1 John 1:1
As John looked upon the churches at that time he saw that the false teachers were becoming more and more prominent. They were calling into question the word of the apostles and the prophets. They were twisting the gospel and the scriptures to pervert it. So John wanted to speak the pure word of truth. God’s word is powerful, but it must be heard. We have to speak it. We have to keep it alive because Satan is always offering a counterfeit.
Gnosticism was one of those counterfeits. It was growing in popularity in the early church. One of the teachings of Gnosticism is that Jesus didn't physically exist as a man. Because they taught anything physical, anything of the flesh, anything material was bad, they had to then teach that Jesus wasn't a real man. They said He was some kind of pseudo man, as though He looked like a man, but He wasn't real flesh and bones. This kind of false teaching was ringing in John's ears as he wrote this epistle.
To start this letter, John went back to the beginning. That which was from the beginning is God. God is eternal. He always has been and always will be. God said from the burning bush, I AM That I AM. He is the self-existent one. John believed this and proclaimed it. He opened the book of John in much the same way.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
You can just feel and see this high view of God. God is eternal, the beginning of all things, an unchanging and untouchable truth. He is the "I AM" that has always been. John said Jesus is God and has been from the beginning. He is real and walked this earth. He and others heard Him with their ears. They saw Him with their eyes. And not just that, this wasn't a distant glimpse or a passing glance. They looked upon Him. This was an up close and personal inspection of Him. John said our hands have handled Him.
Jesus was flesh and bones, and John said he touched Him. He was presenting the man Jesus, not a pseudo-man made up by false teachers but a real man who walked this earth. John is giving firsthand testimony. He was the last man alive to be able to do so, and he wanted it to be clear.
John said this man is God. He is Jesus. He is the Word of life. When John said Jesus was the word, he used the word Logos. The Jews knew God as the Word. He was revealed to them perfectly through the Word. And the Greek philosophers knew the word Logos. It was the written word of the great philosophers. This culture knew the word was powerful and able to reveal the truth. When John declared Jesus the Logos, or the word, he revealed to these people the identity and source of something they held dear. Jesus is the word, the messiah, He is God.
John declared Jesus as the source of all Truth, the God of all Gods, the philosophy that tops all philosophy. The word which is greater than any word. A hard-hearted Jew would yell “blasphemy,” and a close-minded gentile would mumble, “Religious fanatic!” John didn’t engage in petty arguments. He simply gave testimony. It is what it is: 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—
1 John 1:2
This life he was referring to was that of a real man. This is John's solemn testimony. He's bearing witness. Jesus, who came from the Father also came to earth as a man. John said God’s word was manifested, which is made real and visible. He was right there. God’s word was manifest to them.
The humanity of Jesus is an important doctrine. He must be fully man to pay the penalty of sin for man. If He isn't fully human and sinless, He doesn't qualify because He can't identify with us or us with Him. For the false teachers of Gnosticism to say Jesus wasn't really a man is a perversion that harms the gospel that saved us. John wouldn't let these men steal that truth without His testimony. He established it in this epistle for all times, for all men.
John testified that Jesus was alive; he was resurrected. Jesus is the promises and words of God come to life. God's word is manifest, made real, and tangible to us in Jesus Christ. In Jesus, we may find eternal life.
1 John 1:3-4
John proclaimed what they had seen and heard. And he did so in obedience to what Jesus commanded, so others may enjoy the same fellowship with Christ as he did. Disciples of Jesus create more disciples of Jesus. That should be normal.
To state that men could have fellowship with God was a huge statement at that time. It’s not something we would automatically understand when we read this. For the Greek mindset, in this Roman culture to be told they could have a relationship with a God was nothing short of stunning. For them, only certain men among men could attain such a thing. A universally available offer to be in a relationship with God was revolutionary. They highly prized fellowship among men but had never been told they could have fellowship with God. Even more so, this was not just a relationship but fellowship with God.
This is where the false teachers hooked some and reeled them in. They taught that they possessed some secret knowledge or some secret formula in which they, too, could be a man among the religious men. This gave them a form of control over the followers who desired this relationship with God. In reality, these false teachers led folks off in the ditch. They merely used their false teaching as bait to satisfy the desire that exists in every person to be joined to their maker.
John declared that man could have fellowship with God. The word used for fellowship is Koinonia. The simplest meaning of this word is "common". Those in Koinonia hold all things in common. When you apply this as Koinonia between God and man, it means we have access to all that God has access to. And God has access to all of our life. That is mind-boggling, even today. We could all spend some time on that one. Our tendency is to focus on what we get from being in fellowship with God, but let's focus on what we give to that fellowship. Does God have full access to your life? Is all that you have His? Is all you are defined by your relationship with Him? When we were born again (or if you were born again), you recognized that you were already spiritually dead. You were infected with sin, with no ability or capacity to cleanse yourself from that sin. The penalty of your sin against God is nothing short of eternal death. When we identify with Jesus we say, my life was bound to His life. I died on that cross with Him. I went to the grave with Him. And I rose again with Him. This is what it means to be born again in Christ. There is no more "me". The whole of our life is in Koinonia with Him.
This word Koinonia is first used in Acts 2:42 after Peter had just finished preaching on the Day of Pentecost. Three thousand people were saved and baptized that day. Verse 42 says: and they (the church, the disciples, along with these new saints) continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship(Koinonia), in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
The key word there is "steadfastly". The church held fast to the teaching of doctrine, Koinonia, breaking of bread, and prayers. These are the things a church should be steadfast in. That should be what we are about. Then, underneath doctrine, we find direction to share our faith and to create new disciples in Christ. Under Koinonia we are called to be united together in worship to share our lives in Christ with each other. Under the breaking of bread, we share the declaration in remembrance of what Christ did for us. Under prayer, we are commanded to cast our cares on him, to hold each other up in prayer, to lay hands on the sick, and to pray.
Doctrine, Koinonia, the breaking of bread, and prayer are the four big bullet points. Our vision of the church today should be about those things. All we do should lead back to one of those categories.
Purpose #1
John said he wrote of this available fellowship so that those who read this letter might have the same joy. Jesus is still saying, come to me all you who are weary and burdened. He is still forgiving sins and cleansing souls. John wrote this so that I would teach it, and you would also know that. John had you in mind. John wants you to know the fellowship of God. Likewise, he wants you to be in fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ.
1 John 1:5-7
John saw God as light. The gospel of John is chocked full of analogies as God as light. And this isn't John's way of putting it or some writing style. This is the message that "they," John and the other disciples, heard from Jesus. That's what they are declaring. God is light, and in Him, there is no darkness at all. That Light is the basis of fellowship with God. There can be no darkness in the light. This is a simple truth that John builds on.
Test for Truth
John established this overriding truth of God. Any teaching that violates this truth is false teaching. John then presented five “If” statements as tests to sort out the false teachers. John didn’t address every false teaching and strange doctrine. He established and held to the truths that never change. Every “If” statement represented at least one false teaching or strange doctrine worming its way into the church.
- (v. 6) If you say you have koinonia with God yet walk in darkness, something is wrong. John says that “something” is you are a liar. You don't really walk with God.
- (v. 7) If, however, you walk in the light of God, you have koinonia with others who do the same. Those walking in the light have all things in common with God. Therefore, we have a common walk in His presence.
- Walking in the light doesn't mean we are sinless. We are still resident in this body of flesh. We are simultaneously saints and sinners. The Latin term is Simul justus et peccator. This means the early church fathers recognized this doctrine.
- Through Jesus, we walk in the light of God. As He sanctifies us and changes us, it's our desire to be found holy, but we fail miserably. We fall to sin, but we aren't immersed in it. Our lives aren't driven by it or characterized by it.
- (v. 8) Some declared they had no sin, imagining themselves perfect apart from God. These folks are deceived and teach others their deception. They have no grasp of the truth.
- To practice the truth, you must know what pleases the One you claim to follow. You must know His standard, which is holiness. You must know His truth. If you are walking in the light, you can't hide anything.
- (v. 9) Those who recognize they are sinners are invited to confess their sins. God is faithful in His promises. He is just by nature. He will forgive our sins and cleanse us from unrighteousness by the blood of Jesus.
- The fact is we will sin. The issue is if we are willing to confess it. If we confess, God promises to forgive us those sins and cleanse us. This passage has been called the Christian bar of soap. God’s righteousness is on the line. If we do our part, he will do his part.
- (v. 10) To deny any sin exists is to say that God wrongly assessed us and Jesus died for no reason. Those who deny sin declare God a liar. This is a clear indication that God’s Word does not exist in their life.
- If we deny we are sinners, His word has no place in our lives. The denial of sin runs through many cults, religions, and practices. Many religions deny sin exists because they have no remedy for sin. Christ is the only remedy.
False teachers claimed sinless states, though they walked in darkness. They led others from grace, telling them they weren't good enough to have fellowship with God. They cast doubt and dispersion on the apostles. Then offered their own religion. They offered false gospel, complete with false hope and assurance. Central to the false teaching was accommodating life in the flesh, following the dictates of man’s heart, and finding a place in this world.
John testifies that God is and has always been. Jesus is God. John knew Jesus and confirmed that he was a real man. All men are sinners, and this is the sin for which Jesus died.
Men can have fellowship with God. This is an incredible truth. However, that fellowship isn’t attained by the terms of man. It doesn’t happen by some secret knowledge or being good enough. It comes by the atoning blood of Jesus. It’s not about what you can or can’t do. It’s about what He has already done. His grace is amazing.
©2012 Doug Ford, Revised & edited 2020, 2024
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