Darkness Sunday School Lesson

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Darkness Sunday School Lesson

Introduction

A. Darkness and Light

Cockroaches love the darkness. So do termites,slugs, and most kinds of mold and fungus. Somereally disgusting stuff thrives in places wherethere is no light. Similarly, people who do evildeeds love the darkness (compare 1 Thessaloni-ans 5:7). Physical darkness may hide misdeeds.Spiritual darkness is both the cause and increas-ing result of sin.

But God's people are to live in the light. Whenwe live lives of love, we walk in the light. Wehave nothing to hide. We do not stumble in spiri-tual darkness. We are not corrupted by the love

of the world and the lusts of the world. Wegladly choose the ways of God. He is the onewho said, "Let there be light!" He is the providerof both physical and spiritual light.

B. Lesson Background

Light and love are important themes in thewritings of the apostle John. He writes near theend of his earthly days, after a long life as aleader of the church. In this first of three letters,he appears to address the church at large, warn-ing people to avoid the darkness of false teachingand to embrace the light of love.

The time of John's writing is perhaps some-where between AD 85 and 90. At this time nearthe end of the first century, the church began tobe troubled by a false doctrine known as gnosti-cism. What we may call "full-blown gnosticism"doesn't really appear until the second centuryAD. So John was confronting an early version ofthat heresy. Gnostics thought that they knewmore than other believers and that they alonewould be saved. They taught that following Jesuswas not enough to save. The gnostics claimedthat believers had to learn secret knowledge.

To set matters straight, John assured his read-ers that what they had received from the begin-ning was true. John's epistle, however, is farmore than a warning against gnostic heresy. Itstruths about light, love, and righteousness areneeded in every age. Whenever a new falseteaching or a new temptation confronts thechurch, this letter helps to keep us on course.

I. Light's Arrival(1 John 2:7-11)

John wants his readers to know the truth andobey it. He begins his epistle with truth, asserting that he and the other apostles had heard andseen and touched Jesus personally. The secondchapter continues to focus on truth—the truelight that guides the church.

A. What John Stresses (vv. 7, 8)

7. Brethren, I write no new commandmentunto you, but an old commandment which yehad from the beginning. The old commandmentis the word which ye have heard from thebeginning.

John calls his readers brethren since they sharemembership in God's community. As members ofthis community (the church), they most submitto all the commands of God. John reminds them that an important rule of behavior is a command-ment that is as old as Leviticus 19:18: "thou shaltlove thy neighbor as thyself." (We will see Johnunpack the content and meaning of this com-mandment as our lesson continues.)

Unlike the false teachers who trouble the earlychurches, John has added nothing to this truth,which is part of the gospel of Christ (Matthew19:19). John is merely reemphasizing the satnecommand that Jesus gave, as we shall see (com-pare John 13:34; 1 John 3:23; 2 John 5, 6).

8.Again, a new commandment I write untoyou, which thing is true in him and in you:because the darkness is past, and the true lightnow shineth.

The commandment of love is as old as the Lawof Moses. It is as old as Jesus' earthly ministry,now some 55 or 60 years in the past as Johnwrites. Yet it is as new as tomorrow's dawn.

The command is true in Jesus, who demon-strated God's great love at the cross. The com-mand is also true in the church, where believerslive out divine love in their own lives. Whenlove points the way, people no longer walk indarkness. The gloomy night of sin is over; thelight of love accompanies the dawn of new life(compare Matthew 4:16). What was true in thelife of Jesus is now being put into practice in thelives of believers (compare 1 John 2:5, 6).

The true light that now shineth is Jesus andtruth about Him. The apostles have faithfullyproclaimed this truth. Now false teachers are try-ing to extinguish that light. Their darkness mustbe rejected.

