1 João 1
Steven Cole · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 João 1:1
Cole - John and the other apostles (the “we” of 1Jn 1:1-4) had heard the very words of Jesus, and what amazing words they were! Even His enemies testified (John 7:46), “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.” How true! If you are trying to bear witness to someone who has never read the Gospels, direct him to do that. The words of Jesus bear witness of Who He is (cp Jn 20:31). (1 John 1:1-3 The Tests of True Christianity) Henry
1 João 1:1
Cole adds that the phrase seen with our eyes "shows that John is not talking about a mystical “vision” of Christ, but of actually watching Jesus as He lived before them. The apostles saw Jesus turn the water into wine, feed the 5,000, walk on water, heal the multitudes, and raise the dead. The 35 miracles recorded in the four gospels are only a fraction of those that the apostles witnessed. John (Jn 21:25) ends his gospel by stating that if all the things that Jesus did were written in detail, the whole world couldn’t contain the books. Jesus’ sinless life and the powerful miracles He performed validate that He is the unique Son of God. (1 John 1:1-3 The Tests of True Christianity) Matthew Henry on seen with our eyes - "That which we have seen with our eyes,” the Word would become visible, would not only be heard, but seen, seen publicly, privately, at a distance and at nearest approach, which may be intimated in the expression, with our eyes – with all the use and exercise that we could make of our eyes. We saw Him in His life and ministry; we saw Him in His transfiguration on the mount, hanging, bleeding, dying, and dead, upon the cross, and we saw Him after His return from the grave and resurrection from the dead. His apostles must be eye-witnesses as well as ear-witnesses of him. Wherefore, of these men that have accompanied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection (Acts 1:21, 22). Peter records his eyewitness and ear witness testimony… For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased"--and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place (cp Ps 119:105, 1Jn 1:5), until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. (2Pe 1:16-18+ 1:19-+) WHAT WE LOOKED AT What we looked at (theaomai - beheld) - This is not simply a repetition of "seen". Paul Apple describes the two visual aspects as (1) Long Distance -- "what we have seen with our eyes" and (2) Up Close and Personal -- "what we beheld". John used this same verb twice in his introduction of his Gospel... John 1:14+ And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw (theaomai - beheld) His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:32+ John testified saying, “I have seen (theaomai - beheld) the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. A R Fausset - The apostle is not weary of describing faith’s various actings in the soul. And it is for our edification that he sets before us his own experience in this matter. It is in order that such of us as have heard and seen Jesus may still fix on Him the eyes of our understanding with an intent and protracted gaze. And can one view of “the King in His beauty” satisfy the spiritual eye? No; it will rest with a mingled feeling of sorrow and joy on Him whom our sins have pierced. When Jesus has been seen as “full of grace and truth” — “fairer than the children of men” — the believer will surely look upon Him with a steady contemplation of the soul and fixed devotion of the heart, It may be that it is not given to all believers to attain to the full experience of the beloved disciple, or to realize all He felt when He says “which we have looked upon”; but in a measure the same contemplative faith is proper to all the saints. And without it there could be no due assimilation to the image of Christ. It is by the contemplation of Christ’s Person that we become in a measure changed into His likeness. Christ looked upon as a wondrous spectacle, steadfastly, deeply, contemplatively. (see 2 Cor 3:18+) WHAT OUR HANDS HANDLED Our hands handled (pselaphao) - The verb handled (pselaphao) means to feel or grope, and thereby verifying by contact. This is an amazing statement. John (and the other apostles) literally touched the Lord Jesus Christ during His time on earth! One wonders if we will touch Him or He will touch us in eternity future? (Play I Can Only Imagine) I have no doubt we will see the scars on His hands (John sees Jesus slain in Rev 5:6, 9+). Whether this touching of Jesus refers to before or after the resurrection is not clear, thus it could refer to both (cp Lk 24:39+ which supports possible post-resurrection touching and Mt 14:29, 30, 31 is clearly touching prior to His resurrection).ared to the disciples. He said (Luke 24:39+), “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (see also, John 20:27+). So John is saying that Jesus Christ was revealed and that He was historically validated by the apostles in all of these objective ways ("heard… seen… beheld… hands handled"), both before and after the resurrection. The experience of deliberate touch is the culminating evidence for the reality of the Incarnation. -- D Edmond Hiebert IVP Bible Background Commentary "By saying that Jesus’ witnesses had touched and felt him, John indicates that Jesus had been fully human; he was not simply a divine apparition like the current “manifestations” of the gods in which the Greeks believed." Paul Apple applies John's experience with Christ to our lives today as believers - What is the result of people's first-hand interaction with us? We are as close as they are going to get to the current historical manifestation of this life of God. What do they hear from us? What do they see? What do they closely observe as they check us out? May it be the eternal life that is Christ Himself living through us. (cf. Out of the Salt Shaker -- there is a danger that we isolate ourselves in Christian circles and never allow the world to examine us. The willingness to be proclaimers involves the spirit behind the evangelism book entitled: "I'm Glad You Asked" (1 John - Tests of Eternal Life) John Stott - The historical manifestation of the Eternal Life was proclaimed, not monopolized. The revelation was given to the few for the many. They were to dispense it to the world. (BORROW The Epistles of John : an introduction and commentary) THOUGHT - It is vital that we point people to the historical facts of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and not get sidetracked into debates about other less important issues! THE WORD OF LIFE Concerning the Word (logos) of Life (zoe) - This is John's designation for Jesus Christ, Whom He identifies specifically by Name in 1Jn 1:3. In the only other use of this phrase, Paul uses Word of life as a description for the Scriptures in Phil 2:16. Spread, O Spread, Thou Mighty Word Word of Life, most pure and strong, Lo! for Thee the nations long, Spread, till from its dreary night All the world awakes to light. Hiebert - That “the Word” here carries a personal implication seems obvious. But in reality the subject matter and the Person are identical in a unique fashion. The incarnate Christ is both God’s message and Himself the Messenger. He is the embodiment of divine life and the Revealer of that life to mankind (John 14:6–9). (Online An Exposition of 1 John 1:1-4 - excellent) In John's description of the Second Coming of Christ he writes that Jesus is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word (Logos) of God." (Rev 19:13+) Tony
1 João 1:1
Cole explains his reasons for favoring interpretation (#2) stating that "while not denying the eternality of the Son, argue that that is not John’s meaning here. They would argue that instead the phrase means what it later means in 1 John 2:7, 2:24, and 1 Jn 3:11, namely, the beginning of the gospel. They point out that John’s emphasis here, to counter the recent message of the false teachers, is that the apostolic message has not changed. It is the same message that has been proclaimed from the earliest days of the gospel. Also, the emphasis of the rest of 1Jn 1:1 is on Christ’s humanity. So John’s point would be that his message is not the new message of the Gnostics. Rather, it is the old message, which has been proclaimed from the earliest days of Christ’s ministry. It is the same message that his readers had heard and believed from the beginning of their Christian experience. (F. F. Bruce, The Gospel and epistles of John; A. W. Pink, Exposition of 1 John; and Robert Law, The Tests of Life, argue for this view.) It is difficult to decide between these two views, but I lean toward the second view (ED: BEGINNING = JESUS EARTHLY MINISTRY), in that John here seems to be appealing to his apostolic authority, and the fact that he had been with Jesus from the beginning of His earthly ministry. Thus the records of the four Gospels bear witness to the person of Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1-3 The Tests of True Christianity) (BOLDING ADDED) Henry Morris a Biblical creationist favors interpretation #2 - Note the similarity between the opening verses of John's gospel and his first epistle; both starting with a reference back to creation. The gospel of John looks back before the beginning of time when only God existed, and Jesus Christ was God. His epistle, on the other hand, proceeds forward from that beginning of time (Genesis 1:1) to the incarnation of the eternal "Word," which became "the Word of life;" the manifestation of the Father in "His Son Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3). (BORROW Defender's Study Bible) John Piper favors interpretation #2 writing that "This life is eternal. "The life was made manifest … and we proclaim to you the eternal life." (1Jn 1:2) This is the best commentary on the first phrase of 1Jn 1:1: "That which was from the beginning… " "From the beginning" means, Christ our Life was when creation began. He is eternal. He had no beginning. He will have no ending. He is not part of creation (ED: WHILE THIS IS TRUE WHAT JOHN IS TRYING TO SHOW IS THAT CHRIST INVADED TIME IN THE FLESH, THE VERY TRUTH THE GNOSTICS WERE PERVERTING). In the beginning He is the source of creation. All life comes from Him. He is the spring, not part of the river. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:1–3). (Eternal Life Has Appeared in Christ) Utley dogmatically favors interpretation #2 - This is an obvious allusion to Gen. 1 and John 1. The coming of Jesus was not “plan B.” The gospel was always God’s plan of redemption (cf. Gen. 3:15; Acts 2:23; 3:18; 4:28; 13:29). The phrase "in the beginning" is key in First John occurring 8x in 7 verses - 1 John 1:1, 1 John 2:7, 2:13, 2:14, 2:24 , 1 John 3:8, 3:11. Robert Lightner notes that "Three great beginnings are referred to in Scripture. In Genesis 1:1 "the beginning" refers to the beginning of time. "In the beginning" in John 1:1 speaks of eternity before the universe was. In 1 John 1:1 "the beginning" refers to the beginning of the Christian era and relates the Savior to His life on earth. In other words, John wrote in his gospel of the preincarnate Christ and in His first epistle of the incarnate Christ. This is such language as John would use respecting him, and indeed the phrase "the beginning," as applicable to the Lord Jesus, is peculiar to John in the writings of the New Testament; and the language here may be regarded as one proof that this epistle was written by him, for it is just such an expression as he would use. (The Books of 1, 2, 3 John and Jude) Heard… seen… beheld… handled - These verbs speak of Jesus' incarnation-- He would have to had to be true "flesh and blood" (and not an apparition as some heretically taught) for all of these verbs to actually be experienced by John and the other apostles in their encounters with Jesus. WHAT WE HEARD What we have heard (akouo - perfect tense = abiding results), what we have seen (perfect tense = abiding results) with our eyes (opthalmos), what we have looked at (theaomai) and touched with our hands, concerning the Word (logos) of Life (zoe) - John proceeds to present first hand personal knowledge of the apostle's objective, historical auditory, visual and tactile interactions proving that Jesus Christ was God and Man, a knowledge which would far surpass any so-called superior knowledge of the Gnostics. Most scholars agree that John was refuting some aspect of Gnosticism, which in simple terms taught that salvation was achieved by obtained special knowledge (gnosis) and they denied various truths about Christ. What we have heard (akouo) - Heard is in the perfect tense which speaks of an abiding effect. When John wrote this letter, some 60 years had passed since he had last heard the voice of Jesus and yet, the words of His Lord were still an abiding truth in his heart! Imagine that you had heard Jesus speak! Would not His majestic words continue to reverberate and resonate in your mind for the rest of your days on earth? I think they would! J M
