Word of Life

1 John  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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Opening Illustration

During my study this week I came across this interesting article about meerkats.
Meerkats are small mongooses found in southern Africa.
Most famously the character Timon from the movie Lion King is a meerkat.
They are often depicted and photographed standing up and looking guard over the rest of their group.
In the article I read it stated that the most trusted meerkats are those with impeccable reputations.
Here is an excerpt from the article:
“Experience beats age or rank when it comes to meerkat sentry duty.
Individuals who stand guard while other group members forage for food gain trust through reputation, not through their social rank.
Other foraging species that rely on sentries usually only pay attention to warnings from dominant or older individuals.
When meerkats forage for insects and other prey they bury their heads in the sand, so having a reliable lookout means they don’t have to be on the alert themselves for predatory snakes, hawks, eagles and jackals.
Good lookouts save lives by giving an alarm call when a nearby predator looks ready to attack.
Likewise, reliable “all-clear” calls allow peers to confidently resume foraging.”
The article goes on to say that after observing nine groups of meerkats for 3 months...
The most trusted meerkats stood guard 50% more than others.
Additionally, when a more trusted guard was placed other forging meerkats look up less and were able to focus on their task better.
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So, meerkats rightly show us that an individual’s reliability matters when lives are on the line.
This is true when it comes to spiritual warnings.
This is true when is comes to listening to spiritual truth.
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Today we start our series in 1 John and we will start by looking at the reliability of our author of the letter we will be studying.

Sermon Introduction

So, please turn your Bibles to the 1 John.
We will be conducting our study in Chapter 1 and focus on verses 1 through 4.
Our message this morning called “Word of Life”
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Opening Prayer

Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Let’s turn to our text for today:

Reading of the Text​

1 John 1:1–4 ESV
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
Before we break this down, Church...
Lets get some background information on 1 John.

Background

Author:
The author was John, the Beloved Disciple.
He is also known as John the Evangelist, John of Patmos, and John the Elder.
He was one of the twelve disciples.
Additionally, he was also part of the inner three or three closest disciples to Jesus which also included Peter and James.
He wrote the Gospel of John...
He wrote 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John...
And he wrote Revelation.
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John was a successful fisherman and was part of the family business with his brother and their father, Zebedee.
He was partners with Peter and Andrew.
They were originally disciples with John the Baptist until they starting following Jesus.
Along with his brother James, Jesus nicknamed them the “Sons of Thunder”
John was so closed with Jesus he was know at the beloved disciple.
Often he would lean on Jesus like a close friend and brother.
John was the only disciple to be at the cross when Jesus was crucified...
And Jesus entrusted John with taking care of his own mother.
John lived a long life, probably into his mid 90s.
He is the only disciple to not die of martyrdom but was persecuted and exiled.
Format of the Writing:
1 John is an epistle.
That means it is written as a letter.
Date:
This letter was written in the late 1st century.
Original Audience:
The original audience was the churches of Asia Minor or modern day Turkey
Purpose of the Letter:
John intends to make clear the truth of Jesus full divinity and full humanity.
During this time many false teachers are rising up and trying to cast doubt on this truth.
So John is stressing the essential doctrines one must hole to even be a Christian and follower of Christ.
He stresses the core of Christianity and defines what is sound doctrine.
John warns to not hold to these beliefs is to make it evident that one is not a true believer and follower of Christ.
John also provides a spiritual check list so that we can evaluate ourselves and see if our faith is genuine of false.
John intends to give assurance of salvation for those who are truly born again...
And to warn false converts that they are not saved but can be if they surrender their life to the Lord.
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So with that background understood....
Let’s get into our text.

