The True God

True God:

P: Hello, dear friends. Welcome to Radio Voice of Life. I am Peyam, and I am here to present another talk from the First Epistle of the Apostle John to you.

M: I also extend my greetings to you, dear ones. I pray that this series of teachings from the First Epistle of the Apostle John will be a blessing for us and you.

P: We have listened to passages from Chapter 5, verses 13 to 21 of the First Epistle of John. This is the last part of the First Epistle of John that we have heard. Up to this point, the Apostle John has taught us many topics. In this section, he makes an effort to summarise this epistle with one sentence.

M: The final message you have is the last sentence that the Apostle John writes: "Dear children, keep yourselves from idols."

P: Yes, Mervais. I don't know if you have read many short stories or not. Some writers of short stories challenge their readers.

M: Not that many, I have read some short stories.

P: These authors skillfully start their stories and carefully lead their readers to a climax that they desire, but in the last part of the story, they introduce a theme with one or several sentences that changes our perspective on all the topics we've read up to that point.

M: Peyam, why do these writers do this?

P: By doing this, writers compel their readers to think about the entire story from a different angle or perspective. For example, I read a story by an Afghan author where I thought from the beginning that the hero of the story was a man, but only in the last few sentences did I realise that the hero was a woman. Understanding this changed the meaning of the entire story for me, and I wanted to read it again.

M: It's like that story where someone was narrating the tale of Layla and Majnun, and as the story was nearing its conclusion at dawn, someone asked the storyteller, "Teacher! Was Layla a man or a woman?" (laughter)

P: (laughter) . . . Mervais, I don't think the Apostle John has used this writing technique. However, the short sentence he wrote at the end of his epistle urges us to review the entire epistle once again and gain new teachings from it.

M: When John says, "Dear children, keep yourselves from idols" (5:21), what is the meaning of this statement?

P: At first glance, it seems that the Apostle John wants to warn us against idolatry. During the time when the Apostle John lived, idolatry was at its peak. Idolatry had grown throughout the ancient world, and temples dedicated to various gods existed everywhere.

M: Yes, you are right; at that time, there were so many different gods and temples that it was beyond human reason.

P: Besides all these gods and their temples, in the era of the Apostle John, a new god, namely Emperor Julius Caesar, along with his successors and their families, had also built temples and were worshipped as gods.

M: It is clear that the Apostle John wanted his readers to have no relationship with these various and strange gods.

P: But it also seems that the Apostle John had other intangible aspects of idolatry in mind, which he addressed throughout his epistle.

M: One of the topics that the Apostle John discusses throughout his epistle is love and the importance of loving one another.

P: Above all, the Apostle John repeatedly speaks about the incarnation of Jesus Christ. This topic is not only a necessary truth among all truths that must always be emphasised, but it also forms part of the structure of Christian faith. This structure, or this faith and belief, is a sign that we, the followers of Jesus Christ, are true worshippers of the true God, not idol worshippers made of stone and wood by human hands.

M: The idols worshipped by idol worshippers who are made of stone or wood cannot simply be seen as pieces of stone and wood that have been carved and placed in a temple. Rather, an idol is anything that is worshipped in place of the true God, referred to as "God."

P: Sadly, we must say that some people, who consider themselves "Christians," also worship such things or similar ones. In truth, anything, whether it is a statue, money, a name and title, or rules and regulations, that is given more importance than God is idolatry. This kind of "god" they worship can be any "god" except for the "true God" that we know through Jesus Christ.

M: According to the Apostle John, the true God is the one who sent His only Son into human flesh to earth and experienced true human death on the cross. Denying this true God is not only about denying Jesus Christ but also involves denying everything about the true God.

P: The God who appeared in the flesh of Jesus is the "true God." The life that we, as followers of Jesus Christ, have is, in reality, not only the life of the new era of God but also contains the "life of the age to come." In truth, the Creator of the world has brought His future purposes into the present among us.

M: When the sacrifice of the only Son of God is mentioned, there is often noise and uproar in the world. When the truth about Jesus Christ is proclaimed, there is a sharp and intense reaction and fierce opposition between those who represent this truth and this new life and those who try to pour new wine into old wineskins and claim that essentially nothing has fundamentally changed. (See Luke 5:37 and its interpretation.)

P: So, those who are caught between the old and the new era and these two extraordinary and unprecedented events, how do they perceive their situation?

M: The Apostle John writes about this in his epistle from verses 13 to 15.

"I have written this epistle to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."

P: Earlier in this, the Apostle John in Chapter 3, verse 22, reflects on the promises of Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John, Chapter 14, verse 13, and Chapter 15, verse 7. The Apostle John says that those who believe in Jesus Christ are in fellowship with God. Believers can confidently and boldly present their requests to God in prayer.

M: In truth, believers stand in a place where heaven and earth connect and meet. Believers are encouraged to transfer heavenly blessings into earthly life through this connection between heaven and earth. They fully know and are assured that their requests and petitions are guaranteed.

P: This topic is affirmed both by the Word of God and by the life experiences of believers, meaning both show that the fulfilment of these requests comes through guaranteed means that no one has thought of before.

M: This reality speaks to the natural desire of every human being to have the fulfilment of their requests assured.

P: However, it is essential that the requests presented in prayer to the true God are clear and without any ifs or buts. If a person, instead of asking God for something clearly, uses vague and conditional words, they should not blame God if it does not happen based on this promise. (4:10)

M: One of the topics we must always pray for is praying for those who are lost and wandering.

P: Another topic worth remembering is that we truly do not know where to draw the line between sins that lead to death and sins that do not lead to death and to separate them from each other. John perhaps considers those who do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ appeared in human flesh to be irredeemable, as they are essentially cutting off the young branch that has truly sprouted and is bringing forth the promises of salvation.

M: However, there is a comforting aspect of this topic that is somewhat illuminated in verse 18. This verse says: "We know that whoever is born of God does not sin, for His Son keeps him, and the wicked one does not touch him."

P: We must understand that John did not think that the followers of Jesus Christ need to avoid every sin and that they should not commit any sin in their earthly lives. It was always John's habit to encourage believers to stay away from sin. However, it was also clear to him that it is possible for any of them to sin at some point. When a person finds themselves in this situation, it is necessary to confess their sin before God and pray for forgiveness.

M: But this topic differs from serious sins and sins that pose danger. Just as the Epistle to the Romans, Paul writes: "Although they know the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do they do the same, but they also approve of those who practice them." (Romans 1:32)

P: The central assurance in these verses is the promise expressed in the second half of verse 18. Jesus Christ promises a close relationship with believers. In truth, believers in Jesus Christ are those whom the true God has become their Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ. But Jesus Christ is one of the greatest ones whose Father is God.

M: Jesus Christ is the one who has placed all believers under His protective umbrella. In the situation we live in, where the devil rules the world, because we are under the umbrella of Jesus Christ, he cannot harm us.