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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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“CERTIFICATION
OF FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD” (1
John 1:1-4) Grace
Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl
Hilbert I. ENJOYING
FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD A. Certification
of Fellowship with God (1:1-4) 1. True
Fellowship with God Centers on Christ (1) a) John
starts the epistle with the same concept of, “the beginning” (archế) as in his gospel (1:1). (1) The
reference traces its origin from Gen 1:1. John connects Christ with “the
beginning,” which is as far back in time as the Bible has revealed. (2) Christ the “Word” was identified in John
1:1 as eternal (“in the beginning”), in intimate fellowship with the Father (pròs
- “with God”), and deity (ến, imperf act ind, - “was God”). (3) In 1Jo 1:1, Christ is identified as the
same One who was “from the beginning” (ến, (imperf act ind,
apó - “was from”) (4) Christ is again identified as the “Word” or
“Lógos (word, message, or expression).” John has
chosen the title, “Lógos” to declare Christ’s purpose which was
to reveal the Father (Joh 1:18). Christ is the “Living Word” (Joh 1:14) who
is preached in the “Written Word” (2Ti 4:2). (5) Here John specifically calls Christ, the
“Word of Life” to indicate that eternal life is found only in Christ (Joh
14:6). b) John
also writes that he along with the other apostles (“we”) were witnesses of
the resurrected Christ. Bona fide apostles had to have seen the resurrected
Christ, been commissioned by the resurrected Christ, and empowered by the
resurrected Christ. (1) They
were the ones who “heard” Christ’s teachings. (2) They were the ones who had “seen” (horáō - see and perceive) Him literally with their “eyes.” (3) They were the ones who “looked at” (theáomai - to see, observe, and watch) Him. (4) They were the ones who “touched” Him with
their hands referring to being actual witnesses. c) As
a bona fide apostle, John assures and instructs his readers as to the true
path of life and fellowship with God. 2. True
Fellowship with God Results in Eternal Life (2-3) a) John
not only calls Christ the “Word” but also the “Life” (2). (1) Being
called “the Life,” Christ is both the source of life (Joh 14:6) and the way
to life (Joh 1:4). (a) Life
(zōế) simply means living, but the
implication here and the majority of the Bible, is spiritual living in an
eternal relationship with God. (b) The life that Christ gives is characterized
as “eternal” life (1Jo 2:25; 5:11-13, 20). Eternal (aiṓnios) means perpetual and without end. The eternal Christ is
not affected by the limitations of time and neither is the eternal life He
gives. (c) As the Life, Christ was manifested (phaneróō - to reveal, show, or become
visible cp. Joh 1:14)
in the Incarnation. Christ, who has always been in intimate fellowship with
the Father was visibly revealed especially to the apostles. (d) It was this life that the apostles saw (horáō
- same as vs. 1). But they are more than mere observers, they continually
“testified” (marturéō -
bear witness) and
“proclaimed” (apaggéllō) the life in Christ (cp. Act 1:8). b) There
was a purpose (hína) for their personal witness and
proclamation. It was so that the readers ultimately would have fellowship
with the Father and the Son (3). c) The word for “fellowship” is koinōnía which literally means, “common.” It can mean a
relationship by sharing something in common. (1) Fellowship
with God first begins with a relationship with the Father through the Son
(1Ti 2:5). In this sense, we have something in common with God. We share
Christ the Mediator, who is a Mediator between a holy God and sinful
humanity. Christ is our substitute and He is the Father’s propitiation. Once
a believer comes to Christ, his relationship with God will never be severed
(Joh 10:28-29; Rom 8:38-39; 1Pe 1:5). (2) Even though the believer’s relationship
cannot be severed, his fellowship with God can be temporarily broken. (3) In 1Jo 1:5, John tells us that God is Light
and in Him there is no darkness at all. This means that God is a holy God,
without sin, and cannot fellowship with sin. If we fellowship with sin, God
cannot have full fellowship with us. (4) So in order to maintain fellowship with
God, we must walk in the Light through holy obedience (1Jo 1:5). (5) If the believer sins, he can restore his
fellowship with God through confession to God (1Jo 1:9). (6) If the believer walks in obedience and
confession he will have unbroken and full fellowship with the Father (1Jo
1:7). (7) We also have fellowship with other
believers because they also have fellowship with God. What do we have in
common (koinōnía) with other believers? We share a
relationship with the Father through Christ. (8) John’s appeal to his readers was that they
would have unbroken and full fellowship with the Father and Son. 3. True
Fellowship with God Fulfills Our Joy (4) a) John’s
purpose for writing was so that his readers would have unbroken and full fellowship
with the Father through holy obedience and confession. b) If that occurred in the lives of his
readers then John would have and continue to have full and complete (perf
part of plêróō -
full, complete) joy. c) Joy (chará) is
different from happiness. Happiness is based on external circumstances. Joy
is the internal contentment and delight that results from a relationship with
God no matter what the circumstances. 4. Applications a) True
joy and fellowship can only result from a relationship with the Father
through the Son. b) Full and complete joy results from having
unbroken and full fellowship with God. c) Maintaining unbroken and full fellowship
with God becomes the believer’s life-long challenge. d) Full and complete joy results from helping
others to have unbroken and full fellowship with God. |
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