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Today we will be starting a new
series in the epistles of John, and today we will be focusing
on 1 John 1, 1-4 in particular. So if you would like, you may
turn in your text to 1 John 1, 1-4. There are many great qualities
and themes to the epistles of John which could be brought out
and focused upon, but I would like to entreat you to be considering
these few as we work our way through the epistles, including
love for and communion with God, love for the brethren, assurance,
the importance of truth, and a testing of the faith. So, to
boil that down a little bit more, love, assurance, truth, and testing. And to give some background as
we start into these letters, it would appear that the author
of the Epistles of John is the Apostle Paul. who wrote these
letters, and they share much of the same themes and content
and style as the Gospel of John. And their common attribution
in history and by the church has been unto the Apostle John.
So then, who is this Apostle John? He is the disciple whom
Christ loved, the one whom loved Christ so that he outran the
others to reach his Lord's tomb first, the one trusted at the
inner circle of Christ, shared amongst himself and Peter and
James alone. the apostle who had a zeal for
Christ, such that when Jesus was rejected by a Samaritan village,
he sought to call down fire upon it. He was a lover of the truth,
so such that in one commentary there is a documented incident
of him as having entered a bathhouse and discovering a heretic present,
fleeing that bathhouse, saying, let us fly, lest even the bathhouse
fall down, because Serentis, the enemy of the truth, is within.
This is who the author of John was. John, who experienced great
love and communion with God and had a zeal for Christ and his
truth, pours himself out upon the pages of his letters. These
letters were probably written in the latter 90s, shortly after
the writing of the Gospel of John, and likely written from
Ephesus. His audience develops from general
to specific. In the first letter, we see a
letter written to the churches in general. In the second letter,
I believe we see a letter written to a particular church. And then
in the third letter, we see a letter written to an individual, Gaius
in particular. Then a particular philosophical
concept to have in mind while we are reading John, of which
John is addressing, is that of Gnosticism. Gnosticism is a dualistic
approach in which the spirit is understood to be good and
material evil. There are major issues in this
which relate to John's writings in Christian theology. One being,
according to Gnosticism, Jesus could not have had a physical
body, because the physical body is material and thus bad. John
addressing this says, we heard, saw, and felt him. This understanding
denies Christ's propitiation, for man must live for and die
for man, and under Gnosticism this cannot be so. This is of
further importance for our complete salvation includes the salvation
of our bodies. And so if the material is inherently
bad, there is no redemption for the body. For in Gnosticism,
redemption is the separation of the soul or spirit from the
body, which is material and thus bad. And so there's no resurrection
of the body. But as we know, Christ's resurrection
is a first fruit of ours. And as he rose physically, we
know we shall as well. it also affects our living. For
since in Gnosticism we shall shuck our old bodies, and that
is our salvation, to be separated from the body, all the evil and
vile things we do in the body then stay behind with it at this
separation. And so when we leave the body,
we leave our sin behind. This led to lives of vile wickedness,
as this made a free pass for sin, With these things in mind,
we'll focus upon the passage for today. Today's passage, 1
John 1, 1-4. John tells us how we may know
joy by knowing Jesus. And this is quite the proposition
today, is it not? For many, and particularly those
outside the faith, and even for some in Christ who falter on
the truth and get swept away by false ideologies, this is
a big proposition to know joy. If you consider Christmas, which
is coming in but a few short weeks, we all know the kind of
hallmark, perfect, picturesque family, and there's been much
of that. This was probably a familiar picture for many growing up and
commonplace for several previous decades. There's a happy, cohesive
family unit, smiles on faces gathered around a fire and festive
garb, presents under the tree, decor all around. And I will
spare you hearing me sing anymore, chestnuts roasting over an open
fire. You get the picture. There's
happiness. And while this is still experienced and may be
by you, this experience is becoming less and less. Our Christmases
aren't so jolly anymore. And why might this be? Could
it be that true joy was traded in for false ideologies, which
boasted happiness and can bring a selfish happiness for a while,
bolstered by some remaining Christian trappings until it all falls
apart and things are not so happy anymore? Could it be that true
joy was traded for consumerism, which brings happiness by the
acquiring of stuff, but in this acquiring, One can never find
happiness, for you only need more and better. And that is
harder to do year by year as our economic situation is largely
not as well off as it has been in the past. Or festive tradition,
which may superficially uplift for the holiday season, There
is the pursuit of a selfish happiness in divorce which tears apart
