They Went Out from Us

“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” (I John 2:19)

Judas Iscariot was not the last person to betray Jesus and forsake all that our Savior stands for. As John says in the previous verse, “even now are there many antichrists.”

These people in this verse were not the Christians who stop coming to church a while and then come back and become involved again. This is speaking of the person who never really accepted Christ or His teaching. They are the ones who are totally in favor some false doctrine, some antichrist teaching.

Many years ago a lady dropped out of church. When I called on her she was fully involved in the false doctrine of the cult that teaches, “This man Jesus is dead, forever dead.” That religion says that hell is the grave, so there is no need of a Savior. They somehow make the 144,000, of the seventh chapter of Revelation, refer to them. She was never a true believer in and follower of Jesus. She liked her new found religion and totally forsook Jesus and those who follow Him.

Her actions revealed that she was never a part of Christ nor was she ever a true believer in the clear teaching of the Bible.

Many Antichrists

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby ye know that it is the last time.” (I John 2:18)

If you have read your Bible even a little you know that not every person, not every being in the spirit world believe in Jesus. They are not for Him. Herod the king would have killed Jesus when He was born. Judas Iscariot was never for Him. The Jews would have stoned Him to death on occasion and finally had their way and had Him crucified on a Roman cross.

We read in the Bible about “Antichrist” coming in the last days. He will be a false Christ and many people will follow him. The prefix, “anti” can mean, “substitute,” or, “opposition,” or, “denial.”

Even now, before the antichrist is revealed, there are many false prophets promoting their false Christs and false religions who offer a substitute in place of the biblical Christ or who are opposed to Him or totally deny Him.

The Christ of the Bible is the One you can trust and follow. He alone is the true Son of God, the Savior of lost souls.

Trade in your Temporary Life for Eternal Life

“And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” (I John 2:17)

The Puritan preacher, Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” saw the world as hanging by a slender thread over the fires of hell. Only when we see the world and its system in such precarious danger will we turn our hearts away and focus our trust and devotion to something more substantial.

The Christian, living the Christian life and devoted to Jesus, is laying up treasures in heaven. Not only does he abide with Jesus down here, he looks forward to abiding with the Lord forever.

Trade in your old, moth eaten, filthy, tattered and torn garments of worldliness and be clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Three Areas of Temptation

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (I John 2:16) 

The strongest Christians among us need to be cautioned about the temptations of the world. John had just written to some Christians commending them for their walk with the Lord.

He now warns these stalwart Christians about the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. It was through those three that Satan tempted Eve in the garden. She saw that the tree was good for food (the lust of the flesh). It was pleasant to the eyes (the lust of the eyes). She saw that it was a tree to make one wise (the pride of life). She succumbed to Satan’s temptations. (Genesis 3:6)

Satan tried the same appeal on Jesus in the wilderness following His forty days of fasting. Three times Jesus responded with the word of God saying to Satan, “It is written.” (Luke 4:1-13) The Bible says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) Satan left Jesus for a while.

Satan will tempt you in one of those areas: the flesh, the eyes or pride. Hide the word in your heart and be ready to stand your ground against the devil.

Claiming to Love God while Having a Love Affair with the World

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (I John 2:15)

Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24) No one can have divided loyalties. Samson tried that and it brought about his ruin. (Judges 13-16)

The “world” John is writing about is not the beautiful planet on which we live. He is writing of the world system with all its evil, hatred and lusts. It is that world under the control of the devil.

God loved the world (Mankind) and sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, to be the perfect sacrifice that would pay for man’s sin. But the world here is the system with God left out. Paul tells us of a man named Demas who forsook him in his darkest hour, “having loved this present world.” (II Timothy 4:10)  Many a church could testify of being forsaken by those who love the world.

We are commanded to “love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind.” (Matthew 22:37) That doesn’t leave room for loving the world and lusting after all it promises us.

Who Do You Know?

“I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” (I John 2:14)

A group of little boys were bragging about who their fathers knew. “My dad knows the mayor of our town,” boasted one. Another said, “My dad knows the president of the bank.” “My dad knows the governor of the state,” boasted another. Without hesitation the last one said, “My dad knows God.”