B. What John Knows (vv. 9-11)

9.He that saith he is in the light, and hatethhis brother, is in darkness even until now.The sharp contrast between light and darknessserves to reveal who a person "really is." Some-one may claim to be in the light, but the darknessof attitude and actions will expose him or her.The one who hateth his brother is not at all likeJesus; such a person is more like Cain (compare 1 John 3:12). Actions speak louder than words.To God, the heart-attitudes that produce actionsspeak loudest of all. When a person's deeds showthat he or she harbors hatred, that person lovesthe darkness (compare John 3:19-21). !See ques-tion #2, page 210.1

We should also remember that there is morethan one way to hate. For many, hatred is shownby the absence of loving action. When they seetheir fellow Christians in need, they just do notcare. When people who claim to be Christians failto give anything—even a cup of water—in Jesus'name, they show clearly that they do not haveGod's love in their hearts (see Matthew 25:42, 43;1 John 3:17).

10.He that loveth his brother abideth in thelight, and there is none occasion of stumbling inhim.

The person who follows Jesus walks in thelight of life. Such a person tries to imitate thegreater love of Jesus, remembering how Jesuslaid down His life for His friends (see John15:13). The true believer does not step into thelight only on special occasions; rather, such aperson abides in the light permanently.

Because the light of love has opened that per-son's eyes to God's reality, there is no occasion ofstumbling in him or her. This means that he orshe will neither stumble nor he the cause ofstumbling for others. The word that is translatedstumbling originally referred to a trap of somekind. For deeper study you can explore how Johnuses this word in John 6:61; 16:1 (verb forms)and Revelation 2:14 (noun form). When we walkin the light with Jesus, we neither stumble norserve as a trap for others to do so.

11.But be that hateth his brother is in dark-ness, and walketh in darkness, and knowethnot whither he goeth, because that darknesshath blinded his eyes.

The one who hates a fellow Christian is some-one who perhaps still thinks of himself or herselfas part of the fellowship of believers. But such aperson actually walks in darkness. A person whomakes this choice gives up the opportunity towalk safely with Jesus in the light. This personlittle knows (or cares) of the dangers that awaitin the darkness.

The false teachers whom John opposes makethe darkness only worse. They have contempt,rather than love, for people who put their faith inChrist. They are quick to condemn anyone whodoes not have their "secret knowledge." Thesefalse teachers walk in darkness and do not knowit because the darkness has blinded them toGod's truth.

STUMBLING IN DARKNESS; WALKING IN LIGHT

Paris—the city of light! The city is famed forits brilliantly floodlit monuments and buildingsthat glow throughout the night. The cost for thelighting is considerable, but it pays for itself inquality of life for the residents and visitors. How-ever, there is another side to Paris. A darker side.In the city's fourteenth district, down 130steps of a spiral staircase, one may enter "the em-pire of the dead." It is a dimly lit catacomb ofseveral city blocks. There stacked in neat pilesrest the skeletal pieces of 6 million people—theremains of those who died by plagues, the guillo-tine, and other causes of times past. For a fee onemay walk a dimly lit path through the bones.Two hundred years ago, the catacombs weretotally dark and could be explored only by torch-light. The torch of one unfortunate explorer wentout, and he stumbled along, lost in the darkness.Eleven years later his remains were found just afew feet from an exit. John reminds us that thetimes of darkness should be past because thegospel has come. It is a torch that never goes out.Yet one can still stumble along in darkness vol-untarily, bringing grief to self and others. A clueJohn offers as to whether we walk in light or dark-ness is whether we choose to make hatred or lovethe defining character of our lives.

II. Light's Results(1 John 2:12-14)

The light of God and the love of God are notintended for a chosen few. God's light is for allpeople. By this light they can see the error oftheir ways and come to repentance (see 2 Peter 3:9). As the following verses show, everyone canwalk in this light and enjoy its results.

A. Various Groups, Part 1 (vv. 12-13b)12. I write unto you, little children, becauseyour sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.Turning to a happier theme, John writes briefnotes of celebration to various groups in thechurch. By using the address children, it is possi-ble that John is referring either to those who areyoung in age or are young in the time they havebeen Christians. The address little children is afavorite of John's (see 1 John 2:1, 12, 18, 28; 3:7,18; 4:4; 5:21). This may mean that John thinks ofall who receive his letter as his own children inthe faith.

In any case, John celebrates the fact that theirsins are forgiven. The gnostics falsely tell themthat they cannot have salvation until they know"secret truths." But John assures them that theyare forgiven already. Moreover, this forgivenessis not a personal accomplishment. Rather, it is byChrist—all for God's great name's sake.

