Introduction to 1 John

Alright let's all take your Bibles and let's look at first John tonight verse John actually have a Bible conference on to preach it three times in the outside of Dallas Fort Worth on about a month or so and they want me to focus on first John and it's been I would talk about decades since I studied the first John, so I thought I would do that again and I was gonna kick that off tonight and that's what were going to do, stay on track and do what we were going to do so first John chapter 1 verses one through four were surveys both an introduction and then immediate exposition if you will. First John one verse one. What was from the beginning what we have heard what we have seen without our eyes. What we have looked at and touched with our hands concerning the word of life and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the father and was manifested to us what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also so that you too may have fellowship with us and indeed our fellowship is with the father and with his son Jesus Christ. These things we write so that our joy may be made complete. Now this is written by the apostle John, the same apostle that wrote the gospel of John. It's of the gospel that unveils and speaks strongly of Jesus deity now.

The purpose of this writing is not unlike the purpose of many of the apostles. First of all, foremost is to strengthen believers and build up local churches. You can't really put your finger anywhere in the New Testament whether not a strong centeredness on the local church and so that's Johnny's writing to these scattered churches across the Asia province of Asia website should say the ancient Roman Empire and he saying I want to strengthen you folks and build you up in the truth that centered in Jesus Christ.

I think a companion emphasis there is that he wants to strengthen and affirm the true pastors and leaders of these churches that connects to the third aspect of purpose and that is that he wants to expose and refute the heresies that have sneaked into these churches. So by affirming the leaders the true leaders he's telling the churches follow your true pastors do not listen to the false teachers who has as Jude should have crept in among you.

Now this is that the false teaching is basically centered around Gnosticism. Now Gnosticism is like an octopus's got a lot of technicals a lot of aspects to it, but that the Gnostics had an arrogance and elitist spirit and attitude of superiority about them and they would tell the folks you gotta look to us and you gotta follow us if you want to know the true Christ and embrace true Christianity and therefore be truly say. And so what was happening. The elder John the apostle had good understanding that too many in the churches were being impressed by the.

The pseudo-intellectualism and elitism of these Gnostic charities heresies rather that were creeping in. We do know from church history.

By the second century Gnosticism was having the largest and unfortunately effective inroad into the established churches. Now let's talk about Gnosticism in its broadest sense I know there's a lot of scholars have done a lot of work and break it down into bears parts of Gnosticism would look at is one broad octopus was look at the head of the octopus is not examine all the tentacles so much again on the basic premise of Gnosticism was in elitism, but the doctor that came out of their elitism was this concept that all physical material or matter was inherently hopelessly evil.

Everything that was material was severe redeemable E evil and so anything that was of physical nature and not of a spiritual nature was corrupt and had no virtue.

Our value in it whatsoever now that we talked about Jesus.

Therefore, the Gnostics would say enough Jesus to be holy could have never had a physical body. He was a spirit being. And in one branch of Gnosticism. They said the spirit just came into this body at Jesus baptism, and then when Jesus went to the cross. I'd say with the spirit that was the true Jesus left that body on the cross. Simple Jesus is just a spook that came in nobody for a while and stay for a while and then left for a while because again when you have false doctrine, the dominoes start falling and you got a come of all kinds of conclusions that are on biblical and erroneous. And so that's where they were now when you believe that all matter is inherently evil that is from the get go. It's evil and it always will be evil then usually one or two extremes happen, dominoes start falling into directions of the first direction would be asceticism. That's where their severe self-denial is a severe and rigid legalism just an abundance of rules and everything is bad and harsh heavy burden of legalism.

You could say the some of the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus days were leaning in that direction of asceticism, extreme self-denial will also, if you teach well at all physical matters evil in the body just basically evil and there's nothing we can do about it.

We can't fix the things of this give in and let go. Whatever you desire. Whatever your lust may be just unbridled sexual expression and much lasciviousness. The Bible is a old word King James uses where you just given to unbridled passions and lust, which is much of what our culture does today in our culture puts a spin on it. They say this is basically good to their calling, good evil and evil good, which is allies not good. It's evil and sinful. This is contrary to the creator who made us to function in a certain way, including in our sexuality. So this was beginning to happen.

Asceticism, severe self-denial, one head and then licentiousness just unrestrained six expression on the other. And under under all are. Rather, the, the, the arching theme over all of this was we have superior knowledge we have special insight. Others do not have.

