Pray: "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law."

1. 1

   What do you learn about God (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) from this chapter? His thoughts, ways, or actions toward us, as His creation? How can you respond to God in prayer and praise?

2. 2

   In verses 1-6, John gives a warning not to believe every spirit or prophet. According to these verses, how can we know if the message we are hearing is from the Spirit of truth or the spirit of error? Ponder: John's warning to test the spirits is so important in our media age. There are false teachers everywhere. Language can be tricky; this is why it is so important to know what someone means by the words they are using. Many religions use the terms God and Jesus, but how would they define these terms? Dr. Constable puts it this way, "John did not say every spirit that 'denies' Jesus, but every spirit that 'does not confess' Jesus. Often heretical teaching masks its deviations from the truth by simply failing to affirm important biblical truth. Rather than proclaiming that Jesus is not the Christ, they fail to affirm that He is the Christ." The test is: do they define Jesus as God, who came to earth and added humanity to Himself, so that He could die on the cross for our sins? Do they acknowledge He is the Christ? How's your discernment? Do you find yourself testing the spirits by investigating the people you listen to online, read from, or watch? As you investigate what they believe, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and discernment.

3. 3

   In verses 7-8, John says we (believers) are to love one another. Why does he say we are to love? In verses 9-10, how did God display His love to us? In verses 11-12, when we love others, what does it demonstrate to the world?

4. 4

   In verses 13-21, how can we know that we abide in God and God abides in us? What casts out fear? If you fear, what has not been perfected? Why do we love? According to these verses, can you separate God and love? Can you say you abide in Him if you do not love?

5. 5

   Ponder: This chapter repeats the word love 27 times! The question is: what does love mean? There are people in our world who say they love others; even unbelievers can show love. However, the world's kind of love is conditional and can cease to show love when someone treats them unkindly. So what does it mean to love like this chapter is calling us to? Verses 9-10, 14-15, and 19 give us a clue, as they describe love as the perfect love of God. His love sent His Son to die in our place so that we might live with Him forever. We love because He loved us first. God's very nature is to love. Consider how Jesus was treated: lied about, beaten, falsely accused, misunderstood, rejected, disagreed with; our sin caused His death. He was innocent. What drove Him to die for people who were mistreating Him and rejecting Him? His unconditional love for us! The type of love described in this chapter is agape love. It is the kind of love that comes from God. As we abide in God, His love abides in us and, as a result, pours out to others, even our enemies. Do others see the love of God pouring out of you? How does this lead you to pray?