13a.I write unto you, fathers, because yehave known him that is from the beginning.Next John turns specifically to the fathers.These are members of the church who are ma-ture both in years and in faith. They have knownChrist from the beginning—from the time thechurch was planted in their area. They knowthat their beliefs are the original truths. They canrefute the assertions of the false teachers. God'scommunity must always adhere to the apostolictruth preserved in the Bible, regardless of whatfalse teachers present as a newer "truth."

We should pause to remember that Jesus cau-tioned against calling anyone on earth "father"Matthew 23:9). The apostle John is not violatingthat restriction since he is not using the term fa-ther in the sense that Jesus forbids—a sense of arival to the heavenly Father. For deeper study,you can explore how the New Testament usesthis word in Lae 1:55; Acts 7:2; 22:1; Ephesians6:4; Colossians 3:21; and 2 Peter 3:4.

13b.I write unto you, young men, because yehave overcome the wicked one.

Now John addresses the young men. As with"little children" of verse 12, young may refer tochronological or spiritual age (or both). The chiefcharacteristic of young men is their vigor andstrength. These young warriors for the faith haveovercome the wicked one, the devil. ThroughChrist they have resisted temptation. Youth areparticularly vulnerable to certain kinds of sin(2 Timothy 2:22). Blessed are the overcomers!(See question #4, page 2401

B. Various Groups, Part 2 (vv. 13c-14b)

13c. I write unto you, little children, becauseye have known the Father.

As if writing a second verse to a song, John ad-dresses each group anew. He rejoices with the lit-tle children because they have come to knowGod. As the Gospel of John records, "This is lifeeternal, that they might know thee the only trueGod. and Jesus Christ. whom thou bast sent"(John 17:3). The first benefit of walking in thetruth is knowing God.

14a.I have written unto you, fathers, becauseye have known him that is from the beginning.Again John addresses the fathers, repeating thesame important truth. They are thr ones who

hove known Hiss that is from the beginning.

Walking in the light has given them the privilegeof knowing Christ and serving Him for manyyears. Their ability to confirm and preserve theancient truths makes them vital to the church.

14b.I have written unto you, young men,because ye are strong, and the word of Godabideth in you, and ye have overcome thewicked one.

When John addresses the young men again, headds two statements about them. Not only havethey overcome the wicked one (repeated from v.13b), they are strong and they have the Word ofGod abiding in them. They are not just casuallyacquainted with God's Word! Such are the bene-fits of belonging to the fellowship of believers.

GUIDANCE STILL NEEDED?

A generation ago, the baby boomers (those bornbetween 1946 and 1964) entered adulthood. Theywanted to "cut the apron strings." But in collegethey found they still needed guidance fromadults—just not from their parents! So the Dean ofStudents office came to prominence in colleges tohelp guide students through academic life.Now that the boomers' children are in college,the parents still want a level of involvement thatcolleges must learn to deal with. Thus, manyuniversities have created a Coordinator of ParentPrograms position to help parents learn to let goof their children who are becoming adults. Thetitle of a Wall Street Journal article was "TuckingThem In—in the Dorm: Colleges Ward Off Over-involved Parents" (July 28, 2005).

People of every generation have needs thatthey want addressed. When John writes to chil-dren, young men, and fathers. he is telling us theWord of God speaks to the needs of all. ThatWord helps us sort out the difference betweentelt needs and real needs. How will God's Wordguide you today?

III. World's Desires(1 John 2:15-17)

Tragically, some people reject the light. Somereject it right from the start. Others reject thelight after having first accepted it (see Hebrews6:4-6).

A. Stark Choice (vv. 15, 16)

15.Love not the world, neither the things thatare in the world. If any man love the world, thelove of the Father is not in him.

Love should be our finest motive. It is to be aselfless devotion modeled after the nature ofGod. Yet some people direct their love to thethings that are in the world rather than to the Fa-ther. Then love becomes an ugly thing—a distor-tion and a corruption. This was the problem ofDemas (2 Timothy 4:10).

