1 John

In our last program we learned how to evaluate the truth of any religious system. In today’s program we will learn how to evaluate our own relationship to God. In the second chapter of his first general epistle, Christ’s Apostle John tells us in verse nine: “He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother, is in the darkness even until now.” (ASV)

We are to walk as Christ walked. A major part of that walk or that life style is how we relate to other people. From the time of Adam till the coming of the Messiah, God gave various methods to man by which he wanted them to worship him. These were not the ultimate arrangement to which God was slowly bringing man. Those early methods were revealed bit by bit. Scripture says they were revealed “by divers portions” (Hebrews 1:1 ASV). Those were tentative and preparatory arrangements for worship, not intended to be in place throughout all time or to be practiced simultaneously in every part of the whole world.

Every person needs an advocate in order that he may stand successfully before God’s judgment bar when he calls each one of us into his presence. God has appointed a great Advocate for each one of us, Jesus Christ, the Righteous. We should always remember that this is just one of the ways God has expressed his love for each one of us. None of us is able to provide an advocate for himself who can help us when each of us must stand before God to defend our behavior. (See Matthew 16:27)

We have come to a part of the message of the first epistle of John which has an extremely appealing message which all of us would like to be for us. Everyone may receive this message but we must make sure that our name is on the envelope. Otherwise, the message will go to someone else. This is part of the message which everyone would like to say, This is for me. The message is, “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 righteous 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 1:8-10 ASV)

Continuing our study of God’s revelation to man, in this program we will go further in our study of the message which God gave to mankind through the Apostle John in his short epistle which is called John’s first general letter. “If we walk in the light we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7 ASV)

The most central and fundamental truth in Christ’s message is that God is Light. This is the great truth revealed in 1 John 1:5-6. 1 John 1:5 says, “And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

The message of Christ is “the Word of life.” (1 John 1:1) Without that message no one can find the way to eternal life. Therefore, when God made that message known, he used four separate ways to communicate. That made the message sure. When God communicated the Word of life, he communicated it to men called Apostles whose responsibility it was to share it with the entire human race. To make the communication of the message absolutely certain, God allowed each of the Apostles to have the same experience which the Apostle John had. John (1) “heard” the Word of life. (2) He “saw the Word of life.” (3) He “beheld” the Word of life and (4) he “handled.” the Word of life. (1 John 1:1)

Jesus of Nazareth is not only the Messiah, he is the Word of God and the Spirit of God (See 2 Corinthians 3:17). We cannot separate God from his Word and from his Spirit. Therefore, whenever we are in the presence of the Word of God and the Spirit of God we are in the presence of God! Being both the Word of God and The Spirit of God Jesus was far greater than a man. In spite of this, Jesus came into the world as a man.

Though the Apostle John’s first general epistle is short, it is profound and gives to man an essential message from God. In the last program we learned why man needs a message from God. In this program we will learn how God gives his message to mankind.

Like all of the New Testament, the Apostle John’s first letter is divinely inspired. This short New Testament writing gives us a special message from God. The first sentence makes that point clear. It says, “That which was from the beginning... concerning the Word of life...” All of us know that God is the source, the giver and the sustainer of life. Therefore, the ‘Word of life’ is a word or message from God.