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1 John 1 "Fellowship With the Light"
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. (1 John 1:1-4)
There is something that we know. We know that Jesus Christ is the source of eternal life! We know it because it was shown to us and now we want to show it to you. We want to show it to you so that you also may have fellowship with us, not just with us but also with God and His Son Jesus Christ. We want you to know this so that your joy (and our joy) may be full. This is what John is writing, and what each of us Christians should be communicating to those around us. John knew that Jesus Christ was the source of everlasting life, indeed is life, because he heard Jesus speak, and saw Him with his eyes and even touched Jesus with his hands after he witnessed that same Jesus crucified and placed in a tomb. John knew that Jesus is life, because he saw Jesus come back to life from death. John was an eyewitness as were the other apostles who wrote the New Testament.
Of course we are not eyewitnesses, but we can be just
as sure as John was. In his gospel, John tells us about one disciple
who was not present the first time that Jesus appeared to them after
He rose from the dead. This disciple could not believe what the others
had told him. It was just too incredible! He said, "Unless I see
in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print
of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."
Just then Jesus appeared again to them and invited this disciple to
do just that. Afterwards Jesus said, "Thomas, because you have
seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen
and yet have believed." (John 20:29) How do we who have
never seen Jesus Christ, who have never heard or touched Him know that
He is really the source of eternal life? The way that we know is through
the fellowship that John invites us to take part in.
John’s purpose for writing his letter was to invite us to join
a fellowship. A fellowship is a group, a community, with a common link.
The internet which is having such a huge impact on modern life actually
started because some computer science people in the universities wanted
to make a link between their computers. Once it got started these links
spread far beyond just the world of computing. What was originally intended
as a way to discuss computer languages and share technical data soon
was used to discuss everything from the latest baseball scores to fly-fishing
to political elections. When I started using the internet, the world
wide web was not even heard of yet. But technology allowed pictures
and eventually sound and animations to be sent quickly through modems
and suddenly people woke up to the incredible power of being linked.
I can now go on line and search for people who share an interest in
Japan and ask them a question that I need to know and get an answer
back. The only thing that ties us together is that common link. The
Greek word for fellowship is "koinonia". It comes from the
root word meaning "common" and is used in the New Testament
for the community of Christians. What we share in common is the life
that John was witness to. Our common link is that we all have eternal
life springing up in our hearts. What makes it much more powerful though
is that that life is not just a common interest, or a force that is
working in us. That life is a person, Jesus Christ. Our community includes
and is really centered on Jesus. So even though we were not there to
see Jesus with our own eyes, we are linked to Him and to everyone else
in the world who knows Him.
John tells us one more way that we can that Jesus is the source of life. He tells us that he is writing his letter so that your joy may be full. In some of the oldest manuscripts that we have of the Bible this verse is written, "that our joy may be full". Actually, both are just as true. The more that we know Jesus the more our joy is filled out. I got a kick out of my son at Christmas when he was very little. We would put the present on his lap and ask him, "What did you get?" To which he would shout with glee, "A box, a box!" He was so pleased just to get a box. I believe that our capacity for joy will expand with our knowledge of Christ. The more we fellowship with Him, the more deep our joy will be. Just as my son was more and more excited when he realized that there was something even better inside the box. As we are linked, plugged into the source of life, our joy will start to fill out. As we are linked together with other Christians that joy continues to fill out more and more. We talked a few weeks ago about how each of us is unique in our experience of God’s love. Each one of us is specially designed to reflect God’s light in a specific way. We are all precious in God’s eyes and cannot be replaced because there is a special gift of God that the rest of the world can only receive through you. So when we tell someone about Jesus and invite them to fellowship with us not only are they about to receive joy, but we also will find that our joy is enhanced because they are now a part of it. That is one of the greatest things about being part of a church, each and every person that becomes part of this fellowship is a way for God to increase our joy.
This is the message which we have heard from him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:1-10)
How does our fellowship work? If we are to compare it
to the internet, what are the telephone wires that make the connection?
How do we stay linked in? I believe the best way to understand it is
that God is the central hub. Every time we fellowship with any other
Christian there is really a network of three taking place. It is you,
the other Christian and God. Jesus told His disciples, "For where
two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst
of them." (Matthew 18:20) Of course it is possible to gather without
taking the name of Jesus into account whatsoever! People do it all the
time. That is not fellowship because it is not a network that includes
God. But if Jesus is the center, the hub for our group, then no matter
how small, it is a fellowship and our joy will increase!
Does gathering in Jesus name mean that every time we meet another Christian
we have to talk about God, read the Bible, pray and sing praise songs?
I don’t think so. John tells us more about the hub and what constitutes
real fellowship. He says first that God is light and in Him is no darkness
at all. This is light in the full poetic meaning of the word. God is
everything that is good, true and pure and there is nothing evil about
Him whatsoever. We could go into this in great depth because a large
portion of the Bible is just telling us the character of God and all
of it is light. John’s summary of the whole of Jesus’ ministry
was that He is light. It is very important for us to know that God is
not a mixture of good and evil. I think this is important because it
is very tempting for us to think this about God. A lot of things happen
in our lives and not all of them are pleasant. Some are absolutely terrible.
It is tempting to say that God is like us, that sometimes He is good
but other times He is unfair. Sometimes He is loving and gentle, but
other times He is cruel and stingy. This is what Satan would have us
believe about God and what he has convinced most of the religions of
the world. Most religions believe that God will only give His blessings
to those who do the right things. They think that God is only good to
those who say the right prayers, burn the right incense or make the
right pilgrimage. Otherwise God is frightening at best. The eastern
religions have a symbol that graphically portrays this misconception
of God, the yin-yang, a swirling circle that is half-light and half-dark.
Our God is not this kind of chaotic balance that at any time might turn
on you. Our God is all light! He is the one who is always for us, never
against us! He is the one who makes all things work together for good
for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Is it possible to lose your connection in this fellowship?
John says that if you walk in darkness then you are not really part
of the fellowship at all. You might be in the same room with Christians.
You might attend the same church. But you won’t be experiencing
the same bond, the same joy of discovering Christ in each other as those
who are focussed on the light. Does this mean that only those who don’t
sin are really in fellowship? John thought of that, in fact he says,
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves." Everybody
sins. The person that says he doesn’t is the one who is the most
confused. Actually, if we are focussed on the light, Jesus will cleanse
us from the sin in our lives by His blood. So what does it mean to walk
in darkness and how do we avoid it?
Think about the difference between light and dark. If we turned out
the lights and I put one light in the center of the room, the corners
of the room would be dark. As long as you are in the center we can see
your face and know if you are smiling or frowning, laughing or crying,
angry or sad. But if you are out in the corners it is much harder to
tell. We might call out to you, "How are you doing, brother!"
And you could say back, "just fine", when in reality you are
crying where nobody can see. It is easy to hide in the dark and impossible
in the light. In our hearts it is easy to hide sin. But when Jesus Christ
shines into our lives it is no longer easy. He exposes our sins. But
the wonderful thing is that if we confess those sins, He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If you believe in Jesus Christ, the source of eternal life, then sin
no longer has the power to separate you from God. Sin cannot keep you
out of fellowship. If you bring that sin out into the open and confess
it, Jesus will forgive you and even cleanse that sin out of your life.
The only way that sin can keep you out of fellowship is if you hide
it. The more you hide, the more darkness you will need to keep it hidden,
and the farther from the light you have to move. All of us sin. It is
nothing to hide. Expose it to the light and let Jesus sweep it away.
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