Certainty Comes from the Word of Life
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Good morning it is good to see ya’ll this morning. Last week we did our introduction to the letter of 1 John, and we learned that John wrote this letter for 4 reasons:
To combat false teaching
to strengthen the church
To combat wrong attitudes about sin
To bring believers true joy
We learned that 1 John is all about intimacy John wants us to become intimately close with the Lord John does not want us to sit in the cheap seats when it comes to experiencing God in our personal walk, he wants us to have the same closeness and fellowship he has with the Lord and with other Christians.
That was kind of our fly over last week and this week we are going to begin diving a little deeper into what these verses actually mean and hopefully the Lord will bless us as we seek to know and understand his word more fully.
This morning I wanna speak to you on this subject Certainties of the Word of life.
We live in a culture that looks with suspicion on any type of absolute or certainty. Our society has abandoned the idea of absolute truth, choosing instead to say that every opinion or philosophy are equal. They call this tolerance, but every philosophy and religion is not equal. There does exist one and one only true and perfect religion, one and only one true and perfect God.
Sadly todays church which is influenced by the world has fallen for the trick of inclusivism and the church seems to tolerate just about anything or any viewpoint. This is a massive problem, we cannot be the church and condone sin, and yet you see all over churches allowing same sex marriages, allowing members of the LGBTQ community to become not just church members, but pastors and teachers.
There are some today who says thewre is no way to even be sure what the Bible means...
We have educated ourselves to ignorance we are witnessing in our lifetiem the great apostasy of the church of Jesus Christ or the great falling away as the Bible refers to it.
There is a attack on true and genuine Christianity but this is not something that has just happened but it has been happening for years and it has been slowly unfolding in our country over the last few decades and just now we are beginning to see the consequences of choices made in the past.
People today question gods word first and then make decisions all while We should be questioning our motives and decisions and subjecting them to the truth of Gods word!
The writers of scripture were absolutely certain of what they believed and under the Holy Spirits inspiration, wrote witha a clarity and boldness that makes the message of salvation understandable.
John presents 5 certanities of the person and work of Christ 5 nails you can hang your hats on, five absolute things you can rest assured makes Jesus and what He did on the cross the only way we can find God and forgiveness.
1. The Word of Life is Unchangeable
1. The Word of Life is Unchangeable
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—
He says this Word of Life is unchangeable, “IT WAS FROM THE BEGINNING”
We spoke a little bit last week about how God made everything perfect and then sin entered the world and messed everything up, and the entire historical narrative of the Bible is all about how God intervened in history in order to bring people into relationship with himself again.
This has always been Gods plan to be with you near you and empower you.
The message of redemption is never changing! FROM THE BEGINNING the proclamation of the gospel has been the same. Those who preach the gospel the true gospel have always commanded faith and repentance.
If you are going to truly preach the gospel there has to be faith in Christ and repentance. WEARE SAVED BY GRACE ALONE, /THROUGH FAITH ALONE/IN CHRIST ALONE!
NO EXCEPTIONS!
However in Johns day there was a false teaching circulating in the church just as there are today, and there will be false teachers until the end of the age.
For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Jesus warned of this when he was alive that false prophets will threaten to undermine the church, and seek to lure the church away from sound doctrine and teaching. This is why we have to study the Bible for what it is so that we can protect ourselves from deceptive ideas running rampant in the church today.
Anything added to the Bible or taken away from the Bible is an attack on truth and God Himself. All preachers, teachers, and witnesses for the gospel in any generation for any reason should know they cannot freely change any part ofGods word. Our opinions do not matter, our feelings dont matter what matters is that we honor Gods word as it is in context.
The apostle Paul dealt with this in his day
I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
IT HAS NEVER BEEN MORE IMPORTANT TO GUARD OURSELVES AGAINST LIES AND DECEPTION!
Even with his openeing statement John says the message of the Word of Life is permanent and unchanging.
For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
So we cant pick and choose things we like from Gods word and leave them, and get rid of hard things in Gods word simply because they are hard to take.