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Cole applies the truths of this passage to all saints - John (and some of the other apostles) wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the words that God wanted us to receive. Through these writings (our New Testament), we can enter into the same fellowship with God that the apostles enjoyed! If John and the other apostles had not proclaimed the message, we wouldn’t know Christ today. The Great Commission that Jesus gave to them applies to us, also. If we don’t proclaim to others the authoritative message of the King, how will they know and believe (see Ro 10:14,15)? God’s method of imparting eternal life to those who are dead in their sins is through the proclamation of the word of life, the gospel. If you’re not proclaiming God’s revelation about Jesus Christ by your life and words, you’re not experiencing the fullness of true Christianity. (1 John 1:1-3 The Tests of True Christianity) G G Findlay eloquently expounds on the sight and sounds of Jesus Christ which John perceived... Observe the energy with which the apostle asserts the actuality of the revelation of the life of God in Jesus Christ. Thrice in three verses he reiterates "we have seen" it, twice "we have heard," and twice repeats "the life was manifested." The stupendous fact has always had its doubters and deniers. In any age of the world and under any system of thought, such a revelation as that made by Jesus Christ was sure to be met with incredulity. It is equally opposed to the superstitions and to the skepticisms natural to the human mind. The mind that is not surprised and sometimes staggered by the claims of Christ and the doctrines of Christianity, that has not felt the shock they give to our ordinary experience and native convictions, has not awakened to their real import. The doubt which, like that of Thomas at the resurrection, arises from a sense of the overwhelming magnitude, the tremendous significance of the facts asserted, is worthier than the facile and unthinking faith that admits enormous theological propositions without a strain and treats the profoundest mysteries as a commonplace. St John feels that the things he declares demand the strongest evidence. He has not believed them lightly, and he does not expect others to believe them lightly. This passage goes to show that the Apostles were aware of the importance of historical truth; they were conscientious and jealously observant in this regard. Their faith was calm, rational and sagacious (of keen, farsighted penetration and judgment). They were perfectly certain of the things they attested, and believed only upon commanding and irresistible evidence— evidence that covered the full extent of the case, evidence natural and supernatural, sensible and moral, scriptural and experimental, and practically demonstrative. But the facts they built upon are primarily of the spiritual order, so that without a corresponding spiritual sense and faculty they are never absolutely convincing. Already in St John's old age the solvents of philosophical analysis were being applied to the Gospel history and doctrine. The Godhead incarnate, the manifestation of the infinite in the finite, of the eternal in the temporal— this was impossible and self-contradictory; we know beforehand, the wise of the world said, that such things cannot be. And so criticism set itself to work upon the story, in the interests of a false philosophy. The incarnation, the miracles, the resurrection, the ascension—what are they but a beautiful poetic dream, a pictorial representation of spiritual truth, from which we must extract for ourselves a higher creed, leaving behind the supernatural as so much mere wrappage and imaginative dress! This rationalism loudly asserts today; and this the Gnosticism of the later apostolic age was already, in its peculiar method and dialect, beginning to make out. The Apostle John confronts the Gnostic metaphysicians of his time, and the Agnostic materialists of ours, with his impressive declaration. Behind him lies the whole weight of the character, intelligence and disciplined experience of the witnesses of Jesus. Of what use was it for men at a distance to argue that this thing and that thing could not be? "I tell you," says the great Apostle, "we have seen it with our eyes, we have heard Him with our very ears; we have touched and tested and handled these things at every point, and we know that they are so." As he puts it, at the end of his letter, "we know that the Son of God is come; and He hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true." (1Jn 5:20) The men who have founded Christianity and written the New Testament, were no fools. They knew what they were talking about. No dreamer, no fanatic, no deceiver since the world began, ever wrote like the author of this Epistle. Every physical sense, every critical faculty of a sound and manly understanding, every honest conviction of the heart, every most searching and fiery test that can try the spirit of man, combine to assure us that the Apostles of Jesus Christ have told us the truth as they knew it about Him, and that things were even as they said and no otherwise. Ay, and God has borne witness to those faithful men through the ages since and put the seal to their testimony, or we should not be reading about these things today. (1 John Commentary) Heard (191)(akouo) means to hear with attention, to hear with the "ear" of the mind, to hear with understanding. AKOUO IN JOHN'S WRITINGS - Jn. 1:37; Jn. 1:40; Jn. 3:8; Jn. 3:29; Jn. 3:32; Jn. 4:1; Jn. 4:42; Jn. 4:47; Jn. 5:24; Jn. 5:25; Jn. 5:28; Jn. 5:30; Jn. 5:37; Jn. 6:45; Jn. 6:60; Jn. 7:32; Jn. 7:40; Jn. 7:51; Jn. 8:9; Jn. 8:26; Jn. 8:38; Jn. 8:40; Jn. 8:43; Jn. 8:47; Jn. 9:27; Jn. 9:31; Jn. 9:32; Jn. 9:35; Jn. 9:40; Jn. 10:3; Jn. 10:8; Jn. 10:16; Jn. 10:20; Jn. 10:27; Jn. 11:4; Jn. 11:6; Jn. 11:20; Jn. 11:29; Jn. 11:41; Jn. 11:42; Jn. 12:12; Jn. 12:18; Jn. 12:29; Jn. 12:34; Jn. 12:47; Jn. 14:24; Jn. 14:28; Jn. 15:15; Jn. 16:13; Jn. 18:21; Jn. 18:37; Jn. 19:8; Jn. 19:13; Jn. 21:7; 1 Jn. 1:1; 1 Jn. 1:3; 1 Jn. 1:5; 1 Jn. 2:7; 1 Jn. 2:18; 1 Jn. 2:24; 1 Jn. 3:11; 1 Jn. 4:3; 1 Jn. 4:5; 1 Jn. 4:6; 1 Jn. 5:14; 1 Jn. 5:15; 2 Jn. 1:6; 3 Jn. 1:4; Rev. 1:3; Rev. 1:10; Rev. 2:7; Rev. 2:11; Rev. 2:17; Rev. 2:29; Rev. 3:3; Rev. 3:6; Rev. 3:13; Rev. 3:20; Rev. 3:22; Rev. 4:1; Rev. 5:11; Rev. 5:13; Rev. 6:1; Rev. 6:3; Rev. 6:5; Rev. 6:6; Rev. 6:7; Rev. 7:4; Rev. 8:13; Rev. 9:13; Rev. 9:16; Rev. 9:20; Rev. 10:4; Rev. 10:8; Rev. 11:12; Rev. 12:10; Rev. 13:9; Rev. 14:2; Rev. 14:13; Rev. 16:1; Rev. 16:5; Rev. 16:7; Rev. 18:4; Rev. 18:22; Rev. 18:23; Rev. 19:1; Rev. 19:6; Rev. 21:3; Rev. 22:8; Rev. 22:17; Rev. 22:18 Proclaim (repeats proclaim from 1Jn 1:2) (518) (apaggello from apó = from + aggéllo = tell, declare from aggelos = messenger, one who speaks in place of one who has sent him) means to bring a message from any person or place. It suggests the thought of passing on to others what has been given to them. And so in the present context the idea is that John is announces, reports or proclaims openly his testimony concerning Jesus Christ. He uses the present tense which describes continuous activity -- "we are continually reporting to you (what we saw and heard, the truth about Jesus)" or as Orr paraphrases it "we make it our business to proclaim." APAGGELLO - 46X/46V - announced(1), declared(1), declaring(3), proclaim(4), report(10), reported(22), take word(1), tell(1), told(3). Matt. 2:8; Matt. 8:33; Matt. 11:4; Matt. 12:18; Matt. 14:12; Matt. 28:8; Matt. 28:10; Matt. 28:11; Mk. 5:14; Mk. 5:19; Mk. 6:30; Mk. 16:10; Mk. 16:13; Lk. 7:18; Lk. 7:22; Lk. 8:20; Lk. 8:34; Lk. 8:36; Lk. 8:47; Lk. 9:36; Lk. 13:1; Lk. 14:21; Lk. 18:37; Lk. 24:9; Jn. 16:25; Acts 4:23; Acts 5:22; Acts 5:25; Acts 11:13; Acts 12:14; Acts 12:17; Acts 15:27; Acts 16:36; Acts 16:38; Acts 17:30; Acts 22:26; Acts 23:16; Acts 23:17; Acts 23:19; Acts 26:20; Acts 28:21; 1 Co. 14:25; 1 Thess. 1:9; Heb. 2:12; 1 Jn. 1:2; 1 Jn. 1:3 SO THAT YOU TOO MAY HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH US: hina kai humeis koinonian echete (2PPAS) meth' hemon: fellowship: 1Jn 1:7 1Jn 2:23,24 Jn 14:20-23 17:3,11,21 1Co 1:9,30 2Co 13:14 Php 2:1 3:10 Heb 3:14 with His Son: 1Jn 5:10,11 Col 1:13 1Th 1:10 1 John 1 Resources Related Passages: 1 Corinthians 1:9+ God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship (koinonia) with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 2 Corinthians 13:14+ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship (koinonia) of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Philippians 2:1+ Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship (koinonia) of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, Hebrews 12:9-10 (WHAT BELIEVERS SHARE) Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. PURPOSE OF PROCLAMATION: PRODUCTION OF FELLOWSHIP So that (hina) - Purpose clause explaining the purpose for his proclamation. Always use these hinge words and phrases like "so that" as an opportunity to slow down and ask "so what?" In so doing you are learning to meditate on the Scripture (See discussion of the value of recognizing and interrogating terms of purpose). John's goal for his readers was genuine fellowship. Some commentators see this verse as expressive of John's entire purpose for writing First John. While it is clearly part of the purpose, John states elsewhere his purpose includes passages like 1Jn 5:13, that his readers would have assurance regarding their salvation. The Amplified has "so that you too may realize and enjoy fellowship as partners and partakers with us." Oh, gift of gifts! oh, grace of grace! That God should condescend To make my heart His dwelling-place, And be my closest Friend! David
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Cole has an excellent exposition on three points about fellowship with one another... (1) Fellowship with one another not based on fellowship with God is not true Christian fellowship. Although unbelievers who come in among us should be able to sense the love, they cannot know true fellowship with other believers until they personally come to faith in Jesus Christ and begin to walk with Him on a daily basis. In other words, knowing Christ personally and growing in that relationship is the basis for any true fellowship with others that know Christ. It is Christ Himself that we share in common. True Christian fellowship is when we share together about the riches of Christ and the treasures of His Word. Anything less is not genuine fellowship. J. Vernon McGee once spoke at a Rotary Club meeting, where a banner read, “Food, Fun, Fellowship.” He said that the food was nothing to brag about—embalmed chicken and peas. The fun was a few corny jokes. The fellowship consisted of one man patting the other on the back and saying, “Hi, Bill, how’s business?” Or, “how’s the wife?” That was their idea of fellowship McGee goes on to say that what is called “Christian” fellow-ship often isn’t much different. We get together for a potluck sup-per and talk about everything under the sun, except that which would provide true fellowship, namely, all that we share together in Christ. True Christian fellowship centers on fellowship with God. Fellowship with one another based on true fellowship with God is the core of true Christian unity. John did not advocate “fellowship” with the heretics. These men, no doubt, still claimed to believe in Jesus, but just not in the same way that the apostles understood things. Even though John emphasizes love, he never encourages love and fellowship with these heretics. Quite the opposite, he makes it clear that we should not welcome them even with a warm greeting. To do so would be to participate in their evil deeds (2 John 10, 11). There is a lot of sloppy thinking in Christian circles about the subject of unity in Christ. Clearly, it is an important topic. Jesus prayed that His followers would be one, so that the world would know that the Father sent Him (John 17:23). Those trying to pro-mote unity often say, “The world will know that we follow Jesus by our love, not by our doctrine.” So they say, “Let’s come together in areas where we agree, and set aside the matters where we disagree.”