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1 John 1:1-4
“John the Authoritative Author”
This morning is the first in a 12 week sermon series on John’s Epistles.
At the beginning of a series like this it helps to have an understanding of the historical background and the context into which these letters were written.
The date is somewhere between 80-95AD.
By this time most of the original 12 disciples, and also Paul, are dead.
But John is still going strong.
John the brother of James.
John the disciple who Jesus loved.
John the author of the Gospel and Revelation.
John the author of 1 John.
John who calls himself the elder in 2 and 3 John.
They are all the same people.
In the closing decades of the first century, John is looking around at the culture and the church. And John is concerned.
One of John’s concerns is the ongoing impact of the persecution which Christians have been enduring at the hands of the Romans. This persecution has been going on for over 30 years.
Sometimes it is localised. Sometimes it was wide-spread.
There were some Roman Emperors who were incredibly ruthless.
This persecution meant that many believers were put to death … sometimes very painful and gruesome deaths.
Yes it is true that persecution can strengthen the faith of believers.
But … there were also Christians who were asking, “Is it worth it?”
Is the promise of eternal life with Jesus worth the sacrifice that is required?
John is concerned that believers were tempted to compromise on their faith … or give up on their faith entirely.
A social situation that added to the temptation to compromise or to give up on their faith was the fact that the Roman Empire was very happy to support religious pluralism.
When it came to practicing your own religion, the Roman Empire was quite happy for you to be a Christian … as long as could also say that Caesar is the son of a god.
Caesar is divine—that is what was written on all the coins.
The Christians who were suffering for their faith. They didn’t need to stop being Christians. They could follow any Christian practise they want to.
Just say, “Ceasar is the divine son of a god.”
Just make a small compromise and you can do what you like.
It was very tempting
Adding to the temptation was the fact that many false teachers were rising up and encouraging people to move away from the fundamental truths of the Gospel.
These false teachers were saying things like …
Jesus is not fully divine.
Sin is not as bad as the apostles say it is.
Eternal life is able to be secured by believing in Jesus … but also by believing in other truths as well.
The false teachers were teaching a belief system which made it much easier for Christians to fit into the society of the time.
You don’t have to stand out. You can be a Christian and just fit in.
It was a very compelling … and very tempting … argument.
And the fact that there were so few apostles … this made it easier for the false teachers to spread their heresy.
Ongoing persecution.
Religious Pluralism.
False Teaching replacing Apostolic Truths.
The combined effect of these issues was having an impact.
Believers were giving up on their faith.
False teachers were causing schisms and division within the church.
The uniqueness of the Gospel as the only way of salvation was being questioned.
Moral and ethical compromise was being encouraged.
There was a general spiritual confusion that was creating doubt and fear.
And then here is John
… old John who is the last Apostle standing.
… John looks at this and says “I’ve got to write to these people and tell them.”
When John writes to them, John also writes to us.
The reality is that, despite the distance of nearly 2000 years, not much has changed.
Just like the believers in the first century, we face ongoing persecution.
It is different … more subtle.
For us it is not resulting in death—yet.
But it is a push to get us to comprise … or to give up.
As an example if all Christians were to say, “You know what we have decided that homosexuality is not a sin.” A huge area of persecution disappears over-night.
Society is pretty clear on the agenda towards Christians. They want us to just fit in and be quiet.
But because we are so to say we are the only ones to have the way of salvation … well we only have ourselves to blame for the persecution and suffering. That is what society says.
So we do face persecution … it is a persecution which flows out of a culture of Religious Pluralism.
Most people would be happy for us to have our distinct faith … and call ourselves Christians.
But if we were just willing to pull back on the idea that, “Jesus is the only way”. We can still follow Jesus as much as we want – but just be willing to admit that Jesus is one of many ways. That is what the culture really needs.
Then we can all just get along. And no-one has to feel bad about sin. And we can define truth as we see it. That would feel nice wouldn’t it.
It does feel nice. And that is why, there is a continual rise in False Teaching which is replacing the Apostolic Truths.
Just as one example is the meteoric rise of “Internet Theology”.
Discussion which used to start with, “In the Scriptures it says …”
Now start with, “I saw a youtube video which taught …”
And I have seen godly, solid, educated believers get sucked in to this space where Apostolic truth is replaced with false teaching as people excel in creating a faith framework that progressively moves away from Apostolic truths.
Sometimes it is hard to see the application of Scripture to our contemporary situation.
But when it comes the Johannine Epistles the words of Ecclesiastes ring true
“There is nothing new under the sun”.
John understands all this and picks up a pen and says, “I’ve got to write to them and tell them.”
John will write about a whole range of issues. But, as he writes, John has a big picture in mind.
1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.
1 John 2:1
12 I am writing to you … because your sins have been forgiven … 13 because you know Him who is from the beginning … because you have overcome the evil one.
1 John 2:12-13
13 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.
1 John 5:13
The recipients of this letter.
Know forgiveness for sins.
Have put their faith in God the creator.
Believe in Jesus the Son of God.
John is writing to the converted and he is equipping them to keep having security, hope, peace, renewal despite the persecution, and religious temptations of pluralism and false teaching.
