Our Complete Joy
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Our Complete Joy
Our Complete Joy
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
In starting a new book to preach through there inevitably needs to be some background info we must share for the sake of Context.
Context, by the way, is one of the most important things to understand if your goal is to know what scripture really says, as opposed to reading your own meaning into the scriptures. In fact I’ve often said there are 3 rules to sound biblical exegesis context, context, and context.
Yet before I get to this background info I want to make sure we understand some other basics of what it means to hear real Gospel centered preaching and teaching.
There isa a big difference between Good Advice and Good News...
Good advice says, “this is what you must DO” whereas Good News says, “This is what has been DONE for you”
Good advice shapes you mind, but Good news shapes your HEART
Good advice requires you achieve something, but the Good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ invites you to receive something!
A lot of churches in America are all too willing to preach a message that is chock full of good advice with an application for temporary behavior modifications to bring about some sort of tangible results so you can feel good and happy. I would desire that today as we hear from the Apostle John we would come to know the secret of real Christian joy!
Today I would ask that you listen in hopes of hearing the Good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and not just wait for good advice that can influence your temporary behaviors.
But before we can get there we must understand the context because we are going to be in the book of 1 John for another 8 weeks until we finish it this time next year.
Here is a brief overview - We know that this book was written by the Apostle John, most likely while he was at Ephesus in Asia Minor. It is thought that this book was written just after he finished the Gospel of John putting its date around 90 A.D.
The culture of that day was one of false teachers arising that were proclaiming denials of the bodily resurrected Christ. They would teach of morals and spiritual principles but deny that Jesus was fully God and fully man. John will refer to these kind of false teachers as “antichrist’s”.
Gnostic’s - the prevalent teachers of the day were people called Gnostics. Gnostics, like Plato, asserted what was dualism. This is the idea that matter is inherently evil and spirit is inherently good. And so false teacher would arise to affirm the deity of Christ in spirit, using his teachings for moral principles, yet would deny his humanity and so reject a resurrected Jesus. Gnostics valued a knowledge that was higher than scripture as their mystical truth.
the reason why we need to know this is more than just to understand that culture but for 2 reasons that we still see as ideologies in this world to this day.
First - is the ideal that your flesh is evil and yes you sin, yet your sinful flesh has no real impact on your spirit, because you are basically good on a spiritual level and everyone sins, so go ahead and indulge a little, you are only human… Does that sound like familiar teaching????
Second - the issue is pushed that you can have special holy knowledge, by which you can empower your spiritual self to rule over your flesh which sins, and this will make you holy and good. You do this by denying yourself of certain things, like taking vows of poverty and rejecting any kind of material things in an effort to force your flesh to go without, that way you appear more pious and spiritual than others. This leads to works driven mentalities of earning a position with God.
That is what they were dealing with yet we see this kind of thought invade other world religions to this day. Here is what I mean… let me show you some other religious world views to illustrate this… Keep in mind these are just generalities.
The problem with Islam is pride and the solution is submission. So we have a problem with our flesh and the answer is in your flesh, which is what we call works driven. The idea that a god would accept you if you work hard enough to overcome the bad by doing good. It is good advice of things you must do, that should shape your mind, and require you to achieve something.
The problem with Buddhism is suffering and the solution is spiritual awakening. So we have a problem in our flesh yet their answer to that is only found in a spiritual journey that rejects the flesh and becomes holy. It is good advice of things you must do or reject, that should shape your mind, and require you to achieve something.
The problem with Judaism is exile and the solution is to return to the special land. So we have a problem of position and obedience for blessings from God and we now have to answer that with working hard to get back to the place where we are supposed to be. Somehow the physical problems of evil are answered in the spiritual gathering of holy people in holy places who are working hard to maintain that position. It is good advice of things you must do, that should shape your mind, and require you to achieve something.
With Christianity the problem is and the solution is a savior.
The problem is Sin and the solution is a Savior!
The problem is Sin and the solution is a Savior!
