Wonderful Words of Life

Text: 1 John 1:1-4

Focus: Words matter, especially words about God. Such a fog of confusion about God exists in the world! Saying accurately who God is and knowing accurately what He has revealed about Himself and the human predicament are crucial not only to putting together life’s puzzle but also for being ready for one’s own death. God never will speak more clearly to us about our need and His provision for life than through His Son, Jesus Christ. God spoke to us through Jesus, and Jesus’ words about God cut through the fog of confusion with clarity and power. The words of Jesus, then, are wonderful words of life.

Introduction:

Illustrate the inundation of words in our daily lives. Some ideas would be social media, electronic billboards, streaming radio stations, cable TV channels, Internet websites and blogs, YouTube videos, national and international news services, and so forth. The problem is, almost all these words are meaningless from the view of eternity. In this modern tsunami of words, what words are really important? What words do we desperately actually need to hear and to heed?

Exalting Jesus in 1,2,3 John A Life Like No Other: Jesus the Incarnate Word

The options as to who Jesus is and what Jesus did can basically be reduced to four. He could have been a liar—someone who simply was not who he claimed to be and knew it. He could have been a lunatic—someone who thought he was somebody, but in fact he was not. He could have been a legend—someone who was not who others later imagined him to be. Or He could be the Lord—He is who He said He is, and His birth, life, death, and resurrection prove it to be true.

Exalting Jesus in 1,2,3 John A Life Like No Other: Jesus the Incarnate Word

John, the son of Zebedee and brother of James (the first apostle to be martyred, cf. Acts 12:2), wrote five books of the New Testament. He wrote the Gospel of John to convert sinners. He wrote the epistles of John to confirm the saints. And he wrote the book of Revelation to coronate the Savior.

Exalting Jesus in 1,2,3 John A Life Like No Other: Jesus the Incarnate Word

These verses make up one of the four great beginnings in the Bible. Genesis 1:1 recounts the beginning of creation. Mark 1:1 tells of the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. John 1:1 reveals the Word who is God and was there in the beginning. And here, in 1 John 1:1, John reveals the incarnate Son, who became a man in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

I. The Eternal Word (1:1, “from the beginning”)

A. God is the only God.

1. God is eternal, and no other gods exist.

2. God is good, and all He does is good.

B. God is the powerful creator.

1. God creates with His powerful Word.

2. Humans are accountable to God alone.

II. The Incarnate Word (1:1, “heard, seen, observed, touched”)

A. Jesus is God revealed in human form.

B. Jesus is God’s word to us.

C. False religions deny what Jesus revealed.

III. The Life-Giving Word (1:1-2, “the word of life”)

A. Life has to be revealed.

1. Wrong words about God obscure our vision of God.

2. God has to reveal Himself to be known correctly.

B. Life has to be witnessed.

1. God is not a thought to think but a person to know.

2. Everyone is called into relationship with God.

IV. The Declared Word (1:3-4, “we also declare”)

A. God’s message in Christ is authoritative.

1. Cut through the clutter of today’s words.

2. The truth of words depends upon the truth of the source.

3. The apostles are the only validation of words about Jesus.

B. God’s message in Christ creates fellowship.

1. The words of 1 John became Scripture.

2. Scripture inspires fellowship of believers.

3. Believing this Word brings complete joy.

Fellowship is not just the coincidence of a shared experience of god, where we compare our private spiritual walks; it is living and experiencing the Father and Son together as believers. Christian fellowship is triangular: My life in fellowship with Christ, your life in fellowship with Christ, and my life in fellowship with yours.