1) The Word (Jesus) is God

Verse 1a: That which was from the beginning,
Biblicaly speaking, the word “beginning” is considered a starting point or origin or source...
It refers to the time even before creation.
The Scriptures often describe God as the beginning and the end.
This description shows the eternity of God’s existence.
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We see this language in two of the most well known verses in of of Scripture.
The very first verse in the very first book of the Bible, Genesis 1:1 reads:
Genesis 1:1 ESV
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Notice as we said...
God existed before anything was ever created.
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And that just logically makes sense too.
Anything created needs a creator.
Nothing can create itself.
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Additionally, someone must exist that was never created but started the creation process...
Nothing can be set in motion without something outside of it initiating the move...
This is logical...
This is scientific...
And this is biblical...
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But be warned , beloved.
Desperate men will do desperate things when they are cornered.
Staunch atheists like Richard Dawkins tried to argue that “nothingness” actually created “something.”
His expression of these ideas publically have been meet with laughter over the ridiculousness of the statement.
Dawkins, who is well respected in the scientific community and generally with society was clearly shocked that many did not just follow his train of thought.
In fact, many scientists, both atheists and Christians, easily proved this as a logical fallacy.
With all we know of the laws of science and physics this idea is ludicrous.
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But a desperate man will do desperate things when he is cornered.
When the laws of science and physicals point to God...
Unbelievers panic.
Even well respected ones.
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But we as believers don’t need to worry about that.
We have the Scriptures...
And time and time again the Word of God has proven to be true and reliable.
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So, let’s go back to that language about the “beginning.”
That language is not just found in the Old Testament.
It is also in the New Testament as well.
Take a look at the opening line of the Gospel of John...
John 1:1 reads:
John 1:1 ESV
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Clearly John is pointing to Genesis 1:1 here.
He is making it as clear a possible that Jesus was not just a great prophet...
Jesus was not just the Messiah...
Jesus was not just the Christ...
Jesus was not just sinless...
Jesus was not just the Son of Man...
Jesus was not just the Son of God...
Jesus was also God.
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John can’t be more clear.
Before anything was created Jesus existed.
Before anything was created He was with the Father...
That points to the Trinity.
Before anything was created Jesus was God.
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Some cults like Jehovah’s Witness try to mistranslated this verse.
They say Jesus was “a god”.
But the scholarly work of those who adhere to their beliefs is lacking to say the least.
You just need to go to the original language that the New Testament was written in to see it.
In the Koine Greek, there is a totally different word that John would have used if he wanted to say that Jesus was divine but not the one true God.
But God purposely used a word that could only mean that Jesus was our one true God.
In fact, if you reverse translate the English back to Greek...
That is, translate “the Word was God” into Koine Greek there is only one way to due that and that matches what we have in every manuscript we have of the Gospel of John.
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So rest assured, our faith in the Trinity and Jesus as God is built on reliability.
We also have the eye witnesses to prove it...
And this takes us to our next point...

2) Eye Witnesses to the Word (Jesus)

Verse 1b: Which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—
John the Beloved Apostle spent 3 years hearing Jesus’ teachings
He was even one of the three closest disciples to Jesus.
So, he is one of the best people testify of the teachings of Jesus.
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During those three year he saw many miracles preformed by Jesus.
These miracles proved that Jesus was the promised Messiah and that He is God.
John saw Jesus have authority over the weather.
John saw Jesus have authority over sickness and even death.
John saw Jesus as divine during the transfiguration
John saw Jesus sacrifice His life for His sheep at Calvary.
And John saw Jesus resurrected from the dead with a transformed body.
And later on...
John near the end of his life will see future visions of Jesus during the second coming.
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John spoke with Jesus...
And he traveled with Jesus...
And he lived life with Jesus...
And he did ministry with Jesus...
And he loved Jesus...
And John worshiped Jesus.
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John is the perfect eye witness that was willing to die for following Jesus.
So, John and the other apostles truly presented a faithful account of Jesus’ life and teachings.
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And it is those teachings that we focus on next.
Jesus’ teaching bring eternal life.

3) The Word (Jesus) Brings Eternal Life

Verse 2: The life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—
Jesus is the source for eternal life.
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One must be in right standing with the Father to avoid His wrath and experience eternal life...
But that is impossible to experience without the Son...
That is impossible to experience without the Word...
That is impossible to experience without Jesus.
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Remember what Jesus proclaimed in John 14:1-11
John 14:1–11 ESV
1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
There are so much profound truths in these statements by Jesus.
You could easily divide this up into multiple sermons.
But for our purposes for today, I want you to zero in on verse 6.
Jesus said He is the way, the truth and the life.
Then He said no one comes to the Father except through Him.
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This is not a popular message in 2022...
But then again, this was not a popular message in 33 AD either.
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Our currently society is not that much different from the Mediterranean world in the 1st century.
In our culture today they don’t really mind that you worship God...
Just don’t tell them there is only one way to worship God.
The world doesn’t care that you have a certain belief of what will get you to heaven...
Just don’t tell them there is only one way to heaven.
The society doesn’t care that you follow Jesus and worship Him...
Just don’t tell them that salvation is found exclusively in Him.
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Well, the Roman world during the 1st century sounded a like like our current culture.
Rome didn’t care that you worshiped Jesus or believed in the Trinity...
They just expected you to in addition worship the Roman pagan gods and the emperor.
When Christians refused to compromise their faith...
They were labeled as “atheists”...
They were persecuted..
They were hunted and rounded up...
They were thrown to wild animals to be torn apart...
They were dipped in oil and lit on fire...
They were executed in cruel fashions...
Why?
Because they took the words of John 14:6 seriously.
Because they knew Jesus is the way to eternal life.
Because they knew Jesus is the truth that leads to eternal life
Because they knew Jesus is life itself as it says in John 11:25:
John 11:25 ESV
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
And simply put, there is no way to the Father without Him...
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But it was not just about knowing this truth.
In addition to knowing that Jesus leads to eternal life...
We need to have fellowship with Him if we are to be saved...
And this takes us to our next point.

