1 John 1.1-4
THIS IS THE LIFE!
1 John 1:1-4
introduction
By now, we have become weary of the expression: “Credit Crunch.” So it is now called the Global Financial Crisis. Before this crisis, our economy was sound, our money was safe in the Bank, and material goods were freely available. With regular flights to the continent on Easy Jet, we thought this is the life! Now it seems as if the financial crisis is about to affect us all. We were reminded about this last week when Keith Tondeur applied biblical principles to our present situation. At a special time of prayer on Tuesday Morning, it was encouraging to hear the relevance, the maturity, the honesty, and the earnest desire in many of the prayers. Some prayed about the visibility of God’s kingdom in daily life. There were prayers for boldness in our daily witness. There were prayers that we might know God in our daily walk. Maybe the present financial crisis has led us from saying this is the life to seeing that he is the life. This is our theme today from 1 John 1:1-4: This is the life! First…
1 LIFE IN THE FATHER
1.1 The word of life
In his epistle, John is excited about the Word of Life. He says in v1: “That which was from the beginning which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes which we have looked at and our hands have touched concerning the Word of life.”
1.2 Eternal life in the Father
This introduction is similar to John’s gospel. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Verse 14 then says, “The Word became flesh and lived for a while amongst us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The Word is Jesus Christ. He came from the Father to bring us back to God. 1 John 1:3 says, “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”
For John, fellowship with God is eternal life. He says in v2 we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to you. So fellowship with Jesus is eternal life. 1 John 5:12-13 says, “Whoever has the Son has the life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have the life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” The more we believe in God and the more we walk with God, the more we experience eternal life. This is the life!
1.3 Being transformed daily
Like John, we are excited about sharing good news. When the news is stale, however, it doesn’t have the same impact. Too many share the old, old story of their testimony instead of the refreshing story of new life in Christ every day. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “If anyone is in Christ the old has gone; all things are becoming new.” As the living word, Jesus leads us to a living God who delights in the progressive transformation of his people. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “We are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory.” This is…
2 LIFE IN THE SON
2.1 A personal encounter with Jesus
In his introduction, John speaks about a personal encounter with Jesus. He says in v1: that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—concerning the Word of life. Verse 2 in the CEV says, “The one who gives life appeared! We saw it happen, and we are witnesses to what we have seen. Now we are telling you about this eternal life that was with the Father and appeared to us.” In v3, John says we are telling you this so that you too might have life in the Son.
2.2 Experiencing eternal life today
Life in the Son is eternal life and the more we live in him, the more we experience this life. John calls this fellowship with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. The word fellowship means to have something in common. It is used to describe the intimate bond between two people. In Luke 5:10, the word is used to describe a business partnership John had with James and Peter. John now uses the same word to describe our relationship to Jesus beyond the shores of Galilee. He says, “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”
2.3 Believing and remaining in Jesus
To have fellowship with God we need to believe in Jesus. Ephesians 3:12 says, “In him and through faith in him we approach God with freedom and confidence.” Having believed in Jesus, we should remain in him. In John 15:4-5 Jesus said, “Remain in me, as I remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” This is our calling, this is our commitment, and this is our constant joy. 1 Corinthians 1:9 says, “God who has called us into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ, is faithful.” He is faithful and sends the Holy Spirit to help us in our daily walk. This is…
3 LIFE IN THE SPIRIT
3.1 To make our joy complete
1 John 1:3-4 says, “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. The Message says, “We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us. We want you to enjoy this too.” Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, and it leads to life in the Spirit.
3.2 Enjoying life in the Spirit
This word of life that appeared has been proclaimed, and it now comes to us in the Spirit. In the Spirit, we respond to the living word and find our joy in him. This is why John says he writes to make our joy complete or full. In John 15:11, Jesus said: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” Ephesians 3:19 says we should be filled with all the fullness of God. Spiritual joy is not tagged on like artificial fruit—it comes from within.
Spiritual joy is not to be confused with happiness or pleasure. These are based on outward circumstances. We do not always have pleasure and we cannot be happy all the time, but there is always joy. Pollyanna said there are over 800 happy texts in the Bible and not many that tell us to be sad. Psalm 32:11 says, “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice.” Philippians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and I say it again, Rejoice!” Romans 15:13 tells us how this happens when it says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.”
3.3 Walk in the Spirit
In our daily walk, we struggle with materialism, busy-ness, and many other distractions. To help us through this, we need to walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:16 says, “Walk in the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. We are not to run in the Spirit, race in the Spirit, or rush in the Spirit. We are to walk in the Spirit. We are to reflect on the Spirit, react in the Spirit, and respond to the Spirit. One translation says, “Live according to your new life in the Spirit and you won’t follow what the flesh craves.”
conclusion
To walk with God, we need to spend time with the living word in the Spirit. This is eternal life. It is not just life in the future (though this is included); it is to walk with God now—in the Father, with the Son, and by the Spirit. This is the life!
I give my life to the Potter's hand