John the Apostle, as he was moved the Holy Spirit, wrote five books of the New Testament. And when you stop and think about it, three of them are about as different as they possibly could be. The Gospel of John introduces us to in the incarnate Son of God. The Book of Revelation reintroduces God’s Son in His future glory. And then John’s three Epistles basically talk about the Christian’s position and responsibility in the Son. John gives us Christ at the beginning and the end – the “Alpha and the Omega.” And sandwiched between them, safe and secure, in his three epistles, are all of His saints. In the Gospel we have eternal life unveiled in CHRIST. In his Epistles we have eternal life unveiled in the BELIEVER. And at the end of the Book of Revelation we see what eternal life will eventually look like.
This afternoon, we are beginning a study of John’s First Epistle. I probably won’t be referring to Revelation very often in the next few months. But I will be frequently reaching back to the John’s Gospel, because there would be no purpose in these Epistles if there wasn’t for the Gospel.
To show you what I mean, let’s start with the Holy Spirit’s PURPOSE of those two books. John describes his gospel’s purpose in John 20:30-31. “Many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” It is not entirely true, but you could say that purpose of John’s Gospel was EVANGELISTIC. His intention was reveal the Saviour to a lost world. So he emphasized the light of the world, the bread and water of life, the way, the truth and the life, etc. “In Christ was life, and the life was the light of men” – John 1:4. “As many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” – John 1:12. “Behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” – John 1:29. And those are all first just the first chapter of Johns’ gospel.
On the other hand, John’s EPISTLE was written to people who had already become saints of God. The Lord had already given them faith to humbly believe on Jesus’ name. So John calls his readers, “My little children,” and “sons of God” – “beloved” and “brethren.” And unlike his gospel, he says in this epistle, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that he may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” – I John 5:13. This epistle is written encourage to believers “that ye may KNOW that ye HAVE eternal life.” And also – that as believers, your lives may display your eternal life in Christ. “Every man that hath this hope (of eternal life) in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.” “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” – every kind and shade of idols.
A few minutes ago, we sang the children’s chorus: “One Door and Only One,” arranged by A.T. Hardy. The first couple of lines are: One door, and only one; And yet its sides are two, Inside and outside, On which side are you? One Door, and only one, And yet its sides are two, I’m on the inside, On which side are you? I’ve taken you to this chorus because it leads us back to the Lord Jesus. It reminds us of the different directions of John’s Gospel and his First Epistle.
In John 10 the Lord Jesus described Himself as the good shepherd and the door of the sheepfold. “Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep…. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture… I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep… My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” The point is – Christ is the door; inside that door is eternal life, but outside that door are wolves and death. “One door, and only one; And yet its sides are two, Inside and outside, On which side are you?” The Gospel of John, in a sense, looks at Christ, the door, from the outside. “Don’t you want to enter?” The Epistle of John looks at Christ, the door, from the inside. “Look what you have in Christ Jesus.”
Let’s listen to John, the epistolarian – the letter-writer – as he DESCRIBES that DIVINE DOOR.
“That which was from the beginning,” which we have seen, studied and handled, declare I unto you. These things we declare unto you that “ye also may fellowship with us and with God the Father and the Son.” Don’t be distracted, or discombobulated, by the neuter word: “THAT which was from the beginning.” This still refers to the Lord Jesus, but it points to all the things which revolve around Him. “That which was from the beginning,” is the Lord Jesus. Christ is the theme of this epistle. He is a part of the first word we read. And we cannot go wrong in studying the Lord Jesus.
But what does John mean by the word “the BEGINNING?” Depending on the context, different authors could refer to the beginnings of different things. But this is JOHN, and when John uses this word it is usually the beginning of all things. The Gospel of John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” And of course, the “Word” is capitalized because it refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ was at the beginning of everything; He was already the “I am” at the time of creation. In fact, He was the Creator – as much the Creator as the Father and the Spirit.
Both John’s epistle and his gospel begin at the same place – at the beginning of everything. I said that I wouldn’t refer very often to Revelation but I’ll break that rule almost immediately. In Revelation 1:8 the Son of God, Jesus Christ, speaks to John and through him to us. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” In Revelation 3 Christ is described as “the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.” The door with the two sides; the door which divides those who are inside and those who are outside, is the eternal Son of God.
What is so important about which side of door we face, is that eternal life is on only on one side. John says in verse 2 – “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.” And as the Lord Jesus said in John 10 – I am the door of the sheep…. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep… My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish…” This door – He who was with God the Father in the beginning – this alpha and omega – IS life eternal. And in one more verse from Revelation 21:6 – Christ said, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.” John, one whose heart was always filled with love toward his Saviour, never stopped talking about Him. And neither should we. Like the cream that rises to the top, we should often speak of the eternal life which we have in Christ.
What are some of the other things about this One who is the living Word?
