Reality shows continue to draw people’s attention. . .
In an article, 10 Reality Shows That Aren't Real at All (And 10 That Totally Are), Chris Littlechild, talks about how they claim to be real; however, “the producers are just looking to stir up drama with fake moments. These shows are often called structure reality, they are not representative of reality.
Warren Wiersbe has a series of books on the New Testament called “BE” books.
• Be Loyal—Matthew
• Be Wise–I Corinthians
• Be Joyful–Philippians
• Be Complete–Colossians
• Be Ready–I and II Thessalonians
• Be Real–I John
Wiersbe’s sub-line for 1 John is “Throw away your mask and take a realistic look at love and right living in an age which knows little of either.”
We live in a society where children have never known the real deal—they are too often consumed with virtual reality. They can create their avatar and live in La La land. Many products that we get in the grocery store are imitations. Hollywood has perfected the artificial life to the point real life seems too dull and boring. Virtual reality games have led many to lose touch with reality.
My wife and I rode horses while on vacation in Texas. The guide told us a funny story. A family came to ride horses. She asked a young man if he had ridden horses in the past. He said he had. When asked about the experience, he told it was VR.
Watching a child eat cotton-candy at the fair for the first time is amusing. Their eyes reflect their anticipation. Yet, a mouthful soon turns into only a small taste. They learn quickly that not everything that promises to be filling actually fills the stomach.
John writes to a church that was in danger of wasting time and energy on substitutes for the real thing. John wanted them to experience that which fills the soul, the Incarnation of the Word of Life.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 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. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4We write this to make our joy complete. 1 John 1:1-4
John, in writing to a church that had become confused about the nature of Jesus, writes to Christians so they will know the truth and experience a life of ultimate joy. The aging and compassionate pastor, in 1, 2, and 3 John, attempts to draw Christians’ attention to the realness of Jesus–a realness manifested in the unique relationship between God and love.
This study holds before us the challenge to strive to excel in our love by and for Christ and apply that love when societal issues seek to create discord (e.g., racial, cultural, political, spiritual, etc.). The letter is John’s way of saying, “We are better than this because we know Christ, the ultimate image of ethical living.
This is a series of sermons based upon 1 John that focuses on the foundation of the Christian experience, love and fellowship with God. 1 John is about application of these two themes. This is sermon __ of __. A series of sermons that forms the bases for a genuine relationship with God and right living.
One would believe a study guide for 1 John would easily divide into several sections. The structure of 1 John does not flow in the traditional form of a letter written by Paul; there is no greeting, introduction, no summary at the conclusion of the letter, no personal affirmations, etc. The letter has a variety of themes; however, they do not fit into a point one, point two type structure. The two major themes are ethical—walking in the light and Christological—an uncompromised confession of Jesus as the Christ. A strong ethical emphasis is presented in the language of love. Faith relates to the Christological theme. John holds these themes together; their synergistic effect is the practical side of Christians’ life in Christ.
Chuck Swindol points out parallelisms in 1 John, simple but profound: Christ vs. antichrists, light vs. darkness, truth vs. falsehood, righteousness vs. sin, love of the Father vs. love of the world, and the Spirit of God vs. the spirit of the Antichrist. Along with all the New Testament writers, John held the view that love comes from God; therefore, if we place faith in Christ, he places love in our hearts. This suggests that if we fail to love each other that lack an experiential faith that works.
John holds before the Christian the need to be able to discern truth; however, I believe his major contribution is related to application of Jesus’ teachings. Love is not an abstract concept; love is an action word. God loved us as demonstrated in the self-giving lifestyle of Jesus, God incarnate. Agape love, unconditional love, was made real in Jesus’ ministry and death. In essence, John challenges Christians to practice unconditional love. Our relationship with others should have a personal dimension. Phileo is a brotherly, familial kind of love.
In forty plus years of serving God I have experienced my share of disappointment and hurt where love was not practiced wholeheartedly. Yet, I am more amazed by the way I have witnessed genuine loved expressed by Christians. I have had those times when out of disappointment and hurt it has been difficult to forgive and love. All of us will have times where we struggle; however, God calls us to live in a way that supports our faithfulness—consistent and unrelenting faithfulness. John holds loving God and loving others in a creative tension.
