01/18/2025 – Prologue – We are very near the end of a delightful journey through the Pastoral Letters. Yet to study we have [1, 2, and 3 John; Jude]. We may have 8 sessions based on the number of verses. The John letters were written by John, apostle, evangelist and called, the elder’. He wrote these letters in c AD 85-95. The gospel of [John] was written c AD 90; [Revelations] c AD 95. He wrote the letters to various churches to establish and encourage the faith of John’s contemporaries. Just imagine how helpful and poignant it will be for 2025! The preceding is a brief overview; we may add special notations before each book dealing with what we may search for book by book. We have talked about scriptures being divinely inspired. Note: the Holy Spirit utilizes the background, life experiences and writing style unique to each author.
[1 John 1:1-4] – The Word of Life – We pray this will be an awe-inspiring writing that develops the interconnectedness of ‘believing right’ and ‘doing right.’ This is very astute especially when applied to our leaders. We have talked about the impossibility of holding inconsistencies. John refers to those to whom he is writing as children. This is not meant to be demeaning it is used as an expression of endearment to those he truly loved. The purpose of [1 John] is to answer the question: “Who is Jesus Christ? John’s answer is consistent, God’s answer is consistent. Look for it and hold fast.
John leaps right in, overlooking the typical salutations others used. In 1919 Lincoln Steffens, a leftist writer returned to the US from the ‘Soviet Union’ extolling the virtue of this new government and its plans to sweep away tyranny and oppression. Many hoped this was true and were pleased that in the future all of humanity would be saved. This dream crashed 70 years later and did great damage; due to the fallacy of inconsistent principles. The Jews believed their history was divided into two periods: the ‘present age’ - a time of misery, suffering, injustice and oppression; and the ‘age to come’ or ‘coming age’ when God would sort it out, put everything right, and rescue His people from the evil they had suffered. We left [2 Peter] with some concern for its translation and in [1 John] we are face with the question again. We find in [v. 2] the word ‘eternal’ (ESV) or ‘age to come’ or ‘coming age’ (NTW).
Back to the ‘present age’; we have to end that age to reach the ‘age to come’. The ‘present age’ began with Jesus and by extension the ‘age to come’ will begin. John, Paul, and even Jesus reveal this to us in [Matt. 24]; He reveals this in His stories of the “Coming of the Son of Man” [Matt. 24:29-31] and “No One Knows the Time”, [Matt. 24:36-50] What is important is that when Jesus was born, we were able to get a glimpse of the ‘age to come’ [v. 1]. Many were not ready. Jesus was the Life: taking the form of a human, coming to the ‘present age’ to display God’s future age. John is emphatic about seeing, hearing, in fellowship with, and touched by God. God came among us. Allow that to engulf us. And we are His brothers and sisters. We see the future: it is filled with light, life, joy and hope.
John will explore this theme throughout the remainder of the letter. For those who have seen this life, and have been captured by its promise have come to realize they are within a new family. Some refer to it as fellowship because it is more than mere friendship. It is a common sharing of God which we execute through Jesus. Think: How John, the other apostles, early followers and family members actually felt, saw, heard, and talked with Jesus/God. This was true also after Jesus’ crucifixion, death and burial. Jesus was life-in-person within God’s coming age. Jesus was God’s own new life and the gift of God to the world.
Here is the breathtaking aspect of what we learn from John. The deep sharing of reality, the “fellowship” between Father and Son was extended to all who came to know, trust and love Jesus while He was alive. That is now available to all who have not met while Jesus lived on earth. It is through telling others about Jesus that the “fellowship” can and is extended to others. The key is speech. God spoke Jesus to life and John tells us ‘The word became flesh.’ Jesus spoke to His disciples. The disciples spoke to others; that they also might speak in ‘fellowship’. And that is the whole point of this letter and of our walk.
[1 John 1:5-2:2] – God’s Light and Our Darkness – We all must be encouraged by the preceding paragraph. But what if we have already made a mess of our lives via stupidity, carelessness or wickedness? Some folks even try to drive God away from themselves. Moses and the burning bush [Ex. 3:22]; Isaiah seeing God in the temple [Isa. 6:1-13]; Peter meeting Jesus on the boat [Luke 5:8-11]; John seeing the risen Jesus [Rev. 1:12-20]. This may be our reaction when being asked to join in fellowship with the Father and the Son. In God, there is no darkness so we are challenged to reconcile that with God’s intentions. The darkness that intrudes on our messy, inconsistent lives causes us to feel shame. Perhaps with prayer we will be able to straighten it all out. There is no point in hiding; especially if we pretend to be in fellowship with God. The truth is - if we try to say we are w/o sin we deceive ourselves. We do not/cannot deceive God! In fact, if we say we are w/o sin we make matters worse. [v. 10] God has said, his purpose is to rescue us while we are still sinners. God’s future has already been displayed. The blood that flowed from Jesus on the cross, the very lifeblood of God, flowed to atone for our sins. That sacrifice is available to all who walk in the light, but it is we who must turn toward the light. When we do, we acknowledge that we have erred, we do not wish to hide it and are determined to live sinfully no longer. Each element is necessary. Two things then happen: We share and imitate a God-like life with God and others; and Jesus’ blood makes us feel clean and fresh inside. That persistent feeling of lack of cleanliness, sullied, stained goes away when we turn toward the light and walk in it! John encourages us to face the past, there is no point in hiding. God knows! And He knows more than we remember. If we come clean with our past, He will forgive and cleanse. [1:9] If we think the more sinful, the more forgiveness we are delusional; part of the forgiveness process is a promise to ‘amend my life’. The promise of forgiveness extends not only to the people of Israel. Jesus extended that message to all He met, to all of His disciples and to all of their disciples. That is why John is writing this letter - so all of its readers might come to share this divine fellowship! AMEN
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