Sermon Audio: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ministrybymail

Dear friends in Christ,

Do you know someone who likes to “name drop?” This is someone who will bring up the name of a famous person in a conversation in hopes of impressing you. “My Mom and sister saw the actor Danny Glover at the airport…My friend once saw NBA star Rick Fox running full speed on a treadmill at a hotel in downtown Minneapolis…My cousin saw President Bill Clinton when he visited Duluth…My kids went to school with the sons of an NFL quarterback…” We “name drop” because we think that by having some sort of association with a famous or important person, that this somehow makes us more important.

When we “name drop” we’re indicating that we know these people we are referencing—but that is rarely true. We may know of these people, but rarely do we know them in a personal way. You may know what they do professionally, but you don’t know what they are thinking or feeling, what causes them pain and what brings them joy.

This morning in our text, the Apostle John speaks of people who were saying they “know Jesus,” but for some it was just words. We will see this morning how knowing Jesus affects how we act and who we love. Listen to God’s Word this morning in 1 John chapter 2 and pray with me that the Holy Spirit would help us to rightly understand and apply His Word to our lives.

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (ESV)

So far God’s Word.

MORE THAN WORDS

As John writes his first epistle, he is battling the lies of the “Gnostic”movement. Gnosticism got its title from the Greek word that means “knowledge.” The Gnostics claimed that they had an inner, deeper knowledge of God and of Jesus. They believed that material things—like our bodies—were evil and only our minds and our spirits mattered. Since our bodies were only temporary housing for our minds and spirits, they taught that it didn’t matter what you did with your bodies. So the Gnostics claimed that they “knew Jesus” with their minds but didn’t care about Jesus’ word or commandments.

That is what John was addressing in verse four of our text: “Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” The Gnostics were lying about knowing Jesus. Like my cousin waving at President Clinton from a distance, the Gnostics may have known about Jesus—but only from a distance. They didn’t personally know Him as their Lord and Savior. John calls them liars. And the lie was evidenced by the fact that they did not want to keep His commandments or obey His Word.

Not much has changed in 2,000 years. Think of all those out there that say they “know Jesus” but don’t keep what He commanded. Though Jesus says that He alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, some churches say they know Jesus and yet teach that Jesus is but one of many ways to God. Though Jesus says marriage is God’s institution from the beginning which is to be between one man and one woman, many churches and preachers who say they “know Jesus” ignore what Jesus says about marriage in their own lives and even encourage sinful living and perform same-sex marriages for others. Like the Gnostics of John’s day, many say they “know Jesus” but do not keep what He commands. John says they are liars and the truth is not in them.

AFFECTS HOW WE LIVE

Knowing Jesus is more than just words, knowing Jesus impacts the lives of his followers. Think of how knowing Jesus impacted life of the Apostle Paul. Prior to knowing Jesus, Paul—then called Saul—was a deeply devout Jew that hated Christians and wanted to imprison them.

But once Jesus revealed Himself to the Paul on the road to Damascus everything changed for Paul. Now Paul wanted to live his life for Jesus. He told the Galatians, “The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

So it is with all who know Jesus. Knowing Jesus means knowing Him personally by faith. We know the life He lived, was a life of obedience to the Father’s commands, so that He could cover us with His holiness and righteousness. We know His love for us was so great that He was willing to lay down His life for us. We know the Lord of Life, who gave us life, died to free us from the fear of death.

Knowing Jesus affects how we live. With Paul, we no longer want to live for ourselves, but for Him who died for us. We want to know the commands of Jesus, we want to know what is important to Him and we want to live to glorify Him. Jesus said it would be this way: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Being connected to Jesus through faith, Christians live lives that bear much fruit, lives that glorify God.

John says the same thing in the first verse of our text: “by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.” That word “keeping” carries with it not only the idea of obeying, but also the idea of guarding—like a soldier guarding his prisoner. Knowing Jesus by faith, we guard, treasure, and want to obey the commands of Jesus. “By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” Like playing “follow the leader,” knowing Jesus we want to imitate Him in our lives. Knowing Jesus affects our lives.

SEEN IN WHOM WE LOVE

Knowing Jesus we want to live for Jesus and keep His commandments. So what are those commandments? Well, the short answer is “all of the Bible.” But there is also a special commandment Jesus gave us the night before He died. He called it “a new commandment.” Do you know what it is? John 13:34-35 - “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus says this is how people will know that you know Me, if you love one another as I have loved you.

Now loving one another is not a new commandment. All of God’s commandments are summed up in this way: “Love God and love your neighbor.” What makes this commandment of Jesus a NEW commandment is how it is seen in Him. It is seen in His sacrifice. It is seen in His death. That is what John is referencing in our text when he speaks of an old commandment that is new. This is the new commandment that is seen in Jesus and in our love for one another. Verse 10, “Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.”Knowing Jesus is seen in our love for our brothers.

On the other hand, John writes, “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.” In “knowing Jesus,” there is no room for hating your fellow Christian. Such a person is still in the darkness of unbelief. John goes on, “Whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” How can a believer, for whom the Son of God had to be crucified in order to be saved, hate another Christian who also needed the same Son of God to bleed and die in order to be saved? Such a person has been blinded by sin and doesn’t realize they are headed for hell.

How do these words strike you? Do you immediately think about that Christian who makes you angry every time you see them or hear their name? Or maybe you hear that those who know Jesus keep His commandments, but you look at your life and realize all the ways you fail to keep His commandments. And so you begin to wonder, “Do I really know Jesus or am I blinded by the darkness?undefined

As you wrestle with these questions, remember who He surrounded Himself with. The night before He was going to die for His disciples, His disciples certainly were not loving one another—they were fighting over who was the greatest disciple. Peter cursed and swore that he didn’t know who Jesus was. The Apostle Paul called himself the “chief of sinners” who knew the good Jesus wanted him to do, but so often failed to keep His commandments. Abraham was a liar. David was an adulterer and murderer. And the list goes on and on of believers who “knew Jesus” but were miserable sinners.

Yet, Jesus loved them. He loved them enough to live a holy life for them so that He could cover them with His righteousness and holiness. He died that wretched death on the cross so that He could cleanse them from all of their sins.

And Jesus loved you too. He loved you who say you “know Jesus” but fail to keep His commandments. He loved you even though you don’t walk as He walked. He loved you with a perfect love, even though your love is so weak. The difference between those who “know Jesus” only with their head and those who “know Jesus” by faith is that the Holy Spirit has converted us from the darkness and brought us to the light. In the light we see our sin of failing to obey His commandments. We see our sin of hate and we HATE it all. Knowing Jesus, we don’t want to do those sins anymore. Knowing Jesus, we turn to Him for forgiveness. Knowing Jesus’ forgiveness, we want to live for Him—we want to learn and keep His commandments; we want to love our brother as Jesus loved us.

The two verses before our text help us tremendously in our weakness. John writes, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2) Praise God that Jesus is speaking to the Father on behalf of us weak sinners. Rejoice that Jesus is the propitiation, the sacrifice that was given to earn the forgiveness of sins for you. May God the Holy Spirit help us to show with our lives that we “know Jesus.” Amen.

—Pastor Nathan Pfeiffer

Berea Ev. Lutheran Church
Inver Grove Heights, MN

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Ministry by Mail is a weekly publication of the Church of the Lutheran Confession. Subscription and staff information may be found online at www.clclutheran.org/ministrybymail.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.