Now this is truly what the New Testament call the doctrines of demons. If you are Satan you want to trip up the church when you want to get them off Christ into excessive legalism and are what you want to get them off of Christ into self-indulgence and lustful pursuits will that's exactly what the doctrines of demons that I don't care which way they can take you as long as I can take you off of Christ to get you into these false philosophies and notions now. John didn't claim that these Gnostics were elitist and John didn't teach that they had superior knowledge. John called them antichrist. That's the word he uses and we would talk a lot about that is we look at first John on Sunday nights.

So when it came to these Gnostic heresies that came to these false teachings that taught an error about who Jesus was and what his nature was, and the resulting practices that came out of that this apostle of love as he is called and you call that as you look at this was no adverse John how much he refers to the love of God that's in the church and among the brethren with this apostle of love we find out, turned into a strong son of thunder to refute and condemn these false teachings. The date of the writing is roughly about 85 A.D. 1095 A.D. and the toll this is just an older even grandfather who is as a patriarch trying to guide the younger church into the truth.

That's interesting. If you compare the gospel of John with the epistles of John, we find that some in the gospel of John.

He's writing to prove Jesus deity, and assuming that everybody held the Jesus humanity. But now things have changed in a new era Gnostic errors come in. So in first John, he's writing to prove Jesus humanity, and assuming Jesus deity. So here's my point, and weep. I point this out to you so very many times the calling to the pastorate in an and in one of the primary purposes and obligations of a faithful pastor is to constantly refute the error that is always unrelentingly trying to get into the church in Giotto one had had had been posted on the deity of Christ. A few decades past. Now that another humanity of Christ and then do so an assortment of errors in between. So we always have to do that as God's faithful pastors and I hope that wherever you are and whatever church you may attend. If you're not part of race like church that you're sitting under a pastor who takes seriously are take serious and is diligent about defending the true faith and exposing the heresies that try to come creeping into the church. Now let's try to unpack this just a little bit here doing something about a running exposition. I just have two main points here I would be the head of the church. The divine human Jesus, the head of the church.

The divine human Jesus. Now I use it, because what John's icicle Savior is the head of the true Church of the one you ought to truly claim to is the Jesus who is fully human and fully God at the same time this so-called Jesus of Gnostic heresy is not the true church head is not the true Savior and you need to reject him that he says they are in verse one that simple phrase. What was from the beginning.

Now just looking at that you would say all this talk about the E turn out to Jesus could be. I'm not saying that it doesn't include that. But I don't think that's the main purpose are the main meaning here when he says in the beginning I think he's talking about in the beginning of the church age. In other words, when God first begin to rebuild the truth of who Christ was and what salvation is.

This was the teaching at the very beginning, when the truth came out. This is what it was we need to get back to that's what he think this evolution, so-called truth that the Gnostics talk about is an error.

We need to go back to as Jude would say the faith once for all listener that the faith once for all delivered to the saints, brothers and sisters. What was true in the first century is true in the 21st century.

It's always been true and when you go back to the beginning.

That's why we hold to the absolute authority and full sufficiency of the word of God, because it's been once for all delivered to the saints.

Ask if it makes I will.

That's just that's just silly presupposition and silly faith.

Call it what you want with the spirit of God brings the child of God to the conviction that the word of God is fully authoritative and all sufficient. We go to what was given in the beginning and the doctrines that we hold in standalone RP end and settled in the canon of Scripture, so he saying here. This go back to the original truth of Christ.

Now show you that I think why I think this is the meaning of the phrase from the beginning here. Look at first John 27 would turn over there first John chapter 2 verse seven is his blood and not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you've had from the beginning the old commandment is the word which you've heard is that I'm trying to get you back to the original teaching of the church which is the true teaching for the church now verse 24th of a first John chapter 2 pieces. As for you, let that abide in you, which you heard from the beginning.

Remember those doctrines that we apostle's first taught you go back to that.

He said if what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also about in the son of the father. If you're holding to the original doctrines we gave you, then you are your abiding in the true son who is the son of the true heavenly father and then chapter 3 verse 11 we see he's repeating this concept all through here for this is the message which you have heard from the beginning that we should love one another.

So think that's the idea here, the original truth before the false teachers came in and misled you. Now he goes on in the back to our original text here in first John chapter 1 and we see the phrase at the end of verse one concerning the word of life, and I want to go here because this is the original truth that you need to grab hold of. He is the word of God to the words he is God's message to man. He's God manifested to man, just as our words. When we speak to others express what we think and how we feel. So Christ reveals to man God's mind and God's heart, John 14 verse nine tells us, he that has seen me has seen the father.

I am the true expression of God now, so he saying to the believers he's writing to the same to us today.

