1 JOHN | FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD AND MEN
THE FOUNDATION FOR FELLOWSHIP: JESUS, THE WORD OF LIFE
1 JOHN 1:1-4
[INTRODUCTION]
- Relationships are delicate, yet sometimes humorous and laughable things. According to an old forest folktale, two porcupines in Northern Canada huddled together to try to get warm. But their quills kept pricking each other, so they moved apart. Before long they were shivering again, so they cuddled close once more. And like the first time, they continually jabbed each other with their quills. They needed each other in order to be warm, but could not get close enough to each other because of their needles. Author Leslie Flynn describes it this way: “They needed each other, but they kept needling each other.”
- Have you ever felt that way in dealing with people? At times you feel like you need each other and so you begin to try to develop a relationship, only to discover that every time you try to get close you keep poking each other away. The way they do this irritates you; or they way you do that drives them crazy. Most of us can relate to the Peanuts cartoon where Lucy says to Snoopy: “There are times when you really bug me, but I must admit there are also times when I feel like giving you a big hug.” To which Snoopy replies: “That's the way I am...huggable and buggable.”
- Relationships are complicated and multifaceted. Yet they can be immensely rewarding and there is no getting around them. If you're human you must deal with other humans. This is true on an even greater level for those of us who are believers in Christ. If we are Christians we must deal with other Christians. Being a part of the body of Christ is not an option for us; no matter how difficult it may be sometimes.
- You may have heard this clever little line before: “To dwell above with the saints we love, that will be glory; but to live below with the saints we know, well that's a different story.” There is truth to that funny little saying. But however true that is, it is equally true that we cannot simply abandon relationships because of their difficulty. Why is that? What is so important about relationships? Why are relationships a part of life's DNA, so to speak? Because we were created by a relational God.
- The book of 1 John, among other things, is all about relationships. It is about a proper relationship with God and the corresponding relationships with other people, especially other believers. John writes to his readers during a time of confusion over the true nature of Jesus, not unlike our own time. The church had existed for just over half a century and false doctrines had begun to creep in, even as they still do today. The Apostle writes to correct some of those mistakes, to instruct his fellow believers in sound doctrine, and to teach them how that sound doctrine should play out in their lives.
- One of the key words in this letter is κοινωνία and its related forms. This word is translated as fellowship. It is used heavily in the first part of the letter, which we have divided into chapter 1. To have fellowship with someone means to have association and participation with them in something. It means that there is a relationship there. And though the word is not used in the rest of the letter, it is clear that the concept is there. From start to finish John is writing about right fellowship with God and right fellowship with man.
- So let's begin our look at this letter with vv.1-4, where John lays down the foundation for fellowship – Jesus Christ, the word of life:
[READ 1 JOHN 1:1-4]
- John, of course, was an eyewitness to the life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus of Nazareth. He describes his experiences in very vivid terms: the things which he heard, the things he saw with his own eyes, the things he touched with his own hands. Things that all had to do with the word of life, who was with the Father and then was made manifest (or revealed) to us – the word of life being Jesus. He is reassuring his readers of the reality of Jesus and his gospel. Then he makes the connection for them that the reality of Jesus allows us to enjoy fellowship with God the Father and therefore fellowship with his people. And the last point he makes is that this fellowship should produce joy.
- Now when he talks about the joy that comes from fellowship with God and with men and women, he uses a very interesting phrase: that our joy may be complete. He is writing this letter so that his joy and the joy of his readers would be complete. Why say “that our joy may be complete”? What would make joy incomplete? Well, within the context of the letter and of the first century culture, incomplete joy would come from a misunderstanding of the true nature of Jesus Christ. John's joy was complete when his readers understood clearly who Christ is. His readers' joy was complete when, by clearly knowing Christ, they experienced fellowship with God the Father and consequently John and the rest of Christ's church.
