The Word of Life

1 John 1:1-4

We are continuing our series on Love One Another, last week we spoke about what Identifies us as true disciples of Christ and the answer was love. So now that we understand our orders I want to build on that with 3 words, Word, Light, and Life. Words that have more significance to who we are and what we can become by possessing and obeying the new commandment set by Jesus in John 13. How does this help us increase our identity in Christ and How can we encompass what it takes to endure or fight for others even until the end?  Let's read I John verse 1 the bible says That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. Once again, we read about the personal experience of the apostle with the incarnate word. The memory of Jesus Christ burned in the mind of John as he reflected on the three years that he and the other disciples experienced with the Lord. Heard, seen, looked upon his hands concerning the word of life.

When I was studying this all I could think about was when I was a baby and my mom told me about the time this white baby girl saw a black baby boy. How she touched my hair and face amazed by what she had seen for the first time in her life.

Here John, nearly 100 years in age, tells his eyewitness account with just as much enthusiasm as if it just happened yesterday. This helps us understand how the word gave John life and gave it to him even more abundantly than he deserved. 

 When you look at this phrase I believe it has two parts: first is the word and 2nd is life. Let’s first look at the word. In Scripture, “the Word” carries both the meaning of God’s spoken revelation (His message) and, ultimately, Jesus Christ Himself (the eternal Word made flesh). From Genesis to Revelation, the Word is active in creation, revelation, salvation, and transformation. In creation, we see in  Genesis 1 – that God speaks the universe into existence: “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”   John 1:1–3 – Identifies Jesus (the Word) as the divine agent of creation: “All things were made through him…”The Word of God is creative, bringing life and order out of nothing. God’s instructions to Moses and the messages from the prophets are often introduced with “The word of the Lord came to me saying…” (e.g., Jeremiah 1:4).

   •   Psalm 119 – Emphasizes the power and guidance of God’s Word in daily life: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (v. 105). God’s Word was active in guiding, instructing, and correcting His people.  John 1:14 – “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

   •   This refers to Jesus Christ, who embodies God’s message and presence among humanity. Jesus’ words bring healing, deliverance, and transformation (e.g., Luke 4:32–36). John describes The Authority of His Word in St. John 7 verse 46 – “No one ever spoke the way this man does” (John 7:46).

 Hebrews 4:12 – “For the word of God is alive and active…” showing its continuing power to convict and change hearts.  The Word fuels the growth of the Church, convicting hearts and bringing spiritual renewal. Col.3:16 the bible says “Let the word of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns. Why becuase that word is bad mother shut your mouth. In order for us to have the love that Jesus had we must must let the word take residence in our lives. 

The heart of this letter is “knowing God” knowing that you know God. John uses it 43 times. He wants the church to have confidence in their relationship with God because confidence makes a huge difference, why, because you know that you know. The more you know, the better you respond the more confident you are in what you do, and why you do it, and who you can help to understand what you know. Couples have you ever been asked when did you know they were your soul mate?  because that moment represents a powerful, defining instance of connection and love. It taps into several deeper ideas: Many believe that there’s a pivotal point when the connection becomes undeniable. Recalling that moment allows couples to relive the magic of their first deep recognition of love. It validates the notion that a “soulmate” carries cultural and emotional weight. It reassures us that there can be a profound, destined bond between two people—a narrative that many find both hopeful and inspiring. Sharing the moment they knew solidifies the couple’s personal history and provides a compelling story that encapsulates their journey, making their relationship relatable and meaningful to others.In essence, asking about the moment of knowing one’s soulmate invites couples to celebrate the deep, often mysterious connection that defines their relationship, while also inspiring others with a story of genuine, transformative love.

Have you had that experience with the Word of Life? It is the only way we can be a light and transform the lives of others. As the Apostle Paul says in Colossians allow the word to hangout with you. John and the apostles experience this with Jesus and are happy every time they are given the opportunity to share their journey with Jesus. 

1 John is at the back of the Bible and many scholars believe that 1 John is in fact the very last written of all the Bible books. It’s a letter from the apostle John. The same  John, who wrote the gospel of John and Revelation, but first John was written some years later. As we open the letter, John the Apostle is now close to 100 years old. He’s writing to a church that needs some assurance. It’s a church that needs to know. Have you ever found yourself wrestling over what you believe I mean, you already know it but how do you know that you know, and even if you know it’s true how do you know that you’re actually living it? You tell others that you know the truth and you know God But sometimes you have questions and it’s not necessarily the truth or God that you question we know God is true. It’s yourself that you question. So you find your selves wondering if you can holdup to your end of this relationship with the word. You have questions like,

