Introduction:
A. Today we begin a series of sermons on the little book of 1 John.
1. All Scripture is God-breathed and is therefore sacred, and powerful.
2. Whenever I begin a new study of a section of God’s Word, I am struck by two very strong emotions.
3. First, I experience a great sense of excitement.
a. We are going into uncharted territory, and there is the hope of discovery.
b. There is the wonderful anticipation of transformation that comes from God.
4. And Second, I experience a great sense of trepidation.
a. This is God’s holy Word.
b. I want to handle it seriously, and correctly.
c. I want to learn and to teach only that which is true.
5. So as we approach 1 John, I do so with these emotions and attitudes and I want to encourage you to do the same.
B. As we get started, I want us to hear the first four verses again, but this time from Peterson’s paraphrase, called The Message.
“From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in – we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.
We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!”
C. These words truly are thrilling words.
1. John has so much to say, and he knows that what he has to say will bring such blessing.
2. Let’s break down this passage into three parts: John’s Mandate, Message and Motive.
I. John’s Mandate
A. It is widely held by most scholars that the Apostle John wrote the book of 1st John while serving the church at Ephesus, somewhere around 85-90 A.D.
1. He wrote this book after he wrote the Gospel of John, but before he wrote Revelation.
2. He not only wrote the letter of 1st John, but he also wrote, 2nd and 3rd John.
3. We don’t know for sure how the three little letters are related to each other, or even if they are related.
4. One suggestion that I think is reasonable, though certainly not provable, is that all three were written at approximately the same time to the same church.
5. Third John was written to a specific leader in that church, Gaius.
6. Second John was a cover letter written to the church itself.
7. And First John is a sermon that accompanied both letters.
B. As I said, there is no way to verify that theory, but we do notice that 1st John is much more like a sermon than a letter.
1. It does not begin like any of John’s other letters, or the other letters of the NT.
2. Usually a 1st Century letter began by identifying the author’s name and then the recipient’s name.
3. That is the case with the letters of 2nd and 3rd John, but not 1st John.
4. In 1st John, the author jumps right into his presentation which is an exhortation from beginning to end.
C. So how does John begin this letter?
1. He begins by discussing his mandate.
2. He tells the reader why he has a right to speak, and therefore, why they should listen.
3. And just what are his credentials? What gives his words a sense of authority?
4. John says that he is a witness.
5. It is his personal experience that he points to rather than his position as an apostle.
D. John says that he has HEARD Christ Jesus.
1. He personally was there to hear all of Jesus’ marvelous teachings.
2. He was there and heard all of Jesus’ incredible claims and promises.
3. John heard Jesus deliver the Sermon on the Mount.
4. Think about Jesus’ many “I AM statements” that John heard. “Before Abraham was, I AM”…“I AM the way and the truth and the life”…“I AM the good shepherd”…“I AM the light of the World”…“I AM the resurrection and the life.”
5. Think of all the parables John heard…The Good Samaritan…The Prodigal Son….The Talents.
6. John heard Jesus promise: “I will be with you always”…”I am going there to prepare a place for you…I will come back and take you to be with me”…”Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you”…”I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”
7. John heard the very words spoken by Jesus, and we can trust his testimony!
E. John says that he has SEEN Christ Jesus.
1. Just imagine all that John had seen…the miracles…the feeding of the 5000…the healings of the paralyzed, the sick, the leprous, the demon possessed.
2. He saw Jesus raise a boy from the dead and give him back to his mother.
3. He saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead after being in the tomb 4 days.
4. He saw Jesus crucified and buried in a tomb, and then raised after 3 days.
5. He saw Jesus transfigured on the sacred mountain.
6. He saw Jesus ascend into heaven and was hidden by the clouds.
7. Yes, John has seen it all with his own eyes.
F. John also says that he had not only “seen with his eyes,” but that he had LOOKED AT Christ Jesus.
1. In other words, he had GAZED at Christ.
2. What is the difference between seeing and gazing at Christ?
3. The verb used for gaze means to gaze at someone or something until one grasps the significance of the person or thing.
4. So the idea that John is trying to get across is that he had done more than give Christ a passing glance, rather he had given Christ a steadfast searching gaze which sought to discover something of the meaning and mystery of Christ.
G. Finally, John says that he has TOUCHED Christ Jesus.
1. Using his own hands, John had personally touched Jesus.
2. Jesus was no mere phantom, he had been real, physical, flesh and blood.
3. John had touched him during Jesus’ 3 year ministry before the crucifixion.
4. And John had touched him after his resurrection from the dead.
5. Jesus had allowed Thomas to touch his hands and feet and side where he had been pierced, and I’m sure the others had touched the place where he had been wounded as well.