happy, unified families. There is the sucking of love
from the presence of the family by devices in which family would
rather look at their stocks, games, or football than to give
meaningful, interested, devoted time unto their family. So while
our culture clings to a decaying picture of happiness and failing
ideologies and tradition, I believe in these first four verses of
John, 1 John, John tells us how we may know joy, and that is
by knowing Jesus. So my purpose in preaching this
message to you is that your joy may be full in knowing Jesus
Christ. Let's read the word. 1 John 1,
1-4. that which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which
we have looked upon and our hands have handled concerning the word
of life. The life was manifested and 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 that you also may have
fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with
the father and with his son, Jesus Christ. And these things
we write to you that your joy may be full. Let's pray. Lord, we, we thank you for your
many blessings. Lord, you have been so gracious
and merciful unto all of us. Oh Lord, for an eternity past,
you have elected us to know you, to enjoy you, to praise you and
make your name known. Oh Lord, I pray that we would
engage in that, that we would hear, meditate, sing, share your
word amongst all generations unto all peoples. Lord, for you
are glorious and ought to be known. Lord, in these tellings
we may tell of your choosing of sinners. Well, we're yet sinners. Well, we're yet rebellious. Lord, you graciously have chosen. And you've not left us alone
in this choice, but you have sent forth your son. That he
may walk among us to bear our burden to fulfill the law. As
only a human can do for human. but to do so perfectly only as
God can do. Lord, and to die, to shed his
blood for our souls. Lord, in these acts, there's
great joy for all the world, for he invites those to come,
to partake, to enjoy the blessing. Lord, may they come and know
you, hearing, seeing, and touching, come into a deeper relationship
with you, abide in you. In your name, I pray. Today's sermon will have four
main points and will follow a similar train to the reformed proposition
of faith, namely that faith is composed of three parts. Notitia,
or knowledge of the object, a census, a belief or conviction about
the notitia of the object is true. A fiducia, or a trusting
of ourself unto the object. we now know and believe to be
true. And like this understanding,
I would say John presents the object of joy of which we must
have notitia. We must have knowledge of this
object. John relays he and the disciples familiarity of joy
or their testimony of their personal witness of the object of joy. So there is great reason for
a census or belief in the object of joy. Third, there is an offer
of joy in which John, having presented the notitia and reason
for a census, thus invites them to fiducia. He invites them to
something greater than a simple understanding of the facts concerning
the object of joy as being true. but to experience communion and
fellowship, trusting in the object of joy." As a result, John writes
his purpose in saying these things, probably the rest of the letter
as well, but these things in particular, he says, it is so
that your joy may be full. So the final point of the sermon
is that knowing the object of joy, believing the familiarity
of joy, and receiving the offer of joy, you may experience the
fullness of joy. First, we must see the object
of joy. John writes of this in the first
part of verse one and verse two, that which was from the beginning,
the life was manifested and we have seen and bear witness and
declare to you that eternal life, which was with the father and
was manifested to us. First, we must know the object
of joy. We must know what this object
of joy is, or rather, who this object of joy is. John says in
the first part of the passage, firstly, I will say, as we have
said before now, the object of joy is Christ. That is who, but
then we must know who this Christ is. And John shares that with
us. He fills us in about who this object of joy is. As John
presents Jesus, he tells us several things about him which are necessary
for understanding who he is. So who is Christ? John says he was from the beginning,
so it is eternal. It is good that this phrase is
here, for it should remind us of another place in scripture
which speaks of who Christ is. While we are looking at 1 John
1, 1-4, I believe we would be remiss if we didn't at least
glance at John 1. This shows the continuity between the letters
that we've talked about before in the introduction. I believe
you've all probably heard much of the relationship between these
texts. And in reading them, you will
gather much of the relationship as well. So I'd like to just
read the passage and very briefly comment on it. So I do not simply
repeat what you've heard better elsewhere and use up the rest
of the time for the sermon. If you'll turn to John 1, we'll
read verses 1 through 5. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the
beginning with God, and all things were made through him. And without
him was not anything made that was made. In him was life. And the life was the light of
men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has
not overcome it. So Christ was in the beginning,
we see the eternality. Was being a past imperfect verb
showing continual action, so maybe a way to understand this
would be he was existing in the beginning with God. He is creator
