1 John 1:1-10

1 John 1:1–3

1 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— 2 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— 3 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.

Gnostics: claiming to possess super intellects, to be true thinkers
known as—or “the knowledgeable ones.”
followers of Jesus were wrong to think He had a body physically
anyone with intelligence understood that anything material was evil

Why did they make this claim?

They absolved themselves of any responsibility for their bodies
They could be deep thinkers while behaving as animals
Jesus was an emanation of God, but not God Incarnate.
Same common denominator of all cults to this day

Jesus wasn’t a phantom, an emanation, or a vision.

We walked, hung out, and lived with Him.
We want you to fellowship with Him.

How can this happen?

two men on their way to the town of Emmaus.…

Luke 24:13-21

13 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles out of Jerusalem. 14 As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. 15 Suddenly, Jesus himself came along and joined them and began walking beside them. 16 But they didn’t know who he was, because God kept them from recognizing him. 17 “You seem to be in a deep discussion about something,” he said. “What are you so concerned about?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. 18 Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.” 19 “What things?” Jesus asked. “The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did wonderful miracles. He was a mighty teacher, highly regarded by both God and all the people. 20 But our leading priests and other religious leaders arrested him and handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. 21 We had thought he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. That all happened three days ago.

Two things took place on the Road to Emmaus:

Jesus opened the Word to the disciples
the eyes of the disciples were opened to Jesus.
Have you experienced the same thing?
The Bible reveals Jesus to us
If I don’t know the Bible I don’t recognize Him or see Him clearly

We see Jesus in the breaking of the bread at the table of Communion.

Take eat. This is My body broken for you,” He said (see 1 Corinthians 11:24).
Communion opens our eyes to who Jesus is and what He has done.
We see Jesus clearly once again.

1 John 1:4

4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

The reason we take Communion and study the Bible is to be full of joy

True joy does not come by being ignorant of the truth
Being blind to injustice and suffering does not bring true joy
Happiness does not come from denying pain and suffering
True joy comes from seeing and knowing Jesus
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life
there’s a deeper reality in life

separation from a loved one
problem with the car
bankruptcy of the business

Do not take our joy because we know there’s a much bigger picture.

1 John 1:5

5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

People who are depressed
being a Christian is so hard
this attitude is not Biblical
there’s no dark side to God
nothing negative about Him
He is completely positive
A discouraged unhappy Christian is a contradiction

Wasn’t Jesus the Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief?

Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41).
He wept at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35).
When Jesus wept, it was always for others.

What about when He wept in the Garden of Gethsemane?

He was not terrified by the pain of the Cross
He did not want to be separated from Father God
He would be made sin on our behalf and be separated from the Father

We are terrified of all the wrong things.

o “What if I can’t pay the bills?”

o “What if the car doesn’t work?”

o “What if I lose a loved one?”

o These things that frighten us.

o What about separation from the Father?

1 John 1:6

6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

We cannot say, “I’m close to the Lord and I’m miserable.

I’m walking with Jesus; - but I am unhappy
I’m taking communion – but I hate my brother
I study the Bible but I am always depressed and sad
We are lying to ourselves if we say we have fellowship with Jesus but walk around in darkness.

1 John 1:7 (a)

7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,

How can you know you are having true fellowship with God?
When you have true fellowship with other people
When we’re truly in the light, our hearts will be full of joy

We will not gossip about people
We will not find fault with people
We will not make others feel like they are less than us

1 John 1:7 (b)

. . . and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

The Greek word “cleanses” speaks of a continual cleansing.
If we’re continually cleansed, shall we continue to sin?
we are cleansed from the penalty of sin
Consequences of sin remain
Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap (Galatians 6:7)

“Be sure your sin will find you out,” Numbers 32:23

“it will find you out,”
Sin will bring terrible, painful, and sometimes lifelong consequences

1 John 1:8

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Who was saying they had no sin?

The gnostics.
“It’s not me sinning,” they said. “It’s just my body.”
today people say, “There are no absolutes.
What’s wrong for you isn’t wrong for me.
I may not be perfect, but I’m not a sinner.”
any person who says, “I’m not a sinner,” is deceiving himself

1 John 1:9, 10

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Does not mean that if we forget to confessa particular sin tht we will not be forgiven.
We can never add to what Jesus did for us on the cross
Why are we forgiven and allowed to enter heaven?
Cults answer, “Believe on Jesus Christ, and they add some kind of works…”
Believe on Jesus Christ and follow this teaching
Believe on Jesus Christ and serve in the church every day…
Believe on Jesus Christ and wear a certain kind of clothes…
Believe on Jesus Christ and make sure you confess every sin

When Jesus died on the Cross, He said, “It is finished. The price is paid.

There is nothing more we can do to be forgiven and saved

Should we confess our sin?

Yes, confessing our sin to the Lord, we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us
He will deliver us and renew our mind
I confess sin? Constantly—not to earn forgiveness
I confess because I want to be free
Each time I confess my sin, I find myself celebrating
Thank you for Your finished work on the Cross of Calvary