... True Christian unity must be based on true fellowship with God, which must be based on faith in the gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. In Ephesians 4, Paul mentions two kinds of unity. He says (Ep 4:3) that we should be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” The unity of the Spirit already exists; it must be preserved. But he goes on to say (Eph 4:12) that the pastor-teachers are to equip the saints, “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God…” (Ep 4:13). The unity of the faith does not yet exist. We attain to it as we grow to know Jesus Christ better through the study and teaching of the Word. (2) True fellowship with God is based on the truth that God has revealed about His Son (1Jn 1:3).... Fellowship not based on the revealed truth about Jesus Christ is not true fellowship. Often those who try to promote Christian unity will say, “Doctrine divides. We should set aside our doctrines and just love one another.” John would say, “Nonsense!” Sound doctrine unites, as Paul teaches in Ephesians 4:13. True fellowship centers on the truth of the apostolic testimony about Jesus Christ. If we depart from that, we have left the biblical foundation for unity. This is why we cannot have true fellowship with liberals, who deny the deity of Jesus Christ. What do we share in common? Nothing! Fellowship with God exists only through the blood of His Son....Without new life, there cannot be any fellowship..... If you have experienced new life in Christ, then the Father lovingly cares for every aspect of your life. He has given you all that you need for life and godliness through the promises of His Word (2 Pet. 1:3-4). He encourages you to cast all your cares on Him, knowing that He cares for you (1 Pet. 5:7). He sympathizes with your weaknesses and invites you to come to His throne of grace to receive mercy and grace to help in your times of need (Heb. 4:14-16). So you can share every burden, every struggle, and every thought openly with Him and know that He welcomes you! Such fellowship with God through Christ is not automatic or effortless. Relationships take time and effort. There is no such thing as a good marriage that just happens spontaneously. If you see a good marriage, it’s because the couple makes it a priority to spend time together and to work at being close. They are committed to work through any difficulties or hurt feelings. They work hard at communication and they avoid temptations that would create distance or divide them. Fellowship with God is no different. You’ve got to work at it, make time for it, and turn away from things that would create distance between you and God. Of course, sin hinders fellowship, but so do other things. The enemy will try to get you to anything except spend time alone with God. It may be TV, the newspaper, work, hobbies, or time with your friends. But if you allow these things to crowd out consistent time in God’s Word and in prayer, you will not grow close to God in genuine fellowship. As you grow in fellowship with God, you will find that increasingly, His purposes and desires become your purposes and desires. If His purpose is to be glorified by saving some from every tribe and tongue and people and nation (Rev. 5:9), then you will find great joy when you hear news of the gospel advancing around the world. If you don’t care about missions and you yawn when you hear of someone coming to Christ, but you hear of the score of a sports event and come alive with excitement, you may want to examine whether you enjoy true fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. (3) True fellowship with one another and with God is the source of true joy. As we saw last time, the original text (1Jn 1:4) probably read “our joy,” not “your joy.” But both are true. When a sinner comes to Christ, it brings great joy to those who already know Christ, but it also brings great joy to the sinner who is saved. And as our fellow-ship with God and with one another deepens, the joy deepens. In commenting on the fact that God has given us eternal life, Calvin exclaims (ibid., p. 157), “But if we consider how miserable and horrible a condition death is, and also what is the kingdom and the glory of immortality, we shall perceive that there is something here more magnificent than what can be expressed in any words.” (ED: See Findlay's note below for an eloquent attempt to express this great truth in words.) (True Fellowship 1 John 1:3-4) "A GREAT SECRET" A NEW DIVINE FELLOWSHIP FOR MEN George G Findlay writes... there is founded upon the facts thus attested (John's firsthand experience of hearing, seeing, touching the Living Lord Jesus), there is derived from the eternal life revealed in Christ, A NEW DIVINE FELLOWSHIP FOR MEN. To promote this end John writes: “That you also may have fellowship with us.” To communicate these truths, to see this fellowship established and perfected amongst men, is the apostle’s one delight, the business and delight of all those who share his faith and serve his Master: “These things we write, that our joy may be fulfilled.” We have a great secret in common, we and the apostles. The Father told it to Jesus, Jesus to them, they to us, and we to others. Those who have seen and heard such things, cannot keep the knowledge to themselves. These truths belong not to us only, but to “the whole world” (1John 2:2); they concern every man who has a soul to save, who has sins to confess and death to meet, who has work to do for his Maker in this world, and a way to find for himself through its darkness and perils. The Apostle John is writing to Greeks, to men far removed from him in native sympathy and instinct; but he has long since forgotten all that, and the difference between Jew and Greek never once crosses his mind in writing his letter. He has risen above it, and left it behind through his fellowship with Christ. (cp Col 3:11-note) The only difference he knows is that existing between men who “are of God” (1Jn 4:1, 4, 6, 5:19) and men who “are of the world.” (1Jn 4:5) In John the idea of the Church catholic (universal or general church, not a denomination in this context) as a spiritual brotherhood is perfected. But our fellowship is not only with prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints of God. We do not hold with the apostle merely such fellowship as we have with other great minds of the past; nor was John’s communion with his Lord that which we cherish with our beloved dead, the communion of memory, or at best of hope. If the facts the apostles test are true, they are true for us as for them. If the life manifested in the Lord Jesus was eternal, then it is living and real today. As it “was from the beginning,” it will be to the end. Jesus Christ had brought His disciples into spiritual union and fellowship with the living God. He had shown them the Father. He had made them individually children of God, with Himself for elder brother. He had passed away from their sight, to be with them forever in His Spirit (Jn 14:16). In this way He had really come to them, and the Father with Him, when He seemed to be going (John 14:18-23). They felt themselves to be in direct communion and communication, every day they lived, with the Almighty Father in heaven, and with His Son Jesus Christ whom they had known and loved on earth. To this fellowship they invite and summon all mankind. (Ed: Beloved you may want to read this section again! To me it is almost beyond my comprehension what Findlay has just said, but I believe that is what the apostle John wants to communicate to our hearts even more than our heads!) The manifestation of God in Christ makes fellowship with God possible in an altogether new and richer way. Does not the very distinction revealed in the Godhead render such communion accessible, as it could not be otherwise to human thought? “Our communion,” writes John, “is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ” — with each distinctly, with each in and through and for the Other. We have fellowship with Christ in the Father. He has explained the Father (John 1:18), and talked to us about Him; and we are entering into His views. We share Christ’s thoughts about God. On the other hand, we have fellowship with God in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is God’s; but He is ours as well! God has told us what He thinks about His Son, and wishes us to think with Him. Showing Him to the world, He says: “This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I am ever well pleased.” (Mt 3:17, 17:5, Mk 9:7, 35, 2Pe 1:17) And we agree to that: we are well pleased with Him too! We solemnly accept the testimony of God concerning His Son. Then we are at one with God in respect to Christ. And all harmony and peace centre there. “The Father Himself loveth you,” said Jesus to His disciples, “because you have loved Me, and believed that I came out from the Father.” In Him God is reconciling the world to Himself. Only when we think aright of Christ, and are rightly disposed toward Him, can we have fellowship with each other, and work together with God for the world’s redemption. (1 John Commentary) C H
1 João 1:3
Cole comments that "It’s easy to put on a religious veneer by claiming that you have fellowship with God, when really, you’re walking in the darkness and deceiving yourself. John doesn’t want us to play spiritual dominoes. He wants us to experience genuine fellowship with the holy God by walking in the light, as He Himself is in the light. (1 John 1:1-3 The Tests of True Christianity) Tell the Story We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. 1 John 1:3 Today's Scripture & Insight : 1 John 1:1–4 Robert Todd Lincoln, son of US president Abraham Lincoln, was present for three major events—the death of his own father as well as the assassinations of presidents James Garfield and William McKinley. But consider that the apostle John was present at four of history’s most crucial events: the last supper of Jesus, Christ’s agony in Gethsemane, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. John knew that bearing witness to these events was the ultimate why behind his presence in these moments. In John 21:24, he wrote, “This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.” John reaffirmed this in his letter of 1 John. He wrote, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim” (1:1). John felt a compelling duty to share his eyewitness account of Jesus. Why? “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard,” he said, “so that you also may have fellowship with us” (v. 3). What are some of the more surprising aspects of your faith story? How will you share your story with someone who needs to hear of God’s love? Jesus, please help me be sensitive to those times when I can share with others how much You love us. For further study, see Gospel Conversations: Sharing the Story of Jesus. Puritan Daily Readings - In All Our Communion The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14 Not only in the emanation of grace from God and the illapses of the Spirit on us, but also in all our approaches unto God, are the distinctions observed. “For through Christ we have access by one Spirit unto the Father” (Eph. 2:18). Our access unto God (wherein we have communion with Him) is through Christ and in the Spirit and unto the Father—the persons being here considered as engaged distinctly unto the accomplishment of the counsel of the will of God revealed in the gospel. Sometimes, indeed, there is express mention made only of the Father and the Son, “Our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). The particle “and” is both distinguishing and uniting. Also “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). It is in this communion wherein Father and Son do make their abode with the soul. Sometimes the Son only is spoken of, as to this purpose. “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor. 1:9). And, “If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20). Sometimes the Spirit alone is mentioned. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:14). This distinct communion, then, of the saints with the Father, Son, and Spirit, is very plain in the Scripture. A PAID FRIEND - David Jeremiah 1 JOHN 1:3 You also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. A famous British playwright was leaving Liverpool by ship. He noticed that the other passengers were waving to friends on the dock. Just before the ship was to leave, he rushed down to the dock and stopped a little boy. “Would you wave to me if I pay you?” he asked the boy. “Of course,” he agreed. The writer gave him a few shillings, then ran back aboard and leaned over the rail. Sure enough, the boy was waving to him. The playwright disliked solitude and loneliness so much that he had gone so far as to create an artificial friend. To him, though, even the semblance of friendship was better than the crushing loneliness he felt. The key to assurance in life is fellowship. Fellowship with people locks out the grim feelings of loneliness. And fellowship with God keeps away the threat of eternal solitude. In this epistle, John wanted to make it clear to his readers that they could fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. He stressed the importance of love: Since Christians have experienced the love of God in their lives, they have no need to fear either in this life or in the life to come. (See Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God) EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. —1 John 1:3 I work with the Day of Discovery TV crew. When we are making a film about someone’s life, we especially like speaking with those who knew the person well. Over the years we’ve talked with a man who shared a room with Eric Liddell in an internment camp in China; a woman who as a teenager lived in the home of C. S. Lewis during World War II; and a man who chauffeured Dr. George Washington Carver on a speaking tour throughout southern America. They all spoke freely and openly about the special person they knew. When John, one of Jesus’ 12 disciples, was an old man, he wrote a letter in which his opening words explained he was an eyewitness and close companion of Jesus: “The life was [made known], and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was [made known] to us” (1 John 1:2). His goals in writing were “that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (v.3) and “that your joy may be full” (v.4). The eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ disciples help lead us to faith in Christ. Even though we have not seen Him as they did, we have believed. BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN AND YET HAVE BELIEVED. —JESUS We Touched Him! Mythology is filled with legends of ancient gods who descended from heaven and took human form, but no one ever heard or saw them, and no one ever touched them. These were dreams born of human desire for God and the hope that someday He would draw near. The incarnation of Jesus—God who came in the flesh—is how those dreams came true. Author Dorothy Sayers put it this way: [God] can exact nothing from man that He has not exacted from Himself. He has Himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death. When He was a man, He played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it well worthwhile. The incarnation of Jesus Christ is the irrefutable proof that God will do anything to draw near to us. Augustine said, "[God] gave