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Day 355: The Things of this World
Agape Bible Study 1 John 1-3
| Themes in the First Letter of John | Themes in the Gospel According to John |
| The theme of "the Word": 1:1-2 ~ What was from the beginning ... concerns the Word of life, for the life was made visible ... | The theme of "the Word": 1:1 ~ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.1:9 ~The Word was the real light |
| The theme of "Light": 1:5, 7 ~ God is light ... 7 But if we walk in the light as he is in the light... 2:8-10 ~ The true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother remains in the light... | The theme of "Light": 1:4, 5, 7, 9 ~ 4 and this life was the light of men; 5 and light shines in the darkness, and darkness could not overpower it... 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 3:19 ~ And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world... 8:12 and 9:5 ~ I am the light of the world... 12:46 ~ I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. |
| The theme contrasting the "Light" of Christ with the "Darkness" of sin: 1:5 ~ in him there is no darkness at all. 2:10-11 ~ Whoever loves his brother remains in the light ... Whoever hates his brother is in darkness | The theme contrasting the "Light" of Christ with the "Darkness of sin: 1:5 ~ The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it. 3:19 ~ And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light... 8:12 ~ I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Also see 12:25; 12:35-36 and 12:46. |
| The theme of "Love"/"Fellowship": 4:9 ~ In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only [monogenes = only begotten] Son into the world so that we might have life through him. 4:11-12 ~ My dear friends, if God loved us so much, we too should love each other. No one has ever seen God, but as long as we love each other, God remains in us, and his love comes to its perfection in us. 12 No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. 3:16 ~ This is the proof of love, that he laid down his life for us, and we too ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. The word "love/loved/loves" appears about 37 times in 5 chapters. | The theme of "Love"/Fellowship: 3:16 ~ For God so loved the world that he gave his only [monogenes = only begotten] Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. 15:9-17 ~ 9 As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. 10 If you keep the commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love... 12 This is my commandment: love one another as I love you ... 17 This I command you: love one another. 15:13-14 ~ No one has greater love than this, to lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. The word "love/loved/loves" appears about 54 times in 21 chapters. |
| Similar Vocabulary and Concepts | |
| The First Letter of John | The Gospel of John |
| 1:1 ~ What was from the beginning | 1:1 ~ In the beginning |
| 1:1 ~ what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon 1:3 ~ what we have seen and heard | 3:11 ~ Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen 3:32 ~ He testifies to what he has seen and heard |
| 1:4 ~ We are writing this to you so that our joy may be complete. | 16:24 ~ Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy will be complete. |
| 2:9-11 ~ Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother remains in the light ... Whoever hates his brother is in darkness and is walking about in darkness not knowing where he is going, because darkness has blinded him. | 12:35-36 ~ The light will be among you only a little while. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness may not overcome you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become children of the light. |
| 2:15 ~ Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone does love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. | 15:18-19 ~ If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. |
| 2:17 ~ And the world, with all its disordered desires, is passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains (lives/abides = mene) forever. | 6:56 ~ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains (abides = mene) in me and I (remain=mene) in him. |
| 5:20 ~ and has given us discernment to know the One who is true. And we are in the One who is true, in his Son, Jesus Christ. | 8:46b-47 ~ If I am telling the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God; for this reason, you do not listen because you do not belong to God. |
| 3:8 ~ Whoever lives sinfully belongs to the devil, since the devil has been a sinner from the beginning. This is the purpose of the appearing of the Son of God, to undo the work of the devil. | 8:44a ~ You belong to your father the devil, and you willingly carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and doe not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. |
| 3:13 ~ Do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. | 15:18 ~ If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. |
| 3:14 ~ We are well aware that we have passed over from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death. | 5:24 ~ Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the One who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life. |
| 4:6 ~ Whoever recognizes God listens to us; anyone who is not from God refuses to listen to us. This is how we can distinguish the spirit of truth from the spirit of falsehood. | 8:47 ~ Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God; for this reason, you do not listen, because you do not belong to God. |
| 2:12 ~ I am writing to you, children, because your sins have been forgiven for his name's sake. | 16:23 ~ Amen, amen, I say to you, whateveryou ask the Father in my name, he will give to you. |
| 4:9 ~ In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only [monogenes = only begotten] Son into the world so that we might have life through him. | 1:18 ~ No one has ever seen God. The only [monogenes = only begotten] Son, God, who is at the Father's side, has revealed him. 3:16 ~ For God so loved the world that he gave his only [monogenes = only begotten] Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. Also, see 1:14 and 3:18. |
PART I: The Prologue
1 John 1:1-4 ~ The Word of Life
Uniquely among the three letters attributed to St. John, the first one does not have an opening salutation. Instead, it begins very much like the Fourth Gospel, something that most Church Fathers wrote confirmed their belief that the Apostle John was the author of both documents and the beginning of the Book of Genesis. In verses 1-10, notice that John writes that the testimony he gives is not only his, using the pronouns "we," "our," and "us" repeatedly. He does not begin using the first person singular until 2:1.
