Title: An Introduction to I John Script: I John 1:1-4
Type: Expository Series Where: GNBC 6-2-24
Intro: A teacher tells her class of five-year-olds they can paint whatever they like. After twenty minutes or so, she walks around the room to see what they’ve painted. “Ooh, that’s a nice house, Johnny; well done.” “What a lovely fish, Cynthia; good job.” Finally, she gets to Jeff, and his painting is a wildly abstract blur of colors and shapes. “Ooh, that’s nice—what’s that, Jeff?” “It’s God,” says Jeff. “But no one’s ever seen God,” says the teacher. “Well,” says Jeff, “they have now.” Over the years, there’ve been no shortage of people who’ve painted imaginative pictures of “God.” There’ve been gods in the shape of animals; gods in the shape of fire or water; gods who look like the stars and the sun; distant gods, inner gods; benign gods and fearsome ones. And if I were to ask you to paint your picture of God, I’m guessing it would be different to Jeff’s and probably different to mine. Some people, presumably, would just leave the paper blank. But would any of our pictures be accurate? How would we know? The only way we’d know for sure is if God had actually revealed Himself.
Prop: Exam. I John 1:1-4 we’ll see 4 evidences of real Christianity.
BG: 1. I Jn. written by the aged apostle most likely late 80’s ad. Nearly 50 yrs after Christ.
2. Two major errors John is correcting in this letter: antinomianism (Against the law) – which essentially said no man can be held accountable to any moral law (Like today!), and perfectionism which taught that the believer can be sinlessly perfect in this life and that in fact, the individual’s sin nature was removed at conversion.
3.
Prop: Let’s look this morning at 4 evidences of real Christianity in I Jn 1:1-4
I. Real Christianity is the Savior, Jesus Christ, Revealed.
A. John Begins his letter by Unequivocally Stating that Christianity is Rooted in Fact.
1. The Fact of Christianity is a Self-Authenticated by God Himself.
a. Much of religion and philosophy is the speculations of man. Christianity, however, is not based on the speculations of men and women about God, but rather, the revelation of God to man. The Bible tells us that sinful man “suppresses” the truth of God. Rom. 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,” Illust: When the rich and famous tell you and me about some non-Christian personal guru who has given them new insights into “God”, be assured they are liars. They do not know the truth because by their very nature they suppress the truth.
b. Christianity is not essentially a system of thought. Rather, it’s a person—Jesus Christ—Who was historically validated, personally experienced, and authoritatively proclaimed by the apostles. That is the foundation that John lays in these opening verses. The only way that we can come to God or know Him is through Jesus Christ. (Jn.14:6),
2. Jesus Christ is the Highest Form of God’s Personal Revelation to Man.
a. God makes Himself known to man because ONLY God can fully know God and make Himself known to man. God makes himself known as Lord through two types of revelation: general and special revelation. General Revelation is given to all people through creation. Through general revelation to all men, God communicates His existence, His power, and His glory, such that men are left without excuse. Sadly, it is not enough to save, but rather is sufficient to condemn. It allows us to know that a “God” exists, but it gives a very limited picture of the nature of that God. Special Revelation is God’s revealing of Himself in particular ways to particular people, through events, activities, prophets, apostles, theophanies, etc.
b. Heb. 1:1-2 describes how this special revelation has occurred:
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” God has specially revealed Himself by speaking to us: first through the OT prophets but finally in His Son Jesus Christ. This is special revelation: a specific revealing of what God is like, to a particular people. Illust: There’s only so much you can tell about an artist from the things he’s created. To really get to know him, we’d need to meet him. That’s why Jesus is the ultimate example of special revelation.” He is nothing less than the Artist stepping into His own creation and meeting us in the flesh. “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father,” (Jn. 14)
B. John Declares the Historical Life of Jesus Was Validated Five ways.
1. Jesus is Validated by the Historical Message About Him. Notice v. 1. Does it make you think of John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” How about Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”? I think this points to the eternality of the life of Christ. If you look at v. 2, it would seem to underscore this truth “the eternal life which was with the Father”. I Jn. 2:13-14 would also support this. The message of the Gospel is a historical message because it is rooted in the eternal Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ.
2. Jesus is Validated by His teachings. “What we have heard” (1:1). John and the other apostles ( “we” of 1:1-4) had heard the words of Jesus. Christ’s words were revolutionary! Even His enemies testified (John 7:46), “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.” If you have a non-Christian friend who is wanting to learn about Jesus, don’t give them a book about Jesus, encourage them to read the very words of Jesus as recoded in the Gospels. Friend will see the completely unique nature of Christ.
