"The book of 1 John is relevant in our every day life. Today's conclusion gives us wonderful assurance. God's testimony concerning Jesus was given to the apostles to make Him known to us. They were eyewitnesses to Jesus and their letters make Him known to all who believe. 1 John 5:11-13 "And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life."

"There was a point in Jesus ministry where He asked His disciples this compelling question,"Who do you say that I am?" Peter answered "You are the Christ, the son of the living God" John heard Peter make that declaration. All of us who are in the true fellowship, who have been born again, have made that exact same confession. For those who have made that confession, God abides in him and he in God. We were once in Adam, now we are in Christ.

"How do we discern between truth and error. In the church today there is a lack of discernment. If someone is slick and persuasive we are gullible and easily led astray. God tells us to "test the spirits". Test everything through God's Word. 1 John 4:1- "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." God brings clarity to the mind. He brings a clear message. How do we test the spirits? How do we tell whether something is truth or false? There's only one message that's bears the fruit of life and love and that is the message concerning Jesus and Jesus alone.

"Let us love one another. John helps us to understand how to make that happen. When we come to faith in Jesus, we receive a brand new heart. This is what makes loving one another a reality in our life. It all depends on who we belong to. If we belong to darkness, loving one another is impossible. If we belong to the light, then the natural response will be to love each other. We will see genuine fellowship among children of God and Christ's love will overflow to others.

"John reminds his readers to abide in Christ and to know him. And in knowing the truth about Jesus you will know the truth about God. "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are." 1 John 3:1 This all starts with the love of God. If you're struggling with your identity, this verse is for you. Take a stand on this verse. The love of the Father has made you a child of God. As a child of God you will be filled with assurance, gratefulness, and thankfulness.

"The world is not our friend. We know that because the spirit of antichrist is the world system. What characterizes the spirit of antichrist? Denying Jesus Christ. Any teaching that Jesus is not God is antichrist. How do we overcome that? With truth. The truth that in Jesus is life and there is no life outside of Him. In the light of truth, deception and lies cannot stand. In light of light, darkness is expelled. When truth enters in, lies cannot stand. Come to Jesus, who is fully God and fully man.

"The fruit of life in Christ is love. When you come to Christ, something has changed in your core. Your heart is new, you have been cleansed of all unrighteousness, and your heart wants to trust Jesus. The fruit of that is love for one another. We begin to love people that we didn't love before. We see that in the example of Jew and Gentile. When the gospel hits Jewish and Gentile hearts, there is a love there that wasn't there before. For an unbeliever, the fruit is not one of love, it is one of hate. We see that in the world today. That's why John said "whoever hates his brother walks in darkness".

"What do we do when we sin? Even as children of God, we stumble and fall time and time again. John addresses this issue in the 2nd chapter of 1 John. He wants to give encouragement to children of God. This new life in Christ Jesus is a new way to live - by faith. The core of our Christian life is to simply trust. Everything else then falls into place. Jesus is our advocate. He offered his blood once for all. He is the victor over the one who accuses us. God loves us. We are always in his favor. Our sin doesn't cause him to turn his back on us. Jesus is our comforter and encourager, continually pointing us to his finished work on our behalf.

The book of 1 John is an eyewitness account of the ministry of Jesus. It is written to give assurance to believers that they have put their faith in the right person. John's purpose is to testify to Jesus Christ and to share the fellowship we all have in that relationship. Within the body of believers, our joy flourishes ... made complete. Verses 5-10 are a very controversial passage but they don't have to be. The message is clear. If we walk in the light as He is in the light then we have fellowship with each other and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.

1 John is an exciting letter - rich in application. We hear a lot about engaging our culture today. There's this idea of speaking into the worlds culture. The world is anti-Jesus and anti-God. 1 John gives us insight into how to bring light into this otherwise dark world. 1 John 1:1-4 is our focus today. John gives us an eyewitness account concerning the Word of Life - Jesus Christ himself. He walked with and learned from Jesus and he is testifying to what he knows firsthand. This preface sets the stage for the message he wants us to embrace - the proclamation of Jesus Christ.