1 John 1: 1-4 (cont.)

Text:

“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.” – NKJV

vv. 1:1-4 – John gives three tests of genuine fellowship in these Scriptures. In vv 1:1-4; John establishes the first test, the affirmation of a proper view of Christ.

v.2 – the “life” that was “manifested” is of course the “Word of Life” manifested into flesh – Jesus Christ. A key word that anyone studying the Bible should notice in all Scripture in all cases is the word “and.” This word in the context of a perfect, infallible clause, sentence, or excerpt from the Word of God is very important. Every word in the Bible is holy, precious and perfect in its placement, meaning, and emphasis. Because of this, whenever one sees the word “and” in scripture it usually joins two or more things that cannot be separated and hold the same meaing. They must be together. We see this in verse 2. After the Word was “manifested” into flesh, the disciples, according to John, “have seen and bear witness, and declare” salvation through Christ. The first clause tells us quite literally that one cannot truly “see” Christ and not “bear witness” about Him. The opposite is also true, follwing syntactic rules – one cannot truly “bear witness” about Christ without having truly “seen” Him. The second “and” joins the first clause eternally to the second, saying that the single unit of “seeing and bearing witness” cannot be separated from “declaring” the eternal life found only in Christ.

v. 3 – John goes on into verse 3 to let the readers know that he is fulfilling this pattern of “seeing . . . bearing witness . . . and declaring” Christ to them. He also tells them the reason why he does this and why all Christians should do it if they are truly Christians; it brings the lost, confused, and backslidden into fellowship with the believers (us), “with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” In this context, John isn’t merely talking about a physical fellowship of social relation, but rather he is telling everyone that they can be partakers in the eternal life that they are “declaring.” Chris DeRoco said a very powerful thing tonight at ENLI. He said that the Word of God is not the kingdom of God; what comes out of the Word of God through believers is the kingdom of God. This verse shows that. It shows the power of Christ (the Word manifested) when it comes out through the declarations of believers. With our mere declarations of how we have seen and bore witness to eternal life, we can allow the power of God to bring the lost into eternal fellowship with Him, His Son, and other believers and partakers in the salvation of Christ.

v. 4 – Here we have our final important “and” at the opening of the sentence. This joins the last sentence to the previous verses making them an inseperable single unit. The proclamation of the reality of the gospel (vv. 1,2) produces a fellowship in eternal life (v. 3), and in turn, fellowship in eternal life produces joy (v. 4). Think about that. These words of the Bible are the words of God. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (NKJV) or “All Scripture is God-breathed” (NIV). If this is so, and I believe and know it is, then when 1 John says that our “joy can be full,” it’s actually God saying that we can. Think about that! The creator of the universe, to whom all things of human worth are meaningless, is saying that we as human beings can have “our joy made complete” (NIV). Think of how great that must be and how much the lost of the world are missing out thinking that they are living a full life.

Summary:

This passage of Scripture has so much behind it, but one of the main messages in it is the power of Christ and God’s Word spoken by believers to the lost. If one has truly seen God, then it follows scripture that they will “bear witness” and “declare” eternal life through Christ. God said in His Word that “my food is doing the Will of God.” This section of 1 John talks about “full joy” being possible for the believer but only if the above requirements are fulfilled. If they are, then the believer begins to do God’s Will in his life, and thus he will be fed, which will lead to the full joy of the creator of the universe being manifested in His believer.

Challenge:

If you are not “declaring” eternal life in Jesus verbally to the lost, or more importantly, do not have a burden to do it, analyze yourself. No one should go through life thinking they have something they do not. Pray for God to put that passion in your life that you should have if you don’t have it and pray for the lost you should be “declaring” to if you do have it. God Bless.