05 Easter 7th Sunday of Easter
My friends, I greet you this evening in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our lesson comes to us from the fifth chapter of 1st John, beginning with the 9th verse. I would invite you to open your Bibles and follow along with me. If you have the bigger Bible you want page 1186. If you have the smaller Bible you want page 864.
Well, have you hear the news? People everywhere are talking about it. It is all over the place. You can go to the beverage shop and hear people discussing it intently. Whispers about it float through the air at the market. It seems that this news is in the spotlight almost every other night. It is all the rage, and it is a cause for concern, at least amongst the church.
You see, the problem with this news is that it is lacking something very important. It is lacking truth. But then again, unless you know better, you are not going to know. But this news is spreading like wildfire… and the result? Well, nothing is really quite as sad. The result is that people are being lead astray. They are losing their faith. That is the result. Gone is faith in Jesus. Gone is trust of his church. It is amazing the power that words can have. Isn’t it?
What is one to do? Do you know what I am talking about? Any guesses? No, I’m not talking about the DaVinci code. I’m talking about the world that the apostle John lived in. I’m talking about the world in which he wrote this letter. You see there were some bad ideas floating around out there, and it was very hurtful to the people who heard them. They seemed to make sense, but these ideas contradicted the Scriptures. So John addresses these in his letter.
Basically the view is known as Gnosticism. This is the idea that says spiritual is good, and material is bad. Any guesses as to what the problem with this view is? It denies the goodness of the creation for one. Which reflects badly on the creator. But even more than that, if material is bad, then why in the world would God even consider becoming a human being? Salvation in Gnosticism involves gaining secret knowledge so that one can know the secret to escape the material. Can you see where this is going? It comes down to the question of Who is Jesus? I believe this question is quite popular right now.
Within Gnosticism we see a couple attempts to answer this question of who is Jesus? One view is known as Docetism. It is the view that says Jesus never had a physical body. It only looked like he had a physical body. But since the physical is bad, then there is no way that Jesus would have a body. Any one want to take a shot at what the problem with this view is? If Jesus didn’t have a physical body then he could not have really died on the cross. If he did not die on the cross than we are still dead in our sins, and our faith is in vain.
Another Gnostic attempt to answer the question of Who is Jesus is known as Cerinthianism. Say that one three times fast. This is the view that says, Jesus did have a human body. But the divine Christ is separate from him. At his Baptism the divine Christ came down from heaven, and then it went back into heave just before the man, Jesus was crucified. Now what is the trouble with this idea? If we have on the cross the death of a mere man, then again we are still dead in our sins, and our faith is in vain. And as St. Paul writes, “we are to be pitied more than any other people.”
These are answers that are being given to the question of who is Jesus? The problem with these answers is that take away from the work that Jesus did. They take away the price he paid for our sins on the cross. They take away the everlasting life we have through him. They take away the restored relationship that we have with God. Without Jesus, without his life, his death and his resurrection you and I are separated from God. And spiritually dead. And there is nothing that we can do about it.
We would be powerless against the sin that corrupts us. We would be helpless before the devil. We would have nothing to stand on in the face of death. There would be no hope. There would be nothing to look forward to. We would be left to our own pathetic attempts to earn our salvation, and we would have nothing more to rely on than our own goodness.
Of course that would be the case if the answers that Gnosticism gave to the question of who is Jesus were true. That would be the case if the answers that the DaVinci code gives to the question of who is Jesus were true. But those answers are false. Let’s look at what John has to say about this stuff.
Verse 6. “This is the one who came by water and blood – Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood.” This speaks against Cerinthianism. Because it acknowledges that Jesus, who by the way, from the moment of conception, and into the present, and forever into the future, Jesus is true God and true man, not only was he baptized but he also died. John goes on.
“And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.” In other words we know that John’s words are true because God himself has testified to it. If we can accept human testimony as true, well in most cases anyway. But if we can accept human testimony as true, how much more can we accept the testimony of God as true?
In other words you don’t have to take John’s word for it. You don’t have to take the word of those who walked with Jesus and listened to him, and ate with him and saw him after his resurrection. You don’t have to take their word for it, because God himself has given his testimony concerning his Son, and what God says is always true.
John writes, “Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.” The burden of proof is not on God. His word always stands true. But the burden of proof lies with the one who contradicts the claims of God. The truth of the matter is that that person is actually calling God a liar. That really isn’t good.
John continues, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have 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.”
Who is the son of God? None other than Jesus. He is the only son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, he is of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
Any other answer is false. Any other answer does not contain God’s gift of eternal life, given by him freely to those who believe, without any merit or worthiness on their part. Any other answer does not provide hope, or assurance of one’s place before God. Because only in Jesus Christ, can you and I know that we have been reconciled to God. Only in Jesus Christ can you and I know that our sins are forgiven. Only in Jesus Christ can we know that the life we have is an ever lasting life. And that life will be ever lasting with our Lord.
So regardless of the news floating around, no matter what people say. Their testimony will never be greater than God’s testimony. And in his testimony you have life everlasting. And so we seek to glorify our God with our lives. And we do this as we love and serve the people that he has placed into our lives. That is why we are here. That is what we are called to do. May God bless you as you serve him. Now and always. Amen.