That Your Joy might be Full: A Sermon for the 3rd Sunday in Advent

1 John 1:1-4

1 John 1:1–4 NKJV

That 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—the 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—that 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. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

We return to the first Epistle of John this morning as we continue our study through Advent this year (2023). As a way of reminder, Advent is a season in which we prepare ourselves for the return of Jesus and the full realization of His Kingship over all creation. It is a time in which all which was damaged and destroyed by the fall shall be restored. We remember four Christian themes during Advent: hope, peace, joy, and love. This week we will see how having Christian joy prepares us for the coming Kingdom.

We who believe in Jesus are promised eternal joy in heaven with Jesus Christ our Lord. The hope of this reality gives us a little taste of this joy in advance. It allows us to continue on what is at times a very difficult journey. Advent is an adventure. There are many things happening in our world that profoundly saddens us. These difficulties come from every direction. But because we know our future unmixed joy shall come, we can be joyful even in our difficult circumstances.

In our Advent study, we have looked at the circumstances of the believers the Apostle John addressed to the church in 1 John. We do not know the name of the church. We do know that John settled at Ephesus sometime near 70 AD when the Temple was destroyed. We also know from the Book of Revelation that John had charge over churches in at least seven cities in Asia Minor. However, we can learn much from the clues that the epistle supplies. We mentioned that the church had undergone a split. The more “advanced” believers had left. They felt that those who stayed were incapable of learning their understanding of “truth.” It is always troublesome when the leadership of the church abandons the Christian truth, which is the only truth, to pursue their idea of truth and perfection. In some cases, believers have had to leave the church because the leaders who were entrenched were teaching heresy. In this case, the “teachers” left. The flock was without leadership and in danger of being scattered. John felt that it was necessary for the false teachers to leave, no matter what disruption their was to the church. A church cannot be out of fellowship with Jesus and Christian truth and be a church at all.

John wrote the epistle to encourage the believers there. I would think that John would also try to provide them teachers who were grounded in the truth. John begins his epistle by reminding them of the source and content of Christian truth. John tells them that they (apostles) were in every way with Jesus from the beginning of His earthly ministry. They knew what He taught. They also knew who He was. John uses the panoply of senses to describe being with Jesus. They had seen him physically as well as seen the work He did. They had heard His voice. They had touched Him. In fact the word here for touched is actually “groped.” This especially happened after the resurrection where they saw the wounds and were encouraged to feel these wounds and know that Jesus was not a phantom but truly but specially human. He ate with them. There can be no doubt about the testimony. They were there. These false teachers were not. They only understood “spiritual” teaching. They despised the human body, and like many Greeks saw the physical body as being a prison for the soul rather than a house.

Even though the believers were not eye, ear, or hand witnesses to the Incarnate Jesus, John tells them that this is the basis for their fellowship with Jesus. They did not have the benefit of being one of the apostles. They are called to believe their testimony. But the Holy Spirit also is active in the believer so that those who have not physically seen Jesus but still believe. In fact, Jesus calls them even more blessed. We must also believe that the Holy Spirit is not working imperceptibly in the believer. Even though the Holy Spirit is a spirit, He is housed in a physical body. In this case it is the body of the believer, And the physical church is also a representative of His body. We have true fellowship with the Father and the Son as well as the Holy Spirit.

The purpose of this fellowship is now stated, that our joy would be full. This is the only time we encounter the word “joy” in the epistle. This does not make it unimportant. It’s location at the front of the epistle as the purpose of His writing means it is of great importance. It is as important as the word “love” (agape) which occurs frequently. In fact, when we look at the four themes of Advent, we must understand all four themes together as they mutually define each other.

Joy is an important theme throughout the Scripture. Luke is especially fond of the word. The gospel begins with “tidings of great joy which shall be unto all people (Luke 1:10). The shepherds were to stop quaking in fear and to rejoice instead -- Not only joy, but great joy! This joy is based upon the Word becoming incarnate and being born of the Virgin Mary. The infant was truly human and not a phantom. Jesus is not some sort of mythical symbol which has some value apart from the reality of the event itself.