The Prologue of the First Letter of John summarizes important dogmatic truths about Jesus, the Son of God, like the Prologue of his Gospel (Jn 1:1ff). The first theological theme in 1 John is the Incarnation of God the Son (1 Jn 1:1-3). In verse 1, John refers to "the beginning" and to Jesus by the title "the Word of life." The "beginning refers to when the disciples and Apostles first heard Jesus' message of salvation. However, there is also a connection to John's Gospel Prologue that refers to the Creation event when God brought all things into being through His divine Son (Jn 1:1-3; c.f., 1 Jn 2:13-14, 3:8; Gen 1:1; Col 1:16).
John refers to Jesus as "the Word of Life" that is the good news of the Gospel of salvation. "The Word" is the same title he used for Jesus in the first verse of his Gospel Prologue: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Jn 1:1). You will recall that in the Creation event when God spoke, Creation began.
Christ is Himself true God (Jn 1:1; 1 Jn 5:20), and He embodies the eternal life that He shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit in His divinity (1 Jn 5:26). Jesus reveals to those who belong to Him the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity's inner life. These verses proclaim the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God who existed from all eternity who became man so that men and women might have a share of divine life in fellowship/communion with the Father and Son. Establishing the truth of the Incarnation of God the Son is an important theme in this letter as John refutes false teachers who deny this truth.
The basis of the fellowship that believers have with God and one another is a unity of participation in the divine life of the Most Holy Trinity. That unity establishes us as children in the family of God, our divine Father as the heirs of God the Son.
PART II: God is Light
1 John 1:5-10 ~ God is Light, and in Him, There is no Darkness
5
John uses the word "light" as a metaphor in 1:5, 7 twice; 2:8, 9 and 10. It is also a metaphor that appears repeatedly in his Gospel, beginning in the prologue (Jn 1:4, 57, 8 twice, 9; 3:19 twice, 20 twice, 21; 5:35 twice; 8:12 twice; 9:5; 11:9, 10; 12:35 twice, 36 twice, 46; underlining indicates verses spoken by Jesus). John testifies that everything in his message is what he heard from Christ, and he contrasts the light of truth and love of God with the darkness of sin.