3. Jesus is Validated by His Life. “What we have seen with our eyes.” The addition of the phrase, “with our eyes,” shows that John is not talking about a mystical “vision” of Christ, but of actually watching Jesus as He lived before them. The apostles saw Jesus turn the water into wine, feed the 5,000, walk on water, heal the multitudes, and raise the dead. The 35 miracles recorded in the four gospels are only a fraction of those that the apostles witnessed. John (21:25) ends his gospel by stating that if all the things that Jesus did were written in detail, the whole world couldn’t contain the books
4. Jesus is Validated by the Glory of His Person. “What we have looked at.” This is not just a repetition of “what we have seen with our eyes,” but a step further. The Greek verb means, “careful and deliberate vision which interprets its object” (G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament [Scribner’s], p. 203). We derive our English word “theater” from it. It is the word that John (1:14) uses in his gospel, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Mt. of Transfiguration? Resurrection?)
5. Jesus is Validated by His Bodily Resurrection. What we have … “touched with our hands.” Illust: Remember the Upper Room appearance of Jesus to His disciples after the Resurrection? He said (Luke 24:39), “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (see also, John 20:27)
C. Applic: So John is saying that Jesus Christ was revealed and that He was historically validated by the apostles in all of these objective ways, both before and after the resurrection. But, also, …
II. Real Christianity is Jesus Christ Experienced.
A. Our Experience of Jesus Christ Must Always Be Based on the Biblical Revelation of Him.
1.This Experience is Individual.
a. Look at the references in the passage to “we” and “our”. John knew Christ individually, but he also knew Jesus corporately. Knowing Jesus was his own experience and yet he experienced that with the other disciples.
b. Everyone who comes to Christ comes to Christ individually.
2. This Experience is Corporate. Illust: Do you remember on Paul’s 3rd Missionary Journey (Acts 18:24ff). Aquila and Priscilla meet up with an Egyptian Jew named Apollos, who was preaching about the things concerning Jesus and John’s baptism with great fervor. He was speaking boldly in the synagogue there, but in spite of his boldness and fervor, he needed a little fine tuning. V.26 – “They took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately.” To whatever degree Apollos “knew” Christ, he needed the help of other believers to “know” Him more accurately. That is true with every single one of us, regardless of age and experience.
B. John Declares This Progressive and Growing Experience is Demonstrated Three Ways.
1. v.1 – It Begins with Reliable Information about Christ. - Christianity is not a mystical experience or someone’s subjective ideas about God. Rather, it is an experience rooted in history. God sent His Son at a point in history, in fulfillment of promises that He had made in earlier history. Our experience must be biblically based. Illust: The Jesus of Mormonism or Jehovah’s Witness version of Jesus or the Jesus of Islam are NOT Biblically based “Jesus”. They are the figments of the imagination of fallen men.
2. v. 2 – This Information Leads to Eternal Life. At some point in discovering the historical facts, God opens a person’s eyes to see who Jesus truly is. He sees that Jesus is Life, eternal life (John 14:6). As John later states (1 John 5:20), “And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” Illust: Back in 1985 “The Jesus Seminar” was started by Robert Funk and others in an attempt to undermine the credibility of the historical Jesus of the Bible. With 50 liberal Biblical scholars & 100 laymen they set about to employ their 7 Rules of “Scholarly Wisdom” and democratic voting principles so as to determine the “real and historical Jesus”. They made a lot of noise in the late 90’s. about their supposed grand findings… Well guess what? They dissolved in 2006, and historical Jesus was, and continues to be unshaken by the vain hypothesis of fallen man.
3. v.3 – This Information Leads to Deeper Fellowship with God and Other Believers. “Fellowship” means, literally, to share in common. The fellowship that we share when we come to know Jesus Christ as our life is two-dimensional: it is with God and with one another. John begins on the human plane, stating that he is proclaiming these truths about Jesus Christ “so that you too may have fellowship with us” (the apostolic circle). Then he adds, “and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” Illust: As Christians we are NEVER to live in isolation.
C. Applic: Biblical Christianity is an experience rooted in revelation and realized in relationship—with God and with other believers. This 2 dimensional fellowship should always be growing both vertically and horizontally. The longer we are a Christian, the more fellowship with God we should experience. This fellowship should also be increasing with God’s people..
III. Real Christianity is Jesus Christ Proclaimed.
A. John Challenges that Biblical Christianity is a Message to be Proclaimed.
1. This was in direct conflict with the Gnostics who threatened to infiltrate the Church.
a. The Gnostics believed in a “special knowledge” that only the super spiritual could know. Christianity was to only be a hidden or special knowledge or secret, know only to a few who were specially initiated.
b. Illust: As such it reminds me of how the Catholic Church used to treat the Bible. Until 1968 it was highly discouraged that any layman read the Bible for self and that only the priest could be trusted. Even the mass was shrouded in the mystery of a dead language. Even today it is the rare priest or church who actually encourages its members to read the WOG for selves.
