Hear Him, See Him, Watch Him, Touch Him
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Hear Him, See Him, Watch Him, Touch Him
Hear Him, See Him, Watch Him, Touch Him
Happy New Years Y’all. All the holidays are over and we are now going to be able to settle back down to our regular routines. We began a new year last Wednesday not to mention a new decade. This time of year many people decide to start something new or perhaps to stop something old which is often a new adventure. People start new diets, new exercise programs, or they determine to start reading their Bible again everyday and begin at Genesis and drop out about Leviticus. That’s not being critical because I didn’t read all the way through the Bible until about 9 years ago. Leviticus is tough and if you do make it through, you have Numbers following right behind. If you have done that don’t fret just start over, you’ll be an expert on Genesis and Exodus. Today being the first Sunday of 2020 it seems appropriate (along with taking communion) that we would begin a new sermon series (and no it’s not Leviticus). We will begin our study of the letter of 1 John. My intentions are, barring the Lord’s intervention, to have approximately 8 sermons from 1 John then 3 from 2nd and 3rd John respectively then take a run at Revelation, which is something I have never done, and I have no idea how long that is going to take. That would complete a study of the writings of John because we finished the Gospel of John back in May. So we have that to look forward to for the first part of 2020. Let’s pray then we will do a quick overview of 1 John then get directly into
1 John, which was written most likely by the Apostle John, is a letter or epistle known as one of the Catholic Epistles. Not Roman Catholic but with catholic meaning universal. Even though it was most likely written to the churches of Asia Minor where John was known to have pastored (Ephesus) it is not formally addressed to anyone so it is considered to be a universal letter. 1 John is written like a sermon probably between 85 and 95 AD. There are indeed some very difficult and bold passages that we will look at as we get to them. The reason for the letter is spread out through the writing. Four times in his letter John uses the phrase or a similar phrase; “I write these things to you”. Let me read those to you very quickly before we get into our passage this morning even though one of these verses is in our passage today. 4And these things we write to you that £your joy may be full. 1My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 26These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. 13These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life,£ and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. John was written so that we would have complete joy, that we would not sin, that we would not be led astray and that we would continue to believe that Jesus is the Christ. We will not be going any further with those four reasons today other than what we will see in today’s passage.
Let us go ahead and look into our passage this morning. 1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—2the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—3that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4And these things we write to you that £your joy may be full.
What is more believable; the testimony of someone who saw an event first hand or the testimony of someone who heard of an event? The second hand witness may be able to tell a better story by embellishing it with flowery speech and dubious “facts” as they see fit but they cannot make the story more believable or more true than a firsthand witness. That is what John is making clear here. We have heard Him, we have seen Him with our own eyes, we have not only seen Him we have looked on Him, we watched Him, and we have even touched Him. Who is the Him I just talked about? He is the Word of life, Jesus the Word made flesh. We need to make sure that we understand that you cannot separate the message of the Word of life from the person who is the Word of life. You cannot separate the person of Jesus from the message of Jesus because He is the Word of life. says 4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. Without Jesus there is no Gospel.
From the original reader’s perspective this is all very important. During this time of the church, the first century, a new religion was springing up in Asia Minor specifically in response to Christianity. It used the character or the person of Jesus but it denied the physical nature of the Messiah, the Christ. It was a form of Gnosticism called Docetism. Gnosticism itself made the claim that God could only be spirit because all material things, everything created, was evil and God could not be a part of evil. So Docetism came to the conclusion that Jesus only appeared to be physically here but it was just an illusion. This teaching was circulating around the Christian community and drawing many away from the truth that Jesus was God in the flesh. That explains John’s statement that he and the other Apostles (we) had touched Him, along with hearing, seeing and looking at Him. The believers needed to know that there was firsthand information not something handed down like so much mythology. This is important to us today really for the same reason. I read an article this week concerning a seminary that used to be, in its early days, one of the best in the nation; Union Theological Seminary. They made the news recently by setting up a bunch of plants and spending the day praying and confessing their sin and apologizing to the plants for mankind’s abuses. Recently the president of the seminary; Serene Jones stated that she did not believe in the virgin birth or that Jesus was indeed deity which means she does not believe that He is the Word of life. Before the conservative resurgence in the Southern Baptist Convention we had some of our Seminary professors believing and teaching the same thing at Southwestern in Texas and Southern in Kentucky. Today we have a Missouri Baptist Convention university that is trying to move in that direction. There is a professor who denies the virgin birth and instead of firing him they simply reassigned him to a different department teaching the same required courses to the same students seeking to go into the ministry. We need to hear that there is firsthand knowledge of the Person of Jesus the Word of Life because this battle to deceive believers will never cease. We need (believers need) to hear the Gospel on a regular basis because the enemy is always seeking to lead even the elect away from the Word of life. That is what John is doing in those first 2 verses and that is what I am doing as well.