Himself for a time to be handled by the hands of men." Absolutely tender! Absolutely true! Understanding all things; understanding you; Infinitely loving, good and kind and near— That is Christ our Savior. What have we to fear? —Anon. Love was when God became a man. —Walvoord Eyewitness - “You don’t want to interview me for your television program,” the man told me. “You need someone who is young and photogenic, and I’m neither.” I replied that we indeed wanted him because he had known C. S. Lewis, the noted author and the subject of our documentary. “Sir,” I said, “when it comes to telling the story of a person’s life, there is no substitute for an eyewitness.” As Christians, we often refer to sharing our faith in Christ as “witnessing” or “giving our testimony.” It’s an accurate concept taken directly from the Bible. John, a companion and disciple of Jesus, wrote: “We have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you” (1 John 1:2-3). If you know Jesus as your Savior and have experienced His love, grace, and forgiveness, you can tell someone else about Him. Youth, beauty, and theological training are not required. Reality and enthusiasm are more valuable than a training course in how to share your faith. Let us go forth, as called of God, Redeemed by Jesus' precious blood, His love to show, His life to live, His message speak, His mercy give. —Whittle Jesus doesn't need lawyers. He needs witnesses! Time Off! - Is there such a thing as a superstar Christian who is so close to God or so godly that he can take time off in his relationship with God? The idea sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? It’s absurd to think that our walk with God is anything but continual, everyday, all-the-time. But in reality, don’t we sometimes go our own way and neglect our fellowship with Him? This principle has a parallel in the world of sports. Grant Hill, a superstar professional basketball player, made this comment about his off-season practice schedule: “I just didn’t feel that I could take a week off. When I take one day off, I feel like I’m lacking a bit.” If we as Christians “take time off” from our relationship with God, we too will be “lacking a bit.” We will miss the guidance of His Word and the fellowship we experience in prayer. We will be more likely to forget our priorities and drift into forbidden areas that could lead to our downfall. No matter how long you’ve been a child of God through faith in Christ, you need to guard your relationship with Him. It’s not just about going to church or having daily devotions. It’s a continual relationship. Taking time off will seriously weaken your walk. — by Dave Branon (Ibid) The time we spend in fellowship With God each day in prayer Will strengthen us to stand against Temptation's evil snare. —Sper To keep spiritually fit, walk daily with Christ. When the Water Blushed In the beginning was the Word . . . . Through him all things were made. John 1:1, 3 Today's Scripture & Insight : John 1:1-14 Why did Jesus come to Earth before the invention of photography and video? Couldn’t He have reached more people if everyone could see Him? After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. “No,” says Ravi Zacharias, who asserts that a word can be worth “a thousand pictures.” As evidence, he quotes poet Richard Crashaw’s magnificent line, “The conscious water saw its Master and blushed.” In one simple line, Crashaw captures the essence of Jesus’ first miracle (John 2:1-11). Creation itself recognizes Jesus as the Creator. No mere carpenter could turn water to wine. Another time, when Christ calmed a storm with the words, “Quiet! Be still,” His stunned disciples asked, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (Mark 4:39, 41). Later, Jesus told the Pharisees that if the crowd did not praise Him, “the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40). Even the rocks know who He is. Jesus, we acknowledge You as the Creator who knows and loves His creation. Yet You wait for us to invite You into every aspect of our lives. Forgive us for those times we keep You at a safe distance. Today we choose to risk knowing You more completely. The written Word reveals the Living Word. Why We Need Others - Although Christians look forward to having joyful fellowship with each other one day in heaven, our relationships here on earth can often be anything but joyful. Someone has described it this way: “To live above with those we love—that will be grace and glory. To live below with those we know—now, that’s a different story!” Isolating ourselves from others doesn’t resolve this problem. The one thing we all need, particularly when life is difficult, is fellowship with other believers. 1John 1:3 says that Christian fellowship is “with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ,” but it’s also with each other. We need more than our private “Jesus and me” fellowship, as fundamental as that is. God also made us for a “Jesus and we” fellowship. Reuben Welch wrote, “Christians are not brought together because they like each other, but because they share a common life in Jesus and are . . . learning how to love each other as members of the family.” How can this deeper love become a reality? We must walk in God’s light (1John 1:7), be honest about our sins (1John 1:8), and confess them to God for forgiveness and cleansing (1John 1:9). If we are to grow more Christlike and learn to love, we need one another.— by Joanie Yoder (Ibid) Christian fellowship provides us With encouragement and love; It will help us in our journey Till we reach our home above. —Sper No Christian is meant to be an island. Communion with God John MacDuff "And truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." 1 John 1:3 It is said of Moses that "the Lord spoke to him face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." Now there is an important sense in which the words may be applied to every true believer. He is favored with intimate and endearing fellowship with his Heavenly Father. View him on his bended knees, in the secrecy of his closet, having shut out the world for a while, with its manifold anxieties. How sweet the privilege he enjoys — that of making all his requests known by prayer and supplication unto God! Is he conscious of his own weakness, of the temptations which surround him, and the many foes which beset him? His earnest cry is, "Hold me up — and I shall be safe!" Well, God is there, being ever near to those who call upon Him in truth, and says to him in return, "Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine! When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior!" Isaiah 43:1-3 Does he feel sorely perplexed as to the course he should pursue, when conflicting claims are pressing upon him? He looks upward, and says in the language of the Psalmist, "Teach me your way, O Lord; and lead me in a plain path because of my enemies." And what answer does God unto unto him? "I will instruct you, and teach you in the way which you shall go; I will guide you with my eye." "I will lead you in paths that you have not known; I will make darkness light before you, and crooked things straight; these things will I do unto you, and not forsake you." Is he oppressed under a deep sense of his exceeding sinfulness, his iniquities being set in fearful array against him, staring him in the face, and covering him with shame and confusion? He knows, however, what it is to look to Him whom he has so often found to be gracious; he therefore prays, "Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities!" And God remembers him with the favor which he bears to His people, and in the plenitude of His compassion He proclaims, "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and will not remember your sins!" "I will be merciful to your unrighteousness, and your sins and your iniquities, will I remember no more." Sometimes the child of God is in great trouble concerning his temporal needs, his earthly prospects being dark and gloomy. But knowing that He who is the God of grace, is also the God of providence, he draws near to the divine footstool for himself and family, and he there cries, "Remember us, O God, for good; oh! leave us not destitute." And He who hears the young ravens, hears him, and says to him, "Fear not, my poor child; no evil shall befall you, and no plague shall come near your dwelling. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will never lack any good thing." Sometimes, looking forward to the future, he says, "Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone." And the voice from heaven proclaims, "I created you and have cared for you since before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime — until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you!" And so with all his needs, and all his wishes — he draws near to God, and God draws near to him, and thus sweet fellowship is enjoyed between them. There are some who are disposed to sneer at the idea of spiritual communion with God. But let them sneer as they may; let them regard it, if they are so disposed, as a dream of enthusiasm. The believer, however, is not to be laughed out of his enjoyments. Fellowship with God is a privilege with which he would not part for ten thousand worlds! Of all precious things, it is to him the most precious. He regards it as the dawn of eternal day, and feels it to be glory begun below! Fellowship with God is to him, like the grapes of Eshcol which were brought down to the wilderness; it is a draught from those crystal streams which make glad the city of the Most High; it is a flower plucked from the amaranthine bowers of the Paradise above. In a word, fellowship with God is the prelude and pledge of the fullness of joy which is at God's right hand, and in which consists the very essence of that transporting bliss which will be realized by saints and angels forever and ever! And while he gazes upon the toilsome pursuits of men for the things which perish in their using, his language is — Let others stretch their arms like seas, And grasp in all the shore; Grant me the visits of your grace, And I desire no more! Christian, is there any ambition in your breast? Here is a noble field for its display! O how unspeakable the honor of holding familiar fellowship with the King of kings! And this honor has, not only the more favored servants of God — but all the saints! This is the hidden manna they have to eat — of which the world knows nothing. This is the joy they possess, which a stranger cannot understand. This is the honor they realize, which comes from God alone. They may be poor and afflicted; they may be frowned upon by an ungrateful and ungodly world; but this makes amends for all — "they have fellowship with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ." (The Christians Pathway) Robert Hawker - Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.—1 John 1:3 PRECIOUS, blessed consideration! Art thou, my soul, at this time in the full enjoyment of it? Pause over the inquiry. Sometimes for the want of this search of soul, and the neglect of it, deadness, or at least leanness, creeps in. Say then, my soul, how art thou dealing with thy God; and how is thy God dealing with thee? When were his latest manifestations? When did he take thee to his banqueting-house; or, when didst thou sit under his shadow? Hast thou very lately heard his voice, saying, “Fear not, I am thy salvation?” The discovery of these things are among the sweetest exercises which flow from the indwelling Spirit. Go on further in the inquiry—How art thou seeking with thy God? When hadst thou fellowship and communion with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ? What petitions hast thou now awaiting for answers from the heavenly court? What grateful acknowledgements have lately gone up for mercies received? How is thine acquaintance there advancing? How art thou growing in grace, and in the knowledge of thy Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? If these things are neglected by thee, will not a strangeness between thy God and thee come on; such as is induced by earthly friendships, when absence and time, where there is no correspondence kept up, wears out remembrance? My soul! rouse up and consider the vast importance of keeping up constant intercourse with thy God and Saviour. Precious Jesus! do thou keep the flame of love alive; manifest to my soul the certainty and reality of my union with thee, thou sweet Saviour, by causing this blessed communion to be constant, unceasing, and full of divine communications. Let thy Spirit call forth in me the exercise of the graces he hath planted; and do thou come forth in refreshing manifestations of love; so that, while prayers go up, blessings may come down; and while thou art graciously saying, “Seek ye my face,” my heart may say unto thee, “Thy face, Lord, will I seek.” Oh the blessedness of such a life! to break the power of sin; to revive and strengthen the spirits; to open and enlarge to my view the discoveries of thy Person, thy glory, thy riches, thy suitableness, thine all-sufficiency! If, dearest Jesus! thou wilt mercifully keep this fellowship, this partnership, alive in my soul, how will my poor soul be living upon thee, and with thee; and how shall I be exchanging with thee all my leanness, poverty, wretchedness, and weakness, for thy fulness, riches, righteousness, and strength. Come then, Lord Jesus! and until the day break, and the shadows flee away, “turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe, or a young hart, upon the mountains of Bether!”