He that is “from the beginning,” is the One mentioned in I John 1:1-3. He created all things and holds the universe together. These mature believers knew the eternal God of mercy, love, grace, power and providence.

The young men mentioned here are strong because the word of God is abiding in them. They know what it is to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. They know that victory is theirs because they have put on the whole armor of God. (Ephesians 6:10-11) They are “over-comers.”

Do you know God? Is the word of God abiding in you? Receive Him by faith today.

Do You Know Father God?

“I write unto you little children, because ye have known the Father.” (I John 2:13c)

This is the second time in as many verses that John addresses the “Little Children,” the babes in Christ.

Many years ago I was called to pastor a church in a community where my father had grown up and the same church where he attended as a child and as a young man. Many times I would hear, “I knew your father. He was a good man and a friend.” It was wonderful to hear such statements. But of all the people who knew my father I knew him best.

They knew “about” my father but I knew him as, “Daddy.” He and I worked in the fields together. We talked together. We drank from the same dipper hanging over the water bucket. We sat at the same table and ate our meals together. He disciplined and corrected me. I knew my father because we spent much time together.

John says of these babes in Christ, “Ye have known the Father.”  Many people today know about God but they do not know God. Accept Christ as your Savior and be “born again” into the family of God. Get to know the Father personally and intimately.

The Strength of Youth

“… I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one…”
(I John 2:13 b)

These young men to whom John is writing now are not babes in Christ. They are on the way along the path that leads to spiritual maturity. They are not seasoned veterans; they are willing workers.

Adolph Rupp, for many years coach of the University of Kentucky men’s basketball teams, Ed Diddle of Western Kentucky University men’s basketball and John Wooten, for years head coach of men’s basketball at UCLA no longer played the game of basketball when I started watching these teams play. They coached the young men who had the strength and stamina to run up and down the court. Neither old men nor children go to the front lines when our nation goes to war.

These young men in our scripture have overcome the devil, perhaps as a result of the coaching and instruction of the mature fathers from the side lines.

As we grow as Christians we experience more and more of God’s great presence and see Him take us to the front lines of battle in our fight against the devil.

Experiencing God

“I write unto you fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning…”
 (I John 2:13)

The “little children” to whom John speaks in the previous verse are the new Christians, the “babes in Christ.” They have just begun their walk with the Lord.

In the passage before us today John, being inspired by the Holy Spirit, is writing to the more mature saints. These have grown in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord and Savior. These could sing with John Newton in his song, “Amazing Grace,” “Through many dangers toils and snares I have already come; ‘tis grace that brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home.”

God will give us what we need to grow. It is up to us to use what He gives us. To grow we must spend time in the Bible, reading, studying and meditating on it. We must spend time with God in prayer.

To grow we must not run from our problems, but stand firm in faith, believing our Lord is present to see us through. In Psalm 23 the psalmist sees us going through the valley of the shadow of death with the Shepherd’s presence: not running from the problems in the valley. To run from the problems in the valley is to not experience the sustaining presence of the Shepherd to see us through.

Babes in Christ

“I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for His name’s sake.” (I John 2:12)

John is writing to “babes in Christ.” He is giving them the “milk of the Word.” When we come to know Christ as our Savior we do not know much about the Christian walk. About all we know is that our sins have been forgiven through the blood of Christ. I once heard evangelist Billy Graham say that we in the church expect a child to be a PhD and know a lot of Bible doctrine to be saved. But God says to the PhD, “Come to me as a little child with simple faith.”

But babes in Christ will grow through sound Bible study and preaching. But, for right now the “little children,” as John calls them, need to be assured that their sins have been forgiven.

The devil will come as an, “angel of light,” or as the, “accuser of the brethren,” and will do all he can to destroy the faith of these new Christians. The only hope for growth and the defeat of the devil is to stay in God’s word.

Walking in Darkness

“But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.” (I John 2:11)

The word, “love,” is mentioned forty-two times in the First Epistle of John. The writer, being inspired by the Holy Spirit, is making sure we understand the significance of love in the Christian walk.

