So much for the introduction to 1John. Let’s dive into the letter itself, beginning with the first four verse which are a preface(read 1:1-4). John’s audience was familiar with his gospel, which helps us to understand the four main themes of this preface.
JESUS’ IDENTITY: The essence of John’s message is the identity of Jesus. Although He is not named until 1:3, He is clearly the Person in view in 1:1,2. Who is Jesus?
He is the unique Son of God (1:3), which means that He shares the same divine nature as God the Father (Jn.5:18).
He is eternally pre-existent. He “was from the beginning” means that before any beginning, He already existed (Jn.1:1). He “was with the Father” is in the imperfect tense, which means continuous action in the past.
He is the unique Source of spiritual life. “Life” here is not bios, or physical life (although Jesus is the Source of this life as well) – but zoe, or spiritual life, the very life of God that has always been). As the Word of spiritual life (“the Word of life... the life... the eternal life” – not “a” which implies “one of many”), Jesus is unique.
He entered this world in history. He “always was with the Father” (imperfect), but He “was manifested to us” (aorist) at a point in time. As the “Word” of spiritual life, Jesus came into this world to explain and demonstrate His spiritual life to humanity, and to make His spiritual life available to every person (as we will see).
HOW WE KNOW THIS MESSAGE IS TRUE: Why should we believe this “version” of Jesus instead of some other “version” like the Jesus of the “gospel of Thomas” or the Jesus of “The DaVinci Code?” Notice the contrast in person pronouns – “we” and “you.” “We” refers to the apostles, Jesus disciples, whom He appointed to be His official representatives (“apostle” means something like “ambassador”). Jesus’ apostles have some unique credentials to confirm their testimony about Jesus:
They personally “heard” His unique claims (“I am” statements in John’s gospel). They “saw” His unique confirming miracles (“signs’ that confirm “I am” statements - EXAMPLE). They “touched” and “handled” His unique resurrected body (read Jn.20:24-27).
We can know this message about Jesus is true because John and the other apostles are eye-witnesses, which is the strongest kind of evidence for such matters. They are multiple, not solitary witnesses, which corroborates their testimony. And they all suffered horribly (most to martyrdom) rather than retract their testimony.
Contrast this to the “gospel of Thomas,” which was written at least three decades after all eye-witnesses had died, which does not claim to be written by an eye-witness, and which has no corroborating witnesses. If you were a juror at a trial, which testimony would you accept? Which testimony would you reject? Why should it be any different in establishing the identity of Jesus?
WHY GOD GAVE US THIS MESSAGE: The apostles have proclaimed this message to others (“you”), not just to inform us or to entertain us, but for two important reasons:
The first reason is so that we might join them in having personal fellowship with the Father and the living Jesus (read 1:3). The essence of eternal spiritual life is a personal relationship with God (Jn.17:3). This fellowship, which has been going on forever between the Father and Jesus, is now open to us (Jn.17:26)!
John doesn’t tell his audience how to gain access to this fellowship because they already knew. But he spells out the only condition in his gospel (read Jn.20:31). To “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” means to agree with the apostles about who Jesus is (the only Messiah and Savior), and that you personally entrust yourself to Him and welcome Him into your life (Jn.1:12). The moment you make this decision, you are “in” forever!
But it doesn’t end there. The second reason is so that we might experience the joy of helping others into this fellowship (read 1:4). Joy begins when we begin fellowship with the Father and Jesus. But this fellowship is not exclusive – it is constantly reaching out in love and inviting others in. When we join them in this loving outreach, our heart’s capacity to enjoy their love expands – and the result is greater joy (see Phil.2:17,18). Many true Christians do not have increasing joy in their relationship with God simply because they aren’t in synch with the Father and Jesus on this. Is this an accurate description of your spiritual life? You can change this today!