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Cole writes that… When a sinner comes to Christ, it brings great joy to those who already know Christ (cp Lk 15:7, 32), but it also brings great joy to the sinner who is saved. And as our fellowship with God and with one another deepens, the joy deepens. In commenting on the fact that God has given us eternal life, Calvin exclaims (ibid., p. 157), “But if we consider how miserable and horrible a condition death is, and also what is the kingdom and the glory of immortality, we shall perceive that there is something here more magnificent than what can be expressed in any words.” And so as God’s children we are obligated to seek our greatest joy in Him. If we seek joy in lesser things, we miss the greatest joy of all and we do not glorify the God who rescued us from the ravages of sin and death. Fellowship with God and with one another really are just the two Great Commandments, to love God with all your being, and to love your neighbor as yourself (see Matt. 22:37-40). The aim of the entire Bible is to help us glorify God as we experience the deep joy of a close relationship with Him and close relationships with one another. As grow in obedience to these two Great Commandments, we will grow in great joy, not only in this life, but also for all eternity! I encourage you, work on your relationship with God. Don’t settle for occasional, distant fellowship. Make time daily to spend with Him in His Word and in prayer. Read books that help you to know Him better. Cut out of your life anything that hinders fellowship with Him. And, work on your relationships with other believers. In this sinful world, such relationships will never be perfect, but they can be good. But they won’t be good without effort! The payoff is that true fellowship with one another and true fellowship with God will bring you true joy. (1 John 1:3-4 True Fellowship) Charles
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Cole writes that "John was by this point the only surviving apostle. But, how was his joy made complete in writing these things? In the sense of 3 John 4, “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth” (see also, 2 John 4). If John’s little children would read these letters and not be carried away by the false teachers, but continue in the truth, he was a happy man. You may think that joy in the Lord is a nice extra, but not essential. But as John Piper often points out, we cannot glorify God properly unless we enjoy Him thoroughly. A. W. Pink (ibid., p. 28) observed, “Now this joy is not to be regarded as a luxury, but rather as a spiritual necessity. We are obligated to be glad in God.” He goes on to cite several Scriptures that command us to be glad and rejoice in the Lord. Then he points out that we will not glorify God apart from such genuine joy in Him. Our aim in proclaiming the gospel to others should be that they, too, would come to share our joy in Jesus Christ. (True Christianity 1 John 1:1-4) Guzik (1 John 1 Commentary) summarizes these first four verses noting that… Observations on this first portion of the book, which is one long sentence in the original manuscript. a. John began with the beginning - the eternal God, who was before all things. b. He told us that this God was physically manifested, and that he and others could testify to this as eyewitnesses. c. He told us that this God is the Word of life, the Logos. d. He told us that this God is distinct from the person of God the Father. e. He told us that we may have fellowship with this God, and that we are often introduced into this fellowship with God by the fellowship of God’s people. f. He told us that this eternally existent God, the Word of Life, who was physically present with them, and present for fellowship, is God the Son, named Jesus Christ. g. He told us that fellowship with Jesus leads to a life lived in fullness of joy. h. We could say that in these four verses, John gave us enough to live our whole Christian life on. No wonder one commentator wrote, Observe the note of wonder in the Apostle’s language. Speech fails him. He labours for expression, adding definition to definition. (Expositor’s) NET Bible Note - The prologue to 1 John (1Jn 1:1–4) has many similarities to the prologue to the Gospel of John (Jn 1:1–18). Like the 1prologue to the Fourth Gospel, the prologue to 1 John introduces the reader to important themes which will be more fully developed later in the body of the work. In the case of 1 John, three of these are: (1) the importance of eyewitness testimony to who Jesus is (cf. 1Jn 4:14, 5:6–12), (2) the importance of the earthly ministry of Jesus as a part of God’s revelation of himself in Jesus Christ (cf. 1Jn 4:2, 5:6), and (3) the eternal life available to believers in Jesus Christ (1Jn 5:11–12, 5:20). James Montgomery Boice sums up "This then is the way in which the gospel has come to us and must be passed on. The apostles bore witness to what they had seen and heard of Jesus, proclaimed it authoritatively on His commission, and finally preserved it in the writings which have since become our New Testament. Today believers are to take their writings and, having through them entered into the experience of the apostles, proclaim the Christ of the apostles to the world." (The Epistles of John or BORROW) Steven Cole - Many people believe in a Jesus of their own imagination and have an emotional experience that they call being born again. But when their problems are not all magically solved, or they go through difficult trials, they conclude that “Jesus didn’t work,” and they go back to the world. The problem is, they didn’t believe in the Jesus revealed by the apostles in the New Testament. Their experience was not that of true fellowship with God and with others who know God. And so any witness about their supposed con-version is lost when they abandon the faith. It’s likely that they never experienced true Christianity. True Christianity is essentially Jesus Christ—revealed in Scripture, experienced in new life and fellowship, and proclaimed with joy. Make sure that you’ve got the real deal! (True Christianity 1 John 1:1-4) G G Findlay writes "To communicate these truths (1Jn 1:1-3), to see this fellowship established amongst men, is the Apostle's delight, the business and delight of all those who share his faith and serve his Master: "these things we write, that our joy may be fulfilled." We have a great secret in common—we and the Apostles. The Father told it to Jesus, Jesus to them, they to us, and we to others. Those who have seen and heard such things, cannot keep the knowledge to themselves. These truths belong not to us only, but to "the whole world" (1Jn 2.2); they concern every man who has sins to confess and death to meet, who has work to do for his Maker in this world and a pathway to find through its darkness and perils. The Apostle John is writing to Greeks, to men far removed from him in native sympathy and instinct; but he has long since forgotten all that, and the difference between Jew and Greek never appears to cross his mind in writing this letter. The only difference he knows is between those who "are of God" and those who "are of the world." (1 John Commentary) QUESTION - What does “that your joy may be full” mean in John 16:24? ANSWER - In John 16:16–24, as Jesus speaks to His disciples about leaving them and going to the Father, they are confused, fearful, and filled with questions. Recognizing their desperate need for encouragement, Jesus teaches them about the Holy Spirit, who would be given to believers after Christ returned to heaven (see John 16:1–22). The Holy Spirit would be their Counselor and the One to fill them with a divine supply of power and joy (Acts 13:52; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; Romans 14:17; 15:13). Before Christ’s death, the disciples could speak directly to Jesus and ask Him questions. After His resurrection and ascension, they would pray to the Father in His name, through the Holy Spirit: “In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:23–24, ESV). With these words, Jesus presented the great promise and privilege of spending time with the Father in prayer. The Greek word for “joy” (chara) in John 16:24 usually expresses an emotion of “sorrow-turned-into-joy.” The joy that follows great sorrow is a heightened feeling of gladness because of the extreme contrast of emotions. It is the joy of the caring shepherd who finds his one lost sheep (Luke 15:1–7), the joy of the woman who finds her lost coin (Luke 15:8–10), and the joy of the father whose lost son returns home (Luke 15:11–32). The disciples would weep over Christ’s death and be distraught for a little while. But after the resurrection, “Your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy” (John 16:20, NLT), explained Jesus, because “I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy” (John 16:22, NLT). Jesus compared the kind of joy they would experience to that of “a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world” (John 16:21, (NLT). The “fullness of joy” is a theme in John’s writing (see 1 John 1:4). He frequently stresses that Jesus calls His followers into a life of joy. When Jesus taught about abiding in Him and obeying the Father’s commands, He said, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11, ESV). Before His arrest, Jesus prayed to the Father, saying, “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them” (John 17:13). That your joy may be full expresses a complete kind of joy—the utmost measure of joy. The disciples would soon know the most replete experience of joy or as much joy as was possible (see Luke 24:51–52). The Holy Spirit brings the fullness of joy to believers, giving them an inner sense of well-being, good fortune, peace, and happiness that is not dependent on external circumstances (see 2 Corinthians 7:4; Philippians 2:17; Colossians 1:24). This is the same “great joy” promised by the angels at the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:10). This joy comes to all who experience a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ (Psalm 13:5; Romans 14:17; Philippians 4:4; 1 Peter 1:8–9). Joy is the fruit of a Spirit-filled life (Galatians 5:22). Even when persecution and troubles come, those who “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16), are “led by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:18), “live by the Spirit,” and “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25) can “rejoice and be glad” for their reward in heaven will be great (Matthew 5:12). Like Paul, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation” (Romans 5:3–4, NLT). Peter witnessed believers enduring trials and fiery tests of faith, but because their trust in God remained strong, they could “rejoice with a glorious inexpressible joy” (1 Peter 1:6–8, NLT). James urged, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2–4, ESV). Jesus taught the disciples to ask and receive from the Father “that [their] joy may be full.” He wanted them to understand that they were complete and lacked nothing in the security of the Father’s grip. They had already been given the best Gift ever—the Son—and the Father would continue to give good gifts: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). The disciples would experience the full measure of joy because of their fellowship with God—a relationship made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus continues to comfort us during times of trouble, reminding us of the joy we can experience if we keep our eyes on Him, “the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2, ESV). C H Spurgeon from sermon HOW TO BECOME FULL OF JOY (Or listen to his sermon on youtube How to Become Full of Joy ) - IT is a wonderful proof of our Saviour’s deep attachment to his people that, having made their salvation sure, he is also anxious concerning their present state of mind. He wishes that his people should be, not only safe, but happy; that they should be not merely saved, but that they should rejoice in his salvation. It does not delight your Master for you to bow your heads as does the bulrush, or for you to go mourning all your days. He would have you rejoice, for again and again by his apostles does he exhort you to rejoice in him. We will go at once to our text. Let our first point be, that— I. A CHRISTIAN’S JOY NEEDS LOOKING AFTER. If it were not so, our text would not have been written, for we should not have had John writing to promote what would stand and progress well enough of itself. John seems to put the whole of the apostolic band, with himself, into the verse when he says, “These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full,” as if their joy would not be full unless inspired apostles should be commissioned of God to write in order to promote it. The Christian’s joy wants looking after. I do not doubt but that you have the proofs of this in yourselves, in your external circumstance. You cannot always rejoice, because although your treasure is not of this world, yet sometimes your affliction is here. Poverty is sometimes too heavy a cross for you to sing under it. Sickness casts you on a bed upon which you have not as yet learned to rejoice. There will be losses in business, disappointment of fond hopes, the forsaking of friends, the cruelty of foes, and any of these may prove the winter nights and nip the green leaves of your joys and make them fade and fall from your bough. You cannot always rejoice, but sometimes there is a needs-be that you should be “in heaviness through manifold temptations.” None of us, I suppose, are so perfectly happy as to be without some external trials, and our joy will, therefore, need to be looked after lest these water-floods should come in and quench it. We shall need indeed to cry to him, who alone can keep the flame burning, to trim our lamps and supply them with fresh oil. I suppose, too, that you have that within which makes you feel that it is no easy matter to maintain perpetual joy. If you have not, I have. Sometimes there will come deep depressions of heart, you can scarcely tell why or wherefore. That strong wing on which once you could mount as an eagle, will seem to flap the air in vain. That heart of yours which once flew upwards as the lark rising from amidst the dew, will lie cold and heavy as a stone on the earth. You will find it hard, indeed, to rejoice. Besetting sins, too, will cripple your holy mirth, so that when, like David before the ark, you, too, would dance for very joy, internal corruptions will make it almost impossible. Beloved, it is not easy to fight evil in our own souls, and to sing at the same time. Christian soldiers, we know, ought to do it, and march to battle with songs of triumph, nerving their spirits to deeds of desperate valour; but oh! how often the garment, rolled in dust and blood, compels us to stay for a while the shout of certain victory. Trials from within, from Satan’s suggestions, from the uprising of the black fountains of corruption, are not easy to bear, and we have reason enough, if our joy is to remain full, to be guarded and strengthened by a power not our own, even from God himself. And yet, have we not learned, beloved in Jesus Christ, how exceedingly necessary it is that our joy should be full? When that joy is full we are more than a match for all the devils of hell, but when it is weak and low, then we tremble, and like Peter, can be vanquished by a pert little serving-maid. When our joy in the Lord is at its full, we can bear that the fig-tree should not blossom, and that the herd should be cut off from the stall, and the flocks from the field, but how heavy our trials become when that joy has fled! When we can see the Saviour’s face without a veil between, then temptation has no power over us; for all the