This letter shares some similarities with 1 John and 2 John, though it stands apart in many ways as well.  It focuses on three commendations for a man named Gaius for his obedience, hospitality, and self-sacrifice.  John then contrasts this man with another, Diotrephes, exposing six offenses.

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John raises similar themes using similar phrasing so this is going to be fresh to us as we go through it.  He also had similar concerns about false teachers. And in all three of his letters, he consistently emphasizes the need to walk in the knowledge of what we have been given in Christ.  

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The readers’ assurance had been shaken by these denials and claims, so John writes to bolster their assurance by counteracting the false teaching of the false teachers.  They had been shaken by antichrists who denied important elements of the message the readers had embraced at the beginning.  In v 13, we have the assurance of salvation.  And then about the confidence believers have "in the presence of God."  We also learn from verse 21 that idols are not always pagan deities or images made of stone or wood.

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Finishing up chapter 4 we can summarize it all with verse 21 that states, "whoever loves God must also love his brother."  John draws from Christ's very words to the disciples.  We love one another because God has loved us.  John then hits us with a statement about Soteriology, which brings forth the ongoing debate within the evangelical church today.  Is salvation by a choice of man's own free will or of  God's sovereign choice?  John then speaks more on the God-Man, Jesus the Christ, emphasizing His incarnation because he wanted all believers to have a sure foundation of faith that rests on God's testimony to the person of Jesus the Christ.

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In verse 7 John commands us to love one another which is an encouragement to them to allow God's love to flow through them.  Biblical love is divine love.  We must remember that it is not a feeling but rather an action that comes about when we grow in our relationship with God.  That is, it is not something that naturally occurs for us, it is God and from God.  He loves us and His love flows through us.

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Tis the season. Jesus is the reason for the season.  Keep Christ in Christmas. And get into the spirit of Christmas.  Christmas is a time of worship and praise as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.  And worship is an attitude which is posture.  It’s the most selfless thing we do.  So this Christ we look at Mary's response to the announcement of Jesus’ birth to learn about worship.

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Making our way into chapter 4 of 1 John we come across a familiar topic.  You do not have to be in church very long before you hear phrases like "test the spirits", "spirit of truth" and "spirit of error."  Every believer should have enough of a grasp of biblical doctrine to be able to discern between truth and error. But most do not.  So how does one test the spirits?  What is the test?  Many will argue it comes down to fruit and works.  We will see that fruit is indeed being spoken of.  However, it is the meaning of fruit in the sense John and Jesus spoke of it that many people miss.

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This section covers a lot of what John has brought up throughout the epistle.  The beginning, abiding, and walking in the light are things we can draw a conclusion from that describe the Christian who loves their fellow brother and/or sister.

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in 1 John 3, John is writing with two distinct and radically different groups of people in mind. The first one is the “children of God” and the second one is the “world" or "children of the devil."   The debate surrounding this section mainly focuses on the usage of the word sin and what exactly the sin is.  Is it consistent habitual sin or sin in general?

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Moving into chapter 3 we focus our attention on verse 2.  There's a lot packed into one verse concerning the coming/appearing of Christ and the transformation to take place when one is resurrected.  So, If Christ’s appearance and coming were in AD 70, why do we not have glorified bodies How, then, could Christ’s coming and appearance have been first-century events?  As we will see the difficulty revolves around one single word, "when."  The issue here is that John, inspired while writing, used the word "if."  So, let's try to figure out what was being said.

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