Fellowship in the Son

I John 1:1-4 “Fellowship in the Son”

John 17:3: And this is eternal life, that they may know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

You were made to know God. You were given eternal life so you could spend eternity enjoying the Triune God. You were created to fellowship with the God of the universe. We enjoy this relationship with God through the person and work of Jesus Christ our Savior. It is for this reason the Apostle John pens the letter of I John.

I John 5:13: These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

The author wants his readers to be assured that they have this eternal life- this life of fellowship with God. His readers cannot grow in their fellowship with God unless they are confident of their salvation. That is my desire for each one of you: that as you grow in your assurance of your salvation that would grow in your relationship with Christ.

Why then does John assure his readers that they have eternal life?

False teachers. We see from reading I John that false teachers had left the churches John was writing to and were circulating false teaching that was upsetting and confusing these believers.

John rejects this false teaching and reassures his readers by giving them 3 tests that confirm to them that they are saved (John Stott).

1. Theological sign: Jesus Christ is the Son of God, come in the flesh
2. Moral sign: you live a righteous life
3. Social sign: you love other Christians

These are not ways to earn salvation, but ways we can know that we are saved by Christ. By these signs, the believers can reject the false teachers and at the same time grow in their assurance of salvation.

That’s the purpose and overview of I John. 2 more points before we get at the text.

1. The author of I John
I am assuming the author of this letter is the Apostle John. No author is given, but the language and teaching of I John are very similar to the Gospel of John, which was written by the Apostle John. When you read some commentators, they look at I John and say: “it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, so it must be a catfish.” The internal evidence of the book itself, and evidence from church history point to the author as John.

2. The language of I John
The Greek is easy to read. It is almost like “see spot run” in Greek. John communicates in simple words and sentences. But that does not mean this letter is easy to understand. You may read “see spot run,” but begin to wonder if seeing is with the eyes or the heart; or wonder if Spot is a dog, and if so, what kind of dog and if he has any spots; or wonder if the running is a fast walk or trot, or how long Spot runs. John’s simple language contains ideas that will challenge your thinking.

Read 1:1-4

John proclaims a message about Jesus Christ that creates fellowship with God and other believers.

1. A message that brings fellowship
2. A message that is a person

1. A message that brings fellowship (3-4)
John’s concern for his letter is to proclaim the message about Jesus Christ so that…for the purpose of fellowship. Fellowship with believers and fellowship with God.

A. Fellowship with believers
John desires his readers for have fellowship with him. Fellowship is the idea of sharing in common. You share values and truths together in a relationship. You live for a common cause. John wants to have a growing relationship with his readers. He desires for them to benefit one another. The only way that was going to happen was for them to believe the same message.

You cannot have Christian fellowship with someone who does not hold to the teaching of Christ. The only way we can have fellowship as Christians is to share a belief in the gospel.

B. Fellowship with Jesus Christ
The same message that creates fellowship with believers creates fellowship between the believer and Jesus Christ. 2:24- Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

The gospel is the message that connects us to God through his Son Jesus Christ. If you claims to know Christ and fellowship with him, you must hold to his teaching.

John writes these things so that his joy would be complete. The KJV has “your,” but most other translations have “our.” “Our” is probably the best reading here. John’s joy will grow as these believers grow in fellowship with Christ and with him. Fellowship is not a dull thing, but creates joy for those who experience it.

It’s amazing the connection we often have with childhood friends or friends we made in college. These are often the friendships that have brought the most joy to our hearts. I have college friends in Kentucky and California that I keep in touch with. When we get together we share a special bond that was forged in our college days, even though we are states apart now. We can have joy in fellowship with Christ and other Christians because we hold together the person of Jesus Christ.

What, then, is this essential message that is the basis of our relationship with God and believers?

2. A message that is a person (1-2)
In the first 2 verses, John sets forth the message…he sets forth the person of Jesus Christ. This is the message that is the basis of fellowship. This is the person who brings together believers. As you read these verses you wonder if he is speaking about a person or a message. Yes.

