Finding Joy in REALLY Knowing Jesus

1 John 1:1–4 ESV

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

1 John Intro

Who was John?

John was one of the Sons of Zebedee who left their father in a fishing boat in order to follow Jesus.

He was a follower of Jesus for nearly His entire ministry.

John wrote the Gospel of John about his friend Jesus who was also Lord.

John wrote the Gospel of John about his friend Jesus who was also Lord.

Some believe John called himself the “disciple whom Jesus loved” in his Gospel.

It is clear that John knew Jesus, walked with Jesus and was very close to Jesus.

He was a pastor in Ephesus and later was exiled to the Island of Patmos where the Book of Revelation was revealed to him.

Purpose of 1 John

John gives 4 purpose statements in 1 John, and each reveal more clearly the reason John wrote this letter to the Churches in and around Ephesus.

1) Promote joy in the life of believers.

1 John 1:4 ESV

4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

1 John 1:4 ESV

4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

John 1:4 ESV

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

2) Prevent believers from

1 John 2:1 ESV

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

John desires to see the believers he is writing to experience joy in knowing Jesus Christ.

with 5:13 being the most widely accepted central statement of purpose.

1 John 2:1 ESV

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

1 John 2:26 ESV

26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.

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John desires to give these Christians victory over sin.

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1 John 2:26 ESV

26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.

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John desires to correct the false teaching the believers had been hearing.

Gnostic teachers had came in teaching the believers

1 John 5:13 ESV

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

John desires to give the believes an assurance that they are truly saved.

John is writing to correct the false teaching, to encourage and strengthen the believers, and to give them an assurance that they are saved.

This is widely excepted as the primary purpose for John’s writing.

He wants to give the believers tools for their assurance.

How can you know you are saved?

May we use this as a time of examination in our hearts and lives.

He wanted to correct the false teachers because they were confusing the Christians, leading to insecurity in their faith.

He wanted to give them strength and power over sin so that they would live in confidence of their salvation.

May we use this as a time of examination in our hearts and lives.

And He want to instill the joy of God’s love and acceptance in their hearts to sustain them and secure them in their salvation.

Two Prayers

Prayer 1: That you will KNOW you have eternal life.

PRAYER

Read :1-4

1 John 1:1–4 ESV

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

QUESTION: How confident are you in your salvation? Do you know you have eternal life?

I have heard people answer that question “I hope so” or “I think so.”

I have heard people say “Well I try to be a good person and go to church.”

Some of you might even think being confident in your salvation is somehow wrong, like we are boasting or overly confident.

BUT GOD WROTE THIS BOOK, THIS LETTER to give us confidence in the salvation HE gives us.

The Key to us having confidence in our salvation is KNOWING JESUS.

1 John 1:1–2 ESV

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—

1 John 1:1 ESV

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—

John knew Jesus

He heard Him speak and teach- he knew Jesus’s voice

He saw Him eat and drink, and he saw Him after die and then rise again. -He knew Jesus’s face.

He touched Him, having spent countless hours in His presence- John had touched Jesus’s hands and new Him as a person.

Knowing about verses truly Knowing

Many of us would claim to KNOW Jesus.

But we probably know Him like I know Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio was born 9 years a 1 day before I was.

He grew up in Los Angles and his parents split up when he was 1 year old.

I have seen most of the movies he has starred in and feel like we I know him pretty well.

But I have never had a conversation with him. So do I REALLY know him?

On the other hand, I know my buddy John.

We have spent time together, had lengthy conversations.

He has been present for my kid’s births and I have been at all three of his kid’s births.

I cried with him when his dad died

I know his voice, his personality, his like and dislikes…

I KNOW John.

That leads us to a question: Do we REALLY know Jesus or do we just know things ABOUT Him?

Most people here today know facts about Jesus’s life.

You can tell the stories, possibly even explain some theological ideas.

But do you REALLY know Him?

Knowing Jesus is knowing eternal life.

Finding Joy in Knowing Jesus

1 John starts very similarly to the Gospel of John

Knowing Jesus is knowing eternal life.

John 1:1–4 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

1) We will know about Him.

1 John 1:2 ESV

2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—

The eternal Son of God that existed from the beginning and created everything that was created.

If you know Jesus, like REALLY KNOW Him, then you know the source and substance of eternal life.

John connects the letter with his Gospel in his opening words

John 1:1–4 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

That separates the false from the real.

The Jesus John is talking about is the same one who was present in creation with the Father.

He was the one shaping the universe, molding the earth into what we see today.

Everything that exists on earth has life BECAUSE OF HIM.

YET, this same Jesus was the one who took on flesh and dwelt among us.

If your eternal life is based on how nice you are to your neighbors then you do not KNOW ETERNAL LIFE.

John 1:14 ESV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

If your eternal life is based on how well you perform in church and Christian activities the you to not KNOW ETERNAL LIFE.

John saw Him, touched Him, and heard Him.

If your eternal life is based on walking an aisle after an emotional message and praying a prayer a pastor told you to pray, but your life has no sign of Jesus in it YOU DO NOT KNOW ETERNAL LIFE!!