as we see in Colossians, and in him there's life and light. The true light, which gives light
to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world,
and the world was made through him. Yet the world did not know
him. He came to his own, and his own
people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him,
who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children
of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. He has came into
the world, or been manifested. And the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory. We'll continue on
and into verse 18. And the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory. Glory is the only
Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness
about Him and cried out, This was He of whom I said, He who
comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me. For
from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. For
the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through
Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, the
only God, who is at the Father's side. He has made him known. He has become flesh or been manifested. We have seen him. He was before
John. Before John was, which implies
his eternality, he is God, for he was manifested God. He's at
the Father's side, so distinct from the Father in person, but
the same in nature. Also probably worth mentioning,
since both of these passages have a close relationship to
Genesis 1, is the usage of the plural form of God, which God
ascribes to himself when he calls himself Elohim. And it was Elohim
who created in Genesis 1. In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth. And in all this, we see the eternality
of Jesus. He was there, already present
from the beginning, creating with the Father. He was with the Father, which
shows His deity and shows the Trinity. He was with the Father. This would be an ascription to
the deity of Christ, for He is with the Father in His most glorious
acts, attributing credit for those things which credit or
glory must be given to God alone. and particularly in creation
and the bringing, possessing, or giving of life and redemption.
This also shows the distinction between the persons of the Godhead,
for the Son is not the Father, and the Father is not the Son.
They are together with each other. For if they are the same person,
they could not be with one another. This is something which can and
should be known of the object of joy. He is one of the three
persons of the Holy Trinity. John says He is the Word. He
is that Word described in John 1. And in Him is all the power
and might of the Godhead. For it is by Him the Father created. For nothing which was created
was created without Him. So existing in perfect harmony
with the Father. The Father creates by the Word,
power of the Word, and the Word sweetly complies with the creative
work of the Father. And so there is no friction or
discontinuity, but they work in perfect union with no break
or disconnect in desire. So more to know of the object
of joy is that He is all-powerful and in complete and total unity
with the Father. He is the Word of life. And even
more than just being, No, just being probably isn't the greatest
way to put it. But he is not only the word in power, but the
object of joy is the word of life. He as creator is the wellspring
of life. He as Elohim breathed life into
Adam and Eve and is the creator and sustainer of all life from
then on unto eternity. And this life he now brings is
the light of men, illuminating, bringing to life the inward darkness
of man. Whereas he is the word which
brought about creation, he is the word of life which makes
a new creation in the hearts of man. The object of joy is
the word of life. The object of joy is the Son
of God. This tells us much about Jesus, for He is the Son of God,
must be God as well, for there are many who are sons of God,
but He is the singular Son of God. This tells of a loving relationship
and reinforces the idea of unity. It expresses to us purposes and
functions within the Trinity and the economy of redemption.
He does as the Father desires, but in unity, so as this is His
desire as well. It was the Father's desire to
create, redeem, for the Son to come to man. And so this desire
to create, to redeem, to come unto man is Christ's as well. And so He does. He's the Christ,
or the Messiah. The object of joy is the Christ. And there is much that could
be said of this, but perhaps helpful to understand is the
term Christ used after Jesus is not simply a second name.
It is a title in Greek as to who or what Jesus is. He is Messiah,
the promised deliverer of God's people, prophesied and spoken
of all the way back to Genesis in the skull-crushing seed of
the woman. to Abraham's offspring, to David's
son, yet David's Lord, for in him his coming and work is the
fulfillment of the whole of the scriptures. So then why is he the object
of joy? So that is who Christ is, and there is more which could
be said, but for the sake of time we must keep it brief, and
I'll try to only stick with the descriptors which John gives
here, which are sufficient. But having looked at who the
object of joy is, we must look at why he is the object of joy. First, he is the object of joy
because of who he is. If you'll recall what we've just
spoken of, He is the Eternal, All-Powerful, Creator, the Word,
the Word of Life, the Christ, the Son of God, with the Father. And you may ask what all this
has to do with you. And that is a fair question.
