1 John 1:1-4 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. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 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.
John establishes the parameters of his writing in his opening words: the incarnation of Jesus and the necessity of entering into the fellowship of believers by proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to save sinners. However, as with all generations subsequent to the time of Jesus’ death, the antichrist spirit remains alive and well with the belief that maybe Jesus was a good man, but not the Son of God. This antichrist spirit will make allowances for considering Jesus as a prophet or a holy man, but definitely not as the Son of God. To people who hold to the antichrist spirit, Jesus is just another person with some nebulous ideas about God and serving him. Of course, such opinions have existed from the time of Christ to discount the necessity of believing in his saving power and his works. If Jesus is not God, then the Good News is not the Good News—eternal life has not come to those who believe in him and his death on the cross for our sins. If Jesus is not exceptional, unique in all ways to all who have ever existed, then He is but a man whose teachings and ideas waver between sane and insane, rational and irrational. Yet John claims Jesus is Lord, and eternal life and fellowship with God comes only through belief in the Creator of all things. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-4) John’s fellow disciple who was on the Mount of Transfiguration with him also confirms the fact Jesus is the only Lord. Peter states: For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. (2 Peter 1:16-18) John and Peter were so adamant about Jesus being the Lord, both gave their lives entirely to him, preaching boldly about Jesus being the Christ, the Messiah. Delivering this message of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ consumed their lives. All the disciples were as one in believing that Jesus Christ brought eternal life to all who placed their faith in him. Later on, Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, and he too gave his life for Jesus, dedicated his life to the message faith in Christ and his death on the cross. To all of them and to all Christians throughout the ages, Jesus is the Eternal One, the Creator of all things, even new creatures, the born again people of God.
Because Jesus is the Eternal One, we too who are one in him have eternal life. The message the apostles brought to the world was that everlasting life with God can be had through belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The life (Jesus Christ) appeared; we have seen (him) and testify (about him), and we proclaim to you the eternal life (Jesus), which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard (of him), so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. When we put our faith in Jesus, we become one with him and with the Father. Jesus addresses us as children. Children of whom? We are children of the Father, his Father and now our Father. When we come to Christ and accept his salvation for our souls, we enter into a new domain, a place where we have fellowship with God the Father, the Son, and with all who are in the body of Christ through faith in Jesus’ works. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13 KJV) John wants us to understand who we are so we might have the joy of fellowshipping with God and with our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. However, if we who are born-again mind the things of this world more than the things of faith, we will be void of the joy of the Lord, not knowing the excitement of daily abiding in the presence of God. Worldliness darkens the eyes of faith. Living as a natural man rather than as a new creature always dissipates the joy of living for Christ. Paul commends the church in Thessalonica for receiving the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. (Thessalonians 1:6) Christians must always keep in mind, their citizenship is in heaven. (Philippians 3:20) We are no longer creatures of finiteness. Our bodies will be corrupted by the grave, but we who are presently sitting in high places with our Father God will exist forever. John desires us to know this as a reality so that we fellowship with our heavenly family and with the church.
The apostle John has come a long ways since he and his brother asked Jesus for a special place in the kingdom of God. Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” (Mark 10:35-38) In this request, we see John, not as the disciple of love, but as a very self-centered man, desiring a high position for himself. We see him trying to leverage his place as a beloved follower of Christ into a place of honor for himself and his brother. Jesus does not put them down directly, He merely tells them that their desire for prominence will cost their flesh dearly. They both say they are willing to pay the price. James was the first disciple to be martyred; John was exiled on the island of Patmos. They both paid a heavy price for following Christ. But the determination of bestowing honor is God’s right, not even Jesus’ privilege. As he was writing, John was known as the disciple of love. Love prefers others before the self. Love desires no special treatment or a special position. In fact, Jesus goes on in Mark 10 to say that prominence in the kingdom of God comes through servanthood to all people. Whoever is the least will be the greatest in God’s eyes. John learned this as he lived his life. Then he could talk gladly about the fellowship of believers. His joy was for all believers to know Christ as Lord of all, and as the healer of the souls of mankind. Now he could say We write this to make our joy complete. He is writing this book to fulfill his purpose for living, not to achieve a place of special honor in God’s kingdom, but to lead men to a better life, a life of joy that is found through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. John wanted people everywhere to know the Christ he knew. He could say with Peter, Though you have not seen him (Jesus), you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8-9) May each of you walk joyfully in that faith each day.
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