A. Jesus, the Son of God
When John says Jesus is the Son of God, he means that he is God.
-He is from the beginning- before time began, Jesus existed
-He is the word of life- The Word- As John 1:1 says. Christ is the self-expression of God.
-He is life; he is eternal life- Jesus the eternal Son of God and the giver of life
-He was with the Father- in close relationship with the Father as His Son

The message is clearly: Jesus is God. He dwelt with God before time began. He was revealed to us as God and offers eternal life. A person who believes the gospel, believes that Jesus is God.

B. Jesus, come in the flesh
Jesus, God of very God, was made manifest…was revealed to us humans. He was seen with human eyes and touched by human hands. John says 3 times: we have seen him. John brings eyewitness testimony to bear. We did not just see the Son of God in human flesh, we touched him.

How many of you have seen the Declaration of Independence in person? It is housed at the Nation Archives Museum. I have not seen it, but I have seen pictures and copies of it. How many of you have touched the original Declaration of Independence? That document that was fingered by the brave hands of our nations framers. That would be quite a claim to say we touched such an important piece of American history.

John says: we touched Jesus with our hands. He’s real.

The incomprehensible happened. God took on humanity. The great mystery of Christ’s coming is how he was one person, fully God and fully human, yet without sin. John wards off 2 false teachings.
1. Jesus if not fully God (he was created)
2. Jesus if not fully human (just appeared to be human)
Application

1. The gospel is theological and historical
There are people and churches that deny the theological nature of the gospel. In other words, the gospel has specific truth claims that must be believed. Here in I John, the gospel proclaims that Jesus if fully God- eternal with the Father. If you deny that, you are not a Christian.

We read the accounts of Jesus life that he was an incredible teacher and did lots of good for people. While that is true, the gospel claims much more than that. The gospel is Jesus, the Son of God, taking our sins upon himself on the cross.

Beware of people and churches who are not clear on the truth claims of the gospel. Jesus is eternal. He is God.

The gospel is also an historical reality. Christ really lived on this earth for 30 some years. He walked the dusty roads of Israel, worked with his hands, slept at night, and trained a group of unruly disciples. There are people who saw Jesus die on the cross and saw the blood and water pour out of his side. There are people who saw Jesus eat fish after he rose from the dead. Some of these people, guided by the Holy Spirit, wrote down these eye witness accounts so we would believe. Beware of people and churches who are not clear about the historical reality of Jesus and the gospel message.

2. The gospel is the only way we can have fellowship
I John is very clear: the only way we can know God as our Father is by believing specific truths about Jesus Christ. If you do not hold to the teaching about Jesus, you do not belong to God. See 4:6- We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

There are so-called churches around us who have long ago abandoned the historic teachings of Christianity clearly written in the Bible. We must not just say: “Oh, they believe differently than us.” When it comes to the deity of Jesus Christ and the historical reality of his resurrection, churches who do not hold to these truths, teach falsehood and error. They are not true Christians or true churches. They do not belong to God.

We cannot have Christian fellowship with people or churches that deny the very doctrines that give us fellowship with the Father. Impossible.

This is where fundamentalism came from. Christians and churches separated themselves from churches that taught falsehood. They said: we cannot fellowship with you as Christians if you deny the essential doctrines of the gospel, like the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, and his physical resurrection.

I would like to close with a personal application. The Apostle John’s desire for his readers, and my desire for you, is for you to have fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. The way we grow deeper in our relationship with Christ is the same way we enter into a relationship with Christ. It is hearing the message about Jesus and trusting it. We do not fellowship with Jesus by sitting still waiting for thoughts to pop into your head. The only way we can know Jesus is through this Book. Yes, we can have close, intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ. But the only way we know him is through His Word.

Enjoy the person of Christ by hearing the Words of Christ.