glittering gems that sin can offer by way of pleasure, are eclipsed in tender brilliance and divine attraction by the heavenly pearl of joy in the dear Saviour which we possess. Then we can sing with intensest truthfulness,— “I would not change my blest estate For all the world calls good or great, And whilst my faith can keep her hold I envy not the sinner’s gold.” C H Spurgeon from FULLNESS OF JOY OUR PRIVILEGE - VERY closely does the apostle John resemble his Lord in the motive that prompted him to write this epistle! You remember how Christ said, in his last discourse to his disciples on the eve of his passion, “These things have I spoken unto you that your joy may be full”; and how he counselled them, “Ask and receive that your joy may be full”; and how he prayed the Father for them, “that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” Here, then, the beloved disciple, moved by the Spirit of God, reflects and follows out the same gracious purpose: “These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.” What an evidence of our Saviour’s deep attachment to his people that he is not content with having made their ultimate salvation sure, but he is anxious concerning their present state of mind! He delights that his people should not only be safe, but happy; not merely saved, but rejoicing in his salvation. It does not please your Saviour for you to hang your head as the bulrush, and go mourning all your days. He would have you rejoice in him always; for this end he has made provision, and to this end he has given us precepts..... When full of joy, we are more than a match for the adversary of souls, but when our joy is gone, fear slackens our sinews, and, like Peter, we may be vanquished by a little maid. When our joy in the Lord is at its full, we can bear that the fig-tree should not blossom, that the herd should be cut off from the stall, and the flocks from the field, but how heavy our sorrows are to bear, how impatient we become when the chains that link heaven and earth are disarranged, or the communication in any way intercepted. If we can see the Saviour’s face without a cloud between, then temptation has no power over us, and all the glittering shams that sin can offer us are eclipsed in their brilliance by the true gold of spiritual joy which we have in our possession. Oh! what rapture! “Weary souls that wander wide From the central source of bliss, Turn to Jesu’s wounded side, Look to that dear blood of His.” He Put It In Writing - Two days after the April 27, 1996, cease-fire in Lebanon, a TV interviewer asked Israel’s prime minister how the new agreement differed from one a few years earlier. He replied, “This one is in writing, whereas the former one was verbal over the telephone. Print has a different value.” Spoken words can be forgotten, or they can be changed when they are repeated. Written words, though, aren’t dependent on memory, and they can’t be easily ignored or changed. In the Old Testament, when God spoke to the people of Israel, He told His prophets to write down what He said (Dt 5:22; Jer 36:2; Hab 2:2). He didn’t want His words to be forgotten or misrepresented. Likewise, when Jesus lived on earth, God gave audible approval of His Son (Mt. 17:5). John, who saw the transfiguration and heard God’s voice from heaven, did not merely tell others. Under the guidance of God’s Spirit, he wrote a book (the Gospel of John) and three letters (1,2,3 John) so that all his readers would know truth from error, believe on Christ, and be filled with joy (1Jn. 1:4). God, who formed worlds by the power of His word, Speaks through the Scriptures His truth to be heard; And if we read with the will to obey, He by His Spirit will show us His way. —DJD When you open your Bible, ask the Author to open your heart. Walking in the Light In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. John 1:4 Today's Scripture & Insight : Hebrews 12:18–24 Darkness descended on our forest village when the moon disappeared. Lightning slashed the skies, followed by a rainstorm and crackling thunder. Awake and afraid, as a child I imagined all kinds of grisly monsters about to pounce on me! By daybreak, however, the sounds vanished, the sun rose, and calm returned as birds jubilated in the sunshine. The contrast between the frightening darkness of the night and the joy of the daylight was remarkably sharp. The author of Hebrews recalls the time when the Israelites had an experience at Mount Sinai so dark and stormy they hid in fear (Exodus 20:18–19). For them, God’s presence, even in His loving gift of the law, felt dark and terrifying. This was because, as sinful people, the Israelites couldn’t live up to God’s standards. Their sin caused them to walk in darkness and fear (Hebrews 12:18–21). But God is light; in Him there’s no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). In Hebrews 12, Mount Sinai represents God’s holiness and our old life of disobedience, while the beauty of Mount Zion represents God’s grace and believers’ new life in Jesus, “the mediator of a new covenant” (vv. 22–24). Whoever follows Jesus will “never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Through Him, we can let go of the darkness of our old life and celebrate the joy of walking in the light and beauty of His kingdom. By: Lawrence Darmani If you’re a believer in Jesus, how has your life changed since He came into it? What are some ways you’d like to grow in your faith? Thank You, Lord Jesus, for bringing me out of darkness into Your marvelous light. Help me to avoid the darkness to continue walking in the light toward eternity. Are You Happy? - An elderly woman was once asked by a friend about the spiritual welfare of a mutual acquaintance. She replied, “Well, she’s in a very bad state of mind. She’s got just enough Christianity to make her miserable when she’s doing wrong, but not enough to make her happy in a prayer meeting.” The most unhappy people, it seems to me, are not the unsaved but Christians who are disobedient to Christ. When they continue to sin, they are inviting God’s loving chastening and are asking for much sorrow and loss. Because they have the benefit of the indwelling Holy Spirit and a knowledge of God’s will through the Scriptures, they feel more wretched in their backslidden state than those who have not accepted the Savior. Every Christian who has lived for a time with unconfessed sin knows what I’m talking about. Trust and obey— For there's no other way To be happy in Jesus But to trust and obey. —Sammis Sin causes the cup of joy to spring a leak James Smith - THE JOYFUL LIFE 1 John 1:4 “These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.” I. The Joy of Forgiveness is the Beginning of Joy. We can know we are forgiven (1Jn 2:12). Observe “are” forgiven.” II. The Joy of Fellowship is the Fullness of Joy. John points out that the fullness of joy is the outcome of fellowship with the Father, with the Lord Jesus Christ, and with our fellow-believers. This fullness of joy, because of close and blessed fellowship, follows: 1. Walking in the light. 2. Confession of sin. 3. Forgiveness of sin. 4. Cleansing from sin. The Smile of Joy - Remember those round, yellow, happy-face stickers that showed up frequently on stationery and postcards? They were often accompanied by the one-word message, “Smile.” They implied that you can put a smile on your face as easily as you can put a hat on your head. In a sense, that is true. A good actor can look happy even when his heart is breaking. Favorable circumstances can also produce smiles. A person with good health, an adequate income, and a nice house finds it easy to look happy. The best smile, though, comes naturally from within. It reflects a joy that remains even when a person has few of life’s material blessings. It comes from knowing God, believing and obeying His Word, being assured of sins forgiven, possessing eternal life, and anticipating the glories of heaven. The believer who depends on God for these blessings can smile despite adversity. A smile can conceal our pain And lighten our despair, But trust in God gives inner peace And joy beyond compare. —Sper Happiness depends on happenings, but joy depends on Jesus. THE JOY OF THE LORD AND ITS FULLNESS Robert Candlish (continued from above) discusses the joy John desires for his readers (which includes you and I beloved of the Father)… Joy, as it is commonly understood and exemplified among men, is a tumultuous feeling; a quick and lively passion or emotion, blazing up for the most part upon some sudden prosperous surprise, and apt to subside into cold indifference, if not something worse, when fortune threatens change or custom breeds familiarity. "As the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of fools" (Ecclesiastes 7:6). It is indeed vanity; an outburst or outbreak of exuberant hilarity, subsiding soon into weariness and vacancy, the dull cold ashes of a brilliant but passing flame. All the joy of earth partakes, more or less, of that character; for it is dependent upon outward circumstances, and has no deep root in the soul itself. Even what must in a sense be called spiritual joy may be of that sort. There may be joyous excitement when the glad jubilee-trumpet fills the air with its ringing echoes, and an enthusiastic multitude are hastening to keep holiday. There may be a real elevation of spirit when some affecting scene of spiritual awakening is witnessed, or some gracious ordinance is celebrated, or some stirring voice is heard. Such joy is like the goodness which, as a morning cloud and as the early dew, goes away. There may be the joy also of complacency in one's own success in a good and holy work; such joy as the Baptist's disciples feared that their tidings would mar in their master's breast, when they came to tell him, "Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizes and all men come unto him" (John 3:26). His answer is very memorable, and very much to the purpose of our present inquiry:—"He that hath the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears Him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice; this my joy therefore is fulfilled" (John 3:29). It is Christ's joy that is fulfilled in him who is so truly and heartily the bridegroom's friend; Christ's twofold joy; first, his joy as the bridegroom possessing the bride; "as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee" (Isa. 62:9);—and, secondly, his joy as the Son possessing the Father; as the Baptist goes on to testify so affectionately; "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand" (Jn 3:35). Now, upon the subject of this "joy of the Lord," this joy of Christ, this double joy of Christ; his joy as the bridegroom having the bride; his joy as the Father's beloved Son and trusted servant, into whose hand he gives all things;—I would beware of "exercising myself in things too high for me." I would not venture so much as to imagine the ineffable joy of the Son dwelling from everlasting in the bosom of the Father, and with the Father and the Holy Spirit ordering the eternal counsels of the Godhead;—the whole vast ideal of creative and providential goodness, all holy and all wise:—and especially the covenanted plan of electing love, for "gathering into one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are in earth" (Eph 1:10). Neither dare I do more than touch on what, as the eternal wisdom, he himself says about the Father "possessing him in the beginning of his ways, before his works of old;"—"Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men" (Pr 8:22-31). I come at once to his earthly course, his human experience. And, first, I see him in the temple, when he was twelve years old. I hear his answer to his mother and Joseph, "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" How intense his consciousness even already, at an age so tender, of the trust committed to him; his Father's business, the business on which his Father's heart is set, for glorifying that name of his which is light and love, and saving a people to bask in that light and love evermore! "I must be about it." There is deep joy in such a consciousness as that (Luke 2:49). Then, secondly, I see him as the disciples left him, faint and way worn at Jacob's well. On their return they find him fresh and bright. Is it an outward cordial, or is it inward joy, of which he speaks as having revived him? "I have meat to eat that ye know not of: my meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work" (John 4:32-34). And, thirdly, I find it once, and once only, said in express terms that "Jesus rejoiced in spirit" (Luke 10:21). The statement is a very strong one; it implies inward leaping for joy. And the occasion is remarkable. It is connected with the mission of the seventy. In sending them forth, the Lord has been much exercised with thoughts of the failure, to a large extent, of their ministry and of his own, and the aggravated guilt thus entailed on the highly-favored objects of that ministry. In receiving them back, he sympathizes so far with their delight at finding even "the devils subject to them;" but he adds, "Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject to you; but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." "In that hour," and in the view of the names of these his little ones being written in heaven, "Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight" (ver. 21). There is here the joy of full, filial acquiescence, for himself, in the gracious and holy will of his Father. And there is added to that the crowning joy of so making known the Father to these babes that they too may acquiesce as he does; "All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knows who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him" (ver. 22). Thus "the joy of the Lord is his strength;" prevailing over the diffidence of extreme youth, the exhaustion of nature, and "the contradiction of sinners against himself." Nothing—either in his being a mere child, as when Jeremiah complained, "Ah, Lord God, behold I cannot speak, for I am a child" (Jerem. 