FELLOWSHIP WITH THE GODHEAD

BACK TO THE BASICS: AN EXPOSITION OF 1 JOHN

With the new year comes a new study. As I prayed and sought for advice on what passage of Scripture to begin my time as pastor, this letter came up several times. It contains important truths for the Christian life. Some would even say they are basic. Like athletes who master the basics, we, as Christians, need to master the basics of the faith. Vince Lombardi is famous for beginning each practice season by holding up a football and saying, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” We, as young and mature Christians, would do well to follow Mr. Lombardi’s example. Thus, it is my goal that we begin with the basics for the year 2020.

Perhaps one of the most basic thoughts to the Christian Life is fellowship. We see this between Christians, but also between the Christian and God. Our first section of Scripture focuses on the basics of fellowship.

FELLOWSHIP WITH THE GODHEAD-

Doctrine is simply belief. It is a teaching upon a subject. But doctrine is important because belief affects how we live. For example, if I believe this chair will support my weight, then I will sit in it without hesitation. If, on the other hand, I have doubts, I may test it out prior to sitting. What I believe about the chair affects how I respond to it.

The same goes for our beliefs about God. If I believe He is a holy God then my life, my thoughts, and my speech will look different. If I believe there are multiple gods and goddesses, then that too will change how I live.

Shortly after Creation, Satan tempted Adam and Eve to sin against their Creator. The first question in the sacred Scriptures appears as a doubt to God’s Word. In , the Serpent asks Eve, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’” (ESV) The Serpent questioned doctrine communicated by God. This question, and the resulting fall, has brought about various misrepresentations of monotheism, polytheism, pantheism, and all other -isms. The most significant ramification of this rebellion against their Creator, however, was the severed relationship between God and the ones who bear His image. We lost fellowship with God. Rather than walking with God in the cool of the day, we refuse to acknowledge Him as our Creator. We fail to give thanks for His goodness. We seek false idols rather than worshipping the One, True God.

Fellowship, a prominent theme in John’s letter, is an interesting word. It is interesting because it is absolutely packed with meaning. The main thought behind this word, however, is one of commonality between individuals. This word is used to describe churches. People of different backgrounds, races, upbringing, and financial status can fellowship because of the commonality of the family of God. One of John’s goals in this letter is for us to have fellowship with each other and with the Triune God. And this is the goal of the entire Scripture. God’s glorious purpose of redemption, that is, the restoration of His creation and the reestablishment of fellowship with His fallen creatures, is the theme of the Bible.

We will look at the four verses with these three points: 1) The Requirement for Fellowship, in other words, what did restoring the fellowship with God require, 2) The Ring of Fellowship, that is, who enjoys the fellowship, and finally, 3) The Results of Fellowship, that is, what does fellowship do?

I trust that God will open our eyes to the glorious truth that we can have fellowship with Him. It is a basic truth of the Bible, but one that we often forget.

I. THE REQUIREMENT FOR FELLOWSHIP- vss. 1-2

The Bible is clear that when God created everything, He tailored it to the needs of human beings. We will be covering this on Sunday evenings, but if you go back and read through the book of Genesis you will see that God wanted to have fellowship with mankind. He desired to enjoy our company, to share His universe with us. Through the fall man died, that is, his life with God ended. His very nature was marred, forever and irrevocably if left to his own. But God in His marvelous grace, knowing what humanity would do, planned redemption before the foundation of the world (see ). His plan was to send His own Son to die for the sins of the world. He would take our place, and take God’s wrath, so that we might have life.

These thoughts are lofty thoughts, incredible and powerful. But I want to break them down into two main thoughts which will help us understand John’s description here.

A. There is a requirement for forgiveness

Because you and I, with the rest of humanity, have broken God’s commandments, we are now guilty. Like the prison inmate awaiting sentencing, already found guilty, you and I stand guilty in God’s courtroom. We have sinned against the infinitely holy God. The only way that we can enjoy fellowship is to have forgiveness. While John will discuss this in more detail in time to come, look briefly at verses 5-10. It is only through forgiveness that we can enjoy fellowship.