The person without love is as blind as the fish with no eyes in the depths of the darkness of Mammoth Cave.

Several years ago a friend who worked in an underground coal mine, took another friend and me about a mile underground. He stopped and turned off the lights of our transport. Then he asked, “Could you find your way out with no lights?” Our answer was, “Of course not. There is no telling what we might stumble over.” That is a picture of the darkness surrounding the person who doesn’t love others.

Jesus is the “Light of the World.” When you have Jesus living inside, you do not stumble in darkness.”

Light or Darkness

“He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.” (I John 2:9-10)

Darkness and light are not compatible. Jesus said that men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.

Before answering God’s call to preach the gospel I worked for a pest control company. When I shined my flashlight in dark places, if there were roaches present they scurried to find a dark place to hide. It was their nature to flee from the light and to hide in the dark. Depending on our nature, we live and feel at home in either darkness or light. Our natures will determine whether we love others and show kindness, or live for ourselves and turn our backs on those in need.

To live for self indicates a nature that loves darkness. To live for others is a life in the light and of the presence of God. Stumbling is not a fear for us.

An Old, New Commandment

“Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in Him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.” (I John 2:8)

Someone told me this true story. Many years ago a man purchased a new 1934 Ford car. He planned to teach his wife to drive. He kept his prized possession in the garage. Before he could teach his wife to drive he died. She was heart broken and kept some of his favorite things: his shotgun, his Sunday shoes and the Ford car. For years it sat in the garage where he had parked it. Then, many years later she died.

When they were settling the estate there was that like new, old Ford car. It was old, but it was new. Not many miles at all plus it had the original tires and no dents.

That’s a picture of this commandment on love mentioned in verses seven and eight of this second chapter of I John. It is an old commandment, having been around for centuries. It is a new commandment because it has not been worn out with use. We need to knock the dust off this commandment and start using it, the way God intended for it to be used.

Something Old, Nothing New

“Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.” (I John 2:7)

The old commandment of which John is writing goes all the way back to Moses, nearly 1,500 years before Christ. A lawyer came to Jesus and asked Him, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.’” (Matthew 22:36-38) Our Savior was quoting Deuteronomy 6:5. And then He quotes from Leviticus 19:18 saying, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Neither Jesus nor John was introducing something new.

When we preachers and teachers preach and teach God’s word we are not giving some new idea to the people. The teachings of the Bible are more up to date than tomorrow’s news paper.

Abide in Christ

“He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” 
(I John 2:6)

In his gospel, John records the words of Jesus concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit to abide with us forever. He tells us also, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” (John 14:16; 15:4)

To abide means to, “be at home,” to be attached. When we abide in our houses we are at home. We are attached. We feel like we belong. We feel good there. We are comfortable with our surroundings. We are abiding.

He that declares that he is abiding in Christ should feel at home with Him. He should feel more at home with Christ than with the things of Satan. If one is uncomfortable with Christ down here think how much more uncomfortable he would feel in heaven.

Finally, if Christ abides in us He should feel at home with us and be welcome. If He abides He is to preside.

More Assurance

"But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him.” (I John 2:5) 

A preacher friend told of an assault made on him when he was a teenager. Four tough teenage boys met him on the way home from school. They kicked him, beat him with their fists and with sticks. They blacked both is eyes. He went home and got his father’s shotgun, planning to kill at least three of them with the three shells in the gun. As he was going out the door his father stopped him.

Two years passed. He met one of the boys in an alley. My friend spoke words of greeting, kindness and good will to the other boy. It was a congenial meeting. After he walked on a little farther he asked himself, “What’s wrong with you. Why didn’t you take advantage of such an opportune rare meeting?” The Holy Spirit spoke to him and reminded him that about a year after he was attacked he had accepted Christ as his Savior. All the feelings of hate, bitterness and vengeance were gone.

The only cure for hatred, malice, ill will and getting even with one’s enemies is to allow Christ to come in and change us from the inside.

Saying and Doing

“He that saith, ‘I know Him,’ and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”(I John 2:4)

It is the responsibility of a pastor or preacher of the Gospel to preach the Bible and trust the Holy Spirit to direct the hearer to examine him/herself and see if they are living in the Lord’s will. We are to direct the disobedient, as well as the faithful followers, to Jesus.

