Pastor Chris’ Corona Quarantine Epistles to the Flock of AIC Ngong Road, in Dispersion and Isolation. 71st. Edition.
Dear Citizens of Heaven,
Today we begin a new series in the First Letter of the Apostle John. In today’s passage (1 John 1:1-4), the apostle jumps right into the subject matter, disregarding introductions and other preliminaries. This is a hint, that his mind was preoccupied with the matters he addresses here. A wave of false teaching was sweeping across the Christian world of that time and John is eager to warn the believers.
I once heard a story about fake currency. Bank cashiers are trained to recognize counterfeits by familiarizing themselves with genuine currency notes. When the teller knows the feel, look, and sound of the rustle of a genuine note, he will be able to pick out any counterfeit. This is what John is doing about the counterfeit gospel. He wants his readers to have a grasp of the truth.
They then will be able to smell a lie from miles away. Extended (v. 1a). John talks about something that was “from the beginning.” This echoes one of John’s other writings, In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2). To make things clear right from the beginning, the subject of John’s discussion is eternal.
He “extends” to the eternal past. Examined (v. 1b). The eternal that John talks about was also subjected to the senses. They heard his voice, they saw him and scrutinized his appearance, and touched him. The false teachers were saying that Jesus Christ (the Word that was from the beginning) did not have a real human body. That his earthly body had been a phantom, much like the appearances of angels, who have no material bodies.
John says we confirmed it with our senses, Christ’s body was real. Experienced (v. 2). John says he and the other apostles bear witness, not from hearsay, but from their encounter with Jesus, who was manifested (revealed) to them. The credibility of their witness is verifiable. Any court of law would accept it as valid. Expressed (v. 3a). This verified truth is what John and the other apostles proclaim. There is a veiled implication here, that the false are declaring things they have no personal experience with.
It is easy to say things that we are not sure of confidently. Conviction is not a confirmation of truth. Some of the false teachers we encounter today are the most passionate preachers of all, but their lie remains a lie, a passionate lie. Expected (vv. 3b-4). John adds that they proclaim the truth so that the readers can Have Fellowship with them (v. 3b). Fellowship means to share or to have in common. The basic minimum for fellowship is a shared faith. If a person teaches falsehood, we have no business fellowshipping with him/her. We do not have to agree on everything, but there are irreducible minimums. If a person does not believe Jesus is God who became man, died on the cross, was buried and on the third day rose from the dead (John 1:14; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4), that person is not a Christian! Have Fullness of Joy (v. 4). Joy is a state of peace in the confidence that things are in control.
When we know who Christ is and what he has done for us, we will not be fazed by anything. Even when everything looks bleak and dreary, we will be confident that God is in charge and will cause “all things to work together for our good” (Romans 8:28). That is fullness of joy.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.