- There were several heresies floating around during this time that attacked the true nature of Jesus and threatened to lead people astray and so rob them of complete and true joy. The same heresies exist today in different forms. So we are going to draw from what was going on in that time period and apply the principles John is teaching his readers to ourselves. John wanted his readers' joy to be complete. I want our joy to be complete. I want us to clearly understand Jesus, how we relate to him, and how that influences everything else we do. So the first thing we should notice is that:
[OUR JOY IS COMPLETE WHEN WE RECOGNIZE JESUS' ETERNALITY]
- There are striking similarities between the introduction to this letter and the prologue to John's gospel. Remember the words of the first chapter of John: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. Now hear again the words of this epistle: That which was from the beginning...concerning the word of life – the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us.
- There are two important truths contained in both of those statements. One of which is the deity of Jesus Christ and accordingly, his eternality. We know from the gospel accounts that the Jews hated the claim of Jesus that he was God. They tried to kill him on several occasions because he made himself equal with God. One account is found in John 8 where Jesus claims to have been in existence before Abraham, one of the heroes of the Jewish faith. And this denial of Christ's deity and eternality continued in some quarters as the church developed. It spread not only in Jewish circles but also in circles that claimed to be Christian.
- In the third and fourth century a man named Arius posited the idea (though he was not the first) that Jesus was not eternal, he was a created being of God the Father. And Arianism, as it is labeled, still exists today. Of course, many go further and not only posit that Jesus is not equal with God but was no different from any other human being. He was just a man.
- Even as early as when this letter was written, between 90-100 A.D., it is apparent that John is combating the idea that Jesus was a mere mortal. He describes him as that which was from the beginning; not that which was created in the beginning – when the beginning of creation happened, he already was.
- The deity of Jesus is so important to lasting Christian joy. Our faith will be dysfunctional if we fail to take into account our Lord's divinity. By that I mean that we don't simply mentally acknowledge his deity, which most, if not all of us would do; but that we understand what his divinity means in terms of his relationship with us, his people.
- We do not worship a mere man. We do not pray to a mere man. We do not share a message conjured up by a mere man. We are not giving up our lives in order to follow a mere man. We are following the Son of God, who is equal in every way with the Father.
- So when a life threatening disease strikes us or someone we love, and we fall to our knees and call on Jesus' name, asking for his healing touch even though the doctors say recovery is a long shot, we know we are praying to the Son of God, who banished disease from Palestine during his earthly ministry. That gives us hope when the world sees no reason for hope.
- Or when healing doesn't come and death is seemingly victorious, we know we serve the Son of God, who gives us eternal life because he stepped out of his grave and conquered death once and for all. And that hope, that victory translates into every area of our lives. Whenever trouble comes, we know Christ is our refuge; and Christ is no mere man, he is the risen Son of the living God.
- Well, the other important truth contained here, as in the Johannine gospel, is the true humanity of Jesus. So secondly, we need to notice that:
[OUR JOY IS COMPLETE WHEN WE UNDERSTAND JESUS' HUMANITY]
- John says that what was from the beginning has now been heard, seen with their own eyes, looked upon and touched with their own hands. Here again John is combating a heresy that was prevalent in the early church – the idea that Jesus only appeared to be human. I've mentioned it before, it's called Docetism, and it was based upon the Gnostic idea that matter is evil. Since matter is evil and Jesus is good, it is obvious that Jesus could not have really had a physical body.
- But John says “No. I heard his voice. I watched him walk, talk, eat, and drink. I saw him when he was on the cross, bleeding and suffocating and crying out in pain. I touched his wounds when he appeared to us after his resurrection. Don't tell me Jesus wasn't a real human.”
- So what does his humanity mean for us today? How does this truth contribute to our own joy? Most of us know the familiar words of Hebrews 4:15: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
- If Christ's deity means he is “God enough” to handle our problems, our worries, our cares, our sin; then his humanity means he is “man enough” to understand our problems, our worries, our cares, and our sin – all while maintaining holy perfection.