A.T. Robertson in his, “Word Pictures in the New Testament,” points out the meaning of these words as, “The one who keeps on saying, ‘I know Him,’ and keeps on not keeping His commandments is a liar.” (1)

Some people have, “selective obedience.” They select the commandments they like and ignore the difficult ones. In such a case, Jesus is not Lord.

You have no doubt heard the statement, “What you are doing speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you are saying.” It matters little saying we are following the Lord Jesus. It matters much if what we are doing matches what we say.
____________
(1) A.T. Robertson, “Word Pictures in the New Testament,” Vol. 6, page 210, Broadman Press, 1933

We Know that We Know

“And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” 
(I John 2:3)

In the previous chapter John was addressing our fellowship as Christians with the Lord. Here he is speaking of assurance of salvation.

First, what John is not saying: He is not saying that we are saved by keeping the Ten Commandments or any other commandments. He is not proposing some doctrine of legalism for salvation.

He is telling us that assurance of salvation comes as a result of seeking always to do the Lord’s will rather than our own. The Ten Commandments were given to the nation of Israel. They were added, the Bible indicates, to let lost people know how sinful they are and how desperately the world needs Christ. There are numerous commandments of Christ addressed to believers which we are to follow in living the Christian life. Some of them are: “Pray without ceasing,” "Love one another,” "Quench not the Spirit,” “In every thing give thanks,” “witness to the lost and share the Gospel,” “Bear ye one another’s burdens” plus many others. The keeping of these does not make one a Christian. Neither does breaking them cause one to lose his salvation. The keeping or not keeping allows a person know whether or not they are saved.

Is it your desire to follow Christ and live for Him, or do you ignore His will and go about your own way?

Our Propitiation

“And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”  (I John 2:2)

In the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle there was a piece of furniture, a chest, called the Ark of the Covenant. Space does not permit a complete description of it. It had rings at the four corners. Staves were placed in the rings with which four priests carried it when the Israelites moved to a new location. Over the Ark of the Covenant was a lid of pure gold, called the Mercy Seat. On the annual Day of Atonement the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial animal on the Mercy Seat as He confessed the sins of the people.

In First John 2:2 the word, “propitiation,” is used. It is near in meaning to the Old Testament phrase, “mercy seat.” John is telling us that Jesus is our Mercy Seat, our place of mercy. His mercy is sufficient for us when we sin as well as the sins of the whole world. The book of Hebrews calls Him a merciful and faithful High Priest.

“Mercy there was great and grace was free; pardon there was multiplied to me; there my burdened soul found liberty, at Calvary.”

Jesus Christ, Our Advocate

“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.” (I John 2:1)

John is an old man now and is writing to those who are younger than he both physically and spiritually. He sees them as his little children. How blessed it is to have new Christians who listen to the encouragement and instruction of older saints. How blessed also that the older saints have patience and take the time to mentor those coming along.

John is concerned that these readers not interpret what he is writing to be a license to sin. “I write these things to you not as an excuse to sin…” That we not sin is the ideal for all of us. However, the reality is that sometimes we sin.

I see a picture in this verse of God as our judge with the charges of our sins brought before Him. But His Son is our advocate. He is our defense attorney. He is our High Priest at the Father’s right hand making intercession for us. All the charges against us are dismissed because our High Priest, our Savior paid our sin debt on the cross.

God is Faithful to Forgive and to Cleanse

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)

Sandwiched between verses eight and ten is the verse that has been called, “The Christians Bar of Soap”

The word, “confess,” means to “agree with the facts.” God knows the facts of our lives, including our sins, already. When we confess our sins we are agreeing with the facts which He already knows, facts perhaps known to no one else.

Then the word tells us that He is faithful to forgive. A little boy in his excitement to go out and play knocked over a vase and broke it into many pieces. He attempted to glue it together but there was no fixing it. He wrote on a slate, “Mom, I am very sorry I broke your favorite vase. Please forgive me.” Then he left it and the pieces of the vase on an end table. When he came in later the slate was there, wiped perfectly clean and all the pieces of the vase were gone.

