In order to fully appreciate what the man known as Jesus of Nazareth did for the whole of mankind we need to understand who He was prior to His coming to earth and why He did what He did. In his Gospel the Apostle John tells us Who and what Jesus was before He came here: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with (a) God and the Word was (also a) God. He was in the beginning with (the other) God. All things were made by Him (Jesus) and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and Truth” (Jn. 1:1-4,14).

Before coming to earth as a man like all other men (Heb. 4:15), the Word was equal to His fellow God (Phil. 2:6). He was, in fact, the God of the Old Testament with Whom all Old Testament people dealt either indirectly through the prophets or directly in face-to-face communication. Read The God Of The Old Testament, key word–Old. That is Who Jesus was. Upon coming to earth He became a man like all other men. Unbeknownst to professing Christendom, Jesus is today–“the MAN, Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5) Who sits at the right hand of God. This tells us that, upon our rebirth (salvation), we will be SPIRIT HUMANS, exactly as He is. Jesus said in Revelation 3:21 that those who live as He lived will sit with Him on His Throne in the Kingdom of God. He will be accompanied by other born again humans like Himself. Read Born Again, key word–Born.

In order to learn why Jesus did what He did, read The True Trinity, key word–True. When Jesus told the Jews that He was the Son of God, thereby equating Himself with God the Father, the people picked up stones to throw at Him. I receive the same response (mentally speaking) when people read the True Trinity series. Read it and you will see why. Satan has blinded his followers so that they cannot believe the Lord’s Words though they are written in their own Bibles. I am telling you what the Lord said and wrote through His holy prophets and apostles. I believe and expect Him to deliver on everything He said. Through a miracle He assured me that He will do everything He said He would do for and through those who believe and obey Him. Read about the miracle using the key word–Gun.

The same Apostle John, who wrote the Gospel known by his name, also wrote three letters (epistles) to those who viewed him as a true instrument of the Lord. We will now delve deeply into those letters to find numerous nuggets of divine gold which God had recorded and preserved for salvation seekers. We will begin with First John.

1:1-3: Jesus manifested true godliness in human form in order to reveal and emulate for us the life we must live in order to receive eternal life upon His return to earth. Expressions such as “the life” and “that eternal life” refer to quality of character we must manifest as human beings as He was and still is. He is now what His true saints will be following His return to earth to create the Kingdom of God in the Promised Land. Read about that kingdom using Kingdom as the key word. The True Trinity series explains this incredible Truth in detail. And even more incredible is the fact that it involves the present time and His present day saints.

Just as John and the other apostles fellowshipped with Him while He was on earth as a man, we can join them spiritually in fellowshipping with the Godhead (Father and Son) while in this life. By “walking in the Spirit” we commune with the Godhead spiritually “in heavenly places” and maintain an intimate Father-child relationship with God (Eph. 1:2,29;2:6). However, this heavenly communion does not come automatically upon “taking Jesus as your Savior” and “joining the church.” We must prove ourselves to God. In John 14:15 and 15:10 Jesus makes this clear by declaring that in order to remain in His love we must obey the commandments, (including #4), just as He (Jesus) had to obey them in order to remain in His (God’s) love. This is impossible if we continue to sin following justification in that we must walk in agreement with God in order to receive any of His promises (Amos 3:3). Sin prevents any walk in oneness with the Almighty. Isaiah 59:2 speaks to this Truth, warning the church sinner that: “Your sins separate you from your God.” King David–“a man after God’s own heart”–cried out to God following his sin, “Please do not take your Spirit from me” (Ps.51:11). We are no better than David.

1:5-10: Biblically, the Word “darkness” means “sin”--the breaking of God’s Law (3:4). Relative to the apostles’ single-focus ministry, John noted that THE MESSAGE from Jesus to man is focused on the fact that GOD IS LIGHT AND IN HIM IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL.” In John 9:5 Jesus said that as long as He was in the world He was the LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Then in Matthew 5:14 He told the disciples that THEY were the LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Being 13 different men, what did they each possess that made each of them the SAME LIGHT? THE WORD OF GOD. This is brought out in Psalm 119:105 where the Psalmist says to the Lord: “YOUR WORD is a LAMP for my feet and a LIGHT for my path. God’s Word directs us through the darkness by which we are surrounded. In Matthew 7:13,14 and 22:14 Jesus declares that the FEW who are His true saints have entered His church through the strait (difficult) gate and are walking His narrow (strict) path. What is it that God’s people use to “FIND” the His strait gate and to navigate His narrow path? HIS HOLY WORD–HIS LIGHT THAT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS OF THIS WORLD AND EXPOSES WHAT IS IN THAT DARKNESS FOR THOSE WHO STUDY HIS WORD, BELIEVE IT AND OBEY IT. ALL OTHERS HAVE BEEN BLINDED BY THE GOD OF THIS WORLD–SATAN: 2 Cor. 4:4–THEREBY PREVENTING THEM FROM COMING TO GOD’S LIGHT AND QUALIFYING FOR ETERNAL LIFE.