John was extremely sensitive to the way there were those within the church that were majoring on conflict. He writes in a way that exposes the motive of those we sow seeds of discord and encourages believers to respond to those with a spirit of antichrist. John encourages the readers in a period he sees as the last hours. This premise is set forth in I John 1:3, We proclaim to you that we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ”. The church is to experience koinonia; a state of soul-connect, koinonia, communal sharing first written about in Acts 2:42ff.
People should want that which is real, not only in food products and other tangible items but in interpersonal relationships as well. In 1 John we discover that biblical Christianity is real! It is genuine! It is alive! It is sincere!
Jesus is real! The whole of the Christian experience is an authentic experience! John distinguishes between the artificial and the real. He shows us how to discover the realness of being a Christian, opposed to the artificial–those who look nice on the outside, but on the inside, they can be angry, unhappy, empty, or a bunch of “fluff.”
Sometimes, when reading a book, it is almost impossible to determine the author’s purpose. They assume you will get it by osmosis. John is noticeably clear about his purposes; he introduces each one by using a common statement:
“I write this that...”
We write this to make our joy complete.
I write this to you so that you will not sin.
I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
John’s love for the people in the church is one of the things that impress me about the book of I John. He does not identify a particular congregation, and this has led some to believe it was simply a general letter. It may have been that he was so familiar that he did not need to introduce himself. You pick this up by phrases like, “My dear children” (2:1, 12, 18, 28), and “Dear friends” (2:7).
What does John mean when he refers to making “your joy complete”? When dealing with the Christian experience, the New Testament’s usage of “joy” or “happy” is not used in the same manner we use the terms. The health and prosperity gospel that is preached is unbiblical. The New Testament does not say we will be happy all the time. To illustrate:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds. James 1:2
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-- the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. Acts 20:24
Jesus was called the “Man of Sorrows”.
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isaiah 53:3
No! We cannot be happy all the time! However, I find it intriguing that Scripture suggests that our joy can be complete when facing the reality of life. How?
I. JESUS, IS THE SOURCE OF THE COMPLETE LIFE, AS REVEALED TO THOSE WITH SPIRITUAL EYES TO SEE
The prologue of I John, as the Gospel of John, contains an incredibly detailed Greek grammar. If language can convince our minds, a comprehensive study of this text would erase all doubt about the realness of Jesus. One of the terms John uses is “and the life was manifested.” Jesus is not a mysterious entity that is evasive.
God has revealed himself in Jesus. Yes, God reveals himself in a variety of ways; however, God’s final and most complete revelation is in His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. John 14:9
John gives Jesus a very special name: “The Word of Life.” John is not willing to allow the church to be pulled by distorted views of Jesus. He knew that if a person had a confused image of the nature of Jesus, they would also have a flawed image of God. Less than 50 years after the life of Jesus people were causing confusion in the church.
DOCETIC GNOSTICS: Jesus did not really possess a real body; therefore, he only appeared to have a body and was not really a man.
History has a funny way of repeating itself. As Christianity first began to grow, spiritual competition began to surface. As Paul, and the other apostles labored to build up the house of God which was to be the pillar and ground of the truth, the enemy also labored and bore the first competitor to the Church, Gnosticism. This was the first heresy that the church had to contend against. There is an old saying: “What crawls in one generation walks in the next.” What we have emerging and synthesizing within the Church today is no different than before. Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat its mistakes. It is unfortunate that little attention is given to the early Church after the apostles. It was at this time that the challenges came into the body that prompted the church to explain its faith. As it was so it is again, Gnosticism has arisen in various ways to challenge us and the revealed Word of God and it is still alive and well in the year 2020. The person of Christ, the true Christian Gospel is again finding itself being distorted in the hands of those who think they have a greater revelation.
The original Gnosticism that predated Christianity was a philosophical system built on Greek philosophy that taught matter was evil and the Spirit was good. According to the Gnostic worldview, the created order was evil, inferior, and opposed to the good. God created the first order, but each successive order was the work of anti-gods, archons, or a demi urges (a subordinate deity). These spheres are ruled by archons who guard their spheres by barring the souls who are seeking to ascend from the realm of darkness and captivity which is below, to the realm of light which is above. This was done by spiritual knowledge or experience; we identify it today as enlightenment.