Another time we find joy in Luke is when Jesus says in Luke 15:7:

Luke 15:7 NKJV

I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

The word “more joy” anticipates a comparison. More joy than what? Here it is relation to the joy that ninety-nine were still in the fold. It isn’t that the lamb was missing, but rather that the lamb was restored. Those who left the fold in 1 John were not sheep at all. They had perhaps put themselves beyond restoration if this is what 1 John 5:16 means:

1 John 5:16 NKJV

If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.

If so, the teachers who had left were in serious jeopardy. Instead of being “perfect” they were without a prayer. This is how important the doctrine of the two natures of Christ are. John calls Him the “true God and eternal life.” Yet the full humanity of Jesus is demanded as well. there was no restoring those who had knowingly left in this way. There was no joy to be had. But perhaps some others had become discouraged over this split in the church and left, not to follow these false teachers, but to drift away. John does indicate that this was not a sin unto death. for those in that group, there is hope for restoration, and it would be the greatest of joy if the church would seek them out and encourage them to return.

John has already given the example to the shaken believers that they should follow. This was to remind them of the true Christian doctrine, one that acknowledges sin. This sin would separate us forever from the fellowship with a Father who was perfectly light without a speck of darkness. No human being could have direct fellowship with the Father. He would be burned to a cinder. BUT, John reminds us that we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. He was without sin. He could go into the presence of the Father, even in His Incarnate humanity. So we can have fellowship with the Father only if we are in Christ. There were sins to confess, but Jesus is the propitiation for these. His blood cleanses us from all unrighteousness. This is cause for great joy. Like the Bethlehem shepherds, we are to fear no more.

We could spend a great deal of time describing Christian joy, even in Luke. So, let us settle on just one more example. This is found in Acts 5:41:

Acts 5:41 NKJV

So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.

In the secular world, people find it easy to rejoice when things are going well for them. But it is hard to rejoice when the very opposite happens. In bad times, people go to blame-fixing and complaining instead of rejoicing. Rightly did the Pagans in Ephesus complain that the Christians had turned their world upside-down (Acts 17:6). The Apostles who had just been wrongly threatened and beaten for their preaching of the risen Jesus and performing miracles in His name did not return complaining of the indignity they suffered. Rather, they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for Jesus’ sake. Christians who would live the truth of the Gospel are an enigma to the world. What a strange way to act! surely, these people are mad and deluded. But this is the true joy. True joy is defined in Christ and not according to worldly expectations.

So, we can see the three dimensions of Christian joy. There is joy when people become believers and are added to the Church. We rejoice also when the Church walks in the true truth, as Schaeffer puts it. Finally, there is joy even when we are persecuted by unbelievers because we believe on Jesus. This is persevering joy which leads us to eternal life. one has to be careful with the idea of the badges of election. All believers want to be sure of their election. We want to know we are saved. The teachers who had left the flock had cast doubts on those who remained. Satan also tries to discourage the believer. How can we be sure? Luther would remind himself when the Devil came to assail him that he had been baptized, This meant to Luther that he belonged to Jesus. Wesley talks about the assurance of the Holy Spirit as an active person in our lives, something which 1 John also teaches. But another witness to our election is that we are persecuted for the Christian faith and yet rejoice.

It may be a difficult Christmas for many of us this year. Even though Advent is distinct from Christmas, they are related in that they occur in the same season of the year. The first Advent of Jesus at Christmas also reminds us of the second coming. This time, Jesus is not returning as a baby, but King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And He shall reign for ever and ever. Amen! Even if our Christmas celebration is in the context of losing a loved one, poor health, problems within the family, losing a job, or some other calamity, we can rejoice that all shall indeed be made well.