Light vs. Darkness - 1 John 1:5-6

v.5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

John is telling us here that God is light and there is no darkness in Him. In the Bible, light is symbolic of purity and darkness is symbolic or evil of sin. Light disposes and dispels darkness! 

Jesus is also said that he is light as well. John 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Jesus was also sinless, therefore without darkness. John 1:4-5 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.  (5)  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

No Longer in Darkness

v.6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

Yes, it is true that those who have not accepted Jesus as their Lord still walk in the darkness. Why? – Because they have not come to the light. How about Christians though? - Is it possible for them to walk in darkness? Yes and no.

Yes, it is possible for Christians to take a temporary walk on the dark side. We all have done it, are doing it and probably going to do it again. However, no, it is not possible for Christians to stay in the dark.

I see many people who “say” they are Christians, but their lives are full of darkness (sin). My friend, this is a complete contradiction of Scripture, because to be a Christian means that we no longer walk in the darkness. Jesus said in John 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And again in John 8:12 Jesus said, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. 

Contrary to popular belief, Christians do not continually walk in darkness. Again, If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.

Fellowship Through Jesus - 1 John 1:3-4

v.3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

This verse says that the purpose of this eternal life that was with the Father was to bring fellowship not only between God’s people, but with God himself. Why? – Because that fellowship had been broken in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned.

The word fellowship is the Greek word koinonia which means common or shared. Through Jesus Christ we have something in common or shared, not only with each other, but also with God the Father and God the Son, and that is fellowship! In other words, the fellowship that was broken has once again been mended.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 

That is the doctrine of reconciliation! 

Reconciled means “to reestablish a close relationship, to settle or resolve”. I can tell you experientually that true reconciliation means that the fellowship has been restored.  As a matter of fact, I believe that the fellowship should be as good or better than it was before the offense occurred or it is not true reconciliation. Too many times, we are simply content to agree to disagree and go our separate ways. That, my friend, is not reconciliation. Christ came to reconcile us to the Father.

That Your Joy May be Full

v.4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

John tells us that the reason that he is telling them this is so that their joy may be full. It is the same thing Jesus said in John 15:11 when he said These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. Also, in John 16:24 he said Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. 

Happiness verses Joy

Understand something; happiness is a variable, depending on the circumstances of life. However, the joy of the Lord is persistent; it never changes, because it is based on our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Billy Sunday once said, “If you have no joy in your religion, there’s a leak in your Christianity!” 

It has been said that “This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose: the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap, and being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”

That Which Was From The Beginning - 1 John 1:1-2

Introduction

John was the last living apostle, and the only one who wasn’t martyred for Christ.  History tells us that Stephen was stoned, Matthew was slain in Ethiopia, Mark dragged through the streets until dead, Luke hanged, Peter and Simeon were crucified, Andrew tied to a cross, James beheaded, Philip crucified and stoned, Bartholomew was flayed alive, Thomas pierced with lances, James, the less, thrown from the temple and beaten to death, Jude shot to death with arrows, Matthias stoned to death and Paul beheaded.

History also tells us that Domitian tried to kill John by boiling him in hot oil, but God had a plan and a purpose for his life.  He has plans for all of our lives as well.

Gnosticism was gaining a foothold in the church when John wrote this letter.  The Gnostics believed that Jesus was a phantom when He lived on the earth and didn’t have a body of flesh. 

It was later developed by a man named Arias.  His teachings developed into what came to be known as Arianism or what came to be called the Arian Heresy.  He taught that Jesus was not really God, but a created being.  This heresy later became the basis for the Watchtower Society or Jehovah’s Witnesses who teach that Jesus is Michael the Archangel.

Here’s Jesus!

v.1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

That which was from the beginning: The beginning that John is referring to here is not the beginning of the world or of creation: it is when there was nothing but God.

Which we have heard…seen with our eyes…looked upon, and our hands have handled: This means that God came to earth and He was heard, seen and touched by man.

Word of Life: Now he identifies this God as the Word of Life.

Eternality of Jesus

v.2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

Now John says that this life appeared physically and he has seen it, and can bear witness to it,  and that in Jesus is eternal life. Micah 5:2 says, But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Micah declares that the one who is to be ruler in Israel will be from of old and from everlasting. The interesting thing is that the word everlasting in this verse literally means “beyond the vanishing point” (i.e.,  beyond what can be seen).

In this verse in John, he is saying that this eternal life was with the Father. There is no doubt that this is a strong declaration about the eternality or deity of Jesus. 

John wrote in his Gospel, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth  (John 1:1-5, 14).

Jesus also said of himself in Revelation 1:8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.

 

Vagueness

We live in a world in which vagueness has become the norm. I believe this is the byproduct of forced tolerance and the removal of absolutes. I’m not sure we’ll even be able to state our names with absoluteness in the future as that it might offend someone.

The Monk Telemachus

Hebrews 12:14 “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:”

Telemachus was a monk who lived in the 4th century. He felt God saying to him, "Go to Rome." He was in a cloistered monastery. He put his possessions in a sack and set out for Rome. When he arrived in the city, people were thronging in the streets. He asked why all the excitement and was told that this was the day that the gladiators would be fighting and killing each other in the coliseum, the day of the games, the circus.  He thought to himself, "Four centuries after Christ and they are still killing each other, for enjoyment?" He ran to the coliseum and heard the gladiators saying, "Hail to Ceasar, we die for Ceasar" and he thought, "this isn't right." He jumped over the railing and went out into the middle of the field, got between two gladiators, held up his hands and said "In the name of Christ, forbear." The crowd protested and began to shout, "Run him through, Run him through." A gladiator came over and hit him in the stomach with the back of his sword. It sent him sprawling in the sand. He got up and ran back and again said, "In the name of Christ, forbear." The crowd continued to chant, "Run him through." One gladiator came over and plunged his sword through the little monk's stomach and he fell into the sand, which began to turn crimson with his blood. One last time he gasped out, "In the name of Christ forbear." A hush came over the 80,000 people in the coliseum. Soon a man stood and left, then another and more, and within minutes all 80,000 had emptied out of the arena. It was the last known gladiatorial contest in the history of Rome.

Preparation

"Everything is preparation for something else." - Pastor Chuck Smith

Prayer Question

Why is it that when our prayers are not answered that we immediately blame God?

Rock-Bottom

At least when you hit rock-bottom you are still on the Rock!

Thoughts of Disbelief

“Supposing there was no intelligence behind the universe, no creative mind. In that case, nobody designed my brain for the purpose of thinking. It is merely that when the atoms inside my skull happen, for physical or chemical reasons, to arrange themselves in a certain way, this gives me, as a by-product, the sensation I call thought. But, if so, how can I trust my own thinking to be true? It’s like upsetting a milk jug and hoping that the way it splashes itself will give you a map of London. But if I can’t trust my own thinking, of course I can’t trust the arguments leading to Atheism, and therefore have no reason to be an Atheist, or anything else. Unless I believe in God, I cannot believe in thought: so I can never use thought to disbelieve in God.” — C.S. Lewis