He Came from Eternity

When Jesus Comes 1 John 1:1-2:2

As a young man, John was attracted by the personality and words of his cousin Jesus. Jesus so attracted him that he left a comfortable life as a fisherman to follow him. Now, much older and still following Jesus John writes this letter.

Over the years the word about Jesus had spread and many people followed him.  Yet from the beginning there were people who polluted the gospel with false teaching. John discovered that in some churches it was taking a hold and destroying absolute faith in Jesus and his word.

 

Much like our times: We hear many voices, often from so called Christian leaders proclaiming another gospel that removes the fundamentals of the true gospel and steals our hope. To name a few false words: The gospel is being polluted by cults, prosperity teaching, words of knowledge that oppose biblical teaching, the minimising of moral failure and distorting God’s word..

John writes with two basic aims: (1) To expose the false teachers (2:26) and (2) To give believers clear assurance of salvation (5:13)

John begins his letter motivated by personal memories of being with Jesus.

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. 2 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. (1 John 1:1-2) What a great start!

Can you grasp the life changing enthusiasm in John’s words?

He says: go back, to the beginning of the universe, then go back further, to before time. There you see Jesus with God––With God because he is God.

(3) We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, (personal experience) so that you also may have fellowship with us (having in common) and our fellowship is with the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ.

 

John says in affect: “Don’t try and tell me I didn’t experience Jesus!”

John can see clearly how false teaching was damaging people. As an apostle his joy in the Lord couldn’t be complete unless his readers shared the true knowledge of Jesus. We write this to make our joy complete. (4)

False teaching disrupts fellowship but truth unites true believers––to one another & to God. our fellowship is with the Father & the Son, Jesus Christ. 

John wants us to know Jesus is proclaimer of God’s message and the message itself––Jesus is the living Word of Life and the Way to complete life.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. (5-6)

The thing that keeps us from knowing and enjoying God is not allowing Jesus to be God in our lives. John calls this Walking in darkness (6b) Living a lie.

In contrast to walking in the darkness John calls allowing Jesus to be God in our, lives Walking in the light (7a)

If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (7)

The false teaching John confronts redefines sin. In our times sin becomes relative to social norms. People say we don’t need a saviour because we don’t sin. John won’t accept that. He proclaims the eternal reality and remedy for the consequences of sin. Sin begins with self deception.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (8)  People do this when they see sin as a moral situation––it’s spiritual.

John: “If we don’t admit we have sinned it doesn’t mean we haven’t”  

Yet sin can be dealt with properly and strongly. (more about this to come)

If we confess our sins, Jesus is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. (9-10)

Unbelief that ignores God’s word is the foundation to all sin––the moral consequences of unbelief. Sin not dealt with interferes with spiritual growth.

Confession of sin ( the moral consequences of unbelief) is essential for a good relationship with God. People need to know they are forgiven by God.

How forgiveness happens My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have one who speaks to the father in our defence––Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (2:1-2)

Hear this  Jesus speaks to the Father in our defence. He is our advocate or barrister but he’s more than this––The way and Remedy. He’s the way to being friends with God (propitiation). And he’s the remedy for our failures.

Two major errors were being taught in John’s time.

1.  That sin doesn’t cut people off from God.  People won’t measure their behaviour against God’s standards, so they make their own and convince themselves that God will be OK with these. He’s not! 

2.  People can be sinless.

No one is free from the consequences of sin. Sadly, many people live out their lives with it unrecognised.  Everyone needs the help offered by Jesus.

His grace and power are sufficient to deal with our past and present failures.

Jesus provides a free legal service  to everyone who comes to him. It’s worth a try––He’s never lost a case. Jesus negotiates our case with God. And he always wins us a pardon. This is because God accepts his life and his cross as both penalty and plea for us.

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (2:2).

The work of Jesus on the cross and now before God is sufficient for the salvation of everyone––The whole world.  Yet it’s only effective for some people––Those who come to him, believe in him, trust and follow him.

So, John writes, remembering the amazing time it was when he was with Jesus.  This ageing man remembers how his life was changed by Jesus. Now he can look back on a long life rich with personal experiences of the life giving grace of God in Jesus. Is it any wonder that he attacks false teaching. Is it any wonder that he seeks to protect God’s people from false teaching’s devastating affect. We should do likewise.