1:6); or in his being overcome by distress, hunger, and fatigue, as when Elijah sat down in the wilderness and requested for himself that he might die (1 Kings 19:4);—or in his being forced to utter triple woes against the cities of his own habitation, as when Isaiah, sent on an errand of judgment to his people, was fain to cry, "Lord, how long?" (Isa. 6:11);—nothing, I say, in any such trials of his flesh and heart, causes either flesh or heart to faint. At least, when flesh and heart faint, his spirit is refreshed with joy. To be about his Father's business; to be doing the will of him that sent him, and finishing his work; to say, "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight;"—such joy is his always. Throughout the whole of his painful toil and solitary suffering there may be traced an undercurrent of real joy, without Which, I am persuaded, that countenance "so marred with grief" could not have worn, as it did, the aspect of one "fairer than the children of men, into whose lips grace was poured." Nay, even of his last agony is it not said that "for the joy set before him he endured the cross?" (Heb. 12:2). There was joy set before him, lying full in his view, in his very endurance of the cross. But what! one says—joy in that dark hour! Over the most excruciating torture of body the brave soul may rise triumphant. But when his soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto death; when his Father was hiding his face from him; when the wrath of a holy God and the curse of a broken law were upon him; when literally the pains of hell gat hold of him; how could there be joy then? Nay, I cannot tell how. But I bid you ask yourselves if, when he cried, "Father, glorify thy name;" if, when he said, "The cup which my Father giveth me shall I not drink it?" if, when in his bloody sweat these words came forth, "Father, thy will be done,"—there was no joy in his spirit. More than that, I ask if you can conceive of him, in his utmost extremity of peril, endurance, and expiatory woe, ever for a moment losing the consciousness that he was doing his Father's will and finishing his Father's work? Could that consciousness be ever interrupted? Could it ever cease to be a source of inward joy? There is joy lying before him, beside him, as he hangs on the accursed tree; not the joy of hopeful anticipation merely, in the near prospect of victory, but the stern joy of battle in the midst of the hot and heady fight, as—true to the trust committed to him by his Father and loving to the last his own whom he came to save—he bares his bosom to the sword awaking in its righteousness to smite the willing victim. That joy no man, no devil, taketh from him; the joy with which he meets the Father's just demand of a great propitiation:—"Lo, I come; I delight to do thy will, O God;"—the joy with which he sees already of the travail of his soul when he says to the dying penitent, "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." Not in heaven only, among the angels of God, but on earth also, in one holy bosom at least, there is in that hour joy "over one sinner that repents." This joy, "his joy," is to become ours; it is to "remain in us." "Our joy is to be full" by "his joy being fulfilled in us." Let us notice first the reality, and then the fulness, of this fellowship or partnership of joy between Christ and us. (I.) Christ would have his joy to be really ours. The bridegroom's friend, standing and hearing him, is to rejoice greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. But that is not all. Something more than the Baptist's official joy, as the bridegroom's friend, waiting upon him as his minister, is to be ours. For the Lord says that "to be least in the kingdom of heaven is to be greater than John the Baptist." In all that constitutes the essence of his own joy the Lord associates us in intimate union with himself. Thus, first, in his standing with the Father, and before the Father, he calls us to share. The position which he occupies in the Father's house and in the Father's heart is ours as well as his. It is that which opens the way to his joy being ours. And what opens the way to that? His making our standing and our position his. There is an exchange of places between him and us. Our state of guilt as criminals and prodigals, with all its misery, he takes to be his, that his state of acceptance as the Father's righteous servant, and exaltation as the Father's acknowledged Son, with all its joy, may be ours. Hence our sharing his joy begins with our sharing his cross. It begins with our mourning for our sin as piercing him. The very mourning itself has in it an element of joy; a certain feeling of calm and chastened satisfaction that the strife with God is ended, through our being moved by his Spirit to give in to him. And soon clearer, fuller joy comes. Looking still on that pierced one, pierced for us as well as by us, we see how thoroughly, by putting himself in our place, he has so met and discharged all our liabilities, that we, "being redeemed from the curse of the law," may, by his putting us in his own place, "receive the adoption of sons." Then, secondly, he makes us partakers of the very same inward evidence of acceptance and Sonship which he himself had when he was on earth. The Baptist testified, "God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him." How much the presence of the Holy Ghost, ever consciously realized, contributed to keep alive in the holy human soul of Jesus, amid all his toil and pain, a joyful sense of his being still the Father's chosen servant and beloved Son—who can tell? Thirdly, we have the same commission with Christ; the same trust reposed in us; the same work assigned to us. Accepted and adopted in him; sealed as he was sealed by the Spirit; we are sent as he was sent into the world. This capital ingredient, this great element of his joy, is ours. It was a deep, secret wellspring of joy in his heart; the feeling, never for a moment lost or interrupted, of his being the Father's fellow, the Father's agent, in carrying out that wondrous plan that had been concerted between them, in the council-chamber of the Godhead, from everlasting. There could be nothing, in all his experience, so mean but that this thought must ennoble it; nothing so dark but that this thought must enlighten it; nothing so toilsome or so tearful but that this thought must gladden it. And now, he takes us into his counsels, as the Father has him in his. "All that he has heard of the Father he makes known to us." He does not keep us, as mere servants, in the dark, about what he is doing; prescribing to us our tasks, without information or explanation, to be blindly executed by us in ignorance of what it may all mean. We are "his friends;" the men of his secret; with us he has no reserve; from us he keeps back nothing (John 15:14, 15). He admits us to his fullest confidence. Some matters, indeed, pertaining to "the times and seasons which the Father hath put in his own power," it may not be for us to know. They are such as he himself, in the days of his manhood, did not care to know. But as to all that is essential, we have the same intelligence that he had, and the same insight. He sends us, as the Father sent him. Have you, let me ask, duly considered what community of mind and heart between Christ and you all this implies? And what community of joy? Ah! when you wearily pace the beaten round of certain devout observances; or when you painfully deny yourselves this or that gratification on which your inclinations remain as much set as ever; or when, with half-opened hand, you dole out your measured mite, as you call it, in a good cause, or a cause you cannot venture to put away as bad; or when you labor hard at your cheerless daily toil, or drag your lazy limbs along in some self-prescribed walk of beneficence, as if you were doing the dullest piece-work for the scantiest wages; and when you count such sort of service religion, as if that were the new obedience to which you are called;—can you wonder that you have no joy in the Lord? May not God say to you, as he said once to another, who, however grudgingly, must yet do his pleasure,—"Have you considered my servant Jesus?" Get something of his acquaintance with me, and with my plans and my ways. Get something of his spirit as he rejoiced to feel always the greatness of the trust committed to him. Get it from himself. Get it in himself. "Take his yoke upon you, and learn of him." For, fourthly, here is the chief element of his joy. He is "meek and lowly in heart;" and therefore "his yoke is easy, and his burden is light;" so easy, so light, that he may count it joy to bear them. It is not an easy yoke in itself that is his; nor a light burden. But his meekness and lowliness in heart makes the yoke easy, and the burden light. The yoke that was laid on his neck when he took the form of a servant was hard indeed; the yoke of subjection to the law, as broken by us and demanding satisfaction from him. The burden that was lying on his shoulders all the time he was doing the work of a servant was heavy indeed; the burden of bringing in an everlasting righteousness, with full expiation of guilt on behalf of us, miserable sinners. But as the seven years of service seemed to Jacob but one day for the love he bore to Rachel, so the meek and lowly heart of Jesus makes the hard yoke easy and the heavy burden light. In his case, as in Jacob's, the charm is love; love, rejoicing in his Father, whose will he is doing; love, rejoicing over us, whom he is purchasing to be his spouse. For, in a word, it is his self-renunciation, so absolute and entire; his self-forgetting, self-sacrificing affection; his so completely losing himself, merging himself, in the Father whom he serves and the people whom he saves; this is that meekness and lowliness of heart which, making his yoke easy to him and his burden light, moves him, "rejoicing in spirit," to cry, "I thank thee, O Father." We must share that meekness of his; that lowliness of heart. We, like him, must be emptied of self. For no true joy is or can be selfish. I may hug myself, and applaud myself, and pamper myself, and think to laugh all thought of others, and all care about their thoughts of me, away. I do but kick against the pricks. The task of vindicating my self-sufficiency and asserting my self-will, to my own contentment, against all and sundry, I soon find to be no child's play; but a hard yoke indeed, and a heavy burden. Let me get out of my own narrow self into Christ, and the large heart of Christ. Let me, like him, be meek and lowly in heart; accepting the conditions of my earthly lot; discharging the duty of my earthly calling; meeting the trials of my earthly pilgrimage; not as if I were entitled selfishly to take credit for what I do, or take amiss anything I have to suffer; but simply in loving obedience to my heavenly Father, and loving sympathy with him in his truth and holiness and wide and pure benevolence. That was Christ's way; that was Christ's joy. Then may I have freedom, enlargement, joy, as Christ had, in walking with my Father in heaven always; going about in my Father's name doing good; drinking whatever cup my Father giveth me; and on whatever cross he may see fit to nail me, saying still, as I give up the ghost, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." (II.) The reality of this joy,—Christ's own joy remaining in us,—may now be partly apparent. But who shall venture to describe its fulness? "That my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full;" so he speaks to his apostles. "That they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves;" so he speaks to the Father concerning them. "That your joy may be full;" such is the beloved apostle's longing on behalf of his disciples, as it was his master's on behalf of his chosen ones. Surely, one would say, it is to the future state, the life to come, the world beyond the grave, that these expressions point. And that is doubtless true. In its utmost and ultimate perfection, this full joy belongs to heaven. So it is with Christ's own personal joy. In heaven he fully rejoices with the Father and the eternal Spirit over his fulfilled work of glorious righteousness and grace, and the fulfilled fruits of it, in the fulfilled salvation of all the multitude of his redeemed. Was it something of that joy that Paul caught a glimpse of in that strange ecstasy of his, when he was caught up into the third heaven,—into paradise,—and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for man to utter? (2Cor. 12:1-4). Was it Moses and Elias that he overheard, as on a higher mount of transfiguration, talking with Jesus about the decease now accomplished at Jerusalem? Or was it Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; the everlasting Father, communing with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, now in his bosom evermore, and the blessed Spirit plying evermore his ministry between God and men? But "something sealed the lips" of Paul. Let me, therefore, be silent, and wait. Let me rather see if there is not some sense,—some humbler and more practicable point of view,—in which I have to do with that fulness of joy. In the 45th Psalm the Messiah, rejoicing over his church as a bridegroom over his bride, is thus saluted: "Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness; therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad." This gladness of the anointing oil and the sweet-smelling spices is all associated with his loving righteousness and hating wickedness. The secret of his full joy lies in his being, as his Father is, the holy one and the just. Hence there can be no discrepancy of thought, or taste, or feeling, between him and the Father who has sent him. All things about his mission appear t6 him as they appear to the Father; they are to him what they are to the Father. No painful effort is ever needed to bring his judgment into subjection to the Father's; or his will into harmony with the Father's. No lurking tendency of his own nature toward evil; no insidious suggestion of the tempter; no impatience of subordination; no secret longing to taste the liberty of self-will;—can ever interfere with his walking in the light as God is in the light. And that is the perfection of blessedness. To one who is at once a servant and a son that is "fulness of joy." Is it attainable by us here? Yes, in measure, and in growing measure. Let our nature be assimilated to that of God; our mind to his; our heart to his. Let our souls learn the lesson of seeing as he sees and feeling as he feels. Let sin be to us what it is to him; and righteousness and truth as well. Let there be a clear understanding between him and us upon all questions; a thorough identity of interest and inclination in all points; an entire agreement of opinion and choice in the great strife of good and evil going on in the world. That was Christ's own joy. And it was fulness of joy, even when his personal share in that strife cost him the tears of Gethsemane and the bitter cry of Calvary. Let it be ours, more and more, through our growth in grace and in holiness. All misery lies in our judgment not being in subjection to God's; our will not being in harmony with his. Misery ends, and fulness of joy comes, when we think and feel and wish as God does. Therefore fulness of joy may be ours; ours more and more; when "beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord,"—this glory of his being the Father's willing servant and loyal Son,—"we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." And now, perhaps, we may see more clearly than we have been accustomed to see the propriety of this "joy of the Lord,"—this "joy in the Lord,"—being represented as not merely a privilege, but a duty. "Rejoice in the Lord; and again I say unto you rejoice." For this joy is not anything like that sort of mysterious incomprehensible rapture into which the spirits may be occasionally thrown under some sudden and irresistible impulse from without or from within. It is not mere excitement. It is not what many call enthusiasm, proper to high festivals. It is a calm and sober frame of mind, suited for everyday wear and everyday work. Neither is its nature recondite, abstruse, and mystical; nor does it come and go in flashes, like the winged fire of heaven. It can be explained and accounted for; analyzed and described. Its elements and causes can be specified. Its rise and progress can be traced. It is not therefore an attainment with which we can dispense; it is "our strength." Nor is it a grace for which we may idly wait until it drop upon us unawares from above. We have it in us, the germ of it, the essence of it, if we have Christ in us; if we have the Spirit of Christ. "And if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Stir up then the gift that is in you. Do you ask how? Observe the different connections in which your sharing the Lord's joy stands in the farewell discourses and the farewell prayer;—as first, with your keeping his commandments and abiding in his love, as he kept the Father's commandments, and abode in the Father's love (John 15:10, 11); secondly, with your asking in his name as you have never asked before (16:24); and, thirdly, with your being kept in the Father's name, in ever-brightening disclosures of the Father's glorious perfections (17:11, 13). And observe, in the fourth place, the beloved apostle's warm appreciation of this joy as realized in the communion of saints: "Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink; but I trust to come unto you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full" (2 John 12). Surely this joy of the Lord, as it is thus intimately associated;—first with obedience,—secondly with prayer,—thirdly with the study of the divine character,—and fourthly with the cultivation of Christian communion;—is no rare rapture, to be snatched at intervals of excited devotion. It is, on the contrary, a calm and chastened frame of mind; such as may be realized in every common duty, in every humble supplication, in every devout exercise of soul upon the divine word, in every greeting exchanged lovingly with any of the Lord's people. Well therefore may the apostolic precept run thus—"Rejoice evermore." For this joy is independent of events and circumstances. The labors you are engaged in may be the hardest drudgery; the people to whom you are seeking to be useful may be the most perverse of all men. Your temper, patience, love, faith, hope, may be tried to the very utmost; all may seem dark; friends may change, and enemies may be round about you. But Christ is the same, and his joy is the same; the joy of doing and suffering his Father's will. "Rejoice ye if ye are counted worthy to suffer for his sake." "Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience," and that if "patience has her perfect work" ye shall be "perfect and entire, lacking nothing." Let nothing mar or damp your joy. What can mar or damp it if it is Christ's joy remaining in you; Christ's joy fulfilled in you; Christ's joy and yours together in his Father and your Father, his God and your God? "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation (Hab 3:17, 18). That was the prophet's joy, because he apprehended it as Christ's joy, seeing his day afar off, and being glad as he saw it. Let it be your joy also, your joy in him, "whom having not seen you love, and in whom, though now you see him not, you rejoice;" with his own joy fulfilled in you; and therefore "with joy unspeakable and full of glory." (1 John 1 Commentary)