Despite the fact that all humans have sinned, God has justified humanity by His grace. He did this through the saving work of Jesus' sacrifice on the altar of the Cross and the shedding of His blood. In Romans 3:24, Paul uses the Greek word charis to indicate a gift given freely and unearned. This is the sense in which the Greek term is most often used in the New Testament and especially in Paul's letters where he employs charis to describe the way God offers the gift of salvation through Jesus the Son:
| Jesus' Incarnation was an act of grace. | 1 John 1:14, 17; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Titus 2:11 |
| Jesus' self-sacrificial death was an act of grace and a gift of the Father. | Romans 8:32; 1 Corinthians 2:12; Ephesians 1:6ff; Hebrews 2:9 |
| Through grace, we are justified, receive salvation, and the right to eternal life without the ritual works of the Old Covenant Law. | Romans 3:24; 4:4ff; Ephesians 2:5, 8; Titus 3:7; Acts 15:11 |
| Jesus' Second Advent will be an act of grace, and it will be an act of grace when we receive everlasting glory. | 2 Thessalonians 1:12; 1 Peter 1:13 |
1 John 2:1-6 ~Knowing Christ
For the first time, John uses the first person singular in his letter. The affectionate way John addresses the readers of his letter as "children" or "little ones," and "beloved" are expressions of his pastoral love in which he follows Jesus' example (c.f., Jn 13:33; 21:5). John uses the word "beloved" for his Christian faithful in 1 John 2:7; 3:2, 21; 4:1, 7 and 10. He will call his readers "children" or "little ones" in 1 John 1:1; 2:1, 12, 14, 18, 28; 3:1, 2, 7, 10 twice, 18; 4:4; 5:2 and 21. St. Paul also called the Corinthians Christians his "beloved children" (1 Cor 4:14).
But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate [Parakletos] with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. 2 He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.
Expiation is the canceling of the debt due for our sins, the penalty for which is spiritual death. Jesus assumed the punishment for our sins, covering them with His blood on the altar of the Cross. He atoned for our sins and delivered us, canceling the sin-debt we owed by changing God's disposition toward us, turning away His anger by paying the price for our transgressions and the sins of all humanity.
Christ assures the forgiveness of the repentant Christian's sin through His intercession in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Penance) and at our Individual/Particular Judgment at the end of our earthly lives.
In Jesus' last discourse to the disciples at the Last Supper, He spoke of "another Advocate," using the Greek word we transliterate as "Paraclete" (Jn 14:16), who is God the Holy Spirit. He told them, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you will know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you" (Jn 14:15-17). God sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to fill and indwell the Church and guide its members on their path to eternal salvation. However, God the Son intercedes/advocates for us at our Individual/Particular Judgment after death. He defends us against the accusations by Satan for the sins washed away by the blood of the Lamb who died for each of us and the whole world (Jn 1:29). Jesus also intercedes for us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation when we repent our sins and confess them to the priest who represents Christ's presence and, in His name, forgives our sins and assigns a penance as a demonstration of our repentance.
1 John 2:7-11 ~ The Word That You Have Heard
This passage recalls Jesus' teaching on the greatest commandment and the second greatest.
Question: What did Jesus identify as the two greatest commandments? See Mt 22:37-40.
Answer: Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God, and the second greatest was to love one's neighbor, meaning our brothers and sisters in the human family.
John says it is not a new commandment but an old one "from the beginning" of the Sinai Covenant in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, commanding love of God and love of neighbor.
- Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength (Dt 6:5).
- Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD (Lev 19:18).
Jesus extended the meaning of Leviticus 19:18 to embrace not just covenant members (fellow countrymen) but all men and women in the human family, including enemies in Luke 10:29-37. He cited the love of God and neighbor (meaning everyone) as the two greatest commandments in Matthew 22:36-40 (also Mk 12:31).
Notice that John returns to the contrast between light and darkness in verses 8-11. When we "walk in the light," we are walking in the footsteps of Christ, living as He lived by demonstrating love and mercy to others.
