Testify!

One thing that is weird about the book of 1 John is that it starts without a formal greeting. John gets right to the point. And the point is that the writer, and those who he is writing to have heard. the Gospel but not just heard but that they have witnessed it.

The writer tells us three things about the purpose of the word of life.

1. It was there from the beginning

-This tells us that this word of life exited from the beginning, that is the Son.

-That the Son was with the Father from the beginning

-John is urging his believers to keep this belief. That Jesus is God, that He is eternal and was with the Father from the beginning. To not agree with those who state differently. Who deny Christ and the message of His Word.

-But also to not stop arguing that this life that was revealed was eternal life, not just any life. That this message is unique from any other message.

2. It appeared to believers

-”The Word became flesh and dwelled among us.”

-But here it goes a little deeper than John 1. Here it tells us they heard the Word, they saw the word, and they touched the Word of life. There can be no doubting this testimony.

The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary A. The Meaning of ‘Logos’

‘the Word of life’ means ‘the gospel of Christ’. What John proclaims is Christ, who is the life (2), and in this proclamation concerning the word of life he lays his emphasis on his eternal being and historical manifestation

-Someone can “hear” something or “see” something that isn’t real. You can hear or see something at night trying to fall asleep. But to touch something proves that it is real.

-But even as touching is the conclusive evidence. It states 4 times that they had seen. This wasn’t some fluke.

-But what did they see, heard, and touch? Life. And not just any life, eternal life. God made known to us eternal life. Jesus is eternal life.

-Why is it important that they had this experience? Because there is no refuting it. Christ lived, He died, and He rose again. This isn’t just something someone said, or something someone heard but something that was experienced. It is something they are compelled to tell others.

Through proclamation of Christ brings fellowship

Those who fellowship see the light of God in them

The love that Christians show is evidence of the eternal life

Fellowship with believers is the beginning of eternal life

3. It is what believers proclaim

-But it wasn’t enough for them just to see, hear, and touch. They knew they had to proclaim what they had witnessed!

4. It brings fellowship to believers to God and to one another

-Fellowship’ is a specifically Christian word and denotes that common participation in the grace of God, the salvation of Christ and the indwelling Spirit which is the spiritual birthright of all believers. It is our common possession of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which makes us one. So John could not have written that you also may have fellowship with us without adding and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ, since our fellowship with each other arises from, and depends on, our fellowship with God.

-Our fellowship comes from confessing the Son as God and this also brings us fellowship with the Father. This is especially important as those John is writing against are those who deny Jesus is the Savior.

-We cannot be content with an evangelism which does not lead to the drawing of converts into the church, nor with a church life whose principle of cohesion is a superficial social camaraderie instead of a spiritual fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ

-This fellowship is important because it is contrast to fellowship with others who do not share our message. But our fellowship with believers is also to fellowship with God because it is the body of Christ.

-There are many people in the world who want our “fellowship”. Fellowship means people with a common goal or purpose who come together for that purpose. It is a commitment. But our commitment as believers is to a personal relationship to God. Anything that hinders this fellowship isn’t worth our time.

5. It is the fullness of joy

-This joy is nothing less than the joy that comes from abiding in Christ’s love, just as Christ’s joy came from abiding in the Father’s love (John 15:9–11). This fulfillment of joy is enjoyed during our earthly sojourn through faith in Christ, even though the full experience of it must await Christ’s return and the consummation of all things. In effect, John’s purpose to achieve the fulfillment of his and his readers’ joy (v. 4) is one and the same as his purpose to keep his readers’ in fellowship with him and the other apostolic eyewitnesses (v. 3).

-It is in the fellowship which the proclamation creates; for if the immediate purpose of the proclamation is the establishment of fellowship, the ultimate purpose is the completion of joy. This is the divine order—angelia (Proclaim)), koinōnia (fellowship), chara (joy)

Related Media

Related Sermons