So then we must look at what He has done. Because Jesus is
who He is, Jesus does what He does. Or Jesus does what He does
because of who He is. And though who he is has been
explained to you, facts presented, yet these facts need to become
personal. For thus Jesus is not the God of the deists who is
far away and impersonal, but rather he is near, so near in
fact that he has come into his very own creation." So first, why is he the object
of joy for who he is? And second, what
he has done. And what has he done? He has
come. He is the life manifested. He is the object of joy because
he being vastly superior in every way imaginable to you has willingly
come, has condescended to be present in this very own fallen
creation. Experiencing the world and coming
in such a way as to bring God's very presence among us. Second, he existed in human flesh.
He was manifested to us. And this very God among us became
fully man, lowering himself so that he may experience what you
and I experience. He very literally walked a mile
in our shoes, but he all the while lived perfectly while doing
so, so he may represent us perfectly. Third, he created you. This Jesus
created all things and he created you. You are not the result of
random circumstance, but are the result of an intensely personal
decision by the Lord of the universe who knit you together in your
mother's womb. Fourth, he brought redemption.
He brought redemption for his elect. In life, he came and lived
perfectly in obedience of the law, fulfilling all righteousness
for the fulfillment of the law and to positively merit righteousness. In death, he bore the curse of
the law and sin. For because he was a man, he
could bear the sin of man, and as God, he could merit salvation
for all those he has chosen. He could bear eternal wrath. And in his resurrection and ascension,
he leads the way, defeating the curse of the law, defeating sin,
death, and hell, and in doing so, brings new life to sinners. So you see, in all these things,
though knowing the facts about Jesus is great, they are not
simple, ethereal propositions to simply be understood. They
are meant to be believed and brought in, realized in our own
hearts, rested in, and taken joy in. For in these, there is
great joy to be had in knowing the object of joy, Jesus. Next, we'll look at the familiarity
of joy in the second half of verse 1. John says, which we
have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have
looked upon and our hands have handled concerning the word of
life. In the second point of the sermon
today, we see the familiarity with which John and the others
experienced the object of joy. He employs the use of the human
senses to really press the truth that Jesus came incarnate, to
assure the reader of the validity of their witness, but also to
ensure of the close relationship they possessed with the object
of joy. We'll look at the senses, which
John describes here. First, they heard. John says,
with our ears, John begins this series of sensory witness with
hearing. This is a vital sense, for it is by this means Christ
communicates his truth unto his disciples. This verified Jesus'
humanity, for in his condescension he was given a mouth and tongue
so as to speak to the peoples. It ensures the reader of the
validity of their witness, for their hearing of the truth is
not secondhand or made up of their mind, but heard in person
from the mouth of Jesus himself. Further, it ensured them of the
close relationship with which they had to the object of joy. In fact, you may think of the
closeness associated with speech. If someone asks me if I know
Andy, I can say, yes, I know Andy. Andy exists. But how convincing
is that? If you take me at my word, sure,
I guess. I can say yes, and I've spoken
with Andy. I've spent time with Andy and
got to know him by hearing him. And likewise, John proposes this
truth with evidence. His very own hearing, the voice
of God in Jesus Christ. Secondly, he presents visual
evidence. He was seen with our eyes. John continues his sensory witness
by including sight. He says, which we have seen with
our eyes and looked upon. This is an important sense as
well, as we find sight to be an important factor in determining
truth. In fact, court cases having video
evidence is often crucial for establishing claims. We have
sayings, seeing is believing, or if we're going to get a little
bit more modern, maybe pics or it didn't happen. In this, we
see the immense impact of sight for the confirmation of the truth.
It verified he was in physical body, for he was sought after
to be seen by shepherds and wise men at his birth, witnessed day
after day by his disciples in his ministry, and reveled in
by his followers, gazing upon his glory at the Transfiguration.
