January 11, 2016
Scripture Reading: 1 John 1
1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4We write this to make our joy complete.
5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
Questions for Reflection:
Today we begin our study of 1 John 1. We’ll begin our study by reading through the whole chapter. As you read it through, it’s important to start with observation. Ask yourself some basic investigatory questions about the text: Who? Where? When? What? Why?
Who are the people involved? Who is writing 1 John 1? We spent last week studying some of the highlights of the author’s life. What do you know about him? Who is he writing to? What do you know about this group of people?
The questions of When and Where are questions of setting. When is the author writing? What do you know about the setting from the text? Where is he writing? Where are the people that he is writing to?
The question of What helps us understand what the text is addressing. What is happening in the text? What does the author communicate to his audience? What words or phrases are repeated? What is the point?
The final question to ask is Why. As Bible scholar Howard Hendricks points out, “There is an infinity of Why? questions to ask the biblical text. Why is this included? Why is it placed here? Why does this follow that? Why does this precede that? Why does this person say that? Why does that person say nothing? Why? is a question that digs for meaning.”
Finish your time today in prayer asking God to make your time of study in this chapter fruitful this week. Ask Him to challenge you, comfort you, grow you.