When you know this, Jesus, the one that was originally talk to you. The one I originally revealed to you in my wrist back in the beginning with the church age was starting water when you first begin to hear the truth that Jesus, if you hold him if you know him, then you know God by consequence and contrast of what he's getting at here. If you're not holding to him. If you're holding to this Jesus of Gnostic heresy, which is a false Jesus that you don't know God the father, and you don't have true salvation now. Next we notice that God chose to reveal his message to man through a literal actual person.

Notice what he says there verse one excesses in verse two and he says again. Verse three no say words and what was from the beginning, here we go, what we heard he was literally human. He could speak what we have seen with her eyes.

He was literally human. We saw what we have looked at. He just reemphasizes a second notice how you been just amplifies this and repeats this what we have touched with our hands. He was a literal human event again in verse two. What we have seen that we testified to verse three what we have seen and heard.

He wasn't just a spirit emanating. He was fully human.

At the same time he was fully God and he was fully God's revelation are God's message to mankind.

So we have the what the theologians would call Jesus is the God man. He's 100% man as if he were not got it all. He's 100% God as if he were not man at all. How do you explain that we can explain it.

It's a it's a mystery. We just think about that.

A moment ago, but aren't you glad we have a faith that resides in one that's bigger than human logic that's bigger than human notions only caught could've done this well.

He talks about his E turn out to you in verse two and the life was manifested again. The word manifested even if this is his physical body he was there and we seen a testified and proclaim to you that here's the phrase the eternal life. So John gives us what our natural mines would appear to be a paradox sees God's eternal peace. God's revelation to man.

He's fully human. We could seen we could touch and we could look at it. He's manifested right there is, but he's also eternal life. Wow, this is the lot. I mean, apart from the spirit just giving you a rest and separateness about this. It's mind blowing. It really is. He's of the, not a piece of the eternal life. He's Jesus is the life that has no beginning and is the life that has snow in Jesus is the life if you will that all other life began from and he's the life that all other life depends on was a Colossians where Paul wrote all things are held together by him. I've said it many times, that if if everything that sticks together in the universe right now that the science will tell us your you're sitting where you are. Your homes or wherever you are and it's the law of gravity that holds everything to get together like this. Well, that's one way to describe it with the Bob would say no that's the personal present persistent power of Jesus Christ. If, for one moment Jesus removed his old things would fly apart in the chaos. He is everything depends on him. He sustains everything in him. Jesus is an infinite quality and an infinite quantity of life. He, in effect, is the God life. No man has a biological existence naturally but since man's morning to see if he knows nothing of this eternal life. This God life. We might even say that this is the kind of life.

Adam and Eve had before they sinned and failed in the garden of Eden. Then again in verse two he uses that phrase was manifested. He has been revealed openly to us.

It's as if grandpa Johnny's an old man you're right so that kind of tone. Actually it's as if grandpa apostle John is saying guys do you not understand it, that the truth is not in the Gnostic heresies, the people who would diminish the nature of Jesus and say never had a real body do not understand.

He physically probably was manifested to us and he was life of God, the God life is a question for us. If you were God, how would you have manifested your self to man. I guarantee you none of us would chose the way God did it, but you think the lowly virgin wood you've taken to be a carpenter's son, would you have chosen that he would come from an insignificant family from an unimportant city and on and on we could to go, but he was God and eternal life manifested to man.

So again, John shows that he himself knows this, Jesus and is wanting them to continue clinging to, and holding to this Jesus by fax six times in this epistle, John uses the phrase born of God. I think one or two others uses the phrase born of him so he saying he's the heat he's the salvation, not this false Jesus of Gnostic heresy, but the true Jesus that was in the doctrines we originally thought and preached to you is pointed talking about Tom being being born of God is that that there has to be a spiritual experience whereby you have the life that Jesus came to give and Jesus came to manifest now. The second thing, not only the head of the church. The divine human Jesus, but let's talk about the health of the church which is fellowship with God.

Think about it that's the health of the church. If we want to have a healthy church we need church members to fellowship with God. Now, first of all, that means they have truly been born again.

They know him, but it means also there holding to him, and by the way John sporting out here there holding to the sound doctrine about him, which is essential to hold to him that did you hear that you hold to the sound doctrine and sound teaching about him which is holding to him to sub points are put under this main title of the health of the church fellowship. God is a full fellowship enjoying all that you have in this Christ.