The bible tells us that Sin is more internal than just external… Sin is more than what you do, it is who you are before coming to Christ.
See the problem is with the flesh and the spirit, but the answer is found in Christs flesh and blood and by the Holy Spirit! That is why we will take communion later and remind our selves of Christs sacrifice on our behalf in his flesh and blood, a work that is sealed in us by the Holy Spirit!
And all of that is Good news of what God has done for you in the person and work of Jesus Christ, if you will believe that, then you are saved! It is truly Good news of something that has been DONE for you, that will change and shape your Heart, by inviting you to receive something! It is God doing the work and us graciously receiving the free gift of Grace alone by Faith alone in Christ alone to the Glory of God alone and all this is found in Scripture alone!
Let’s look to those scriptures today and see this Gospel!
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—
Notice he starts with the word THAT… That which was from the beginning. What you need to understand is that the word That here is not a thing, but a Person… and not just a person but also a message. In fact it is the Gospel in the form of a a person, Jesus!
So why didn’t he just say, “Jesus, which was from the beginning...”
Remember that John is making a defense against false teachers that are trying to separate the Deity or spirituality of Christ form the humanity of Christ. So watch what he does in just a few short sentences.
THAT which was FROM THE BEGINNING… If you have been a Christian for any length of time, this should seem like a familiar verse, almost as if you have heard it before… In Fact John is one of the people who has written of it before...
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same John who wrote 1 john is the Apostle John who wrote the Gospel of John. He is referred to as the “one who Jesus loved”… he was one of the three that seemed closest to Jesus, Peter, James and John. And as we listen to … In the beginning was God, we are reminded of another verse that should be familiar to every Christian everywhere that has ever attempted to read the Bible...
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Seems like John is echoing of something or someone which was from the beginning to remind us that the story stats long before a resurrection that people wanted to argue over.
The beginning of a the gospel message is a Person… and that person, who was at the beginning of time and creation, is God… God was at the Beginning, and according to John the Word was too, because the word is God, and the Gospel declares that Jesus is that Word and that Jesus is God!
For John, the phrase, “That which was from the beginning” Emphasizes the Stability of the Gospel message. Since the beginning it has not changed!
Why is this important??? Because...
The Gospel is Static in a changing world… It will never change!
The Gospel is Static in a changing world… It will never change!
This world will go through many changes, with different world leaders and different trends and fads in the culture. And so the Church is not Static… Churches has changed in appearances over the last 2 thousand years, yet the Gospel it preaches is never going to change. Even when movements start that try to change it, they do not endure… Because God watches over his word to see it accomplish that which it was sent for. And by saying, churches, I do not just mean building… the church is not a building you go to, but a people who are called out of the world, and they proclaim the good news and worship God. the Church is a gathering of Gods people… and as cultures change, people look and sound different, but the Gospel that saves them stays the same!
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—
Notice John says that which is from the beginning is something that they have HEAR, SEEN, and TOUCHED! He is defying the false teachers, who act like Jesus is a spiritual teacher to show a way to know more mystical knowledge, to discredit their eyewitness accounts of Jesus as being fully God and fully Man!
Think about it… A spirit cannot be heard, and if it could, then it couldn’t be seen and looked upon with their own eyes, and if it could, then it couldn’t be touched.... And if it could, then it would have to be more than just a spiritual teaching… more than just a spiritual deity… it would have to be both Flesh and spirit! What is John getting at here? The resurrected Christ!
Any who saw Jesus before his death on the cross would say this same thing but it wouldn’t be a big deal. we saw him and heard him and touched him… but John was telling of something way more than that...
36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 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.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them.
36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 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.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them. 44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
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They actually saw the and heard and touched the resurrected Christ! He was not just some sort of spirit, because he ate with them… And this is good news because Christ has defeated Sin , death Hell and the Grave… He is alive!
John is telling the audience in the opening line of this letter to true believers that this Jesus is from the beginning, and that they experienced the resurrected Christ, who is the WORD of LIFE!