QUESTIONS FOR CHRISTIANS: Was Jesus a real human being?
CERINTHIANS: Denied the divinity of Jesus. They said divinity came on Jesus at His baptism and left him just before crucifixion. John Calvin said the Spirit was in repose as Jesus hung on the cross:
As mentioned, Calvin does not present a systematic formulation of the doctrine; such teaching is apparent only through his general consideration of substitutionary atonement. Hence, we do not have as definitive a statement as we would like concerning some elements of the doctrine. Some areas call for greater elucidation. For instance, questions arise concerning Calvin's teaching of the recession of deity during the anguish of the cross. Van Buren, though justified in his criticism, is slightly misrepresentative of Calvin. He observes: "He [Calvin] says, for example, that 'the divine nature was in a state of repose,' and did not exert itself at all whenever it was necessary in discharging the office of Mediator, that the human nature should act separately, according to its peculiar character" (Christ in Our Place, 12). For Calvin, the divine nature was not in a state of repose but had to 'give way' to the humanity. The Spirit, however, was not inactive, for Calvin unequivocally asserts that it was through the work and power of the Spirit that Christ triumphed on the cross. Willis notes: "One of the strengths of Calvin's Christology and of his Pneumatology is his representation of the person and work of Christ in constant reference to the Spirit, and the reality and work of the Spirit in constant reference to Christ" (Calvin's Catholic Christology, 82).
QUESTION: Did Jesus possess divinity only part of the time? John answers these question by dealing with the eternal nature of Christ. Scripture is used to draw our attention to several important facts about Jesus.
JESUS EXISTED BEFORE THE INCARNATION (:1) “Beginning” points to eternity and highlights the timelessness of Jesus. “Was” (imperfect ; v )–does not permit the translation, “came into existence” but translates “was in existence already.”
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1 (NIV) Jesus’ pre-existence is inextricably linked to his divinity.
There is a story of a Prince who was single and wanted to marry a lovely maiden. There was a large city near his palace; one day he had to travel through a poor section of the city when his eyes fell upon a beautiful maiden. Over a period of time, he had the occasion to meet her and found he had fallen in love. He was faced with several options:
• Order her to the palace and propose marriage
• Guide to her home and impress her with his royalty
• Give up his kingly robes and move into her neighborhood
This is what God did–the eternal Christ took up residency with us. He came to earth where human beings could hear, see, and touch him.
II. THE COMPLETE LIFE IS EXPERIENCED BY PUTTING TRUST IN JESUS
John tells about his personal encounter with Jesus. John had observed Jesus up close. John, along with the other apostles lived with Him, were taught by Him and they had studied Him carefully. Yet, John was writing to those who had not known Jesus personally. They, like people today, could say, “That is not fair! John had an advantage.” Yet, we must understand there is something at work in this text that is deeper than a simple physical relationship.
It was not the apostles’ physical nearness to Jesus that made them what they were. It was their spiritual nearness. John uses two different verbs when talking about seeing Jesus: 1) horan = to see and 2) theaomai = “Gazed” (looked at), meaning to look at intelligently as if to grasp the meaning and significance.
The pre-existence (or preexistence) of Christ refers to the doctrine of the ontological or personal existence of Christ before his conception. One of the relevant Bible passages is John 1:1-18 where, in the Trinitarian view, Christ is identified with a pre-existent divine hypostasis called the Logos or Word. There are other, non-Trinitarian views that question the aspect of personal pre-existence, or the aspect of divinity, or both.
John had committed himself to Jesus as his Savior and Lord. Six times in this letter John uses the phrase “born of God.” John is writing to tell people how to receive what he received. Unless they trust Jesus and allow themselves to be born again, they cannot know God and experience eternal life.
A college student went home to attend a family funeral. Upon returning to college his grades began to go down. His counselor thought he was depressed because of the death of his grandmother. Things got worse and finally the young man confessed. While at home, he was looking through his grandmother’s Bible and discovered he was an adopted son. Tears flowed as he said, “I don’t know who I belong to. I don’t know where I came from.”
