Line Upon Line

Working through 1 John 3:10-16, Pastor Miles examines John's stark contrast between the children of God and the children of the devil, showing that our true lineage is revealed by our conduct and most clearly by our love for others. He confronts the cultural discomfort with such hard contrasts, illustrates the division through Cain and Abel, and points to the gospel as the only way a child of the devil becomes a child of God.

Teaching through 1 John 3:4-10, Pastor Miles shows that John divides all humanity into two groups—children of God and children of the devil—distinguished by whether they practice righteousness or persist in unrepentant sin. The message defines sin as lawlessness, presents Jesus as the sinless sacrifice who takes away sin, and calls believers to walk out their new nature in practical righteousness.

A verse-by-verse study of 1 John 3:1-3, exploring the staggering love of God that makes enemies into His children, and how this present identity guarantees a future glory that compels present purification. Pastor Miles shows how identity in Christ answers the deepest human questions of identity, purpose, origin, destiny, and morality.

A verse-by-verse study of 1 John 2:24-28, showing that fullness of joy and fruitfulness in the Christian life flow from abiding in the Word of Life and from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Pastor Miles exhorts believers to let God's Word dwell in them richly as protection against deception and as the path to abundant and eternal life.

Drawing from 1 John 2:15-23, Pastor Miles teaches that John wrote to guard Christians against deception and misplaced affections, urging believers to fix their focus on the Father and the eternal rather than on the passing things of this world. He shows that the antichrist spirit is already at work, that we have been living in the "last days" since Christ's first coming, and that the fundamental test of truth and error is the identity of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God.

God's desire is to grow believers from spiritual infancy to full maturity, and this growth happens as His Word abides in us, transforming our affections so that we overcome the wicked one. Drawing from 1 John 2:12-17, Pastor Miles traces the believer's journey from being born-again "little children" who are fully forgiven, to mature "fathers" known for their knowledge of God.

Teaching through 1 John 2:1-11, Pastor Miles examines John's concern that false teaching was leading first-century Christians to profess faith without practicing it. He shows that the gospel produces joy, holiness, hope, and perseverance, and that the chief evidence of the gospel's work in us is obedience to Christ's "new" command to love one another as He has loved us.

Working through 1 John 2:1-7, Pastor Miles argues against a misapplication of "total depravity" teaching that treats the New Testament's commands as mere reminders of our inability rather than calls to walk in obedience. He shows that God desires increasing maturity and righteousness in His children, that a desire for and commitment to obedience are the prime evidence of truly knowing God, and that love is the fruit God produces in those He has saved.

A verse-by-verse study of 1 John 1:1-7 showing how John combats the early Gnostic denial of Christ's incarnation by declaring that Jesus is God in the flesh, the light of the world. The teaching presses the impossibility of fellowship with God while walking in darkness, and calls hearers to step into the light through repentance, confession, and faith, where the blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin.

Working through 1 John 1:6-10 and into 2:1-2, Pastor Miles confronts the popular belief that everyone is connected to a wholly loving God who overlooks sin, showing that John addressed the same false thinking in his day. The true gospel insists that God is light, that all have sinned, and that those who humbly confess their sin to God receive forgiveness, cleansing, and the freedom to walk in righteousness through the propitiation of Jesus Christ.