So we need to understand that the Word of Life the word which gives life to the dead spiritually speaking and brings freedom to the oppressed is never changing!
The Word of Life is Historical!
The Word of Life is Historical!
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—
John says listen guys this isn’t something I heard about, this isn’t something someone taught me I saw this with my own eyes I was an eywitness to it!
Truth about God is not only for those with secret insight and holiness, YOU CAN KNOW GOD TODAY!!
This WORD OF LIFE is the person and work of Jesus recorded in the gospel.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man! John had seen this with his own eyes!
John listed for us 4 ways he percieved the word of life
he Heard the Lord speak
He heard Jesus sermons, he was taught by Jesus in private.... not only did John hear it
2. John saw Jesus’s works
John then added with my eyes trying to make it clear he wasn’t talking about a spiritual vision he walked with Jesus and talked with Jesus and saw him after he rose from the grave!
He saw a real man, Jesus and he reinforces that by saying I looked at= a long gaze This actually can be used when talking about investigation he investigated these things.
John was there when Jesus turned water into wine, he was there when Jesus healed the blind man, John was there when Jesus fed the 5,000, he was there when Jesus fed the 4,000 John was there and saw Jesus heal his mother in law, John was there when he cast out demons, John was there when Jesus calmed the storm
John was there when they drove nails into his hands and his feet, and a spear in his side, John saw Jesus die, but then on the third day John saw Jesus risen and triumphant!!!
3. John touched it with his hands
This phrasse literally means to gropw after like a blind man, or to make visible something that was hidden.
God did not reveal himself in human flesh until Jesus John really struggled to understand Jesus as being God in flesh but it was moments in John slife when Jesus said to Him
For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
So even though this may have been tough for John to understand Jesus expressly said that He and the Father had the same authority the same power to grant eternal life. there are those today who says jesus never said he was God but most assuredly He did!
many times if you want to have an intimate relationship with the God of Heaven then you have to go through Jesus!
The Word of Life is Communicable
The Word of Life is Communicable
The Word of Life namely Jesus and the works he did and who He was is not hard to proclaim it is so easy a kindergartner can get it but so difficult that a adult struggles with it.
the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
For John that which was manifested to him became the basis for what he proclaimed!
This wasnt some private experience that elevated him above other people who were not blessed as if he were somehow Gods favorite son. No he tried to communicate these things to everyone and thats what we have to do church try to share good news every chance we get invite people to be saved invite people to expeirence the goodness and mercy of God!
We should be inviting people into the same relationship with ‘jesus that we have experinced!
(phone call after being saved)
Meting with Kevin all night long
Meeting with study group
THE WORD OF LIFE IS RELATIONAL
THE WORD OF LIFE IS RELATIONAL
that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
JOHN PROCLAIMED THE WORD OF LIFE SO THAT ALL BELIEVERS WOULD REALIZE THEY HAVE FELLOWSHIP AUTHENTIC PARTNERSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST and fellow believers
The word fellowship= Koinonia means mutual participation in a common cause or shared life
doing life together
the aim of gospel preaching is to produce faith that rests in Christ once you become a child of God listen to the truth of what God says about you
God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
Even sinning Christians who lose the joy of their fellowshop with god never lose the reality of their eternal life with Him.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
The Word of Life is Joyful
The Word of Life is Joyful
And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
Because of its transforming truth Johns message is one that brings extreme joy!
and complete fufillment that can never be lost
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
The secular definition of joy- “the emotion evoked by well being,success,or good fortune, or by getting what one desires”
This is not the same as biblical joy
“joy is something very deep and profound, something that affects the whole and entire personality. in other words it comes to this, there is only one thing that can give true joy and that is the contemplation of the Lord Jesus Christ. He satisfies my mind he satisfies my emotions, he satisfies my every desire. He and His great salvation include the whole personality and nothing less, and in HIm I am complete. Joy, in other words is the reaction of the soul to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
John wanted his readers to experience this joy
Do you have joy?
(one person)
write that name down send it to me.....