John writes to tell us that we can know to whom we belong. You see, according to John, the eternal existence of Jesus is not something that is up for debate. The real question is: Have we expressed our belief in the eternal Jesus? Have we allowed ourselves to be born again?
"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." John 3:3
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. 1 John 5:1
A person will never know the joy to which John refers until they are born again. Life is not complete without the born-again experience; without this experience, we will never know who we are and to whom we belong. If we know Jesus as our redeemer, we will be eternally grateful, whole, and content regardless of how life may challenge us.
III. THE COMPLETE LIFE IS A SHARED EXPERIENCE
The kind of fellowship, ?p?t??f?a, to which John presents is predicated upon a close relationship with God. John Zavada said, “We glorify God by loving and serving him, and we can do that better when we have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, his Son.” In the dialogue with Peter Jesus ask him, do you love me. Peter was out of sync with Jesus. Jesus finally asked Peter, “Do you love me? This is an interesting dialogue:
1. Jesus: Do you agapas me? Peter: I dearly philo you.
2. Jesus: Do you agapas me? Peter: I dearly philo you.
3. Jesus: Do you phileis me? Peter: I dearly philo you.
John does not provide a reasoning for this exchange and we must be carefully in interpreting it to fit our motive. What I do recognize is the relationship between agapas and philo. Loving God involves both. I also suggest Jesus wants us to see how these two words apply to Christian fellowship; agapas refers to unconditional love and philo refers to a brotherly/friendship love.
The kind of life to which John refers is not restricted to the emotions of any moment. He speaks of an experience that results in an inner experience of complete peace and joy. In the letter he moves from the doctrinal position stated in the prologue to the practical dimension of the Christian experience.
John uses a key word for understanding that experience: “fellowship” (koinonia). The kind of fellowship John refers to is more than a social, cultural, or recreational commonality. John is talking about the special kind of union that all believers share. All believers belong to God and to each other–there is a spiritual bond shared in Christ.
As we progress through I John, it is my prayer that we will discover afresh the meaningful relationship to which God calls us. First, a relationship with God. Second, which is directly tied to the first, the relationship which we are to enjoy with each other.
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Jn. 17 (NIV)
“Fellowship in a church is not created with a meal in the fellowship hall or a unanimous vote on an issue.” (Bryson, p. 29) John wants us to experience the beauty of the fellowship of Christ in our church.
Susan was a teenager when Jan and I first started working with youth. Susan, along with her mother and sisters, were baptized during that time. Though we have seen them on occasion over the past 30 plus years, the fellowship of that relationship has remained strong. We have stayed in touch with each other and it is that kind of Koinonia that pulls our hearts toward Louisiana.
“My dear friends,” as John wrote, he conveyed a deep longing to see his fellow Christians join together with God’s love. I need that! You need that! This kind of fellowship is incredible. It allows us to weather the storms of life that attempt to strip us from our foundation. Yet, when we make ourselves vulnerable to human relationships we are strengthened by the love of Christ.
Soul food is where we draw from the Spiritual energy of Jesus abiding in us. Secondly, soul food involves feeding upon the Koinonia we enjoy by connecting with other believers.
Following are words I shared in a sermon at First Baptist Church of Eufaula, OK in 2001:
At the writing of this sermon, I feel like crying. I realize Jan and I feel distant from the love of Christ in our church. We are a church that is characterized by diversity. That diversity keeps us from forming that bond of love we often sing about. It has made it easy for groups to form within the church. My heart aches because I realize what we have missed. It aches because of what my family has missed. The people of FBC are slow to accept and extend authentic love. They share very little with me about the meaningful matters of our family together. This is really seen by a reluctance to pray together.
Last Sunday I made a comment to Jan about the enthusiastic voices of praise that reverberated in this place as we expressed our Koinonia with God. This past Wednesday night I drove home reflecting on the Koinonia I had witnessed as you connected with each other and expressed concern for others. We must never forget that the food for the soul is tied to both the vertical and horizontal arms of the cross reaching upward and outward.
CONCLUSION: When we have placed our trust in the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, life is complete, and joy is evident. This trust allows us to say with confidence that it is enough to know the Lord Jesus Christ. The union with Christ that comes to us through the born-again experience is enriched and our joy is intensified by continually opening our lives to the living Lord.
