1 st John 1:5-6 The Light & the Darkness The Lie & the Truth

1 st John 1:5-6 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;

The Message What is the importance of John’s having a message? What is the importance of John’s message for believers? What is the importance of having empirical evidence?

Genesis, John and 1 st John Genesis 1:1-5John 1:1-91 st John 1:1-7 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life -- and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us -- what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Relevance of the Beginning What evidences does secular man have for beginning things? What evidences do world religions have for beginning things? What does it mean to have communication with the Creator who revealed the truth, preserved the truth, and stayed in fellowship with His creation?

God as the Source of Light Why does God’s being the source and definer of light matter to the world at large? What does it matter to the believer? How does this fly in the face of deism?

John Ties Together God’s Light Why does John tell the believers something they probably already knew? Why is it important for the Old Testament to say the same thing about God as the New Testament?

Fellowship with God John uses the first person plural over and over again in this epistle. What sort of logical argument is this? Literal or hypothetical? The Greek is written in the hypothetical subjunctive mood which does not state that this argument is reality, but instead an idea

The Lie & the Truth John presents the problem of the lie in this hypothetical situation. He’s going to address it in the coming verses, but we’re left with a cliff hanger ending to this Sunday School lesson. What is the importance of truth in Semitic thinking?

The Pauline Overlap What is the significance of Paul and John writing about similar things like darkness & light? What distinct things did Paul get to write about and teach? What distinct things did John get to write about and teach?