1 John 2:12-17 ~ John's Message to Christians
John again (see 2:1) addresses his readers affectionately as teknion = little children. He will use the same term in 2:28, but he changes to paidia, young ones, in 2:14 and 18. However, he is obviously referring to the same group using two similar terms. "Little children" and "young ones" refers to all Christians but especially to the spiritually immature who must continue to grow in the knowledge of their relationship with the Most Holy Trinity.
| The Temptations of the World Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. 1 John 2:15-16 | ||
| Temptations | Adam Genesis 3:1-6 | Jesus Luke 4:1-13 |
| The devil's invitation to rebellion | "Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees...?" | The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God ... |
| Hunger = a desire of the flesh | The woman saw that the tree was good for food | command this stone to become bread" |
| Enticement for the eyes:
| pleasing to the eyes,and | showed Him all the kingdoms of the world... |
| The pride of a pretentious (boastful) life
| desirable for gaining wisdom | "If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down ... for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you.'" |
| Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2011 | ||
1 John 2:18-23 ~ The Warning Concerning Antichrists
The word antichristos, in English "antichrist" or "antichrists," means one who stands in opposition to the Christos/Christ. It only appears five times in Scripture in 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3, 2 John 7, and a second time in the plural in 1 John 2:18. Throughout history, there have been many "antichrists" who attempted to sow disharmony in the Church, separating its members from the truth, and placing in jeopardy their salvation in Christ Jesus. The Church teaches there will be one final Antichrist when Satan attempts to wrench humanity out of the embrace of Mother Church. Of all the Biblical writers, only St. John names this evil entity as "Antichrist" and his agents as "antichrists." In the Second Letter, John defines the antichrist and his agents: Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh; such is the deceitful one and the antichrist (2 Jn 7).
1 John 2:24-29 ~ The Gift of Eternal Life for God's Anointed Children
St. John begins this passage in verses 22-23 with the language of denial and moves to the language of confession. To deny that Jesus is the Christ is a rejection of the Messiahship of Jesus, and whoever denies the Christ denies God the Father. Such a denial, John tells us, comes from the Antichrist, the archenemy of the Christ and His Church. However, anyone who confesses that Jesus is the Christ/Messiah also has a relationship with God the Father. You cannot have one without the other.
St. John writes, 24 Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. 25 If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father.
In verse 24, "what you heard from the beginning" refers to the continued and unaltered existence of God the Son inside and outside of time. St. John testified to this in the prologues of the Gospel of John 1:1 and 1 John 1:1. Jesus is and always has been the "Word" who is the "Light" of life. To remain in the Son and in the Father (verse 25) is to continue in obedience to Jesus' message in 1 John 3:11, to love one another as Jesus commanded during His homily at the Last Supper. In John 13:34-35, Jesus told His disciples: "I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." The message and commandment are grounded in the revelation of God's love. To abide/remain in the light/knowledge of the Word is to abide/remain in love.
In verse 25, St. John tells us the reward of our obedience to love in Christ Jesus is eternal life, a central theme of St. John's letter. It is a miracle of God's love that was not open to the faithful in the old covenants but only made possible in the forgiveness of sins through the sacrificial offering of Jesus Christ. Those who would deceive us (verse 26) are those who deny Christ and stand in opposition to God's divine plan for the salvation of humanity.
The anointing Christians received in verse 27 is the anointing by the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Christian Baptism. In John 14:26, at the Last Supper, Jesus promised that the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth, will remind us of all Jesus taught and help us to discern the truth. The promise recalls the new covenant prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah, where the prophet wrote: There will be no further need for everyone to teach neighbor or brother, saying, "Learn to know Yahweh!" No, they will all know me, from the least to the greatest (Jer 31:34).
John offers a summary of his points in verses 18-25. He is writing to warn the Christian community about those former members of the church, those who John will refer to in 2 John 7 as those who "have gone out from you," (the liars and antichrists) who want to deceive them by denying fundamental truths of the faith. Their protection from being seduced by deceptive teaching is the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. Their anointing by the Holy Spirit is an ongoing reality that is the abiding presence of God through the Holy Spirit, who reveals what is true and what is false to those immersed in the Living Word of God.
CHAPTER 3
PART II: God is Light Continued
1 John 3:1-3 ~ Children of God
This part of the Letter begins with a statement about the Christian's divine daughter/sonship that the Church usually refers to as the Christian's divine filiation. The definition of filiation is "a legal relationship of a parent and especially a father and a child that creates rights and obligations."
