The Letters of John’ – week 1 1 John Chapter 1 verses 1 - 10

The Letters of John’ – week 1         1 John Chapter 1 verses 1 - 10

This morning we start our new series of talks on one of the early Christian letters written by the Apostle John. Whilst we cannot be absolutely certain that it was John who wrote it, there certainly is enough similarity with his Gospel and other evidence to presume in his favour as the author of the letter.  And whilst there is an increasingly popular approach in the Church of England to view the scriptures as purely inspirational, and to not worry too much about  who wrote them or the situation either in which the original author was writing or writing to, I think we do John a disservice - not to mention short-changing ourselves! - if we just treat them in that way: he certainly didn’t intend them to be treated as such because he wrote these letters – there are three of them – with two very clear aims in mind.

The first aim was to encourage and inspire his readers in their faith and discipleship of Jesus. He needed to do so especially because – and here is his second clear aim – false teachers had infiltrated the church. Here in the area of Ephesus in the Roman province of Asia in the 60s and 70s of the first century, false teachers were attempting to mix pagan ideas popular in Roman Asia with the Christian faith that had arrived there some thirty years earlier. And certainly two aspects of their false teaching were, first, that knowledge of God was really only fully available to a special few, an elite known as the Gnostics; and, secondly, that Jesus had only seemed to be human: he was really a spirit.

John, however, wants to make it absolutely clear, first, that knowledge of God is open to everyone but only through the true Jesus and only because of Jesus; and, secondly, that Jesus was no apparition; he didn’t just seem to be human, he was human and fully so. (The reason why Jesus’ humanity was an issue with the false teachers was that most philosophies of the ancient Mediterranean world tended to have problems in believing that matter was good. They thought that the spiritual world was the only good and that true spiritual progress involved escaping from the material. But God created our world to be enjoyed ‘God saw what he had created and it was ‘good’’.)

John, as I said, wanted also to encourage and inspire his readers. He is obviously concerned, as we shall see, that the false teaching is robbing his readers of the joy (v4) rightfully theirs through fellowship with the risen Jesus. What he wants them to understand is that in the coming of Jesus and as a result of his sacrificial death, mighty resurrection, and glorious ascension, the world is now a different place; and the lives of those who welcome Jesus as Saviour and Lord are to be characterised by a new kind of love, fellowship, truth, obedience, joy, plus a great deal more to boot!

 John’s experience of knowledge of God makes it practically synonymous with, identical with, fellowship with him. Indeed, John’s major theme throughout his letter as he writes both to encourage his readers and warn them of false teaching, is ‘true knowledge of God’: it was this that was the main matter in dispute between John and the cult that was trying to entice his readers away to erroneous beliefs about the nature and person of Jesus. 

John’s definition, if you like, of ‘knowledge of God’ is this: the rich experience of him, the living God, at work in our lives. It is a knowledge that comes by reflecting prayerfully on what God has done in our lives – in the bad times as well as the good. And when we do reflect prayerfully on what God has done in our lives and are able to relate this to the ministry and death and resurrection of Jesus, together with his teaching, answers, and promises to us, why then our hope, assurance, and confidence in belonging to him will increase. This is knowledge; and if this knowledge is genuine, then it must flow out in love towards others - or else it is entirely fake. The person who claims to know God just because they had an amazing or even a quietly profound experience of God but who does not then evidence a greater loving concern for others is simply deluding themself. For Christians, discipleship and service are the only marks of authenticity: anyone can have a spiritual experience, but taking up our cross and serving others is another matter entirely.

Let’s take a look at the verses of this morning’s reading. The first 4 verses have John explaining his purpose in writing. Those who have seen the life (Jesus) and have been captured, willingly, by its beauty, holiness, and promise, find that they have come to belong to a new kind of family, a ‘fellowship’, which has a very different quality and set of principles and purposes from those of the world.

John wants to emphasize the physical realty of the person of Jesus when he was in the world. And here we have to bear in mind that he is emphasizing this physical reality because of the false teaching opposing it. People need to grasp securely the truth of this in order to have fellowship with God, which is,to know him and to understand what he is about, as also to know the joy which comes from such fellowship. It is only the true Jesus and not any philosophically invented spiritualised phantom who can give us fellowship with God.

John makes three points about Jesus here. First, that he was ‘from the beginning’; that is to say, the Jesus whom they had seen and touched was none other than the eternal Son of God who existed before the creation of the world. Secondly, this Son of God was physically tangible, not an illusion. St. Ignatius, writing early in the second century has this to say.’ Be fully persuaded in the matter of the birth and suffering and resurrection in the time of the regime of Pontius Pilate, for these things were truly and certainly done by Jesus Christ.’ Thirdly, John wants to explain that the Son of God is characterised by ‘Life’. (Remember the opening of John’s Gospel ? ‘in him was life’.) One of the most basic descriptions of God is that he is the ‘living God’. Other so-called gods are idols, the creation of human hands or human minds – gods that cannot actually intervene, however powerful a hold they have over our minds and principles. 

