The First Epistle of John: Lesson Twenty-two

"For this reason I also suffer these things;

nevertheless I am not

ashamed, for I know whom

I have believed and am

persuaded that He is able to keep

what I have committed to Him

until that Day."

2 Tim 1:12

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Welcome back, I hope you had a good weekend....let's pray:

"Dear Father God, I am so grateful for the time You gave me with my family this weekend. It is because of Your grace and mercy that we are able to have wonderful times of fellowship at all. May we always be grateful and never take it for granted.

I seek the forgiveness of my sins today, Lord, because I know I have sinned against You. I pray that You will wash me clean...purge me of my hyssop, and renew a steadfast spirit within me that I may hear from You and do Your works.

I pray and lift up each lady reading this study today. I pray that You will reveal more of Yourself to her through this study. I pray that the Holy Spirit will encourage her as she deals with many issues throughout the week. I pray that she would earnestly seek You and walk with You.

In Jesus' name....amen."

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Confidence in God

In today's lesson we will look at 1 John 2:28-29 and what the Lord is saying to us in these verses. We have looked at abiding in Christ before, but now we will look at why we need to abide in Him.

1 John 2:28-29:

"And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him."

Jesus spoke to the Disciples about His second coming. He hinted at what was to come, but the Disciples didn't fully comprehend all that was being said just yet. In 1 John, the author has a full and complete understanding of what Jesus meant and now he wants us to know and be prepared.

Please read:

1 Thess 4:1-2

Matt 24:44

God spoke through Christ and through Paul to help us prepare for the coming of Christ. Jesus said that we are to "be ready" for the coming.

John wrote that we are to "abide in Him that when He appears we may have confidence...."

How will Jesus appear?

Acts 1:9-11

Zech 14: 3-4

Ezek 11:22-23

Jesus will return in His resurrected body coming in the clouds of heaven just as He left.

Col 3:1-4

Jesus will appear in glory .....and we will be with Him in glory.

2 Tim 4:7-8

Paul looked forward to the Day when Christ judge His people because he knew his reward was waiting for him.

John also wants us to be ready for the Day of the Lord.

How do we get ready?

Col 3:12-25

Paul gives us a list on how we, the elect of God, are to get ready for the return of Christ:

Put on.....

• tender mercies
• kindness
• humility
• meekness
• patience
• forgiveness
• LOVE

Paul calls LOVE the "bond of of perfection" (Eph 4:3) of the "bond of peace" with other believers.

Why?

So that "peace of God" may rule in our hearts because we were called in "one body".

Then he tells us to let the word of God "dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching, and admonishing one another..." with singing.

Then he gives us commandments for the home:

• wives submit to husbands
• husbands love your wives
• children obey parents
• fathers do not provoke children to wrath

Then he considers the workplace:

• obey masters with sincerity of heart
• do everything heartily as to the Lord and not men
• serve the Lord Christ

It is through our obedience that we will be prepared for Christ's coming. That is what we have learned about the word: abide.

Remember that our obedience is what matters to the Lord:

Jer 9:23-24

The Lord's return should always be on our minds:

1 Cor 15:56-58

Matt 24:36-44

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"We may have confidence and not be ashamed at His appearing...."

When I first stepped in front of my class for the first time at Glendale Community College, I had ZERO confidence in my abilities to teach. I suppose it showed because I didn't get a great student review at the end of the year.

The only way I finally found my confidence was when I learned to teach. I became prepared by studying how to teach and learning from those who taught for decades. By listening and studying, I became a confident teacher. Now I have no problem standing before a class full of 12 yr. olds or 20 yr. olds because I have confidence, boldness, assurance in my abilities....not conceitedness or cockiness, there is a difference and we will find out what that difference is below.....

Mark 8:38

John wants us to be able to stand in boldness and confidence at the coming of the Lord and not be ashamed as Adam and Eve were when the Lord appeared to them:

Gen 3:1-10

The word for "confidence" found in 1 John 2:28 is from the Greek word: parrhesia and it means:

out-spokenness; frankness; bluntly; assurance; boldly; freely; plainly.

Contrast that with how Adam and Eve reacted. Did they feel they could speak frankly or boldly before the Lord?

This is how John and Paul and the author of Hebrews want us to feel at the appearing of the Lord:

Heb 3:6

Heb 10:35-36

Acts 28:30-31

Not cowering in shame and hiding from Him because of our disobedience. How can we have that boldness, that confidence?

2 Tim 1:12

We should know the Savior. We should know the One whom we have believed.

Matt 6: 20-21

He should be our treasure....for where our treasure is, our heart is also.

Matt 19:21

Finally, to have that boldness and confidence in the coming of the Lord....we are to be watching:

1 Cor 16:13-14

Eph 3:16-17

Eph 6:10

Luke 11:21-23

Guard your "palace" and stand with the Lord. Put on the whole armor of God!

Eph 6:11

Next time we will look at what has to occur before the Lord comes. As we look further into the coming of the Lord....stay diligent! Abide in Him through the reading of His word. Make Him your treasure.

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Life Application

If we truly want to have that confidence and boldness at the coming of the Lord, to be able to stand firm in His presence as He comes for us....then we are to truly know the One whom we believe.

Jer 9:23-24

As we read above, these verses reveal to us what is considered a "delight" to the Lord:

for us to understand and know Him. That is truly the Greatest Good for all mankind.

The more you know the Lord whom you serve, the greater it is for you because He is everything we need: the food we eat, the water we drink, and the shelter we need.

Praise God that He gave us His word to treasure. Now we have the written word that reveals who He is and how to come to Him. What a loving and merciful God to allow this.

He warns us not to glory in wisdom:

Is. 47:10

Nor glory in one's might and power nor riches:

Eccl 9:11

Ps 33:16-18

But instead, He wants us to glory in this:

That we understand Him and know Him....that He is exercising in lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.

This is what He delights in!

So, as we go out into our week, may we take these precepts with us. We know how to know the Lord and how to please Him. Now we just have to do it!

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Until next time.....

"First, abiding in Christ means receiving Christ by faith and continuing in Christ by faith....if you are to continue in Christ, so that you will be 'confident and unashamed' when he comes again to this earth, you must sink your life into God's truth and be nourished by it. The Bible is the food that God has given to nourish our souls. It is vital to our psiritual well being and growth. Feed upon God's Word; allow it to teach, train, and guide you. Abide in Christ by abiding in his Word."

-Dr. Joel Beeke (The Epistles of John, 2006, pp. 103 & 104)

Blessings,

Ruth