The same one who set the planets into motion around the sun, lived and breathed, learned and laughed just like each one of us.

How do you know if you KNOW Jesus?

Knowing Jesus means knowing He was really God and yet was really man.

Prayer 2: That you will find joy in following Jesus.

1 John 1:3–4 ESV

3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

John 1:3–4 ESV

3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

John didn’t want them to JUST HEAR about Jesus, he wanted them to know Him as deeply as he knew Him.

I don’t mean that we must have a physical experience with Jesus.

His purpose in writing this letter is to “complete OUR joy.”

Might sound kind of conceded right?

I don’t mean we need have a other-worldly, “spiritual” experience with Jesus (like Paul on the road to Damascus). Like He literally talks to us or we have some vision of Him.

The “OUR” in the passage seems to include both John and the readers.

But also, this is a pastor passionately writing to his congregation and he longs for them to know the joy he has found in Jesus.

John wants them to share in the JOY he has obtained in follow Jesus.

This Joy centers on the fellowship he shares with God. LOOK AT VS 3.

Fellowship is a broken word in our church culture (we think a room for eating, or a time we have ice cream and coffee…)

But truly knowing Jesus is more than just knowing things about Jesus.

It really means having a deep closeness that is brought on by shared values, shared beliefs, and a shared affection for one another.

Fellowship with God is Salvation

Which is a much more sufficient view than FIRE INSURANCE.

The defining mark of true salvation is whether or not we have fellowship with the Father and His Son.

“To say you have fellowship with the Father and his Son means that you have come to share their values. You believe what they believe and love what they love. And so you delight to spend time together. You love to include them in all that you do. You cherish the thought of spending an eternity getting to know them better.”

The defining mark of true salvation is whether or not we have fellowship with the Father and His Son.

Marks of Fellowship with God

1) A desire to Listen to and follow His Word

How can we say we have fellowship with God if we don’t read, study, and live HIS WORD.

We don’t have the benefit of hearing, seeing, or touching Jesus like John did.

But John says

1 John 1:2 NLT

2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us.

the one John has seen and touched is the one they are proclaiming to them and to us.

The proclamation is the Word of God as we read it today.

The Bible is a unique book.

It is a profound, historic literary marvel, unlike anything else in history.

But is also a book that lives

Hebrews 4:12 ESV

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Reading the pages of the Bible is not like reading a biography of a president.

When we read the bible we experience the “Word of Life” that is in and a part of every page.

says that God has spoken to us fully and finally through His Son Jesus Christ.

We experience Jesus as we live in community.

1 John 1:3 ESV

3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

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The Bible calls the Church the “Body of Christ”.

We experience Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

We don’t have the opportunities John had to actually hear, see, and touch Jesus, but we do have His Words.

We will be transformed by Him.

1 John 1:4 ESV

4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

When John met Jesus his life was transformed forever.

He was a fisherman, just like his dad.

But when Jesus called him off the water his life was never the same.

John’s desire, his prayer and purpose, is that each person who reads this letter will become acquainted with the REAL Jesus

Verse 4 might sound selfish, but John is writing to a group of Christians who are struggling to know what is true.

Do you LOVE THIS BOOK? If you don’t then you probably don’t fellowship with God.

The false teachers were telling them that Jesus never really became a man.

Do you LIVE THIS BOOK? If you don’t then you may not be saved!

That our bodies and our souls are not connected so what we do with our bodies doesn’t really matter.

Jeremiah 15:16 ESV

16 Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.

Hebrews 4:12 ESV

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:13 ESV

13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

You can live how you want and do whatever you want with your body because it is disconnected from your soul.

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Hebrews says

THAT is FELLOWSHIP!!

And that their spiritual life was personal and made no impact on their relational interactions with others.

2) A desire to Connect with Him in prayer.

How you relate with others has no bearing on your spiritual life.

The joy John desires is the joy of them knowing and experiencing the REAL Jesus.

Maybe this seems like banging the same old drum, but isn’t it true, how can you have a deep, abiding relationship with God if you do not desire to pray?

John is convince that knowing Jesus for who He is will transform who we are, how we live, and how we love others.

My lack of prayer is an indication of how weak my faith in God really is and how much I really think I need God in my life.

3) A desire to live in community with His people.

1 John 4:7–8 ESV

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

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John says it more clearly later, but loving one another is a mark of fellowship with God.

John’s joy is in them sharing fellowship with God and with him.

What we do on Sunday is important, but so many of you in this room base your relationship with God on checking off the church box every Sunday.

This isn’t about putting in your time or volunteering in the nursery, it is about connecting in gospel-centered, Jesus-saturated, God-glorifying community.

Time for examination

So the question I ask you today is “Do you REALLY KNOW Jesus?”

Do you know you have eternal life, or is there doubt in your mind?

Are you experiencing joy in following Jesus?

There are times of dryness in the life of every believer, but the desire and affection will remain.

But if you are here today and you are simply going through the motions to feel better about yourself or appease you wife then I pray God brings you to your knees today.

You are missing out on greater joy than anything this world has to offer.