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This week we are starting a brand new series! For the next several months we will be walking together through the three letters John wrote, which are found towards the back of the New Testament. They’re short, so are often overlooked, but they contain some incredible truths and I hope that we all grow through our study together.

‘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— 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— 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.’ (1 John 1:1-3)

Well, this is one long sentence, but we can break it up into bite-size pieces and digest it a bit more slowly.

The beginning

The first thing which leaps out from this introduction is its similarity, in terms of content, to John’s introduction to his gospel. He talks about ‘the beginning’, ‘the word’ (John 1:1), and particularly the word being ‘made manifest’ (see John 1:14). This is important. John is so focussed on Jesus that he can’t help but talk about him before he’s even got into the body of his letter! Lesson one from this letter, and from the Bible as a whole, is always, and must always be, that it is all about Jesus. Often at the start of a sermon, or a book, or our testimony, we start by talking about ourselves – that’s not what John does. It’s always, only, and all about, for, and because of Jesus Christ. Whatever we say, think, or do, we must bear that in mind.

Eternal life

Something else that John leaps on here, and does throughout his gospel, is the idea of ‘eternal life’. The problem is, however, that we’re so used to hearing John 3:16 that when we hear about eternal life we instantly think of ourselves being in heaven, but that’s not what John is talking about here – have another read. John writes about ‘the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us’; that’s Jesus! The eternal life that John has introduced us to in this passage is Jesus’ own eternal life! And this is another thing that as Christians we tend to miss.

There’s such a heavy focus on what Jesus accomplished on the cross that our gospel presentations often end there, but that’s just not the case in the Bible. John impresses upon us that Jesus has eternal life – he rose again! Jesus’ death means that our sinful nature has been crucified with Christ (see Galatians 2:20,5:24), but Jesus’ resurrection means that we rise spiritually with him, and share in that eternity! That’s the good news.

Fellowship

The goal behind the word, Jesus, becoming flesh comes towards the end of that first sentence: all of that earlier stuff is preached ‘so that you too may have fellowship with us’ (1 John 1:3). The word translated ‘fellowship’ in the original Greek text is koinonia, which is used all over the New Testament. It means a sort of united partnership, such as might be experienced in a strong marriage. The purpose of Jesus’ death and resurrection is this koinonia, in that Christians are to be reconciled to one another (hence Jesus’ words in John 13:35) and to God. Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship with God through Jesus Christ – let’s not forget that.

"'Christ in You...'" from Dale Krebbs

God Inhabits The Ordinary