Think about a family member who has done you great harm. Perhaps they committed a crime against you or a loved one, and now your fellowship is severed. Until you forgive them, the relationship will never be healed. That communality will never be enjoyed. There will be no sense of shared responsibilities because there is sin that has severed that relationship. Only forgiveness can bridge that gap.

On an infinitely greater scale, our relationship with God has been severed. We need forgiveness. And as the Old Testament sacrifices pointed to the coming One who’s once-and-for-all sacrifice would restore that relationship, someone had to pay for our sins. That is the whole reason we celebrate Advent. God sent His Son to die for our sins.

There is, however, another requirement.

B. There is a requirement for righteousness

Just as we need forgiveness, we also need righteousness. In forgiveness, our slate is wiped clean, but we are still far from restored. You may wonder, like I did, why is righteousness required? Were we not forgiven? The answer is that when we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness, we are truly forgiven. However, what the Old Testament sacrifices could not do is impute, or deposit, righteousness to our accounts. They merely covered our sins, awaiting the day in which the Lamb of God would be slain. But more than simply forgiving our sins, Christ’s righteousness is applied to us. We stand before the thrice-holy God, not on our own, but on the basis of Christ’s righteousness. Which leads us to the conclusion.

C. There is a requirement for the incarnation

Because we stand in eternally-desperate need for forgiveness and righteousness, Christ had to become a human being. Animals were unable, as the author of Hebrews tells us, “take away sins” (, ESV). That is why John highlights the physicalness of Jesus. Notice the concrete language he uses. It is something they looked at, they heard, they touched with their hands. Christ truly came to earth as a man. The false teaching of Docetism, that Christ only appeared to be human, is here demolished. Jesus was truly and completely human. John says in his gospel account, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (, NASB). There need for forgiveness necessitated a substitute and for the deposit of righteous, a task fit for, and completely only by, the Son of God. This is why John calls Jesus “eternal life” in verse 2.

So, there requirement of fellowship is forgiveness of sins and righteouesness, only accomplishable through the incarnation of God the Son. This brings us to the Ring of Fellowship.

II. THE RING OF FELLOWSHIP- vs. 3

By ring I am not referencing The Lord of the Rings, though that is a great trilogy. I am referring to the span of fellowship. That is to say, who this fellowship involves. I titled this message Fellowship with the Godhead because it involves the Trinity. Perhaps I need to elaborate on what that entails, briefly.

The Trinity is the Bible’s teaching that God, though One (see ), is revealed to us as three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. John mentions two persons of the Godhead, the Father and Son, in our passage this morning. He will go on to mention the third person of the Godhead, the Spirit, when we get to chapter 4.

However, I want to show you that our fellowship is with two primary focuses: the Godhead and the Church.

A. Fellowship with the Godhead

What is involved with fellowship with the Godhead? That is, commonality with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?

While this topic could take up much of our time, I will simply use one aspect of our fellowship with God to show you what this looks like. Concerning our salvation, God the Father planned our redemption before the foundation of the world (). He knew how Adam and Eve would respond, and had the plan of redemption in place. God the Son was willing to take our place and die for our sins. He was willing to become man, endure life in a fallen world as we do, and endure the righteous wrath of God to make us righteous. God the Spirit woos us to faith and repentance in Him. He travels life with us, constantly reminding us to do good, warning against sin, and revealing God’s Word to us. This is the beginning of our fellowship with the Godhead. We will enjoy ever-increasing intimacy with our Great Creator for all eternity, yes, but we can enjoy that communality now! We spend time with the Godhead in our daily devotional time. We pray, read the Scriptures, and sing praises to Him. But God meant us to live in community with other image-bearers.