When we are forgiven the slate is wiped clean. That bar of soap works every time.

Making God a Liar

“If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” 
(1 John 1:10)

Perhaps someone says, “Well yes, maybe I could sin because of the weakness of the flesh. But, I have not sinned.” With such thoughts we make God a liar. According to the Bible God cannot lie. (Titus 1:2) 

The Bible says, “There is none righteous, no not one,” and further states, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:10, 23) We have missed the mark. Our intentions perhaps are good but our actual performance falls far short.

Let us never accuse God of being an untruthful liar. You and I desperately need Jesus and His blood to save us and to keep us.

Deceiving Ourselves

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (I John 1:8) 

As we read the first epistle of John we must remember that he is a believer, a Christian, writing to other Christians. He uses the personal plural pronoun, “we,” as he writes verses eight, nine and ten.

We Christians are capable of committing some pretty deplorable sins. To say we have no sin we deceive ourselves. It is a beautiful truth that the blood of Jesus is constantly cleansing us from all sin, as verse seven tells us.

A friend of mine told me of a man with whom he worked on heavy equipment. He was trying to become sinless. One day he told my friend he had finally become sinless. A little while later one of the big wrenches he was using slipped off the head of a bolt causing him to skin the knuckles on his right hand. As blood dripped off his hand he turned the air blue with curse words and profanity. My friend told the fellow, “I believe you need to start over on your claim of sinlessness.”

The person, saved or unsaved, who thinks he is sinless also thinks he does not need Jesus and is deceiving himself.

More tomorrow...

Constant Cleansing from Sin by the Blood of Jesus

“…and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (I John 1:7)

The word, “and,” at the beginning of this clause indicates that in addition to having fellowship with God and fellow believers we also have constant cleansing from sin by the blood of Jesus.

Allow me to explain. When you and I placed our faith in Him for salvation we were cleansed by the blood. In our every day life, living constantly in the presence of sin and temptation sometimes in an unguarded moment we sin. In those cases His blood is constantly cleansing us. The word, “cleanseth,” indicates continuous action.

Underground coal miners down near the face of the coal in that dark, dark mine have coal dust all over them, their clothes, their hands and caps. They are black everywhere except the whites of their eyes. The reason the whites of their eyes remain white is because their tear ducts are constantly cleansing the dust from their eyes. That is a picture of the continual cleansing of believers by the blood of Jesus.

When Simon Peter objected to Jesus washing his feet Peter said, “Not just my feet, but also my hands and my head.” Jesus responded by saying, “You have had your bath but your feet have gotten dusty from your journey. We only need to wash your feet.” (John 13:4-10) The blood of Jesus keeps on cleansing from our sins even when we are out of fellowship with Him.

“Oh, precious is the flow that washes white as snow…”

Walk in the Light

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (I John 1:7)

When I was a young man sometimes two or three of us would be walking in the woods at night with our only light being a kerosene lantern. Sometimes we would stop and rest as we sat around the light of the lantern and shared each other’s company as we shared the light.

John states that as long as we are walking in God’s light we have fellowship with God. The way this reads it means we have fellowship, not only with God, but also with other believers who are walking in God’s light.

I discovered something else from that old lantern: The closer we were to the light the better we could see the light, see the path and the better we could each experience the presence of the others who were walking in the light.

Don’t Lie to Yourself

“This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” (I John 1:5-6)

That’s pretty plain and straight-forward.  II Corinthians 6:14 asks, “…what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?”

I went into a dark restaurant. I could barely see my hands if I held them in front of my face. I had to watch my steps to keep from tripping over something. After a few minutes I got used to the dark. Some wayward Christians claim to have fellowship with God when in reality they have gotten used to the dark. They are lying to themselves claiming to have fellowship with God while living a sinful lifestyle.

We need to examine ourselves to see if we are in fellowship with God or if we have just gotten used to the dark surroundings of our society.

Fullness of Joy

“And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. (I John 1:4)

While our relationship with God is eternal, the same cannot be said of our fellowship with Him. When we stop having fellowship with our Lord and with other believers we have no joy. John says that he is writing about fellowship that our joy may be full.

