Key Learnings from Wednesdays
April 2025 - May 2025
Wednesday Bible Study
The three Letters of John in content and style resemble the Gospel of John. They address issues of faith, love, and the nature of Jesus, emphasizing the importance of truth and community in the face of false teachings.
⁃ 2 John seen as written to a congregation, while 3 John written to an individual
• Letters to the same congregation
• Lenski written on the same day
• Class discussion concluded after a period of time had elapsed
⁃ The kingdom of God is inclusive, not just the Hebrews but also the gentiles
• “Us” (3John 1:10), the other apostles (Paul, Peter, John, etc.)
• Seminary of sorts where Demetrius was trained (3John 1:5,12)
- Truth: Faith in Christ; saved by Grace through faith
• Imitate good not evil; all good comes from God (3John 1:11)
• Gnosticism is untrue
- Diotrephes - a warning
• Authoritarian figure
• Rough pastor?
• False teacher? (2John 1:9)
⁃ Scripture is the Word of God, not a container with God’s word.
• The Scriptures are authoritative because of their source (Holy Spirit)
• The church does not confer status on the books; the church consents to their status
• The church has always recognized two categories of writings
⁃ Homologoumena - recognized as authoritative writings
⁃ Antilegomena - writings unable to stand on their own
• Hebrews, James, Jude, Revelation, 2Peter, 2John, 3John
⁃ Guidelines in dealing with the Antilegomena
• No teachings originates from these books
• Nothing in controversy may be proved from just these books
• Understanding and explanation comes from the rest of the Bible
⁃ Canonicity
• Content of the book/letter must point to Christ Jesus as savior
• Apostolic authorship or supervision
• Used in the early church
⁃ The church, the bride of Christ, a lady, feminine
⁃ A warning against Charlatans (likely gnosticism)
• Jesus Christ is true God and true Man (2John 1:7)
• Do not support a false gospel nor false teachers (2John 1:10)
⁃ Salvation by faith alone
⁃ Baptism is complete in and of itself. (1John 5:6)
• God is doing the work in Baptism; not the person who is administer it.
• One Baptism for the remission of sins
• Office of the Keys: Ownership of the keys remains with the congregation ∴ sacraments can be administered without a pastor in times of a pastoral vacancy
• A Means of Grace through which the Holy Spirit works to provide faith
• Emperor Constantine, a genuine convert, was baptized on his death bed because of misunderstanding of Grace.
⁃ Council of Nicea; A creed against Gnostism.
• Trinitarian in its structure, as is the Apostle’s Creed.
• Never an issue of Jesus’ divinity
⁃ Salvation only in the Gospel - something God does
⁃ 3rd Article - I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ or come to Him. But, the Holy Spirit calls me by the gospel, enlightens me with His gifts, sanctifies and keeps me in the one true faith.
• Object of faith is Christ, not my belief in Jesus
• The sin that leads to death is the rejection of the Holy Spirit who provides faith
• Salvation only in the Gospel, no salvation in obedience to the Law
• God desires all people to be saved. Resistible Grace.
- ⁃ Many of us do not have a road to Damascus moment
⁃ Gnosticism
• Heresies of the Cerinthians - The divine came upon human Jesus at his baptism and left him at the cross so that it was only the man who died.
• Cerinthus (ca. 100). A Gnosticist active at Ephesus; reputed opponent of John (Gospel of John; 1John); no writings survive; accounts in patristics vague and contradictory. (Lutheran Cyclopedia)
• The early church fathers where the students of the disciples and also wrote against Gnosticism’s heresies
⁃ Test everything against the standard of Scripture
⁃ False Teachers within the Church
• The Charlatan - Seekers of wealth
• The Prophet - Claims special revelation
• The Abuser - After sexual conquests
• The Embellisher - Uses Scriptures out of context
• The Tickler - Prosperity Gospel preacher
• The Speculator - Making Scripture say what it doesn’t
⁃ The two natures of Christ
• Fully Human (1John 4:2)
• Fully Divine (1John 4:9)
⁃ Prayer
• Prayer in and of itself has no power, only He who hear’s our prayers has power.
• Need - We have a need to have heart felt communication with our Savior
• Command - We were commanded by God to approach Him in prayer
• Promise - For Christ’s sake God has promised to hear our prayer
• The Holy Spirit helps us when we pray (Romans 8:26-27)
⁃ Love
• God is love
• God sent us Christ Jesus because He loves us
• We love because He first loved us
⁃ Gnosticism; Secret Knowledge; Everything physical world is evil;
• Docetism claims Christ did not have a physical body but only appeared to be human.
• John emphasizes the physicality of Christ’s body (1John 1:1, John 20:27)
⁃ Faith Alone
• Work of God is faith (John 6:29, Hosea 6:6)
• Good works are those works done in faith (Hebrews 11:6)
• The difference between Cain and Abel’s sacrifice was faith
• The commandment of God is to live a life of faith; The object of faith is Christ
⁃ Absolute truth is true at all times in all places. Jesus came to testify to the truth (John 18:37)
⁃ Marks of a Cult (+-*/)
• + Adding to or changing the Word of God
• - Subtract from the Trinity of God
• * Multiplies the works needed for salvation
• / Divide the loyalties of the followers from God to loyalty to the Cult
⁃ Lutherans vs the anti-christ
• “…the pope is the real Antichrist who has raised himself over and set himself against Christ, for the pope will not permit Christians to be saved except by his own power, which amounts to …” (Smal, Article IV, 10)
• The errors of the pope’s kingdom are manifest, and the Scriptures unanimously declare these errors to be doctrines of demons and of the Antichrist. (Treatise, 42)
⁃ The works of the flesh are evil
• Works without faith is evil
• Works done in faith are good
• We can not save ourselves and are whole dependent on Christ
⁃ More Gnostic Heresy
• Matter is Evil; Spirit is Good
• Salvation is the escape from the Body
• Christ either wasn’t human or He showed us how to escape
⁃ Propitiation: Appeasement or satisfaction, toward God. Being reconciled to God - Christ is the propitiation for our sins (1John 2:1)
⁃ Righteousness
• Good, right, true (Ephesians 5:9)
• Sin is a lack of righteousness (1John 1:8)
• The righteousness that we now have is Christ’s righteousness
⁃ Anti-Christ
• Those whose work is to pull us away from God
• Those who would deceive us (concerning salvation)
⁃ Christ is the object of faith. Faith in Christ is what saves
⁃ John heard and saw with his own ears and eyes this message of salvation in Christ alone.
⁃ 1John 1:5-10 is very familiar because of its use in the worship service
⁃ Original Sin and what it has done to us
• No Righteousness (Loss of righteousness)
• No Knowledge (Ignorance of God (Redefining of God))
• No Love (Inability to love God)
• No Trust (Unable to trust God (Rejecting His Church))
• No fear (of God (Contempt of God))
• My Judgement (Hating God’s judgement)
• My Way (Seeking our own way, our own path)
• My Good (Define for ourselves good and evil)
• My Lust (Lusting after any bobble or trinket)
• My Sin (Makes sinning seem reasonable (The desire to sin))
⁃ Heresy of Gnosticism
• Hidden truths to know to be saved; to awaken the divine spark within
• Demiurge subordinate deity who created the material world
• True God is distant and unknowable
⁃ Two (Duel) Covenant Theology (Heresy); The Jews don’t need Christ to be saved