What is "That"?
1 John • Sermon • Submitted
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· 8 views"That" is a simple word in the English language, but John's use of it in 1 John 1:1 is anything but simple.
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Jesus Christ-
Jesus Christ-
Have you ever started a conversation with someone, by asking them, “Who is Jesus?” Well, someone recently recorded a bunch of people’s response to that very question. Let’s take a look.
Who is Jesus? Video
Who is Jesus? Video
Who is Jesus? is probably one of the most important questions we can ask, and it is a question that has eternal implications. We can talk about a lot of important subjects, and we can help ourselves and a lot of other people, with some of the knowledge and wisdom that we carry around in our little brains, but there are few, if any questions that are more important for us to have a clear and correct answer for, than “Who is Jesus?” Which is why I am so excited to begin this next sermon series. We will be studying the First Epistle of the Apostle John.
We aren’t specifically told who this letter was written to, but church history and tradition suggests that is was a letter written to a number of churches in Asia.
The letter was written to a church or group of churches who had seen some fall away from the faith. They had experienced false teachers who had come in and led astray a portion of those who had been worshipping with them.
In The New American Commentary, David Atkin, I believe correctly identifies the “occasion” of John writing this letter.
Atkin states, that John is writing to combat the propaganda of false teachers (primarily Gnostics) who were teaching that Christ was not truly human, they minimized the seriousness of sin and they failed to practice brotherly kindness.
John also wrote to reassure believers of their right to eternal life, because of their belief in Jesus Christ. He identifies a number of things that help the believers to have assurance of their life in Christ, while also giving them a few ways to identify those who claimed to be Christians but were actually false teachers
It seems to me that we find ourselves in a situation where the same “occasion” exists. In the video we just watched you heard for yourselves, the responses given by various people, concerning their belief of who Jesus was, or is. I watched several other videos with a host of other people answering the question, “What do you know about Jesus?” or “Who is Jesus?” Some of the answers that were given, were biblically accurate. Other answers were far from the truth of the Scriptures, and would certainly fall under the category of “false teachers.”
It seems to me that we find ourselves in a situation where the same “occasion” exists. In the video we just watched you heard for yourselves, the responses given by various people, concerning their belief of who Jesus was, or is. I watched several other videos with a host of other people answering the question, “What do you know about Jesus?” or “Who is Jesus?” Some of the answers that were given, were biblically accurate. Other answers were far from the truth of the Scriptures, and would certainly fall under the category of “false teachers.”
I also know that we can find ourselves in a place of doubt and concern about our personal salvation. We sometimes lack the assurance that it available to those who believe in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer.
My hope in studying the letters of the apostle John, that it will help to reassure us and give us confidence and assurance to walk in the light, as we obediently follow our Savior’s example of loving our Father God and loving our neighbors. At the same time, I hope and pray that our worship and adoration of Him will grow and as that takes place, our understanding and knowledge of Him will allow us to be ready to give an answer to those who may not know who Jesus truly is. We are surrounded by people who are lost, blind and dead in their trespasses and sins.
It is our task to share the light and love of Christ, so that others may believe in Jesus and have eternal life.
Are you ready to jump into the first epistle of John?
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.
John’s first word is “That”
What is "That"?
What is "That"?
The first word of John’s letter is “That”. I find “that” to be a strange way to begin a letter, don’t you?
Paul and other men
“That” was from the beginning
“That” was from the beginning
John 1:1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1-
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.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
He is the beginning and the end, the Almighty, ruler of all things!
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,
,
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,
Not only was He always there with God eternally, He also created all things.
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
“That” was heard
“That” was heard
20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
Acts
“That” was seen and looked at
“That” was seen and looked at
1 John
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—
“That” was touched with human hands
“That” was touched with human hands
39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
John is saying, I heard His words, I saw His body at work, and I touched Him. He is real! Jesus Christ (The Messiah) is real.
