Affections: Becoming a Bold Witness

Affections on Fire: Becoming a Bold Witness John 1:6-13 Affections in 2025 • The first Sunday of every month in ’25, we are asking God to heighten our religious affections. • Definition of Affection: Deep and lasting transformation of the soul that results in the zealous pursuit of God, overflowing love for God’s people, and joyful service in God. • Today, we will study John’s emphasis on “witness.” • Points: John’s Definition; John’s Witnesses; John’s Pattern; Cultivating John’s Convictions. John’s Definition • The verb “to witness/testify” appears in John’s gospel 33x and the noun form 14x. • John’s description springs from personal experience – see John 1:35ff and 21:24. • Secular, impersonal sense – an eyewitness testifies to what they’ve experienced (see John 12:17, 18:23, 19:35) • Public statement of divine truth (see 4:44; 7:7; 18:37) • Public proclamation that Jesus is the Christ (see 1:7, 1:19ff; 3:28; 4:39; 9:24ff) John’s Witnesses 1. John the Baptist – 1:7-8; 32ff 2. Jesus Himself – 4:26; 5:30-31; 8:14; 9:37-39; 3. God the Father – 5:37 (see also 1:29ff c/f Mark 1:11); 8:18 4. God’s Scripture – 1:45; 5:39-47; 7:37-38; 12:12-16 5. Jesus’s Works – 5:36; 10:25 (see John’s seven “signs”) 6. God the Spirit – 1:33; 15:26; 16:8-11 7. Individual Testimony – 4:39; 12:17; 15:27; 19:35 John’s Pattern 1. Jesus intends there to be a chain of witnesses: the Father bore witness to John the Baptist, who bore witness to John the Apostle, who now bears witness to us so we, too, will testify to Christ (15:26-27; Luke 24:48). 2. Jesus’s entire mission can be summarized by witnesses – Scripture witnessed to His coming, John bore witness to his arrival, his works bore witness to his identity, and now Jesus sends both the Spirit and people to testify to his current and future work. Cultivating John’s Convictions 1. Faithful testimony is public – a light that doesn’t shine is no light at all. Christ cannot conceive of a Christian who does not witness (Matthew 10:33) 2. True witnesses are always self-denying – my spoken message, life pattern, and personal ambitions must all come under the mission of Christ. 3. Faithful witnessing puts Christ at the center. 4. Christ’s witnesses testify to those in darkness – Christianity faces inward and outward. 5. The express purpose of Christian testimony is that the audience may believe.