In one way or another there are believers who are asking
– do I still have eternal life?
– can I really call myself a believer?
John writes to assure them that “YES”
… despite all that is going on around you.
… YES, you can know that you have eternal life.
These are pastoral letters written by an apostle with a pastoral heart.
Letters which have the purpose of ensuring that believers will keep holding on to the comfort and hope of the eternal life which has been secured by the work of Jesus.
So at some time between 80-95AD these letters goes out.
Most likely, because John is the last Apostle, these letters were sent to many churches.
The believers in those churches read the letters and responded to them. Not all the responses are positive or encouraging.
9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. 10 So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.
3 John 9-10
Diotrephes looks at the letter from John and basically goes pffffh … I’m not going to listen to that old has-been. What makes John think that he can write to us and tell us what to do?
It isn’t a really nice way to ask the question.
But it is a fair question.
Why should we listen to John?
Why do these Epistles have authority?
John tells us why in the opening verses of 1 John 1:1-4
1 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. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
We heard, saw, looked at and touched.
We proclaimed, testified, and write.
It kind of sounds like this was a group assignment.
But we have been saying the letter is written by John.
So, who is the “we”?
“We” is a collective for a group who had the experience of hearing, seeing, looking and touching … as well as the responsibility to proclaim, and testify.
“We” are collectively known as apostles.
And even though in this case it is the apostle John who is writing … he is writing as part of that apostolic collective. “We” means “I John who is connected to the apostolic tradition.
This puts John
… especially when we remember that most of the apostles are now dead.
… this puts John in a very unique position of authority.
That which we have “heard” … this makes John an “ear-witness”.
John heard all those times Jesus took the disciples aside and taught them.
John heard all the parables first hand.
John heard people confessing Jesus, and the crys of demons being exorcised, and the joy of the widow who received her son back from the dead.
John also heard Jesus laugh, and sign, and yawn.
What he heard … he passes on … so that a new generation can hear.
That which we have “seen” … this makes John an “eye-witness”.
He saw the storm being stilled, and he counted the 153 large fish that were caught, and he watch the lame walk.
He saw Jesus’ face when Jesus was upset with the disciples for telling the children to go away.
As the years roll on less and less people will be able to say, I saw Jesus face to face. John is one of the few who knows what Jesus looked like.
That which we have “looked at” … this makes John a “thinking-witness”.
Take note that there is a difference between “seeing” and “looking”.
“Looking” is to survey a situation with your eyes and think more deeply. Looking contemplates the impact of what you have seen.
When Mary came and told them Jesus was alive Peter and John raced to the tomb where Jesus had been. John beat Peter to the tomb but stayed outside. Peter rushed in and saw the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head, and the linen that had covered the body.
John finally went inside and in John 20:9 we read “He saw and believed”.
Like Peter John saw the cloth and linen and the empty tomb.
But John didn’t just see … he looked and concluded that Jesus was alive.
That which we have “touched” … this makes John a “experience-witness”.
Thomas was encouraged to touch the wounds of the resurrected Jesus.
At the last supper the disciple whom Jesus loved leaned back onto Jesus to ask Jesus a question.
Jesus touched when He healed. He touched lepers. He touched the ear of the man which was cut when Peter tried to use a sword.
John declares that Jesus reached out and touched.
The touch of Jesus confirms that the Word has become flesh.
John testifies that Jesus is a real person and people knew what His touch felt like.
That is John.
An “ear-witness”.
An “eye-witness”.
A “thinking-witness”.
An “experience-witness”.
John is a witness of that which was from the beginning.
John is a witness to the appearing of God in the flesh.
John is a witness to Jesus the Word.
That is what gives John the authority to write.
The same Jesus with whom John walked all those years ago now works in through the Spirit to write Scripture.
To write letters which will be read by believers through all generations.
John writes what God wants us to hear.
Writing to believers who are living in a world which is trying to get them to doubt that they have eternal life.
If I was to ask the question, “Do you believe in the name of the Son of God?”
Most of us would say … YES.
But when I ask the further question, “Do you know you have eternal life?”
That raises the bar doesn’t it.
We live in a world where persecution happens – and as a result we have at times compromised or just stayed quiet.
Is such a Christian worthy to have eternal life?
There is pressure, constant pressure fuelled by false teachers, to not be so dogmatic. To accommodate sin … even minimise sin.
When we have done that is such a Christian worthy to have eternal life?
Sure, many of us say we believe in Jesus.
But can we really know we have eternal life?
Are we really sure? Or is it more of just a hopefully maybe?
John understands the challenges that Christians face … and he is concerned about the impact of those challenges … and so he writes.
Because he wants us to know that we have eternal life.
And the first step towards knowing is believing the witness of the Word.
Believing so much that we say “this book is my authority”.
This book is our authority.
… not how I feel.
… not what society demands.
… not the times I have compromised.
… not false teaching.
… not the sin that may have overwhelmed.
This book is our authority.
And when we, as those who believe in the name of the Son of God listen to this book.
When we hear, and see, and look at, and touch the Word.
When we allow this book to be the only authoritative a witness in my life.
Then, no matter what happens, we can know that we have eternal life.
Prayer