This confirmation of sight should ensure the readers of the validity
of John's witness as well. He saw this Jesus himself, so
he is a personal, reliable witness. This also assures of the familiarity
of joy, because in a similar vein to hearing, if someone asked
me if I know Andy, I can say yes, or I can say yes, and I
have seen him. I saw him when he first came
to this church. I've seen him in worship. I've seen him in
prayer meeting. I've seen him splitting wood.
I've seen him in my home. And likewise, John may say, I
have seen him, the object of joy. Jesus, when he came to me
on the sea, in his ministry, feeding the 5,000, walking on
water, cooking us a meal, I have seen him risen and glorified. What a sight to share. Third, John presents their hands. Our hands have handled. The final
sensory witness John gives is touch. And there is a sense of
finality in this. For in the hearing, a voice may
be thrown. Or in the seeing, smoke and mirrors
may be employed. But in the touching is the substance
of the matter. Where the Gnostic may say, you
just saw and heard a visible and audible representation of
the immaterial, the disciples can say, no. We felt him, we
touched him with our hands, we ate with him, handed food to
him. He was really and physically
there. So he truly came in, came in
and was resurrected in the flesh. This lends to their witness as
well, for there is something of a sharper assurance and witness
to a testimony which tells of the feeling, to describe and
bring forth the sense of the feel. And this increases the
witness of their familiarity with the object of joy, for they
were in so deep a relationship that they touched. Going back
to our Andy illustration, thanks for being here today, Andy. I
could say, yes, I know Andy. Or I could say, yes, I know Andy. I have shaken his hand, held
his hand in prayer at the dinner table. We've carried items together. We have hugged. And likewise,
John can express his familiarity in this very personal way. He
can say, yes, I and the disciples know Christ. We have touched
him. For Peter's sinking and the waters reached out unto Christ,
taking hold his hand. and John who felt the touch of
Jesus' hands as he washed the disciples' feet. And this all
culminates into this great witness of John in which he decidedly
says, Christ was present in body. Christ is real. He exists. And
I know him personally, for I have heard, seen, and touched the
object of joy. There's perhaps no better representative
illustration of this than in John 20, in which the Lord Jesus
appears to the disciples post-resurrection, and my only comment on it will
be to hear the witness which John gives, and to heed the exhortation
of John, as you hear with your ears, see with your eyes, and
touch with your hands the word of God. John 20, starting in verse 19.
It says, on the evening of that day, the first day of the week,
the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of
the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them,
peace be with you. When he had said this, he showed
them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad
when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, peace
be with you as the father has sent me, even so I am sending
you. And when he had said this, he
breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any,
they are forgiven them. If you withhold forgiveness from
any, it is withheld. Now, Thomas, one of the 12, called
the twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples
told him, we have seen the Lord, but he said to them, unless I
see in his hands, the mark of the nails and place my finger
into the marks of the nails and place my hand into his side,
I will never believe. Eight days later, his disciples
were inside again and Thomas was with them. Although the doors
were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, peace be
with you. Then he said to Thomas, put your
finger here and see my hands and put out your hand and place
it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.
Thomas answered him, my Lord and my God. Jesus said to him,
have you believed because you have seen? Blessed are those
who have not seen and yet have believed. And then John writes
the purpose of his writing. Now Jesus did many other signs
in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this
book, but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may
have life in his name. Third, we see this offer of joy. As we saw John offer at the end
of his prior book, we see the offer of joy. John in verse three
says, that which we have seen and heard, we declare to you
that you also may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship
is with the father and with his son, Jesus Christ. So now knowing
who the object of joy is, and hearing, seeing, and touching
in the familiar witness of John, and thus being given all the
reason to believe in the object of joy, John now offers this
joy. In the offering of this joy,
we see it as a declaration, it is experiential, it is unifying,
and it is triune. First is a declaration. John
says, that which we have seen and heard, we declare to you.
