Who Has your Back?

A Series on the letter of 1 John
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 John 2:1-27 

[The author of this letter is John. Prior to being a disciple of Jesus, he was a fisherman with a reputation for his bad temper. In fact, he and his brother were called the “Sons of Thunder”. But he was also known as “the one whom Jesus loved”. In this letter, John shares that same love with us.]

 

In October 2020, my wife had a stroke! 

Following my 911 call, the ambulance arrived very quickly. It was all very surreal and very scary. At one point, there must have been six or seven EMT’s in our home, putting her on a gurney and loading her into the squad to be transported to the hospital. The EMT’s had her back.

 

We all face times in our life when we need help. There was a faction in the first century church known as Gnosticism. It was perhaps the most dangerous heresy that threatened the early church during the first three centuries. 

 

Gnostics believed that the human spirit was good and that the body was evil. They also believed that salvation came through a special knowledge, not through faith in Christ. And, that Jesus came not in human form, but in spirit.

 

This heresy was causing problems for the believers. Some had left the church. Some were living in a licentious lifestyle. Many were going down a path that would eventually lead to darkness and spiritual death. John wrote about the ramifications of their misdirected beliefs.

 

⁹ Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.             NIV

^15-16 Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him.       MSG

²² So who is lying here? It’s the person who denies that Jesus is the Divine Christ, that’s who. This is what makes an antichrist: denying the Father, denying the Son.    MSG

 

The good news is that those believers who remained faithful, were not alone. God had their back.

 

¹ My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.                       NLT

 

The Greek word for “advocate” is parakletos. This word became a title for the Holy Spirit, whose role included/includes “encouraging, strengthening and supporting God’s people”.

 

²⁶ I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. ²⁷ But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.                       NLT

 

This is a promise made to you by the Living God, the creator of the universe. As a believer in Christ, you have an advocate, and that advocate is the Holy Spirit. You have received him, and he lives within you to guide you into truth, to encourage and strengthen you. And, like the EMT’s who came to our home, he has your back.

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams