Category Archives: 1 John

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.

In sharp contrast, Jesus Christ revealed God’s ultimate divine system in its entirety. That is why, Christ’s Apostle John, in this his first letter, wrote to the followers of the Messiah and told them in chapter two, verse seven, “I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning.” (1 John 2:7) When the revelation which came through Jesus the Messiah was proclaimed for the very first time, the listeners were told that, “to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him.” (Acts 2:39 ASV). Thus, this revelation would never need any additions or any amendments to adapt or amend it for the benefit of generations of people born centuries after it was first preached.

Once we have received this revelation we never need “a new command.” Thus the “old commandment which [we] have had since the beginning” is complete and it is adequate. Obviously then, any religious system which alters, modifies, changes, adds to or takes away from the revelation which has come for all time to the whole human race through Jesus Christ to his Apostles, and from them to us, is wrong. Such an amended system does not have God’s approval upon it. Only those who accept and obey the old “command” – that is the command which came from the beginning of the age of the Messiah, which we who have discovered the way of salvation through Jesus Christ have had since the beginning, will have God’s approval.

Christ’s Apostle John wrote “Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard.” (1 John 2:7) Yet, in the very next verse he tells us, “Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.” (1 John 2:8, NIV) Here where John mentions “a new command” he is quoting the words of Jesus which he uttered when he gave a radically new commandment for those who wish to please God. When Jesus gave that special commandment he said, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” (John 13:34)

When Jesus used the expression, ‘new commandment’ he was contrasting it with the commands which had previously been given in the law of Moses. At the time John wrote, the ‘new commandment’ was part of that complete revelation of God’s will to man which is called ‘the old commandment’ which is mentioned in verse 7. The law of Moses did have a command to love others. It said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” (Leviticus 19:18.) Thus, while the old covenant obligated one to love his neighbor, the standard for that love was the love one had for himself. In sharp contrast, Jesus gave a new commandment. He said, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” (John 13:34) According to the command which Jesus gave, we are to love as he loved. When we use the love of Christ as the standard, then love has reached the ultimate level. We know it is the ultimate level of love because, “for the [benefit of a] good man some one would even dare to die.” (Romans 5:7) But Jesus went far beyond this, for “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

The Apostle John tells us, the new command to love, “is true in him and in you”. This explains another sense in which the commandment was new. First, it was new “in him” because he revealed it and demonstrated love at this high level for the first time in all human history. Secondly, it is new “in you” that is in and among the followers of Christ. Those who followed Christ were the first social group to practice brotherly love on the level which Jesus had demonstrated and commanded. Though it was true in them, it was a practice they had carried out from the very beginning of the church. Thus, at the time John wrote, it was not a novel practice among the followers of Christ. Thus, John tells us in verse 7, he was not writing a ‘new commandment.’

John next told those to whom he wrote, “the darkness is passing away, and the true light already shineth.” (1 John 2:8 ASV) Because of the practice of brotherly love at the high level which Jesus commanded was going on among his followers, the Apostle John could say that the darkness is passing away and the “true light already shineth.” He means it was shining in them, among them and around them. Those who follow Christ welcome the light. They do not oppose it or resist it.

The ‘darkness’ probably refers to all the lies which promote hatred. The light is probably the truth which promotes brotherly love. The truth tells us that men are God’s creation, they are dear to him, that the real enemy is Satan, not someone who may have hurt us. The demonstration of brotherly love which The followers of Christ were giving was due in part to the excellence of the revelation of the will of God, “the true light.” The followers of Christ live in the sunlight age of revelation. In earlier ages God revealed the truth as fast as man would receive it. Many times God had to patiently give revelation slowly because of man’s stubbornness. The true light was shining but all the darkness had not yet been dispelled. Unfortunately, that is often still true. But the light will, ultimately, be triumphant.

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)

As we have just said, God has made the great Advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous, available to every person. But we must accept him and must also know that he has accepted us. Only then will he be willing to represent us and plead our cause on the day of judgment. The assurance of our acceptance of him and of his acceptance of us comes through a change in our behavior which is brought about when we accept the Advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous, and when he accepts us. The basic change in our behavior through which we are assured that we know the Advocate and the Advocate knows us is obedience. Before we accepted Jesus to be our personal Advocate we “turned every one to his own way.” (Isaiah 53:6) But when we accept the Advocate and he accepts us, then he helps us bring about a fundamental change in our life style so that now we become obedient to God through the Advocate whom he has appointed to help us.

Christ’s Apostle John tells us that, “hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” (1 John 2:3) This is the test by which we can know the condition of our relationship to the Advocate. Perhaps we know many sacred truths. Also, we may be able to cite some lengthy religious creed. However, these achievements are not proofs that we know Jesus as our Advocate. Real fellowship with The Advocate is proved by doing his will.

Since we are assured that, “we know him, if we keep his commandments,” each of us wants to know if this keeping of his commandments requires sinless obedience. Everyone who accepts the Advocate whom God has appointed should certainly have the desire for sinless obedience. This is obvious from the fact that the Advocate whom God has appointed for us is Jesus Christ the sinless one. There should never be a time when we desire to fall below the perfection which Jesus himself demonstrated in his life. Anything less than this desire would be evil desire (Colossians 3:5).

But though our goal is to “keep his commandments,” we must also realize that we constantly do fall below our desire for complete obedience to Christ. In view of 1 John 1:8-2:2, it is impossible to understand that John intended to say that we must reach sinless perfection before we could, “know him.”

If we had always lived our lives with sinless perfection we would then have no need for an advocate to plead our cause before God. Also, in that case we would be liars if we acknowledged our sins, but John tells us we are liars if we fail to acknowledge them. The meaning of ‘keep’ is clarified in the next verse, that is 1 John 2:4. It says, “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;”

‘Keep’ is translated from the present tense of a Greek verb (taireo) which expresses the concept of, “Continued action. The action of the verb is shown in progress, as going on.” (W.H. Davis, Beginner’s Grammar of the Greek New Testament, (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1923), p. 25.) Thus the test is based on a person’s continued practice or action. Disobedience is the continual or habitual action of the godless while among them obedience is rare and coincidental. With those who have accepted the Advocate, on the other hand, obedience is the general practice while disobedience is the exception and is comparatively rare.

Now, through John, God allows us to look deeper into our own hearts. The obedience which we must demonstrate in order to have the help of the Advocate can only grow out of a change in our affections. “…but whoso keepeth his word, in him verily hath the love of God been perfected. Hereby we know that are in him:” (1 John 2:5) Here “his word” is used interchangeably with “his commandments” in the previous verse.

In 1 John 2:6 we learn more about a proper relationship to our Advocate. It says, “he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked.”

In the Greek language, in which this was first written, the expression “abideth in him” means one remains in him. The expression “abideth in him”, communicates the two important points: first, that the relationship to God which the followers of the Advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous, have is not just a series of encounters but a stable way of life; second, that the stability does not imply inertia, that is a static life style, but a vitality visible in the way one walks.

The expression, “walk even as he walked.” shows that Jesus, the Advocate, sets the standard. for our moral conduct. When we accept him as our Advocate, God performs a moral miracle in our lives so subsequently we may live as he did. We will not be perfectly sinless as he was but there will be a radical transformation in our manner of life so our life style regularly and consistently resembles his.

In our next program we will see from the immediately following text, that the most critical aspect of the change in our life style refers to the standard by which we express brotherly love. Jesus taught us that we are to love, not as we love ourselves, but as he loved. He said, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” (John 13:34 ASV) Thus, Jesus set a new standard for brotherly love. When we follow that standard we are walking “even as he walked.”

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)

Even though most of us do not want to sin, from time to time we do sin. None of us can deny that we are sinners. If we do deny it, “the truth in not in us” and we make God “a liar and his word is not in us.” We sin because we are morally weak. The Apostle Paul expressed that weakness for us when he said, “For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I practice.” (Romans 7:19 ASV)

When we sin we always destroy our inner peace. In addition to that, many times our sin also alienates our closest friends and often the members of our family as well. Above all, our sin always cuts us off from the fellowship of God. We must get forgiveness for our sins to be restored to fellowship with God and to have a happy relationship with our loved ones. In 1 John 1:9 we are told, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9 ASV)

According to this, some people have the privilege of only acknowledging their sin to God in order to be forgiven. This is one of the greatest messages of the Apostle John’s first epistle. But, we must be sure who it is to whom this was written. If our name is not on the envelope, we cannot say that the message of the letter on the inside is for us.

John has made it very clear to whom this was written. First of all, he wrote to those for whom Jesus was their Advocate: “My little children, these things write I unto you that ye may not sin. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1 John 2:1 ASV)

Every sinner must have an advocate who can plead his case before the divine bar of judgment of his sins cannot be forgiven. Only the person who obediently follows Christ has the Advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous.

The word Advocate is a legal term which means literally, “One called alongside to help.” Thus, Jesus becomes the attorney for the one who is willing to acknowledge him and follow him.

Jesus Christ is called, “Jesus Christ the righteous.” Jesus is qualified to be our defense attorney because he is righteous. He bases his plea, not on the innocence of his clients but upon the efficacy of the propitiation which he has made on our behalf. Everyone who sins becomes entangled in two legal problems, neither of which the one who sins can solve. First, when we sin we become indebted to God. This happens because God has a right to our service and our praise. The prophet David has told us, “Know ye that Jehovah, he is God: It is he that hath made us, and we are his; We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” (Psalms 100:3 ASV) Because we are his he has a right to ask us for service and praise. Whenever we have not given him what he has asked we have become indebted to him.

For example, God wants every human being to always tell the truth. Scripture tells us, “Wherefore, putting away falsehood, speak ye truth each one with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.” (Ephesians 4:24 ASV) Speaking truth is a service to God. He expects it of us. When we lie we do not give God the service he expects from us. Once a person has lied, he can do nothing to reverse it. If he tells the truth from that moment on, he is only doing what God expects him to do. He has done nothing extra which could make up for past sin. Therefore, we cannot pay our own debt which we owe to God.

But debt may be transferred. If someone else is able and wishes to pay our debt, it is perfectly legal and acceptable. That is what Jesus did for the whole human race. He paid the debt. For those who have Jesus as their Advocate, he pleads that in spite of our guilt we are not to be condemned because he paid the debt to God.

But when we sin not only do we become debtors, we also become criminals. Though debt may be transferred to someone else, we are always responsible for our own crimes. That is why Scripture says, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die:” (Ezekiel 18:20 ASV) If we want Jesus Christ to be our Advocate, we must first take care of the criminal aspect of our own sin. It cannot be transferred. But Jesus has made it possible for us to die with him spiritually. Scripture says, “Faithful is the saying: For if we died with him, we shall also live with him.” (2 Timothy 2:11 ASV)

When we believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God we die to our old assumptions which took us away from God. Those old assumptions may have been that God does not exist or that if he exists he does not care about man. When we openly acknowledge Jesus we die to our old declarations of allegiance. From now on we will be subject only to God through Jesus who is the Christ. When we repent we die to our old rebellion against God. Before we die to our rebellion we “turned every one to his own way.” (Isaiah 53:6 ASV) But now we no longer put self first. From this point we put God first. When we are baptized we die to our old life style. From the water of baptism we are raised “ so we also might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4 ASV). Every decision about conduct is from this point determined by having “the mind of Christ.” (I Corinthians 2:16 ASV)

At the point at which we have died to our old life of rebellion against God, Jesus becomes our Advocate. Then, from that point on, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:8-9 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)

Everyone of us needs cleansing from sin. Our own conscience tells us that we are sinful. In addition to our conscience the Bible clearly tells us of our sinful condition. It says, “There is none righteous, no not one; There is none that understandeth, There is none that seeketh after God; They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, not so much as one: …all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:10-12, 23 ASV)

Because of our sin we are under the death penalty. Scripture tells us, “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23 ASV) The only hope is for someone to take our penalty on himself so we may be freed from that penalty.

God has been communicating that message for many centuries. For example, when Abraham sinned, God told him to sacrifice his son as an offering to free him from his sins. However, at the last minute God provided a ram for the sacrifice. Therefore, Abraham’s son was spared. In that experience of Abraham and his son there was not only an anticipation of the future but also a prediction of the future. In fulfillment of that prediction, many centuries later, God gave the one he calls his Son to be a sacrifice in every person’s sin. In contrast, though Abraham’s son was spared at the last minute, the Son of God had to die. There could be no substitute for him! If there was to be a way of salvation for mankind, Christ had to die!

Through our sin we have forfeited our right to live. To get our right to life back someone had to die in our place. However, it had to be someone who was completely sinless. A sinful person could not give his life for the redemption of another sinner because he would be under a death sentence because of his own sins. Out of the entire human race only Jesus Christ lived a totally sinless life. That is why he is called ‘Jesus Christ the righteous.’ The sinlessness of Christ was asserted by himself He said, “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?” (John 8:46 NIV) Peter who was one of his disciples and who lived with him more than three years said, “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” (1 Peter 2:22 NIV). Paul who at first rejected Jesus came to understand the truth and then wrote, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV). The apostle John wrote, “You know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.” (1 John 3:5 NIV)

He was, therefore, the only one who could give his life so we might gain back the right to live. To do that Christ had to shed his blood. Shedding his blood was based on the fundamental principle of sacrifice. God has told us that, “the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life.” (Leviticus 17:11 ASV)

Many prophecies in scripture foretold that Christ would give his life as a ransom for mankind. One of the outstanding places where God’s Spirit testified beforehand of the sufferings and death of Christ, it is in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah! Please consider just a few statements from that remarkable prophecy:

First, in Isaiah 53:11 we are told, “He shall see of the travail of his soul, (and) shall be satisfied: by the knowledge of himself shall my righteous servant justify many; and he shall bear their iniquities.” The death of Jesus was the legal basis upon which God could justify anyone who yields his life to obey God through Jesus Christ. God cannot forgive anyone who does not accept the arrangement which he has made for all mankind through Jesus Christ. Scripture tells us, “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies the man who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:25-26 NIV)

Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice entirely willingly. Isaiah prophesied that he would do this. He said, “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:12)

Notice that it was ‘he’ who poured out his soul. It was not someone else who did it. Jesus himself emphasized that his death was entirely voluntary. He said, “Therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one taketh it away from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. …” (John 10:17-18)

Because everyone of us is a sinner, everyone of us needs “the blood of Jesus his Son” to cleanse us from all our sin. Without that cleansing, none of us can ever be with God. But we need to understand what the conditions are upon which God will apply the blood of Jesus to us to cleanse us. Please listen to our next program to learn how every person may be saved through the sacrifice which the Messiah made for each one of us.

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 revelation which came through Christ is “the message which we have heard from him” Jesus did not convey just random thoughts or unconnected bits of information. On the contrary, he communicated a complete coherent message.

We must always remember that the Apostles “heard [the message] from him.” That means they heard it from Christ who is the Messiah, the Word of God, and the Spirit of God (cf 2 Corinthians 3:17). The Apostles heard it directly from Christ. Thus, “This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.” (Hebrews 2:3 NIV)

The most essential part of the message is about the nature of God himself. The message of Jesus tells us that, “God is light.” We should not understand this statement to mean that God is light in the sense that the science of physics defines light. Light in the sense by which physicists define it, is not eternal but was created. We know physical light was created because Scripture tells us that, “God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”(Genesis 1:3 ASV) It is clear from that statement that there was a stage in the creation of the universe in which physical light did not exist. Light was created by God. In sharp contrast, there never was a point at which God did not exist. He is eternal. God was never created. He always existed. Therefore, God is not light in the physical sense.

However, in spite of this, God may at times partially manifest himself in ways in which he utilizes visible light. For example, in describing the vision given to him of the glorified Christ, John said, “His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” (Revelation 1:16b NIV)

Those theophanies like John described, great as they were, still fell far short of conveying the complete reality of God’s fullness. We know that because scripture clearly tells us, “No man hath seen God at any time.” (John 1:18)

If God should ever fully manifest himself in the form of physical light, in the sense that physicists define light, even then we could not see him. Our visual powers are far too limited to perceive the entire spectrum of physical light. Even on the occasions when God has partially revealed himself in the form of visible light, it blinded those who beheld that revelation. The apostle Paul had such an experience. The Book of Acts tells us, “as he journeyed, it came to pass that he drew nigh unto Damascus: and suddenly there shone round about him a light out of heaven: and he fell upon the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: but rise, and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men that journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but beholding no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw nothing; and they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and did neither eat nor drink.” (Acts 9:3-9 AV)

Since God is light in a far more profound way than light is in the physical sense of light, he cannot be perceived, even remotely, by the optic nerve. Similarly, his image cannot be captured on photographic film. However, the reason God sometimes has manifested himself by utilizing physical light may be because there are some properties of physical light which make it appropriate to use that kind of light as a simile for God.

Since it is clear that the word ‘light’ is not used in this passage in the sense of light which may be perceived by our optic nerve, we must explore its figurative uses. Light is used in a number of figurative senses in the Bible:

1. Sometimes light is used to represent knowledge: “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; And reproofs of instruction are the way of life:” (Proverbs 6:23 ASV)
2. Light is also used to represent understanding: “The opening of thy words giveth light; It giveth understanding unto the simple.” (Psalms 119:130 ASV)
3. Light is also used to represent Righteousness: “But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” (Proverbs 4:18 ASV)
4. Finally, light is used to represent truth: In view of 1 John 1:6 it seems ‘light’ in this passage refers to truth. That verse says: “If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:” (ASV) Thus when anyone lies he is in darkness. The opposite of a lie is the truth. Thus, when Christ’s revelation tells us that God is light, it means God is the truth.

If we want to have fellowship with God, we must renounce lies and embrace the truth. We know this because John’s epistle tells us, “If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:” (1 John 1:6 ASV)

Here the figure of walking in darkness or walking in the light is made clear. Walking in darkness is to lie and not to live by the truth. Therefore, walking in the light must be telling and doing the truth. It is embracing the truth that permits us to have fellowship with God. According to 1 John 1:8 we must have the truth in us. Thus, in this passage, it seems clear that while God is ‘light’ in a number of the other figurative senses of light, it is truth which John intends to set before us here as one of the essential characteristics of God’s being.

Each of us must be determined to accept and live by the highest of all truth. The truth that God is light. That means he is Truth itself. We must renounce everything that is false.

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)

Because the message of Christ is so important, the Apostles passed the message of Christ on to others in four ways: (1) They communicated it by bearing witness (1 John 1:2). (2) They communicated it by declaring it (1 John 1:2-3). (3) They communicated it by writing it (1 John 1:4). (4) And, they also communicated that message by by announcing it (1 John 1:5). This four-fold emphasis through repetition was made because the Apostles of Christ knew it was utterly important that every person understand the message.

Three reasons make it extremely important that the message of the Messiah be made available to everyone. First, as we have already said, since the message of Christ is “the Word of life.” (1 John 1:1) Without that message no once can find the way to eternal life. Secondly, this message must be understood and accepted by anyone who wishes to enjoy the highest and most important fellowship in the universe. By inspiration from God, John wrote about that fellowship in his first epistle chapter one and in the third verse. He said: “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3)

God refers to himself as ‘the Father’ because he is the one who gave life to everything and everyone who lives. As God uses human fathers to pass human life from one generation to the next he uses the name ‘Father’ for himself because he is the one who gives life to all.

God has revealed himself to man through nature and through the verbal message of the prophets. Neither of those methods of communicating with man were totally adequate. To give man an adequate revelation he sent his Word in human form. The Apostle John has told us in his gospel that, “the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) Thus, God revealed himself nature, through the message of the prophets and in person as the Word. That person was Jesus who was born of the virgin Mary. He is also the Messiah.

The Messiah was given the name, ‘Son of God.’ It is a name given to Jesus which expresses his high rank, high position or eminence.

First of all the name ‘Son of God’ shows that Jesus the Messiah is above angels. Scripture tells us, “he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, You are my Son; today I have become your Father'? Or again,I will be his Father, and he will be my Son’?” (Hebrews 1:4-5 NIV)

In the second Psalm the name ‘Son of God’ was prophesied to be one of the titles of the Messiah. (Both the Hebrew word Messiah and its Greek translation, Christ mean the Anointed One.)

The Messiah who is the Word of God is not only superior to angels, but also he is superior to kings. About the Anointed One God says, “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.” (Psalms 2:6 NIV) About that King, the Messiah, God says, “You are my Son” (Psalms 2:7 NIV). In his position as Son he rules (as the vice-regent of God) over the kings of earth, not only over the kings but over the nations which are subject to those kings. His rule over the nations is also clear in the 2nd Psalm: “and I will make the nations your inheritance . . . Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.” (Psalms 2:8-10 NIV) Thus Jesus has a rank or position above men in general and kings in particular. His exalted position is declared by his God-given name, ‘Son of God’ which The Almighty has bestowed on him.

As we have said, there are three reasons why it extremely important that the message of the Messiah be made available to everyone. First, is to find the way of eternal life. Secondly, this message must be understood and accepted by anyone who wishes to enjoy the highest and most important fellowship in the universe. The third reason is to have the greatest joy that is possible for mankind.

John wrote, “these things we write, that our joy may be made full.” (1 John 1:4) God wants everyone to not only have joy but to have the fullness of joy! That joy comes from hearing, understanding and receiving the message of ‘the Word of life.’

The fullness of joy for those who have the message comes from sharing it with those who do not have it while for those without the message it comes from receiving it and then passing it on to others who have not yet received it. The joy which one gets through knowing and accepting God’s message is “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” (1 Peter 1:8)

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.

Through the prophet Isaiah God has told us that “as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9) Thus to make the highest revelation understandable to man, God sent the Messiah in human form. Though the Messiah did exist, “in the form of God, [he] counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being found in fashion as a man.” (Philippians 2:6-7) Because the Messiah came as a man the reality of his being and of his message could be confirmed with methods which are familiar to man.

It is the confirmation of the Messiah’s reality which the Apostle John shares with us in the opening verses of his small revelation called the 1st Epistle of John. He wrote, “That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life (and the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare unto you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us); that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ:” (I John 1:1-3)

So, the certainty of the revelation through Jesus is established through hearing, through seeing, through beholding and through handling. First of all, John saw the original manifestation of God’s highest revelation. Eyewitness testimony is of the highest value. Peter tells us concerning the apostolic testimony that, “we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (2 Peter 1:16) Subsequently nothing changing it, annulling it or superseding it has ever appeared. There was never any inconsistency between what was heard and what was seen. All types of testimony gave a harmonious witness.

It is through the power of the testimony of the chosen eyewitnesses whose record has come to us that it has been said of us, “whom not having seen ye love; on whom though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory; receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:8-9) Truly, “blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

Not only did John have the opportunity to see the Christ but he had the opportunity to behold him. That means he had opportunity for minute scrutiny. Even under prolonged, careful scrutiny the reality remained what it had always appeared to be. It was not a case of the appearances being one thing and the reality being something else.

“Beholding means “an intense and earnest gaze, as when we behold one whom we have desired to see, or when one goes out purposely to look on an object. The evidences of the incarnation of the [Messiah] had been subjected to such an intense and earnest gaze.” (Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament Explanatory and Practical – James, Peter, John, and Jude (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1951), p. 279.)

Sometimes aural and visual impressions may be inadequate. Therefore, hearing, seeing and beholding were augmented by ‘handling.’ The apostle Thomas said, “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25) Thomas must have thought his companions’ testimony which had been based only on sight had somehow been mistaken. However, Thomas found that all sources of information agreed that this unique revelation was absolutely true.

Each of the senses makes its own special contribution to certain testimony. Touch alone would not be entirely adequate as a basis for testimony concerning the Word of Life. However, combined with hearing, seeing and beholding, the sensation of touch forms a most certain basis for testimony. Touch could confirm the very point in question about the resurrection of Jesus. That question is, was his bodily appearance real? Jesus had told his apostles, “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye behold me having.” (Luke 24:39)

A resume of the types of information accessible through the various methods of sensory perception which John enumerates should be assuring:

By hearing one could perceive (1) the reality and meaning of Jesus’ teaching, both public and personal. (2) One could perceive the depth of his expositions and reasoning. (3) Also one could perceive the unfathomable brilliance with which he answered those who opposed him. (4) We could understand that his dialogs and conversations represented a wisdom from above. (5) One could weigh his probing questions such as, The Christ, whose Son is he? (6) One could feel the power of his rebukes. (7) By hearing his exhortations one would have been moved by their power. (8) One would be deterred from evil by his prohibitions (8) and be challenged by his commands. (9) One would have been touched by his pleas. (10) By hearing pronouncements one would have been enlightened. (11) One would have been drawn close to God by hearing his prayers.

By seeing one could perceive (1) His manner of life. (2) His compassion – his tears. (3) His anger – in the face of hypocrisy. (4) His fatigue. (5) His poverty. (6) His miracles. (7) His prayer life.

By beholding one could perceive more than the big picture. He could also grasp the minutia and the detail. For instance, Jesus not only healed the leper, everyone could see that, but he stretched forth his hand and touched him. (See Mark 1:40-45)

By handling one could perceive (1) The reality of his vibrant resurrection body. (2) The reality of his sleeping in the boat when his disciples shook him awake. (3) The reality of his presence in their midst. There was no illusion. (4) The reality of his wounds when he was crucified. (5) Touch also confirmed the reality of the condition of those whom Christ healed by his miracles. Those conditions included: The shrunken and withered limbs of the cripples, the missing limbs of the maimed, the empty eye sockets of the blind, the heat of fevered bodies, the weak or erratic heart beats from the damaged hearts of the sick.

“(and the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare unto you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us)” (1 John 1:2)

The necessity of this life being manifested was that previously it “was with the Father.” The term ‘Father’ is used for God Almighty because he has given life to everyone. He is not talking about the life which manifests itself when a child is born. That life is not ‘eternal life.’ There always was eternal life but it was previously only “with the Father.” We would have had no way of knowing it or knowing about it had it not been manifested. That life always existed but had not always been manifest. Each of us should seek that “eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested” through Jesus.

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.

Through the centuries God has sent his message to man in various ways. One way God speaks to man is through creation. When we behold the creation at any level we get a message from God. For example, if we think about our own bodies, as the Bible asks, “He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see?” (Pslams 94:9) Or if we look at the universe, The Holy Bible tells us, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament showeth his handiwork.” (Psalms 19:1) This is the form of revelation, which we call natural revelation. It is the revelation of God which comes to us through everything which God has created, that is through nature. This form of revelation reaches all people everywhere in all periods of human history. Because it communicates such a powerful message about God there are people who try to suppress this truth from and about God which is revealed in this way. They, “ …hinder the truth in unrighteousness; because that which is known of God is manifest in them; for God manifested it unto them. For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse…” (Romans 1:18-20)

While natural revelation is fundamental and does reveal God’s “invisible things” that is “his everlasting power and divinity” to man, it is not as complete a form of revelation as we need. The Bible, in the book of Job, reminds us that while natural revelation is a great blessing, we still need a more complete form of revelation. It tells us, “Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways: And how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?” (Job 26:14)

To fill the need for a form of revelation which is more informative than natural revelation, God gave man verbal revelation. That means a form of revelation which is given through the use of words, that is by the use of human language. The Biblical book of Hebrews tells us, “ God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son …” (Hebrews 1:1-2) So, God used men to present his message in human language. The men whom God used are called prophets.

However, while revelation through prophecy can give man a more precise and , more complete and more detailed message than natural revelation can, there may be false prophets who would lead people in the wrong way for reasons of pride or profit. No one can imitate natural revelation, though many have tried to minimize it or disregard it, but many people have tried to imitate verbal revelation. Almost as soon as true prophets began to present God’s message to their fellow men, false prophets arose to draw people after themselves. However, God used two methods to authenticate those prophets who truly had been sent by him. Those two methods are miracles and predictive prophecy.

For example, God spoke to his prophet Moses and said, “When thou goest back into Egypt, see that thou do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in thy hand…” (Exodus 4:21) The message of Jesus Christ, the greatest of all prophets, was also corroborated by miracles. Jesus’ Apostle John wrote, “Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31)

In the same way that a true prophet’s message is validated by miracles it is also confirmed by the fulfillment of predictive prophecy. Man in his own wisdom and only with his own intelligence cannot know the future. Only God can tell us the future. Therefore, a prophet who really fortells the future is working by the strength and command of God. For example, Moses teaches us, “And if thou say in thy heart, How shall we know the word which Jehovah hath not spoken? when a prophet speaketh in the name of Jehovah, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which Jehovah hath not spoken: the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:21-22)

The highest form of revelation, higher that natural revelation and higher than verbal revelation is personal revelation through example. Jesus Christ 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! That is why Jesus Christ was called Immanuel. That name means God With Us. So when Jesus came it was not God sending down as He did through the prophets but it was God coming down! It was not God revealing his word but God revealing himself! This, indeed, is the highest form of revelation!

This greatest revelation is the message of the apostle John’s short epistle which we are studying. John does not reveal something new about this message for he tells us, “Beloved, no new commandment write I unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning: the old commandment is the word which ye heard.” (1 John 2:7) So this epistle has no new message from God but that very message which came from and through Christ. It is the message “which was from the beginning” (1 John 1:1) There are two major purposes for which John writes. First of all, everyone of the the followers of the Messiah to whom John writes had received the message by hearing it. It was “the word which ye heard.” (1 John 2:7) Because of this short letter, along with the other writings in the New Testament, we now have the message in written form. In this way the message took the form of Scripture. Though no one after Jesus ascended back to God was able to listen to the oral message again and again, we can read the Scripture over and over till we understand even the depths of the message.

The second major reason John writes this short epistle is to show us the certainty of this highest revelation. It was not a message which came by hearsay but a message which was given in a way that permits the closest and most exacting scrutiny. Regarding that message he tells us, “that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life (and the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare unto you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us)” (1 John 1:1-2)

The way the message comes to us is that “…having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard” (Hebrews 2:3) Those hearers through whom we receive this highest of all revelations were a special group about whom Jesus said, “and ye also bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.” (John 15:27) However, the message was not transmitted only by the power of memory by those witnesses but Jesus promised them, “when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13)

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.

