May 4-9 Bible Reading Guide

JonBible Reading Guide

Bible Reading and Commentary
May 4 – May 9, 2020

I, II, & III JOHN — In the epistles of John, he speaks out against those who denied Jesus’ divinity. John defended Christ’s divinity in his epistle and also this truth: Only through faith in Jesus do we have eternal life. He also stressed the real meaning of love–our love we are to show to others and God’s superior love shown us in Christ.

Monday, May 4, I John 1
Vv. 6-9 — A Christian will never deliberately live in sin, foster sin, or make sin his way of life. Once we are Christians, our walk in light means we’ll confess our sins and rest our faith in Jesus. As a result, we have the assurance our sins are all forgiven and where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. (v. 9) Underline especially v. 7.

Tuesday, May 5, I John 2
Vv. 1-2 — Our perfect lawyer before God is Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. What awesome thing has He done for us and the world? Underline v. 2.
Vv. 12-13 — “Little children” is a reference to all Christians. “Fathers” refers to mature Christians who are the backbone of the church. Young men are the future of the church.
v. 18 — Anti-Christs are all who are opposed to Christ and introduce into the church anti-Christian teachings. The Anti-Christ described in II Thess. 2:1-12 fit’s the Papacy.

Wednesday, May 6, I John 3
v. 2 — Here John gives us a glimpse of heaven.
v. 9 — The words, “We cannot go on sinning” mean the Christian will hate sin and be offended by it. That’s because God’s seed, or the Word of God, in us will move us to turn away from sin.
v. 15 — Hating a fellow Christian makes us guilty of what?
Vv. 17, 18, 23 — Do you practice love as God expects?

Thursday, May 7, I John 4
v. 1 — We test the spirits when we examine the confession of others (what they believe) in the light of God’s Word.
Vv. 18-19 — Perfect love is God’s love in Christ. It’s described in verse 10. Underline v. 19.
v. 21 — “Whoever loves God must also love his brother” summarizes vv. 7-21. The reason we will love even our enemies, as Jesus orders us in Matt. 5:44, is brought out in vv. 10, 16, and 19.

Friday, May 8, I John 5
v. 6 — This passage John wrote against the error that Jesus was just a superior man. What did John mean, “Jesus came by water and blood”? Water refers to Baptism. There the heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit announced to us that Jesus is the Son of God. The blood refers to Jesus’ crucifixion. At Calvary, as John clearly points out to us, Jesus freed us from all sin (chap. 1:7) and won for us eternal life (5:11). No mere man could have accomplished that.

Saturday, May 9, II and III John
II John 1 — “The chosen lady and her children” is probably a figurative way of addressing the church. The Greek word for church is feminine
II John 9 — In this short letter, just as in his first epistle, John opposes the error that Jesus is not God. To reject Jesus Christ as the Son of God who brought us eternal salvation, be it in a religion or in some secular organization such as the lodge or Boy Scouts, is to reject the Father and eternal life. Read I John 2:23.
III John 8 — John praises Gaius for treating fellow Christians who came to him, with love and respect. That is what Christian fellowship is all about, helping fellow believers when they need help and “working together for the truth.”
III John 9-11 — There are trouble-makers in the church now just as there were in John’s day. We are to imitate men like Gaius (v. 1) and Demetrius (v. 12). Do you?

2020-05-04 I, II, & III John