This is an emphatic statement. There is behind this. This is
no mere offer to be ignored, but this is a declaration of
truth in which the hearer must either receive and believe or
deny. And it is hearing this and believing
this by which we receive salvation for the mechanism given for the
spread of Christian truth is by the declaration of the word. Paul tells us this is the means
in Romans 10 when he says, how will they believe if they have
not heard? And so John, with firm conviction
and knowing his own personal familiarity with the object of
joy, declares this unto his audience. That Jesus, for I believe this
is referring to Jesus, that that Jesus which we have seen and
heard we declare to you that you also may have fellowship.
Which brings us to our next point. It is experiential. This is the
next point John makes in this passage. Believing in the object
of joy is experiential and ought to lead to a trusting in or experience
of the believed object of joy. John tells his audience they
too may have the very personal relationship which he just attested
to. They too may have communion with
or fellowship with the object of joy. And this is what Jesus
calls us to as well. For in John 15, Jesus uses the
illustration of the vine to address his relationship with believers.
In this passage, Jesus says he is the vine and we are the branches.
And for us to actually be a part of the vine, we are to be in
fellowship or communion or tight, intimate, intergrown relationship
with. That is the proper Christian
walk. And having believed in the object of joy, John says
this should lead to the same intimate familiarity with him
as he himself possesses. It is unifying. We have fellowship
with us. She said, you have fellowship
with us. We get a bonus. And that is truly what this is
for primary fellowship in belief. And thus this trust is God, but
we get more. We get exceedingly abundantly
more than we could ever ask for. We get intimate fellowship with
the object of joy, but in abundant joy, we receive fellowship with
other believers. through the unifying factor of
Christ. So I get not only Jesus, which
is more than enough and the greatest thing, but I get Andy and Donovan
and Tyler and Catherine and Grace and all of you wonderful people
here today. This is a wonderful thing. And
it is because of this trust in and fellowship in Christ, which
we have fellowship one with another, my dear brothers and sisters. And more than fellowship or union
with Christ, we receive fellowship with the Godhead. So in receiving
the object of joy, we receive the whole Trinity. This fellowship
is triune. Though it is just the Father
and Son mentioned here as the Father and Son and Spirit are
one. So to come into union with them or into fellowship with
them is to come into union with all. So this declarative offer
from John is to know the object of joy, to believe in this familiar
object of joy, and to join into fellowship, trusting upon, and
in so doing, being joined together with the church, Father, Son,
and Spirit. And in this, there is fullness of joy, which John concludes on the fullness
of joy. In these things, we write to
you that your joy may be full. brings us to our final point,
the fullness of joy. I would say that there are two
things represented here when John says these things. I believe
in an immediate sense he is speaking of the preceding passage, and
in a broader sense he is speaking of the whole of the letter, secondly.
First, John speaks of the preceding passage. This is the primary
means of having fullness of joy, for the next means flows out
of it. It starts with knowing of Christ, a knowing of Christ,
a believing of Christ, and culminates in trusting, experiencing, fellowshipping
of, communing with the object of joy. For to do so is to possess
that joy. And this is the result Jesus
tells us we should expect. Should we do so at the conclusion
of his illustration of the vine in John 15? We should expect
this looking at the conclusion of his illustration of the vine
in John 15. If you'd like to turn there, we'll read verses
7 through 11. He says, if you abide in me and
my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done
for you. By this, my father is glorified that you bear much
fruit and so approved to be my disciples. As the father has
loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep
my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept
my father's commandments and abide in his love. These things
I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you and that your
joy may be full. In the conclusion of this passage,
the first order issue of possessing the fullness of joy is possessing
Jesus. the object of joy. It is to abide
in Him, to be connected to Him, or having fellowship or communion. This is the first and primary
means of joy unto any man, is to be connected to Christ. For
it is only by abiding in Christ we receive the benefit, not just
knowing who Christ is, but in having who He is or what He has
done applied to us. If you remember at the beginning,
a question was posed, what has all this to do with me? Well,
here's where the rubber meets the road. For knowing, believing,
and abiding in the object of joy, we have the benefits and