We preached to you in verse three he says what we have seen and heard and we proclaim to you. Also so that you too may have fellowship with us and indeed our fellowship is with the father and with his son Jesus Christ that this kind of fellow shipping with God and by the way the local church is so prominent here. My fellowship with God is inseparably linked with my fellowship with other believers. The John says I want you to know all to be connected to million fellowship with me in this and in fellowship with one another and altogether were in fellowship with Jesus and God the father, you've heard it, probably many times I don't know I probably wasn't a Christian at a year or so when I heard somebody say will Christian fellowship is all the fellows in the same ship growing in the same direction.

Good and that, what about this Christian fellowship is all the fellows resting in the ship. Jesus as the word guides the course and the wind of the Holy Spirit feels the sales that's the full kind of fellowship we need to have with our God and with one another. Now the false teachers would contradict John here, the false teachers would say no, no, no, that's not enough. If you're embracing Jesus Christ the one John taught in the one your apostles taught you from the beginning, then you're missing something. Things have evolved and we now have higher knowledge and a deeper understanding and you have to you have to sit at our feet and be submissive to our teaching. If you're going to really know God judges the way if you know the Jesus we talked and you have full fellowship with God and we can have full fellowship one with another. Actually, there's an important point to be made in the tips of the verb here, look at that, if you will attend. Verse three again and the life was manifested, we have seen, intensified, and proclaim to you the eternal life. I'm sorry members to down verse three what we have seen and heard we proclaim.

You also so that you may its present tense so that you may keep on having fellowship with us and the emphasis would just carry on through and we keep on having fellowship with the father together with you and with his son Jesus Christ. So if you are holding to the true doctrine of Christ.

He's the God man he accomplished salvation in the humans eternal life in him is forgiveness of sins. Then if you keep on holding to him, then you are having the full fellowship. God intends for you to have one scholar named Kissinger said, what you believe. Doctrinally, department determines whether you have full fellowship practically doctrine matters sound teaching matters greatly in the church. I think unfortunately end and a lot of bad distant evangelical circles today.

There such sometimes is not false doctrine is a sort of theological there's not much taught it all and people believe all kinds of things and people join the church under a false premise of a hoop jump type of approach to church membership are to salvation and church membership, and so are very often people are gathered together in what's called a church and they have cooperation, maybe in some ways they have toleration together in some ways they have an operation mechanization, but they don't have full fellowship by don't have that life folks you must be born again. Johnson sent three times. You must be born of God and then you have Christ you have him. It was manifested in the flesh. He's fully human. He's fully divine. But he he has the eternal life, and as he lives in us, then we have fellowship with God and we have full fellowship one with the other. There's no other way to have an effect the false teachers are trying to rob you of this full fellowship and I'm trying to save you from that well. Lastly, not only under the health of the church fellowship with God. We see him talking about a full and I might even at a true fellowship. Also, he talks about a complete joy. Verse four. These things we write so that our joy may be made complete. Now this is talking about a pastoral joy. John is saying it if you guys will hold to sound truth and love the Christ. We preached to you from the beginning, this divine human Christ who has eternal life. Then when we hear that and we hear the sweet love and fellowship.

You have to one another and for this Christ then as your apostle i.e. as your pastor, it makes my joyful father John actually uses the plural program, our joys talk about himself and his associate leaders and teachers that are with him and I can tell you as a pastor of a local church.

There's nothing there's nothing to compare with the joy of watching your people not come out of sin. The middle purposes are our emotionalism, but that there's a real indication that they are grasping true doctrine biblical doctrine centered in Christ they give full evidence of knowing him and having the law, the true eternal life, only he can give them and their we all have it together. We all connect were one.

We love each other we need each other.

It is just is just it just brings a joy it just brings joy and I think probably all of us to one extent or another might be in your own families. Who knows where at school thousand different places. You have folks through who call themselves Christians are not initially saying there they are, are not, but they don't hold to sound doctrine. They don't hold to the great truths of Scripture and you love him, but it diminishes the joy, the fellowship doctrine matters holding to the truth matters. It certainly matters about the joy we have one with the other. If these believers remain sound. The end they can have the kind of fellowship.

God intends for the church to have and then it will bring the great fullness of joy that Johnson would give him but it didn't just John.

So the ones that have joined this, they certainly are going to have joint unit two. Joy is the wonderful byproduct of fellowship with God to listen and fellowship with one another that Lone Ranger Christian that man thinks he's an island in the Pacific studies bobbling teaches about his family if he didn't really need a local church. He misses everything just talk about. He does not have the fellowship with like-minded believers that breeds the kind of wonderful joy.