B. Fellowship with the Church

John wrote this letter so that these Christians could enjoy fellowship with them. There is a camaraderie in churches that is found no where else in the created order. There may be organizations that are similar to churches, but typically that fellowship, that commonality, is shared on the basis of sports, common interests, etc. The fellowship that Christians enjoy spans cultures. When I was in college and Hannah was in high school, our youth group traveled to Spain where some of our missionaries were serving. I remember the church service being one of the highlights of our trip. We couldn’t understand anything that was said, read, or prayed, but there was a fellowship that spanned language barriers. There is no fellowship like the fellowship of the body of Christ. This basic truth of the Scriptures is absolutely foundational for us. It is only through the work of Christ that you and I can enjoy this fellowship, both with the Godhead and the Church.

So, we have looked at the requirements for fellowship and the ring of fellowship, but we will end our time this morning by examining the results of fellowship. What does this fellowship, both with the Godhead and the Church, bring?

III. THE RESULT OF FELLOWSHIP- vs. 4

The result of this fellowship with the Godhead (depending upon the true incarnation of the Son) and the Church is joy. While this term is easy to define, at least in a generic sense, the biblical idea of joy far exceeds our capacity to grasp, let alone denote in such a short time.

Therefore, I aim to present a holistic view of joy as presented in the Scriptures, as briefly as I can. Remember, this is the result of fellowship with the Godhead and the Church.

There is a joy that comes from enjoying the fellowship with the Godhead we were given the need for at creation. That is, we enjoy that for which we were created. I believe it was Augustine who said we find no rest until we rest in God. Can I paraphrase that? We find no joy until we joy in God. All other joys are fleeting and changing.

There is also a joy that spans trials. Consider Paul’s description in , “And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, wth the joy of the Holy Spirit” (ESV). That is, in the midst of suffering these believers had joy. This is the result of fellowship with the Godhead and the body of Christ, the Church.

There is a joy that comes from the discipline at the hands of our Heavenly Father. The author of Hebrews reminds us of that in . As God disciplines us, we know it is for our good, and though it is not enjoyable, we can have joy.

There is a joy that comes from the fellowship of God. We rejoice with each other, pray for each other, challenge each other, and bear each other’s burdens. That is joy that comes from true, God-honoring fellowship with the Church.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

So, do you have fellowship with the Godhead? My pastor in Texas would always issue a three-tiered challenge. And I would like to issue that this morning.

First Challenge: Spend time with God in prayer and Scripture reading

Now, I intentionally left the timing of this out because I want each one of you to take it and tailor it to you. If you spend time in God’s Word and in prayer weekly, then I would encourage you to make it your goal to not miss any more days in 2020. Take home the prayer sheet we use here, add to it, and then purpose to truly read, understand, and live the Scripture. Work to fellowship with the Godhead and the Church.

Second Challenge: Spend time with the Church

Now, in hearing this challenge I do not want you to hear what I am not saying. I am not saying that you are a horrible Christian if you miss a church service, or if you only come on Sundays, or if you only come on Sunday mornings. That is not what I am saying.

However, God designed the church to function as a body. When you are not here, your gifts, unique personalities, and use of the body is absent. You have no idea what your gifts mean to other believers here. Furthermore, you need your brothers and sisters and their unique callings and giftings. That is how God designed the church to function. And like a car that has a miss-firing sparkplug is affected, so too, the body of Christ is affected when you are not present. My challenge, then, is to work to attend more faithfully. That may look different for each of you, but I encourage you to take the challenge.

Third Challenge: Do both

My last challenge is to do both! Work to not miss a day in the Scriptures and prayers while also shooting to be faithful to the fellowship of the Church. This is a noble and difficult goal, but I believe God will honor it with greater intimacy with Him as well as deeper fellowship with one another.

As John wrote this in order that our joy may be filled, I preach this that ours, Warrior Creek Baptist Church’s, joy would be filled in fellowship with the Godhead and the Church.