I John
- How does John give a personal testimony to his time with Jesus? (1:1-3) Why did he do this? (1:3) Why is this important? How would you give your personal testimony about Jesus?
- What do we learn about Jesus at the beginning of John's letter? (1:1-3)
- What is the main message John passes on to us from Jesus? (1:5)H how would you express it in your own words?
- The next section of John's letter from 1:6-2:6 uses the word "if" 8 times, and lets us know if we claim and act certain wrong ways, what the real truth is and the consequences will be, but if we do certain right things, how we will benefit. 1) If we claim to know God, but walk in the darkness and do not do what He commands, what is the real truth and consequences? (1:6, 2:4) 2) If we claim that we have not sinned and are without sin, what is the real truth and the consequences? (1:8, 10) 3) If we walk in the light, how will we benefit? (1:7) How have you experienced this? 4) If we confess our sins, what is the benefit? (1:10) How have you experienced this? Why is this true? (2:1-2) 5) If we obey Jesus' commands, what won-derful things does God say are true for us? (2:3, 5-6) How have you experienced this?
- What is the old commandment John mentions in 2:7? (2:7) What is the new one in 2:8? (2:8)
- If we as a Christian hate a fellow Christian, what is our true condition according to 2:9, 11? Why? (2:9, 11) On the other hand, if we love our fellow Christians, what wonderful benefits do we receive? (2:10) How have you experienced this?
- How does John sum up his teaching up to this point in 2:12-14, and what new teaching does he give us? (2:12-14)
- If we love the world, what is true about us? (2:15) What things of the world are mentioned that are not from God that can get into us? (2:16) What are some examples of them? How have you dealt with these things? What are we told we must do to live forever? (2:17)
- What do we learn about the antichrist in 2:18-26? (2:18-26) How would you apply this today?
- In contrast to the antichrist(s), what is true about us as Christians? (2:20-25) Did you know these things? What do we learn about the anointing we have as Christians? (2:20-27) What does John exhort us to do in 2:24-28? (2:24-28) Are you? If we do it, what wonderful things will happen for us? (2:24, 28)
- How does John say that we as Christians know how very much God our Father loves us? (3:1-2) How do we know for sure that this applies to us? (3:10)
- John says that although we can not know exactly how we will be in heaven, yet we do know one thing. What is that? (3:2) If we have hope in this, what does he say this will do for us now? (3:3)
- What definition of sin is given in 3:4? (3:4) What does it mean? When we sin, who have we aligned ourself with? (3:8) Who has no sin, and what effect do they have on sin, including ours? (3:5, 8) What do we have to do for this to happen? (3:6-7, 9) If it does not happen, what is true about that person? (3:6, 8)
- List what is true of people who are children of God versus people who are children of the devil and of the world. (3:1-10, 4:4-6) Who is the Biblical example given of a person of the devil? Why? What caused them to be this way? (3:12)
- Why should we love one another? (3:11, 4:7-8) If we love people like God wants us to, what is true about us? (3:14, 4:7) And if we don't, what is true about us? (3:12-15, 4:8, 20) Why? (4:8) How do we know what love really is? (3:16, 4:10) Therefore, what should we do? (3:16-18, 4:11, 14-16) How? Are you? What benefits does this bring to us? (3:19-20, 4:12,16-18)
- If we obey God's commands, what benefits will we receive? (3:22-24) What is God's command? (3:23, 4:21)
- What are we to do when we sense the presence of a spirit? Why? (4:1) How do we know when a spirit is from God? (4:2, 6) How do we know when a spirit is of falsehood or of the antichrist? (4:3, 5-6) How have you experienced these things personally?
- Why does John say that Christians have overcome the people of the world? (4:4)
- What must we do to live in God and He in us? (3:24, 4:13,15-16)
- If we believe that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God, what is true about us? (5:1, 4-5, 9-13)
- If we love God, who else will we love, and what will we do? (5:1-3) Why? (5:2-3)
- Why is obeying God's commands not a burden? (5:4-5) What has been your own experience with this?
- What does it mean that Jesus Christ came "by water and blood"? (5:6-8) How does this re-late to us?
- What is the testimony God has given about His Son, and how does this relate to us? (5:9-13)
- What requirement for effective prayer is given in I John 5? (5:14-15) Have you incorporated this into your own life?
- If we see a fellow Christian committing a sin, what are we to do? (5:16-17)
- What is another reason John gives that we as Christians will not continue to do the same sins? (5:18-20)