When God gives his message to man, the process is called revelation. The English word revelation comes from a Latin word which means “drawing back the veil or the curtain.” [so one can see what is behind it]. The English word revelation is used to translate the Greek word ‘apokalupsis’ (apocalypse), which means “to lift the cover” [so one can see what is beneath it]. The Urdu word ‘makashfa’ comes from the Arabic word ‘kashaf’ which means to disclose, to uncover, to display, to expose, to illuminate or to manifest something which had been kept secret.

Obviously, whenever we have the opportunity to get a message from God we should give that opportunity top priority. We should pay attention to God’s message with top priority first of all because man is an intelligent being. We do not work by blind impulse. We desire to know the whence and the whither of our existence. We desire to make the voyage of life intelligently. If we think at all, we can find no rest till the problem of life is solved. But we cannot answer the deepest, the most important questions by our own wisdom and insight.

For example, one of the great problems was expressed by Job. He asked, “If a man dies, will he live again?” (Job 14:14 NIV) We by ourselves cannot answer that question. We need the answer because we need a hope that reaches beyond the grave. “He who says this hope is not a deep and universal need, mocks the mother bending over her dead child, the strong man weeping at the grave of buried love and the aged husband and wife doomed to part in the dark valley of death.” (Everst, Harvey W., The Divine Demonstration, St. Louis, 1884, p. 29-30.) Therefore, we need an answer from God. We need revelation from God. And that is exactly what we get when we study the apostle John’s short letter.

Secondly, we are religious beings. Therefore, a message from God should be given our greatest attention because it alone can satisfy our hunger for the eternal. The Bible says, “He hath made every thing beautiful in its time: also he hath set eternity in their heart, …” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 ASV) Temporal things can never satisfy our longing for the eternal. This is a religious impulse, the highest of all our aspirations. Only a message from God can fulfill that need.

Because God has set eternity in our hearts we say, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (Psalms 42:1-2 NIV)

That thirst for God is largely fulfilled through God revealing himself to us through his revealed message. If we do not receive His message or for some reason after we receive his revealed message we reject it, our religious impulse will impel us to worship someone or some thing which is inferior to God. This is a frightening course of action because we will become like that one or that thing which we worship. We know this because Scripture tells us: “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.” (Psalms 135:15-18 NIV)

From this passage in Psalms it is clear that unless our god is pure and perfect, our worship is a source of degradation. A knowledge of the true God has ever been the most pressing need of our human race. Therefore, we need the true message from God.

We human beings are not only intelligent beings, not only religious beings, but we are also moral beings. We know we are moral beings because all of us has a conscience or the intuition that there is a right and there is a wrong. All of us feel we should do that which is right and reject that which is wrong.

But as moral beings we need to know the true purpose of our existence and the true ultimate purpose of life. Once knowing that true purpose of life we should commit ourselves to it. But, to know that purpose we need revelation, a message from God.

Even with the information which we already have we know there have been times when we have failed to live up to the purpose which God has for our lives. Therefore we know that we are sinful beings. The evidence is everywhere, within and without. The witnesses are our conscience, the weakness and failure of our moral powers, the necessity of civil law and its penalties, the blood written pages of history, and the constant suffering and death of which we are aware every day. Without a message from God which we can only receive through revelation, we can never know whether sin can be forgiven and if it can, what the terms and conditions of forgiveness are. We need a message from God.

There are people who deny that we need revelation, a message from God. For example, “…humanism – is a value system rooted in the belief that man is his own measure, that man is autonomous, totally independent.” But, if one man is autonomous, then all men are autonomous. That means your opinion is as good as mine. That also means that there are no “absolutes on which to combat injustice” a basis on which he can “say that evils and injustices” are “absolutely wrong” (Francis A. Schaeffer, How Should We Then Live?, (Old Tappen, New Jersey, Fleming H. Revell Company, 1976), p. 127.)

From Scripture we know the humanist position is totally wrong. The Bible tells us, “O Jehovah, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23 ASV) Because we cannot direct our own steps, we need that ‘Word of Life’ which was “from the beginning.” That is the very message we get from the Apostle John’s first general letter. It is a message from God.