 How do I know that my faith is real? How do I know that I know him? That’s basically where the people are in ephesus as John is writing to their Christians and they know God, but they’re struggling with their faith and that’s OK they’re human and this world can be confusing. Church can be confusing especially when you get different teachers telling you different things But that’s exactly what many of the epistles were written for. So that we would be equipped and educated to know true teaching from false in this case, the false teaching was called Gnotcism silent G from the root word gnosis it means knowledge and it’s the word you would see all those 43 times if you read this in Greek and gnostics was all about what they knew. They claimed a higher knowledge that was above simple Christianity and above simple minds like ours. Sort of a Christianity 2.0. A club of the exclusive 

Look at how John Begins this book in verse 1 “ With a profound statement that which was from the beginning, which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes which we have looked at and our hands have touched this we proclaim concerning “the word of life.” John describes the word in a very intimate way to let the people know He knows and not only do I know I was right by His side. I could smell His Cologne, the washing powder from His clothes and the gel from his hair.Now yall know thos products was not around, but you get the message.

John wants to stir our memories of the foundational truth of Jesus' story by making several references back to the Gospel account. That which was from the beginning. Jesus is the eternal one older than the foundations of the world older than time itself. The ancient of days. John says they heard him saw him, looked at him, and touched him. He was flesh and blood, a real man And John calls him the “word of life” The Word as in something that carries meaning a message Jesus is God‘s message to mankind. In Jesus, God was expressing himself in that word is life. Just compare anything alive to anything nonliving life is moving transforming growing healing thriving life is amazing. Jesus is the word of life 

In Verse 2 the life that appeared we have seen it and testified to it, and we proclaimed to you the eternal life which was with the Father and appeared to us. That’s the heart of it. John proclaims it. Life wasn’t just an idea philosophy it appeared Jesus appeared. He came from the Father and in him was life eternal life now why is John so set on telling us that they saw Jesus and touched Jesus that brings us back to the gnostics? The gnostics believed that you couldn’t touch Jesus because he didn’t have a body, not a physical one anyway The gnostics made a clear distinction between the spiritual and the physical they believe that all things spiritual are good and all things physical and material are evil but what about Jesus? He was 100% good so gnostics taught that Jesus was spirit only with no material body. Sounds harmless enough, but the result of that spiritual material split was either an eat drink and do evil philosophy because your bodies are evil anyway or a deny your flesh, every pleasure philosophy both extremes were totally unchristian, but they twisted Jesus into their teaching, and it was affecting Christians wrong believing leads to wrongdoing and though you may not interact with gnostics today, lots of people still have a dangerous split between material and spiritual.

 Sunday morning spirit praising God rest of the week body living for the flesh, It reminds me of what Paul said in Romans 6:1 shall we continue in sin that grace may save us? so John’s gonna set us straight about Jesus and about how we live 

Verse 3 we proclaim to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us and our fellowship is with the Father and with his son Jesus Christ John’s desire for us is fellowship. The Greek word is Koinonia a word Rich with meaning and feeling it is a community connection communion sharing life together and working through the tough stuff because we’re committed to one another. John wants you to know that you belong he wants you in fellowship 

Verse 4  We write this to make our[a] joy complete. What a great phrase joy complete we have joy and sometimes it’s missing something. John wants to restore complete joy verse 1 John 1:4 serves as a purpose statement for the letter. When the author writes, “We write this so that our joy may be complete,” he is expressing that sharing the message and experiences of the gospel is intended to bring fullness and perfection to the joy of the community. The only thing that can give us complete Joy is The “Word of Life”

The early Christian community found joy in knowing the truth about Jesus. By recounting the experiences of hearing, seeing, and touching Jesus (as described in the opening verses), John seeks to affirm that this shared testimony is the foundation of genuine, complete joy.

   •   Fellowship with God and One Another:

The complete joy mentioned isn’t merely an individual emotion—it’s rooted in the intimate fellowship believers have with God and with one another. This shared life and connection is what sets Christian joy apart from worldly happiness.

The act of writing and sharing these testimonies also serves to reinforce the believers’ assurance of salvation and their relationship with God. Such assurance naturally leads to a deeper, more abiding joy that is both enduring and fulfilling. not only that but the context of the letter emphasizes walking in the light (truth) and living in a manner consistent with God’s nature. When believers live in the light, as they are called to, the completeness of joy follows naturally—a joy that comes from living in harmony with God’s will. In summary, 1 John 1:4 reveals that the gospel message and the resulting fellowship are not just informative or doctrinal; they are meant to fill believers with a complete, transformative joy that defines their new life in Christ Jesus

Summary

From creation to the prophets, through Jesus’ incarnation and the early Church, and into our lives today, God’s Word is consistently active—bringing light, life, and truth. It is living and powerful, guiding humanity into a deeper relationship with the Creator and continually transforming hearts and minds to reflect God’s glory. The only way we can love others is to understand how to love Christ.