John goes on in verse three to make it clear that he proclaims his firsthand knowledge that Jesus came in the flesh so that his readers (and us) might have fellowship with Him because having fellowship with him meant that the fellowship was actually with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Here is exactly what he says in verse 3: 3that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. When John talks about having fellowship with his readers (again and us) and having fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ he is talking about something that is shared in commonality. The Greek word is Koinonia and there is no real good English word to translate the Greek. We use the word fellowship but most Baptists think of that means a short sermon and food. The best way to define or at least describe koinonia, fellowship, is in the relationship Adam and Eve had with God before the fall. They shared all of creation, their work, even some of their time. They walked with God in the cool of the evening and He gave them specific commands and jobs to perform. There was a sharing in all things at least the things that Adam and Eve could comprehend and share with an incomprehensible Creator. But that koinonia was lost, fellowship with God and with one another, was lost when Adam and Eve rebelled against God. Of course the fellowship was lost with God because His law was simple; if you eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil you will die. From the moment they sunk their teeth into that fruit they died spiritually and were dead in their trespasses and sin. But the fellowship between Adam and Eve was also broken. Where they had both been together working under the leadership of the Creator, now Eve would be trying to take authority away from Adam; this is exactly what God said: Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.” And Adam had already demonstrated that he was going to trying to blame his wife for everything (that woman you gave me). Koinonia, fellowship had been lost. But John is making it clear that there is a restoration. That is what John is declaring to his readers and us. We saw life, we touched life, we looked at life, we heard life now we proclaim that life to you so that we can have a shared common relationship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ and with one another. Not only did John write this but Jesus prayed something very similar in His great High Priestly prayer in the garden the night of His arrest. 20“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who £will believe in Me through their word; 21that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” Jesus didn’t use the word koinonia, fellowship but He did describe a shared commonality, that we would be one with one another and with Him and His Father. That is why John declared that he and the other Apostles had experienced Jesus, the Word of life, in the flesh; that we would have fellowship with one another, with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus the Word of life has restored the fellowship.
Finally in verse 4 we see the first reason John gives for writing all of this down for his readers and us. 4And these things we write to you that £your joy may be full. We could spend a lot time here discussing what John means by “these things” and whose joy we are talking about and what that joy means. But instead I think I will tell you what I believe John is telling us here. “These things” that John is writing about that brings full joy is the truth that we have fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ because the Word of Life came into the world. Since John is very clear that he is proclaiming that the Word of life became flesh so that there would be fellowship with the Father and the Son then I have to believe that is the “these things” John is talking about. Of course this fits in well with what he says in the rest of the verse and what every true believer has found to be true, through fellowship with Jesus we have joy. Only in being in fellowship with God the Father and His Son can one have joy. Otherwise we can be happy based on our circumstances but joy only comes in knowing and communing with God our Creator, that’s what we were created for. We were created in His image for fellowship with Him. This joy is made full or complete in John because those he has been ministering to have remained strong in the faith they first believed. The joy was made full in those who were the original readers because they have fellowship with God and with one another. But we also need to understand that our joy is never complete, never full until we proclaim the truth of the Word of Life, the gospel of Jesus Christ just like John is doing.
We cannot sit back and be comfortable, content, believing that our fellowship with God and having attained that by faith in the Word of Life is the end. That is not the goal of our joy. Our joy is through salvation but it is only made complete, full when we proclaim the truth of the Word of Life, Jesus to others just as John was doing. It is almost as if John is saying; “I cannot remain silent, I can’t keep my mouth shut, the joy of being in fellowship with almighty God compels me to proclaim the Gospel the truth of the Word of Life.” Like I said earlier you cannot separate the Word of Life, the person of Jesus Christ from the Gospel that brings salvation to everyone who believes, and our joy is only complete when we proclaim that gospel.
So we have seen that the world, under the influence of the deceiver, is diligently at work seeking to draw us away from the Word of life. We must be even more diligent to look into the person and work of Jesus Christ the Word of life because even the elect of God can be deceived and led away by persecution, virtue shaming, government legislation or any manner of false teaching. It is the Word of life, Jesus and His Gospel that is at work in us to restore the fellowship with one another, with God the Father and with His Son. We were created in the image of God to have fellowship with Him. Only through the Gospel is what was lost in the garden restored. And lastly, our joy is made complete when fellowship is restored and we proclaim the Word of life so that others will come to Christ. Let’s pray.