Chapter 5

 

"4 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

⁴ You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. ⁵ They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶ We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit^[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood."

 

It seems strange that the first two paragraphs of Dan's centerpiece are dealing with false teachers/prophets.  It's also interesting that John seems to not give a lot of credence to things of "the world".    

God’s Love and Ours  (Dan's primary focus)

^"7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

 He starts by noting that love comes "from God" first.   Then we see "how God showed His love among us".   Wow, being told specifically how God "showed His love among us" seems like a really important thing.   It seems like "how God showed His love among us" might be (and as we saw earlier, is) the model for how we show His (not our) love for others.  So, how did God "show his love for us" and what is love?  "This is love, (that's quite the claim): not that we loved God (didn't Dan say "The doctrine of total depravity asserts that people are, as a result of the fall, not inclined or even able to love God wholly with heart, mind, and strength, but rather are inclined by nature to serve their own will and desires and reject his rule."?  So, should we believe Dan or John when they contradict?) , but that He loved us and sent His son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins".    Not only does John seem pretty clear about what he is trying to communicate, this is the second of third time he's said this in 1 John.   He concludes that "since" God "loved us" by sending His son to die for our sins, that we should follow God's example and love others.   Still no mention of giving the "poor/oppressed" anything. 

 

^"13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us."

I'm pretty sure Dan left this part out as he was cherry picking.  Probably because it's a little too supernatural (not based in Dan's reason) and repeats that Jesus was sent to be "the Saviour of the world", not to succor the "poor/oppressed".  

"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."

 It seems pretty clear that the way love is "made complete among us" is that we will have confidence on the "day of judgement" (doesn't fit with the non judgemental, non punishing God we hear about) because we have no fear of judgement because of what Christ has done for us.  Again, note the focus on future judgement, not on giving stuff to the "poor/oppressed".

^"19 We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister."

Repeating what's been said earlier.  Note that "children of God" might suggest that "brother and sister" do not mean every single "poor/oppressed" person in history.  One wonders why, if giving stuff to the "poor/oppressed' was so vitally important that John failed to mention the "poor/oppressed" once?