He who was in the beginning when there existed nothing but God alone, eventually became “incarnate.” That is a theological term which means – the eternal Son of God took upon himself a body – a human body. “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” John tells us that he was privileged to join with other disciples in sharing what he learned of Christ.
“Which we heard…” For more than three years John listened to the voice, the words and the message of the living Word of God. He instinctively learned the intonation and inflections of that human voice. He could pick it out in any crowd. When he heard the voice of Christ, he stopped listening to other things, because this was important. We cannot overemphasize the importance of our listening to, and studying the One who is the Word of God.
“Which we have seen…” When John heard the voice of Christ, he lifted up his eyes from his meal, or from watching his steps. When John heard the voice of the Lord, he turned around and looked toward the source of that voice. When Jesus held a fish or a piece of bread, John learned to watch, because there could be a miracle coming. He saw how Jesus walked, he probably was eventually walking the same sort of way. He may have watched how Jesus combed his hair and washed his face.
Not only did John see Christ with his eyes, he “looked upon him.” This is not vain repetition – “seeing” and “looking.” The meaning of this second word is that he studied his Master; he meditated on Him and memorized Him. Christ is worthy of that degree of scrutiny. And by the way, those who knew Jesus most intimately could find no fault or sin in Him. Those who heard nearly every word He spoke, not only said, “never man spake like this man”… they also said “neither was guile found in his mouth.”
“And our hands have handled, of the Word of life.” I can only imagine how often John and the other disciples, actually touched their Saviour. Did they have the practice of shaking hands in greeting one another? Did they kiss the Saviour’s cheeks in greeting when they returned from a week-long preaching journey? I tend to think this may be referring to touching the body of Christ after His resurrection. “Thomas, do you doubt that I have arisen from the grave? Come over here and feel my wounds.” Did any of the disciples take up Jesus offer, even if they didn’t need any more strength to believe?
Bible scholars tell me that one of the purposes for this epistle was a particular brand of Greek heresy. We will probably come back to some of the specifics later. Those commentators think that these references to seeing, hearing and touching, are declarations of the genuine humanity and the incarnation of Christ. Whether so or no, “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.” “Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in in the flesh is not of God; and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” Without Christ, the door, there is no fellowship with God the Father, and it seriously damages any fellowship someone might have with the rest of Christ’s believers. What is the likelihood that Matthew the tax collector and Peter the fisherman would have been friends if Christ didn’t link them together. “One door, and only one; And yet its sides are two, Inside and outside, On which side are you?”
What else does John say about Christ in this epistle?
There is so much in this epistle that I won’t even try to be thorough at this time. There are three key words found throughout John’s books – “life,” “light” and “love.” I haven’t verified this factoid, because that is what a factoid is – an unverified fact. I have read that these three words are found 86 times in John’s gospel, and 66 times in this letter. Verse 5 reminds us “that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” And John’s Gospel begins with: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.”
Verse 7 reminds us that Jesus is the Saviour – the Forgiver and Cleanser from sin. “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” “One Door, and only one, And yet its sides are two, I’m on the inside, On which side are you?” Chapter 2, verse 1 – “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” One purpose for this epistle is to remind the Christian that living on the inside has responsibilities. “Thou hast faith, I have works. Shew me thy faith without thy works and I will show thee my faith by my works.” Sin not. But take heart Christian, “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” “And he is the propitiation for our sins.” He is the satisfaction for our sins before God the Father. I will try to explain these things later. This is just an introduction.
“That which was from the beginning” has always been the third person of the Trinity – God the Son. “This is the commandment, that we should believe on the name of (God’s) Son Jesus Christ, and (to) love one another, as he gave us commandment.” “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”
And at the appropriate time, the Son of God became the Messiah, the Christ. “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?” “He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.” “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God…” “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father; but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also,” because as Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” To deny the Son of God, is to close the door against ourselves, leaving ourselves outside God and without eternal life.
“And now, little children, abide in (Christ) that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not ashamed before him at his coming.” And “when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purified himself, even as he is pure.”
And with that we complete the circle – in Christ Jesus is life – eternal life. 5:12 – “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
Conclusion:
The Gospel of John sets forth Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, the Saviour. “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John recorded Jesus as saying: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” And Christ said to Mary, “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” And He said to Thomas, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John tells us that “Jesus spake again unto them saying, I am the light of the world, he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” “Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you; for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.”
In this First Epistle, John looks back at Christ as he revealed Him in the gospel and asks, “Are you on the inside or are you outside?” Some will say, “I just don’t know for sure.” And that is the purpose of this epistle. John gives us various tests to apply to ourselves. He tells us, “This is what those on the inside experience. Do you experience these things?” “This is what those on the inside do; this how they live.” “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that he may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” – I John 5:13.
“One door, and only one; And yet its sides are two, Inside and outside, On which side are you?”