Verses 8-10 are often used to excuse sin within the church body. This error is popular because people tend to read what I call God’s Biblical “headlines,” and having found what they wanted to find, they stop reading. In so doing they miss all of the “fine print” that explains the “headlines” and learning what they must do in order for them to come to fruition. They are commanded to STUDY in order to show themselves “approved of God” (2 Tim. 2:15). We are to study according to the formula provided in Isaiah 28:9-13. Those who follow the Lord’s study instructions see that the common error surrounding verse 8 is exposed in verse 10. Verse 8 alone leaves the impression that we can sin at will, then repent and all is well. This heresy is addressed in Hebrews 6:4-6 where Paul tells the Hebrew converts that once a believer has received justification (had all past sins forgiven and received the Holy Spirit), if he/she continues to sin, he/she spiritually RECRUCIFIES JESUS AGAIN WITH EACH SIN, and in so doing PUTS JESUS CHRIST TO AN OPEN SHAME BEFORE THE WORLD. Read “It Is Finished” and Finishing the Work, key words–Finished and Work respectively. In verse 9 Paul is referring to justification, not to sin after sin after sin which makes one a sinnER whom Jesus will not forgive. So-called “sinnERS saved by grace” are such people. Satan has deceived them into believing the devil’s ‘truths” known as “church doctrine.” Verse 10 addresses the deception, saying that if we say we HAVE NOT SINNED we make God a liar. Notice that the statement involved PAST, PRE-JUSTIFICATION SINS. Once forgiven, we must stop sinning in order to retain our justified status. Read about forgiveness of repeated sins using the key word–Granted. Believe it or not, I once heard a preacher say that he could not think of a sin he had committed in the past. When he made that statement he was conducting a service on Sunday, thereby rejecting God’s Holy Sabbath Day. On another occasion I heard a preacher say that we must obey God’s Law. He also was breaking that Law by committing the same sin. Both of them also led their churches to celebrate Christmas and Easter, again in defiance of God Holy Word. Jesus was right: “Satan has deceived the whole world” (Rev. 12:9). For God’s attitude toward the modern-day church read the series on church eras (key word–Eras) and focus on Christ’s letter to the Church at Laodicea as described in Revelation 3, verses 14-20.

2:1-6: Knowing that Jesus commands us to “SIN NO MORE” after having been justified, John commands his followers to STOP SINNING. However, IF someone happens to sin unintentionally, Jesus (not Mary) will intervene before God. In verse 3 John tells us what it means to KNOW JESUS INTIMATELY. It means TO ABIDE IN HIM BY KEEPING HIS TEN COMMANDMENT LAW. The Word “keep” is a military term meaning to surround so as to protect. It is the same word used in the Ten Commandments where we are commanded to “keep” the Lord’s Sabbath holy and sanctified as He created it (Isa. 58:13). Church sinners reject God’s 7th day (Saturday) Sabbath in favor of Satan’s 1st day (Sunday) sabbath by unwittingly worshiping the sun. The Apostle James tells us that TO BREAK ONE COMMANDMENT IS TO BREAK THE ENTIRE LAW, making one guilty of INIQUITY–LAWLESSNESS. Read what Jesus says about those who commit iniquity in Matthew 7:21-23. These are the “many” who came into His sheepfold (church) through Satan’s wide door and walked his broad path. Read “My People Called by My Name” and Who Are God’s People, key words–Called and People respectively. In verse 5 Paul says that to keep God’s Word perfects His love within us and proves that we are IN HIM. He/she who claims to be IN CHRIST must walk as He walked (lived) in his earthly life (vs 6). L.J.