4) Fellowship with the Word (Jesus)

Verse 3: That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
John is making clear his purpose of everything he has said up to this point...
John, from the very beginning wants you you to know what this whole letter is about.
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John says he is proclaiming all this “so that you too may have fellowship with us.”
But not just fellowship with a group of people...
It is that but ultimately it is about our greater fellowship with the Father...
Fellowship with the Son...
And fellowship with the Holy Spirit...
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Being a Christian is not like being in a club or part of a team...
This is more than that.
This is the one true God of all of creation having fellowship with us.
This is about being aborted into the royal family of God.
This is to be heirs with Christ...
As crazy as that sounds...
That is what Scripture calls our relationship with God.
Just look at what it says in Romans 8:14-17:
Romans 8:14–17 ESV
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
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The Father does not see us and our sinfulness...
Because of the sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary...
Because of the blood of Christ that covers us...
The Father does not see us but sees Christ when he looks at us now.
That is what fellowship with Christ looks like.

5) Sharing the Word (Jesus) with Others

Verse 4: And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
Church, how is one’s joy complete?
For a genuine born again believer, how is one’s joy complete?
Because if you are a true follower of Christ then you have had your mind renewed.
You have been born again.
You have the Holy Spirit who now lives in you.
You have a Comforter and Helper.
You are now a new creation.
You are no longer a slave to sin.
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But for your joy to be complete...
You desire to share what Christ has done for you.
You desire to share the Good News.
You desire to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
You desire to share your testimony like the women at the well in John 4:29.
John 4:29 ESV
29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”
Yes, it is the Christ.
And we do not complete our joy by boasting of ourselves.
We complete our joy by boasting in the Lord.
We complete or joy by boasting in the cross as Paul said in Galatians 6:14:
Galatians 6:14 ESV
14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
For our joy to be complete we desire others to experience the joy we currently experience.
For we are not ashamed of the Gospel message because it brings life to others as it says in Romans 1:16:
Romans 1:16 ESV
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Closing Illustration

As this message comes to a close...
Think on this...
Merlin Carothers, author of the book Prison to Praise, had firsthand experience of what it is like to be declared righteous.
During World War II, he joined the army.
Anxious to get into some action, Merlin went AWOL but was caught and sentenced to five years in prison.
Instead of sending him to prison, the judge told him he could serve his term by staying in the army for five years.
The judge told him if he left the army before the five years ended, he would have to spend the rest of his term in prison.
Merlin was released from the army before the five-year term had passed, so he returned to the prosecutor’s office to find out where he would be spending the remainder of his sentence.
To his surprise and delight, Merlin was told that he had received a full pardon from President Truman.
The prosecutor explained:
“That means your record is completely clear.
Just as if you had never gotten involved with the law.
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Just as Merlin has his debt paid...
We as believers need to remember how our debts was paid...
And it is now about the remembrance of that great sacrifice of our great Savior that we bring our attention to.

Communion

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As we begin our communion service I want to invite every genuinely born-again believe in the room to partake in this act together.
If you do not yet know the Lord and have a relationship with Him or if you are under church discipline from this church or another church they I will ask that you wait until you have resolved your issue before participating.
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As you came in you should have picked up a communion packet if you are joining us.
This has both the bread and juice in a convenient package.
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If you have not recieved one of these please raise your hand and one of our deacons will get you one.
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Before we join together in communion I want to remind everyone that we are to take communion in a worthy matter.
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Let us take a look at 1 Corinthians 11:16-34
1 Corinthians 11:16–34 ESV
16 If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God. 17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. 23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. 33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.
So, examine yourself.
Are you you eating and drinking judgement on yourself?
Or are you doing this in remembrance of the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior?
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Are you just following the motions?
Or does participating in communion together really represent your thankfulness of what Jesus did on that old rugged cross?
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While you meditate on this let me share a quote by John Piper on the subject:
Piper says, “Matthew 5:23–24 says, ‘So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go.
First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.’
And I think the clear implication is that, if we find ourselves in a sinful relationship holding fast to a sinful thought or a feeling or a grudge, we should make reconciliation and sanctification a priority above eating the Lord’s Supper.
Get things right and then come and eat.
Now, let me end like this, having said all that.
I want to avoid a terrible situation I saw in Germany when I was there forty years ago.
I saw twelve people taking the Lord’s Supper out of a parish of ten thousand, and I asked the pastor, ‘Where is everybody?’
And he said, ‘There is a long tradition here of being afraid to eat the Lord’s Supper.’
In other words, I want to avoid the terrible situation in which we become so perfectionist that we are afraid to eat the Lord’s Supper lest we bring condemnation on ourselves.
Clearly, the apostle Paul knew that we are all sinners and he intended for us to regularly eat the Lord’s Supper.
So, if we are members of a true church in good standing and if we are not holding fast to known sin, but are renouncing sin and hating it and fighting it and turning to Christ as our treasure and hope and substitute and punishment and righteousness, then we should eat.”
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Adrian/Ted/Jack will you pray before we partake in the bread:
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The Word of God says in Luke 22:19:
Luke 22:19 ESV
19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
(TAKE THE BREAD)
Tom will you pray before we partake in the juice:
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The Word of the God says in Luke 22:20:
Luke 22:20 ESV
20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
(TAKE THE JUICE)
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With that we conclude the communion portion of our service.
Please join us for one more song from the Praise Band.
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