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Cole applies the truths in this section reminding us that "we need to apply this personally. If as a way of life, I am not allowing God’s Word to confront my sinful thoughts, attitudes, motives, words, and deeds, I am walking in darkness. If I dodge my sin by blaming others or making up excuses for why I sin, I am walking in darkness. And for John, to walk in darkness is not describing a “carnal” Christian. It is describing an unbeliever, no matter how much he may claim to have fellowship with God." (How to Have Fellowship With God 1 John 1:5-10) Before you became a Christian you chased it (sin). After you become a Christian it chases you. Wayne
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Cole - How to Have Fellowship With God 1 John 1:5-10) ILLUSTRATION FROM AN ARTICLE ENTITLED "PICK-AND-CHOOSE CHRISTIANITY"-This was a cross denominational survey of church members asking them which teachings they would accept and which they would leave behind. One of the least popular teachings was regarding sin. Here is a quote from the article… What many have left behind is a pervasive sense of sin. Although 98 percent said they believe in personal sin, only 57 percent accepted the traditional notion that all people are sinful and fully one-third allowed that they "make many mistakes but are not sinful themselves." Said one typical respondent: "The day I die, I should only have to look up at my Maker and say, 'Take me.' Not 'Forgive me.' The Biggest Lie If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. —1 John 1:8 Today's Scripture : 1 John 1:1-10 A minister was walking down a street when he noticed a group of boys standing around a dog. Concerned for the dog’s safety, he walked over and asked what they were doing. A boy replied, “This is an old stray, and all of us want it. We decided that whoever told the biggest lie would get it.” “You boys shouldn’t have a contest telling lies,” said the minister. “Don’t you know that lying is a sin? Why, when I was your age I never told a lie!” There was silence for about a minute. Then, just as the minister thought he had gotten through to them, one boy gave a deep sigh and said, “All right, he wins. Give him the dog.” We smile, but the fact is, we’ve all told some whoppers. Oh, we tolerate some lies, calling them exaggerations—like when we add a few inches to the big fish we caught. We aren’t that tolerant, however, when lied to and cheated in a business deal or when an untruth threatens our reputation. Yet, anyone who says he’s without sin is telling the biggest lie of all. Deceit lies hidden in our hearts— We all have told a lie; Yet Jesus can forgive and cleanse— That's why He came to die. —D. De Haan A lie may cover your tracks, but it cannot hide the truth. EXCURSUS ON PAGAN VIEW OF HAMARTIA Vincent gives us an excellent summary of how the ancient world viewed "sin" or perhaps better how they did not view sin writing that… Heathen authors say very little about sin, and classic paganism had little or no conception of sin in the Gospel sense. The nearest approach to it was by Plato, from whose works a tolerably complete doctrinal statement might be gathered of the origin, nature, and effects of sin. The fundamental idea of hamartia (sin) among the Greeks is physical; the missing of a mark; from which it develops into a metaphysical meaning, to wander in the understanding. This assumes knowledge as the basis of goodness; and sin, therefore, is, primarily, ignorance. In the Platonic conception of sin, intellectual error is the prominent element. Thus: “What then, I said, is the result of all this? Is not this the result — that other things are indifferent, and that wisdom is the only good, and ignorance the only evil?” (“Euthydemus,” 281). “The business of the founders of the state will be to compel the best minds to attain that knowledge which has been already declared by us to be the greatest of all — they must continue to rise until they arrive at the good” (“Republic,” vii., 519). Plato represents sin as the dominance of the lower impulses of the soul, which is opposed to nature and to God (see “Laws,” ix., 863. “Republic,” i. 351). Or again, as an inward want of harmony. “May we not regard every living being as a puppet of the gods, either their plaything only or created with a purpose — which of the two we cannot certainly know? But this we know, that these affections in us are like cords and strings which pull us different and opposite ways, and to opposite actions; and herein lies the difference between virtue and vice” (“Laws,” i., 644). He traces most sins to the influence of the body on the soul. “In this present life, I reckon that we make the nearest approach to knowledge when we have the least possible communion or fellowship with the body, and are not infected with the bodily nature, but remain pure until the hour when God himself is pleased to release us. And then the foolishness of the body will be cleared away, and we shall be pure, and hold converse with other pure souls, and know of ourselves the clear light everywhere, which is no other than the light of truth” (“Phædo,” 67). We find in the classical writers, however, the occasional sense of the universal faultiness of mankind, though even Plato furnishes scarcely any traces of accepting the doctrine of innate depravity. Thus Theognis: “The sun beholds no wholly good and virtuous man among those who are now living” (615). “But having become good, to remain in a good state and be good, is not possible, and is not granted to man. God only has this blessing; but man cannot help being bad when the force of circumstances overpowers him” (Plato, “Protagoras,” 344). “How, then: is it possible to be sinless? It is impossible; but this is possible, to strive not to sin” (“Epictetus,” iv., 12, 19). (
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Cole has a modern day example of "making God a liar" - Robert Schuller redefines sin to mean something other than what Scripture declares. He says (p. 65) that to define sin as rebellion against God is “shallow and insulting to the human being.” He redefines sin as a lack of trust, which “is another way of saying that we are all born with a negative self-image….” He says (p. 67), “By nature, we are fearful, not bad. Original sin is not a mean streak; it is a nontrusting inclination.” So he redefines being born again (p. 68): “To be born again means that we must be changed from a negative to a positive self-image—from inferiority to self-esteem, from fear to love, from doubt to trust.” This, in turn, changes us from shame to self-esteem, so that we can now pray (p. 69, italics his), “Our Father in heaven, honorable is our name. So, the foundation is laid for us to feel good about ourselves!” (To which Cole adds the pithy comment) "John would say, “That man is walking in the darkness, deceiving himself and anyone who believes him. Worse, he is calling God a liar and God’s word is not in him!” (How to Have Fellowship With God 1 John 1:5-10) There is even a perfume called "My Sin." It's a fragrance "so alluring, so charming, so exciting," Haddon Robinson has a devotional entitled My Sin which is relevant to the false claim in 1Jn 1:10 - The woman explained the rules to the Tempter. She and her husband could eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except for the special one in the middle. Just touching it, she said, would bring death. I can imagine Satan throwing back his head and with mocking laughter saying, "You will not surely die" (Gen. 3:4). He then suggested that God was holding back something good from her (Ge 3:5). For thousands of years the Enemy has repeated that strategy. He doesn't care if you believe in the authority of the Bible as a whole, as long as he can get you to disbelieve that there is one sin standing between you and God. "You will not surely die," we are told. That is the theme of so many modern novels. The hero and heroine live in disobedience to God but suffer no consequences. In TV shows and movies the characters rebel against the moral laws of God but live happily ever after. There is even a perfume called "My Sin." It's a fragrance "so alluring, so charming, so exciting," the ads tell us, "we could only call it 'My Sin.'" You would never guess that sin is a stench in the nostrils of God. In the temptation you face today, will you choose to believe Satan's lie, or will you obey God's warning? A bite of sin leaves a bitter aftertaste! Jackman mentions some subtle ways of saying we have not sin and it begins when "We no longer call sin ‘sin’. Adultery becomes ‘having an affair’. Theft is ‘helping myself to the perks’. Selfishness is ‘standing up for my rights’. The last thing we human beings will admit is that we sin… We must not be surprised when the chickens hatched by atheistic philosophies come home to roost, in terms of multiplying lawlessness and a society which will prove increasingly difficult to govern. But we must resist that drift with all our energy, in our own lives, in our churches and in our community… As Nietzsche proclaimed nearly a hundred years ago, ‘If God is dead, everything is permitted.’ But God’s righteous character remains absolute in his world, and deviation from that character, as revealed in God’s law, remains sin. That law is not an arbitrary set of rules designed to restrict and inhibit human life, but the expression of God’s will for human relationships in accordance with his own nature of light and love. That is why adultery, theft, lying, murder and all the other sins remain sin, whatever people may call them. The other sins include those commonly tolerated among Christians too—the favourite sins of greed, jealousy, envy, malice, bitterness and a critical or unforgiving spirit. They are all equally attacks on the character of God to whom we are all finally responsible. Before him, we all stand guilty. If we deny that these things are sin, we are actually calling God a liar. That is meant to shock us. We deny his Word. We say his revelation is not true. We embrace the darkness. If one has never seen oneself as a guilty sinner before a holy God and desperately in need of His forgiveness, then one cannot yet be a Christian. There can be no fellowship with the God Who is light. (See The Message of John's Letters) Wayne
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Cole adds his thoughts on holiness writing that "Every time I see the bumper sticker, “Christians are forgiven, not perfect;” I want to add another line, “But, they’re striving for holiness.” As it stands, the bumper sticker seems to say, “God accepts me, faults and all, so you need to accept me, too!” Okay, but please give me some assurance that you’re working on things! As the author of Hebrews states (Heb 12:14ESV), we are to “strive for … the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Holiness is not an optional accessory that you may add to your Christian life at some point, if you so choose. Holiness is essential. If you are not striving to grow in holiness in the sight of God, you need to examine whether you know Christ as Savior at all. Every blood-bought child of God desires to please the Lord Jesus who gave Himself on the cross to save us from our sins. J Ligon Duncan gives us an illustration and an explanation of "have not sinned" - In the first couple of years that I was a professor at Reformed Seminary, a young couple came to me. They were in one of my classes, and after class they came to me and made an appointment, and they met me in my office. And they were deeply burdened by something. They were both godly and committed Christians from everything that I could tell about them, and they both wanted to serve the Lord on the mission field. They had both been to a Bible college, and in the course of our conversation it was clear to me that they were struggling greatly with their assurance. In fact, both of them were so struggling with their assurance that they were not sure at all that they were believers. They longed to serve the Lord Jesus Christ on the field of missions, but their assurance was profoundly challenged. In the course of our conversation, they explained that a man who taught at their Bible college, who was actually a Presbyterian minister, had stood up in the pulpit and announced in chapel that he had not sinned in three years. And he was exhorting all the young people to follow in his way and become perfect in Christ. I must confess that I muttered to myself as they said that, that he had said that he had not sinned in three years, “Yep, well you just did.” But, you see, the affect of that teaching on them was this: they figured, “Well, if he loves Jesus, maybe we’re not Christians because we are continuing to struggle with sin.” I want to stress this was not a couple that was living in a very shallow, superficial way the Christian life; they were committed; they wanted to serve the Lord on the mission field, and they were deeply unsettled. Why? Because this person had claimed to be perfect! You know what John says about that? You make God out to be a liar when you make that claim, because God’s word from beginning to end says that sin is a present experience even for the believer. In fact, the Bible tells us four important truths about ourselves that we must always bear in mind. Let me just share them with you quickly. (1) One, believers are still sinners. Don’t believe me? Go look at Paul in Romans 7:14-25. When he says, “Lord, I do the things that I don’t want to do, and I don’t do the things that I do want to do. What a wretched man that I am!” (Ro 7:24-note) That’s a mature apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ saying that I still struggle with sin. Believers are still sinners. (2) Believers, secondly, must by the Spirit strive against sin. “The Christian life is,” J.C.