Listen joy. The world knows nothing of joy. The world cannot even comprehend. Psalm 1611. The Bible says, in thy presence is fullness of joy. Sin promises joy, but it's actually a lot Satan in his provisions of sin know nothing of true joy. They know the passing pleasures of sin, but is not true joy.

John 1622 says your joy. No man taketh from you.

This Jesus know can take our joy and and in an application of where we are right now can I say this no crashing economy can take away your joy.

No coronavirus can take away your joy. That's what's wonderful about that. Now I want you know, out there in the live stream land. We have our Sunday night crowd here tonight we had about eight or nine this morning.

We got about 45 here tonight's expense about our Sunday night crowd. All right, but some even in these situations and and when when were there some anxiety and there's some stress about that. I understand that I'm telling you when I get around my wife when I get around my family when I get around the madman, Tom. They're here for the bill in these other brothers here when we get around one another. We hold to this Christ is truth about credit. There's a joy in their I can explain it. I can't verbalize and I want to but my vocabulary the Mets vocabulary I could do about scant new it. It's just a fullness of joy. That's what John's getting mad like we got each of the sound doctrine so they can know him and then know this joy is material books. Good stuff. John 1511 these things I've spoken to you that joy might remain in you actually says that my joy should remain in you, and that your joy then but before I guess that's a great place that's a question. Do you have is joy in you that sometimes you can be a child of God and youth focused too much on worldly happiness and not all that's evil but you rob yourself of true joy.

You took a weak substitute for the real things. What you did. So here Johnson joy over them if they'll keep holding to the true Jesus that he preached to them from the beginning is the same as our joy that we have is fellowship in together as brothers and sisters in our local churches together, let me conclude just a couple thoughts about Christian joy, could I do that, first of all, again joy is unique to believers injustice and I know when I say this a lot because I experienced it. You can go into a professing congregation and there's almost always some real and genuine. Dear saints of God there but unfortunately, too often, the majority don't look like saints of God, and you fellowship with them and you don't feel this fellowship. I'm talking about. You don't since this communion, you don't. Since this oneness and you don't experience this fullness of joy with them and so you eat you so you get kind of you actually don't really know what it feels like, and then if God let you get on the fellowship where there is a strong majority of people who are truly regenerate further not.

Certainly not perfect, but they're humble and faithful repent theirs as they live their lives in their walking in the streets. Then you begin to experience this joy and that is unique. It does not exist in the earth but in Christians they don't stop there.

And Christians in fellowship together. Thanks. Both if you want full joy.

You need to know Christ, the true Christ. Paul on genre the preached of these believers for the Christ, the Christ of true sound doctrine and you must have brothers and sisters in Christ, to fellowship with the sword together to minister together to minister to each other to evangelize together and there's great joy in its unique to believers happiness you see is something that is so part of common grace, happiness depends on circumstances, joy depends on Christ.

Think about it. Joy depends on your joy my joy in Christ depends on the immovable unshakable, unchanging, victorious, ever faithful soon coming center of all pleasures, Jesus Christ. That's what our joy depends on digital take that away from me. This will take that away from us. He is the core of Christian contentment and Christian joy. Now, again, happiness is not necessarily sin.

Happiness is not necessarily evil. As I said, it's it it's a part of the common grace you may have been happy about the coming of spring.

I was I was looking forward to the trees butting in the flowers blooming and the weather get getting warmer and turkey hunting in all the things that spring brings and then all the sudden the corona virus comes in and my happiness and springs been diminished.

Just – just got his gun like a fog over spring now but it can diminish my joy.

It can't remove the joy that I have, because Jesus lives in my heart. So happiness is not necessarily even I can be evil people can have happiness in sin rebel all the things we know that with lots of happiness is that a part of common graces that are not asserted evil but happiness is just greatly overrated.

Did you hear that it's not listed wrong just greatly overrated. It had when we watch social media are.

We watch the world and we want our televisions or whatever we watch and you see what the world values what their living for and they're trying to squeeze out of every molecule of temporal happiness, everything they can get this like it's just never, never, never, never enough. You know why that is never, never, never enough because it's never, never, never enough, but I'm telling you Jesus that if you drink this water you'll never thirst again. He has a fountain of joy that is infinite, as his person is infinite and brothers and sisters in Christ. Making application to our present day.

There are times that our God out of love for us, may remove temporal things that make us happy so that we might more deeply find in him a far greater and far deeper joy that's found only in him. So as the things of this world have grown strangely DM in the present environment. May your joy in him increase exponentially.

John's writings as I want you folks to make my joyful and all of our joy