The fact of Jesus being fully human and fully God is a difficult reality to understand. It has been the topic of much discussion and debate since He walked on the earth in human form. That God manifested Himself to us is an incredible truth to behold. We won’t take the time to delve into
In summary, it has been said, “He restricted the benefits of His attributes as they pertained to His walk on earth and voluntarily chose not to use His powers to lift Himself above ordinary human limitations
He restricted the benefits of His attributes as they pertained to His walk on earth
and
BSac 118:470 (Apr 61) p. 106
voluntarily chose not to use His powers to lift Himself above ordinary human limitations
and
BSac 118:470 (Apr 61) p. 106
voluntarily chose not to use His powers to lift Himself above ordinary human limitations
He restricted the benefits of His attributes as they pertained to His walk on earth
and
BSac 118:470 (Apr 61) p. 106
voluntarily chose not to use His powers to lift Himself above ordinary human limitations
He restricted the benefits of His attributes as they pertained to His walk on earth
and
BSac 118:470 (Apr 61) p. 106
voluntarily chose not to use His powers to lift Himself above ordinary human limitations
“That” was and is the Word of Life
“That” was and is the Word of Life
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.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The Word, the one who was and is and is to come, the Word of Life, The One who created all things from nothing. There is no doubt about it. God became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.
John 1:1The Word, the one who was and is and is to come, the Word of Life, The One who created all things from nothing. There is no doubt about it. God became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.
The fact of Jesus being fully human and fully God is a difficult reality to understand but it is a fact that we must accept and one that we must believe if we are to accept the Word of God as being true and infallible. The reality and extent of Christ’s incarnation has been the topic of much discussion and debate since He walked on the earth in human form. That God manifested Himself to us is an incredible truth to behold. One of the most difficult things for us to grasp is what is referred to in by Paul in
2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
The act of Christ emptying himself is commonly referred to as his Kenosis, which is the greek verb that is used by Paul in this passage to describe the humiliation of the son of God, as He took on the form of a servant.
John Walvoord summarizes the kenosis well,
“He restricted the benefits of His attributes as they pertained to His walk on earth and voluntarily chose not to use His powers to lift Himself above ordinary human limitations.”
He did not cease to have omniscience, omnipotence, or omnipresence because those are attributes of the essence of God, and to cease to possess the essence of God would mean that He also ceased to be God.
The apostle John is defending this very same truth only from the opposite angle. False teachers were claiming that Jesus was not truly human, which is just as much of a problem when it comes to our salvation and redemption.
Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man. To paraphrase CS Lewis, either Christ was a liar, a lunatic or He was truly the Lord God in human form.
Jesus claimed to be God and He claimed to be a man.
John in this letter is affirming the words of Christ, defending the Gospel of Christ and reassuring us of His humanity, when he says in , “That” which was from the beginning. . . “that” which we heard, “that” which we looked at and “that” which we touched . . . Our senses know without a doubt, that He was here and we know what he did and that it was a reality.
In his book, The Case for Christ Lee Strobel, he includes a quote from a well-known college professor, writere and psychologist, who was asked, if it was possible that the disciples were hallucinating when they saw Christ’s glorified body after the resurrection. The professor unequivocally denied that to be even a remote possibility. He said,
“Hallucinations are individual occurrences. By their very nature only one person can see a given hallucination at a time. They certainly aren’t something which can be seen by a group of people. Neither is it possible that one person could somehow induce a hallucination in somebody else. Since hallucinations exists only in this subjective, personal sense, it is obvious that others cannot witness it.”
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 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.
John goes on to say parenthetically in , “that”-(the life) which was manifested to us. In other words, what was invisible became visible to us. We have seen it and therefore we testify and proclaim the ETERNAL LIFE (Jesus Christ) which was with the Father (from the beginning) and was made visible to us The Son of God took on flesh, so we could see, and hear and touch him!
Now look again at
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.
1 John 1:
“That” is testified of, proclaimed publicly and declared to us
“That” is testified of, proclaimed publicly and declared to us
We need to know Christ. We need to be reassured of His deity and his humanity. We need to realize, He is fully God and fully man.
In the coming weeks, we will gain a better understanding of the importance of these truths. We will see from John’s letter, why these facts are so pertinent to our lives and to the lives of those around us.
I want to ask you to reflect upon the fact that God’s Son, The Holy One, The Creator, The Living Water, The Lamb of God, The Alpha and The Omega, The Almighty God, manifested Himself to mankind, and the people who heard Him, saw Him and touched Him, have testified to His incarnation and His deity. Please take some time this week and think about Christ. Turn off the TV, put down your phone, don’t log on to your laptop, or tablet and spend some time reading through John’s letters or the Gospels and see again, who “that” whom John is writing about was and is.
John describes him as Life, Light and Love. These are three focal points, which John refers to throughout his first letter. and I am excited for this new series of sermons, as we take the time to ponder these wonderful truths. May the Lord be glorified and lifted up, here and throughout our community as we become reassured in our knowledge and understanding of who He is. May He give us the ability to truly behold Him as He is. May the eyes of our hearts be enlightened to the glory of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.