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—
This is an important title being given to Jesus here… why? Because John refers to Jesus as the WORD… that is what he said in … John uses “word” as a name for God, specifically the pre-incarnate Jesus, meaning Jesus before he came in flesh to this world. Why is that important?
Listen, the Bible is not about you and me, it is a revelation of who God is… All through the OT God gives his word. At creation...
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
to give revelation to his people who would speak for him...
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
he gives his word to heal and deliver his people...
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20 He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.
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God’s word communicates himself and his being to humanity… Yet John calls Jesus the WORD!
But Jesus said of himself...
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus is the word of the Way to God, the word of the truth of God, and the word of Life that leads us to God.
John has made an awesome statement about a resurrected savior from the beginning who they have been eyewitnesses to, he is the word of Life!
All this from just one verse! But again he is making a defense against those who teach falsehood about Jesus before he can talk to us about what sin is and who God is.
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—
2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—
Did you notice the hyphen there? Meaning we are one sentence into this thing and John has already interrupted himself with a thought to give more explanation to what he has already said.
Look at that second verse… does anything seem weird to you? How about the word THE???
THE Life… was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you THE eternal life...
Why does he keep doing that? THE life, THE eternal life!
Because Jesus is the life… in him is eternal life. This is not a typo, it is speaking of the one who is life… not what life is all about, but who is the very essence of life! And not just now, or later… Eternal life speaks of Past, Present, and Future… That Life… Jesus was made manifest to them, he was with the Father!
And notice also the words Testify and Proclaim. See these eyewitnesses tell us of this Life by verbally speaking and writing to us about the resurrected Jesus! The testify and proclaim the Eternal life or the resurrected Christ that was made manifest to them… who the US here? Just the apostles? He didn’t just appear to them… look at this...
6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
We have eyewitness testimony that the resurrected Jesus appeared to more than 500 people at once!
John interrupted his statement in the first verse to bolster his claim that this Jesus is more than what the false teachers are trying to claim, and they testify and proclaim that eternal life!
I know this seems to belabor it a bit but lets look at that 3rd verse by reading 1-3 together to get the whole point...
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
Notice that in this verse it is the 3rd time he says that they have SEEN him. John is repeating himself to warn us against false teachers who don’t believe in the resurrected Christ. But even more than the warning there is an affirmation to those who Believe!
To believe in the resurrected Christ that they have seen and heard will mean that we can have fellowship with them!
This is the main point here… Believing in Christ!
This is an invitation to receive rather than something for us to achieve. What am I trying to say?
The Gospel is an Invitation to Receive not work for you to Achieve!
The Gospel is an Invitation to Receive not work for you to Achieve!
What has been proclaimed to us about the resurrected Christ will bring us into fellowship with the Apostles when we believe it and receive it!
And what is amazing about that is who the Apostles are sharing fellowship with that we are being invited to...
3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
Their fellowship is with the Father and the Son Jesus Christ!
And see this is where Joh is trying to get his audience to… pushing through all the false teaching about Jesus to understand the true Life found in Christ because of the truth of the resurrection means believing in something that will cause us to have fellowship with them, who have fellowship with God the Father and Son!
And this is building towards this 4th verse...
4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
Now this is where language matters...
When John says WE are writing, he is talking about the Apostles writing to the churches and preaching the Gospel to us. They were eyewitnesses and they were writing… he is talking about THEM...
but then he says the word OUR… That our joy may be complete. And this word in some translation from the greek say, YOUR… that Your joy may be complete… but that is a bad translation, just as much as the word OUR can be a bad translation…
Here is what I mean… the way he uses this word here mans more than just the Apostles joy… thats not the Our he is using here. He is including this audience that is reading his letter in this OUR Joy. He means the true believers that are reading this… he means those who have fellowship with them because they also believe in the resurrected Christ who is The eternal Life and the subject matter of THAT which was from the Beginning!
If you believe in Jesus as your resurrected savior who died for your sins and was raised to Life then he is talking about you here!