effects of both who Jesus is and what he has done applied
to us. Communion with God, justification, adoption, sanctification, love,
and all joy. All this in knowing, believing,
and trusting in the object of joy. But likewise, there is something
else which furthers the fullness of joy, which Jesus says is keeping
his commandments or his word. There is something integrally
related about abiding in Christ's love and keeping his commandments,
and thus having fullness of joy. Second, John speaks about the
whole of the letter. In this letter, John speaks much
about the Christian life, and as a convenient means to give
an overview of the letter, these are the things which John speaks
about. These are Christ's word or commands to his sheep, that
they walk in the light. that they understand Christ's
intercession for us, to love our brother. There's a testing
of the faith, a warning against the love of the world, a warning
of antichrists, abiding in Christ, loving one another, assurance,
communion with God, a testing of the spirits, knowing the love
of God, overcoming the world, and more. But we see our themes. love, assurance, truth, testing. This is important to John so
much so that it is the very life of his letter. If you pull these
things out, there is very little left in them. In these things,
there is the fullness of joy. For this is the truth of the
word. Yes, there is fullness of joy in Christ, and that being
the primary thing, but this very Christ has also given us a new
command. And in obedience to our Lord's
word, we find joy. For we are not finding joy in
the command itself, but in the connection to and love of the
object of joy who gave it. Christ loves you, RBCKC. Find
joy in his word to you. I would like to present to you
two examples as we close. These two examples are living
flesh and blood testimony to the reality of these truths.
The first we should be familiar with as we recently read most
of his story. The first example is Judas. Judas
is a fitting example for though Judas knew the object of joy
as well as most of the disciples, though he walked with him, though
he knew him, knew the truth about him, heard him, saw him, felt
him, he witnessed him just as the other disciples, and yet
he did not truly abide in him. Though Judas knew and believed,
he did not trust in the object of joy, Jesus. When the truth
of Christ was declared around him with every possible sense
that could be employed, he rejected, he refused fellowship, and thus
Judas knew not joy. For this may be a bit of a spoiler,
for Judas, though he received the money he loved and trusted,
he died sorrowful and full of regret. He rejected the object
of joy and thus died without it. Yet there is another example,
one whom we have already heard much about, the Apostle John.
He, hearing and seeing and feeling the declaration of the truth
about Christ, believed this truth and thus rested in and trusted
in the object of joy. And in this trust, John found
joy so much that he wishes his audience to experience this joy
as well. So much so that joy in Christ
oozes from John's writing. So this is the reality for you
today, and I encourage you to choose wisely. Having heard the
truth, seen the truth, and held the very truth of God in your
hands today, do not go forth as Judas, rejecting the declaration
of the object of joy, which will result in regret and sorrow,
death and decay, but rather hear the witness of John. Having heard,
saw, and felt and run to him. Know, believe, and trust in this
Jesus, and know the fullness of joy in communion with him
and obedience to his word. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you
for your word and how it abundantly makes clear your truth, how by
it we may know you, come into communion with you, to know of
the truths that we have spoken of today in your election, in your propitiation,
in your coming unto us. Lord, in these things, may we
find immense joy. Help us to hear and to meditate
on these things. And as we meditate on them, may
our joy overflow into praise. Though it be less than you deserve,
may our joyful praise be pleasing to you because of Christ. Lord,
and in this praise, may we share of your word. Lord, and at this
time, I pray that you'd help us to take joy in your presence
here with us today. Lord, for you are with your church
when it is gathered. May we in taking this joy look
back upon your coming Look back upon your death, burial, and
resurrection, as this is what today is for, is a remembrance
of that. Lord, may we take special joy in that coming of you unto
us as man, God and man, so that we may have all these blessings
that we do today, so that your glory may be known among the
nations, that you may destroy and defeat the curse wherever
it is found, for in you, There is joy that overwhelms any sorrow.
In your name I pray, amen.
To Know Jesus is to Know Joy
Series 1 John
1 John 1:1-4 – To Know Jesus is to Know Joy
I. The Object of Joy (vv1a, 2)
II. The Familiarity of Joy (vv1b)
III. The Offer of Joy (v3)
IV. The Fullness of Joy (v4)
| Sermon ID | 1215222158362341 |
| Duration | 45:31 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday Service |
| Bible Text | 1 John 1:1-4 |
| Language | English |
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