Those "born again" or "born from above" in the Sacrament of Baptism are no longer merely children in the family of Adam; they become children in the family of God. The destiny of those blessed in this way is to receive:
- The love and protection of God as their divine Father (Jn 16:27; 17:15).
- The empowerment to share God's love with others (1 Jn 3:16-18; Jn 13:34) as Jesus taught us.
- The encouragement to share our hopes and fears with the Father through Christ for His intervention in our lives (Lk 11:1-14; Jn 14:2-3).
- The inheritance of eternal life as co- heirs of Christ. Jesus is the "only begotten Son" of the Father by nature (Jn 1:18; 3:16; 1 Jn 4:9), but the baptized are born of God by grace (1 Jn 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:4).
In the Gospel of John 17:2-3, Jesus speaks of the gift of eternal life, and He uses "covenant language" in John 17:3 when He says, "to know you, the only true God." Everyone will share in the survival of the soul, but the conditions of that survival are the vital difference. Jesus' petition for His disciples is that He may give the gift of eternal life to all those who believe in Him. Eternal life for believers in Christ is to enter the fullness and intensity of the life of the Most Holy Trinity. St. Paul described Christian rebirth as divine adoption (Gal 4:4-7; also see CCC 460, 1692). It is not adoption in name only like earthly adoptions but is the result of sharing in our Father's divine nature (1 Jn 3:9; 2 Pt 1:4).
The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
In the Biblical context, "to know" is not merely the result of an intellectual process to access and store information. "To know" in the context of a covenant is to have an intimate, personal knowledge that results in a covenantal family relationship with the Almighty.
It is through the Son's glorification that God allows humanity to receive eternal life through "knowing" (the intimacy of a covenant relationship) God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son. This covenant intimacy, in turn, results in the glorification of both the Father and the Son. It is the same covenant intimacy that also unites believers with Christ through participation in the Sacraments, giving the redeemed a share in divine glory (2 Pt 1:4). It is the same gift of covenant knowledge promised by the sixth century BC prophet Jeremiah and quoted in the New Testament Letter to the Hebrews. Teaching about the New Covenant fulfilling and replacing the old Sinai Covenant, the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews quotes the prophet Jeremiah concerning the special knowledge of God that will be a gift to the new age of humanity in the New Covenant. Jeremiah wrote, "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will conclude a new covenant ...I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them upon their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his fellow citizen and kinsman, saying, Know the Lord,' for all shall know me, from the least to greatest" (Heb 8:8, 10b-11 quoting Jer 31:31, 33-34).
The chief characteristic of the believer's knowledge of God in His glory is the intimate covenant relationship with God the Father through the Son, and the Holy Spirit sent by the Father and the Son (Nicene-Constantinople Creed). God the Holy Spirit will lead baptized New Covenant believers to complete truth (Jn 14:17; 15:26; 16:13). The New Testament revelation of the Most Holy Trinity draws on the Old Testament doctrine that Yahweh alone is God. That Yahweh is the "One" (or the only) and that God is "True" are the traditional Biblical attributes of God connected to covenant formation (for references to "One" see Dt 6:4; 32:39; Is 37:20; Jn 5:44, etc., and for connections to the "True" God, see Ex 34:6 and Rev 6:10, etc.).
Being intimately united to Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist and demonstrating obedience to His commandments is to "know" the living God in His Triune glory. This "knowing" must include a relationship of love, friendship, and communion with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The relationship must continue to grow throughout our lives until our journey through life ends. At that time, we complete our union with God when He judges our earthly temples (bodies), and, God willing, we become united to the Divine Life of the Most Holy Trinity in Heaven.