When King David committed his sin with Bathsheba, it was more than nine months later that God sent Nathan the prophet of God to David to rebuke him for his sin. (II Samuel 11, 12) It was here that David prayed a prayer of repentance and asked God to, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.” (Psalm 51:12) The king’s fellowship with God had been broken because of his sin. Consequently, he had no joy for that period of time.

When you and I sin our fellowship with God is broken and our joy is gone. When we pray a prayer of confession and repent of our sin our fellowship with god is made full again. I encourage you to have fellowship with God in prayer, Bible reading, assembling with other believers and following Him in obedience.

What a Fellowship, What a Joy Divine

“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.” (I John 1:3)

When I was born to William and Hazel Doyel I became their child. A relationship was established that could not be broken. I would forever be their child. It is a parent/child relationship. I sometimes disobeyed and displeased them but the relationship was not broken. In the times I disobeyed them the fellowship was strained or broken.

When the Lord saved me by His grace I became a child of God. A parent/child of God relationship was established that would not ever be broken. The fellowship between Father God and me has been broken or strained numerous times because of my sins and disobedience.

When I hear a Christian say, “I’m working on my relationship with God,” surely they do not mean that they will become more saved than they are. Surely they must mean they are working on their fellowship.

Remember: God maintains the relationship. We maintain the fellowship.

Fellowship with God and Other Believers

“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.” (I John 1:3)

The word, “fellowship,” is used seventeen times in the Bible. It is found fifteen times in the New Testament. It comes from the word, “koinonia,” in the original language. It means, “to share together,” or, “communion.” It could be used when two people are simultaneously sharing the same milkshake. It is what we have nearly every Sunday when fourteen family members gather around our dining room table to share a meal. Fellowship is what believers have when we gather together to praise the Lord in song, prayer, preaching and testimony.

John is declaring Jesus to his readers so that they may have fellowship or communion with other believers. John says our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

The word, “relationship,” is never used in the Bible. However, a relationship is established between God and man when we accept Christ as our Savior. Galatians 3:26 declares that we become children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. It is like the relationship we have with our parents. Our disobedience may cause us to break fellowship but the relationship never changes. We have been “born again.”

A believer cannot strengthen his “relationship” with the Father. We have a never ending parent/child relationship. As we pray, read His word, walk with Him, obey His commands and serve Him we have fellowship with Him and with other believers.

Dear Reader, We'll continue on this topic in tomorrow's post. Please join us.  

God Revealed in Jesus

“(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us)” 
(I John 1:2)

That God wanted to be seen and known is what the four Gospels are about. John writes, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” (John 1:18)  The manifestation of God begins when the angel, Gabriel, spoke to a virgin named Mary. It continued in Bethlehem’s manger. That manifestation of God is seen in the miracles Jesus did while He walked on earth. The manifestation of God’s love is seen at Calvary where Jesus suffered pain and agony to pay our sin debt.

The word, “manifest,” is used twice in this verse. John is declaring that God is no longer hidden. He is revealed to mankind in the person of Jesus. John in his Gospel, his three epistles and the Revelation is passing on to his readers the manifestation of God to mankind. The way we see and know God is by looking at Jesus through the written word. We know more and more of Jesus and thus more and more of God, by reading and studying the Bible. When we share Jesus with others we are in the ministry with John.

An Eye Witness Account

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life…”
 (I John 1:1)

When I read this verse of scripture I think of Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created…” I think also of John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Plus, John 1:14, “…And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

In I John 1:1 the apostle John is giving his eye-witness testimony of the living Christ, the Son of God. He had heard Jesus speak, both before his crucifixion and after His resurrection.  John had also seen Jesus and gazed upon Him. I can almost see John and the other apostles’ jaws drop as they heard Jesus speak and watch as He performed the miracles. Their hands had handled Him, again, before His crucifixion and after His resurrection.

There could be no doubt that John knew this real man who was God in the flesh and was not ashamed to give people his eye-witness report. We should not be ashamed to tell others the story of Jesus and invite them to accept Him as their Lord and Savior.