When John charges his readers to love not theworld, he does not have in mind the world of hu-manity that God loved and sent His Son to save(see John 3:16). He means the fallen world as itcontinues defiantly to reject God (John 16:11;1 John 4:3-5; 5:19).

To love the fallen world and its things is toprefer the company of sinners to the communityof saints. It is to prefer living in fallen broken-ness rather than being born anew. It is to he "of'the world rather than merely "in" it (John 17:11,16). If a person loves the fallen world, he or shedoes not love God. We cannot have two masters(Luke 16:13).

16.For all that is in the world, the lust of theflesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride oflife, is not of the Father, but is of the world.John has warned his readers not to love theworld, and now he specifies what this means. Thelust of the flesh is any craving that arises out of ourselfish appetites. This includes the more obvioussins of gluttony, drunkenness, and sexual im-morality. It also includes sins such as racism (self-ishness for one's "own people") and contempt forthe poor (selfishness for one's own social level).The lust of the flesh is the unholy desire to do anyof the works listed in Galatians 5:19-21.

John's second warning is against the lust of theeyes. This refers to enticements that comethrough our sense of sight. The tree of the knowl-edge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden was"pleasant to the eyes" (Genesis 3:6). There wasnothing wrong with the tree in and of itself. ButAdam and Eve used it for an unholy purpose.While there is often a sexual element in lust, aswhen David's eyes lingered on Bathsheba (2 Sam-uel 11:2), the primary focus here is materialism.Television, movies, and the Internet offer materi-alistic enticements to our eyes that did not existin John's day. Believers must remember that theirtreasures are laid up in Heaven.

The third warning is against the pride of life.This is not pride in a positive sense, such as tak-ing godly pride in doing the best we can. Johnrefers, rather, to boastful arrogance. This de-scribes those who think they are too good tohonor God (see Romans 1:30). Such people be-come lovers of themselves (see 2 Timothy 3:2).They proudly list their virtues for God (see Luke18:9-14). This is a fatal flaw of modern society,where status seekers care only about their publicimage, thinking, "It's all about me."

B. End Result (v. 17)

17. And the world passeth away, and the lustthereof: but he that doeth the will of Godabideth for ever.

The fallen world is dying. Everything in theworld passes away. Even the lust or desire forsuch things will finally die. Why should God'speople care about carnal pleasures that do notbring lasting satisfaction? Why should we careabout amassing goods, as did the rich fool (seeLuke 12:16-21), only to die and lose it all? Why should we care about our standing in the eyes ofhumanity, rather than our standing before God(see John 5:44)?

When life is done, only the one who does thewill of God will endure. People who investedeverything in the lust of the world will havenothing; God's people will have everything. Thearrogant will perish in their carnal boasting: themeek will inherit the earth. So John warns hisreaders that love for the world brings failure. Thewise choice is to walk in the light of love, to dothe will of the Father, and to abide forever.

Conclusion

A.Ignoring the Light of Love

Over the centuries there have been many falseteachers who have tried to lead God's peopleastray. Against this John issues a clarion call tothe church to walk in the true light. This light isright for all ages and brings its special benefits toall ages. On the other hand, John warns that theone who chooses the darkness and the ways ofthe world will be exposed. The light of love isGod's beacon to guide our lives.

B.Following the Light of Love

What does it mean to us today to follow thelight of love'? First, it means that to love God is tohonor His truth. We must never let the "wisdom"of the world replace divine revelation. The lightof love necessarily includes the love of truth.John clearly shows that love is not just a "feelgood" emotion; it is inseparably intertwined withacting in accordance with truth. Truth matters!A second application is found in the way weexpress love in the church. We can learn to loveboth from God's nature and from God's com-mand. We get a foretaste of Heaven in a commu-nity of godly love. God's people are to bedifferent from those controlled by worldliness.Our happiness does not lie in fulfilling the lustof the flesh; our eternal security does not lie inthe size of our earthly estate. The only real satis-faction comes from walking with Jesus in thelight—in the light of love.

C. Prayer

Father of love, we drank You for giving us thelight. We rejoice that You have shown us Yourunfailing love; now help us to show that kind oflove to one another. In the name of Jesus, thelight of the world, we pray, amen.

D. Thought to Remember

The ultimate folly is to reject the light.

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