Questions, questions…
Life is full of them. The Bible is full of them. We, ourselves, are full of them, and children, well…anyone who’s ever had a four year old will marvel at just how many they can come up with!
But with every question there is a real thirst to know more. Of course, not all questioners are seeking the truth, some are just plain nosey; while others skirt around the edge’s causing confusion and difficulty rather than coming straight to the point. Nod if you can think of someone like that! And Wise King Solomon had more than his share of awkward questions.
One person who always set out to alleviate awkwardness and be uncomplicated, and generally managed it was Saint John, and for the next few weeks we will look in more depth about what we know about him, his writings, and learn more about the Jesus he knew as he saw him.
There is a wonderful saying that ‘John is like a magic pool in which an infant can paddle and an elephant can swim’. His language is generally uncomplicated, and the syntax and vocabulary he used are simple but oh so powerful.
His Gospel, the fourth, fell out of favour in the 19th century, as the search for the ‘real Jesus’ continued, and people favoured Mark’s writings, being more historical. Thankfully, contemporary interest in the early church has restored him and his works. John is credited with not only that 4th gospel, but also a series of epistles which were placed almost at the end of the Bible. You might hear someone reading in church say, ‘herein endeth the epistle’. An epistle is simply a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually in the form of an elegant and formal letter with emphasis on instruction and information.
Even though at the time of writing, John was between 50 and 60 years of age, he would have been one of the youngest followers at the time Jesus was alive on earth. So, having written a fairly comprehensive gospel, why would John have felt the need to write these letters to people?
Well, it was written to counter docetism, which is the posh name for a heresy declaring that Jesus did not come "in the flesh", but only as a spirit. The letter also outlined how Christians are to discern true teachers: by their ethics, their proclamation of Jesus in the flesh, and by their love.
We can assume that John was living in Ephesus at the time of the writings, as that was where he died around the year 100AD and much like St Paul, John wrote his letters to encourage Christians. He wanted them to know the truth. Then they would, hopefully, recognise false ideals, subsequently then knowing how to turn back to Christ. Some people in these churches believed wrong things. The people who had taught them these wrong things had been members of the church. However, they had moved away from the faith and they had left the church (1 John 2:19). So John intended to correct these wrong ideas in his letter.
One wrong idea was that Christ was not really a man, back to docetism. It was thought that He seemed to be a man but was not a real man. John taught quite clearly that the Son of God came as a real man. He lived his life here on earth as a man. The Christ actually died as a man. The man, Christ Jesus, rose again from the dead.
Some people taught that Jesus was merely a man. They taught that he was not really God. They did not believe that God could die. They said that the Christ came upon Jesus. Then the Christ left him again before he died. John answered this. He showed that Jesus is one with God. He is the Christ, who gave his life for us. No mere man could take away our sins as the Lord Jesus Christ has done.
As I said, John wrote this letter to encourage the Christians. He wanted them to know the truth. Then they would recognise false ideas. The letter shows that Christians are children of God. They know God as Father. If God is their Father, then they are all brothers and sisters. John shows them the kind of life that the children of God should live. They all share the life that the Lord Jesus gives to them. This is eternal life, which has no end. John wants all Christians to know that they have this life. He wants them to be sure about this.
John wrote about the truth. This is how we know the truth. We know it because we have met Jesus. We know Jesus, so we know the truth.
This is what the letter says to the Christians.
- They can be sure about Christ (1 John 5:20).
- They know what is true about God and Christ. 1 John 2:21; 5:7, 16, 20
- They know that the Son (Jesus Christ) has come. 1 John 5:20
- They know that Jesus came to take away their sin. 1 John 3:16
Let’s look at the letter in more detail, this week we will start with the 1st verse through to verse 4. It reads…
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 upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
Verse 1
- John wrote this letter about Jesus, who is the Word of life! We use words to communicate with people. Jesus is God’s way of communicating with us.
Therefore, the ‘Word of life’ is the Lord Jesus. And the ‘Word of life’ also means the message of the gospel. John wrote about the Lord Jesus. And he wrote about the life that Jesus gives. This life is for those who believe. The Word produces life. This is about the good news of Jesus Christ who is the life.
The Word, that is the Lord Jesus, always existed. He was alive before time and the world began. Christ and the message of life came from God. This was God’s purpose from before creation. The Lord Jesus came into the world to achieve this purpose.
John and those who were with him knew the Lord Jesus. They had heard what he said. They had listened to what he taught. They were with him. They actually saw him. They watched him. They saw all that he did. They lived with him for 3 years. They knew that Jesus was a real human person.
Some people denied that God really came as a human person. But he did come. He is Jesus Christ. John says that they have had a real experience of him. Jesus Christ was God with them here on earth.
Verse 2
- Jesus came from God to show us real life. The Lord Jesus came from God. He became a real man. He showed us what real life is. Real life is life in the spirit. He has that life and he came to give it to us. This is eternal life. God gives it to those who believe in his Son.
John was a witness to this life. The life was with the Father. Jesus showed that life to us. John and those who believed in the Lord Jesus saw this real life. They had received it. They proved that the message is true.
What they saw was eternal life. God gives this life. John knew that he had this life now. And this life will never end. John wants to share this life with the readers of his letter. This life is in the Lord Jesus. Those who know Jesus have this life.
The Lord Jesus, who is life, was with God the Father. But he came to us and he showed us this life. These witnesses have received this life from God. Eternal life comes from God the Father.
Verse 3
- When we believe God’s message, we join God’s family. Those who first believed spoke and they described what they had seen. They repeated what they had heard. The Word of life (that is, Jesus) appeared to them. And we need to believe in him. They heard what he said. We too need to hear what he says. And we need to believe it. The message of life in the Lord Jesus was not only for them. John declares it to those who read his letter. All people can now see and hear God’s truth in Jesus. To know Jesus is to receive the life that God gives by him.
The message of the gospel is that people may believe in Jesus. Those who believe will receive eternal life. That life comes from God. They will share the same life that John and his friends had. They will know that they have a new life with God. They also can become good friends by having the same life. They will join with John and his friends in the family of God.
This life unites Christians with God who is the Father. It unites them with Jesus the Son of the Father. Jesus is one with the Father. Therefore, he also is God as the Father is God. There is one God but three persons. The third person is the Spirit of God.
Verse 4 -
John wrote this letter as if he were an agent for all those other witnesses. ‘These things’ are all that is in the letter. He writes so that both he and the readers may have much joy. It would give them all much joy if they believed the message of the gospel. The purpose of the letter is that the readers would share the same life as John and his friends. God gives this eternal life to those who believe in his Son.
The people living in the time that John was writing his letters could not go and find the man Jesus, he wasn’t there, they were living in another time – much like we are now – in another stage of the Kingdom, that of the Holy Spirit. John desperately wanted the people that he had come to know and love, his brothers and sisters in Christ not to forget their teachings, and that even though he was no longer living on earth with them, he was very much alive, in the Spirit, and alive in those who truly believed.
I leave you with, of course, a question.
If a light bulb when switched off is still there and very much a part of the lamp, why therefore is Jesus Christ not very much a part of us, even though with him it is the Spirit (light) that remains and the shell which is gone to the Father?
The answer of course, is He is!
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Amen.
