Desiring God - 1 John

Lesson 1: Live in the Light

Lesson Workbook (PDF) Click here

LESSON OBJECTIVES

Goals

1. To help the students understand the intentions of those who share the gospel.
2. To help the students understand how to follow God.
3. To share the importance of admitting to your sins.

Topics

Light, Darkness, Sin, Repentance, Mercy, God's Word

Scripture Memorization

1 John 1:8-10

OPENING PRAYER (5 to 10 minutes)

GROUP BUILDING (10 minutes)

2 Truths and a Lie
Each person in the group gets a turn. When it is your turn, tell the group two things about yourself that are true and one thing that is untrue (this is your lie). Try not to tell both of your truths first and then the lie because that makes it easier to guess. Have everyone try to guess which one of the facts is false. (Prizes for correct answers may increase the game’s excitement)

Examples:
(These are more exaggerated then they should be to help illustrate the game).
I have a dog.
I have an older sister.
I have been to the moon.

Obviously, the lie would be the last one. Play until everyone has told three facts about themselves, two being true and one being a lie.

GETTING STARTED (10 minutes)

Have several students read the following passages:

• John 16:28-30
• John 1:1
• Colossians 1:17
• Revelation 22:13

General Discussion:
• What recurring theme is consistent between the passages? (The eternality of Jesus Christ.)
• What do you think it means? (Jesus, the human manifestation of God, existed before time, space, and creation.)

The Gospel of John, Revelation, and 1 John were all written by John, one of Jesus’ disciples, while Colossians was written by Paul, who became devoted to the Lord after a spiritual awakening. John was one of the first disciples called by Jesus, and wrote the Gospel of John, the three Epistles of John, and the Book of Revelation. Paul wrote 13 books of the Bible, most of which were letters to churches across the world, encouraging them to follow the Lord and spreading the Gospel.

General Discussion:
• How do the men’s backgrounds affect their ways of writing and their views on the “recurring theme”? (Their first-hand experience with Jesus impact their views of Him.)
• How do these passages compare? (They are all very similar…there is a consistency across the books/authors.)

As we read our main text, try to identify the similarities between the passages we’ve already read and 1 John 1. Make mental or physical notes throughout the lesson of the similarities and the differences.

DIGGING IN (30 minutes)

1 John 1 (Have each student read the passage to themselves quietly, then read it aloud to the group.)

General Discussion:
• What was your first impression of the passage? (Allow students to share.)
• What, if anything, changed as you read it the second time? (Allow students to share observations.)
• How could the game have related to the passage? (There is a way our lives lie — when we claim to have not sinned.)

Now we will go through the passage again, breaking it apart and looking further into its meaning.

Read 1 John 1:1-4

The title of this passage in a lot of Bibles is “The Incarnation of the Word of Life”.

The word “incarnation” comes from the Latin verb “incarnare,” meaning “to embody.”

Discussion Questions:
1. What is being embodied in this text? (The Word of Life.)
2. Who is the Word of Life? (Jesus Christ.)
3. John says Jesus has been since “the beginning” and has now been touched and can be testified to. What are some ways you can testify to Jesus’ activity in your own life? In what ways has eternal life appeared to us? (Allow students to share examples.)
4. Fellowship is most commonly defined as “friendly association, especially with people who share one's interests.” How does this definition apply to the passage? (The shared interest and fellowship is with the incarnate Christ, made flesh so that we could relate to Him personally.)
5. How does this fellowship help to “complete our joy?” (It is our heart’s deepest longing to connect with God — Him dwelling in flesh makes Him more accessible and relatable.)

Read 1 John 1:5-7

Discussion Questions:
1. Light and darkness are clearly opposites, but what relationship do sin and forgiveness have? How is light and dark associated with sin and forgiveness? (Without sin there cannot be forgiveness. Light drives out the darkness.)
2. Verse 6 says that if we claim to have fellowship with God but walk in darkness, What are we? (Liars, not living out the truth.)
3. When we live a true life, free of darkness and lies, what happens? (Jesus purifies us from all sin.)

Read 1 John 1:8-10

Discussion Questions:
1. Why would we claim to be without sin? We know that no one is perfect, yet we pretend to be so. Why do you think that is? (Since Adam & Eve humanity has attempted to cover our own sins — shame, pride, control all contribute to this reflex.)
2. Why must we confess our sins to be “purified from all unrighteousness?” (Because it takes an act of vulnerability, approaching God in trust, to link us in relationship and forgiveness.)
3. How do our lies affect the Lord’s reputation? (When we claim to be Christ followers but don’t demonstrate it with our lives, we come off seeming hypocritical and disingenuous…this can give Christianity — and thus, Christ — a bad name.)
4. In what ways can God's Word be “in us?” (When we are vulnerable before and trusting in Jesus, His likeness comes more in line with our own.)

MAKING IT REAL (10 minutes)

John 16:28-30, John 1:1, Colossians 1:17, Revelation 22:13

General Discussion:
• Now that we’ve taken a closer look, what similarities/differences did you identify between those passages and 1 John 1? (Jesus is light, Jesus is truth, Jesus is the embodiment of a force that has existed in the Godhead before time and space, etc.)
• How do you think the game related to the passage? (We all have truth and lies in us, it is imperative that we are honest about where we are with Jesus, we must rely on the truth of Jesus where we fall short, etc.)

1 John 1 is a passage about telling the truth and confessing our sins and how it affects our relationship with the Lord. We can be in fellowship with him if we admit to our sins and repent. He will forgive us of our sins — but if we deny them and claim to be pure, we miss out on the reward of fellowship with Jesus.

Each of the passages talk about the beginning and the end, the coming from God and the returning to God. To be a part of God, you must follow him, and tell him no lies. You must know who God is and what he wants for us.

In John 1:1, it says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

General Discussion:
• What kind of relationship do the Word and God have? (They are one in the same.)
• How does it compare to your relationship with God? (It is the model for what we should seek — oneness with God in vulnerability and truth, fellowship in the light, etc.)

CLOSING PRAYER (2 minutes)

Gather prayer requests and pray for the group.