Love in Motion: An Introduction to I John

Introduction:

I John 1:1-2:6: Word of Life

INTRODUCTION:

Brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, this evening we begin a series through 1 John.

Before we get to our passage, we will spend a little more time focusing on the historical background. Beginning with the background information of author, time, place, occasion and structure. These elements shed light on this beautiful book. It’s a special gem in the New Testament Canon.

When: 70-90 AD

Similar as John: ‘the beginning’ and ‘the word’, ‘the light’, ‘the life’.

So if John wrote I John, and it was written somewhere in the 70s-90s that means that John was pretty old at this point. And from what church history teaches, we know that the Apostle John did indeed live to be quite old. Famous Christian authors in the first part of the 2nd Century talk about knowing the apostle John personally, being faithful followers of this beloved follower of Jesus. That John lived to be old is important for us because after Jesus rose from the dead, and after other apostles were martyred, John became one of the last if not the last living person who knew Jesus and studied under his tutelage. John also refers to himself as the apostle whom Jesus loved, so John and Jesus had a close brotherly-love relationship.

But as John does get older, aging with all this knowledge of who Jesus really was, other people began distorting the original Jesus. Fairtales about who Jesus was started spinning and spreading. As the decades rolled on, entirely new religions formed outside of the WAY, as Christianity was often referred to in the first century. Without a New Testament to actually guide theologians, people were coming up with all sorts of different theories about Jesus. So John spoke some pretty harsh words against these threats. For example, in chapter 2, John refers to many antichrists—false teachers walking around and leading people away from the one true Gospel. John is writing in a very difficult time in the church’s history, teaching about who Jesus was, and who he really is as the risen Lord.

So the author is John, written somewhere between the 70s to 90s, written to a church struggling with orthodoxy, church splits, and controversy. In terms of the structure of the book, scholars admit that they are at a loss of trying to label I John- that’s why this is sort of special gem in the New Testament. I John is among one of the most unique books in the Bible in terms of how John wrote.

One commentator says, “Discovering a recognizable pattern or structure of thought in 1 John has proven impossible.” NIVC.

Over and over again commentators mention how notorious I John is to try to put together in a nice cookie cutter shape.

Here’s an example of why I John is so unique. Some call I John a letter, but letters in the New Testament, and all letters in the first century for that matter begins with a certain structure. We’ve touched on this before. Paul uses this structure in every letter. I Thessalonians is a perfect short example of how a letter ought to begin:

1. (Author) Paul, Silas and Timothy,

2. (recipient) To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

3. (Salutation) Grace and peace to you.

4. (Thanksgiving Section) 2 We always thank God for all of you…

But I John has none of these elements. John just dives in, like someone jumping into a cold lake. He dives in with chilling theological claims, bouncing around ideas and thoughts and themes that can be difficult to piece together at times. That’s not to say that what he says can’t be understood, it’s just that I John doesn’t have your typical linear Greek patterns. What’s beautiful about I John is that John uses a more circular pattern of reasoning where themes flow in and out and around one another. And so some call I John not so much a letter, as an address or quote, a “loosely structured sermon,” or a pamphlet.

I like the idea of I John feverishly writing out a sermon that could be preached to his small congregations. He writes a sermon with a passionate and urgent message- where he can hardly stop from getting his ideas out because he’s getting older in age and he sees a fragmented church and a philosophies of the world encroaching into the church. John sees people inventing heretical perspectives of ‘The Real Jesus’ and getting it all wrong. Out of this urgency to get his message out, he writes this sermon to help his church or churches stay on the straight and narrow

And so with this background information, we join John as he writes:

1. The Tangible, Tactile, and Touchable Word

2. Created Fellowship for his Followers

3. Based on Confession not Deception

The Tangible, Tactile, and Touchable Word

What do we mean regarding Word of Life Made Manifest. It comes from the verse 1:

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—this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life.

“Word of Life made manifest” means Jesus, as the Word of Life, came in the flesh and is not preached from the pulpit!