1 John 3:4-10 ~ Sin is Lawlessness
Every sin is more than a violation of moral law. It is also an offense against God that is a rejection of His divine will for our lives. Like the first sin committed by Adam and Eve, each sin is an act of rebellion that involves a desire to be "like God" in deciding for ourselves what is right (Gen 3:5), and to live one's life apart from God. Everyone who intentionally sins and refuses to repent alienates himself/herself from God and aligns himself/herself with the devil. Also, since Jesus has merited our Redemption on the altar of the Cross, all sin (intentional and unintentional) means crucifying Him again (c.f., Heb 6:6). Therefore, John reminds his readers (and us) of the purpose of the Incarnation: "he appeared to take away our sins" (verse 5).
PART III: Having Love for One Another
1 John 3:11-18 ~ The Command to Love One Another
The message of God's sacred word is unaltered and is not contradictory. From the beginning of the observance of Mosaic Law that the children of Israel received at Mount Sinai, God commanded them to love Him and act with love toward one another:
- Leviticus 19:18 ~ Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD [Yahweh].
- Deuteronomy 6:5 ~ Therefore, you shall love the LORD [Yahweh], your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Christ chose His Apostles and men and women disciples to be the emissaries of the King of kings to carry the Gospel of salvation to the world. However, He warned them to expect rejection and persecution when carrying out their mission. Jesus wanted His disciples to understand that the world's hatred was not a temporary phenomenon. Hate is just as much the characteristic mark of "the world," as love is the essence of the Christian. In the series of four statements in John 15:18-21, Jesus repeats that the world's hatred for His disciples is a rejection of Him, His teaching, and the true knowledge of God the Father.s1 John 3:19-24 ~ Having Confidence in God
In verses 19-24, John returns to how we know that we belong to God: 19 [Now] this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him 20 in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.
"This," in verse 19, refers back to verse 18 and loving our brothers and sisters in deed and truth. John's point is, if we are obedient to God's command to actively show our love for others, then this enables us to "reassure our hearts" about our standing with God.
Question: What is the result of our confidence in God?
Answer: Because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him, we can have confidence that we can receive from Him whatever we ask.
"Whatever we ask," however, means whatever we ask according to His divine will for our lives when we, His children, are in a good relationship with our Father. It is a qualification John will add later in 5:14 when he writes: And we have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
Faith is not only an acknowledgment that God exists, and He sent His Son to die for us. It is a conscious act of internal surrender to God and an outward confession to the world of our belief and trust in Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. In offering the gift of salvation through His Son, God gives us the choice either to believe in the Son's sacrifice and accept His gift of eternal life or to reject His gift and our hope of salvation. In his Gospel, John wrote: For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God (John 3:18).
Agape Bible Study 2 Thessalonians 1 - 3
Chapter 1 ~ Greeting, Thanksgiving, and Prayer
2 Thessalonians 1:1-2 ~ Greeting
As in Paul's other letters, his opening address divides into three parts:
That this letter, like the first letter, is to all the Thessalonian Christians may suggest there are several groups of Christians in Thessalonica and the smaller surrounding towns that Paul considers the "church in Thessalonica." For example, his letter to the Colossians included all the different communities of Christians in the Lycus River Valley.
As in Paul's other letters, the words "grace and peace" are significant and are not the typical Greek greeting in letters. It is a standard Christian greeting found in all Paul's letters and also appears in St. Peter's first letter to the Church (1Pt 1:2), in St. John's second letter (2 Jn 3), and in the glorified Jesus' greeting to St. John in the Book of Revelation (Rev 1:4).
2 Thessalonians 1:3-10 ~ Thanksgiving and the Day of the Lord
Paul thanks God for the faith and love of Thessalonian Christians (verse 3). He expresses his pride in their endurance under persecutions (verses 4-5). His pride in them contrasts with his condemnation for those who cause them to suffer.
Question: What two reasons does Paul give in verse 8 for those who will face divine judgment on the Day of the Lord?
Answer:
- God's judgment will come upon those who do not acknowledge God.
