Monday, August 5, 2024

The Word of Life is Unchangeable (1 John 1:1a)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 08-05-2024

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus: “The Word of Life is Unchangeable”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                          Reference:  1 John 1:1a

 

            Message of the verse:  “What was from the beginning,”

 

            I now want to look at some of the things that John MacArthur has written about the first half of the first verse from 1 John1.

 

            “The message of redemption is unchanging.  From the beginning of the proclamation of the gospel it has been the same. Those who preach the true gospel have always commanded faith and repentance (Matt. 4:17; John 3:16-18; Acts 2:38; 17:30), declared that the kingdom of God is at hand (Matt. 3:2; Acts 19:8), announced the merciful and gracious availability of divine forgiveness (Acts 10:43; Eph. 1:7), and urged sinners to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:18-21).  When the apostle John wrote this epistle, an incipient Gnosticism was already threatening the churches of Asia Minor.  Its proponents denied the full deity and humanity of Jesus Christ and, therefore, His true nature essential to the gospel.  They further claimed to have attained, apart from the gospel, a transcendent knowledge of the divine, available only to the ‘spiritual’ elite and otherwise beyond the reach of the common believer.”

 

            As I read over and study the different letters that are found in the New Testament I realize that many, or most of them were written because of a problem that was going on in the church or churches of that time.  Now as the church age went onward the same problems would arise and so true believers can go to the different New Testament letters to show how it was dealt with back at the beginning of the church age.  Now I have to say that it is my belief that the Apostle John wrote all of his writings that are found in the New Testament late in the first century, and as I think about the gospel of John written near the end of the first century it just reinforces to me that it was the Holy Spirit who inspired that book, and of course all of the entire Bible.  Now as one looks at what is going on in the church age today there are what we call cults who are making the very same error that John was alluding to in this letter.  I think for instance the Mormons, and Jehovah Witnesses who do not teach or believe that Jesus Christ is God, the second person of the godhead.  There are others before that were a part of the church age, and so all one has to do is to look at for instance what John is writing here at the beginning of his first letter to show that they are wrong. Jesus warned, “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will shoe great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect” (Matt. 24:24).  MacArthur goes on to write that “They threaten to undermine the church (Acts 20:29-30; 2 Tim. 3:1-9), seeking to lure it away from the apostolic body of faith (cf. Acts 2:42;  13:8; 14:22; 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:13; 2 Cor. 13:5; Eph. 4:4-6; Col. 1:23; 1 Tim. 4:1, 6: 6:10, 21; 2 Tim. 3:8; 4:7; Titus 1:13; 3:15; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Jude 3, 4, 20)—the inspired truth that nothing can every supersede (cf. Heb. 13:8-9).

 

            “Any alteration of this heavenly revelation, whether by adding to it or taking from it, constitutes an attack on the truth and its sovereign Author.  All preachers, teachers, and witnesses for the gospel—in any generation or location, for any reason, including making the message more acceptable or marketable—should know they cannot freely change with impunity an element of God’s revelation.”

 

            We now conclude this SD by looking at Galatians 1:6-9 something the apostle Paul earlier warned in unambiguous words of those who propagate an altered or false gospel: 

 

6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

 

            Well there are a couple of more verses I want to look at to show that with a simple opening statement John establishes that the gospel concerning the Word of life is permanent and unalterable.  “18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19  and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book” (Rev. 22:18-19).

 

8/5/2024 9:43 PM

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