WORD of LIFE: Fits well how he begins his Gospel:

John 1: In the beginning, was the WORD, and the Word was with God and the Word was God!

John 14, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Here John combines these titles: The WORD of LIFE, to describe who Jesus is. The LOGOS and THE ZOE!

The life appeared, it says in verse 2, and it’s this life that John had seen and testify about. It’s a priority for John to point to Jesus as the WORD of LIFE-

This WORD of LIFE wasn’t this amorphous, unattainable concept...

No, this WORD OF LIFE is this tactile, present, physical, and real PERSON!

Notice all the sensory verbs used throughout these first 4 verses:

“That which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, that which we looked and even touched with our own hands- that which we have seen and talk about and even write about- this is life.”

John really, really wants his readers to know that this WORD OF LIFE was physical, and he uses this tactile language intentionally.

Docetism:

See, around the time of the writing of this sermon, competing religions started to spin away from Christianity. One mutated version was called Docetism, a religion that fused together Christianity with Greek philosophy. Docetism comes from the Greek word, “to appear.” Greek philosophy taught that this material world is bad, which means that Jesus could never be really human because to be human means he would have flesh and skin and organs. That would be impossible because God could never enter into a fleshy existence. All things material is evil. Jesus just appeared human, he just seemed to look like us, but really he was all spirit.

But here John goes out of his way to say that he had a resurrected body! John emphasizes this in other places as well:

Doubting Thomas: v.27: Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

Cooking Fish: At the end of John’s Gospel records Jesus cooking fish and bread over a charcoal fire on the beach. AN incredibly remarkable story because it too refuted docetic teachings. Docetism taught that Jesus didn’t need to eat because fish are material and therefore evil.

So John makes it clear, he saw the life. Life appeared- a person he saw and heard and touched. Jesus was 100% tried and true life that talked and walked and wore sandals and died an earthly death.

And so that life, was what John witnessed.

And there’s a purpose to this WORD OF LIFE made manifest…

Created Fellowship for his Followers

Purpose: v.3b: that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ.

Follow the Circle:

The Word of LIFE became accessible, available, hospitable, real, authentic, in the here-and-now, with us!

To borrow language from Dorothy L. Sayers, God in his THUSNESS became God is his THISness, and by doing so, the WORD of LIFE hung out!

Jesus became the rallying person for the Church.

The purpose of the WORD of LIFE being present in a real way with his followers, is for his followers to be present in a real way with other followers!

And for those same followers to experience fellowship with God!

Christ became accessible to us, so we can experience Christ-centered accessibility with one another, because we experience accessibility with the TRIUNE GOD!

The Church is meant for fellowship!

I want to ask you: Where have you felt the most type of fellowship?

What was the rallying point??

Cross Country Team:

SO MUCH WORK PAID OFF!!

Fellowship takes work!

Goal: Rallying around the Jesus:

HE’S the goal!

Hebrew 12:1-2“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus.”

That’s who we are looking to!

Now that we’re emerging from the pandemic, here are some questions for you:

In what ways can you fight stronger for fellowship?

Which two people can you call to say, “Hey, it’s been a while, how are you?”

How can you be tangible, accessible, noticeable, and available to others in a new and fresh way this summer?

In what ways can you rally together around Jesus? Small Group? Participation in worship?

We are no ordinary church!

FAMILY OF GOD, DRAWN TO JESUS, CHALLENGED BY HIS MESSAGE, AND RELEASED AS MISSIONARIES!

Called to reach those who aren’t being reached!

20 minute conversation with a new Muslim friend yesterday who heard the Gospel yesterday FOR the first time!

We want him to rally around Jesus as well.

Based on Confession not Deception

So we rally around the Word of Life to experience true community...

But as a people who walk in the LIGHT, and not lies!