- God's judgment will come upon those who are disobedient to the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The bad news is the way St. Paul describes the Final Judgment for those who reject Christ and His Gospel of salvation in severe and implacable terms.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 ~ Prayer for the Community
A prayer for the fulfillment of God's divine purpose in the lives of the Thessalonian Christians completes Paul's opening address.
Chapter 2: Preparing for the Second Coming of the Christ and Avoiding Evil Influences
In this part of the letter, Paul writes about the anticipated arrival of "the lawless one," who St. John refers to as the antichrist.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 ~ Christ and the Lawless One
Apparently, the community received a forged letter in Paul's name with false teachings concerning the Parousia of Christ and claiming the event had already occurred. To combat the false claims, Paul lays out the sequence of eschatological (end times) events. In verses 2-12, Paul gives the countdown to the Parousia in the events that must come before Christ's return and presents information concerning the "lawless one," literally "the man of sin," "the son of perdition"2 that St. John calls the Antichrist. Jesus also refers to Judas Iscariot as "the son of perdition" in John 17:12.
The one Antichrist who appears at the end of human history and all antichrists that come before him are agents of Satan. Satan rules over the world of those immersed in sin. St. John makes three references to Satan using the title ruler/prince (Jn 12:31; 14:30; and 16:11). Jesus assured His disciples at the Last Supper that Satan has no power over Him (Jn 14:31). Satan does not have any power over Jesus in His humanity because Jesus is without sin. It is the sin in human beings that gives Satan power, but Jesus came to do away with Satan's power over humanity: "Whoever sins belongs to the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil" (1 Jn 3:8). The bad news is that sin will greatly increase on earth to facilitate the coming of the Antichrist.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 ~ Continued Thanks for the Thessalonians and their Hope of Glory
Paul writes that "God chose you." We are chosen by an eternal decree of love (Eph 1:5), and the Holy Spirit sanctifies us in the Sacrament of Baptism. However, our sanctification continues as the Holy Spirit works within us on our journey of faith.
Those who reject all forms of tradition fail to acknowledge that Jesus did not mean that we were to avoid all forms of "tradition." He only meant the traditions introduced by humans that set out to invalidate the works and words of God. There are "Traditions" that the Church received from Jesus, like the Sacraments, and there are "traditions" that individual communities celebrate that are associated with their history and customs. Both kinds of "tradition" glorify God and His work in the Church. Besides, those who reject all forms of "tradition" that are Catholic are themselves guilty of "traditions" that they observe in their worship services and the organization of their communities that are not in Scripture.
Chapter 3: Concluding Exhortations and Farewell
2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 ~ Request for Prayers
Paul asks the Thessalonian community to pray for the progress of the spread of the Gospel and the protection of the missionaries entrusted to deliver its message of salvation. Paul and his missionary team lived and worked in constant danger to fulfill their mission. He relied on the intercession of his dear friends in the churches he founded for their safe and successful ministry (Rom 15:30-31; 2 Cor 1:11; 1 Thess 5:25).
2 Thessalonians 3:6-16 ~ Conducting Yourselves in the Traditions of the Faith
In verses 6-15, Paul addresses a problem within the community. There are those in the community who are not behaving as they should, and Paul urges the members to avoid these people if they refuse brotherly correction (3:6 and 14). It appears certain members of the community are relying on the charity of others and not working to support themselves. Paul asks that the community imitate him and the other members of his team who worked to support themselves and were not a burden to the community.
2 Thessalonians 3:17-18 ~ Final Greeting
Paul was dictating his letter, probably to Silvanus who also acted as a secretary for St. Peter (1 Pt 5:12). Now, at the end of the letter, Paul takes up the stylus himself. His personal signature and closing remarks authenticate the letter. He did this in other letters (1 Cor 16:21 and Col 4:18), but this time his intention may be to dispel any concerns that the letter is legitimately from him. Apparently, they had earlier received a forged letter that claimed to come from Paul containing false teaching (2 Thess 2:2-3), and he now intends to sign every letter himself, so there is no question that it came from him.
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