BIBLE READING: FIRST JOHN
Return to Bible Reading Plans
First John
Context:
How to do Personal Bible Reading
- Request God’s help to understand His word and to know Him and His will more.
- Remind yourself of what you read and learned last time.
- Read the next section of the Bible slowly and carefully.
- Reflect on the passage. Use the questions. Think about meaning and application.
- Rely on God by asking Him to help you to believe and to put into practice what He says.
Day 1:
- Who is verse 1 talking about?
- What experiences of Him are being described. Why is the writer doing that?
- What other descriptions are given to identify the one referred to?
- What are the purposes given for both the announcements and the writing of this letter?
- Are these purposes fulfilled for you? If not, why not? If so, to what degree?
Pray, thanking God for the appearance of His Son and for the fellowship and joy we can have with and through Him.
Day 2:
- Think about what the light/darkness imagery reveals about God and what it then might reveal about our walk. (1:5-6)
- Observe what it says about fellowship in verses 6-7. Does anything stand out to you?
- How does what we do relate to what we say? Does this motivate you at all?
- Observe what the two wrong ways and the right way of dealing with our sins are in verses 8-10.
- What is the basis for the forgiveness we have? (2:1-2)
Pray: Spend time in confession (consider motives & thoughts as well as actions).
Spend time in thankfulness for what Christ has done and the promise of forgiveness.
Ask for God’s help to walk in the light.
Why not memorise 1 John 1:9? Seek to put it into practice in your daily prayer life.
Day 3:
Background to this section is John 13:34-35 and John 15:9-14, 17.
- Observe what the central idea in the passage is. i.e. Look at how it starts; what the most frequent word or idea is and so on.
- Think about how Jesus’ new commandment in John 13:34-35 and John 15:9-14 helps us to understand the following in this passage:
- Walking as Jesus walked (verse 6)
- The commandment is both old and new at the same time (verses 7-8)
- The switch in focus to ‘hating’ and ‘loving’ (verses 9-11)
- Think about who a brother or sister might be and think about what loving them looks like.
- How do these verses help us understand the idea of walking in light and darkness that was raised in John 1:5-7.
- What is a mark of a genuine Christian or someone who genuinely has fellowship with God.
Pray, asking God to help you walk as Jesus walked by keeping his new commandment.
Day 4:
Verses 12-14 refer to three groups. While two group use words that refer to males (‘fathers’, ‘young men’) we should see it applying to both men and women. One way to think of the groups is as ages rather than genders. Older and younger adults and children. Or it could refer to two groups with children referring to the whole church (see 1 John 2:1, 18).
- Verses 12-14 remind them of what is true about them. How can these statements help those who are being disturbed by false teaching? What from these truths has already been referred to in the letter so far. What is still to be covered? (Have a look at 1 John 5:4-5)
- How might each truth stated be especially relevant to each group addressed? Do they still apply to the others in the church as well? Are these statements true of you?
- What does it mean to love the world? What can it not mean?
- What is the basis for not loving the world?
- Reflect on how these verses challenge you with regard to worldliness.
Pray, thanking God for the truths about those who belong to Him. Ask Him to help you battle against worldliness and to grow your eternal perspective to your daily living.
Day 5:
Key: Christ = Anointed; antichrist = one who is against the anointed; This should be noticed and connected with anointing in these verses.
- What is the evidence that the danger in the last days (‘last time’) has already appeared?
- What is their activity according to verses 23 and 26? Can you think of another more commonly used name for these antichrists?
- Why do verses 20-21 talk about what believers have already come to know? How does verse 21 help us understand ‘knowing all things’ in verse 20, which obviously cannot mean exhaustive knowledge about every topic?
- How does his anointing help us with the dangers of these false teachers (antichrists)?
- How are you to remain in Him (verse 27)? See verse 24 for the answer. Have a think what one hears from the beginning to become a believer which you should continue to hold on to?
Pray, thanking God that He teaches us everything we need to know to gain His promise of eternal life. Thank Him that we don’t need any special or secret wisdom beyond what He’s done and revealed in the gospel. Ask Him to help you hold on to the truth and not be deceived by false teachers.
Day 6:
Don’t let the absoluteness of these verses trip you up in understanding (e.g. verse 9). It is not that a true believer can ever sin (see 1 John 1:8-10; 2:1-2). A key to understanding this section is to note that most of the verbs are in the present tense. It is talking about present ongoing actions. In other words, it’s about our way of life.
- Look through the passage and observe what the key words or ideas are. There’s at least 3.
- Note what it says about the two types of children. Who are they from? How can you know whose child a person is?
- Has a child of God reached their final perfected state? Why not? (verse 2-3)
- What characterises the way these two types of children live?
- Note how sin is defined (verse 4) and how practising righteousness (‘doing what is right’) is defined (verse 10)?
- How do these verses challenge and encourage you about who you are and how you live?
Pray, thanking God for His love that makes us His children. Ask Him to help you to walk as His child practising righteousness (love) and not practising sin (lawlessness).
Return to Bible Reading Plans
Read 1 John 5:14-21
- Who is verse 1 talking about?
- What experiences of Him are being described. Why is the writer doing that?
- What other descriptions are given to identify the one referred to?
- What are the purposes given for both the announcements and the writing of this letter?
- Are these purposes fulfilled for you? If not, why not? If so, to what degree?
Pray, thanking God for the appearance of His Son and for the fellowship and joy we can have with and through Him.
Read 1 John 5:14-21
- Think about what the light/darkness imagery reveals about God and what it then might reveal about our walk. (1:5-6)
- Observe what it says about fellowship in verses 6-7. Does anything stand out to you?
- How does what we do relate to what we say? Does this motivate you at all?
- Observe what the two wrong ways and the right way of dealing with our sins are in verses 8-10.
- What is the basis for the forgiveness we have? (2:1-2)
Pray: Spend time in confession (consider motives & thoughts as well as actions).
Spend time in thankfulness for what Christ has done and the promise of forgiveness.
Ask for God’s help to walk in the light.
Why not memorise 1 John 1:9? Seek to put it into practice in your daily prayer life.