Our Fellowship
John's Letters • Sermon • Submitted
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· 9 viewsThe joy found in Christ is complete in sharing that with fellow believers.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Introduce Series
we are going to go nice and slow, through all three letters of John
the first, which we will begin today, was written about 85-95 AD
most scholars put the crucifixion of Jesus around 30-33 AD, so this is a good 50-60 years after
most believe that John wrote these letters from Ephesus where he was an Elder
John wrote five books in the NT… these three letters and then the Gospel of John and the book of Revelation
at the time of the writing, the Christians were under persecution from the Roman Empire
many of the apostles had been killed
Roman Emperor Domitian was in control, many festivals were had where all people would have to proclaim that Caesar is Lord!
Today- Our Fellowship
1 John 1:1-4 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—2 that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us—3 what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
For most, we understand the language that John is using here…
the first verse here sounds a lot like what he had written in the gospel of John
In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.
the word became flesh and dwelt among us
we understand that he is talking about Jesus… there is no debate about that
Our goal today is not to know what person John is speaking about, I believe that is clear
but to understand what he is saying we are to do…
how do we apply this text to our lives…
PRAY!
To Know God
To Know God
While on vacation, I believe that we have become dumber as a society
masks wrong way… and in the middle of no where…
we have access to the Bible in more ways then ever before… and we know it less
we get our theology from t-shirts and social media memes and wonder why we cannot hear God
v. 1-2 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—2 that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us—
Two purposes of 1 John
to recognize false teaching
to know you have eternal life
something that we all want
we must know God for either of these to happen
Martin Luther - “Many books do not make men learned, nor does much reading.” and “The Bible is a remarkable fountain, the more one draws and drinks of it, the more it stimulates thirst.”
modern day videos of preachers who get a lot of amens… but you never hear them quote scripture…
The Bible is written so that we may know God
not just a fairytale…
what they heard Jesus teach
the miracles they witnessed Jesus perform
the crucifixion they observed and the wounds that they touched after his resurrection
but it is not just a story passed down, this is a first hand witness telling you these things
not simply things they witnessed, but also revealed to them about the word of life
Peter at Caesarea Philippi… You are the Christ! (Matthew 16)
Peter, James and John at the Mount of Transfiguration… This is my Son, listen to Him (Matthew 17)
Luke 24:27 Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures.
all three accounts is God revealing himself… that is what happens when we read the word of God, He reveals himself to us
So many times a day we hear about these chaotic times...
crime is up, covid 19, suicide is up, BLM, riots, abortion and sex trafficking…
we can vote, we can complain, we can post online
none of it makes any difference if we do not know Jesus ourselves
What we know… is what we declare
the word of life was from the beginning… the eternal life
John is declaring that Jesus is not just a good guy, great moral teacher, but is in fact God in the flesh!
that Jesus was not created as you and I are created… no one was in the beginning, except God (Genesis 1:1 In the beginning… God!)
If you want to know God more, you MUST know Jesus!
To Declare God
To Declare God
1 John 1:3 what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
Declare = to announce or report
that sounds scary to some… we do not want to announce things to people
we do this all the time
we were on vacation in CO… certain member of our family had to make sure that they were wearing Chiefs… had to represent
get comments about it while hiking
we wear clothing that aligns us with teams all the time… even when it is not popular
I saw KU fans wearing jayhawk stuff during football season, and wildcat fans during basketball season
I still wear Royals gear… they are so bad right now
To many, this is what evangelism is…
I will align myself with team Jesus… I will wear the t-shirts and put the bumber stickers on… I will debate those who disagree with me
That is not what John is saying here...
That is not what Jesus said in Matthew 28… He said, “Go and make disciples...”
as if this is a game of who is wrong or right, like we will brag when our team wins.
do you not know, that when this is all done, we will weep watching people go to hell
We declare the gospel of Jesus!
John and Peter in front of the Sanhedrin, “we must proclaim what we have seen and heard!”
we must tell people of what it is that Jesus has done for us!
to what end…
loss of family, friends, jobs, elections, YES!
things are not going to get easier… but Jesus is worth it
we do not declare him when it is convenient, or safe
we declare him, because we know him, and to know him is to enjoy him...
To Enjoy God
To Enjoy God
v4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
There is a question over “our” and “your”
in my more arrogant younger years of studying I wrote, “I am on the side of “your”, because my joy is complete in Christ!”
I am sure that I thought that I was clever… like a mic drop… as in see why I am right and you are wrong… I mean how do you argue with something like that
are you going to tell me that I need more than Christ to be complete in my joy
John 15:11 “I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.
this seems to fall right in line with what I had written… I do not need anything but Christ to be complete in my joy
but if you add in the surrounding verses, suddenly we might see things in a different light…
John 15:9-12 “As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 “I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. 12 “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you.
The joy of Christ in us is complete when we are passing that joy around
you want to see your joy in Christ grow… make disciples
you want to know why your joy seems to be getting smaller, because instead of disciples, we are trying to win a debate… win an election… win a country
lets turn off the news, open our bibles and share the good news of Jesus Christ!
maybe some of us just want to be grumpy…
why are you grumpy, what can I do to fix it… just let me be grumpy
I believe John writes our… as in the writer, the hearers, and the one who will hear about Jesus will all be complete in their joy together
because as believers we have a fellowship together…
we have a fellowship together in Christ!
fellowship = participation… contribution...
we may have differences,
political, schools, sports… you name it
but we are all united in the joy of Christ!
If you do not know him, I pray that you will repent today, to make our joy complete!