H. So, why should we listen to John? Why should we trust his testimony?
1. Because he had been there with Jesus.
2. And using all of his senses he took in the truth about Jesus.
3. What John had heard, seen, gazed at and touched is what he wants to tell us about.
4. Jesus was real and is real, and that’s John’s personal testimony.
5. That’s why he has a mandate to speak about what he has seen and heard.
6. And like the other disciples who in Acts 4:20 were commanded by the officials to no longer teach and preach about Jesus, said, “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
7. So, that’s John’s mandate, but what is his message?
II. John’s Message
A. John is going to have a lot to say to us throughout this book, but ultimately his message is Christ.
1. And John is going to have a lot to say about Jesus, but here in the introduction to the letter he makes three points.
B. First, He says that Jesus is from the beginning.
1. It shouldn’t surprise us that John starts by making this point, because it is the same way he began his Gospel.
2. In John 1:1 he says, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”
3. Jesus is eternal, because Jesus is God.
4. Whenever the beginning was, Jesus was there with God.
5. There is no time when Jesus was not.
6. So, that’s the place John begins. His first statement about Jesus has to do with the fact that Jesus is the eternal Son of God.
C. Second, John says that Jesus entered our physical world as a human being.
1. In verse 2, John says, “The 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.”
2. Again, if we look back at the beginning of John’s Gospel, we see that he made the same point.
3. “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Jn. 1:10,11, 14)
4. John wants all to know that Jesus was God and took on real manhood. He came in the flesh. He made a real entry into the world of men and women.
D. Third, Johns says that Jesus is the Word of Life.
1. The life that Jesus brings is abundant life (Jn. 10:10) and eternal life (1 Jn. 1:2).
2. It is through Jesus Christ that each one of us can be delivered from sin and death, but first we must receive the Word of Life.
3. As the Word of Life, Jesus is the Good News. It is the best news we could ever hear.
E. This is just the beginning of what John’s message is going to be in this letter.
1. Jesus is the real deal. John knows this from experience. Trust his testimony.
2. And why is John testifying to these things? What are his motives?
III. John’s Motives
A. John’s motives are twofold.
B. First, John wants his message to result in FELLOWSHIP with men and with God.
1. John is going to have a lot to say about fellowship in this letter.
2. Fellowship is a partnership or joint sharing.
3. It has the idea of community with others. It is always used to denote active participation where the results depend on the cooperation of all that are involved.
4. Because of Jesus we can have fellowship, a oneness, with God and with other believers.
5. That fellowship reaches up to God and out to every believer.
6. Christian fellowship is triangular: my life in fellowship with Christ, your life in fellowship with Christ, and my life in fellowship with yours.
7. We are joined together by a common purpose and devotion to Christ that makes us a united faith community, growing together in love.
C. Second, John wants his message to result in JOY.
1. John said, “We write this to make our (your) joy complete.” (1 Jn. 1:4)
2. The result of being in fellowship with God and God’s people is joy.
3. John knew the joy of being in fellowship with Christ, and he so wanted all of us to experience that same joy.
4. Happiness is a variable that ebbs and flows with our circumstances.
5. True joy is found only in one place – a relationship with Christ, and his body of believers.
6. Joy is the essence of Christianity.
7. When we are forgiven of our sins, and joined together into the body of Christ, then we are filled with joy. Complete joy!
Conclusion:
A. There’s an old story that is likely fictional, but certainly could have occurred, and makes a good point.
B. It goes like this: One day a scholar made a 2 hour presentation “proving” that the resurrection of Jesus was false.
1. He quoted scholar after scholar, and book after book.
2. He concluded that since there was no such thing as a historical resurrection, that Christianity was just groundless emotional mumbo-jumbo.
3. Then he asked if there were any questions.
C. After a few seconds, an old man in the back stood up and said, “Docta, I got one question.”
1. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an apple and began eating it.
2. “Docta”…crunch, munch…”My question is a simple question”…crunch, munch…”I ain’t never read them books you read”…crunch, munch…”I don’t know Greek or Hebrew”…crunch, munch…”All I wanna know is: This apple I’m eating…is it bitter or sweet?”
3. The scholar replied, “I cannot possibly answer that question, for I haven’t tasted your apple.”
4. The old man replied, “Neither have you tasted my Jesus.”
D. The Apostle John had truly “tasted” Jesus.
1. He had studied him up close and personal. He declared that Jesus is the Word of Life.
2. Those of us who have put our faith in Christ have found this to be true and we are filled with joy because of it.
3. If you have not yet put your faith in Jesus, please know that we hope and pray that you will.
4. We want you to have fellowship with God and with us, and discover the Life and Joy that we have found in Christ.
5. I proclaim this today so that your joy and our joy may be complete!