God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

If we walk in the light, we

a) have fellowship with one another,

b) Jesus cleanses us from all sin.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to

a) forgive us, and

b) to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Verses 5-10 teach us that fellowship with God requires walking in the light. His point is that you can’t walk in darkness and pretend to live in the light. You can’t be a hypocrite in this fellowship. You can be be a forgiven sinner. Life of faith means walking in the light as Jesus is in the light.

Our connection to Christ provides a connection with one another based on confession!

We gather as sinners!

Story of Pastor: Welcome to a sick community!

The congregation was buzzing with handshakes and whispers. A few latecomers found their seats, and several parents hushed their children. “We welcome you to our worship service this morning,” I began. “We are glad you are here.” Most lifted their heads when they heard me say: “And we offer a special welcome to those of you who may be visiting with us for the first time. You need to know that this is a sick church.” With those words, all the normal fidgeting and paper shuffling that goes on during announcements came to an abrupt halt. The sanctuary became stone quiet. People wondered if they had heard me correctly. Did he say sick? I paused, then continued. “The good news is that we know we are sick and that we are determined to change. So we invite you to come back over the following weeks and see what God is going to do in our midst.”

Van Yperen, Jim. Making Peace (p. 12). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Fellowship in Christ exposes sin in order for the sin to be forgiven!

Alcoholic’s Anonymous: “Hi, I’m Mark Knetsch, and I’m a sinner.”

You try it. “Hi, I’m…, and I’m a sinner.”

Isn’t it great not making out God to be a liar!

Problem: Fellowship without confession expedites sin:

Rather than expose sin for confession, it expedites sin for deception.

John is trying to make sure that the TYPE of fellowship created in the church is one grounded in Christ’s work on the Cross. The vision painted for us here is a community that is honest about their brokenness and doesn’t need to pretend or conceal their brokenness.

Christians can’t say: “I’ve arrived.” You can’t come to our time of confession each Sunday and say, “This part of the service doesn’t apply to me.” Or, I’ve been better than average this Sunday.”

You can’t say, “I hope that person heard that prayer of confession!”

To deny that even as a Christian you struggle with sin is to deny two things:

Your daily need for forgiveness.

Your daily need for faithfulness!

But John pulls no punches here. If we don’t walk in the light, and if we don’t confess our sins, we are liars.

Just as Christ provided himself for us to experience fellowship.

We lie to God, we lie to ourselves, and we make God a liar.

With just a few verses, John describes this tight ropewalk of living in the light as opposed to living as a liar. John is no fool to the power of sin, and in his old age he sees wisdom in being abundantly clear with total devotion to God. Jesus didn’t just die to give us warm fuzzies about ourselves. He he died to give us the way to live, he died so that we can receive his righteousness, he died so that we may walk in the light, died to give us fellowship.

Self-righteousness is a slap in the face to the cross! It promotes cheap grace.

The worst kind of “Christian” fellowship is one that ignores the power of grace. The moment a church relies on their own righteousness is the moment that church is lost in their own lies.

True Christian fellowship can’t exist with unrepentant sin:

Fellowship requires repentance because unconfessed sin will get expressed somehow and in some way— and it does so through deception and lies.

Unconfessed sin gets expressed through fake conversations, and spiritual platitudes.

WOO:

Doing well: Win others over

Not doing well: Used car salesman.

Same with Christian fellowship!

Supposed to be this place of community, belonging, peace, shalom, a symbol of the Kingdom, and the breeding ground for discipleship.

But if not doing well: mastery of fakery, people practicing plasticky spirituality. Platform for manipulation, and breeding ground for gossip, dissension, and judgmentalism...

I John’s like:

None of that! Stop making your fellowship with each other and your fellowship with God out to be a lie!!

Practice vulnerability, be okay to say I’m not okay. And LOVE each other through those admissions and sins and vulnerability.

The Tangible, Tactile, and Touchable Word

Created Fellowship for his Followers

Based on Confession not Deception

Jesus was our example:

He became accessible, available, hospitable, real, authentic, in the here-and-now, with us!