But the essential characteristic of God is liveliness, the ability to get involved with human kind: and this life is light and love – the one who brings true and fulfilling ‘joy’ (v 4).

Now of course it was wonderful for those who were physically present with Jesus to have had fellowship with him, but what about those of subsequent generations? Well, John’s answer is that when Christians who were not eyewitnesses come to accept the apostolic testimony concerning him, they begin to share the fellowship with Jesus and with the Father that the apostles had known. And remember, the apostles themselves had to change the nature of their fellowship once he had ascended to heaven. But through their day to day fellowship in taking up their crosses and following him, through their unashamed proclaiming of him, through their suffering, and through their prayerful reflection on what he was doing in their lives, they  knew him to be no less real: his gift to them of the Holy Spirit ensured this.

And that same gift is available to all today who will only admit their need of a Saviour and welcome him into their lives as Lord. But to do so requires an act of the will on our part to open the door of our lives and welcome him in. We have to do this - and as far as I know the English have not been granted any special exemption – because there is a very strong temptation in some social and intellectual circles to poo-poo such ‘emotionalism’ or ‘excess of zeal’ and to keep God at a socially, culturally,  and emotionally ‘healthy’ arm’s length.

You know I almost despair sometimes at the people who accuse God of being distant or of being absent when they needed him, when they themselves have gone to great lengths to keep him at arm’s length because they’re concerned that he might be real after all and actually interested in them in spite of their opinion of themselves – be that high or low – and in spite of their moral and social track records – be they dazzling or decidedly dodgy. It makes no difference where you or I are on the spectrum of social standing or spiritual success, we shall have neither joy nor fellowship unless we invite him into our lives as Saviour and Lord; and such is the common understanding of the New Testament authors.

In verses 5 – 10, John begins to explain how we may have this fellowship with God. He tells us that there is something we need to know (v6); something we need to avoid (v8); something we need to do (v7); and that something will happen (verses 7 and 9). And he repeats his points for emphasis!

First, we need to know that God is light. To walk in darkness is to walk in sin – whether we realise it or not. ‘Light’ is the opposite of darkness; it is the holiness of God, the sin-hating part of God that is based on purity, justice, and genuine love. It is the characteristic of God that he illuminates: to walk in this light means to walk in true knowledge, true understanding, and fellowship with God. This light is also love and joy, and the mark of genuine holiness. Those who consciously set themselves apart for God and for their neighbour are those who are walking in this light and deepening their fellowship with God and neighbour as a result.

Secondly, because light and darkness are incompatible opposites, we need to avoid walking in darkness – which is both sin and ignorance. This is exactly why Christians are called to proclaim a ‘gospel’ of forgiveness: people need to know! It’s as simple as that.

Thirdly, there is something that we have to do. We have to want to and determine to ‘walk in the light’. It is a Christian’s responsibility and it is highly practical. Fellowship with God will not necessarily come simply by piety or by prayer alone: no, it requires the steady, step-by-step obedience to God’s word and God’s call which always and inevitably leads to the service of others.

Fourthly and finally, something will happen. If we walk in the light we will have fellowship with one another. The idea that one is meant to be or even can survive as an effective Christian on one’s own is nowhere to be found in the New Testament: the whole emphasis is on corporate living, on genuine fellowship within the Christian family. This is why I mentioned it in my AGM Pastoral Letter. It is not an optional extra but a requirement lest we become introverted in our discipleship and exclusive in our relationships. True fellowship with God will always involve fellowship with one another in the Christian community. As the last two verses tell us, an honest and truly humble confession takes away the obstacles to fellowship both with God and with our fellow Christians. Why? Well, because with a clear conscience, with the knowledge that we are forgiven – whatever we’ve done, and with the joy that comes from knowing we are forgiven and put right with God, the more we shall feel free to be open and interested in others – which is what genuine fellowship requires! V10 speaks for itself and is really the beginning of next week’s talk – so I shall leave it to Joe, who will be preaching next week.    

   

QUESTIONS

1. Why is it important for belief about Jesus that he was both God and man?

2. How important is it to hold orthodox views about Jesus?

3. How does doubt affect our fellowship with God?

4. How does fellowship lead to joy?

5. What is it like to ‘walk in the light’?

6. How can we fall into pretending that we have fellowship?

7. How does the character of God affect our relationship with him?