2. The Message of the Gospel is a message to be proclaimed.
a. V.3 proclaim – John made sure to proclaim the Gospel.
b. Illust – We should have the same attitude as the great evangelist George Whitfield.He had a sense of urgency. "It should bless our hearts to see people turn to Christ, but it should also break our hearts when they turn away. George Whitfield often had to stop preaching because he broke into tears. When someone suggested that he should control himself more he said, ’How can I help weeping for people when they won’t weep from themselves? Every time I preach I wonder if someone is hearing the gospel for the last time." (From Suffering to Singing, Marcaurelle, p. 28)
B. John Uses 3 Words to Describe How the Apostles Communicated the Gospel.
1. “bear witness” – v.2 – legal term, When you testify in court, you swear to tell the truth about what you saw or heard. John Stott (p. 61) calls this “the authority of experience.” The apostles spoke the truth about what they had seen and heard during their time with Jesus.
2. “proclaim” – v. 2&3 - apagello – bring word back, Stott calls it “the authority of commission,” in that it implies that Jesus Christ appointed the apostles to proclaim the good news about His life, teaching, death, and resurrection. The apostles didn’t start the church because they were a bunch of religious entrepreneurs or franchisers, or slick businessmen seeing a way to cash in. They were under orders from Jesus Christ and they weren’t free to change the message to fit the customers. They had to proclaim the message that the King had commanded them. That message hasn’t changed!
3. “write” – v.4 - John (and some of the other apostles) wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the words that God wanted us to receive. Through these writings (the NT), we can enter into the same fellowship w/ God that the early church experienced. If John and the other apostles had not proclaimed the message, we wouldn’t know Christ today. Get your Bible out and read it! We are still required to proclaim to others the authoritative message of the King so they can know Him! (see Rom. 10:14-15)? (Illust – Progressive or Deconstructed Christianity is nothing more than spiritualized paganism in robes. Illust: The United Church of the Valley 8 Points of Progressive Christianity – (https://ucvchurch.org/the-8-points-of-progressive-christianity/) Did you happen to notice what was missing?? THE GOSPEL!
C. Applic: Any Church that does not shamelessly proclaim the Gospel of Christ is no church at all.
IV. Real Christianity Experiences the Joy of Jesus Christ. v.4
A. Joy is found in the message of the Gospel.
1. Illust: Anhedonia is the inability to experience joy or pleasure. You may feel numb or less interested in things that you once enjoyed. It’s a common symptom of many spiritual/mental health conditions like depression. Manifested in apathy, boredom, numbness, negativity. Can I tell you the cure for this ailment that afflicts millions in America? JESUS CHRIST and involvement in His Church.
2. There are two possible ways to read this text. It can possibly read “these things we write to you…” (In place of the emphatic “we”.) so that your joy may be made full” or “these things we write so that our joy made be made full (complete).” At the end of the day I don’t see a huge difference between the two. When we follow the Lord and when those we love follow the Lord, both ours and their joy is made full! John certainly sought his reader’s joy and certainly that joy would be filled to the brim if they were firmly established in the faith and fellowship.
B. Do you Have the Joy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Your Life?
1. This joy comes in a relationship to Christ and community with His people. God has created man to live in community with others. From Adam's being provided a helper suitable for him, to Moses' being given the partnership of Aaron, to Jesus' choosing twelve disciples to live with and learn from Him during His earthly ministry, the movement has always been from the one to the many. Unfortunately, today's Western mind prizes autonomy and values privacy, and this has greatly affected how many Christians think about their relationship with other Christians. hey tragically misunderstand that the Christian life is personal but not private. Instead, Christians are drawn out of themselves and into a family of new siblings, all of whom have the same Father. They learn each other's names, take on each other's burdens, learn from each other's lives, and encourage each other to excel still more for "the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:14). But don't misunderstand. This sharing in community is not simply the path to obedience. This is the route to joy. Paul says to rejoice in Christ—the object of our joy. However, that fount supplies a river of joy that runs through the Church.
2. Illust: Chuck Swindoll once told the story of a man he met early in his ministry. The man’s joy left an indelible impression on Swindoll that has lasted his lifetime. “Early in my ministry, I met a man named Worral. He had been stricken with rheumatoid arthritis at age 15, and when I met him 30 years later, he was totally paralyzed except for 1 finger, could barely speak and was totally blind. But he had a string tied to that one mobile finger that could turn on a recorder. He wrote for national magazines, authored books and led a happy and influential life from his bed. This was possible because after initial prayers brought no healing, he accepted his lot graciously and said, "Well Lord! If this is the size plot in life you’ve staked out for me, let’s you and me together show the world what we can grow on it." Down the path of humble acceptance, Worral achieved a happier and more useful life within
the limitations of very restricted circumstances than most people ever will manage with excellent physical health.”
D. Applic: “Many people believe in a Jesus of their own imagination and have an emotional experience that they call being born again. But when their problems are not all magically solved, or they go through difficult trials, they conclude that “Jesus didn’t work,” Their experience was not that of true fellowship with God and with others who know God. True Christianity is essentially Jesus Christ—revealed in Scripture, experienced in new life and fellowship, and proclaimed with joy. Make sure that you’ve got the real deal!” (Steven Cole, Lesson 2)
