Christ) and with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. He wanted them to have complete joy.
3. What was the message that John proclaimed?
John proclaimed the message that they heard from Jesus, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 4. What did John say is the result of walking in the light? We have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
5. What did John say is the result of confessing our sins?
If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Thinking Further f
Word Search
How to Find Joy in the Light
Sunday July 4, 2021
1 John 1:1-10
Name _______________________________
X D I B V X Q M X U L X Q H K
E W V G F P B R H I N M L D C
J O B N T Y Q J G O U J I M T
A R Q I E X O H V I H T F L B
V D T N S B T J R F M J E D J
D O Z N O P Y I H E L P E Y W
E Q C I N E H B G Q H C Q Z U
H K U G S D X V R P L T H B K
C B F E Q B R L N A E N A C T
U M E B M H X A R Y F J M F E
O N I U R B D E E A R S R C S
T R E V E A L E D H L Y U Y T
C L A N R E T E P G X H J G I
T F B P I H S W O L L E F D F
B H Q J E S U S X T R O C P Y
Declare
Beginning
Heard
Seen
Touched
Word
Life
Revealed
Testify
Eternal
Fellowship
Father
Son
Joy
Light
True and False Test
How to Find Joy in the Light
Sunday July 4, 2021
1 John 1:1-10
Name ______________________________
Circle the True or False answers. Correct the False statements by restating them.
1. When John wrote, he represented the other disciples’ experiences when he wrote, “We declare to you.” True or False
2. Jesus began life when He was born, so that is why John began his gospel and his letters the way He did. True or False
3. Because Jesus was only a spirit instead of a real human being, no one could touch Him and feel anything. True or False
4. The Word of life was revealed in Jesus Christ. True or False
5. John wrote that they saw, testified, and declared the eternal life that was with the Father and revealed to them. True or False
6. John wrote that he wanted his readers to learn about what they had experienced with Jesus, so they could all go to heaven. True or False
7. The followers of Jesus have fellowship with the Father, with His Son Jesus Christ, and with other followers of Jesus. True or False
8. God is part light and part darkness; therefore, people get confused and easily fall into sin. True or False
9. Lots of people have fellowship with God while they joyfully walk in darkness. True or False
10. As long as we say we believe in Jesus, it does not really matter whether we walk in the light or walk in the darkness. True or False
True and False Test Answers
- True
- False
- False
- True
- True
- False
- True
- False
- False
- False
Prayer
Holy Lord, I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ. Please help me be an encouragement to them and please help us all to walk in the light. Help us to strengthen each other. Give us wisdom. Give us good fellowship together so that we are all rejoicing in your forgiveness. Give us a joyful time together and deep relationships. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