But what is this joy he is speaking of?
There is no doubt in my mind that John is having a flash back to Jesus teaching them about having a completed joy.
Flashback to the Gospel of John
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 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. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
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Seems as though Jesus has gone to great lengths to tell them that by Abiding in him, by living by his commandments and living in his Love, the words Jesus spoke to them will keep them in him. That this connection to Christ will be a Joy to them, in fact it will Live in them, and cause their Joy to be Full!
To say abide with me is like saying have constant unbroken fellowship with me.
When john was saying that we could have fellowship with them by believing, he said that his fellowship was with the Father and the Son… and that this would cause our Joy to be complete...
One more flashback… this one seemed confusing at the time, yet it makes sense to John now...
16 “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 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. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
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Jesus was telling them that once they saw the resurrection that they would finally know Joy!
When they would see Jesus Again they would rejoice and no one would take their joy!
Their joy would be full when they see the resurrected Christ, and from then they would ask the Father things in his name, and that would fill them with joy also...
And yet in 1 john he proclaims to us to believe in this resurrected Christ that we would have fellowship with them and that this is reason they are writing to us FOR OUR JOY TO BE COMPLETE!
what am i trying to say...
Our Joy is complete when we believe in the resurrected Christ!
Our Joy is complete when we believe in the resurrected Christ!
The apostles joy is connected to Christ eternally, as they would abide in him… and our Joy in made complete with them as we experience the resurrected Christ who they have written to us about and proclaimed to us.. they saw him, and heard him and touched him and testify to him and proclaim him to us for us to believe in him and have fellowship with them and Him! Eternally! because he is Life, He is Eternal Life… He is the word of Life THAT which was from the beginning!
If you are here today and you are hearing this for the first time, that Jesus is the eternal life that you can believe in for saving from your sins… that he is the answer to Sin by giving his life for yours and dying in your place for your sin… and being raised from the dead was something that they actually saw, you can believe it and receive it, because it has been done for you, it will change your heart, as an invitation to receive the word of life. Then call upon the name of the Lord ask him to forgive your sins and make your Joy complete by connecting you in fellowship to him eternally.
If you are here and you know this Jesus already, then remember that true Joy comes only from knowing him and believing in his resurrection as proof that he will raise you also to be united to him forever. And we will have eternal fellowship God in Christ Jesus our Lord, just like the Apostles do.
3 questions I want us to ask in our groups this week
Question 1 - Why is it important that the Gospel never changes?
Question 1 - Why is it important that the Gospel never changes?
Since the beginning of creation God has been revealing himself to humanity and showing us our desperate need for him to save us. The Gospel which is good news of what Jesus Did for us is something that has been preached from the very beginning of the church age some 2,000 years ago. No matter how much this world changes, no matter what industrial revolutions and technological advances society makes, the simplicity of Believing in Christ is never going to Change… Do we see this as God being gracious? Have we recognized how others try to put different spins on this message and yet it is the simple truth of Jesus Doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves that has the power to change our hearts!
Question 2 - Are we giving invitations of Good News or good advice?
Question 2 - Are we giving invitations of Good News or good advice?
John was persistent in telling them that they actually saw and heard and touched this resurrected Christ. He was repeating in a work that had been done that they had witnessed. There was nothing you could but believe if you wanted to be united in fellowship with them. Yet it seems as though at times people seem to preach a gospel that is no gospel at all because it has more to do with a problem in our flesh that is answered in our flesh… As opposed to us being the problem that Jesus cured by his flesh and his Spirit.
Question 3 - Where does a true Believers Joy come from?
Question 3 - Where does a true Believers Joy come from?
Are we looking to things in this life that we do or things that we earn to give us satisfaction? the Apostles John declared that OUR joy would be complete by being connected to the resurrected Christ that they had seen. Are we confusing momentary happiness with true Joy that can only come from knowing the Life who is Jesus the eternal life… That which was from the Beginning!