- So when that same life threatening illness hits, we know we worship and serve a God who not only has the ability to heal, and grant eternal life whether or not he chooses to heal, but also a God who understands what we are going through while we are going through it.
- But there's another nuance here as well, and that is Christ's historical reality. In other words, what John writes tells us that Jesus really existed. His story is not a finely crafted religious fable. We have the testimony of the men who lived with him and watched him do all that he did. Jesus is as real as the chair you're sitting in. (And aren't you glad the chair you're sitting in is real?)
- So like the readers of this letter, our joy is complete when we know the real Jesus – the one who is both God and man. Now what does knowing the real Jesus do for us? Notice thirdly that:
[OUR JOY IS COMPLETE WHEN WE SHARE IN JESUS' FELLOWSHIP WITH THE FATHER]
- John writes: our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. Because Jesus is who he is, because he is God the Son and because he has also taken on human flesh, we can have fellowship with God the Father. This is where the theme of fellowship, which permeates the whole letter, enters into the picture.
- Why labor to make sure his readers know that Jesus is God? Why labor to make sure they know that he is truly human? Or we could bring it into our context: why should I spend so much time teaching and reteaching you that Christ is both God and man? Why am I constantly reminding myself of these truths?
- Because the Jesus that is presented in Scripture is the perfect substitute for sinners, and the only mediator between God and man. Because of Jesus and his gospel, our broken relationship with God can be restored. Fellowship with the Father is another way of referring to salvation. We once were enemies of God, now we are friends of God. I can talk to God because Jesus is who he is. I can feel the Spirit of God working in my life because Jesus is who he is. Without the right Jesus, I don't have fellowship with God; but when I understand him to be who he really is, the God of the universe becomes my friend.
- If that doesn't produce joy inside of you, something is amiss. By having a personal relationship with Jesus, you are entering into the joy, happiness, and love that the Trinity has shared for all of eternity. You're not becoming one of them; you are not becoming God, but you are an adopted son or daughter of God. You are a part of God's family.
- And that leads us to our final point:
[OUR JOY IS COMPLETE WHEN WE ENTER IN FELLOWSHIP WITH JESUS' BODY]
- Not only did John mention their fellowship with the Father and the Son, but he says that he is writing so that you too may have fellowship with us. Entering into God's family means we inherit an innumerable amount of brothers and sisters. Now here's where some people jump off the bandwagon. Having a relationship with God through Christ the Son is great, but dealing with his other followers is too much.
- Please listen: it doesn't matter how much you do or don't like people, it doesn't matter if you are an introvert or an extrovert, it doesn't matter if you would rather stay home and watch church on TV, if you have fellowship with the Father, you must also have fellowship with his people. There is no such thing as a Christian who is separate from the church. Do you have to attend a church to be a Christian? No (even though you should and there's something wrong if you're not). But if you're a Christian you are a part of the church universal – the body of Christ at large. And whether you are willing to admit it or not, you need other believers.
- Even though sometimes it feels like we're all just a bunch of porcupines trying to get close, we need each other in order for our joy in Christ to be complete. Because Christ brings us into fellowship with the Father, we can now interact with other in a holy manner. Our relationships don't have to be characterized by sin anymore. Fortunately for us, John is going to give us some instructions concerning how we deal with each other as we work our way through this letter.
[CONCLUSION]
- So Jesus is the foundation for fellowship with God and with other people. If we want a real relationship with God, we've got to know the right Jesus. We've got to have the eternal, incarnate word of life. And if we want God-pleasing relationships with other people, we've got to have fellowship with God first. God-honoring relationships can only be ultimately achieved when we are a part of Christ's body. The vertical must influence the horizontal.
- Now the rest of the letter, will show us in many different ways what a true relationship with God looks like. And it will reveal to us how a true relationship with God impacts our relationships with other people – both inside and outside the body of Christ. As we prepare to explore what John has to say, then, let's thank God for his gracious bringing in of us into fellowship with him. And let's ask him to open our eyes to the ways in which we can grow in our relationship with him, and with other people.
